Vida Guide to Successful Living

  "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao Tzu I often remind myself of this quote by Lao Tzu especially when I meet, read or hear about someone that has accomplished what I want to do which is to create and build a successful social enterprise and prove to myself (and a few others-why lie?) that I am capable of doing good in service to the world and be very wealthy too! Over the years it has often seemed that the journey to accomplish this goal, this big vision I have, seems so far removed..thousands of miles removed actually. But reminding myself of this quote helps to bring my focus back to the present moment, the only moment that counts and remind myself to take that next step in this thousand mile journey. The other day, I mused that I have been reminding myself of this for almost 5 years but it actually works and is helpful and I tell myself "hey your closer than before, don't give up". For some people the reminder that they have hund...

  "Yet, the life of the caterpillar must end for the glory of the butterfly to shine. The 'old you' must die before the best you can be born." excerpt from The 5am Club by Robin Sharma In this last year of returning to mental health, I have at times been weighed down by how much I hear clients share feelings of being "stuck", many express the sentiment that working in a job they dislike or hate feels "bleak" and many in one way or another express feeling directionless and purposeless. As someone who loves adventure, travel, change, working on my life goals and dreams and fulfilling my purpose, my heart really does ache for many of my clients. It especially aches for the young ones who have found themselves in the trap of the American Dream. These are the twenty to thirty somethings who went to college and have become burdened by mortgages, unhealthy relationships and student loans (for a degree they were told by parents or teachers would bring the...

  "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men" Frederick Douglass Let that quote sink in for a moment....it is very telling.  It seems almost my whole life, I have been witness to the devastating truth behind this quote. Those of us that have spent any amount of time working in the Human Services field know the significance of these words by Frederick Douglass. And, I would guess that those in the educational and prison systems, can relate to it as well.  Recently, one of my new clients openly and honestly shared that she had no desire to have a second child (she is in a long-term relationship) due to the upbringing and raising of her first child being so difficult and challenging. She stated "I have so much guilt about the life I have given my son, it would just be so unfair to do that again to another child". I just wanted to hug this woman for her level of awareness and consciousness. If more of us gave this much thought to what parenting re...

  "The body remembers what your mind forgets" Martha Manning Seems that lately I have been sharing this quote with many clients. Whenever I hear a client say something like "I don't even know why I was so upset", "I don't know why I feel so depressed" or "I don't know why I am so anxious nothing has happened or changed" I find myself sharing this quote as I try to shed some light on "why" they (we) seem to experience anxiety, stress, anger and/or depressed mood seemingly "out of the blue" (or with severity without any identifiable reason or stressor). I go on to explain how often times uncomfortable, distressing and/or traumatic experiences earlier in our lives and specifically in childhood, get "absorbed by our bodies, into the cells of our bodies" these experiences get emotionally imprinted and later become an automatic physiological response that gets triggered by what often appears as a "random...

  "...it's better to die trying (to live your bravest dream) than to live sleeping"   Robin Sharma As I enter the last year of my 40s, "I shall die trying" has become my new mantra. Recently, I have said it to others and I have spoken it many, many times to myself since mid-last year. It started as a way for me to remind myself to not give up, to be patient and not let what appears to be no progress plus the global pandemic bring me down. I use it as a much needed reminder in light of the fact that my biggest and bravest dream and business goal has not even begun. It's my own motivation and inspiration pep talk and way to have faith (continue to believe) that I will someday build the next "Starbucks level mega, global business". It's so interesting how soothing this statement (my new mantra) can be. Probably, because it sums me up pretty well, I am a fighter, I am strong, I don't give up and I shall never rest until it is accomplished or I ...

  "This is not a time to stop sailing, it's just a time to adjust our sails" Jacob Glass At the end of 2019, I had intended for 2020 to be one of the best years of my life and to my complete surprise it has been a very good year indeed. The best year of my life? Not the best year of my life but definitely one of the best years at least in the last 5-7 years. For those of you for whom 2020 was by far the worst year of your life as a result of the negative impact from the Pandemic or due to other factors, I am truly sorry. Having gone through two worst years of my life (2013 and 2018), I know how painful and at times disheartening (better word might be hopeless) some days can feel. I have been reflecting on why 2020 turned out to be such a good year for me and well I wish I could say that I orchestrated all of it very consciously but I'd be lying. No, the truth is COVID is mostly responsible. You see, right around April and May of 2020, like many of us, I realized that ...

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” ― E. B. White If ever there was a quote that I can 100% relate to, it is this one. Actually, I have a long list of quotes that just hit me in the gut with the truth they speak (to me) but I do love this one from Charlotte’s Web author E.B. White. I have noticed that I have always had this battle going on in my life, since age 18 when I decided to be a professional social worker. “Work hard, play hard” was another way that I lived this quote and all through my teenage year to early thirties, I did just that. As the years have gone by I have realized that my desire to improve the world and play has not diminished, try as I may. And believe me I have tried not to care about improving anything but myself. But my compassionate heart (sometimes I think “Yeah thanks Mom” in a sarcastic way) and the “rescuer” in me always seems to rem...