The Off Seasons

How often have you put your dreams on hold, your workout schedule you wanted to get started on, that book you wanted to write, or that certification you were studying for because life was happening? I often hear this statement when I ask what is preventing you from getting started on your goals. The truth is I believe that the best time to work on self we and take the first step to getting started on your goals is during our off seasons. One of the most certain things in life is that change is constant, and we can always expect the unexpected life challenges to happen. In most cases we are not ready for what we are experiencing but we have no choice but to find a solution this is the approach each and every one of us should take towards our goals. Time waits on no one and if we plan to sit and wait for the right moment we will never get started because there will always be a reason why it Is not the right time. This is a cycle and a very common behavior and way of thinking for most people. I will be the first to admit that I was proactive In that excuse of needing things to be great and in order for me to get started. I learned the hard way in a lot of ways with that belief system, because I was blinded to the fact that the challenges of life are not put on pause for my benefit.  The longer I waited the more baggage was added to my plate which would push me farther and farther away from getting started if I continued to delay my dreams waiting for the perfect moment.

These last few weeks had been a complete world wind of unexpected challenges that I was not only not expecting but I was not too excited about it. I am grateful to share that having a purpose and staying focused keeps me grounded and is the greatest motivation to wake up each day and show up. I have been keeping myself active and remaining productive which has been very helpful and rewarding for me. I have learned that the longer I would dwell without focusing on what I am being taught or being blessed with in this moment, I forget to create a solution. The more energy I wasted focusing on the desired outcome versus the reality of what is I would only be robbing myself. Being in denial does not create more time we lose time and we put ourselves in the position to miss out on opportunities. When I am facing a new challenge, I allow myself to feel the emotion and be present to what is happening, but I do not allow what I am currently experiencing to give me a pass to live in excuses. The storm will pass and until it does, I am committed to winning daily and to be a winner I must show up to practice every day treating it as the championship season. We have the power of choice; we can choose to be a victim or choose to be dedicated to being a work in progress.

In conclusion I want to encourage and remind you that in the darkest moments in our lives is when we are the most vulnerable, but we are in a place where we can sit back and evaluate our life to see what we need to change. Throwing in the towel during the off seasons will only put us at a disadvantage during the winning season. Showing up to practice is the most important process on our journey to success, this is the time you learn a lot about yourself, you learn how to develop your skills, and most importantly you learn clarity. No one wants to get to the championship round in their life only to fail because they missed practice all through their off seasons. Life is not out to get any of us life is simple our perspective on reality is the primary cause of how we go through life. it takes time to unlearn many of our learned limited behaviors and ways of thinking but all it takes is making the choice to change and practice daily. Practice season is not only about developing our physical strength, it is also about developing our mind and increasing our faith. Let’s challenge ourselves to shift our perspectives about the experiences we are having and be excited about showing up to practice with enthusiasm and love for how you are about to elevate to the next level in your life.

“You Don’t Get A Championship Performance On Game Day Without Doing The Work During The Days , The Weeks , And The Months When No Is Watching.”

Key words

“Words are Powerful And Free It Is How You Use Them That Will Cost You .”

“Our words have power they impact others, but they also impact us.” Most times we more mindful of the words we use when we have dialogue with our peers but are, we mindful of the dialogue we are having with ourselves. The reality is our own words has and will continue to have an impact on how we are showing up in our life. This could be a good or bad thing depending on the language we are using when we think about who we are and how we are operating daily. Labeling ourselves is a very common behavior especially when we make mistakes or when we find ourselves in situations that are unexpected but created through our choices. We label ourselves with limiting statements such as, I am a failure, I am clumsy, I cannot do anything right, I am not creative, I am not good at multitasking, I am not organized, and the list goes on. We must learn the difference in what we do and who we are, we are not our mistakes. Failing at a first attempt does not make you a failure the goal is to never give up and move on without creating conflict in within ourselves. The love we expect from others we must be able to provide that for ourselves freely, and the first step begins with forgiving ourselves and having compassion with ourselves.

Life is not always a smooth ship to sail and we all will experience some bumps and bruises along the way, what matters most is how we recover and what we take from each experience. It takes courage to step out in faith so everything we experience after is a bonus accessory that we must always look to see the blessing in everything. The more energy we waste using our words against ourselves the less capable we are of moving forward. The greatest task and effective method to practice is self-talk and prayer, taking all our battles to God first the empowering ourselves through our words is key. The words we use fuels us with energy and hope that even through our current storms we still hold the key to our success in life and in everything that we do. The thigs that we find most challenging can be accomplished with a decision and change of our mindset. Instead saying we cannot do let us practice saying I cannot afford to do the things that I see as a challenge because I understand that it adds value to my life. Everything we do in life is designed to teach us something about ourselves and life in general, being mindful of how we react and the stories we create about ourselves is important.

I dare you to change your language and empower yourself even when no one is willing to. I am in charge of the thoughts I have and the stories I create about myself. I will speak life, love and positivity in my life. I am not limited by my circumstances or my failed attempts, I am a winner because I commit, and I never give up. I am living and leading by example by living in my truth. I am amazing flaws and all, I am aware of my weaknesses, I am willing to work on them and take on the things that I see as a challenge. I am walking in faith and trusting that I have what it takes to walk in my purpose and be extraordinary at everything I put my mind to. I am not only here to exists I was created to live life to the fullest doing what I love and loving the life I live. We have no more time left to waste in negativity and mediocrity, let us invest our time wisely in not only impacting others in a positive way but also impacting ourselves with power and passion for life. You have the ability to change the ending to the story you once saw as a dead end with no possibilities for growth or success, always keep in mind that r success and happiness begins in the mind. It begins with us believing that we already are the things we desire and understand that we are on a journey to claim what is ours.

Working Smarter Not Harder

“A closed mouth does not get fed, ask and you shall receive”, I was once that person that my pride and my independent spirit prevented me from learning things that I need. In life that most people are afraid to ask for help, information, or guidance for multiple reasons. Some people are afraid to ask for help due to their up bringing which may have promoted them to be self-sufficient. Some people may be afraid to ask for help because maybe their parents or care givers were not present or available to them, which promotes the attitude of not needing or wanting assistance from anyone but are open to being of assistance to others.  That perception is false and one that is created in our minds beginning as a child, the truth is it is ok to ask for help when needed. The thing about life is we never stop learning there is always room for improvement and growth. Professional athletes have coaches, motivational speakers have coaches or mentors, because we are never at a place in life where we know it all, and we should never want to be a know it. Once we master one level our focus should be on learning new to advance to the next level in our life or journey.

I believe that each day we are blessed with life is a new day to release somethings, learn something new and apply it to the best of our advantage.  We cannot afford to waste time and there is no amount of money that can afford what we are worth. I remember when I was working in the hospital and I used to say daily I do not get paid enough to deal with situations that were disturbing to my mental space. The sad truth that I learned was that no matter how many raises I would receive I would never be paid my worth by compromising my peace and time doing things that I did not love. I had to change a few things one was seeking clarity on what I wanted for my life and accepting what it would take to accomplish them. In order to grow and learn new there was some belief systems that I had to be willing to let go. I had to teach myself that asking questions would not make me weak or be perceived as less than another, it is not what we know that hurts us it is what we do not know that affects us. Asking for help and taking advantage of the people or resources that we have access helps us to work smarter not harder. Working smarter helps us to do more in shorter durations, the best teachings comes through experience so we may not get it right at first, but it is not too late to get it right.

“The Only Mistake You Can Make Is Not Asking For Help. -Sandeep Jauhar”

Change begins with us and we have power to make choices that will change our circumstances. The first step is being grateful for all that you learned that guided you up until this point in your life. secondly being open to learning new and doing things that makes us uncomfortable but is necessary. surround yourself with successful people that do what you desire to. Be intentional with Putting yourself in rooms that are teaching the subjects of life that you need help with to take you on this next chapter in your life. We no longer need to dwell on all that we wish we knew and all the mistakes that we made with what we knew, doing the best with what you have is not a crime or anything to be ashamed of.  Success leaves clues but without asking questions or putting yourself in the places that will provide us with the information we need to excel and continue to aim higher in life you will only be cheating yourself.  Life is constantly taking us through new experiences some we enjoy in the moment and some that are more difficult but are lessons that will be valuable in the future. The question is are you willing to let go of what you knew that has not been working for you, to make room for the unknown that can open doors for new opportunities in your life.

Holding On To God's Promise

“I Am Worthy Of My Vision For My Life ; I Trust That It Is Already Done.”

How often as fear showed up in your life, and how often have you allowed fear to alter or interfere with your progress? I will be the first to admit that there were a lot of moments in my life that living in fear has kept me farther away from getting results in very important areas of my life. I often would wait until after the opportunity to step out in faith has passed to ask myself “what are you afraid of or why are you afraid.” What I discovered in asking myself those questions was that I had no reason to be afraid all I had were a lot of limiting thoughts which supported my excuses to allow fear to drive my actions. I learned to understand that it is a common behavior for most of us, and we all experience it at different moments in our life. The secret to overcoming fear is to feel it and still act, the reason why most of us including myself avoids acting through fear due to the lack of faith, self-confidence, and support. The fear I struggled with was due to my lack of faith and self-confidence. There were two methods of operation that truly changed my perspective of life and who I was being, and who I needed to become.

The first method that I focused on was my spiritual growth, I knew the word but there was a time where I did not know or have a relationship of my own with God.  One scripture that stuck with me and one I abide in daily is “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Isaiah 41:10. I learned how to trust and hold on to God’s promises and not rely on my own understanding. Walking in faith does not mean that we have all the answers, it means that we are willing to continue to be active while we wait and trust that God will provide no matter what the circumstances are. Six months after giving birth to my daughter I was in a very dark space I did not know what direction to take through many nights of prayer and crying God provided me with the answer. I remember when I was younger in church and I would often wonder what it felt like to hear God’s voice and the day that I woke up and decided to get started with unapologetic happiness. I knew that was the voice of God because by being obedient to what I felt in my spirit I unlocked a lot of things in my life that I thought no longer existed.  The second method of operation that I committed to was the art of mastering self. I focused and set my intentions daily on working harder on myself than I do anything else. My health, my body, my mind, my energy was my responsibility to take care of, which has made such a difference in my life and who I am today.

In conclusion I want to leave you all with this reminder that fear is one of the tools of Satan, as blessed people of God we were not created to live in fear but to live in faith. Faith is an act that we must practice in all that we do in every situation we are faced we must be mindful of our thoughts and how we are reacting to the lessons that are blessings in disguise that God has out in place for our lives. Everything that we experience in life from the day we were born up until it is time to depart from this earth God already knows who we are, the mistakes we will make, the amount of times we will fall short of faith. The most rewarding thing is that even knowing that there was still purpose and a plan for our lives, we must learn to not disqualify ourselves with assumptions and limiting thoughts. Walking in faith connected me with my purpose, do not allow fear to keep you away from living the life that was designed for you to live. Walking by faith and not by site requires you to be brave and trusting in not what you can see but the word and the love of God. Will you continue to walk in fear, or will you begin to walk in faith to accept your role as an extraordinary being with a purpose to bless the world with? The choice to live complete and whole being true to yourself and connected with your purpose in life.

My Leading Inspiration

A few months ago, I was having a conversation with my mother and she said something that spoke volumes to me. My mother said, “life does not come with rules or a handbook we have to be prepared at all times to make our next best move.” I am not sure if she knows just how much of an impact those words had on me. It was powerful not only because of what she said, but because I have lived my entire life watching her make her next best move without hesitation. My mother had me at the age 18 years old as a high school student, she later had to decide to stop attending while living at home with her parents. My father and her were "the" couple in school but of course like most of those stories it was short lived shortly after I was conceived.  Unfortunately, that was her story and her reality, but my mother knew how to make a dollar out of fifty cents.

The most amazing thing that I learned from my mother was how to not be a victim. I cannot recall a moment growing up where my mother chose to become a victim of her circumstances or depended on anyone to make life happen for us. There was a nine-year gap between my younger brother and I so in the most trying moments of my mother’s life I had front row seats to her story. If she had to be sales rep, a cook, a painter, a care giver, she was proud to switch hats at any moment or where them all if it was necessary in the moment without complaining. I like to call her the Jill of all trades the amazing part about my mother’s story is that she never obtained a degree in either field.my mother was present to her circumstances and she had the choice to either sink or swim and she chose to swim. Life as a single mother was not a walk in the park, but she was committed to making the best with the hand she was dealt.

My mother taught herself everything she knows, there was nothing too hard for her once she made up her mind. I say this to say sometimes it’s not all about what you have on paper that determines your skills and ability to become successful in life. Sometimes all you need is a why that is connected to your heart with determination and the commitment to make It happen no matter what. My mother’s experience as a single mother was confirmation that there is absolutely nothing that is too hard or too big for God to handle. You can be as tiny as a mouse but with the heart of a lion and the courage to fight for the life you deserve. In the beginning there will be moments of uncertainty you do not have to have it all figured out or perfect to begin but you do have to start to get better. I can say I am grateful for the journey my mother had because it taught me to never limit my mind and never underestimate my ability to excel in anything, I set my mind to.

 t also taught me how to adjust to changes, I have learned to understand that sometimes what you want to do may not come right away but that does not mean they will never manifest. Life can and will take us on a ride there will be moments when a detour is necessary before getting to the place we are aiming for. I challenge everyone to choose to become a master of our minds to control how we react to life. Complaining changes nothing in our life, and there is no crime or rule that says you cannot have more than one skill or trade in the process the goal is to never lose sight of your vision. Still to this day my mother continues to wear many hats if I can be half the mother or woman, she is to me to my daughter I would be grateful for just that. My mother is one of the strongest women I know and one person that will have a lasting impact on my life. What she did for me was show me the true meaning   of leading by example with strength and resilience never letting nothing or no one hold her back.

“Don’t Be Defeated By Your Circumstances Be Inspired By Your Strength.”