If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I will tell you, I came to live out LOUD.” ~ Émile Zola
My daughter recently brought home her University yearbook and on the cover, embossed in wild, bright colors, were the words, ‘Live Loud.’
I loved it! She was being encouraged to not just have a life, but to live it LOUD – emphatically, boldly, not concealed or quiet but overtly and with undeniable purpose and passion.
I’ve always had a soft spot for dreamers – not those who waste their time thinking ‘what if’ but the ones who look to the sky and say ‘why can’t I shoot for the moon?’”
I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”
Stress, anxiety and the challenges we face on a daily basis leave us in need of skills to slow down and stay in the present.
Current research continues to discover the overwhelming, and measurable, benefits of meditation. In a recent Creativity Workshop I attended, I was introduced to this short video presented by Brian Johnson, who shares an easy way to understand and apply this powerful practice.
It is important that you get clear for yourself that your only access to impacting life is action. The world does not care what you intend, how committed you are, how you feel or what you think, and certainly it has no interest in what you want and don’t want. Take a look at life as it is lived and see for yourself that the world only moves for you when you act.”
Experiences and events are just things – things that happen in our life.
As difficult, challenging or even painful as these experiences can be at the time, it is our response to those things, the shift in our thinking, that determines what the outcome will be (and the direction that our life will take).
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself
but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”
~ Marcus Aurelius
A business decision may not lead to the result one might have desired.
A piece of art or writing, created through hours of hard, dedicated work, may not be accepted by the public.
A performance, based on relentless practice, falls short of the desired reception of the audience.
All of these experiences have one thing in common: the opportunity to frame them either through the eyes of an Owner or a Victim. As my mentor and friend Steve Chandler said in his recent workshop,
“There are only two kinds of people in any given situation – Victims and Owners.”
What if what you believe (the thoughts that guide your daily journey in life) are lies? What if they are distorted versions about yourself?
“Don’t Stop Believing. Hold on to that Feeling”
~ Journey
The lyrics of the popular song by Journey unfortunately provide the listener with some pretty bad advice – depending on what you are believing!
In fact, if your personal belief system is based on negative thoughts about yourself, then I suggest that you most certainly do not want to “hold on to that feeling.”
If I grow up believing that I have little worth or value, this thought will continue to guide me later in life through a lack of self-confidence. If I do not believe that I am capable of great things in my business or creative life, then I will more than likely sabotage any chance of success in those areas.
A negative set of beliefs can lead to:
– Self-doubt (“Who do I think I am”)
– Feelings of Inadequacy (“I’m just not enough to produce work that matters”)
– Powerlessness (“I’ll never achieve what I want”)
– Shame (“I’m not worth it”)
– Feeling like a fraud (“I’m going to be found out and rejected”)