The Dynamic Power of Trust

The following article, The Dynamic Power of Trust, was written by guest contributor, Hilary Gatehouse.

Have you ever met one of those people who is always winning things? You know… the people who just seem to turn a corner and get a parking spot? In fact it was just sitting there waiting for them. Meanwhile, you’ve been driving around in circles looking for a spot… any spot! These are the people I am writing about, because I want you, the reader, to know that you can live this way too.

It’s not just about getting perfect parking spots, and winning things (although these are fun perks). It’s about living a joyful life; the kind of life where you can just trust that everything will somehow fall into place. That’s what I call a charmed life.

One of the essential, and often overlooked, ingredients in the recipe for living a charmed life is trust. An example of this is when you go to a restaurant; you decide what you want, place your order, and trust that it will arrive. It would be ridiculous to then walk into the kitchen to see if they got your order. Even stranger, would be to stand there so as to ensure that the cook is making your meal just the way you ordered it. Yet metaphorically we do this all the time.
An important element of trust is to do what you can towards any goal through inspired action, then release attachment to the outcome. Once you place your order, it is ultimately out of your hands.

Trying to force a certain outcome can have the opposite effect. Example – leaving multiple messages for someone who is doing something for you could irritate them, causing them to take longer. Instead, sit back and let go of your attachment to this person responding the way you want.

If someone else zips into what you thought was your parking spot, instead of being annoyed and upset, just trust that it was someone else’s order being fulfilled, and yours is on its way. In other words, know that your spot will become available to you.

Trust is not just about getting what you ordered; it’s also about trusting what shows up. If your parking spot ends up being at the entire other end of the lot, trust that there was a good reason for it. Perhaps it is inspiration to start exercising, or you may bump into an old friend.

Ultimately, when we can trust that the right things, circumstances, people and solutions will show up, we are less likely to stress. We can relax and live more joyfully knowing that, in this state, the door to a charmed life is open to us.

Hilary Gatehouse
Personal Performance Coach
http://www.freedomrules.ca/

Dr. Brad Swift on Following Your Purpose and Passion in Life

Following the Breadcrumbs of Passion by W. Bradford Swift.


At Life On Purpose Institute we believe everyone should follow their purpose and passioin in life and that doing so will never lead you astray even when you aren’t completely clear where it will lead you. I call it “following the breadcrumbs of your passion” and it’s actually how Life On Purpose Institute began.


I first got the idea of starting a organization that was a reflection of my own purpose of living a life of service, simplicity and spiritual serenity from a pet writing project:

Project Purpose: To write and publish articles about people and insitutions whose lives and missions are dedicated to a bold and inspired purpose or vision.

After interviewing and spending time with dozens of these purposeful people, I began to recognize certain common elements they shared; one of which was that almost all of them were expressing their own life purpose through some organized structure -- a for profit business, a non-profit, etc. I was in the midst of pondering what such an organization would look like for me when I received an assignment from Yoga Journal to write a feature article on simple living in a complex world. They wanted, as part of the article, a sidebar listing resources about living simply.

Well, I thought, Life On Purpose Institute could be in that sidebar, except there wasn’t a Life On Purpose Institute yet. At first I dismissed the idea as being premature, but as I continued writing the article I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind. Finally, I ran it by my coach who replied, “Why not include it and see what happens?” So, I did.

I didn’t think much more about it until 2 to 3 months later when the article appeared as the cover story for the August, 1996 issue of Yoga Journal with a cartoon illustration by Gahan Wilson. A few days after the magazine hit the newstands, my phone rang. “Hello, Brad Swift,” I answer in my customary fashion.

“Is this Life On Purpose?” An excited voice on the other end of the line asked.

I paused, momentarily dazed and looked around my office. I had forgotten about listing my dream in the sidebar. Gathering my wits about me, I replied, “Yes, how may I serve you?”

That was almost 10 years ago. Today Life On Purpose Institute is a flourishing, spiritually based enterprise. Hundreds of people have clarified their life purpose by working individually with our Life On Purpose Certified Coaches, and thousands of others have done the same through our group programs.

We have had close to a hundred purposeful and passionate people who have gone through our Coach Development Programs as far away as Germany and Australia. While our mission to deeply and profoundly touch and contribute to at least 1% of the world’s population (around 60-70 million people), is far from complete, we’re building momentum to have it accomplished during my life time.

This “meta purpose project” continues to transform my life and that of my wife, Ann, who is also Life On Purpose’s CFO and program registrar. Only in my wildest dreams did I ever think I could live such a satisfying and fulfilling life as I’m living now, but then again, isn’t that where such realities begin — in our dreams. Perhaps Goethe said it best:

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it: boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

For all of you reading this who are just starting out, I encourage you to take the time to identify your true purpose in life, for it will guide you to that wellspring of passion and enthusiasm that can serve as the fuel to keep you moving forward even in the most challenging of times.

At Life On Purpose Institute, we continue to follow our purposeful path of passionate breadcrumbs. You can count on it. To read the landmark article, Simple Living in a Complex World that launched LOPI into the world, go to: http://lifeonpurpose.com/index.php?page=62

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Since founding Life On Purpose Institute, Inc. in 1996 Dr. Brad Swift has become the country’s foremost authority on personal life purpose, authoring the book, Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life (http://www.lifeonpurpose.com/books) — the first and only how-to book that guides people from confusion to clarity about the most important question: “Who am I and why am I here?” To learn how on or off purpose your life is, take the fun and engaging Self Test at http://www.lifeonpurpose.com/selftest .

You Are What You Think About!

This article was written by guest contributor Carolyn D. Townes.

"If we are not responsible for the thoughts that pass our doors, we are at least responsible for those we admit and entertain." ~ Charles B. Newcomb

Experts say that we operate on about 90 percent of the negative thoughts we learned as children. What this says is that there are a lot of negative people and negative energy circling our immediate environment.

It is this negative energy that then gets spread to all the other parts of our lives. So, if we have a negative workmate. We then absorb her negative energy and pass this on to our family life. This then gets passed on to our leisure time. And the cycle continues until every part of our reality and our connecting realities are infused with this negative energy.

So how do we break the cycle? Think about what you think about!

Instead of entertaining every toxic thought that comes into your head, make the conscious choice to flip the script.

We have been given a powerful tool that may elude many of us. It is the power of choice. We have the awesome power to choose – to choose to entertain negative thoughts; to choose to not drink the poison; to choose to not give our quality time to toxic people. Here are three powerful tips to change your thinking and to avoid those toxic people:

1. When a negative thought does enter your mind (and they will!), choose to change it. Just say CANCEL! Then just for the moment think about something funny.
2. When you cannot remove all of the toxic people from your life – some may be family or workmates, then find some nutritious people to balance the scale. Find a life coach or a support group, or both. Spend less time with the toxic people until you have enough resolve to deflect their negativity.
3. Develop and attitude of gratitude. When you are grateful, there is no room for negativity. When those pesky negative thoughts start to creep in, think of five things you are grateful for at that moment. Remember, you always have something to be thankful for. You don't think so? You're breathing, aren't you?

So just for today, learn to think about what you are thinking about. You have the power to choose more "nutritious" and empowering thoughts – thoughts that will lead you to creating a life of inner peace, passion and purpose!

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Carolyn D. Townes is a Spiritual Life and Leadership Coach, Passion and Purpose Coach, speaker and author. For the last fifteen years, she has been telling her story to impact and empower women worldwide. She is the creator and animator of Spirit Women Coaching and Consulting which is dedicated to equipping and empowering female leaders, entrepreneurs and women in transition in creating a life of passion and peace. She writes for the blogs Becoming a Woman of Purpose (http://spiritwomen.blogspot.com/) and Equip and Empower (http://equipandempower.blogspot.com/). Carolyn lives in New York City and can be reached at carolynsfo@spirit-women.org.

What Drives You to Fulfill Your Destiny?

I love going to schools and speaking to students. I especially enjoy talking to a group of students labeled as "at-risk", "troubled", and "problematic".


Regardless of what's going in my life, hearing this makes me step my game up. I know that I have to bring it because it might indeed be tougher to get my message across to them. It doesn't matter how tired I am or if I "feel it". Somehow, someway I have to give people their money's worth.

I ask every group I speak to the following questions: "Why do you want to pursue a certain job? Who's going to be your mentor as you pursue your goals? How passionate are you about XYZ career? What are your natural, God-given talents?"


Before I can get to the third question, the student's faces are covered with confused and shocked looks. They don't expect me to get all up in their business like that. It's even more jarring because they haven't thought about these questions.

I believe that we all need to put a premium on our gifts. The abilities you have weren't given to you to be hidden from the rest of the world. You were blessed with them because you're meant to do something special with them. You are charged with taking your powers, developing them to their potential, and bringing magic to the world.

So what drives me? Knowing that if I don't succeed, if I don't get better, if I let my music die within me, I am essentially cheating humanity out of a good thing.

Now I ask you, what drives you to fulfill your destiny?

Motivational Interview with Kevin Bracy

Listen to this interview I conducted with "The Epitome of Motivation", Kevin Bracy.

Get inspired as we talk about his rise to prominence as an internationally recognized speaker, how to discover and develop your talent, and the importance of investing of yourself.

How Do You Stay Motivated?

At the end of my seminar last week one of the attendees had a question.

He asked, “If you’ve been doing something for so long, How do you keep your passion for it?”
At the time I said that you can’t allow yourself to be caught in the false security of a comfort zone.

I told him that we have to continue to challenge and stretch ourselves to do things we haven’t done before. Otherwise things just become routine and it no longer commands our attention the way they used to.

At the time I was satisfied with the answer I gave. But over the last few days I’ve taken some time to really contemplate his question.

Please keep reading for a more thoughtful answer to ‘How to stay motivated’.

1. Do you experiment and explore new possibilities? Some people lose passion because they never try anything new. They’ll dream about something different and wish it would happen. But, you must take a chance on yourself and do something!

2. Is your attitude the source of the problem? Way too often we blame other people for our issues. I once heard someone say that when you point the finger at someone else you have three pointing back at you. If a great attitude can be infectious, a bad attitude can be a plague. A negative attitude can suck the life out of you and everyone in your vicinity.

3. Are your expectations too low? Always remember that your manifestations are driven by your expectations. Isn’t it amazing how we usually get what we expect? We have to start raising our standards in order to have more passionate lives and careers.

4. Are non-work related issues the problem? Things like not exercising, eating poorly, and not getting enough sleep can make any job a drag. Start making adjustments in this area and you’ll notice an immediate change in your energy level.

5. Are you in the wrong profession, job, or major? Sometimes we need to find new work. Or maybe we need to get away from our current coworkers or supervisors. There is a such thing as a bad fit.

6. Are you just in a funk right now? We all have times when we just don’t feel good. Sometimes we need a break to recharge our batteries. I’ve found that when I get back to speaking or writing after resting for a while, I’m more enthusiastic. Remember we’re all artists in some way. Creative people need time off in order to regain strength and momentum.

7. Take time to reflect on your successes. I remember the first time someone came up to me after a talk or wrote me to tell me how something I said touched their life. I used the energy that they gave me and ran with it. It galvanized my work and confirmed that I was doing the right thing. Never forget what inspired you in the first place.

My Interview with Kevin Bracy

Listen to this interview I conducted with "The Epitome of Motivation", Kevin Bracy.

Get inspired as we talk about his rise to prominence as an internationally recognized speaker, how to discover and develop your talent, and the importance of investing of yourself.

Click the link below to listen!

derekfeltonandkevinbracy.mp3

Down Doesn't Have to Mean Out

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Nelson Mandela

Let this letter sink into your consciousness like lotion into your skin. Remember it when you're tempted to dwell on all of your mistakes, missteps, and shortcomings. Call it forth when you're about to compare yourself to someone else who you think has more going for themselves than you.

Don't let where you are today determine where you're going to be tomorrow. I was talking with a hero of mine, a gentleman named Willie Crawford. If you've spent significant time online in the last 10 years it's possible that you've heard his name. You may have even purchased one of his products. Willie regularly receives, on average, over $20,000 per month from his online ventures. He said that he might even make more than $100,000 this month alone! Yet, he doesn't run a major company with tons of employees. He runs his operation independently out of his home office. The guy has even written a best-selling cookbook! He is, without question, an Internet marketing "guru".

But, it wasn't always like this. He came from an impoverished family of tobacco farmers in North Carolina. In fact, most of the people that he knew were on welfare. He wasn't surrounded by positive, successful role models that he could learn from. So, how did he go from being down and disadvantaged to being a mega-successful entrepreneur? He realized that everything he had gone through in life were lessons teaching him how to prepare for greatness.

He learned - like we all should - that he is FREE. Free to decide his future. Free to live his purpose. Free to experience goodness. Free to help himself to anything he wants in life.

You have this freedom, too. But, are you going to let not finishing school keep you down? Are you going to let a failed marriage keep you down? Are you going to let bad habits hamper you and keep you from your destiny? Are you going to empower your misgivings? To put it plainly, how many times are you going to fall and stay down?

Just because you have fallen doesn't make you irredeemable. It makes you human. Falling is a part of living. It took me a long time to get to this point. But, I finally, really and truly understand that there is no shame in stumbling.

Failure is not determined by the number of mistakes we make. What matters is how we respond to our indiscretions. Don't let your faults and lapses in judgement become the defining elements in your life. The truth is that you have the final word on whether you make it or not.

In order for us to change the course of our lives we're going to need a combination of acumen, astuteness, cleverness, enterprise, get-up-and-go, industry, initiative, judgment, and resourcefulness. So embrace your humanity, love yourself, and don't give up when you fail - your success might be just around the corner.

5 Very Interesting Quotes

These are a few quotes I got from my buddy, Doug Manning's site at www.reellifewisdom.com.

"The worth of a life is not determined by a single failure or a solitary success.”
The Emperor’s Club (2002) – William Hundert (Kevin Kline)

“Tragedy is a test of courage. If you can meet it bravely, it will leave you bigger than it found you.”
A Star is Born (1937) – Grandma Lettie (May Robson)

“Where the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.”
The Sound of Music (1965) – Maria (Julie Andrews)

“I know what I have to do now, I’ve got to keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?”
Cast Away (2000) - Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks)

“I believe we write our own stories and each time we think we know the end, we don't.”
Little Black Book (2004) – Stacy (Brittany Murphy)