If you and I were sharing a cup of coffee right now I’d ask you point blank, “Do you love your life?” I’d ask you to skip the details of how you spend your time, and your money, what your title at work is, and how often you vacation. I’d gesture with my hand and an eyeball roll, to move on past how many degrees you have or don’t have, who you know, and how many cars you own. Really, I’d want to have a conversation directly with your soul. The part of you that might admit in a tiny voice, “I know I’m not living my life on purpose…I’ve lost a sense of what really makes my heart sing”.
Many of us can rhyme off a grocery list of all the things that aren’t going well in our lives, and when we focus our energy on the negative banter, we drown out the tiny “Jiminy Cricket” voice that’s whispering directly in our ear how to bridge the gap between the life we’re living and the soul contract we’re meant to fulfill. You believe you don’t have the answers, but the reality is you likely haven’t slowed down enough to allow the truth to surface.
I want you to love the life you’re in! I want you to wake up every morning and know (that’s different from feel) you were born for a great purpose. I want you to understand that your innate leadership abilities are honed when you invest in self-reflection (pg. 11) that your happiness is based on how you perceive your external circumstances (pg. 39) that the people you choose to share your time with do, in fact, affect your happiness (pg. 45). I invite you to learn first hand how some of the greatest growth in life comes out of loss (pg. 20) and how everyday we can choose to inspire others to greatness (pg. 29). Success comes by doing what you love (pg. 53) but only when we learn how to overcome fear (pg. 42) and embrace the power of paradox (pg. 59).
If you’ve recently lost your job, your home, your health or a loved one, get in there and feel it fully, wallow around in the depths of despair and then…decide not to. Choose to be happy. Get up, dust yourself off, and realize in the deepest part of yourself that whatever is happening in your life at this moment is as temporary as your mindset. You’re the one in control of who you will be in relation to what’s happening to you. You are! Isn’t that great news?
Determine, as Chris Gardner did when he was living on the street with his 14 month old son, (pg. 48) that events don’t hold power over you, you hold the power. It’s as simple as deciding to change your life, it’s as complicated as stopping the negative internal chatter; silencing the committees in your head as they banter back and forth their perceptions of the world.
I’ve paired my passion with the purpose to educate, encourage, and empower. Perhaps one day, we will share a coffee in person, until then, it is my sincerest desire that through this magazine you are gifted some simple motivation, perfectly matched, to whatever journey you’re on.
