Have you ever had an idea that you thought was great but you were scared to put it out there?

Yeah…Me too.

My daughter wants a tattoo. Of course, as a mother, you don’t want your child doing anything they’ll later regret (you should have seen her first choice…Oh, Lordy, it was overkill. Glad she rethought that one!)

Interestingly enough, she has settled on a small heart that says, “One life. One chance.” Very appropriate for the daughter of someone who has spent (not invested…spent) years getting everything right before she moved forward with her business. It makes me think part of why she is doing it is because she saw her mother life her life in a matter less than she could have been.

Like a Freakin’ Alarm Clock

Well, I got a wake up call this week when my better half (aka the man I’m dating) saw something that he thought would help me out with the direction I was planning on taking my business. When I looked into it, I found that she had been doing something similar for years.

Here’s the kicker…

She started a year AFTER I had the idea.

Same principle to the business. She even had the same name I would have called myself. She wrote a book with the same idea I had.

You may ask why I didn’t move forward with it. Straight up… FEAR. I was scared of what people would think. I was scared to fail. Scared to succeed. Didn’t think it would work. Didn’t know if I would work. Hell, I liked the idea but didn’t believe in myself enough at that time.

As the years progressed and I removed myself from my emotionally draining husband who didn’t believe in me and had no problem telling me so and what a joke my idea (and I) was, I began regaining my self. Believing in myself. And it was a journey, let me tell you.

With the passing of time, I got stronger. Believed in myself more. Stood on my own two feet. And I started to believe I could do this and make a difference. I was working on it, figuring out the ins and outs, getting ready to put it out there but scared to do it until everything was right and I was ready.

Uh… Wrong move there, Skippy.

I’ll never get it right. It will never be perfect. And that’s okay.

But you can be damn sure I won’t let it just sit again.

Of course, I was crushed at first when I saw it.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pissed off.

I beat myself up over it. (Tupid, tupid, tupid!) (that’s stupid without the s in a goofy voice with a big ole finger pointing right at me- Yeah, it would be better in video or audio…lol)

But, you know what???

It wasn’t the first idea I had that someone else ran with.

I would like to say it will be the last, but one thing I AM certain about…

It WILL be the last one that I’m passionate about that I let get by me.

Finding the Lesson

So, if you’ve ever read my writing, or know me personally, you know that I look for the lesson in EVERYTHING.

It’s what I do.

It’s who I am.

It’s how I roll. (sorry, Danielle… Just had to say it.)

And, this was a costly lesson.

But, you know what?

(you know this is coming, don’t you???)

I’m grateful it happened.

Yes, really.

What better life lesson than having something you’re passionate about but scared to put out there dangled in your face, already successful, seemingly mocking you???

Now THAT’S a life lesson slapped upside yo’ face!!!

And, once again, I’m grateful.

Because it shows me what fear can (and has) cost me.

You may ask why I don’t just do what I had originally planned? Because it’s so unique that if I go with my original plan, it will look as though I’m copying her since she put it out there first.

I would promote what she’s doing here because I believe in it, however, right now, I’m reworking mine and am not ready to put hers out to my readers. I’m changing direction but still using part of the same idea, so stay tuned…

For those faithful readers that have stayed with me over the years, I apologize for not writing more regularly. I appreciate your loyalty and interest in my writing. I sometimes get wrapped up in my busy life and forget my responsibility to my readers. I will put more of my ideas and thoughts here instead of in my head and my countless notebooks.

So, I know this post has gone in several directions, so I’ll wrap it up now.

Just remember…

One life.
One chance.

Make yours count.

A series of events led me to write this. Synchronistic events (Yes, I know my spell check doesn’t recognize that word but that’s what I call them, so the word remains.)

Spell check is a good analogy for how I’ve lived my life. I write something, and I’m told to do it differently. I always just accepted that I should change what I wrote (or thought, or said) and I obediently adapted it to what I was told was the “right way.” And so, I would change it.

How many times have you done that without giving it a second thought? What if what you wrote was exactly what you meant?

Sure, you may have adapted to the way it said it “should be” but every time you do that, a little of yourself is chipped away. Eventually, when you do that enough, you forget who you really are.

I’ve spent so many years conforming to what “should be” for me according to others and I’ve learned to hide from who I really am. The sad thing about that is that I’ve robbed myself and others of the true gift I could be to the world (To clarify – When I say “the world,” I mean everyone who I encounter, not that I will impact everyone worldwide.)

The same goes for you.

When you block part of who you are and don’t show it to the world, then you’re robbing them of the blessing that is the one and only YOU.

And every minute you spend living an inauthentic life, is one minute less you get to live of your authentic life. And that’s where the fulfillment is. The peace. The joy. Living authentically isn’t always easy but it’s definitely worth it.

Be true to yourself.

If something feels right, don’t block it because you worry about what someone else may think of it.

I recently heard someone say that worry is just faith in failure. (I think it was David Neagle – he’s a genius, btw…) And that’s absolutely right. Think about it.

Yesterday morning, I was going in 20 directions at once, as I tend to do, and thereby wasting precious time I could be doing something productive. I’m easily distracted, and “Shiny Object Syndrome” is an affliction of mine. (as my multiple browser tabs will show…)

I just thought to myself, “I just want to know what to do. Help me figure out what I should be doing with my business. I need direction.”

I noticed I felt a little hungry. (And the refrigerator was not the direction I was looking for…) I had bought a box of fortune cookies at the dollar store, so I just grabbed one of those.

And, this is what was in my cookie. (Yes, really…)

That kind of stuff happens to me all the time. I just opened up and started to pay attention. I asked for a message, and I got it. Just happened to be in the form of a fortune in a cookie.

One of my luxuries I allow myself is tanning from time to time. (Okay, so I’m sure I’ll hear from those who worry about my UV exposure. I don’t overdo it, so don’t you worry…)

I seem to really connect with Spirit (God, The Universe, Source… Whatever name you would like to identify with your Higher Power) I get a lot of my ideas, solve problems, etc… while lying there. Maybe it’s because I’m actually being still.

So, yesterday, when I tried to roll over on my side, my hips and knees were on fire. We’re talking excruciating pain. Tears rolling down my face pain. Same thing on the other side. Frustration set in. I started to feel a little sorry for myself, thinking, “Why the HELL do I have to go through this?”

And it hit me…

Like a ton of bricks.

“You have a choice. You can choose to complain and feel sorry for yourself, or you can choose to embrace what’s been given to you and use it to bless yourself and others. The choice is yours. You can choose to complain about what you have, or you can choose to be happy IN SPITE OF what you have. The choice is yours.”

(That Spirit sure is smart…)

So, I thought about it for a second, and thought:

I CHOOSE HAPPY.

Those three words kept sticking in my head all day long. Of course, you know me, I had to check out the domain names, etc… Taken. (dang it!)

So, I thought about how I can share my trials with others to teach them how to make that choice in that moment to be happy. Right now. Despite circumstances.

(If you are wondering why I was hurting so bad, it’s because I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and my joints get incredibly swollen and it’s extremely painful.)

And so, I decided to listen to my heart. And get off my kiester.

So what if I fail at it? I’ll fail forward and move on. And eventually get it right. That’s the message I got and hope to pass onto others.

Just follow your heart but use your head along the way. Open up and listen and pay attention to the things around you and you’ll be amazed at the guidance you can receive.

And take action today.

You’ll be grateful you did…

Recently I was on a plane and was fortunate enough to get the window seat since I love scenic views. I had been taking pictures and noticed something interesting.

The window was all scratched up, and depending on how my focus was set, I could either focus on the scratches on the window, or the beautiful scene just outside.

Interesting….isn’t it?

And so it is with life. You can either focus on the beauty of life, or on the “scratches.” If you’re going through life on auto focus, make a little shift and allow yourself to focus on something different. Your life can change for the better in a very short time when you change what you choose to focus on.

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
- Wayne Dyer

How many times have you focused on others’ shortcomings? How about turning that around the next time you catch yourself doing that and think about one thing that’s good about that person?

What about yourself? When your inner critic starts hounding you about how you’re coming up short, remind the little dickens about how fabulous you really are! (and if you have any doubt about that, I can help you with that – shoot me an email and we can talk – I’ve got several options to help.)

Here’s my challenge to you, should you choose to accept it…

Just for today, every time you judge yourself or another, think about the scratches on that window and what’s just outside if you choose to change your focus just a bit.

You’ll be a much happier person. Guaranteed.

Mina Parker called upon a childhood favorite, Dr. Seuss’ “OH! the Places You’ll Go!” as inspiration for this nice little book – Going Places: Crossing Bridges, Turning Corners, and Going Down a New Path.

She offers inspirational quotes such as:

She mixes them with her own thoughts and gorgeous photography from Daniel Talbott. It’s a great “pick me up” gift you can refer to over and over or the perfect gift for someone you love. Or even like. Or tolerate. Then they can read it and go from being tolerated to liked. Ha!

Seriously… This is a great little book! Grab one for yourself and tell me how you like it too!

I LOVE this video! I had never heard of Bashar before I ran across this video. I love the playful way he interacts with this lady. His advice is so right on and totally resonated with me.

I’ve managed to take something I’ve heard before, and now I just get it. Some of his stuff is “out there” (so to speak) but to me, this one is right on the money. I thought I’d share and see what you think.

Check it out and I’d love to hear your take on it!