Grit and Gratitude

May 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I read an article recently that compares the hero’s journey to our own journeys when we are attempting to reach a compelling goal. We start off with a seemingly insurmountable task, need to slay many dragons along the way (or pirates, as I like to call them), the tension mounts as we get closer, we feel defeated and want to give up at regular intervals, but we persevere until we reach our goals. I have linked to the full article below.

The hero’s journey, when put that way, sure feels familiar. I have stretched myself more than I could have ever imagined over the last couple of years. First, I set out as a non-sailor on a sailing adventure with my family, experiencing both physical and emotional discomforts along the way. I consistently slayed my pirates along the entire journey. Now that it’s over, I look back and realize that I accomplished my goal and got past my pirates by simply persevering because of a compelling goal in mind.  I just had to do it. I stood with my grit.

My latest stretch has been writing my first book, getting it published, and now launching it on June 4. I have slain many pirates along this path as well, and I continue to do so. Although I believe with every ounce of faith that my message is one that needs to be heard, my pirates are shouting: What if the book is an absolute disaster? What if no one cares what I have to say? What if the writing is terrible and readers don’t even get far enough to hear my message?

I will stand by my grit knowing that I am on the hero’s journey of life, with my own compelling goal being this: I must be heard. I must share what I know to be true.  My book’s message:  You must learn to slay your own pirates if you are to reach your own compelling goals.

My grit got me endorsements from big names (Neal Petersen, Diane Selkirk, Joanna Strober, and Brian Tracy), and a sponsorship from Pirates Booty for Book Expo America (where I will be autographing at booth #377 on May 30 and 31 and handing out over 500 snack bags of Pirate’s Booty!). With my compelling goal as my backdrop, I achieve little successes along the way, until I get to the end of this particular story.

But it’s not just the grit.  I could not have done what I’ve done without the kindness and generosity of those who have helped me along the way, like my book endorsers and my sponsor. It has me believe in the genuine goodness of people and the willingness of most to help others out. I am so grateful that so many have willingly helped me along the way.

I realize that it’s also gratitude that keeps me slaying pirates. My family has been on the journey with me. I have many friends who have regularly asked me how it was going and gave me encouragement and support daily. And I’m grateful for getting to do what I love.

Where to go from here on my own hero’s journey? Once a goal has been reached, we are changed for good. We have grown, and become bolder to take on the next challenge.

Read the full article referred to above:  http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/raising_happiness/.

Filed Under: Change, Goal-Setting, Motivation, My Book, Success Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

How Did You Get Here?

February 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Have you ever found yourself in a place where  you never thought you’d be?  Over my lifetime, I’ve asked myself several times, “How did I get here?”  Sometimes, it wasn’t a good thing either – like when I realized I’d been practicing law for nearly ten years and felt no passion for it. Sometimes, though, I’ve posed the question out of a sense of awe – like when I was crossing the equator on a boat with my family in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a three-week passage. We were fulfilling a dream, doing things we never believed we could carry off, and were in the exact place we wanted to be at that moment. It is these times, obviously, that we need to be striving for.  It is that sense of awe and purpose that fuels us to be the best we can be.

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the emotion of passion as “an intense, driving feeling or conviction”. By definition, then, your passion inspires you to act.  In May 2010, Simon Sinek delivered a TED talk that very convincingly demonstrates the way to inspire leadership is to find people who have passion for what they are doing. And it’s not surprising that the premier management consulting firm, McKinsey&Company, recently came out with a study evidencing peak performance and job satisfaction when an employee at any level finds meaning in his or her work.

These are consistent with one of my favorite inspirational quotes that comes from an ancient yoga theorist, Pantaljali: “When you are inspired… dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”

Change begins from within, from that place of passion and purpose and cause. Once you find it, you begin to live intentionally. You are making conscious intentional decisions about your life – which leads to a life lived on purpose, performing at your peak. So much more is possible from this place.

Regardless of how you got here, whether you’re in a good place or one not so great, find your inspiration, meaning and passion in what you do.  And from that naturally comes more inspiration, meaning and passion. I’ll meet you there.

 

Filed Under: Change, Motivation, passion, Success Tagged With: , , , ,

Putting It Out There Takes My Breath Away

December 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I just spent a very full weekend writing my book during the Bestseller in A Weekend Boot Camp. The webinar allowed me to sit in the comfort of my own office, and was so intense that I barely had time to go to the bathroom, let alone eat. While my self-care suffered afterward, the inspiration and excitement I got from it was worth every penny, every uncomfortable moment. I feel energized and excited to get my book written. And the end result is so compelling for me that it literally takes my breath away. That doesn’t even take into account the fact that I’ve now announced it to the world, and therefore am feeling that I MUST get it done.  In. The. Next. Six. Months. (Okay Barbara, now Breathe…).

Which leads me to the subject of my book: Right now, the working title is: Sailing to Success: 7 Steps to Creating Your Courageous Change (Lessons Learned from Sailing the Pacific). By the title, you’ll get that it will integrate my family’s sailing adventures of 2009-2012 together with how one gets past barriers to do what you really want, even when it takes your breath away to even think about it. Or when your negative self talk says it’s impossible. Or that it’s ridiculous. Or whatever other things it says to you.

Over the next few months I’ll be enlisting you, my readers, to help me with case studies, surveys, opinions and ideas to include as content for the book. Let me know if you have any burning questions you’d like answered around the topic. What do you think of the title of the book?  Would you buy it? I’ll be asking questions that may have yes/no answers, or others that are more open-ended. Please share your thoughts with me – I strongly believe that your comments will help others. To start with, take this survey on how you, personally, get to making an important change.

And now for the first tips to making your Big Change: Announce it to the world. Once you are scraped up off the floor and resuscitated, there is nothing like it to motivate you to get started.

Filed Under: Motivation, My Book Tagged With: , , , ,