Too often we hold onto our dreams as something to be attained in the future. Something that we'll get 'one day' when everything else is right. When we've made enough money, when we don't have to work so hard, when we are not so busy, when the kids have grown and left home, when we retire.
It takes courage to take action today for the things that we want tomorrow. It means stepping out of our comfort zone and stepping into entirely new territory. No, it's not easy but then nothing is easy and somehow when we set our minds to it.... we DO accomplish it.
Remember how hard it was in the beginning to learn to drive a car. But you had a goal... you wanted your license.
If we knew how hard it would be to raise children before we had them... I mean if we really sat down and studied the ins and outs... we probably would have put having children on the back burner too. But we don't. We go ahead, take action and do it today anyway, trusting that we'll develop all the skills we need as we go along.
Achieving our dreams and goals is much the same. Okay so you have a dream. Let's say that just like me your dream is to retire while you are still young enough and fit enough to actually enjoy your retirement. While you are still healthy enough to travel, to fly, to take plunges you've never done before. Well, to achieve a dream like that, at some point, in going to require a decision. The decision to step out of your comfort zone and well and truly into the unknown, unchartered territory of providing for yourselves without the security of a traditional job. You may not have investments to fall back on. I didn't. In the end, for me it came down to "do I want to be at the mercy of my boss indefinitely, or do I want to hit the road in my motorhome now, not later, and enjoy all the beauty my country had to offer, all the time freedom and all that extra time with my husband, before we both became subject to health constraints.
It was scary, but many years ago I'd read the book "Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway" by Susan Jeffers and so I fell back on that. I started planning what action steps I needed to take to make my dream a reality. I set a target date and from then on I knew that my life would be mine. For better or for worse, I was now ready to meet it head on and take whatever challenges it sent my way. I'd raised five children after all, so I was used to challenges.... these would just be a different type of challenge.
You know what, I took that plunge last September 09 and I haven't looked back since. Life on the road in my motorhome is everything I thought it would be. It's not without its challenges, but I meet every one head on and I learn from each one. At the end of the day it came down to "taking action".
I took action that day and created my tomorrow and have never felt more free, more in control of my destiny than ever before. I am living my dream and helping others live theirs in the process and I couldn't be happier. There is such an immense satisfaction in knowing that I did it. I broke from the "norm" of what society expects of us, and I did things my way.
Wendy Clarricoats Personal Development Coach & Expert Writer http://www.freedomkiwis.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wendy_Clarricoats
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
When Self Belief Eludes Us
Sometimes the going does get tough. The pressures of daily life do get in the way and it becomes hard to stay focused on the end result of what we are trying to achieve. The way is not always rosy and we seem to have hurdle after hurdle to overcome. Why do things seem to come easier for some and not so easy for others?
It’s times like this that we are required to summon our inner most strength and put our real core beliefs to the test.
Do I still believe in who I am? Do I believe in what I am doing? Do I still have the same strong desire to help others? Am I committed to being the very best I can be no matter what? What can I learn from the challenges in front of me today?
Winston Churchill once said “The price of greatness is responsibility.”
We must at some point take responsibility for what is happening in our lives. If things are not happening the way we want them to, then why is that? Are we really being the person we need to be to effect those outcomes we want to see? If you want to be successful so you can help others, then stop and take stock. Why do you need to be successful before you can help others? Is it not possible to help others before you have achieved success? Be the person you want to be and the rest will follow. Gandhi was a superior example of this. He was one of the poorest people alive, but in the end one of the most influential and successful of our time. He helped millions and today his legacy lives on.
By coming from a place of pure intent, a place of pure purpose, and leading from the heart, we can achieve all things. We are only limited by the degrees of our thoughts and actions.
So… when self belief eludes me I find a great remedy to get me going again for the day is to stop, take stock, and think about all the things I’m grateful for today and in my life so far. How far I’ve come and what has brought me to where I am today. All the things I’ve achieved so far and how grateful I am for all the lessons I’ve learnt so far.
There isn’t a day goes by that I’m not supremely grateful for the love of my partner, his strength and support nurtures me constantly, my children whom I’ve had the priviledge to raise into fine young adults and who now share their children with me. My dearest friend who while we may not be in constant contact, I know is just a phone call away, is a constant in my life that I treasure in every way. The lessons I’ve had in my life over the years which have not always been easy, I can now look back on with gratitude and realize they have made me the person I am today. Without those lessons I’d not be the kind, compassionate, tolerant, sensitive, enthusiastic, supportive, dependable, loyal, friendly, honest and sharing person I’ve become.
It’s times like this that we are required to summon our inner most strength and put our real core beliefs to the test.
Do I still believe in who I am? Do I believe in what I am doing? Do I still have the same strong desire to help others? Am I committed to being the very best I can be no matter what? What can I learn from the challenges in front of me today?
Winston Churchill once said “The price of greatness is responsibility.”
We must at some point take responsibility for what is happening in our lives. If things are not happening the way we want them to, then why is that? Are we really being the person we need to be to effect those outcomes we want to see? If you want to be successful so you can help others, then stop and take stock. Why do you need to be successful before you can help others? Is it not possible to help others before you have achieved success? Be the person you want to be and the rest will follow. Gandhi was a superior example of this. He was one of the poorest people alive, but in the end one of the most influential and successful of our time. He helped millions and today his legacy lives on.
By coming from a place of pure intent, a place of pure purpose, and leading from the heart, we can achieve all things. We are only limited by the degrees of our thoughts and actions.
So… when self belief eludes me I find a great remedy to get me going again for the day is to stop, take stock, and think about all the things I’m grateful for today and in my life so far. How far I’ve come and what has brought me to where I am today. All the things I’ve achieved so far and how grateful I am for all the lessons I’ve learnt so far.
There isn’t a day goes by that I’m not supremely grateful for the love of my partner, his strength and support nurtures me constantly, my children whom I’ve had the priviledge to raise into fine young adults and who now share their children with me. My dearest friend who while we may not be in constant contact, I know is just a phone call away, is a constant in my life that I treasure in every way. The lessons I’ve had in my life over the years which have not always been easy, I can now look back on with gratitude and realize they have made me the person I am today. Without those lessons I’d not be the kind, compassionate, tolerant, sensitive, enthusiastic, supportive, dependable, loyal, friendly, honest and sharing person I’ve become.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Focus
"Your imagination is your preview to life's coming attractions" - Albert Einstein
Playing out a situation in your head before you do it in real life, will afford you ways to improve the situation when it comes time to do it for real.
Visualisation in the achievement of your goals helps you further "see" who you have to be and how you need to operate to accomplish your objectives.
Another way to renforce your visualisation practice is to prepare a personal visualisation board with pictures or other items that remind you of all your goals and mount it somewhere you can see it every day.
Begin to act now as you will act when your goal is reached.
If you were a millionaire, how would you walk, talk, shake hands, or enter a room?
If you were already an amazing, romantic, and considerate husband, how would you enter the house from work? How would you enbrace yur wife? How would you talk, listen and behave?
If you were already your ideal weight, how would you walk, hold your shoulders. What would you say to yourself when you look in the mirror?
Focus and commitment to that focus will get you where you want to be. Too often we let other things take our attention and then we "react" to that stimuli, be it negative or positive, and therefore we create the outcome.
If we can "respond" rather than "react" then we have a much better chance to create the result we want, rather than the result we don't want.
Playing out a situation in your head before you do it in real life, will afford you ways to improve the situation when it comes time to do it for real.
Visualisation in the achievement of your goals helps you further "see" who you have to be and how you need to operate to accomplish your objectives.
Another way to renforce your visualisation practice is to prepare a personal visualisation board with pictures or other items that remind you of all your goals and mount it somewhere you can see it every day.
Begin to act now as you will act when your goal is reached.
If you were a millionaire, how would you walk, talk, shake hands, or enter a room?
If you were already an amazing, romantic, and considerate husband, how would you enter the house from work? How would you enbrace yur wife? How would you talk, listen and behave?
If you were already your ideal weight, how would you walk, hold your shoulders. What would you say to yourself when you look in the mirror?
Focus and commitment to that focus will get you where you want to be. Too often we let other things take our attention and then we "react" to that stimuli, be it negative or positive, and therefore we create the outcome.
If we can "respond" rather than "react" then we have a much better chance to create the result we want, rather than the result we don't want.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Saying Yes
Isn't it true, that the only time you've ever really benefited from anything in your life has been when you said "yes" instead of "no"?
You said "yes" to your marriage and whether you are still happy or not, your marriage brought with it some valuable lessons you would otherwise not have learnt. You said "yes" to your job which brought in a regular paycheck and probably some new skill sets. You said "yes" to purchasing your first and subsequent home, to purchasing your car - all things I'm sure you enjoy.
You see, when you say "yes" to people providing you with an opportunity, it's not them you are saying yes to but the opportunity and all the benefits it has to offer.
In life we have things we want to achieve and things we want to attain so if saying yes is going to provide you with those things then you owe it to yourself to take a chance and strive for your goals.
All things good take a commitment and a decision to put in the effort required.
Have you ever noticed how those around you that are the first to judge you for your decisions, are the ones who would never make that decision themselves.
This is often a dilemma in direct marketing but it doesn't have to be. Remember all the reasons you said "yes" in the first place and keep up the momentum. Mastermind with the leaders in your chosen field and stay in touch with them. There is no room for those that say "no" and then begrudge you your "yes".
Life is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the journey.
You said "yes" to your marriage and whether you are still happy or not, your marriage brought with it some valuable lessons you would otherwise not have learnt. You said "yes" to your job which brought in a regular paycheck and probably some new skill sets. You said "yes" to purchasing your first and subsequent home, to purchasing your car - all things I'm sure you enjoy.
You see, when you say "yes" to people providing you with an opportunity, it's not them you are saying yes to but the opportunity and all the benefits it has to offer.
In life we have things we want to achieve and things we want to attain so if saying yes is going to provide you with those things then you owe it to yourself to take a chance and strive for your goals.
All things good take a commitment and a decision to put in the effort required.
Have you ever noticed how those around you that are the first to judge you for your decisions, are the ones who would never make that decision themselves.
This is often a dilemma in direct marketing but it doesn't have to be. Remember all the reasons you said "yes" in the first place and keep up the momentum. Mastermind with the leaders in your chosen field and stay in touch with them. There is no room for those that say "no" and then begrudge you your "yes".
Life is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the journey.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
It's All about Attitude
There is a lovely, perhaps simplistic story about a father and his young son who were taking a walk in the countryside. As you read this, keep in mind, that the simplest of tales often teach the most important lessons.
It was a fine sunny day, but the terrain was rough and as the pair climbed a steep mountain, the son stumbled and hurt himself. He yelled out in pain. To his surprise there was an immediate echo of his scream. The boy, no longer concerned about his injury, was fascinated by this and called back, "Who are you?" He was rewarded by a bounce back of his question. He then began to send different messages to the mountain, some threatening, some admiring, just anything, to see what might happen. Whatever message he called out, the exact message bounced back.
The son was confused and asked his father what was going on. His father explained that what he was hearing was in fact, an echo. "But," he warned, "it is much more than that. It is a little like life itself. The echo simply returns whatever directive you send it."
The boy was confused. The father then went on to explain the parallel. He told his son that if we want to create more love in the world we must allow more love in our hearts. If we want more compassion, then we must be compassionate. If we are part of a team and the team is less than competent, then it is up to us to take the initiative, to be in the driver's seat, and promote excellence. "Whatever you achieve in life," said his father "is a direct reflection of the kind of person you are and the attitude that you adopt. If you strive for excellence, your life will be accordingly enriched. You see, your life is not a coincidence. Rather, it's a reflection of you, of your actions, of your responses in this world."
So how does this simple analogy relate to you and me in our everyday living? Let's see. Have you ever got out of bed in the morning, in a bad mood, to find that everything that day went against you? It didn't matter what you did, either at home or work, everything and everyone appeared to be out of kilter.
You know, the reality is that nothing had changed, except for your attitude that is! Whether you like to believe this or not, your negativity was your choice! The reason for your bad mood is irrelevant, but the choice to decide to embrace a negative attitude is entirely relevant. Your mood set the pattern for the day. Because of it you found everything to complain about, the traffic congestion, the elevator at work not functioning, people's attitude to you, and maybe even, the coffee being cold. The list could go on, but you get the picture!
Now flash back and visualise that same day. Now this time, decide to embrace an absolutely positive, unshakable mindset for the rest of the day. Are you ready?
Now, you set off in your car for work and ten minutes into your journey you find that there has been an accident on the road and traffic is banked up. Consequently your journey to work has slowed down to a snail's pace. You refuse to be upset! It just means that you have time to listen to the news on the radio, maybe stretch your vocal cords on one of your favourite songs, or think about a work-related problem that is waiting for you to deal with in the office.
Later, when you get to work, you have to climb the stairs because the elevator has mal-functioned. You reason to yourself that at least you're factoring in some exercise. Your heart-beat is elevated and you're using up energy! Eventually you make it up to the fifth level where your office is. By that time you have decided that in fact you could really do this every day, given that you don't use a walking stick or need a wheel chair!
Happily you grab a well-earned coffee. It turns out to be lukewarm. "So what?" you reason. "Some people can't afford a cup of coffee." You drink it and are grateful. Life is good!
So you see, what started off as a potentially bad day, ended up being an exceptionally good one. You made not one, but a series of commendable choices to see the positives in so many of your situations, the choice to put up with things, the choice to smile and be in a good mood, the choice to see the other side of the equation, the choice to echo something good to the world at large. Bet your bottom dollar, when you elected to be positive, everyone noticed. I'll bet too, that the people working with you were more productive that day. That's right! Your mood would have had a profound, a far-reaching effect on how others performed at work and beyond. That's a bit of a scary thought is it not? We all have so much power to make or break things!
So next time you feel that the world owes you something, next time you feel grumpy, why not stop and turn it around and ask what you owe the world? Be assured that your debt to the world will far outweigh anything the world owes you. And always be mindful that any messages that you send out on any day, will surely be echoed right back to you.
Decide to make each day a good one and see where life takes you.
It was a fine sunny day, but the terrain was rough and as the pair climbed a steep mountain, the son stumbled and hurt himself. He yelled out in pain. To his surprise there was an immediate echo of his scream. The boy, no longer concerned about his injury, was fascinated by this and called back, "Who are you?" He was rewarded by a bounce back of his question. He then began to send different messages to the mountain, some threatening, some admiring, just anything, to see what might happen. Whatever message he called out, the exact message bounced back.
The son was confused and asked his father what was going on. His father explained that what he was hearing was in fact, an echo. "But," he warned, "it is much more than that. It is a little like life itself. The echo simply returns whatever directive you send it."
The boy was confused. The father then went on to explain the parallel. He told his son that if we want to create more love in the world we must allow more love in our hearts. If we want more compassion, then we must be compassionate. If we are part of a team and the team is less than competent, then it is up to us to take the initiative, to be in the driver's seat, and promote excellence. "Whatever you achieve in life," said his father "is a direct reflection of the kind of person you are and the attitude that you adopt. If you strive for excellence, your life will be accordingly enriched. You see, your life is not a coincidence. Rather, it's a reflection of you, of your actions, of your responses in this world."
So how does this simple analogy relate to you and me in our everyday living? Let's see. Have you ever got out of bed in the morning, in a bad mood, to find that everything that day went against you? It didn't matter what you did, either at home or work, everything and everyone appeared to be out of kilter.
You know, the reality is that nothing had changed, except for your attitude that is! Whether you like to believe this or not, your negativity was your choice! The reason for your bad mood is irrelevant, but the choice to decide to embrace a negative attitude is entirely relevant. Your mood set the pattern for the day. Because of it you found everything to complain about, the traffic congestion, the elevator at work not functioning, people's attitude to you, and maybe even, the coffee being cold. The list could go on, but you get the picture!
Now flash back and visualise that same day. Now this time, decide to embrace an absolutely positive, unshakable mindset for the rest of the day. Are you ready?
Now, you set off in your car for work and ten minutes into your journey you find that there has been an accident on the road and traffic is banked up. Consequently your journey to work has slowed down to a snail's pace. You refuse to be upset! It just means that you have time to listen to the news on the radio, maybe stretch your vocal cords on one of your favourite songs, or think about a work-related problem that is waiting for you to deal with in the office.
Later, when you get to work, you have to climb the stairs because the elevator has mal-functioned. You reason to yourself that at least you're factoring in some exercise. Your heart-beat is elevated and you're using up energy! Eventually you make it up to the fifth level where your office is. By that time you have decided that in fact you could really do this every day, given that you don't use a walking stick or need a wheel chair!
Happily you grab a well-earned coffee. It turns out to be lukewarm. "So what?" you reason. "Some people can't afford a cup of coffee." You drink it and are grateful. Life is good!
So you see, what started off as a potentially bad day, ended up being an exceptionally good one. You made not one, but a series of commendable choices to see the positives in so many of your situations, the choice to put up with things, the choice to smile and be in a good mood, the choice to see the other side of the equation, the choice to echo something good to the world at large. Bet your bottom dollar, when you elected to be positive, everyone noticed. I'll bet too, that the people working with you were more productive that day. That's right! Your mood would have had a profound, a far-reaching effect on how others performed at work and beyond. That's a bit of a scary thought is it not? We all have so much power to make or break things!
So next time you feel that the world owes you something, next time you feel grumpy, why not stop and turn it around and ask what you owe the world? Be assured that your debt to the world will far outweigh anything the world owes you. And always be mindful that any messages that you send out on any day, will surely be echoed right back to you.
Decide to make each day a good one and see where life takes you.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Kids With Cameras Debut – Watching Them Achieve Success Was a Night To Remember
Kids With Cameras Debut – Watching Them Achieve Success Was a Night To Remember
Achieving against all odds - these kids can certainly teach all of us a thing or two. If you'd like
a copy of this awesome documentary please visit http://www.polarismediagroup.com/freedomkiwis/en/#/films/
Achieving against all odds - these kids can certainly teach all of us a thing or two. If you'd like
a copy of this awesome documentary please visit http://www.polarismediagroup.com/freedomkiwis/en/#/films/
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