Inspiration for Busy People

If He Can Do It..............

Last year, at the Keller Williams Realty national convention (Family Reunion), Gary Keller had this man speak.  His name is nick and he has no arms and no legs.  It is one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen.  Watch and see if you don't agree.   PS.  The book he uses at the end to put his head on and give him leverage----is the Bible.

Enjoy!

Stop Playing Small and Start Living Big

This is an article from one of my favorite success coaches.

Shine Bright! How to Stop Playing Small and Start Living Big
by Christine Kane

At some point on the path of almost every one of my coaching clients, there is a moment of clarity. Out of nowhere, there is a glimpse of what's possible. She sees so clearly how SMALL she has been thinking. The walls of the tiny box where she has confined herself are now crushing her.

It is liberating. But also frightening. The question arises: Can I become this big? Will I let myself do that?

In other words…

I think I'm ready to let go of these old limitations. I think it's time to quit worrying about the opinions of others. I know I can really stop playing small. Am I up for it?!

It can take your breath away when you reach this moment of discovery. And it has no choice but to change the entire game.

So, I invite you to welcome this kind of bigness into your life!

It's two months into this new year. Take some time to re-ignite, re-inspire, and re-invigorate your visions and dreams. Here are five steps to help you stop playing small and start living BIG.

1 - Mind your Mind

Your thoughts are things. They can be powerful tools, or devastating weapons.

It's not always easy or quick to clean up years of negativity. AND the truth is you are the only one who can begin to do just that. If you're constantly berating yourself, doubting yourself, obsessing about the opinions of others, then set your intention to turn that around.

Listen to upbeat audiobooks in your car. Post affirmations in spots where you'll see them throughout the day. Start a gratitude journal.

Remind yourself: "Energy flows where attention goes," and place your attention on gratitude, love, and joy. Be relentless! You can't afford the luxury of a negative thought!

2 - Take Action

Long ago, when I was trying to get confident enough to do my first open-mic night, I chickened out three different times, walking out of the venues without performing. I was waiting for self-esteem to appear.

It never appeared. But finally, with a shaky voice, I did my first open-mic night anyway. What I discovered was this:

Self-esteem shows up BECAUSE you take action. Not before!

Here's a mantra for you: "Create! Don't wait!"

What one action-step can you take toward your dream today?

3 - Radiate Success

Do you whine and complain to anyone who will listen? Do you tell your sad story to get people to feel sorry for you and give you a break? Do you see yourself as a victim who can't CREATE outcomes, so you try to manipulate outcomes?

Living big means that you radiate success.

Stop posting to Facebook or Twitter about how miserable you are. Don't share how bad things are at the office with your clients. Refrain from whining to the gallery visitor about how the economy is terrible for artists! (Save that stuff for your coach if you need to get it out of your system.)

Remember this: Like attracts like. When you radiate success, then success is drawn to you.

4 - Regularly Exit your Comfort Zone

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got!"

This is one of my favorite expressions. Cuz it's true!

I've worked with hundreds of people as a mentor, a coach, a leader of retreats. The ones who write me emails about how their lives have changed are always the ones who are willing to exit their comfort zones. They try new things. They let themselves get scared. They say yes to new opportunities. They take time to go within and ask themselves what they want next and how they can create it. (Rather than staying on auto-pilot.)

People who live big have one thing in common: They learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable!

5 - Surround Yourself with Support

I hired my first coach ten years ago. I paid him more per month than my mortgage at the time! I've since been a part of many coaching groups and masterminds - continuing to invest in this model of massive support. I swear by it!

That's because we need to surround ourselves with encouraging believers who see through our limiting beliefs to the huge powerful souls that we are. Many people work and socialize in toxic environments. If this is you, then you might need to step out of your comfort zone and actively seek out positive people who want to create and attract their dreams. Find those who want to live big like you!

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Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 11,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

Forgiveness Frees Everyone

Emmet Fox wrote this:  "Resentment is really a form of attachment.  It is a cosmic truth that it takes two to make a prisoner, a prisoner and a jailer.  There is no such thing as being a prisoners on one's own account.  Moreover, the jailer is as much a prisoner as his charge.  When you hold resentment against anyone, you are bound to that person by a mental chain.  The one person perhaps in the whole world whom you most dislike is  the very one to whom you are attaching yourself by a hook that is stronger than steel.  Is that what you wish?.......................   By forgiveness, you set yourself free; you save your soul."

It is amazing how much resentment and the feeling of "being wronged" holds us back.  It is even more amazing how much forgiveness and seeing good for others moves us forward. 

In the long run, I think people don't ever really "do anything to us".  They are just living their lives, doing what they know to do and sometimes we are caught up in all of that.  It is not about us, it is about them.  In the same way, we don't "do other people wrong". 

Who wouldn't do better if they knew how?  We all would.  We free up our own energy for a powerful, loving life when we let people "off the hook" and when we let ourselves off too.  Sometimes, just walking away from something in peace---- is the best choice.

Gratitude for the Journey

This morning I woke up grateful for my life---for all the twists and turns it has taken and for all the twists and turns I know it will continue to take.  I am evolving and each day, I like the person I am and the one I am becoming. 

There is so much to be grateful for.  I am grateful for the people I love and the people who love me.   I am grateful for the company I work with.  I am grateful that my path today is constantly leading me to live a richer, happier, more meaningful life.  I am grateful that it is a beautiful day.  I am grateful that I am alive and have another day to love, and be loved.

What are you grateful for?

This is a great video with music by Nicole Nordeman.  The song is Every Season.  Watch it and be grateful today for your journey.

Interity: Being Congruent

The company I work with, Keller Williams Realty, has integrity as one of its Core Beliefs.  It is one of the Core Values of my own personal business and my life.

Living and working with integrity means "doing the right thing".  It also means making your outsides and your insides match---------------- living and speaking your truth at any given time.  It is not always easy to live and make choices from Integrity.  However, I know from my personal experience, that NOT living and acting from a place ofIintegrity causes a HUGE amount of stress.

Personally, I would like to live with the least amount of stress as possible.  Other people don't always understand my choices.  Sometimes I don't either-----but when I live with integrity, I am proud of myself.

Yesterday, in a real estate transaction, the agent representing the other side felt the need to give up his entire commission.  He had worked hard and he wasn't going to make a penny.  On this particular "pre-foreclosure", I was sharing the commission with another Broker/negotiating company and I wasn't going to make much either.  I decided to share half of my part of the commission with the other agent.  Other people didn't understand this decision.  From a purely "business" standpoint, it was a stupid decision.  From the standpoint of my spiritual being, it was the only decision I could make.

Living with Integrity, doing the right thing, doesn't make us smaller.  Quite the contrary!  Doing the right thing makes us congruent and powerful.  Perhaps that is why so many spiritual traditions teach integrity. 

In the Bible, integrity is referenced in so many scriptures.  Here are a few:  Leviticus 19:35-36, Deut 25:15, Proverbs 16:11-13, Proverbs 28:6, 1 Kings 9:4-5, Nehemiah 7:2, Psalm 41:11-12.  I could go on and on.

Integrity is taught as Right Action in the Eight Fold Path of Buddhism.

Here are some other quotes on integrity from great spiritual teachers in various traditions:

Where your treasure is, there also is your heart.

St Teresa of Avila

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“We fell morally ill because we became used to saying something

different from what we thought.”

Václav Havel

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Everyone Is God speaking.

Why not be polite and Listen to Him?

Hafiz

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So Integrity has to do with "doing the right thing". We only know what the "right thing" is by listening to the still small voice within.  The funny thing is that we are the only one who hears the still small voice within us.  Not a person in the world can hear our  still small voice within-----except for us.  If we get really honest, we know.

When we our thoughts, words and actions are lined up, we are congruent.  That is powerful.  Let's compare conguency to light.  There is a huge difference between pointing a flashlight at an object and pointing a laser.  Laser light is focused light.  A flashlight is diffused light.  When we are congruent, we are light the laser.  We are focuses.  We are in alighnment with our Truht.  We are powerful beyond measure.

Are You Leaking

Are You Leaking?

This article was written by Christine Kane. 

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 11,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

If you get overwhelmed or scattered or unclear – especially when making changes in your life or setting more powerful intents – then maybe you’re leaking.

Or, if you’ve watched The Secret, and even though you’re thinking better thoughts, things keep falling apart, and you’ve said, “This stuff doesn’t work,” then you might be leaking.

Or, if you have absolutely zero idea what your ideal life would look like because every time you turn around some new clump of organic matter has hit the fan, and you’re just trying to get through it, then you could be leaking.

What are you leaking?

Your own precious energy or life force.

What does that mean?

It means this: Part of creating an authentic, powerful, serene, present-moment life is actually practical. It has to do with your energy and your focus. You want your energy and focus to be in the present moment. The present moment is where you create. It’s where you visualize. It’s where you shift your thoughts. And it’s where you find gratitude. If you’re continually losing your focus and getting scattered, your energy might be shooting outward to other places and thoughts and things.

So, what exactly is a leak?

Your energy and focus get zapped out of the present moment by many things. Some of these things are easily fixable. Some of them will take more time to clear up. This post is about those things that are fixable. The leaks.

In the world of life coaching, these leaks are called Energy Drains. A leak or an energy drain is any incomplete task, to-do, idea, or memory that drains your energy – even a little bit – when you think of it, or when you see it. It might be the thank you note that you keep forgetting to write to someone because you don’t have the right note cards. It might be the pants in a heap on your closet floor because they need to be hemmed. It might be the phone call(s) you need to return to potential clients. It might be a honkin’ full email box. It might be something scary, like a health situation you’ve been ignoring while hoping it will go away. It might be a conversation you need to have with a coworker. It might even be something you keep telling yourself you’ll do, like research a beginning yoga class.

These things seem harmless. But think about it. If you have lots of incompletes in your life, then your energy, your self is still connected to those things. You are still giving to them – even if it’s just by remembering they are still undone – until you choose to cut off that connection, until you choose to get complete. You really can take care of them and get yourself in the present moment.

And even though some of these items may seem small, you will probably notice a huge difference in your life when you start completing them. When they are fixed or completed, you will notice a higher energy level and deeper sense of your own power. More opportunities will show up, and you’ll have more clarity and peace.

How do I begin fixing leaks?

Here’s a step-by-step process that I used when I first started working with the leaks. I still do this, especially if I’ve just gone through a lot of travel and I come home to a whole lot of incompletes and things I’ve had to set aside. I’ve learned to complete them quickly because I know the impact that these can have on my state of mind and on my creativity.

1 – Get a partner who will cheer you on. Or meet with several people and plan to check-in with each other once a week for two months as you start to get complete.

2 – Get a blank piece of paper and pen. Start a list of any items that come up that feel undone, incomplete, and leak-y. You’ll probably have several items that come to mind right away.

When you feel like you can’t think of any more, then stop for now. But carry that piece of paper around with you for two days. Any time something nags at you, or drains your energy, put it on the list. Here are sample areas to ponder: Car, Home, Office, Pets, Partner, Kids, Friendships, Work Relationships, Finances, Clients, Computer (updates, emails, back-ups, systems for backing up, etc.) And don’t forget the things you keep telling yourself you’ll do, like: plan a vacation, have an adventure day, start a gratitude journal, or create a vision board. You don’t have to do anything yet, just write everything down in one unorganized list.

3 – When you feel that the list is complete for now, then re-write it so it looks nice. If you want, you can put items in order from easiest and quickest to more challenging.

4 – Start with the easiest things to do. Take the pants to the alterations place. Then cross that item off your list. Get the oil changed. Cross that off your list. Answer all the emails. Cross that off. Call or email your partner(s) any time you complete something. Remember about that one thing we always forget to do!

5 – As you go through the list, some things will start to feel harder, especially if you’ve included unresolved issues in your relationships or health. The momentum you’ve gained will help you get through these in surprising ways. And some things might take a much longer time, especially with resentment or engaging in gossip or needing to forgive. (Remember: intent is a great place to start with these kinds of things.)

6 – Once you get clearer and more energetic as you complete items over a period of time, you’ll have less tolerance for things that take that kind of energy: old friendships that feed on negativity, certain clients that drain you and no longer align with your values, rooms in your house that no longer please you. This is what happened with me. The entire process took on a bigger and bolder meaning, and I began to get even clearer about the parts of my life that were no longer serving me. If this starts to happen to you, this is good! It’s an indicator that you’re growing and shifting.

7 – At some point you’ll start crossing things off your list before they ever make it on your list. I will close with an example of this kind of clarity. At my retreats, we spend several hours going through this idea of energy drains, and each woman has a chance to get clear about her own leaks. After the last retreat, the women formed a Yahoo Group so that they could stay in touch and cheer each other on in their quests to live more authentically. On the Monday morning after the retreat, one of the women wrote in the following humorous and victorious email:

My “Service Engine Soon” light went on last night.
First Thought: “CRAP!”
Second Thought: If I keep ignoring it, the light is just draining energy from me.
This morning I scheduled an appt and I’m dropping the car off at 2!
(Normally I’d drive around trying not to look at the light and praying I wouldn’t get stuck in the middle of the road!) Small victories….!

The Secret Place of the Most High

Have you been there lately? 

I meditate most mornings.  It is part of my daily ritual.  I don't sit around and go "Om......".  I get quiet.  I read inspirational books.  I journal.  I do affirmations.  I pray.  Sometimes I do more of one thing than another.  It changes and I am easy about it.  My days go better when I take that time.  During that time, I know I am sitting in the conscious awareness of the presence of love that wraps up the entire universe.  You can call it what you will.  I call it God.

When I am consciously there, I am not lonely or fearful.  When I am there I am at peace and feel good about my life.  I know all is well.

The truth is, I could be there anytime because I am there all of the time.  As Karen Drucker sings: "There is no spot where God is not."  I am always in the "Secret Place of the Most High".  I could always feel that peacefulness and joy.  I just need to remember that I am there---all the time.  I want to live there.  It is a great place. 

All Things Are Possible

So many times we announce reasons why we can't do something.  We let all kinds of things stand in our way.  The truth is, when we don't want to do something, any excuse will do.  I can find all kinds of excuses for not making my lead generation phone calls.  The calls aren't hard. I would just rather be doing something else.  Either my discipline wins out or the excuses win out.

On the other hand, when we really want to do something..........  I mean really, really want to do something...... nothing can stand in our way.  Take Billy McLaughlin as an example.  He was a renown guitarist, performing all over the world.  He started having difficulty with his left hand.  While he was playing, his fingers wouldn't respond.  The condition grew worse and worse until he no longer could play. He had a neurological disease called focal distonia.  He lost is career.  He lost everything.  He became depressed and gave up on life................  until he decided that he would play the guitar inspite of the disease.  He taught himself to play with the other hand. 

The Bible says:  All things are possible to those who believe."  Do you believe that you can have your dreams?  Do you believe in happy endings and happy beginnings?  You can have your dreams and happy beginning and endings.  Believe.

Watch this video for Billy's story: