Empty promises be gone! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As many of us approach the end of the year, we will close it out by making our New Year's resolutions. 

You're excited for the new beginning and a clean slate, this is how most of us view January 1st. You have plans that include everything you want or hope to be in the coming year. BUT THEN, as days pass by that fire starts to burn out and you're left, yet again, with nothing but empty promises. 

This setting of goals and not achieving them, or even following through with them a week into setting them, starts you on a downward spiral. But enough is enough right? It doesn't have to be this way, you don't have to  live year after year with guilt over not fulfilling the goals and desires you set for yourself. 

Instead of putting your wants and desires into a box called "New Year's Resolution" and then putting the box away a week after January 1st because you messed up by missing a day at the gym, lets not put it into a box. There are things you want to accomplish in your life, not just this year, so lets take the "year" out of the equation. Lets just focus on the things that you want out of life. Be healthier, learn another language, travel..whatever it is. Just look at the big picture. 

Now that you have that image in your head think about the steps that you will take to get there. No matter how long it takes you. No pressure, just focus on one day a time, and by doing this you will arrive at your ultimate destination.  However, it is imperative that you stop the cycle of saying you're going to do something and NOT DOING IT. If nothing else, you must DO WHAT YOU SAY. When you constantly break promises to yourself, you are creating habits that then become the person you are. The challenge I have for you is this. 

No matter what your goals are, even if it's just one small thing you want to do or have, if you say you're going to take steps 1, 2 and 3 to get there, then do steps 1, 2 and 3. It's as simple as following through. So go for it, and when you'e setting your goals and the steps you will take to achieve them keep in mind Michelangelo's quote:  "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that is too low and we reach it."

Have a wonderful new year my friends till next time.

It's not WHAT you do, its WHY you do it!

"It's not what you do is why you do it" is what the CEO of Starbucks told Oprah on Supersoul Sunday and it stayed with me. In others words, it's all about intentions! 

When you decide that you want something, do you ever stop to consider why you want it. Perhaps the answer to this question will add fuel to your desire. Or perhaps, it will make it disappear altogether.

So taking the advice of the experts, I asked myself the following questions:

What Do I Want?
Why Do I Want It?

The answer to what I want wasn't that foreign to me, that one was easy. But the answer to why I wanted those things kind of shocked me at first.

The ego, that part of you that dictates your life and makes you feel in competition with the world, that part of you that says you 're not good enough is the one that provided the initial answer to me.

It told me the reason I wanted what I want is so that I can be acknowledged by my peers, because I'm not good enough to stand on my on opinion of myself.

But when I dug deeper and shut the ego out, and got to the core of who I really am, the truth then emerged. 

The reason I want what I want is so that I can change lives. I want to impact your life in a positive way. I want my audience to feel happy as often as possible. I want everyone to fully live their life. I want everyone to accomplish their hearts desire. I want everyone to live a purpose driven life. I want everyone to care and be kind to one another. And not so that I can feel better or acknowledged, but so that you can feel better and be happy.

But, If I hadn't taken the time to dig deeper to find out the real reason why I want what I want, then I might have been crushed by my ego's response by suggesting that I was shallow. Your ego will tell you many things, but they are not always true. 

If you are contemplating a huge change in your life, or you are trying to reach a new goal, ask yourself those two questions and I'm sure it will set you in the right direction. However, pay attention to who is providing the answer. If it's your ego, then ask again, dig deeper, and your answer will be drastically different.

Till next time :)

We Are Living Two Lives! One is awesome, the other not so much...

My mind is going a millions miles a minute. I want to talk about so many different things! Calm down mind, settle on one thing.. think think....

Okay I got it! The other day I heard someone say that we are living two lives at the same time. What?? You ask.

He (I can't remember who sorry...) said that we are living in our thought life and we are living in our physical world. I thought this was pretty interesting. And I agree. How many of us are completely different in our thought life than we are in the physical world. Some of us, in our thought life, are confident, smart individuals who have a kick-ass wardrobe, millions of dollars that help contribute to the world, have won several humanitarian awards and is constantly being acknowledge by Oprah on Super Soul Sunday. 

I wonder who that is (wink wink).

But, when you open yours eyes, you see the complete opposite of the person you know you can be. 

So it got me thinking. 

How did each of us arrive at the physical life we are living, whether you're happy with it or not, the fact is, that you have the life you have simply due to a compilation of choices you have made. Each and every single decision/choice you made in your life has given you the life you have. (for better or worse). 

Stop right there! Because if I hear you correctly, I can already hear you blaming everyone else, but yourself. I urge you to take a moment to look within, and analyze what I'm saying. 

If you stop putting the blame on others you might be able to come to some sort of resolution,  therefore allowing your "thought life" to become your the life you see with your eyes open.

So if your thought life is more exciting than your physical life then my suggestion is to take one topic at a time and analyze it. Start with identifying what the problem is, and without blaming anyone else try to figure out what choices got you there. 

Now that you've identified the problem and why you arrived there, what do you want the part of your life to look like? Plan out what choices you will make that will deliver to you the life you've been thinking about.
I'll give you a quick example.  

Physical life (your life with your eyes open)
You find yourself unhappy with your job, but you are unable to leave because you don't have a college degree and therefore you think no one will hire you. 

Instead of blaming your circumstances for why you quit school, understand that quitting school or not returning to school was all up to you, no matter what the reason. If you're excuse is no money. Not good enough. If you say I can't, I have young kids. Not good enough. YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE. Which one are you making? Just think!!! 

Thought life (the stuff you daydream about)
You imagine yourself being a teacher. While at work, you picture yourself happy  knowing that you are molding the minds of tomorrow, you are fully satisfied in this career. 

If this is the life you want, then start making choices that will make it to where this is the life you see when you open your eyes. It's really that simple. 

Go for it, make the necessary changes that will bring your thought life, to your physical world!