The 16th Chapter - Look for Signs Your Living Your Life

Aug 17/16

So I woke up on a beautiful Saturday summer morning, with no plans other than I did not want to waste a precious summer day.  I decided to go on a random last minute road trip to the majestic western Canadian mountains.  After a long day's motorbike ride I ended up decided to see if I could find a room for the night at a town buried deep in the mountains.  I was lucky enough to finally find a room for night, as many people were already there and most of the rooms were already taken.

As I settled down on a park bench, to enjoy the evening air, next to a busy street filled with all kinds of traffic.  Only a brief moment had passed when a group of people wondered by and in that group I recognized a person I knew.  After a brief conversation with that person we parted ways and a comment spoken by them remained with me....."I love coming to visit here and the mountains but my partner would rather not.....so because of this I rarely come here".  Once again this small comment made a large impact with me, in the fact this person is making some choices to deny what they find can bring joy to their life.

So some of your reading this might think I am suggesting to not ever compromise in a relationship or to the extreme thought, to not even have a relationship.  To be clear I am not suggesting that at all and my point is to be mindful of the choices you make in your life.  The term death of a thousand cuts comes to mind, meaning in your intimate relationships, when you slowly start to make decision to compromise with your partner you may slowly start to loose who you are as a amazing person. Before you realize it you make wake up one day not been able to recognize the person you are right now in the moment.

If you are daily mindful of your choices and the impact of those choices are on your life, you can make adjustments and focus on you and your emotional health.  All before it is either too late in losing yourself or perhaps losing someone that is very close to you.  When so much damage has been now created, without you realizing it, and it seems impossible to repair and see a future together with that person or knowing the clarity of you.

This moment on the park bench has caused me to reflect of some of my failed relationships and the pain my choices have caused myself and others around me.  As I was not mindful of my small choices I made and I did loose myself.  When the re-building would start over again on my foundation and my search to find joy again in the life around me.  I needed fuel to carry on and small moments of joy, ones like in this chapter helped me on my long road to recovery.

Once you start re-building it will feel at times that this process will take a long time and sometimes might start to feel like a marathon run with no training at all.  All the while it seems like your going up-hill and path under your feet is moving backwards and just about when your starting to feel unsure of your path - you will be provided with an experience that will energize you and propel you forward.

As you start to feel a positive change in you, the moments of "marathon running" will start to get easier and you will start to feel the periods been lost become shorter while you will feel the periods of having energy becoming longer.

This will be on your step of alignment and feeling in-sync of who you are and having the energy flow around you.  Picture riding a canoe in the mountains in the sweet spot of the current and going the same direction of the current.  You surge ahead with each paddle stroke plus at a combined rate of the flowing current.  The energy to go the same distance is vastly lower than if you were doing it all alone.

Enjoy your efforts and the positive energy of alignment.

The 15th Chapter - Steps to Creating Your Life's Journey

March 6/16

Today I have realized another new life's journey (quest) has started.  As in any long journey there is usually legs or smaller pieces that combine together to reach your end destination.  Along the way there will be moments that stay in your memory and make a larger impact than other parts of the journey.

This experience was triggered today as I was watching a movie and found myself with tears streaming down my face, then I thought back to, unlocking the key to my confidence is within me.   I realized to build this confidence in me, one of the keys is to follow what you need to do no matter what it is.  Always be mindful to always be kind to yourself and others in whatever you acts maybe.

So even though I feel I have been trying to find happiness, I realized I was basing on how to accomplish this goal on too much advice of other people around me.  I have forgotten how to have balance in my life, others can provide a perspective and insight on achieving your goals...However at the end of the day it is up to us to do the hard work and no one else can provide a magic pill for what you seek.

The key to truly loving myself was also missing and believing in myself....It was at this time I had to live my life choices for me and by doing that I would attract like minded people into my life.  Once this starts to happen then balance and harmony would be felt and my life would be in a way that it is supposed to be.  Alignment to all my goals based on small thoughts (the bases for a strong foundation) to create a fulfilling life.

I had realized the is being able to see the truth for me is the first step, followed by acting or doing what that truth maybe and do what I need to do to make that happen in my life.  As you practice this more and attract more like minded people this should enable your confidence to grow and these people will still be with you as you continue to follow your paths.

This made my mind wonder to relationships - All relationships are different and as long as there is truth and kindness in your relationships that is all that matters  Based on this I realized I can not follow what I think is expected of me from what others think or what society thinks is normal.  Take what you observe around you in this regards and apply the parts that will work for you.  As all of our past experiences are vastly different, I am suggesting that because of this, no one specific way of life can you follow except for your own.....The direction that you have given yourself and this is a key way of achieving true happiness.....By doing this you will start to meet the most amazing people that area absolutely perfect for you in that moment of your reality.  When you are feeling emotional pain try to reservist your mind back to thoughts like these, reach out to the universe for strength and you will find your wish will be answered.  It will get better....

The movie I watched that day was called Hector and the search for happiness, staring Simon Pegg.  An incredible story that was mixed with all different kinds of emotions....if you are not looking for a deep meaning you will laugh and be entertained....If you are looking for some depth it will also provide that as well and leave you reflecting...

Also a song from the movie-----Jude in the mountains, created by Dan Mangan is also a very powerful song.

The 14th Chapter - Awareness and Being In-Sync With Others

Feb 28/16

I just arrived back from Hawaii after spending sometime on the island of Oahu.  This is the third time I have had the privilege to visit this beautiful island.  The weather and the people I met all were so beautiful.  With every visit I feel myself become more attached and my thoughts often drift back to those moments there.  One of these moments was a brief observation I experienced with the last visit.

While waiting to get off a bus I stood up and a I noticed a young woman was seating in the seat in front of me.  As I looked at her and made eye contact, I was preparing myself to wait until she went first, as we were all getting off the bus.  After she was stood  up from her seat, in a very formal manner, she bowed and said thank you and left.  For that brief moment her act and emotional energy were in perfect sync and I was grateful to feel in the moment.

Something so simple like these moments is the universe providing you strength (fuel) for you to go forward.  Also times like these are re-enforcement that you are on the path of your life that you have chosen for yourself.  Picture these brief moments of your internal compass pointing you in your direction that you need to go and be to truly have a fulfilled life.   Be mindful that if you start not having these experiences you maybe living in the past or spending too much time planning your future - this can be like a quiet warning light to you to start making choices that align up to what you truly want.

To have allowed myself to feel the impact of that moment helps me feel that life is truly worth living and is amazing.  I am truly grateful for what that woman gave to me, it was a moment that was completed in roughly 2 seconds, yet it still provides me with comfort and strength.  My wish is someday she will know how much that brief interaction has provided and to be able to thank her for what she did.

What a gift to be a human being and to be able to enjoy living.  To have the mindset of gratefulness and being truly open to others and yourself is another key of life's great journey and adventure.

Be mindful to not waste one precious moment of your life - those wasted moments will never be able to be recaptured other than in memory alone.

The 13th Chapter - Weight Loss Success Thought

Dec 3/15

I noticed weight loss programs in general will usually try to pitch their product with the thought that their program is "very easy" - So depending how you understand that term it can be read and interpretative  in two different ways.  Yes it is a easy process, if you follow the simple steps provided to you by the weight loss program - in theory yes you should be able to accomplish your goal.  However the biggest part of the component missing is the hardest to do and that is not as easy....and that is to reprogram your habits/brain of unhealthy actives that you may have been doing for years.  You are used to what you know and you will need a tangible tool to help you readjust your thoughts and habits.  These will need to change before you start on your weight gain goal....for as missing this critical step it will make your results that much harder to achieve....  Without this awareness there is a strong possibility that the results you seek may not become long term.

It will take a tremendous amount of courage to break out of your old habits and to have the desired change you want in your life.  Once the hard work has been done in realizing this fact then the foundation needs to be built before you start on any journey and then it will become easier.  Whether your goals are to lose weight or become healthier emotionally - all of the programs that you would like to follow, can be broke down into easy small bite size chucks which will allow you to start to form a new pattern.  Once you start achieving your small goals this pattern replication will become faster and faster and with sometime and practice it will actually become easier.  I am guessing you know where I am going with this next thought....like the person training for the marathon as discussed before - this pattern will need to be repeated in whatever venture you take on.

By doing this small steps to achieving your goals it will allow your brain to adjust and the rewiring of your thought patterns will happen.  Depending on your age and your up bringing, you have spent years perfecting whatever behavior it is that you would like to change.  So it will take the equal amount of effort to change that behavior...Keep in mind the time to take this will usually be shorter to rewire your brain as you now have self awareness and the power of intention on your side.  Usually the patterns of behavior that you would like to change have occurred so long ago and so slowly you might not even notice it has occurred....until self awareness is born in you.  Like the frog put in a pot with room temperature water will stay in it, as the stove is turned on and slowly raises the water temperature, the frog will stay there until its death.   Put the frog in already boiling water and it will jump out.

Take comfort in knowing what is going on and to why you have feelings of frustration as you might not think you are achieving your goals fast enough.  Take away the pressure on yourself to feel it should be so easy or others telling you it is easy - when your not aware of the reasons why.  Without first fixing your wheel of thought, it might be possible to head down a path of self doubt and a feeling of failure.  The irony is that when you started this journey of self improvement you were in a positive thought of energy is not in fact turned into the opposite.  Without this issue getting repaired the results could have your behavior turning out even worse then before you started.  That possible failure could be two fold as your not getting the change you originally set out to achieve, plus the additional stress of failure.

If this happens readdress and start asking yourself why this result has happened.  Be truthful to yourself on the answers you provide and with this answers self awareness will grow to why this unsuccessful event is occurring within you.  From there adjust your goal, to one that you know you can achieve and start to measure your accomplishments.

Remember it is OK to have failure and what is not OK is to not learn from these failures.

The 12th Chapter - A Moment of Reflection of Helping Others

Nov 19/15

Take a moment to think about a person that has helped you in some way.  Whether is is personal or work related and thank them.  Once a thank has been given (a thank can be of any form  - it does not need to be made in the physical sense) then carry on the energy and help that you have received and pay it forward, not only just saying it but how the experience made you feel.  To be sharing what has impacted you in a positive way - with a direction to that person - that if they felt that information and support was helpful then ask them to pay it forward with the same direction.  This is a tangible way to grow and foster a better community...Imagine the positive impact this would have in the world if the process were to be replicated only once a day by everyone in your community.  It would only take two people to start a conversation like this and it would spread with the true intent to help others and no financial gain to be the giver of this information.  This may sound too fairy type of a concept and not possible, however if we all could keep thoughts like this in a simple form, this would work and there would be possible change within our lives and our health of our communities.

Which now leads to the person I would like to thank.  This person has had and continues to have a positive impact on my life that continually keeps replicating.  As the positive interactions have grown - due to these interactions this has lead directly of me to putting pen to paper.  In fact I am writing/sharing this now in a book given to me by him.  As in chapter one - with the instructions to fill the pages.  As you know from chapter one, this person is Todd - Thank you Todd for the continued positive and self development experience you have helped create in me.  I am grateful of the risk he took in me to start helping me create a meaning full life.  A moment of reflection to explain that thought in more detail...When I first met Todd I had a very different mind set then I currently have now and did not realize how much of a truly negative state I was in.  In fact in that moment in time I did believe I was in a good mind set and had a thought that if only all the others around me could see it....things would just be so easy and the problem of my current struggles were because others around me were the problem....Holy moly is this thinking painful for me or so painful for the people around me that could see it....but I did not.  I truly did think I was doing everything  right and I was not the problem....as I continue to reflect what an incredible waste of people's most precious gift - time.  It was true at that time in my career I did have a large workload and yes I was striving for excellence....but I never fully communicated to others nor did I let myself show any kind of vulnerability - which added to an environment that did not build trust to those around me.  For some reason Todd was able to see through my current state of chaos I was in and invested his time and energy in providing me a way to see things differently....

And as promised Todd - this chapter is dedicated to you and I truly thank you for your belief in me and never laying out judgement or giving up in me.  I will also continue to pass this message to anyone that will hear it and hope others will find it helpful.  For those of you that are truly looking for a different perspective to living - try to find balance in this life no matter where you are right now as you read these words.  I can actually picture these words coming out in print as the thoughts continue to come to mind and transit to paper.  All of us strive for greatness and this is possible by one thought and one conversation at a time of you setting your life.  Thank you for giving me the courage to present my thoughts and ideas that all of human kind has know for thousands of years and I hope those of you reading this - feel the gift of your time to ingest these pages have created a positive impact and has benefited you in some form.

As your time and feelings are truly the thing that should matter the most to you.

The Eleventh Chapter - Find Your Bread Crumbs

Nov 6/15

Are you ever searching for possible signs for life's break crumbs to help determine if your on the correct track for you?  I have read a lot of self help/motivational type books and there is a lot of information on providing guidance of next steps in your life and I hope this concept will be useful as well to you.

So take the things that you experience, whether it is a movie or an interest and after some time has passed, say about a month or more, that experience you had you can remember in detail and feel the positive affirmation from it.....This is a reference to life's bread crumbs leading you to your next step and reaffirming you are on the correct track.

I remember years ago watching just a small part of the original Rocky movie...This was the scene where he was running in a park like place.....It was cooler out and he had a tuque on, dressed in work out gear for colder weather....Just yesterday I was running in a park with colder weather (I am running in western Canada so the water of the lakes is starting to freeze)...In a brief moment I was flooded with the memory of that movie scene....I then experienced a moment of realization of I am on the correct pathway of life and this was followed rapidly with joy.....This joy created a surge of energy that enabled me to run even faster and provided such a fulfilling feeling.....To me it felt the universe was providing all of what I truly needed or wanted for that moment in time....The importance of living in the present is paramount....To not focus on the now, moments like these I have missed in the past and I have missed the fuel to go forward emotionally....

Part of the secret is to quiet our minds and recognize when opportunities come across our paths...What we focus on we we receive....Joy/fulfilled thoughts will create that reality in you....Never settle with your current personal development or career goals...Always strive for growth and be aware that not everyday will be easy but with the replication of a positive pattern  put into your daily routine....These pattern traits, after a while, will translate into your path of success and you will receive what your truly putting out to the universe.

Take a moment...look around your current surroundings...What comes to you in regards to thoughts?  Are these thoughts in alignment to what you truly want in your life?  Can you feel the present in time right now?  If your thoughts are not in alignment to what you want - after this realization has occurred - actively change your thoughts to what you truly would like to receive into your life...This is going to take time, if you find yourself stuck in a negative wheel of thought loop...Habit forming, whether positive or negative, will take time and mental energy.....The building blocks of any large amazing structure are usually very strong, deliberately placed to support the weight and are small in size however a very important piece to that structure....This pattern is true to your internal thoughts as well....so small in relation to you as a person....yet so vital in creating what you truly want to experience out of life.....

The Tenth Chapter - Develop and Live Your Dreams

Nov 2/15

Hopes, dreams and aspirations and putting all those thoughts into your wheel of thoughts that will lead to you creating energy and forward actions as well as actual meaningful personal self fulfillment.  Over time people have tried to find purpose and self fulfillment through all different kinds of methods...Things such as religion, helping others or acts of selflessness or more personal harmful ways of self medication of some form....At the end of the day all of these forms will be difficult ways to help you achieve self fulfillment, in fact actually will slow down your personal growth and mask the true growth or insight that needs to be developed in you by you....I am not suggesting that any of the above things are bad for you or you should not do these kind things for others....In fact to do kind things for others should be something all of us should strive to do...The point is to not confuse what you are trying to do in your life.....Doing good things for others and your self development are two different things and are equally as important.... Unfortunately there is not an easy  fix or acts of good deeds or pills or any kind to achieve this and ultimately it will be up to you to grow your own self awareness....Based on this thought you have to actively try hard and put effort into your self fulfillment....

Take a what appears to be a random experience or people that you bump into appears to be random... However in reality these events are probably the universe providing you for what you are actually seeking....It is up to you to act and understand these event in your life that are currently happening.  From that starting point put plans in place to create a reality of self fulfillment....Read books as well, of the topics/content that you seek to add into your life...Always be humble and you never know when the most amazing gift will come to you and usually it is when you least expect it to appear...Put process into your life, study a successful person or business...Find out how they interpreted the data of challenges and created successes...Like you all these people you admire have the same challenges as you are right now.....Sometimes we will think that we are so different and our challenges are not like anyone else....Yes on the surface that is correct however the driving force of the energy of yours, mine and others experiences are all the same....When we get up in the morning....all of us have the same amount of mental energy that is ours to use as we choose....The difference in people is how we use this energy....What are we looking at doing with this energy?  Trying to create good all around us or the opposite?  Whatever we decide to do with this energy will then create a field around us...that will either attract great things towards us...Or not...Like Yoda has said...."do or do not, there is no try"...Once we have used this energy fuel, picture a car that once had a full tank of gas and now is empty, this is true with our mental fuel....Its up to us to decide and reflect...Did I use this gas to what I truly want?  or not?  Did I add to my day and others around me?  What did I bring into my life today?  Based on that how do I feel right now?  Use those feelings to help determine how your are going to use your full tank of mental energy tomorrow...

When you start finding yourself in a state of not having enough time to do what you want to do in your day....This is a form of validation that your on your correct path...Life should be full and fulfilling on whatever you do and should not be filled with large periods of boredom...If you find yourself in a state of boredom you might be making mistakes and wasting your precious time...It is up to you to make changes and fill that boredom with tangle tools to reach your person fulfillment.