Masterful Mindsets

“Don’t adapt to the energy in the room. Influence the energy in the room.”

During difficult or uncertain times, we not only have an opportunity to lead others, but for many, it is our duty to do it. Especially for those who know they have people who look to them for guidance. So how do you really influence people? That’s the topic of this post, as we dive deeper into our series on influence. But first, think about someone in your life that has been highly influential to you. It could be someone in your personal life or your professional life, someone from your past or someone recent. How did they demonstrate influence?

Was the first person that came to mind someone that influenced you in a positive or negative way? Examine that for yourself for a little while. It might have a big impact on how you perceive influence. If the experience was negative, you could see influence as a negative thing. (And it can be for some.) Which might make you shy away from being influential with othe...

“The truth will set you free” ~ John 8:32

As we come to the end of this series on the lies that worry tells us, it’s important to note that worry and fear are two different things. Sometimes fear creates worry and sometimes, worry can create fear. For example, the fear of the unknown can cause us to worry about the future. And worrying about the future can stoke the fire of fear, making it grow out of control and keeping us from ever stepping forward into the future we want to create.

I could go on and on about the differences between worry and fear but that's a much bigger topic, so I won’t get into that today. For now, just keep in mind that there will always be things we fear. And that’s okay. True fear isn’t always within our control, and it is sometimes necessary in order to keep us safe. But worry is within our control and it rarely, if ever serves a purpose. So, if we don’t want our fear to paralyze us and hold us back, then it is to our benefit to keep worry quiet or bett...

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” ~ Victor Hugo

In the past few years, our world has become increasingly filled with worry and fear. However, I did not create this series solely because of the uncertainty and turmoil that has ensued since this decade began. Because the truth is, worry is always there, ready to pounce and leaving us feeling as if we can’t possibly breathe from the weight of the worry in our hearts. We may never be completely exempt from worry. But we also must remember that more times than not, worry lies. (So, if you missed any of the series thus far, feel free to click on each lie below to catch up.)

As a refresher, the three common lies worry tells us that I’ve been examining in this series are:

1. The worst is going to happen.
2. You can’t handle it.
3. This will last forever.

Moving forward, today I am continuing our series on the three big lies that worry tells us, where those lies often come from and most importantly, how to overcome t...

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows. It empties today of its strength.” ~ Corrie ten Boom

Today, I am continuing our series on the lies that worry tells us, where those lies often come from and most importantly, how to overcome them so you can have courage to step boldly into your future.

Three of the most common lies are:

1. The worst is going to happen.
2. You can’t handle it.
3. This will last forever.

If you missed part one, of this series, where I discussed Lie #1, you can CLICK HERE to read it.

Let’s take the second lie now, “You can’t handle it.” This worry feeds off of the fear that the process of doing something will be painful or too difficult in some way. It often stems from believing that we are not good enough, smart enough, capable enough, strong enough -whatever enough. That is a lie! But I'm here to tell you the truth...

Without me even knowing you – I believe you can handle it! Why, because as humans, we are resilient. We are stronger, smarter and – MO...

"There is only one cause of unhappiness; the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them." ~ Anthony de Mello

I once heard someone say that worry tells lies. And I have no doubt that's true. Heck, I've experienced it myself and I've seen it happen with others on countless occasions. In particularly, worry tends to tell 3 HUGE lies:

1. The worst is going to happen.
2. You can’t handle it.
3. This will last forever.

Think about it, when you worry, what are you worrying about? What is your inner voice repeating over and over? Sure, it might not be worded exactly like the statements above but if you break down the chatter going on in your head, I’d be willing to bet that most of the time, it would be a version of these three beliefs at the core. And when these deep underlying beliefs bubble up, they can not only bring in worry and fear but also create a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress.

So how do you h...

"When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future."   ~Queen Elizabeth II 

How do you handle difficulty and defeat? If you have a growth mindset, it’s likely that you see it as nothing more than a roadblock on your path to success or a learning opportunity as you keep pushing forward toward your dreams. However, if you have a fixed mindset, then you may see it as a reason to quit and give in to the seemingly paralyzing effects of failure.

In addition to your mindset though, a lot can also be learned about a person's character if you observe them during difficult times. They will show you their victim side or their victor side. They will show you their pessimism or their optimism. Their kindness or their bitterness... And as the quote says, those who are courageous will show that they are strong and courageous, in their actions and determination. While all too often, those who are afra...

"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...