I hope that my eyes are always shining.
Watch this TED video and be opened to what is possible:
I found myself defending the use of the perfect when I described my coaching business. I felt like the gentleman was suggesting that he wasn’t sure I had the authority to decide what a perfect life was.
And that is actually the point.
I don’t actually have any right to tell you what is perfect for you. That is for you to decide, and figure out, then bring or keep in your life.
I have found that there people who support your quest for a perfect life, and some who don’t.
Some of the people
that can help you on your perfect life path are:
- Someone who loves you just for you. That love is magical.
- Someone who isn’t afraid to be totally honest with you. They will give you courage.
- Someone who knows just about everyone. They can save you time.
- Someone who can solve your problems for you. Why not outsource them.
- Someone upon whom you can rely in a crisis.
- Someone who you love completely, just because. Love is its own reward.
- Someone you can mentor or coach. They will bring out your best.
- Someone who is mentoring or coaching you. We all do better with a coach.
From A Perfect Life by Thomas Leonard, Coachville.com
Tags: perfect people
Most people define success by their financial status, where they live or what other people are saying about them. 
To enjoy a Perfect Life, you need to define what success means, on your own terms.
For example:
I know I am being successful…
…when my business energizes my life every day.
…when I jump out of bed excited about my day.
…by how much free time I have away from my business.
These definitions of success do not depend on something happening–an “if, when” scenario–or someone else happening–an “if only” plot. I can stop at anytime during the day and decide, am I successful?
The trick is in the phrasing. Most people tend to phrase these in terms of a goal: when I have a net worth of fill in astronomical number; when I have found my soul mate; when I have lost fill in publicly accepted number pounds.
Each phrase needs to start with
“I know I am being successful by/when…”
Unless you use this phrase, you have a goal, not a definition of success. They can incorporate a doing–an activity that would make your day–and feeling–how you would feel doing it. It is not a temporary state.
Ask yourself:
Is my definition dependent on something happening?
For example: “I know I am being successful when I have $1 million in the bank.”
That’s a goal.
Better to say, “I know I am being successful when money does not dictate my lifestyle choices.”
Does someone else have to do something?
“I know I am being successful when my children are happy and well-adjusted.”
Better to say, “I know I am being successful when I watch my children growing up laughing, and confident.”
Success definitions can help you to make better choices through out the day. If money does dictate your lifestyle choices, what decisions do you need to make to change that? Change the lifestyle or change the way you view your lifestyle. Make your success perfect by defining it on your terms.
From A Perfect Life by Thomas Leonard, Coachville.com
I am blatantly stealing this story from an e-mail that I received from a Facebook friend. I love the insight.
A Lesson Learnt From My Six Year Old by Nicolle Kopping-Pavars
On Saturday mornings, my family and I stay in bed just a little bit longer. My two boys crawl into bed with my husband and I and we usually watch music videos all together cuddled up in bed.
A song came on called “If this was your last day” which I found intriguing and thought it posed an interesting question too, so I turned to my husband and asked him what he would do if it was his last day.
He thought for a while and then said that he would probably lie in bed all day just as we were doing right now, surrounded by all his favorite people, just savoring the time together.
I turned to my eight year old and asked him what he would do and he said that he would go to Canada’s Wonderland and go on all the rides.
I then focused my attention on my six year old and posed the same question. He looked at me intently and asked “Is this my last day to live?”, I said “yup”.
He then answered the question quite matter of factly and said “I would go to the hospital”.
Of course my husband and I thought his answer was genuinely funny, smart and pure (we are biased of course). However, I have been thinking about it for a few days now and I realize that my six year old has it all figured out.
He naturally thinks outside of the box, he does not accept a situation and assume a scenario just because it is posed to him.
In his mind, there was no reason why it should be his last day and he was going to find a way to ensure that it was not.
In a flash of a second, he realized that he has the capacity to ensure that it wouldn’t be his last day and not only that, but he was going to take the requisite responsibility and the necessary action to ensure that it wasn’t.
My son taught me that if you want to live then find a way to do it, don’t give up, don’t settle and don’t just accept things for what they seem to be.
Don’t assume and accept a situation just because it is presented to you as such. Rather make that situation your own, take responsibility for it and then decide to change it, my six year old did.
Now I know that I am his mother, but is this not the smartest six year old kid in the entire world?
To massive success and happiness,
Tina Levrant
~Max Champion Leader~
~Your Destiny in Motion~
www.look-feel-live-max.com
It seems that there are many instruction manuals to bring you closer to your nirvana. Here are the steps that I took:
- Define success your way: most people define success by their financial status, where they live or what other people are saying about them. To enjoy a perfect life, you need to define what success means, on your own terms. Your success can’t be dependent on something happening, someone else doing something or being a certain way. Success is achieved when you take control of the things that inspire you.
- Craft a perfect life: create a list of elements that would make, or already make, your life perfect. Not just okay or good enough. Not pretty good. Most people don’t allow themselves to have the opportunities, relationships, car, house, health, that would be perfect. It is not a laundry list of to do’s or long standing goals. Your list would include things small or big, which are meaningful and naturally motivating for you.
- Get your life in good shape and let go of the stuff that’s in your way. Marcus Buckingham, in his book, The One Thing You Need To Know, presented a strong case for achieving personal success by stopping doing things you don’t like doing. What things in your life–problems, people, situations, feelings, restrictions, inadequacies, events–are you putting up with? Make a list of the things you are tolerating. It could be a long list. Decide to make your life a toleration-free zone.
- Invest in what you need to make a perfect life likely within 12 months. You need to be willing to take action on all of your perfect life elements. If you are not willing to take action, the element is either not perfect or it is not really, truly right for you.
- Make the perfect life elements happen: You will reach your perfect life faster working with others on the same path or a coach.
- Enjoy the Zen of a perfect life:
- What is, is perfect. And, you can perfect it.
- What isn’t perfect, is perfect. Because there is something to learn.
- You are perfect, even when you are not.
- Others are perfect, especially when they are not.
- Life is perfect, but only when you see that it is.
- Weaknesses are perfect. Their perfection is simply unrecognized.
- Your strengths are perfect. So, continue to perfect them.
- What is already perfect, is perfect. Leave it alone.
- Tragedies are perfect. We just can’t see the perfection, yet.
- Perfect is perfect. Make perfect and art form.
From Coachville, A Perfect Life by Thomas Leonard
Tags: Life Instruction Manual, perfect
I am still on my poetry bent:
I followed happiness to make her mine,
Past towering oak and swinging ivy vine.
She fled, I chased, over slanting hill and dale,
Pursuing rapidly over dashing stream.
I scaled the dizzy cliffs where eagles scream;
I traversed swiftly every land and mountain.
But always happiness eluded me.
Exhausted, fainting, I pursued no more,
But sank to rest upon a barren shore.
One came and asked for food, and one for alms
I placed the bread and gold in bony palms.
One came for sympathy, and one for rest;
I shared with every needy one my best;
I shared with every needy one my best;
When, lo! sweet happiness, with form divine,
Stood by me, whispering softly, “I am thine.”
by James Allen
Tags: james allen, poetry
Today–again–I had someone ask me about time management. We ask to manage time, as if we can control it. We are told to think only of the present moment, yet our mind–at least mine does, anyway–keeps walking ahead of us and wondering how much time we have and questioning our management skills.
The question is not “how much time do we have?” Because in each day, the answer is the same, we have exactly the same amount.
We have all there is.
The question then becomes “what shall we do with it?” Will we let this priceless gift slip away from us in haphazard activities, or should we adopt some plan for a ‘systematic’ doing of our lives? How can we determine what things are worth giving time to?
We are using our time well when we are playing it out doing the things that we were meant to do with our lives. If a challenge has been put in front of us, a friend that needs to be called, a small service that enriches someone needs to be done, a book that needs to be written, a child that needs to be consoled, we are being asked to do them. There is enough time to do all that we are meant to do each day, and to do it gloriously.
The most reckless spendthrift in the world is the one who squanders time. There is no waste. There is no managing. There is just the opportunity to use time wisely, or not, and do the things that we are meant to do.
Tags: Life Instruction Manual, time
I have a number of things open on my desk that are to inspire me to write. I took a cue out of my new book addition to my creative idea-generator, The Awe-Manac by Jill Badonsky. It was to write something about poetry.
If my life so far was a poem. I am not sure what it would be. I actually don’t remember much about poetry from school. The best memory I have recently is reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. I tried to remember different types of poems and all I could come up with was:
Sonnet–my life definitely to not a sonnet. I imagine a sonnet to be flowing and lovely, like Shakepeare or the Song of Solomon.
and
Haiku–what would my like be like as a haiku? I had to look up how to write a haiku. I learned that a haiku is not about events but moments. Most often they are written about nature and they have a particular 3 line structure.
Here’s my attempt, for my life so far:
Watch the clock. Time runs.
At the station which train now?
Jump one. Bliss awaits.
Want to try your own? I found this cool haiku generator that created
ghost realizes
yearning paupers chastise, still
hardened rat shrieks, cool
Check it out here.
My garden was calling me today.
The sun came out after 2 days of hard rain.
I spent the two days purging paper and found an old friend, a poem by Bliss Carman:
Where is Heaven? Is it not
Just a friendly garden plot,
Walled with stone and roofed with sun,
Where the days pass one by one
Not too fast and not too slow,
Looking backward as they go
At the beauties left behind
To transport the pensive mind.
Does not Heaven begin that day
When the eager heart can say,
Surely God is in this place,
I have seen Him face to face
In the loveliness of flowers,
In the service of the showers,
And His voice has talked to me
In the sunlit apple tree.
Being authentic seems to be really hip now. Be who you are. Drop the pretence.
Whatever we really are, be it, fearlessly. Whatever we are not, let’s drop the sham, the striving. If we can get rid of the untruth,or half-truth of our words, manners, thinking, life, we will rid ourselves of much garbage, restlessness and fear.
If we hide nothing, than we will not be afraid of being found out. Put on nothing, and we never need cringe. Assume nothing, and we will not be agassed. Do and say nothing that is untrue and we do not need to fear that the deepest secrets of our lives will be found out.
“I am what I pretend to be. About me there is no make-believe.”
What mask do you need to drop to revel your truth?
Tags: discipline, perfect, pretence
