Transformation

With the dawning of a New Year we all look to turn the page on what was and recreate ourselves for the New Year.  Many of us make resolutions to try and define the change we are looking for in the New Year.  But, as we know too many resolutions are done within weeks or if you are lucky months of the New Year.  Why is this?  Simple, we cannot change who we are without taking the time to know and understand ourselves better.

True transformation comes from within and it cannot be forced.  By knowing your true self, you can become whatever you would like to become.  Do you think the caterpillar knows that tomorrow it will be a butterfly? My guess is that the caterpillar has no idea, it just lives every day to the fullest as a caterpillar and is amazed at the transformation that happens.  Each us of can learn from the caterpillar, we fill our lives with stuff because we believe that if we are busy we have a full and joyful life.  But, to truly transform yourself you need to spend time with yourself and you need to learn to appreciate each and every moment for we never know when our last moment will come.

The discovery of joy in everything is a practiced skill like any other skill.  When we allow our mind to let go of yesterday and begin to live life every day to the fullest, we will slowly begin to find joy in everything.   This realization leads to being more and more aware of the present and teaches us to open our mind to possibilities.  This opening up can dramatically change your life but as with the caterpillar it happens in its own time.  The more you pretend to live in the moment the further you move away from being in the moment.  The process is to not think just to be.

Does this mean only good things will happen?  Of course not, much of life is beyond our control but whatever the trials and tribulations are that you go through there can still be joy in the trials.  Sometimes our greatest lesson and most impressive growth comes through the trials we have in our life.  We all need to celebrate getting through the “tough times” because they happen to everyone!

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “True transformation happens when we take time to know ourselves better.  Once the transformation begins it can truly change everything in your life.”

What is your Value?

Do you value yourself?  Do you know your worth to the world?  Or are you always seeking acceptance never discovering your true value?  Each of us brings unique traits and qualities to this world and our value should never be set by others, we should instead know and accept our true value of ourselves. 

I believe that if we do not value who we are as a person no one else will!  Is there a fine line between self-worth and Ego, yes there can be.  True self-worth is a quiet assurance that never has to be proclaimed to the world.  It is feeling confident in your abilities and your place in the world.  It is knowing what you can add to a situation and being willing to learn and stretch your abilities to help others.

So how do we begin to value ourselves?  It starts with listening to yourself, finding who you truly are and truly understanding what talent and abilities you have.  Recognize what you have been through in your life.  Give yourself credit for making it through everything you have been through.  Acknowledge the things you have learned along the way and most importantly believe in yourself.  The world is a better place because you are in it and contributing to it every day.  You have value and your willingness to define your value will only enhance your life.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “Discover your true value to the world.  Go forth with confidence that you are special and you have value!”

Open your heart to open your mind!

With the tragic events of the past week in Colorado Springs and San Bernardino there has been much talk, including by Presidential candidates, about how we should react to such events.  Most of the reactions out there are based on fear and hate.  These are the easiest ways to control people and rally them for your cause.  I dismiss the idea of fear and I abhor the idea of hate.  Certainly there are people in this world that are out to hurt us with no regard for who is responsible for their own problems but the way forward in the world is discover the love we each have inside.  By taking the time to see that true light in ours we bring ourselves to a place of compassion and understanding rather than a place of fear and hate.

Our country has a long history of trying to hate or define a new ethnic group until we as a society will not put up with it anymore.  This was true of the African Americans, the Irish, the Jewish, the Japanese and now it is the Muslim’s.  Why do we hate because we have not had the chance to know and understand each of these groups until much time has passed.  I believe that this world is coming together like never before and the vast majority of people are good people and want to be good.

The way we as a society and as individuals change the world is to open our hearts to everyone so that we can open our minds to their situation.  It is very hard to do it the other way around we try to box in our emotions with what we believe to be logic.  The truth is you can justify anything if you want to.  The opportunity to change the pattern is to open you heart first and allow your compassion to lead your mind to different conclusions.

There have been radicals in every ethnic group in our history.  Some of those groups were terribly feared in their time but we grew up and began to understand why they were acting out the way they were.  Once we did this we accepted the change that was needed to make their lives better. 

Stop allowing talking heads to tell you what you should think or feel.  Let go of the fear and find a way to make a difference.  You and only you can decide where you should stand.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the Day: “By opening our hearts first we allow our heads to hear a different truth.  Know compassion instead of fear and change the world with your love.” 

Giving Thanks!

With the Thanksgiving holiday this Thursday, I think it’s time again to think about giving thanks.  What are you thankful for?  Through gratitude everything is possible.  I have mentioned before that my wife Heidi and I practice gratefuls every day.  We believe in the power of giving thanks.  No matter how dark of a day you are having there is always something to be grateful for.

The more you appreciate your life as it is today, the more you open your heart to other possibilities.  It is only by being grateful that we allow God/universe to work on our behalf.  Remember God/universe only wants to give us what we are looking for but that can be negative things as well as positive things.  By starting each day with gratitude we express thanks to God/universe for the wonderful things that God/universe brought into our lives yesterday.

I have also discovered that by starting the day with gratitude we set a more positive tone for the whole day ahead of us.  This tone then translates into more things to be grateful for today and so on.  So what are you grateful for?  I’d love to hear all of your responses.  Here are some of mine:

1.       I am grateful for my family.  I love and appreciate all my sisters, my mother, my

 3 daughters and my beautiful wife Heidi.

2.       I am grateful for living in Colorado.  I love the beauty of this state and I am

 grateful that I have ended up here.

3.       I am grateful for my house.  I love where we live and appreciate owning my

 own place.

4.       I am grateful for the opportunity to start my own business and to get away  

 for the corporate world and especially taxes.

5.       I am grateful for my community.  I love the people in this area and believe

 together we can do anything.  I am honored to be involved with 2 Chamber

 of Commerce’s and to be the Co-Chair of the 285 Tourism Committee.

6.       I am grateful for our 3 dogs they bring us joy and laughter every day.

7.       I am grateful for all my online friends, some of whom have been with me

 for nearly 10 years.  I appreciate your friendship and support.

8.       I am grateful that I can be a voice for those that need one.

9.       I am grateful for my birthday which this year is on Thanksgiving.  I

 celebrate each year with appreciation as I know too well that nothing

 is guaranteed.

10.   I am grateful for finding joy in the smallest things.

I wish you all a beautiful, warm Thanksgiving and if you are not in the US, I hope the intention of this day can be shared worldwide.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “By giving thanks we open our heart to joy and discover the path to a better life.” 

Make the World Better!

Have you ever thought, I want to make the world a better place?  I have often, it is one of the things that drives me onward every day; I try to make a difference.  Not only in my life and the lives of the people I know, I try to make a difference in the world.  The whole idea behind this blog was to make a difference.

So why do I bring this up now?  After the events in Paris last week it is far too easy to fall into the negative.  We are afraid so we need to act in retaliation!  We need to make them pay!!  Can you hear it in your head?  It is so easy to become part of the group.  We feel more secure because everyone is thinking this.  Well just like the person at work that loves to tell you their troubles every day, even though your day is going well, you start to complain.  You find a comradery with this person because you have something in common….remember your day was going well, so do you truly have something in common?  We as humans are social animals and we like the feeling of belonging.  Do not allow others to pull you into the negative.  Do not believe all the negative things you hear.  Listen to your true self, listen to God/universe and remember who you truly are, love!

Do not join the hate, do not join the war believe in yourself and believe in other people.  The world needs more compassion and empathy, not hate and war.  Find a way to your true self, let go of the fear that you hear all around you and make the world a better place today.  I dare you!!

More hate will never bring anything more than more hate.  It is only through love that we can begin to change the world, one step at a time.  I believe in you, I believe in your compassion, I believe in love!!

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Perception

Here's a look back on a subject we all need to be reminded of; perception.  Your perception affects everything in your life.  It is the most important subject to truly become aware of.

Let's start with the Dictionary.com definition: "the act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding." Everything we know in life is filtered through our own perception. Our perception is developed throughout our life by the experiences we've had & the knowledge we've learned. The only way to change your life to a more joyful life is to change your perception of everything. Yes, I know that sounds like a big task, but actually it's just an effort, on your part, to look at things differently.

No matter how objective you think you are in life. Everything is affected by your perception & to complicate things a little more, everything you read, hear or see is someone’s else's perception which you then interpret through your own perception. So everything in life is filtered to some extent at least twice (1st by who's saying it & 2nd by your own).

What happens over our life is that we tend to get entrenched in the way we perceive things & this leads us to seeing things in the same pattern we've always known. The problem with this is that if we want to change our life we need to break these old patterns & look at things differently to begin to find more joy.

So how do we start to do this? There's no defined way it's whatever seems to work for you. What I've done over the past several years is to challenge myself to look at everything differently. I allow the 1st thought into my head & recognize it. I then challenge myself to look at it from at least one other point of view. The next step for me when it comes to other people is to not judge. I let go of all my preconceived ideas of what a person is I don't judge them by what they are wearing, what their appearance is what race or religion (if I know) or what sexual preference. I instead try to understand why they are saying what they are saying. In other words I try to understand their point of view, their perception of what they are telling me.

I believe strongly that every person that comes into your life is there for a reason. This reason is usually to teach something you need to know. Either something about yourself (as talked about in "reflections") or something you need to know to move forward in your life. If you try to open yourself up to this idea you begin to see the world in a different way.

For me the final step is to also look at everything else in your life (that's not people) in the same open (new) way. We can discover messages from everything that enters our life....everything is there for a reason! That's the way the universe works. (To learn more about the meaning of animals that show up in your life a great book is "Animal Speaks" by Ted Andrews).

Change your perception & your new life will begin to unfold in front of you.

Until next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Perception is your filter of the universe. Change your perception & the world will change around of you!"

Action!

In the past we have talked a lot about moving forward and not worry about the results.  Today I want to talk about action and what is the right action to see your dreams come true.  This topic came to me through my friend Jason Britt who was talking about taking responsibility for your life.  This is a beautiful way to introduce action!

We cannot just sit back and dream of the life we want to live.  We have to take responsibility for our actions right or wrong.  We need to learn from our mistakes and forgive ourselves for the mistakes we make.  Just as we need to celebrate the right decisions.  This is your life and it will happen with or without you.  You are the only one that can affect the change you want to see in your life.  God/universe will send you the people to help you but if you do not pay attention or if you are unwilling to hear their message, you will be stuck in the same routine that has kept you where you are.

The way forward is to always take a step towards your dreams.  Even when you are knocked down and feel hopeless, by moving forward you will always see change happen around you.  Now as we have discussed in the past if your dreams are completely Ego based; you may achieve what you dreamed of but may find that there is no satisfaction in achieving your dreams.  The reason for this is that the Ego can never be satisfied beyond a moment.  Once it achieves what it wanted it always wants more.

So how do we move towards our dreams?  Start by letting go of the negative thoughts in your head. Take a moment or two every morning, release yesterday, clear your mind and think of one positive thing you can do today to move towards your dream.  This ‘thing’ does not have to be significant but you must take action towards your dreams every day.  The reason for this is that God/universe only knows to give us what we ask for.  If we do not take action towards our dreams and become consumed with negative thoughts and energy will we only see more negative thoughts and more obstacles will appear in our path.

The way to live the life you dreamed of is not as hard as it appears; take action, move forward, release the negative, take responsibility and you will know joy like never before.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day:  “By taking responsibility for our life and always moving towards our dreams, our life will unfold perfectly before us!”