How to Discover Your True Passion in Life
Given a choice between living one's life fully and being driven by circumstances, the former would be a better way to live life. Yet, this is not easily accomplished. For some reasons, some people never learn what their passions are until it is too late. When they do, they are either too old to do what they want to do or they no longer have the stamina to last in the field that they want to dip their hands into.
When you understand what your passion truly is, it becomes easier to discover your purpose. Purpose, after all, deals with love and not compulsion. Passion, likewise, operates with love and cannot be discovered without it. Do you find yourself longing to do something? Or immensely enjoying yourself when you're doing something?
By taking a look at your passions, your hobbies and the level of attachment that you have with these hobbies, you begin the process of discovering your passions. Take note, however, that your passion and your purpose in life may be two different things; especially if a particular responsibility has been thrust to you such as providing for your mother and father who cannot provide for themselves. Providing for them might become your purpose in life but your passion may lie elsewhere.
It is better to base your purpose on your passion and on what you truly love doing and being. If your beloved parents die, then you will no longer have to provide for them. As such, one of the purposes of your life might crumble. The demise of purpose is always a depressing experience. If you do not find something else to replace it, you may wallow in depression, which is not a very good thing to do.
Instead of looking at outside sources for the validation of your passions and purpose in life, why don't you take a look inside you? What activities do you enjoy doing most? Who are you? What is your identity? What kind of person are you?
There are keys to your passion. One is your identity. Who you are is very different from what you do. Your profession might be a medical doctor but you are not your profession. Another key to your passion is your abilities. Skills and abilities take years to be developed; unconsciously, each investment on your skill is also a matter of discovering your passion and purpose.
Take note of where your purpose in life comes from. Make
sure it is a good one. Otherwise, you are just setting
yourself up for disappointment.
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The One Question is a website that helps people discover
their purpose in life. It can be found here: http://www.theonequestion.com
Change Your Mind Then Change Your Life and Sustain Success Change your mind then change your life?
Simple to say, hard to do and I think most folks would agree. Most people would also agree that if you want to leave your corporate job, or just start making money online in a home based business that changing your life will require a big change in how your mind sees and reacts to the world.
To make radical but profitable changes in life and business happen the following four areas need to be addressed.
1. Motivation - Figuring out what will help you change your mind.
2. Consistency - Deciding that when you change your life, you can sustain it.
3. Focus - Understanding what it means to make money online means focus on family.
4. Ownership - Owning, and managing a home based business.
Figuring out what will help you change your mind comes from knowing your past and being intimate and real with who and what you are. What is your decision making process in the past? What have you done that you can point back and say oh yeah I have made a major change before and it can be done again.
Deciding that when you change your life, you will actually be comfortable and can sustain this new life model really means continuous motivation when times get tough. You have been brought up in the corporate world; you have been working based off a clear set of guidelines and instructions. The upper management roles are defined, likewise vendor interaction and subordinates all know the rules. The examination here is to understand how you sustain your self when things get tough.
Understanding what it means to making money online means the rules have changed and in some cases there are no rules. Making money online means you have to start taking advantage of the fact that there are a million ways to make money and yu are making money because of the family. The family can be just you and your lifestyle but attached the utmost importance to it. Because there are so many choices you have to make a decision and stay with the decision. You have to learn how to structure win-win situations.
Owning, and managing a home based business translates to a few things but primarily awesome freedom and fantastic distractions. At home you will try and do everything you have ever wanted to do. But working your self back to corporate level income requires intense focus and decision making. Can you do it?
When working from home and your success becomes mandatory to you , then making money online in a home based business really becomes following a process just like your corporate world. The three recommended steps are:
1. History - Identify and validate a proven process
2. Experience - Make certain the process is repeatable and doable with your skill set.
3. Support- Ensure the support team, sales person or coach is with you for the long haul.
History, experience and support will go along way towards ensuring that a change in mind translates into a change in life that is sustainable and enables you to make money online.
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Learn more about how to Change your mind then change your
life with a home based business http://www.Changeyourmindthenchangeyourlife.com
Gregory Burrus helping people in business succeed through
the use of internet, office, voice and customer
relationship strategies and technologies. Take a free assessment, get free a download and learn how these IOVC Resources can help your business make money at http://successismandatory.com/assessments
My Wish For You Today
That you take some time to close your eyes and IMAGINE and DREAM, so big and so deep, that you become like the caterpillar, who emerges as the butterfly.
That you LAUGH today, harder than you have ever laughed before, so hard, that your sides ache, and tears stream down your beautiful, glistening face.
That you LEARN something new today, something so utterly amazing, that it shakes you up, and rocks your world.
That you SAVOR the little things in your day today, your first cup of coffee, snuggling with your puppy, your baby’s sighs, your loved ones embrace.
That you SMELL one magnificent flower, so close and so intensely, that your nose rejoices to be a part of such an extraordinary face.
That you SEE, really see, your own soul reflected in someone else’s eyes, and you don’t run away, even though you’d like to.
That you WALK today, with a firm step, and a confident stride, as if you are really going somewhere, because you are.
That you PRETEND you are rich and witty and wise, whatever it is you are wanting to be, act as if, pretend it now.
That you FORGIVE everyone who has ever hurt you, and you understand the deeper purpose of all your pain.
That you really SMILE at someone today, as though they were your long lost lover come home again to steal your heart.
That you TASTE everything in your life today, the food, the wine, the rain drops, the snow flakes, each other, with your eyes closed, and your senses fully open.
That you PLAY today, with all the innocence and abandon of a sweet child, unaware of anything else, but this precious moment.
That you ALLOW yourself to just BE today, whatever your heart calls you to be, and DO only those things that inspire your soul.
That you tell the truth, and keep your word, and judge no man.
That you FORGET today, forget your age, forget your past, forget your aches and pains. And begin to REMEMBER, who you really are, and why you came here, and how very much you are loved.
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Copyright © 2003. Veronica Hay is the author of "In a
Dream, You Can Do Anything, A Collection of Words" An Extraordinary Collection Of Writings That Will Uplift You, Motivate You, Inspire You, And Gently Guide You Along The Inner Path Of Your Life. Click Here: http://www.insightsandinspirations.com
Visit Veronica’s blog at: http://www.insightsandinspirations.wordpress.com
Why Trust Is So Important In Achieving Your Goals
Let me begin by asking you a few questions:
Do you know how to boil an egg?
Can you change a flat tire on your car?
Do you know how to wire an electric plug?
Would you be able to clear a blocked drain?
You may well be wondering why I'm asking you these things,
but just bear with me. You see well into my late teens I
was unable to answer "Yes" to any of those questions. I had great parents and they did just about everything for me. In fact they still would now if I let them! And I was certainly grateful!
But it had it's downside as I'll explain.
I still lived with my parents when I first learned to drive
and bought my first car. But having a car means you've got
to look after it. The trouble was, because I had so many
things done for me, and also when I was at school I had
never had much interest in the practical subjects where you
got your hands dirty, I really hadn't got a clue about auto maintenance. But not to worry, Dad was always ready and willing to help.
Until, that is, I got a puncture when I was on a remote
road far from home. There were no mobile phones in those
days so I couldn't call anyone. So it was simple; I could
sit and wait for someone to come along and ask for help, or
I could set about changing the wheel myself. No choice
really, so I took a look at the owner's manual to see what
I had to do and I did it.
And guess what? There really wasn't a problem and in a few short minutes I changed the wheel and was on my way. And I've done the same thing a number of times since. I also know how to boil an egg, wire an electric plug, and even unblock the drain. And lots more besides.
So what's that got to do with trust?
Well simply I learned to trust myself to do those things.
You see because I had always had things done for me and,
when I watched others doing them, convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to do them, my subconscious mind believed me. When I struggled with the practical things at school it simply reinforced it. My mind became conditioned to believe that I was not going to be able to do those tasks.
But when it came to dealing with that puncture I had no
choice. There were step by step instructions on what to do
and I just had to get on with it. I had to override what my subconscious tried to tell me and trust myself to do it. Can you imagine how great I felt when I had completed the
task successfully? And throughout my life I have learned
to trust myself to do new things and take on challenges. I trusted myself to become a successful presenter and public speaker, I trusted myself to go out and learn to sell to people at all levels, and I trusted myself to give up a well-paid job and start my own business. Just like the owner's manual told me how to change a wheel, I found out how to do the other things I've accomplished. The help, advice and instructions were always there.
And the same is true for you! Don't be stopped from doing
what you desire by your subconscious mind. You may well
have become conditioned to believe that you cannot do
things. You've probably come to believe you have your
position in life and that wealth, happiness, financial
freedom or maybe just a job you enjoy are beyond you. But
don't accept it. The opportunities are out there you just
have to seek them out.
But how do you take that first step? Simple, you must
simply trust yourself!
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This article was written by Tony Hall who runs his own
business dedicated to helping individuals develop their personal and business skills. You can learn more about how to develop your own life skills and get your complimentary copy of "The Process of Success" by signing up for his weekly newsletter at: http://www.selfimprovementskills.com/newsletter.html
How To Increase Your Personal Value
Your personal value is the most important value you can create. Unfortunately, 7 out of 10 people in the US underestimate their personal value. It's easy to do - without even knowing it. It shows up in invisible ways - in risks not taken, jobs not applied for, opportunities not identified, relationships that never occur. It shows up in negative self talk - like "I could never do that!" or "I'm just a ------."
There are so many messages given since childhood : "don't
bite off more than you can chew, " be careful," " don't
stick your neck out," " only speak when you're spoken to,"" know your place," "don't work too hard." "the more you do
the more will be expected of you," what makes you think
you're so special?" "don't be stupid." After years of being bombarded by those limiting messages, it's not hard to understand why so many of us undervalue our abilities and our worthiness.
One of the other effects of all those messages can be to let others create our value. If the highest order of our personal goals is to please and satisfy others - to respond to those messages - we can never place the real value we should on ourselves.
Having a limited view of our personal value can be a good
thing - if it makes us strive harder to achieve. And for
many it does - many of the top leaders and most successful people use their feelings of "not quite good enough" as a way to motivate themselves to show just what they can do. Unfortunately, for many, this same feeling of "not quite good enough" results in not taking risks, not reaching out for opportunities. The result is that personal value stagnates - and being "not quite good enough" becomes a way of life - a firmly embedded belief.
So how can we increase our personal value - in our work, our family, our relationships? Here are methods, tools and beliefs we all can use to better understand and increase our personal value:
Start with this exercise:
Write down all the successes and challenges you have met
and overcome. If you're not used to thinking in terms of
your own successes, or if your beliefs have been shaped to where you question your own worthiness or ability this may take some time. Write down as much as you can, and keep coming back to it. This is strictly a personal exercise, and is not the place for humility. Begin to notice what happens when you write down positive successes in your life. A lot of today's challenges and opportunities start to look a lot more doable when compared with what you have already accomplished - and there are so many more accomplishments and successes than you realized! Your energy picks up as you begin to realize just how much value you have created.
Create goals for the important things. It's amazing just how many really important accomplishments and successes are never really identified because people didn't take the time to define define them - in writing. Make goal setting a habit.
Start a Success Journal. Force yourself to write down all
the things that went right - that you accomplished on a
daily basis. Become positively accountable to yourself.
Writing down what you did well becomes something you look forward to doing every day. And the more you do it - the more you want to do it.
Replace perfect with good. Nothing limits a sense of
personal value more than having the belief that only
perfect is good enough.. That belief creates an impossible barrier to accomplishment. Nothing's perfect - striving to do better is what motivates.
Be realistic, but stretch that realism to set the course
for accomplishment. Tell yourself "This is a stretch, but
it's what I want to do, and I'm going to go for it!" The
only way to add value is to reach beyond where we are right
now - and that requires a level of risk. Risk and
increasing value go together.
Realize the most common assumption people make that keeps
them from realizing their true value is the assumption that many other people share the same skills, abilities, experiences, beliefs, attitudes and personal skills that they do. Nothing could be further from the truth. Creating our own value requires the belief that we are truly unique
- we are, you know.
Realize that we all feel fear, we all get nervous, we all are insecure in our ability to overcome problems and create solutions. A saying I read years ago said " Be kind to your fellow man - we all have our private hells to deal with." Knowing that even the most self assured, attractive, apparently successful people share fear as an emotion, and have their own baggage of doubts, can help us overcome our own.
Many of us tend to undervalue our accomplishments and experience and put ourselves in small niches. Realize how valuable and broad your accomplishments really are! Good examples are men and women coming out of the military - great experience - but many see themselves as much more limited than they really are. Realize that behaviors, attitudes and personal skills are transferable - and represent the greatest opportunities for success in any job.
Take an inventory of all the value added actions that exist around what you do. Example - A young manager volunteered to take on a one time project for his employer. He was named Project Manager - in addition to everything else he had to do. He discovered project management skills - that he had in abundance - were scarce. He always assumed that others had what he had - a bad assumption. He ended up taking his skills and putting them to work in a business where project management was a core competency. He prospered.
Realize that fears and doubts and negative issues will not
go away - they reappear every day. They are one of the
engines of accomplishment. Facing them and dealing with
them - and in many cases succeeding - and in others
failing, but continuing to persist, adds value.
Start today on your journey of discovery of your personal value. Start with the exercise of writing down all the things you have accomplished, succeeded in and overcome in your life. Be prepared to be amazed at yourself.
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Andy Cox helps clients align their resources and design and implement change through the application of goals focused on the important few elements that have maximum impact in achieving success - as defined by the client. He can be reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com and E Mail at acox@coxconsultgroup.com
Do you compare yourself to others?
By Melisa Milonas
Do you evaluate what other people have, achieved, or own and compare it to you? After which do you decide whether
you are better, worse, or equal to the other person? You
may think to yourself "what is the problem with comparing myself to others"? "It helps me track how I am doing."
The downfall to comparing yourself to others is that you
get your validation and self worth from others and not from within.
You beat yourself up over seeing what another person has or done that you feel you should have done as well.
Underneath you may not really want what other people have
but you are consumed with being equal or better than your
peers that you are blocked from knowing what you truly want
for yourself.
Let me give you an example to help explain this pattern. A woman wants to host health events because she believes people need to be educated about their health and wellness. As time goes on with her planning she becomes more worried about hosting an event that will be better than her friend's successful health events. She loses sight of her original reason to host the event, which is to contribute to the guests for their health. Instead she becomes preoccupied with comparing her event to her friends.
Comparing yourself to others has you make choices and
decisions that are not aligned with you but your ego needs
to be better. Like the women planning the health event you make choices based off of what you could do to out do the other people.
You are not a bad person for comparing yourself to others,
our culture has taught us to operate in this way. I would
say sometimes it is good to evaluate what other people have
or achieved as a way to gage where you want to go in your
life. We all need people in our lives that model for us
what we want. The key is not to validate how "good" or "successful" you are by comparing your results to the other person. Success will look different for you and you want to open to recognizing it.
An empowering approach to take is to be in inquiry. What
can you learn from this person? What mistakes did they
make that you do not want to make? What helped them to be where they are? Also bless them for who they are and what they have or achieved. Especially bless those who you envy or tend to frequently compare yourself to. Blessing them helps the universe give you what you desire.
It is important to note that often times what we perceive to be a blessing, advantage, disadvantage, success, or undesirable may not be perceived in the same way by another. For example, your friend may get laid off from their job and you may think to yourself 'thank god that it was not me." However, your friend may think this is a blessing, now they have time to find a job that they love or take time to travel.
The point that I am making is that comparing yourself to
others is based off of your own perceptions which come from your mind. Believing in them is believing in an illusion.
So when you catch yourself doing it remind yourself what
you think or believe is not real.
Your assignment: When you notice you are comparing yourself
to another person get your power back by stopping the
thoughts. Remember to bless the other person. Ask the
universe for what you desire. Focus on what you truly
want for yourself not what would have you look good to
others.
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Change or Transition?
Many religions and spiritual traditions tell us that the One, the Absolute, the Spirit is changeless. That everything comes from this one creative source. However, the body of the universe -all the things created out of that one source -including us-cannot help but change! During our lives we encounter many changes and transitions. What's the difference and how can you handle them with grace?
William Bridges, in his book "The Way of Transition" said that after his wife of many years died, he began to see how personal transition can open up vistas that are rightly called spiritual. He discovered a new understanding of transition and new ways of helping people to find meaning in it. He realized that discovering things about life doesn't fit a neat pattern, but rather, you can discover "truths" over and over through different angles.
He says most people don't resist change -they resist transition. Change is a situational shift. For example, moving to a new house is a change. Transition is the process of letting go of the way things used to be and then taking hold of the way they subsequently become. In between the letting go and taking hold -there is a chaotic, but potentially creative "neutral zone" when things aren't the old way, but aren't really the new way yet either. So, we see a three phase process to transition: ending, neutral zone and beginning again. Without transition, a change is mechanical, empty, and superficial. If transition does not occur, or if it is begun but aborted, people end up (mentally and emotionally) back where they started, and the change doesn't work. In spite of the new house or relationship nothing is really different.
We resist transition because it takes much longer than change and leaves us in limbo, in that neutral zone while a replacement reality and a new self is gradually being formed. But believe it or not, the resulting state of chaos is actually a fertile state, a creative state, a state of pure energy and great potential. An outer loss is a surrogate for some inner relinquishment that must be made but is difficult to describe. What is it time to let go of? Not so much the relationship or the job, but rather the hopes, fears, dreams and beliefs we have attached to them. You are likely to do better with the ending if you honor the old life for all that it did for you.
Allow yourself time to grieve and/or honor the ending.
Allow plenty of time to sit in the neutral, sorting out
stage. When ready, begin to vision, go inside for guidance,
to start to catch an idea of what the new beginning will
look like. Then take action. And there you are -in your
new beginning. Embrace your changes and promise yourself you'll fully experience the transition that your changes bring. Take your time, honor yourself and your feelings and get support through transitions. In the end, you will have lived your life more fully and authentically.
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Ann Ronan, Ph.D., RScP provides teaching, coaching and
writing to help others live authentic lives doing what they most love. Receive her free e-course on the Top Ten Ways to Live Authentically -register at http://www.authenticlifeinstitute.com to begin this step-by-step program today.
Gratifying Ways to Add Abundance to Your Life
Abundance is intangible, spiritual and attracts energy. To attract this type of energy you need to define it, for when you name it, you can claim it. Your definition of abundance is as personal as your DNA.
Abundance is the same feeling you have when all the toothpaste is gone and you realize with a sigh that there is a spare in the cabinet. Emotional abundance is having reserves available when you need them -- a loving safety net for you to pull from when needed to balance.
Reserves also assist in maintaining a strong personal foundation or who you are. Awareness and a place to keep those reserves, even if they are only clearly defined in your mind, are emotionally important. When committing those reserves to memory, it helps to work through them in writing and record them.
Since the definition of abundance is vast and personal, let us focus on four areas of reserves for now -- peace, joy, happiness and love -- to awaken awareness and build those reserves for added support to your personal foundation.
Peace
Peace begins within the soul and is felt in the present moment. Negative emotions still lingering from the past hold you hostage and need to be let go in order to have abundance in the present.
Here is a simple and effective way to let go. Close your eyes and allow any past negative energy to emerge into active memory. At the same time, visualize picking up a small stone with your non-dominant hand and placing it carefully in your dominant hand. Close that hand gently on the stone. Take the built up energy and move it into the stone. Feel it leaving your body. When that energy has moved into the stone, open your eyes. Now throw the stone, as if tossing it across a river, and begin repeating something such as: "X, you are gone forever. Good riddance."
Repeat this mantra faster and faster over the next few days until it is a quick thought and feeling that whooshes through your body until it's emotional hold is gone. Afterwards, write an affirmation statement such as: "I am..." to replace it with positive energy. To enrich this visualization, throw a real stone into water and place that sound into memory.
Here is another technique that helps you switch from past to present. Journal for 10 minutes. At the end of that time, write a summary sentence, then rewrite it and begin to change it's energy with statements such as: "I am no longer a hostage of X. I am no longer allowing this to place my life on hold. I am free and at peace with it once and for all." Then shorten into an affirmation statement of ten or less words. Keep repeating this affirmation either eye-to- eye in front of a mirror or eye-to-eye with a friend until there is no longer any emotion attached.
Joy
Joy and happiness have similar exhilaration powers. To name your joys reminisce through your past, especially those moments when the world slowed down or there was a lot of excitement in your heart. Was it the birth of a child, a promotion or something from a vacation? Make a list about those times and/or share them with others to extend the joy.
To change the energy on a current challenge, select a joy, then close your eyes and bring up a strong visualization and emotion of that joy. Feel its warmth embrace you. Now transfer that feeling, not its memory, to that challenge. The energy is now replaced and the challenge is no longer a challenge and will be easy to complete.
Happiness
Define your happiness by finishing the following sentence with a list of 100 thoughts, feelings and experiences: "Happiness for me is...." Repeat this exercise periodically and keep stretching the list for even greater results. Some of my favorites are: an adventure movie, American Indian flute music, watching the tide come in, and playing in the sand. Now, what are yours?
Love
Love...aaah, it curls your toes and makes your heart sing. Define the love you want to receive and the love you want to give. Separate the two and write out your definitions of each of these. What do you need to feel loved? What do others in your life need to feel loved?
Having the right intention for your love is important. If you give it away freely and don't expect it to come back, it will return. When you expect it back it is owed or a trade for something. Knowing what type of love you need sends the right energy into the Universe and it will return.
Now, stand back. It's time to smile. See how you have grown with these exercises. See their meaning and feel their warmth. Now you are sending out clear and definable signals and the Universal Laws of Attraction will send them back to you.
About the author: Catherine Franz--professional coach and writer. Additional articles, ezines, spirituality, manifesting, writing and marketing with the laws of attraction, visit: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com/inthelight