❤ Path To Success

9/22/2013

As a woman on the path to success we expect to feel a sense of achievement when we see that we have reached the top, where we wanted to be. How does it look from there? Will the world and people around you look beautiful? Will the journey to the top be pleasant and memorable? For so many women whom I have met this journey has certainly not been easy. It is not always a journey of mutual support, upliftment and friendliness. Instead, you have to be careful about who is conspiring to push you down. There are many challenges, not just due to gender bias, but also due to an unhealthy competition and jealousy from other women themselves! This kind of journey can be very stressful and takes its toll on our body and mind.

If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.” ~Lao Tzu

In this world where everyone’s lives are open for all to see through social networks, it’s easy to constantly compare yourself with your peers and competitors. While healthy competition is a good sign, blatant jealousy isn’t. For me, I focus on being my own competition. I compare my own past and try to get better every single day. It help's me become the best ME I can be without falling prey to petty jealousy.

My guru says; one who manages all challenges that life gives is successful. 

However, what are the skills that we need to be able to do this and succeed?

Every year I do an exercise where I write out my perfect day. The other day, I looked back at what my ‘perfect day’ was 5 years ago. It was almost the exact opposite of what my vision of success is today.

Back then I wanted ease. I wanted no alarm clock, little work, and a life of luxury. What I've come to understand is that in creating the ability to have that life of luxury, I’ll have to go through my fair share of failures and struggles.

Those failures and struggles are where I’ll develop into the woman I want to be, a success, and a better human being. Why, then, would I want to forgo that growth? Why, even if I'm able, would I reach my idea of success, and then simply stop my evolution by lulling in to a life of ease or a life of focusing on other people's short comings, or on conspiring to push other's down ?

Just because success is attained doesn't mean our growth as people, entrepreneurs, or leaders, comes to a halt. Look at Teddy Roosevelt. He never stopped achieving, accomplishing, and growing as an individual until the day he died. The same with Andrew Carnegie, and any other person in history who accomplished anything of great value.

Discover the right way to create a compelling vision for your life and a path to lead you there. Learn how to create core motivation, harness your untapped personal power, and avoid the trap of self-sabotaging beliefs. Finally, uncover the #1 way to magnify the sense of inner joy and personal satisfaction you experience every day of your life.

So what do I do when I have to face one of life's challenges? Other than taking it to the mat, I go through my list of pointers I have for managing my life's challenges.

Commitment – One failure can lead to another success later.
Time – It is not sufficient to invest money to nurture or develop anything unless I give it my time.
Setting an Example – A successful woman doesn’t just show you the way; She walks the talk.
Team work – inspire participation and contribution.
Silence – Nurture quietude and calmness.
Reflection – Sit quietly at the end of the day, looking back at all the day’s activities, seeing where, if and how I made a difference. Reminding myself of the successes, as it can inspire me to do more.

So as I continue my life's' journey, I continue to celebrate my own achievements, however small they may be. I know Rome wasn’t built in a day. I continue to be passionate about my life. I continue to love myself and respect my own life because I believe in my own capabilities. I understand there is a whole world of opportunities out there so I don't need to play petty girl games with anyone. What you can do; start focusing on your lines, your brand, and living with integrity in your own life. Don't look to me as a yardstick for comparison, but as an instrument for inspiration – you might be surprised to find you have the same qualities within yourself.

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❤ Life's lesson

7/18/2013

If we have a good heart, we experience much happiness and relaxation. We have no reason to feel angry or jealous and we have a very happy mind. When we speak, sweet words come out. Even our face is happy and smiling. At night we go to bed with a happy mind and have a very comfortable sleep, without any worries.


98 year old Dobri Dobrev, (pictured) a man who lost his hearing during World War II, walks 10 kilometers from his Bulgarian village in his homemade clothes and leather shoes to the city of Sofia, where he spends the day begging for money. Although he is well known around several of the city’s churches, for his prostrations of thanks to all donors, it was only recently discovered that he has donated every penny he has collected — over 40,000 Euros — towards the restoration of decaying Bulgarian monasteries and churches and the utility bills of orphanages. He is modestly living off his monthly state pension of 80 Euros.

"Some of us have long asked why we cannot hold on to happiness. For all of the scholarship and human insights across centuries, nobody has found a complete and enduring answer. Perhaps because it has been too close to see…The answer, the key, is our heart."

My deepest belief is that there is greatness inside all of us. And to access it, we must align ourselves with a greater purpose, commit to excellence, and seek to improve every day. 

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❤Are You Living A Balanced Life?

6/13/2013

Find the balance that’s right for you.

Do you sometimes wonder whether your life is in balance? It is easy to know if you lead a balanced life because if you do then:

- you enjoy every moment and every second,
- you can cope with any difficulties,
- you can be happy without any reason to be happy,
- you can be yourself and love the person you are.

Today the world constantly tries to throw you out of balance, point in case; It sometimes is very unnerving realizing that some local small business owners, as we'll call them, actually sit and scan the way I market my business on facebook and see no wrong with copying my marketing tactics and strategies. If I can borrow Mike's quote  but adapt it to me ' everyone wants to be like Leigh'.  What ever happened to following your OWN path? Creating your OWN strategies? Then I remind myself, that it's pretty simple... they do not know how to believe in their own-self. Giving your dreams the wings to fly is something that's very difficult for alot of people to do yet alone understand. Thankfully, through my spiritual lifestyle I have learnt to cope with such difficulties by simply living a balanced lifestyle.

“There is no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves.” – Frank Herbert

To start, what does it mean to be balanced?

To me, it means that you have a handle on the the various elements in your life and don’t feel that your heart or mind are being pulled too hard in any direction. More often than not, you feel calm, grounded, clear-headed, and motivated. Balanced living might seem like one of those theoretical terms that nobody can put into practice but in fact there is nothing simpler than living a balanced life.

It might take some work at first but once you get in the flow and discover the simple ways to steer your life in your desired direction you will feel empowered. You will be inspired and energized by every day of your life. Your life will be full of amazing adventures and events that will make every day memorable. You won’t be wasting your life any more or spending gloomy hours contemplating about the misfortunes that might have happened on your way.

Does balanced living mean that your life will be full of only positive people and events that will bring you happiness every moment of your life? Not at all.

Balanced living is when you can always offset any negative events in your life with positive ones. It is also when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Balanced living is when you are happy working and playing equally. If you picture happiness and everything great in your life as a diamond, then any negative things that may happen are just the setting that makes this diamond shine only brighter.

Finding balance is one of life's great goals, but it can be as elusive as it is desirable. Change your approach and its true nature will emerge.

Myth: A balanced person is good at everything.
Truth: Balance requires prioritizing.

I recently realized this  "superwoman syndrome" I had, where the idea that I should be able to fill all needs, including my own, all the time started to get me out of sync. This is where the 80/20 rule came in. This established business principle posits that, by and large, roughly 80 percent of results come from 20 percent or fewer of the causes.

Think about what is most important for you to accomplish, and why. How can you make the most of your talent and energy in order to reach your goals? What is the benefit of focusing on these few things? Does it give you more time with your family, open up more opportunities, provide additional income? Weigh in with yourself about each action you want to take and why; that way you will be less likely to spread yourself too thin and sabotage your best efforts.

Don’t try to be anyone else. Make a conscious decision each day to just be you, and to make no apologies for that. Find comfort in the fact that it’s okay and even ideal to not fit into someone else’s idea of what’s right: the right work, the right work/life balance, the right feelings, the right way to live.

Focus your energy on determining what’s right for you. It can feel easy to simply go with the flow. But when you discover ways to live your life that fully align with what is in your heart, the reward of balance is unparalleled.

I end my post today with a quote by  Dr. Seuss that I always love..

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” 

such simple words yet it means so much. Namaste!

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❤What Do You Want?

6/07/2013

It may seem like a subtle distinction, but the worlds of motivation and inspiration are millions of miles apart.

A lot of people use the words “motivated” and “inspired” interchangeably. But I've found something different to be the case.When one tries to motivate themselves, nine times out of ten they're  pushing themselves to do something they don’t really care about. Motivation is about psyching yourself up. Chest-pounding. Fire-walking. Heavy-metal riffs. You get the point.

Inspiration comes from a completely different place. The word inspiration means to be in spirit. When you’re tuned into your spirit, you are naturally drawn to do whatever feels best. You may do things that aren't outwardly productive. Or you may write a book in 30 days. Either way, it’s all good because fulfilment is the end result.

Motivation, on the other hand, usually has a lot to do with fake growth. You think you should be doing something because you see someone else doing it and it often leads in the direction of something you are not prepared for and wasn't inspired to do. It’s what you’re “supposed” to be doing. It’s just a good idea, not a passionate, burning desire that emanates from the core of your being.

So, motivation is about things that you think you should do or that you’re supposed to do. Inspiration is about being called to act because you’re in direct alignment with the magnetic, luminous marrow of potential that is you.

You might be thinking… “How do I get inspired?” Well, you can’t. Inspiration isn't something you get, it comes from within, it comes from your core.

So being inspired isn't about doing something external to bring something in. That’s motivation, remember?

Being inspired is about a constant process of realignment. Whenever you’re feeling like you have to push, it’s time to realign. Whenever you’re feeling like you’re not enjoying life, it’s time to realign. Whenever you feel like you’re moving forward only based on what someone else's is achieving, it’s time to realign.... then again, when this happens, how many really do have enough courage to say to themselves 'I'm moving forward, or 'I'm doing this because Leigh has done so'. 'After all, who does Leigh think she is. Right!'

The thing is realignment isn't anything complicated. It’s very simple, actually. All it involves is drawing inward and exploring what you really want. Your home cosmography, as Thoreau put it.

So, what do you really want? Not what should you want, not what you think you should want because someone else has it or what you think you might want or what is a good idea for you to want. WHAT DO YOU WANT? What do you want for your business, or life? What lights you up? Once you've got a grasp on that,.. go ahead, savour it. The time has come for YOU to find the true you and carry on cause this is the true me.

❤Words of Wisdom

4/21/2012

I just came across these words of wisdom and though I would share it with my readers. 

"Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologize for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you’re right and you know it, speak your mind. Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth."  -Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi is considered the father of the Indian independence movement. Gandhi spent twenty years in South Africa working to fight discrimination. It was there that he created his concept of satyagraha, a non-violent way of protesting against injustices. While in India, Gandhi's obvious virtue, simplistic lifestyle, and minimal dress endeared him to the people. He spent his remaining years working diligently to both remove British rule from India as well as to better the lives of India's poorest classes. 

❤We are what we repeatedly do

10/26/2011

Daily Success Rituals are the center and “Foundation” for accomplishing everything in your life that you need to do during the day and for managing your energy more effectively & efficiently. Your Daily Rituals simply determine what “1 thing” you will do at a set time, for 45 – 90 minutes without interruption. Your goal in setting up positive rituals is to do the ritual long enough that it becomes a behavior that’s automatic and is something that simply comes natural to you.

Using will and discipline to get things done require you to push yourself to a particular behavior which is usually more of a struggle. If you look at any part of your life in which you are consistently effective you will find that certain positive habits make that possible.
Here are the main reasons why you should implement daily success rituals:

• Create structures and boundaries
• Manage your energy better
• Get more accomplished in shorter amount of time
• Allows you to push away distractions and focus on “only one thing”
• Focuses your attention
• End bad habits of procrastination and randomness

Without daily rituals you probably do all this stuff, right….

• Unconsciously get busy or sidetracked and procrastinate
• Use will and discipline to get stuff done
• Are managing your time and not your energy
• Avoiding stress instead of seeking stress
• Think positive thinking will get stuff done

Let me point this out. The Rituals don’t give you success. Taking action implementing and executing does. Implementing and Executing is a whole different ball game as that’s the hardest part. We’ll talk about this in another post. By creating Rituals you do on a daily basis you end the bad habits that you do throughout the day that don’t get you anywhere.

The main book that talks about all this is The Power of Full Engagement by Tony Schwartz, buy this book and read the whole thing. Sometimes our Attitudes get in the way. Even things that can improve our life dramatically. If you currently have a TERRIBLE ATTITUDE don’t let that stop you from purchasing the book and using the information.
Tony says in his book that the challenge of great performance is to manage your energy more effectively in all dimensions of our life and this is driven by four main energy management Principles:

• Manage all of our 4 main forms of energy, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual
• Balance Energy expenditure with intermittent energy renewal
• Push beyond our normal limits – follow by rest and renewal
• Build positive rituals that are very specific

Lets Get Started Setting Up Your Daily Success Rituals…
The first thing to do is look at your life as a whole.

• Health
• Wealth
• Relationships
• Self-Development
• Fun & Adventure
• Contribution

I would recommend setting 1 ritual for one of the Categories. If you try to set too many you will most likely get disappointed and fall right back into your current habits. They key is to set a ritual and keep to it for 30 – 60 days. When you have that current Ritual down, then create a new ritual and do it for 30 days along with the 1st Ritual you’ve set.

You can use look at my Daily Rituals that I set up to use as a guide in setting up your own rituals.
The key in creating your rituals is stacking rituals that relate to a different area of your life. Don’t stack work onto work. Stack work, then do something physical or emotional.
Once you start implementing your daily ritual you might become bored, frustrated, feel awkward or have negative thoughts come into your head like, its boring doing the same thing every day like this or what’s wrong with what I’m currently doing. That’s just your brain trying to take you out as your trying something new.
Also realize that all of us have habits, they are either positive or negative. Your going to do pretty much the same thing you did yesterday, if its a positive habit, great. If not start right now with a positive ritual.
Setup conditions that will increase the odds of you sticking with your rituals you create.

• Set specific times and days of when you will do the ritual
• What exactly will you do during this time and for how long (an engagement period of focus should never last longer than 90 minutes as you start to lose focus after that).
• Connect with your purpose for setting up the ritual through reflection
• Don’t frame an intention Negatively like, I won’t … or I will not…
• Be willing to get out of your comfort zone
• Make incremental changes focusing on one significant change at a time
• Look for it to take 30 – 60 days before you have consciously ingrained the ritual into your life
• Hold yourself accountable at the end of each day. This is the gap between your intention and your actual behavior.