Posts Tagged ‘family’

Realizing Your Dreams

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

Each and every moment in your life is extremely precious. Each moment represents unlimited potential for creating the life you have always dreamed of, the life you were meant to be living, the life that fulfills your purpose on this planet.

If you are one of the few people that has figured this out, congratulations. If you are among the many who continue to think that there is something more to life than just going through the motions, then now is the time to start working towards living your life’s purpose. What are you waiting for?

What is your dream? What is it that you most desire but don’t currently have in you life? What is it that you are meant to be doing with your life?

“Nothing happens unless first a dream.” Carl Sandberg

None of these are easy questions to answer, but once you ask them you will begin the process of opening the doors of perception and begin to naturally move towards reaching your full potential.

I know that for some of us it is just too hard to even start the process of thinking about how to achieve what it is that we dream of for our lives. It is just easier not to think about it. Finding the answers to these questions might mean that we have to change what we are currently doing, change who we live with , change our careers or even move to another location. These are just a few of the reasons why so many people settle and never take the powerful steps needed to reach for something more in their lives in order to discover what the purpose of their life really is.

“To change one’s life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.” William James

Even if we want to change we can get stuck in a rut. Like a broken record we continue to do what we have always done because it’s more comfortable, like our favorite pair of old worn jeans. At some point you have to make the change and throw those jeans away or find a new use for them. You need to change elements of your life every once in a while otherwise you will start to get tired, worn out, and bored. This leads to complacency and a mental plaque that prevents you from seeing the opportunities around you. You are unique, you are special, you have a purpose in life and it is important to you and the world that you pursue your purpose in life and live it.

What are you waiting for?

You can start by writing down everything you have dreamed about what your life could be. Write down all that comes to you as fast as you can. Don’t think about how whacked out your dreams may be. Don’t stop and think, “This is just too much for anyone to think is real.” Don’t worry at all about what it is you are writing down. Just do it! You can do it!

“We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; they nurse them thought bad day until they bring them to the sunshine and the light that always comes to those who sincerely hope that there dreams will come true.”Woodrow Wilson

After you have written down your dreams, even if just one, post them on the mirror in your bathroom. Look at them each morning. Think about what it would be like if your dreams became real. How would you feel?

The next step is to write down what you need to do to make your dreams real. Start taking these steps. It may take weeks. It may take months. It may take years. It may take a lifetime. It doesn’t matter because you are living your dreams and nothing could be more important.

“Allow yourself to dream and fantasize about your ideal life; what it would look like, and what it would feel like. Then do something everyday to make it a reality.” Brian Tracy

What are you waiting for?

In my life I work everyday to live my dreams and my life’s purpose. The more I work at this the easier it becomes. Really. I will say this. Your life will never be the same once you embark on this process because you will enter into the great unknown and the world will open up for you. You will start meeting people who are aligned with your dreams and will want to help you. You will start to experience new challenges that will stretch you, enabling you to grow. You will start going with the flow of life. You will start living your purpose. What could be more important?

If you desire to live your life with greater meaning and purpose there is no time like the present to start. You can do it!

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his own dreams and endeavors to live the life that he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau

What are you waiting for?

Let me know what you think.

Until next week, remember the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.

With or Without You

Sunday, May 4th, 2008

Do you think that people you work with, your family, your friends, or the community in which you live would not be able to get along without you?

Do you have a sense that without you things would not get done, that your importance to any given situation is critical for success?

Are you a person who is unwilling to take time off, let go, or take extended vacations because without your presence, Johnny on the spot, everything would come to a horrible conclusion or worse?

Like many of us today I have a strong feeling that if I take too much time away from my activities things will some how not be as good, creative, or as meaningful as I would like them to be. If I am away I think that things might not go my way or in the direction that I believe to be best.

This is my never ending ego getting in the way of me being a “human being” instead of a “human doing” and focusing my attention on my delusional level of high importance. Yes, I may play a role, act as a tool for good, or contribute to a team, but in the end things go on with or without me.

“The man who thinks he can live without others is mistaken; the one who thinks others can’t live without him is even more deluded.” Hasidic Saying

Guess what? Life keeps on keeping on with or without you as well. Governments continue without any particular President. Kingdoms continue with different Kings and Queens. Families go on without certain family members. Advertisers keep advertising, taxes keep coming, bills keep piling up, and the earth keeps turning with or without you being around.

Here is something to think about. There will always be more in your inbox than in your outbox when you die. And after you do die, bills will keep coming in and the ongoing impact of your life will continue even without you.

What are you living for; is being important and working hard the most important thing to you?

Alexander the Great may have made one of the most vivid points about life after his death. As part of his funeral, his request to be paraded over miles of cobble stone roads carried by those who had been part of his life. People took turns carrying his coffin through the streets. His arms dangled out of holes in the right and left side of the coffin showcasing that even though he ruled most of the world during his reign he could not take any of it with him. It was a vivid reminder that life keeps on keeping on with or without even Alexander the Great!

As I sit on a sandy beach on Isla HolBox in Mexico, I wonder how so many of us get to such a place where our perceived importance overtakes our ability to play, to relax, to take time for family and friends, and to spend more time with our toes in the sand.

Nothing is so important that you are not able to take time for yourself, time spent to recharge and reinvigorate yourself. On the flip side, you are not so important to any project or endeavor that without you things will not work out just as they are supposed to.

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” Bertrand Russell

Next time you think to yourself, “I could really use a vacation.” Take it! Next time you think, “I would really like to play ball with my son.” Do it! Next time you feel like taking a break, take it!

Letting go of our perceived importance is difficult work to be sure, but it is worth doing.

When you are able to take the steps of letting go and embrace your role as “a player” in a much larger world instead of seeing yourself as “the critical player,” doors will open for you and you will have the great potential to set yourself free.

Because in the end, no matter what you think or believe, life keeps on keeping on with or without you.

Let me know what you think.

Until next week remember, the only boxes that exist are the ones you create yourself.