When you think of the most inspiring people that you know, they always had a clear story to tell. In other words, they had a clear sense of what they were doing with their life (at least at the moment), and where they were headed.
It has been re-affirmed to me over and over that it is not lack of opportunity that steals joy from life, but rather indecision with which direction to move.
Recently, I had the privilege of co-hosting a Starve The Doubts show with Jared Easley where we interviewed Chris Ducker on his new book, Virtual Freedom.
Chris shared some really great advice, much of which was centered around business and the importance of building a great team. This was a great reminder for me as I run my business.
But Chris also touched on how it’s important to “let things go.” This is such a great reminder and has many more applications than just business.
I think we let our limitations dictate what we view as possible way too often. For example, I want a new bed frame for our cramped bedroom which is engulfed by our mammoth bed, but our piggy bank has just coughed up its last penny.
So, what do I do? Sit and mope? Ok, that being tried already, what else do I do?
Since moving to a smaller place, we have needed to make multiple adjustments when it comes to stuff and space. Lots of stuff and big furniture does not fit well into small spaces. It makes one feel cramped.
We all have dreams and desires. Some want to start a business; some want to travel; some want to work with kids; some want to work with computers; some want to write a book.
But where do those dreams and desires come from?
Are they part of a selfish nature and need to be reigned in, or altogether turned away from?
Or, are they given to us by God, part of a divine purpose for our lives?
The dishes are important. The kitchen gets disgusting if they aren’t done.
The laundry is important. We would be running around naked (or at least stinky) if it wasn’t clean.
The emails are important. Yes, they are.
But, ultimately what is important is doing the stuff that God implanted in my heart and spirit to do.
For the past two years with our music school, we’ve gotten the majority of our new students through free workshops. However, the workshops haven’t been as effective any more.
Six months ago, I told Claudia about my idea of distributing door hangers as a new way of advertising. I wanted to target specific neighborhoods where the demographic matched our target market.
My friend just quit his job. And I, being curious, asked him what made him pull the trigger. I knew he had been wishing to make a change for a while but wondered what actually made him decide to quit.
He said he realized (while on vacation, far away from home) that there were only two reasons he was staying where he was – fear and laziness. He thought to himself, “These are awful reasons to remain in a job I hate.” So he put in his notice, and quit.
How refreshing!
I truly love this approach to life, and I think we could all put it into practice more often. Evaluate why we are doing what we are doing and allow ourselves the space to answer honestly. Are our reasons good enough to continue in the direction we are going?
If not, we need to pull the trigger, and make a change. Move in a different direction.
If we want to be people that make forward progress in life and not become stagnant, we need to let life progress and move forward as well. This includes making some pretty major changes throughout our lives.
Often a big change is just what we need to start the momentum of change in other areas of our lives as well.
Are you currently in a situation you are unhappy with? What are your reasons for staying in that situation? Are they actually good enough reasons to continue in the direction you are going?
P. S. I think most people who have done this before will tell you doors of opportunity open after we decide to make a change, not before. When we are hesitant, we can’t think straight. When we commit to change, no matter if the path is clear at the moment, new opportunities always present themselves.
Photo Credit: timtom.ch via Compfight cc
There are plenty of different approaches to having a great day. And what is a great day for one person, might not be a great day for another person.
But there are some quick and easy universal things we can all do to dramatically increase the quality of our day, no matter what our definition of a great day is.
With most of these tips, you can spend as little as 5 minutes doing them and you’ll start seeing big results.
Here they are…
Moving from a 4 bedroom house with a basement, garage, and yard, to a 3 bedroom apartment with no storage whatsoever is something most people wouldn’t choose to do. So we decided to do it.
A year ago we started the process of simplifying and getting rid of STUFF. We put our house on the market, got an apartment, and 3 months ago, we moved. Just picture all of your current stuff fitting into 1/5th of the space. Our entire apartment now is the same size as the first floor of our house was!
Not too long ago, I was at Barnes and Noble and had about 45 minutes to spare. Rather than pulling out my laptop to get some work done or checking my emails on my phone, I decided to take it easy and have some unstructured down time.
This wasn’t typical because most days my work schedule is jammed packed full of appointments and tasks. I’ll go from one thing right to the next.
If I have a few minutes, I’ll try to get something checked off my to-do list like making a phone call or responding to an email.
On a normal day 4 years ago, my husband Michael and I realized we weren’t living the life we wanted to live. We were living a boring life! So, on a hot weekend in July, we started a new life.
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