Until We Meet Again

Until We Meet Again
Losing someone you love is never easy. It's one of the hardest things we experience in this lifetime. We yearn to hear their voice one more time, to feel their arms wrapped around us hugging us, and to see their smile when we walk into the room.  We want just one more moment to tell them we love them, to let them know they were everything to us, and to make sure they felt the love we have for them...but what if they still do?

Instead of yearning for a last moment maybe we need to recognize all of the precious and cherished moments we did have. The meaningful conversations, they belly laughs over silly things, and the endless story telling of crazy family moments meant something then and they still mean something now. Although we thought we were saying goodbye, maybe what we are really saying is I'll now carry you around with me forever and until we meet again...

Does it make it less painful? No
Does it take the hurt away? No
Will it replace hearing and seeing that person? No

But it will give you a deeper understanding that everyone is energy ~ and energy never dies. It just changes form and so will all of us one day. So hold on to the memories, celebrate the love that is still there and walk forward knowing that no matter what you do, where you go, and who you meet ~ your loved ones are along for the ride with you every step of the way.

In loving memory of Gloria "Mama" Sierra. 

Be You

Be You
So many times we try and hide a portion of who we are from the world or from another person. Maybe we think we are not good enough, or what we have to say isn't wise enough, or what we think isn't worthy, or maybe it's that we are protecting ourselves.  With that "protection" though, we are not showing the world who we really are. We were meant to live authentically, not with restraints and certainly not an edited down version of ourselves. That is not what the universe intended for us so why are we having such a hard time just being unapologetically us?  

Let this be your permission to be you - your complete self. Let this set the foundation for today and every day forth that who you are is what you need to be showing to the world, nothing less is acceptable. It's time you showed up completely and whole to all situations.  

Do not lessen who you are.  
Do not keep yourself small.  
Do not stay silent.   
Do not go along with the crowd.  
Do not disregard your wisdom.  
Do not hold back. 
Do not dumb yourself down.
Do not discredit what you know.
Do not allow others to stifle your spirit.
Do not accept that this is it.
Do not feed into fear.
Do not wait for decisions to be made for you.

Today is the day to find your voice, to show the world who you are. It's time to BE YOU!

Rock & a Hard Place

Rock & a Hard Place
Sometime your life literally makes you feel like you are between a rock and a hard place.  No matter which way you turn there seems to be obstacles, adversity, and challenges every step of the way.  Just when you think you've gotten over one hurdle, ten more appear in your path. It makes you want to just throw in the towel and possibly change course altogether!  

But what if these obstacles where in your path to show you how strong you are? What if they are there to test your creativity and resilience?  What if they are put there to show you just how bad you really want something?  The next time you find yourself between a rock and a hard place, don't give up.  It's exactly at this point where you will find out what you are truly made of and heck, you might even surprise yourself and discover a whole new courageous side of yourself.  Never give up on your journey or yourself.  Believe that you will always find a way!

Clean Out Your Closet

Clean Out Your Closet
Your closet has hit its maximum capacity. You've shoved enough into it trying to make everything fit saying to yourself, "I'll organize and clean it someday" but just the thought of taking on that task makes you run in the other direction! The amount of time and energy that it's going to take to organize, sort through and throw out everything that's in there is overwhelming.  So it gets put off another day, another month or even, another year. You have the best of intention but you know how draining it will be to complete that task and so you wait...

Our lives are just like closets.  We stuff our feelings inside into different shelves hoping we will forget about them or that they get shoved so far back we won't have to look at them for a very long time.  We open the door to our feelings quickly allowing us to take a brief look and get so overwhelmed that we slam the door shut and go running away. But just like our closets, our feeling and our lives will not get organized or clean if we keep running away from taking on the task of "clearing" them out. We need to sort through the mess we created. We need to throw out the junk, let go of the past, and care for & celebrate the meaningful items we find.

It's time to clean out your closet, both literally and figuratively. Allow yourself the time and the space to do so. You will feel a thousand times lighter and your closet (aka your life) will thank you for it!

Lessons

Lessons
Life is one giant lesson. Every day you are tested, you face challenges and you have to make decisions. Not matter what you choose, it's all pushing you closer and closer to not only your divine purpose but to also living your fullest potential. If you don't acknowledge the lesson, you will repeat it until you finally get it ~ and even then there is more to learn! You need to realize that this is the reason you are here. You are meant to always be learning, to always be growing, to always be stepping out of your box and keep pushing the limits on what you think you can accomplish. Life doesn't come with an instruction book but rather a whole bunch of lessons that will make you the best versions of yourself.

Struggle

Struggle
Life can be, and often times is, a struggle. Struggles are real and they happen every single day. From struggles at work to your personal life, it can be down right tiring, frustrating, and all together exhausting. You may even throw your hands up at times and say here I go again ... and yet within each struggle lies a strength. A strength you never knew you had until you faced the challenge that is before you. A strength that keeps whispering in your ear "you got this" and makes you face it head on. A strength that builds upon itself until you realize that no matter what, you are unbreakable. Look at a struggle as a lesson, a teacher of sorts, and call upon your inner strength and resilience to help you get through. Always remember that you are far stronger than your greatest struggle so go on and slay life today and tomorrow too!

Soulmates

Soulmates
Many people will come into your space over the course of a lifetime but it is those rare few who are truly soulmates. You recognize them almost instantly. There is a "knowingness" between the two of you, almost like you have known each other forever. These friends, family members or partners help you feel like you are not alone on our journey of life. They help you make sense out of the challenges that are thrown your way and celebrate your triumphs even louder than you do. They are there for you without hesitation or asking because they just sense you need them. They make you smile like none else can, laugh from the depths of your gut, but most of all they make you feel loved ~ unconditionally. If you are really lucky you will see that you may even have a few in your life at this very moment. Cherish these relationships for they are our greatest teachers and will help your soul continue to grow.

No Apologies

No Apologies
Do you find yourself saying "I'm sorry" far too often. Too many times you say I'm sorry when you shouldn't be.  By saying those words out of context, you diminish who you are. You are basically saying to life, I don't matter.  Well, you do matter! This is your cue to stop apologizing when there is nothing to apologize for such as ...
I'm sorry to bother you..
I'm sorry to call you so late...
I'm sorry to have to ask you a favor...
I'm sorry I need this quickly...
I'm sorry but I need your help...
I'm sorry, you look really busy...

Stop making yourself small.  Don't apologize for having an opinion, for asking for what you want - no wait let's rephrase that, for asking for what you DESERVE out of life.

Won't you join me on the No Apology Tour of 2016!

Game Day

Game Day
Today is the Super Bowl. The athletes have been training hard over the course of months if not years to get to this point.  Their coaches, supporters (both on and off the field) have been a key to their success. These athletes have given their blood, sweat and tears to get to achieve greatness and today we get to witness that. We cheer for them, we may even host a party to watch it all unfold. 

So what in your life is your own personal Super Bowl? What goal do you have that you should be preparing for, working towards, going all out to see it come to fruition? Who are you surrounding yourself with? Do you have cheerleaders, coaches, mentors, advisors and the support you need? How are you achieving greatness in your own life?

If you treated every single day as if it was your own personal Super Bowl, just imagine what you could you accomplish! Recognize that you too are an athlete over your own life and in order to reach your goals you have to put in the work, you have to surround yourself with the right people and you need to do something every single day that brings you closer to the prize.  That's how you win.

And So It Shall Be

And So It Shall Be
How many times have you thought something negative about yourself or used harsh words such as ... I'm so stupid, I will never accomplish this, I can't do it, I don't have the skills, I am broke, I will never find love, I am stuck... too many times right? Did you ever stop and think that maybe all of these harsh and negative words are what you are really manifesting though? What you think and say becomes your reality. The harsher your words, the harsher you life. The more negative you are about an aspect of your life or as a whole, the more negativity you will draw into it. You are basically saying to life, "I'm not worthy" and life answers you back with "oh ok, and so it shall be"! 

Start speaking gently about yourself. Start using positive words and thoughts. Find those things that you are really good at and hold on to them. Embrace them. Celebrate them every single day. Don't allow anything that isn't going to inspire you, grow you and encourage you within your space, that includes your own head! Make a decision today to lead with only the good and guess what?  And so it shall be!

Recognize

Recognize
Life sends you exactly what you need when you need it and that includes unexpected smiles and surprises. Just when you think you are having a challenging day, someone or something will come along to remind you that you are going to be okay. Your job is to stop and be in that moment to fully enjoy that life sent you something to lift your heart. Remember that you also can lift others by providing surprises to them as well. Maybe it's showing up with a cup of coffee for a co-worker and sending someone a joke through email. Send out love and support to others and recognize the love and support that also comes your way throughout each day. 

Hungry

Hungry
What in life are you hungry for? Where lies your passion? What do you need in order to feed your soul? The first thought that pops into your head is where you are supposed to be focusing on and even what your divine purpose is. If you are hungry for more from life, well go get it. Seek out that which will fill you up and when you find it, keep grabbing on to it. Do not let it go. That is where you need to stay. Choose to fill yourself up with life, with happiness but above all recognize that you were born with talents that you need to be sharing with the world. Take that hunger and let it fuel you to live the life you were born to live.

Reliability

Reliability
It's so important to be able to rely on other people. To have them show up when they say they are going to. To have them finish a task they took on. To have them come through for you when you needed an extra helping hand. To have them support you when you are at your most vulnerable. Having these kind of people around you let's you breathe easier and even get more accomplished! So why aren't you one of those people? Why do you allow yourself to not follow through, to let things linger, to let someone else pick up the slack and to not support yourself when you need it the most? As much as you want to rely on other people, you need to expect the same for yourself. See, you can't have what you don't know how to ultimate give. It's time you bring your own reliability to your life and then watch other people support you even more.

Home

Home
They say home is where the heart it. Well home is where you feel most comfortable. Whether it's where you grew up or another place that you moved to along the way. The most important thing is that you find that place. The one that makes you feel safe, secure, that you can put down roots and thrive. If you are not in that place well it's time to figure out where that can be. Your environment is so important to your growth. Have you ever really thought about what the expression, "home court advantage" really means? That's where a team is at their most comfortable and so they have their best shot of winning. Well so do you as long as you are home. If you have not found that place yet, here is your push to get going. Life is waiting for you to thrive and to win. So listen to you heart, it will always lead you home.

Move the Bar

Move the Bar
The time has come to move the bar - higher that is!  You've gotten stuck in being ok with mediocrity. You have convinced yourself that where you are is where you will always be. But you are worth so much more than that. If you don't raise the bar, no one else around you will. So it's time. Time to get clear on your expectations. Time to realize that you are worthy of so much more. Time to weed out everything that is not allowing you to reach a higher place. It's time to only allow yourself to be surrounded by people and things that will lift you up, not keep you stuck. So go ahead - move that bar as high as you can reach and watch your life transform to meet you.

Play

Play
Life is not that serious. We make it far more stressful than it needs to be. We lament over the past, worry about the future, and stress about the now but for what exactly? At the end of the day you will never meet anyone on their death bed that would say I wished I worked more or stressed more! So why wait until the end of your life to realize that you had it all wrong? You must infuse play into your life; it's essential. It brings out your creativity, your laughter and a deep sense of joy. It makes you present in the moment and excited about everything around you. It makes you see things in a whole new light. Watch kids play and you will quickly remember what it felt like to live in a state of imagination and possibilities. So go ahead, this is your permission to let loose and play!

Be You

Be You
Stop trying to be someone other than who you are. You are you for a purpose! You think the way you do, laugh the way you do, react the way you do all for a reason - it's what makes you, well you! It takes a lot to of energy to not be who you authentically are so stop trying so hard and just embrace yourself. Stop comparing yourself to your friends, to family members, to your neighbors, to others on Facebook or even to your co-workers. The world needs you to show up as yourself every single day. You have so much to give but you can only do that by being the real you. You know the one. The you that laughs at inappropriate moments. The you that cries at touching commercials. The you that loves science fiction movies. The you that wears white after labor day. The you that watches the OWN network. The you that lacks a filter at a staff meeting. The you that breaks out into song every 5 minutes. The you that people stop in a random store to ask for advice. The you that dances in the living room in your pajamas at 8am. The you that spends your free time visiting dogs at the shelter. The you that doesn't believe in the word no. The you that orders out for dinner. The you that takes a short cut during a 5K fun run. The you that arrives late to a time management workshop. The you that watches shows in marathon form. You know this person, right?

We are meant to be different. 
     Embrace it. 
          Enjoy it. 
              Celebrate it. 
Now go on and just keep on being you!

Do the Work

Do the Work
For life to shower you with abundance you have to do the work. There is no easy way around it. 
If you have a dream, you need to take the action steps to make it happen. 
If you need to move on from a toxic relationship, you have to be the one to pull the plug. 
If you need to change careers, you have to send out your resume. 
If you need to publish a book, you need to start writing. 
If you need to move, you need to start packing. 
If you need to heal past pain, you need to unwrap the hurt. 
If you need to make connections, you need to start telling your truth.

Doing the work is the hardest thing you can do but it also the most rewarding. You will never be able to fully manifest what you desire without getting real and walking through the fear. Once you do, your life will be more enriching, more abundant and more fulfilling then you could have ever imagined. Don't be afraid to do the work that will move you to a much higher place.

Listen

Listen
Life is speaking to us constantly but we tend to not hear it. We might pause for a second and say, "hmmm, was that a sign?" and we continue about our busy day not really paying attention to the meaning of all of the things that jump in our path.  

These signs are just that. They are clues and markers to keep us either on our path or to encourage us to change course. They often are subtle and come in whispers so we tend to push them aside.  Well what if we not only recognized them but paid attention to them? What if we listened to the whispers every single day of our lives? What would happen? Well, we would live our purpose. We would live our dream. We would fulfill our destinies. We would be in sync with life in its truest form. Somewhere we forgot that we were not put here to study, work and pay bills. We are meant to live - really live. We are meant to feel. We are meant to experience. We are meant to connect and above all, we were meant to love. Love everything from people to life itself.

Let this be your permission to listen to the whispers, to acknowledge the signs, and to finally start living your purpose.

Trapped

Trapped
Sometimes we feel trapped.  We feel trapped in our jobs, trapped in a relationship, trapped in a friendship, trapped in a situation and cannot see the way out.  But what if feeling trapped was only a state of mind? What if the way out was right in front of you and had always been there? What if freedom was as simple as making a different decision? 

We are really good at getting stuck, for whatever reason, and now we are going to get great at breaking free. It's our time to unshackle ourselves from EVERYTHING that does not serve us, that does not bring us joy and that does not allow us to reach our fullest potential. Go ahead, feel around for the doorknob, it's there. It's just waiting for you to turn it, open the door and run!