Delightful Work

If I wrote such a post would anyone read it? What would be the point of such a post? How could I get that point across only with questions? And how could I answer those questions only in the form of other questions?

Do you understand the value in answering questions that you don’t want to answer? How about questions that you just can’t answer?
What about questions that you’re afraid to answer? Can you see the tremendous value in answering them?

What questions would be so provocative that they’d inspire you to action in your quest for work life freedom?

Would answering the following questions serve you well?

What brings you alive and what are you doing about it?

What dreams have you put aside because you haven’t yet solved work life freedom or money issues?

What is the deep meaning of your work life?

Do you know what’s most missing in your work life?

What scares you the most about aligning your work with your authentic self?

Would you even know how to do that?

What do you care about so much that it hurts when you are out of alignment with it?

Which of the above questions were you compelled to answer?
Which of the above questions are you inspired and determined to answer?

What good might occur if you exercised the courage to answer every one of them?

What is really stopping you from doing so??

What’s one small action step you can take today that will move you towards the thing you most want to accomplish?

Are you willing to take that action step?

When will you take it?

If not now, when?

If you read this post, will you please comment by telling us which question you found most valuable?

Gratitude is one of the most powerful tools in the universe, but it requires engagement to reap its full rewards. Astound yourself by jotting down on a card just ten things you’re grateful for - using the guidance below. Carry that card with you and refer to it often for maximum results.

Gratitude turns on our natural well-being. Health, wealth and all thingsgood are our natural sates of being. There is a mind-body connection that positively affects our health and well-being and it comes directly through gratitude. Gratitude serves as a switch to energize dreams and desires. When it’s on and the juice is flowing freely, our vision improves so that we can see what’s possible. Write down the top two states of health, or body parts, that you are most appreciative of.

Gratitude, like love, multiplies only in the expression of it. So if you thirst for it, be the source of it. We all reach the point of facing challenging times. We cry out for understanding and cooperation. We seek the answer to our woes; yet the most powerful answer lies in our acknowledgment of who and what we appreciate.Focus on who and whatever brings light or value into your life. Gratitude is the gift that lifts, for both giver and receiver. Gratitude warms the heart of God because it acknowledges creation at its natural best.

Carry the card with you throughout this Thanksgiving season and really allow the appreciative juices to flow. Buddy up with a friend who wants to join you using this exercise and plan to talk the weekend after Thanksgiving to celebrate the bounty.

Imagine how you’ll feel enjoying tenfold the blessing you now have.

Thank you for being you.

Have you yet found work that is so delightful that you’d do it for free? I’m talking about work that you could totally lose yourself in; work that felt more like play than work. Is this what you want? I used to think it’s what I wanted.

Yes, it’s possible, and some folks actually find such bliss. Pittsburgh Steelers’ star receiver, Hines Ward, is a great example. Whether he’s hitting or getting hit, he always bounces back up with a big ass smile on his face.

But I have a confession to make.

There is nothing I currently do for money that I would do for free.

Sometimes, I’m almost there. But my most honest answer is no. I would not continue every aspect of the work I do for free.

Which raises this question:

Could the most delightful work possibly be the freedom to not work at all?

I think so. I think it may be easier to create a life of no work, or very little work, than it is to find work that you love so much you’d do it for free. Wouldn’t creating a life with total freedom of choice, lots of free time and the resources to enjoy it be more delightful than being obligated to work?

It all starts with what you want. For your sake, I hope what you want very closely matches what you value. My dearest value is the freedom of self-determination, which is the ability to do (work on) what I want to, when I want to, and with whom I want to. I can’t even imagine working at the whim of someone else. Employment, to me, is akin to slavery.

So I’ve fashioned a life where I enjoy total freedom of self-determination. That’s what I value the most.

But more importantly, why do you work? Before you say “for the money,” dig deeper for your true motivation.

Imagine for a moment that it’s not for the money. Really, why do you work? Is it to serve others? Is it to express who you are? Or is it to create a life of liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

If you’re not working for the money, in some way you must be working for fulfillment and/or freedom. Like me, it may be easier for you to get exactly what you want once you clearly see what you want.

In this post I’ve asked nine penetrating questions that you need to answer if you want to increase your probability of work life freedom. We don’t all have the same desires, and the same methods do not work for all of us. But I’m betting you’ll find that the key to what you want lies behind the answers to these questions. Bet your life on it. Following your own inner wisdom increases the odds in your favor.

Stumble It!

If it’s possible to enjoy totally delightful work, why isn’t everyone doing that? What’s missing? Perhaps the better question is:

What was missing during your developing years when you formed many deep beliefs about yourself, your possibilities and capabilities?

I’ve discussed this with hundreds of folks and the one thing that was most missing while growing up was:

an environment of unconditional support and encouragement

If you were one of the lucky few that were blessed with such an environment, you probably aren’t even reading this blog. But if you are reading, let me ask you.

Do you do believe that totally delightful and fulfilling work is possible for you?

If so, what would it take to make it more likely?

What would be different for you if you had a powerful, nurturing community of support behind you?

You’d need to consistently take bold actions towards your objective regardless of your fears. The fears would still be present, but they would no longer stop you. By belonging to a strong community, you’d have more than enough support and encouragement to move forward.

This is your invitation to join a community of unconditional support.

Would you like to sample an environment like this just to see what it feels like?

I’m creating that opportunity RIGHT NOW!

Let me know if you would like to join me, by sending me an email or phoning me at (412) 655-0872.

I’ve done this before. It never fails. If you join me, I can promise you that you will achieve more than you thought possible, and you will stretch beyond the artificial boundaries you have created for yourself.

What do you have to lose? Being safe? Being small?

Email or phone (412) 655-0872 right now, before life takes over with it’s petty demands, and you lose your inspiration.

When times are tough we almost always look outside to take some action. Yet it’s often an inner adjustment that’s needed first.

Let’s take a look at what’s happening within, when times are tough.

Have you ever faced circumstances, such as growing debt, demanding creditors, major life disappointments or conflicts that are so big it’s hard to see anything else? Yet that’s what we need to do. We need to look at anything other than that big scary reality that’s blocking our vision.

What we focus on expands. What we give our attention to we get more of. What we look at, whether it is pleasing or upsetting, becomes our focus point of expansion. Even what we resist persists because we are giving it our attention.

Worry, complaint, blame and doubt are powerful forces of resistance that tend to keep us stuck within the very situations we wish to be free of. Yet there is always a way out and it always comes from within first.

Here’s the most effective inner adjustments I can offer. I found it in Eckhart Tolle’s excellent book, The Power of Now.

In all situations, you only have four choices, and the first one is not a positively productive one.

That’s it. There are no other choices. Many times when coaching a client out of very stressful circumstances, they refuse to select options 2, 3, or 4. That means that by default they have chosen to remain in a prison of their own making. Because if we choose not to accept, change or remove ourselves from a situation we are stuck solidly within resistance.

Why blame is resistance.

No matter who’s at fault, you are responsible. Blaming others is a barrier between you and your effectiveness. When we are blaming, we are not looking at our own contribution to the situation. When we are blaming, we have, in effect, become victims - powerless to improve the situation until someone else changes first. Here’s a core truth worth adopting. If you are aware of a problem, it’s at least partially yours to correct. If it’s happening to you, no matter who appears to be at fault, you are at least partially responsible (for the advanced class, try this on: holding yourself as 100% responsible gives you 100% power in the situation). Instead of finger-pointing and whining when you see a problem, always ask these questions:

Write down your answers, discuss them, make a decision and take some action. And please don’t think that acceptance is a weak decision. It’s often the strongest.

Acceptance is not agreement. It is simply your recognition that for now, you just won’t fight it. There are no other choices. Opportunity comes directly from clarity of decision and action. By deciding which of the three positive choices you are making, you increase the likelihood of greater opportunity - because you have lessened resistance.

Then you can apply a relief formula that always works:

Gratitude + Less Resistance = Increased Opportunity

Recognizing and appreciating one’s blessings gives you greater strength. What you’re grateful for may be relationships, internal talents and abilities or external positive conditions. By simply focusing on a sunny day, health or any part of your life experience that feels good, you’ll begin to turn the tides in your favor.

Remember – whatever we focus on we get more of.

In all things, you have a choice as to how you’ll respond. You can resist by hoping that another person or condition will change or you can choose to work the formula on your own behalf.