Vida Guide to Successful Living

"All change is hard at first, messy in the middle and so gorgeous at the end." Robin Sharma Thanksgiving weekend 2019, I finally bought Robin Sharma's book The 5am Club. I had the book on my reading list for about a year. I had heard Robin Sharma on a YouTube video and had been inspired to recommit to getting up at 5am. Although, I am not a morning person by nature and in fact, I am more of a night owl, I have gone through two periods in my life where getting up at 5 am has made a significant and positive difference in my life and I just knew that buying and reading the book would help motivate me to get up at 5 am consistently, not sporadically as I have been doing for the past few years.  In 2003 I gained over 40 pounds during my pregnancy. A year after my son was born I resolved to lose the weight I had gained. I had a 7 am to 3:30 pm schedule at the time, that meant I had to get up at 4:30 am every morning to work out before work. In less than a year I lost the we...

"Your new life is going to cost you your old one." Brianna Wiest The other day, I happened to look through one of my older journals, in fact it was the first journal I had ever started, pretty late in life, just some years back (2014). It was a journal a friend gave me as a birthday gift and I occasionally enjoy looking through it and being re-inspired by the ideas, quotes, thoughts, and reflections that are in it. When I flipped to the page where I had cut and pasted the quote above and re-read it, I felt such a deep knowing it was almost physical. It felt as if someone or something had "stabbed" my heart with the truth. It was in no way an unpleasant feeling and I wish I could find another word instead of "stabbed" but that's what it felt like. It's probably why people say "hit in the gut with the truth" or "your gut feeling". Your gut being your intuition, the part of you that knows the truth for you. Not the tru...

"Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change." Jim Rohn 2020 is upon us and I don't know if I have ever looked so forward to the start of a New Year. 2020 is going to be by far, the best year of my life! I remember saying those same words to myself at the start of 2018. And yet, 2018 was by far the worst year of my life on so many levels....such is life and the ch-ch-changes that come upon us. In 2018, I think I was  uttering the words in an attempt to convince myself, which is OK. I believe and have used the "fake it til you make it" philosophy of life. Now though, as I enter 2020 there is a completely different sense of confidence and joy in my heart, it is a knowing not an attempt to convince. I also now know that I can withstand and deal with both wanted and unwanted changes as well as life's curve balls and blindsides thanks to the constant devotion to my own personal development as well and my reignited desire to contribute to o...

“If you can learn how to use your mind, anything is possible” Wim Hof Our perception(s) and our reaction(s) to anything and everything in life is the only thing we have any control of. This Thanksgiving weekend 2019, I have been reminded constantly of this very key lesson of life. It all started with my son (soon to be 16) not wanting to travel with his boring Mom to San Francisco for our annual post-Thanksgiving camping trip. I don’t think I’m boring at all but I figured that’s how he probably feels about me right now at this age. That’s my perception mind you, he hasn’t actually told me this is how he feels. He was excited about the trip until neither his girlfriend or friend’s could make it. I was a bit hurt Thanksgiving evening and had a good cry about it and thought about enticing him with a shopping spree but then I said to myself “it’s OK if he doesn’t want to go”. I was pretty proud of myself for not letting his decision make me too upset, start blaming him or his Dad or f...

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone" Neale Donald Walsch  Below is an excerpt (in bold) from Chapter 3 of my book: "You have balls the size of melons" this is what my friend and quasi-business mentor told me shortly after we met in 2014. I knew myself to be a pretty confident person and particularly a confident and independent woman but I had never been told that before. It always makes me laugh when I remember her telling me this, so I thought it would be fitting to title this chapter on confidence with her phrase and praise. It is essential to develop confidence so that we can change the world and ourselves. OK, I know some of you might be thinking "I don't want to change the world and I definitely don't want to be told I have balls the size of melons", well, maybe guys do? I do think however that we all secretly wish to make a lasting contribution or difference in this world. Or at the very least, to know that our lives have purpo...

I was listening to Impact Theory's (Tom Bilyeu) interview with Trent Shelton. Trent was talking about sharing our gifts with the world and how we usually doubt ourselves, how we doubt that we actually have anything of value to contribute. Then he shared how his mother inspired him to speak, to share his message, when she said to him " Trent, s omebody needs your story"  As usual, the timing of certain messages never ceases to amaze me. This was a message I really needed to hear. You see, lately I have been wondering if my 2 year delay in publishing my first book was a sign that it shouldn't happen. I was wondering and doubting that I really had written anything of value to share. Despite mind you, being told many times over the years by different people (both males and females) from all walks of life, that I have helped, inspired or influenced them in some way. Although, these moments of hesitation and self-doubt are infrequent, lately I have been having them a li...

"Your mindset is your greatest superpower" Nick Santonastasso I was listening to one of my favorite You Tube channels, Impact Theory, when I heard this quote, it struck a chord, I resonated with it. I love quotes and I love quotes about the power of our minds. I had never heard of Nick Santonastasso and it was an interesting and inspiring interview. I have listened at this point, probably to hundreds of interviews by Tom Bilyeu and most of his guests speak about the power of mind. Ultimately, I do believe our mindset is in fact our greatest superpower.  Lately however, I have been contemplating a lot just how difficult it is for most people to tap into our greatest superpower, myself included. I have been somewhat disillusioned with the lack of long-term, positive changes in people's lives despite years of counseling, therapy or coaching. Sure some people benefit and can make significant changes to their lives but it is  usually a very small percentage. With all the...