WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

Have you ever taken an acting class and been challenged to
imagine as many uses as possible for some simple household
object? It is a wonderful exercise in creativity. Try it. Go
to the kitchen, find a tool you use every day and imagine all
possible uses for it. Well, that seems to me to be the gist
of this quote. It is creative to find new ways of doing
things using the resources we have at hand.

A short while ago, I was having a conversation with a good
friend. She was telling me that she was about to commit to a
network marketing company and that she was sure that she had
found the perfect career. It was terrific to hear the
certainty and excitement in her voice. She went on, however,
to tell me that now, before even signing the paper to begin,
she needed a new apartment with a separate room for an office,
a fax machine, a new printer and other office fixtures. Why?
Because, to her, this was what it would take to be successful.
I suggested that small steps might be more empowering than
large debt...perhaps she could use the things she has until
growing is warranted.

Have you ever had the experience of thinking that you cannot
begin a project until you have everything that you could
possibly need before you start?

What could you do right now with the things you have at hand?
What changes could you make in your life right now just by
deciding to do so? We do not have to wait until we lose
twenty pounds, clean out our basements and garages, and take
back our library books, to move ourselves forward, although
those things make admirable and important beginnings, too.
You can do things simultaneously, can't you? You can follow
Ernest Hemmingway’s advice: “Now is no time to think of what
you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there
is.”

For today, if you find yourself saying "I would like to do
that if only I had _______ or if only I was _____", or
anything close to that, change your focus. Ask yourself,
"What steps could I take right now towards what I want to
bring into my life, using my present skills, talents, desires
and resources?" It's a great place to begin.