Don’t Be Scared To Begin

Access the podcast episode here: https://tinyurl.com/yj3eddp8

Every journey begins with taking a small step toward starting on a path to where you want to go. In each stage, you accept the thoughts of fear, failure, and fraud, making you feel like running in the opposite direction; however, if you never begin, you will never know how amazing your life will become.

When I decided to start my entrepreneur journey as a writer, I was full of uncertainty and didn’t know how everything would work out. And to be honest, I am still wondering how everything will unfold, but in this journey of surrender, I realize life is a daring adventure. Helen Keller said it best, life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.

So when will you cast away the fear, let go of the idea of failure, and dive into a life you have always dreamed of? 

The greatest failure is never being bold enough to start and wishing you would have started. My writing has helped me explore so many different elements of myself. I went from writing poetry, articles for online magazines, blogging, and becoming an author of multiple books. 

As a writer, living my lifelong dream opened up so many doors for me, attending a writing workshop in Paris, France, in 2014. Paris changed the way I viewed myself as a writer and creative soul. My writing was resurrected with vibrance, passion, and soul after arriving back in the U.S.

I want you to understand how vital it is to leap into the life you desire because fear, failure, and feeling fraudulent will always be there. 

Below I want to give you three ways to let the fear reside; understand not starting is the only failure, and the actual fraudulence is not doing what your soul was called to do.

1. Start with Intention. You don’t have to have it all figured out, but if you set a goal & carry it out you will land right among the stars.
2. We are all trying to figure it out. No one in life really knows what they are doing, so be okay with the fact that being perfect is unrealistic, but making progress is vital.
3. Failure will always be an option. If you never fail, how will you grow, learn and become better in life? The thing I am learning is the only failure is never starting, so just begin

The End of An Era……

Wow, I can’t believe next week Sunday is my birthday. My 30’s journey has been a beautiful evolution of “self”. I have been able to spend the years of my thirties facing issues of my past, closing the door to my past, making intentional changes to my life and most of all becoming the woman I desire to be.

As a single mom I have endured many hardships and personal setbacks but my 30’s have been my years of reflection, refreshing, starting over again and creating the life I desire.

I have become comfortable in my own skin. I love the woman I have evolved into at this point in my life. However, I know the journey is a continuous process. I am excited about my future ahead.

Since, I am commemorating the last year of my 30’s, I am sharing 39 lessons with you I learned during my 30’s journey.

Here are the 39 lessons I learned in my 30’s:
1. Confidence. Confidence is something that starts within & it is something you work on everyday.
2. No validation needed. You are grown,stop asking for permission.
3. No is a complete sentence. Stop explaining yourself.
4. Mind your own business. It never matters what others are doing. Stay focused on your life.
5. No deprivation. Stop depriving yourself of the things you love & desire.
6. Know Your Worth. You have to know your worth to know what you deserve then you will stop giving discounts to people who undermine your quality.
7. Self-care is important. Self-care is about preservation. You have to put it into practice for all areas of your life (mental, emotional, financial, physical & spiritual).
8. Trust God. 
9. Get out your own way.
10. Ask for help.
11. Be gentle with yourself you are doing the best you can.
12. Stop procrastinating.
13. Do it afraid.
14. Get out your comfort zone.
15. Be your own best friend.
16. Speak up. You have a voice use it.
17. Stop chasing. You don’t have to chase a man, friends, people or dreams. All the things meant for you will come at the right time.
18. Travel somewhere new. 
19. Date yourself.
20. Believe in yourself.
21. Do what is best for you.
22. Be unapologetic about your greatness.
22. Set boundaries.
23. Spend time with those that celebrate you not tolerate you.
24. Celebrate yourself.
25. Be patience.
26. Saunter through life.
27. Let things flow.
28. Detach yourself from the outcome.
29. Stop the comparison. When you learn to value your life you will feel no need to compare your life to others.
30. Have faith.
31. Smile often, Laugh more.
32. Have fun. Include more bliss, pleasure & enjoyment in your life.
33. Be ok with not being ok.
34. Be vulnerable.
35. Live life. Don’t just exist live your life alive.
36. Reinvent yourself.
37. Reflect.
38. Pursue your dreams. No matter how old you are you can always pursue the things you desire.
39. Be limitless. Don’t put limitations on your life.

Be Brave.

Mediocrity does not fit you well. It is the enemy of your comfortable life and mind. You have gifts, skills and abilities to change the world but you fear rejection, lack of provision and wonder if you are good enough. While you allow mediocrity to keep you in your comfort zone you are missing out on how extraordinary your life can really be. So, it’s time to let go of mediocrity and get out of your own way. It’s time to become GREATNESS!

How often does being mediocre stop you from being the greatness you were born to be? I understand you wonder if what you really want to do can financially provide for all your human needs. You question yourself and wonder can you really be successful in following your passion and purpose. All, I can say is that I have recently been faced with these plaguing thoughts about being a full-time writer.

A couple of weeks ago I had one of my good friends tell me that I was in my own way of succeeding. She let me know that the gift I had was God sent and I needed to pursue it. She further explained how I was choosing what was easy due to fear of me being rejected and not believing in my own greatness. So, all I could do is listen to her and agree because her words were just the motivation I needed to believe in myself.

After leaving the military my career life took me down a path of self-discovery. I discovered that I wanted to get back to the love of writing and pursue it as a full-time career. I no longer wanted to dream about being a full-time writer but I wanted to live this dream. Since I was a child it was always my dream to write and travel around the world.

At a young age I wrote endless, short stories, poems, plays, songs and more. Writing is not only my passion but it is also my purpose. So, why was I not brave enough to do what I love? The answer was simple I was fearful of the opinions of others. Many times I have heard people say writing is not a real job. And I somewhat allowed this statement to resonate in my mind, playing over and over again like a scratched record.  

However, I fail to understand that the words we believe about our self shape our reality. The reality for me is, I am not a 9 to 5 Monday through Friday person. I am a creative soul who needs freedom, variety and flexibility. I understand I have to embrace my eccentricity. I can no longer reject pieces of myself to keep a mediocre life. I made the decision to put on my cape of bravery and pursue what I love.

The greatest lesson I am learning on this journey is no one will give you opportunities you have to be brave enough to create your own. And you have to believe in your greatness no matter how many opinions are stacked against you. In order to soar with eagles you have to be brave enough to leave the nest.

So, what you need to do to get out your own way, invest in your greatness and make the decision to be brave?

Being boring is a choice and being brave is an adventure choose wisely!

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Leap Into Your 2016!

She wanted her life to change but she was doing the same things producing recyclable results. Everything in her life was stale because she was on the train of insanity. She wanted to jump off the train  so she could catch another one leading her somewhere else. She knew this insanity train had ran its final course. So, she decided to be brave and leap to start a new beginning. It was time to do new things, take different risk and make different investments. Once she started the process she realized she became a different person because fear was behind her while faith stood in front of her.  

The above scenario is all too familiar for me because I was the girl who over analyzed everything. I wanted to live life but was scared of making the wrong decisions. I envied those who took a leap without second guessing every move. I needed something different to happen in my life. The only way things would change if I made different investments to produce a different outcome. So, in 2016 I am leaping even though we are only two months into this year my life has changed. 

You may wonder, how did my life change? Well, I stopped recycling the same unproductive things in my mind. Every year ended the same way because nothing in me really changed. My life had been a constant struggle since I got out the military. However, I could use my youngest daughter’s death and every other tragic thing that happen to me as an excuse to be miserable but I won’t.

True enough, my life has not been a bed of roses but this year I decided to make different choices to get different results. I thought I was living life but to be honest I was not because fear was my best friend. I understand now that life is beautiful when you start to leap. Yes, it is always good to use wisdom, pray or whatever you have to do to feel at peace about taking a risk. But sometimes you only get a once in a lifetime chance to make a decision that can change your life. I started to understand people are scared to take a risk because they love being comfortable. Nothing will ever grow from your state of comfort. In order, to really live life you have to step out of your comfort zone and be okay with being uncomfortable.

My journey has just started but I can no longer go back to the black hole of existing. The hole of existing is a deep depressing miserable place to be. I encourage you to take a leap in your life and watch how many blessings come your way!

Below are three proven ways you can start to Leap:

1) Be like Nike & Just Do It! If you want to go to Paris, quit your job, go to college, travel around the world or anything else I encourage you to just do it. Get a plan and start executing living the life you desire. 

2) Invest In You. Investing in yourself will increase your confidence. Confidence gives you a sense of guts to conquer everything you desire. Start to make an investment in yourself so you can get the best possible profit.

3) Keep It Simple. Simplicity is bliss don’t feel the need to over complicate things by over analyzing things. Over analyzing will cause you to miss out on a wonderful life.

These three steps will help you jump start your Leap Year. If you need more motivation go to this link http://tinyurl.com/juqhsq3   topurchase my new eBook as I help you gain the confidence you need to live the life you deserve. 


Reference:
Photo credit https://higherdensity.wordpress.com/tag/matt-kahn/  

Believe In Yourself!

I am often reminded of a powerful quote by Marianne Williamson (from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles) that says: 

“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’s 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.”

After reading this quote I realize their is power in believing in yourself. When you hear people say believe in yourself what comes to your mind? Well, when I think of this term I am reminded how important it is to have faith. Faith is essential in the process of believing in yourself & your greatness. Often we battle with insecurities and achieving great success because we do not have a belief in who & what we are. Self doubt causes us to believe we are inadequate which launches the path to fear. When fear is activated it stifles our growth and creativity. 

However, when you do not allow fear to override your faith great things begin to happen. One of the things that begin to manifest is your confidence is increased. The second thing is it teaches you not to give up on your dreams no matter how long it takes. Lastly, giving up is never an option when you allow faith to conquer the fear of your belief.

Below are 3 steps you can take to believe in yourself:

1) Faith It To You Make It! 

In Hebrews 11: 1 in the bible it says, “Now faith is the substance for things hoped for the evidence of things not seen” which literally means what you cannot see(unexpected outcome you cannot visualize). If you begin to have faith in yourself & believe in your success then it can be accomplished. Put faith in practice! 

2) Get Turnt Up! 

In today’s millennial world we are endlessly unhappy about everything instead of being grateful for all things. If you learn to be grateful for all that you are then you can appreciate yourself. The best way to appreciate yourself is by celebrating all that you are. If you wait on others you will be disappointed so “get turnt up” on who you are!  

3) Walk It Out!

The road is long to any journey but as you are on your journey of self-discovery & increasing your self esteem remember to take the time to pause. Rome was not built in a day so as you walk out your fear, anxiety or frustrations just remember you are an imperfect masterpiece! 

So take the time to believe in all that you were created to be…..Simply Believe In Yourself!