Mmmm Coffee..
Wake Your Body Up
Hello Internet!
Luxury spas and resorts around the world have long used coffee as a secret ingredient in body scrubs. For top dollars they use the grounds to help exfoliate old skin cells, while the caffeine minimizes the appearance of cellulite and varicose veins.
There’s really no need to have to go to the spa to enjoy the experience of this amazing body scrub. I’ve created a coffee scrub worthy of any 5 star spa! This scrub has my body feeling like a million dollars and check out what people are saying about it.
Coffee is a pretty amazing product from nature. The scent of coffee acts to clear a person’s mind of excessive thoughts. The scent also works as an anti-depressant. Also, caffeine is a natural antioxidant, when a coffee body scrub is applied, the skin absorbs this antioxidant and can help prevent premature aging. Caffeine is also a vasodilator, which means it constricts blood vessels in the skin. This action works to make blood vessels tighter and firmer very quickly, which is reflected in your skin texture.
I use the scrub for both my face and body. You will need to gauge, what’s best for you. If your skin is sensitive, then I wouldn’t suggest using it on your face but I’ll provide the info for those that want to try it. A word of warning, it’s a messy task but WELL worth the rewards.
For your face…
- Scrub into your face in an upward, circular motion. Now, with the coffee still on, take your exfoliating scrub and scrub in an upward circular motion. Let it sit for 5 minutes and wash off.
- If you doing the body scrub at the same time, don’t wash your face yet. Just let it sit while you scrub your body
Now for your body…
- Now starting at your feet, scrub each area of your body in a circular motion.
- Note: you are applying and scrubbing with your hand
- Give very good attention to each and every area or your body, exfoliating it.
- Let it stand for 5-10 min. Rinse. (rinse your face now as well)
- Now take your exfoliating/spa gloves and scrub again in the same way using an all natural moisturizing body wash. Bottom to top and rinse.
- Pat dry
- Now use an all natural lotion or a Body By Nature creamy body butters and juice your body.
Post a comment and let me know how you feel afterward!
Live on PURPOSE!
10 Steps to an Inviting, Cozy, Sexy Home
Ever wonder when you walk into some people’s homes and it just has that vibe that inviting coziness or even sexy feeling, how the heck they do it? Well Internet, Lifestyle Divine is here 
Here are some simple steps to creating an inviting, cozy, harmonious and yes, even sexy home.
1 – CLEAN UP
This seems like stating the obvious but it must be said. No fingers pointed but some of you have some very unclean homes. I’m talking about tidy, I mean CLEAN. Get behind that desk that hasn’t been moved in years and clean out the dust and dirt. Mop the floors. Clean all of the places you don’t normally see as well. Get in there and do the work. This is clearing the air. Try to use environmentally friendly/green products. They are so common place now they really don’t cost much more than the standard brands and the leave you with a cleaner air and not one where everyone eyes are watering and they are gagging. Not so sexy.
2 – CLEAN OUT
As your cleaning up, lean out. Remove ALL clutter. This is a vital step in creating harmony in your home.
Cutter creates tension. You may not be entirely conscious of this because you used to the clutter but once you clear the space your entire body will relax from the release. Clear off side tables and coffee tables. They should only contain any or all of the following: a lighting source, a book, a vase of flowers. Clear out every area of your home. In general, if you haven’t used it, looked for it, wondered “where did I put that…” in the last year, dare I say 6 months, toss it! This includes old clothes, magazines, food, toiletries, and even furniture. If that old comfy chair that only you appreciates is cluttering the space, out it goes. The great thing is if the clothes and furniture are in good order there are local charities always looking for things so they won’t go to waste.
Let it go and breathe
3 – OPEN THE WINDOWS
Yes, breathe FRESH air that is. If you’re in a four season country and its winter you can still crack the windows a bit. If its summer where you live, open those windows wide and let the fresh air in. You’d be amazed and how the gentle flow of breeze coming in your home actually adds life to it.
Now that you’ve cleaned up and cleared out and your windows are open letting the fresh air in stop and take a moment to just feel the difference. Amazing isn’t it?
4 – THE LAYOUT
This article isn’t about Feng Shui but I will use one or two points from it. Feng Shui is a very complex science and one that I won’t pretend to be an expert at but I will cover arranging your furniture for harmonious flow of energy and life. In Feng Shui there is a very specific way your furniture should be laid out.
In your living room, make sure your back is not to the entry. Move the couch and chairs around so that you can clearly see the entry and the window from where you are sitting. The logic is that when you cannot see these areas your mind will automatically not be focused and therefore you will not be relaxed.
If the layout of the home is one where this is not possible invest in a beautiful mirror and place it in the right spot to allow you to see these areas form the couch ad chairs
In your bedroom, the same applies. You must be able to see the doorway when lying in bed.
5 – GET THE ENERGY FLOWING IN YOUR BEDROOM
For the bedroom, we’ll apply a bit of Feng Shui again. If you are like most of the people, you probably have at least one alarm clock, TV, stereo and even a computer in your bedroom. What about the under the bed clutter? Remember I asked you to remove clutter? Did you move it to under the bed or did you simply ignore under the bed? This was a challenge for me when I de-cluttered. My home doesn’t have much storage space and even after clearing out bags of old clothes I was still left with a very small amount to store because of the many seasons where live. I figured one of those under the bed storage containers would be fine, after all, it’s for” under the bed”. Well, it’s actually not so good. If you’re trying to create that harmonious space where things just flow this is a hindrance as energy is unable to flow freely in a bedroom with clutter under your bed and electronics all around. This type of bedroom is actually unable to support a good night sleep, and to promote health and happiness. Relationship wise? It is even worse. Of course there are solutions. Start removing as many electronics as you possibly can; place the ones you must keep, far away from your head. If it’s SO painful to remove the TV, cover it with a decorative fabric. Make sure is placed against a solid wall. According to Feng Shui, you are to also avoid water elements and mirrors. This is up to you. Again, this article isn’t about Feng Shui, I’m simply using small elements of it here and there. I think mirrors in the bedroom are, required 
.
Ensure all of the fabrics touching your skin are soft and cozy and your pillows are plush. Buy the best sheets and pillows you can afford. Use a scented linen spray or your favorite perfume and iron your sheets, nothing fancy, just a quick once over.
6 – BRING IN LIFE
Fresh flowers add so much to a home. Keep fresh flowers on the table and in the front hall. One flower stem in a bud vase in the powder room is all it takes. Also at the kitchen table your desk and the coffee table would benefit from a simple arrangement of fresh flowers. You don’t need a full bouquet for each. One standard bouquet can split into two. When that special someone sees you like fresh flowers as well, he may get the hint and start buying them for you. Men actually like buying flowers for women, they just don’t do it because they thing we don’t appreciate because it’s too simple. Then we get annoyed that he doesn’t remember the simple things. Misunderstanding of the genders I call it! Sometimes men need to be guided, show him that the simple things matter too.
7 – SERENADE YOUR HOME
This is a HUGE part of having an inviting atmosphere. Play soft music on low, ALWAYS. Yes when you leave home, leave the music on low. When you walk through the door after a long day of work the sounds will be so inviting and instantly begin to relax you. When you keep the music on, the energy infuses into your home. Guest will love the vibe. Be careful you’re not playing break up slow jams as you are setting energy here. Just because its slow and melodic, doesn’t mean it’s good energy. Skip Chante Moore’s “Bitter” and go for her “Love’s Taken Over” instead. Keep the music always on, switch it up as you see fit but just let it play.
8 – THE COMFORT DETAILS
Adjust the sounds, reduce noises, lighting. Make your place as comfortable as possible. Close that bathroom door and the toilet lid, oil squeaky doors. Keep the space clean and clutter free. Burn lavender essential oil for a restful sleep. If you didn’t have the will power to remove the TV, while in the bedroom, focus on your partner or a favorite book, instead of the TV. Keep fresh, soft linens in the bathrooms and make sure it’s clear of clutter from product bottles. Look at what hotels do to create comfort.
9 – THE SEXY DETAILS
Add a few candles for soft lighting, put all light fixtures and lamps on dimmers and if possible, change your bulbs to the most flattering shades. Use soft luxurious fabrics if possible (they last longer anyhow). Have a sexy scent wafting through the air. You can actually use your old Glade Plug In scent bottles with your own favorite perfume or cologne. Here’s an article on how to do it: http://www.ehow.com/how_5012011_make-house-smell-sexy.html Our Body By Nature – Home Sweet Home line offers candles and other fragrant items to enhance your home.
10 – Relax and enjoy! A harmonious, sexy and inviting space is not only great for when you have guests but more importantly it’s essential for your spirit. It relaxes you and helps you focus on you.
Hope this helped. If you have any other suggestions or tips on what you’ve tried, let me know!
Juicing to Increase Your Energy
Consume Life To Have Life
Hello Internet!
Ok, so I know that envy is a negative emotion, but I’m going to be honest with you. I used to really envy those people that just bubbled with life. They had so much energy and everything they spoke of came across with so much life and passion. It was infectious…except I didn’t have the energy to keep up. I got tired just listening to them!
I always wanted to go to bed. Even thinking was tiresome. I’d have some wonderful strike of brilliance, intuitive thought that could potentially change my life and I’d have to go sleep on it.
To have energy, you have to consume energy and then exude energy.
I had so many goals and dreams but all I could do was dream (as I slept) but nothing comes to a sleeper but dreams and even they’re gone when you wake up. I realized one very big block to my success was lack of energy. It takes energy to accomplish goals and those goals are fuelled by passion and excitement…which takes energy.
In terms of nutrition, it’s best to juice instead of eating fruits and vegetable whole. The reason for this is that our poor eating habits over the years have compromised out intestines and limits our body’s ability to absorb all nutrients form veggies. Juicing helps to facilitate this and allow our body to receive.
So first things first. You need a juicer! There are a variety of juicers on the market. Do your research and read the reviews for each. Remember no one item will please everyone but there are a few that the market seems to deem as superior. Namely, Vitamix and Healthmaster. Depending on your budget these may be well out of range. A low cost option is Sharper Image and Breville has quite a few in a range of prices.
Now that you have your lovely juicer, what do you juice? There are a wide variety of vegetables and fruits available from God’s garden to juice. Dark green veggies are best and offer the most nutritional benefits. Bright colored veggies as well. Herbs such as parsley and cilantro are great to add as well.
Here is a great starter recipe:
1- Apples
1/2 bag of Spinach
handful Kale
1 stalk Celery
2 Carrots
Pinch of Parsley
2 Beets
quarter size of Ginger
You can adjust the # of Apples or Beets for taste or add seedless grapes
There are also some essential oils you can add as supplements to your juice for a little extra something
- Fish Oil
- Flaxseed oil
- Cod Liver Oil
You also want to ensure you drink the juice right away. Once the juice is made and exposed to oxygen it begins to oxidize and lose its enzymes and therefore its nutritional value. There are some ways to freeze and store the juice but it requires a process that will take you as much time as to just make the juice fresh when you need it.
Just like with your hair or skin care products it is important to change around the veggies you use. For two reasons: first, you open up your body to eth benefits of many veggies and secondly, continuously juicing the same vegetables could actually make one allergic to them over a period of time. Change is good.
It is very important that you clean your juicer right away to avoid clogging the blade, bacteria and mold. Tip: place a bag, maybe one of the bags the veggies were in, in the pulp catcher so that’s one less item to clean. The best type of tool to clean the juicing screen with is a brush (some juicers come with a cleaning brush). Scrub the parts under running water as the brush bristles do a good job of getting into the fine holes.
Initially you may be put off by the taste and time involved but the benefit you will reap will FAR outweigh this and eventually you actually begin to crave the juice. The important this is to of course get the end prize in mind: Energy, vitality and passion for life.
To see the juicer and supplemental oils I use check out my products page
Live on PURPOSE!
10 Things About Me
Hey everyone,
I thought since I’m reigniting Lifestyle Divine, I’d re-introduce myself and tell some things about me that even people who are close to me may not know…
- My name originally was Wendy Roxine Grant but then my mom saw a little girl named Wendy who was born with underdeveloped limbs and changed my name. I’m considering changing it back…what do you think?
- I actually don’t know exactly when my birthday is? True story my friend. I was born in the country side of Jamaica and by the time my mom got around to actually registering my birth the date must have gotten confused. Its registered as June 19th though…gifts welcomed and appreciated !
- Sometimes when I’m alone, I crank 80’s pop and punk and act the fool! It’s cathartic. You should try it.
- I climbed an active volcano….as it was spewing lava. I was latterly inches from flowing lava! Great once in a lifetime experience, although it did melt the soles of my sneakers. Check out my Facebook page for pictures of my trip to Guatemala.
- When I was a kid, I wanted to be a carpenter (told ya I was “special”)
- I’m a total INTRO. An Introspective Introvert. I don’t like talking on the phone; I don’t even like talking….I’d rather write you. Text me or email me…don’t call me.
- I don’t like dessert. How weird, right?! But really I’d just rather another plate of food. I think it’s because most desserts are cold and ….here’s another weird thing…
- I don’t like cold foods or beverages. Yep, I drink my water room temperature.
- Here is a cool one: the room I was born in (in Jamaica) was the same room my mom was born in and the same room my grandmother was born in. Pretty cool, huh?
- I plan to see at least one new place every year for the rest of my God-given life. I decided this when I had several family member die and/or become terminally ill in 2010. I decided to live! Here is my list. I’m still adding to it but let me know your thoughts and suggestions!
PLACES TO SEE
- Thailand
- Bora Bora
- Costa Rica
- Belize
- Honduras
- Chile
- The Grand Canyon
- Great Barrier Reef
- South Island
- Cape Town
- Golden Temple
- Las Vegas
- Sydney
- Taj Mahal
- Canadian Rockies
- Uluru
- Mexico – Chichen Itza –
- Peru – Machu Picchu
- Petra – Jordan
- Venice
- Maldives
- Great Wall of China
- Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls
- Hong Kong
- Yosemite National Park
- London
- Hawaii
- New Zealand
- Iguassu Falls
- France – Paris – Nice – Cannes
- Alaska
- Nepal – Himalayas –
- Brazil – Rio de Janeiro –
- Masai Mara – Kenya
- Ecuador – Galapagos Islands –
- Egypt – Luxor – The Pyramids –
- Italy
- Greece
- Spain
- Morroco
- California – LA – San Francisco
- San Diego
- Arizona
- Florida – Keys
- Barcelona
- Dubai
- Malta
- Netherlands – Amsterdam
- Germany – Berlin
- Singapore
- Bangkok
- Iceland
- China – Terracotta Army
- Switzerland
- Venezuela – Angel Falls –
- Bali
- French Polynesia
First Love…
When I started Lifestyle Divine I had lofty dreams. My goal and intent was to engage readers in conversation surrounding topics that have to do with personal development and creating/designing a desired lifestyle, sharing as I learnt during this quest. My desire for myself was attainment of this lifestyle by launching various online ventures and living a location free, carefree life. I haven’t acquired the lifestyle yet, but as a lover of personal development, I’ve certainly learnt and grown. Let me share my most recent learning.
On Sunday morning I was home and the song “Stir The Gift” by Deitrick Haddon” came on. This song basically says that you have to, in a spirit of total faith, put to work/stir up/set on fire, the gifts that you have. Then I tuned into Joel Osteen’s live stream and Joyce Myers was guest speaking. Her focus was, focusing on what you are good at, your gifts, and letting go of what you’re not good at. These two moments really solidified for me that I was going about my desire for this certain lifestyle all wrong. Over the several months, I found myself falling victim of the “shiny new thing” syndrome and “guru overload”, chasing this, that, everything and everyone. I have spent so much time (and money) trying to do things that I had no skills or real desire to do and learning about the latest tips, tricks, and tools to success. This is all fine to a certain degree – it’s great to learn new things and keep growing – however, in this quest I completely neglected my gift. I neglected the one thing I’m good at (IMHO), can do easily, enjoy AND is already a viable vehicle to making money online, if used correctly.
Writing.
I love writing, especially about personal development. I love laying my thoughts out on paper. I love the written word. So in saying that, I have to ask myself: why haven’t I written on here in months?! Now I’m certainly NOT the best writer in the world but it comes easily for me…so why have I only written the outline to this book I’ve been claiming to write for months? Plenty of people are out there making virtually passive income launching eBooks and doing article marketing that they pay other people to write for them but here I am, able to write and not doing it! Anther learning I’ve had is it doesn’t serve you to beat yourself up over things. Learn the lesson, apply it and move on. So, I’m moving on.
First I needed to get back to why I was doing all of this in the first place. What was my driving force? What was my big “why”? I redetermined that my driving force is not so much a tangible thing (as some peoples may be) but it’s a certain lifestyle of freedom. As a matter of fact my big “why” is one word…FREEDOM. Now, if you’re anything like me you may say, “Money isn’t important, it isn’t my driving force, I just want to spend my days travelling or volunteering and giving back…..yada, yada, yada”. Well, guess what? It takes money to make that happen and sustain that desired lifestyle. Most volunteer programs require that you pay (which funds the program) and airline tickets cost money Ms. Globetrotter. By developing vehicles that generate the income you require, you’re free to do as you please, whatever that may be. For me the vehicle that seems to best match the lifestyle I am trying to design is definitely something web based. Location free!
My conclusion and suggestion: Use your passions (what excites you) and purpose (directly connected to your GTAs) to develop the vehicles that will generate the income that allows you to live your personal version of a fulfilled life.
The Lesson: I got side-tracked for a while but I’m going back to my first love and determined to stay focused this year. I’m putting the blinders on and avoiding those shiny new objects unless they directly support or enhance the path I am currently on. I’m going to focus on how to incorporate my love of writing (especially writing about personal development) into areas such as internet marketing and life coaching not just for the fun of it but in a way that is viable and can generate the income I desire so…..I can be free J and to post what I’ve learnt here in hopes that it helps someone.
If you have any suggestions on how I can make this happen, pleeease post! What’s your big “why” and how are you making it happen? Share, share, share!
How Death Can Change You
What a ride I’ve been on the past couple of months. I went through a very dark place and came out with hope, excitement and understanding. I finally got it!
How Death Can Make You See The Light
In August I got a call that my father was very sick and potentially had cancer so I went back home to see him. About 10 days after getting back, he died.
In the process of dealing with the emotions of finding out he was sick, going home to see him and how “terrible” he looked and him succumbing to the illness and passing, I bumped, no crashed head on into…myself. I was forced by this event to look at myself and who I had become And boy, it wasn’t pretty. I brewed in anger. Wallowed in self pity. Stewed in my regrets and those regrets led me down a dark alleyway but by the grace of God, there was a very bright light at the end.
I finally truly, really saw me and my life for what it all truly was and had to fully acknowledge and accept that everything in my life, the good, the bad and the ugly was all my own doing. I had completely created this life, these experiences. I created who I was.
When someone close to you is facing death you start to relive the life you had with them, the memories, both good and bad. With everything going on I finally went deep into myself. I saw my past, my childhood for what it really was. I started remembering things I had suppressed, and in that I saw how I had repeated patterns, thought processes and behaviors. I saw how things I saw and heard shaped who I had become and the thoughts I had. I saw how these thoughts very clearly manifested in my life. I saw how I had fully created, through these seeds, the very fruits I said I didn’t want in my life.
So now what?
I knew consciously that your thoughts create your life (whether directly or indirectly) but now I had to walk in this knowledge. So I went to work identifying the fruits and uncovering the roots that cause it. Then uprooting them and replacing them. This isn’t something you can do in just a few months so I’m still working on this but what an awesome blessing and revelation to finally SEE me (below the layers) so now I can HEAL me.
My father was very unhappy with himself and his life and had been for many years and I had many regrets (which I’ve since released) about our relationship. I pray to God that wherever he is he’s found peace and I look forward to moving forward in my life and finding my joy and peace while I still have breath.
Have you ever lost someone close to you? How, if at all did that change how you lived your life? Please share..
5 Keys To Reprogramming Your Thoughts
Ok Internet, this is a long one…but well worth the read, promise. Besides, it’s been a while so I owe you
I was driving home yesterday and drove by a neighborhood that I’ve seen a million times but for some reason today I noticed it. I noticed all of the debris outside of the complex. What could be a very decent town home complex was littered with filth everywhere. Even peoples patio/deck areas – their own personal “home” space. Why? There seems to be an attitude of indifference that is prevalent with poverty. You have to wonder: does the poverty create the attitude and thinking or does the attitude and thinking create the poverty. Another way to say it is: does lack cause one to act different to their environment or does indifference to the environment (the thought/attitude) cause the lack?
Chicken or egg? Did the thought create the situation or the situation create the thought?
It’s been said time and time again that when you change your thought s you will change your life.
The bible says, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so he is” and again when healing the sick Jesus would continually ask “Do you believe….? According to your faith, so let it be onto you” Not religious? That’s ok, let’s talk about the self fulfilling prophecy or the Law of attraction. No matter how you slice and dice it or what you want to name it the reality is we have created the life we have because of our thoughts.
The process goes something like this:
Core Beliefs
Your core beliefs about life, money, etc., what you’ve been feed and consumed your whole life, is what leads to your thoughts…
Thoughts
Your thoughts, affect your feelings and how you perceive life, the world and situations. If you have feelings of unworthiness, when certain situations arise that another person may accept gladly you may consciously decline or unconsciously sabotage the opportunity because you feel unworthy and then feel like nothing goes our way and perceive life as unfair.
Feelings & Perception
Your feelings and perceptions cause you to take or not take certain actions. So, if you perceive the world to be unfair. If you feel being rich is being greedy, your are going to take actions alignment with that.
Actions
Your actions, produce results.
Results
Get it?
Now personally I don’t believe that things are just simply attracted to you when you say or think certain things (not ALL of the times, not uniformly). I don’t think it’s always so mystical. I believe that because in our hearts we truly believe these things we have programmed in our minds we start to then do things that support our beliefs and it is those actions that create the reality we see.
I used to always say “I’m broke”, so guess what? I would spend money I didn’t have and do other destructive things to ensure I was broke. I was always tired but I was always telling myself “I’m so tired” and eating energy sucking foods, staying up till ungodly hours not getting enough sleep, not drinking enough water etc. I created these results.
Once I changed my words and my mind I got better results. Now, when I tell myself “I am full of energy and vitality”, it prompts me in a weird way to do something like grab a bottle of water, plan my next juicing recipe etc. My actions start to change because of what I now believe. Even my physiology changes, I instantly change my body language. I sit up and feel more energized. Because I truly believe I am full of energy. I’ve programmed myself to. I’m still working on truly believing, to my core, that I can be rich, abundantly wealthy (I’m not perfect, but I’m in perfect process ).
When we change our thoughts by changing our words, and truly believing them (faith) our actions will align to create a new reality.
How do you change how and what you think? Total reprogramming.
You’ve spent X number of years believing what you do, it’s going to take a full upheaval and some time to change it but the trade of is the life you’ve always wanted, joy and fulfillment.
- Start by asking what are the sources that have feed into me throughout my life? Write down your answers. Don’t just mull them in your mind, write them down. Trust me on this. Now that you’ve analyzed this and you’ve written them down, you need to change them, now.
- Change who occupies your time, surround yourself with people who speak life into you. People who are supportive and are at a place in their life you are aspiring to. Completely remove yourself from all negative people. I’m sure you love your family, I know I do. But they have feed into who you are right now (and vise versa) and while I’m sure you are just an amazing person, you’re trying to make some changes right now and you will need to create space there. Once you have transformed yourself you will only be stronger to feed positive things into them.
- Change what you are listening to: the music and TV programs. Your best bet is to just turn the TV off all together but if you can’t part with it, skip the news and drama filled life suckers like “The Hills”, “True Blood” etc. Music is a very powerful thing. Most times, times consciously or unconsciously, songs resonate in your head. How many times have you said “I can’t get that song out of my head”. If something is going to be running through your head that much you might want to make it more productive to your bottom line. Listen to self help audio books. Record your mission statement on your mp3 and listen to that.
- Change what you feed your mind. What kind of books are you reading? Skip the newspaper. It’s all bad news and if anything BIG is happening in the world everyone will be talking about it so you won’t miss a beat. Only read what is edifying and filling you with info that when you sit back and think about what you’ve read, the thoughts would be beneficial to your bottom line. Read self help books, books on money (becoming a millionaire), books on the business you want to start or the goal you want to attain.
- Change your words. Your audible words. This means, you literally need to open your mouth and say better things, to others and to yourself. Use affirmations and your mission statement . I find sometimes my mission statement just runs through my mind.
Initially your mind may wander back to those thoughts of lack. Don’t beat up on yourself, just take notice of it, be aware when it happens and immediately begin filling your mind with the thoughts that will change your life. Say your mission statement, on repeat. Start working on reprogramming the non-productive, sabotaging thoughts that plague you now.
Change your thoughts and you WILL change your life!
Aligning Your Goals and Actions
“Tell me who I have to be, to gain some reciprocity” – Lauryn Hill, one of the best of our time (and I won’t take any argument on that internet!)
Recently I started to re-read Debrena Jackson Gandy’s – All the Joy you Can Stand. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, GET THIS BOOK! It will no doubt have a profound effect on your life in your journey through Personal Development. One of the points in the book that has always really stuck out to me is in point# 8. In this particular section she is discussing putting our energy and life source toward what brings us Joy. Aligning our actions with your joy givers by asking “who do I have to be in order to attract and create these types experience and relationships”
The first time I read it I took a few hours and really stopped to analyze my life and dig deep to find what TRULY brings me joy.
So Internet, what brings you joy? We all have surface answers. The answers that seem like the right thing to say or that your mind has told us but dig to your spirit. That’s where the answer lies.
Now let’s be clear, joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is fleeting, temporal. It’s a surface level emotion. Joy is a deeper feeling unstoppable and unshakable. Makes you smile, when everything around you says you should be down. Joy emanates from God given and is deep within your spirit. So Internet, what REALLY brings you joy?
- What type of marriage or love relationship brings me joy?
- What type of man or partner brings me joy?
- What type of relationship with your kids brings you joy?
- What type of financial situation brings me joy?
- What type of relationship with my family (mom, dad, siblings) brings me joy?
- What type of friendships, interactions, associations brings me joy?
- What type of career and use of my natural gifts, talents and abilities brings me joy?
- What use of your days and time brings me joy?
If you don’t have kids or a husband or any of the other line items yet but anticipate this in your future, answer these questions anyhow. Start thinking about these relationships and experiences now.
Now ask, who do I have to be t have this? Your desires have to align with your actions and who you are. For example, you can’t say you want successful, loyal, fun friendships but you’re a broke, negative back-biter. You get it? Shanel Cooper Sykes covers this in her video, All Men Are Dogs. Many women want a certain man but fail to look at what they are bringing to the table. You have to give what you want to have. This was a huge eye opener for me. In answering the question, who do I have to be to have this; I continually came up with exactly what I was seeking as my answer. Interesting huh? Remember that like attracts like and the very thing we put out is what we get so if we want to change what we get we have to put something different out and that something different is, again, the very thing we want to attract. Like attracts like.
So once you’ve searched your heart and truly determined your heart’s desire and what brings you joys in each area of your life analyze who you have to be to have it. Don’t let this be a onetime occurrence though. Check in on this regularly to ensure you are walking in alignment.
Now internet, I have been writing these articles for a while now and Mr. Google Analytics tells me your reading but I see NO comments. I’m sharing my journey, thoughts and discoveries with you so “tell me who I have to be, to gain some reciprocity?” LOL..I had to But for real though…say something!
Did I Offend You?
I’ve been dealing with the issue of offence lately. I find I’m allowing myself to get offended by people and the effect has not been very productive to this process of development. So, as a person committed to growth and development, I sought an answer, tools and tips to better myself in this area and I’m sharing my learning’s with you.
Offence is something people rarely look at as an issue to personal development, about that is because we use there isn’t much understanding of what it is and we tend to address the results of offence instead of offence itself. Offence is often the starting point of many of our negative emotions. Offence is manifested in or displayed through: hurt, anger, bitterness
When we allow offence to permeate our spirits we put up an automatic wall to blessings and open the side door to anger, hurt, disappointment. All of which create a muddy environment for you to really see clearly and act consciously. When you allow offence to take hold you essentially give away some of your power. You have allowed a person’s actions or in-actions, however real or perceived they may be, to shift your spirit into a different state. A state of being that is not conducive to your path of personal development and growth. You are now a victim and victimisis (new word ) is cancerous. This state of being keeps you from growing and renewing. When Tom did that thing that just ticked you off and now you gotta tell this person and that person. You have not stopped the forward movement and are stagnating and stewing.
Often times our offence is based on assumption and perception of people’s actions, in-actions or words. Now, some say perception is reality but that’s not entirely the case. YOUR Perception may be YOUR reality and a skewed reality but not reality in and of itself. For example, and this is a very simplistic example, but say you tell someone something very important and they just don’t respond. You’ve verbally expressed something or sent an email and they say nothing. You can get upset and offended because they don’t care, they are ignoring you OR you can ask “what else could this mean?” Could they maybe not have received the message (didn’t hear, didn’t see email etc)? There could be a whole variety of reasons, so why jump to the worst one? Your perception and your reality is that you are feeling ignored but the reality may be they didn’t get the message. My challenge to you and myself is, when someone does something and offence threatens to creep up, stop and ask, “What else could this mean?” before jumping to the worst and allowing offence to set in and get to the truth of the matter.
Offence also puts a divide between you and the person and when the offence is based on an unproven perception, this can have adverse affects that you may regret. I’ll leave you to think about that one.
So what about when the worst possibility is in fact the truth/reality? However they meant not malicious intent by it? A philosophy I adopted a while ago in my life is when you see how people are, accept it and just treat them accordingly. So, let’s say Jane can’t keep her mouth shut. You tell her something and she will without a doubt tell someone else. Not out of malicious intent. Jane just can’t keep her mouth shut. Now, Jane is an adult, she is who she is and you are not going to change her. As Maya Angelou said, “when people tell you who they are – believe them”. So just accept Jane for who she is and treat her accordingly. Simply put, just don’t tell Jane your business. You can loan Jane money because she‘s great at paying it back. You can do all kinds of other things with Jane but don’t tell her your business. She has not developed a capacity in this area of her life. Keep her at an arm’s length, let her be who she is, but don’t get offended by who she is.
But what about when the worst possibility is in fact the truth/reality AND that person did in fact mean to do the malicious, hurtful act or those words were in fact intended in the way you received it? Cut them off and move on. Lighten your load and you’ll be the better for it.
How you handle offenses matters. When you are going to a new level you will experience the phenomenon of Higher Levels/Higher Devils, the more you grow the bigger the potentials issues. Being able to effectively deal with things at the level you are at allows you to grow to the next level and builds a foundation for dealing with the issues at the next level.
So who has offended you? When you practice asking “what else could this mean?” and allowing people to be who they are and just treating them accordingly, you’ll open yourself up to the humanity of people and gain compassion. Another notch in your personal development tool belt!
Again this site is not just about me. Share some of your thoughts on dealing with offence.
How to Be a Positive Deviant
I recently came across a term that has really caught my interest. Positive Deviance. It almost sounds like an oxy-moron since in our society the “deviance” or being a “deviant” has rarely carried a “positive” connotation. So what the heck is positive deviance? According to Wikipedia, Positive Deviance (PD) is:
“an approach to personal, organizational and cultural change based on the idea that every community or group of people performing a similar function has certain individuals (the “Positive Deviants”) whose special attitudes, practices/ strategies/ behaviors enable them to function more effectively than others with the exact same resources and conditions.”
That’s a mouth full! Essentially its someone who, under the same circumstances, with the same tools and resources and everyone else around them, creates a positive change. It’s to deviate from the pack but the deviation is a positive one, thus creating a better life/situation – a better lifestyle
Hmm? Are you a positive deviant?
Maybe you’re on your way. After all, the process by which one becomes a positive deviate is through personal development and lifestyle design. You literally design and create a new situation, a new life.
The term, positive deviance, has been attributed to the health science arena but I think it relevantly applies to personal development and lifestyle design as well.
From a personal development aspect, here are some tips on how to become a positive deviant (should you dare carry the title)
- Change your mind. That’s it. DECIDE to be different, decide to be better. Decide you deserve more. Changing your mindset is a topic that requires a full post of its own so we’ll go into more detail on it later. But basicsally you have to change your mind and make a decision. I had no dang clue how to build a blog/website, how to design it, how to monetize, how to build traffic. But I DECIDED I was going to do it and took relevant instant action t make it happen
- Take an inventory of your past. What consistent issue do you see? What results have you been getting? Remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Make a list of all of the old behaviors, habits activities that have been giving you negative results and next to it the new behaviors, habits and attitudes required to achieve the desired results. To paraphrase Debrena Jackson Gandy in All the Joy You Can Stand, ask yourself, who do I have to be to have these things (READ this book, it will change your life. It’s available in Products & Resources). Nothing in your life will change, until you change.
- Seek out deviants (of the positive nature). Find a mentor, life coach, someone who has been there and has the goods to show for it. Identify four to six people who have achieved an unexpected good outcome despite high risk and circumstances. My life completely changed when I encountered life coach/mentor extraordinaire, Shanel Cooper Sykes.
- Interview and observe these people to discover uncommon behaviors or enabling factors that could explain the good outcome. Have you read Secrets of The Millionaire Mind, or Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Successful people literally act and think differently. Identify these.
- Design behavior change activities to encourage change and the new you. Take some Action, based on what you’ve seen and learnt. You can know all of the right things to do and say, but if you don’t do and say them…….I’ll leave the conclusion up to you
- Monitor implementation and evaluate the results. Remember, Failure Is Impossible, you either succeed or you learn something to make your net step a better one. As you are implementing these new habits and life changes, stop ever so often and analyze if it’s working. If not readjust and keep going. Schedule this “check in”.
When you decide to step out of what you know, what you grew up in, what you were taught – you’re in a process of personal development and morphing into a deviant, a positive deviant.
Develop those special attitudes, practices, strategies and behaviors that will enable you to function more effectively and, dare I say again, break away from the pack.
Are you a positive deviant?
How To Develop A Personal Mission Statement
A personal mission state is a very powerful tool in the process of creating a divine lifestyle. Its your road map to success.
I was first introduced to the idea of having a personal mission statement when I joined Shanel Cooper Sykes, Shanel’s Classroom, a life coach and empowerment tool. One of the first tasks you have before starting class is to set up a personal mission statement.
What is a Personal Mission Statement
When you think about it, every successful business has a mission statement. A mission statement is designed to provide direction to business, a statement of purpose. A mission statement explains the company’s reason for being. A personal mission statement is seeks to accomplish the same. Writing a personal mission statement offers the opportunity to establish what’s important and serves as road map. It articulates the answer to the question, what is my reason for being. A personal mission statement must be flexible. As you go through life and learn and grow you will need to adjust the statement accordingly.
How to Create It
So how do you create a personal mission statement? Here a few introspective questions covering all areas of your life, to get you started.
- What do you ultimately want for your life?
- What do you want your spirituality to be like?
- How much money to you want?
- How will you get that money?
- What do you want to do with your life? Read 1o Steps To Finding Your Passion and Purpose
- What do you want your relationships to be like?
- Are you married, do you want to get married?
- How about kids?
- Do you have a physical, health or weight goal?,
- How amount your social life? What should that look lke?
- An of course stuff? What do you want? What kind of house, car etc
- Now ask Why? Why do you t these things?
Now your statement doesn’t have t cover all of these areas, in fact maybe it shouldn’t because the more focused it is the more effective. These questions are just to get your juices flowing.
No Negativity
Don’t but any negative statements in your mission statement, like I will not, I don’t want. Based on the Law of Attraction, this action just brings that same thing to you. What you focus on expands. For a biblical reference look at Job, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me”. Don’t focus on the negative. Instead, if that line item in crucial to your personal mission statement, turn that negative statement into a positive. Instead of “I will not make random purchases”, say “I will make responsible decisions with my financial resources.”
Repetition
Once you’ve created your statement you need to get it into your very soul Write it out on a cue card or paper no smaller than 5 x 9. Post it somewhere you can see it. Say it repeatedly and memorize it. Some key times to say it are just before you get out of bed and just before you go to sleep, But say it throughout the day as well. What I did is create an event called “Check In” in my Blackberry. In the notes area I typed out my whole statement. Then I set it to go off at four hours intervals every day. So every day, every four hours I check in with myself and say my statement. It anchors me and keeps me focused on task. Say it often until you have it memorized.
You Have To Believe It
As you say your statement, pay close attention to your body. Read Changing Your State of Being can Change Your Life. Adjust your body into a position of excitement and power. Don’t just say it, proclaim it with passion. This is not just anything; this is your PERSONAL mission statement, your road map. Get excited. Believe it to your core. Feel each line item as you proclaim it to the universe and watch it respond.
The Power of a Personal Mission Statement
I can definitely attest that a personal mission statement is a vital piece in the process of transforming your life. As I mentioned earlier, when I first created my mission statement I set it in my blackberry to go off at four hour intervals. In my statement I was claiming a certain amount of money. I was in a very unhappy environment at the time and long story short, I quit my job. I actually just walked out and said I’m not coming back! How’s that for “bold”?! Well sitting in my car was sitting in my car trying to figure out what to do now, I received a phone call. I was offered a job making the exact amount I was claiming in my mission. What makes this extraordinary is the fact that the amount was much more than I had ever earned and ever expected from this job when I went for the interview. I stretched my limits and reached for more and got it. Of course, now the gloves where off and I was ready to stretch myself BEYOND. I accepted the job (as a “for now”) and quickly updated my mission statement!
Here is a cool tool I found online Mission Statement Builder although I think you get a better product when you follow the steps I’ve outlined
Live on PURPOSE!
10 Steps to Putting Your Passion into Money Making Action
Having your own stream of revenue, employing your passion, especially through and online business like a blog is hard work but it’s so worth it. The pay off in the end is that you’ll have something that will transform your life in so many ways, will give you that reason to jump out of bed every morning with excitement for what the day has to offer.
Building an online business doesn’t happen overnight. This could take months but if you’re walking in your purpose and having fun, that’s what’s most important and getting paid for your passion, golden!
So let’s dive in! There are many ways you can turn your passion and purpose into a money making vehicle but here I will focus on setting up a money making blog. Let me start by saying, I’m no pro at this. I encourage you to seek out other resources. A GREAT place to start is with Darren Rowse’ ProBlogger site. Darren is amazing and his site is filled with info to help you in every way.
As a side note, if you’ve discovered photography as your passion, Darren also has a site called Digital Photography School which I would argue is the best online photog learning centre hands down!
Anyhoo…let’s make it happen!
Step 1.
Read 10 steps to Finding Your Passion and Purpose. You gotta name it before you can claim it.
Step 2 : Identify Your IDEAL Target market. Who are you going to be selling your product or service to? Male? Female? What are their interests? Do they have the resources to pay for what you have to offers? What would be their price point based on their income? What is their income range? You get the gist?
Step 3.
Develop your NICHE - You know your passion now you need your niche. According to Wikipedia, a niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs. Based on this your next step is to dig deep into that passion you’ve uncovered and find a specific market. When you were on the forums and blogs did you notice a missing area/topic/need? What were they talking about? What where they complaining about?
Step 4
You have to research the demand. So now you have an idea on the niche you want to target, there seems to be a demand. But is there enough demand?
a) Go to Amazon.com. If there is a magazine published targeting that market, there is a need and a want for what you do. Go the larger book store and look at the magazines. Look at the ads at the back, what are they offering? If possible order back issues and see who the repeat advertisers are. There is a reason they keep advertising there.
b) Go to Dummies.com, is there a dummies book for the market. This could be an indication that there is a desire/need.
c)Go to Meetup.com and do some investigating. See how many people are joining specific groups, join and observe the potential holes you could fill with a product or service
d) Go to clickbank.com. ClickBank is the largest affiliate marketplace on the internet. You can sign up with them and choose products to be an affiliate sales person for – So sell other peoples products and make money doing it. Go to Clickbank and sign up for free. How well are products in your niche selling? If there isn’t much going on, you might need to rethink your niche.
d) Do keyword research. Are people looking for your niche online? There are various keyword research tools on the market such as Market Samurai. Alternatively you could do your own research. Start by going to GOOGLE (not Yahoo or MSN) and typing in your keywords in quotes. The results on the left hand side, are organic listings, what naturally comes up. On the right you will see paid or sponsored listings. If these two columns are full, than you know people are searching for what you have to offer. This is a very loose method and I would suggest using Market Samurai or something similar to get more detailed data on determining you’re your best keywords would be and provide the relevant data on said keywords and SEO Competition.
Step 5: What is your branding? How do you want to present yourself? Your site? What colours, words phrases are in line with the decided niche? Picture how you want this final product to look and what you want it to say. Remember it needs to inspire people to pull out their credits cards and pay for your product, service or information.
Step 6: Register a Domain Name Think of something catchy, not too long, but describes what you do and who you are. Try to keep your main keyword in your name as well and be sure to reserve a dot com. If the name you want is gone for dot com but available in dot net, I encourage you to find another variation in dot com. Dome hosts do domain name registration as well. It may be worth while to keep everything in the same place.
Step 7: Get a hosting company. I suggest Bluehost. That’s who I use and it’s been great. Full service, you get one free domain name registration, unlimited hosting, email etc. What’s even better is the seamless setup and integration on Word Press. Love it!
Step 8. Set up your blog: The best place and only place I personally recommend for a money making blogsite is www.wordpress.org. Now when I did this I was VERY confused. I went to blue host they asked me to upload my blog, but I couldn’t really get a blog (with WordPress) till I had a host! It was actually a very simply process I just allowed my frustration to blind me. So now you can learn from my mistakes.
- Go to your Bluehost CPanel
- Scroll down and click on Simple Scripts
- Scroll down. Under blogs, click on WordPress
- Click green Install button
- Where it says “Where would you like WordPress installed?” pick the drop down and select your domain
- Click on Advanced Options and give your blog a name and choose your password for logging in to your blog to do posts, design changes etc.
- Accept the Terms and click Complete
- You will get a page with our Admin log in info. You will also receive and email. It will likely be something like this www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin
- Now you can log into your WordPress domain which is being hosted by Blue host and post, design etc
Step 9. Designing your blog. There are thousands of templates for WordPress out there, some free, some not. You can even hire someone to design a completely new one for you. I’ve read for optimization (Google ranks you) reasons, the free templates are not the way to go. Something else to consider when designing your blog in ensuring the layout is ideal for monetizing the site, that a whole other post!
I got mine from StudioPress. Keep in mind what you get is just a shell. There will be a lot of work involved in getting the site going but StudioPress has a great online support system to help you.
One last point to consider, remember step 5? Ensure our design and layout and I key with your branding and what your target and Niche would want.
Step 10: Build your content. Now you have your blog, your hosted, you know your niche which is in-line with your passion. What are you going to say, do, offer? Utilize the research you’ve done to create top notch content that brings in people and convinces then to stay, buy, and tell others.
Coming Soon:
- Monetize and Optimize your blog
- Selling an eBook
Resources:
For Domain Name Registry and Hosting, visit BlueHost:
ForWordpress Themes: Click here to visit StudioPress.
The Challenge (previously The 30 Day Challenge) Free step by step guide to setting up your blog
Live on PURPOSE!
10 Steps to Finding Your Passion and Purpose
Warning: This isn’t going to be easy. It will require a lot of reflection and soul-searching. You may get to points where you feel uncomfortable, upset or overwhelmed. You’ll need a lot of courage and a lot of commitment. But what you’ll get is clarity and direction. When you have clarity of your passion and purpose you have a reason to jump out of bed in the morning, excited about what the day holds.
Now get comfy, this takes some time but the pay-off while serve you a lifetime.
The first few steps are self discovery questions because really, the answer lies within you, no one else. Let’s get started!
1. Get Clear
Before you delve into this process you must clear your mind and still your spirit. Take a few minutes meditate before you follow these steps. Clear your heart and mind of day-to-day stresses, fears and confusions.
2. What are you good at?
Identify your gifts, talents and abilities. Think back on your life and answer the following questions:
- What some things that you have displayed a natural ability to do or gift at? Maybe writing, talking to people (public or one-on-one)
- What are some things people have always said you’re so good at?
- What do you excel at above the “average” person?
- What are your strengths?
- What interest’s hobbies do you have that sets me apart?
- What gifts do you have to share that others will rave about?
- When you go into a book store, what section do you gravitate toward? Why?
- If money were NO object, what would you definitely be doing right now? Why?
Take at least 30 minutes, go through each question and write the answers down. Don’t try to think it through or keep it in your head, write it down. As you go through, analyze every area of your life for hints. Be sure to answer the “why” as well. Sometimes the answer actually lies in the “why”.
3. What gets your mojo going?
What excites you? What gives you butterflies and brings you joy? Not just now but in the past and in all areas of your life, work and play. Ask yourself:
- What would make me want to just out of bed with excitement in the mornings
- What did I dream of becoming when I was younger?
- If money were no object, what would I want to do with my days?
- What are you doing when you completely lose all sense of time?
- What do you get excited learning about?
- What would you PAY to be able to do?
- What do you get excited talking about? Is there that thing that you just get so passionate talking about and your friends and family start running for cover when you get on that roll?
It could be something you haven’t done in a while and the moment you think of it right now you’ll get butterflies in your stomach. Take at least 15 to do this exercise. Remember, write it down.
4. What are the breadcrumbs?
Throughout our lives there are breadcrumbs, clues being left that are trying to guide us toward our purpose. But life and all of its happenings distract us. Not today. Take a few minutes. And think back, what are those nudges you’ve received in your spirit? It’s usually the thing that you’re afraid of. I say this because, like Jonah, we tend to run from our purpose.
- Maybe it’s something you did so well (and you never thought you could do it at all) that it overwhelmed you and you just avoided doing it again (fear)?
- Maybe its clues in the way of opportunities that keep coming your way but you keep pushing it aside because you don’t have confidence you can do it (fear)?
What are the breadcrumbs? What are you afraid of, why?
5. Read between the lines
Look at the list you have. The things you’re gifted with, the things you’re good at (abilities) and the things that you enjoy. Is there a theme or a way to incorporate them into one idea? For example, maybe your gift is writing, you’re good at computers and you enjoy travel. Sounds like a potential travel writer. Analyze this a bit.
6. Uproot your fears
Is it fear of failure or fear of success? I think within all of us, it’s a combination of both.
To banish your fear you need to first face it, acknowledge it. Don’t call it anything else, don’t make excuses or talk circles around it, you’re afraid, and it’s OK. Acknowledge it so we can uproot it. Now, analyze the fear. Is it really rational? Are you going to die if you do this thing? Really ask yourself, “What’s the worst that could happen if I take this business opportunity and put my gifts, talents and abilities to work?” Is any potential damage irreparable? Probably not. Fear used correctly (to save you from a burning building) is great. Fear used incorrectly (to not act on opportunities) is blocking you from living life to the fullest.
Consider this quote by Marianne Williamson in A Return To Love (available in Products and Resources:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Yes, “who are you not to be?”! Feel the fear and DO IT ANYWAY!
7. Reach out to others
Once you’ve created the list of gifts talents and abilities and things that excite you, theme them together. So essentially, look at everything there and cluster the ones that are the same and just may be expressed differently.
Pick the one that really excites you the most, now, start digging. Read up on it, talk to people who’ve been successful in the field. Participate in the blogs, forums and really get a feel for it. You may start to feel a bit of fear at this point, read the quote from Marianne Williamson above and keep pressing. As your researching, make a list of things you need to learn, need to improve on, skills you want to acquire etc. Go into this full force for a week.
8. Check in. Readjust as required
How do you feel? As you were researching the item, where you excited? Did learning more about this item and talking to people doing it give you joy and butterflies? Are you excited to share this new info and all of the details with our loved ones? If yes, press on! Go to step 10.
9. Rinse and Repeat
If the first list item proves to not be the path, go to the next item on your list. Remember that FOCUS means Follow On Course Until Successful. The goal here is to uncover your passion so you can walk in your purpose. So leaving item one behind is not failure, its readjusting the plan and pressing toward the mark (finding you passion/purpose)
10. Acknowledge and embrace the “ah hah” moments
Once you start this process you will find over the coming days you may have epiphanies or “ah, hah” moments. They come suddenly, and your passion may be revealed through momentous events or moments of quiet awareness as you contemplate changes that never seemed possible. Embrace it and act on it immediately. Grab a pen and paper and let the thoughts flow out. If you don’t it never comes back to you as clearly again.
How to make a living doing it.
Through time and patience.
Turning your passion into a business can look a variety of ways. You can become a consultant, do freelance work, create and online business and sell an ebook, start a blog or a forum. I’ve always said, there are a million ways to make a million dollars, you just have to look at what’s worked and be creative. If you’re interested in starting up a money making blog or some online business based on your passion read Ten Steps to Putting Your Passion into Money Making Action. I’ll warn you again. It isn’t going to be easy but WELL worth it.
Live on PURPOSE!
Featured Video
Author, speaker and entrepreneur Shanel Cooper Skyes talks about what self love REALLY means.
Finding Your Passion…Then Firing Your Boss
Soooo, how’s work? Hmmm, I bet your answer was completely lackluster.
Find Your Passion
Something like, “oh, it’s ok I guess” Ok? All who want to like an “ok” life raise your hand! That’s right, no one …including you.
Maybe it’s time to consider living outside of the box (aka – your cubicle) and pursuing your passion?
The mere task of getting out of bed was so challenging. “Do I really have to go?” I would ask myself. I actually had to get up a bit earlier each morning just to give myself time to talk myself into getting up. The ultimate deciding factor was…rent. If I don’t go, how the heck am I going to pay my rent and bills? So I would concede, drag myself out of bed and grudgingly head to my J.O.B. I felt so trapped.
When I finally found my passion and put it into action, my spirit was freed.
How do you figure out what your passion is? It’s that thing that as a youth said you wanted to spend the rest of your life doing and your parents, the “older and wiser” people in your life told you to get back to reality, go to school and get a real job! It’s that thing that throughout this journey of your life has kept nudging trying to get your attention. That thing, that when you finally do give it your attention, you come alive. You tingle with joy and excitement. You get so caught up while you’re doing it that you look up at the time and say, “where did the time go”…toward your passion
Read: Ten steps to finding your passion
Life is much too short to spend it in drudgery. Going to a J.O.B. to build someone else’s dream and fattens someone else’s bank account. Consider my absolute favorite quote:
“Why tell your grandkids you worked 9-5, five days a week for 40 years & quietly sat in traffic jams while people went to war, suffered disease and shot their own classmates? Tell them you crossed the Amazon, saw the Lost Cities of Gold and met your soul mate in Casablanca. Go now! Live adventures & make your grandkids proud!”
Now maybe travel is not your thing, that’s fine, but what is? It’s the concept that I want you to get from this quote. I want you to try this exercise after reading this article:
Close your eyes. I’m serious, close them. See yourself in your mind. Now imagine you are living your life the exact same way you are right now, same routine, same habits. Now fast forward 5 years. How old are you now? Where are you? What have you achieved? Are you happy? Fulfilled? Now go ahead 5 more years (so 10 years later). How old are you now? Where are you? What have you achieved? Are you happy? Fulfilled? Keep going ahead and allow yourself to feel the emotions that come with this and draw your own conclusion.
I encourage you to really uncover and embrace/accept your passion. Once you’ve done that I will discuss ways to pursue your passion and turn it into a viable revenue stream so you can break out of that cubicle.
Live on PURPOSE!
Faith + Action (power) – Worry = Change
Oh Internet..
Faith is the Substance
So what’s the problem? Life’s not going the way you want? Seems like “stuff” keeps happening? Maybe you were going really well in life, things were going good but then you got bumped by life and somehow allowed circumstances and situations to beat up on you. Snap out of this! Don’t you know that you’re above this! You are above situations.
You are God’s great creation. God lives in you and moves through you and he has given you POWER over circumstances. Do you know what power means? The actual dictionary definition? There are three definitions, one of which is “The ability (able to do) to do or act.” Think about it when something has power it is able to do or act in its purpose. God has given you the ability to do or act over your circumstances. But you have to believe this and receive it. He can’t MAKE you believe because he has also given us the “power” of choice.
You know that God lives in you right? The bible tells us our body is the temple of God. His Spirit resides in us and prompts us and gives us power but we are the vessel and we need to use our vessel (feet, hands, eye, ears, mouth etc) to follow out the truth in flesh that is in the spirit. That’s ACTION.
So after you grasp and truly believe, you need to do/act. Faith requires ACTION to be complete. Do you notice Jesus was always moving? Have a look at the Gospels and read the beginning of each chapter, he was moving. It’s called “walking” in faith and walking is action. Read James, faith without works (actions) is dead. Your actions of course have to be in line with your faith. You can’t say I have faith and believe that I have the power to change my life and circumstances and then take counterproductive steps. It has to align.
So Again,” faith without works (actions in line with your faith) is dead” so you need to take ACTION on your faith and believe that you have power.
No faith also by its very definition means you do not worry. You did not create you and you have no idea of knowing what your tomorrow will be. Absolutely none! So stop trying because IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to know tomorrow. Trust God and just live. Stop letting life control you and beat you down and use your power to take faithful action in the form on one step forward and up out of it, without worry. The bible tells us God knew our end before we were even born. He knows! So let Him be the one to steer this ship!
We all get bumped sometimes and have down time but you have to come out of it and through it. Leave the ‘ish behind and take the lesson with you and go forward.
I remember my pastor saying something to the affect that when you feel like your life is under attack, situations seem to keep arising, it’s really a sign that there is something great that the devil is trying his hardest to prevent you from achieving. God has something great planned for your life on the other end of that situation. Are you really going to give in?
Faith + action (power) – worry = change
Live on PURPOSE!
How to Eliminate Fear
Forget Fear! Be Free
Hey Internet!
Are you happy? No, I mean REALLY happy. You know that unstoppable joy that just permeates your entire soul. That whatever is happening, you may be shaken but never stirred? Many of us are just not happy. Simply put. We just float through life’s drudgery, from one mindless, soulless routine to the next. Alive but not living.
There are many aspects to happiness but I’d like to touch on one not often covered and rarely linked to happiness. Fear.
Fear is one of the fundamental emotions that creates a chasm between living your dreams (happiness) and stagnating (just existing). It’s been often said that we are born with only a couple of fears. Most our fears we acquire as we experience life and our minds links certain feelings (joy, sadness…fear) to these experiences. Fear however was designed to be a survival mechanism. Like when a car is careening down the road at you. Fear is what kicks you adrenaline into full gear and gets you out of the way. This fear I speak of is unhealthy fear, a survival mechanism gone wrong. Most of these fears are not even rational in the real world sense. What is the number one fear people have? Public speaking. Not dying, not drowning…public speaking. We have fear of losing it all; fear of what others might think; fear of being less than enough. Fear of heights; fears of spiders etc. Fears comes in many forms.
Here is an acronym for fear you should always remember. Fear is: FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. It’s what your mind has associated with the thing and not necessarily the reality of the thing. Going on a cruise DOES NOT necessarily mean you’re going to drown.
Fears are the result of not having faith. Not having confidence in yourself or a thing. Sometimes it’s even a result of control issues. You fear a certain situation because you feel that while in that situation you have no control over the outcome and that scares you. But what fear really does is sabotage us and creates an alibi for not living. So, my fear of drowning means my whole family or all of my girlfriends are going on an amazing Caribbean cruise and I refuse to go because I may drown…on a cruise ship. Hmmm?
Don’t let your fears stand in the way of your dreams and living life because nothing is more PAINFUL than regret. Whatever it may be where ever the fear may be…look it in the eyes and take it on full force. You need to face fears as a step in unleashing happiness. When you face your fears, you access the power that is within you that has been shoved deep down inside over time by situations. Its liberating. When you conquer that thing that has had your stomach in knots for years you feel like a giant. Unstoppable. And now your spirit is open to take on anything.
So what are you afraid of? Look it in the eye and take it on. You’re bigger than it!
I dare you. I double dog dare you to live. I dare you to create a ritual for yourself and go out once a month, let’s say the first Friday of every month. We’ll call it “Fear Free Friday” and do something that scares you. Seriously. Maybe skydiving or caving?
Or maybe just go out and do something new every month to expose you to life. We can call it “First Free Fridays” the day you explore being free. Free from limitations. Free to live.
For my Friday ritual I go on Meet Market Adventures. It’s a travel and adventure group for singles. Truthfully you don’t reeeeally have to be single. He have various activities like indoor and outdoor climbing, skydiving, scuba lessons, fencing. They have simple things like Italian cooking lessons, this list goes on and on. For me I’ve incorporated the two. I try to do something new every month and when a something pops up on meet market that would scare my butt off, I choose that and battle the demon!
Live on PURPOSE!
Changing Your State of Being Can Change Your Life
Change Your State & You Change Your Life
Hey Internet!
Do you ever find yourself just in a funk? Woke up on the wrong side of the bed or just having a bad day? You know you need to pull out of it because you still have a day to get through and a life to live but you just don’t know how. I’m sure you have, we all have, or I’d seriously have to question if you’re human. Anyhow, IF you want to get out of it (some people don’t. They just enjoy wallowing in it) I’ll share with you what has worked for me.
Essentially, you are in a paralysing STATE of sadness, despair, confusion, etc which all give off certain energy and you need to change your “state” to an enabling state of confidence, joy, power and ultimately change to a different energy level.
State change is usually a very scientific term. Essentially, when a substance changes from one state, or phase, of matter to another we say that it has undergone a change of state, or we say that it has undergone a change of phase. Each change of state is accompanied by a change in the energy of the system. These changes of phase always occur with a change of heat. Although the heat content of the material changes, the temperature does not.
So, in changing your state you are actually changing your heat (energy) even though externally the temperate (situation) is still the same. You’re changing your reaction to your environment.
There are a few ways to change your state. One of which is with your body. This is called Physiology – the way you breathe, hold your body, posture, your movements, and actions determine what state you are in. Seriously. Try this: take a minute and allow your body and mind to mimic a dressed person. How is your body?…Slumped? Where is your head?…Down? How is your breathing?..Shallow? So your physiology affects your mood/state.
Another is your mind. Changing your thoughts through affirmations, prayer, meditation, and faith application is a great way to change your state.
One thing I found that worked really well for me (because I’m a little too shy to just up and scream “yes” while walking down the street) and I find kind of incorporates the two is music. I love music and I find certain songs just have a way of getting me really excited, inspired, spiritual, powerful etc. As I listen to these songs, I see myself in my mind, dancing, laughing and acting the fool. I can actually feel my limbs wanting to actually take part, a smirk comes on my face and instantly, I’m in a different state! Its best to make actual physical movement but my visualization when these songs are on are so real that, like I said I can actually feel my body wanting to participate. I start standing tall, my head goes back. It’s crazy! Music, just music and I feel completely different.
We all have songs like this. Songs we’ve heard from our childhood up to today. These songs have a way of igniting something in us (joy, excitement, gratitude, inspiration, powerful, unstoppable, or just plain giddiness) no matter what’s going on.
Some songs that really move me to pure state ob bliss are:
Kirk Franklin – Still In Love
Troop – Spread My Wings
Stevie B – I Wanna Be The One (Don’t judge! You know you secretly LOOVE Stevie B! Tell the truth and shame the devil, lol!)
I have two state change CD’s. One is for spirituality. When I’m having a hard time connecting to God because my Spirit if distracted, I pop that in and the songs I’ve chosen really move me to praise and deep love and appreciation. When I need a pick up, some excitement, joy etc I pop in my other CD. I also have both as playlists on my MP3. Even when I don’t NEED a pick up I’ll listen to it anyhow because I love the way these songs make me feel and the state they move me to. Especially in the morning, it kind of sets my excitement and energy for the day.
The reason music works so well is that somewhere in your life, your song associated that song with a particular emotion. Maybe something great was happening in your life at the time and you felt powerful. Now your brain has linked that song with feeling powerful. Or that popular love song that was playing when you broke up with someone…your brain has linked pain with that song. Nothing wrong with the song. The song may be great and someone else may link that song with passionate love but your circumstances at the time has made an association.
If don’t already have the albums but you know what songs you want you can save money and time buying the mp3 versions on Amazon.
If you can change a state, you can change a behavior
Live on PURPOSE!
Failure is Impossible
Hello Internet!
Never QuitHello Internet!
Let me share one of my epiphanies with you. In my journey through life I’ve come gratefully to learn that failure is actually NOT POSSIBLE. You either succeed or learn something to make your next step a better one.
In my former life I was a REALTOR….for a minute. I went through so much preparation, aced the exams and joined a amazing brokerage with a laid out plan for success. But, because of what I know realized was a lack of confidence (the key ingredient in any thing you do) I made NO money. As time went on, the savings dwindled and the debt mounted and I did what I thought was my only option, I quit. And that was my fatal error.
Mind you Real Estate wasn’t my passion but if making money was the goal, quitting was my “failure”. I took so many lessons from the experience and learnt so much about myself, who I was and what I wanted that in reality it only made me a better and more focused person.
When working through your plan, your business, your passion and something happens that has you felling like you’ve failed or just has you feeling down on yourself, remember that the train is still moving. Life is still moving and you have the choice to continue riding this train or jump off and end up stranded…nowhere. If you’re walking in your purpose, in your passion, I encourage you to stay on the train and remember this situation is actually just a setback and a setback is a setup for a comeback! Learn from the setback and go forward.
When you find you’ve hit a setback:
- Take time to think about your goal, the intended end result
- Consider the steps you’ve taken thus far
- Now reevaluate and create new plan based on the lessons you just learnt and PRESS TOWARD THE MARK
- Stay FOCUSED on the end result. The prize.
You have to stay focused on your goal. Focus means: Follow On Course Until Successful. The saying “keep your eye on the prize” has really been thrown around but that’s what you need to do, always keep a mental picture of that beautiful prize. You can’t stop. Your victory, your success is just on the other side of this. Keep going.
And don’t beat up on yourself. It’s easy to look at other people and think that everyone else has it together but you. We are our biggest critics but I’ve come to learn that you never really know what’s going on with people, you just see what they display. The reality is we all deal with setbacks and disappointments. The key is, as I’ve kept saying, is to keep going with forward positive movement.
The great thing about life is you create it and in the case of failure, you set the parameters on what failure is. For me, failure is giving up. I have set in my spirit that the only way I can fail is if I give up. As long as I don’t give up there is always a way and a chance for reaching my mark. The only way I won’t get there, is if I stop pressing. But I’ve also added the caveat that no matter what, if I quit or it quits me, if I learn valuable lessons to apply towards my next step, I’ve succeed as a person.
Live on PURPOSE
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Isn’t it funny how we always want the rain to go away so we can go outside enjoy the outdoors without understanding that, outside wouldn’t be so enjoyable without the nourishment the rain provides?
How different would our lives be if we could learn to appreciate when it rains in our lives? I know, speaking for myself, if I could seriously hold on to the truth that those moments of rain in my life are providing nourishment by way of lessons of persistence, change, compromise, patients etc., my life would be so much richer! So why don’t I do it?
I heard somewhere that a really good tactic is to create a list of accomplishments in your life. Accomplishments that you are proud of, regardless of what anyone else thinks. And keep adding to this list over time. When the doubt comes, and the rain pours refer to your list to remind you of who you really are and what you are capable of. Not a bad suggestion. I’ve recently created my list. It has 11 things on it. I don’t know if that’s a good number or not but in reading the list I found I got a feeling of “wow, I seriously can do anything I commit myself to”!
Here’s a thought. Maybe make it an inspiration page by adding pictures to it. Visuals always help the receptivity of ideas/thoughts. Make it almost like your vision board but instead it’s a place you look at to remind yourself of all you have accomplished and are capable of.
I need your input…
Hey Internet,
As you may have noticed I haven’t written in a few days. Call it writers block, lack of inspiration or distraction. My thoughts as of late have been somewhat random. I’ve been torn between where I should place my focus. You see, I’m not sure if I told you this, but I’m moving to Jamaica. So, I’m torn between, do I focus on the move or this personal development plan. Oops, again not sure if I told you but I’m on a journey that will run approx 1 year to tackle certain areas of my life. Each area gets a 40 day focus (there is significance in 40 days). Now, without working on completely transforming myself and my life the move to Jamaica may be jeopardized. Hence the need for the PD. However I’m SO excited about this move and feel like if I don’t keep it, the “prize” so to speak fresh in my mind, I could loose focus on why I’m doing what I’m doing and lose my motivation.
So this is where you come in internet. I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, this site is not just about me (even though NONE of y’all said anything to me yet) so what I’m asking internet is for our insight. Yes, I am praying and meditating to seek clarity. But I’d also like to know what you think and how you may have deal with something similar.
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You Don’t Need a Job, You Need Guts
