July 2018 - Recreating YOU at Any Age

Believe in the Good of Everything

Can you believe in the good of everything on your Journey to Recreating You?

Sometime ago I found a wonderful red leather journal and on the outside was a beautiful phrase that resonated with me carved into the leather in gold script: “Believe in the Good of Everything.” I didn’t need a journal but they were “on sale” and I could imagine giving this as a gift to one of my inspiring adult children. Today I write about how that beautiful red journal never left me and unknown to me, acquiring it was the first step in recreating me once again!

Knowing what you value is key in finding the good in everything and recreating YOU – Over the months ahead I found myself on a journey of simplification. That is a story for another blog. I discovered, or should I say I rediscovered, that of all the things I could part with, ANYTHING in my home that had a beautiful message on it or throughout it was a “must keep.” It occurred to me that in this magnificent day of technology where everything can be shared with the world with the click of a mouse or the “send” or “post” on your phone, I had a responsibility to make time to share my wealth of positivity. At first this seemed a daunting task. Slowly, I started to write in that beautiful red journal; it was always destined to be the vehicle of this journey, even though I didn’t know it when I bought it.

We get messages in our lives, signs, in all forms, and we don’t always answer the call. Are you paying attention? Check out my 4-step game plan

What’s in it for you to believe in the good of everything and how will it help recreating you? There is an inner strength that I don’t believe is attached to a specific religion; it is a faith that transcends all religions. In Alcoholics Anonymous they call it believing in “a Power greater than you”; I call it believing that everything that happens in our lives is guiding us, molding us, preparing us for some new chapter that we couldn’t fully become without the journey. In essence, it gives me the ability to “Believe in the good of everything.” Don’t mistake this phrase for saying that “bad is good.” It is more about believing that everything that happens to us is not without its purpose and power to impact our lives and often the lives of others and grow us into something we would not have been otherwise. Over time we learn that things are going to happen, things well beyond our control. Sometimes we will look back and wonder how we made it through; with each challenge, crisis, disappointment, we emerge stronger and wiser and the sun does indeed rise the next day.

When you try to believe in the good of everything are you burdened with trying to understand Why…why you…why now? Years ago I was the Program Manager for a four week long Career Program and we started every day with a quote. I found so many great ones; in fact, they nicknamed me “Queen of Quotes”. That was before you could just Google a quote, find images for it and read all about the author of the quote in a matter of minutes! Later when I randomly Googled some of the authors of those quotes I realized that typically the power of the words came from a significant life – you see everyone has a story! That is because every life is significant.

I came to realize that believing in the good of everything and the phrase “wisdom of the ages” is not about acquiring a lot of knowledge over the years and understanding everything. It is about experiencing a lot of life yourself, and also through the many people you meet along the way. It is this multitude of diverse life experiences that paves the way to a new understanding that there can be purpose to each life event. It is up to us to recreate the meaning of each of our life experiences as we grow in wisdom and understanding; in this way we can literally change our perspective of our life and of others.

For me I came to appreciate that over time believing in the good of everything is kind of like connecting the dots to complete a picture. I have a beautiful quote I keep in my bathroom on my mirror to remind me that each day I can know this truth: “BELIEF – When you come to the end of everything you know, and are faced with the darkness of the unknown, FAITH is knowing one of two things will happen. Either there will be something solid for you to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.” Barbara Winter. Understanding comes as we move through the darkness of the unknown to the light of inner knowing. This takes time and patience.

There are no free lunches; we have to pay our dues, live the gains and losses, and then we get to inspire and be memorable. One of these quotes is: “Bromidic though it may sound, some questions don’t have answers, which is a terribly difficult lesson to learn.” Katherine Graham (check out her amazing life). Don’t get stuck on a question.

The incredible motivational icon, Jim Rohn, had a great phrase when he talked about this. “Don’t ask why this and why that; I wouldn’t sign up for that class. Winter will always follow Fall, and Spring will always follow Winter. That is just the way it is.” Use your energy in another way and it will be easier to believe in the good of everything.

Adopt this approach to believe in the good of everything on your journey to recreating you! Next time you are faced with the unexpected try to embrace what you cannot yet see or feel or understand. When you start with this thinking it will help you have the ability to focus on taking the steps of moving forward rather than staying stuck in the why. It may be years before you can find the acceptance and gratitude but when you do, YOU will take yourself to a new level of joy and peace in your life.

How have your life experiences connected with each other over time to enable you to find a way to believe in the good of everything on your journey to Recreate YOU?

Send me your successes for it is in sharing that we empower each other!

4 Step Game Plan for a Full Life

Recreating YOU with a 4 Step Game Plan

Do you have a step by step game plan for a full life?

I came up with a 4-step game plan to guide my life. Perhaps it will serve you as well. The acronym is SPTL! Show up every day even when it is tempting to sit one out, pay attention to the details by focusing on possibilities, trust the process without questioning or having all the answers even when progress feels slow, let go of the delivery details and the “how soon” and “when” pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. Let’s take a minute to break this down.

Recreating You Step 1 – Show up: Think of a time when you reluctantly showed up and it was beyond what you could have imagined. Years ago I was sitting in my car, drinking in the beauty of the ocean to find some inner peace, and talking on my cell phone to my sister clear across the country. That was in the day when a one-hour long distance conversation cost $50.00! As we went to say good bye my sister said, “Promise me you will keep your phone on.” I did make that promise, even though I wanted to run away and hide in my sadness and lost faith. My phone was on a call forward from my office and within an hour I received a “life changing phone call” that began the best eight years of my career, in terms of complete fulfillment. Had I not answered that offer might have gone to someone else who decided to be available and show up!

Recently I heard an interesting story from a renowned presenter with a 10-year success history of filling a room. He said that they always booked twice the number of people that the fire code allowed in the room and they knew only 50% of the people would show up. The tickets were free but the presentation had tremendous value and was the introduction of a great 3-day program to change their future. The speaker went on to say that in ten years they had never had to turn anyone away. It was a proven benchmark that one out of two people will not follow through on their own plan and show up – even when it is free. Hence the phrase “80% of Success is Showing Up.”

Promise yourself that you will not lose by default; that you will show up every day on the path to recreating you.

Recreating You Step 2 – Pay attention: How often in life do we go through the day on auto pilot? Today with so many distractions of emails, text messages, Facebook, Instagram etc. how often are we fully present for our own life? Everyday there is the unexpected: people we meet, things we hear, news that no one anticipated. It could be a former co-worker who previously only knew you in one position that comes to you after the company you both worked in closes their doors. She could say, “I saw a job posting I think you would be good at, you should apply.” You could say to yourself, “how would she know?” or “I have never done anything like that before” or “why would they hire me with no experience in that field?” Or you could pay attention and apply for the job anyway.

Maybe there is a bigger reason we both met, maybe she sees something in me I don’t even see in myself, maybe the angels sent her…who knows, but I paid attention. Who or what is trying to get your attention to recreating you?

Recreating You Step 3 – Trust the process: Think of a time when you were on a path and things didn’t seem to be working out. You might go two steps forward and one step back. You were losing confidence and faith and starting to think that maybe the stars were never going to line up for you and maybe your life just wasn’t going to come together no matter how hard you were trying.

You were interviewed for a job, they liked you a lot, you were their second choice, but the person who got hired had a “Master’s Degree” and you did not. And then the Universe had another plan. It became part of a great story in the Career Program! The clients never knew you were talking about yourself. The person with the Master’s Degree showed her true colours in the first few days on the job. They had reconsidered the wisdom of their first decision and were now calling to offer you the job! “Were you still interested?! “

When we trust the process and don’t try to control the outcome or ask why, amazing things evolve in our lives; later we see that everything was happening in due time. Recreating you is a process.

Recreating You Step 4 – Let go of the delivery details: How often do we believe that we know best, somewhat like a child that barters with their parent? We know what we need and when. Why is it taking so long? You need things to come together now! This is perhaps the hardest part of this 4-step game plan to recreating you.

Can you let go of the delivery details? This takes trusting the process to a whole new level of belief. Trust grows when you can look back on a time when you had to let go of the delivery details. Think of a time when things might have looked like they simply could not work out and the ending might not be manageable in any way – and then things did work out in a way you could not have imagined. It is important not to write our own endings even before they happen.

How can you develop that trust and let go of the delivery details to allow the Universe to help you find the ways to recreating you?

Have you pieced together this story? She showed up and answered the phone, she paid attention to the co-worker and applied for a job she never would have on her own without the encouragement of her friend, she trusted the process of the delay in being hired, and she let go of the delivery details. In the end she didn’t need the Master’s Degree and her friend was right, she was perfect for the job without it.

Plan to be surprised on the path to recreating you!

Good luck with this simple 4-step game plan – SPTL. Start it today and see what unexpected things happen in your journey to recreating you!

Send me your successes for it is in sharing that we empower each other!