How do you feel about your job or your business or your profession. Does it light up your life?  Is your heart singing? 

It can feel really challenging, even frightening, to change or make a move.  I made a change from family law to commercial law as an established attorney. But I did so after being hit by a two-by-four on the side of the head, not so wise or kind to self!

I was primarily a family lawyer, which can be difficult and draining.  You are not dealing with people at their best. They are often stressed, anxious and have unreasonable expectations. Sometimes they try to put their children in the middle instead of considering their best interests.  Sometimes there are legitimate concerns of alcohol, drug abuse or addiction are involved.

Dealing with people who were going through a major life change wasn’t the problem.  It was a few highly successful family lawyers who were creating a toxic environment for us all, and the judges were allowing them to get away with behavior which should have been banned as unbefitting the legal profession. But it wasn't.

I was stressed and overwhelmed, and it was taking a toll on my health. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when an alcoholic client filed a grievance against me. I represented her in a hotly contested child custody case in which she imploded and turned to the bottle after years of abstinence.

The grievance was ultimately dismissed, but it was a costly, time-consuming, life-changing experience and I knew in my gut that I had to make a change.

I had a small commercial law practice and decided to focus exclusively on that.  I was excited and scared, with no guarantees, a solo practitioner and, a single parent with a young son.

It looked crazy to change from the outside.  When we decide to make a big change, sometimes the universe works in strange ways. The week after I decided to no longer accept new family law cases, I received more phone calls from new clients than I had in the past 3 months!  It was like the universe was asking me, “Are you sure? Are you really sure you want to do this?"

Some people might have used this as a sign that they were making a mistake and change their mind. I didn’t.  What I learned was when you follow your heart, your gut knowing, you are tested; you are presented with something that seems too good to be true and it probably is.

So, follow your heart and don’t wait to be smacked upside the head the way I was.  When you have an inspiration to do something differently, to make a change, to let something go, to start something new, everything that is not about your new way forward is going to present for you to let go of.

So, let go with gratitude, appreciate the journey you’ve been on, all that you’ve learned, even negative learning of what not to do, and acknowledge how you’ve grown from what you've done up till now. 

You have to let go of the old to make way for the new.  Your choices are going to have challenges. You're probably going to have some bumps and unexpected turns in the road.  Go with the flow and be open to all possibilities; it’s about letting go of the need to control everything and have certainty.

Listen to that still small voice inside. Listen when opportunities present that resonate with you that you would love to step towards because they feel right and take that step.  Every moment is an opportunity to choose to follow your inner compass and listen to your gut or not. 

Are you ready to embrace the road less traveled?  Is it calling to you?

You want to reach a goal, complete a project, make a change that affects your relationships, your health, your work, your life. Where do you start?

When you want to achieve something, the starting point is always to have a burning desire to make your goal a reality.  This burning desire is much more than a hope or a wish. It’s something that’s ALWAYS with you, a dream that you constantly hold in your heart.  You may be working or working out, socializing, or relaxing at home, but this goal, this dream, this change is always there with you.

You will succeed not because you got a break but because you chose a definite goal and then you placed ally our energy, effort and willpower towards achieving that goal.  You must have clear, definite, written goals.

Humility is also a vital part of success, knowing how far you have come, your strengths, and how far you still have to go. those not-so-shiny bits, while being in complete acceptance of where you find yourself now.

Success may mean starting at the bottom or doing some things, some tasks. taking on some responsibilities that you would prefer not to do or to delegate.

And it doesn’t matter what other people think.  They can see your goal as an impossible dream.   Provided you already know it’s happening now, you imagine it, see, feel, and know it to be true, success is ultimately guaranteed.  Just don’t be attached to when it happens (no urgency!) or how it comes to pass (the packaging could be different than expected).

Stake all your energy, focus and commitment, your entire future, on your ability to make your burning desire a reality.

How do you do this?

The 6 steps are clearly laid out for you in Napoleon’s Hill’ classic, Think and Grow Rich.

First:  Fix in your mind exactly what you desire. Be definite, clear and specific.

Second: Decide what you will give in return. There is no such thing as something for nothing.

Third: Decide when you will achieve your desire.

Fourth: Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once. It doesn’t matter whether you feel ready or not, start now.

Fifth: Write out a clear, concise statement of what you desire, when you will have it, what you will give back in return, and how you plan to attain it.

Sixth: Read this statement aloud every morning when you wake up and every night before you go to sleep. AND See, feel and believe yourself to be already in possession of it.

A great Think and Grow Rich success story is Bruce Lee, who read and followed the example of Napoleon Hill.

"My Definite Chief Aim, By Bruce Lee, January 1969"

"I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States.  In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor.  Starting in 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10,000,000.  I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness."

Biography of Bruce Lee in Video

“Bruce Lee brought something magical to his performances that no one has been able to replicate.  His passion, professionalism and burning desire touched the lives of many and opened doors for martial artists, Orientals, and others in the film industry.”

End notes

These 6 steps to success are not rocket science . . . they are simple, easy-to-follow instructions for success.

And remember, you must give in order to receive.  Make sure that what you are bringing to the world is something you can be proud of, something you would recommend to those closest to you, and that your motivation to serve is what keeps moving you forward.

And enjoy your success!

Meditation has been scientifically proven to: 

Improve Your Health - better immune function, less pain & inflammation.

Increase Your Contentment - more positive thoughts & feelings, less stress & anxiety.

Boost Your Self-Confidence - easier to accel & do your best.

Boost Your Productivity - more focused & creative, easier to multi-task & problem-solve.

Then why don’t we take that time for ourselves to relax, let go, breathe more deeply and go within? Maybe the personality bit of us would rather lay on the couch and watch Netflix or HBO or anything.  If it's not a priority, if something hasn't happened in our lives that makes it imperative to make the change and find this quiet time for ourselves, we're likely to remain the same, even if we know it's 'good for us' or could lower our stress and cortisol levels. 

We need to ask ourselves:  Are we ready and willing to change? 

Sometimes, we know that something is bad for us, but we keep doing it anyway.  One example is smoking.  I had a friend, Evan.  He's a great guy, a vegetarian, a non-drinker.  Watches what kind of food he puts in his body.  And he hates pollution.  He talks on and on about pollution even though he's been polluting his own air and lungs for years. Evan, until quite recently was a smoker.  He smoked 1.5 packs of cigarettes a day. Knew it was bad for him. Knew it was going to kill him, but he didn't stop smoking.  He's been having respiratory conditions for years connected with cigarette smokers, and recently went to a Naturopath for some iridology.  The Naturopath told Evan that he had some spots on the lungs. Evan looked up spots on the lungs and decided to see a Western medical doctor.  He hadn't been to see one in 10 years.  The doctor found that Evan had the beginning stages of emphysema.  Evan quit smoking cold turkey and hasn't had a cigarette in over 6 months. 

What happened?  Evan not only knew in his head that cigarettes were going to kill him, he became aware that cigarettes were actually killing him, and he allowed change to move through him and become a non-smoker. 

What's the correlation? We may feel stressed, tired, overwhelmed, out of sorts and know that something needs to change in our lives, like having a meditation practice, and do nothing.  When it hits home that the stress, fatigue, and other physical ailments that we are experiencing with increasing frequency and intensity are not going away, are starting to control our lives, it's no longer a theory, and we allow change to move through us. We make changes in our lives to feel more calm, quiet, centered, balanced and peaceful. 

Why wait till our stress levels or physical symptom reach epic proportions?  Our society has some unrealistic ideas about meditation, like you must sit cross legged on the floor with your spine straight and eyes closed and chant or breathe deeply for hours to meditate. 

No, not true.  We can meditate in motion like chi gong or tai chi.  We can sit quietly and breathe and be for 5 minutes.  Some physical activities can be a meditative experience, like swimming, running, walking, hiking and skiing.  It's about being fully present in the moment and in our hearts, grounded in our bodies, experiencing calm assurance and serenity. 

There's not a one-size-fits-all for meditation, we can start small and build from there.  We can experience the benefits with our short, focused meditation time, our time to rest and rejuvenate, our time to relax and refuel.  It's important to be kind to ourselves and fill ourselves with the love of self-care; when we do so, we bring more of our best self to whatever else we do.

There’s a lot of urgency everywhere in the world today, lots of fears about getting it wrong, missing out, not getting what you want, losing what you’ve got and being left behind.  It's easy to get sucked into comparing ourselves to other people, regretting key moments in the past and worrying about the future.

Focusing on what you don’t want to experience is not a good idea.  It just brings you more of the same.  What you focus on is what you get more of in your life! 

What can you do not to get sucked into the fear, doubt and disbelief that’s everywhere around you, the feeling of being incredibly stressed?  It’s about unplugging from the way most people do it.  Unplugging from what magazines, the news, talk shows and lots of people say you should and should not be doing, which means giving up on your dreams and goals.

Even the people that love you and want to give you the best possible advice are operating out of their own biases, beliefs, and fears, and can easily sabotage your success if you ignore your own inner knowing, if you allow yourself to be swayed from your initial inspiration that really lit you up, that you knew was the way forward.

So if you have a new seedling of an idea, do not share it with anyone unless you are absolutely 110% sure that they will support you, cheer you on, have your back and keep your secret safe until your great idea is a sturdy tree.

Find ways to support listening to your own knowing, that still small voice inside that can be easily muffled by all the busyness in your life.  Find ways to get your head clear, to let go of daily stress and deeply breathe.  Meditation. Yoga. Hiking, Skiing. Swimming. Biking. Running.  Meandering through nature. Enjoying the full moon. Walking in the brisk night air. Lying on the beach.  Painting. Drawing. Writing. Journaling.  Building something. Clearing out the old – giving away, throwing out or selling everything that you no longer need or use.  Relaxing with a friend.  Being alone and enjoying it.

Find ways to nod your head and smile in all the right places and then follow your heart. Sometimes, it’s not worth making a point or having a prolonged or heated discussion with someone who just doesn’t get you, who wants to push their views onto you.

Gather people around you who understand you and get your vision, who care about and support you without needing anything back in return; gather people who are your tribe, people who have your back as much as you have theirs; people you can count on when the waters are rough; people who will tell it like it is while always holding the ideal of all you can be, the clearest, brightest version of you.

Practice being a witness to the stress of others, to the wound up, there’s not enough time, it’s too hard, I’m not going to make it, playing out in the world.  Be in the world but not part of the urgency in the world. Don’t judge it. Accept people and situations and circumstances as they are and make a new path for yourself and for others to follow; a path that is calmer, more productive and supportive, more in alignment with who you are choosing to be.

Unplugging from the urgency, stress and fear that is all around is not a one-off thing; it’s a daily endeavor. You are swimming upstream. If you stop or forget for a day, you will be swept back into the old.

It’s not easy being different. It’s not easy being the eye, that calm quiet center in the midst of everything that is happening in your world.  Anything worth having, calm assurance, being able to handle what is in your in tray with grace, ease and flow, is worth fighting for.

If you’re ready to unplug, find support and systems to guide you step by step of the way into a new way of being, one that supports your heartfelt success, one that's in alignment with your vision and ideals and goals.