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.

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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.

There is a stream on ITunes, Whisperings, that transports me to a different realm. Much of my writing is done listening to this music. It’s solo piano.

I love that ability to travel from the concerns of the material world to the deeper places of my being. Meditation has always been a part of my path. And yoga certainly has.

Developing the ability to shift the mind from those dark obsessive places of negativity is what we are all striving for; tuning into that place inside where there is stillness and the mind is silent.

No matter what’s going on elsewhere this is our sanctuary. It takes commitment to get there. It’s not unusual to get off the track so we have to develop ways to be reminded that we are drifting. Committing to one positive habit a day is a great beginning. And that means that no matter what else is going on, you follow through.

One of my habits that serves me well is to ask the question, ” I wonder what the highlight of the day will be?” Thats what I’m wondering right now as I start the day.” I’m open to finding out. I’m curious. Maybe it will be two or three highlights.

Try it. Ask yourself the same question.

If you like this blog, most likely you will like my free 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.

Ralph was pretty mellow today. In yesterday’s blog, I introduced you to Ralph, my gremlin. My gremlin is that negative voice that no matter what I’m doing throws in a little doubt. Ralph says, “It won’t work….You don’t have to do it…You don’t deserve it.” And he goes on and I’m sure you have your own version with your gremlin.

We all have gremlins and the trick is to acknowledge them and move on from there. If we try to sweep them under the carpet they come back at a later time in a bigger way.

By giving your gremlin a name, we realize that our gremlin is not our true essence. It is not our true self. When we stay in our heart and see the world with love in a positive way, our perspective is different. Then our gremlin goes away. We might want to send love to our gremlin.

On a basic level, our challenge in finding more fulfillment is learning to make peace with that inner critic…that wounded child part of ourself.

In yoga this morning there was a shift. By focusing on my breath I was in the present moment. My mind didn’t wander.

You can experience more joy and fulfillment in your life. Make the choice. Leave the judgments behind. After all isn’t your gremlin just a judgment.

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

The roosters were really crowing this morning. Went to yoga, second day in a row. It was a lot easier. I focused on my breath. I noticed how much more flexible I was, especially in my backbends.

After class Annie and I were drinking smoothies and I told her of my experience. She asked me if it was fun. And I said that I wasn’t thinking of that word to describe my experience. And I wasn’t sure if there was a word that could describe how I felt.

Once we put a word to our experience we lock in the range of what we experience. I know I felt good. I still felt resistant and proud of myself for sticking with it and going through my stuff.

And yes I had those other thoughts come up. Like why am I doing this. What difference will it make if I leave early or only go to a few more classes. And I still did the class and will be going back tomorrow.

I have always believed that any spiritual practice or discipline is a microcosm of the macrocosm of our entire life. In fact any pattern that comes up like the resistance that I experienced shows up in many other areas of my life.

Take a look at our your whole life. Is there one aspect of your life where your resistance shows up more than in others?

Resistance is basic. There is one important thing to remember. It’s ok to have resistance as long as it doesn’t stop you. It’s better to have the resistance, than the resistance having you.

This is going to be a short trip on Kauai. To make a commitment to a practice for a limited period of time is the best way to get going toward a long-term practice. I know that for just a few weeks I can do anything. And I’m excited to find out how I’ll be feeling at the end of our stay.

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

If you are into sports, keeping score is a given. And it’s part of the game. We all also keep score with our finances. That’s another good thing especially if you are winning…i.e. not spending more than you are taking in.

But there is one area in our life where keeping score hinders us. And that is staying in touch with friends and family. If you are like most people, you probably notice when your phone call isn’t returned before calling again. Or it might be just extending yourself to another in some other manner. i sometimes find myself thinking that it is their turn to contact me.

If you want more connection in your life and I think we all do, then putting ourselves out there is a must. At times it might seem
we aren’t appreciated. So you have to ask yourself the question, What’s more important…making the connection or being right and not making another effort to connect?

In any relationship, one person has to step up to make it happen. How many times have you been with a friend and one of you says,”Let’s together soon….or I’ll call you.”

What happens is that you wait for the other person to initiate the contact. You wait and you wait and before you know it a year goes by and you haven’t talked with that person.

What would happen if in your relationships you took the responsibility to initiate contact. You know you would have more connection in your life. So ask yourself whether it was worth. Usually you’ll find that it was but not all of the time.

I like to connect with people. Probably my need is greater than a lot of people that I know.

If you like this blog, you would also like my newsletter, 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