Erase Fear

“Never fear shadows. They simply mean there is a light shining somewhere nearby.” - Ruth E. Renkel

As we go through life, trying to succeed and move ahead to better things, each of us will encounter fear in one form or another. It is a part of our human nature and instinct to have fear over things such as money, job, relationships and health. Fear can also make us uncomfortable to the point of failing to push through to the other side.

An article in Executive Travel by Karlin Sloan, founder and president of Karlin Sloan & Co. wrote about fear and provided steps to help overcome fear when you encounter it. She described fear as making us defensive and reactive instead of allowing us to be "strategic, smart and focused on the right things."

Think about what has happened to you in the past.

You were sailing along in life, performing great. You seemed to have a prophet's eye on what the next steps in life should be and how to achieve your next goal. All of a sudden life throws an obstacle into your perfect plan. Your reaction or fear of the unexpected nearly paralyzes your ability to move forward.

What is it you can do in those situations?

Ms. Sloan offers the following five steps as a starting point to overcoming those fears. Each of them have a practical application in your personal or business life.

1. Stop reacting, start breathing. Take a deep breath before you react. Deep breathing activates your automatic nervous system and shifts you from "fight or flight" responses to your executive functioning brain.

2. Take control. Make a list of your fears. How realistic are they? What can be done to negate any possibility of their happening? What plans are in place to avert crisis? What do you need to do in order to know you can focus through fear? Fear is clarifying -- it can help you understand your risk and how to get through tough times.

3. Build alliances. Leaders who are surrounded by an aligned team have less reason to fear, as well as more backup during hard times. Positive relationships are a grounding force that can nullify fear.

4. Tell the truth. Often during fearful times -- a terrorist attack, a downturn in the economy, after workplace violence -- people want to be reassured. Don't tell people everything is fine when it's not: Be honest. More than hollow reassurance, people want to hear the authenticity in your voice and feel trust that you will tell them what's really happening.

5. Shift into a positive gear. Use fear as a positive. Challenges, heartaches, losses, failures and crisis are opportunities for learning, growth and change. If you can remember this and communicate it, you will be thanked.

Move beyond your fears and get life back on course.

Take fear and use it to spring yourself into a greater place, a better life. You can get beyond that fear and back to smooth sailing. Overcome the adversity placed before you and continue living a great life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Start Tomorrow By Starting Today

#FallbackFriday

"I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day." - James Joyce

Each of us are a product of what we did yesterday. The things we did, what we ate, what we read, and how we treated people created the person who woke up today. It changed big things and little things about us and now in today's light, we must live with those changes in us.

The same thing will happen based upon how we approach today.

The news we read and the books we finish change us just a little bit. What happened to us at work or on the drive home modifies our personality slightly. How we reacted to all the events and people who passed through our world during the day have an impact.

We can make a resolution to change something about our life today.

But then we tell ourselves it can wait, tomorrow I will change. But tomorrow comes and you believe yourself to be the same person, but something has changed. You have created a person will to accept changes by putting it off. Even though we continually say we are going to do something with our life, it feels that change never happens.

To put off today until tomorrow.

But something did happen....you lost one more day, one more opportunity, one more chance to do something with your life. The you today might be similar to the you of yesterday, but there is less to show for it; less of what you want in life.

Yesterday creates nothing more or creates the start of everything for you.

Forget about yesterday and take hold of creating your tomorrow, today. Grab hold of the opportunity so that tomorrow when you wake up, a different you is slipping into those shoes and heading out the door. In order for that to happen, you must take steps today. It begins with making that first step.

One change today, changes the you of tomorrow.

Stay inspired my friends.

Dream of Things

“The best endings are the ones that lead to new beginnings.” ― Mathangi Subramanian

Once upon a time there was a young family, raising children, building a new home in a place they called home.

A typical tale of hard working individuals who were now one, living their dreams of things to come. For years and years they raised these children in this home, saw them leave to have children of their own and they retired dreaming of things to come.

Once upon a time there was a young man, raised in this home, who left to marry a woman of grandeur and grace.

The typical tale of hard working individuals, raising two daughters and lived their dreams of things to come. For years and years raised these children, watched them marry, retired and moved to another country as missionaries dreaming of things to come.

Once upon a time there were two young daughters, married to fine men, living their dreams of things to come.

The typical tale of hard working individuals, each beginning their own families and dreaming of things to come. For years they will build their homes, their families and lives in great and wondrous ways. And they will continue to dream of things to come.

Once upon a time there was a long time retired couple, having lived many of their dreams, building a new home.

Our lives are filled with dreams of things to come and of living those dreams. We are given the opportunity to always dream and to chase those dreams for as long as we can. Nothing says we get only one dream in life.

Dream, live your dreams and dream of things to come.

Stay inspired my friends.

The Greatest

"Your most precious, valued possessions and your greatest powers are invisible and intangible. No one can take them. You, and you alone, can give them. You will receive abundance for your giving." - W. Clement Stone

We are constantly trying to define the greatest thing ever in our lives.

Whether it be for promotion or debate, the discussion ends up being about the greatest of something in our lives.

There is the greatest singer ever; Aretha Franklin
There is the greatest song ever; Let It Be - Beatles
There is the greatest athlete ever; Muhammad Ali
There is the greatest beer; Trappist Westvleteren 12
There is the greatest year; 1960
There is the greatest professional wrestler; Rick Flair
There is the greatest movie; Casablanca
There is the greatest painter; Vincent Van Gogh
There is the greatest band; The Beatles
There is the greatest pet; Dog
There is the greatest ski resort; Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia
There is the greatest city; New York
There is the greatest beach; Hamoa Beach, Maui
There is the greatest looking woman; Sophia Loren
There is the greatest looking man; Cary Grant

We list anything and every which could be considered the greatest thing since sliced bread. The designation of 'the greatest' makes for fun and lively debate.

There are criteria people use to establish, judge and evaluate various  great things.  Chances are you disagree with most lists because labeling something the greatest can be very individualistic. Any person who makes a list of 'the greatest' should consider it an honor.

What we fail to see many times while we are labeling other things as 'the greatest', that each of us individually are pretty great.

We fail to give ourselves credit for our own greatness.

We busily go around labeling and making lists of the best and most wonderful things out there.  Again, we fail many times to believe in ourselves.

It is a bad habit we have to break.

You are good at what you believe in life.
You are good at what you act upon in life.
You are good at what you realize in life.

You have to believe in the greatness inside of you. 

Greatness is not reserved just for others. Greatness lives inside each of us. Greatness comes in tiny small ways as it does in huge grand ways. It exists for each of us if we will only start believing what we can each do.

Now here comes my faith statement.

When you start making a list of 'the greatest' things in life, put yourself at the top of the list. In my belief, I am created in God's image, so therefore would I not be the greatest thing God has created?

Do not get me wrong, I am not God. I am not greater than God. What I am doing is giving God the credit and thanks for creating me.

So start believing in yourself.

Watch as greatness comes into your life. Even if you don't share the same faith belief, just know that greatness begins inside.

Believe it.

And stay inspired my friends!