Do you have the disease of more?

More money. More time. More love. More business.

I want more!

Never enough. Always more.

Seems this is a condition that plagues countless individuals. No matter what they have it will never be enough.

Not that wanting more is wrong, but if you are not happy and grateful for what you currently have, more of the “thing” still won’t bring you happiness.

It’s somewhat of a paradox. In order to have more to be grateful for you are well served to be grateful for what you already have. When you are grateful for what you already have you get more to be grateful for.

It’s about being happy with what you have AND also visioning and working for more of what you have. Hmmm. Seems such a contradiction, but those people who seem to manifest “at will” are usually the people who are incredibly happy with what they already have. They know happiness is an inside job.

Living in the space of “this is never enough” sets you up for never having enough which likely leads to being restless and discontent regardless of how good things really are.

For example, you could have a windfall of business and rather than giving thanks for the new business your response is, “It should have been more.”

I’ve seen this happen with far too many people. They sign a few new clients and then bitch about those they didn’t sign.

Energetically, whatever we profess to be true becomes a reality. When you sign the new business, give thanks. Treat those who “chose” to do business with you as valuable. When you do, you attract more.

If you begrudge the fact that “some got away” you set yourself up to lose what you already have.

Life is an ebb and flow. Outward appearances don’t tell the whole story.

As with the seeds planted in your garden, there is a lot going on under the surface that can’t be seen. You have to “act as if” the seeds will grow. Take care of the soil, fertilize, water and “know” you will get a result for your efforts.

The next time you find yourself saying, “This isn’t enough,” try expressing appreciation for what you have. Do so with a lot of sincerity. Feel the feeling of gratitude.

You also must get really honest about how much effort you are putting into your outcome. Are you doing the necessary footwork to get the outcome you desire?

For example, if you are want to get in top physical shape are you eating and exercising to support this desire.

If you say you want more business, are you reaching out to potential clients on a regular basis or are you sitting around bitching about what you don’t have and not taking any action.

Whatever you say you want more of actually has a simple formula for success.

The formula includes:

• Appreciation for what you do have.


• Vision of what you do want


• Action towards the outcome


• Letting go of the outcome in order to be fully present in the current moment

Don’t confuse simple with easy. Sometimes it’s not easy. Always simple, not always easy. The most important ingredient is gratitude.

Energetically, the more you are grateful for what you have the more you have to be grateful for.

Today, in this moment, what are you grateful for? Post your #1 reason for gratitude in the comments box below.

 

 

Do you have the disease of more?

Professional or personally... courage is not the absence of fear

How often does someone let fear stop them from achieving their best self? Many people have the mistaken belief that if fear shows up it means they are doing something wrong.

Fear is a part of life. It can contribute to us really experiencing the “juice of life” in a big way.

Did you know that fear and excitement often show up as the same feeling in the body?

It has been said, “Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the ability to feel fear and move through it anyway.”

Mistakenly, people can look at someone who seems to have no fear and assume they just fly through life taking risk after risk with no limits to what they will accomplish.

Actually, the opposite can be true. Rather than having no fear, they feel the fear and do the “thing” anyway.

On more than one occasion I’ve had people comment how nice it must be for me to not have fear when I have accomplished something.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Many times I would be in the middle of fulfilling a dream or goal and at the most inopportune time fear reared its ugly head.

When this happened I would think, “What the “*?%*+%*” was I thinking to agree to do this?”

But rather than let the fear stop me, I would figure out how to work around it, go through it or knock it down completely.

After I would get through the fear, more times than not the outcome was incredible.

Not just in business, but in my personal endeavors too. One of the most recent personal accomplishments was the 2015 Eugene marathon. I participated as a gift to myself for my 61^st birthday.

Yet, during many training days I wondered why I had made the commitment. Not only did I make it to myself, but to dozens of people who sponsored my participation in the marathon by donating for two animal rescue organizations.

I recall one specific time fear almost took over. During the 16th mile of the marathon, when my body wanted to quit, my heart and soul thought, “I can’t quit. I won’t let all those people down and most of all, I won’t let myself down.”

I also thought of my mom throughout my first full marathon that took place on Mother’s Day 2015. I just knew she was looking down from the heavens. I could hear her voice saying, “You got this. You got this.”

I dug deep to find the strength to go on and I finished. Not a world record holder by any stretch, but I crossed the finish line.

Over the years, I have done this with many challenges, both personal and professional. Rather than give up, I had to find that place inside to dig deep.

Here’s the deal, when you push your own limits, not only do you learn more about what you are made of, but others notice what you’re doing.

Opportunities do show up when others notice what our character is. On the flip side, many opportunities are lost when we show what we are not made of.

The reality is this; people do notice how we handle fear. It’s not that they expect us to not have fear. Nope, it’s in how we handle ourselves when fear becomes our garment of the day, opportunities are either made or taken away.

Some people believe all would be perfect if opportunity presented itself in a nicely wrapped package with a beautiful bow on top. In reality, opportunity often presents itself with some of our greatest messes and challenges.

It’s definitely not what happens that matters, but how we handle it that makes all the difference.

Challenges are what create the fabric of our life. Unforeseen challenges and those we consciously choose.

To push my own limits I recently announced the 30 Day Health Challenge that begins on July 1^st. I not only to challenge myself, but invite anyone who wants to push your own limits to join in for a short 30 days to make a huge shift for yourself.

Interested? Go to https://www.facebook.com/maturewomenhealthfitness

Be sure to watch the short video at the top and to LIKE the page.

Professional or personally... courage is not the absence of fear

WTF or WTG? What’s going on in your head?

Have you ever had one of those light bulb moments where something became incredibly clear? I had one of those moments this morning.

My light bulb moment was this; to go from lukewarm to passionate is often as simple as changing one tiny thing… a letter of the alphabet.

WTF or WTG?

WTF = What the F&*K!

WTG = Way to Go!

One letter apart with a world of difference in the meaning and outcome.

I’m working on a new branch of my business requiring time to learn, study, implement and test. In addition, there’s a financial investment I’ve made and continue to make.

I have an incredible mentor who is teaching me step-by-step what to do.

“Don’t expect to make money right away Kathleen,” my mentor cautioned. “You’ll likely need to test, test, test several times before you hit the target. Once you do it’s magical,” John stated.

I chose to study under this expert because of his results. He is recognized as one of the most successful people in this particular industry. Last year he made $1,800,000 selling a particular product online. Yes, you read right… one million, eight hundred thousand.

Another reason I decided to work with John is his attitude. Not only his business attitude, but towards his family, friends, clients, God and life. People often tell him how lucky he is. Actually, luck is not his secret weapon. Attitude is. 

Building his business didn’t happen without obstacles, setbacks, failures and frustration. Yet, in spite of this (or maybe because of this) he maintains an incredible attitude.

I’m not talking a Pollyanna, head in the clouds type of attitude, but rather one that allows him to manage his energy when things don’t seem to be working out.

It’s the attitude that when you hit a wall you don’t keep beating your head against the wall saying, “WTF… why does this always happen to me?” but rather the “WTG… you figured out one more thing that isn’t working.”

You can learn the strategies. You can use the latest and greatest system. You can put a ton of money into training, advertising and a team and STILL get crappy results based on a crappy attitude.

95% of your business success is based on your attitude. An attitude where you are willing to put the time into learning what you need to, manage your energy when things don’t outwardly seem to be working and stay the course with an attitude of gratitude.

Just because you didn’t get the sale on your first call, you didn’t sell thousands of dollars’ worth of “stuff” with one email and you had only a handful of people show up on your teleseminar, webinar or live event, does not mean you’ve failed. It means you likely have more work to do.

Lots of people dream of running a successful business where no problems exist and everything works the first time they launch it. To me that’s a huge WTF!

Want to find out what it really takes to succeed? Why not ask experts who have highly successful businesses? I can assure you, they have crap happen all the time.

Crap that would likely shock you. Yet, when the poop hits the fan they don’t say, “This isn’t fair. Why did this have to happen? This is way too hard.”

Nope! They manage their thoughts and energy. Sure, they may have brief periods where they fall victim to an attitude that is not serving them, but they are quick to shake this off.

They evaluate the situation, adjust accordingly and start again.

If it seems you are hitting roadblock after roadblock you would be well served to pay very close attention to what you say to yourself and others. What attitude do you wake up with and hold on to throughout the day? Do you take responsibility for your actions or do you blame outside circumstances for why things are not working in your favor. Outside circumstances can be other people, the economy, competition, increased vendor costs, etc.

Whether or not you believe this your energy is one of the most significant aspects of success. As has been said, “It’s not what happens that matters. It’s what I do with it that makes all the difference.”

Some people are so conditioned to stay in the WTF attitude that even when they make a sale they say, “Yeah but, I need more sales.” Or when a solution is offered by someone who’s been where they are at they, “Yeah but!” the solution.

Seriously?!?!

The only butt you need is the one you sit on.

So what can you do to shift your attitude? Here are a few things I do on a daily basis that took me from an attitude that literally ended me up on the streets in my mid 20’s to one where I have such an appreciation for the blessings in my life that regardless of outward evidence, I KNOW things are all working out in my favor.

1. Count my blessings by focusing on what I have to be grateful for each and every day.


2. Surround myself with others who also live in the space of gratitude.


3. Realize that what I see in the natural is not all there is. The Universe is conspiring in my favor for things to work out. What may seem like a roadblock may be the very thing that’s necessary for me to be open to something bigger and better than I could ever think up on my own.


4. Manage my energy through prayer and meditation.


5. Have a mentor who I can confide in when I’m feeling small.


6. Find out what others did to achieve their success and rather than say, “That’s easy for you, but I’m so flipping unique, it wouldn’t work for me,” I say, “If you can do it, I certainly can too. I just need to find out what to do and then do it.”


7. Find someone who is less fortunate than me and help them out. When we willingly serve others from the heart it’s amazing how fast we get out of our “stinking thinking” and into a place of gratitude.


8. Get 100% honest about how much focused effort I am putting into a project. I can easily fool myself into believing I’m giving 100% to an end result by constantly checking emails, playing around on Facebook, cleaning out a drawer or any number of things that keep me from doing the one thing where I may get rejected so I completely avoid it. And if I’m not avoiding it, I’m kicking and screaming the whole way thus sabotaging my success.


9. This one is huge. I’ve gone through periods where I’ve been totally committed to my physical wellbeing and other times, not at all. During the times I put my health on the back burner, things go south pretty fast. I don’t feel good, my mood is not as good as it could be and I may even fall into the “life sucks” mode.


10. Avoid living in regret of the past and learn from those things that didn’t work the way I had hoped.


11. Stay as present in today as is humanly possible. Step #4 is crucial to being able to stay present.


12. Repeat #1 throughout my day.

Truth be told, you, and only you, are responsible for your mindset. Your mindset determines the kind of actions you take and the energy you bring to the game. Your actions are what create the juice in life.

You can live a lukewarm life or you can be so on fire with passion that people are incredibly attracted to you and what you have to offer.

Granted, not everyone wants what you have. However, I can guarantee that there is a community of people who could be rabid fans if you would simply give them the chance and get excited about all the possibilities that life has in store for you. Are you sure this community knows you exist? And if they do, what energy are you giving them…WTF or WTG?

It’s up to you.

WTF or WTG? What’s going on in your head?