Too Much of a Good Thing

It’s March already – that’s 17% of the year nearly gone!  Can someone please tell me exactly where has it gone?

I’m sure you’ve heard that most New Year’s resolutions don’t survive beyond the end of February – if they even make it that far!

And if you did happen to map out the “perfect” year and schedule all the activities that will lead to your big annual goals, how are you going with finding the time and energy to do it all?

And if perhaps you’re not doing too well along that path, are you beating yourself up for it? The pressure to map out the perfect year can actually lead to greater anxiety.

I’m a huge advocate in planning and goal setting - but can you do too much of it? I’m coming to the conclusion that you can actually overdo it.

So many of the goals we set are goals around having or doing things. You might be reflecting on the first 2 months of the year and saying to yourself, “I certainly got a lot done, but what’s it all for?

It’s around about this time that you might also start asking yourself “What’s my higher calling?”,  “What am I supposed to be doing with my life?” and “How do I stop spinning my wheels and get serious about my purpose for being on this planet?”

The more relevant question is actually “Who am I meant to BE?”

Or you might already feel you have found your answers and no longer have to worry about the burning “What’s my purpose?” question. But here’s the irony…when our purpose is external to ourselves, if we tie our purpose or meaning to our vocation, goal or an activity, we could be setting ourselves up for a fall somewhere down the line.

This doesn’t negate your burning passion, your inspired mission, your job, your business, your family, your community contribution, etc. Those things are powerful, worthwhile and essential - but are they your purpose?

Let me explain…

I’m certainly not saying that you shouldn’t feed the starving, house the homeless, rescue those at risk, protect the environment, empower women, educate the ignorant or any other worthwhile activity that adds worth and value to our global community.

What I do mean is that you don’t need to connect your personal self-worth (or self-acceptance, self-love etc.) with those activities. It’s because your self-worth has nothing to do with your skills, vocation or achievements and everything to do with how you treat yourself. Your purpose may be very different than what you’ve been taught to believe by societal programming and inherited paradigms.

If your work isn’t appreciated, if your efforts are overlooked or criticised, if you don’t get the client, if people don’t value what you do, if you give and don’t get thanked in return, if someone “un-friends” you on social media – well, that’s what sometimes happens. And if you’ve tied your worth to any of those things then you will only feel deflated, depleted or depressed.

But if you have connected your purpose within, it’s a whole different story. For example, it could be that your purpose is to be kind to yourself and to love yourself unconditionally, thus elevating your energy and positively impacting on the world around you. Or it could be to take impeccable care of yourself so that you have the energy to serve others.

Or perhaps it’s to heal yourself and then becoming a mentor and role model for others to do the same.

Your purpose is only partly about what you do. It’s mostly about discovering who you truly are at your deepest levels, and to nurture and love yourself in the process. It’s about learning that just being your authentic self is enough.

Full stop.

There are plenty of brilliant people who may have a lot to offer but who are messed up inside and unable to be really effective at their chosen cause. Imagine what they could accomplish if they knew that no matter how important their mission, their inner purpose matters even more?

By all means cherish your work, your hobbies and your passions. You love them and they are important.

But when you do your planning (or re-planning) and set your goals, whatever time of the year it may be, it pays to be a bit softer and kinder towards yourself. Start with focusing on the things that make you feel good, peaceful, happy, inspired, abundant and loved. And maybe – just maybe – go a bit slower as well.

From my soul to yours,

David.

Is authenticity authentic?

Seth Godin wrote a recent blog with this title that really got me thinking.

The essence of what he said is that the only truly authentic version of you is a newborn infant. After that, due to a series of cultural overlays, choices and strategies from you and others about what it takes to succeed in this (your) world, everything you portray to the world is all invented.

Godin is usually right on the money with his observations, but I think this time he has it wrong. 

Authenticity lies in your Soul, your Essence, your Seed, your Spirit, your Higher Self - whatever you want to call it. And despite the multiple layers placed upon it by time, environment, upbringing, culture, education, family circumstances etc., it is still there. 

Your task is to access it. In fact, that is a key part of the journey you are on called “life”. 

In other words, it’s about firstly uncovering that kernel of who you are and what you are here for, and then living a life that supports that Higher Purpose. It’s about uncovering that precious seed that resides in your innermost garden and nurturing it so that it flourishes. It’s about discovering your Soul Goals and bringing those into your everyday life. It’s about aligning your passion, purpose and prowess in that special way that is beneficial for everyone. 

Often that can involve a Higher Purpose Business, but that isn’t essential. However, living a Higher Purpose Life is.

On reflection some of the questions that might come up for you could include:

• Am I living the life I really, really want - versus the life I am “expected” to lead?
• Am I living my true purpose?
• Do I feel the way I want to feel?
• Is that enough?
• Is there really anything else?
• Who is it really that is asking these questions?

There are many ways to seek out the answers to these questions - and some of them can take a lifetime. That’s OK by the way, but wouldn’t it be much easier to be able to uncover your answers in an instant of enlightenment?

That’s why the amazing Joanne Antoun & I have combined to bring you an evening of transformation to help you do exactly that. We’ve called it Transform Your Life & Your Business - and that is the promise – that no matter what your circumstances are right now, in just over 3½ hours we will guide you to:

• Uncover your soul goals and clarify your purpose
• Reclaim and step into your personal power 
• Feel peace, joy, happiness and contentment right now
• Understand how you can manifest your heart’s desires
• Start the process of creating a life you love

Here are all the details and the links to reserve a seat:

Dates & Location:

Tuesday 2nd September at St Josephs Spirituality Centre, 64 MacKillop Drive, Baulkham Hills

Wednesday 3rd September at York Street Conference Centre, 99 York Street, Sydney  

Time: Doors open 6.30pm for a 7.00pm sharp start, Finish 10.45pm

Investment:    Just $67

Bookings: 

Tuesday 2nd September     http://bit.ly/1pE23Ye  

Wednesday 3rd September   http://bit.ly/1BslgBh 

John Lennon said, “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance … Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”  

I do hope you can join us for what will be a magic experience.
And if you can’t, have fun exploring anyway :) 

It’s half past January

I have a very unusual clock on my wall.

It only has one hand.

That hand takes a full twelve months to rotate just once.

It’s an annual clock that tells time in seasons, marking the Equinoxes & Solstices throughout the year.

And so it’s half-past January.

The clock has a name too – it’s called The Present. I purchased it as a prototype via a Kickstarter campaign by Scott Thrift. It’s “all about time” and the idea behind the clock is to remind you to live in the present moment.

Have you ever felt like time is moving too fast? Or perhaps you have trouble being “in the moment” for longer than a few seconds? 

The present is the gift we give ourselves.

I didn’t really get what was meant by “living in the present” until an embarrassingly short time ago, despite having been on a self-development journey for some 50-odd years. But now I do, I can’t think of any other way to live.

Sure, we need to learn from the past, but we can’t dwell or live there. And of course we need to plan for the future, but we can’t live there either. We can’t change the past, nor can we pre-determine the future. The only place we can truly live is in the present.

It’s all about mindset.

And that’s why Soul Goals are so critical as a guide for how to live your life. There’s a bit more to it than this, but we can learn from our past where our passions and purpose lie, do a full sensory visualisation of their fulfilment in the future, and then live today exactly as if they were already happening.

If you want to know more about Soul Goals you can download The Quickfire Guide To Creating Soul Goals here with my compliments.

So what do I do on a daily basis to remind myself about living in the present?

At the beginning of this year I started a Happiness Jar. Every morning for the last 6 months, part of my ritual to start the day is to ask what it was that gave me the most joy on the previous day. I write that on a piece of paper, fold it up and place it in my Happiness Jar. At some point in time, maybe at the end of the year or perhaps if I’m feeling a bit blue, I’ll dip into the jar and remind myself of some of the daily pieces of joy that have been present in my life. Interestingly, just seeing the jar filling up makes me happy by itself. In fact I was particularly chuffed when I had to buy a bigger jar because the original one was overflowing!

I also start every day by reminding myself of the answers I have worked out to the questions

Who am I? 

Why am I here? &

How do I want to feel today?

These answers help me focus on behaving in alignment with my Soul Goals throughout the day, which means of course that I’m living in the present in alignment with how I have envisioned my future and as taught to me by my past.

So when I look at my clock on the wall and notice that it is half-past January, I am full of gratitude for the experience of having spent the last 6 months being as present as I can.

It's personal - (a gift for you below)

You’ve possibly heard me say “It’s personal” many times when I talk about success. In fact 2 blogs ago I wrote about exactly that. The key point I’ve been making is that the only person who should define what success means to you – is you. It’s not about following someone else’s agenda or even the standards that society portrays as necessary for you to be successful (you know – the career, the car, the house, the boat, the travel, the lifestyle etc.)

In recent months this has become more and more clear to me as I do work in the areas of Passion, Purpose and Profits.

This has involved 4 key activities:

1)      Continuing to coach amazing women business owners in building a Higher Purpose Business;

2)      Writing the Quickfire Guide to Soul Goals, the Discovery Manual and Worksheets in collaboration with my client and friend Lauren Jobson;

3)      Further development of my unique programme called Aligning Passion, Purpose and Profit; and

4)      Doing my very best to live my own words.

It all revolves around uncovering, rediscovering or confirming your passion, purpose, vision and values - because that is where your genius and your magnificence lies.

So where do you find your answers?

It’s found in your truth and your authenticity – your seed DNA.

The clues are found in what you feel compelled to do, where you feel connected and where you feel joy.

And the pathway to these (your Purpose) are your Soul Goals.

With this clarity and focus of vision you can then unlock your magnificence and leverage your definition of success by building a Higher Purpose Life and/or Business around that!

"Life will only make sense; and can only produce long-term happiness, peace and joy when embraced from the perspective of the soul"

Neale Donald Walsch

The Quickfire Guide to Creating Soul Goals was created by Lauren & I because both of us are passionate about helping people to be the best possible versions of themselves and it is a given that the goals that really count are the goals from your Soul.

With over 30 years of collective experience and research distilled inside, it’s a very unique guide - simple, easy to commit to and a very powerful process.

We have decided to offer this as a gift to you because we think that it might resonate with you.

It’s not just a guide on how to create goals from your Soul, but what we hope is an introduction to something much bigger for you - a fulfilling life that revolves around your Higher Purpose.

The Quickfire Guide to Creating Soul Goals will help you to understand in no time at all…

• What is a Soul Goal
• Why they are so important
• How to create your own

Please accept this gift from our hearts to yours. 

Just click here for a link to immediately download it. 

It’s World Voice Day on 16th April – so why should you care?

If you’ve ever fully lost your voice or perhaps had a cold that has severely restricted your vocal use, you’ll know just how frustrating it is to function in your everyday life when you can’t make a sound. We use our voices to communicate with each other, to laugh, cry, sing and even scream. There isn’t really much you do in your daily life that doesn’t involve the use of your voice in some way shape or form. And all of this comes from a tiny organ about the size of a stamp.

I have been accused in the past of being paranoid about keeping my distance from people with obviously contagious ailments that could affect my voice. It’s true – I even carry a spare face mask in the “emergency kit” in my bag. But this is perfectly understandable because as a presenter, facilitator, coach and singer etc., my voice is one of my main tools of the trade and a key asset. (I also carry a spare green tea teabag, multi-coloured pen, nail clippers and band-aid in case you were wondering!)

Now whilst World Voice Day is focussed on raising our awareness to the importance of having a physically healthy voice, it did also make me think about our metaphoric voice - in other words, our purpose, our mission, our destiny, our calling, our genius, our life’s work or our legacy. These are all embraced in something I have described recently as our Soul Goals.

We all have an audience - whether this is a small audience such as your family or your company, a bigger audience such as your community or your country, or an enormous audience such as the world. What determines your audience will be your Soul Goals.

Your Soul Goals are unlikely to be money or possessions. They may be things you want to do. Almost certainly they will incorporate the person you want to be. One thing is for sure though, you will be called to them – by your Heart, your Soul, your Spirit Guides, your Higher Self, your God, the Universe…

If you listen you will hear. The problem is most of us don’t listen - or we haven’t been taught how! Or can we even hear it anyway?

Your Soul’s voice starts off quite subtle with whispers and suggestions, but if you ignore it the voice has to get louder and louder. And if you ignore it altogether it may end up hitting you over the head with a piece of metaphoric 4 x 2 plank. These are the things you end up calling your biggest “life lessons”.

Often you will hear the message from your Soul but then override it with what you think you “should” do. These thoughts are generally based on someone else’s values which you have adopted for some reason or another. It might even have it’s origins in the subconscious parental programming you received when you were an infant.

Or perhaps you have allowed your Ego’s voice to be louder than your Soul’s voice? This is so easy to do in a scientific world where the power of your mind or intellect is more important than the messages from our feelings or intuition. Thankfully this is changing!

Let me give you a couple of concrete examples of this. Your Soul doesn’t wants to stop hanging out with the friend you’ve known for twenty years, but your Ego says that you just have to – and you end up resenting the person and the time. Or your intuition tells you not to do business with a certain person but your mind justifies why you should – and it turns out badly.

I have found that the secret lies in being authentic and truthful to yourself. It lies in uncovering what is the true spirit of your work. So how do you do this? The answer to that is too long for this short blog, but you could start by looking at the following questions:

What makes you come alive and reminds you of who you are?

What do you love to talk about, learn about, and/or teach others about?

What makes you feel great about yourself?

What are you doing when your heart sings?

What topic would your TED talk be on?

As JV Crum said:

“By paying attention to what is in your heart – the authentic ways you want to help others, then expressing these in your business purpose – you will not only make a powerful difference, you will create your highest profits.”