One step at a time; no need to turn your life upside down. (plenty of time for that :- )
Side note:The fun part is the journey to your goal, not necessarily the end result.
“Every artist was first an amateur.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
One Easy Way to Discover Your Hidden Talents & Make Your Life Meaningful
Introduce things you love into your life today, and create a pathway to a job you love. Say these two sentences to yourself – slowly, consciously and out loud for several days:
“I already know what it is I love to do and I have the freedom to do it TODAY!”
“I’m so grateful to be doing what I love – it’s exciting to wake up every day enthusiastic about my day ahead.”
(or you can create your own, play with the words so that you get a sense of excitement)
I know this sounds wacky but this is powerful because it is an intention.
SAY, “YES”!
Be alert to new opportunities when they appear – because they will. It’s your job to act on them.
Become a “Yes Man or Woman”, remember the movie YES MAN and how Jim Carrey’s character radically turned his life around when he stopped saying no and started saying yes?
Say, “YES” to fun and new experiences. It’s your right to do so.
You’ll soon know what you want to do and be doing something you love.
“Hide not your talents, they for use were made, What’s a sundial in the shade?” ~~Benjamin Franklin
How This Person Discovered Their Passion in Only a Few Days
Someone I know, let’s call her Tracy, recently faced this situation.
Tracy had an uncomfortable ailment. Her symptoms strongly indicated she needed to find and do something she loves in her life.
I suggested two things: 1. Contemplate the message she’s getting from her body and 2. Introduce something new and fun to her life. S
he said the problem was she didn’t know what her talents are or what she loves to do. She’s not alone in this dilemma.
Turn your problem into an opportunity in one easy step:
Start by calling your issue a ‘challenge’ rather than a ‘problem’. You’ll immediately leave behind anxiety and suffering, and find yourself feeling reassured. Perhaps even feeling stimulated and on a new adventure. Read on to learn how to turn challenges into getting what you want.
Let’s explore more deeply into what challenges can do for you. Once you know this you’ll stop running away, you’ll eagerly face them.You’ll embrace future challenges instead of fearing them and you’ll stop getting frustrated, angry or vengeful (we often incorrectly blame others for our issues).
Challenges are an ideal opportunity to:
Discover what you really wantin your life
Learn howto get what you really want.
“Every wall is a door.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (American lecturer, essayist and poet. Seen as a champion of individualism, 1803 – 1882)
Key Points
The hidden message behind every challenge.
Discovering your greatest asset to solving your challenge.
Finding out what a challenge can teach you.
Using a challenge to become happier and get what you want.
A Challenge Says to You, ‘Wake Up!’
A challenge gives you obvious, accurate feedback on what you are currently doing in your life. It provides perspective.
Sometimes you’re asleep in your life, you feel bored, discontented, anxious, and yet are unsure why – or what to do about it.
Challenges turn on the required heat to motivate you to take a closer look at your life, make adjustments and take off in a remarkable new direction.
The more discomfort you feel, the more likely it is that you’ll take action to change your life. Use this to your advantage.
If you let them, challenges are opportunities that propel you toward getting what you want.
How to Solve Your Challenge
The most powerful asset in your life is the thoughts you choose. Quantum physics has proved to us that you experience exactly what you think.
This is the reason we feel empowered by re-labeling a ‘problem’ as a ‘challenge’. You get perspective. You choose whether your life is sad, unfair, tough, or easy, fun and exciting.
Therefore, changing your thoughts can solve your challenge.
But how do you know what you are thinking – how do you know what to change?
Use your challenge as your clue.
In other words:
This challenge IS your current thinking. Use it to draw attention to the thoughts that created it.
Thoughts always precede reality. Here are some ways to pinpoint these thoughts.
7 Steps to Using Challenges as Clues to Get What You Want
1. Tell yourself, “There is something wonderful in this for me.” (there really is!) Have an intention to discover what the challenge is showing you and what you ought to do instead.
2. Have the intention to use the challenge for your benefit – to change direction and create the life that you want. This is about YOUR evolution. This is an opportunity to evolve. Resist blaming anyone. This gives away your power. And don’t blame yourself either; that’s futile. Your experiences give you wisdom – use it to create more happiness.
3. You already have all the answers within you. Stop what you are doing. Don’t wait until your challenge really hurts to stop and do this. Merely give yourself even 15 minutes of doing nothing. You can:
Sit quietly and contemplate or
Go for a contemplative walk.
Listen for ideas and have a notebook in your pocket to jot them down.
4. There may be two parts to your answer:
One may be an immediate practical solution,
The second will be what you can learn from this situation i.e. to evolve and change your destiny.
5. Create inspirational thoughts by way of affirmations for things you want in your life once you get some ideas, e.g. ‘I have… <insert what you want>’ or ‘I am…<insert what you want>’. You can choose anything you want. Write them on cards to put around your house and say them aloud when you can. The more you align your daily thoughts with these, the more you get what you want.
6. Read books and articles which teach awareness, happiness and getting what you want.
7. Never give up. See the quote below – persistence will get you there. Depending on the challenge it may take some time for you to understand the message of the challenge.
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
Thomas Edison
Note: you may have to hit rock bottom to put in the “effort” to sit quietly; to take action. That is okay although it will be easier on you to act now : -)
So Remember…
You now know challenges are feedback and an opportunity for you and if you allow the idea, they can be a blessing. When you are ready you now have the knowledge.
As you continue to evolve you may face other challenges, but they become easier to handle because you know behind challenges is a reward for you. Let them lead you towards getting what you want.
To learn more about turning problems into fabulous opportunities order HOW TO GET ANYTHING YOU WANT – JUST LIKE THAT! from Amazon.com (Kindle also available).
The book uses the forgotten truth of ancient wisdom to lift you out of restrictive current beliefs and gives an in-depth step-by-step approach to aligning your thoughts with what you want. It also offers exercises that help integrate the knowledge into your life.
What Readers and Critics are Saying about How to Get Anything You Want – Just Like That!
I love that this book tells you that you embrace yourself instead of changing yourself to fit within the world’s idea of how you should be. To be your own person and to love yourself.”
I have seen a lot of self-help books out there. But generally, they usually say the same thing with different wording. This book is something else entirely. “Just Like That!” is well written and paints a vivid picture for the reader, transporting them to a place of self awareness.”
Why you help yourself AND others
when you ditch obligation!
If you’re frustrated or bored, you’re probably doing obligation and it means you have chosen to put other people’s lives ahead of your own, and it’s not admirable.
Change this or kiss goodbye to your goals and dreams because your focus is on helping other people achieve their dreams. When that happens we rarely get around to doing what is important to us.
“Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you.”
John F. Kennedy
Love Who You Are, Do What You Love
You are here to experience life on Earth: your life. Your first step is to love yourself. When you love you, then you have what you need to love others.
Anything else is an unfulfilled, uphill battle. Become a light to the world and lead the way for others to do the same. You’re not perfect, we know that. No-one is – we are all continuing to evolve. Approve of everything you think, say and do.
You are here to fulfill your goals and dreams, to create new adventures, to explore life.
Once you’re on the right path for you, once you’re filled up… then reach out to others.
You can’t live someone else’s life for them. You are here to achieve as much happiness as you can and always remember you are entitled to get what you want.
The more you love yourself the more you get what you want. Be outrageous and live your life to the full.
Key Points
Are you trapped into constantly having to please other people?
Are you scared to say no?
Why putting yourself second causes you distress.
How to know if you are doing obligation.
How to break with tradition and follow the path that makes you happy.
How you’ll be supported when you do what makes you happy.
Yes, You Can Say, ‘No’
We robotically follow the unwritten rules of society. Society, religions and culture, over many generations have decided ‘acceptable’ behavior for you. We seldom stop and say, ‘What if I don’t want to do this?’
Yes, you can say, ‘No.’
Obligation is subtle. Sometimes we overlook our unwillingness to comply because it is so deeply buried and masked.
Observe how life plays out around you, including your job – is it also an obligation? Study other people… this is happening to most of us.
We spend most of our day satisfying other people. If you do this it damages your health and happiness.
Before you help someone, allow yourself to stand back and consider what you’re consenting to. Do it for the right reasons.
If you don’t want to help there is a good reason, perhaps not clear to you. There is also usually an alternative.
If there is no hidden agenda or expectation in your offer to help, go for it.
Why Do You Do Obligation?
Lurking behind obligation is our need for acceptance from others. If our behavior is different or at odds with our culture, we’re noticed and are potentially a target for disapproval. We police each other to behave ‘appropriately’.
For most of us, the love we receive from others is conditional – directly dependent on how we behave. We all know this subconsciously, so we ‘behave’. We love the fuzziness of approval.
We have an innate knowingness that to experience condemnation by our peers would feel like being banished into the wilderness, where it seems our very survival is threatened.
How to Know If You Are Doing Obligation
When there is no sense of fun and excitement in your activities. Ideally, you should wake up enthusiastic about the day ahead. Question whether you have choice in what you do.
Crabby, Bitter vs Happy, Fulfilled…Which One Do You Want?
Who do you think is a greater asset to you and the world? The crabby, bitter personality who is living a lie or the sunshiny one who loves their life?
Your only obligation should be to yourself! When you are happy and fulfilled, you are fun to be around.
WHEN YOUR CHALICE IS FULL,
YOU ARE A BLESSING TO OTHERS.
Follow Your Dreams and Feel Fabulous
Once you have the courage to break with the traditions of society, to do what makes you happy, you will discover that a new sense of power and confidence washes over you.
You are loving you – perhaps for the first time, and people and circumstances magically appear and fall into place.
The People Who Matter Will Love You and Be Inspired
Fitting into other people’s expectations may still be tempting because it is a habit but gradually the need diminishes.
The people who matter in your life will accept the new you, and you will become an inspiration for them to change their lives.
Other people may drift away and that is to be expected.
New people will arrive, people who will take you onward with your journey, to even greater happiness.
Being Human is Beautiful
A beautiful aspect of being human is that we love to help others, and you will always do so – but on your own terms.
Ensure there is balance and choice in what you do; make sure you do what you want to do.
Do you love yourself the way you are? Learn how to value yourself and live life on your own terms.
The book uses the forgotten truth of ancient wisdom to lift you out of restrictive current beliefs and provide an in-depth step-by-step approach to aligning your thoughts with what you want. It also offers exercises that help integrate the knowledge into your life.
What Readers and Critics are Saying about How to Get Anything You Want – Just Like That!
Just want to thank you for a wonderful book. My mother purchased it for me for Christmas and I have loved every word written.
I am about to read it again to absorb more of the wonderful lessons.
My journey has become more enlightened thanks to your book and I am now living in the moment, letting go old baggage that was hanging on with bad energy.
Very grateful to have this book enter my life. Let the magic begin!“
~~ D. Smith, Working mother of 4, Queensland Australia
“Just Like That!” covers so many topics that it would be too numerous to mentionall of my “Ah ha” moments. But I can say that there were many that helped me to better understand my behaviors and thought patterns, and those of others.
In looking at how and why other people might act like they do, it helped me to feel more compassion towards them. I also learned a lot about not getting sucked in to other people’s issues or letting them control me with their negativity or letting myself get sucked into helping them when it might not be in my best interest or theirs.”
This is Janet Poole and I believe in freedom and living our true potential.
I believe in finding better ways to live a better life.
I believe in being someone you can count on for support all the way into achieving your goal.
I have searched the world to find the best ways to grow, get permanent change and achieve your wildest dreams — I have found it in the program Thinking Into Results.
Sleep more… and get your job done faster? What one or two simple things can you change today to get more done?
All this and more in today’s article.
We’re in a fairly new world here. Never before have we had so much distraction in our everyday lives. So much opportunity, conversation, information all at once.
What ONE CHANGE did I make to immediately increase my peace, productivity and satisfaction?
I used to be really good at time management until I published my book and started my blog. Suddenly I launched myself into a new wonderland of inspiring people (yes, you guys!) and all that fabulous information coming at me.
I wanted to interact with everyone and read and watch everything NOW.
All at the same time preferably.
Do you get that dissatisfied underachieving feeling? Where you can’t really pinpoint completing any one thing that will give you a big leap forward.
You feel the pressure to achieve those vital goals – you badly want to – but you’re too distracted.
“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau
Too Distracted to Know You’re Distracted?
The buzz was keeping me too distracted to even realize I was distracted. No wonder. Have you found that? Recently I woke up and decided it was time (ha ha) to take control.
Others Benefit When I Get My Job Done
If I’m spinning my wheels I am not helping me and I am not helping you. This will be the same issue for you – in many ways.
My passion is to liberate as many people as I can to live life on their own terms – so they can take themselves into an exciting life, an extra-ordinary life. A life they love, where they can’t wait to start the day.
I do that by being proactive and focused, not reactive.
It’s Easy – Just Decide to Do it
As I say in my book, once you decide to do something you don’t have to know how you’ll do it, just decide you will do it – have the intention.
You will find yourself moving into the answers. For me nowadays my answers arrive at lightening speed, as in this case. It’s a great way to live.
Time management is a convoluted topic, and so individual. Today, I am giving you some clues to find your own answers. You can solve this dilemma.
My Answer #1
First Tim Ferris’ book The 4-Hour Work Week was being discussed in one of my circles – of course I’d heard of it but my reading list was already loooong. (always is). I decided to read it. Glad I did. If you haven’t already, read it.
Lots of interesting truly workable ideas – I especially enjoyed the time management ones.
My Answer #2
Then a few weeks ago I discovered this MAGIC video featuring Tony Schwartz titled The Myths of the Overworked Creative, but I only watched it this week.
It would seem many people believe they get more done with less sleep. Wrongo.
It’s an inspiring video that sets you straight about how to get your job done and find peace at the same time.
“To do two things at once is to do neither. ” Publilius Syrus
If gratitude makes you yawn then come with me :- )
If you want to get excited about life, gratitude is your key. Let’s go deeper.
This is part 7 of a 7-part series: Things Happy People Do.
Today is Key #7
…possibly the most powerful of all.
3 Simple Steps to Get Excited About Life – see later in this article.
Key #7:
Happy People Are Grateful for What They’ve Got
Whatever You Focus on Becomes Greater
Focus on what you “don’t have” and you make a huge HOLE in your life.
Focus on what you “do have” and you get even more of that… and then more fabulous stuff gets heaped on top.
It has to do with flow. “Don’t have” blocks the flow, “I love what I already have” keeps it going.
Gratitude has a magical way of moving you deeper into the fabulous. (note: striving for magnificent goals is a focus on becoming greater and not on obstacles. An important but different piece of this puzzle.)
Once you’ve got the gratitude habit, trust me your list grows… it becomes infinite.
“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”
Earl Nightingale (Motivational speaker – on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. 1921 – 1989)
When did you last acknowledge that you can walk or see or hear? Hoping of course you can do all three.
Seldom do we contemplate these monumental blessings. Just ask someone who can’t. Don’t let these blessings fade into the background.
Is Your Happiness Part of the Background?
The reason gratitude is a challenge is this background thing. Beauty is in the detail. Those smallest aspects of life are overlooked yet so vital to our enjoyment of life.
Stay with me. Let’s take another one of our precious senses.
TASTE – one of my favorite “background beauties”.
A friend of mine lost her sense of taste, and she’s often on my mind because of this. It had never occurred to me not to taste a juicy, sweet orange, my favorite chocolate… luscious and delectable or my rich full-bodied red wine.
Hard to imagine. Taste is underestimated.
And this: Do you value your husband, wife, partner in your life? If so, appreciate them every day. I mean really hone in on it every day. Make each day count. You wouldn’t want to wish you had, once they’re gone.
“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”
Frederick Keonig (German inventor best known for his high-speed printing press. 1774 – 1833)
I’m Happy… I’m Big on Gratitude
Every day I focus on gratitude before I focus on my goals. I contemplate and acknowledge how fortunate I am. I’m also fortunate to have written a book I’m proud of, one that is getting magnificent reviews, and awards. It gives me more opportunity to live and write about my passion – sharing with others how to be excited about life. And connect with so many inspiring people across the world.
My gratitude attitude has moved me into a life I love.
Take Yourself into a Life You Love
We live in an age of incredible opportunity. A formal qualification is not a requirement to get what you want. Please remember that. The question is “Do you want to?” and “Are you willing to put in a little effort to get what you want?” There is a lot of hardship in the world, but opportunities abound for all who are interested and willing.
How Does Gratitude Help You?
Appreciation makes you euphorically happy. As a child I loved pencil crayons, my favorite being the Colleen brand of crayons but crayons were expensive then and not freely handed out as they are now.
When I eventually received my own set of Colleen pencil crayons at about age 10, I was beyond delighted. Ecstatic! Not only did I relish the feel of coloring with them, I also carefully sharpened them and ordered them according to color. (trying to get order into my life perhaps : -) You’ve no idea my joy at seeing this picture. I’m thrilled to say the packaging is still the same !
“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”
Aesop (A Greek writer credited with a number of fables – Aesop’s Fables)
Rarely do I see a child (in a Western country) go ape over crayons today or even enjoy sharpening and arranging them. A little sad for our kids. Things have changed quickly. We must evolve but not go south. Even more concerning is that the replacement toy – video games – doesn’t give any kind of satisfaction – it increases children’s anxiety, impatience and aggression.
I know this first-hand from my own young children, who started to change personality and so no longer “play” video games. It fuels displeasure – nothing “happy” about that. That’s another issue I may soon write about.
For the most part we, adults and children alike, rarely appreciate anything anymore, we just want more. We have no appreciation.
janetpoole.com 