Life Ends Now - Are You Happy?

I watched a very inspiring movie last night called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Good movie with an interesting perspective about life (no, I won't spoil it here). My favorite part is when the character of Brad Pitt asked "If your life ended now, would you be happy?" He then followed that up with "If the answer to that question is 'yes', then okay, keep living the way you want!" and then "But if the answer to the question is 'no', then start over."

So, how is your life, right now? If you were to die and transition from this Earth right now, would you be happy?

Yes ________ No ________.

If your answer is YES - RIGHT ON! I love empowered people!

If your answer is NO - I'd like to ask you to immediately write down the three things you feel are missing from your life. Or, if the list is longer, take as long as you need to write your list. But do it now. Do not delay.

After you KNOW for SURE what is MISSING or NOT RIGHT I'm going to encourage you to CHANGE IT RIGHT NOW. Start a new direction towards what you want, right now. That's right, DON'T WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW or HOPE for a BETTER TIME. The time to make change when you don't like what is happening is right now. *

*The only exception to this is if your job sucks, you might want to make sure you get another job before leaving your existing job - especially if you're supporting a family.

Okay, now, if you've made a decision to make a difference, but you're still SCARED, I want you to email me your list. Send it to Scott [at] AspireNow (com) take out the brackets and spaces, and your email will reach me. If you're interested in coaching, let me know, and I'll hook you up. If you just want to share, indicate that. If you want feedback, please indicate that, too.

WHAT DOES LIVING HAPPILY RIGHT NOW REALLY MEAN?

If life ends now, how do we live within our truth to live on purpose and be happy with our life?

The answer is comprised between two words: perception and choices.

How we perceive our situation (predicament) and our attitude (based upon perception) may dictate how we see our possibilities and how we choose to act.

What we choose to do with our time also is what dictates our life path and happiness.

The truth comes when we follow our path and take action towards our dreams, every day. Whether your dream is to be a good golfer or swimmer, take action now towards that goal and sign up for golf lessons, buy a Jack Nicklaus golf video (helped me), or start swimming at your pool or a local pool nearest you. Or whether it is to share more joy with each person we meet, take action with each new person you meet towards that goal. Or whether that truth is to start that hobby or turn that hobby into a career, then take steps towards that, right now. Perhaps your dream is to start a new business, then take action towards starting that business (one way I recommend is to contact www.ARRiiVE.com, a company I created out of AspireNow who helps you launch your product or service).

Whatever is not yet decided, whatever is not a "done deal" -- that is what we've got to go after, if it truly is what we want.

Last, I want to examine our perception more closely. What is blocking you? Is your internal and external language you speak SUPPORTING your dream or BLOCKING it? Tape record a conversation with a coach and/or a friend and pay attention to things you say. If you use words like "I feel stagnated with... " or "I hate..." or "I would if only..." whatever follows those types of negative statements is what is blocking you. Or, at least, your PERCEPTION of those things is blocking you.

If you then notice when you say "I love..." and "I enjoy doing..." and "I'm most happy when..." and ".... makes me smile and feel good..." those types of statements are the things you MOST WANT TO DO and MAKE YOU HAPPY. Pay attention to these, do them more often, and make sure you prioritize these things.

If you do not know what you truly want from life I suggest you hire a coach to help you out.

You can also start with a workbook on discovering your purpose.

The good news about life is that we are always seeing life from INSIDE OUR EYES so we truly CAN start a new life from where we are, at whatever age, when we believe and take action towards that dream. I encourage you to start immediately. Your happiness depends upon it.

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Kisses From Your Burning Artist Inside

Is there a budding artist inside you? Or perhaps you're a dancer waiting for a chance to move? Could you be an actor looking to be noticed? Could you offer a sculpture waiting to appear from within you? Or, perhaps you aspire to be a costume designer looking for a way to design in your own unique way? Is there a person inside you running counter-culture to the person you're being and living on a daily basis, who needs to be let loose? Perhaps, you are a rebel with or without a cause?

Perhaps you can make this coming week your personal time to give this "other" you an opportunity to breath and live. Or, perhaps, this is the real you who simply finds a home in this culture labeled by the "mainstream" as "counter-culture". Whichever it is, this is an opportunity for you to be your own "artsy" self, at Burning Man:


(Video entitled "Kisses From The Playa, from 2007 Burning Man)

Burning Man -- the annual event held in the desert where people become the artists, dancers, lovers, and creative sorts -- offers you an opportunity to embrace these aspects of your own artist self.

This year's Burning Man theme, as described from the Burning Man Website, is an evaluation and exploration of the American Dream:

In 2008, leave narrow and exclusive ideologies at home and carefully consider your immediate experience. What has America achieved that you admire? What has it done or failed to do that fills you with dismay? What is laudable? What is ludicrous? Put blame aside, let humor thrive, and dare to contemplate a larger question: What can America contribute to the world?

Whether you go to burning man or not, why not make this a week where you embrace art, dance, freedom, peace, love, and hope for a connected humanity without barriers. Evaluate the American Dream in your own way and see if you can find the art inside you:

Why not release your inner "Pyromaniac" (safely, of course) and make a sculpture, paint something on a canvas, design a new costume, write a poem, sing a song, burn something, and dance to the beat of your own drum!


(Video entitled "Burning Man Short Film, from 2006 Burning Man)

Editor's Note: I'll be playing my sax with my band, BODY, and getting my own ya-ya's out. Maybe I'll even sing a new song entitled "American Dream" at Mr. Rick's in Avila Beach this Saturday night! Maybe I'll light something on fire, too. Kudos to my friend, Lacye-Loo, who is going to Burning Man in 2008 and inspired this post.
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How Creative Are You Living?

Are you tapping into your deepest creativity?
Many people don't. But, we ALL have an artist within us...

Do you have skills with paint? Music? Photography? Dance?

There are so many ways to be creative. For example, even if you're known to be a song-writer, musician, and singer, you can get "outside-the-box" and open up to even deeper levels of creativity.

As an example of getting outside of expectations, take David Byrne. Byrne led the music band Talking Heads for over two decades. The band had many hits, including "Take Me To The River", "Burning Down The House", and more.

Recently, I discovered this video about Byrne wiring up a building and playing the building. I believe it was an old building in New York City.

Check it out:



My point is this: no matter what you do or where you've been, you can embrace and find NEW ways of being artful. Ask yourself "What have I always wanted to do to EXPRESS MYSELF?" Then follow that path!
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Creative Ways To Grow

Are you feeling stagnated, bored, or otherwise like your life might need a jump-start? This concern can occur from time-to-time. When it does, I find that embracing creative ways to grow can initiate new excitement, growth, and ventures that will lead to future success.

An excellent way to get your life-force flowing again is to unleash the creative being within you.

Here are a few ways you might consider utilizing creative ways to grow over the next month:

1. Write a poem. When was the last time you wrote a poem? Poetry is an expression almost anyone can attempt, and you might be surprised at who will be touched by your poems. Share them with others, and focus on conveying the EMOTIONS, IDEAS, and IMAGES you wish people to picture or feel through your words.

2. Write a song. If you're a musician, you can write a song. Actually, even if you ARE NOT a musician, you can still write a song. Can you sing? Can you hum notes out loud? Well, then you can write a song. That's how I write 30% of the songs I write! Yeah, I'm a musician, but still, if I can do it, so can many other people. All songs, just as poems, stories, paintings, or other creative things, start with an initial idea or stroke of the voice, pen, or brush.

3. Paint something. Get some water colors or acrylic paints and a canvas and play with matching paints. You can go to the bookstore and read a couple of books about how to blend colors and strokes to learn how to "brush-stroke" what you want to convey. I had tons of fun playing with paints just a year ago at a friend's art gallery. You'd be surprised what comes out when you put paint on a canvass.

4. Try thinking of a new way of doing what you already do now. This creative gift can be done in ANY profession. Even the professions that are not known for being particularly "creative" such as accounting, legal practice, or dentistry can find new ways of doing routine tasks and perhaps discover a "breakthrough" in practice. Perhaps try a new way to write something, or change a process to add an extra element of customer service, operational efficiency, or more clarity in our job functions. Even these subtle changes in our work-flow can lead to more creativity and open new doors to success.

5. Play an instrument. For me, this is natural. I play the saxophone, tambourine, shakers, piano, and I've been learning the bass guitar and bongo drums. I've been going out every time someone invites me to play and just trying to "feel" their vibe and play in a way that blends with the other musicians. Even if you're not that accomplished, it can be fun to pick up an instrument, put on a CD or song on the radio, and try to pick out a "part" by another instrument and play along. This is the way I trained my ear to be able to play live and spontaneously, so I know anyone else can do it, too.

6. Dance a new dance. I've been totally enjoying Salsa Dancing lately. If you've always had a desire to be a better lead or follow, why not sign up for a class or two? What I've noticed is that you have to keep going to get good at it. It wasn't until after about 12 lessons that I felt competent enough to get out on the dance floor without feeling insecure, so when you engage in a new dance, commit to a few months, okay? It's worth the commitment and totally fun when you start dancing better!

7. Move in new ways. Have you explored the ways your body can move? Natural body movement is something we sometimes forget is a gift of the human experience. When you feel pain, it may be a sign that development of muscle is needed. Or, if you feel a part of your body, and respond to that, you may find new creative ways to express yourself. This type of movement is exemplified in Yoga, Meditation, and other holistic movement. Another way to be creative with movement is to try talking more with your hands and use physical gestures to say what you mean when talking with other people. If you're used to communicating just with words and tone, use your whole body to say things and see if people understand you better and if you become more dynamic!

8. Design a more creative space for your living or work space. Sometimes, it can inspire creativity to simply change how we're working. Maybe by moving (or getting rid of) a desk, a cabinet, a printer, computer, or other art around on the wall we can find new ways of expressing our living and work space to inspire more creativity. I remember at Google's headquarters, where they had beanbag chairs and lava lamps in their lobby to express their creativity. It definitely felt different than HP's headquarters! Mix it up and see if this inspires you to new ideas.

I'm sure you'll get a few more ways to be creative as you start to implement an idea or two off of this list. I've actually implemented about half of these in the past month and find all kinds of spark for new ideas and creativity occurring in my life. Embracing your creativity is a natural way to challenge yourself, build upon your foundation, break away from convention, and establish new paths towards an exciting future. Enjoy the journey!
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