Today is Monday, so this post is on self confidence. I’ll get to that in a minute.
Yesterday, I went to see “Shine A Light”, a Martin Scorsese film of a benefit concert the Rolling Stones played a couple of years ago for Bill Clinton’s foundation at the Beacon Theatre in New York. Shine a Light brought back a lot of memories. I used to live at 70th and Broadway in Manhattan. The Beacon is at 75th and Broadway. Van Morrison was the best concert I ever saw at The Beacon.
I saw the Rolling Stones for the first time in 1965 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. Mick got shocked by the microphone on the second song. He was actually knocked over by the current. The show was delayed for about 20 minutes. But, being the showmen they are (and were) they came back out and finished the show. I was so young in 1965 that I didn’t have a driver license. My date and I took the bus to Pittsburgh to see the show.
Watching Shine a Light made me think of the Jethro Tull song “Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die.” I enjoyed watching the film on the IMAX screen, but I’m not sure that I would have wanted to be there in person. It seems that I’m too old to rock and roll, but too young to die.
Shine a Light also pointed out the dramatic differences between the go with the flow rock and roll style and the detailed nature of movie making. Martin Scorsese wanted every last detail in place weeks before the concert. The Stones didn’t even give him a set list until the beginning of the show. Martin Scorsese is a great director. I love his movies. In my opinion, he made the greatest concert film ever, “The Last Waltz” The Band’s farewell concert at the Fillmore West in the mid 70s.
All of this has nothing to do with self confidence, but seeing Shine a Light brought back so many memories for me that I just had to share them here. On to today’s post on self confidence…
If you’ve read “The Secret” or seen the video, you are familiar with the concept of “ask, believe, receive.” Personally, I think there is a step missing. My personal secret to success is “ask, believe, work your butt off, receive.” But I’m not here to quibble.
The “believe” part of “The Secret” is based on affirmations. Simply put, good affirmations describe the future you want for yourself in the present tense. For example, I think my new book “Straight Talk for Success” is good enough to be a best seller. So every day as I am working on marketing “Straight Talk,” I say the following affirmation. “‘Straight Talk for Success’ is a best seller.” I don’t say, “I hope ‘Straight Talk for Success’ becomes a bestseller. I say “‘Straight Talk for Success’ is a best seller.” By saying it in the present tense, I am affirming my belief.
Over a week ago, I had a conversation with Tim Ralston, Founder of Vision Board Site (www.visionboardsite.com). Tim and the very creative people on his team and created a site where everyone can create a Vision Board to capture their personal affirmations. I suggest that you check out this site. It is very easy to use, and it will help you produce a great vision board for yourself.
It’s simple. First, you name your vision board. Second, you choose some music that inspires you. Third, you choose some photos or graphics that help you better visualize what you want to achieve. You can choose from over thousands of pre loaded photos or use your own. Fourth, you create an affirmation to accompany the image you have chosen. You can create your own affirmations, or choose from hundreds that the folks at Vision Board Site have created for you. That’s it – it’s that simple.
I am in the process of creating a vision board to support “Straight Talk for Success”. This vision board is up to 25 + images – each with a separate affirmation that relates to one of the key points in “Straight Talk.” I’m still tweaking the images. I am looking on the internet for a few public domain images that better communicate (to me at least) the affirmations I have created. I will share my “Straight Talk for Success” Vision Board with you when it is finished.
The common sense point here is simple. A vision board is a great way to create an image of your desired future. A good vision board contains both images and affirmations. Vision Board Site makes it easy for you to create a vision board that exists in cyber space, and can be accessed from any computer at any time. It also adds an auditory component to your vision board. To me, the music makes a lot of difference. I suggest you go to www.VisionBoardSite.com and sign up for a free trial. If you do, you’ll probably end up buying the service for a year – it’s a deal at $29.95 – like I did.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense and to subscribe to my weekly newsletter “Common Sense.”
I’ll see you around the web and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud — who is too old to rock and roll, but too young to die.
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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