Lamisha Serf-Walls

Intention is Everything

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INTENTION

Can I tell you a secret that’s not so secret?

Intention is Everything!

At the beginning of the year I told you I was working on the lovely Leonie Dawson’s Create Your Amazing Year 2014 planner.  I completed most of the it for both business and personal life and one of the exercises included making a list of 100 things you want to do for the year.  To be honest the task seemed a bit difficult at first because I allowed my logical mind to get in the way, but once I got started I had lots of fun things added.  Things like getting a facial, hiking, reading 100 books, writing an e-book, and dancing in the rain.  I’m not even sure if I have made it quite to 100 yet as I am still adding to it, but you get the idea.

So, after really focusing on what I wanted to create for 2014 and allowing myself the flow as far as ‘how’ it would show up, I put the planner away and kept moving through every day life.  Every now and again I will pick it up and read through it to see if there are any exercises that I still need to complete that call to me.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, but one day in January I did this and took a look at my 100 things list.

I was astonished!!!

I realized that within the first month of the year without even trying, I had accomplished two things on my list.  They weren’t big things like going to Hawaii (which requires a bit of forethought and planning).  They were small things that simply happened.

What were they?

One was ice skating with my family and another was to have a game night with the neighbors.  Small, but super-fun things that I loved!

Now those two things might seem inconsequential as far as setting an intention, but I must tell you I haven’t been ice-skating in years! And the idea to have a game night with the neighbors came from left field considering we have never done that in the 3 years we have lived here.

All I did was think “hey that would be fun”, and I wrote it down.  I set the intention that these were things I wanted to do and by not planning, scheming or figuring out how it was going to happen, I did both of them within a month!

Even with all the evidence I have had over the years, I know better than to question the magical ways of the Universe.  But, there was a part of me that thought it was just a small occurrence.  That is, until a few weeks later.

I had been putting a lot of time and energy into my business.  I booked some new clients and was participating in an e-course and got the idea to create a group coaching model for my clients.  This would provide tons of information and insight for people interested in coaching at a much cheaper rate overall in a group setting.  Full of inspiration, I reached out to a lovely group of women I met online and asked for volunteers to test my model.  The Your Flying Leap test group has been going great and you guessed it the next time I checked in with my planner, I had an entry that read ‘create a group coaching offer’.

Now you could argue that as a business woman I would know all of the things I wanted to do and you would be right to some degree.  But, the sheer ease with which it came together based entirely on my inspired thoughts is amazing.  I didn’t think about it.  I didn’t create the program for 2-3 months before trying it with a test group for free.  Nope, I just asked who would be interested and I jumped in.  Since then, the pieces have been coming together quite easily.  (Note: I will be sharing more information on how you can join this program that begins again in May.  Join my VIP list to get the scoop first if you are interested.)

And you know the amazing program I am taking part of called Unleash Your Personal Power?  That happened as easily and effortlessly as the others and it too was on my list of 100 things to do.  The kicker is I didn’t even reach out to these amazing professionals.  I was asked to join this venture seemingly out of the blue and I can’t tell you how much fun it has been to create and what a great time we are having. If you haven’t checked it out, please do!  This program is valued at $1000 and we are offering it at a mere $85.  And while you can’t really put a price on the life changing tips, tools and information you will learn, this is an incredible offer.  unleashvaluepic

The takeaway from all of this is that when you sent your intention to do something and you just ride the wave of allowing, amazing things happen for you.  If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to whip out a piece of paper and write your own list of 100 things you want to do this year.  Big, small, or medium it doesn’t matter, I assure you that by writing it down and letting it go, the pieces will fall into place in seemingly miraculous ways.

Try it! What do you have to lose?

I hope you have a bit of fun this weekend and find some time to just relax.  Self-care is such an important part of life and many of us don’t do it enough!  Until next week, thank you for reading and have a lovely weekend.

P.S. If you haven’t signed up for the Creative Chaos call on 3/26 at 12pm EST there is still time to do so.  I will be sending out the materials with the call info next week so don’t miss out!  It’s totally free. 🙂

Authenticity and Intuition

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Everyone who sets out on a new path into a future that is unknown experiences bouts of fear, insecurity, excitement, and a variety of other feelings that come with the territory.  It’s normal.  It’s expected and it’s sometimes necessary to learn extremely important lessons.  Do you know how I know this?  Because I have had to learn some pretty big lessons in authenticity and intuition.

You see, when you start something new you might look around to others for their help and expertise in various decisions and choices you are making.  Being a newbie in whatever field you are in, it is often suggested to have a mentor to provide guidance and insight into what you are doing.  It’s also great to have a second eye on new projects or things that you are working on in order to help you grow your skill set.  It doesn’t matter what your dream might be, but if it’s new, there will likely be some growing pains along the way.

But, what happens when you begin outsourcing decisions and opinions to a degree that you lose faith in your own ability to choose what is right and wrong for you?  What happens when you lose the little bit of confidence you had to begin with?

What happens is you lose the connection with your intuition and your authentic self, which can be detrimental to dream and your wavering confidence.

But wait a minute Lamisha, didn’t you say that it’s okay to ask for help and assistance when we are reaching for our dreams and that we don’t have to do it alone???

Yes I did say that and I still stand by that statement, BUT it is also important to stay true to who you are and to stay connected to your intuition.  Advice, insight, and assistance are all fine and good, but when it doesn’t feel right and goes against who you are, take note.  Whatever the suggestion is might not be what is right for you in that moment.

I don’t expect my clients (or myself for that matter) to know everything there is to know in order to accomplish their dreams, but I encourage them to listen to their intuition and use it as guidance for the choices they make.  Does that mean that if a suggestion is scary they don’t do it?

Not necessarily.  It can take some work to learn to differentiate between fear and intuition, but once you figure it out, you can begin feeling your way to the future life of your dreams.

It also doesn’t mean you won’t ever have to experience challenging lessons along the way.  Sometimes our intuition will lead us to exactly what we need to learn and experience, so take it as a gift and a lesson.

I guess what I am saying is to trust yourself.  Believe in your dream and trust that the path will light up for you and the steps, advice, inspiration, and action steps on your path will come when they are meant to.  If it just doesn’t feel right and you feel like you are creating someone else’s idea of your dream, then that’s not for you.  Take a step back and remember what your dream is and set the intention on being open to the steps that will keep your dream authentic for you. We all have experienced those “gut feelings” now and again, so tap into your intuition and I assure you it won’t lead you astray.

Where Is Your Focus???

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This week I have been a little MIA on my blog and for that I apologize, but I promise I had a good reason.  I decided to take some time to really reset my focus for the rest of this year and into the new year.  Re-focus sort of suggests I have been making plans and outlining my strategy, but what I did was a bit different from that.

I realized in the last two weeks especially, I have allowed the details of the future get the best of me.  Mostly, the unknown details and the many questions that come with them.  Questions about business success (or lack there of), questions about where I am headed, and what is on my path.  I have spent much of the last two weeks trying to desperately solve problems, figure things out, set plans, and FOCUS on what is coming when I have no clue what that might be.

image from vitalityhealthcenters.com
image from vitalityhealthcenters.com

Up until a few weeks ago I was okay with the not knowing.  In fact, I was more than okay with it…I was flowing with it and things were good.  It wasn’t until I received comments from someone else on what I “should” be doing, that I began this crazed focus on what is going wrong.

I am sure you have been there before too right?  Instead of basking in the wonderful things that are going on in life, we have a tendency to hone in on the one (or two) things that are lacking.  We allow those one or two things to be the main focus, main theme, and our primary concern, until we realize it is getting us nowhere.

That is why this week I spent some time changing my focus.  Instead of focusing on all the things I feel aren’t quite up to par, I have set the intention to practice flowing with what is good, abundant, beautiful, and magnificent in my life.  Does that mean I won’t ever notice when my glass is half-empty?  No, but it does mean that I am making a bit of an extra effort to soothe myself and know that it is okay for a glass to be half-empty some of the time, because when it is we appreciate the full glass so much more.So, I ask you lovely readers.  Where has your focus been as of lately?  Have you been enjoying and appreciating the magnificence that surrounds you or are you honing in on the things that are still missing?  If you fall into the latter category, I invite you to change your focus up a bit.  You may not have all the answers right now, but by enjoying the little things and the big things that are going well, you somehow find the answers you were looking for not only much faster, but also in the most amazing places.I hope you have an amazing weekend and turn your focus to the abundance and beauty all around you.  As always, thanks for reading!

Less Than Motivated…

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It happens to us all right?  You have those days where you know you “should” be getting busy and marking things off your to-do list, but you have zero motivation.  The inspiration to act just isn’t there and to be honest you would just as much like to take a nap and try again later…or not.

I am having one of those days today.  My list of things to be done is ever-growing and even after a mid-day nap I can’t fight this “meh” feeling I am having.

What is a coach to do???

Well first thing to do is admit that we are human and we have those days.  Days when things seem a little less go-go-go and a lot more..zzzzzz.

And while I may not be able to put my finger on exactly what is going on, I’m not sure it matters.  What matters is accepting that it happens to us all and it will pass.

So what do you do in the meantime?  You can’t just sleep all day and not tend to your responsibilities right?

I guess that would depend on what your responsibilities are.  I know I have a lot of things I have set a loose deadline for in my business building and freelance writing.  I have very few things that absolutely have to be done today, so while there is a part of me that knows I really should do X, Y, Z…I’m taking the easy way out and meandering my way back to motivation.

I find that if I am less than motivated to act on something, forcing myself to do it makes it so much worse.  Not only is the end result lackluster and boring, but it feels miserable to do.  So, if I can avoid it, I don’t do it.  Luckily enough this feeling only comes during days when I have my day job that is already pretty lackluster and clearly not my passion.

So, I do what I can to pass the time in hopes that this “meh” feeling passes quickly.  The good news is that typically it will move along and I am back to my bubbly, go-getter, inspired self in no time.  I’m just not there yet.

So why am I sharing my less than motivated moment with you?

Because I want you to know that even professionals feel the same way you do.  We are not super-human, always happy, always successful, never-failing people.  Nope, we are just regular passionate, inspired, and mostly motivated individuals that like you, have one of those days.

And this is mine.

The next time you are feeling less than motivated, don’t fight the feeling.  Just go with it and ask yourself honestly, “What do I feel like doing right this moment?”  Should you get an answer, go with it and see if your mood turns around.

Writing this post was the first thing that came to mind for me.

Decisions, Decisions Which Will You Choose?

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Everyday we are making hundreds of decisions.  Decisions about what time to wake up, what to wear, what to eat, where to go, how to get there etc.  Some decisions are not huge life-altering choices and are seemingly easier to make.  If I decide to wake up at 5 am as opposed to 5:30 am, I can make that choice rather easily.  When I decide what to eat for lunch, I simply ask myself, “What do I feel like eating?”, and if it is readily available, I will eat that.  Many times these daily decisions require little to no assistance from anyone but ourselves, giving us the freedom to follow our emotions, inspiration, and our own feelings to choose between choice A and choice B.

Then there are the other decisions.

You know, the ones that feel huge, life-altering, oh-my-goodness-I-hope-I-make-the-right-choice, kind of decisions.  Those decisions are much less easy-going and can create a lot of anxiety, frustration, and worry.  Decisions about what house to buy, what career to choose, or what partner is right for us.  These are the decisions we talk to our friends, parents, spouses, and co-workers about in order to ensure we are making the right decision and yet, even with the advice from so many people, we still question some of our choices.  steve_jobs_quotes

I guess you could say many of us believe that someone else knows more about us than we do.  Maybe they are more experienced, more educated, more successful, etc., and in our eyes, they know what is best for us.  The problem with always consulting someone else on major life decisions, we lose our sense of power and freedom.  When we believe someone else knows what is best for us more than we do, we are giving away our power to someone else and in turn can lose our confidence to make choices in the future.

How many of us made a choice for our careers based on someone else’s advice.  Maybe we thought that a certain field would be more profitable or we would be more successful in it, yet we always knew it wasn’t the best place for us.

The truth is some of us (me included) have been taught to believe that there is a right and a wrong decision in life, but there isn’t.  There are simply choices that will lead you down one path or another (or many).  There is no formula that you can use to determine which is right and which is wrong because it is different for every person. 

Bummer huh?

So, how do you know what is the right career path, product, partner, business decision, etc. for you?

The best way is to listen to your intuition.  You know that feeling in your gut that causes you to pick up the phone to call someone just as they were going to call you for something.  That’s the one.  It is also what I call leading with your inspiration.

When you follow the same principles for the big decisions as you do for the little ones, you learn to trust your intuition.  Did you consult with all of your friends and family members before you selected your breakfast this morning?  Probably not.  You most likely followed your intuition or inspiration for what you wanted to eat.

The same goes for making any other decision in life.  Sure, some of the bigger decisions may require some research etc., but if you can quiet your mind and get in touch with what you are feeling, you will be able to feel for the best decision for you.

In my coaching, I work with my clients to help them get more in tune with their inspiration.  I encourage them to follow what feels good to them and to listen to their internal compass (their emotions) to decide what is right for them. As they follow their intuition and lead with their inspiration, amazing opportunities and big shifts happen in what we are working on.

Are you interested in learning how to trust your intuition and follow your inspiration to finally live the life of your dreams? What to know more about how I can help you?  Visit my services page to see how I can help you make major moves toward your dreams.  What are you waiting for?  Send me an email at lamisha@lifeoncedreamt.com to schedule a FREE coaching call.