It’s really amazing what you find when you do some deep cleaning. I spent most of yesterday going through boxes of files in my office/dining room getting ready to transfer it all into real filing cabinets. I found a lot of very interesting stuff in there, including some of my writings from a few years back. It was dated May 24, 2006 and as I re-read it, I realized that what I thought was a blog post was, in fact, a letter to myself. I’m posting it here because it feels like it’s the right time to share it with others, and because even after all these years, it’s a good reminder for me since I still struggle with some of these issues. Please leave a comment and share your thoughts after you read it.

May 24, 2006

“It doesn’t matter how many times you get back on this merry-go-round of life, the you that is now, in this moment, will never be again. And you owe it to yourself, and to humanity as a whole to make your voice heard.

You also owe it to yourself to do what brings you joy. And if you do anything less than this, if you settle for what outside forces determine you should have, then you are letting down all of humanity by being less than your full potential. But more importantly, you are letting yourself down.

The good news is that we get to change our thoughts, our hearts, and our minds with each moment. Each and every minute of each and every day presents us with a new choice, with the chance to take a “do-over” and begin again. Only this time when we begin we can use all of our life experience that we have accumulated to this point.

Knowing what you don’t want makes it very easy to pinpoint what you DO want — and it is yours — if you will but stand up and proclaim to the world…

I AM my FULL Potential!
I AM Living my Purpose in Love and Joy!
I AM Here, in This World, and I AM Perfect Just the Way I AM!

And when you can do this, it doesn’t matter what others think of you in human terms. If the naysayers laugh at you, it’s their loss. You can laugh with them, knowing that the pure joy of reveling in your uniqueness is so much more than they will ever understand. And you can then begin to write, draw, paint, or dance — whatever it is you desire to do that makes your heart sing.

You will never have to ask yourself again, “Will they laugh at me?” and you will never have to apologize again for being filled with joy and with love because the Universe knows, and the Universe is laughing WITH you because you are living your dream, and you are sharing that dream with the world.

It is such a wonderful feeling to know that those who are uplifted by your creations really do get it. And you, in your uniqueness, are uplifted by their creations as well. And as we all begin to create with a life purpose that is greater than just being rich in a financial sense, then we begin to change the world!”

Thanks for being here,

I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually posted something written by someone else on any of my blogs. But I read this article this morning and it summed up so perfectly how I’ve been feeling and what I’ve been struggling with for the last little while I just had to reprint it here.

Enjoy!
Lena

Want to Grow Your Business? Listen to Your Heart
by Andrea Costantine

It’s not often that business coaches, consultants, or other professionals that work with entrepreneurs tell them to listen to their heart, but when you don’t it can be disastrous for your personal well-being and your business.

As conscious and service based entrepreneurs it’s even more important that we take the time to really turn within and seek the guidance that lives within us. My personal story and the stories of countless others are perfect examples that when you go against the feeling inside you, your results suffer. However, when you start tapping into what you really want, who you really are, and what you are here to do things begin to click, become in alignment, and that’s when magic starts to happen.

The power truly is within you. When you stop doing what everyone else tells you what you “should” be doing and start trusting that all of the answers live within, and that you will always be lead where you need to be for your highest good – synchronicity, attraction, and manifestation begin to occur.

Often we need to travel down many paths before we find our own, but no matter where you are currently or where you have been continue to seek your own path. Recognize that each of us are here for different reasons, we have different purposes to fulfill, and the only way we can truly tap into it and access that power is to listen to our heart, to the inner voice that lives within us, and the divine guidance that is available to us.

For me, I started off doing “business coaching” then “life coaching” but it wasn’t until I claimed my power, recognized what I was good at, and acknowledged my own gifts, skills, and talents that my business begin to grow (and it happened fast too!). In less than three months I have filled my practice up to 75% capacity and I get new client calls, referrals, and appointments weekly. I know the one thing that changed my business dramatically was when I was able to get into alignment, see my own value, and stop listening to what everyone else told me I “should” be doing.

Ask yourself “what do you want to do?” and “what is in your best interest?” If you are currently in a business where you aren’t fully connected, offering what you truly love and are passionate about, perhaps it’s time for a change. Realize this change can be small, even miniscule, but begin to make changes to help you shift to where your heart is truly leading you. No matter how scary it can feel to come out as the real you it’s amazing how much easier things will become.

The real you is good enough. In fact, the real you is absolutely perfect.

About the Author:
Andrea Costantine is the ConsciousPreneur Connection Specialist, connecting conscious-minded entrepreneurs with powerful resources to easily and effortlessly grow their business. Visit http://www.andreacostantine.com for your FREE ConsciousPreneur Kit today!

(or… why I’ve been so quiet lately)

You may have noticed that I’ve been a little quiet for the past few weeks. For once, it’s not because I went into hermit mode. In fact, it’s just the opposite… I’ve been getting my virtual face out in front of the internet marketing crowd again.

It’s all Napoleon Hill’s fault too! I haven’t even progressed beyond Chapter Two in Think and Grow Rich yet because I was so fired up to get doing that I just dove right in. I’m really hoping to continue reading this week though… I have a feeling if two chapters can do this to me, it’s gonna be amazing what happens when I get further into the book. :)

So what have I been up to, you ask? Or maybe you don’t, but it’s my blog so I’m gonna tell you anyways. :)

Well, I’ve been jumpstarting the Ritchie Media brand again. To celebrate my birthday I set up a giveaway where for 30 days I’m giving away a PLR package every day. And because I didn’t want to just send out a boring old link every day, I set it all up on a blog where I write tips on using PLR as well. We’re up to day 21 now and lemme just say being disciplined enough to write a blog post every day is hard work! I now see why it’s such a big deal to actually complete a whole month over at NaBloPoMo. (I’ve tried it on my self improvement blog and never made it past the first few days.)

In addition to the giveaway on my own site, I’m playing in the JV giveaways again as well. I joined the PLR Giveaway put on by Leon Klepfish because it fit with what I’m doing on my own site, and so far I’m pretty pleased with the results. There’s a lot of pros and cons to dealing with giveaways and I’ve been pretty leery of them in the past.

I also started a new system for getting things done. It really bugs me that I didn’t meet my goals for the year so far. So from now until the end of this year I am being really focused on the big prize(s) and I am determined to meet at least one, if not all of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. I know that it’s probably unrealistic of me to think I can accomplish everything I wanted for a whole year in just 4 months, but hey I’m the queen of unrealistic goals. And I’m firmly subscribed to the theory of go big, or go home.

One thing I’ve noticed throughout the last couple of weeks is that when I get really focused on a project, I forget to talk to people. I haven’t tweeted much until this morning, and I haven’t been to facebook in who-knows-how-long. Another thing I haven’t done much lately is visit my friends’ blogs. It’s like being “in the zone” and everything else but the pen and paper ceases to exist. I kinda like it because it means I get things done, but I also know now why I don’t have many physical friends around here.

I need to work on balancing work with the rest of my life. I haven’t even been out taking pictures in about two weeks now. I managed to get a few shots at the driving range last weekend, but that’s it since my long Sunday hike about three weekends ago.

I’ve noticed a few other things too, but I’ll save them for future posts since this one is getting too long as it is. :) But I do promise that it won’t be another three weeks between posts. :)

Have a great day!