Jack Canfield Quotes

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Don't worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul)
Everything you want is on the other side of fear.
Jack Canfield
And so I wait. I wait for time to heal the pain and raise me to me feet once again - so that I can start a new path, my own path, the one that will make me whole again.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II)
A lot of people feel like they’re victims in life, and they’ll often point to past events, perhaps growing up with an abusive parent or in a dysfunctional family. Most psychologists believe that about 85 percent of families are dysfunctional, so all of a sudden you’re not so unique. My parents were alcoholics. My dad abused me. My mother divorced him when I was six…I mean, that’s almost everybody’s story in some form or not. The real question is, what are you going to do now? What do you choose now? Because you can either keep focusing on that, or you can focus on what you want. And when people start focusing on what they want, what they don’t want falls away, and what they want expands, and the other part disappears. (Jack Canfield)
Rhonda Byrne (The Secret (The Secret, #1))
Most everything that you want is just outside your comfort zone.
Jack Canfield
Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.
Jack Canfield
There are essentially two things that will make you wise -- the books you read and the people you meet.
Jack Canfield
What others think about you is none of your business.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
You don't have to get it perfect, you just have to get it going. Babies don't walk the first time they try, but eventually they get it right
Jack Canfield
People who ask confidently get more than those who are hesitant and uncertain. When you've figured out what you want to ask for, do it with certainty, boldness and confidence.
Jack Canfield
Keep in mind that part of growing up is dealing with difficult issues, and the benefits can be great if you have the courage to ask for help. Human beings are not designed to go through life alone. No one has to bear the burden of tough times all by themselves.
Jack Canfield
There is no right reaction. There is only your reaction.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul)
You only have control over three things in your life-the thoughts you think, the images you visualise, & the actions you take.
Jack Canfield
Decide what you want. Believe you can have it. Believe you deserve it and believe it’s possible for you. And then close your eyes and every day for several minutes, and visualize having what you already want, feeling the feelings of already having it. Come out of that and focus on what you’re grateful for already, and really enjoy it. Then go into your day and release it to the Universe and trust that the Universe will figure out how to manifest it. “Jack Canfield
Jack Canfield
Sometimes you dance with a partner, and sometimes you dance alone. But the important thing is to keep dancing.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Single's Soul)
Our job is not to figure out the 'how'. The 'how' will show up out of the commitment and believe in the 'what
Jack Canfield
Her essay about the wedding ring was short. Kerr wrote: "Things are just things - they have no power to hurt or to heal. Only people can do that. And we can all choose whether to be hurt or healed by the people who love us." That was all. And that was everything.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II)
If you get clear on the what, the how will be taken care of.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
You only have control over three things in your life—the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take (your behavior).
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
Each day is an adventure in discovering the meaning of life. It is each little thing that you do that day - whether it be spending time with your friends, running in a cross-country meet or just simply staring at the crashing ocean- that holds the key to discovering the meaning of life. I would rather be out enjoying these things than pondering them. We may never really discover the meaning of life, but the knowledge we gain in our quest to discover it is truly more valuable.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II)
If you love your work, if you enjoy it, you're already a success.
Jack Canfield (Living an Abundant Life: Inspirational Stories from Entrepreneurs Around the World)
When you think you can't, revisit a previous triumph.
Jack Canfield
I’ve always been the opposite of a paranoid. I operate as if everyone is part of a plot to enhance my well-being.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
If you are going to be successful, you need to give up the phrase, "I can't" & all of its cousins, such as "I wish I were able to.
Jack Canfield (How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be: The 25 Principles of Success)
What is the why behind everything you do?
Jack Canfield
You don’t want to get to the top of the ladder only to find out you had it leaning up against the wrong wall.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul)
You must take responsibility for removing I can't from your vocabulary.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
If it ain't fun don't do it.
Jack Canfield (Jack Canfield's Key to Living the Law of Attraction: A Simple Guide to Creating the Life of Your Dreams)
We are God’s gift to each other. Like a master composer, He brings all the instruments together, each with a different tone, each playing a different part, and He makes it turn out so beautifully.
Jack Canfield
You Can’t Hire Someone Else to Do Your Push-ups for You
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
A couple in love is like a pair of scissors. Two useless pieces of metal, until they are inextricably connected at the core so that they can move together as one and accomplish great things.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Married Life!: 101 Inspirational Stories about Fun, Family, and Wedded Bliss)
أحط نفسك تدريجيا بفريق من الطراز الأول من الأشخاص الذين سيجعلون حياتك بهيجة و سعيدة و غنية إلى أبعد حد. ابدأ على الفور ،،
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus)
The Principle Always Work if you Work the Principles" - All you have to do is DECIDE what you want. BELIEVE you DESERVE IT, and PRACTICE the success PRINCIPLES.
Jack Canfield (How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be: The 25 Principles of Success)
Carry your most important goal in your wallet".
Jack Canfield
We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit)
The dynamics that are required to make any relationship work: Just keep putting your love out there.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit)
When you do something you love with passion and perseverance, you are already a success. Even if you never hit the big time, who cares?
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise. ROBERT FRITZ
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
As you take a few minutes each day to quiet your mind, you will discover a nice benefit: your everyday, "ordinary" life will begin to seem far more extraordinary. Little things that previously went unnoticed will begin to please you. You'll be more easily satisfied, and happier all around. Rather than focusing on what's wrong with your life, you'll find yourself thinking about and more fully enjoying what's right with your life. The world won't change, but your perception of it will. You'll start to notice the little acts of kindness and caring from other people rather than the negativity and anger.
Jack Canfield
History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
If you give your mind a $10,000 problem, it will come up with a $10,000 solution. If you give your mind a $1 million problem, it will come up with a $1 million solution.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
We have an innate desire to endlessly learn, grow, and develop. We want to become more than what we already are. Once we yield to this inclination for continuous and never-ending improvement, we lead a life of endless accomplishments and satisfaction.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
Slow down and take the time to really see. Take a moment to see what is going on around you right now, right where you are. You may be missing something wonderful. Jeffrey Michael Thomas
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul)
SWSWSWSW Whenever you ask anyone for anything, remember the following: SWSWSWSW, which stands for “some will, some won’t; so what—someone’s waiting.” Some people are going to say yes, and some are going to say no. So what! Out there somewhere, someone is waiting for you and your ideas. It is simply a numbers game. You have to keep asking until you get a yes.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
I think when you have big dreams you attract other big dreamers.
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
If you are going to be a winner, you have to acknowledge the truth—it is you who took the actions, thought the thoughts, created the feelings, and made the choices that got you to where you now are. It was you!
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in life has a purpose. ELISABETH KUBLER-ROSS, M.D.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
IF YOU GO TO WORK ON YOUR GOALS, YOUR GOALS WILL GO TO WORK ON YOU.
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
if you surround yourself with people who are strong and positive, you’re more likely to see a world full of opportunity and adventure.
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus)
It takes a thousand voices to tell a story
Jack Canfield
WHEN YOU ARE IN CONFLICT WITH SOMEONE, THERE IS ONE FACTOR THAT CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DAMAGING YOUR RELATIONSHIP AND DEEPENING IT. THAT FACTOR IS ATTITUDE.” —William James
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
Avoid Toxic People Until you reach the point in your self-development where you no longer allow people to affect you with their negativity, you need to avoid toxic people at all costs. You’re better off spending time alone than spending time with people who will hold you back with their victim mentality and their mediocre standards. Make a conscious effort to surround yourself with positive, nourishing, and uplifting people—people who believe in you, encourage you to go after your dreams, and applaud your victories. Surround yourself with possibility thinkers, idealists,
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one-yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown. H. ROSS PEROT American billionaire and former U.S. presidential candidate
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
You Need Goals that Stretch You
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
Don't kid yourself.Be honest with yourself.Take your own inventory".
Jack Canfield
Insanity is hereditary—you get it from your kids. ~Sam Levenson
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: All in the Family: 101 Incredible Stories about Our Funny, Quirky, Lovable & "Dysfunctional" Families)
IF YOU GO TO WORK ON YOUR PLAN, YOUR PLAN WILL GO TO WORK ON YOU. WHATEVER GOOD THINGS WE BUILD, END UP BUILDING US.” —Jim Rohn
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Stories of Canine Companionship, Comedy and Courage (Chicken Soup for the Soul))
A dog is one of the few remaining reasons why some people can be persuaded to go for a walk.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Stories of Canine Companionship, Comedy and Courage (Chicken Soup for the Soul))
If your dog doesn’t like someone, you probably shouldn’t either.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Stories of Canine Companionship, Comedy and Courage (Chicken Soup for the Soul))
You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor. . . . Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting. Mother Teresa
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit)
   JACK CANFIELD Decide what you want. Believe you can have it. Believe you deserve it and believe it’s possible for you. And then close your eyes every day for several minutes, and visualize having what you already want, feeling the feelings of already having it. Come out of that and focus on what you’re grateful for already, and really enjoy it. Then go into your day and release it to the Universe and trust that the Universe will figure out how to manifest it.
Rhonda Byrne (The Secret)
To be truly rich includes not only financial freedom but developing rich, meaningful relationships, enriching your health, and enjoying a rich balance between your career and your personal life.
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
When you consistently make better choices you create better habits. These better habits produce better character. When you have better character, you add more value to the world. When you become more valuable, you attract bigger and better opportunities. This allows you to make more of a contribution in your life. This in turn leads to bigger and better results.
Jack Canfield (The Power Of Focus)
عندما تصاب بأي جرح عاطفي، يبدأ الجسم في القيام بعملية طبيعية كالتي يقوم بها لعلاج الجرح البدني دع العملية تحدث، وثق أن الله سيشفيك مما أصابك. ثق أن الألم سيزول،وعندما يزول، ستكون أقوى، وأسعد، وأكثر إدراكًا و وعيًا.
Jack Canfield
Most of us avoid telling the truth because it’s uncomfortable. We’re afraid of the consequences—making others feel uncomfortable, hurting their feelings, or risking their anger. And yet, when we don’t tell the truth, and others don’t tell us the truth, we can’t deal with matters from a basis in reality. We’ve all heard the phrase that “the truth will set you free.” And it will. The truth allows us to be free to deal with the way things are, not the way we imagine them to be or hope them to be or might manipulate them to be with our lies. The truth also frees up our energy. It takes energy to withhold the truth, keep a secret, or keep up an act.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats. B.C. FORBES Founder of Forbes magazine
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
The true task of spiritual life is not found in faraway places or unusual states of consciousness. It is here in the present. It asks of us a welcoming spirit to greet all that life presents to us with a wise, respectful, and kindly heart. We can bow to both beauty and suffering, to our entanglements and confusion, to our fears and to the injustices of the world. Honoring the truth in this way is the path to freedom.
Jack Canfield
You — no one else!
Jack Canfield
Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit)
If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? Stephen Levine
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit)
THE RESULTS OF YOUR BAD HABITS USUALLY DON’T SHOW UP UNTIL MUCH LATER IN LIFE
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
Don’t censor your dreams or vision with practicalities and probabilities.
Jack Canfield (Jack Canfield's Key to Living the Law of Attraction: A Simple Guide to Creating the Life of Your Dreams)
Success consists of going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
All of the results you are currently experiencing in your life are absolutely perfect for you. This includes your career, personal relationships and financial status.
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
The world responds to those who ask—Lisa
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
Even more exciting is learning that to create the future of your dreams, you need only change your thoughts and vibrations from this day forward.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
The truth is that our wellbeing is dependent on our giving love. It is not about what comes back; it is about what goes out!
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: All Your Favorite Original Stories Plus 20 Bonus Stories for the Next 20 Years)
You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
No amount of reading or memorizing will make you successful in life. It is the understanding and application of wise thought that counts. BOB PROCTOR
Jack Canfield (The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be)
When you stand for something and do a remarkable job of
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus)
Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible—it cannot be seen or measured— yet is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession ever could.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul: Inspirational Stories about Love and Relationships (Chicken Soup for the Soul))
My runs always remind me of what life is: always putting one foot in front of the other, even when I’m exhausted. It’s about running up the hill, however daunting, and congratulating myself for not stopping. Life, like running, is about getting up and pushing on ahead, even if I’ve tripped on a pothole. It’s about keeping the rhythm and setting a pace. It’s about minding my injuries and allowing myself time to heal, but not letting injuries get the best of me. Running is like life; it is a glorious, albeit sometimes painful, act of always moving forward.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Runners: 101 Inspirational Stories of Energy, Endurance, and Endorphins)
The Rules For Being Human 1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period of this time around. 2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid. 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error: Experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately “works.” 4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson. 5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned. 6. “There” is no better than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here,” you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.” 7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. 8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours. 9. Your answers lie inside you. The answers to Life’s questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust. 10. You will forget all this. Chérie Carter-Scott
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit)
IT TAKES A LOT OF LIFE EXPERIENCE TO SEE WHY SOME RELATIONSHIPS LAST AND OTHERS DO NOT. BUT WE DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT FOR A CRISIS TO GET AN IDEA OF A PARTICULAR RELATIONSHIP. OUR BEHAVIOR IN LITTLE EVERYDAY INCIDENTS TELLS US A GREAT DEAL.” —Eknath Easwaran
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
Life doesn’t just happen to you. It’s all about choices and how you respond to every situation.
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE HAVE SUCCESSFUL HABITS Unsuccessful People Don’t!
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light Helen Keller
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul Love Stories: Stories of First Dates, Soul Mates and Everlasting Love)
A GOAL IS THE ONGOING PURSUIT OF A WORTHY OBJECTIVE UNTIL ACCOMPLISHED.
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
A GOAL THAT IS NOT MEASURABLE IS JUST WISHFUL THINKING.
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
A BRILLIANT IDEA WITHOUT ACTION IS LIKE ROGER FEDERER 2 PLAYING TENNIS WITHOUT A RACQUET!
Jack Canfield (The Power of Focus: How to Hit Your Business, Personal and Financial Targets with Confidence and Certainty)
They love us, heal us, teach us, make us laugh and sometimes break our hearts with their passing.
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Stories of Canine Companionship, Comedy and Courage (Chicken Soup for the Soul))
Jack Canfield Every time we are negative about someone else, we are actually affecting ourselves. And the other thing that’s important is every time you judge someone else, it’s just a projection of our own self-judgement. Parts of ourselves we don’t accept. Parts of ourselves we won’t give permission to express. And so basically, the old thing when you’re pointing your finger, there’s three fingers pointing back. And so I always tell people that whatever you focus on, you get more of. So if I’m gossiping about someone that I’m judging or being negative about, then I’m actually creating more negativity inside of me, and I’m not focusing on what I want.
Oprah Winfrey (The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations)
Discouraged? As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-baseline, I asked one of the boys what the score was. "We’re behind 14 to nothing,” he answered with a smile. “Really,” I said. “I have to say you don’t look very discouraged.” “Discouraged?” the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. “Why should we be discouraged? We haven’t been up to bat yet.
Jack Canfield
Workplace bullying acts as silent cyanide; often it’s done in private. When does envy occur? When somebody pulls a little further ahead, like the tall poppy. Someone is favored by the boss, he or she does better work, the person has more energy, nicer clothes, a nicer car, or is perceived as better looking for example. It could be a whole bunch of reasons and the target often has no clue—the target is the last to know. Envy is the driver, and envy has more to do with the bully than the target. It’s not the target’s fault, yet targets often drop their own needs and respond by taking ownership for the bully’s feelings of low self-worth. 
Jodi Nicholson (Mastering The Art of Success (Les Brown, Jack Canfield, Mark V Hansen, Jodi Nicholson et al Book 7))
One At A Time A friend of ours was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean. As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water. Our friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said, “Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you are doing.” “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.” “I understand,” my friend replied, “but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?” The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, “Made a difference to that one!” Jack Canfield and Mark V. Hansen
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit)
Our dogs relieve chronic pain, lift our spirits, sniff out cancer, detect impending heart attacks, seizures and migraines, lower our blood pressure and cholesterol levels, help us recover from devastating illness, and even improve our children’s IQ, as well as lowering their risk for adult allergies and asthma. Just think—the unconditional love, limitless affection and to-die-for loyalty of a well-chosen, well-trained, well-cared-for dog could be just what the doctor ordered!
Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul: Stories of Canine Companionship, Comedy and Courage (Chicken Soup for the Soul))
I learned an amazing way to demonstrate the effectiveness of positive versus negative thinking from Jack Canfield, President of Self-Esteem Seminars, which I now use in my workshops. I ask someone to come up and stand facing the rest of the class. After making sure the person has no problems with her (or his) arms, I ask my volunteer to make a fist and extend either arm out to the side. I then tell her to resist, with as much strength as she can muster, as I stand facing her and attempt to push her arm down with my outstretched hand. Not once have I succeeded in pushing her arm down on my initial trial. I then ask her to put her arm down, close her eyes and repeat ten times the negative statement “I am a weak and unworthy person.” I tell her really to get into the feel of that statement. When she has repeated the statement ten times, I ask her to open her eyes and extend her arm again exactly as she had before. I remind her to resist as hard as she can. Immediately, I am able to bring down her arm. It is as though all strength has left her. I wish I could record the expressions on my volunteers’ faces when they find it impossible to resist my pressure. A few have made me do it again. “I wasn’t ready!” is their plea. Lo and behold, the same thing happens on the second try—the arm goes right down with little resistance. They are dumbfounded. I then ask the volunteer once again to close her eyes, and repeat ten times the positive statement “I am a strong and worthy person.” Again I tell her to really get into the feeling of the words. Once again I ask her to extend her arm and resist my pressure. To her amazement (and everyone else’s) I cannot budge the arm. In fact, it is more steadfast than the first time I tried to push it down. If I continue interspersing positive with negative, the same results occur. I can push the arm down after the negative statement, I am not able to push it down after the positive statement. By the way—for you skeptics out there—I tried this experiment when I was unaware of what the volunteer was saying. I left the room, and the class decided whether the statement should be negative or positive. It didn’t matter. Weak words meant a weak arm. Strong words meant a strong arm.
Susan Jeffers (Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway: How to Turn Your Fear and Indecision into Confidence and Action)