Does your attitude need a boost? Are you seeking motivation? Are you facing challenges that seem insurmountable?
Motivational short stories have the power to uplift, inspire, and reshape our perspectives. They remind us of our inner strength, help us overcome obstacles, and guide us toward becoming the best version of ourselves. Often brief but impactful, these stories can leave a lasting impression, offering insights and life lessons we carry forward.
Take a few minutes to immerse yourself in these motivational tales. Discover the endless possibilities for personal growth, resilience, and transformation that lie within each story.
Your journey to a more inspired and empowered life starts here.
The Power of the Heart
Most of my adult life, I’ve thought of my heart as just an organ in my body that thrived on low-cholesterol foods and occasional daily exercise. I also believed if I didn’t take care of my heart, I would die early, the way my father did at age 56.
My view of my heart, however, changed recently when I watched a film by Drew Heriot, the director of the movie The Secret. I knew that this new film would be special because Drew and Author/Producer Baptist de Pape had come together to create a movie that was 5 years in the making. I planned my week around watching the movie, picking a Saturday afternoon when I would have time to lock the front door of my condo, turn my phone off and sit on my hardly ever sat upon sofa. What I forgot, however, were the tissues. Nobody told me that I might need them, too.
As the film began, I was swept into a story of a young samurai and his quest for heaven, as he was living in his own private hell. He sought out the help of a sage who guided him on a journey of self-discovery, a journey from his head to his heart.
As the film progressed, the samurai and I were guided and mentored by some of the most influential spiritual teachers of our time, including Paulo Coelho, Mark Nepo, Immaculee Ilibagiza and Isabel Allende, to name a few. Dr. Maya Angelou told me “If you don’t know what to do, do nothing. Don’t fill your time with trivia.” She smiles. “Simply do nothing. Simply sit. Don’t do anything and you may be able to hear your heart.” I leaned in closer to the screen and also learned from Maya that I can actually talk to my heart. I asked myself: If I could hear my heart, what would it say? When my heart finally answered, would I have the courage to listen and, better yet, do what my heart was telling me? I soon realized that my heart needs more than a low- fat diet and exercise; it needs to be nurtured.
Eckhart Tolle, another film co-creator, joined me on this wonderful Saturday afternoon journey, telling me that The Power of the Heart will connect you with who you are at the deepest level. Like many people, I have done some personal work over the last 30 years to figure out how to do this, and now I finally understood that the journey to connect with myself lies in my heart, not in my head. That Saturday afternoon I also learned about the scientific proof, through the Heart Math Institute, that my heart is much more than a physical organ. As we live through our heart, we can actually transform our views of money, health, relationships, and success. The heart is an inexhaustible source of love and wisdom that far surpasses that of the mind. I am fully on board.
As I witnessed the emotion of the samurai and the teachers in the film, I heard tales of great hardship and even the horrors of war (physical and self imposed). I learned that I can forgive others, as well as myself. I found myself thinking of all the times I was mad at someone. Did it really matter? What toll did it take on my body, and whom did that welled-up anger serve? In the end we discover the power of forgiveness and the healing it brings not just to us but to the world as well.
I reached for another tissue. I was not sad. I was moved. Maybe I was becoming enlightened, as years of anger and self-doubt were being understood and examined as I continued down the path with a now-expanding heart.
As your journey begins, if you find the courage to ask your heart the questions, your heart will surely give you the answers you need to go forward. Relationships will heal. You will find grace in forgiving an enemy, and you will realize it is okay to just sit and be. Don’t we all want to see the good in people? The Power of the Heart calls us to explore ourselves and discover the treasures we hold in our chest, revealing that with an open heart anything is possible.
By the end of the movie I became a Samurai, changed forever. I found hope that I can mend my strained relationship with my daughter. I learned that total strangers can complete bucket lists and that my heart is more than a glob of tissue pumping in my chest.
My heart opened, and I was speechless. I resolved to sit on the couch more often. Needing a good five minutes to reflect on all the lessons I learned in 90 minutes, I was glad I locked the door and turned off the phone. As the credits rolled for The Power of the Heart, I realized my journey from my head to my heart is just the beginning and a wonderful way to begin my 57th year.
Michele Cohn
Creative Director
Beyond Words Publishing
Michele works very closely with Baptist de Pape. De Pape explores the realm of the heart and what it means to live from that space, rather than living merely from the head. This change of emphasis led directly to some astonishingly synchronistic events.
From his spiritual awakening blossomed the concept of a movie in which he would interview the leading spiritual teachers, authors, and scientists of today. Baptist went on to film and become good friends with many of his interviewees and was generously helped by Gary Zukav, Eckhart Tolle, Maya Angelou, Isabel Allende, and others. For more on the film, click here:
“Operation Manifestation” & The Ocean-Perching Penthouse
“I think your tenants are moving soon.”
I had moved into my own apartment over the ocean and loved it there … Well, I loved it there before discovering “The Penthouse” directly above. I decided I would love it there more.
For weeks I’d been doing my research to find the owner of this amazing place. After calling and introducing myself with the usual niceties, I lofted my observation, “I think your tenants are moving soon.”
“No, that can’t be right,” she said. “They just signed a 2-year contract a couple months ago. They’re not going anywhere. They love it there.”
“Well, I can certainly understand they love the place because it’s awesome,” I said. “But, nonetheless, I’d like to ensure that I’m the next person to rent your penthouse. I have a security check here that I’d like to send you – I just need your mailing address.”
She chuckled. “I’m flattered you like the place but seriously, they just got settled in.”
“And they’re really lovely people; I’ve met them in the laundry room,” I said. “But I really think they’re going to be moving. Would you mind if I send you this check?”
“Weeeell,” she responded, not sure what to do with this unbalanced woman on the phone, “I’m not going to cash it but if you insist on sending it, I can give you my address.”
I mailed the security check that afternoon. And then I called Bob Proctor. After being his writer for several years, I still credit him for forcing my hand to make the move to the city I most loved (but figured I could never afford), Laguna Beach.
After I acted on his suggestions and moved to the town in a matter of weeks (no one was more surprised than me), I continued to act on the “manifestation” recommendations he gave me as we spent days, weeks and months kibitzing over new scripts, marketing content, program curriculum and my life.
“Bob, I need your help,” I said.
“What’ve you got going on now?” he asked.
I explained the penthouse and my conversation with the landlord. “I’m going to send you a couple photos of the place,” I said. “Would you just … you know … visualize me in it? If I’ve got YOUR visualizer on it, I just know it’s going to happen.”
“What about YOUR visualizer, Di?” he asked drily.
“Fully on and operational, sir!” I then ticked off the litany of “Operation Manifestation” action items he’d taught me over the years. After hanging up from our call, I drove to the closest storage unit facility and rented a sizable unit there.
Over the next several months, my affirmation and action never flagged. Bob had taught me many years prior that “The Affirmation” was certainly the foundational starting point, but “Action” built the walls of the castle.
I bought rugs and furniture for the penthouse. I considered hundreds of paint samples, finally deciding on – and buying – cans of paint for each of the penthouse rooms. I decided that the long side patio of the penthouse deserved flowing white curtains like I’d admired at the Delano South Beach Hotel in Miami. They, too, were purchased and tucked away in the storage unit.
Every time I had groceries, I would first walk them up to the penthouse door and say a quiet “hello” to my soon-to-be-door before heading down the stairs to where I resided. On one of those occasions, I realized I hadn’t yet purchased a welcome mat for the sizable penthouse entry … that was next in the storage unit.
A few months later, I can still remember exactly where I was when I saw the penthouse landlord’s number light up my phone. I pulled to a side street, already knowing what she was going to say. The (rather astounded) woman told me that her tenants had decided to purchase a home in a nearby town and she wondered if I’d be willing to move quickly.
Of course I could move quickly. Months prior, I had given my existing landlord notice with a month-to-month lease, and I had a bulging storage unit ready and waiting for a moving truck.
A week later, I was living on top of the world in the penthouse over the ocean.
“Operation Manifestation” worked once again. It’s been an unfailing, strategic, proven-path course for my life from the very first day I had a “chance” meeting with Bob Proctor in 1994.
Life can be every magical moment you want it to be. Make the decision. Take the expectant action. And celebrate well in advance!
Diane Armitage
Known as “The Millionaire Maker,” Diane Armitage is a longtime marketing writer for Bob Proctor and other industry leaders.
Interested in what – exactly – Bob Proctor has taught Diane about speedy manifestation? Click here for a detailed, fun explanation video: BONUS VIDEO: The Fastest Way to Manifest Anything, along with a download of her Clarity Manifestation PDF to help you roll “Operation Manifestation” into your own life today.
A Lesson In Persistence
“I was 65 years old. I had $105 and a chicken recipe… and no one believed in me. But that was more than enough.”
My life was a rollercoaster of rejection and failure.
I lost jobs, failed in business, got turned away by the military, and never even finished school.
By the time I was 65, I was living off a small government pension.
But I had something:
A fried chicken recipe I had perfected in an old gas station.
So I packed up my skillet, jumped in my car… and started knocking on doors.
I got rejected over 1,000 times.
I slept in my car.
Some days, I didn’t even have enough to eat.
But every time someone said “no,” I told myself:
“The next one will say yes.”
And one day — someone did.
A small restaurant agreed to give my recipe a try… and the madness began.
Today, KFC is in over 150 countries, and my face is printed on millions of boxes around the world.
All because I refused to quit when no one else believed in me.
I was never the youngest. Never the smartest.
But I was the one who never gave up.
So if you’re down right now… maybe that’s exactly where your real story begins.
Age doesn’t matter. Failure doesn’t matter.
The only thing that matters… is not stopping when your heart tells you: keep going.
Wishing you strength, purpose, and peace wherever you are on your journey.
— Rest easy, friends. Stay inspired. 🍗🔥
