Lifestyle

I’ve always been entrepreneurial and seeking to live life on my own terms.  At nineteen, I started my own business.  That business supported me until I was married, and then our family, until I was thirty.  It was at that point, I decided it wasn’t too late to go to college.  I wanted more out of life.  I saw that I didn’t have to be stuck doing the same thing.  If I didn’t like what I was doing, it was okay to change it.  It all started with Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” a multilevel marketing company, and a movie called the “Secret.”

Today, I was thinking about a few things and having a discussion with my husband about the steps someone needs to take to make a big difference in their life.  I’m not talking about doing things differently to enact a few changes.  I’m talking about achieving those things that you’ve always wanted your entire life.  The real things that you’ve always dreamed of.  I’m here to tell you, that you have everything you need inside you, to bring inspiration and abundance into your life.  I believe those things are our true calling and why we’re here.

I want to share with you, the steps I took to make huge changes in my life that lead me to where I am today.  I’m a homeschooling mom, full time RVer, entrepreneur who loves to travel, real estate investor-managing rental properties from the road, photographer, that loves coffee and the Northwest.  I enjoy the outdoors and living life to the fullest with my husband and teenage son.

Here Are the Ten Steps I Took to “Rhi-Write” My Life and Live Every Day on My Own Terms:

Step 1.  Understand that self-limiting concepts and thoughts block our progress to change.  The first step is to stop the limiting thoughts and concepts that keep us from achieving our goals.  The biggest block to success is us.  You can know the things you need to know for achievement, but if you tell yourself that you can’t do something, or that you don’t deserve this, you will be blocking your own growth.

Step 2.  Surround yourself with positivity.  Replace the negative, self-defeating thoughts with positive ones, or the negative ones will creep back in.  In the mindless parts of your day, be aware of what you are telling yourself through your thoughts.  Pay attention the music you’re listening to, and most likely singing to yourself.  Are the words fitting to what you think to be true?  Pay attention to the beliefs you have that you may need to change.  Spend time with positive friends, find or start a meetup group (when things are back to normal) that’s full of like-minded people that can help facilitate your great ideas.

Step 3.  Do more of what inspires you.  Think about what you really love.  Take the time to do those things that inspire you in life, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem.  Those are the positive experiences that will build you up and help you achieve more.  Bringing a focus of joy into your life, even for brief moments, that can be a catalyst to massive positive change to your life.

Is Your to-do List Always Running in the Back of Your Mind?

Step 4.  Meditate or spend some quiet time doing something that stills your mind.  Try your best to be without mind chatter.  For me, it’s my to do list constantly trying to run in the back of my mind.  I’m thankful for the reminders but there’s a time to shut it off!  You would be surprised what ideas and inspiration can come to you in these peaceful moments when you let all that go.

Step 5.  Never stop learning, always be a student.  Read positive books that help you grow.  If you have goals and don’t have the skills to achieve them, do what it takes and learn them.  There is an abundance of knowledge flowing on the internet, and so many free resources out there.  For instance, if you’re wanting to start a blog and don’t know how to design a website, don’t be afraid to learn how to do it.  With all the online courses now, it’s so easy to learn a new skill.

I heard a great example of this one time.  Two men are asked to build a fence.  One says, “I can’t, because I don’t know how.”  The other man says, ” I can build a fence because I’ve seen one.”  The first man is not willing to build the fence because he is not willing to learn how, either by being taught or by trial and error.  The second man can build a fence because he’s seen one.  He knows how it turns out and what it needs to look like in the end.  It may not be perfect in the beginning, but he’ll figure it out.  Who knows, it may end up better than the fence he was originally inspired by.

Step 6.  Make a list of goals and the steps to get there, to “rewrite” your life in the way you want it to be.  That’s one thing that successful people have in common, they write their goals down.  They carry that goal with them in their wallet, in their purse, they have it on the mirror while their brushing their teeth, in the car, or even on the refrigerator as a constant reminder.  The more you read it, the more you believe it.  The more you believe it and feel it, the closer it gets to manifesting in your life.  You’ll find that things start happening that move you toward your goal.  Ask yourself, am I taking the steps to achieve that goal?

Visualization is the Key

Step 7.  Visualize yourself living the life you want to live.  There’s something immensely powerful about visualization.  I’m a firm believer in this.  I’ve personally witnessed some powerful moments that have occurred, almost exactly as I had visualized. I have some great stories that I’ll share in a post sometime about things that have happened in our life that I don’t believe were just coincidences. Try it and see how it works for you.  I think you’ll be surprised.  Having faith is the most important part of this though.  One of my favorite entrepreneur teachers, Jenna Kutcher, talks about visualization from time to time.  She has an amazing story about how this has worked in her life.

My day begins and ends with gratitude – positive affirmation words – handwriting on a napkin with a cup of coffee

Step 8.  Write affirmations to place around your home as constant reminders.  An affirmation is the action or process of affirming something.  When you write your affirmations, make them in alignment with what you are trying to attract into your life.  Here are some examples:  I achieve my goals, I love and appreciate my healthy body, I have more than enough time to execute the things I need to accomplish, or I am a magnet for success in everything I do.  Be specific with your affirmations.  Say them out loud when you see them.  If you can’t think of any, there are plenty of them online.  You can search things like, affirmations for success, affirmations for health, or affirmations for wealth.  A tip is to think of things you are trying to overcome and make an affirmation in relation to that.

The best ones are the ones that come from within you.  I recommend taking some of the ones you find, and tailor them as your own.  They’ll have more emotional meaning.  I write mine on sticky notes and place them in places where I can see them throughout the day.  I change them out every once and a while, because after a while they become a fixture after getting too used to seeing them.

Affirmations are one of the first and easiest steps to living with intention, because each affirmation is an intention itself.  You’re taking a small moment of your day and focusing your attention and awareness on something you want to create in your life.

This is the Most Important Step

Step 9.  Don’t be afraid of failure.  It took us a while to get this one.  I believe it’s the most important step to “rewriting” your life.  Failure is just a part of life, along with success.  You must be brave enough to get back up when you get knocked down.  It can be tough at times.  Building a business on our own wasn’t easy.  There were times when we asked ourselves, what are we doing?  Is it worth it?  You must know what you want and have an unwavering determination to get there.

I like what life coach, Dean Graziosi, says about failure.  He said his baby Luca didn’t give up on walking after falling down a few times.  His baby didn’t think, “walking isn’t for me, I think I’ll just crawl the rest of my life.”  This is a great way to put it into perspective of why you don’t stop when you fall or fail.  You must keep going and keep your eyes on the goal.  It will pay off in the end.

Step 10.  Take a leap of faith.  Whatever it is that you’re facing.  Whatever has been holding you back, take the first step towards overcoming it without fear.  Just have faith knowing that if you are following your heart and your true path, it will work out.  Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it will all be worth it in the end.  It was no easy task building a businesses and rebuilding rental properties, and at times we wondered what we got ourselves into, but the payoff in the end is sweet when you know what you’ve been through to accomplish it.  It gives you the faith to jump back in when a new opportunity arises.

What steps have you taken in your life that you would like to add?  What has worked for you?  Don’t forget to subscribe for more inspiration and encouragement in your inbox.