Listen. . .

Your heart is beating.

It beats without instruction, whispering of a life force beyond your control.

Listen. . .

Your soul is speaking.

It speaks of why you’re here, and what’s important.

It doesn’t waste time with external considerations.

It wants what it wants. . .

For you. For your present. For your future.

“Don’t think or judge, just listen.” – Sarah Dessen

Listen. . .

For when was the last time you truly listened?

Start with 5 minutes if that’s what you have.

But start.

Sit. Or walk.

Your presence is all that’s required.

Now breathe.

Listen to your heart, for there are things that make it come more fully alive.

Listen to your soul, for its only purpose is to guide you.

Turn down the volume of your mind to a barely audible hum.

For just 5 minutes, close your eyes.

And listen. 

Shake it up.

Snow globe. . .shake it.

Watch the sparkles, make a wish, speak your desire.

Shake yourself.

Breathe deep, open up, come alive.

“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” – J.K. Rowling

Shake your world.

Be the change, be the magic, belie the rules.

Shake it up.

The Aloha Guest Posts: While I’m away on vacation a few of my extraordinary friends will be keeping the fire stoked, sharing their wisdom and enthusiasm for living out loud. First up is Padma Maxwell of Get Your Thrive On who’s walking her talk, following her own dreams wherever they take her and as you’ll see she’s not always sure where that is!

Uncertainty consistently showed up at my door unexpected and uninvited. Yet, when I’d open the door, she didn’t say anything, she just stared at me. She was by far the most unsocial and unfriendly neighbor I had. I was always intimidated when I’d see her and unsure how to even hold a conversation with her.

She’d sit on her front porch watching the neighborhood go about their routines with a glare of “I told you so” in her eyes.

One afternoon, I was struggling with some heavy machinery in my garden and no one offered to help, except for Uncertainty. She came to my aid and devised an alternate solution to tilling my flowerbed. She was silent but offered her full attention and effort.

I had no idea how hard Uncertainty was willing to work to help out a stranger.

So, I invited her over for a home-cooked meal.  After a bottle of Cab Sauvignon, I shared with her my secret idea for a documentary project.

I was a little embarrassed because it was after all, just an idea; a crazy one at that.

I knew nothing about films, cameras or managing a project.

She didn’t laugh or tell me how unrealistic it was going to be to pull it off.

Quite shockingly, her response were four words that changed my life. . .

“Let’s do this together.”

(more…)

My ears delight in the sound of the surf.

My skin tingles as it welcomes the waves that have travelled so far.

My eyes, they glow with thanks for the beauty around me.

My body. . .breathes deeply, a long sigh of appreciation for the warmth of the sun.

My heart beats time with the source of it all.

Over to you:

In your life, what makes your senses come alive?

“The ocean takes care of each wave ’til it gets to shore.” – Rumi

I’ve always loved the ocean.

It soothes me when troubled.

Inspires me when open.

And calms me when in need.

Reliable as the tides.

“It is easy to believe we are each waves and forget we are also the ocean.” – Jon J. Muth

“The wave is the same as the ocean, though it is not the whole ocean. The Ocean can exist without the waves, but the waves cannot exist without the Ocean.” – Paramahansa Yogananda

You are the same as the people you admire and respect.

They’re just riding a different wave.

It’s easy to forget you are part of something bigger than yourself.

Something as big as the ocean.

You’re afraid to believe that you are that big.

But believe it or not. . .

You are that big.

(more…)

When I first met the quirky fellow in today’s spotlight, I wasn’t sure what to think. After all, in his own words he is the following:

Writer. Marketer. Practitioner of sales magic. Singer. Ex-monk.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

And I’ll add he’s also a brilliant copywriter and one of the most supportive people I’ve met online. But what I love most about Martin Stellar is his commitment to being of service. It really is what he’s all about and that inspires me.

That’s the Art.

People talk about service, but fall short more often than not. Why?

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Gandhi

Because what I’m talking about is being of service, not doing service and in my experience, it’s a rare breed that can pull that off.

Martin does so with heart.

Now for the Science.

Lest you think he’s just a smiling, helpful guy let’s cut to the chase. . .

Within a few days of working his magic on my Coaching page it generated over $2000 from new clients. Not too shabby for an ex-monk living in a small town in Spain!

He is a wordsmith, skilled in the art of sales copy and marketing. Because really, what else would you learn at a monastery?

You tell him where you want to go and he’ll navigate the way to your success.

His genius is not simply good copywriting but his ability to get to the heart of the matter and work with you in a way that’s part coach/part consultant/part sherpa.

He has become both sounding board and valued friend and I’m delighted to share him with you in today’s spotlight. Enjoy!

1.  Why are you here?

To help, serve, and make money in the process

2.  What is your future self calling for?

For me to do more now, so my future self can take a day off. Or two.

To be more in the moment, more focused, and fix the things in my life that need fixin. (Earn more, study more, create a bigger network.)

(more…)

“The secret of life is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” – Paolo Coelho

How many times have you given up after 2 or 3 falls?

What stories did you tell yourself afterwards?

What did you decide about you?

I’m guessing if it weren’t you stopping you it’d be rather entertaining, possibly mystifying  but nowhere near as frustrating as it really is.

Am I right? (annoying aren’t I?)

“While you are building habits, it is 100% certain that you will be failing, not just a few times, but often.” – Julien Smith

Thing is, whether it’s starting a business, pursuing a dream or planning the next phase of your life, it’s tough to go it alone.

I know because I’ve got a pretty fierce dose of the Lone Ranger syndrome myself. It goes like this. . .

• I don’t need any help.
• I can do it myself.
• Are you suggesting I can’t?
• Watch me!

It’s a vicious cycle that can go on indefinitely and knock me out cold. Why? Because when I’m in that place, no one can contribute or offer support.

No one can make a difference and it’s painful.

“Would-be entrepreneurs who hold onto everything and try to do it all themselves usually sputter, then tumble.” - newenterprise

So the question is. . .

Who’s in your corner?

(more…)

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Today I am sharing my favourite someday crushing quotes; the ones I go to myself when I need a reminder that there is NO someday.

1.  “Make today worth remembering.” – Zig Ziglar

2.  “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

I’m with Steve on this one. Your heart really does know what you want and when you trust your intuition your someday thinking doesn’t stand a chance.

3.  “Someday is now.” – Gaddy Bergmann

4.  “Life’s greatest tragedy is not that it will someday end, but that most only live to follow directions and sometimes we end up totally lost.” – Alex Gaskarth

This one breaks my heart and it’s why I do the work I do.

5.  ”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

You know how I feel about regrets right? Do what you need to do to NOT have them.

6.  “There are only 7 days in the week & “someday” is not one of them.” –Rita Chand

Rita is someone who lives life out loud, going after her dreams in a way that leaves someday thinking in the dust. Who do you have in your life that inspires and motivates you to action?

7.  “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs

Whose life are you living? Parents, teachers, mentors – all can inspire but they can also pull you away from your calling. Start listening to your heart instead of the voices around you. It knows. (more…)

Jonathan Mead is the first one to admit he isn’t very good at doing things he doesn’t want to do.

But here’s what I love. . .

To him, this is simply an authentic way of living. So authentic he’s actually designed a program to help others do the same, specifically around work. But not just any work – work in which you get paid to be who you are. Sounds a bit radical, doesn’t it?

He’s talking about the kind of work we all dream of. The kind of work that seems to many, an impossible dream.

Jonathan’s here to tell you it’s not.

His message is that you can live and work on your own terms.

That is what he’s committed to, and not just in a that’s-a-good-idea kind of way, but more like the warning on the header of his blog,

“Don’t read if you want ordinary.”

He’s given his life to this message, boldly stating that his purpose is to remind you that you can create a life and business based on what’s important to you. That’s really just a nice way of saying he’ll kick your ass in order to help you pursue your dreams.

Gotta love it!

Jonathan’s work reminds me of one of my favourite quotes. It’s actually the quote that inspired me as I started my coaching business over 10 years ago.

“The person who is a master in the art of living makes little distinction between their work and their play, their labour and their leisure, their mind and their body, their education and their recreation, their love and their religion. They hardly know which is which. They simply pursue their vision of excellence and grace in whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing. To them, they are always doing both.” – Zen thought

He is a waker in the best possible sense, which is what appealed to me most as I began following his work. His genius is helping people quit their jobs to create work they love and given my desire to crush someday thinking. . .well, you get the connection.

Having worked through his Trailblazer program (a six month program designed to guide you to making an unforgettable mark on the world) I can tell you I wish I’d had a template like this to follow when I began my business.

It would have made a huge difference.

The structure and strategies he shares in the program are profound, and combined with the dynamic community he’s developed, I can’t think of a better way to trade in work you tolerate for work that makes your heart sing!

His genius is helping people shine and in my world, what could be better?

It’s why he’s here sharing his own greatness in the spotlight. Enjoy!

(more…)

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

Whether he meant them to be or not, when my father-in-law threw these items into the box at the back of his closet they took on new meaning. Did he ever think that one day I would go through the box and wonder?

For I did wonder at these treasures. Why had he kept them? What meaning did they hold? What did they tell me about this man I loved and admired?

And so I examined Malcolm’s treasures.

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” – Paulo Coelho

They spoke to me of a life of curiousity and passion, a life of many and varied interests. They spoke to me of values.

(more…)