Go with the Flow!

Go with the flow!

To bed at 10:00.  Rise at 7:00.  Make sure you make your bed, have breakfast (I HAVE to have protein if I'm going to feel like a good person), and leave the house no later than 8:30 if you want to take yourself seriously. 

No wait. 

To bed at 1:00 in the morning.  Sleep until about 9:00 and then grab a cup of coffee and get some work done before getting ready for the day.  Protein breakfast optional but exercise mandatory.  Leave house by 11:30 for a meeting if you want to take yourself seriously.

Forget about the battle between morning people and night owls, the carb lovers and the protein-ites, the morning movers and shakers and those that hate to have to move strenously.  This is not about the RIGHT way to do anything.  I want you to think about the best way for you to live your life.  This is about FLOW.




You know what flow is.  Flow is that miraculous flow of energy and process that makes life easier.  You struggle to write and then suddenly you can't type fast enough to get the words on the screen.  The study is disorganized for two years and one morning you get up and your work space is cleaned out and looks fabulous.  You just can't get in the mood to work out and you discover kick boxing with a friend and now your arms look amazing.  You and your partner talk and talk and can't figure out what the problem is and during a drive back from an errand, you talk and get closer to understanding each other in 20 ninutes.

I want you to leave the conventional wisdom behind and ask yourself what the flow will be today.  Do the things that work right now.  You are not going to be able to get away with ignoring your responsibilties.  Bills have to paid, kids fed, work attended to, but in the end, turn the dial to YOU and accomplish the tasks that feel the "easiest."  It's your game!  The way you were intended to live!

You might as well try it.  It's your game, that special way you were intended to live.  Hang on though!  It's a fun ride.

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Manic Monday? Hump Day? TGIF?

You've heard it before. 
"I just get so stressed on Sunday.  Monday is right around the corner.  Why can't I get one more day added on to the weekend?"



"Ugh. Mondays.  I hate Mondays."

"Hump day!  Yeay!  It's Wednesday!"

"TGIF!" 

I must confess, even though I am all about this inspiration stuff, I attach something extra to the DAY.  Some extra power the day has over me, suffering through one day and anxiously waiting for the next. 

Let's imagine that you fell into a Rapunzel deep sleep and when you woke up no one told you that Monday was Tuesday, and Wednesday was Thursday and Saturday was Sunday.  Everything had moved forward one day.  Mysteriously, the negativity reserved for Monday had moved forward a day for you.  You wondered, why am I the only one struggling today?  Everyone else had a bad day yesterday.  And even more strangely, they all looked forward to Thursday.  The phrase isn't TGIT! 

One day, with a "Truman Show" flourish, the trick is revealed.  You had been living, "one day off."  And eventually, you would adjust and start matching anticipation of you culture, breathing along with the collective sigh of relief on a Saturday. 

Of course the day has no innate power; it is only energized by us.  We give the day meaning.  In fact, we give all moments meaning.  The graduation from college, the wedding day, the moment you look in the mirror and see someone "older."  We have the might of a superhero to attach a negative or positive meaning to the moments of our life. 

Take a look at your life.  Maybe you tell yourself that "your time is over."  Or, you dread the moment your children will leave for college.  You might feel the pain of aging or feel a sinking disappointment that you have not accomplished what you thought you would when you were young. 

Remember, these are just stories.  Your stories.  If you want to change your life, start with changing your stories.  Your time is not over, rather, you only have the rest of your life to enjoy.  Your children leaving will usher in another exciting time in your family's life.  Start planning for it!  Your age is inevitable, and you will live an amazing life with the wisdom you have gained.  And, as long as you have the day, there is still time to acconplish what you want.  The power to change the perception of this moment is in you!

Although, I must confess...

TGIF.

Sarah Palin: Brilliance or buffoonery?

Sarah Palin on Jay Leno yesterday.  The headline reads, "Former Vice Presidential Candidate performs standup on Leno's first week back in the Tonite Show slot."  (Check it out at the bottom).

I felt the way I do much of the time I watch real people do real things, scripted or otherwise.  My hand instinctively inched towards the channel changer, not wanting to watch another human being crash and burn to the delight of her fellow man.  The other part of me leaning forward, interested in the laboratory specimen on the screen, Sarah Palin trying to find her game.  I wanted to her to lose and I wanted her to win.  Her unabashed courage winning me over.

She wasn't so bad, Sarah Palin.  Of course she has a stiffness stemming from the big switch from politician to television riffer.  It was somewhat odd to see someone who just a year before had perfected the political handwave, towering over John McCain.  But she was funny, she was eager, she was confident and I had the eerie feeling that she was just being herself

The discomfort we all felt is undeniable.  Watching someone "try" something out in front of millions of viewers, cringing in the knowledge that many would delight in her failure.  I thought about it later (the unavoidable malady of Nead Inspiration) and realized part of the reason for the uneasiness.  Sarah Palin is searching for her game.  You know, the game.  The special game you can play better than anyone else, that you were born with.

She came on the scene as a bit of a puppet of the Republican party.  Sit up, roll over, bark, be quiet.  We watched as she chafed against the role.  We saw how uncomfortable she was being presidential the "Republican way."  Her true colors came out at the core of her game, the love for her family.  In a split second of protectiveness, we saw the soccer-mom/ bulldog blend come out as she defended the actions of her daughter, her marriage, her Alaskan way of life.

Then she named it, the bulldog with lipstick, the soccer mom with a club.  She resigned the governors seat.  She wrote a book.  She did not ask permission to go on a worldwide tour.  The pundits became frustrated as she slipped in and out of her assigned boxes.  They wanted her to fit in.  She couldn't; her game was becoming more obvious by the second.  When Palin signed up to be a Fox news correspondent, she was not what we expected.  She did not sound brilliant, pontificating, presidential.  She just looked...like her.

I believe that Sarah Palin will end up on her feet.  Why?  Because people will line up to buy a book from a person who is real. They will root on the brave.  They will tune into the authentic.

Take a lesson from Ms. Palin. Be yourself.  Do what you were meant to do.  We may not understand, but eventually, once we figure it out.  We will be your biggest fan.  Because you are playing your game, that game that you were born with.  Good luck!

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ykoun5m

Don't Try So Hard, Liz!

I have wanted to do a television show for quite some time. 

For 18 months I have allowed myself to verbalize this wish, but for many years, I have been fascinated with all things television.  Head cocked, chin resting on my palm, eyes blurred, dreaming, magically sucked in the box and dancing around the screen, the glass separating me from you.

The "why not" excuses are many.  I have no experience.  The advent of social networking and internet media signally the conclusion of television as we know it.  Des Moines, Iowa not exactly the metropolis that will support a television phenom. 

Only one "why."  Because I know it.  Okay, maybe two "why's."  Because I feel it so deep in my bones that this goal I am hurdling towards is the doorway to my destiny.

I have been talking about this for a year.  First a larger company was going to take me on.  The partner lost interest.  Another smaller talent offered her support.  The timing was not right.  Yet another was interested  but I was unsure of their quality.  One more did not have time.  All the other pictures on my vision board became reality so quickly.  This one seemed mired in the mud of disinterest. 

I thought I had finally found redemption a few months ago.  A backer.  Someone who wanted to cover those heavy costs to get me, the unknown, on the air.  Then, what I thought were the final nails in the coffin as I sat between my benefactor and a producer.  "How are we going to make money on this," my sugar daddy spoke in a flat tone, "with this price tag."

Driving home to discuss the moment with my partner, I could feel the sick feeling of inevitability rolling in my stomach.  I was churning and thrashing.  So much effort but getting nowhere.  I gave it a rest out of a deep seated subconscious resignation.  It reminded me of giving birth.  I didn't know how to push at first; I held my breath, emulating soap opera stars.  Real pushing was painful and brought results. 

Writing would be my reason.  I outlined a few chapters of my book and set to work.  Always something to accomplish even if this was not my time.  One producer kept calling me.  The only producer my backer didn't want to work with.  Classic.  Then, an e-mail.  "I've called your backer and we cleared the air.  Call me." 

No way.  I called him in utter disbelief.  Yes, it was true.  They had talked.  They had resolved the issues.  While I was sitting on my bed, writing poetic fodder about creating life-changing vision, the producer and backer had reached a conclusion. 

The show will air in April.  There will be many more "why nots."  It might be about the quality, the timing, the content.  This time, I will not waver in my race.  I see my best life.  The path may not always be evident to anyone, even to me, but it is there.  The brush will be cleared and the barriers removed.  I only need to make the most of my present, leaving the rest to my faith.  I will be excited.  I will look forward to the unfolding of my destiny with the eagerness of a child.  I will not be afraid to fall down, to look foolish, to fail.  Failure will only come from allowing the unhappened future to interfere with the gift of today.

"Once you have had a glimpse of (today), you know it firsthand.  It is no longer just a concept in your mind. You can then make a conscious choice to be present rather than to indulge in useless thinking." 

Inspired Vision! It's all in your head

It's all in your head.

What you feel, how you are doing, what you answer when someone asks you, "Hey!  Howzit going??"  That stuff, is all in your head. 

The four-minute mile. It was a statistical impossibility, unthinkable that a man turn his own legs over fast enough to run a mile in four minutes. Until Roger Bannister started to run. During an attempt on British record, Bannister ran a 4:03. It was then he “realized that the four-minute mile was not out of reach.” (Wikipedia) A year later, one windy day, Bannister ran a mile in a history 3:59.4. It only took 46 days for rival John Landy to break the new record.


The first skyscraper. Before the building was built that dared to touch the sky, people didn’t trust elevator systems. Until William LeBaron Jenney proposed the use of steel beams in the skeleton of a building, rather than bricks. The result was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, in 1885, ten stories high and 138 feet tall. In 2010, the Burj Khalifa towers over Dubai, 2717 feet and 160 floors.

A young woman cries and struggles over the thought of divorcing her husband of two years. No one will understand. People will judge her. She divorces. Happily she marries a second time. Inevitably she and her second husband fight. She is no longer afraid to go to the courthouse and file for divorce. She seriously considers it during each argument.

A man is waiting to interview for another position at an insurance company. He never thought his resume would look like this. He spent twenty years with the military before retiring and commencing his career in the private sector. He went into his first position imagining he would retire there. He did not retain that job. He found another, and then another. Now, he can’t imagine working anywhere for longer than 18 months.

Remember, vision is the ability to see your world, a strange and mystical combination of your heart’s eye and the world outside of you. Outside is what has already happened. It’s the record that hasn’t been broken. It’s the relationships you have already had or what you can see of others’ relationships. But the inside, where the core of the first Inspired Mind Guideline is based on your inner eye. Your intuition. Your sixth sense. The hairs standing up on the back of your neck.

Most important, my friend, is for you to know that there is nothing wrong with you. You have been skillfully and collectively taught in absolutes, about the important difference between black and white. I don’t need to tell you which color to prefer. There is a “right” way to do everything. The proper place to write your name on your paper. Certainly not at the bottom! The right volume of your voice. Not too loud! The appropriate method of maintaining relationships. No hitting and no yelling!


These so called truths become the standard. You and I, we absorb them in the interest of survival and then travel into adulthood with this baggage. The voice of our surrounding drown out the bellows of our heart until the heart simply gives up, reduced to a mere whisper.

Packed in our luggage is an understanding that “things” are a certain way. Nothing new is under the sun. Even though it would be nice to do something brilliant, there just isn’t time, when responsibilities stand in the way. This is what we call reality. But the true reality is that it is all perceptions. I am not debating the existence of right and wrong. I am talking about the infinite possibilities for every situation.

How many of those possibilities you can actually see. How many of those possibilities you think are a good idea. How many of those possibilities scare you. How many of those possibilities excited you.

It’s all in your head.

Think about it today, as you meander through your minutes, so sure of what you know.  Take a second and consult yourself.  What does your heart tell you?  Are you meant to break the record?  Can you see steel beams among the bricks?  Believe in your perspective!  Pursue the possibilties laid out for you.  Do you want love?  Consider someone who isn't "good on paper."  How about a different career?  Investigate others' jobs, check out schools, peruse the blogs.  Want to move?  Go there and imagine yourself in that place.  Figure out how much it would cost to move. 

Just don't be afraid to check it out.  It's all in your head.

Peace at all Costs?

Peace at all Costs?

What's your goal?  Do you want everything to be straight, narrow, focused, without turbulence?  Peace at all costs?

I had a fight with my husband this weekend.  Nothing spectacular, a top three subject of discord among couples, about money.  We love each other, this man and I; there is a passion we have that is hard to describe and impossible to explain.  Our personalities so different, our sunny days are downright inspiring.  The dark days are equally scary.

So it's no surprise that I avoid potential battles.  I'm admittedly intense, but kind of happy-go-lucky.  I prefer the decadent lunch meetings, networking parties, silly movies, the satisfaction of personal connection.  He is the opposite, his eyes always flickering and scanning as he thinks about how to protect us. It's a military trait, learned from 20 years of processing every possible risk.  The loss of life his deterrant. 

We have a dance then, my cheerful nature always desiring more fun, a modern day Mary Poppins, breaking the rules and sweetly deferring.  He feels the weight of whatever is on the horizon, trips to make, finances to change, children to raise.  Secretly I do think about these things.  I try to anticipate what is needed, paying bills, buying the groceries, cleaning the clothes while he is away.  But the truth is I don't like to face these things.   He makes me face them.

We finally talked, he expressed his feelings that are often overlooked.  I cried mainly from the stress of finally having to deal with what I always avoid.  Nothing pretty or skillful about our encounter.  Some things remain unresolved.  Other items can be checked off. 

It's not a popular thing, to fight with the elements of life.  We are told not to take it personally, that those nasty events must somehow be your fault.  We can feel the collective relief of those around us, so grateful that they are not us as we travel a difficult moment.  So we pretend.  We act as if everything is easier than it is.  We try not to want to much, to ask for too much, to paste on the smile like a fake mustache.  Of course everyone can tell the mustache is fake.  It sits askew as the irritation levels rise.

Much better to be unapologetic.  This is my life, a mix bag of fun and challenging and today, I must take off my gloves and get in the fight.  The life is not lessened because of the stress; it is enriched as I learn how much I want what I want, how much I love what I love, how much I fear what I fear.  It is the moment of noticing. 

In the end, I review my weekend. It was fun, fun except for the black mark of our fight. Is it too bad it wasn't consistent bliss. Fake, peace-at-all-costs bliss, but bliss nonetheless?


I don't think so.  I might feel a little sad today, the discord still gripping my thoughts.  But I am left with the commitment, the life with a person that cannot always be pretty and cheery.  This is when I know.  I will be him forever.  It was worth the fight.

If you enjoyed this blog, please utilize the other resources at http://www.neadinspiration.com/ and listen to Liz's radio show at http://www.desmoineslocallive.com/ called "Skywalk Talk," from 11:00-12:30 cst, M-F. Liz Nead is committed to helping you succeed!

The Yes/ No Diet!

The Yes/ No Diet!

New Year Resolutions.  The fresh and new January feeling is delicious.  I will do this.  I'm going to stop doing that.  A world of control, enjoyment, risk, purpose, all at your fingertips.  Just resolve to make the change. 

You know what happens next.  Every year, the same thing.  Resolutions come and resolutions go.  Only we remain, the same issues, the fears, the weird thing inside that roots in today.  Those roots are not there to trap you.  The roots are growth, stability, history, keeping the real you from being swept away by momentary desires.

Resolutions aren't necessary right now.  Resolutions tell you to want to be something that you are, to uproot you and replace you with a new and improved version.  You don't need to resolve to become something you are not.  You need to prune, not uproot! 

Look at the branches of your life.  Do you need to get rid of a branch?  You can!  Maybe there is another limb that is out of control.  Take control, and prune back.  Perhaps there is a dead branch that is sucking the energy out of the rest of your life.  Get rid of it.  Decide what you are going to say YES to, and what you will say NO to.  The progress of life is not entirely random.  The roots are planted with the hope that a beautiful and balanced tree will come into existence.  There are choices that can be made. 

Throw away your resolutions!  Think about what the last day of 2010 looks like.  What are you doing?  How dependable are your relationships?  What did you accomplish?  Now work backwards and plan on pruning. 

Put yourself on a "yes" or "no" diet. 

Maybe you are like me and you need to learn to say no.  Don't do everything!  Don't do things to make everyone happy, do things that work for your roots, for your future.  Do the right things, the things that will get you to the end of the year happy, fulfilled and proud.  Or, you might need to force yourself to say yes.  Say yes to unexpected situations.  Say yes to your own success.  Say yes when you are afraid. 

Say yes, say no.  Just say what needs to be said with the big picture in mind.

What is your big picture? Where do you want to go?  Forget about resolutions.  Start pruning what you have.  Learn to say more yes', more no's and you will find 2010 to be an amazing journey.  And a year from now, as you stand in the forefront of 2011, a new world will open to you.

If you enjoyed this blog, please utilize the other resources at http://www.neadinspiration.com/ and listen to Liz's radio show at http://www.desmoineslocallive.com/ called "Skywalk Talk," from 11:00-12:30 cst, M-F. Liz Nead is committed to helping you succeed!