Lamisha Serf-Walls

Links that Inspire

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I am always looking for blogs, books, or other material that inspires me to keep moving forward on my path to achieving my dreams and I thought I would share a few with you, in hopes that you may be equally inspired.

When I first began my research on life coaches I found an awesome life coach that not only had a clear vision, but an awesome personality to share with the world. Her passion is contagious, her intentions are clear, and her purpose is ever evolving. I have followed the When I Grow Up Coach (Michelle Ward) for almost two years now and I have watched her business evolve as she has been forced to focus on her own health due to being diagnosed, treated, and in remission of breast cancer. I loved her energy before she was diagnosed and her fortitude and “go with the flow” attitude has done nothing but grow since then. There is no better way to put it than to say she is “amazeballs” a term she uses frequently on her own blog. For her story, her amazing energy, and to find out more about her life coaching business check her out here.

Another blog I stumbled upon in the last year or so is a blog all about designing a life with intention. Jess Lively is a designer and small business consultant that is helping people build their business with intention, something she has done since she started her jewelry line at age 15. I am inspired by her ability to live her life in a way that is very intentional and methodical. Doing what works for her and her husband even if it goes against the proverbial grain. I can relate to her in so many ways, and I am encouraged to continue on my path, even when it doesn’t go along with the majority, and build my life based around the intentions I have set for myself and my family. Our lives are our own, and no one says that you should live it like everyone else. Jess Lively is a perfect example of living life with intention and I am constantly inspired to continue to create and hone my own life intentions the more I read about her journey. I hope you find her equally as inspiring.

The last inspirational person/site I want to share with you is Lilou Mace and her Juicy Living Tour project. I happened to find one of Lilou’s many youtube videos when I was doing some research on the Law of Attraction. I was immediately drawn to her energetic personality and zest for life and became instantly inspired to create that same sense of adventure in my own life. Lilou Mace is an amazing visionary. She shares videos of interviews she conducts all over the world with people who are all working to co-create a world that is more peaceful and loving and shares their stories of how they are changing the world one day at a time. Her spiritual essence is contagious and my motivation is renewed each time I watch one of her videos. Moving from losing a job to finally achieving her dreams, she reminds me of the importance of faith. Having the faith to believe my dreams will become reality even if I can’t see the exact path right now, and as my journey unfolds, she reminds me to live in each moment fully (a lesson I am continually learning every day). I invite you to check out her Juicy Living Tour project and see how your own motivation and inspiration is affected.

I hope you find some inspiration in the links I have shared above, and even if they aren’t exactly in line with your own interests, I hope they show you that anything is possible, no matter what your dreams may be.

What are some links, blogs, or books that inspire you and keep you moving forward?

***Please note all information listed above are my own opinions and I have not been provided any compensation for sharing the links, businesses, or people listed in this post.***

What can you do now???

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It isn’t often that dreams happen overnight.  If it were that easy, everyone would have accomplished their dreams long ago.  The reality is that any goal, dream, or aspiration takes time, patience, planning, and a lot of hard work.  I have often felt stuck or frustrated because my dreams weren’t materializing as quickly as I would like and it seemed that even taking the first step was more difficult than I thought it would be.  So I often ask myself the question, “What do you do when you are waiting for the pieces to fall into place?”

What can you do NOW?

The first thing I did when I realized (and realized again) that life coaching was the path for me, was a lot of research.  I looked at websites for different life coaches to see what it was all about, even though I had a vague understanding of what the job entailed, I wanted to see how others were doing it.  So I scoured the internet for as many life coach as I could find.  This just happened to be right around the time we were planning on moving to SC, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to see if there were any life coaches in the area we were moving to and see if maybe they could use some help in their business.  I learned very quickly life coaching isn’t really that type of business.  I did, however find one woman who was willing to speak with me regarding her experience with her business and the training she went through before starting her business.  After speaking with her I thought I would feel inspired and motivated to keep moving forward, but what I felt was the exact opposite.  I realized the first person I spoke to was in it purely for the money, ironically enough it can be a tough business to be in for the money.

While I was slightly discouraged, the passion for helping people achieve their dreams didn’t stop.  So I kept talking about my dream with some of my friends and realized my best friend knew not one, but two life coaches.  She was able to connect me with one that was able to explain to me her process, training, and overall business and the conversation was wonderful.  I left the conversation feeling more empowered, more excited, and more motivated than I had been before.  I was on my way.

Many months passed with our move and settling into a new area and I began to feel stuck again.  Now I knew what I was meant to do, and I really just wanted to jump right in and do it.  I was mentally ready to begin my training courses, however I had no idea what programs would be best, what the cost would entail etc.  So the next logical step was to research the programs and find the best one for me.  It took me a few weeks to read through the different program options and weigh all of the pros and cons, but I finally found the program for me.  The next step would be to get the money together to begin the courses so I could keep moving forward, but one of my goals along this process is to limit any new debt and to ensure that when I begin my programming I have paid off as much as possible.  Incurring new debt for this purpose was not something I wanted to do.  So, I made a decision to spend some time paying down some of my debt first, and then beginning my program a bit later.  A task that requires a lot of patience and faith.

So that is where I am today.  Part of beginning this blog was the result of the thought…What can I do NOW??  I needed to be able to reach out to people to motivate, inspire, and empower them even if I couldn’t do it through life coaching…yet.  It has certainly allowed me to feel better about moving forward, bit by bit, to reach my goals and while there are still some days when I want to just throw my plans to the side and dive right in, I know that my planning and patience will benefit me in the long run.

The moral of this story is this: Even if you feel you can’t jump right into your goal, find something you can do today that will put you a little bit closer to it and keep you inspired to continue moving forward.  If you want to write a book (one of my dreams), maybe you can begin with writing one page a day.  What ever your dream may be, thee is always something you can do today.  You just have to figure out what that is.

I am a reformed believer that there is always something you can do to put you closer to your goals no matter how far away they may seem.  Each step makes a huge difference and will keep you on right track.

My question for you today is this: What can you do today to put you a little bit closer to your dream?

Away From the Flock

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You’ve heard the saying “birds of a feather flock together” or  “misery loves company”, I was living those sayings for awhile and not in a good way.  For a long time I found myself drawn to people who could commiserate with my misery, particularly in the workplace.  I found myself in a job that I didn’t love, working for a boss that was manipulative, frustrating, and simply unfair.  Many of my coworkers felt the same way, so each day we would spend our breaks complaining about our work lives, though not many of us were doing anything about it.  I soon realized this was not healthy thing for me, and it was keeping me in a very negative mood most days and I just didn’t like the person I was becoming.  I would like to say I came to that realization on my own, but I didn’t.  My partner helped me realize I was allowing the negativity to affect me as a person.  Not only was it affecting me, but I was bringing my anger and frustration home, which was not something I wanted to do.  So after many months of thinking “I can’t help it”,  I made some changes.

 
I began seeing my job for what it was, a job, not a career.  While that thought alone didn’t fix my problematic boss situation, or keep me from being frustrated day in and day out, it was a start.  The next thing I did was limit the time I spent complaining and started focusing on the positive aspects of my position.  I began thinking of what the future may hold for me and what lesson I was supposed to be learning.  I had been looking for another job on and off for about 2 years and had difficulty finding the “right” position which I attributed that to the lesson I still had to learn in my current position.  I didn’t immediately know what the lesson was since I was so focused on the negativity, but then something happened…I changed my attitude.

Once I changed my attitude about my situation my situation changed.  It was like magic!  Within a few months I was asked to apply for a position with another company that seemingly fell out of the sky.  I wasn’t actively looking for another job at the time, but this position fit perfectly with my family life and the impending move we had planned in the coming months.  I couldn’t believe it!  Just when I had stopped looking for the things to complain about, and stopped flocking with the negative crowd, my reality changed and it changed for the better.  Lesson learned…or so I thought.

Lately I have been feeling a pull towards the future me.  The one that has her own business, sets her own hours, and is doing the work that she loves.  A version of me that seems so very far away and at times the thought can be frustrating.  Add to that the stress and frustration at work and I found myself beginning to move towards the flock of negativity again.  Not. Good. News.  With that said there is a flip side to this and that is, I am aware of it.
I am very aware of the road I am beginning to travel down, and I remember very clearly what happened the last time I was on this road.  So I am choosing to turn around and head down a more productive, more positive, more optimistic path.  One of faith.

I have faith that I am being challenged right now for a reason, and while I don’t know what that reason is, I know it will lead me to something better.  I just have to believe not only in myself, but in my dream.  And I am going to do just that.

I intend to be more aware of my complaining and limit it as much as possible so I don’t follow the flock down a road I have already traveled.  I already know what is at the end, and it is not pretty.  I choose to embrace the positive aspects of life and have faith that those positives will multiply.  I’ve seen it happen before, and I know it will happen again with a little faith.
What about you? How do you stay positive, even when your outer circumstances are less than ideal?

My Monarch Messenger

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This past weekend as my partner was leaving to run some errands, she noticed we had a beautiful visitor just outside the front door.  A monarch butterfly had landed on our mums and decided to stay awhile, several hours to be exact.  Every once and awhile it would fly out to the front yard, around our tree and back again. When she showed me the picture she had taken, I was intrigued.

I have seen many butterflies recently on walks around our neighborhood.  I have seen all yellow ones, black ones, and even gorgeous black and yellow ones quite frequently, and every time I see a new one, I smile.  I am reminded of the transformation that takes place inside the cocoon in order for this gorgeous creature to emerge.  Since I have been seeing more and more butterflies recently, I have found it to be a confirmation of my own transformation taking place and a message that I am not alone on my journey. (Something I know to be true, but a little reminder every now and then doesn’t hurt.)

Though I have seen several butterflies recently there were two things that made this particular butterfly stand out to me.  One is that it was a monarch butterfly and in the year we have lived here, I have never seen a monarch butterfly, let alone have one visit us for such a long time.  The other thing that made this butterfly stand out to me is the length of time it stayed perched on our flowers, flying away every once in a while only to return to its original place.  I couldn’t help but think there was some sort of symbolism or message that we were supposed to get.  And since I know there are no such things as coincidences, I wanted to find out the message from our monarch.

Our weekend visitor

Here is what I found from www.zimbio.com.  “Monarchs bring the message of courage: have courage, walk with courage, make changes in courage.  This butterfly travels huge distances on their annual migration following the same route as many birds.  Humans do not have the courage, generally, to travel to unknown places with the conviction of faith that the Monarchs have.  That is the other part of the message-to have faith.  Monarchs realize that the world is not something they control, and yet they make this huge journey.  Humans feel the need to control everything-people, environment, weather, plants and animals.  The message is to let go and let the journey happen. (from Spirit Animals-the Monarch Butterfly-Missing August 29, 2008)

There are many lines in this seemingly small passage that speak to me, one of which is to walk and make changes with courage.  Change has the ability to excite and scare me all in the same breath, and while my journey forward isn’t always outlined and mapped out for me, courage is a necessity to keep moving forward.

Having faith is another part of the message that really resonated with me.  Despite not knowing what may come around the corner, we all must have faith that it will work out for us no matter what.  Sure maybe our journey didn’t take us the route we thought we should go, but in the end sometimes the route we didn’t think of is much better.  We must keep the faith that all will be revealed at the right time, and we will end up exactly where we should be, even if it isn’t where we thought we would end up.

This takes me to the idea of control.  This piece hit a chord with me more than I would like to admit.  I, like many people I am sure, have this desire to have as much control as possible over the outcomes of my dreams, job, and life in general.  The reality is, I can’t really control everything…though try as I might, it just doesn’t work.  So in order to succeed on any journey we are on in life, we must learn to “let go and let the journey happen”.  I love that so much.

Thank you my monarch messenger for such an amazing gift of your beauty, and the reminder to have courage and faith as I move toward my dreams and just when I feel frustration and resistance setting in, I will learn to let go and allow my journey to happen.

How do you let go and allow your journey to simply unfold?

Go with your gut

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As a creative soul I love trying new things and thinking outside the box, but one thing is for sure, decisions are not my forte.  In fact they make me tremble with anxiety for the most part, especially those large, potentially life changing decisions that as adults we often have to make.

A few years ago I was looking to get out of the job I was in and into a job that would allow me to actually utilize my Masters degree in Psychology.  The idea of helping young children find a forever home sounded wonderful and I was up for the challenge.  Unfortunately the pay that comes along with that challenge was not even in the ball park of what I needed to survive.  I was offered the position along with the measly salary that came with it.  I had a decision to make.  I could either keep the job I didn’t like with potential for a possible raise, or take a more challenging job for less money.

And so it began…

I made ample lists of pros vs cons, looked at my budget until my eyes crossed, and tried to make sense of my predicament. I agonized over it for about a week, hoping that someone, anyone would give me the right answer as to what I should do.  My partner (as lovely and kind as she is) told me she would support me in whatever decision I made.  That was not the answer I was looking for, albeit sweet and very supportive.

I wanted someone to make the tough choice for me, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen.

I didn’t have much time left when I finally made a decision.  I was not going to take the job that I thought I wanted/needed, and instead stay in my current position while negotiating an additional $4,000 a year.  Even though it seemed like the right choice, I couldn’t help but wonder if I would regret it later.  Looking back now I know I made the right decision.

So why did I doubt myself?

It comes down to trust.  Sometimes I don’t trust myself to make the right decisions and I have a fear of doing something I will regret.  I don’t want to look back and say, I should have taken path B instead of A or vice versa and feel terrible about it later.

I realize there aren’t necessarily right or wrong decisions in life as much as there are two (or more) paths that lead in one direction or another.  Each way may lead down a different road that will inevitably converge later down the line and the best thing you can do is go with your gut.

Trust your intuition, no matter what.

Whether you find yourself making a decision about finances, business, or in how you accomplish your dreams, the most important thing to do is to trust your intuition as it is your internal compass.

If you trust your intuition, you can never go wrong.

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I want to hear from you. Do you always listen to your intuition?  Can you tell the difference between your intuitive voice, and the voice of fear?