#UnBlockYourself

Calgon Activities

I know my kids won’t understand the title, but every day for me I need a getaway. 
 
Stressful things are all around us, but I wanted to tell you my definition of stress, and why it does so much damage to the inside of us, mentally and physically. 
Stress is where our mind, will, and emotions are in conflict with the things going on around us. It can be a very subtle irritation, or a physical fight with someone close to us. It mainly comes from something we want to do or something want to happen, but it hasn’t come out that way.
 
So, to deal with it, we need stress relievers! In this group I’m naming them “Calgon Activities”. These will be some of the events in the “events” section of the Facebook group.
 
These are just suggestions, and if you have any feel free to leave a comment, or share an event link in the group!
 
 
Summo tea community market- August 21 
 
Gryphon tea room 
Savannah tea house or yaupon - August 28
 
Hilton head or tybee beach
Statesboro farmer’s market (monthly)
 
Drum circle (monthly)
 
Japanfest - September 18-19
 
Live Jazz at Myrtle and rose rooftop garden:  https://fb.me/e/11NW4SyYc
 
Richmond Hill International Food Festival Sept 12 @ 12pm
 
Remember you have a mind garden you can stroll through if can’t getaway but want to. 
Here is how we made them and the meanings: 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unblockyourself/id1444793590?i=1000513943866

Build a Circle of Encouragement

Jim Rohn said that “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of the time with. It’s also been said “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”.  It’s quite interesting how we seem to just gravitate and attract to people who we want to be around. But we have to keep the desire to be like someone else in check. This circle of friends is also your biggest circle of influence on your life, and because it is highly influential it can steer you in the direction of where they are going. So choose wisely.
 
You may not like something but end up doing things your friends do because they wear you down. You may purchase something you don’t care about just to satisfy the circle, or end up doing something you may regret, so choose wisely.
 
On the flip side, being selective of who you have in your circle can be to your advantage. You can be friendly with everyone, but who you let in close to you, the people you allow to speak into your life, you can choose to build this circle like a team. A team to have your back and to help you when you need it. You can build a circle of encouragement.
 
One last thing, it has to be mutual. You have to present yourself as an asset to be chosen, just as you are choosing them. For a community to work well, everyone pitches in and makes available their gifts and talents to be utilized by the group. If you sit around and expect to be fed by everyone around you, what happens to you when they don’t feel like it anymore and stop?

Add ValueTo What You Do

When thinking of functioning in their purpose many will say, “but I have no idea what my purpose is”. That’s common. Until we get it though, one simple trick is to add value to what you do. 
Try. 
Try being the best. 
Try making someone else happy. 
Intentionally trying to add value will start to steer you towards your ikigai, your “reason for being”.  Tsing a moment to intentionally impact someone’s day through your actions in a positive way can keep you on the pathway to serving your purpose. 
 
A healthy, wealthy, full life is seldom that way on accident. It’s been set up that way intentionally. 

Family: Share Wisdom for Generations

Kaizen trait: Family
Since today we focus on family, I wanted to challenge you to impart wisdom to your children and grands. Leave a legacy with your words. 
 
Today was the first day of school for my daughter, so this is what I thought of for her: Direct Your Day!
 
How we approach our day, month, year is pretty much up to us. Although everything may not go according to plan, how we react or how we respond will usually determine in what direction the next step will take us.
 
Mastering self control puts you in the position to be able to direct  situations. It is very difficult to think next steps when your emotions are going nuts and your adrenaline is pumping. In those moments, you are just reacting, and you can’t think or plan nor envision the consequences.
Sales people will say, “you like this? Well what’s stopping you? It only makes sense…” Emotions and pressure can cause you to make irrational decisions because of reacting and not responding, and now you are stuck with the results of the action.
 
If we are able to control our emotions and think a little, we can better position ourselves to control what’s happening around us. 

Kaizen Moai: Why, How, What

The Why
Kaizen means gradual improvement and moai means meeting for a common purpose. 
I have a vision that a group of friends get together regularly and every life in this group becomes better each day.
 
The “meeting for a common purpose” is to pursue our ikigai, our life’s purpose, utilizing it in conjunction with others, and have fun doing it!
 
 
The How
Here’s how we do it. There are 5 main areas that we focus on that come from what most of the people living over 100 had in common.
Family 
Purpose 
Belonging
De-stressing
Eating 
 
The terms Wabi Sabi, ichigo ichie, and ikigai will be infused in each area. 
 
 
The What
Here’s the fun part. 
Monday through Friday I plan on posting and inviting if available: tips, tricks, activities, events, videos, all having to do with the five areas. Get involved and invite friends, or just listen and learn. The point is to live life and enjoy it, and do that a little more each day.
 
The kaizen community calendar will be updated regularly and is open to suggestions. 

Your Attitude Towards Opportunities

This morning as I was walking, my devotional’s title was, “Attitude Matters”, and after that, today’s episode from Earl Nightingale, “Attitude towards a better tomorrow”, do you think God was trying to tell me something? 
 
I thought of an old Instagram post I made from 2017 that said, “Your attitude will often determine your altitude”. Yesterday I gave an example of 2 people selling the same product to the same demographic. The difference would be motivation, which ultimately leads to their attitude:
Towards life
Towards the job (which is an opportunity)
Towards peers (people you work with)
Towards customers (anyone who you serve, family, friends, customers…)
 
The most important thing I understood this morning was this little nugget:
Opportunities come from problems, or, Every problem is an opportunity in disguise! I’ve always heard through every mentor that opportunity is always there, you have to see it. I’ve always heard it and thought it to be true, but could never quite grasp the vision they were seeing. But today, I see it. I hope this helps you too.
 
Problems never stop coming up. We are surrounded everyday by problems small and large, simple and complex. 
Our ATTITUDE allows us to see all of these problems as opportunities!
Remember, everything that makes money is a solution to a problem. 
So get this. Problems are all around us. All day everyday. Our attitude allows us to see them as opportunities, which in turn gives us the ability to find the solutions. People seek solutions, in fact, they pay for solutions. 
 
Think of it, if you pay for something, it is solving a problem. Food for your case of the munchies. A subscription to watch your favorite movies or tv shows to entertain your boredom. Gas to run your car, anything you pay for, solves a problem. That problem was someone’s opportunity to help you, and help them too. But to get to that step, they had to be able to see it first, not just complain.

For Such A Time As This: Mission & Message

How much faith do you have in yourself?
Yesterday we talked about being born for this moment. The ideas you may be sitting on and keeping to yourself are really answers to someone’s prayers and they are looking and waiting for them.
 
Most people will not act because of being frozen in fear. So what happens? Someone else will come up with the idea and move on it, even if they were afraid too. “A plan without action is just a wish…”
 
Your Mission and Message: Why, How, and What.
In communicating your mission and message, you will need to establish your “why”, “how”, and “what”. The “golden circle” concept is explained in Simon Sinek’s book, “Start With Why”. It builds on the foundation of what you believe, and not off of what you do. This creates “buy in”, even for yourself. John Maxwell also expresses, “people don’t buy into what you do, but why you do it.”
 
So, what is it that you want to do? Why??? What is the message behind what you are doing? The thought behind the questions just asked is this:
I believe this, but are the things I am saying and doing with this idea represent it what I am believing for? 
 
There are 3 words who make up who I am. You’ll usually see it attached to my name: Motivate, Educate, Establish. Mostly Everything I have done, that I am doing, and will do, embodies this, which is my core belief of why I know that I am breathing. I pretty much have to motivate people to live their best life, educate them to the best of my ability, and establish ways and means to successfully accomplish the end goal, of living their best life. This started in 2017, and carries on into today with starting the Kaizen Moai, with the core belief in the name, “Meeting with the common purpose of making gradual improvements”

Your are here for such a time as this!

Were you born for such a time as this? 
I was thinking in my thinking chair and Esther popped in my mind. What came to mind was, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 NIV
 
Earl nightingale said this morning on my morning walk, “now is not the time to just be, you must also do.”
 
Someone is looking for a sign to do something, well, here it is. You came across this for a reason. I guess for “such a time as this”. 
 
The world awaits your inspired idea. We all want to connect to you and your purpose because it will be the solution to a problem or better yet, an answer to a prayer. 
 
Yes it may fail. But what if you believed enough to ensure it wouldn’t? What if you touched one life. Is that not enough? If that one person could fully grasp the vision you have, isn’t that the definition of success? Especially if they are able to carry it and spread it like wildfire. 
 
The world is waiting!