Lately, it seems everyone is offering ‘pat answers’ to solve big challenges. Well…you and I both know it is not that easy. Creating the life we want does not happen by accident…..it takes focus, intention, consistency, and discipline. Yet, there are a few things which I have found that are helping me continue to pursue and manifest what I want in life. I hope they may help shift your perspective so that you can reach and exceed your dreams.
- Pay close attention. As many of you may know, my first book in the “Is This Seat Taken?” book series was focused on those individuals who cross our paths….and what we are to learn from them. I am a fervent believer that incidental encounters are not incidental at all. We need to pay attention – in other words – we need to be ‘present to win’. This philosophy can also be applied to those folks in our lives and on our teams who know how to take a challenge or a problem (lemons) and make lemonade from them. We most certainly learn and grow from those in our circles….and I, for one, want to choose ‘half full’ folks versus ‘half empty’ folks. Who we associate with, team with, and go through life with – makes a HUGE difference. We need to pay attention – make choices – and surround ourselves with folks that will help us reach our potential.
- Write your story. No one has the editorial rights to our lives – but us! What story do you want to right? What story would you want to read? And furthermore, we need to be able to share our story when folks ask about us. It is a huge opportunity to continue to build our brand, our message, and in a nutshell – share our ‘elevator pitch’ in a way that is memorable, impactful, and authentically compelling.
- Visualize your success. As ‘woo woo’ as this may sound…I am a big believer in creating a vision board. What do we want our life to look like? I have created vision boards every year for over two decades and yes…..what I really really want – I have created. It is not as easy as just cutting out pictures and looking that them every day (some folks actually believe that is the gig!)…no, we have to stay focused and a vision board just helps us do that. Yet every day – every single day – we have to do something which will help us reach the vision we have for our lives.
- Never say never. It is never ever too late. Period. Yet, I completely understand the tendency to cave when year after year we struggle, fall down, get back up, fall down…..over and over and over again. Yet, I sincerely believe it is never too late to create the life we want. My 2nd book actually highlighted folks that created amazing lives (however they defined them – wealth, health, contribution, fame, fulfillment, etc.) – and in some cases VERY late in life (aka: post age 87, in one case). One of the common denominators was their hopeful quest – never ceasing – to make their dreams a reality.
- Weed your garden. Who we choose to travel life with is one of the single most important aspects to creating the life we want. Those that may have served us early in our lives – may not be serving us well now. This does not mean we ‘vote them off the island’ (that is hurtful and mean); yet, we can choose to minimize the time spent with those who are not supportive of our dreams. And lets face it, we are all in the human condition, as we ALL have faults. I choose to surround myself with people who forgive, accept, and understand that none of us are perfect and to still choose to help foster the best that is within each of us.
The reality is that we own our lives. We own the choices we make – relative to our priorities, how we spend our time, with whom we spend our time, and how we wish to contribute. What will we choose to help build the life we want?
Insightful and sage advice as usual