Alan Cohen

You will not connect with your muse by following the herd; most of them are rambling over a cliff.

As soon as you become aware that something is not working, immediately shift your focus to the desired result.

Your life is not a problem to be solved, but an adventure to be enjoyed. You are doing better than you think.

The highest morality is personal integrity—living in harmony with your own value system.

A good definition of guilt is, 'punishing yourself before God doesn’t.'

Your true strength resides in holding your power in the midst of those who have abdicated theirs.

If you settle for less than what you really want, you will get exactly that. If you expect your life to suck, it will.

The only thing you can’t afford to postpone is joy.

Your life is not what the stars, numbers, genetics, environment, politics, or economic conditions make it; it is what you make it. External variables influence, but internal variables determine.

As Lily Tomlin noted, 'The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.'

The only thing harder than waking up is staying asleep in a nightmare. Let’s do it. It’s time.

The game of success is less about *getting* good things to happen and more about *letting* good things happen.

There is one among you or within you who is not afraid. Let that fearless one guide, and you will remain safe and be successful.

If you stay true to the spark of enthusiasm that makes you feel happiest and most alive, life will reward you in miraculous ways.

If you are struggling, stop and ask yourself how you would proceed if you made creative self-expression the platform for your vocation rather than ambition for glory.

Consider a question you are wondering about. If you knew the answer, what would it be?

Choose to live, rather than study how to live.

To keep pain from becoming suffering, minimize resistance. Quit trying to manipulate others and manipulate your *viewpoint.*

Behold mind over matter: If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

If you know how to *do* without knowing how to *be*, you have not learned life’s most poignant lesson. Merge action with inner clarity and you become the master of life.

All experiences in life are to either be enjoyed or learned from.

Confidence speaks louder than words. If you are selling something, your customer will be more impressed with your energy than your pitch. Your energy *is* your pitch.

While improving ourselves and the world is a noble intention, if we get so caught up in fixing that we lose our ability to enjoy, work becomes our master rather than our servant. When obligations overshadow inspiration, we need to stop and revisit our priorities.

Integrity means that the life you are living in the outer world is an expression of your inner truth.

Any fear, stress, or pain you experience in your work is an arrow pointing you to a darkened area of your mind calling for healing. The answer to your career and financial challenges is not to work harder, quit, or take out another loan; it is to revisit your beliefs about money and shift them so you develop wealth from the inside out.

Intention is the engine that powers creation; it is the crucial factor in manifesting success. Everything that happens is the result of intention. Another name for intention is willingness.

Here is my favorite affirmation about money, which some people write or have printed on their checks: ‘Every dollar I spend enriches the economy, blesses everyone it touches, and returns to me multiplied.’

A Course in Miracles tells us that in any situation in which you perceive something is missing, what is missing is what you are not giving. This powerful principle could serve as the meditation of a lifetime.

The answer is that wealth is generated by productivity, activity, and innovation—three commodities not fixed by an amount of money in circulation. The economy *reflects* productivity; it does not create or limit it.

If you feel energized and creative, no matter how much time you work, you have found your right livelihood. If you feel burdened or burnt out, you have veered. Do whatever you need to do to bring your activities into alignment with your values.

You have been taught that money is the root of all evil. Money is not the root of all evil. Fear is the root of all evil. When fear is applied to money, money becomes a tool of evil. But when trust, mutual support, and generosity are applied to money, it becomes the root of all good.