Lamisha Serf-Walls

3rd times a charm

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Many of you probably do not know this, but this isn’t my first blog.  I have had two other blogs in the past that were not successful and didn’t last very long.  I will not bore you with the details or links because they weren’t very good.  The first blog was created on a whim, with little thought, no planning, and simply an urge to write.  The topic?  My dog.  As sweet and crazy as she can be sometimes, I soon realized there was only so much I could write about her, none of which was terribly exciting or helpful to the average reader.  My dog blog lasted all of a month, tops.
The second attempt was a little less than a year later.  The topic? Good stuff, inspirational quotes, musings etc.  This blog had a bit more vision, a lot more passion, but again not much planning.  With this blog I was able to write almost everyday, stay inspired, but something was missing.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on it and so the good stuff blog retired.

You may be asking yourself why I would try yet again?  Well the truth is my passion to write and the desire to blog has never really left me.  I also had a desire to use my blog as a starting point for my bigger vision of being a life coach.  I thought this would be a wonderful platform to reach out to people who are interested in making their dreams reality and they would hopefully find some inspiration from me sharing my journey.  I knew that if I was going to start another blog, I had to set some serious intentions and stick with them.

What I did…

I took some time to brainstorm.  My first step was to define what I wanted to write about.  I didn’t want a topic so exclusive that I couldn’t branch out and utilize every morsel of my creativity, but I wanted it to be something uniquely my own.  I wanted my blog to evolve over time into something my coaching clients could read and enjoy as well.  Once I had that figured out I had to decide on a name.

Naming my blog was like naming a child…sort of.  I wanted something that was descriptive, unique, catchy and something that didn’t already exist on this particular platform.  I started a list and jotted names down as I thought of them, occasionally checking them out on WordPress to see if they were available.  Many of them didn’t resonate with me or give me the warm fuzzies, so I kept searching.  Finding just the right name was harder than I thought, but I was dedicated to waiting it out until I found the right one.  This process took many weeks, so many in fact I lost count.  Then it happened…last week.

The name came out of nowhere…literally.  I was on the phone at work and the words “Life Once Dreamt” popped into my head.  I knew that was the one and I knew I had to hurry and write it down or else it may be gone forever.  After quickly jotting it down I was lucky enough to find that it was available and it fit perfectly with a tag line I had written weeks ago (where dreams meet reality).  It was then that I knew that this time would be different.

Clearly a name is not all that defines a blog and I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me, but it’s a start.  And for me a very good one.  Not only did I learn from my previous experience, but I was also able to remain patient to allow the right name to come to me before making the same mistake again and potentially laying another poorly planned blog to rest.

So there you have it, one dream becoming reality right before your eyes.

I would love to hear about what dreams have materialized for you and how many tries it took.  Feel free to share!

 

 

Relax, Regroup, Release

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Yesterday I wrote about patience and how it takes a lot of practice to attain, at least for me it does.  I started thinking about how I could be more mindful of each moment as opposed to being so preoccupied with the future.  I found that impatience isn’t the only challenge I have from time to time.  I often find myself scatter-brained and lacking focus.
Recently I have found myself trying to pass the time waiting for certain pieces of my dreams to fall into place (i.e. waiting on possible publishing results of some of my work), by changing my focus and attempting to do many things at once.  For instance at this very moment I am in the middle of reading 3 books at once, I have started a blog, and I work a full-time job amongst many other items that have my attention throughout the day.  While I like to think I have it all together and can continue to juggle all of these items, I am afraid I am doing nothing more than scattering my energy inefficiently, leaving me feeling drained and frustrated.

Since I am typically a “fixer” of things, when I see there is a problem, I want to know what I can do to fix it…now.  The joy of life is that not all things can be fixed in the blink of an eye and somethings don’t need “fixed” as much as they need to be re-evaluated or re-balanced.  In this case, I think I need a bit of both in order to settle myself and adjust my focus.

In addition to being a “fixer”, I am very much a “doer”, meaning I pride myself on checking items off my to-do list and feel good when I see how much I have accomplished.  This is not always a healthy thing, and can definitely become a problem as I move closer and closer to starting my own business.  If I don’t address this now, my future may consist of working long hours with little separation between work life and personal life.

So where does that leave me today with my “fixer” and “doer” mentalities?  Well, I think the first step is to stop for a moment and regroup.  Instead of feeling like I need to always do something, maybe I need to just be in this moment and take it as it comes.  This is yet another life lesson I know I am meant to learn.  Instead of always focusing on getting through my dream list or my to-do list as quickly as possible, what if I simply enjoyed today for what it is and streamline my focus a bit?

What if???

What if this incessant feeling of being stuck is really a reminder to be in each moment as mindfully as possible and allow my dreams to unfold more naturally instead of trying to control everything?  What if I focus more on the process and flow of life, as opposed to the destination? What if my lack of patience and focus is simply part of my path to achieving all that my heart desires?

If all of the above statements are true (and I believe most if not all of them are), then I welcome them with open arms and I intend to relax, regroup, and release my death grip on the future and open my awareness to today.

Food for thought:

What if at this very moment you are exactly where you are meant to be on your path to greatness, challenges and all? Do you welcome them, or wish them away??

It Takes Practice

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All my life I have known that one major life lesson I need to learn in order to be successful and happy, is patience.  I’m not talking, stuck in traffic, standing in long lines kind of patience, but rather patience for allowing things to fall into place in life.  I find myself dreaming big, bold, beautifully extravagant dreams, filling my soul with excitement and then almost immediately tapping my foot with impatience because I want it now.

Over the years I have learned that instant gratification isn’t always best, and many times patience gives space for proper planning and execution, especially when it involves financial risks, business decisions, or putting yourself in the best situation to succeed.  Beyond that I know (much to my chagrin) that to do things right it takes time.

I know, I know…Rome wasn’t built in a day, human beings have a gestation period of 9 months etc., but when I have these big ideas and my creativity is flowing, I feel the need to act, and act now.  But try as I might to make things happen, they don’t always and I often find myself feeling stuck and discouraged, wondering why/how/when will it all work out???

I have found my impatience tends to bleed over into my personal life as well.  I found recently it has come when my main focus is on a future event or moment as opposed to being fully mindful of what I am doing in the now.  Not only am I not being effective in the moment, but I am no closer to the future because all I have is now.  If I am constantly worried with the future, how can I ever tend to the moment and give it all that it deserves in order to make it to the future?

Eureka!

Every moment I see my dreams as yet to be attained instead of being in the process of being achieved, I am discrediting everything I am doing now.  I am losing precious time right now.  Time that allows me to experience this wonderful adventure that helps me to grow and evolve into a better me, and who knows maybe a better end result for my dreams.

So the next time I wonder how I can be more patient, I will remember this… Patience takes practice and in my case…lots of it!

And So It Begins…

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A little less than a year ago I had a dream (well many dreams to be exact), but one in particular was to create a blog that would serve as a space for my creativity, expression, and the beginning of a bigger vision.  This isn’t my first blog.  I started one over a year ago and soon realized that my dream was lacking in vision and intent.  I simply wanted to write and while my posts made sense and were inspirational (I thought), there was something missing.  The missing link was the thought behind the blog itself.  I had no idea who my audience would be, who might like to read what I had to say, and where I wanted it to lead.  So I decided to begin again.  The thought process took me awhile, but here I am with the same dream, a new vision, and a plan.  A recipe for success…or for more learning and life lessons and growing as a writer.  Either way I am ready for where this new adventure will take me and I hope you are too.