Alive. That was my word for 2021… and in it, I’m finding my secret sauce.
What’s yours?
I’m committed to being in constant conversation with life. Always questioning, always learning – half curious kid, half audacious explorer, half undaunted life alchemist.
150% ALIVE.
So as we start the new year, I’m asking myself what I learned last year. I’ve tried to crystalize my thoughts into 5️⃣ lessons:
We often give so much power to the hurt of the past that it ends up ruling our present.
The act of letting go is rooted in a profound acceptance of what is. It’s about letting your heart crumble and letting yourself be rearranged by the journey of being alive.
The greatest act of self-love is to let go.
Let your actions be motivated by love.
When love is pure, we’re not driven by agendas or conditions. Love is not loaded with “ifs and buts.” It’s just love.
There’s devotion, effort, and commitment to the people we journey with, not manipulative power struggles or coercive control. Love grants the people you love the freedom to be, to see and be seen, to feel understood and safe.
Love is the nerve to express what needs to be heard and listen with the ear of the heart.
Love assumes good intention, sees beyond what’s visible, and hears more than what’s being said.
Love fills our hearts with hope and gratitude and gives us a chance at rebirth. ✨
We hold back so much of ourselves when we script, edit, cut, redraft and perform.
There’s magic in that messy authentic part of us that we often start to accept only as we get much older. I’m all for learning, growing, and getting better. In the past, that meant adapting and assimilating into what or who was around me. Last year I committed to holding nothing back – none of my feelings, none of my attention, none of my questions. It’s been vulnerable, sure. But it’s the only way to return to the miracle of being here completely.
No performances. That’s the promise I’ve made to myself. Perhaps then people around me will mirror what’s in my heart – and there we’ll find magic in what’s real – our pure, beautiful messy souls.
Relationships take heart.
They don’t come readily assembled and perfect out the box.
The hardest moments reveal opportunities to better understand each other and deepen a meaningful connection.
In 2021 I was forced to let go of perfection.
Instead, I’m learning to build on good communication and a profound commitment to caring.
A friend once said she wanted to find a life partner because living alone can make you an awkward person. I laughed, at first… then I thought about it.
Romantic love is an invitation to heal. That can make it really messy but it creates an opportunity for two people to grow in self-awareness, develop emotional maturity and become so much more – individually and together.
Love is the courage to admit that we are wrong and own where we mess up. It’s the courage to hold space for others to be – to wait and watch with all of who we are, allowing our loved ones to be all who they are.
Great relationships take courage to care even when we’re bent… not broken.
Don’t build relationships with broken people. Walk away.
Life happens in the ordinary.
We often find ourselves looking for the extraordinary to make us come alive. But the blessings of the ordinary are that in moments of stillness everything that is life is revealed… the power of presence.
In the gift of the here and now we can see through the troubles, wade through the turbulence and reconnect.
Gratitude gives us grace – when we go below the surface of ordinary things, we can see the miracle of the moment. We get to celebrate the things (and people!) we once only wished we had. We return to the heart of all things – the warmth of a delightful cup of tea on a cold morning, a cold cocktail in the evening, a moment to slow dance and celebrate the one you love, the smile of a stranger, the laughter of friends who sustain you along the way, the hug or tag of your child, the crunchy leaves beneath your feet or the sunshine kissing your face.
2021 was a year of immense growth for me, with profound breakthrough insights on life and love.
In a world that often teaches us the only way to be lovable is to be extraordinary, a return to experiencing the marvels of the ordinary was a gift – an invitation to stay open to the magic of falling in love with life at first sight.
Happy new year, you beautiful soul ❤️ What’s your secret sauce?
Share it with me and let me know what makes you come alive!
Here’s a brilliant message about being happy. It’s a loose English translation of “Palco de vida” attributed to the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) not Pope Francis as some online posts claim. I hope it inspires you and helps you find the renewal of HOPE, HEALTH, and LOVE. Happy Easter ??????
You can have flaws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you, and love you.
Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without storms, roads without peril, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments.
Being happy is finding strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in fear, love in disagreements.
It is not only appreciating the smile but reflecting on the sadness.
It is not only celebrating successes but learning lessons from failures.
It is not only having joy in applause but finding it in anonymity.
Being happy is recognizing that life is worth living, despite all the challenges, misunderstandings, and periods of crisis. It is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves.
To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny’s author.
It is to cross deserts, yet be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul.
It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life.
To be happy is to be unafraid of your own feelings.
It is to be able to talk about you.
It is having the courage to hear “no”.
It is confidence in the face of criticism, even sometimes when unjustified.
It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends.
To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful, and simple.
It is to have the maturity to be able to say: “I made mistakes”.
It is to have the courage to say “I am sorry”.
It is to have the sensitivity to say, “I need you”.
It is to have the ability to say “I love you”.
It is to have the humility of receptivity.
May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness …
That in spring may it be a lover of joy. In winter a lover of wisdom.
And when you make a mistake, start all over again.
For only then will you be in love with life.
You will find that to be happy is not to have a perfect life.
Use the tears to irrigate tolerance.
Use your losses to train patience.
Use your mistakes to sculptor serenity.
Use pain to plaster pleasure.
Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence.
Never give up hope …
Never give up on the people you love.
Never give up on happiness, because life is spectacular, even if it gives you dozens of reasons to demonstrate the contrary.
For life is an incredible show.
Birth is absolutely beautiful.
It’s often a magical moment that comes right after tremendous pain. It’s a moving powerful mix of possibility, agony, and tenderness.
So is rebirth.
Now is a moment to reflect and review what we truly want for ourselves, our community, and our planet. What new insights has this unsettling time brought you? What are your priorities? What principles and beliefs are guiding you?
Feeling overwhelmed with family, conflicts, financial responsibilities, uncertainty, or fear that your security is crumbling? Embrace the disarray because another kind of birth is taking place.
Remember: Growth can be extremely messy. It’s never going to be linear because life is not perfect. Trust your journey. Be gentle with yourself. Everything about you is priceless. Be proud of everything you’ve gone through and what you’re doing to become who you’re meant to be.
Let love reign.
Each of us needs to be aware of what kind of energy we are sending out into the world. We can birth something beautiful.
If you needed this little reminder today, let’s connect on IG. Leave a ? in the comments.
Keep going. Keep growing ?
Get in a beautiful state.
If we’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s that life is uncertain – and that it’s up to each of us to choose what our experiences mean.
Remember: life is happening for you, not to you.
It’s time to call upon the best parts of yourself: Gratitude, appreciation, creativity, resourcefulness, love, connection, confidence…
Create the meaning and state that ENERGIZES you to crush it so that you can thrive!
Ask yourself these questions to clear your mind:
Your thoughts create your world.
Think extraordinary thoughts.
Social distancing may be lonely, but you’re not alone.
Emotions are in upheaval for all of us, but this hard moment isn’t how you’ll feel forever.
You are a well of creative ingenuity and even if it doesn’t always feel like it, you were made for a time such as this. You are a warrior ❤ The answers are within you.
Breath deep. Calm down. And don’t be so hard on yourself.
You have what it takes to survive this.
Here are some self-care ideas to get you started:
Here are some self-care support resources that could come in handy:
Many of us are dealing with more than we’ve ever had to handle. Mental health is so vital and yet often unheeded. If you are struggling to cope with everything coming at you, be kind to yourself. Self-growth is tender. It may not always be fun, but it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment. Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.
Take a self-care moment on this interactive site. Feeling anxious? Take deep breathes in sync with this youtube video or calm your mind with this meditation kit.
Stressed, depressed, overwhelmed, or lonely? Here’s guidance from Half of Us.
If you, a friend or loved one is at the end of the line, here are some crisis hotlines and local resources:
If you or someone you know is in danger, consider calling 911.
Stay safe, wear a mask, and see the good.
A Powerful Poem by Best Selling Author Robert Michael Fried
Some things hazy
Soon will be right
Some things hidden
will come into sight
Some things so wrong
will soon become clear
As we gallantly strive
towards a life without fear
Fortune 500 marketing strategist and best-selling author Robert Michael Fried has spent most of his career directing or repositioning marketing and sales strategies for blue-chip companies. He strikes a refreshing balance between making money and making meaning in his best seller, Igniting Your True Purpose and Passion: A Businesslike Guide to Fulfill Your Professional Goals and Personal Dreams.
The book is acclaimed by Guy Kawasaki, best-selling author and former chief evangelist of Apple, Cynthia Kersey, best-selling author of Unstoppable, and Marci Shimoff, best known for co-authoring 6 Chicken Soup For The Soul Books, and her prominent role in the documentary video The Secret.
Fried’s New York Times critically acclaimed book A Marketing Plan for Life soared to #1 on the Amazon Best Seller List in three categories: Success, Self-Help, and Personal Transformation.
My cũũcũ passed away today.
I’m told she died peacefully in her home and felt no pain.
My story began with my cũũcũ. Her story was one of will power, persistence and principle. She pushed herself beyond her point of endurance so her children would have hope, a future. She worked day and night on her farm so she had enough to provide for her children, enough to share, and enough to sell. She had her children out of bed working before dawn and made sure that was never a reason to cut out school. Late at night they all studied by the light of a kerosene lamp with their feet dipped in cold water to focus and ward off sleep. She instilled in them the value of service, sweats and smarts, discipline and delayed gratification and they in turn passed these values on to us.
As I spent time with her in her latter years, arthritis had stolen the spring in her step and age had mellowed the intensity in her eyes. It was hard to believe she was the same lady who tore through the fields with a hoe or a sickle, carried bales of Napier grass on her back and taught women in the village zero-grazing so they too could provide for their children.
Still, she carried herself with grace and the determination that rang in her voice spoke to her pioneering spirit. My grandmother was the first lady in her country to cycle to the dairy and drive to the market. She was the woman who saved her scarce pennies for a sewing machine so her children would not go naked. She is the only Kikuyu grandmother I know who can talk to her grandchildren intelligently about Martin Luther King and Caesar Chavez, revolutionaries who fought for freedom many miles from her East African village.
I hope that my life is a tribute to my grandmother, who showed me the love of life and the people along the way who have given me joy and a meaning to it all. I hope that my life says I had a generous attitude towards people. That I worked hard, loved much and learned from my mistakes, that I had a vision and lived with a mission and that my perpetual optimism was a force multiplier.
If we are fortunate, we are not stuck at home, we are safe at home.
During this crisis, I think about health workers, grocery store clerks, delivery drivers, transit and utility workers—and so many others—who are selflessly getting up every day to make sure we have the things we need.
During this pandemic we are reminded, that staying home is a privilege. Binge-watching Netflix is a privilege. Wondering what to do next is a privilege… An opportunity to create solutions, to hold faith over fear, to think about the future and create it.
As so many people step up to make sure I am safe, I’m grateful for the opportunity to ponder the past and the brilliant breakthroughs previous pandemics have inspired.
It’s our turn. What’s next?
When this unprecedented plague is over, we may never again take for granted, each deep breath, a handshake with a stranger, close conversations face-to-face, a crowded theater, Friday night out, a roaring stadium, the taste of communion or a shared cold beer, a routine checkup, rush hour traffic, coffee with a friend, a touch, a hug, a kiss…
Coronavirus has:
Let’s celebrate the silver lining, make each moment matter, and thank our essential workers.
Remember, every breath is a gift. With each breath, we have the opportunity to be more. A crisis can spark creativity in remarkable ways.
Our view profoundly affects the way we lead life.
The beliefs we hold about ourselves guide and permeate nearly every part of our lives. Our beliefs influence our thoughts which limit our potential or enable our success.
Our thoughts often mark the difference between excellence and mediocrity. Our thoughts influence our self-awareness, our self-esteem, our creativity, our ability to face challenges, our resilience to setbacks, our levels of depression, and our tendency to stereotype, among other things.
In life, our challenges become more demanding over the years rather than less. The hallmark of the growth mindset is the passion for sticking with it, especially when things are not going well. According to Dr. Carol S. Dweck author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success and one of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of personality, social psychology, and developmental psychology, having a fixed mindset creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over – criticism is seen as an attack on your character, and to be avoided. Having a growth mindset encourages learning and effort. If you truly believe you can improve at something, you will be much more driven to learn and practice. Criticism is seen as valuable feedback and openly embraced.
A change of mind is always possible, and welcome. Rigid thinking benefits no one, least of all yourself. With a fixed mindset you view your talents and abilities as… well, fixed. In other words, you are who you are. You think that your intelligence and talents are fixed, and your fate is to go through life avoiding challenge and failure. A growth mindset, on the other hand, is one in which you see yourself as fluid, a work in progress. Your fate is one of growth and opportunity.
Which mindset do you possess? It’s not too late to change your mind. Mindsets are not set at any time, says Dr. Dweck. You can learn to use a growth mindset to achieve success and happiness.
If you would like to increase your success and feelings of fulfillment, adapt a flexible mindset and change your thoughts. We are what we think. We can control our emotions by what we choose to think. All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts, we make our world.