Overcoming Adversity

In talking with a friend of mine the other day I realized that we are all going through challenges in our lives. We are living in a time that is changing rapidly and some of us are having a hard time keeping up. Add to this the adversities that we have had in our lives and we get stuck, depressed, anxious and worried. We start to feel like we are the only ones on earth who are going through a tough time. Well, I am here to tell you, you are not alone. Everyone, from the wealthiest person, to the bum on the street, has gone, or is going through some kind of adversity. The real test of a person’s character is how do we get through it and come out on the other side with our passion for life still in tact?

Count your blessings! That’s it. By counting our blessings we will see that there are some things in our life worth living for. When we focus on the good things in our life, then, we can overcome adversity against all odds. Each one of us was born for a reason, we each have a purpose for being on this earth. Finding the thing that gives us a passion for life is what our purpose is. Whatever we are doing right now is what we are supposed to be doing. There is something to learn, not for us to keep to our self, but to share with others. That doesn’t have to be a big, grand or over the top idea, it is more about the little things in life. When each person does something small, collectively it adds up to something big. Whether your passion is for people, animals or the earth, that is up to each individual. Just do it, and the results will come.

When our backs are against the wall and there is no light at the end of the tunnel, that’s when we have to shift our mindset. We can use our time of adversity to think out of the box, be practical and simplify our life. Remove the junk that is blocking the way to success. This can be physical or mental. When there is clutter in our life or in our mind we can not move forward. We need to remove the clutter in our life by either cleaning up our environment or our minds, removing the things or the thoughts that are not of use to us anymore. Whether it be an old worn out mindset, or couch, it doesn’t matter, if it doesn’t bring us joy or it doesn’t create an atmosphere for creativity then it is not of use in our lives. Be flexible, open minded and aware when it comes to opportunities. They are all around us if we just take the time to look. Sometimes we put ourselves in a box and think that there is only one way of doing things, but when it comes to overcoming adversity, we need to recognize that we can use our adversity to our advantage. In finding a way out of our struggles, we have found a solution to our problem, this can then be used to help others who may be having the same problem, that creates opportunity.

Surrounding ourselves with people who have the same goals as we do is great, but surrounding ourselves with people who have the skills we lack is the key to our success. We need each other, and not one person has all the skills it takes to be successful. It is just like a good marriage, they say that opposites attract, well, that is because where one person lacks the other picks up the slack. That is how it is in life. We find the people who, not only share in our passion, but also have what it takes to work together, to get us to our next level in life. By working together, we can spread the wealth, and boost the economy. By pulling our resources we can come together and solve, not only our own problems, but also help someone else with theirs.

“Find your purpose”, “be courageous”, “face your fears”, don’t just know these cliches, live them. That is where the fire burns, is in actually living your purpose, actually being courageous, and actually facing your fears. Whatever they may be, whatever is going on, whatever is holding you back, don’t let it! Stand up, take charge and go for it. Quit looking for purpose in life, whatever you are doing is your purpose, and in there somewhere is your passion, that is what you need to find, what is it that drives you each day to get up and move, why do you keep getting up each day, who is important enough to keep you going, when are you going to realize that you are important, where are you going and why are you alive? Important questions that will change your life. Be yourself and remember that in adversity is where we find out more about who we are.

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PASSION IS PURPOSE

What does it mean to live our purpose? What do we need in order to find our passion and accomplish our goals? Where do we find the strength to move forward? When we talk about these things there is a feeling we get inside of us that makes us excited and want to know more. We think, yes, tell me what it is so I can get it and know what to do. But, the problem is, that we have to find it on our own. Nobody can tell us what our purpose is or how to find it. It is up to each person to find their own path to their passion. It’s not as hard as we think, though. Its about connecting, connecting to our inner self that knows what makes us want to fight for what we believe in. Taking the time to quietly sit with ourselves and tap into our core and feel the fire of what is burning inside of us, that needs to get out. That’s what passion is. The only way we will have the strength to fight for what we want, is to live passionately.

I know that when we talk about passion we get excited and then when we’re told we have to find it on our own we get let down, but, here’s the thing, all we need to do is to take action. Not just any action, but, inspired action. Start searching, that’s how we can find out what it is we are passionate about. Just do something and even if we fail, that’s success, because we have found out what is not our purpose and we can move on to the next thing. Don’t give up, these days we have no excuse for not doing what we need to do to find our purpose, with the internet we can find out about anything, we can explore all our options, before we even take one solid action, we can take a step. Once we find our passion, then we can set our goals and tap into our inner strength and every day we can acquire the knowledge we need to achieve those goals. Setting ourselves up for success, is to tap into the true essence of our self and be a person who lives their purpose. We can do this by awakening the warrior within, its not about waring ourselves out driving towards that goal, so focused on it that we lose track of what we’re trying to accomplish, its about connecting to our purpose and tapping into that thing inside of us that we know, that we know, that we know, we are supposed to do. Once we understand where that passion comes from, research it and take action, it will take on a life of its own and lead us to where we need to go. Its not a head thing, its a heart thing.

Can we live our purpose and create the life we want without being a warrior? NO! Being a warrior means standing up for what we believe in. Its what gives us the strength we need to move forward, taking the steps necessary to accomplish any goal we set for ourselves and gives us the excitement and the enthusiasm to carry it out regardless of the obstacles that get in the way. One of the biggest obstacles we face is ourselves. We are the ones who will talk ourselves out of living our passion. We are the ones who tell ourselves we’re not good enough, we don’t drive a nice enough car, we’re not pretty enough, we’re not smart enough or we don’t have enough money. We go on and on telling ourselves how we are NOT going to accomplish our dreams. But, these are the obstacles that we can overcome if we just believe in ourselves and take the steps necessary to move forward, then, things have a way of working themselves out. I have never heard anyone who was successful that said they never had an obstacle to overcome. I am a writer, I love to write and regardless of what others tell me, I will write. In doing research on writing, I have found so many stories of rejection. Everyone who writes has been rejected by publishers, by the press, by other people’s opinions or by their own self talk. Rejection is what we need to push us and let us know if what we are doing is what we are passionate about, because without rejection we would not know what success is. When we are rejected by others or even ourselves and we do it anyway, that’s passion, that’s our purpose!

We can accomplish anything we want, there are no limits, only the limits we set for ourselves. Its not about having our heads in the clouds, its about waking up everyday and connecting with our inner self. We must make some time for ourselves or we will not know what makes us happy, excited about life, joyfully enthusiastic and enlightened. Wake up earlier than everyone else in the house, sit quietly and hear the still small voice of God speak. What a special moment that is, a moment that everyone experiences differently. Each of us is an individual with unique talents and gifts and no one person is exactly like another. We can chose how we want to live by connecting to our purpose, connecting to our inner power, connecting to our inner peace and connecting to our inner discipline. We are not going to war against anyone or anything, we are engaging in something bigger than ourselves, we are creating and we are standing for something. It’s more about surrendering than warring, we need to surrender to our passion and our purpose, living a life that flows freely. We do not have to struggle against the current, if we are being true to ourselves we will flow with the current of life. To know our purpose, is to be willing to give up everything to follow our passion. That’s when we know we are doing what need to do, that is being true to our self, that’s how we overcome obstacles. When we are willing to give up everything, then we’re concerned about nothing, which frees us and allows us to create whatever we want.

Be brilliant, shine and glow, there is a light inside of us that will only shine when we are lit up from the inside. The fuel for that fire is passion, a passion that comes from being uniquely ourselves. No one thinks the same way, moves the same way or lives the same life, no matter how close we are to others, we are closer to ourselves. We spend more time getting to know other people than we do ourselves, we believe more in others more than we do ourselves, we encourage others more than we encourage ourselves and we engage more with others than we do with ourselves. Again I want to say, lets embrace our individual uniqueness, and then we’ll be able to embrace the uniqueness of others. While we are trying to get people to understand us, let’s start by understanding others. Dare to be different by accepting the difference in others. Instead of competing with each other we can stand in our own space, a space that is unique to who we are, and allow others to do the same. We can work with others, instead of against them. Keep in mind that nothing happens overnight, everything takes time, but, we will never get anywhere if we don’t start somewhere. Taking baby steps each day will bring us closer and closer to our goals. Stay in the Now of each moment and enjoy life right now, don’t continue to look to the future for someday. Someday is here and now, each moment of everyday is the tomorrow we create, so make it as pleasant as possible, then, one day we’ll look back on today and say, “Those were the days”.

WRITTEN BY: SINDY WILLIAMS

How To Heal The World One Step At A Time

Its Thanksgiving time, a time where we can focus on our blessings and blessing others. Its a time when we think of all the people who may not have enough to eat, a place to stay or someone who cares about them. Then we start to think, the problem is so overwhelming, especially with the economy taking a turn for the worse. There are so many people who need help, the problem seems so large that we become stagnant and do nothing. We can’t help but think that we do not have enough for ourselves, let alone try to help the world.

But, what if we stopped thinking about the big problem and started thinking about what is right in front of us. What if we started with our community? Our prayers shouldn’t be, “How can I help the world?”, our prayers should be, “How can I serve right where I am?”. We can get involved with organizations that are right in our own community that are already serving the poor. If we think to ourselves, “What is it that I can do on my worse day with my eyes closed?”, and then apply that knowledge to help the people around us, we can save the world one person at a time.

Everyone has something they do that they are really good at. Reading, writing, painting, mechanics, handyman, etc… The word volunteer may make some people think, “Oh no, not another thing to add to my  ‘to do’  list”, but it doesn’t have to be so daunting. Just think of the things that you are already doing and how you can apply it to help someone else. Get the kids involved, ask them to think of things they might be able to do to help others. Get excited about the prospects of helping out and the children will get excited too. We need to stop focusing on us and our problems and look around to see if there is someone who may be worse off than we are. Is there anything more important that we can think of right now than helping people out in our own communities that are less fortunate than we are? If we or our children are on any kind of comity or team, then why can’t we use that as our platform to come together and figure out what we can do as a group to help out the people who need us most?

We are the world, we are the ones who can make a difference. Lets come together and expand our passion to feed and heal the world one community at a time. If we do not create the world that we want, the world that will be created will not be the one we want it to be. If we don’t take the time to stop looking at ourselves and start looking at others then the world that will be created will be one that is not very pleasant to live in. It will be a world of selfishness, greed and a “what about me?” mentality. If we stay on the track that we are on, it will not sustain us into the future. Our resources will not continue to be here for us. If we all do our small part it will affect the bigger picture. The truth is that we are all one and we need each other, whether we want to or not.

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How Are You Communicating?

Communication is one of the things that can hold you back in business. Grammar IS important. People are judging you by your communication style, your dress, your body language and your speech. One big area where you are judged is your use of pronouns. In business people will pay attention to the emails you send and your social networking profiles. When you are speaking to people and you make a mistake in grammar people may think that you just made a careless error, but when you are writing it you are putting it out there for the world to see. With the technology that is out there today where everything is abbreviated we are loosing our use of correct grammar. Even though you may not be unintelligent you will come across as unintelligent by your improper use of grammar.

The common theme of women who struggle in business is not having presence. You have to remember that as representatives of your companies you will not always be working with people your same age. You will have to deal with people who are older and more mature than you are. So, when you are trying to sell yourselves or your product you should always keep in mind that you will be judged by our presence. So to enhance your presence  you should be concerned about your body language, facial expressions, demeanor, dress, and image.

Another thing to think about is how well you think on your feet. Senior executives will notice things like how long it takes you to answer a question. So you not only need to know the rules of English grammar, but you should also be concerned with our presence. This will help you  to come across as credible. It all comes down to your look, your language and your likability. If you want to be successful in business and in life, you have to be willing to work on yourself, internally and externally.

Live the sweet life with a sweet career!

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