A Thought on Canada Day

On Canada Day, I am reminded even more about how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful country. We have everything we need to live a great life. I’m sure most of you reading this feel the same way.  For those of you who don’t, take a trip to a 3^rd world country, live there for a while and come back. I grew up in Toronto all my life until my parents’ divorce caused me to move to Manila, Philippines with my mom. Believe me when I say, we are very fortunate to live in Canada!

 So this made me think a little. What am I doing to be a blessing to others when I have been blessed with so much?

Being blessed with so much, it is our responsibility to be the best we can be. Why? So we can experience the great life we are already positioned to experience, and also so we can make a difference in this world.  I feel that because we live in such a great country, we often feel we have the luxury to indulge in our fears. Fear of failure, fear of success...and some of us are just plain lazy.  

So I challenge you today to be the best you can be. Take advantage of all the resources Canada has to offer you. Being your best self in all that you do has a ripple effect whether you see it or not. And it doesn’t require you to relocate to Africa, it doesn’t require you to give up your daily Starbucks. Just be you. The BEST you.

Happy Canada Day everyone!

A little PR Goes a Long Way

Have you ever examined an area of your life that is causing you pain and said to yourself: Well, it’s not my fault. If the government would shape up... If the price of gas would stop increasing... It’s not my fault it’s his...”

We cannot control what happens around us in the world. The only thing we can control is ourselves – our thoughts, attitudes, feelings and actions. The only way to start focusing internally instead of externally is to make an important shift in our perspective. We need to start taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for our lives.

You might say: But how do I take personal responsibility for my mother-in-law calling me every 2 minutes? I can’t get any work done! I’m self-employed not unemployed!!

Ask yourself: Is your mother-in-law the real problem OR are you choosing not to set healthy boundaries with her? Ah.

What about this one: The kids and work take up so much of my time I don’t have any time for date nights anymore with my husband. 

Ask yourself: Are the kids and your boss the real issue? Who chooses how you spend your time? Who writes your schedule in your agenda? Who decides what priority is and what isn’t?

I think you get the point. Once we start taking personal responsibility for things that happen in our lives, we position ourselves as having the power to do something pro-active about it.

Coaching Questions:

Which area in your life is causing you pain that you are currently not taking personal responsibility for?
What is the core issue?
Are you ready to take Personal Responsibility for this are in your life?

Think of 1-3 ways you can exercise your personal power and make some changes in this area.

Cover-my-butt Disclaimer: The above first example was fictional and in no way describing my own mother-in-law. She’s amazing! J

Perfection Paralysis
 

Are you suffering from Perfection Paralysis? You know, the virus that keeps you from translating your hopes and dreams into action and results due to the constant desire for perfection?

This type of paralysis has affected me in some areas of my life. I had the desire to grow and take action, even set SMART goals, bought the tools I need, get the people in place, but when it came time to take action, I fell short. I was afraid to because I knew I’d stumble along the way as I got my bearings and in doing so, not producing initial results that I considered “good enough”. 

Two weeks ago I made the decision to overcome this awful paralysis. The cure?  Courage, determination and a success partner! I pushed myself to take action, even when I heard my little gremlin say: Are you sure it’s good enough?  Whoa...don’t you need to edit that blog some more before you post it?. I had to consciously push its remarks aside and took MASSIVE ACTION. It was downright uncomfortable. And you know what? It feels great!!!  I’ve never been so productive in my life!

I realized that not acting because I’m a “perfectionist” is not noble, nor is it productive. It doesn’t serve me or anyone else.  Don’t get me wrong, I still put a high emphasis on quality. There just comes a time in a production process where you have to decide that the product is great, wrap it up and SHIP! Then tweak along the way.  

What area in your life have you wanted to create significant positive change but you were suffering from this type of paralysis? 

·         Have you been waiting for your schedule to be just right before you start your exercise routine?
·         Are you waiting until your income is at a certain level before you start saving?
·         Do you put off dressing your current body shape well because you’ve not yet achieved your goal weight?

Whatever it is, I encourage you to TAKE ACTION TODAY. It doesn’t have to be huge like doing a 10 km run. Just do something, even if it means simply dusting off your sneakers and walking for 5 minutes.  Then your momentum will build. It’s not going to be easy. You’re really going to have to take action based on CHOICE and not on how you feel. It helps having a success partner egging you on and shouting on the sidelines: Good job man, go go go!!   I thought I would be super tired being so productive (yet another limiting belief!) but it’s actually the reverse. I’m super ENERGIZED by getting so much done!

Answer these and then GO! GO! GO!

Which area in your life do you desire positive change?

What is one thing you can do TODAY to get the ball rolling?

Who could be your chief encourager during the process?

Courage

For the last 30 days, you have been given so much information on how you can experience success, wealth and happiness in your life.

People who experience success weren't all born with the silver spoon of success. They are successful because they are courageous! They are willing to try. They are willing to fail. They are willing to get back up and try again!

“Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit.” — Baltasar Gracián 

 

 

What is one courageous thing you can commit to doing today?

30

DAY CHALLENGE: DAY 30

Lessons to Master Your Money, Career, Health & Relationships.

Congratulations!!! This is the last day of the 30 Day Challenge!

I hope these lessons have challenged and inspired you and have propelled you into action! Thank you to Mastery TV for the video resources. Thank you for creating them and for encouraging us to share it with others! I encourage you all to do the same!

I created the coaching for you to help you apply the daily lessons. If you weren’t able to translate these principles into action yet, I encourage you to go back to them and use them as a tool to help you get started.

During these last 30 days, there was a lot of training and information given to you. I am confident that while there were some things that were new and enlightening, there were also some lessons that you were already aware of.

I feel the real challenge of this “30-Day Challenge” wasn’t to stay tuned for these 30 days, although if you did, BRAVO. Only a few people have your determination to create a better you, a better life.  The real challenge is: Now that you know, what are you going to do about it?

Enjoy this last video from Mastery TV and I encourage you to continue investing time towards your growth, to be courageous and use your gifts to make this world a better place!  It has been a pleasure and a privilege to journey with you these last 30 days!  

RESOURCE:

The Course in Mastery Day 30

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASmqjpraFM

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoGsVEH5QRM

COACHING CORNER:

·         What is the one area in your life right now that, if you worked on it, would change the quality of your life in a big way?

·         Which of the lessons you’ve learned in the 30 Day Challenge that you can apply so that you can start experiencing positive change in that area?

·         What would your reward be for having accomplished a major goal in this area?

30

DAY CHALLENGE: DAY 29

Lessons to Master Your Money, Career, Health & Relationships.

 

Welcome to the last 2 days of the 30 Day Challenge. The last two days will wrap up the series of powerful lessons we’ve been experiencing these last 28 days. If you’ve just discovered this 30 Day Challenge today, please feel free to jump in or start at Day 1.

Have you ever started a project and you were feeling so excited about it, your energy is 10/10, you’re just unstoppable! Then something grabs your attention and then another thing grabs your attention and after a while, you ask yourself, what was I doing again?  Some call it “The bright shiny object syndrome”.  How do you think that affects our effectiveness?

Because I’m such an “idea” person, I am very much guilty of this. Luckily I am aware of this in myself and have found some ways to keep myself focused. I developed my own personal mission statement for work and life using The Path™ process by Laurie Beth Jones. That helps me keep on my path and not get side tracked.  I know that my mission is to discover, develop and unleash the power within myself and others. I use this every time an opportunity comes my way – I can use that as a guide – to keep me focused on what things I want to get involved in and as a filter – to weed out things which are “time-wasters” or things that are not aligned with my life purpose.

When it comes to a project, large or small, mind maps have helped me a lot.  I create bubbles of all the things I have to do with regards to the project at hand and then I put an asterix on the task that I need to do first or the one that will have the most impact. Then I focus on that and only that until it is completed before I move on to the next thing.  

Using a timer is another great tool. It’s easier to focus on something when you know it’s only for 20 minutes (or a defined chunk of time). Then I commit to working on that and only that for that chunk of time.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, today’s lesson is all about The Power of Focus. Have you let tasks, events or people detract you from your path? There’s nothing that steals away and delays dreams and success like procrastination and lack of focus. Watch this powerful video below to hear Tom Wood’s powerful story about focus! As you watch it, think about the areas in your life that could be so different if you were super-focused on it! Enjoy!

 

RESOURCE:

The Course in Mastery Day 29

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRV19c8pEdE

 

COACHING CORNER:

 

·         Is lack of focus affecting your effectiveness in certain areas of your life?

·         What are the tools you can use to help you focus so that you can achieve success?

30

DAY CHALLENGE: DAY 28

Lessons to Master Your Money, Career, Health & Relationships.

What system or methodology do you use to evaluate opportunities that come your way? Do you use your gut? Your faith? Your moral compass?  All those are great ways, and there are even more ways that you will be introduced to today to evaluate opportunities that come your way. It’s important to learn these skills so that you can evaluate things effectively so that you can then take ACTION.

What are the excuses you usually tell yourself when you’re presented with an opportunity?  Are those statements true or is it based on fear?   As Dr. Phil says, you cannot change what you do not acknowledge. If you were brutally honest with yourself, are you not fulfilling your dreams because you’re constantly making excuses?  If so, what are you telling yourself and what are you going to do about it? 

The top 2 excuses that people make are 1) I have no time and 2) I have no money.   Both of which successful people will tell you is not an excuse. There are ways to achieve success if there is determination within an individual because when you’re determined, you’ll find a way.  Do you remember when you’ve wanted to buy that new gadget, or that new pair of fashionable shoes or an awesome concert came up that you just HAD to go to but you had no time or money? Did you move mountains to be able to buy that gadget, buy those shoes or go to that concert? I bet you did!  

Enjoy the videos and then go to the Coaching Corner to apply today’s lessons! Have a FANTASTIC week-end!!

RESOURCE:

The Course in Mastery Day 28

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_a_h1S08WY

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGYgVXDBPXE

COACHING CORNER:

Are you ready to apply today’s lesson?

Step 1:

Make a list of the top 10 excuses that you tell yourself. Then make a decision TODAY as to what you’re going to say to yourself instead.

Example: Excuse: “I can’t afford it.”    Productive thinking: “How can I afford it?”

Step 2:

Knowing why you want something is just as important as what you want. Look over your answers in your journal about what you want out of life. There were a few days that asked you to make a list of what your “wish list” is for your life, and also what your vision is for your life. If you haven’t done it already, it’s so important to do it so do that first.

Step 3:

Then apply the principle Jim Britt talked about in the video and ask yourself, “Why do I want this?” and bring it down to a feeling and write those feelings in words down beside what you want.