Too many of us limit ourselves by perceiving our past circumstances and experiences as the ultimate predictors of our future success.
Maybe you believe, because you didn’t get a formal education, you aren’t smart enough to excel. Or because your family didn’t have money when you were growing up, you’ll never be prosperous. Or because you got fired from your most recent job, you’ll never again sustain steady, lucrative employment. Or because you went through a divorce (or two), all of your romantic relationships are doomed.
Truth is, everything’s an opportunity. It’s never too late to build the life you dream of. One filled with deep peace, lasting joy, meaningful relationships, fulfillment and prosperity. Consider media magnate Oprah Winfrey, billionaire Andrew Carnegie and blockbuster author JK Rowling. All of them came from humble beginnings. Instead of seeing their past as a limiting factor, they kept their focus on the road—and possibilities—ahead.
Not only does your past not limit your future, personal attributes considered by the world to be disadvantages can become your most valuable assets and the keys to unimaginable success. Peter Mark Roget is a case in point. While at the age of 61, he was already a respected British physician, lecturer and inventor, like many of his family members, he also suffered from what the world calls “mental illness.”
While, in comparison to his other family members, Roget was considered by many to be “the sane one,” they also labeled him as odd and difficult. Even he described himself as judgmental, humorless, obsessive and paranoid. He counted his steps and was fixated on cleanliness. His favorite hobby—one he first discovered as anxiety soothing in childhood—was making lists.
And so, when he retired from medicine, Roget did what so many retirees do. He dedicated his days to doing what brought him peace and joy by pursuing his favorite hobby with abandon. He spent all day, every day, working on one huge, all-encompassing list of EVERY WORD EVER USED FOR ANYTHING.
Yes, it sounds a little wacky when described like that. But, twelve years later, at age 73, Peter Mark Roget published his giant list of words as a book, the legendary Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. It was an instant and lasting success, becoming the serious writer’s go to reference for synonyms and antonyms. By allowing himself to embrace and celebrate personality traits the world labeled as “defects,” Roget birthed one of the most renowned and powerful resources ever created.
Your past and your personal attributes don’t limit your future; they give you the wisdom and strength to shape it. You can’t get where you want to go by looking in your rearview mirror. To move forward you must look forward, discern your desired destination, invest yourself fully, focus and follow through.
There is a long road of limitless possibilities awaiting you. When you fuel yourself with unconditional love, respect, curiosity, compassion and gratitude, you build a fulfilling life filled with faith, hope, prosperity, peace and joy. You get there, one baby step at a time.
Declare you independence from limitation and lack. The formula is simple: baby step, gratitude, celebrate, repeat.
© Copyright 2014 DJW Life Coach LLC. All rights reserved.
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About djwlifecoach
I am retired from 40+ years of helping individuals and teams build lives and organizations they love. One of the great joys of my retirement from professional practice is having greater bandwidth to donate my professional and creative talents to support and promote animal and social welfare charities.
During my 30 years as an organization transformation consultant, I served as a senior partner in four of the world’s largest, most prestigious global professional services firms. In 2005, I took a five-year sabbatical to find healing and peace because non-stop work had taken its toll.
My recovery from burnout led to finding my purpose guiding others on their journeys. As a board-certified coach, author, consultant, radio host, Reiki Master and EFT/tapping practitioner, I share hope, possibilities and empowerment with the world.
111419 DJW Sid CH Pet Corner Photo ShootI help clients achieve rapid, extraordinary, sustainable results by connecting who they are with what they do, a connection often lost through stress and the sheer busy-ness of daily life. Courageous self-awareness and unconditional self-love lead to honest choices based on priorities that nurture you and those around you on a journey to wholeness.
Decades in coaching, consulting, change management, organization development, human resources and mixed media artistic expression honed my business sense, professionalism, creativity, intuition, leadership and communication skills. The result? Practical tools that help you become more insightful, creative, committed, productive and fulfilled.
Even the most dedicated and hard-working individuals can shift from frustration to a sense of futility when their values, passion, work, and lives become disconnected. One of the problems with not taking care of our health is that the effects of ignoring it are often slow to show up. We continue to juggle family responsibilities, work and finances until we lose ourselves, waking up one day 50 pounds heavier in body and soul—no good to ourselves or anyone else.
I love working with people who are ready to take life-changing action to make their dreams a reality. At each moment, you have inside you all the wisdom you seek to choose your life and your way of showing up. Limiting thoughts, beliefs and feelings can block you from moving forward. An absence of love and concern for yourself can result in negative head talk that holds you back with discouraging messages about who you are and what you can do.
By listening and caring deeply, I guide you in connecting with your own inner wisdom. We identify the way you’d like to live. We determine what’s blocking you and release you from the hold those blocks have over you—unleashing the positive energy that will fuel you forward. Together we develop a plan to move you closer to your heart’s desire.
My books, blog, radio show and signature coaching programs help individuals and organizations harness the transformative energy of love to turn unexplored possibilities into fulfilling realities and step into their greatness. What’s love got to do with it? Everything! My book, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! (Hay House/ Balboa Press 2013) shares my story and the stories of 10 of my clients along with my signature Discovery Framework.
For fun, I love reading, sewing, knitting, yin yoga, afternoon tea, opera and movies. I live in Williamsburg, Virginia with my spouse, Wilson Abney, and the cat who runs our life, Maisy Jane.
Too many of us limit ourselves by perceiving our past circumstances and experiences as the ultimate predictors of our future success.
Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! 