Put Fear Aside

Put Fear Aside

Live A Full Life

You could say that in life U are motivated by two basic forces – love and fear. Love opens U to the passion and excitement that love has to offer, while fear will stop U in your tracks. Fear causes U to withdraw from life and hide away, terrified of hurt, failure, rejection and pain. John Lennon said something along these lines and noted that without the ability to love ourselves we can’t truly love others.

If fear is keeping U from tackling life and living life fully it will keep U from chasing your dreams, and often U may not realize what fears are haunting U. U may be terrified of failing, of losing love, of being lonely, of having to change, of being rejected. The reasons are numerous. U may be frightened of the unknown, too. Not knowing what is coming next or what to expect, is often very frightening. It is important to realize U are not alone. Everyone has been a cowardly lion at one time or another in life.

While there is a time and place for fear and it often protects U from truly dangerous experiences, fear can also be destructive. With these six steps, U can put fear to one side and start living your life to the fullest.

  1. Be Clear In Your Goals
    Before U can make the most of your life, U need to know what U want your life to look like. What goals are U looking to achieve? Answer this and U will be provided clarity which will allow U to shift your focus to your priorities. Just knowing what U want in life isn’t enough, though. U need to recognize your potential and understand how to leverage it to move U closer to those goals.
  2. Mentally Prepare
    Yes, there are plenty of amazing opportunities out there just waiting for U to grab them. Unfortunately we often miss out on opportunities that present themselves because of our failure to prepare. U should be prepared mentally for any eventuality. Then, and only then, will U have the knowledge and the skills necessary to make the most of any opportunity that comes your way.
  3. Network
    If you don’t have the skills or knowledge to accomplish what U want, networking is one resource U should use. A strong social and professional network is imperative to unlocking everything life has to offer. Experience life events that are meaningful to U.  Often, this will place U with others who have the skillset and know how to help U along your way.  Networking with others who U admire and respect and who U wish to emulate will help U reach your goals, dreams and ambitions. Many times it’s about being aware of resources and making use of the resources when they present themselves.
  4. Ask Questions
    Opportunities don’t come out of nowhere, a lot of the time it will be a subtle opportunity. That’s why it’s vital that U ask questions of everything and force yourself to think creatively and look at life from every angle. Your curiosity could be the key to unlocking opportunity.
  5. Recognize Opportunities
    A full life is not going to land on your lap gift-wrapped, the greatest opportunities in life are often disguised as something else entirely. Which is why asking questions is important, but it’s equally as important that U are able to recognize the opportunities that do crop up. The reason we fail to recognize them is that we expect them to be obvious and that just isn’t how life rolls.
  6. Take Risks
    Not just any risk, though, take calculated risks. When U recognize an opportunity and understand how to take advantage of it then you need to take risks. Before U do so, review the pros and cons and seize the day or move on to the next opportunity. There are no guarantees in life; it is what U make it.

U can use these six steps in business and in your personal life, the truth is that they’re more alike than we care to admit. The key to unlocking your happiness and seizing everything life has to offer is fully within your power. U just have to grab everything that comes your way and learn to practice gratitude for everything you achieve.

“Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” – Aristotle

“Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow.” – Dorothy Thompson

It’s Never Too Late to Rewrite Your Life

It’s Never Too Late to Rewrite Your Life

Reach Your Potential

I watched a movie last week with Shirley Maclaine entitled, The Last Word. In the movie, Shirley portrays Harriet Lauler, a wealthy advertising mogul who is forthright; always speaking her own mind whether it be brazen or brash. She is unapologetic no matter the recipient.

After a near-death experience, Harriet realizes that very few people, if any, would mourn by her death or attend her funeral. She set’s out to make things right and employs an obituary writer to write her obituary while she is still living. Harriet instructs the writer that to have lived a life worth remembering requires four things:

  1.  U should be loved by family and friends.
  2. U should touch someone’s life in a significant way.
  3.  U should live a life that is true. After finding her love of music, Harriet becomes a disc jockey. On air, she signs off the air with these words…”To my listeners… don’t have a nice day. Have a day that matters; have a day that is true and means something.”
  4. U should play your WILDCARD. A WILDCARD is whatever U are holding back from experiencing life fully.

Harriet then sets out to rewrite her own life and have the last word. In the process of enmeshing herself in her self-professed edicts of life, she is able to die without regret.

Do U play it safe? Are U concealing your WILDCARD? Are U holding out for the right time to play your WILDCARD?

Instead of holding back and waiting for the right moment, surprise others and yourself with who you are capable of becoming. Don’t conceal your skills, your ambitions, your dreams from yourself and others so that you can play them at a later time when it may be more convenient, less riskier, safer and easier to lay them out on the table for all to see. Use your WILDCARDS to their greatest advantage.

Why is it that U save the best for last; holding on to your WILDCARDS so as to have a contingency plan for use when all else fails?

Often U know what it is U want to do, but U still don’t do it. Why? Because, U are afraid of failure. U choose what is comfortable and familiar. Living in the moment just because the moment is safe isn’t really living. Maneuvering around every life risk and withholding your WILDCARDS because it is more comfortable and less scary certainly protects U from LOSS, FAILURE and DISAPPOINTMENT but it also prevents ACCOMPLISHMENT, SUCCESS and HAPPINESS.

Here’s the scoop. It’s never the right time to jump in with both feet. U may never have enough money, enough time, enough courage, or enough of anything else that U feel is necessary to meet your life’s goals and reach your dreams. U must learn to strike the right balance between risk and reward and the only way to do that is to experience life and weigh your risks as best U can. Risk nothing and U can expect a lower return on your life’s investment. Risk too much and lose everything U have planned. Hedge your bets and risk wisely in your skills, your ambitions and dreams and U will find your sense of purpose and that is reward enough no matter what anyone else thinks, feels or believes.

Never conceal or forego your dreams and the U you wish to become. LIVE ANDY PLAY YOUR WILDCARDS for all their worth, play them while U still can and U will find HAPPINESS AND FULFILLMENT IN EVERYTHING YOU DO! IT’S TIME TO PLACE YOUR BETS!

Fortune favors the bold.