Today we have a special guest, Connie Baum. Connie is known as “Mother Connie” on Twitter. Connie is from Southeast Nebraska.

As you can see from her photo Connie knows how to be happy!

Here is her story:

The checker and the stock boy at the grocery were having a dispute. Their manager growled at them. Shoppers stared; commerce ground to a halt as they shouted insults at one another. They were not one bit happy.

A neighbor complained about the size and color of her house and lamented loudly that she detested yard maintenance. She went on and on to anyone who allowed her the time to vent that she should have stayed on the farm! She was not even a tad bit happy.

A woman jogged in the street past our house, pushing a small child in an open stroller. You could hear her talking to the little one and you could hear their laughter from afar. Clearly, they were very happy.

A man, badly bent from age, shuffled along the sidewalk in front of our yard. He stopped to see if we might be on the porch, which we were. His face lit up when he saw us waving and he enthusiastically returned the favor. His happiness was written all over his being.

What made the difference between the people who were miserable and those who expressed their happiness?

Will Rogers famously made this statement:
“Every man is about as happy as he decides to be.”

Will Rogers understood what the checker, the stock boy and the neighbor did not: Happiness is a CHOICE. We are all subject to free will; it makes sense to me that we would choose happiness.

I know a woman well who has a serious, chronic illness. Lily has a son who is in trouble with the law. Another of her sons is in the military and serves in an undesirable area of the world. A third son is caring for a wife who has a life threatening illness while he works a full time job. Lily’s aunt passed away last week; her brother’s health is precarious.

What action did Lily take? Based on all this information, one might expect that Lily withdrew from society or became depressed or angry or defensive. Certainly you would not predict that Lily would choose to be happy.

Au contraire! Lily made sure needy kids had school supplies. She canned vegetables and gave them to her family. She signed up for violin lessons and the recital that will show off the violinists’ skills. She has reached out to connect with her family members; she even took a senior citizen to visit a relative in a nursing home. Lily took steps to show that she has chosen happiness.

Lily’s story is inspirational and exemplary. Without question, Lily is a champ!

• How will YOU show the world YOU are a champion?
• What action will YOU decide to take to show the world YOU are happy?

Connie Baum calls herself a “Health Nut” and is an Internet Marketer. She says, “I love people, cooking, reading, homecaring, and the internet are a few of my interests. I sponsor a Toastmaster Club at a prison.” Follow Connie on Twitter here
Her blog is: http://motherconniesez.blogspot.com

Don’t forget to choose happiness today, because:

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That is the difference between a champion and a defeatist. It is not the things that happen to them, it is what they do with those things.

• A champion DECIDES to SUCCEED, no matter what happens!
• A defeatist uses those same “happenings” as an excuse to give up!

This is the master key:
You always have the ability to choose to succeed. The choices you make greatly depend on your thoughts and words.

One of the main things that helps motivate us to choose success is the power of right words spoken to us and the thoughts that are resident in our minds.

The Influence Words Can Have On Our Lives
I understand very well the influence that words can have in our lives. Dad often used to call me “The Champ”. Despite the many difficulties and even tragedies experienced in the past years, I am still running the race! Why?

I am convinced that my father’s words greatly influenced my motivation to keep going when things seemed impossible. After all “Champs” don’t give up ever!

Anyone who has tried serving on a mission field in a foreign country will know how difficult it can be at times. When things got tough for me, my friends from the church at home would always tell me “I have never seen a straight jacket you could not get out of” – I always got out! How did I do that?

Again, I am convinced that it was that group of friends cheering me on with their words, thoughts and prayers that gave me the strength to find a way out of all the difficulties that were thrown in my path.

Nothing Need Stop You!
You too can get out of any straight jacket that circumstances may have tried to put on you, and jump over every obstacle that may come your way!

We want to be a part of that cheer group that keeps you inspired and determined to keep moving towards reaching your highest goals!

With the help of this blog, we want to speak words to you that will encourage, challenge, inspire and motivate you to keep going and reach your highest levels of success for your life.

Five things to consider today:

• What words am I constantly hearing around me?
• Do these words build my morale or tear me down?
• What thoughts am I allowing to reside in my mind every day?
• Are these words building my morale or tearing it down?
• What am I going to do about the words and thoughts that are not helping me?