~Are you enjoying success?

~Is success all about ‘the climb’?

Miley Cyrus sings about one’s journey in life or ‘the climb’ in one of her latest songs. She sings, “there’s always gonna be another mountain….aint about how fast I get there, aint about what’s waiting on the other side, it’s the climb”, and many of you have heard the adage about success being the journey, not the destination.

How do you perceive success?
How has your climb proven to be successful?
How hard or easy is it for you to recognize your successes?
What makes your success different from someone else’s?
What makes your personal journey unique?

Have you ever thought about what makes up a personal journey?

Is it what you see and how you see it?
How you feel and how you want to feel?
How you think?
What you want and how much you want it?
What you do and when you do it?
All of the above?
What else…?

~It’s your climb and your success, then what would stop you from making it your intention to recognize and savor every well-earned moment of each and every personal success and use those celebratory moments to nourish and fuel your soul as you venture ahead?

Harold V. Melchert said it well –

Live your life each day, as you would climb a mountain.
An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind,
But many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point.
Climb slowly, steadily, enjoying each passing moment;
And the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax for the journey.

~Lesia S.

To the Veterans of War,

On this Remembrance Day we salute and support you. You are the men and women, past and present, who put yourselves in harms way in the name of freedom and peace. We salute your families and acknowledge their strength. Thank you all for your courage, your heart, your sacrifice, your bravery and your patriotism.

In your honor I for one will reflect on what I can do, how I can be and how I can communicate with others to cultivate respect, freedom and peace to lessen your burden.
In fact, I make it my intention and invite my peers, all men and women, to join me in making myself accountable for my words and actions.

Today we remember and will never forget to celebrate your courage and all of the freedoms that we are privileged to enjoy as a people and a nation.

Sincerely,
~Lesia S.

What will this windy, dark and dreary evening bring??

Have a Witched Halloween Everyone!!

~Lesia S.

~ If you want what you’ve never had,
Then you must do what you’ve never done ~

~Lesia S.

What do you endeavor to do or to be and with how much passion?

The first part of that question when clearly and firmly defined is the first crucial step in the pursuit of that endeavor.

What is your endeavor?

To be happy again – What exactly does that mean?
Land a rewarding job that fits my lifestyle – What is your lifestyle?
Master a skill – What will that bring?
Conquer a struggle with weight – What will happen if you do?
Be the first person to…
Attain a career objective?
Win a scholarship?
Run the Boston Marathon?

Whatever the magnitude of your endeavor, knowing exactly what it is, wanting it and imprinting it in your mind, is one battle won. The next battle is becoming aware of the implications of actually succeeding. What will it bring? How will you feel?

The second half of the question is about the fuel or passion that will fire up your engine, the engine that will ultimately drive you to your destination or to succeed in your chosen endeavor.

But what is your fuel, your motivation?
Where will you get that fuel?
How do you assure that you will not run out of fuel before you reach your destination?
What do you think will determine how long it will take to get there?

Whether you wish to be the best person you can be, the best athlete or the best in your profession, the success of each endeavor however large or small, rests upon and will be the result of how much you want it and are prepared to reach and keep learning until you achieve it.

Success need not take as long as you may think.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I invite you to fire up your engines!

~Lesia S.

It’s a great day to share.

Share food

Share your love

Share stories

Share memories

Share acknowledgments

It’s a great time to reflect.

Reflect on what you’ve created

Reflect on what you’ve overcome

Reflect on how you’ve grown

Reflect on what you’ve learnt

It’s a great time to celebrate.

Celebrate family

Celebrate friends

Celebrate freedoms

Celebrate choices

Celebrate new beginnings

It’s a great time to visualize.

Visualize a dream

Visualize the ideal partnership

Visualize living each day with ease

Visualize yourself happy

Visualize doing what you love to do

Visualize diverse cultures living in peace and harmony

Visualize the earth in equilibrium

Visualize life without disease

~It’s a time to give thanks for what we have today.

~It’s a time to communicate, take steps and never lose hope for a better tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Lesia Saplywyj

THE HARDER THE CONFLICT, THE MORE GLORIOUS THE TRIUMPH.

WHAT WE ATTAIN TOO CHEAPLY, WE ESTEEM TOO LIGHTLY;

IT IS ADVERSITY THAT GIVES EVERYTHING ITS VALUE.

 

-         Thomas Payne

When asked to name a few things that she values Sheila replied, “My life, my family, my job, my shiny red mustang convertible, my house, my friends, taking vacations….

If you were asked the same question what would you say? What do you value?

How many of the things you truly value did you have to work for?

How hard were they to come by?

How much adversity did you have to endure?

Was what you attained worth the effort?

According to Sheila, nothing came easy. She struggled, stumbled, got up and stumbled again. Her relationships were volatile, little money in the bank and her vision of the future bleak. What she had in abundance was passion, will and courage. With professional support, conversation and guided process, she did a lot of soul searching and went through a great deal of personal growth, gained new insights into her life, forged ahead when she was in dire straits, took small steps and kept her attitude in check.

In a breakthrough moment, one that put it all in perspective for her, Sheila realized that she would not change a thing from her past. What she endured she feels provided her with the skills the wherewithal, the need, the ability to make informed choices and the vision to see, reach and achieve anything she decided and truly wanted. Sheila noticed that she attributed little value to the things that came too easily or were literally handed to her.

Sheila is a mature woman who now knows how to manage what ever life throws her way and feels that she will make mistakes but she will never fail because there are no failures only learning opportunities, challenges to overcome and potentially that much more to value.

Sheila is an inspiration and a success in her own right.

~Lesia S.

“I FEEL LIKE NOBODY REALLY UNDERSTANDS ME AND I AM SO TIRED OF PLATITUDES AND ADAGES…YEAH RIGHT, THINK POSITIVE…”

John, an intelligent, hard-working, passionate man and personal coaching client quoted above, has been searching for answers to quandaries in his personal life and specifically within his personal and business relationships. He says that deep in his heart he has not been happy or fulfilled and feels angry as a result. Among other things, reading an enormous amount of literature and listening to notable speakers, friends and family share their wisdom on the betterment of life and specifically relationships, for him, has turned out to be more of a source of frustration and anger. He recognizes and is working on becoming more aware of what has specifically fueled his anger and how to take action to resolve it. In the process he has come to a “striking revelation” that what he frequently does, numerous times each day, is use sarcasm and make judgmental remarks about people in his life as well as himself.  He has decided to make it his intention to curb the sarcasm and judgment – something he now notices does not help him become the person he is striving to be and does not evoke the communication he is searching for in his relationships.

John is not alone. Anger, frustration, overuse of sarcasm and judging, often go hand in hand. Taking action is a key to creating more awareness and change.

A few questions to think about:
What are sarcastic or judgmental remarks?
How is excessive use of sarcasm and making value judgments damaging or putting strain on your relationships?
How do you feel when someone says to you or you think to yourself – “You should have done it this way, but you know everything” Or “That was a really smart thing to do, now you’ve really screwed up!” or “I’m such a moron, I don’t deserve to be happy!”
How often do you make similar comments in your everyday thinking and conversations with others?
What, if anything, is driving you to make demeaning or negative remarks about events, other people or yourself?
In what specific ways can it benefit you to manage it?
How could you make your point without the use of sarcasm or unnecessary judgment?
How do you think managing these kinds of remarks can improve how you feel about yourself, how people perceive you and how you perceive and communicate with others?
How willing are you to notice how you speak to and think about both yourself and other people?
Who can help you answer these questions, take steps and make changes?

After giving theses questions some thought and if you are so inclined, give it a whirl and see what you get. Once you begin to manage the ‘S and J’s,’ it will be interesting to see what transformations take place day to day.
It may not be easy at first but the payoff will be well worth the effort.

~Lesia S.

What is ‘it’?
It’s whatever pops into your head in the next few minutes.
It is what has been at the back of your mind that jumps to the front when you think about it a little.
It is what may be keeping you up at night.
It is perhaps what comes up in your conversations.
It is something you know would be good for you.
It is what may bring you fulfillment and happiness.
It is doing what you don’t want to say you should have done.

The ‘it’ can be anything:

Tell someone what you’ve wanted to say for a while.
Repair what needs fixing.
Move to finish what you started.
Confront what you’ve been avoiding.
Call for the help you want.
Make the change you’ve wanted to make.
Sign up to learn a new skill.
Take a leap of faith.
Smile more
Complain less
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Look at something from a new perspective.
See someone in a new light.
Practice what you preach.
Take the first step to break a habit.
Change an undesirable behavior.
Act on a dream.
Do what you fear.
Stand up for yourself.
Let someone off the hook.
Take a walk on the wild side.
Tame the wild side…

So what’s popping into your head?
What have you chosen to do today?

If you are one of the brave ones who decide to act on something today, remember to  celebrate your courage.

~Lesia S.

Will you give me something for my cold?
Why should I? I already have a cold.

Wanna fly?
Sure.
Wait a second – I’ll catch one for you.

It is seldom as obvious or humorous when you misinterpret someone’s words and draw your own conclusions without taking the extra step to get some clarification.

~Lesia S.