-Read inspirational books daily and highlight meaningful passages. If you don’t have any on hand, take one of my favorites for free! Just click on free stuff: http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net/gifts/ME2U.html

-Read a passage here and there throughout day, every day. (This only takes a few seconds.)

-Subscribe to a motivational site for a daily inspirational email.

-Carry your favorite motivational reminders with you to read while sitting in traffic, waiting in line, etc. Old business cards work great. They’re just right size.

-Get a motivational screen-saver. These are amazingly effective. There is an especially good one available for free from link above.

-Go ahead and try out some new behaviors. Act “as if” you already had qualities you’re aspiring to. Change behavior and belief will follow.

-Mentally refute ads or commercials that make you feel “less than.” Don’t buy into their Hollywood madness.

-Congratulate yourself as wholeheartedly as you would a friend on your progress.

These psychological treats are as crucial to our health and well-being as food is to our bodies. Just as we would suffer serious and noticeable effects after not eating for several days, our spirits languish just as much when we fail to nourish them properly.

Sadly, we don’t seem to notice it as much because our spirits have gotten used to living in a state of deprivation. Or maybe not. Prozac, anyone? (Sorry, let’s not even go there.)

So how healthy is YOUR self-image? Are you mentally prepared to handle success you seek? Can you see yourself comfortably enjoying goals that you are striving for?

If not, it’s time to take action. Action, action, and more action. Naturally, major changes will not occur with first few attempts. It is our repeated, consistent efforts that will create permanent changes that we are after.

I know that you know this. I also know that sometimes you need someone else to cheer you on. Well, here I am. Keep priming that pump, Honey! Attaboy! You go, Girl! If you’re reading this article, this cheer is for you. Hooray!!!

Let’s try something else. I found this next exercise to be very helpful and hopefully you will, too. Just imagine yourself sitting like a kid in a big playroom surrounded by many building blocks. Each block represents a thought.

Now some of these blocks are more attractive than others. You can pick and choose any ones that you want. That’s right. If you happen to latch onto a thought/block that you don’t like, you can just throw it back. It’s that simple. And that fast.

You are free to toss a block aside with absolutely no penalties. If you decide you want only pretty blocks, no one else can keep you from taking them. Isn’t this a delightful little game? Your mental screen is a terrific playground! Have fun with it! Remember, you control master switch.

Now granted, since we humans are creatures of habit, we may have to throw back some undesirable blocks a number of times before we automatically go for more attractive ones. The really exciting point here, though, is that we are absolutely free to do so! No one, but no one can force us to “pick up a block” that we don’t like or want.

No matter what we hope to accomplish in business or in life, harnessing our fantastic mental powers will greatly increase quantity and quality of our contributions. Putting our imaginations to work for us instead of against us puts us on fast track to success. It’s like finally releasing brakes on our engines.

I hope you’ll put these concepts to work immediately to freshen up a battered self-image and to help yourself in many more ways. Naturally, permanent change will not occur with first few attempts. However, I believe that once you have begun to explore how much fun and how powerful your own imagination is, it will be a pleasure for you to make repeated, consistent efforts necessary to produce changes that you desire.

I trust that ideas put forth here have helped you to realize and appreciate truly extraordinary power you have at your disposal. Certainly such awesome powers deserve to be tended and cultivated. Don’t you agree? I thank you for your attention.