Clarity Precedes Success

Clarity precedes success.
~ Robin Sharma ~

The last time I was relatively clear about a direction in this journey we all call life, was the beginning of 2020.

We all know how calm and peaceful the world has been since then, right?

::giggle::

I had lost my mother in April of 2019 after years of caregiving and I had taken the rest of the year to acclimate myself back into mainstream living.

By the time December rolled around, I had decided that 2020 was going to be MY YEAR and started planning accordingly. I was done with caregiving and my daughter had turned 20 so I felt it was finally time to move forward.

I spent most of that December designing an online course that was going to help me retire in a bit of comfort (or at least it was a start).

I got busy creating my first beta group and all was going well until bit by bit, the world as I knew it began to crumble.

First, the pandemic and the subsequent losing of clients in both my businesses which forced me to make the brutal decision to declare bankruptcy.

When 2021 rolled around, the medical issues began. Bit by bit, I found out I had breast cancer that required two surgeries and then I discovered I had a 3.5 cm aneurysm located on my renal artery right up against my kidney that needed to be removed ASAP.

That surgery began 2022 for me. It was a long recuperation coupled with the fact that I had to do radiation for the final touches of my breast surgeries.

Over the last few months I have finally started to feel like myself again and am ready to take on the world.

Most of my medical issues are behind me. I now have a “team” of doctors that have praised me as a model patient so I am hoping 2023 will not bring too many surprises to my doorstep.

As they say, the world is my oyster.

Let the fun begin!

Word of the Year 2020: Leisure

The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time.
~ Henry David Thoreau ~

It’s been my experience change is indeed possible.  However, it cannot happen in the abstract.  Clarity, focus, and time are super important components.

Ten years ago, instead of relying on resolutions to launch my year (which never seem to last), I started choosing just one word to be my North Star.  It becomes my personal and simple mission statement for the year.  It is a fixed destination I can depend on as the world is in chaos around me. Continue reading “Word of the Year 2020: Leisure”

Get Proactive

If you’re proactive, you don’t have to wait for circumstances or other people to create perspective expanding experiences. You can consciously create your own.
~ Stephen Covey ~

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey stresses the importance of being proactive. 

Being proactive means that you take conscious control over your life. You set goals and work to achieve them.  Instead of reacting to events and waiting for things to happen, proactive people create their own events and opportunities.

Most people live their lives reacting to situations as they occur. To be honest, reacting to certain events can be all well and good.  However, it can become a problem when that is the primary way a person decides to act. Instinctively reacting to stimulation does not lead to good decision making. Continue reading “Get Proactive”