"Year of Yes" Shonda Rhimes- A pledge we should all take!

I recently read the newly released book by Shonda Rhimes “Year of Yes”. Rhimes is the creator and writer of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder.” I was so inspired and motivated by her story that I just had to share.

It never occurred to me that someone the likes of Shonda Rhimes, having three of the most popular televisions programs on air at this time, struggled with self-confidence, among many other things. She was shy, introverted and never said yes to anything. She begins by recalling what ultimately led to her “Year of Yes”. She was in the kitchen with her sister reciting all the invitations she had received to speak here and there, when her sister asked, “Well, are you going to go?” to where Rhimes responded by saying “Well of course not.” In her mind, that was obvious, after all, she had things to take care of, her kids, her home, not to mention that she had three TV programs to run. This left her sister uttering six little words that would change the course of Shonda’s life, “You never say YES to anything.”

Her sister’s words haunted her days after, and so she decided to take action; Shonda decided that for the next year she was going to say YES to everything! Following through 100%, Shonda said good-bye to her fear of public speaking, she said hello to making time for her kids, which included not working on the weekends and turning off her phone after 7pm, and she said good-bye to 127 lbs.

She has said that she is not the same person following the “Year of Yes,” a practice she is upholding even now, after “her year” is over.

The take away here is the same as always, look inward. In what ways are you like Shonda. In what ways have you been saying no to things that could ultimately, drastically change your life? If you know exactly what that is, then do as she has done, and start saying yes because the result could be life altering, in the best way possible.

This is my new pledge for the upcoming year, to say yes to everything that scares me. Like Rhimes, I have an incredible fear of public speaking, which I believe is holding me back professionally. I know that once I release that fear, opportunities will start to flood my way, and I can’t wait! So take the challenge, begin now, or prep up for the start of 2016 and decide that this will be the year that your life will change!

Till Next Time!

 

 

Is This All There Is To Life?

Have you ever asked yourself, is this it? Is this all there is? Is this the best I have to offer? If you have, most definitely the answer to that question is no, it is not “it”.

Often times we feel guilty for even asking the above questions because a lot of us are considered to be the “lucky” ones. After all, we have our health, a happy family, money, and and…. the list could go on and on. However, just because you want more does not mean that you are taking all those amazing things you already have for granted. It simply means that you are ready to expand and add to your life.

It is in our nature to move through time yearning for progress, and questioning what we have or how far we’ve come is our soul’s attempt to wake us up, to alert us that as long as we are here, we are not done. Some of us seek to progress in our careers, or in our personal relationships or simply progress as a human being. There’s no reason to feel guilty over this. You can have an immense gratitude for your life and for the people in it, and still want more. Your desire to want “more” will never stop, so might as well stop the struggle and lean into it.

There are three simple steps you can take starting today that will help get you going:

1.    Stop the Guilt: Freely ask, seek, and go for what you want without feeling badly about it. After all, you have what you have now (love, money, career) because at some point you decided you wanted those things. In the same way, ask now, guilt free.

2.     Make a small change: If you want to see a difference in your life then you MUST do something different, either by way of thinking differently or by taking action. Trust this, as long as you are doing the same thing day after day, nothing will change.

3.      Decide: it is imperative that your decision to take action is non-negotiable. You must commit that you will make one small change each day until you reach your set goal. You will know if you’re serious about your decision, if you stick with it. Tony Robins puts it this way, “A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.”

Most of the time, the above questions stem from some monotony that is occurring in our lives, for example, you wake up each day at the same time, drive to work the same way, go to lunch at the same place, go to bed at the same time. Routines such as these dull the soul and your purpose here on earth. Don’t get stuck, don’t wear blinders in this life time or you just might miss the best life you could have lived.

 Till Next Time!

 

How to Tackle the Impossible Task

Have you ever had a major “must do” that you’ve been avoiding because you can’t possibly imagine how it is going to get done? Yeah. Me too...

However, if you were lucky enough to successfully come out on the other side of that dilemma, I hope that you discovered one thing. That no matter how difficult a task may be, the only way to get through it is to do it. To take action. I am certain that while you were in that moment, working toward the completion of the given task, you had several thoughts along the way.

1.       It’s not as hard as I thought

2.       I can’t believe I’m actually doing it

3.       I can’t believe I did it

There is no bigger satisfaction than to tackle what once seemed unattackable (not a word, but it’s okay) and better yet, to have destroyed it! (in a good way).

Those experiences should serve as huge reminders for you as you charge after your big goals. This is how everyone else who has reached major goals has done it. The big minds of the world didn’t accomplish life changing things because they thought it was easy. They accomplished their goal because they knew that on the other side of their uncertainty greatness awaited.

So if you’re in the middle of something that you want to tackle, whether it’s starting a new business or cleaning out your closet, I have two tips to help you get a move-on.

1.       First, decide that you will do it. This is non-negotiable.

2.       Second, take action. No matter what, do not do another thing until you start right then taking action. If you want to start a business but you have no idea where to start, then your action could be “researching” your topic. If it’s cleaning out your closet, start with one piece of clothing at a time.

That’s it! How simple is that. Once you decide that you will do it NO MATTER WHAT, and you take the first step, something magical happens. Ideas you didn’t have suddenly pop in your head. And where you first thought “there’s no way” a way will be made. Before you know it, it will be done.

I don’t know the exact science behind this miraculous process, all I know is that it works. You just have to decide you will and the rest will follow.

Till next time!