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Welcome
Second Chances
Soul Restoration Tip
Resources You Can Use
Contact Info
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Hi! Welcome to this edition of The Bright Side! It was one year ago that we began this e-zine. We have grown from about 50 people to over 1400 subscribers. We've experienced some growing pains along the way, but I look at those as the catalysts that tell us what is working FOR us and what we need to work ON. Please continue to let us know what your needs are and help us continue to grow by sharing this message with others. Thank you, loyal subscribers! :) I look forward to many more years and lots of growth!

Speaking of growth, if you want to join us on in our weekday
60-seconds-to-read inspirational message, then please go to
www. BrightSideCoaching.com/subscribe.htm. Go to the second box, type in your email and hit 'subscribe.'

Whatever your spiritual beliefs happen to be I wish each of you a Happy Easter, Passover and Spring!

With Love,
Beth
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Second Chances

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every timewe fail."
~ Confucius

I am always in awe of the beauty found in Spring. It's my favorite season with the bright sun, gentle rains, vibrant colors and warmer temperatures. One of the most special sights from my office window is to look out and see the yellow daffodils peeking out and coming up. I am always amazed that they come up year after year as beautiful as ever.

That's the wondrous thing about us humans as well. Over and over again, year after year, we keep blooming. We are given second chances to shine.

Have you ever failed miserably at something? Have you ever made a big mistake that seemed impossible to fix? Or had an illness from which you thought you might not recover? Maybe you are facing some of these challenges now.

If so, I have good news for you! You have a second chance. You get to wipe the slate clean and start all over again. You have a blank canvas and get to paint a new creation. Don't give up! Just look for your second chance.

Do you know what a second chance looks like? Most often, it is not dressed as we have imagined it to be. Sometimes it requires being able to see the big picture in order to see the gift found in a second chance. You have to put on your "second chance spectacles" and look for it or you could just miss it altogether. What a shame that would be. Second chances are blessings!
They are grace at it's very core.

Maybe your second chance looks like a different partner, and not the one you thought you'd grow old with, to travel with you through life. Or maybe it looks like a different job instead of the one you thought you "had" to have. It could look like a new location in which to live instead of where you have grown comfortably. Or medicine that makes you feel ill, in order to
ultimately heal you. Maybe your second chance is simply the opportunity for you to share who you are with others instead of hiding behind an image.

How do you recognize the second chances that come your way? I'd like to offer three suggestions that will help you see them:

1. Let go of the past. Learn your lessons ... never forget them but move on. Learn to forgive others and, (this is a biggie!), learn to forgive yourself. It's difficult to move forward and take advantage of second chances if you are stuck in the past. Let it go.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt creep in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. Develop a positive attitude and awareness. Expect the best and look for the good. Become conscious of opportunities and very often you will find them right under your nose. Second chances can be quiet and disguised -- one has to be on the lookout for them.

Thomas Jefferson said, "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal. Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong attitude."

Develop the right attitude for you and see what happens.

3. Persevere. Keep on. Figure it out. Press on. If one approach doesn't work the way you would like it to, then try another. Do what you gotta do.

One of my very favorite quotes is from Ann Landers who says, "If I were asked to give what I consider the singlemost piece of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.'"

Wow. I love that!

So, then, our success formula is:

Let Go + Positive Attitude + Perseverance = Second Chances

When I see the April daffodils popping up as they do, I am reminded of how they, like us, are given the chance to grow, become stronger and more beautiful with each spring season. It's a time of new beginnings ... a time for second chances. Will you claim yours?
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Soul Restoration Tip

Look on the Bright Side

For every negative that consumes your happiness,
affirm two positives that sustain you.

For every "should've" you wish you'd done,
acknowledge something you're glad you did.

For every loss that has altered your world,
count from it something you have gained.

For every limit that has ever beset you,
consider your possibilities.

You can't always change the way things are,
but you can change the way you wish to see them.
Never stop looking for the brighter side and beyond.

~ Eric T. Moore

(Thank you, my sweet Anna, for the gift of this lovely book with these wonderful words. You are the best -- I love you.)
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Resources You Can Use

Jeff Keller, Attitude is Everything (see www.attitudeiseverything.com to learn more about the book and to subscribe to Jeff's great e-zine). In his book, Jeff describes attitude as having three parts -- the way we think; the way we speak; and the way we act. When we integrate all three of these
components, we are able to develop a positive outlook and see our obstacles as opportunities. Check it out -- I highly recommend it!
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Thanks for sharing your time with me! If today's issue of The Bright Side resonates with you, please let me know. Your emails mean a lot! If you struggle with these issues and would like the support of a coach, please do consider me and ask for a complimentary coaching session. It's my privilege!

Wishing you a lifetime of second chances ...
Beth
Professional Life Coach /Writer / Human Being
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Contact Info

Copyright 2001 Beth Pugh
Attribution required for distribution/duplication.

Your email address is secure and will not be sold or used unethically.

To subscribe to The Bright Side and Growth, please go to
www.BrightSideCoaching.com/subscribe.htm

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Beth Pugh 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.
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