Tag Archives: stay positive!

The Day Brad Pitt Shook My Hand

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 BRAD PITT

I was on my way to a funeral that afternoon, for the father of a close friend. So I was dressed all in black, unprepared for the festive event about to happen.

We stopped by Brad Pitt’s house for a half hour, because our construction crew was working on the swimming pool we were building for Mr. Pitt. Getting the permit for the job had been my task — and it turned out not to be a quick trip to the downtown Los Angeles Building and Safety Department that I had anticipated.

As happens with many projects that we leap in and say “oh, I can do that” without first evaluating the situation and what’s involved, getting that building permit turned out to be a massive snarl of red tape. I had to go back downtown in heavy traffic again and again, for more meetings with the various inspectors and officials who had to sign off on the building plans before Building and Safety would issue a permit.

Until we got the permit, no work could proceed. Not even the demolition and removal of the heart-shaped swimming pool that had been built on the property in 1923. It had to be jackhammered and the debris hauled away before the hillside property could be graded for the new pool and the multiple tiers of waterfalls that would be flowing down into it.

But just the day before, I had finally managed to get that building plan approved, and get the all-important permit in my hot hands.  Now our crew was busy at work, and the project, which had been delayed for several weeks because of the complications presented in the permit process, was finally underway!

I had only been to the job site a couple of times. Each time, Brad Pitt was out of town, on location filming a new movie.  I didn’t expect to ever meet him.

But that day… he was not only home,  he came out to say hello.

And when he found out that I was the one who had managed to finally get the permit for the new pool, he shook my hand firmly, gave me that dazzling warm smile of his, looked right in my eyes and said (drum roll please):  WAY TO GO, EVELYN!!!

Wow, no wonder this guy remains popular year after year. He was genuinely pleased with my small part in his project. If you’re a Brad Pitt fan, you already know that before his film career he was studying to be an architect. So he was very interested in restoring the old house on this property he had purchased in the Los Angeles area (no, I’ll never tell you the address so don’t bother to pester me), and he was thrilled that the pool was underway.

That was a dream he had: creating beauty where the house and yard was ramshackle and neglected. Not just tearing out and replacing with something modern, but restoring and improving an old house and its gardens.

We can all learn from that — when you have a dream, don’t let the delays in getting “permits” hold you up or derail you. Maybe “permits” in your case means a degree you want to earn to get a particular job you have your heart set on, but it seems like too big of a dream and you’re ready to give up. Or maybe “permits” is your own litany of “I can’t do that” messages in your own mind.

If a dream is calling to you, it means it is calling you to bring it forth. You’ve been given the task. Now go do it. And tell yourself each day that you take even one step closer to your dream:  WAY TO GO!!!

In my new novel THE DREAM SPINNERS, Jemma Powell is an astronaut-candidate who is about to qualify for a space mission when her teenage son dies, and she decides to give up her dream. Find out how she gets back on track in this visionary and mystical novel that I truly believe you will find inspirational, heartwarming and uplifting.

It’s available in paperback or for Kindle — CLICK HERE

Does This Squirrel Have Something You Lost?

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While you watch the video below, ponder this question: here we are on the last day of January and have you consistently moved toward achieving the resolutions you made on January First??? Or did you lose your motivation (which the squirrel in the video demonstrates plenty of!) in the mistaken belief that keeping a resolution only requires will power?

 

What’s wrong with “will power”? Isn’t that what keeps us going toward our goals? Don’t you need will power to quit cigarettes or stay on a diet or keep a commitment to going to the gym regularly, or to be a more loving parent or spouse?

Will power is fine to get you off the ground. But the problem is that it is short-lived. What you really need is to learn how to tap into the massive power of the universal mind and access the true power of your own “Will” rather than the relatively weak “will power” most of us grew up learning how to use.

Be aware that the squirrel in the video did not wander past that yard one day, see the entire “Rube Goldberg” style contraption the humans had erected, hop on board the starting point and make its way easily toward the goal line and the reward. The humans set up one stage at a time, and each time the squirrel got a reward for getting that far. Slowly but surely, over the course of two weeks, the contraption grew and grew, and the clever squirrel raced on to the reward even though it was now further away. Set up incremental rewards for yourself to help yourself stay motivated! Don’t make the mistake of saying to yourself “This is the year I will be successful! No matter what” and then because you have not set up a series of goals to achieve, the dream seems far too difficult and impossible to achieve, so you give up almost right away. Learn more on goal achieving…

Sign up now for a free lesson with 4 of the greatest teachers we have right now on the subject of manifesting the results you want — www.quicklawofattraction.com

to your success!
Evelyn

Be-Happier Tip: TALK HAPPY and LIVE YOUR DREAMS

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Are you happy? Most people answer “yeah, of course… well, I mean… sort of… I guess.”  If you’re tired of being in the majority (in other words miserable and stressed out most of the time!), shift your attitude right this minute from complaining about life to finding something happy to talk about. That change in attitude will help you vibrate on a much higher — and happier — frequency. It doesn’t even matter if you believe that every organic, inorganic, animal, vegetable or mineral, even dead things, vibrate constantly, and that we live in an energy comprised entirely of vibrating molecules. You don’t have to “believe” in gravity to have it act consistently in your life. It just does, and we all accept that if you toss an apple in the air it is not going to hover over your head unless it’s got a string or wire attached and something is holding it up. We know that because we can experience it easily in our life on a regular basis. But when it comes to our feelings and our state of mind, so many times we end up just feeling like a helpless victim of circumstances. And yet– guess what? — YOU are the one in control of how happy you are. Take a look at this charming and uplifting video clip from the film “South Pacific” — and I dare you to keep frowning!  Note that this is a special soundtrack with the original voice of the older woman, Juanita Hall – in the film her voice was dubbed because at that time, in the 1950s, it was a common practice to bring in a singer to dub the songs even when the actor /actress had a perfectly good singing voice!  That’s why many of the old musicals sound fake and “off” — we recognize that the talking person who bursts into song is suddenly not quite the same voice.  Anyway, enjoy this and leave a comment if you like it.

to your happiness,

Evelyn Brooks

 

Be-Happier Tip: Persist With Your Goals

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   “Persistently think you can do what you want to do, and it will not be long before you find yourself actually doing that thing.” ~Raymond Holliwell, “Working with the Law”

Why is “persistence” so important? Isn’t it enough to set your goals and work at them when you can? Most of us lead busy lives, and often people have a full-time job and other commitments that take up the bulk of the day’s waking hours.

Yet, think of this, would you expect a tree to grow tall if it only grew a bit now and then when it felt like it, or wasn’t too busy doing something else? Of course not. The idea is ludicrous, isn’t it? A tree’s entire nature propels it to grow, to take nutrients from the soil, water and air, and to thrive for as long as it can. The tree in the photo was felled recently by a rainstorm in the wake of Irene. The owner cleared the road by chopping the tree into logs, and now the tree will serve another purpose.  Remember that nothing is created or destroyed, all energy just “is” now and forever, and simply changes form.

Learn to take advantage of those small blocks of time that you have each day. Even fifteen minutes a day, if used productively, can add up quickly to many hours devoted to a special goal such as studying a personal growth course, writing a book, sewing a quilt, tending a garden.  Look for ways to “persist” with what you really want to achieve in life, instead of finding excuses why there just isn’t enough time. We all have the same amount of time each day, so it’s a good idea to emulate successful people and use your time well.

Notice how Holliwell phrases that quote I included at the top of this post — CAN… WANT…DOING.   Three steps. Now go ahead and get started.

to your happiness and success,

Evelyn Brooks