L Chronicles: Failure - The Successful Person's Dirty Little Secret

Throughout my years as an entrepreneur, author, filmmaker, and life strategist, I've had the good fortune of being in the company of a lot of phenomenal people - from A list celebrities to government officials to highly respected entrepreneurs. I've been able to glean many important lessons and tidbits from them and I often share them as I speak or write.

In reading biographies, paying close attention to personal stories, and asking specific questions, I've discovered that every highly successful person I know has a dirty little secret to success - FAILURE. And beyond failure, deciding to pick up the pieces and keep going.

In the spirit of transparency, I have to share that I've had both successes and failures thus far in 2010. I pitched and sold some great stuff that went off without a hitch, I made more money than I did in 2009, I launched several cool Inspired Living things, I launched a charter group in Ecuador for Inspired Girls, and achieved some other great stuff. But on the flip side, I planned a national tour that dwindled before my eyes (although I'm realizing that that was a blessing in disguise for several reasons) and had to push some other things back.

Now, here's what's interesting: I was talking with a friend at lunch yesterday about this and she said, "Lisa, you know every successful person fails. That's just a part of the game as an entrepreneur." Well, yeah...but do people really get that?

For a period of time, I was hypersensitive to the opinions and ideas people held about me and my company. It used to be important to me to maintain a professional image and all of that. However, I realized that
a) a failure is an event, not a person
b) I cannot expect to be good at everything - there's a learning curve in life and business
c) In the words of Jay-Z, you can't be afraid to fail in search of perfection.

And so, I pondered my friend's words over raw vegan pizza as I fought back tears of happiness & gratitude. She didn't say anything particularly earth shattering that I didn't already know, but that's what friends - real friends - are for...to give you that reminder when you need it and to push you forward when you want to stall. And I happen to be a big mush when it comes to people in my inner circle.

Success, according to Rudyard Kipling, is failure turned inside out. I believe that. And as I pick up my own pieces, I insist on reminding myself that I've had a LOT more successes than failures this year, and I owe it to myself to learn the valuable lessons from the disappointment and then apply them going forward. And anyone who's decided to "write me off" because of it can sit back and watch me apply the lessons and succeed because one thing I have never lacked is persistence. I've said before that fragile friendships that can't withstand a disagreement or shakeup aren't friendships worth having and I'm now realizing that that extends to professional relationships too. Things happen. Theories fail. People evolve. The type of people I want around me, in business and life, understand this and don't run at the first sign of a challenge. After all, why let people ride the bandwagon once it's rolling if they didn't want to help push?

It's true that some of our most valuable lessons come from failures because I'm certain there's no way I could have learned so much from a success.

The takeaway:
Failure & success are 2 sides of the same coin. If you fear failure, you'll never have success.

Some lessons can be learned from watching & learning from others...some are yours to bear.

Contingency plans are a leader's best friend.

The people who belong in your space do more than "get you" or want to be a part of your vision - they support you & the process of creating the vision. They demonstrate a certain loyalty, not just to you, but to the outcome that the vision produces.

Next time you see someone who appears to make everything turn to gold, remember their dirty little secret and keep pushing.

Later.

The D word that nobody uses enough

Discipline.

This is my word of the week.

In my office, I have this cool little white board. I have dry erase markers and every week, there's a word that I value that I put on the board. As I work, I see this word and it becomes a sort of mental soccer ball that I play with throughout the day. For the whole week, I am centering my loose thoughts on this word or concept.



This week's word is discipline, and as I was writing the Monday Motivation to the members of the Inspired Living Community, I realized that discipline is an overlooked word in lifestyle, business, and personal success. We hear about persistence and the importance of "going hard" no matter what, but how often are we reminded that success is largely a matter of personal responsibility?

I know discipline isn't as glamorous as the other words thrown around in inspirational quotes, but I don't know a single successful person who isn't disciplined in one or many ways. Without discipline, you find yourself never really finishing what you start because you slack off of the habits necessary to make major headway.

Sometimes we look at the success and accomplishments of others and marvel at what they've done. From Olympic athletes to billionaire moguls, we want to know the secret.

It's not smarts - we've seen some not so bright people who've managed to achieve success. It's not connections - we've seen people who were nobodies make names for themselves. It's not education or money or stunning good looks - it's the vision to do something meaningful, the choice to be excellent and have excellent things, and then the discipline to remain focused and see that intention through until the end.

In what areas of your life are you lacking discipline? The most important things you need to do are easy to do and easy not to do. It would be easy for you to drink water, exercise, read, work on your business, or invest in your relationships today, right? It'd also be just as easy to do the opposite. The difference is discipline. Get clear about what results you want to create and then distill the necessary actions down to 1-2 simple, powerful habits that can get you there when done consistently. There are no magic pills and potions - discipline and consistency is how you achieve anything worth while.

Focus on developing discipline this week and honoring your commitments to be, do, and have the best. No matter how hungry you are for success, you have to have a plan - and even if you have the best plan in the world, it means nothing if you don't have the discipline to execute the plan. Discipline is the secret to success.

Since you read this far, I'm willing to let you borrow discipline as your word this week too. I'm disciplined with eating veggies so I'm going to go enjoy some cabbage.

Later.

Where is your abundance?

This week is about ABUNDANCE. I want you to shift your mindset this week about abundance and what it means to you. Stop saying "If I had this..." or "I wish that..." or "Too bad that I can't..." Instead, replace those things with "What I do have is...", "What I can do is..." or "I'm going to..."

The POWER that you possess is unlimited, and you have the ability to choose whether your life continuously moves forward or lags behind. How? By giving up any excuses and using what you have, where you are, to get what you want. Many of the things that were reasons when you were a child are now excuses - but you have to possess a certain level of awareness to eliminate those trains of thought that are not serving you.

Here's a paradigm shifting exercise: Sit down and make a list of everything you have more than enough of - whether it's macaroni, shoes, or friends - keep going until you absolutely can't think of anything else. Then consider that the things you have in abundance could just as easily be things you lack. Consider that you created the reality you're experiencing, and because you have abundance in several areas, you possess the power necessary to replicate abundance in other areas of your life.

Decide today that nothing and no one will stop you from having overflow in your life. Stop settling for good enough and start commanding excellence in every area of your life. Remember that it starts with you and the choices you make - choose abundance and choose to live your INSPIRED LIFE!

Until next time, be inspired!

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...

God does not rescue you from a burning building so you can seek shelter in it's charred remains. For a better future, release the past.-Alfred Edmond Jr

This quote was posted on Twitter a few days ago, and it hit home with a thought I had been having for several weeks.

As a lifestyle expert and “Inspiration Icon”, I spend my days inspiring people – whether writing books, hosting my radio show, producing films, or creating personal development tools and events. The interesting thing about this entrepreneurial/leadership lifestyle is that I’ve had to constantly work on being authentic – being sure that who I was behind the scenes is congruent with the leader showing up on TV, radio, print, etc.

I recently had a situation in my life erupt into a burning building. The unfortunate part about it was that God sent appropriate warnings before things started to burn. You know, it started with a :::sniff, sniff::: Do you smell something burning? Then it graduated to Boy, it sure is hot in here. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by roaring flames, and I was looking for a way out while also trying to understand and process how this had managed to happen.

The crazy thing about questionable situations or burning buildings is that sometimes we grow attached to our problems and challenges. In spite of being intellectually and physically able to address our issues and move to higher, safer ground, we somehow believe that the ability to put the fire out is tied to our identity and self-worth. Instead of smelling the smoke and leaving, we wait for evidence of a fire. And instead of racing down the stairwell when we feel the temperature rising, we assure ourselves that it’s just a little fire and that we can put it out if we’re good enough, smart enough, loving enough, whatever enough.

So, we wait. Like the frog in water that is dead by the time it realizes the temperature has risen to a fatal temperature, we stay hoping, thinking, surmising that we will be immune to the looming destruction.

After making an emergency exit from my burning building, I looked back woefully, feeling sad and uncertain, wishing the fire had never happened. And in a moment of despair, I considered running back into the building – charred remains and all – hoping against hope that I could rebuild it magically…hoping it was all an illusion and the fire never really happened.

Today, as I reflect on the quote, I am reminded of how important it is to always be saying no to the good so you can yes to the great. I’m passing this on to everyone in the Inspired Living Community because we all face this challenge at one time or another.

The lessons…
-Your identity and self-worth are not attached to destruction. The Divine Plan for your life does not require you to engage in self-destructive patterns in order to rise to your destiny.

-Buildings burn because of a spark – something that causes combustion. Trace the fire back to its origin, and insist on learning a meaningful lesson that can make you more effective in the future.

-Sometimes it’s best to leave things in their broken state and walk away instead of hurting yourself trying to put them back together.

-When you are ushered out of a burning building, do not return to the scene of the crime. You are not meant to stay in the “remains” or “aftermath” – you deserve healthy, vibrant, good things that perpetuate light and joy.

-Our capacity for growth is dictated by our decisions to release anything that does not align with who we’re becoming and claim those things that do.

If you smell anything burning in your life, address it now and if necessary, get out. When you face a situation fearlessly, there is no situation to face.

Until next time, be inspired!

Lisa

Are you keeping your inspiration close?

I shot this in Marina del Rey after a fun boat ride out in the Pacific Ocean...ok, ok...it was choppy that day and a little scary...but fun and inspiring still. The video was actually shot in the pier because the water outside of it was crazy. Anyway, this is all about keeping your inspiration close and discovering what stirs your imagination and sparks your creativity. Enjoy!

Vitamin N - the ultimate success nutrient

Vitamin N

I’m so excited to tell you about this revolutionary new vitamin that can change your life!

It’s Vitamin No – the vitamin that gives you the stamina to overcome obstacles and stay positive. What if I told you that the word “no” was a vitamin? It can be! In fact, for the Inspired Lifer like you, it should be.

Think about how many times you’ve heard no or been rejected for one reason or another – it usually stings or feels bad and sometimes it can be devastating. But here’s the deal: You’re on an upward spiral toward your destiny – your destiny, though, is not a destination – it’s a journey and an evolution. On your path of growth, expansion, and forward motion, you’ll hear a certain number of “no”s. It’s inevitable – every amazing feat has been shunned by small minds before it was accepted as the brilliance it truly is. Think of how things like the light bulb, the car, and the television started. They were all considered to be “silly” and people said they’d never work. And now, we take these inventions for granted.

Reframing the concept of being rejected creates power. You are on a divine path – one that no one can disturb or interrupt. If something good is being taken from you, it’s only because something great is going to replace it. With that understanding, the word “no” is a vitamin that merely indicates “not this one” or “not now” instead of “You’re not good enough”, “You can’t do it” or “You’re a failure.”

This week, whenever you hear “no”, remember that it’s a vitamin that’s nourishing your courage and empowering you to fully own the big “yes” that’s on its way.

Inspired Journaling Prompt: Write about what you’ll do next time you hear “no” instead of choosing sadness, frustration, or anger.

Inspired Action: Put the systems and structures in place for you to be instantly inspired next time you hear “no”. Move your vision board to a more visible place, print your favorite article or post an inspiring quote where you can see it. Set yourself up for a positive frame of mind and remember that Vitamin N is extra healthy for you!

Don't Down The Noise!!!

Have you ever had an unexplained hunch? It seemed like an internal urge to do something – or not do something – and even though you couldn’t explain it, you knew for sure it was there. Have you had a mental flash of an image or idea? It seemed to come out of nowhere, but it was vivid and clear.

Those things are function of your intuition which is a part of your spiritual faculties. Your ability to clearly discern your intuition has everything to do with your level of “internal noise”. What is internal noise? Internal noise is excessive mental and emotional clutter – thoughts, ideas, fears, to do lists, etc. It’s all the stuff that’s scattered around in your mind and spirit. Imagine being a room that had a 3 televisions playing 3 different movies, 2 radios tuned to 2 different stations, a desktop computer playing an audio file, a laptop computer downloading information, a landline phone ringing, and a cell phone receiving text messages. Dizzying, right? Imagine a small, still voice trying to communicate something amidst all of that chaos. How could you possibly hear anything over all of that commotion? You couldn’t. And that’s what it’s like inside of you when there’s internal noise.

When God is speaking through your intuition, it’s in a small still voice or a flash of inspiration. If you’re internally noisy, you can’t hear it and you miss life-changing moments. How many times have we said something like, “I should have followed my mind” or “Something told me not to do that”. That’s intuition – gently guiding us to where we should be but never forcing us to take the enlightened path.

Today, I challenge you to turn down the internal noise and create a tranquil inner space for your intuition to be loud and clear. Here are some easy ways you can turn the internal noise down:

-Meditate. Even if it’s just 5 minutes in the morning, spend some time in stillness before you begin the day. Close your eyes, take deep breaths, and gently clear away any thoughts to just focus on being present. Then slowly begin to see yourself in an ideal space of happiness, love, and abundance.

-Journal. Journaling gets it all out so spend some time writing about the things that are loudest in your inner space. Whether it’s a troubled relationship or a lingering problem, write about it honestly and thoroughly. Release it on the page and allow yourself to be open to the solution.

-Change your environment. Getting away – whether it’s a walk around the block or a week in another country – can inspire clarity and inner quiet. New surroundings require that we be totally present and observant of ourselves and our surroundings, thereby pushing the mute button on inner noise and inviting revelation and creativity.

Inspired Journaling Prompt: Write about a situation in your life when you followed a “hunch” and had a wonderful outcome. Write about other ways following your intuition can empower you.

Inspired Action: Listen! Listen to God’s voice and act on what you hear. Don’t let grass grow under your intuitive leads – take action right away!

Your life is your CHOICE

Your life is your choice.

How often have we felt helpless in the face of everything that seems to hold us back? The past, the present, money, relationships, weight, appearance, self-esteem, education, connections – we can come up with so many reasons for why we aren’t successful.

The power to transcend all of that and become who you were meant to be lies within you and the choices you make. Ultimately, you assign meaning to your circumstances; they don’t assign meaning to you. No matter where you’ve been or what you’ve been through, you can start today and make your life an expression of possibility, fulfillment, success, and love.

Preparation is a demonstration of faith because true faith is revealed through action. We’ve heard about the countless visualization techniques out there, but the most revealing demonstration of faith is whether you’re prepared to receive what you say you want. What do you believe to be true about your life? Is there tangible evidence of that belief? Let’s say you ordered a sofa today and it was scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. How would you prepare? You’d move the old sofa out, right? You’d clear out the tables and lamps so that the movers could bring the sofa straight through the door and into the space you had set aside for it. You’d want to be sure you were home so the movers could get in to make the delivery. You would be ready. Are you ready for what you want to receive in your life? Your blessings are on the way, but are you ready? Are you in the right place to receive your blessings? Your destiny is racing towards you just as quickly as you’re racing towards it! Have you done the preparation for your blessings to come flowing easily and quickly into your life? Remember that we don’t get what we want; we get what we prepare for.

Keep your inspiration close. What really inspires you? What makes you feel completely alive? What makes your spirit sing? Even the most successful people will tell you that they’ve had tough days or even tough years. We’ve all been through seasons that tested the very essence of our spirit and left us wondering whether we were on the right path. But you’re here, and you’re still moving forward. Discover what inspires and awakens you and keep it close. When you feel sad, drained, angry, or frustrated, turn to those things, people, places, and ideas to keep you focused and positive.

Take consistent action. Now is the time. Think about it: Everything that happened yesterday is in the past. It’s over and done with and can’t be reclaimed. And the future isn’t here yet – it hasn’t happened so your only power over it is limited to a present intention. That means that all you truly have is NOW. And what are you doing with your now? Memories are better than regrets – memories are nothing more than a series of really great “now”s – invest your mental and emotional energy into the now and begin to see now as the greatest gift to be, do, and have the abundance life has to offer. When you catch yourself worrying, ask yourself, "What am I avoiding now by using up this moment with worry?" Then take specific action.
Your life is your choice; choose wisely.

So...you've got options...now what?

This week, a member of the Inspired Girls team sent me an interesting question. As a life strategist, I get questions almost every day relating to life strategies, success, business and more. She asked such a fantastic question that I decided to answer it in this week’s e-zine.

The question was about decision-making. She’s been presented with several situations in her life that require that she make decisions…and of course, she wants to make smart decisions that benefit her in the short and long run.

So today, I’m offering simple, powerful methods for making smart choices when you’re faced with options. Even though we generally consider options to be a good thing, there is a such thing as too much of a good thing, right?

Here we go:

1. Define your values. Everyone in the Inspired Living Community hears me talk about VALUES all the time because they’re so essential to getting the clarity necessary to make smart, specific choices that you don’t regret later. If I ask you what your top 5 values are, you should be able to quickly rattle off a list because those things should be so present and evident and you should be living them every day. How do you define your values? There are many ways. Having a heart-centered conversation with a friend can be helpful. Enlisting the help of a coach is also a great way to discover your values. When new members come into the Inspired Living Community, they receive a list of over 200 values and we whittle it down to 6. I know it sounds crazy and overwhelming, but this kind of work is why they get such powerful results.
2. Put it on paper. What are the pros and cons of each option? What are the current AND future implications of your choices? It’s easy to focus on what each options will produce now and in the near future, but remember to take a look at the wide shot. What does the 5 year forecast of this decision look like? Use these answers in your process.
3. Do a 360 analysis. You guys know that I’m always using my business terms in life because I think a life that works is much like a business that works. So, examine the choice from 360 degrees – who will be affected by your choice? Which areas of your life will be impacted and how? What will you need to change in order to accommodate each option? Does the decision move you closer to or further from your stated goals? These questions can illuminate areas you may have overlooked in the process of making your decision.

The skill of making great decisions is essential to living the Inspired Life. Clarity helps us discern opportunities from distractions. Be clear about your goals and always use your goals and values as your compass for moving along your path to your destiny.

Inspired Journaling Prompt: What are your values? Think about the things you spend money and time on – these are the true indicators of what you value.

Inspired Action: What important decisions are on the horizon for you? Thoughtfully considering decisions before you’re forced to make them puts you in a position of power. Think it through and make the decision that best reflects your Inspired Life!

Your life is not on layaway!

It's time out for living for tomorrow when today is staring us in the face! None of us can add an hour to our lives by worrying, and each day has enough trouble of its own. The past and future are mental constructs - the only thing that truly exists is THIS moment. There are no words to communicate how profound and important this is. If you are one of those people waiting for "when" to come, PLEASE let that go in 2010. You can not spend your life waiting for "when" or holding out for some undisclosed time in the future. You have an infinite number of gifts and resources around you NOW...enjoy them! Seriously, what are you waiting for?


I know that we all have goals that we'd like to achieve, and we have things that we're expecting. I totally understand the need to plan for the future...I'm the QUEEN of planning and organizing. There's nothing wrong with having hope today for the fruition of plans made for tomorrow. However, it's not healthy for us to neglect our gifts, talents, and blessings with the anticipation that the future will somehow present a better "time" to employ those things than right now. God did not put your life on layaway!!! You're supposed to be loving the people around you...RIGHT NOW. You're supposed to be using your gifts...RIGHT NOW. You're supposed to be living out loud...RIGHT NOW. Not later. Not tomorrow. Not when you get yourself "together"....RIGHT NOW. Believe me when I tell you that if you are holding out, you are doing a disservice to yourself and to the world.


Having a vision for our future that differs from our current circumstances can be inspiring and exciting, but it can also keep us from fully committing to our present placement. We may become aware that this is happening when we notice our thoughts about the future distracting us from our participation in the moment. We may find upon searching our hearts that we are waiting for some future time or situation in order to self-actualize. This would be like a flower planted in North Dakota putting off blooming because it would prefer to do so in Illinois.

There are no guarantees in this life, so when we hold back we do so at the risk of never fully blossoming. This present moment always offers us the ground in which we can take root and open our hearts now. What this means is that we live fully, wherever we are, not hesitating because conditions are not perfect, or we might end up moving, or we haven't found our life partner. This can be scary, because we might feel that we are giving up our cherished dreams if we do not agree to wait for them. But this notion that we have to hold back our life force now in order to find happiness later doesn't really make sense. What might really be happening is that we are afraid to embrace this moment, and ourselves, just exactly as we are right now. This constitutes a tendency to hold back from fully loving ourselves and those around us, as we are, where we are.

We have a habit of presenting life with a set of conditions—ifs and whens that must be fulfilled before we will say yes to the gift of our lives. Now is the time for each of us to bloom where we are planted, overriding our tendency to hold back. Now is the time to say yes, to be brave and commit fully to ourselves and the love in our lives, because until we do no one else will. Now is the time to be vulnerable, unfolding delicately yet fully into the space in which we find ourselves.


Tomorrow is not promised. If someone loves you today, love them back! If you have a delicious meal today, savor it! If you have an inspiration today, act on it! If you want to achieve something, do it! Sometimes the very blessings we hope to receive in the future are in front of us in the present. We dig unnecessary holes for ourselves pushing people and things away with hopes that the future will yield some magical transformation of perfection. There is no such thing as the perfect time to do something and there never will be. The perfect time is always NOW.

Later.

5 Simple Steps to Success

Quick note: My blog format is changing. I'll share one blog every week on Wednesdays and periodic special blogs featuring radio show updates, career updates, quick Inspired Living tips and more. Enjoy! :-)

Now on to our regularly scheduled blog...

Sometimes the thought of being wildly successful and having it all can be overwhelming. Between your current life and the life you're headed to are all the things that have to be done.

Today, I'm sharing 5 simple ways to consistently be successful, even when you're facing challenges.

Remember that PERSISTENCE is one of the most important traits you can develop in your Inspired Life. The race doesn't go to the swift so no matter what, stay on your course. You WILL reap a tremendous reward if you stay focused and continue press forward.

1. Purpose & Desire - What are you after and why? What is your vision for your life and why do you want it? I'm always saying that if you have a big enough WHY the HOW will reveal itself. So, how big is your WHY - what do you want out of life and what will you do with it once you get it?

2. Plan - How do you intend to get to the top? You need a PLAN! I cannot stress this enough. The difference between a lot of talented or smart people and the people who are actually successful is a PLAN. You don't have to be the most intelligent or savvy person in the world to create a plan and carry it out, but you will enjoy success far beyond that of the average person if you'll simply clarify what you want and then create a specific plan for how you intend to attain it.

3. Focus - Eliminate anything and anyone that serves to distract you from your goals. People will tell you that you're crazy or that you can't do it - but 99.9% of the time, those are people who are AVERAGE and BROKE! Don't allow people to cast their shadows over your life. Their self-assigned limitations are not your boundaries! Your are unstoppable and as you step into your destiny, no one can stop you from being, doing, and having the very best in life. It's up to you to decide that you're worth it and to choose success. After all, it's just as easy to choose to be successful as it is to choose to be mediocre. If you ask successful people WHY they're successful, they can often cite the things they do differently but if you ask WHY they choose to be successful - they can only say, "Because I wanted to!" It's that simple - they choose success and so they become successful. And right now, in this moment, you are successful. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal - and because you are here, engaged in the process of going to the next level and living on purpose, you are a success!

4. People - Align yourself with people and groups who share your vision and mission and can help you achieve your goals. As tempting as it is to do it all yourself, you can get to the next level faster and easier if you'll connect with others who understand and support what you're doing. Replace any naysayers with people who are successful and are also capable of congratulating your success. There is magic in partnership when 2 or more people share a common goal and work towards it. Your relationships will help or hinder you on your path so cultivate healthy relationships that yield mutual benefit.

5. Act - The best plan in the world doesn't work unless you do. EVERY SINGLE DAY you should be taking actions that move you to closer to the attainment of your vision for your life. Your plan should outline the steps the take. Without action, the rest means nothing. Visualization can't take the place of specific, focused action. Nothing will take the place of your tenacity, will, drive, and motivation. Find things that inspire you and motivate you - people, places, things, and ideas. Have specific places to turn when your motivation lags. The fire of your desire needs to be white hot! Stay plugged in to sources of power that keep you accountable for your results.

Get out there and play big! You are a vessel of energy and possibility - be your best self and apply you knowledge. Choose to show up and play full out every day and watch your life yield BIG results.

To your Inspired Life,
Lisa

Moving to Higher Ground

Take off the weight and sprint to your destiny!

Are you moving to higher ground in your life? Let me let you in on a secret: You’re going to have to do things you don’t want to do as you move to higher ground. Those things can include making tough decisions, leaving old ways and people behind, conquering fear, and more.



As we move to higher ground, there will be movement! Things will change, people will come and go, and our lives will evolve. Most folks hate change with a passion. We wish things could stay the same forever, and when we see something we want, we wish with everything in us that that thing would come into our lives and stay forever. Few things - VERY few things - are meant to be in your life forever. I mean, you could count them on hand!

Your comfort level with shifts and changes is directly proportionate to the level of your faith. With unwavering trust in God, there is no question about whether the so-called trials and challenges in your life are to your benefit. Why? Because allthings work together for the good of those who love God. So if you love God, He is perfecting everything that concerns you. Everybody who steps into your life is not meant to be there indefinitely. Again, few things are meant to be permanent. God is the cornerstone, the foundation, the very oxygen of a prosperous life, so everything else is truly optional. Because of His permanence, our peace, happiness, contentment, and success will largely reflect our ability to relate to God in an intimate way. So now we're looking at your relationship with God - are you spending time with Him? Are you talking to Him daily in candid ways about yourself and your life? God rewards honesty and transparency with tender, unconditional love and grace.

If God takes something from you, it's because he has something else for you. If God takes something good from you, it's because he has something great for you. If we delight ourselves in Him, we are given the desires of our hearts - that's a promise, not a guess. And the fabulous part about that is that God is not wishy washy like some of us are...we can rest with the expectation of His fulfillment of every promise He makes. What a wonderful joy!

It's easier to have mediocre faith and to spend countless hours stressed out over matters rather than to exercise that faith muscle. It takes strength to believe - to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God's got your back, and that there is absolutely nothing that can happen that will disturb that. This is why the faith muscle needs constant exercise - it atrophies quickly. To have complete trust in God and His plan is perhaps the greatest demonstration of wisdom. If we took time to truly reflect on the depth and width of God's love, His loving kindness, the incessant blessings, the daily renewed mercies, how could we possibly doubt for a moment that anything other than supernatural blessing would be placed upon our lives as an inescapable covering? He is faithful, and perhaps amidst our human nature, it's difficult to fathom or appreciate that He loves us enough to show up every time, in spite of how we behave. There is no greater love than the one God has for you.


Remember that not everything and everybody can go with you to higher ground. Think about what it feels like trying to carry a 50 lb box up a steep flight of stairs. It’s heavy and once you get up the stairs and put the box down, you feel like you ran a mile even though you only covered a few feet of distance. What would be a better choice? There’s an elevator on every floor of your life. You’ve got to carry your own weight, but there are some people and things you need to put on the elevator of life because God is the conductor of the elevator. If God intends for that person or situation to be in your life at the next level, it will arrive on the elevator by God’s will and that person’s choice or the movement of the situation. Trying to force things to happen is like carrying excessive weight up the stairs. Crying over the past and insisting things be other than what they are is staring woefully hoping the elevator opens on the next level while you’re supposed to be sprinting to the next set of stairs to go to even higher ground.



You’ve got miles to cover on your journey, and you can’t afford to have unnecessary baggage and weight on you. When you are saddled with unnecessary weight in your life, you can not run your race with patience. You are like an Olympic sprinter, running towards your destiny. Imagine arriving to your destiny late, tired, and frustrated because you didn’t completely trust God’s motion in your life. Your destiny is too important for you to be behind God’s timing because of a person or situation that slowed you down! Don’t let people delay your arrival to your destiny.


God is a god of motion. You say you want God to show up in your life? Well get very comfortable with change because that's the first thing that will happen when He shows up. He will take people, places, and things from you - will you trust that there is no error on God's part? In His infinite brilliance, there is no limitation or lack nor is there any foul timing. His plan is perfect, and our submission to that plan is where we get freed up to be, do, and have the abundance He intends for us. Keep an open palm so that you can receive all the things God has for you. Let go of the things God is trying to take from you so He can replace them with something better. Remember that good is the enemy of great! The world will not stop revolving if you let go, but God's appearance in your life will make your world look radically different. If you open your hands, know that some things will be taken away - there will be motion. However other things - anointed things - will begin to flow in, and you can trust in the divine appointment of those things. Don't get in God's way! Run your race, climb your stairs, move to higher ground! Without faith, it's impossible to please God. And ironically, with faith, nothing is impossible for us.

That which has made you free will in the end make you glad also.



Inspired Journaling Prompt: Write about what the next level in your life looks like – who’s there, what’s around you, what does a typical day in that life look like. Now consider what will need to change, how you will need to grow, and who will need to change roles in order for your life to get to that next level.



Inspired Action: Begin packing for your move! Do something this week that will move you closer to the next level – save more money, get an extra workout in, spend a little more time at the office – take eager steps towards your destiny this week…and remember, no baggage!

Moving Through Sad Times

We’ve all dealt with sad times – whether it be the end of a relationship, the death of a friend, or a missed opportunity. Unfortunately, sad times are an inevitable part of our lives. The best thing we can do is find healthy ways to move through sad times and use them as inspiration to press on and live well.



This week, we’re discussing how you can process sadness and move on to brighter days. There are 4 important things for an inspired person to remember when sad times visit.



Acknowledge circumstances. Ignoring tough times doesn’t make them go away; in fact, pretending things away often makes them worse. No matter how difficult, find the courage to face the sad time head on and resolve to move past it with the help of friends, family, and God.



Candidly express your feelings. Be completely honest with yourself and God about where you are. Express all feelings, not just those that seem justified or noble. You’re a human being, and you’re entitled to feel a wide range of emotions. The key is to feel every emotion yet not act on them. Instead, you’ll want to find healthy facilitative ways to release any negative emotions such as journaling, exercising, and prayer.



Have faith that this too shall pass. One of my favorite quotes says that no winter lasts forever and no spring skips its turn. Remember that sad times are temporary and that heartbreak does eventually heal with time. God doesn’t like seeing His children in pain so remember that God loves you no matter what and He’s on your side.



Be patient with yourself. Healing is a process that takes time. As adults, we often want to breeze past hurt feelings and resentments and “get over it”. However, dealing with emotions improperly can cause major issues in our relationships with others and ourselves. Your healing may not be linear; you may find yourself revisiting various stages as you move forward. That’s totally ok. Allow yourself to cry, be angry, be sad, and feel hope rise again.





Inspired Journaling Prompt: Journal about a sad topic and a healthy way to process your sadness. Although sadness is not a fun topic, assessing how you process sadness can help you in the present and the future. Are you suppressing sadness about anything that’s happened recently? Spend time writing candidly about your feelings and how you can resolve them.



Inspired Action: When you find yourself disappointed or upset this week, do something that will move you closer to a solution and something that will feed your spirit. Remember that your emotions need attention like every other important thing in your life.

Tired? Pace yourself!

Are you tired? Do you feel confident and focused? Do you feel exhausted and overwhelmed? So often we find ourselves in going in so many different directions, and as we experience burnout, our emotions begin to play tricks on us. We wonder if we’re on the right path or if we’re even fit to accomplish all of our goals. The call to be excellent and to make an effort at a meaningful life can leave us spent sometimes. I remember a time when I felt spiritually weighed down for a day or 2 and couldn't understand why. I realized I had to get still so I could hear God. When I did, He said to me, "My child, you are simply weary. Rest for a while, and I will give you strength to continue pressing toward the mark. You are on the right path; you're just tired, and that's ok." I began to weep silently because that's what it was. I was simply tired and in need of mental rest. And the more profound thing was that it was perfectly fine. So many of us make outrageous demands on our bodies and minds - as if we’re robots running on batteries who should never need to be replenished and rejuvenated. We often feel guilty or frustrated with our need for rest, play, and rejuvenation. We say things like "The clock doesn't stop" or "Gotta keep moving.", but this point of view does not serve the greater good of our lives. It's ok for some of the things on our to-do lists to be unchecked! The world won't end if we take breaks. This attitude of pressing forward while ignoring pain and fatigue is a nod to spiritual suicide. We are spiritual beings having a human experience; to ignore that the spirit needs rest is to set one's self up for a fall. We all have competing interests and obligations, but we need to be healthy and rested in order to function at optimal levels.


It’s ok to be tired! I know people need you, and I know you have responsibilities and bills, and children and significant others and parents and siblings and school and work and church and community work and personal goals and weight loss goals and personal goals and things that simply have to be done, but be kind and nurturing to yourself. Give yourself mental and emotional rest. This morning I was reading Proverbs, and one of the abiding themes with wisdom is pacing...pacing one's self, pacing the acquisition of material things, pacing relationships, pacing important decisions. Pace yourself! You don't have to win the race tomorrow. All you can do is all you can do and that is enough. Do your best; it isn't necessary to overextend yourself.

Rest when you need to and trust that by honoring your own needs, you are demonstrating self-love which will in turn increase your ability to love others, serve others, and give to others. Treat yourself the way you would your very best friend because you are truly all you have. God has not given you a burning desire to succeed and be prosperous for you to be burnt out! God's protective Hand is guiding you, and His timing is impeccable. He loves you more than you can even comprehend. Be tired, rest, and then begin again with joy, peace, and a renewed sense of purpose.


Inspiration Journal: In what ways have you been overextending yourself lately? Are you pacing yourself or do you feel frantically out of control? Is it time for you to begin delegating tasks that someone else could do? Spend time writing about the pace of your life and how you can be sure you are giving yourself the attention you deserve.



Inspired Action: Spend 45 minutes today on YOU! Do something totally self-indulgent – take a long walk alone and clear your head, buy yourself a new pair of shoes, hire a babysitter and get a massage, head to the beach and enjoy the majesty of the ocean.

The proper use of the word "no"

Many people struggle with setting appropriate boundaries and saying no. Perhaps the most important thing to understand is that boundaries are healthy and without them, our emotional and spiritual security evaporates. Setting boundaries doesn't mean we're "selfish", "mean" or "strict". Sometimes we say yes to things we don't want to do out of fear - fear of losing a person or his/her approval, fear of guilt, fear of loneliness, fear of owning the power of choosing to say no. Saying no when we need to comes from love - love of ourselves, love of the other person, and love of the things we value most.

Consider these things next time you're tempted to say yes when you want to say no:

* You are only responsible for yourself! As a person of integrity, you should speak the truth in love at all times, but you are not responsible for the emotions of people who choose not to respectfully accept your boundaries.
* You can be emotionally attached to people without losing your sense of self and your freedom.
* There's nothing selfish about setting boundaries. You are responsible for your own well-being and boundaries assist you in properly caring for yourself and your life.
* Boundaries don't always indicate anger. There are diplomatic, polite, and loving ways to communicate "no" to those you love. A great start is by showing appreciation for their efforts and requests.
* As you demonstrate love and respect to those around you by honoring their "no"s, you are able to more comfortably say no when necessary.

Use "yes" and "no" as mere indicators of choice. They are not a reflection of your love or respect for the other person, only of your commitment to honoring yourself.

Cracking Your Personal Success Code

I’ve got a secret to share with you today. I know something about you that you probably don’t even know about yourself – you have a success code. You’re probably wondering what a success code is and how I know you have one. So, here we go…

A success code is a personal formula that creates positive results in your life. It’s a method that opens the door to you getting what you want. Most people follow a general pattern of success such as setting goals, taking consistent action, etc. However, within that general pattern, there are specific methods that are unique to you. Discovering what these details are will unlock the life of your dreams.

Let me give you an example: I am a great at multitasking. For many years, I carelessly dismissed this important trait because I didn’t understand how it affected my success code. You may have heard the term, “Jack of many trades, master of none”, but there are some people who can engage in a handful of things and do each of them well. I’m one of those people. It sounds great, but it’s only an advantage if you know that it’s a number in my success code. At the beginning of my career, I thought I had to focus on one thing and one thing only. I thought, “Well, if I want to do something creative, then I can’t be a successful entrepreneur. And if I want to exceed in business, I can’t make movies or do anything Type B.” I was so WRONG! In fact, the skies parted and everything came into alignment when I realized that I work most efficiently and I’m at my best (not to mention much, much happier) when I’m doing more than one thing – when I’m able to work on several tasks, delegate, create solutions, think strategically. What a revelation! It completely changed my life.

I share this with you because many times people struggle for years to attain personal and professional success because they don’t know their success codes. They have belief patterns that keep them from thinking about themselves and their lives in new ways.



So, what is your success code? Use the questions below to evaluate your own methods of succeeding.

1. What criteria do you use to make decisions?

2. In what areas of your life do you consistently make good choices?

3. What are your natural gifts and talents?

4. What energizes you and gets you excited?

5. Do you work best in the morning or at night?

6. How many hours of sleep do you need to feel rested and be at your best?

7. Who inspires you to be better and live well?

Putting these elements together creates a matrix of things that contribute to your ability to consistently create success. Examine your answers closely and begin use each area to your advantage i.e. doing your most important work during your “golden hours” or the time of day you work best.

Inspired Journaling Prompt: Make a list of 5 successes you’ve had over the past 30 days. What do these successes have in common and how can you replicate your results?

Inspired Action: Do something today to contribute to your success. Repeat an action that has yielded successes in the past.

You get what you prepare for!

You may have heard the saying that when preparation meets opportunity, success happens. In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk about the internal success process: creating a vision, visualizing yourself in possession of the goal, and creating positive vibes & energy. All of these things are helpful in your process of creating success, but no amount of positive thinking takes the place of preparation.


Are you prepared to get everything that you say you want to receive? Success is not an accident. It happens as the result of a clear vision, a well conceived plan, and most importantly, ACTION. Without action, even the best laid plans are worthless.

You don’t get what you want or think about – you get what you prepare for. Today, consider what you are truly prepared to receive in your life and what you’re merely wishing for. Throughout history, we see countless battles won, victories achieved, and triumphs gained because of focus and preparation. In order to be the best, you have to train for your challenges – because everyone meets with challenges at one time or another. Your success lies in how you handle those challenges and how you leverage setbacks for success.

Without preparation, countless opportunities will slip through your fingers. Consider yourself a top athlete or major star preparing for a performance. You need to see yourself winning and doing well, and you need to train like crazy so that your success is second nature. Your big event is your destiny, and you don’t want to be without the strength, knowledge, and skills necessary to give your very best to your life.

It’s time to stop wishing and hoping and start preparing! Prepare to receive what you want by making room in your life for what you want and taking the necessary steps to capitalize on every opportunity that crosses your path.

Journal about your vision for your life. What do you truly want to see happen? What will it take for you to get that which you desire most? Are you truly ready to receive what you desire most?

Take action every day this week to prepare for your destiny. Maybe it means getting rid of the old to prepare for the new or perhaps you need to strengthen some mental muscle to move into a new season. Whatever it may be, get READY! Your destiny is waiting for you!

The Power of Patience & Faith

Patience is accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.

And the amazing truth of this is that God's timing is PERFECT...we never know what unseen dangers He's protecting us from...we also don't know how He plans to bless us. Impatience can be a huge blessing blocker.

Have you ever been in the middle of a situation and had no clue why something so pointless/difficult/heart-wrenching was happening? You know, your suffering appeared pointless, senseless, and undeserved? Well, sometimes God uses adversity to mold us and shape us. Of course, gold will never be pure without fire. If we intend to live a heightened state of existence, we have to be willing to endure some hardship in order to gain wisdom, understanding, and gratitude.

In one of Kirk Franklin's songs, he says, "Some of us wouldn't pray if we didn't go through something." And it's true. When God is raining down His blessings on us, it's easy to get comfortable and start slacking. But when storms are raging in our lives, we cling to Him. He longs to have that same level of communion with us, ALL THE TIME. We should be in that same perpetual state of praise, thanksgiving, and petition, regardless of what's going on. That's why the old folks used to tell us to "stay prayed up" because you never know when you may not be able to pray for yourself. I went through a period this year when I couldn't pray for myself, and to this day, I'm steady thanking God for my mother and my father because without their intercession, I would probably be dead, and that's no exaggeration. God literally carried me through my storm because I was ready to quit.

The funny thing is that sometimes, we look back on our lives and on situations we've dealt with, and we're GLAD that we had that difficult situation or that season of grief. Have you ever wanted something really badly, not gotten it, and then later been glad that you didn't get it? It's definitely happened to me. God knows what's best for us, and giving Him complete control of our lives lends itself to Him covering us, guiding us, and prospering us.

I'm always saying that faith is the cornerstone of my life, and without it, I would be lost. It's true, especially where patience is concerned. Because truthfully, how can you truly be patient and wait on something if you're not even sure that's it's coming? When you have no doubts in your mind that God is working on your behalf, that He is your portion, that He loves you unconditionally and wants nothing more than to give you the desires of your heart that are within His will, then really, it's EASY to be patient. The problem is that too many of us are lacking in faith...the Bible says we only need faith the size of a mustard seed! Do you know how small that is?

That thing is TINY!!! That's all we need?!?!?! Wow...that should be easy. We only need that much faith to have any and every thing we want. Your blessings, to some degree, will be proportionate with your faith. Some folks can't understand why they can't shake that illness or can't get that job or can't find true love...let me tell you something, nothing "unbelievable" or "impossible" is ever going to happen to you. Period. If you believe that your God specializes in the impossible (mine does) then you should behave that way in speech and in action. That means doing things that reflect your faith and speaking excellence into existence in your life.

So, today I encourage you to take heart and be patient. God loves you more than you can even comprehend, and He wants nothing but the best for you. You need only believe that same best for yourself in order for it come to pass. With faith, nothing is impossible!

Lesson Mining

Are you leveraging your failure for success?

Failure. It hurts, it’s no fun, and we all experience it. When faced with the realization that our efforts have fallen short, there is usually a wave of emotion that comes over us. We may feel sad, frustrated, angry, disappointed, or resentful about what has occurred.

Today, I want to give you a secret of success that highly successful, confident women use in their personal and professional lives. This secret is one that will take you from good to great in every area of your life and help you create the life of your dreams. In fact, with the use of this secret, you’ll never truly fail again. How does that sound? You’ll have the leverage you need to evolve into a woman who wins over and over.

The secret is something I call Lesson Mining. It’s a process that involves mining your failures and looking for lessons and cues that will make you more effective in the present and the future. Think for a moment about some of your biggest failures. Did you learn anything from them? I always say that if I have to endure a failure, I’m going to learn a lot from it and make it work for me to earn me many successes in the future. The key to leveraging your failure for success is to accept the failure, resolve to move past it, and then look objectively at the sequence of events. When we are able to lift our emotions from the situation, we can begin to gain clarity on what led to the unfavorable outcome.

Once we’ve mined for lessons, we can create objective success strategies. Objective success strategies are like a map on our path to success to help us make empowered decisions and create amazing lives.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you lost a major deal because you failed to communicate an important detail and the other party didn’t have enough information to feel comfortable closing the deal. Later, you realize that you left the detail out. You feel frustrated and angry with yourself for not including the detail. Once you’ve calmed down, you mine for lessons.

Your objective success strategies may look something like this: Err on the side of including details. Communicate clearly and ask questions to check for understanding. Follow up on communications to answer any questions.

With the above lessons in place, you can apply those lessons to other areas of your life to prevent repeat failures and create amazing success. If every failure is a stepping stone to success, then you are always getting better and growing. Next time you experience a perceived failure, process your emotions, then move on and mine for the lessons! Use the objective success strategies to help you create your next success.

Inspiration Notes from The Land of the Rising Sun!

Take a look at my video from my recent trip to Japan! It was inspiring and fun, and I'm slowly but surely sharing all the inspiration with you here and in my videos.

Enjoy!