The Audacity

I invite you to ponder that word.

Audacity.

What kinds of thoughts come to mind? Does the word inspire

negative, positive

or

neutral

thoughts? Why do those words come to mind? Do you know why?

If the word

Audacity

inspired thoughts of words or phrases like

arrogance, inconsiderate, bossy

or

how could you,

then perhaps the word

Audacity

has been reserved for people who violate the boundaries of others. I invite you to consider, however, that it may also have been used to

limit those who dare to dream

or be different. Perhaps it's been an attempt to hold back those who dare to live life now rather than "when I grow up", "when I have more experience or education" or the unspoken "when everyone ahead of me (essentially) wouldn't feel threatened". Is that possible?

If I ask, now, what's holding you back? Is there another item on that list?

I invite you, now, to see

another side of

Audacity.

If you had to find positive thoughts to associate with the word, what would they be? Can you make that leap?

What if I said that, today, I associate the word Audacity with terms like

empowered, driven,

fearlessly pursuing ones dream,

courageous, bold,

focused on the goal,

no longer held back by ones fears

and choosing to live ones purpose regardless of setbacks, lack of approval and accepted norms? Is that a perspective you can share? 

Consider this. If you have one life to live, and you don't know if you'll die tomorrow, why don't you have

the audacity

to live the life you want now? Why should perfectionism, fear of disapproval, fear of rejection, fear of ... fill in the blanks... get to live life for you?

You put them in charge, and only you can change that, to free you.

It's time for

you

to be

audacious.

Not with the lives of others but with your life!

I should let you know that you'll probably never be perfectly ready, but it has to be worth it. Remember:

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the product of Love that's too large to be contained™".

The world needs you to be exactly who you are right now - to inspire greatness in someone else, to prevent someone from giving up on their 10,001th try - for any number of reasons. You, however, need you to be, embrace and thoroughly love, you first. It is only then that you can be anything to anyone else.

You have to first love you.

There is no motivation like it. Once you spark that fire,

you can't help but love others.

For me, it is the love of God in Christ that showed me this. For you it may be something else. Whatever it is, take the time to know and love you - your physique, your mind, your will, your emotions, your desires.

Do you know you?

What are your dreams?

I invite you to consider that those dreams are

not too big, too small or too ridiculous.

They simply are, and you may not yet be able to see how they fit into the grand scheme of things, but they do.

Go be Audacious!

Let me know how it goes!

Which makes you happier? Why

Heading In? Heading Out?

I was going to write a blog post about this, but I think

the question

causes far more

introspection.

Have fun!

Do You Really Want It

Today!

You psych yourself up to

pursue your dreams hard today.

You get started on an

immense high.

Suddenly, thoughts of competition, workload or obstacles bring you crashing down, so you step back and say

"tomorrow".

S

ound familiar? By now you know you're not alone. It's not a cliche,

it's the truth.

Do You Really Want It

You

absolutely must ask

yourself

"Do I really want it? How will "it" affect your life, today, tomorrow? What is the permanent opportunity cost?"

Do you still want it? The answer is:

"Yes"

,

"Yes, but not right now"

or

"No"

. Not maybe.

Decide. Do you want this?

Whether you

write

it,

envision

it or

talk to yourself

about it,

make the time to decide

 if you really want it and

make the decision permanent - commit.

Want It versus Feel Like It

Once you've decided that you really want

this - business | healthy eating habits | firm body | healthy marriage | family relationship

- you're not looking back.

You want this...but you're not going to feel that wayevery day.

Nothing I've mentioned above comes without hard work, and

you've never worked as hard as you're going to work for this.

Such is the true nature of dreams.

[

Cliche:

Nothing worth anything was ever easy.]

Summary: Do You Really Want It - Here's How To Go Get It

Importance of Motivation

I'm very visual and words are important to me so, for me,

Pinterest

is a God-send, when used wisely. I have created an

Inspiration Board

,

a 

Vision Board

 (hidden) 

and a

God Board

, that I look at whenever I start talking myself down or

procrastinating.

You have to find what works for you:

Develop a short speech you say every morning & when your resolve wanes | Listen to speeches | Take long walks | Write | Daydream about success | Run (Ha, ha. No, not 'run away' :p)

Do whatever it takes to motivate you - nothing is too weird.

[

Key: Commit a short time to doing that, then get back to the task at hand.

]

Importance of Support Systems

Support

is a funny word. Many will say the words, but many of those will keep bringing the "practical reality" your way, and it will always sound like

a list of "reasons you can't".

Run. I can't say it strongly or loudly enough.

RUN. They will keep you back.

Find people

that

you trust

,

that

believe in

what you're going for and will only provide

advice to propel you

forward. Spend most of your "people" time with them.

Find people

who've

succeeded at something crazy

or 'impossible', who are still optimistic about possibility, and have tea with them once a month.

That is reality.

Importance of Alone Time

Even if you hate being alone, you need this time to be productive. Having people around is great, but if this is your dream

you have to make time to do it.

You also have to commit to simply

making time to be with yourself;

to hear and face your own thoughts. [

Read:

Why Productive People Have Empty Schedules

. Not literally, perhaps, but good.]

Don't Look Back

None of this will "come naturally". You have to

form new habits

to commit to

alone time,

implement these

motivational changes

and develop those

support systems.

It's an uphill climb, but we've already decided that

it's worth it. Right?

[

Start today:

10 Reasons to Stop What You're Doing & Start Clearing Your Clutter

.]

More Support Online

If you'd like continuous

support for your dreams,

find more online:

Twitter

,

Pinterest

, Facebook Page

Entrepreneurs Courage

. 

I hate the new lack of privacy on social media, but I love encouraging others, so here's to my being a little open.