Cruise Control

The Risks of The Road

Do you want to stay safe on this Journey of Life?  Then it's time to start embracing risk!

Every choice involves risk of one sort or another.  We've all been trained to pay attention to the risks of moving forward.  Too few of us have been trained to recognise the risks of holding back.

'Playing it safe' in your relationships will cost you intimacy, connection and vitality.  'Playing it safe' in your work will cost you opportunity, recognition and job satisfaction.  'Playing it safe' in your business will cost you innovation, collaboration and market share.  

Now I'm not advocating recklessness here!  I'm simply encouraging the kind of intelligent, open-hearted, managed risk-taking that is essential to ongoing growth and contribution.  I'm inviting you to acknowledge the price you pay, over the long haul, for staying within your Familiarity Zone.  I'm asking you to ensure that, when you 'weigh the risks' of the various options before you, you include the very real risks of staying right where you are.  'Do Nothing' is an option, and it's the choice you make by default whenever you postpone a genuine decision.

'Playing it safe' in the traditional sense puts you at risk.  It buys you momentary comfort, but at a huge price: It costs you the joyful, love-infused adventure you came her to live. It costs you the difference you were born to make in the world.  It costs you the person you are capable of becoming.

"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily.  To not dare is to lose oneself."  Soren Kierkegaard

Loving... The Journey

Are you loving the Journey?  Do you love your life, and everyone in it?  Or do you intend to, but then hit a Roadblock, a boundary that seems to suggest that it's somehow wrong or inapporporate or even impossible to love beyond that point?

True love knows no boundaries. What most of us call 'love' is not this. It is something much less than we are capable of experiencing.

You will know when you have found one of your own 'boundaries to love' by how you react. If something someone else says or does causes you pain, that's just your SatNav letting you know you've gone off-course: you have dropped the connection with them and, much more importantly, with your Self. The Real You loves them unconditionally, and sees value in every situation you experience.  So if you don't, you tear yourself apart.

In the moment that you bump up against one of your boundaries, I invite you to reconsider and reconnect. Allow love to fill you on the inside first, so you no longer need anything from the other person. Then look out at them through fresh eyes, appreciating them for doing the best they can whilst believing their stressful thoughts. Love will dissolve the boundary and expand to fill your entire world.

This is not about whether you should stay or go. Loving someone does not necessarily mean you should spend time with them.  Leaving a toxic relationship (whether it be with a partner, a boss, or extended family members) can be an act of extreme self-love. But if you choose to go, love them anyway. Love them from a distance.  Love them, because it hurts when you don't.

"Your task is not to seek for Love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." Rumi, 13th century Sufi poet. 

The Road Less Travelled

If you have just one hour to spare this week for your personal growth, I suggest you spend it listening to this.  Tune in to Anthony Robbins in conversation with the late great Dr Stephen R Covey, for the most succinct yet deeply inspiring overview of his life and legacy I've ever heard. Put these principles to work in your own life, and discover for yourself the impact a few small changes can have on your entire experience of the Journey!

And if you don't think you can spare even an hour to invest in You - just one hour to align yourself with Who You Really Are and the life you wish to create for yourself, your family and everyone else you care about - let that be a sign that your need to listen in is URGENT! 

As Dr Covey famously said:

"Never get so busy sawing that you don't take time to sharpen the saw."

 With love and appreciation to Anthony Robbins for sharing this wonderful resource...

Enjoying the Journey

It's not about the destination.  You've got to enjoy the journey.  Cliche, right?  But how does a cliche get to be a cliche in the first place?  Because it happens to be true, and worthy of repeating!

So are we having fun yet?  Is your Journey of Life filled to the brim with delicious moments that take you effortlessly and enjoyably toward your Dream Destination?  If the answer is anything less than a resounding "Yes!", I have just the thing for you...

Here's my most comprehensive Cruise Control video so far, created for a recent online event hosted by my good friend Daphne Cohn ~ The Pleasure Nutirtionist.  In this video I share;

• Why goal-setting often doesn't work - and what does!
• How to set your Autopilot for your Dream Destination
• How to listen to your SatNav for life, and know whether you are on track every moment of the day
• How to get started and make progress - easily, enjoyably and in a way that energises rather than drains you

Check it out!

 

 

The process I guide you through in this video will support you in any area of your work or your life as a whole.  But the bonus if, like me, you set 'wellbeing goals' for 2012 - to lose weight, get fit, heal your body, discover more energy - is that the worked example will help you lock on to Destination: Slim, Strong and Sparkling!

So grab a cuppa and settle in.  And if you have any questions or comments, please share below.  It's about time you really began enjoying the Journey, don't you think...?

"Send the light of your own loving ahead of you.  When you get there, the loving will have prepared a place for you.  Be kind, gentle, and enjoy the journey." Peter McWilliams

2012: Your best year yet...?

Are you keen to make 2012 your best year yet - making great progress towards your Dream Destination,  and enjoying the Journey along the way?  If so, there's a very good chance that you've already given some thought to the year ahead. 

A recent - very unscientific! - straw poll amongst my friends suggests that many of us do some kind of planning and goal-setting around this time of year. Not everyone is busy setting 'New Years Resolutions' - though many people do enjoy commiting to something fresh and new on January 1st.  Others find this is a natural turning point and plan in a more general sense, reflecting on the year that's passed, and setting intentions for what they'd like the New Year to be all about.  And then there are those who give the whole NY Resolutions kick a miss - perhaps to avoid disappointment or because the whole idea seems to them to be nonsense.  And last, but by no means least, there are those who simply find it unnecessary, as they are planning and goal-setting on a continuous cycle throughout the year - some in a structured way (perhaps a weekly or monthly cycle) and others following a natural flow as a new desire or inspiration strikes.  There is no right or wrong answer, it seems.  Each of us will find our own way on this. 

But this is a blog about setting yourself to Cruise Control, and enjoying effortless success on the Journey of Life!  So I invite you to consider this:  If you were setting out on a long drive, one likely to involve many twists and turns along the way, would you simply jump in the car and hope for the best, or would you give it some thought before you set off?  Would you decide where you were headed (or at least your general direction)?  Would you consider the milestones that would let you know you were making progress, and the experiences you'd like to enjoy along the way?  Would you make sure your vehicle was road-worthy, well maintained, and full of premium fuel?  And what does this suggest for your Journey of Life?

If you would like to set yourself up for effortless success in 2012, I invite you to take a look at the series of short posts I shared here this time last year outlining why goal-setting often doesn’t work – and what does.  The same approach applies whether you are setting personal or professional goals, and to individuals, teams and whole businesses!  So whatever your focus, you'll find something there which will make a difference.

New Years Resolutions? Not for me.

Make good use of your rear view mirror

Who will you become in 2011? (or 2012 in this case!)

What would the ‘Real You’ do?

Your Dream Destination

Stop! Driving Hard…

Your Dream Destination is closer than you think

It’s “Blue Monday”.  Or is it…?

Sights along the way

Get moving!

Finally, I'd like to thank you for being part of my Journey in 2011.  I appreciate you taking the time to read what I write, and to share anything that resonates with you with the other wonderful people in your Convoy.  And for 2012, I wish you a very Happy New Year.  Better said, I wish you everything you would wish for yourself.

"We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential."  Ellen Goodman

It's Your Life, It's Your Journey

Every once in a while, someone gives a really great speech, one which both stimulates the intellect and stirs the soul.  In the summer of 2005, Steve Jobs gave just such a speech to the graduating class of Stanford University.

He told 'just three stories' from his own life.  And in so doing, shared many powerful lessons for how to truly live before you die.  Here's what he had to say...

 

 

Goodbye, and farewell, to one of the true creative geniuses of our time.

 

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."  Steve Jobs

Life is a Journey (NOT a Race!)

 Big thanks to Elliot Kay (aka The Coach with the Hat!) for inviting me to write a 'Guest Blogger' piece for his excellent Peak Performance blog.

Here's a link to the article I wrote, entitled "Life is a Journey (not a Race)".  I hope you enjoy it.  And while you are there, check out Elliot's books and other resources.

See you down the road! ;-)

 

“'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble."  Mahatma Gandhi

The Wonderful Thing About Roadblocks...

Sometimes it seems like you can't go on.  You've hit a Roadblock.  You can't go over it, under it or around it.  And since you can't see a way through it, moving forward is not an option.  Or so it can appear - if your attention stays on the 'outside', staring through your windscreen at the Scenery of your life...

But here's the wonderful thing about Roadblocks:

They are never as real as we think they are! 

Roadblocks are always temporary, the external manifestation of an internal block.  And you know you've hit that block when you feel your heart sink and your gut tighten, as you hear yourself say "I am..." or "I am not...", "I can..." or "I can't..." 

When you realise that you are always so much more than your thoughts about yourself, you have found the basis of true freedom - the freedom to be Who You Really Are!  And as the internal blocks shift, the external barriers disappear before your eyes.

Listen in as Caroline Casey shares her truly inspiring story of a life spent Looking Past Limits.

 

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."  Norman Vincent Peale

 

Magical Milestones

Every now and then you hit a Milestone: You look forward to something with such excitement and anticipation long before you can actually see it.  And then... the magical moment... it appears on the horizon, and words cannot describe the thrill than runs through you as you finally arrive at a place which previously only existed in your imagination!

Creating your future on Autopilot can be fun.  Every now and again, you'll stumble across something beautiful, and milk the moment for the pleasure it can offer.  But how much more satisfying to move towards your Dream Destination with Milestones in mind, the sights you'd like to see on along the way, and experience the joyful unfolding of the Journey...?

It's how I feel right now.  There's something big on my horizon, and I hope on yours too!  So please spare a couple of minutes to listen in as I share my exciting news!

 

I do hope you'll join me, and the hundreds of people who've already signed-up to join in the fun!  Click here for all the details you need, and to reserve your place!  It's going to be one heck of a ride... ;-)

"It's when ordinary people rise above the expectations and seize the opportunity that milestones truly are reached."  Mike Huckabee

You Go First

Do you wish your loved ones were happier?  Do you wish you worked in a happier team, in a happy environment?  Do you wish there was more happiness in the  world in general?  It's easier than you might think:

You go first! 

• Find something to appreciate.  (Anything will do!)
• Compliment someone, and mean it.  (When you shower other people with the good stuff, you get soaking wet!)
• Look on the bright side. (There always is a bright side!). 
• Trust that things will work out in the end.  (And if they haven't worked out yet, it's simply not the end!)

In fact, here's your mission, should you choose to accept it:  Make the decision to be happy no matter what.  You'll feel it right here, right now.  And states are catching, so notice what happens to those around you as you stick with your decision.  You go first, and your world will follow. 

Want a sneaky preview of what's in store?  Check out this wonderful short animation: The Pig of Happiness.  He's got it nailed!

 

 

With thanks to Edward Monkton.

"We must become the change we seek in the world."  Ghandi