Joy Ignites Success

Success Principle #15:  Experience Your Fear and Take Action Anyway

The Principle in a Nutshell: Don’t let fear stop you.  

Discussion: Underlying almost every reason, excuse or explanation for not doing what you need to do to get to where you want to go is fear.  Fear of looking foolish, fear of failing, fear of succeeding (yup, we have that fear too) and so much more.  When we feel our feelings (not conquer them), they move through awareness without a lot of effort.  When we resist the feelings, they hang around and create havoc.  I have seen many, many clients over the years resist feeling sadness, fear, anger, grief and more because they are afraid they will get stuck in the feeling and be overwhelmed or immobilized by it.  Nothing is further from the truth.  When we don’t allow ourselves to feel or experience our emotions, they simply hang around lurking under the surface.  
As an acronym, FEAR has been defined as false evidence appearing real.  Many of the things we fear are not based in reality.  
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What?  You’re Going to Another Workshop?

Do these title words sound familiar to you?  Or do your friends and family just sigh and hope you find your way?  Well, maybe it’s because you know something that others might be missing.    

I have been attending workshops, seminars and classes for self-improvement and spiritual growth for over 30 years.  And not just on occasion.  Some might call me a workshop junkie.  And they would be right.  Given spare time and money I would likely find myself in many more workshops and seminars.  I’ve been fortunate that most of the workshops I have attended have been transformative and motivating, with the occasional exception.  I laugh at the facilitators who claim ‘this will be the last seminar you’ll ever attend’.  As a general rule, I love the format and intensity of seminars and workshops, and will probably continue attending them for a long time, even if I have improved myself beyond recognition. Read More

Success Principle #13:  Take Action

The Principle in a Nutshell: Do something!  The universe rewards action.

Discussion: This is one of the simplest principles to understand, yet still demands exploring.  As I see it, there is a great divide between many goal-oriented and success programs and spiritual programs, where there needn’t be.  Sometimes on a spiritual path we can go into magical thinking and expect the world to open up for us because we have meditated or visualized.  On the other path of success and goal-oriented seminars, we can push too hard and think we are the only factor in what happens.  In between, there is a path of taking action and letting go.  Of doing, what Bernardo Monserrat, of CRS in Santa Fe, says is our 10% (the universe or God being the 90%).  In my experience, we don’t even have to figure out the right action, we just have to let the universe know that we’re in.  We do this by taking action. Read More

Success Principle #12:  Act As If

The Principle in a Nutshell: Start acting right now as you would when the goal is achieved.  

Discussion: There are many things we can do now that will put the gears in motion for being where we want to be.  We can change our clothes, our attitude, our business cards, our websites and more to reflect the changes we want in our lives.  For health and relationship goals, this may take a little more creative thought, but acting as if sends a clear message to the universe and reprograms our brain.    
When we act as if, it is possible it will bring up some feelings of grief, anger or lust about not already having it.  The following release is designed to help you let go of those feelings. Read More

Success Principle #11:  See What You Want, Get What You See

The Principle in a Nutshell: Use visualization to support your success.

Discussion: The power of visualization has long been used by sports psychologists and performance coaches.  Seeing yourself engaged in an activity primes the brain and the body for peak performance.  Supporting the visualization process with emotion is key.  As you feel into the experience, you are toning the body-mind to allow for more and different opportunities.  Researchers have found that the brain can’t actually distinguish between a real activity and a visualized activity; it responds in the same way.  When we visualize, there may be a negative reaction or thought that arises, rather than pushing it away, use releasing to move through it.   Read More

Success Principle #10:  Release the Brakes

The Principle in a Nutshell: Get out of your comfort zone and self-imposed limitations.   

Discussion: I’m wondering if reading the title of this post evoked fear or excitement for you.  Or a little bit of both?  The truth is most of us live our lives in a pretty confined space.  The thoughts we think are repetitive and the experiences and people we seek out have commonalities.  We like to know what to expect, often more than we want success.  

We limit ourselves with negative self talk even in subtle ways.  Whether the voice says ‘I’ll never be any good at that’ or ‘there’s too much to do, I’ll never get it done’ we are often telling ourselves things that are simply not true.  Canfield suggests positive affirmations for reversing these beliefs, the Sedona Method asks us to simply stretch beyond the belief.   Read More

Success Principle #9: Success Leaves Clues

The Principle in a Nutshell: Whatever you want to do, someone has gone before and knows the way.  Ask for guidance.

Discussion: We often get so caught up in our own thoughts and lives that we don’t think beyond ourselves. We forget that others often have useful information.  We also get caught in the fear of asking.  We think we might appear foolish or get rejected.

The truth is people love to talk about themselves and their accomplishments.  When you ask someone to share their expertise, you are paying them a great compliment, and in my experience, you will rarely be turned down. Read More

Success Principle #8: Chunk it Down

The Principle in a Nutshell: Breaking down large goals into smaller, doable action steps is what makes them achievable.

Discussion: Whether we have actually set a goal, or have just been longing for something, what prevents us from taking action is often the feeling of overwhelm.  Whether we are looking for a career change, a fit body, or zero debt; we may get stuck thinking that we don’t know where to start or that a small step is meaningless.

One of the areas in my life that this principle has been really helpful is in cleaning up the physical messes in my home and office.  While it feels impossible to tackle the whole closet, I can commit to 15 minutes or one shelf a week.  And, slowly but surely, the spaces around me are becoming less cluttered and more livable.   Read More

Success Principle #7: Unleash the Power of Goal-Setting

The Principle in a Nutshell: Setting measurable goals will cause you to stretch and move through all obstacles.    

Discussion: There are numerous studies about the power of writing goals.  When we get clear on what we want, and when we want it by, we unleash our creative juices in that direction.  The mind focuses on solving the problem.  

Lester Levensen, originator of the Sedona Method, also believed that every goal we still have, is an indicator of where we still hold wounding or are not free.  From this perspective, setting a goal in order to release on it, is another path to freedom.

For more about this principle and releasing, read my article “The Missing Key to Achieving Your Goals”.  (The system will prompt you to enter your e-mail, but will not duplicate mailings.)   Read More

Success Principle #6: Become an Inverse Paranoid

The Principle in a Nutshell: Believe that the world wants you to win and is here to support you and that everything you experience is ultimately in your highest good.  

Discussion: This is one of my favorite principles.  Since most of what we think people feel or believe about us is made up, why not assume they love us and want us to succeed?   Taking this further, we also make up stories about our own experiences all the time.  Why not make up a story that supports you?

Application 1: If I approach a potential contact being paranoid about the response, I am likely to minimize myself and expect a no when I make my request.  If I am being an inverse paranoid, I will go into the conversation assuming it will be a win-win.  When in this state of mind, I am much more likely to have solutions for any possible issues, knowing that this person wants me to succeed.
Application 2:  When I don’t get what I want in the moment, I can open to the possibility that something even better is waiting in the wings. Read More