Our culture tends to label everybody and everything either a success or a failure, a winner or a loser. I often wonder how the one winner and 58,000 losers in the Boston Marathon feel about that? I can't imagine even one of those runners thinking of himself as a loser. I believe that for every one of them, to run the race well is to succeed

When you boil it down, life is made up of our minute-to-minute experiences. And once we begin to become more aware, at some point we discover a fundamental truth: life is not positive or negative, it just is

Choosing to live an extraordinary life is simple. This does not, however, mean that it is easy

There can be no transformation, no awakening, without the ‘here and now’ experience of life, which involves all of our being, not just our intellect

People who live from abundance feel that there is more than enough of everything in the world to go around. More than enough money, food, work, material things, more than enough love. Why do they feel that way? Because they see that they themselves are enough. They are not dependent on external influences to make them feel more whole and complete

Intellectually, we know for certain that we are on this planet for a very brief period, yet we tend to live as if we were going to live forever, as if there were no end to our life or to the lives of our friends and family. This not-so-subtle denial of death persists throughout our lives, unless we are lucky enough to get a dramatic, usually painful and invariably life-changing wake-up call. The moments of our lives are ephemeral gifts, and we can not afford to miss even one of them. Happily, you don't have to wait for a painful wake-up call. You can notice the miracle of your life right now. Awareness is a choice

These days, awareness and three dollars will get you a cappuccino – no more. As vital as awareness is to the process of improving your life, to suddenly be awake and aware means nothing if you simply leave it at that. Awareness only matters if it impacts my actions

Responsibility is not the Truth with a capital T. It’s a point of view which I can choose to take regarding all of the events in my life. If I choose to approach life from the responsible point of view, it means giving up my excuses, my avoidances, all the manipulative games I play when I feel like a victim. In return, what I gain is freedom, clarity, and the empowering experience of being in control and in charge of my life

In the matter of stepping up to our true potential, everybody wants to go to heaven and nobody wants to die. We want all the goodies without paying the price

People who take responsibility for all they create are able to quickly sort truth from fiction in their lives, and in the communication they're receiving from those around them, by using the simple litmus test of based on results. Wishing and hoping, reasons and excuses will never tell you the truth. If you say you intend to have a happy marriage, have you got one? If you say you want to earn a degree from a good university, have you done it? If you say you want ten million dollars, do you have it? If you don't have what you say you want, then how come? You've either got the results you say you want, or you have reasons to explain why not. Developing a rigorous and honest relationship with results moves you powerfully toward creating your extraordinary life