We finally did it. What that “it” is is different for each of us. We believed that when we achieved our goal, whatever it was, our life would be different. The story line goes something like this, “When this happens, I’ll be happy and I can stop worrying.” Some of us temper it a little bit and think to ourself, ”Now I can coast for a while.” We do for a period of time until the next thing comes along. It could be a financial challenge, a change in relationship status, or a new living situation. It could be when you complete that course and get that certificate or degree. It might even be those ten or twenty pounds. You know what those markers are.

At some point, we realize that this moment with all of its complexities and loose ends is our life. By allowing this realization to sink in, we create a liberating moment in our life. Along the way, we have developed the faith that whatever we are concerned about will work out. Sometimes it often works out better than we expected. But the doubts and uncertainty test our faith. Having this faith is a moment-to-moment choice that we make over and over again. Making that choice, which is an expression of our personal freedom, is exhilarating!

Quite often I have thought about the nature of personal freedom. What resonates the loudest is that it is freedom from negative thinking. Which also includes the freedom to be free from the self-defeating and self-limiting patterns and beliefs that stop us from reaching our full potential. In light of all of the negative reinforcement out there, it’s a worthy challenge that we all have been working on with varying degrees of success. If you are questioning how you are doing, ask yourself how much you worry.

Intellectually we know that we have a choice as to how we see our lives. We learn to a limited extent that it’s not the event or circumstance that causes us pain but the meaning we give it. This awareness is just the first step, but an important one in liberating ourselves from our reactive mind. Once you develop this awareness, you are ready to cultivate a shift in consciousness that can transform how you feel and think about your life.

Let me share with you what I mean. Most of us are triggered by the news, much of which is about the economy. Since we can’t control what is in the news, our only choice is to change our perspective as to how we view these events and circumstances. With all of the news about banks failing or about to fail, let me introduce you to a different type of bank—it’s an inner bank which I call the B.A.N.K of Well-Being. It’s our internal barometer as to how we are feeling about “life.” When our account has a nice surplus we are optimistic and believe that we can handle most challenges. Our job is to be mindful of how easily our account can fluctuate.

Our account easily gets drained when there is a run of negative news. We focus on what might go wrong and how it might affect us. No matter what’s going on in our life, there is always going to be something that has the potential to negatively affect us.

There are many other situations that have the potential to drain our account. It might be a toxic relationship or work situation. No matter what we do, the stresses of everyday living have the potential to drain our account. No matter how careful and strategic we are, we can’t be perfect. Trying to be perfect only further drains our account. When stress drains us, we don’t have the energy or fortitude to handle the normal circumstances of our life. We overreact and aren’t able to see the big picture. In essence our personal, spiritual and emotional accounts have been drained.

We need to replenish our account by depositing good energy in the form of positive thoughts, healthy food, exercise, a spiritual discipline, inspiration, and supportive friends. Meditation and communing in nature have always had a healing affect on my being. My attitude about life dramatically changed once I began meditating many years ago. Everyday in some way I am making a deposit. I know that you have your own way of replenishing your account.

The BANK (Beyond Negative Thinking) of Well-Being is a reminder that you have a choice. It’s a choice about being conscious that you make over and over again.

Becoming conscious is not only a choice about how you want to live your life, but it’s also a choice about being that person who actually lives that life. It’s a choice about which voice you choose to listen to; the voice of judgment, which limits you, or the voice of inspiration, which becomes your “guiding light.”

To help you make a quantum shift from becoming that person to being that person, think about what you can do to replenish your account. Now take action and integrate just one of these into your account for the next seven days. Imagine for a moment being that person who sees their account brimming over.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

Sometimes it gets confusing. We have heard or read many times that one of the keys to happiness is focusing on the here and now. But how do we reconcile focusing on the present with having a vision for the future.

We all have had goals and dreams at times which have a long term horizon. When I was younger it was becoming a lawyer. And when I began my coaching career I had a vision of where I wanted to go with it and who I wanted to become. Yet there was the day-to-day navigation of getting there. There were the doubts and the uncertainty. “Was I on the right path? It’s not the way I thought it would go. It’s harder than I thought.” What was it that enabled me to hang in there?

It’s the vision of what we want down the road that keeps us going in the darkest moments and in the midst of uncertainty. In the beginning that’s all there might be. Just a vision——but a vision of what’s possible and a belief that this is our life’s work.

So we take a small step in the direction of where we want to go. At the time it might not seem significant. In retrospect we see that it was just one of many steps that have propelled us on our way. That small step over time gets magnified. I remember when I made the decision to become a coach. I was on the island of Kauai. I picked up the phone and signed up for the next program. And on the plane coming home my first client was waiting for me.

That phone call at the time seemed insignificant. Yet it was the first step that has led me to where I am at this time in my life.

Take the next step!

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

You finished the job. You feel great. I remember I good I felt when I finished writing the manuscript of Dancing on the River. It had been three years in the making. There were many times when I didn’t see where the book was going. So I stopped writing for a period of time, but fortunately there was always a pull to get me going again.

Yes I put in many long hours wondering if I was making progress. Was I just spinning my wheels I often thought to myself. It didn’t seem that there was a direct result from the effort that I put in. I wrote but it didn’t seem better. That’s the thing with effort——quite often we don’t see immediate results. And then all of a sudden, there is a jump in productivity.

But the effort eventually paid off. I remember when I gave my manuscript to my editor. Even though I knew that there was much more work and effort required, I experience a new attitude. I knew that I had something as long as I continued to put forth the effort. Now I was being pulled in the direction that I wanted to be going. Or another way of saying it is that the tailwinds were at my back.

From that point on I looked forward to sitting down and working on my book. I knew that it could only get better. It no longer felt like another thing to do on my “to do” list. I was putting forth the same effort, but it was now enjoyable something that I looked forward to, although still quite challenging and yes exciting.

As long as you are doing it, embrace it, enjoy it and let it go.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

So it didn’t work out you think to yourself. “Why didn’t I pay attention to what was happening,” you wonder. “If I looked closer it was obvious that it wasn’t going to work out.” “Where do I go from here,” you wonder.

A better inquiry is to ask yourself what you learned from the experience and how you can use it for your betterment. Rather than think that you made a mistake, adopt the perspective that it wasn’t the right time. Regroup and plan to make what you did better. Be patient for the time is near.

You are richer and deeper for the experience. Perhaps you have a few scars leftover but you are wiser and more determined that ever. There is a knowing that life is unfolding as it should.

You are doing what you should be doing at this time in your evolution. And you are meeting the right people at the right time. You are being guided. You are in the flow. You are Dancing on the River.

Let go of your judgments and opinions why it went wrong. You were being served. What happened or what went wrong was a gift. It’s part of the big picture. You are being prepared for your role in making a difference. It’s time to step up.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

Let’s face it. There are some things that we are not good at. No matter how hard we try, we never excel. We barely get by.

And of course, the corollary is true. There are some things that we have always been good at. What we did with these natural inclinations and talents was up to us. It is quite often said that talent only takes you so far. The real mastery comes with how we develop these skill-sets and what we learn from them. Do we bring them to the next level or do they just languish? I have always found that it’s a lot more fun when you are good at something.

To get where we are in our life at this time, we had to do a lot of things well. We made many good decisions and have developed many talents and skills that have served us. More important is what we have learned from them.

In many ways these natural inclinations were gifts. When you think about intelligence, athletic ability or musical talent you realize that you were born with these qualities. When you focus on these gifts, you develop a sense of what your capabilities are and how you can use them as a springboard to what’s next in your life.

Each experience and person you have met has contributed to who you are today. In the process you have developed the most important tool and skill of all. You have developed the gift of learning which in itself is a great skill. However many others have never developed this skill. For them it is a means to an end. Give yourself the gift of learning. It’s exciting, challenging and fulfilling.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

Do you ever wonder if you are here on this planet to do something great? Perhaps at times you wonder what your calling is. So you listen for that call. If you are blessed, you get that call and when you do, you are ready.

When I was younger I got my first of many calls. It was to be a lawyer, one who crusaded for social justice. That was my calling for years. It gave me a purpose which was the main focus of my life, until…it no longer was. In those years that purpose made it easier for me to say, “No,” to the many distractions that I faced on a daily basis.

Today I have a different purpose which is to make a difference in the lives of others——to motivate them to get them excited about the possibilities in their life.

When you have purpose you have clarity as to your focus. This focus enables you to avoid the trap of superficiality. You can say, “No” to the latest trend or fad. You can say, “No” to what gets in the way of your becoming the person you want to be.

It’s also easier to not get down when you are having a bad day and or you are disappointed. You know that tomorrow is another day——a fresh start with new determination.

As you keep your focus on what’s important, the distractions don’t get in your way. You notice them, but keep on doing what you have to do. Along the way, you notice that you are passionate about living.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

There is a favorite expression of mine,”Take the step that’s in front of you.” That gets us there. Quite often are focus is on the end of the road. From this limited vantage point, the terrain looks difficult which contributes to our apprehension about getting there. It’s not unusual that the difficulty that we think we will be facing contributes to our giving up.

When you focus on what is directly in front of you that next step is manageable. You know that there is nothing that will prevent you from taking it…ONE STEP AND THEN THE NEXT.

Imagine being at the bottom of a steep incline; when you look up you notice the steepness of the trail. But when you break it down into separate steps, the slope of the incline is neutralized.

So you take that step and then another. Of course there will be difficulties that get in the way, but you don’t let them stop you. You pick yourself up and continue on your journey. You are determined. Soon you are near the top and you sense what’s there. You are reminded why you began the journey. You know how satisfied you’ll feel from completing the task. You are ready for the next challenge. You are a seeker-the journey brings you alive.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

In the process of writing, ideas come to me that later become my way of preferred thinking. They actually become more than that in that they become a way of life. Without actually sitting down and taking the time to focus on these ideas, they would just stay in my mind and clutter my thinking.

One of these ideas is to ask ourselves and others, “What’s Possible?” This inquiry is much different than asking ourselves, “What’s the likelihood of that happening,” which is somewhat limiting.

When we ask what’s the likelihood of that happening, we are asked to make a judgment from a limited perspective. We don’t have all of the information and resources that we’ll have at a later time. We don’t know what will be possible once we have more information and more capabilities whether those capabilities are mental or physical.

But when you ask, “What Possible?” you open the door for the creative process to be a bigger part of your life. And the creative process is unlimited. From one idea comes another. In any creative process, one idea leads to something new that’s never been done before. In the process you create something that is an expression of your unique “You.” It can be a work of art, a new product or a new way of seeing your life.

Imagine your life as a creative work of art, as an unfolding expression of what possible.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

In a life coaching session yesterday with our good friend Carl, we discussed Carl’s taking the next step in a book project that he has wanted to complete for the last two years. There is no question in my mind and in his that he can do it but he hasn’t committed. After much give and take, I got Carl to commit to writing an hour a day. And then Carl backed off from the commitment and said that he would try and that he would give it his best shot.

Carl was already creating an excuse not to complete the project. I once read that trying is failing with honor.

When you say you will try, you carry around with you a twenty pound weight which makes life more complicated. It’s an extra burden and loose end that doesn’t have to have uncertainty tied to it.

Instead imagine completing the project. Instead of saying you will try, say you will do it. Just for a second stop reading and say out loud, “I will do it.” That’s it. How did that feel? Once you make that declaration you know that it will be done. That declaration has enormous power behind it.

Not only will you complete the project, you will do it with integrity. Not only will you feel better because the project is completed, you will feel better about yourself.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.

Just for today, focus on how blessed you are. All you have to do is look around and open your heart and be open to feeling connected. There’s nothing more empowering than touching the heart of another. We all want to feel connected.

Connection is not a matter of time. When you connect with your heart, body and soul, it happens in an instant. You are reminded how good it feels to be alive.

Connection transcends titles, race, gender, age and anything you can think of. From this bond of connection anything is possible.

You don’t have to wait. There’s nothing that you need to do but to allow yourself to be totally alive in this magical moment.

This moment with its challenges and possibilities; this moment with its complexities. You are better for it. You are fully alive totally immersed in the present moment.

Just for today, live in this presence. Let tomorrow take care of itself. It will whether you want it to or not.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

Mark Susnow, is an executive & life coach and thought leader who inspires others to believe in themselves. He is passionate about life being an exciting journey of discovery. His enthusiastic and inspiring keynotes on change, leadership and connection thoroughly convey this message to his audiences. A former trial attorney for 30 years, 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 is the author of Dancing on the River…Navigating Life’s Changes. Give yourself the gift of coaching and make an investment in your future.