Oprah has said a good many things about love, life and the universe but one statement she permanently has up in her workplace is: “You are responsible for the energy you bring to this place.”

It’s amazing how something so simple can be so profound.

The art of positive thinking and thereby positive actions must be consciously mastered.  It may help to have enlightening messages and affirmations like Oprah’s on the wall, but optimism is an attitude that you must decide to adopt.

 Don’t mistake wishful thinking as positive thinking – it’s not the same thing. The positive thinker will lay the foundations for good things to happen, not just wait and hope they will – that is the wishful thinker.

Start by being self-motivated; don’t wait to be asked, just do it, even if there is no reward. Step into your power and trust that what you expect for yourself is what you will get. It’s a subtle message which translates into reality without you being able to explain it, but it’s true that if you don’t expect much, you don’t get much. Visualize your success and see yourself living the life you want. If you pave the way, this is what you are likely to achieve. 

 How do you pave the way? It’s simple really, whenever an opportunity comes your way, grab it! Don’t let it go by and then wonder why you get nowhere. If you ever say the words “If only” and “I wish”, banish them forever right now! Make a pact with yourself that however scary the opportunity may seem, you will not let another one go by.

This one of Winston Churchill’s perceptions may help to explain; “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”