Start Living a Passionate Life Now
October 11, 2010 by Allison
Filed under •-Feature, Inspired Business, Personal Growth, Spirituality
Are you living your life to the fullest at this moment in time? Do you have the life that you have always dreamed of? If so, congratulations! Meditate a few moments each day on the goodness that you have experienced from your great fortune. If your answer is no, it is never too late to start.
Tips to Make It Happen Now:
1) Do not waste another moment. Eek out 45 minutes of time for yourself as soon as possible.
2) Find a quite spot where you will not be disturbed. (The beach, your car, the bathtub, a closet … whatever it takes to get some privacy!) Tools needed: A pad of paper and soothing music. Candlelight also has a nice calming effect.
3) First close your eyes and focus on your breath or the music. Take deep, long breaths in and out until you feel your body relaxing. (No inspiration comes from a stressed brain.)
4) Once your head is clear, think of three words that describe the state of your life in the present moment. (For example: Boring, suffocating, tiresome, pleasant, routine, etc.) Write those three words that sum up the feeling. Be totally honest with yourself.
5) Now don’t get bummed! There is possibility for change. It is totally up to you. Now I want you to write three words that would be the total opposite of any negative words you just wrote. For instance, the opposite of boring could be exciting, suffocating could be expansive.
6) Meditate on those three NEW words. Visualize yourself doing something completely different that would bring out this new state of being. Even if it seems impossible in this very moment, visualize yourself breaking out of your norm. Now write five sentences about you doing this new activity. Write it in the present as if this action is already a reality.
7) Now write three small action steps toward making this new thought a reality. Every day, take three small steps toward your goal. I call these “mini feats.” Before you know it, the small steps will have added up to big changes. The trick is just doing it. The alternative: You could just stick with your initial three words and stay stuck, bored and routine!
Release the perfectionism roadblock
So many of my clients tell me they are striving for perfection and it is killing them. What is the point of perfect any way? They want a perfectly clean house, to say the perfect words and to do perfect work at all times.
Pressure-filled expectations are a sure way to turn any goal into a ball and chain. Many people resist attempting new challenges or setting new goals because they are afraid they will not perform up to their ridiculous expectations.
The result, they give up before they ever begin. Then the feelings of disappointment and failure set in.
I started taking modern dance in my 30’s. The room was full of young women and men that had been dancing since childhood.
My mind was aghast as the dance instructor got in front of the class and proceeded to dance several eloquent steps that we were supposed to immediately mirror. I knew I was in trouble as the class was spinning one way and I was tripping the other way (Picture I Love Lucy and the Rockettes).
Through this experience, I learned to laugh at myself and let go of the notion of doing it perfectly. It was not possible to keep up with these experts, and attempting to was just way too much pressure. Once the light bulb came on that I could do something for the fun of it, I relaxed about the outcome. And wouldn’t you know it, I was able to perform in several dance presentations and I had a blast.
And Most Importantly, Live and Love Passionately
Do it today! Not tomorrow. Not next month. Not next year. The present moment is all we are certain of. Live it passionately, creatively and lovingly. These are the moments we will look back on and cherish. Make sure you are taking the path that is meant to be.
Dreams are gifts of the soul. We need to make every effort to cherish them, to live them. Otherwise they only surface in our sleep. A soulful life is an awakening and actualizing of our deepest dreams within.
Launch your career dreams into reality in this economy
September 20, 2010 by Allison
Filed under •-Headline, Inspired Business, Personal Growth, Spirituality
These days, a lot of news stories about the economy and job market are filled with doom and gloom. But there are people who do well in their careers and launch successful businesses in a down economy.
In fact, GE, Hewlett-Packard and Burger King all started in a down economy.
In the middle of the Panic of 1873, a six-year recession, Thomas Edison created one of the best-known inventions of all time – the incandescent light bulb. General Electric, which he established in 1876, is now the third largest company in the world.
Hewlett-Packard was born in a garage at the end of the Great Depression. The company, initially supported by a $538 investment, has grown into the first technology business to exceed $100 billion in revenue, earning $104 billion in 2007.
Burger King began in 1954. During a recession in 1957, the company introduced its successful signature burger – the Whopper. Today, Burger King operates more than 11,100 locations in 65 countries.
In times of economic uncertainty, it can be difficult for people in unfulfilling careers to find the courage to change their lives and switch fields. However, a lot of people out there would be happier if they took a chance.
Thirty-three percent of Americans hate their jobs, 87 percent dislike their jobs and 67 percent labor in the wrong career field, according to the book “Caught Between a Dream and a Job.”
What’s the difference between people who are optimistic and moving forward and those who are just getting by? I believe that much of it has to do with how you view the glass – half full or half empty.
George Sheehan, an author and cardiologist, once said, “Success means having the courage, the determination and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.”
People with a positive outlook and a life plan don’t get off the track when things change – they just change tracks.
As a life and career coach, I spend a great deal of time helping clients realize their dreams and take the steps to reach their goals. Particularly in this economy, it’s important to engage in some re-evaluation of your goals, course correction and daily planning for success. Use the following process to take your life to the next level:
• Take some time to think about your big picture vision for your life, career and family. Describe in writing your personal or professional vision in the first person as if it is happening right at this very moment. This helps you get in touch with what you enjoy doing, not just what you’ve ended up doing.
• Next, start a list of the big steps – or mile steps as I call them – that would be needed to reach your goal.
• From there, break the process down further into mini feats, which are the smaller steps you take each day that move you step-by-step to your big picture vision.
• Surround yourself with inspiring and motivating people.
• Be easy on yourself. Change and transformation can bring up all sorts of good, bad and ugly stuff. When you feel yourself struggling, take a break. When you have small successes, give yourself kudos.
• Start now. You don’t want to look back in 10 years and realize you’re still at the same place in your life.
“Being laid off was one of the best things to happen in my life. By following this program, I got a clear picture of my life goals and was able to focus on my strengths, beliefs and desires,” said Prerna Ohara, president of San Diego-based Your Company Concierge. “Since starting last year, I have already launched my new business and elevated my personal life to the next level. I know now that there is no limit to what I can achieve for myself.”
Get Inspired and Reach Your Goals
August 17, 2010 by Allison
Filed under •-Feature, Inspired Business, Personal Growth
What are some of your bigger goals or dreams that are sitting on the shelf because life has gotten too busy for you to even think about them?
You might be thinking, “I will get to them next month, next year.” Well, we know how that goes.
The year passes you by and those desires are still sitting on the shelf, collecting dust. Then the frustration begins to creep in because there is a deep longing inside you to bring these dreams to life.
Here are a few suggestions to get the momentum going while continuing to live your day-to-day life:
Week One: Clarify what you really want. Nothing will happen until you get clear about your goals. Find 30 minutes of private time during one day this week and take out a pad of paper to do some creative scribbling, drawing or journaling about what you would like to see unfold. Maybe you would like to take a trip to Portugal, learn another language, plant an herb garden, write a book or remodel your bathroom. Perhaps a lifestyle uplift by taking more alone time for yourself, or beginning an exercise program.
Week Two: What are the large steps that need to happen to reach your goal? If it is to plan a trip, write down all the steps involved, such as research on flights, hotels, travel sites you are interested in. If you want to write a book but don’t know where to start, maybe the first thing you need to do is to read a book about writing a book. If you want to plant a garden, but you’re not sure what you would like it to consist of, one of your large steps (I call these Mile Steps) would be to spend some time researching plants or flowers. You aren’t actually doing any of this work yet, you are merely writing these steps down. By seeing your large goals broken down into smaller steps, they are much more palatable and easier to swallow.
Week 3: Break it down into daily action steps. Take your Mile Steps from week two and break each one down into small increments. For instance, take your garden research and break it down into 10 minute increments per day. I call these Mini Feats, or small steps of accomplishment. Read your ‘how to’ book for 10 minutes each day. Try doing three Mini Feats per day toward your larger goal, and by the end of the week you are at least 15 steps closer to attaining it. If you say you don’t have 30 minutes somewhere in your day, I have to reply, “I don’t believe you!” Wake up 20 minutes earlier, take 10 minutes during lunch, watch one less football game during the day … I could go on.
Week 4 and on … Make sure you write down your three Mini Feats for each day and give them a time, like an appointment. This way you will be much more committed to making them happen. For more momentum, plan your Mini Feat’s the Sunday of each week. You will be that much closer to your dream by the following Saturday! You don’t want to look back in 10 years and realize that you’re still at the same place in your life then as now. Even if you love your life now, growth is a necessary part of your involvement on this planet. Every single day of your life is precious. Embrace it, and those you love, to the fullest.
Imagine you are 90
August 3, 2010 by Allison
Filed under •-Feature, Personal Growth
Just for a moment, try shifting the perception of time in you life. If you are looking back from age ninety, what would you want to say about your life? This is a fun exercise in creativity and fantasy. It is up to you where you take it next. When you look at it this way, it is as if life has just begun.
Blast Off Exercises:
- Imagine you’ve just died and lived the life of your dreams. Pretend you’re the journalist or loved one who is writing your obituary.
- Describe your dream life in the past tense, as if it had already happened.
- Using the 3rd person (“she” or “he” rather than “I”), recount what you achieved and what kind of person you became. Be as vivid and specific as possible.
- Don’t worry about being ridiculous. Just let your imagination run free.
Follow these simple rules to bring passion and abundance into your life:
Imagine living to be at least 90. When you allow yourself the possibility of living almost a century, all sorts of things you thought you were too old to do suddenly seem worth attempting. Just turned forty? Want to learn the violin? By the time you’re ninety, you’ll have been playing fifty years!
Go for what gives you joy. No sense fantasizing you’re a nuclear physicist if you hate math. On the other hand, if you love wild animals, why not envision going on an African safari? One of my clients is on a monkey safari right now in Africa.
Don’t shy away from pursuits that take a long time to pay off. Mastering a difficult skill or earning an advanced degree is not as daunting as it sounds when you take it step by step. Even if you have to pass several levels of remedial math and English before enrolling in a single class for college credit, it’s still only a matter of putting one foot in front of the other.
Don’t let a lack of money (or anything!) come between you and your dreams. There are all sorts of ways to raise cash or circumvent the need for it. You can take a second job, get a loan from a bank, or barter your skills. It’s even possible that you may receive an inheritance from a long lost relative in the exact amount necessary to fund your endeavor. Stranger things have happened.
Make decisions from true choice, not fear
July 20, 2010 by Allison
Filed under •-Feature, Energy Healing, Personal Growth
We often struggle with decisions because our head can get in the way. We analyze them to death and then never take action. Or we make choices out of fear instead.
The True Choice Meditation is a powerful practice that I use frequently for tapping into my intuition, or my inner knowingness, to make difficult decisions. To help yourself decide if your choices are coming from true choice, guilt or fear, ask yourself, the following questions:
- What is the purpose of this activity?
- Who will benefit from this task?
- Am I doing it out of true choice or habit?
- Is the action I’m taking working toward my bigger goals?
Now sit or lie down in a quiet place and close your eyes. Take deep breaths until your body relaxes and your mind is clear. Now visualize yourself doing this activity. Now ask yourself the following questions:
- What sensations are you feeling in your body when you see yourself doing this activity?
- Do any emotions arise?
- Do I feel fear, nausea, perspiration or shakiness when I think of myself living this choice?
- Does the activity work with or against my inner knowingness, personal beliefs or big-picture goals?
The sensations in your body are strong clues as to whether you are making a fitting decision or not. Your body is communicating something to you, and if you really take the time to listen, your intuition or inner wisdom will give you the answer you need. Just listen.
You will often hear or feel, “I don’t want this anymore,” or “This feels right.” You might feel excited butterflies or a lightness, which may mean that this is a good decision.
If you feel pain, a suffocating sensation or a sickening feeling, this decision may be working against your true self. The trick is that you not only have to listen to your inner wisdom, you also need to follow its lead.
