Have Deafness To Doubt And Strong stick-to-it-ness

"Don't dig up in doubt what you planted in faith" -Elisabeth Elliot

If you are struggling to have faith in your dreams and you let doubt and fear get in the way of achieving them then this article is for you.

I really do love this quote from Elisabeth Elliot because it really is very easy to dig up what you planted in faith with doubts and fears. Just recently I hit a brick wall of fear and frustration. My book is almost ready to be published and I haven't gotten an editor yet. Even though I went over my book many times trying my hardest to edit it after the third time reading a certain section of my book I still found errors in my book.

YES, I knoooow I am visually impaired so I know I can't see everything but even still a lot of doubt and fear creeped in, made its home in the most comfortable part of my mind and refuses to pay rent. So I started to think what if the book is not good enough? What if I don't catch all the errors in my book and my book just flops because it's so bad?

Then I thought about it and answered my own questions. What if I do find errors? Then just fix it as you find them. My book is not written in stone so I can fix it at any time. What if my book is not good enough? Seriously, with my perfectionist mind will my book eeever be good enough? ^_^ What if my book flops and no one likes it? I only have control over what I do. I have no control over whether or not people buy my book so just focus on what I do have control over and that is writing, learning and growing. Just getting the book done and published is an accomplishment of its own.

It would have been easier to change focus and start focusing on something other than writing a book, something more easier but if I did I would always be running because of my doubts and fears. I have learned that when we put a lens on our doubts and fears and take a really good look at them we start to realize that our fears and doubts are nothing more than our own insecurities. When we start to doubt ourselves that is when we start uprooting our dreams that we have spent so much time planting in faith. That is why I wrote my book in the first place. To help people learn how to have faith in themselves and have faith in the Creator because you rarely see anything right before you hit success. Success is an accumulation of all the work you have put into caring for the seed you have planted in faith.

Keep your dreams firmly planted and even if you don't see any movement at all just keep having faith because sooner or later you will see amazing things rise up for your in your life. If you just keep going you will have success.

I guess it's time for me to practice what I preach. Warts and all this book is going to be published. 

God Bless

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My Top 6 Favorite Inspirational Memes

These are my new top 6 favorite memes for this week. I know that there is a lot going on in the world just this week alone and I feel the need to give you an extra dose of love and Inspiration to help you get through the week. I dedicate this blog to my church family in Nashville who is now in the healing process from losing a loved one from a church shooting Sunday. My heart and prayers go out to them and their families. Please keep them in your prayers and please keep me in your prayers. God Bless 

Being Who You Are Is An Absolute Blessing

If you are struggling to fit in and your dream is to just be who you are with no apologizes then this article is for you.

Just for the fun of it I looked up the word Normal and this is what I found; Normal- Conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

This is why I really love Maya Angelou's quote “If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be”. Over the years I learned that “normal” is overrated and it is an unreachable goal. When I was thinking about this quote by Maya Angelou the first thing that came to my mind was how we all try to fit into societies rules but the rules are always changing. Society rules are like fashion one day a rule is in the next day it is out.

I am a Christian so I am very aware of all the rules that people, not God try to put on you to make themselves feel better. Trying to live up to other peoples expectations can be very suffocating and sometimes people will make you feel like there is no good in you at all because you are different and you don't fit in. Today I challenge that belief. There is a lot of good in you and if God wanted everyone to act or be the same he would have made us that way but you are unique. God broke the mold when he created you. You are like a star in the sky where no two is the same and like every star in the sky you are loved and appreciated. You bring light to everyone around you.

So how do we stop trying to be normal and just love who we are?

Take this moment just for yourself. Call up some very supportive friends and family and just enjoy the moment. Fill yourself up with love and if you don't have supportive family or friends go to the shelters and serve others. When you volunteer at a shelter or food bank people who need help are very supportive and loving. Just simply serving others who need help will fill you up with so much love and appreciation.

If being around people is not your thing try volunteering at an animal shelter. Let the cute puppies and kittens fill your heart up with love and maybe you can take one home for that extra dose of love every day. People at a soup kitchen or puppies at a shelter don't care about your past because we all have one and they will love all of you. I spent a lot of time volunteering at shelters and the people there are the most amazing people in the whole world.

The best way to overcome the need to be “normal” is to be around people who love all of you or animals who just want to be loved. I challenge you to let go of the world's standard and embrace yourself fully. Only then will you see how awesome you are. Let go of the pressure to fit in and you will be able to do some amazing things.

If you want to see how amazing you are try being yourself. Know that you are loved and appreciated. Don't think you are know you are. 

God Bless

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My Top 6 Favorite Inspirational Memes

These are my top 6 favorite Inspirational and motivational Memes. As an NLP Spiritual Life Coach, my goal is to motivate and inspire people to live their best life. In order to manifest what you desire you must have a relaxed faith and the persistence to keep looking forward no matter what obstacles get in your way. I chose these memes to help you stay focused this week. You have everything that you need in order to succeed. All you need now is faith. Stay encouraged and keep moving forward. God Bless. 

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Your Peace Of Mind Is More Precious Than Gold.

If it costs you your peace of mind it's too expensive.

Our peace of mind is more precious than gold and this article is about protecting and cherishing our peace of mind. If you find yourself overwhelmed by stress this article is for you.

The last few months have been back to back stressful events in my life. I had to overcome a serious illness, moving again and dodging scorpions (YEA Scorpions!) in my new place. Along with financial hardships and family crisis after crisis, my life has been stacked with stress. Not to mention current events I find myself surrounded by things pulling at my peace of mind and my sanity.

Despite all of that I still find myself at peace and very happy. Even with all the storms of life, I have been able to grab peaceful moments in my day. Enough peace of mind that I am able to focus on things that I really love. I learned that we can not always control things outside of ourselves. We only have control of the space that is within us and I have learned to take full advantage of that. I have learned to start my day on purpose before any negativity or chaos have time to take hold. Using that peaceful time before I even get out of bed helped me to direct how I want my day to continue. I have learned that if I start my day off peaceful no matter what pit hole I fall into I can still keep my peace of mind and always find my way out.

For example, I wake up and do my prayers and meditations. After I do that I write out my intention for the day 15 times on paper. I do what I call a writing loop something that I learned from Scott Adams to solidify my intentions. I write something like I Barbara Clay, make passive income from books, digital art and blogging. I have writing mastery.... I write that 15 times every morning before I start my day and now I am clearly on my way to achieving just that. The writing loop really does work. My book is almost done and I love it. I am also selling my artwork.

Starting my day off on purpose really helped me a lot and I know it will also help you too. The things we want the most always start in the mind first so start your day creating what you want in your mind first before anything else has a chance to grab your attention. Take time the first thing in the morning to really care for yourself. If you find yourself overwhelmed and stressful start your day with a prayer and make a deceleration in writing of what you want to achieve for the day and each and every day.

I know if you start your day off on purpose and protect your peace you will always have enough peace of mind to continue on through the day. Yes, chaos may happen all around you but I know that if you learn to cultivate and protect your peace you can have the peace of mind to handle anything that comes your way. Never give up. You have everything you need to succeed. Don't think you do, know you do. God Bless.  

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Artistic Soul Within Zazzle

My New Book These Quotes Are For You By Barbara Clay

Copyright © 2017 Barbara Clay

I am really excited to announce that I have written my first book. Right now I am in the editing stage and I will be finished really soon. 

My book is about my top favorite 25 quotables to help you live your best life. This book is not just a list of quotes. For added value, I added my own insight on how you can use the quotes in your daily life. My hope and prayer is that this book will give fresh new ideas on how to live your best life. 

The art work that is in the book is all original art done by me 26 in total including the cover. If you see a quote that you love you will be able to purchase a poster that you can hang on your wall and enjoy for years to come.

This is one of my favorite chapters in the book. Please leave a review and let me know how you like it and stay tuned for more to come. 

Copyright © 2017 Barbara Clay

Buy all my artwork HERE

I am the Master of my fate. I am the Captain of my soul.

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. Now is all there is. 

In the last chapter of this book, I talked about faith and how faith is knowing what you want and certain that you will receive it. I also talked about having faith in yourself. Faith in yourself is all about knowing who you are and knowing who you want to to be. It is about being confident in what you know you can do just like Micheal Phelps and many other great successful people. In growing to who we want to be I learned that we should always strive for mastery. Mastery in one thing should be what pushes us and motivate us every day. Understand that mastery is a marathon, not a sprint.

I remember a story my husband told me one day when I was feeling discouraged because I didn't feel like I was where I wanted to be with my life. I love art but at that time I felt like a failure. I will never forget what he told me. He told me a story of the Kings Apprentice. He said “One day a king took a piece of jade to a master craft smith only to find out by his apprentice that he died. So he asked the young apprentice if he could carve a great masterpiece from it. The apprentice took the jade and said, “Ok I will create something amazing for the king”. Five years passed and the king went to the apprentice and asked for the jade. The apprentice said that the jade was not yet ready and he needed more time. The king said,  “I will give you a little more time”. Another five years passed. The king went to the apprentice and asked to see the jade. The apprentice apologized and told the king the jade is still not ready yet and he needed more time. Reluctantly the king gave the apprentice more time. 

Another five years passed the king filled with anger went to the apprentice and furiously said “I have waited 15 years for my jade sculpture. I want my jade right now.” The apprentice who was now a master calmly went and got the raw piece of jade and sat it on a table in front of the king. He then sat down and began to masterfully cut the jade. Every cut he made was perfect. Within a few minutes, the apprentice masterfully crafted the jade into a beautiful work of art. So beautiful it made the king cry. In tears, the king asked, “Why did I have to wait 15 years for something so beautiful and so amazing you made in just a few minutes?” The apprentice said, “When you gave me the jade I never cut jade before and it took me 15 years to master”.

After my husband told me that amazing story he said to me “Barbara don't worry about how long it takes you to get to where you want to go. Keep doing what you are doing and one day you will percent your gifts before kings and queens”. I smiled and asked will I also make them cry like the apprentice? He laughed and said NOO... Well maybe. He then lovingly brushed my face with his fingers and made me smile. I got up and continued to work on my art filled with purpose.

Take Action

What you do today can bring you before kings and queens. Let mastery of your goals and dreams be what motivates you every day. Every day you should be doing something that you love to do and something you really want to master. Don't let a day go by without you doing something that you love to do. 

We don't have to be like Micheal Phelps. Even if you just spend an hour a day on mastering what you love you will be a master a lot faster than a person who is not spending any time at all mastering anything. Remember mastery is not a marathon, it's a sprint. History has shown that your gift will take you before Kings and Queens so take action right now to do what you love and let mastery be your guide.