Since December 1st 2004, I have written one article or potential article a day for my motivation web site. One or two of these have been upgraded versions of previous articles but so far, I have not missed a day.

I feel reasonably proud of this mainly because I am doing what I planned to do by making a daily effort. Occasionally I am extra proud of an article which I think contains some really useful or valuable ideas.

It is easy to check whether I have achieved my goal or not. I have either written the article or I haven't. Because of the daily effort I have now written at least 100 articles. Today is the 13th March 2005.

If I had sat down to write a 100 articles all at once, I would never have achieved that goal but with daily effort, a target of 100 is easily reached. I had not even realized that I had reached a hundred until I added up the number just now.

Heather Small, the singer and songwriter, was interviewed on TV in February 2005. She admitted to being nervous before the interview because she hates mediocrity and raises the bar high in everything she does.

She is always looking for the hero inside herself as in her song "Search for the hero inside yourself." We all have hero potential but this might take some looking for.

Her songs are full of motivation and encouragement to make the most of yourself. One of her songs is being used in association with the London Olympic bid. This song is already world famous. She sang it after her interview. It is called 'Proud'. The words go as follows:

"What have you done today to make you feel proud? It's never too late to try. Still so many answers I don't know. To question is to grow. So I step out of the ordinary. I can feel my soul ascending. Can't stop me now and you can do the same. What have you done today to make you feel proud? You could be so many people. Just make a break for freedom. What have you done today to make you feel proud?"

The song stresses daily action to make yourself feel proud. This may sound corny to some but it is pure wisdom to others. It is the daily actions which create the habits and then the character which is extraordinary and even heroic.It is also the daily action which gets huge amounts of work done.

The interviewers asked her how she motivates herself when writing songs on her own.

Again she admitted that on some days she did not feel like getting up let alone creating music but then some small thing like a smile from her son would make her day.

She feels that at the end of every day you should be able to look back on some good experience that makes you feel that life is worth living.

It is a great relief to hear motivating, tuneful, music and inspiring lyrics instead of the sentimentality, self pity, negativity and tunelessness of some modern music.

Heather was born and raised on a West London council estate. She battled with shyness and a desire to sing from an early age. She was captivated by the fire and inspiration of gospel music and was also influenced by '70s reggae and soul.

She joined her first group, the blues band 'Hot House' while still in her teens. Although their potential was never fully realised, Heather later joined a Manchester group called M People. They would go on to sell over 10 million records worldwide.

Now she is a solo artist. She has already made a great contribution to both the world of music and the world of motivation. She has done plenty to make herself and her family proud.

What have you done today to make yourself feel proud? Like King Arthur and his knights, who would not eat before some one had done a great deed, you and I could do something daily which would be worth mentioning at the evening banquet!

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and martial arts instructor. He has recently written two books about achieving your goals and dreams.

They can both be found on his website http://www.motivationtoday.com along with a daily motivational message.

The title of the first book is "36 Laws To Ignite Your Inner Power And Realize Your Dreams Now!" The book can be found at this URL http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

The book uses acronyms, stories and pictures to help readers remember 36 laws that can gradually transform your life.

You are welcome to publish the article above in your ezine or on your website so long as you do not alter it and keep in the words about the author and the 36 Laws.