The following are excepts from the book Will You Dance? by Annette Childs:

“The first to enter was Change.  With her she brought a gust of wind that swept away all of the familiar things we had known in our world. . . We watched helplessly as the life we had known dissipated like a tiny stream of smoke which rises from a candle, whose flame has been extinguished. . .

We stood in quiet consternation, watching life as we had known it rise in that smoke, growing more diffuse, until it finally disappeared altogether.

Next to enter were Fear and Loss.  They moved as one, and entered arm in arm.  And with them came a strange silence. . .a silence that was born out fo the inability to hear anything but the truth. . .

The truth moved through us like a ripple moving through a placid lake. . . concentric rings pushing out from the center expanding until finally merging back into the vastness from which they came. . .

We felt our knees buckle a bit, as the waves of truth rocked us gently from side to side. . .

It was very, very quiet for a long while.  We were held in rapt attention of all that was unfolding around us.  We watched, with wide eyed wonder, as truth rushed in like a wave, filling up all of the fractures that the winds of Change had laid bare.

If time moved at all, it could have been minutes or years as we were tossed on the stormy seas of Change, Fear, and Loss.”

And later:
“. . .and so it was that we came to know that breaking was the gift of Change.  For to become whole, we first must be broken into pieces.  It is only when we lay scattered in fragments that the light can make its way through us.”

And yet later in the book:
“Realization swept across us, like sea spray hitting warm summer skin.  And we knew from a place deep within us that to dance with one was to dance with all.

And we knew with quiet certainty that to forego the dance and sit down in silence was merely to site in the shelter of a tomb which houses a life never fully lived. . . “

Category: Getting There

Amazon sends periodic updates, if you want to subscribe. These links from Amazon.com provide recent Self-help book titles.

Discover Your Next Favorite: Self-Help

The Success Principles
Influence
Flow
Feeling Good
Healing After Loss
Ten Days to Self-Esteem
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
Taming Your Gremlin
The Best Year of Your Life

Category: Getting There

I found an audio called The Power of Deliberate Creation which I found to be very helpful.. In it, Stacy Mayo, coach, is motivating in her description of some ways to create what you want, to include visualization and inspired action.  You can listen to the audio clip at http://www.empoweringmessages.com/visitors/StaceyMayo.shtml .

Category: Getting There

Each year, especially at New Years, people resolve that the coming year will be different: “This will be the year that I write that book, start that new venture, double my income, take more time off to spend with my family,” and the list goes on and on. However, when people think about pursuing their dreams, they often squash the idea because it doesn’t seem practical.

Does this sound familiar? You have a dream, but are afraid that if you pursue it, you would risk giving up what you already have. It is easy to put it off to a later date — a time when there will be more money, more time and/or when the kids have graduated from college. However, there is never a time when everything in your life is perfect for carrying out your goals. Don’t wait for everything to be lined up. Once you actually commit to your dream, things will begin to fall into place. Know that is possible to live out your fondest dreams AND make a great living!

After supporting thousands of people across the globe in making their personal and professional dreams a reality, I have found the following strategies to be most effective:

1. Design your life around your priorities. Many people try to fit their dreams into their life and complain there are not enough hours in the day to make it happen. If you want your dream to become a reality, make it a priority.
   For example, Stacy Allison, the first American woman to climb Mt. Everest chose to live just outside of Zion National Park so she could climb rock cliffs in her own backyard. Climbing was her priority for many years and she made choices in alignment with that.
2. Handle the basics (food, clothing and shelter).  Then reach for fulfillment and self-actualization. If you can’t stand your job any longer or have been forced out and you need a source of income, get a low-stress interim job to pay the bills while your pursue your dream.
3. Visualize every step of your dream and watch the magic unfold. For example, an experiment conducted by Australian Psychologist Alan Richardson found a 23 percent performance improvement among subjects who visualized every day for 20 days.
   Mary Youngblood went from welfare mom to Grammy award winner. Mary visualized herself out of welfare. She did this by writing a short story about a young welfare mother. It was her story, basically, and how she was discovered having great talent and was able to get herself up and out of welfare. She pictured it happening in her head and then took action in alignment with that picture.
4. Laser in on one idea, business or income stream at a time. One of the mistakes people make is diversifying too quickly. This is true whether you are trying to build multiple streams of income or are just working on several different ideas at one time. The key is getting the first stream or idea up and running and having systems in place so it will keep running without you before going on to the next unrelated stream.

This is one of my biggest lessons as it is for many entrepreneurs and creative people. When I was writing, “I Can’t Believe I Get Paid To Do This!” I was also looking for real estate investments which was a new venture for me. I wasn’t making much progress on either count. When I put the real estate to the side and committed to finishing the book, it happened quite easily.

And last but not least, develop your resilience muscle by bouncing back from setbacks. You will very likely have setbacks along the way. Don’t get stopped by these bumps in the road; learn from them.

By Stacey Mayo, MCC

Stacey Mayo founded the Center for Balanced Living in 1995 as a vehicle for carrying out her life’s work and has since supported thousands of people in making their dreams come true (www.balancedliving.com).  She is author of “I Can’t Believe I Get Paid To Do This!: Remarkable People Reveal 26 Proven Strategies for Making Your Dreams a Reality.” To receive more articles like this, subscribe to Stacey’s monthly e-zine, Living Out Your Dreams and receive a free self-assessment for Healthy Success.

Category: Getting There

Most people would like to be “successful,” but it isn’t always clear exactly what that means.  There are probably as many definitions of success as there are people trying to achieve it. 

The definition of success needs to fit YOU and your life.  Figuring out what success means to you may seem like a daunting task, but isn’t really when you follow these 6 simple steps:

1. Figure out what area or areas you want your definition to cover. 
Some possibilities might include definitions of success related to relationships, career, finances, physical surroundings, spirituality, leisure time, health and wellness, and/or balance. 

2. State your definition in the form of “I know I am successful when. . .” or “I know I am being successful by how. . .”

3. Think carefully about how you will KNOW that you are successful. 
How will you be able to tell?   Be specific about this!  Avoid using words like “happy” or “satisfied.”  HOW will you know when you are happy? 

4. If your definition of success appears to be so far away you can hardly imagine getting there, ask yourself “What will be the first small sign I will notice that tells me I’m headed toward success?” 

5. Look at your definition at least once a month. 
Does it still fit?  Is it helping guide your decisions?  If not, modify it until it fits your life as it is NOW.

6. Make sure the definition of success is really YOURS. 
Your definition of success needs to be congruent with YOUR values and with who YOU are, not a reflection of societal ideas of success, or what your parents or teachers told you was necessary in order to be successful.   This is YOUR LIFE you are living. 

Once you figure out what success means to you, you can begin to take steps to create it by designing an action plan to reach that outcome.  Remember that you can’t take this trip until you know where you are going.

© 2008 Linda S. Pucci, Ph.D.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach, trainer and owner of Inner Resource Center, LLC in Maryville, TN.  She has 30 years of experience helping people overcome obstacles and self-sabotage by using her solution focused approach.  She is dedicated to helping people find the resources they need to transform their lives.  For more information and free resources, including a free download of Banish the Goal Setting Gremlins and Reach Your Highest

Category: Getting There · New Directions