FORT WORTH, Texas - The more positive you feed into your life, the more that pours out of you.

Those are the types of subtle reminders Austin Meier writes in his journal on a near daily basis.

No. He doesn't chronicle or document his daily or weekly life. Instead it's a nondescript notebook in which he write Bible verses and motivational quotes he comes across on Twitter. It's a way of inspiring and motivating himself or you might describe it as a reminder or teaching tool.

Meier referred to the entries as wisdom.

"I try to write in it most days," said the 26-year-old. "There's stuff in there that I just reread and its stuff that pertains to the mental side of bull riding of what can keep you having a mental attitude - a winning mind frame - and then there's the physical side of it too - as far as the basics of bull riding.

"Sometimes this sport can get kind of complicated in a guy's head, but at the end of the day there are a few basics you stick to that are pretty simple," he continued. "If you can keep things simple and stick to those basics it's a lot easier to keep things simple out in the arena."

It hasn't at all been the season Meier thought it would be.

"Every opportunity they give you to be here is another opportunity for something good to happen."

After being cut from the Built Ford Tough Series following the fifth event in Sacramento, Calif., he's been to five of the past six BFTS events as an alternate.

He's currently ranked 37th in the world standings and with injuries to other top riders beginning to mount in the fourth month of a 10-month long season he'll be in Des Moines, Iowa, again this weekend as an alternate.

"Every opportunity they give you to be here is another opportunity for something good to happen," said Meier, who took the quote right from the pages of his own notebook. "You can't head south for too long before you turn around and head north.

"I'm just waiting on my moment."

His shining moment came in Arlington, Texas, when he won the Iron Cowboy IV Invitational at Cowboys Stadium.

However, with the bracket-style format that allows riders to advance from one round to the next based on buckoff times, he didn't score near enough points to push him anywhere close to the Top 30 and, unfortunately, in the other nine events he's yet to qualify for the Built Ford Tough Championship Round.

In fact, he's gone 0-for-the-weekend more times (five) than he's ridden at least one bull (four).

But he continues to remain positive.

"You know me," he said, last week in Louisville, Ky., "I've just been doing what I do. I haven't really been putting too much pressure on myself worrying about the things you can't control. I've just been worrying about the things I can control."

What can he control?

Staying positive, not dwelling on the "what ifs" and keeping his head up.

He added, "Just letting things happen for what they are," which is what he's been writing in his journal lately.

Writing and not keeping an electronic journal on his iPhone or laptop, allows him to think about what he's writing and commit those thoughts to memory. In other words, it's contemplative process.

"It makes things process a little deeper," said Meier, when asked about choosing to handwrite the entries.

And, no, the entries aren't any different now than they were prior to falling outside the Top 10, where he's been a contender for the past four seasons. In 2010, he finished second behind Renato Nunes.

It's about reinforcing positive thoughts.

Along with memorable quotes that have impacted him, he also makes a daily list of positive experiences that he wants to remember in the days, weeks and months ahead.

"No matter what happens throughout each day," he said, "I try to find the positive out of it."

Follow Keith Ryan Cartwright on Twitter   @PBR_KRC