• “…If you have problems in your life, don’t assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life’s purpose.” (Bruce C. Hafen, Ensign, May 2004, 97)
  • “When I maintain an attitude of cheerful wonder and keen interest toward my faults and flaws, I see them dissolve and transform much more rapidly than when I give myself a hard time about them. If you’re willing to adopt a playful attitude toward yourself and your shortcomings, you can make extraordinarily rapid progress. It’s easier to chuckle over things than to fret over them, and chuckling is much more fun for the people around you.” The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level (Gay Hendricks)- Page 110
  • “An attitude of playful wonder is characteristic of people when they’re operating in the Zone of Genius.”The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level (Gay Hendricks)- Page 110
  • “When I hit a wobbly spot on the journey, I seize the moment to make a recommitment. From time to time you will probably lose focus and your attention will wander. It comes with the territory. When it happens, though, it doesn’t need to be a big deal. It simply means that you need to recommit to what you’ve chosen to be here for: expressing your genius in the world in ways that help you and others thrive.” The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level (Gay Hendricks)- Page 156
  • “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Theodore Roosevelt
  • “Whatever we say to ourselves before we look at something determines what we see.” Albert Einstein
  • “There are two influences in the world today and have been from the beginning. One is an influence that is constructive, that radiates happiness and that builds character. The other influence is one that destroys, turns men into demons, tears down and discourages. We are all susceptible to both. The one comes from our Heavenly Father and the other comes from the source of evil that has been in the world from the beginning seeking to bring about the destruction of the human family.We will all be tempted; no man is free from temptation. The adversary will use every means possible to deceive us; he tried to do that with the Savior of the world without success. He has tried it on many other men who have possessed divine authority….”Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith, Chapter 18: Stay on the Lord’s Side of the Line
  • As Viktor Frankl wrote in his bestselling book Man’s Search for Meaning, “The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy, Page 86.
  • “These specific actions will keep you on track and on the fast track to living in your Zone of Genius. Make a commitment to keeping an attitude of wonder and play while learning about your Upper Limit behaviors. Say this sentence in your mind as often as you like. It expresses the attitude I’d like you to embody: I commit to discovering my Upper Limit behaviors, and to having a good time while I’m learning about them. You can learn a lot more with a spirit of wonder and enjoyment than you can with an attitude of criticism. Make a list of your Upper Limit behaviors. Here are some of the most common ones: Worrying Blame and criticism Getting sick or hurt Squabbling Hiding significant feelings Not keeping agreements Not speaking significant truths to the relevant people. (If you’re mad at John, he’s the relevant person to talk to. It doesn’t help to tell Fred that you’re mad at John.) Deflecting. (Brushing off compliments is a good example of deflecting) When you notice yourself doing one of the things on your Upper Limit list, such as worrying, or failing to communicate some truth, shift your attention to the real issue: expanding your capacity for abundance, love, and success. Consciously let yourself make more room in your awareness for abundance, love, and success. Use the resources of your whole being, not just your mind. For example, feel more love in your chest and heart area. Savor the body feeling, as well as the mental satisfaction, of success and abundance. Embrace a new story that tells about your adventures in your Zone of Genius. Find a new mythology, or make up one of your own, that shows you enjoying your life in the full radiance of your expressed potential.” The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level (Gay Hendricks) Page 111
  • “Nephi-like, might we ask ourselves, what do our children know? From us?Personally? Do our children know that we love the scriptures? Do they see us reading them and marking them and clinging to them in daily life? Have our children ever unexpectedly opened a closed door and found us on our knees in prayer? Have they heard us not only pray with them but also pray for them out of nothing more than sheer parental love? Do our children know we believe in fasting as something more than an obligatory first-Sunday-of-the-month hardship? Do they know that we have fasted for them and for their future on days about which they knew nothing? Do they know we love being in the temple, not least because it provides a bond to them that neither death nor the legions of hell can break? Do they know we love and sustain local and general leaders, imperfect as they are, for their willingness to accept callings they did not seek in order to preserve a standard of righteousness they did not create? Do those children know that we love God with all our heart and that we long to see the face—and fall at the feet—of His Only Begotten Son? I pray that they know this.” Broken Things to Mend (Jeffrey R. Holland) Kindle Loc. 193-201
  • “If we want a joyous life, we must think joyous thoughts. If we want a prosperous life, we must think prosperous thoughts. If we want a loving life, we must think loving thoughts. Whatever we send out mentally or verbally will come back to us in like form.” You Can Heal Your Life (Louise Hay) Page 36
  • “It’s not so much what happens to us but how we deal with what happens to us.” (James E. Faust, Ensign, Nov. 2004, 20)
  • Developing a Positive Mental Attitude
  • Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Quorum of the Twelve counseled: “None of us will escape tragedy and suffering. Each of us will probably react differently. However, if we can recall the Lord’s promise, ‘for I the Lord am with you,’ we will be able to face our problems with dignity and courage. We will find the strength to be of good cheer instead of becoming resentful, critical, or defeated. We will be able to meet life’s unpleasant happenings with clear vision, strength, and power. … “What a joy it is to see someone of good cheer, who, when others because of an unpleasant happening or development live in angry silence or vocal disgust, meets the situation with cheerful endurance and good spirits” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1986, 84–85; or Ensign, May 1986, 66). Doctrine and Covenants and Church History: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, Lesson 10: “This Is My Voice unto All”
  • “Think lightly of yourself and think deeply of the world. MIYAMOTO MUSASHI” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc. 1071-72
  • “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. ROALD DAHL” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc. 1210-12
  • Proverbs 15: 13…A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.
  • Alma 17: 29-31…When you’re in a tough situation, don’t get down, just think for solutions and overcome it happily
  • Alma 17: 29…Look for the positive side of every situation and act upon it
  • Ether 15:34…The attitude of Ether –to be saved
  • 2 Nephi 28:28… And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.
  • “Better questions to ask are: “Is it true for me now?” “Where did that belief come from?” “Do I still believe it because a first grade teacher told me that over and over?” “Would I be better off if I dropped that belief?” Beliefs that “Boys don’t cry,” and “Girls don’t climb trees,” create men who hide their feelings and women who are afraid to be physical.”  You Can Heal Your Life (Louise Hay) Page 35  (Truth, Beliefs, Psychology)
  • “December 12th, 1994 – Monday.  Puyo Ecuador…Dad wrote me some good advice today.  He told me “feeling discouraged or unsuccessful comes from within you – you determine your attitude and no one or nothing can unless you allow it to.  So, trust in the Lord – I dare you to try Him.”  These words are so true.  I should always be happy and – BE MYSELF!!!  I’ve just got to press forward, and work my tail off.  The blessings will come.  Maybe I’m just looking for baptisms as the only blessings.  I need to notice the little blessings!  I’ve got a ton!”  Clinton Brown Missionary Journal
  • March 25, 1996 – Tuesday – Quito Ecuador…“Elder Goettsche & I then left on a Split.  We went to Valle de los Chillos together.  Elder Batt was sick, so Elder Goettsche took over the lesson.  We then went back to la Tola and our citas dogged us.  We did a few important contacts, and we were very positive.  That’s the key.  Some missionaries get down when things don’t go their way.  All we have to remember is that this is the Lord’s work.  What He wants done will be done when He wants it done.  Patience & Hard Work.” – Clinton Brown Missionary Journal
  • “President Gordon B. Hinckley’s mother, Ada Bitner Hinckley, often said that a happy attitude and smiling countenance could boost one over almost any misfortune and that every individual was responsible for his own happiness. His father, Bryant S. Hinckley, also had an inherently positive outlook. President Hinckley recalled, When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve. Influenced by his parents’ counsel and example, young Gordon Hinckley learned to approach life with optimism and faith.” Manual, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, Chapter 3, Cultivating an Attitude of Happiness and a Spirit of  Optimism