Life isn’t perfect and it never will be. There will always be things that come up that aren’t ideal - They’re inconvenient, unfortunate, disappointing, and stress inducing. That’s just the nature of the human experience. These are the problems and challenges of life, but we approach each one differently depending on how we label it, which is evident when we contrast them side by side.

A problem suggests that something needs to be fixed. It implies that things are worse right now than they should be. A challenge is more an opportunity for improvement. It implies that things aren’t dire right now, but they can certainly be better if you put work into it.

This distinction carries into the energy both words carry. A problem is something that consumes your energy. It’s something that you try to avoid and prevent, and when it comes up it’s usually a bad thing. A challenge is something that inspires you, it excites you, and you look forward to doing it. A challenge energizes you and gives you a game to play that you get to enjoy and feel good about.

As you probably determined for yourself, we should try to approach our problems as challenges more often. Anything that helps us live more moments with enthusiasm and inspiration is something we should take seriously because it’s an opportunity to improve our life experience. When we gamify life we tap into a youthful, curious, and optimistic energy that truly alters our reality.

But having said that, sometimes it’s really hard to have perspective. Some things are just meant to be problems, that’s the nature of them and it’s difficult to reframe your mind. In those moments, my suggestion is to not force something that is out of integrity with your best self. Give yourself the space to confront and accept whatever it is, feel it in the short-term, and once you’ve processed that then you can get to work on reframing a more positive way you can do something about it.

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When things are going really well, when we have a lot of momentum and enthusiasm for life, one way that we describe that is by saying ”I’m on top of the world!” Literally this expression doesn’t make much sense, but metaphorically it holds a lot of meaning.

I mean just picture it. If you’re physically on top of the world, to me that could mean two things. Literally it could mean you’re at the highest point in the world, which is the summit of Mount Everest. Or more abstractly you could be floating at the edge of space, where the planet and outer space meet. 

From either viewpoint you can see how the world is. Instead of being so consumed in the details you see things from a much broader lens. Instead of being discouraged by the limitations, chaos and realities of the day, you get to see life more with less restriction and more curiosity. It allows you to dream bigger, think bolder, and move faster! 

The metaphor is that when you’re feeling on top of the world you’re taking this vantage point. You see the world with more possibility and opportunity. While being on top of the world is an emotional moment with rich positivity, it also holds a lot of optimism for the future. It shapes your perspective beyond the now and influences you well into the future, which hopefully helps you to maintain the momentum you’ve earned.

When you’re on top of the world you feel unstoppable, you feel limitless, and you feel encouraged. You see how life is happening for you, which is much easier to do when things are going well. But if you can capture that feeling and store it for when you need it, it can be an incredible source of inspiration and groundedness.

But important to mention, you need to climb. You need to earn the vantage point. There’s truth to the expression “it’s about the journey not the destination” because the destination only has significance with respect to the journey. So pick your mountain to climb, one that inspires you and feels aligned with how you want to live, and start climbing. Put your head down and soon enough you’ll be on top of the world and enjoying every bit of it!

On your personal development journey, you need to be sure you have the right foundation in place. Discover the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement and instantly accelerate your growth! (Who knows what you might be overlooking and how it’s holding you back…)

You’ve probably heard the expression “actions speak louder than words” before. I think that’s a gross understatement. Anyone can say anything, words don’t mean much unless they’re believable, and that’s where your actions are the proof that gives truth to your words.

So we need to take it a step further. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Your actions speak so loud I can’t hear what you say.”

When you speak - Talking about your dreams, making plans about the new exercise routine you want to be in, or whatever it might be - you’re setting an intention. Intentions are good in that they help guide your behavior, but intentions alone don’t change your life. They’re supportive of the thing that does change your life, which is doing.

Your behavior is the greatest evidence you have in your life. It proves what’s most important to you, what you’re committed to, what you care about, and what you’re investing in. Every action you take (or don’t take) is an imprint to your subconscious providing proof of your character.

Take these examples - Someone says that they’re adventurous but then they are too scared to try something new. Or someone says they want to be better with their budget but then they make an extravagant purchase. In both cases I’m going to believe what they did way more than what they said until proven otherwise. 

Some people are incredibly gifted speakers who have great ideas and inspire others. But in my experience I’ve tried to get less emotionally evoked by what people say and look at the facts. The follow through is everything and it’s important we wait to see it before drawing any conclusions.

Your actions speak so loud I can’t hear what you say.”

On your personal development journey, you need to be sure you have the right foundation in place. Discover the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement and instantly accelerate your growth! (Who knows what you might be overlooking and how it’s holding you back…)

Before I jump into today’s topic I want you to be self-reflective for a moment. When you read the title for this article, and quickly thought about life being easy, how did it make you feel? Did you immediately disagree with it? Are you curious to explore what it could possibly mean? Or do you fully agree right off the bat? Think on that for a second and determine what it was for you.

The reason I ask is because whatever gut-reaction response you had is significant. It’s your subconscious belief system quickly interacting with the concept to help you figure out what this idea means to you. Now pair this knowledge with your conclusion. If you felt dismissive and resistant to it, that represents your belief that life is not easy. If you felt affirmed by the statement, then that suggests you have a belief that life is meant to be easy.

I’ve found that many people are making life harder than it needs to be simply because they unconsciously believe life is meant to be hard. Your mind is always searching for evidence that confirms its own beliefs. So if you think life is hard, then you’’ll find reasons that prove it to be true.  It’s a lens you put on top of your life.

A way to further audit if you’re in this belief set is in thinking about how things are for you in life right now. Do you first come up with examples of the stresses and challenges in your life? Or do you feel grateful and inspired for life? Again this is unconscious, of course no one would choose to make their life harder than it needs to be, but it happens.

Life can be easy! It really can, and it works in the same way as I described. If you have the belief that life is easy, you’ll find reasons that prove it to be true. That momentum will grow and encourage you to push the boundary and do even more. 

It reminds me of Charlie Rocket’s life mantra “I’m on a winning streak!” which is one of my personal morning affirmations. And it also holds the key to shifting your beliefs. The more you tell yourself life is easy, the more you’ll start to believe it, and the more life will be perceived in that way. One of the ways you can rewire your subconscious mind and belief system is through frequent repetition. So start saying it to yourself “Life is easy”, and start seeing it become more and more true.

On your personal development journey, you need to be sure you have the right foundation in place. Discover the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement and instantly accelerate your growth! (Who knows what you might be overlooking and how it’s holding you back…)

If you’re in the US or Canada, text me at 949-799-0788 and I’ll send you daily text messages that help you grow and discover yourself every day.

Something that is true for just about everything in your life is it starts with you. Everything involves you, everything affects you, and everything is influenced by you. This concept takes many faces but the one I want to zoom in on today is how other people treat you. 

You might think that the way people treat you is out of your control because the actions they take are ultimately their choice. But we give ourselves too much credit for what we can do and neglect to admit how influenced by our environment. Therein lies the opportunity - You can shape your social environment. If you want people to treat you better, you need to show them how you should be treated.

Let’s say that you’re often taken advantage of. This is a reflection on both the people you choose to surround yourself with and the things you tolerate about other people. When you stand up for yourself and start demonstrating how you deserve to be treated, you’ll find that people start treating you better. This involves being more assertive and speaking up when you feel like something is wrong. It involves initiating confrontation to defend yourself. An expression that really resonates with me is “You can’t guarantee that you get what you wish for, but you certainly will get what you’re willing to tolerate.”

Or let’s say people don’t take you seriously. Give them a reason to take you seriously by taking yourself seriously - Prioritizing your health, following through on the things you say you're going to do, persevering through adversity. It all leaves a subtle impression on others that shapes the way they view you and in that way, how they choose to interact with you.

You need to teach other people how to treat you by first getting clear on how you want to be treated. Then once you've identified that, it’s a matter of enforcing that standard by calling out other people’s actions and leading by example with your own.

In order for this to create an immediate change in your life today, you can gain awareness on the topic by asking yourself this question - How are you being treated unfairly and what can you do about it?

On your personal development journey, you need to be sure you have the right foundation in place. Discover the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement and instantly accelerate your growth! (Who knows what you might be overlooking and how it’s holding you back…)

If you’re in the US or Canada, text me at 949-799-0788 and I’ll send you daily text messages that help you grow and discover yourself every day.

Something that I’ve learned (and I’ve heard experts say) is the biggest differentiator between being good and being great, is consistency. Coined by Darren Hardy, I’m a huge believer in what he calls “the compound effect” and how small positive actions taken consistently over time lead to unimaginable results. In Hardy’s book titled “The Compound Effect”, he uses a simple analogy to demonstrate how consistency works that I want to share with you.

Imagine you’re standing next to a well and in order to draw water from it, you need to pump a lever. So you start pumping the lever. You pump and pump and pump, and nothing comes out. At this point many people reason that maybe it’s just not meant to work, they’re doing it wrong or something is broken, and they quit. 

But not you. You stay consistent and keep pumping the well, investing more time, energy and effort into drawing water. You pump and pump and pump some more and then finally a few drops come out. This could be disappointing, all of that work for only a few drops… This also causes many people to quit now because it’s just not worth the effort.

But you are resilient and you persevere. So you keep pumping the lever and those few drops turn into a full flow of water that comes pouring from the spout.

Notice what happened over time. The amount of effort you were putting in didn’t change - Each pump of the lever required the same amount of effort. It’s what came from each pump that changed!

Pumping the lever is a metaphor for you doing something consistently. When you are consistent and do the work again and again, you’re pressurizing the well in your life. You’re investing in the system that will eventually reward you with more than you could have ever asked for.

This concept applies for a workout routine, a meditation practice, a money management system, or anything really. You might not see the results you want as quickly as you’d like to, but if you take consistent positive action eventually the results will come in a massive way!

Now one last piece to mention here that’s important - When you start getting results, the spout of your life is pouring with water, you still need to stay consistent to keep producing that outcome. If you stop pumping the well then you’ll lose all of the momentum you earned, and you’ll find yourself right back at the beginning. So your practice is to always pump the well. Always prioritize the small things that compound to create big results, regardless of if you’re getting just a few drops or a full flow of water from the spout.

Consistency can change your life and it takes you to step up and keep pumping the well for yourself. 

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You know how we say all the time that “a memory is priceless” or ”that piece of advice is priceless”. I want to tell you… You are priceless!

The sentiment behind having priceless memories or advice is that there’s so much value in it. And while money is a really effective tool, it’s simply a currency that helps you access the value you’re searching for. So for something to be priceless means that it’s above the concept of money, and it’s a disservice to equate that thing with how much it costs.

Relating this back to you, a similar thing applies. Yes, we all do have a price in that we trade our time for money in our work. But this concept is so much beyond that. You are not defined by your work. The value you offer the world is not limited by how much you output. The typical relationship with compensation in a company is that you’re paid a certain amount to help the company  make money, which ideally is more than what they’re paying you. Of course your work could also create non-financial outcomes, but that’s seen through the lens of how well you solve a problem for someone else.

You are more than just what you’re paid to do to help others. You contribute way more to the world than what you get paid for. Your well-being matters. Your happiness and sense of fulfillment matters. The experiences you have and the moments you share with others matter. And it’s not fair to put a dollar amount on your existence in the world. You are priceless!

And on the flip-side, all of those things that make you who you are - Your dreams, your aspirations, your experiences, your happiness… It’s not for sale! You are worth so much more than that, you are blessed with freedom, and you do not have to give up all of that for a check. 

I’m not saying money isn’t important, of course it is. You must keep yourself alive and well. But no matter how rich or poor you are your life does not come down to how much money you have. Money is a tool to help you do everything else - Take care of a thriving family, have a budget to travel and adventure, create businesses or initiative that change the world. That’s what it’s really all about. Having the freedom and ability to really think that way, that’s you, and it’ priceless.

On your personal development journey, you need to be sure you have the right foundation in place. Discover the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement and instantly accelerate your growth! (Who knows what you might be overlooking and how it’s holding you back…)

If you’re in the US or Canada, text me at 949-799-0788 and I’ll send you daily text messages that help you grow and discover yourself every day.

Have you ever gotten caught signing yourself up for something or doing something you didn’t actually want to do? You could have been completely aware of it in the moment, causing you to ask questions about why you went forward with it. Or it could have happened so fast that you didn’t realize the extent of what you committed to until after the fact.

What you’ve done is you’ve been affected by something called competing commitments. Essentially, the moment triggered something in you that caused you to do what you really didn’t want to do. Often the cause of this is subconscious. The situation brought up a need, a desire, or a fear that in the moment you felt motivated to address. 

Here are a few examples: Your friend asked you to help coordinate a birthday party, and even though you definitely don’t have the time for it you say “Yes” because you have a deeply rooted need to be accepted and liked by others. Or maybe you had more to drink than you planned to because you felt a social pressure to belong.

To make this more clear, a competing commitment is an inconsistency between what you consciously want to do (what you’d hope you would choose to do) and what you’re subconsciously motivated to do. The reason this inconsistency exists is because we all have experiences, lessons, and traumas that create wounds and needs that are begging to be fulfilled.

It takes incredible self-awareness to know what might be motivating your behavior and how that that is out of alignment with your best-self. The more aware you become of the activities you’re engaging in, and the path of choices and circumstances that led to those activities, the more insight you'll gain into how competing commitments are at play in your life.

Now to wrap this up let’s try to dive in and gain some insight right now - What do you find yourself doing that you’d really prefer not to do, and what caused that thing to enter your life in this way?

On your personal development journey, you need to be sure you have the right foundation in place. Discover the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement and instantly accelerate your growth! (Who knows what you might be overlooking and how it’s holding you back…)

If you’re in the US or Canada, text me at 949-799-0788 and I’ll send you daily text messages that help you grow and discover yourself every day.

An alchemist is someone who transforms or creates something through a seemingly magical process. Historically this skill was used to create potent cures to rare diseases, making valuable metals out of random raw materials, or more specifically how Jesus is said to have turned water into wine. While you might not believe you have these magical abilities yourself, you absolutely do have a version of it. We’re all capable of life alchemy and shaping our reality into whatever form we choose.

One of the most powerful forces for living a fulfilling and purposeful life is choice. We make decisions and choose what we invest our time into. We make big life choices that shape our environment and direct our lives in certain ways. But most importantly we have the choice to determine how we want to perceive certain situations. 

Just because something happened does not guarantee the end result. It’s simply the beginning of your perception of the event. You have the opportunity to decide how you want to make meaning of the things that happen to you. Did you pour yourself into something only to fail miserably? That could discourage you and cause you to quit, or it can be seen as exactly the lesson you needed when you needed it. 

There are multiple ways to perceive any situation, and that’s life alchemy. It’s shaping the events of your life so that you can tell the story you want about it. And as long as you have a clear picture of what success authentically looks like to you, then you can start making that a reality by seeing everything that happens to you as a support to materializing it.

The way your mind makes meaning of things is very complex that involves past experiences, beliefs, emotions, and a lot of other things. It takes a lot of self-growth to truly alchemize the life of your dreams from the events that happen within it. But want to know where to start? Say thank you. Any time something happens, good or bad, say thank you. This injects gratitude into every area of your life and positions you to receive everything in a positive and supportive way. With these two words, you become a life alchemist.

On your personal development journey, you need to be sure you have the right foundation in place. Discover the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement and instantly accelerate your growth! (Who knows what you might be overlooking and how it’s holding you back…)

If you’re in the US or Canada, text me at 949-799-0788 and I’ll send you daily text messages that help you grow and discover yourself every day.