Guidance

Grow Your Soul

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Grow Your Soul

Grow Your Soul is a phrase that’s been used by many people over the past decade or so.

A book by Mike Acker was even written using the same title, “Grow Your Soul.”And Mike’s views in this book are much like mine.

Mike is a best -selling author, speaker, leadership coach, and more. You can learn more about him on his website.

But I wanted to share with you how I’ve lived my life according to my own belief in what it means to Grow Your Soul.

I grew up in a family that was all about learning and experiencing different things in our lives. I didn’t know it at the time, but this is actually what set me up for my own life path . . . or paths, as it turned out.

You can read about that in my other blog “Create Your Path, and Walk It.”

Because of all the learning and experiences I had when I was growing up, it all became engrained in me and I have spent the bulk of my life continuing to live this way.

Always working full-time, but spending time learning about and doing other things on the side . . . like writing books, breeding Samoyeds, gardening, making a  myriad of crafts, working as the Animal Control Officer in my town and so much more . . . including studying Reiki and becoming a minister.

And all these things added to my development as a human being. It made me able to share so much with others and teach them, thereby adding to their soul’s growth.

Are you starting to see the trend?

To me, Grow Your Soul is all about learning as much as we can as humans that will make us stronger emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually . . .  so when it comes to our time to be rejoined with our Creator, we’ll have much more to “bring to the table”.

This is important, in my eyes, because I also believe that we’re all here to better ourselves because what we have to offer those around us is doubled . . . or more . . . when we finally give it to our Creator at the end of our tour on this earth.

I posted a much shorter version of this a few months time ago, though, and the only reactions I received were negative.

Some said, “It’s not that easy to do, you know.”

Or

“It takes money to do those things. Not everyone has the money.”

At that point . . . I dropped it because those responses seemed a bit hostile to me  . . . and there’s nothing I can do about other people’s ideas about what it takes to actually Grow Your Soul. I can’t solve their financial issues and so I just felt bad and left it alone.

But over the months . . . as I thought about it more . . . I realized that people are learning and experiencing new things every day whether or not they know it.

This biggest issue is how they’re interpreting those things and how they’re using it in their own lives. Are they using their newfound knowledge to help themselves and others, or are they doing just the opposite?

As a Christian minister, I found it makes me feel good to make others feel good about themselves. I’ve done so much counseling and coaching over the years and I’ve noticed a huge difference in the way I feel about myself and the way I experience life . . . especially when I see the tangible proof in those I’ve helped. That’s my confirmation that what I did for them provided value in their lives.

And isn’t that what this existence it all about?

People helping people?

And praying those people we help go out and pass on to others what we gave to them . . .  the advice, support, and love.

Most of all . . . love!

Life’s Daily Lessons

I never want to see anyone take what I’ve shared with them, decide it’s too hard, and then just give up. The truth is that our lives are filled with daily lessons . . . moment-by-moment lessons. It’s all about what we do with those things we learn and experience that makes use who we are.

And yes . . . experiences provide lessons, too!

My parents were also big on teaching us to dream . . . then working toward making those dreams come true. This is something that’s also hard for so many because they’ve given up for different reasons . . . money . . . time . . .

But the truth is that money can be earned. Time can be carved out of a schedule to make room for your goal to happen.  It’s all really a matter of setting priorities according to how badly you want it.

These beliefs have been so important in mine and my husband’s lives, that we passed them down to our daughter, who has provided us with a grandson, soon to be 6 years old. (He’s becoming quite a nice young man!)

Giving our daughter the experiences she would need was worth it . . . though it broke the bank at times . . . and caused us to ask for help at others . . . it was still worth it to see the way her life is still developing. And we’ve come out of it all more relaxed and able to be happy with what we’ve done.

None of this starts or stops with just family members. My husband and I have helped friends and neighbors, too . . . and people we worked with.

But this has all been about growing our own souls and helping others grow theirs. We’ll continue to do this as long as we’re on this earth so we can go back to our Creator, share ourselves with him/her, rest up for a while, then get ready to do it all again.

I do believe in reincarnation, too!

Do you?

PS. Please feel free to share your own ideas about this blog. I welcome all responses for discussion, if you desire one.

It Might Be Time To Reinvent Yourself!

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It Might Be Time To Reinvent Yourself!

We’ve All Done It!

Every one of us has reinvented ourselves . . . and most times we don’t even realize it.

But in today’s environment, many of us are doing just that simply because we have to.

Think about it . . .

Whenever you change jobs . . .

Whenever you move to a new neighborhood . . .

Whenever you’ve changed anything in your life, you’ve reinvented yourself at some level, including something as small as a new hairstyle or as large as a new wardrobe. (Don’t we all wish!)

Not to mention the changes we have no control over.

There are a multitude of changes in our lives that cause us to reinvent ourselves. Today’s issues are most obvious.

But reinventing ourselves seems, most times, to end up placing us in a better position than we previously were.

But it isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be downright difficult . . . frustrating . . . scary, even.

And it doesn’t seem to matter whether the change is one we chose for ourselves or if it was something that was inflicted on us for any number of reasons.  Either way it’s almost always trying.

But anyone who’s had to make such a drastic change in their lives would tell you how nerve-wrecking it was . . . and how it affected their lives during the transition.

For some, it drained them financially . . . for others it was a stressful, emotionally draining period in their lives.

But for others who were able to plan ahead for such a future time, they came through it with no worries and were actually able to relax until the new “them” emerged.

Help From Others Who’ve Been There

In fact, reinventing ourselves is so common that countless self-help books, blogs, and videos have been created to help guide people through it.

Books like  “Reinventing Yourself” by Steve Chandler . . .

Blogs like “Six Steps For Reinventing Yourself And For Upgrading Your Life” by Adam Sicinski . . .

 and Videos like “How To Reinvent Yourself in 2020” by Nathaniel Drew

Then there are organizations . . . businesses . . . that have found a need to reinvent itself, too.

There’s a book for businesses written by Mark W. Johnson, Clayton M. Christensen, and Henning Kagermann called “Reinventing Your Business Model.”

But this blog is meant to address the individuals . . . the people, who feel a change coming or who simply feel the need to make a change for themselves.

 Personally, I have reinvented myself repeatedly throughout my life. It’s not always easy to stop one path and pick up an entirely new and different one, but it can be done . . . and I’m living proof!

But I’m not the only one.

If you think about your own lives and the things you’ve experienced . . .

the changes you chose . . . and those that were forced on you for whatever reason . . .

you’ll see how you reinvented yourselves over the years. You might even be able to pin it down to a specific cycle, as I did.

Is There A Pattern?

For me, it seemed that things changed roughly every seven years.

That was a real eye-opener!

The only problem I had with identifying the cycle was that I came to expect certain things to change every seven years. The ones that had always required a decision from me were no longer spontaneous and so the decision to make a change didn’t happen.

The ones that were in someone else’s hands worked out the way they always had . . . out of my control and me worrying about the next step, while I tried to handle matters myself.

Most recently, my “out-of-my-own-hands” experience came when I was laid off from work, then shortly after that had to file for disability.

You see, I have been living with multiple sclerosis since 1994, but I’ve been getting by . . . still making it all happen. I was even blessed to have been in remission for 15 years, which my neurologist said is unheard of. But it happened to me.

However, when it returned it was more painful than anything I’d been through . . . hence, filing for disability.

Now, thankfully, it’s tentatively under some type of control, but the residual effects linger . . . that won’t change, now.

But I can’t sit around doing nothing, so I started my own copywriting business . . .

 and started another book . . .

and started blogging here and there.

I’m not alone, though.

So many others I’ve met became copywriters for all types of reasons. Most of them experienced the mundane jobs, company politics, feeling like they needed something more out of life.

And like the rest of us, they didn’t think they had another choice. After all, they’d been in the same jobs for years, with benefits . . . like insurance and 401k plans.

But they weren’t happy . . . .  or they kept getting laid off . . . . or the company moved . . .

And on . . . and on . . . and on . . .

In my own case, I first started out in retail sales selling clothes for tall women, then became a teller for a local bank and was repeatedly promoted until I ended up working there for 17 years . . . including a transfer to New England . . . but that eventually ended leaving me job-hopping . . . .until I eventually went a few years without a job  at all!

None of these changes stopped me from reinventing myself as often as I needed to. I didn’t really have a choice, if I wanted to survive and be a contributing member of my family and society.

My Saving Grace

Throughout all the jobs I had there were a few constants in my life besides my husband and family.

First were the books I wrote and published.

Second was the fact that I had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1994.

I continued to work in the marketing and financial services industries . . . . but the multiple sclerosis eventually stopped me.

Since I’ve never been one to sit around and not work, I was in a dilemma.  I didn’t know what I could do from home.

Then copywriting showed up in my life and I dove into it with a passion.

Finally . . . a job I could do from home and still have time to write my books  . . . especially since I had already started my eighth one.

Finally . . . a job that allowed me to be myself and be there for my family!

For those of us who just love to write, copywriting is a profession  . . .  or side gig . . . to look into.

But there are many other options available in the world. It all depends in what you’re passionate about . . . what you truly love to do.

Dig down deep and “see” what you truly want. It might even be a promotion at the same company you’ve been working at for years! If you’re happy there, then go for the promotion without reservations. Take the courses you need, buy the right clothes, get that new hair cut . . .

Then get ready to reinvent yourself for the last time!!

Or not . . .

P.S. For any of you who are dealing with this same period in your lives, I’m more than willing to talk about it with you.

Just drop a line in the comments box and let’s chat!

Create Your Path and Walk It!

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Sure you can!

You’ve done it before and didn’t realize it. I know I have . . . many times, in fact.

Think about it . . .

Every time you changed jobs, every time you moved to a new home, a new location, or took a class.

Each of those decisions started a new path for you or reinforced a path you were already on. After all, our lives are driven by the decisions we make.

And it’s those decisions that create our paths.

Let me share a quick story with you.

This is my story about creating the paths I chose to walk. I’m sharing it to help give you some perspective and to open a door that might also open your mind so you can take a look at how far you’ve come along your own journey. Most people don’t realize the full scope of what they’ve done . . . until they look back at their lives. I want all of you to see how important you’ve been so far in order to go further than you might have thought you could . . . or would.

I started my working years at a retail women’s clothing store called The Tall Girls Shop. The chain of stores has been closed for a few decades now, but working there gave me confidence in my abilities to forge relationships and sell things at the same time.

It didn’t take long for me to learn that it was the relationship I had with my customers that actually sold the clothes . . . but I thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many new people while I was working there.

However, after a little over three years I wanted something more out of life and I was given the opportunity to work for a local bank. It meant better money, benefits for the first time in my life, plus a pension and 401k plan, which I knew nothing about at that point.

All I cared about back then was earning more money and making my family proud. So I went for it. It turned out to be a good decision, too, because I continued to move up the ladder from teller to liaison between the bank and larger accounts, which were all businesses. Throughout my seventeen years of working there many additional changes occurred in my life, including my relocation to a new state for the company I now worked for, (which had bought out the division of the bank I had been working for previously).

Changes Open Doors To New Paths

So my husband and I pulled up stakes and moved.

Once we were settled in the new state and our new home, I continued to work while my husband quickly found employment. By the time my seventeen years with the financial company had come to an end I had also worked part-time as the Animal Control Officer in my town for over 5 years, bred and trained Samoyeds with my husband, created a few acres of paths in the woods on our property, and written and published 4 novels. (I now have 7 novels in print.)  I also became a Reiki master and Christian minister during those years.

All of these new interests created more “paths” that I followed at the same time I was working full-time. Many of them I still follow to this day.

It can be done! It’s not always easy, nor is it always comfortable, but we push on, make decisions, and get through it until we’re comfortable again.

Because I experienced how time changes things, but life continues to move forward requiring new decisions along the way, I ended up working in different industries over the next ten years . . . all of which included marketing and sales for different companies.

But corporate politics existed and kept chasing me away . . .

Until I eventually landed back in the financial sector where I enjoyed eight years of feeling good about the work I did.

Except for one thing . . .  I never could get away from the politics.

Finally, after 25 years since my husband and I relocated, and after numerous changes in our lives, it reached a point where I had to take a good look at my life. My husband’s job had been stable for over 18 years, but mine hadn’t.  I had to be honest with myself and decide what made me most happy, comfortable, and could still bring money into the house, especially now that I had to file for disability, (another change that occurred in my life).

And the answer fell into my lap.

Dealing with people . . . and helping them.

For me, the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had were the times I was able to help people in different ways. The chance to teach them ways to help themselves and show them what was available in the world to help make their lives a little better than they currently were.

Then along came copywriting!! A sector that gave me the freedom to pursue my passion of writing and helping people through the words I write.

Finally, this is where I’m at now, but I know this might change at some point, too. Any new change will simply be a chance to choose a new path to walk . . .  and the number of potential paths is endless. We all have different experiences, different interests, and different hobbies. I have them, too! Any one of those can lead to a new and exciting path to walk.

What do you think your next decision might be about?

What have you been dreaming about for the last month, year, or more?

Whatever it might be, take a look at whichever path is most important to you and ask yourself how close you are to walking that path. Figure out if there’s anything else you need to do to get there . . . take the next steps that you already know are needed to get you closer to that goal.

Most importantly . . .  don’t let any of it frighten you away.