Masterful Mindsets

"Don't call the world dirty because you forgot to clean your glasses."  – Aaron Hill

Last week I talked about the importance of having clarity and focus when you’re setting goals and striving for success (no matter what area of your life you want it in). So this week I'm giving you Clarity and Focus Part 2…

Let's refer back to my example of wearing glasses – last week I told you that for a long time I fought the fact that I needed glasses to see clearly. But once I started wearing them, I realized how much easier it made everything.

Admittedly, I still try at times to get by without them. But inevitably, when I don’t have the clarity and focus that they provide, it always makes whatever I’m doing difficult.

But what happens when you have your “glasses” on and you still don’t have clarity and focus?

Recently, I was trying to do something and my focus was blurred. My first thought was, “What the hell?” I mean, I had my glasses on, so why did I not have clarity and focus? Then I ...

"Focus. Otherwise you will find life becomes a blur."  – Anonymous

If you wear glasses, then you know how much easier life is when you have them on. Why? Because you have clarity and focus. Likewise, when you have clarity and focus about life, it makes having a happy, successful life much easier too.

But I get it, life happens, you get busy and before you know it, life becomes a blur. With the new year beginning, it can be easy to scratch your head and wonder where the last year (or ten years) went. And then your vision for your desired future can become a struggle to see, especially if you have a difficult time staying focused on taking decisive actions toward achieving your goals. So if you're ready to admit that you might need some help getting clarity about the life you truly want to create and refocusing your efforts to get there so you can make this your best year ever, then it's time to commit to clarity and focus.

Now let me tell you a little secret... I don’t like to ad...

“Resolutions require only words. Results take actions.”  ~ Tony Robbins

I have no doubt, you’ve probably notice that there’s always a lot of discussion about resolutions in January, then shortly after, the topic goes dormant and disappears until the next new year. My guess is, you may have even set down to write out your own resolutions this past week. Which is great, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to bash resolutions, but I do want to make a couple of things very clear to help you actually succeed at them this year.

Often people will use the terms resolutions and goals interchangeably. And while they are similar, there are some distinct differences that I think it’s important to know when deciding to set resolutions or set goals. So today, I’m going to differentiate between the two for you and tell you why, although you can have a goal without a resolution, if you want a resolution to really stick, you must have goals.

The two biggest differences between resolutions and goal...

“Another day, another blessing and another chance at life. Take nothing for granted and think of every breath as a gift.”  ~ unknown

As you know, if you’ve been following along the past few weeks, I’ve been focusing this month’s posts on Gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful thing. So much so that it can actually boost your happiness by up to 25%. So today, I want to explore the power of focusing on the gifts and blessings that we often overlook so that instead, we can make certain we take time regularly to look at them through the lens of gratitude.  

It can be easy to take people, experiences, and things in our lives for granted. But to practice gratitude from a higher level of consciousness, we must not take things “for granted” but rather see them “as granted”. This small shift in language creates a powerful shift in mindset and moves us from an attitude of entitlement to humility. And even if we don’t like to admit it, an underlying sense of entitlement is actually the #1 thing...

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” ~Socrates

As we come to the end of our series on loving your work, if you know you don’t love what you do, and can’t seem to get the passion back, perhaps you realized it’s time for a change. I know it can be scary to put yourself out there, especially if you’re not sure you have what it takes to change, but you don’t have to be afraid of career change. You just need to build a plan so you can be prepared to put your best foot forward.  

Last week I shared some valuable components that you will want to gain clarity on before considering a career change. No use changing if you don’t know why you’re changing or what you really want. (Missed it? Read it here.) Once you’ve gotten that clarity, you’re ready to build your plan and take a leap into a new career.

Build an understanding of the market.

It’s important to build an understanding of the market you want to work in so you ...

 “In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks. – Warren Buffet

If after last week’s post, you’ve taken the fear goggles off and can now see clearly that it’s time for a career change… that’s great!

I know it can be scary but once you make that decision it can be much easier than you think, especially when you go into your career transition with clarity and confidence. Plus, I’m willing to bet you’ll look back later and be glad you did it. So, in this post, we'll discuss how to find clarity (especially when feeling overwhelmed by your options) and then next week I’ll share some important steps you need to take before leaping into a new career.

Clarity Builds Confidence and Gives Direction

When you know what you want, and why you want it, you can be sure that your efforts will be focused on bringing the results they were meant to—and that's going to make all the difference in helping you get from wher...

“If you work hard at a job you hate, imagine what you could do at a job you love?”  ~Michelle Weimer

As we continue this conversation about loving your work, it amazes me how many people not only don’t love their jobs, they don’t even like them. Work is where you spend at least a third of your day. Why would you continue to allow yourself to be miserable, day after day in a job you hate? 

The short answer - most people feel stuck and can't see a way out...

I talk to so many people who feel that they are stuck and can’t change careers even though they are miserable doing what they are doing. And I’ve had numerous clients hire me because of this exact problem. They feel like their career is going nowhere, they don’t really love or even like what they do but yet, they feel trapped into staying because they have bills to pay, they don’t want to lose their benefits, they don’t know what else they want to do, how to do it, etc.

The thing is, all the above reasons focus on the problem...

“The success of your life’s work is fueled by the love you have for that work. And that love is nurtured when you keep your purpose and passion in the forefront of everything you do.” ~ Michelle Weimer

I heard from several of you after last week’s Masterful Mindset. The common theme for many was that they “used to” love their work. But they feel they’ve lost their drive and are too burnt out to care much anymore. The combination of hectic schedules and demanding workloads full of mundane tasks have overtaken the passion and joy that used to be what drove them to show up fully everyday with purpose.

The big question I keep getting… How do you get that purpose and passion back?  

Well, if you’re finding that your problem is not that you don’t love what you do, but that as you go through the wearisome routines of day-to-day tasks or tackle overwhelming projects with underwhelming results, you’re feeling like the passion and zeal you had for your career has been replaced with a dull...

“When you are here and now, sitting totally, not jumping ahead, the miracle has happened. To be in the moment is the miracle.” ~ Osho

This past week marked the end of another era in my family’s lives. My youngest daughter’s middle school years officially came to an end and now my husband and I find ourselves as parents of two high school students! I can hardly believe that our girls have grown up so fast but here we are, with a senior and a freshman. It seems like just yesterday I was chaperoning the 5^th grade class on an overnight camping trip to mark the end the elementary years and transition into middle school.

I was actually blessed with the honor of chaperoning both girls on their school trip to Camp Jackson. It’s a beautiful location in the mountains of Colorado that has been holding camps for close to 100 years. I can still remember it like it was yesterday… It’s always such a wonderful experience. When you take the time to be present and in the moment among nature, it’s...