I keep coming back to this idea that in order to live an extraordinary life, one where you live your dreams, you must live in extraordinary way.  You must be willing to do things outside the norm – to live in your “discomfort zone.”  You must challenge yourself to stretch the boundaries of what you are comfortable with.  Every time you think, “well the Jones don’t do that”, think “forget the Joneses, I want to live MY dream! And if I’m going to get there I need to live differently than the norm.”  If you live like everyone else, you will do just that, for the rest of your life.

Living your dream means doing the uncomfortable, the thrilling, the tedious, yet rewarding, being positive when it’s easier to slip down the well of gossip or complaint.  You must constantly pray for faith, peace & trust when you feel like you have little left.  Seek out people who feed your soul, not your ego; people who are pushing to achieve a more fulfilling way of life – the same people who know how to appreciate the precious moments we have right now.

(And you know by know when I say “you” above, I of course me “we”.  Because boy ya know I sure need to remember and apply this too! )  And now, the most eloquent and motivating words of Les Brown:

“Give your dream a chance to live!! Nurture it daily with the seeds of determination, inspiration, drive, and creativity. Feed it with passion, faith, patience, and positive expectation. Allow it to blossom by surrounding yourself with people who are doing things with their lives, and who believe in working hard to make things happen.

Many people allow their dream to die from negative conversations, procrastination, lack of preparation, and most of all, from doubt and fear. Hold yourself to higher standards, and build resiliency skills everyday that will allow you to overcome your next challenge. Keep your dream alive! You have GREATNESS within you!” ~ Les Brown

In a little bit harder times (a few months ago) I cried when I first heard this song.  I hope it encourages you to, well, carry on. 🙂

Have you ever watched someone struggle with negativity and want to give up on their dreams?  You listen to their tirade of despair and you wish you could just infuse them with the confidence to pick themselves up and start all over again.  You wish that you could let them see themselves as you see them.  Maybe you’ve even been that person – I know I’ve been there before.  I experienced this recently with someone I care very deeply about.

 

My dear friend, although extremely talented, was lamenting how she would fail in a contest she was about to enter.  She cried about how she was doomed, how she didn’t even have  talent.  How “creative block” was robbing her of being able to produce anything meaningful.

I felt helpless in trying to bring positivity in and help boost her up, nothing I said to encourage her helped.  And then I started getting frustrated and a little short tempered when she wouldn’t listen or even let the positive thoughts in.  Real enlightened of me, huh?  Clearly I still have a lot to learn about inspiring people, he he.  And perhaps, the first lesson is that sometimes people aren’t in the right place to hear the encouragement.  Sometimes you need to give them a little time.  (And this was definitely the case – she totally perked up later & nailed it)

I’ve been there before – in that wallowing place, where I just wanted to stay pissed off and frustrated.  As if clinging  to my negativity and “woe-is-me” mentality as if it were a security blanket that would make it all right again.  But it’s interesting how we cuddle up in that blanket of warm loathing, feeling more secure in self-pity and failure than the risk of success.

This ill-fated circular exercise is a complete farce and I believe an act of desperation of Ego, a fear-induced ploy of an insecure mind, the voice of “the devil”/”monster” in your head, and the languish of the unenlightened/unrealized soul.  Pick all or whichever of the above resonates with you.  Whatever the reason is for you this line of thinking is pointless and damaging and it’s important to “call it out” so you can move on.

I believe with every fiber that we are made in God’s image, we have divinity within us and the biggest tragedy of our individual lives is not fully realizing that fact and using our unique god-given gifts to do what we were born to do.  It’s easier to believe we will fail because then we have nothing to lose, but in reality once we start opening our minds (& retraining) to believe that we can achieve success, the positive snowball starts to build and it becomes easier and easier to silence the monsters in our heads.

The following is one of Marianne Williamson’s most famous quotes, I LOVE it and it is Truuuuuuue! 😉  It very eloquently describes this phenomena.

Drink these words in and revisit them, because this is where we start to throw off the shackles and wounds of defeatist thinking.

“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.”

-Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

 

SHINE my friends, SHINE!!

 

We’ve all been there – insanely hard times in our lives. Today Les Brown posted this on Facebook and I want to reshare this here:

“You are stronger than you think you are. It doesn’t matter what you are facing…a lost relationship, job, bankruptcy, foreclosure, health challenge, or financial situation. You have the power in you to recreate it all over again from scratch. It does not matter how old you are. Don’t beat yourself up. It’s natural to feel sorry for yourself, or feel frightened and want to give up. It doesn’teven matter if the people that you thought would have your back have deserted you. You are still breathing. You’re still here, and you have the power to win.

You are more powerful than you think you are. Remind yourself of this. Stand up within yourself. Gather your mental, emotional, and spiritual strength, and speak from deep within your spirit and your soul. Take back your power Say…”I will survive. I will thrive. I am coming back. Giving up is not who I am. I will stay the course, and persist until I succeed.” You might have to do this while down on your knees, praying, crying, and screaming at the top of your lungs. Resist the feeling of being overwhelmed, powerless, or being a victim. You will survive and thrive again!!! You have something special…you have GREATNESS within you!”
Les Brown