Journey Distractions

mom and baby

Ok, Morning Coach people, you think you have issues meeting your goals?  Check out the saga of the Klamath River whales.  Here is this mother and baby Pacific gray whale gently swimming in the Klamath River, minding their own business, doing their own thing.  After about a month, the baby heads back to the open ocean.  The mother, content on her own journey, continues to leisurely swim around in circles in the river. 

whale diversionJPGThen out of no-where come these smart, super-intelligent, caring citizens who decide that the mother should not be in the river, that what she is doing is not right and that she has to go back to the ocean right now.   So in their infinite, all-knowing wisdom, they shoot her with water, bang on pipes, pound on drums, etc. in an effort to change her course and send her back to where they think she should be.whale spraying

 

The gentle giant calmly ignores them and goes on about her own personal development and goals.  She does not let them divert her focus or attention.  She continues to swim in the river – up the river, under the bridge, and back down the river.  Every day, consistently.  Not once does she lash out at the people that think they know what is best for her. No angry splashing, no overturning their boats, just a gentle steady progress on her route.  In fact, mostly she ignores them.   She doesn’t try to argue with them or dissuade them from their goals of diverting her.  Instead she let’s them do what they are doing and gracefully continues on her own personal journey.

Now I don’t pretend to understand what she is doing in that river anymore than I understand what you are doing in your own personal river.  But this I do know, whatever she is doing or whatever you are doing, it’s because it is the right journey for your own personal growth and development.  It doesn’t really matter if others understand or embrace your personal goals.  What matters is that you – like the whale – understand your journey  and consistently work towards it.

Next time you have friends, family, acquaintances, or even strangers trying to divert you from your journey, think of the whale – stay the course, be consistent, be gentle and courteous, and stay focused on your own personal goal.  Let nothing distract you.

personal goal

To follow more of this beautiful whale’s journey go to  www.ashalatylorimages.wordpress.com or www.flickr.com/photos/ashala

Andee is a business consultant whose passion is helping business owners strategically market and brand their companies using social media tools coupled with traditional business tactics.  Her clients range from small independent companies to large multi-national organizations.  She has an MBA but owes her success to personal coaching by JB Glossinger and morningcoach.com.  She can be reached at andeeallen@gmail.com.

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Personal Development Through the Gratitude of Laughter

Today I am thankful for Laughter. I have a wicked sense of humor, but it has made me almost sane. The sound of a child laughing is so special, the smile on my mother’s face when I tell a joke makes my heart lighter. I think laughter… and humor are what we are going to need to get us through the next few years. So keep smiling.

This post made me realize how often I have taken laughter and the simple things in life for granted, not truly appreciating them.  Laughter is such a simple thing but yet so very profound.   It can completely change your mood and turn an tough day into a better if not outright great day.

This post also made me stop and think about the other simple things in life that I take for granted – a smile, a hug, a kind word – things I am grateful for but never think to acknowledge with gratitude.  Things that my life would be empty without.

So during this Thanksgiving season as part of our own personal development, let’s pause, acknowledge, and give thanks for the  small, simple things in life!  Better yet, let’s make it one of our goals in life to daily give thanks for all the small blessing we have.  And don’t forget to laugh while you are at it!

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Change Your Questions, Change Your Life

If you are looking for a simple way to improve your life and enhance your conscious evolution – change the questions you ask yourself.  It’s really that easy.

Your questions dictate how you live you life, why you do certain things, and even how you feel about people.  When you find yourself stuck, depressed or frustrated, it is often because of the questions you ask.  If you want better health, increased focus, more abundance, happiness – whatever it is you want - your self-talk questions either guide you to them or away from your personal goals.

Starting today, change your questions and see if, at the end of the week, it has made a profound impact on your life and your personal evolution.    If your questions are typically ‘why’ questions, start asking ‘what’ questions.  Rather than “Why is this happening to me?” ask “What can I do to have results?”  If you typically ask ‘what’ questions, start asking ‘how’ questions.    Or mix it up and ask different questions throughout the day.  Also, make each question  a conscious solution-oriented question.

You can be more positive, productive and properpous by using this simple question changing technique.   Changing your questions forces you to be more aware and hear your self-talk.  At the very least, it enhances your daily life perspective.

Simple technique, but not always easy….

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Conscious Evolution Plan – Make It Happen!

If you have been following the MorningCoach blog and putting the time, energy, and effort into working the individual steps of the Conscious Evolution Plan, you now have a completed plan.  But guess what – you are not done!  Nope, this is just the beginning.  This  is the time where the rubber meets the road.  You have set the stage, now is the time to act.

With that said, understand that everyone has setbacks. It’s a fact of life. Even the most successful people have their share of obstacles when working toward their goals.  How many times has Donald Trump filed for bankruptcy? The true measure of success is to expect setbacks, plan for them, overcome them, and keep moving forward. 

 Conscious Evolution Plan Execution

Everything you have done so far is preparing you for success.   And  guess what – you are worth it! You are now in the small, elite group of people who have a written plan.  Fewer than 10% of people will actually take the time to get as far as you have – 10%!!

 Compared to what you just did, the rest is easy but you have to stay with it.   You have to execute your Strategic Destiny Plan with focus, persistence, and continual refining.   Because you have a plan, you will quickly know when you are off track. You will instinctively feel when your core values are out of whack. You will be amazed at how rapidly your life changes and how quickly you reach your goals.  

And remember, your Conscious Evolution Plan is a living, breathing document.  Update it, add to it, change it and watch your dreams unfold through your personal evolution.

Plan to Succeed and You Will!!

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Conscious Evolution Plan – Financial Goals

To get to where you want to go with your financial conscious evolution, you have to know where you are.    The only way to really know if you are progressing financially is if you have a firm grasp on your current financial picture.

Contrary to what you may have heard,  preparing your personal financial reports is not that difficult.    The first time will take the most time, it will take you around 30 to 40  minutes.  Then when you maintain and update the it on a monthly basis, it should only take you less than 15 minutes.   The other option, if you don’t want to do it yourself,  is to pay someone else to do it for you.  Either way works.  Just do it!!

For the purposes of your conscious evolution financial plan, keep it simple.  There are many different reports or statements that you can generate but it is best (for now) to keep it to two reports  -   a personal financial balance sheet and income statement.

Balance Sheet

A Balance sheet tells you what assets and liabilities (expenses) you have at a given point in time.    Then your assets minus your libilities gives you your net worth.   You can find a basic one by searching on the internet or create your own.  On the right side of the paper list all your assets (home, car, stocks, bonds, savings accounts, checking accounts, trading cards – anything of value that you want to track), assign a value to each item.  Then on the left side of the paper, list all your liabilities (mortgage, car loan, outstanding taxes, credit card bills, etc.), assign a value (the full amount of the debt not the monthly payment) to each liability.   Total each column, then subtract the liabilities from the expenses – that is your Net Worth.

Income and Expenses Statement

After your finish your  balance sheet, prepare an Income and Expense Statement. This document shows you what you have coming in and what you have going out.  Do the same thing with this sheet as you did with the balance sheet - on the right side list all your income (don’t forget interest, stock dividends, etc) and then on the left list all your monthly expenses (don’t forget the money you put in your savings, 401K, IRA, etc).    Subtract the expenses from the income and you have your disposable income.  If your expenses are higher than your income, review each expense listed to determine which one you can eliminate now or over time.

As you do this every month, you will begin to see changes in your net worth, income and expenses.  Remember what you focus on increases so focus on increasing your net worth and disposable income.

Then the final step is to take both of these documents and project what your numbers will be in 5 and 10 years based on your personal financial goals, assumptions, and aspirations.

Focus on Financial Prospertiy!

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