DARE to Be Different

As I look back on my life, I recognize that for many years I lived a shell shocked existence, moving from experience to experience in a state of complete numbness and confusion. I allowed life to drag me around by my Jimmy Choos, because I didn’t understand that I had the power to change my situation. Having not been raised in an environment that had an underlying sense of spirituality, I could not see the inner beauty and light that was within me. I was no doubt, an untamed soul roaming the countryside lost and blinded by heartache and fear. The cry of my heart was so severe that it finally woke me from the blank eyed stupor I had been living for decades. Pain, anguish, unhappiness and anger were depleting my energy supply aggressively and I could barely function day to day. I would like to tell you that I had a grand epiphany, but I was simply sick and tired of being sick and tired. A cliché, I realize and a very real one for me. Finally, I decided that I would break from convention and go forward with what felt right, instead of continuing to do what others wanted of me. The time was upon me to DARE to be different.

D: Destiny awaits you
A: Awaken your senses
R: Realize your radiance
E: Enrich your life Read more

Your Secret Self: Awakening the Powers of the Inspired Self

You have no idea how strangely magical you are.

Most of us could never imagine the fire and promise we hold. We live in a culture that tells us to be “realistic.” That means dampen our enthusiasms and compromise our vision. We are encouraged to bow to the known world, and shun our unknown powers. But that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to listen to our inspired hearts, spread our full peacock feathers, and awaken the invincible love inside us. We’re here to discover, express, and unleash our true capacity.

When you follow inspiration, you follow an invitation to be more than you knew you were. You tap unlimited powers. You can sing, you can heal, you can run a business, and you can meet the people you need to meet. It’s where you take a different track and love replaces fear and ease eclipses struggle. Julia Cameron writes “Our dreams come from a divine source. Moving in the direction of our dreams moves us toward our divinity.” Yet, how many of us, in the name of safety, have spent a life time trying to put a cork on the genie? But that which fascinates you grants you wings. Anything you love holds power. There are miracles waiting for you in the “forbidden country” of your true desires. Read more

Are you a Creator or a Destroyer?

Remember the story of Mozart’s life told from the perspective of Antonio Salieri. The play and the film were both called Amadeus.

Salieri was the court musician in Vienna. He worked hard at his craft, writing melodies that were nice and choral pieces that were fine and instrumental works that were good. He knew he was blessed.

As a young man he often prayed, “Let me make music that will glorify You. Help me lift the hearts of people to heaven. Let me serve you through my music.”

Then came the boy wonder, the child prodigy, young Mozart. He dazzled the crowds, playing music as if it was second nature to him. Read more

Getting Answers: You Can’t Figure it Out. You Can Only Let it Out

As a coach, I’m in the business of helping people get answers to their most pressing decisions in life. Now, it’s not uncommon for a client to come or call and say, “I like gardening, playing the cymbals, hiking in the backcountry, helping people, and learning about color theory, healing energy techniques, and Russian Poetry. So how do I put that all together?” Then they pause and wait for their magic answer. They will be pausing a long time, I assure you.

I will tell you what I tell them. You don’t have a thousand different directions. The mind has a thousand directions. But your heart has only one or two. You don’t even have a decision to make. It’s already been made and encrypted within you, like the rhythm of your toes soft padding on the floorboards and the delicate, determined map of your fingerprint. It’s just there, strange as the moon, yet familiar as your breath. Read more

Man on a Mission

I’ve followed his career closely for three years now. Each year has revealed dramatic improvement in his art.

I’ve been witness to his rigorous practicing and rehearsing. While those he could be socializing with were out doing other things for fun he buckles down to work perfecting that which he loves and desires to do best.
I’ve listened to him, always confident and never boastful, talk about that what he is profoundly passionate about. When he isn’t speaking you can almost hear his self-talk, upbeat and positive.

I had the extreme pleasure of watching him perform recently on a large Toronto stage and it was magic. Astonished by not only the total confidence he displayed but by the ultimate joy he radiated. He was amazingly humble after receiving the highest awards and deluge of accolades. I thought to myself he was by far the best performer and if he keeps this up he’s headed for the big time. But even if he chooses not to take the path to stardom I feel compelled to write about what is at the very core of this exceptional achiever – Purpose! Read more

Every Hero Begins as Fool

In celebration of April Fool’s Day, I want to encourage you to be more “foolish” in your life. There is power in daring to be different.

Great advances have never come from the conventionally minded among us, those who worship their data, never wear purple, and chastise the unknown. Change comes from us “madcaps” who obey the mandate to be alive — and chase the gleam of inspiration, the truth we know in our bones — more than the facts that are known.

The world’s healers, industry leaders, artists and visionaries of tomorrow — are likely the neglected fools of right now, scrambling to pay their rent while devoting themselves to bold ideas and inexhaustible generosity. Let’s face it, some half-cocked chuckleheads of the past gave us electricity, medicine, automobiles, a few trips to the pale white moon and back, not to mention hair dye and decaffeinated coffee. God bless them all. Can you imagine the Wright brothers assuming they could snub the laws of gravity and fly? Think about it. Many of us cower and shrink, thinking we’re extravagant, for believing we might just write a screenplay that sells. Read more

The Story of Big Jim

The power went out. Again!

I looked out my second story office window and knew exactly why. I could hear the sounds throughout the morning. There was a crew of four men and three bucket trucks stringing power lines along the new poles they had been planting in the front and back yards of my neighborhood the past few weeks.

Often, during this time, I would work on my laptop on the front porch and watch this professional teamwork in total synchronicity, moving from pole to pole in planned sequence. First, it was connecting the phone lines. Then, cable. Today, and finally, from the back alley, the electricity.

What was of extreme interest to me was the foreman of this well-oiled machine. A big, burly middle-aged fellow whose sheer stature and hard look would intimidate most. But, he always uttered his commands, some very loudly as his underlings were often thirty-five feet in the air, with warm authority. Read more

The Other Side of the Mountain

Excitement filled my mind as I called Jill Kinmont Boothe. This was two years ago, and Jill had graciously agreed to an interview for the book I was writing. I eagerly looked forward to hearing the inspiring story of how she rose above the tragic skiing accident which left her paralyzed and went on to become a teacher and painter. I clearly remember watching the 1975 movie about her life, ‘The Other Side of the Mountain,’ and soon I would be talking directly to her!

I placed a stack of cassette tapes near the tape recorder, envisioning a long interview. After all, learning to cope mentally and physically with being paralyzed must have taken years of hard work. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Jill was not interested in reliving all the gory details of her tragic accident. Our conversation went something like this… Read more

Fulfilling Your Potential

Transformation occurs when existing solutions, assumed truths and past decisions are exposed as unrealistic or unnecessarily self-limiting. This new insight allows you to view your life from a more appropriate and empowering perspective.

One of the foundations of transformational psychology is Abraham Maslow’s theory of human needs. He believed that people are not merely controlled by their circumstances nor by their unconscious instinctual impulses. Maslow preferred to focus on our potential for creativity, believing that humans strive to express their capabilities fully, that they need this expression, and that fulfilling this creative need is the basis for happiness.

Whatever our astrological sign, our cultural conditioning, our numerological disposition, our parents’ genes, our situation and circumstances, our education or lack of it — we may consider these as limitations, or we may be more open-minded. The truth is that these factors really don’t matter if we have a vision that inspires us enough and provides the energy we need to overcome any obstacles, so we can manifest our creation in the world we share. Read more

What do you think is possible in your life?

This inspirational video begs an answer to the title of this post and is sure to touch your heart and inspire you to greater achievements. Enjoy the amazing story of Patrick Henry Hughes!

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