When Darkness Hits Do You Still Shine?

Interesting thought for you…..

“People are like stained glass windows.  In the light they shine with multiple colors and beautiful shapes, but when the light dims they are dark unless their internal light shines within.”

I was sitting in the beauty salon the other day having a nice chat with my hairdresser.  Then out of no where we start to hear this other customer complain about the haircut she had just received. Not only did she not like her cut, but proceeded to yell at the woman claiming she had “ruined her hair” and how badly she now looked.  This proceeded louder and louder until I finally couldn’t contain myself and I said to her “look, you must find the solution.  Have someone else finish the cut.” 

Well this didn’t sit well at first because she didn’t want someone she didn’t know cutting her hair. Oddly enough the woman who did cut her hair was her cousin!  FAMILY! She finally conceded and had another try and fix it.  All of a sudden this eratic person was smiling and laughing and really conversing with this new stylist.  Her hair did look better and she got what she wanted.  But at what price? Certainly everyone in that place did not look at her as the “nice person” she really was because of her display of uncontrolled emotions.  She apologized to everyone, which everyone said in turn “that’s okay”, but really was it okay?  I beg to differ!  When she came up to me afterward to apologize my only response was “you had better apologize and no one should treat family or anyone that way.”  She just smiled at me and left the salon as if nothing had happened.

So I started to wonder….most of us are great people. Happy, smiley, joyful, kind when life is going good.  But we were never promised a bowl of cherries each and everyday of our lives.  When those days or times hit and the “light” quits shining what do we become?  Are we different? 

I had to stop and think about myself.  It is true that when I am stressed I get a little more testy.  I recognize this and try to control it. It was such an eye opening experience to see this “nice” lady turn into someone I would never want to deal with.  People who become totally different at the slightest complications are those who wouldn’t make good business partners.  I don’t believe I’d even like to be in any type of relationship with them.

When times go dark in your life what are you like?  I find it difficult to think that a life full of apologizing for the way we act would be a life that is satisfying.  If we are always apologizing how are we growing? As we each strive for more personal development it is such a great opportunity to let our inner light shine when things start to darken on the outside.  Life is so much better when we are able to seek solutions while still maintaining our tongues and integrity.

My hope for all is to let our lights within shine at all times and in all things!

 

 

Opportunities seen….

As noted by some of my readers I have been missing a few days of posting.  For this I apologize and thank you for noticing.  I have been spending time with my parents visiting from the mainland.  Living in Hawaii I get quite a few visitors every year.

During this time my work takes a back seat and I find myself playing tour guide. 

I was thinking this morning about missing so much work hours and how I could “justify” this.  The cool thing is I DON’T HAVE TO!  As an entrapraneur you truly get the freedom to take some time off.

However, as a entrapraneur I am learning great things and seeing a great opportunity to learn from a highly skilled business man.  MY FATHER.  For the past week I have spent countless hours talking to him about his business career, his negotiation skills, his programs he implemented.  And for the first time in my life I realized what a brillant man he is in business.  For a great coach I really never had to look any further than my own family tree.

I have been engaging in such great conversations that my “slack” off week really hasn’t been “slacking.”

Great lesson to be able to see opportunities in everything around.  I am grateful for this lesson!  I constantly am amazed at all I am surrounded by. 

Life is amazing!

Vacations…can you relax?

Because I live in Hawaii I tend to get a lot of visitors.  My family and close friends know that they have a place to stay to save on expenses.  This past Tuesday I went to the airport to pick my parents up for a three week vacation.  Now I absolutely love being around my parents, but I wondered how I was going to keep up my writing and work hours.

Isn’t that a funny thing?  Here I am surrounded by my family and I am worried about working? 

I took my parents to the gym yesterday with me and afterwards we just wondered around a few stores.  By the time we were sitting eating a bite of lunch I had this little anxiousness come over me as if to say “you are spending too much time doing nothing!  Get home and work!”  How crazy is that! When I noticed it I just let it go and realized I really didn’t have any place to be, but in the present place and I could stay as long as I wanted!

It was so freeing to realize that!  Being an at home entrapraneur you really get to have this freedom. But sometimes we lose sight of that and work just as long and just as hard forgetting that we can live our life with the ability to take a vacation and RELAX!

So I ask you.  First of all, when was the last vacation you took?  I don’t know the exact percentage, but I know it’s high of people who do not take their vacation time each year.  And for those of us who do, can you relax?  Can you be totally in the present moment with no thoughts as to what is going on back at the office?  At the exact moment that I let that anxiety go I felt such freedom!  Freedom that I could then enjoy a day of absolutely no work and just being around family!  It felt so good!

The cool thing is I’ve been able to play in the morning and evenings and still do my things in the afternoons!  Life does work out!  Enjoy every moment and when you have time to take a vacation whether just around town or beyond do so and relax!

Persistance…Staying the Course

There is much to be said for staying the course. 

I love listening to individual stories of how people made it big in the business they are in.  Some in the food business start out with street carts, some working as a dish washer, others as stay at home moms catering school lunches.

There are those who open franshises hoping for “the American Dream.”  Whether the business is food, or banking, or automobiles, there is one thing that they all have in common.  PERSISTANCE.

I watched my little team of 10 soccer players take on a team of 11 saturday and with so much persistance and playing as a team they almost tied. I was so proud.

I believe that everyone at some time in their chosen careers will reach a point where the only thing you can do is stay the course.  Keep believing. Keep moving. Keep progressing.

Lately I have seen this in my own endeavors.  I’ve realized I have slacked off a little.  And it is time to get back on course.  I’ve been re-reading “Think and Grow Rich” again.  What a great book to slap the slackness out of me. 

Keep the faith my friends, life is so worth it and with persistance you can create an extraordinary life for yourself!

Extraordinarily different from me…

One of my greatest pleasures in life is talking to people about how to live extraordinary lives.  I love to help them dig deep down and really come alive with the things they truly love to do.  One thing that comes up all the time is just how different our extraordinary lives are.

We all have different beliefs about what makes our lives extrordinary.  For some it may be money, for others spending all day with children. I’ve known a few dare devils in my life who couldn’t live without that adrenaline rush.  This is also evident when you think about third world countries.  Some of the people are truly happy!  They may only need a new water pump to make their lives great.

How cool is this that we all can live such different lives and yet all live extraordinarily. I read today in someone else blog such a great reason for this.  The bottom line to living an extraordinary life is having total personal integrity.  Think about this.  When you are in alignment with your heart, your soul, and your mind you are living with integrity.  The best thing we can do is to be honest with ourselves, keep promises made, and really give ourselves the freedom to live the way we know we should.

I love personal integrity.  Taming our thoughts and our mind that would have us undermine what we know to be true is a work always in progress.  And yet, personal development leading to full integrity is such a fabulous journey.  We become more confident individuals ready to take on new challenges.  Living an extraordinary life means we always get to improve our capacities in what we see fit.  In essence we are not stuck in the mundane, ordinary way of life.

There is such a huge world out there!  Live it extraordinary…by whatever means you decide!

Balance vs. Harmony

We all seek for balance.  Balance with work and family.  Balance in our careers.

But let me ask you something.  Have you ever seen a balance scale?  The ones they used to use in the old days for measuring things and counting money? 

To be in balance the scale had to be equal on both sides and not moving.  So think about that. Not moving.

Is that what we really want in our lives? Not moving? Not progressing?  Some people find it very uncomfortable to be out of balance.  Things start to change in their lives and they seek desperately to do anything to bring that status quo balance back again.  But did they grow?

Growth brings on continual unbalance in our lives.  In order to change we must be uncomfortable.  We must become comfortable with being uncomfortable.  So may I suggest that what we really seek is harmony.  A place where all things come together with synchronicity where we are always progressing and always moving forward tipping that scale in our favor.  You see if we sit still too long we just decay. 

The things we seek in life take work. I am about to take on a fantastic opportunity in my life career wise that will help shape the lives of thousands of people.  I have always been seeking for this opportunity.  The other day it showed up in my life.  When I realized that it actually is happening I suddenly got so uncomfortable and so in awe at the magnitude that for a moment I found myself wanting to just “go back to being comfortable.”  It’s easy to stay there.  But there is no growth in balance.  The things I wish to create require a lot of capacity.  Capacity that I will be gaining as I take this challenge on.  The great thing is this opportunity brings harmony to my life through the alignment of my passions.

That is the difference between balance and harmony.  Harmony adds more capacity to your life through  living your passions. Balance will just keep you where you are.  If you are happy with where you are then great, stay in balance, and yet if you listen deep down, what is aching to come out? Our souls long to progress whether by big means or small.  Creating harmony with change and growth will bring great things to you.  But only if you are willing to tip the scale in your favor!

Let Go..I promise you’ll still breathe!

Some of the best conversations I have with myself is on the way to the gym.  I have 20 mins. to be alone with no TV, no phone, and no “mom can you drive me to the store” requests.  Yep, it’s just me and the road and the beautiful scenery.  Living in Hawaii you’d think I would spend all my time gazing at the brillant blue ocean or the palm trees swaying against the mountain backdrop.

But I don’t!

Some days I do get lost in the cool breezes and the scents of the flowers, but mostly I get lost into myself.  Selfish?  No way!  I get to have some awesome heart talks.  The other day I had one of these with profound results.

Have you ever held onto something because you didn’t want to “give up” or because in the beginning you thought it was the right thing to do?  And overtime you have this thing inside (intuition) telling you it is time to move on and you just push it aside?

I know what my passions are and where I want to go.  I have been waiting for some years now to see some sort of manifestation allowing me to fully live an extraordinary life while making a living doing what I love.  I have done an incredible amount of work to get where I am today. So here is the thing.  I have been holding onto another path (business) because it IS a good way of earning extra income.  I have been doing it for some four years now and it does me well.  However, deep down my heart always was pulling me towards knowing it wasn’t what I was meant to do. 

I kept pushing that aside though and following the advice of business coaches that led  me with this business.  Now here is where it gets good!

I finally came to the conclusion, while on my drive, listening to myself that I really don’t want to be in this business any longer and what I really want is to live my life living my passions!  I held my breath while saying it as if lightning might strike me down or my coach might call me to correct me, but guess what!  I AM STILL BREATHING!

Not only that but the very next day I got a call from a chance acquaintance of five years ago giving me the opportunity of a lifetime partnering with him and living a life following my passion! WOW!

I’m telling you, once you get out of your own way things truly do come to you.  We don’t have to know the how, we only have to know the why and what.  Be open to your life, let go, and ALWAYS choose in favor of your passions and when you do be open to how it will manifest into your life! 

That was the best breath of fresh air I have ever taken!

heather browning

Humility..Responsibility..Apology..Forgiveness

Cool thing happeded this weekend that I would like to share with you.  I am a soccer coach, coaching my son’s 12-13 year old team.  We had a game this Saturday against one of the top teams.  We knew they were the better team going in, but we were looking forward to learning from their skills and having a challenge. Well, that challenge turned into a downright smear campaign.  We were down by 5-0.  We were playing our best and had such determination, but to no avail.  I was proud of the boys for their morale, but this is not my point to the blog.

During the butt kicking our team started to notice the other team, parents, and coaches exhibiting unsportsmanship like conduct.  Now granted they were laughing and having a good time at the antics their sons were doing not directly at us, however, every laugh, every little trick to trip us up was at my teams expense. Pretty much the other team was making a mockery out of us intentionally or not.  The worst was the coaches and Referees did nothing to stop it.

Okay so the game ends, we hold our heads up high and shake hands anyway.  Now here is where the lesson comes in.  I guess that some of the spectators heard our concerns about the unsportsmanship conduct and talked to the coach about it.  Some of the other spectators expressed their concern as well to eachother of how they have never been to a game where so much “laughing” was going on out of disrespect for the other team who were trying their best.

Imagine my surprise when I got home later that night I had received two phone calls from the coach and then an email expressing his total responsibility for seeing what was going on and not stopping it.  He totaly took full responsibility and offered a very sincere apology.  I was so impressed that of course forgiveness was given.

Here is the lesson.  Sometimes we do things that we may or may not know hurts other people.  When we do realize it we have the opportunity to humble ourselves, take responsibility, and ask for forgiveness.  This coach did this and he took action right away.  It shows so much humility on his part that I was really moved by his sincerity.  What if we as a society were able to have such humility and take action right away to right the wrong we do?   What great examples we would be to others. How much trust could be built?  How much loyalty could we give?  How great would it be to have more people like this man?

Just for a moment think about things in your life and where you stand on the humility..responsibility..apology..forgiveness track.  I will, and I’m sure my team will, remember this man’s example for a long time to come.

heather browning

Is Your Thinking Just Noise To Pass The Time?

2% of all people think,

3% think they think,

95% would rather die than think!

Thinking – the action of using one’s mind to produce thoughts.

So what’s up with the statistics!  Since the day we took our first breath we have had the capability to think.  Thinking is what allowed us to hold tea parties with imaginary friends. Thinking is what made our hearts beat double time when we’d think of the person we had a crush on. And thinking allowed us to dream of our futures.  So what’s with the only 2% think!  The answer? Most of the time our thinking revolves around noise.

The noise of the day, the noise of the argument you had last night with your spouse, the noise of what you are going to cook for dinner, the noise of how much money your child needs for school. And the list goes on and on.  Am I right? 

None of this leads us to what we say we want. It’s just thinking that passes time. So we come to the conclusion that the great thinkers who say we can manifest anything we so desire into the physical realm by thinking we are in possession of it, must be talking about those other guys. And most of us end up in the 95%!

We simply must change our usual thought processes into focused powerful, burning desire, faith believing, thoughts and absolutely we can change our lives.

It all starts with awareness.  How do you spend your days thinking?  Noise or productive?  Are you one who gets an idea and then thinks twice about how no one would listen anyway?  Are you one who truly knows what you’d like to be doing, but think it is too hard to accomplish?  If this is you you are in the 95%!

So here’s a challenge for you. Get out of the 95%!  Prove this thinking thing right.  Spend time everyday for a week thinking of something small that would help you out a little in life.  Quiet the other noise that says your crazy and truly see, feel, and believe you have that little something.  I promise you you’ll be amazed.

And may I say that being part of the 2% is way more fun than the 95%!

Think, listen, act! Your passions are waiting!

heather browning

Behold The Magic Pill….or is there one for success?

We’ve all seen them…. we’ve all envied them….. we’ve even wondered why we can’t be just like them!  Surely they have the magic pill we all seek!  You know the ones.  The pills that will make us thin overnight. The million dollar idea that will catapult us to millionaire status by next year.  And let’s not forget about the system you can buy that will make you a real estate expert in as little as 30 days!

You cry “so not fair! Why do some people make it and yet I can’t seem to?”

And so you move on to the next guru and hope that they will have that magic pill for you where you will finally make all your dreams come true and live the life that all the successful say you can have too.

This vicious cycle can make us feel somewhat of a failure.  But are we?  NO WAY!  What we don’t realize is that we have always possessed the magic pill within ourselves.  The only difference between you and the successful entrapneur is that he/she “gets it”.  They get that success comes from a determination to have things different in their lives and that determination turns into a burning desire that will perservere until the equivalent of value in money or success shows up in their lives.  They do not settle and they do not divert.

Sound familiar?  That’s right. These words are straight out of the classic Napolean Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” book.  (if you haven’t read it click on the blogroll link and get it!)

I don’t care who the person is that you ask, or how successful they are, every one will tell you that they had reached a point where there was no turning back and they had a desire so intense that they wouldn’t take no for an answer.  They had PASSION for their desire!

Okay you say you have passion for yours, but still are poor?  I ask you then, do you have the passion that burns a hole in your soul everytime you think about it?  Put your hand over your heart, take a deep breath, and then ask yourself if this endeavor is what you are truly passionate about.  Your heart will not lie– aka intuition.  If the answer is yes you will have a light feeling in your soul and a burning within, and if it is no you’ll feel a heaviness.  Listen well, this is your magic pill!

See I believe we seek after things that others have been successful at and offer to us the same type of success when really we haven’t been completely honest with what we really are passionate about!  Again we don’t speak out loud our passions!  Do you want to build motorcycles and sell them?  DO IT!  Do you want to make cakes and sell them? DO IT! Do you want to have a craft booth at every craft fair possible because you love to travel and do crafts? DO IT!  These passions are what will bring your desires to burning status and then as Napolean Hill states when the money starts flowing in it will come with such abundance that you’ll wonder where it has been!

My thought for you is to take a moment and truly feel your passion.  Put your hand over your heart and truly have a chat with your soul.  Stop spending money on another program and start creating that burning desire, believing you can have it in so much that your subconscious will take notice and hand over the plans in which to obtain it.

Here’s to your passions!  Our own Magic Pill!

If you’d love to chat more on this drop me a line!

heather browning