I can’t believe the number of times that I thought about changing the message on my answering machine. I had the same message for two years….just saying that makes me feel like a dinasaur….stuck..resistant to change…and I’m not. I have thought about changing my message on at least 100 occasions. It’s amazing the amount of time that went to just thinking about it and the number of people who had suggested it. And what’s also amazing are the spectrum of emotions that i felt and the reasons I came up with not doing anything.

Finally the decision was made for me. I switched telephone providers so I had to come up with a new message. It was painless. It seemed so easy and now I am thinking about making this change at least at the beginning of every month.

Just think about other areas of your life in which you are reluctant to change. We can be stubborn sometimes, can’t we? But our resistance to change is what holds us back from having a successful and fulfilling life. Life is full of changes…just think of the seasons of the year. We either create the change in our life or we react to it. I know what I want to do and I am sure your preference would be to create the change you want.

Sometimes we just have to say we are going to do it. Having someone hold us accountable is a big help. Having goals also propels us in the direction that we want to go. More about that next time.

What is one change that you can make today? Who is going to hold you accountable?

JOURNEY ON

MARK

THERE’S NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW. There will always be something that holds you back; an excuse to put your life on hold. JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow ,JD, is an Executive and Life Coach, who inspires others to believe in themselves. A former successful trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

For the last few years I have been in the process of writing a book. The subject and purpose of the book has changed more than a few times. At first I thought it would be great to have a book as a way to help grow my business and what I’m doing. And then it turned out that I was asked to join other writers in a collaborative effort which came out as 101 Great Ways to Improve your Life. Once this was published my original reason for writing a book changed.

Then I was encouraged to tell my story. That was a challenging project because it can be neverending. Once you tell one part of your life, you think about something else. I have led a pretty interesting life and of course think that I have a unique story to tell. And I am sure that most of you do too. It’s in the telling of that story that you find out things about yourself that you forgot. There’s a lot more to the story than you realize.

For a second, imagine that you are getting ready to go to a movie with a friend. You’re not sure what you want to see….so you pick up the movie section and sure enough there is a movie about your life.

The first scene begins with your life now including the roles and identities that define you to a large extent. It includes your hopes, your dreams and your doubts.

What are the roles that you would be playing? What do you identity with? Right now I am playing coach-mentor, father, husband, and renaissance man. I have played lawyer, musician, athlete and poet at different times of my life. Right now I am embracing this role as a renaissance man….it all makes sense for me and it’s fun.

It enables me to live a balanced integrated life and incorporate all of my past experiences and beliefs into being in integrity with who I really am. It’s a matter of throwing off the shackles which have confined me, which usually are the past judgments of others and of ourselves.

So here’s the challenge. If you threw off all of those past shackles and all of the shoulds and woulds, what would your movie be like? Who would be playing you in the movie? And what role would you be playing?

JOURNEY ON

MARK

THERE’S NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW. There will always be something that holds you back; an excuse to put your life on hold. JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow ,JD, is an Executive and Life Coach, who inspires others to believe in themselves. A former successful trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

Following up on my theme that what comes up in a life coaching session pertains to all of us I am relating what came up this morning.

Do you know one person who doesn’t worry? I don’t. I think that we can all agree that we would like to minimize our worrying. But what is worry?

That’s what we talked about in our call. When you worry, you believe that something in the future will occur that will a negative effect on your life down the road.

The truth is you don’t know for sure. So you are making a negative assumption about the future. That’s what we are doing. And rather than living in the present, we are living in a “what if world.”

Let’s flip it. But before we do that, let’s call worry…concern. Let’s take what we are concerned about and give it the best case scenario. For example we might be concerned about business. And we might think that if the business is getting slower, then in three months it will be even slower.

What if you said because this month is a little bit slow, I am poised to have my best month ever? Don’t you think you would have more fun while you go through what you go through? You know you would. Change the questions you are asking yourself.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

THERE’S NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW. There will always be something that holds you back; an excuse to put your life on hold. JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

I have realized that in almost every coaching call that I have with clients that there is a nugget that pertains to all of us.

Frank(fictitious name), an architect, has seen his business continually grow. The quality of services that he provides keeps expanding as does Frank personally and professionally, yet he has a few clients who don’t want to grow with him.

On a practical level, Frank doesn’t need their business. He has a steady flow yet he doesn’t want to turn away business.

So what’s he to do. That is a dilemma that we all have. Not just in business but in our entire life.

When do we move on and let someone go. When do we say to ourself that we can do better.

Yes we still want to be compassionate, yet we realize that every interaction that we have with that person is a piece of work. It’s an effort that no longer serves us.

I am a firm believer in making changes and letting someone go is part of that. It’s not unusual that when you do let go that there will be a void in your life…you might even question whether you made the right decision. But that void gets filled quickly.

On another level what you are really doing is sending a message to the universe. You are making a definitive statement as to the quality of the life that you want and expect and the people who you wish to partner with.

Here’s the question. Who or what are you willing to let go of? There is so much focus on what we want and what steps we can take to get there that we overlook a basic premise.

It’s our willingness to let go that allows us to take the path of least resistance. Think about it. Let it flow. My free monthly ezine, Letters on LIfe explores these questions in more depth.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

I had an interesting conversation in a coaching call this morning. For months, Frank (fictitious name) had been telling me that he did not have enough time to meditate and exercise.

Finally he began to meditate and he found that his stress level decreased big time. He was like a differrent person.

But he was a CPA and found that every tax season, which ended on April 15th, he would drive himself crazy. I made many suggestions that he exercise on a a regular basis. But he believed that he didn’t have enough time.

Finally this year, Frank hired a personal trainer and is working out three days a week even during the tax season that has already begun. He feels different and more energetic.

What is interesting is that he does have enough time, but it was his false belief in the past that kept him from doing it. That belief of course being that he didn’t have enough time.

I then asked Frank to look at other false beliefs that he had that were holding him back in other areas of his life.

Signup for my monthly ezine, Letters on Life.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

I just got back from a coaches meeting and the subject came up of how to be a “thoughtleader.”

And of course, many of us wanted to know what a “thoughtleader” is. And how does one qualify to become one?

In the discussion, what came out was that there isn’t a simple definition that we can use.

So I thought that I would make it work for me. In my mind, a “thoughtleader” is someone who is a leader who influences others.

Usually an expert in some field, although not necessarily so. Perhaps in some way we are all “thoughtleaders.”

We have something to say that can make a difference in someone’s life. What’s amazing to me is the number of times that a casual encouraging remark many years previous made a difference in someone’s life.

We don’t realize the power we have to make a difference. But we can’t make a difference by keeping our beliefs to ourselves. It’s a great feeling to empower others and is needed by all of us. That’s one thing that “thoughtleaders” do…they make a difference.

We all have that potential. You make a difference. Let someone know.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

There’s always that thing that gets in the way. You’re doing pretty good. In fact compared to most people you are doing great. Even you have to admit that. You’re proud of yourself especially when you look back over the last year. Wow….I have really come a long way you think to yourself.

And in fact you have. You could have never handled what you are handling now a year ago.

It’s too good to be true is what you decide…so you start thinking about what’s wrong. And of course you find it and focus on it. A year ago that wasn’t even a consideration. But today you have higher standards.

Even though you’ve come all this way, your focus is on what’s wrong. Does this scenario sound familiar? I hear this all of the time. It’s the proverbial “fly on the ointment.”

So what’s the solution. As we know what you focus on expands. If you continue to focus on what’s wrong, you will notice it more and more.

Feel gratitude for what’s working in your life. Acknowledge yourself for what you have created.

Realize that things are perfect exactly the way they are. It’s part of the process. It’s a reminder that there’s work to do. And you have a choice. Make it fun. Enjoy the journey.

If you like to read this blog, most likely you will enjoy my monthly ezine, Letters on Life.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

There’s a little rain this morning. Kind of a nice rain…keeps it green. As I look outside I see an abundance of birds on my fruit trees as they are just beginning to show buds. Still aways to go but the process has started. It’s a transition into a new season.

So I think about other areas of my life…where am I transitioning into another season…in some ways are lives are always in transition. There is always change in some way. We can’t prevent it. Enjoy it. Embrace it. It’s the natural order of life. We can also think of change as flow. When there is flow in our lives, we are open to what’s next. We welcome it.

By embracing change as a way of life, you can look forward to change as opportunity, as adventure, as possibility. Change is also about the future. Each day we have a choice as to what that future is. Choose it…create it.

If you like this blog, most likely you will like my monthly ezine, Letters on Life.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

What is the conversation that you most often have with yourself? Do you notice a recurring theme? For example in some coaching calls there might be the theme that.. “I’m too old to begin this. Life has passed me by.” That is a real common one.

Let’s take a look at some of the variations of this theme. “It’s not in the cards for me.” I had that one for a while. After several unsuccessful relationships I had the mind set that I would never have a family. After all I was 40 and kept meeting partners who were not interested. Maybe I was meeting them because I really didn’t want to have one. So that mindset for a while.

And then I remembered something my mother used to always tell me. “I was a late bloomer.” That seemed to work. I had my first child at 43. i like the tone of this mindset. I look forward to what’s ahead of me.

Here’s a mental practice that can make a difference no matter what your mindset is.

Let’s go back to the idea that life has passed you by. What would be an empowering suggestion?

“I like that I am now in my prime.” With this attitude, I have a real good chance that I have a lot of good things to look forward to.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

As you know I am a firm believer in beginning your day with intention. How you start your day sets the tone for the day. Even so there are those days when you are still bothered. I arrived Monday night and found that my bags were lost. For the last two days I have been dealing with the airlines attempting to get the bags back. It’s amazing how incompetent they are. Still don’t have them.

With my morning meditation I was able to calm my mind.  And now I am thinking about the highlight of the day. The bags will arrive…just not on my time schedule. It’s letting go….

So that’s my challenge. There’s always going to be a few loose ends. And that’s everyone’s challenge. How do we deal with loose ends because that’s the way life is. There is going to be something out there that is unresolved.

And life is a mystery…That’s what makes it exciting.  And yes there are those loose ends.  It’s always going to be that way. Our work is to become comfortable with them…to not get sidetracked from what we really want to do and accomplish. And yes to be curious as to how its going to be resolved.

I’ll let you know what happens with the airlines. If you like this blog, most likely you will like my monthly ezine, Letters on Life.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational and motivational way. http://www.inspirepossibility.com.