Let them laugh.
Let them judge.
Let them gossip.
Let them dismiss.
Let them roll their eyes.
Let them go if they want to.
The people that matter don’t do any of this.
They are supportive and trustworthy.
They are caring and compassionate.
They are honest and direct.
Actions speak loudly.
Make sure you’re paying attention.
There’s a reason we call consistent maintenance on our vehicles “routine” or “preventive”. It’s so that we don’t go without checking in and understanding where it needs some work before it breaks down completely.
How honest are we with ourselves about our own “routine maintenance”?
Do we prioritize this at all?
If:
Then it might be time for a check-in.
Asking ourselves questions like:
We have to prioritize the “check-in” and it can’t be once a year like our annual physical.
It needs to be constant. It needs to become routine.
Otherwise, we have gotten so out of whack that we aren’t sure where to begin.
Start now.
Get ahead of it.
Make it a routine practice.
We’ll prevent a complete breakdown and save ourselves a lot of heartache in the process.
A question I’ve pondered in recent years which has been one of the catalysts to personal growth is, “What could I be wrong about?”
If we are open to the uncomfortableness that comes with the answer it will unequivocally alter our perspective.
Like a detective, we are more aware of our surroundings and look for clues that may inform us of a deeper truth.
Ego is replaced by Humility.
The depths of our knowledge become infinite.
Where do we find peace?
Is it in the early mornings before the world wakes up?
Is it when we can find any quiet place?
Is it on a walk around the block?
Is it in deep conversations?
Peace means stillness. It means serenity. It means our minds feel balanced and free.
When we become frustrated we must stop and ask ourselves how we got here.
How have we given this time to everyone else and not ourselves?
Our lives can be very chaotic and we must find these pockets of peace.
We need that time. It’s precious. It balances us.
We schedule out many other seemingly insignificant tasks and meetings, surely we can put something on the calendar for our mental health?
Call it our “Personal Peace Practice” if we must and plan time every day.
It’s mandatory. It can’t be missed.
Soon it’ll start to be the one we look forward to over all others.
If you’ve said to yourself “I don’t know what I’m passionate about” then you’re in luck.
You should consider yourself grateful.
Because now you get to explore. You get to tinker. You get to try things. You get to figure it out.
You start to rule out things you don’t like and keep putting energy into the stuff you do.
When we don’t have anything we are truly passionate about it gives us agency to lean into new experiences and try to discover what we may like.
It all comes down to a choice. A choice to choose a small amount of discomfort in order to discover new things.
Things we might become insanely passionate about.
Don’t give up because you haven’t found your passion yet.
That’s the exciting part of the journey.
Keep searching.
Maybe we shouldn’t have it all figured out.
Maybe seeking is part of the enjoyment of life. That discovery into the unknown.
It’s a bit scary.
It’ll wake us up.
We’ll need to focus.
We can’t put the mind in “self-drive” mode and cruise.
Life is not going mindlessly through each day and getting by.
It is supposed to be lived.
Fully present. Fully alive at the moment. Full of wonder and curiosity.
We have to take control of the wheel and veer off-road.
That’s when living starts to happen.
Don’t underestimate the power of reflection. The 2015 version of you probably went through some shit to help make you the person you are today.
Embrace that, don’t suppress it.
Be okay with asking “Why?” and sitting with that answer for a bit.
Why was I upset?
Why did that bother me?
Why did I get angry?
Why was I short-sighted?
Why didn’t I listen?
Why did I take the shortcut?
Whatever the question is we have to be okay with challenging ourselves to have an honest and thoughtful answer.
We have to be okay with getting uncomfortable as we reflect back on a bad time or experience. As the saying goes, “History doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme.”
It may be better to be uncomfortable now, by ourselves, as we learn and grow versus repeating a similar pattern in real-time.
We have to know it will only help us going forward.
EPISODE 184: Esteemed Wealth Advisor // Leader in the Self-Mastery Movement
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Episode 184 features Ken Kladouris is an esteemed wealth advisor and author of Get There!: Chart Your Course to Financial Abundance and Live the Life You Desire.
Find Ken Online:
Website: KenKladouris.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-kladouris-mba-cdfa%C2%AE-42612b6/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenkladouris/
About Ken:
Ken Kladouris is an esteemed wealth advisor and author of Get There!: Chart Your Course to Financial Abundance and Live the Life You Desire. Ken believes life should be lived, by design. Charting his own course in the wealth management industry, Ken earned the respect of his peers and the trust of his clientele. Most recently, he developed an online course entitled “Stillness to Success” which provides a valuable resource for individuals who are ready to create real change in their lives.
Ken compiled this course with practical and impactful lessons he extracted from years of his own self-study with a spin that is fresh and relevant to the 2021 world we are all experiencing. The online course includes a series of lessons that are broken out into consecutive modules – each of which begins with a breathing exercise to help individuals become present before they embark on their curriculum.
Those who participate in the course can expect to complete it feeling more empowered and better equipped to navigate their personal and professional day-to-day decision-making.
Outside of the office, Ken’s love of the ocean led him to pursue sailing. It is there that he also found his passion to give back to the community. In his spare time, he can be found with friends and loved ones aboard a powerboat, sailboat, or at community events.
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If you enjoyed this interview you may also like my Just Get Started Podcast Interview with Seth Godin, Author, Founder and Speaker
Are you creating the life that you want?
Are you pushing the status quo?
Are you finding areas outside your comfort zone to explore?
Are you learning and adapting to change?
Are you different than you were a year ago?
If you answered yes to any of these questions then you are not an Imposter. You shouldn’t have Imposter Syndrome.
You are creating, you are exploring, you are evolving, and you are doing it your way. You are in the small percentage of people in the world that are actually doing this.
We cut ourselves down too often by thinking we are some “Imposter” in the realm of what society believes but the fact that we are outside the bubble and forging our own path is good enough.
Stop beating yourself up.
You’re you. There’s nothing Imposter about that at all.
Well, I knew it would happen at some point and my impulses to jump on a new idea would shake up my Dozen Months of Discovery.
It’s actually a great lesson to follow your feelings and passion and don’t be stuck in a certain path just because that’s what was initially scripted.
Originally, when I planned out my twelve months I had April slated as a month where I was going to learn the Ukelele. Solid choice and it was going to allow me to be that “beginner learner” again like I experienced in March learning Spanish. However, as I spoke with a friend and editor of a book I had been thinking about writing, it was determined that maybe the best thing to do was to put a time window into play and just get it done because it can be very easy to procrastinate especially when writing a book.
So, I took a short look into the future and said “Adios, Ukelele, and hello Book writing!”.
Little did I know the path it would take me down.
As I rounded out March and already had some ideas and notes down for the book I intended to write, one focused on the Just Get Started mission, I stopped myself and really thought about the path I was going down.
This is where self-awareness comes in.
My mission is to help the next generations of our world through earlier self-discovery about themselves and the world around them. This book idea was geared toward that but I had a change of heart.
So, I pivoted and started writing a fictional book taking the elements of the non-fiction book I was going to write and turn it into a story about a boy learning entrepreneurship at an earlier age. I had the idea finally and started writing. I scripted out notes, had the plot laid out, and began on my way. But there was just one problem…I couldn’t stop thinking about rhyming.
See, I am already in the process of publishing my first children’s book called “Luke’s First Round Of Golf” and finishing up on the illustrations as I type this. I couldn’t help but think; maybe this is my “thing.” Maybe someday I’ll write a longer story but I love the rhyming aspect of children’s books, I always have. I love rhyming, in general, having been a fan of the greats of Hip Hop all my life. It’s in my DNA.
So, after a second pivot one week into April I began freestyling on this book.
What did I learn through this process
To listen to the audio version of this with some extra tangents and insights you can go here -> Writing A Book In 30 Days Podcast Episode or listen on any major podcasting platform you choose.
It’s a new year, a new decade, and a clean slate to get it all right this year. “This is going to be my year”, It seems is the type of thing we say to ourselves each orbit around the sun. Why will this year be any different? What have you learned in the past 12 months that will make you believe you can change?
We all have aspirations at one time or another to break outside of our comfort zones and explore new ideas or endeavors. Then fear sets in and the excuses start to flow on why we “Can’t” do it. Just like a butterfly that landed on your shoulder, it’s there for a second before the idea fleets from your mind. All too often, that isn’t the last time we think about it. It continues to pop up at random with no regard for the timing of it all and the longer it goes without being acted upon the fear generally turns into regret. A disappointment of what could have been. Arguably, one of the worst individual feelings one could have.
I have a hunch that as you are reading this there is something festering inside that you want to accomplish but for whatever reason, you haven’t taken the leap of faith yet. Whether it is the smallest action or the biggest idea we all know that overcoming the fear of starting can be quite challenging. Let’s try to get started on it before the chance of regret from not trying can even weasel its way in.
I think I have the key that will unlock that door for you. It might be quite literally the simplest action you can do but could end up being the hardest. Because it involves self-observation and accountability for your actions.
Think of all of the reasons or excuses you can come up with as to why you can’t get started. You can write them down or just think of a couple in your head. They probably seem legitimate and you may even be able to convince yourself there is some truth to them.
Now I’d like you to try something.
Simply change the “can’t” in the sentence to “won’t” and see how that sounds.
Here is an example:
I can’t go to the gym because I don’t have time.
I won’t go to the gym because I don’t have time.
Which one stings a bit more and why?
“Won’t” does sound a whole heck of a lot worse because it’s a choice. Can’t is final. Can’t has some boundaries. Can’t is a line in the sand that we are not able to cross.
But won’t, that’s a different story. That’s personal. That’s a direct reflection on you as a person, what you prioritize, and how you want to live your life. You are making the conscious decision to not do whatever it is you want to do. You are standing in the way of it happening. You are your own worse accountability partner.
This simple exercise on reflection can fundamentally change your perspective on what you are trying to accomplish and get you in the right frame of mind to accomplish it. I’m not saying it’ll work out every time and you may find instances where you confirm that this isn’t the right path. It’s okay if that is the outcome. However, most of the time, it will allow you to take a deeper look in the mirror and help you gain perspective on why you are scared to do this in the first place and what you would really lose (if anything) from trying.
We all have fear and doubt. We all overcomplicate things. We all worry about stupid shit that is ridiculous and mostly meaningless.
It is the perspective shift that is needed in order to overcome these obstacles and start moving forward. Please keep it simple and believe that you can do it. Once you alter your perspective and start improving your mindset it can open up a lot of doors you never imagined possible.
Now get out there and crush 2020!
