Archive for Articles
Do You Stop Money Coming In?
Now, I’m sure you read that headline and thought, ‘whoa, not me, man. I’m MORE than happy to take any money that’s sent my way, thank you very much’.
But are you quite sure about that?
Let me show you a number of ways in which you could be holding up a ‘stop’ sign to money that’s trying to come to you…
1. You feel a bit scared about how you might handle more money coming in.
Hey, this is completely understandable. When you have a regular, set amount coming in, it feels safe. You can manage it. But when large amounts come in, it can make you feel a bit out of control (I know this from experience). It can be pretty overwhelming, because you’re worried that you might make the wrong decision with that extra money. You’re worried that you might squander it, and while the thought of wasting it makes you feel queasy, you also want to enjoy the freedom (experiences and ‘things’) that extra money can bring.
What to do about it: Decide that when extra money arrives (above and beyond the amount that normally comes in), you’ll only spend up to 15% of that extra amount. The rest will be sent straight into a savings account, to be used for investing, or it could go into paying off debt. You’ll feel much more in control, and this will be a welcoming vibration for extra money, let me tell you. This tip is worth its weight in gold!
2. You don’t appreciate what money you do have.
This is a biggie. You’ve been told SO many times that we have it good compared to people in third-world countries, and it’s true. If you have access to a computer, if you can eat three meals a day, if you can run a car… (even if you live ‘on the edge’ with paying for these things sometimes) then you really ARE wealthy.
What to do about it: Look with fresh eyes at the money and other forms of abundance that come into your life, and truly appreciate them for the blessings that they are. The energy of money will respond in kind by wanting to give you more to appreciate…
3. You don’t want money to change you into a horrible person.
You might say that you want more money, but if you think that people who have money are snobby and cheap (and you don’t like the idea of being snobby or cheap), why would you want to become one of them?
What to do about it: Realise that YOU get to call the shots when you have more money. You can decide to be a rich person who is kind and generous! There are already a few great wealthy role models out there – think Oprah, Bill Gates… Start thinking of yourself as a kind, generous wealthy person who respects money AND people.
4. You don’t realise that there are money-making opportunities right under your nose.
We can all be a bit blinkered when it comes to ways of having money come to us. Many of us dream of winning the lottery so that it comes easily, but you actually have more money-making power than you realise. When you put a limit on how money can come to you (that is, it should be through a lottery or competition, or your boss should pay you more), you make it less easy for money to come to you through other means.
What to do about it: sit down and write out a list of at least 20 things you could do to bring in more money. Even if you have a J-O-B, there are other skills you have that could be used to create extra money, you have items you could sell, and you may have ‘thoughtless’ spending habits that could be reined in a little without making you feel constricted.
Bonus tip: keep track of every cent or penny of income that comes your way. Remember: ‘energy flows where attention goes’. To get you started, head here to download my free Rich Radiant Real Money-Flow Tracker, which includes a worksheet for recording weekly income (you could amend it to record daily income, if you like!).
Do any of the above points resonate with you? If so, take a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and ideas, and then implement, implement, implement – and keep me posted on what happens for you!
By changing your money mindset, you change your vibration to be one that money loves to be around. It actually wants to hang out with you, but it won’t come where it’s not welcome. When you’re really conscious about money, everything starts to change…
© Joanne Newell, 2013 Would you like to use this article in your ezine or on your blog or website? You certainly may, as long as you include the following at the end of the article: Joanne Newell, of Rich Radiant Real coaching, publishes the Your Abundant Life fre*e monthly ezine, designed to inspire you to create the life of your dreams. For even more inspiration, head to www.richradiantreal.com to grab your complimentary guide called 7 Ways to Recharge Your Vibration & Attract the Riches of Life.
5 Ways to Make Manifestation Easier
Sometimes, the ‘good stuff’ that you’ve ordered from the universe just doesn’t arrive.
Or at least, it hasn’t arrived YET. You’re living in the hope that it will eventually get here, but all this waiting can be a little dispiriting. To say the least.
Is this sounding familiar?
Let’s shake things up a little and get your order moving quickly along the production line, and delivered to your door ASAP. You’ve waited long enough, don’t you think?
Here are five ways to get things started…
1. Be Very Clear
This step is easy to bypass, because it seems so inconsequential. But the clearer you are about what you want, the easier it is for the universe/God/Spirit/Source/the Divine to bring it to you.
Otherwise you’re sending out contradictory thoughts that mean your order goes back to the universal warehouse, then out again, then back to the warehouse…
Honestly, you DO know what you want. You really do. It’s just that, until now, your thinking may have been so muddled that you haven’t been able to pin it down.
Just make a decision for now, a decision that you feel really good about. You can always create another order, once you’ve received this one!
Then watch the universe go out of its way to bring your order to life.
If you really are having trouble reaching clarity, you might want to join me for a private VIP Day to help you cut through the fog.
2. Time Your Visualisation
You’ve no doubt heard about the power of visualisation (that is, imagining what it is that you want, and feeling as though it really has come to pass).
However, unless you have visualisation worked neatly into your schedule, it often gets forgotten. Or it feels like a bit of a chore, something that could drag on for ages.
It doesn’t have to be like this.
It can be as simple as grabbing your kitchen timer at the same convenient time every day, plonking yourself down on a chair, giving yourself a minute to relax and then setting the timer for at least 60 seconds to create pure, focused thought and feeling about what it is that you want. (You’ll need to build up to 60 seconds — don’t expect to be able to hold the thoughts and feelings for that long at the start.)
Doing this actually reduces the amount of time it takes to manifest something into your life, because you are creating at a powerful energetic level — it cuts down on the number of ‘action hours’ that you’d normally need to create something.
3. Have Fun in the Now
You’ve gotta love this one. I mean, really, what could be easier and more enjoyable than having fun? And knowing that it helps you manifest more easily is just the icing on the cake.
When your vibration is naturally high (on an everyday basis), it helps you avoid feelings of despondency or desperation that you might otherwise attach to your ‘order’ not yet being here — you experience ‘detachment’, which is a perfect state to be in for manifesting!
So go to see movies that you love, invite that special person over, take an afternoon off to read a favourite book, boogie to tunes from your teenage years, or treat yourself to an experience that you’ve always wanted to have.
4. Think of Yourself as a ‘Downstream’ Person
That is, go with the flow, baby.
Listen to your intuition (aka your ‘gut’) and follow what feels good, where you’re led or guided to. Imagine that you are in a stream and realise that there’s no need to struggle against the current.
It may take effort to put in the action steps that you feel guided to take, but you don’t need to feel as though you’re struggling upstream — if your actions feel ‘right’ at an intuitive level, then trust that the universe is bringing your order to you in the fastest way it that it knows how…
5. Take Massive Action
You might think that this tip contradicts tip number 2, where we spend time creating at an energetic level in order to cut down on the number of action hours that we think we need to expend.
Well, it really doesn’t. In fact, this tip complements that tip.
Taking massive action (that feels intuitively on course) gives you a huge blast of energy, shows the universe that you’re serious, and builds your OWN faith that what you’ve ordered is on the way.
Also, we came to this life to EXPERIENCE life, and it’s through taking actions that we experience the deliciousness of the ride.
So, there you have it! Five ways to make manifestation easier. Try one, or try them all! (And let me know which is your favourite…)
8 Ways to Actually Receive Your Goals in 2013
For those of us who like things organised into neat, orderly packages, there’s something special about being able to ‘contain’ our goals within the span of a year.
We get excited at the start of a crisp new year when we can say, ‘this year I will…’ or ‘this year I will not…’. And, at the time, we really mean it.
But please raise your hand if you’ve heard the depressing statistics revealing that most people fall off their resolution wagon before the end of January.
Don’t let that happen to you this year.
I’m going to give you eight golden tips that reveal how you CAN receive the goals you set for yourself.
But, you’ll ‘actually’ need to apply the tips! The word ‘actually’ features a lot here — you may already know a lot of these tips, but do you ‘actually’ apply them? (The act of ‘application’ could be the thing that makes all the difference for you this year.)
Here we go…
1. Actually realise that you’re worth it.
To quote Desiderata: ‘You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here’. You really are worthy. Believing this is at the core of your ‘receiving’ success. If self-worth is an issue for you (and it is for many, many people), then ‘actually’ spend time doing inner healing work.
2. Actually write down your goals.
This is a biggie. If you’re a self-development junkie you probably already know the anecdote about the Harvard grads who wrote down their goals being a gazillion times more likely to achieve them than those grads who didn’t write them down.
Writing down your goals takes them a step closer to arriving in material form. It really works. Have courage, and actually do it!
(Check out Jack Canfield’s fab book The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
3. Actually make a commitment and stick to it.
Look, resistance is GOING to show up. Just expect it, face it, thank it and then push on through it. You already know that long-term change is going to be a bit uncomfortable. Or even a lot uncomfortable, for a while. But if you make a commitment and then actually stick to it, come hell or high water, you can’t help but succeed. Cultivating a high ‘EQ’ helps – see Daniel Goleman’s seminal work on this, called Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition; Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
4. Actually practise extreme self-care.
As advocated by life coach extraordinaire Cheryl Richardson (this concept is also known as ‘exquisite self-care’, the latter being a term coined by Earth Empress Shakaya Leone). If you know you need more rest time, more reflection time, more yoga time, more nutritious food and more healthy boundary-setting, then actually make that happen. Again, you ARE worth it. How are you going to have the energy to take action towards your goals if you’re burned out?
5. Actually keep a gratitude journal.
Please do this. It makes such a difference to your vibration. Be inspired by my blog’s Gratitude Friday (or Saturday, or Sunday) posts, and gently begin to cultivate gratitude as part of your everyday life, in your regular self-talk. When you’re honestly appreciative of all that you have, watch the magic begin — even more ‘good stuff’ (including opportunities to receive your goals) starts to show up.
6. Actually create a vision board.
For many years I was afraid to create a vision board (also known as a dream board – but you can always create a booklet or scrapbook, instead), because I thought I’d feel crushed if I put my dreams out there in my field of vision and they didn’t come true. But I can’t tell you what amazing things happened once I finally got over my fear and actually created my first vision board.
7. Actually measure your progress.
This sounds a bit linear and boring, but it really works. And it can be hugely motivating. I recently gave up all forms of sugar for a period of time (including all fruit, which was a challenge), and every Sunday morning I recorded my weight and body measurements. I didn’t have a particular weight-loss or health goal, because it really was just a curious journey to see what effect sugar had on my body. But measuring results helped keep me on my sugar-free track, and spurred me on when I saw real progress being made. Sure, measuring takes a little discipline, but the payoffs are huge.
8. Actually declutter your home and workspace.
It’s such a relief to declutter even a small area. If clutter is a problem for you, actually make time this month to create headway. Positive energy will soon fill the space, and you really will find that doors will open at every turn when it comes to the other goals you’ve set for yourself. Head here for help, at a limited-time reduced investment.
So, there you have it. Eight golden tips. Will you ‘actually’ apply them? Will you ‘actually’ do what it takes to receive your goals this year? (I think it helps to start thinking of yourself as an ‘implementor’, as someone who just gets on it with it.)
The difference between a person who receives their goals and a person who doesn’t comes down to the simple (but not always easy) act of taking action, even when their resistance is strong.
You are bigger than your resistance, and I know you can do this. I want to hear all about your successes at the end of the year, OK?!
© Joanne Newell, 2013 Would you like to use this article in your ezine or on your blog or website? You certainly may, as long as you include the following at the end of the article: Joanne Newell, of Rich Radiant Real coaching, publishes the Your Abundant Life free monthly ezine, designed to inspire you to create the life of your dreams. For even more inspiration, head to www.richradiantreal.com to grab your complimentary guide called 7 Ways to Recharge Your Vibration & Attract the Riches of Life.
What Will You Give YOURSELF This Christmas?
- Movie vouchers for cinema-loving Aunt Rachel. Check.
- Scrabble tea-towel and new limited edition Scrabble game for Peter’s Mum. Check.
- Cute organic-cotton onesie for new baby Anastasia. Check.
Excellent! Time to dust off our hands and celebrate yet another successful Christmas of choosing thoughtful, meaningful and high-quality gifts for our loved ones.
Hold on. Wait right there. Isn’t there someone you’ve forgotten?
What about you? What are you giving YOURSELF?
If the thought of doing this seems faintly ridiculous, let’s just sit down and have a heart-to-heart chat.
I mean it! Sit yourself down, right now. Put your feet up, even. Take a deep breath, relax and let me enlighten you.
If you celebrate the Christmas season (even if just seeing it as a season for love and giving) then it’s quite possible that you’ve been spending a lot of time lately considering the needs or wants of others.
Bending yourself to fit. Outdoing your own expectations of what you can ‘deliver’ in terms of experiences for others.
If that’s you – how’s that workin’ for ya? (In the immortal words of Dr Phil.)
You may well feel satisfied and full of the goodness of the season, but I bet there’s also a part of you that wishes you’d lavish the same amount of love and care on yourself.
That you could get to Christmas Day without feeling exhausted, run-down and depleted.
You DO deserve to take care of yourself this festive season (in fact, all year round). Not just so that you can serve others better, but so that you feel good! This could be just making sure that YOU make it onto your Christmas shopping list by purchasing something special you’ve had your eye on, or it could be something a little different.
Read on, my friend!
Self-care should be a very high priority for you this month. In case you’re too frazzled to think of a few ways of doing this for yourself, here are my ideas:
- Be OK with sometimes taking the ‘low road’ and giving some time-consuming holiday traditions a miss this year. Replace them with traditions that are easy to implement or that you can ask others to do.
- Actually USE that bath of yours! Fill it with warm water, pour in a fragrant oil, and melt into it. Even if just ONE evening this month, OK?
- Try nine nights of going to bed at 9pm (I call this my ‘nine for nine’). Believe me, you’ll feel as though you’ve been reborn. And it’ll give you the stamina to bounce through the occasional late-night festive event.
- Keep a notepad beside your bed so that you can jot down any ‘to dos’ that crop up while you’re drifting off to sleep.
- Eat really, really well and keep chugging back water. This will help counter the effects of any deep indulging that you choose to do. I mean, wouldn’t you love to feel fabulous, come Christmas Day?
So, there are a few self-care tips that are guaranteed to ease you through the Christmas season with grace and joie de vivre.
But what if you could give yourself some other very special gifts this year? What about the gift of time to contemplate the year that was, and to get excited about 2013? What about the gift of booking yourself into a ‘Create Your Dream Life’ VIP Day with me, to be experienced in January? (Talk about setting yourself up for success!) What about the gift of a phenomenal, unique, supportive decluttering-for-prosperity program that helps you clear your home’s energy and herald in a fresh New Year?
Whatever you do, please give yourself a gift this Christmas. Be it a special wee treat for yourself, be it self-care, be it the gift of time for dreaming or planning, be it a decluttered home… just do it!
Do You Have a ‘Grand Design’ for Your Life?
…or do you just kind of ‘amble along’, or ‘go with the flow’?
There’s nothing wrong with ambling or flowing. In fact, there’s nothing better than being ‘in flow’.
But what if the flow you’ve been in is a result of subconscious beliefs that were implanted many moons and generations ago? What if those beliefs led you to take actions that have now created a life that, in some or many aspects, doesn’t feel authentic or satisfying?
That particular flow isn’t so good, is it?
Sometimes you need to be a little more intentional and structured. To think of yourself as the architect of your life.
Hold on a sec. I can just feel some of you squirming in the glow of your computer screen.
‘I hate structure!’ I hear you cry.
Or perhaps you’re secretly thinking:
‘Nothing I plan ever works out anyway, so why would I set myself up for disappointment?’
Both of these statements are affirmations, by the way… meaning that if you tell yourself these things over and over, you’re creating those outcomes in your reality. (Bonus tip: it’s also best to eliminate the word ‘hate’ from your vocab.)
I’m not suggesting that you restrict yourself. Not at all. However, I AM suggesting that the word ‘intentional’ becomes your new favourite word and approach to life.
Once you’ve made a decision about the direction you want your life to head, it becomes easier and easier to get ‘in the flow’ of a life that you actually want to live.
But for those of you who feel that you’d be locking yourself into a fixed, stultifying and claustrophobic plan, then just know that, as I tell my clients, the plans that you make now don’t have to be forever, and they can be changed.
Nothing is set in stone. It’s all flexible and fluid, but starting from where you are now, with what you have and with what you can imagine being possible in your foreseeable future, means you’ll be setting your compass direction intentionally onto ‘my delicious life’ instead of ‘my life of dissatisfaction and disappointment’.
Being the designer of your life is actually exciting! You’re at the helm. You get to choose!
And, as I mentioned in last month’s feature article, starting with baby steps is a great way to avoid potential overwhelm, and to give you the confidence that helps you believe you can create even greater things.
So, are you ready to create your very own ‘grand design’? To create a life that YOU love, and that is so deeply authentic and so very ‘you’ that you want to hug yourself with delight every morning upon waking?
Then I can help. After my children’s school vacation completes (next week), I’ll be inviting my subscribers to discover whether spending a day with me in a ‘Create Your Dream Life’ VIP Day is right for them.
A day of dreaming big, exploring exciting possibilities and getting clear on your next steps for making those dreams become your reality.
In person or on the phone. Just me, you, and your dreams.
If this sounds thoroughly scrumptious, and your soul is squealing with excitement, head here to register.
Imagine a life that flows towards what it is that you really want. Let’s get started on your grand design!
8 Top Tips for Creating an ‘Un-Mediocre’ Life
This short ‘n’ sweet article appeared in my ezine nearly a couple of years ago, but I wanted to bring it to your attention again because its message is simple and profound. Let me know what you think!
Mediocre. Just saying that word brings my energy down. It’s such a ‘blah’ word, isn’t it?
We all have blah/mediocre days; that’s just part of life here on Earth. The mediocre days serve to provide us with contrast, and let us really appreciate the fabulous days that (I believe) make up the majority of our experience.
But if you’re reading this, I’d bet my bottom dollar that you don’t want ‘mediocre’ to be a way of life.
So, what are my top 8 ways for creating an extremely satisfying, sizzling, exciting, enthralling, decidedly ‘un-mediocre’ life? Here they are!
1. Decide that it’s OK to live an unconventional life, one that suits YOU, not your extended family, peers, old school friends or neighbours.
2. Write a list of 100 things that you want to do before you die (if the thought of 100 things freaks you out, just start with 20 – you’ll be on a roll in no time), and start planning for how you’ll start achieving at least five of those in the next two years. Keep in mind point 1, above, when creating your list.
3. Choose quality in everything you bring into, and reflect out from, your life – from the clothes you wear, to the friends you choose, to the gifts you give, to the chocolate you eat…
4. Seek out people who are living by their own lights, who dare to be different and decidedly authentic (you could scare yourself silly – in a good way – by making friends with someone who skydives, rock climbs or surfs). Let their example lift and inspire you, and give you courage.
5. Spin a world globe, close your eyes and stab at it with your finger to make it stop – you know what I’m going to suggest now, don’t you? Heck, why not give it a go?
6. Have the courage to be outwardly loving, affectionate and kind – to everyone you meet! Expressing love and kindness sure ain’t mediocre.
7. Seek out and grab opportunities. When you say ‘yes’ to opportunities, life takes on an unparalleled richness. (If I hadn’t taken the opportunity to write books when approached to do so, I may not have had so many doors open for me.)
8. Consciously employ universal laws to help you create an ‘un-mediocre’ life. For example, once you’ve had the courage to identify and start overriding limiting beliefs – beliefs that were often fashioned in childhood by well-meaning people – you can consciously employ the good ole law of attraction to craft a beautiful, exciting new life.
So there you have it. Eight fabulous ways to help you live a deep, rich life, one that’s far from mediocre. After all, isn’t life too short? Do you want to look back from your deathbed with a big smile on your face, giving thanks for the wonderful life that you let yourself live? I know I do.
It’s over to you, but I’ll leave you with a quote that’s an absolute favourite of mine: ‘sometimes we just need to take a deep breath – and jump’.
How to Become a Director of WOW!
High Point University, in North Carolina, USA, employs a Director of WOW.
A Director of what? Wow, that person must have an unusual job, right, with a title like that?
Correct. They’re responsible for creating WOW experiences for students, and for getting rid of un-WOWs.
I LOVE that! And so should you, because you can become a Director of WOW in your own life.
So, what sorts of experiences does a Director of WOW organise at High Point? Among a gazillion other WOW experiences, students fortunate enough to be enrolled at this university can receive wake-up calls from the campus concierge, and on their birthday, they receive a card and Starbucks giftcard from the university’s president, along with a meal specially prepared by the campus’ chef.
The Director of WOW goes all out to ensure that students (the university’s clients) feel exceptionally well cared for, with students coming away from these encounters saying, ‘WOW!’.
A toner-supply company here in Australia, called The Cartridge Family, also goes out of its way to make its customers feel very special. For example, they give free jelly-frog sweets with every order, and send birthday gifts to the person who places the order.
Do you think that makes people go, ‘WOW!’? You betcha! Do you think that High Point and The Cartridge Family attract many satisfied repeat clients who tell everyone they know about the amazing experiences they’ve had? DEFINITELY!
So, if this WOW concept really works when running a university or traditional business, how can it apply to YOUR life? And why would you bother using it?
Well, the good old universal law of attraction states that ‘like vibrations attract life vibrations’. So, if you deliberately create high-vibration (WOW) experiences, you’ll attract more of the same. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
To apply this in your life, how could you go about creating ‘WOW’ experiences for yourself, your family, your friends? What difference would that make in their lives, and in yours?
Think hard about someone you know, someone you love. Is there something you could do for them (that you don’t usually do) that they would love, and that would really stand out? What would make them say, ‘WOW!’?
It doesn’t have to be expensive. Focus more on the experience, and making the other person/people feel special, and making the experience delightfully different.
What about…
- sending a friend a beautiful card that expresses what their friendship means to you, recounting some treasured (and funny) memories?
- making Monday nights into ‘dinner surprise’ night, with family members’ favourite recipes being created for dinner?
- taking family or friends to secret destinations that you know they’ll love? (A friend of mine told me that when she was a child, her mum sometimes used to take her and her brother out of school at lunchtime, and take them to the beach for a swim and a picnic!)
- taking your love on a weekend away to another city, staying in a beautiful five-star hotel?
- trying a new high-adrenaline sport?
- in summer, creating a picnic experience using your best china and glassware, eating and drinking lush, exotic treats?
- popping a ‘You Are Loved’ card into a stranger’s letterbox or in the mail to your mother? (To download a free template for these cards, head here.)
- making a sumptuous posy of flowers from your garden and dropping them over to a neighbour?
- organising a surprise party for someone, just to appreciate who they are? (Complete with slide show of favourite photos, guests recounting fun stories and why they appreciate the person in question?)
Really, creating a WOW experience is just about being thoughtful, creative and courageous. And what a way to create a rich life! Put thought and effort into creating high-vibration experiences, and, I tell ya, it’ll come back to you 10-fold. It’s so rewarding.
I’d love to hear what you’d do to become a Director of WOW in your life. What WOW experience could you create for yourself or for someone else? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Where Do I Start?
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, or are a subscriber to my ezine, it’s quite likely that you’re an advancing person. That is, you’re always moving towards ‘more life’ in everything you do.
You want to live the richest, fullest, happiest, most deeply satisfying life you can imagine.
You have beautiful, life-expanding dreams for yourself, and you want those dreams to come true.
But it’s also possible that you’re feeling SO overwhelmed by everything that you want to do. In fact, you’re not even sure where to start… so you don’t. (Start, that is.)
So, would you like a little coaching advice about where to start?
Well, my first piece of advice is to listen to your intuition. Give yourself a good half-hour to clear your mind, and then sit and think, and FEEL. Consider your preferences and then listen to what your ‘gut’ tells you. Having a pencil and large notepad with you is a very good idea.
But if you’re overworked, stressed, tired and foggy headed (or feel as though you’re going around the bend from ‘overthinking’), it could be that even doing the above seems too difficult.
In which case, I’d recommend carving out some PROPER time in your diary – like a whole day, at the least – to devote fully to getting crystal clear on what you want, to brainstorm ideas, to prioritise, and to create an action plan.
You can do this yourself, but doing it with the help of a trusted friend or a coach can give you much-needed perspective and encouragement. I’ll soon be making myself available for VIP Days, where I’ll help you get clear on what it is that you really want, start eliminating limiting beliefs, and create a very do-able, exciting action plan to start bringing those dreams of yours into the real world.
(To be one of the first to know about these amazing VIP Days, head here and leave your details. And, listen – I know goal-setting can be a big turn-off for some people because the process can feel forced and very ‘masculine’, but in our day together it’s all about YOU and what YOU want out of life, not what society or your peers or family say you should want. You’ll have time to think, and breeeaaathe, and dream, and create a plan that’s perfect for you…)
Then, you can start going through a conscious creation process, starting with visualisation – if you’d love help with this, check out the beautiful Your House of Abundance process.
However, if you’re feeling too exhausted (and perhaps even sick) to contemplate lofty or even not-so-lofty dreams, then I advise that your first focus be your health.
Fabulous health is at the core of a great life. It underpins everything. And we often don’t realise how valuable our health is until we become unwell or injured.
So if that’s you – make your health an absolute priority. You’ll then be able to think clearly, and will have the energy to take action on your other dreams.
By the way, sometimes people get ‘put off’ the idea of becoming healthier, because they think it takes a lot of money to do so. If you’re switching from eating cheap processed food to buying organic fruits and veggies, and supplements, then, yes, it can cost a bit more than you’re now paying for food. And if you join a gym then there are fees, and personal health coaching can be a substantial investment.
But if money is tight for you right now, and you know getting healthy is a top priority so that you can start heading for your dreams, you can make free or low-cost health changes now.
These include:
- going for walks (even if just around your back garden, or briskly around your house);
- planting a few organic vegetable seeds;
- purchasing (and using!) a book such as Raw Foods on a Budget;
- generally cutting back on unhealthy foods (even if they’re cheap); and
- asking an ‘advancing’ friend to be your ‘accountability buddy’ when it comes to simple health goals you set for yourself.
Once your health starts to improve, you’ll have more energy to create the money you want, which means you can then invest more in organics and superfoods, personal trainers or coaches, if that feels right for you.
So you now have some guidance as to ‘where to start’. But you know deep in your soul what’s needed. I just hope my advice has helped clear some of the fog, and has helped put you on the road towards creating and living a life you truly, truly love.
Do You Love What You Do?
Love is in the air this month because of that special, somewhat schmaltzy, celebration known as Valentine’s Day.
I LOVE that there’s a day dedicated just to love. Do you, too?
Here’s a thought! Why don’t we use the Valentine month as a reminder? Not just about the importance of loving people, but of loving what we do in this world?
Do YOU love what you do? Really?
Do you love your work? The food you eat? The places you go? The sports you play? The hobbies you have?
Or are you just going through the motions, doing activities that you may once have loved, but now leave you feeling a little flat?
I probably don’t need to tell you that the universe responds to our vibration, and when our vibration is high (that is, we’re doing what we love and we therefore feel great), we receive experiences that match that vibration.
Maybe you could use this beautiful month of love to check in with yourself? To question how you feel about the activities that make up your days?
How do you feel about your job, for instance? Is it still fun? (Or was it ever fun?) Do you feel that you’re using your talents, and the skills that come easily to you?
I had an office job in my early 20s, and after the initial fun of starting something new, I began to feel as though I was dying on the inside. I was drifting, having deferred a university journalism degree. I thought that this job, which was in the finance industry, might be interesting and secure (and well paid).
Boy, was I wrong. I tried all sorts of things to gain a promotion (well, not EVERYTHING), but it just never happened. My colleagues were heaps of fun, but the work itself was sapping the life out of me.
I’d been planning to take a year off to go overseas with my then-boyfriend (now husband) Darren, and to come back to that job when we returned. But I remember the day when I decided that, instead, I’d go back to university after our trip. I remember sitting at my desk and feeling absolutely elated, and with such a sense of purpose, clarity and certainty. I knew I was back on the right path, and that I’d be studying something that I loved.
Thank goodness I didn’t ever receive a promotion in that office job, because otherwise I might never have taken the time to think about what I LOVED. Now I get to do work that I love, every day!
I still keep letting myself be pulled towards things that I love. I believe that our intuition – that ‘knowing feeling’ – guides us beautifully. If we listen to it.
Look, it’s OK to outgrow something. You don’t need to love the same job, food or places your entire life. Don’t hang on to an activity just because you’ve ‘always done it’.
Letting go leaves room for the things you really want to do.
So, on 14 February, why not instigate a new Valentine’s ritual, and do a ruthless ‘love review’ of your life’s activities?
This could just be a Valentine’s you’ll never forget…
PS I’d love for you to tell me what you’d love to do! Leave a comment below, or email me at joanne@richradiantreal.com. Just putting it ‘out there’ will show the universe you’re serious about doing what you love.
Doing Good, Feeling Great!
I received an amazing book for Christmas: Screw Business as Usual by Richard Branson.
Now, I’m not usually one for cussing, so the title turned me off a little.
I’m also not a huge fan of the use of women in marketing the Virgin airlines brand.
But I still like Richard Branson. He’s big on social responsibility, and on helping others to help themselves, and this book has revealed to me the full extent of his philanthropical work and his passion for helping others. Now I like him even more!
He believes that it’s up to entrepreneurs to ‘do good’. If we’re to get this planet back in shape, and to finally get on top of the dire poverty and hunger that’s rife around the world, businesses need to take action. Governments just aren’t up to the job.
‘Business as usual’ refers to the fact that, for many years, the only focus of many companies has been on the size of their bottom line. However, as we move into a new age, business is not all about profit, but it’s also not about making a token gesture and giving handouts. It truly is about empowerment. And when a business does good, Richard has discovered that the bottom line flourishes, too. Win-win.
So, if you’re a business owner, is this something you think about? Is the work that you do (the product or service that you provide) bettering the world as well as bringing you personal income?
Or if you’re an employee, do you feel that you work for an ethical company that’s attempting to make the world a better place? Does it treat its staff well? Does it look beyond profit?
In your personal purchases, do you support forward-thinking companies by purchasing their products or services? Be it soap powders, make-up, organic or locally produced food, or services offered by people such as stay-at-home mums who want to make extra income for their families from home?
It’s not easy for every business to ensure their whole production line is environmentally sustainable, but they can make big strides towards that goal, and part of their mission can also be to help people help themselves (wherever possible).
Richard believes that people are basically good, and that, given the chance, they really want to do good. And we all know that doing good also feels good. In my opinion, we’re all connected, so when we help others, we really do help ourselves!
Since reading Screw Business as Usual, I’ve reflected on my own path, and have realised that as my awareness has grown over the years, I’m now more conscious about ‘doing good’. I love personal development, and I love helping other people realise that they have control over their destiny. How wonderful that I can make such an impact on people’s lives, now that I’m a life coach!
In earlier years, I worked as an editor for Lonely Planet travel guides, a company dedicated to helping raise awareness of different cultures, giving to worthy grassroots organisations, and maintaining editorial independence. I LOVED the culture of that company. Since then I’ve written three recipe books for children, encouraging kids to choose organic produce and to practice skills that empower and equip them for life.
I know there’s so much more I can do, and I’m so glad that my radar is now tuned in to a very conscious way of living. I know that I’m in a privileged position of being born in a first-world country that has access to so many resources, and I know that I have a responsibility to ‘do good’. Not just because it’s the ‘right thing to do’, because I really do want to help.
As you set about planning a phenomenal 2012, I invite you to think about the type of world you want to live in. Consider making ‘doing good’ a tangible, meaningful goal that flows through any other goals you create… and be prepared to reap rich rewards!
PS Head here to discover more about Richard’s work, and the amazing work of other entrepreneurs from around the world. I may not agree with some of Richard’s marketing philosophies, but I do respect that he uses his name, influence and money to effect hugely positive change in the world.
PPS I love the work of microfinancing organisation Opportunity International. It gives loans to people in developing countries who want to create or grow their own businesses!
Joanne's coaching was exactly what I needed to help me focus my precious time and money on finding work and making money! What I like most about Joanne’s coaching is that it's gentle, supportive and empathetic, rather than pushy and 'ra-ra-ra'”
...if there’s something that you’ve been putting off doing, because it’s so big and overwhelming, then by coaching with Joanne you'll definitely find a way to do it, to finally reach your goal.”
Radiant