Welcome
Paying It Forward
Soul Restoration Tip: The Golden Rule
Good News Stories
Contact Info
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Good Morning! Happy Independence Day to those of you in the USA! I wish you a day filled with lots of fun, good friends and a healthy family! My Fourth of July celebration will be a bit different this year. I am sending this issue of The Bright Side a day early as I will be on a flight to Dublin, Ireland tomorrow for a few days of rest and relaxation. I wish for you also a time of vacation and respite, wherever you may be!

Welcome to our recent subscribers! If you like what you read here, please be sure to pass this e-zine along and encourage others to do the same. We are glad you are here!

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It is totally different from buying a series of books or tapes one at a time, or signing up for personal training. It combines the best of both, while costing less than either. Join before July 10 and you get the added bonus of The Full Practice Program (a $99 course!). Check it out by clicking on the link at my site www.brightsidecoaching.com/beth.htm. Located at the bottom of the page, click on the link that says "Become a Coach! Join today! Coachville." Enjoy!

With Love,
Beth
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Paying It Forward

I have the good fortune of being able to travel quite a bit. On a recent trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, I purchased some new clothing. Since I wanted to wear it, I sought out a washing machine in the hotel where I was staying. It was a coin operated machine so I purchased time to wash and then dry the items. I put my new clothes in and then left for breakfast with the intent of moving them to the dryer after a quick bite to eat. When I returned to the washing machine, imagine my surprise to find someone else's clothes in there and mine gone. I quickly checked the dryer and was relieved to see my new clothes tumbling around.

I realized that someone had not only moved my clothes, but they had paid for the use of the dryer and even had taken the time to put the setting on the "delicate" cycle so that the fabric would not be compromised. Needless to say, I was impressed. I wrote a note of thanks and left the correct amount of change to repay my unknown good Samaritan.

How differently this story could have turned out! The kindness of a stranger felt so warm. Like most folks, I do my best to be on the giving end of acts of kindness, and I am always thrilled to be the recipient of such an act too. I am blessed to have wonderful people show up in my life who provide these opportunities!

In the book (by Catherine Ryan Hyde) and movie, Pay It Forward, the main character has the following school assignment:

THINK OF AN IDEA TO CHANGE OUR WORLD
AND THEN PUT IT INTO ACTION.

The boy, Trevor McKinney, embraces the challenge and develops the idea of "paying it forward," meaning to do something nice for someone with no expectations of a return. In paying it forward one becomes an instrumental part in the future of strangers as the idea is to keep the concept rippling through the Universe. It is generosity between two strangers. In other words, I pay it forward for someone, who then in turn pays it forward to someone else and so on. Every single person matters and so does each act of kindness, large or small.

In typical "pay it forward" fashion, there is a program I use called "Share-a-Note." The idea with this program is to leave a very brief note (it limits how many words one can use) out there in cyberspace where others can read it. If a person chooses to, he/she can write a new note and it, in turn, replaces the former note. The first one is erased completely and the notes are totally anonymous. I have been inspired by reading these short heartfelt messages of hope left from one stranger to another.

There is an incredible book (which I HIGHLY recommend) called The Amazing Law of Influence by King Duncan. In his book, Mr. Duncan sites example after example of the ripple effect each one of us can have in the lives of others. Mr. Duncan shows how "tiny, incremental changes in human behavior can also lead to monumental alterations in the way society functions. In other words, a solitary individual can, under the proper conditions, exercise enormous influence in the world as a whole."

There are countless ways to influence. Some people like to actually LOOK for the opportunities to make a difference. Here are some ideas to get you thinking. Consider:
*paying for the dinner of someone who is dining alone
*making an anonymous contribution to charities
*paying the toll for the car behind you when going through a tollbooth

What if you don't have money to spare? Consider:
*volunteering for a local charity or religious organization
*sincerely complimenting those who go uncomplimented
*smiling and making eye contact with others so that they feel important

Obviously, the ideas are endless. These are just a few to get you thinking. I encourage you to come up with your own. If it seems uncomfortable, here is my two part litmus test for really discovering how you can make a difference. In each situation you are in:

1. Ask yourself: Is there another reason, perhaps beyond my own plans, for being in this place at this time?

2. Think: The Golden Rule and treat others in the way you would want them to treat you. With each person, ask yourself how you would want to be treated and then adjust your behavior, words, and actions accordingly.

Be prepared to change the world and believe in the amazing results.

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Soul Restoration Tip
The Golden Rule

Think The Golden rule doesn't necessarily apply to you? Here it is paraphrased in most of the major spiritual beliefs.

Brahmanism: This is the sum of duty -- do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.
Buddhism: Hurt not others in the ways that you would find hurtful.
Christianity: (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31) Treat others as you want them to treat you.
Confucianism: Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.
Hindu: The true role of life is to guard and do by the things of others as they do on their own.
Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.
Judaism: Whatever is hurtful to yourself, do not unto your fellow man. That is the whole of the law, the rest is merely commentary.
Persian: Do as you would be done by.
Taoism: Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain and you neighbor's loss as your own loss.

Excerpted from Worldwide Laws of Life, by John Marks Templeton
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Good New Stories
I am still seeking your "Good News Stories." The ones I have received have been fabulous! WOW!!! Thank you! Again, I am seeking be about kindness, how we affect others, how we have been affected by others, gratitude, good luck, and the power of prayer. I seek only true, personal stories that you know of firsthand. There's no need to make it long -- 300 words is the maximum I am looking for. I'd love to hear your story them and will credit you if/when I use it in some of the work/writing I am creating. Please email me Beth@BrightSideCoaching.com  to share. Thank you very much!

Wishing you many moments of giving and receiving by paying it forward,

Beth
Professional Life Coach /Writer / Human Being
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Contact Info

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Beth Burns is a Professional Life Coach -- partnering with motivated people on their personal and professional goals. Her mission is to teach people to love themselves and love their life! She offers two free email newsletters and can be visited on the web at www.BrightSideCoaching.com.  She can also be reached by calling 678-938-0419 or by email Beth@BrightSideCoaching.com .