Daily Gratitude: This is the one most important lesson anyone can tatoo on their forehead.

Persistence is what it takes. You can read or see (via YouTube) stories about the “greats” in any field and how they often sucked at what they were trying to do but just kept at it. And eventually after lots and lots of practice, they succeeded and then after even more practice they became great.

You know I’m a Yankees fan so of course one example has to be of a Yankee (and actually it’s two examples)

When Derek Jeter first came up to the big leagues he made a lot of errors and wasn’t “the star” his scout predicted ….yet….but take a look at the progression of his career and you’ll see how persistent effort on his part helped him improve season after season. Now No one thinks about his rookie year.

Yogi Berra was definitely nothing to write home about in his first year. In fact, he was pretty bad. But he wanted to be the best and he wanted to be a Yankee so he worked his butt off in the off-season and came back in year 2 so much better. And now he’s often a household name and not just because of his famous sayings.

Don’t give up. Every time you do something, you get better at it. So just keep doing it and you’ll keep getting better and better. You don’t have to be brilliant or Mensa level intelligent. You just have to keep working. Can you do that?

Daily Gratitude: This one phrase can change your life. Yeah I hear you rolling your eyes (you didn’t know I could hear that did you?).

But I am here to tell you it works. When you decide what you really want, all you need to do is announce it, broadcast it to the universe and then let go. You do not need to (and do more harm by) outlining how it should come to you. The universe is so much smarter than you so why limit it by deciding the way you should receive this gift.

Here’s my example. Last year when I was looking for a new car, I had decided I wanted a van and I determined what I needed in it. I was focused on a new car since that’s all I ever had. The prices were outrageous though. But fortunately I had added “this or something better” to my declarations (I call the preliminary to the actual manifestation a declaration but that’s just how I do it).

Guess what. I ended up with the perfect van for me- well, almost perfect. I would have preferred red to white but I do trust the universe to know why I should get a white one.

You can use this in your everyday speech too especially if you’re not a believer in affirmations and manifestations. You can say “have a great day…or something better”. Maybe the something better might be getting a promotion or a kid who wins a tennis match. After all what defines a great day. Let them get the most they can.

Try it consistently and I think you’ll see it works. But it’s not an overnight miracle cure. Just thought I’d mention that (again) for you impatient people. Ha ha

Daily Gratitude: I’d rather be a bamboo wouldn’t you? I am amazed by trees and have taken tons of photos of trees since I moved here 21 years ago.

You have to learn to bend and be flexible so you can get through the tough times in life. If you don’t have the flexibility, it’s more likely that something will knock you down. Maybe not right away but eventually.

Remember all the videos you see when there’s a hurricane? All the trees are bending this way and that as the massive winds are trying to flatten everything in its wake.

Wouldn’t you like to be left standing after the storm is over? Whatever storm is brewing in your life? Let it blow and bend with it. You don’t have to be perfectly straight upright for people to respect you. They will respect whomever survives.

How can you practice bending? Is that different than how you’ve acted in the past? Let us know in the comments.