Do you spring out of bed in the morning to start your day or do you drag your feet to the kitchen for a cup of coffee? Living a life with purpose and passion makes you feel light on your feet, almost off the ground. You are enthusiastic about life’s opportunities and yes, even the challenges. Anything worth having is worth all the challenges. You see, the challenges appear to test you. How badly do you want what you are after? When you love what you do every thing seems to come easier. Coffee is not required to jumpstart your day.

When trying to discover your purpose, look first to your strengths. What do people compliment you on? What are you good at? Do you inspire, teach, empower, or design? Your strengths are part of your purpose and you are here to give to others. Share your strengths. Inject passion into all that you do. Think about what brings you your greatest joy. Are you doing it everyday?

What are the ways that you bring passion to your purpose in life?

Each of us have moments in our lives where time stood still and we celebrated and cherished the moment. It was our moment. The moments we define as the milestones that lead us to our success. It is in these moments that we truly discover what we are capable of. You are so much more than what you tell yourself. If you only knew what you were capable of, would you work as hard to achieve it?

Follow this link to be inspired to your highest potential:

SUCCESS: Defining Moments

You are meant to do great things. Go out and do it!

Life is great until someone or something throws a monkey wrench into your plans. It is how we respond to situations that helps us deal with every situation that comes our way in the future. Change is a part of life yet many people find that change suffocates them. They feel that they lack of control and sometimes become upset, frustrated, or even angry.The reason they develop all these feelings is not because of change, but more so because they don’t want to be told what to do or that they must change.

The funny thing is, we all fear change in one form or another. Some people may have the fear of moving, some people may have the fear taking a new class, or even have the fear of eating in a restaurant alone. Depending on how you view change, change can mean many things. I like to see change as a big present with many little boxes inside. You do not know what you are going to get but there are many possibilities and opportunities to unwrap. You might not always like what you get but you must be gracious and accept what has been given to you. Your gift now belongs to you and you may do what you wish with it. You have a choice. Use it wisely. Change allows growth and reflection of who you once were and who you have yet to become.

I recently finished reading the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson.  I enjoyed it so much that I shared it with my kids. They loved analogy used to prepare for change. This book is a quick read, emphasizing many points about anticipating change, moving with change, and yes, enjoying change. Change is something you need to be ready for. You need to embrace it and enjoy the process.

The world continues to turn whether you are ready or not. If you are not ready, you run the risk of being left behind because of what is here today may not be here tomorrow. Treasure the gift of change.

Here are three easy ways to deal with change:

1. Choose Your Response- How you choose to view change with determine how you react to it. Your reaction affects your experience.
2. Focus on What You Can Control – Keep perspective on the things that you do have control of. When you focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t do, you can persevere and succeed.
3. Keep a Positive Outlook – Look for the opportunities and lessons to be learned. The attitude you choose to have will determine your thoughts, feelings, and ultimately your behaviours or actions. Stay optimistic about the outcome you wish to have as the result of the change. Remember your gift can be bigger and better than you ever imagined.

Above all,

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi.

I would love to know how you deal with change. Do you have a quote or story to tell us about change? Please share it!

It always amazes me how fear can interfere with what we want to do. A friend of mine called me today and said, “Debra, I did it, but I was scared and uncomfortable.” I asked her what she was afraid of and she said she was afraid the answer to her ask would be “No”. Guess what? The answer would still be no if you never asked for what you wanted. What if the answer was “Yes!” We tend get uncomfortable doing things we are not use to. I like to think of the discomfort as stretching into the skin you were meant to be in. It is when we get too comfortable that we must continously strive to stretch ourselves out of that comfort zone.

Have you ever noticed that when you ask for what you want, you get excited and nervous at the same time?  The excitement and nervousness can be put to great use in your learning curve. Take that enthusiasm and savor the moment. What does it feel like to see yourself hearing the “Yes”? Music to your ears I bet!

You can choose to hang onto your fears and your doubts or you can summon up the courage to go after what you really want in life. Too often, we catch ourselves looking for the approval from others instead of from ourselves. Fear and doubt may even numb you from taking action. When people try to talk you out of your dreams, they do so because of their own fears and doubts. It does not necessarily mean they do not believe you will succeed. It is important for you to believe in your dreams and for you to continue to take steps toward reaching your goals even if they are small ones. You will never be able to realize the full impact of the small steps you take until you reach your big destination.

Lead a fearless life!