There Is No Present Like the Time
David Viscott said, "To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." So true.
One of the most important lessons-learned from my Year by the Water is that it is NOT always better to GIVE than RECEIVE.
It is better to give AND receive.
So many of us are so busy doing and giving to others, we don't allow them to give to us.
There is a grace in giving and a grace in receiving.
Connection is a two-way street.
Are you enjoying and being blessed by BOTH sides of the sun?
Wisdom from the Pope, "The future starts today, not tomorrow." He's right.
We talk about what we're GOING to do tomorrow or next month when we're not so tired, busy or overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, our life whizzes by.
The truth is, we'll never have more time than we have right #now.
As John Legend says, "The future started yesterday and we're already late."
What will you do today to kick-start the future of your dreams?
A few years ago - before I went on my Year by the Water - I was neglecting my health, some of my loved ones, and a calling to explore new territory (literally and figuratively) and write more. It feels wonderful to be back in alignment again, focusing on what matters most.
How about you?
Are you neglecting someone or something?
Reach out to the person today. Take time today to take care of that priority that's not been getting the time or attention it deserves.
The key to creating the quality of life you want is no secret. It's simply a matter of focusing on what matters.
Thanks Simon and Garfunkel for this eloquent reminder to SLOW DOWN and make the morning (This moment? This day? This weekend?) last. What's the big hurry? The faster we go, the more we miss.
Stop right now. Look around. Really SEE someone or something as if for the first or last time.
Take a big deep breath. Imprint this moment. Send up thanks for all that's right with your world.
Gratitude is a moment's notice away.
The contentment we seek is on the other side of slowing down.
Have you been working on a project for a long time - and it's not better, it's just different? Chances are you're second-guessing yourself ... and the critical voice kills the creative voice.
Or, chances are you're trying to get it perfect.
It will never be perfect. Our bestselling authors at the Maui Writers Conference didn't agree about much (one would say, "You HAVE to work with an outline" and the next would say, "I NEVER work with an outline.")
They did agree on two things. "Ink it when you think it" and they would STILL be working on their manuscripts if it weren't for their publisher's deadline.
Understand this. Your work will NEVER be ready.
But it's not doing anyone any good sitting on your computer.
Stop waiting until it's right. Stop trying to get it right. The right time is NOW.
There is no present like the time - and no time like the present - to get your work out of your head, into the world and into people's hands.
P.S. And if you'd like another way to get back into the "flow of thinks," click here.
One of the great joys of my Year By The Water was having the time and space to notice the "nudges" - those intuitive urges to "turn here, do this." Every time I honored the "voice that doesn't use words," as Rumi calls it .... magic unfolded.
I met aligned people and experienced rewarding adventures I wouldn't have discovered otherwise.
This post is an example of the delights that waited on the other side of leaving room for whims and following those intuitive nudges - which I'm convinced are our best future meeting use halfway.
http://serendestiny.com/want-to-jump-start-serendipity-act…/
What are you waiting to do? Write a book? Start your own business? Ask someone out for a date?
Do you feel there will be a better time - a right time - later?
Wrong.
The right time is NOW.
You'll never have more time than you have right NOW.
This is the sign of an entrepreneur, someone who sees life as the adventure it's meant to be. Someone who, like Marissa Mayer of Yahoo, likes to get in over your head because you welcome challenges, love being stretched, and even when things are upside down-inside out, you're confident you can figure them out.
Is that you?
BTW - this is an example of an insight-image you can create with SparkPost. If you know me, you know I believe it's important to INK IT WHEN YOU THINK IT.
Well, these days, capturing and communicating WORDS isn't enough. By matching in-the-moment INSIGHTS and attributed QUOTES with an IMAGE, you can create on-brand messages that connect with people and take your work viral.
Want to know how to do that? I'm be sharing that - AND answering your questions - in our monthly ASK SAM call (no charge) on May 17th.
This is our way of staying connected with our community and sharing some of the gee-whiz stuff we're doing and want to share so you can run with it in your own business, career and life.
Contact Cheri@IntrigueAgency - at 805 528-4351 - for details and to register.
I've been SITTING a lot these days working on my book "Someday is Not a Day in the Week." I know that's a problem.
Sitting has been called the cigarette smoking of our generation, yet I've been spending 10+ hours every day at my desk.
Then, I saw this quote from Jack Welch and thought, "He's right. I want to do this differently NOW instead of waiting until something goes wrong and I WISH I'd gotten up out of my chair, gone outside and been more active while I had the chance."
So, here I am enjoying Coot Lake's water, songbirds, spacious blue skies and Boulder's majestic mountains ... changing because I WANT to instead of waiting until I HAVE to.
What's one thing you want to change NOW?
My friend Mary LoVerde, Hall of Fame speaker and author of I Used To Have a Handle On Life, But It Broke has changed my life - for good. She came to my home several years ago to"feng shui" it.
We didn't just clear out clutter, we also cleared out a lot of locked-in beliefs that were driving behavior that didn't serve me or the people around me.
For example, have you been told, "It's better to give than receive."
Not always. Mary opened my eyes to the fact that our strength taken to an extreme can become our Achilles Heel. We can over-give.
She suggested I repeat these words every day, "Receive, receive, receive."
This mantra has resulted in a heightened awareness and appreciation of the blessings and abundance in my life.
Try it and you'll see. Repeat those three words "Receive, receive, receive" as a daily habit ... and watch what happens.
Taylor Swift says, "People haven't always been there for me; but music has." Who and what have always BEEN THERE for you?
My sister Cheri Grimm of Virtual Asset Office Management has run my business for 20 years.
One of the great joys of my life is having the privilege of working with someone I trust completely who always has my back and front.
I am enormously grateful to her for the countless ways she supports and inspires me and delivers above-and-beyond service to our clients. Thanks, sis, for ALWAYS being there.
Part of putting and keeping the light on in our eyes and leading a life of SerenDestiny is intentionally aligning with people we trust who are always there for us ... and being there for THEM by letting them know how much their support and constancy means to us.
Why not give a shout-out today to someone who's always been there for you? There is no present like the time - and no time like the present - to acknowledge and appreciate someone who contributes to your quality of life.
When I worked in the tennis industry on Hilton Head Island, SC early in my career, I met many unhappy rich people. I learned that money is not the Holy Grail. Money is welcome of course, but as Chris Rock points out, to give us OPTIONS, not to guarantee we'll love our life.
What makes us happy is to DO what puts the light on in our eyes and to align and spend time with people WHO put the light on in our eyes.
That's the purpose of this site. For you to have a place you can always find quotes, stories and fresh insights on how to put and keep the light on in your eyes.
In other words, how to be wealthy in what REALLY matters.
No spam. No selling. No ulterior motive. Just a site that focuses on what's right on in the world to help us lead a proactive, generous, grateful, abundant life that creates a "rising tide" impact that adds meaning and value for us and everyone around us.
Hope you find this SerenDestiny site inspiring. If so, you're welcome to share it with your friends. It makes my day when people are thoughtful enough to "spread the wealth."
Have you seen Jim Carrey's commencement speech for Maharishi University of Management? In it, he talks about his dad always wanting to be a comedian, but instead he took a SAFE job as an accountant to be "responsible" and support his family.
Then, his dad got let go and their family fell into financial hard times.
Jim's lesson from that?
"You can fail at what you DON'T want; so you might as well take a chance on doing what you LOVE."
Do you know someone who is making a career choice? Have they been told it's unrealistic to expect to make a living doing work they love? Are they about to make a "safe, responsible" decision to take a job that will pay the bills but that will kill the light in their eyes?
Share Jim Carrey's quote with them. They will never regret betting on themselves and choosing to do work they're good at that adds value and that lights them up.
A friend just shared on Facebook that her plane was cancelled and the next one is overbooked so she'll be in the airport for hours. Instead of getting upset or stressed, she relaxed into it and welcomed the opportunity to read and get some work done. She settled into the fact that she'll get there when she gets there.
Smart woman.
So many of us jet through our days, always on the go, racing here and there, impatiently thinking ahead to what's next. That's a prescription for missing our life.
Slow down, look around, imprint what's right with your life right NOW.
It's one of the quickest ways to put the light on in your eyes - and it works every single time.
I reconnected with friends in DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) last week. It was wonderful getting caught up and finding out what's going on in each other's lives. One asked, "What's it like having a new grand baby?" I smiled and said, "There are moments when she's gazing into my eyes or cuddled on my chest that I am FILLED with what a blessing she is. I IMPRINT those special moments so I can re-visit them whenever I want, as often as I want."
I also had an opportunity to co-present a workshop with my son, Andrew, for the Institute for Excellence in Sales.
There were moments I looked at him all grown up, (it seems like it wasn't that long ago he was in his jolly jumper) sharing insights and stories with the audience with them hanging onto every word ... and I imprinted what a GIFT it is to do work I love that matters WITH my son, watching him shine and add value.
So many of us are juggling so many responsibilities, rushing from one appointment to the next, racing through our days. That's a prescription for missing our life.
It's important to PAUSE in the midst of special moments and imprint them.
If you imprint special moments, they are there waiting for you to re-experience whenever you want, as often as you want. It's a way to truly and more deeply experience the blessings of our life instead of rushing right past them.
A rather ambitious friend told me she'd always perceived true success as "out there somewhere," just beyond her grasp, not yet attained. She always has goals she's working towards which gives her life a sense of progress, but not much satisfaction.
We looked at our lives and realized, "We're both published authors, we both speak internationally, we're thrilled with the coaching clients we get to work with.
Plus, we're in good health, we have freedom to do creative work that matters, we're having fun and we're connected with loving friends and family.
Success isn't "out there." It's right here, right now. We're wealthy in what matters. We've ARRIVED!
How about you? Do you feel you've ARRIVED?
Comedian Don Rickles said, "When you're different, you can last." Rickles is right. The world does't need more copycats.
How are you different from everyone in your organization or profession? How are you one-of-a-kind or first-of-your-kind?
I was just working with a client on his TEDx talk, and we took out everything that seemed obvious or that sounded like someone else said it.
I told him, "It's not enough to be TRUE. The question is, 'Is it NEW?' Does it cause people to say, "I never thought of it that way." Does it open their eyes?
THAT's when you cause a SHIFT. That's when you add enduring value.
How is what you're saying and doing different than the norm? THAT is when you stand out - for all the right reasons - and get heard, noticed and valued.
I'm hosting a salon in NYC next week and a friend asked how she should prepare. She asked if she should just talk about her advocacy for woman business authors or what. I said, "No, put a date on the calendar and tell us WHEN you plan to host a Tele-Summit or live event.
If you get this bandwagon out of the garage, people will jump on it.
The moment you put a date on the calendar is the moment your IDEA becomes REALITY.
Are you happy? In love? Career and business thriving? Despite all that, do you still find yourself worrying it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong? Do you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop?
RE-FRAME that RIGHT now!
I have a friend who had fallen into this trap. Everything was going well in his life yet he found himself thinking, "This can't last. It's too good to be true."
I told him, "From now on, your mantra is, 'Things just keep getting better and better.'"
That's how we wrap up our phone calls to each other. Instead of saying, "Good bye," I say, "Receive, receive, receive," and he says, "Things just keep getting better and better and better."
If you find yourself sabotaging your success by telling yourself it can't last, do a pattern interrupt.
REPLACE that negative self-fulfilling prophecy with this more positive, proactive self-fulfilling prophecy "Things just keep getting better and better and better."
We get what we think about. Focus on what you WANT - not what you DON'T want.
"The future started yesterday, and we're already late." - John Legend This is one of the most important lessons-learned from my travels the past couple of years.
So many people talk wistfully of what they're going to do ... someday. They feel they have too many responsibilities to do what they want now, but plan to do that when they have more time, money, freedom, health .. (fill in the blank.)
What if that never happens?
The clock is ticking. Not in a morbid way. In a motivating way.
Have you become a chronic procrastinator? Are you automatically telling yourself, "I'll do more of what I really want when I retire, when things aren't so busy at work, when the kids go off to college, when I have ....(what?)
Waiting to do more of what puts the light on in your eyes a path to regrets.
You don't have to completely overhaul your life or walk away from your responsibilities. Just pick ONE thing that's important to you and start doing it once a week - or saving for it so you can do it this year and you have something to look forward to. Make today the "later" you've been waiting for.
