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4 Steps to Discovering How to Live on Purpose

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 2 Comments

A Guest Post by Veronica Drake

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I am Veronica Drake…. mother, ex-wife, wife, victim, friend, arch enemy and survivor. I will show you how I came to realize there are really only four steps to finding your purpose. It only took me 18 plus years to figure it out. Most likely it will take you all of three minutes to decide if it means anything to you.

One cold November morning in 1996 I screamed at God and tried to give Him back His faulty product. I even had the balls to challenged Him to a standoff: “If you have any use for me, show up now or I’m outta here.”

I was sick and tired of living the life I was given. I was blaming the Creator. I had no idea if there even was a God. I figured what did I have to lose. As I was careening my car toward the abutment I came face to face with the details of the life I had created: friends I’d made, loves I’d lost, bridges I’d burned, battles I’d created, and mistakes I’d lived to regret. I realized all this in a split second. And, yes, like in the movies, something happened. It was as if something literally was taking my foot off the gas and applying it to the break. I truly had no control over what was happening. I remember feeling very warm and safe. Something very familiar had me.

t wasn’t long after that experience I got all Holy Rollerish. It didn’t take me long to realize that Holy Roller stuff wasn’t me. But, it did make me question WHO I WAS and WHY I WAS SPARED that day?

I decided to dive in and explore what was really going on with me. What I know about me is I have charisma, I’m very out-of-the-box, I am quick witted and people are drawn to me. Ummm, what was it the Creator wanted me to do with all of that; what Purpose could I possibly fill. There it was right in front of my face the entire time. I would be who I was naturally created to be. Still struggling to identify Purpose, I simply continued to live my life, a life I could be proud of, a life that served others no matter what title I wore.

Ironically, just as I settled into living, it became crystal clear to me. I am a teacher of Purpose. I was given the gift of connecting people to Purpose. Wow, that was powerful. Lil’ ole me using the gifts I was given to be naturally who I am.

It was an 18-year journey for me but luckily for you I condensed it all down to 4 easy steps!

My Four Steps for Finding a Purposeful Existence:

  1. Clarity. Be clear about who you are. Take an honest inventory of what you are bringing to life. List your successes and your natural abilities. Take the time to write it out and revisit it daily. Begin knowing that we are all inherently good and we were all created with natural gifts. If you are struggling to get started, remember our Creator put default settings in us and all we have to do is simply return to what we know; the Golden Rule, do unto others.
  2. Passion. Passion IS energy. It shows up mentally, physically, and spirituality. Embracing the passion and learning to focus it is really the core of finding Purpose. Passion pushes us to look for ways to continually improve what we do and how we do it. Be passionate about who you naturally are. Marrying passion with Purpose is the ultimate fulfillment in life.
  3. Acceptance. A big part of living on Purpose is acceptance. To live a simplified Purposeful life all you need to do is surrender to what is. When you have expectations you will always find yourself in chaos. Bring acceptance into your life and you will find how easy life really is. Acceptance isn’t about living with what is forever it merely means you allow it to be until it no longer is.
  4. Deciding. Nothing happens until YOU DECIDE. The law of inertia states that “A body in motion tends to remain in motion, a body at rest tends to remain at rest.” Will you stay stagnate or will you move? I have DECIDED to be a Spiritual Life Coach who empowers people to live life on Purpose. You?

Living life on purpose is living up to the reason that we’re here, making the most of our gifts.

Have you discovered how to live life on purpose yet?

——
Veronica Drake js an International Spiritual Life Coach who inspires clients to explore their spiritual self. Her site is Spiritual Coach Veronica Drake and she writes for people heeding the call of their inner guidance systems and who look to reconnect to their heart on her blog. Her Twitter name is RonnieDrake.

Thank you, Ronnie, for sharing the story of your passion, your purpose, and your life!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Punished for being too smart

Filed Under Successful Blog, leadership | 9 Comments

by Patty Azzarello

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punished-for-being-smart

Being the smartest one in the room is not easy

Really smart people who get to the answer before everyone else get frustrated because:

Good guy or bad guy?

I have met and mentored many talented and genuinely kind people throughout my career that want to do positive things for the business in an unselfish way — but they get stuck because they are so smart that they piss people off.

If you are one of these people, or you have one of these people working for you – here is the trick.

You can either be Smart or you can be Effective

You can’t do everything alone.

You need other people — either to help or to get out of the way.

So if you can’t influence them, you will face road blocks and fail to get others working on your agenda. You will not be effective.

If you want to be effective, you have to suck it up and bring people along with you, even though it seems like a waste of time.

Here are some ideas…

First, slow down even though it goes against every grain of your being.

Include people: Don’t just announce the answer, go through the step of setting context and getting input.

Listen: In meetings, give others time to talk, and listen instead of arguing or shutting them down. You may feel like you are wasting time, but you will win favor by listening.  It will pay-off later when you need to get their support.

Don’t be mean. I know it doesn’t feel like you’re  being mean. You are not trying to be mean.  You are trying to be straightforward, practical, share the answer, and make progress. In fact, one of the things that is so annoying about these people is that they accuse you of being mean when you are not.

But they have the right to their perception. What they see may be your dismissing their inputs, ignoring them, or picking fights publicly. Say less. Be more gracious. Be more patient. Use more steps in your logic. Get smaller agreements along the way. Say thank you.

Make an effort to learn what their strengths are: You may be pleasantly surprised. Or not. But if you can get someone talking about what they are good at, and show some appreciation of that, they will be your friend, and you can get their support for your agenda.

Give them the benefit of the doubt: Keep in mind that these people might be brilliant in ways that you don’t see. In ways that you are not.

What if someone in the room is really gifted at networking and connecting and getting others to get on board? Even if they never understand your project, if you can win over that one person they can bring you all the others.

What if the numbers guy who is just not getting the big picture, has a relationship with the CFO that will get your idea funded if you can win him over?

Set your sights on effectiveness

OK. Even if you are truly in a room full of stupid people who can’t keep up, you have a choice to make. Jump to the answer alone and face roadblocks, or make the effort to bring them along, so you can get the job done.

It’s a choice you have. It may be frustrating in the moment, but the upside is that you will be getting things done – maybe not as fast as you want to go, but better than not at all.

What do you think?

Have you had this issue or helped others through it? What has worked for you? Please share your thoughts in the comment box below!
—–
Patty Azzarello is an executive, author, speaker and CEO-advior. She works with executives where leadership and business challenges meet. Patty has held leadership roles in General Management, Marketing, Software Product Development and Sales, and has been successful in running large and small businesses. She writes at Patty Azzarello’s Business Leadership Blog. You’ll find her on Twitter as @PattyAzzarello, and on Facebook. Also, check out her new book Rise…

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The Story Behind the Story….of SOBCon

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Today’s guest post is from Terry Starbucker

Terry Starbucker is a service company executive and a founder of SOBCon who writes about leadership, personal development, and social media in his blog, Ramblings From a Glass Half Full. He also shares his love of music and learning on Twitter as @starbucker

Let me tell you a story……

In May 2007, there was a gathering at a Chicago hotel.

75 people hung out together for a weekend, and talked about their craft, their passions, and their lives.

It turned out to be magical. Trust was high. Candor was abundant. Egos were checked at the door. There was a depth to the dialogue that prompted many to declare how “life changing” it was.

There were no barriers to learning. And it was good.

One year later, it happened again. The magic returned, this time for over 100 people in a downtown place that welcomed them with hospitality and great food. More lives were changed for the better.

Could it happen a third time? Yes. In May of 2009, 125 people felt it too.

The magic.

Where did this come from? Who was capable of conjuring up the ingredients of this potent mixture of trust, humility, and candor?

It had to be someone who lives and breathes these qualities. Who deeply believes in the basic generosity of the human spirit.

That’s where the magic comes from – that belief.

When that person entered the room at those three gatherings in Chicago, something wonderful happened. This person was the catalyst of a powerful enabling force that unlocked that same generous spirit from everyone there.

That’s really the “story behind the story” of this gathering we call SOBCon – the person who made it happen.

That person is Liz Strauss.

Without her these gatherings would not have taken place. No magic, no learning, and no life-altering experiences.

Liz Strauss IS SOBCon.

And she will once again be in a downtown Chicago room (yep, the one with the great food) with 150 people from April 30-May 2, 2010, nurturing and enabling this “think tank with a heart”.

The theme – “Virtual meets the concrete”. 2 ½ days of strategies and tactics focused on merging your online and offline worlds into a successful business.

Will you be there? Are you willing to learn from 150 “fearless sharers” –and will you share your experiences and wisdom as well?

Are you ready for the magic??

If you are, go to our registration site right now, and get in the room. (Don’t miss the video in the Event Details)

If you are not, and perhaps need a bit more information, or convincing, or both –check out the links I shared up above, and read as many of the recaps as you can. Or, just read Liz’s recap of SOBCon09, or my thoughts on why SOBCon matters to me.

Oh, and as a little added incentive, we’ll knock off $200 from the registration cost if you sign up before December 16.

C’mon, be a part of these ongoing stories – and join us in Chicago for SOBCon2010!

Thanks.

(And get well partner – much love to the magic maker!)

What Juliann Grant Said … About Creating Futures

Filed Under Successful Blog | 6 Comments

A community isn’t built or befriended,
it’s connected by offering and accepting.
Community is affinity, identity, and kinship
that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions.
Wherever a community gathers, we aspire and inspire each other intentionally . . . And our words shine with authenticity.

The Faraway Future

We place a goal and set off to our future. But as we travel, questions, roadblocks, and unexpected problems interrupt us. Choices and decisions fork the road, muddle our clear path and diffuse directed our thinking. How do create our futures?

Here’s what Juliann said . . .

. . . somehow I always find the right information from the right person at the right time. Something about being aligned with our purpose, and being a little fearless in our exploration (HT to Richard Reeve) that opens up the right doors. It is very helpful to have a core group of people to trust and get continual feedback on our personal and professional development. What you have laid out is precisely what good leaders must do to build their vision around the future they desire to create.

Juliann Grant from a comment on November 13, 2008

A successful and outstanding blogger said that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

So Tell Me, Are You Feeling Lucky?

Filed Under Successful Blog | 25 Comments

The dictionary says that luck is an outside force Lucky means that we receive good fortune or get hit by adversity.

Around here, we we define it differently.

When we say lucky on this blog, we mean ways we connect … Jannie said:
I feel my gurus thus far are you, Barbara Swafford, Cath Lawson and Vered … I feel awfully lucky.

people who encourage us … Vicky said:
I love Melissa and Life In Perpetual Beta too!
I am so lucky to know both of you personally. You both enrich my life and I believe God sent you both to me. To encourage me to dream big as both of you do and you know I have big plans too!

about making our own dreams … Patricia said:
Sigh. This is my dream, to live near the beach and take long walks on the sand.
So soothing. You must conjure lots of dreams for this community on those beach walks. Lucky for us!

We use lucky to talk about relationships … Writer Dad said:
My son and I wake up before anyone else. Every morning he reminds me how lucky I am.

appreciation and gratitude … Karl said:
I take a second to step back and try to appreciate the spot that I am in. It helps me gain perspective and feel lucky to do whatever it is I’m doing. Even giving a financial literacy talk to a bunch of bored teenagers is enjoyable.

I catch myself doing the same thing.
I’m one very lucky blogger.
Don’t think I don’t know that.

Around here, luck doesn’t happen to us.
We choose it for ourselves — in the people we love and the paths we walk.

Luck is an action, a choice, and a point of view.

So tell me, are you feeling lucky?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Image: sxc.hu
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