Page 51 - 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself

about the future (unless you want fear), but stay focused on today (in case you

want happiness).

“Until you can put your attention where you want it,” said Emmet Fox, “you
have not become master of yourself. You will never be happy until you can
determine what you are going to think about for the next hour.”

There is a time for dreaming, planning, and creative goal-setting. But once
you are complete with that, learn to live in the here and now. See your whole life
as being contained in this very hour. Let the microcosm become the macrocosm.
Live the words of the poet William Blake and his description of enlightenment:

To see a world in a grain of sand/

and heaven in a wild flower/

hold infinity in the palm of your hand/

and eternity in an hour.

Sir Walter Scott said he would trade whole years filled with mindless
conformity for “one hour of life crowded to the full with glorious action, and

filled with noble risks.”

It’s amazing what can be done by people who learn to relax, pay attention,
and focus, appreciating the present hour and all the opportunity it contains. It is
said that in America we try to cultivate an appreciation of art, while the Japanese
cultivate the art of appreciation. You, too, can cultivate the art of appreciation.
Appreciate this hour. This hour, right now, is pure opportunity.

The great French philosopher Voltaire was on his deathbed when someone

asked him, “If you had 24 more hours to live, how would you live them?”
Voltaire said, “One at a time.”

36. Be a good detective

In your professional life, whatever it is, always be curious. When you meet
with someone, think of yourself as a bumbling but friendly private detective.
Ask questions. Then ask follow-up questions. And then let the answers make

you even more curious. Let the answers suggest even more questions. This will
motivate you to higher levels of consciousness and interest.