Lamisha Serf-Walls

What is Your Olympic Moment?

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olympics

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a huge fan of the Olympics.  I have always been amazed at the inspiration, the power, and drive the athletes have to accomplish their dreams.  In fact, I was so enthralled with the 1996 Summer Olympics (particularly when the gymnasts were performing), that I decided not to be in the room when my brother was born. (The Olympics being on and the fact that I was 14 and totally freaked out by the idea of being in the room 🙂 )

The 2014 Winter Olympics are no different.  I’m still inspired, uplifted, and amazed at what these dreamers are accomplishing and many at such young ages.

So, this weekend while watching the figure skating competition and hockey (which I have never been interested in), I began thinking about my own ‘Olympic moment’ and yours too!

If we could dissect how each individual Olympic athlete started out and how they got to where they are now, what do you think we would find?

Would we find skiers who always wanted to do amazing tricks on the half-pipe or figure skaters that were just naturally talented at doing the swizzle spin?

My guess is we would find regular people who found something they loved to do and just kept doing it.

In fact, they probably followed their inspiration and followed it with focus and action to get to where they are now.  Did they all set out to be Olympic Champions?  Maybe, maybe not.

But what I know for sure is that they absolutely love what they do.  If they didn’t, they certainly wouldn’t do the things they do every day to make their dreams come true.

So, I ask you this.  What is your Olympic moment?  Is it when you get your business off the ground or when your book gets published?  Maybe it’s when you finally quit that job you have hated for years to pursue your artwork full-time.

Whatever it is, I have a feeling that it can and will evolve.  Once you reach one moment, a new dream, challenge, or passion will look enticing and you will set a new goal.  It’s natural, it’s life, and it is what makes this journey so amazing.

For the athlete striving to make it to the Olympics, their moment might be to simply qualify and then to move into the finals and eventually win a medal or defend their title.

Like every Olympic athlete, do what you love and follow your passion.  Use your inspiration and follow it up with action. Believe in yourself!  I know you can make it to whatever your ‘Olympic moment’ may be, but the important thing is that YOU know that.

Go, dream, do! and then do it all again.

I’ll be looking for you on the podium 🙂

 

Being Here, Instead of There

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I find that I learn life lessons far better through experience as opposed to theory and this past weekend, I found myself learning a life lesson that I have known in theory for many years, but am only now beginning to bring it into my experience by one of the wisest teachers I know….my three year old son.

You see the misconception that many people have about parenting is that the parent is the “know all” to the child.  Parents are supposed to teach all the important life lessons since theoretically we have learned them all ourselves and while that may be true for some things, I find I learn far more from my son, than I have taught him in the last 3 years of his life.  The most recent lesson came yesterday when he absolutely refused to take his nap.  (If you are a parent, you know exactly what I am talking about.)

The lesson he taught me: Be.Here.Now.behere

The struggle began with my preconceived, preplanned expectation of what I wanted to accomplish during nap time yesterday.  I had some work to do and it seemed that nap time was a good time to dig in and get some things done before the big game.  My son had plans of his own.  Mainly to avoid sleep at all costs and to teach Momma a very important lesson about life.

Every time I tried to put my little one down for his nap, he fought me.  Being the parent, I thought I knew what was best for him and could tell that he was in fact tired.  It was my duty to get him down so he could rest his weary head, right?  Maybe.  Upon further reflection today, I realized what I was really trying to do was get him to fall in line with my expectations so I could have a bit of a rest and get some (in my mind very important) things done.

Instead of listening to what he truly needed, I was focused on all the things I needed to do, but wasn’t able to.  I was watching the hours tick by and was planning for the disaster that would occur if he didn’t take his nap.  Cranky kid, cranky Momma, and no work done.  Sadly and selfishly, my thoughts were not on what my son needed from me in that moment, but on what I needed him to do so I could move on with the rest of my schedule.

Thinking about it this morning, I was filled with guilt and the worst kind…Momma-guilt.  The kind that breaks your heart and makes you feel like the worst mother on the planet.  Luckily, I didn’t stay there long before I moved from guilt to curiosity.  What could I learn from this?

Is the lesson that good moms never lose their patience?

Nope.

What I learned is that regardless of what expectations I have set for the day, the week, the month, or the year, shit happens.  Plans don’t work out.  Kids don’t nap.  Cars break down.  It rains. (Though thankfully all that didn’t happen in one day.) And when things don’t go as planned, it’s not only best to just roll with it, it’s imperative.

You see, even with plans and expectations for what I wanted to accomplish yesterday, I could have been fully in the here and now.  And if I was, I would have been better equipped to roll with the punches and find a better way to spend my time.  Instead of thinking about the work I was not doing but desperately needed to do, I could have created some happy memories with my son.

The lesson in all of this is what I have known in theory all along.  Life is lived in the ‘now’.  Not the past or the future.  When we waste our days thinking about what we could’ve, should’ve, or would’ve done or about what has yet to come, we miss the most amazing, magical moments in life.  For me, those moments were with my son.  For you, it might be with your spouse, a friend, or a magical moment that could lead you to the next step of your dream.  And while I would love to say I have mastered this lesson and will always be patient and flow with life, I’m not sure that’s entirely true.

What I do know is that I will be far more mindful of where my thoughts are in the moment.  I will breathe.  I will think, and I will refocus on the present moment, especially when I am with my son.  Because let’s face it, time passes by too quickly and life is too short to worry about work, stress, bills, money, and material things when we have precious children, spouses, friends, pets, family members, etc. around us.

So my question for you is this:  Where are you now?  Here or There???

‘Tis The Season To Be Grateful

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As everyone in the U.S. is making final preparations for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I too have been MIA on the blog front, however I thought it was important for me to do a post on gratitude.  While I could go on about how gratitude is beneficial in life and in the pursuit of your dreams (and it is), I instead want to focus on the people, blogs, and many inspirations I have had in my life over the last year who have helped me (directly and indirectly) get moving on my dream.

I am grateful for:

  • Kenetha Stanton for inspiring me through her beautiful words to create a blog of my own (for the third time) and for providing the insight into how many of the WP functions work
  • Michelle Ward the When I Grow Up Coach who inspired me through her blog, her story, and the pursuit of her dreams to never let go of mine, and for tweeting a link to a post I wrote about her a few months back-pretty exciting stuff!
  • Jess Lively who also has reminded me through her candid details about her successes and disappointments the importance of ‘just keep going’ in life and in business
  • My amazing readers for following my journey, commenting on my posts, and just being here.  For those of you who follow my blog, you have no idea how grateful I am to you. THANK YOU!
  • My lovely coworker(you know who you are!) who told me to take a leap of faith in creating my business when I thought there were so many other things to do first and who has given me many pep-talks when I needed them.  That initial conversation was a game-changer for my dreams and everything else that followed.
  • Erin McNaughton aka my guinea pig client who took a leap of faith into the wonderful world of coaching with a newbie like myself and who has had amazing results from the 4 months we worked together.  Not only is she incredibly talented, but she is also inspiring, motivated, and the best first client a girl could ask for.
  • My other clients who have also followed suit in working with me.  You all are amazing and YOU are the reason I do the work that I do.
  • For those of you thinking of working with me in the future, thank you for considering me.  I would be honored to be a part of your journey to live the life of your dreams.
  • Last but not least, all of the many blogs that lift me up, make me laugh, cry, and leave me inspired to continue doing this amazing work.  There are too many to list, but know that I am so grateful for you as well.

I hope you all can spend some time reflecting on what you are grateful for this holiday season.  May you enjoy your holiday if you are celebrating and I will be back in full blogging-action next week.

Happy Thanksgiving and as always, thanks for reading. 🙂

 

From “Meant To Be” to “Maybe Not”

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I had a realization today and it is one that I have been struggling with for a while now.  You see, when I found out I only had 3 months left of my full-time job, I took it as a sign from the Universe that my coaching business was ready to take off.  I thought I was going to have some amazing space and time to create, write, and build an ever-growing business that would sustain me.  I had stars in my eyes, a heart full of hope, and no one could tell me otherwise.

from www.liketoquote.com
from www.liketoquote.com

I absolutely believed that this was happening and that the reason my job was ending was so I could move into my purpose more fully.  But then, after 2 months passed and business didn’t explode I began questioning things.  I hadn’t even thought of getting another full-time gig.  I thought it was working out perfectly and that it was meant to be for me to work from home, building, creating, and expanding my ever-growing business.

But, that’s not how it has happened thus far.  To be honest with you, my month of giving has really become my month of offering what I believe to be a great deal, but with no takers.

Bummer.Big Bummer.

Not only did I not want to entertain the idea of taking a full-time gig (because hello why else would I be losing my job just as I was starting my own business-terrible logic), but I was also dealing with a dwindling dream.  I had gotten excited about something that I thought was meant to be, even though it might not work out that way.  The funny thing is had you asked me a month before I found out my full-time job would be ending when I planned on taking my new coaching business full-time, I would have most certainly told you that I wouldn’t consider it until I had built a solid foundation.  And yet after I found out about position being eliminated, I thought it was a sign just to jump!  Funny how we see things so differently in varying circumstances huh?

So, what’s my point?

My point is that things happen for a reason and while we might think we know what that reason is while it is happening, we may not ever really know until the dust settles later.  So instead of wishing, hoping, and standing on the belief that we always know why things work out the way they do, why not stand in a place of faith.  Faith that things are working out exactly how they should without placing constraints on the situation trying to make it fit into a logical stream of thinking.  If I know anything about my journey to coaching, I know that the path isn’t always logical and it is very rarely linear.  My path has been more about following the inspirational nuggets along the way.  Being inspired to do one thing that leads to another etc.  That is how things have worked out for me and many of my clients and I know that is how it will continue to work out.

In this case that means not discounting another full-time gig or feeling badly about services and offers that go no where.  Not only am I allowing myself to be open to what comes, but I am also following my own coaching advice and going where my inspiration takes me.  I am readjusting my focus and seeing the bigger picture.  I may not know what is next for me, but I am sure that it is going to be great.

In the mean time I am going to continue working on my business ideas, tweaking my website, and creating content that is inspiring, useful, and uplifting for you lovely readers.  I am also going to continue to build a solid foundation for my business.  I am learning, growing, and evolving every day as a business woman and that will never stop.  So as I work on my services, offerings etc. my focus is on providing the best services I can for my clients.  It also means being open to where, how, and how my next clients will be and trusting the process.

As for the job front, I’m not sure what will happen.  I am following my inspiration and going where it leads me, if that means I end up in another full-time job, so be it.

As one of my dear friends has reminded me over and over again…I am letting it flow, letting it flow, letting it flow. 🙂

Happy Friday Friends!

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It’s been a bit of a busy, focused, sometimes frazzled week for me and I am so happy it’s Friday.

I am going to spend some time this weekend unplugging from technology and plugging into family, nature, and good ‘ole fashioned fun.  I hope you all do the same!

 

Live a little this weekend and do something simply because you ENJOY it.
Live a little this weekend and do something simply because you ENJOY it.

I will be back at it Monday full of ideas, inspiration, and coaching goodness to share with you.  Until then have a lovely weekend and thanks for reading!