It's a new week and we have five days of blessing ahead. Don't you just love Mondays? If you are like most people I'm sure you don't. Most people don't like Mondays because they don't like hard work.

Well I'm going to try and change your attitude. So you're going to start this wonderful week by getting excited about your life, your work - and especially about your business.

Today begins our Daily Motivational. I want you to come back every day. And if you don't feel like facing the day, perhaps I will be able to encourage you and motivate you to get going.

Solomon said,

Pay attention to wisdom, and stretch out your heart to understanding.

What exactly was he saying here? Notice that he didn't say,

“Work harder.”

All of us know that it's much better to work smart than it is to work hard.

You need to spend a bit more time developing wisdom and understanding. If you do that you'll actually accomplish far more than if you spend a longer period of time working.

What is wisdom and understanding, and what is the difference between the two?

If you read through the book of Proverbs you will see these words all the time. I would like to explain this a little so that you can understand the difference between the two.

The difference lies in where they come from. You see wisdom comes from your spirit within. Understanding comes from your mind. It is very clear.

You Need to Develop Them

The important question is how do you develop these? How do you develop wisdom and how do you develop understanding?

When you develop these and increase them, you become more efficient and you work smarter. This means that you won't have to work harder.

So if you are complaining about all the hard work you have to do, why not try this? Beginning this week again with hard work, learn to develop wisdom and understanding. You will get excited about your work because it won't have to be so hard anymore. You will be working smarter and accomplishing far more.

How do you do this? That is the key word. Everybody tells you what to do, but nobody tells you how to do it.

How do you develop wisdom? Well if wisdom comes from your spirit, then you need to tap into your spirit.

Tapping the Spirit

How do you tap into your spirit? You do it through words. You see words are the way that you express what is in your spirit.

As human beings we have the ability to speak words. We can tap into and release what is in our spirits. If you know any of my teachings, you will know that one of the most powerful ways of releasing what is in your spirit is through words and actions.

So to tap into your spirit you must use words. What kind of words? The easiest way of tapping into the wisdom is through meditation and prayer.

What is meditation? It is not when you go into a trance-like state and hum something. No, that is transcendental meditation. We are not talking about that.

Meditation actually means to mutter to yourself. It means to think things through and talk them through; to talk to yourself.

I talk to myself all the time. I speak things through, and sometimes it helps to speak out loud what you're thinking. You will be amazed what pops out that you didn't expect.

Tapping the Mind

Now how do we tap into our minds? It comes through concentration. That one is a bit more difficult isn't it? It takes a bit of effort.

We don't feel like thinking. We like to just let our thoughts run and do whatever they want to do.

But if you take control of your mind, and through an act of your will concentrate your thoughts, you can focus your thoughts. And you can begin to develop a greater understanding of your situation.

Then what you need to do is this. Sit and write down what comes out of your spirit and what comes out of your mind. It is a simple process known as journaling.

If you don't know how to journal it's easy. Sit down with pen and paper, take out your laptop or use your PDA – whatever you use to write on.

Spend a bit of time in meditation and prayer. Spend some time muttering to yourself, thinking and concentrating. Then write down every picture and thought that comes into your mind.

Write down and record some of the things that you find yourself saying. You will be amazed at the wisdom and understanding that comes out.

Then you can go and face the day, and you'll find yourself working smarter instead of harder.

Why don't you go and do that today? Start the week well and come back again tomorrow.