Do you believe in yourself?

If any of you know me, you know I just LOVE motivational quotes. To me they are little bits of inspiration that come to us to help and encourage us on our journey in life. I ran across a quote from a College Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, John Wooden. He said, "Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." I just LOVED this quote!! To many times I think we define ourselves by what we "can't" do rather than what we "can" do, or we believe our weaknesses are more of who we are rather than our strengths. These are limiting beliefs. Some of us are PROS at creating limiting beliefs about ourselves. We build huge thick walls around us one limiting belief at a time until we've created a terribly lonely and isolated life that keeps us from seeing ANY of our strengths. We ALL have strengths! I don't know of one person in my life or who I've ever met that doesn't have strengths. Each are different but all are very important. The secret to true happiness in life is to find those strengths and push them to the limit.

With the economy that we are living in now, things are very tough. I've been watching on the news lately and a positive theme I've been picking up on is that people are now "re-inventing" themselves. Whether it is going back to school to get a different degree or totally starting from scratch and starting their own business in something they are passionate about or just re-evaluating their priorities, simplifying and living their lives on a little less but living their life with much more passion, or peace and contentment. I've been REALLY impressed with the stories of these people. Some lost their jobs and started out with ZERO experience in business, or college education and started a new business and are now living the lives they always wanted to live. Even with so much against them they were able to find their strengths, what they COULD do, and build upon it and pushed and pushed until they succeeded!

Now we may not be out of a job and trying to create a whole new income for ourselves but my question to you is this, are you living your life based upon your strengths and building upon them and feeling more and more complete or are you just taking life day by day and living what ever comes your way building your limiting belief wall brick by brick telling yourself you have nothing to offer, you can't change your circumstances so you will just be content with what life deals you????

Here's some food for thought. What if Leonardo DaVinci was not a good public speaker and he let that thought control his life, or maybe Abraham Lincoln might not have had a great singing voice and he let that thought rule his life, or if Mother Teresa felt she wasn't great at school and that belief affected other areas in her life?? How would our history be different? How would their lives be different? How would our lives be different? Each of these great people found what they were good at, what made them feel complete. They didn't allow any of their weaknesses define them and rule them. They didn't live just what life dealt to them. They discovered their passion and LIVED IT!  You can to! Who knows your talent may be right in front of you! What seems to come easily to you? Do people ask you for advise in a certain area? Live there! And don't let what you can't do interfere with what you are doing!

Do you have elephants in your closet???

Today is the day I begin to organize my life!!! Yeah!!! When I think about getting my life organized I can get overwhelmed. At this point though, the exciting part is that I am ready to start. I once heard the question asked, "How do you eat an elephant?" the answer was, "One bite at a time"! So today I am going to eat my first bites.

I read this great quote today by Edward W. Smith and he said,"Make room for the new you. You may not have totally determined who the new you is going to be, but you probably have decided that there are some things about the current you, that you want to change. Well while you are working on what the new you will be, start 'cleaning out a room' for the new you to live in. Get rid of the junk in your life both physical and mental that doesn't fit you anymore. Take things out of your schedule that are taking your time away from finding out what you want to do. By making room for the new you, you will create a vacuum that the new you will rush in to fill and you will be on your way to the top."

I am going to start by deep cleaning one room in my house. Anything that I'm not using, I'm going to get rid of or if it is a keepsake I'm going to box it up and put it in storage. I'm going to clean blinds,windows and re-paint the room and trim boards, re-place the closet door with a new one, and put in new carpet. I'm going to do that one room at a time until all the bedrooms are totally re-done and then I will feel like I have a new home!

I'm also going to be working on organizing ME! I have some goals I am starting today that will make me a new and improved woman! Not only do we allow physical clutter to become "elephants" in our lives, we allow mental and emotional clutter, limiting believes, negative self talk and other bad habits that creates clutter that traps our souls. It affects all areas of our lives and prevents us from becoming the person we are meant to be. The question you have to ask yourself is what are you willing to give up to allow that creative, happy person to break free? Then you've FOUND the beginning to your journey!!!

If you know there is a happier person just dying to get out, or you are know what you want but don't know where to start, or have issues with time management, just let me know. I'd be happy to visit with you!

Do you know the difference between "Pain" and "Suffering"?

Since I've gotten my Certification in coaching my head has just been swimming!! I'm SO totally excited to get started and to learn everything I can to help others, plus other areas of my life have gotten much busier and so my life has been a bit stressful!!! Yesterday a couple of negative things came to my attention. I started worrying about the problems. When I was younger I would worry so bad that it would wake me up in the middle of the night and I'd worry more and couldn't go to sleep. I used to think that it gave me time to try and think of solutions and usually I wasn't very successful in doing that.
Yesterday afternoon I heard a coach and he said some really insightful things! He was talking about pain and suffering. He said that pain is a fact of life. There is no way to escape it and it will always be a part of our life. Suffering is always optional. Suffering is feeling powerless to change the pain. We can always do something about the pain even if it is in the small things we do.
I believe that worrying is a part of suffering. As I worried about those 2 problems yesterday, nothing changed. It didn't change the problem. So what I decided to do to change the pain at least for right now is to put those problems on the top shelf in my mind and when and if they present themselves again I will deal with them then because they were just brought to my attention and didn't need any action at this time. I had to tell myself that now is not the time to act on them so when the time comes to act on them I will handle it. I know that things will work out no matter what and that the Lord is with me and will help me to solve these problems. Well this morning I feel MUCH better and feel more at ease. I choose not to suffer! If any feelings of worry come to my head I'll keep telling myself it's okay and I will deal with it later and everytime I do that I will become stronger and stronger!
If you struggle with fear or suffering and can't get past it please give me a call and I would love to talk with you.

Ten years from now is certain to come! Where will YOU be?

What does your life feel like, look like or sound like? Think about that for a while? Imagine you have already achieved your goals in life, what would your life feel like, look like and sound like?

I listened to a motivational tape of a wonderful man whose name is Jim Rohn and he compares our lives to sail boats. He says, "It's not what happens that determines your life's future. It's what you DO about what happens. All of us are like sail boats. It's not the blowing of the wind that detemines your destination, it's the set of the sail. The same wind blows on us all, the wind of disaster, the wind of opportunity, the wind of change. The same wind blows on us all. The difference of our arrival in 3 yrs, 5 yrs is not the blowing of the wind but the setting of the sail." I love listening to him talk. This is such a great point!

We detemine our own destiny. Others have traveled paths very similar to what we have traveled but ended up in very different places. This a 100% true statement! I've seen it! Many people have gotten a divorce, or lost a job, or suffered an illness, or experienced other challenges in life that we all face. Sometimes we get stuck and can't move forward or we just get lost in life and our journey tends to take us in circles. We just need someone to help us figure out the best way to get back on track and re-set our sails. And we need to be willing to do something about being stuck in life.
I'd be happy to talk with you if you are "stuck" to help you re-set your sail that will help you to live your life as you imgain it!

Is your music still stuck inside of you and you can't find a way to let it out?

What is holding you back from doing all the things that you secretly desire and are just dying to let loose? Are you stuck in a rut and have feelings of hopelessness?

I read a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes that I just really LOVE! He said, "The biggest tragedy is the waste of human resources. The average person goes to his grave with his music still in him." I think that is one of the biggest fears I have in my life, to leave this world knowing and feeling that I had so much more I wanted to do, experience, share, learn and give. And because of fear or self limiting beliefs I didn't do them. Just sitting here typing those words makes me so sad because I lived that situation for 15 years! It's been a really hard road to travel. It wasn't until lately that I've had my eyes opened to the realization that I can dream again and know that I CAN do ANYTHING I want to do in life if I do something about it. I can not tell you how utterly liberating this has been for me! As I've come to truly believe that I can do any thing I desire,really wonderful things have been put in my path. It's been amazing!!!! That saying, "What goes around comes around" fits in a positive way also, the law of attraction. You receive back what you put out there!
If you are feeling stuck in life like you just can't get out of the deep dark whole you're feeling, or that you are moving and just aren't going anywhere, there is a way to get out, I promise! This is not luck. This is not a coincident. If you need some help to see the light at the end of the tunnel again get in touch with me!

Are you on the path of what you are meant to be??

Are you happy in you life right now? Do you feel your life is in balance? Are you experiencing peace in your life? Or are you feeling stress and anxiety much of the time? Do the things in your life bring you down? Do you feel like you are living the same old grind day after day and not feeling very fulfilled?

Last night as I was doing some reading in my book, Aspire there was a quote out of the book that was just HUGE!! I want to share it with you. Kevin Hall said, "The 2 most important days of our life are the day we were born and the day we discover what we were born to do. That's the day we catch the vision of who we are meant to be." I just loved that quote! Because when we finally discover what we are meant to do in life it sets us on the road of balance,fulfillment and truly sets us free.

From a young child my life has had some major challenges from abuse, divorce of my parents and all the effects of that, living with an alcoholic step parent, to dealing with the brain injury of my husband which was a total life changing event in and of itself. I struggled and struggled through life feeling that some time in my life things have to get better. My strong faith in God has gotten me through it all. I knew the one thing that I could cling to that was always steady and true was my church and the knowledge it gave me of my Heavenly Father. For years I've resented a lot of things that happened to me. Why did I have to go through all that pain? Why couldn't I have a seemingly normal life like my friends did? Over the years this was a familiar question I wondered about often, I wondered what kind of person I would have been had I not struggled so much in life?

Then last night I read more in the book Aspire that just struck me deeply that I truly have known to some degree for a long time but I never thought of it quite like Kevin put it. He tells of a man whose name is Viktor Frankl who survived the Nazi Concentration Camps. He suffered unspeakable acts of cruelty. One thing that I think helped him to survive is that he is an optimist and this is what he said, "I wouldn't change my life! There is not one thing I would change in my life or cancel during those years of tragedy and suffering. Why? Because I like who I have become and what I am blessed with and enjoy on a daily basis. Any pain or past suffering has helped mold and form me into a person who can promote good in the world. So the awakening that I got last night and still get as I continue to ponder on his statement is that the things we endure and deal with in life can put us on the path of balance and peace if we just seek to find it. If we can take the pain and suffering and learn important life lessons, it can help us to grow stronger and better as a person, the person we were meant to be!

Life is good, really good!

Have you found your life's mission? Have you even ever wondered why you were put on this earth, what you were meant to do in this life? Have you found "THE" place where you can develop and use your talents you were given?

I have always known I was supposed to do something good and wonderful in this life but it has taken me 50 yrs to find it. The last several months I have REALLY searched to find it! I truly believe the scripture that tells us that "if we seek, we will find". The Lord has truly been guiding me in my life lately.
Something that I have always enjoyed in life is working with people. I've really enjoyed the leadership roles that have come my way in the church. Getting up and speaking in front of people is something I've really grown to love. The whole experience of researching information and feeling directed on preparing what to say in my talk has been exciting to me. Realizing I still have a way to go in giving a great talk without reading it, is definately something I'm working on even at the present time. I've had secret dreams of becoming a motivational speaker for a very long time and these dreams are still at a distance but they are getting closer. Becoming a counselor has been something I have been drawn to, to help others with life's challenges. I think my husband's accident and things we all had to go through made this desire even more powerful.

Well all my children are gone and living their lives. (And I have to say I am SO very proud of each and every one of them and the choices they've made in their lives! They are doing well.) I was truly blessed to be a stay at home mom! That will always be my biggest blessing I'm most grateful for! But because each of our children have moved on with their lives I have felt in the last year or so that it is my time to take my life in a different direction as well. I have tried different things over the years to bring in income. I've enjoyed them all but none of them really felt like this is what I'm suppose to do for the rest of my life. And I think it is because maybe they didn't offer me a real chance to grow as a person. Some things I tried offered a few more chances to grow than others and I feel grateful for each endever I tried. I definatly learned something from each but I just never had that peaceful feeling like this is exactly what I was meant to do in life. I am still going to keep my Send Out Cards business because it allows me to connect with friends and loved ones in such a special way. It also will give me the financial freedom I want. It will allow me to help others through my Professional Coaching and not have to worry about the cash flow.

The other day I was ordering a book online called, Aspire. (This book is ABSOLUTELY a life changing book. Especially if you really put yourself into it as you are reading it.) Anyway as soon as I clicked the button to buy the book, another web page popped up out of no where that asked me, "Do you want to become a Certified Professional Coach"? There is a little more to this story but I'm trying to make this post more condenced. The point I'm trying to make is that I don't believe in coincidents. This was truly the begining of my journey to fulfilling my dreams in life and I know it didn't come to me by accident. I had only heard of the term Professional Life Coach once but really had no idea what it was all about. As I studied and researched the website on coaching I could see all the things that I have been drawn to do in my life could all happen if I became a Professional Life Coach. Huge chills came over me and I got a little emotional. Finally I had found my home in life! I think I have a talent for helping others and I truly want to strengthen that gift. It will help me to be a better person. My goal is to learn how to serve others better. I think I will gain a much better understanding of what true compassion and charity is. I can't tell you how excited I am! The strangest thing to me is that normally I would be feeling a LOT of stress and anxiety in starting something new and totally unknown to me. These feelings are very familiar to me when I've been asked to take on a big project or church position or start a new business. It normally takes me a while to get used to the idea and then I can take off with it. But I've never once felt that about this at all. I've always known I can do this!!!! My life is certainly not perfect. I don't know of anyone that does have a perfect life but I finally feel I have the right path in front of me and I'm going to take off and run with it!!!!
Follow and see where it takes me!!!!!!!! Whoo HOOOOO!!!!

My Journey has Begun!!!!

Well I am new to the whole blogging thing but I am very excited to learn! So here I go. I would like to share with you my journey to freedom. In order for me to tell you my story I have to start from the beginning.
I met my husband at a church dance. I immediately fell in love. We just clicked! I just felt totally at home when I was with him. We were the very best of friends! We got engaged in October and married the following June.We settled here in OK. We live out in the country close to a gorgeous lake with rolling hills. We started raising a family about a year later. We had 3 girls and 1 boy. We both are true animal lovers and so we began to raise cattle and we got a few horses. I couldn't have been happier! We had our ups and downs just like everyone else but I wouldn't have traded my life for anyone here on this earth!
On July 27, 1995 two days after my oldest daughter's 16th birthday, my husband had a horrible accident. He was saddling up a horse for some family to ride and something spooked the horse and she just took off. The rope that was around the horses neck had some how wrapped the other end around his leg. The horse drug him for about 100 feet before my son who some how developed wings through the grace of God, ran out to catch her to stop her. His head hit trees and rocks and was knocked unconscious. To make a long story short he spent a few days in ICU at the hospital and then several other days in a regular room.

On July 27th, 1995 my whole world was turned upside down and changed forever!!!!!!!

My dear husband had suffered a brain injury and has never been the same since. Fifteen years later he is functional but he still has quite a few lingering problems that he will never heal from. Life is still a challenge. At the time of the accident I had all 4 of the children still home. I was very blessed with the opportunity to be a stay at home mom so I hadn't worked for 17 years. We lost my husband's income and he is disabled. Life was REALLY a struggle. I went back to work about a year after the accident because he was having SO many problems I couldn't leave him alone. I worked in the public school system for about 4 years. I was a nervous wreck and I spent probably a third of my pay check on my cell phone bill for calling and checking on him about 100 times a day. He just really needed someone there to help him. He almost caught our house on fire once, and other scary things like that. So I prayed and prayed for guidance on what I could do to work from home and be able to stay home with my husband. I was given the answer and we started that business up. It has helped us out enough that we survived but when the recession hit in 08 that business has just about dried up and we are again struggling to make ends meet. Thank goodness each of our children are grown and on their own so I don't have to worry for them. I prayed again for help in finding something I can do to get us back on track again. The answer came again!!!! This is where my journey begins...... Stay tuned for more posts in the coming days and months. I want to share with you what I am doing to FINALLY find my financial freedom! I truly dislike struggling each month wondering if we are going to be able to pay our bills or not, wondering if we can get groceries or not. I have found my answer and it is already paying off! Talk to you some more tomorrow!