Masterful Mindsets

“You’ve got to wake up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” ~ George Lorimer

Last week I shared several big tips for organizing your time for maximum efficiency and I got a lot of response from subscribers and followers about them because I think it definitely hits a sensitive spot with so many people who are feeling overwhelmed and over-extended.

So, for the next few weeks I thought I’d respond to some of your inquiries by breaking down the concepts more specifically, starting with the one that I got the most inquiries about… which is how to create a positive morning routine. I’ll be addressing the following questions from readers:

What does a good morning routine look like? - Do you have to do it every morning? - If you don’t have enough time as it is, how can you add a morning routine? - What is your morning routine?

First let me say that there’s no one size fits all routine....

“With organization comes empowerment.”  ~ Lynda Peterson

If you had a dollar for every task on your To-Do List, would you be a millionaire? If you are like most people (myself included) you probably have a million things you want to get done. But of course, the reality is that there are only so many hours in the day so you have to choose what will get your time. And if you read last week’s post, you know that choosing how you spend your time is ultimately, how you spend your life. And that… is priceless; so you must choose wisely.

You must visualize your goals and prioritize your tasks. But once you’ve done that, if you really want to spend your time well, you’ve got to organize your day with maximum efficiency. So if you are someone that has a long To-Do List that never seems to end or you have a hard time staying focused and on task, its time you maximize your time and get more done in your day.

Last week I told you I’d be ...

“The decisions you make determine the schedule you keep. The schedule you keep determines the life you live. And how you live your life determines how you spend your soul.”  ~ Lysa Terkeurst

Time management isn’t just about organizing your tasks and your time. It’s about making soulful decisions. So ask yourself: Do you have a desire burning deep inside your soul but can’t seem to find the time for it? Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed BY life but feeling underwhelmed ABOUT life? Is how you spend your time in alignment with what’s important to you?

We all have the same 24 hours in a day yet some people seem to waste their time or fill it up with things that just really don’t matter or light their soul on fire. For some it may be because they are people pleasers. So they don’t want to say no to others and consequently, put everyone else’s needs in front of their own.

For others, they may be stalling or finding...

“You’re only human. You don’t have to have it together every minute of every day.” ~ Anne Hathaway

I feel safe in saying that we’ve all made a mistake and then felt like a horrible person. Would you agree? Maybe you experienced it as a time when you failed because you didn’t show up as your best self in a situation. Or perhaps it wasn’t even a mistake or failure. You may have felt like a bad person for honoring yourself or speaking your truth instead of playing small, conforming or giving in to another.

Whatever the case, if you have ever uttered the question, “Am I a bad person?” Or perhaps you could replace the word “person” with something more specific like - mom, dad, friend, wife, husband, boss, employee, entrepreneur, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc. then this week’s article is for you; so keep reading…

Last week I had two people in one day ask me if I thought they were a bad person. One used...

"Let us realize that: the privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, the love of work is success!"  ~ David O. McKay

If you live and work in the US then you might look forward to an extra day off on Labor Day at the beginning of each September. But did you know, Labor Day is meant to be a celebration of the work you do?

Labor Day originated in the 19^th century during one of the most dismal and difficult time in America’s labor history. It was an annual event to celebrate workers and their achievements. These days however, most people don’t celebrate their work or achievements. As a matter of fact, according to Forbes, more than half of US workers are unhappy in their jobs, so it’s really just seen as an extra (and often much needed) day off work. But when you love what you do, it’s worth celebrating.

For most of us, we will spend the largest part of our lifetime working. I started working when I was 14 years old at a...

“Just imagine becoming the way you used to be as a very young child, before you understood the meaning of any word, before opinions took over your mind. The real you is loving, joyful, and free. The real you is just like a flower, just like the wind, just like the ocean, just like the sun.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

We all grow up learning certain “agreements” through our family of origin. Don’t get me wrong, some are good virtues and values. But some, are not so good. They are the messages that create the limiting beliefs which can hold you captive from being your best true you.

Sadly, some people spend their entire lifetime trying to break free of them. As a matter of fact, I often spend quite a lot of time with my clients, helping them overcome and rewrite their old life story into something new and freeing. It's in rewriting that story and no longer allowing the agreements of your past to control you, that you are free to create a new future. Otherwise,...

“Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.”  ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

So many people put pressure on themselves to be perfect and what I find interesting about that, is the pressure of “perfect”, usually gets in the way of actually being your best. Maybe you can relate… Do you put pressure on yourself to be perfect or do you accept that your best is enough and simply make it a point to be your best true you each day?

This is where the fourth agreement, Always Do Your Best, from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements, comes in. It really could be the easiest of all the agreements and yet so many people struggle with it. But it's not because they don't want to be their best, or they aren’t capable of doing their best. But rather, it's usually a...

“Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.”  ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

Have you ever made an assumption about someone or about a situation, only to realize later that your assumption caused a lot of unnecessary pain or drama? Assumptions can really be hurtful. Which is why I love the third agreement from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements – Don’t Make Assumptions. Because when you make assumptions, more often than not, you are setting yourself up for trouble.

So, what happens when you make assumptions? It’s plain and simple really, you believe something without proof that it is true. And most commonly it happens in one of two ways:

1. You assume you know something – which can cause you to have to face your own foolishness.
2. You assume someone else...

“Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.”  ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

I received an email recently from a reader who was having trouble with a co-worker. I knew as soon as I read what she had described to be going on, that it was a great example of the Second Agreement from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements, so I wanted to share it with you…

She was feeling attacked and hurt because the co-worker was always extremely rude and disrespectful to her. She felt she was the victim of his rants because she was a soft-spoken woman who didn’t like conflict. So, I invited her to get on the phone with me for a Strategy Session, to see if I could help her feel more empowered.

After briefly discussing the situation and the environment at work, I was able to help her...

“Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.” ~Don Miguel Ruiz

Would you say you are someone of integrity who practices being positive, honest, truthful, and loving? Do you stick to your promises and keeps your word?

My guess is, you probably want to say yes to these questions BUT, if you were truly being honest with yourself, would that really be your answer? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying anything bad or judging your character. Odds are, you could answer yes to them when thinking about how you interact with others. But what about how you talk to yourself? This is where it becomes so easy to let go of our integrity, our compassion and our love. It’s sad really. What we say to ourselves is often so much more critical than what we say to anyone else. Think about it… if you talked to your friends like...