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IF YOU WANT THINGS TO CHANGE, YOU HAVE TO TAKE ACTION. GET READY TO L.E.A.P.!
do what you love Page 15 of 94
How I generated over $2000 for new adventures from stuff lying around my house
At this time of year I always get that feeling that it’s time for a clearout. It might be all the extra ‘stuff’ that comes into our lives over Christmas, it might be that urge to make everything look fresh and clean after the house has been undecorated after the festivities, it might be a hopeful look ahead to Spring. Whatever it is, I want to edit. In doing so I know that I will also miraculously edit my mind, and goodness knows it needs it with so much swirling around lately! And if I make some money in the process, then hello new adventures!
And so begins the sorting. You have probably heard of Marie Kondo’s bestselling book The life-changing magic of tidying. It’s a bestseller for a reason. The MariKon method is simple but genius. I read it when it first came out, and have rolled my tights and t-shirts ever since. From many years spent in Japan I know how space is at a premium, and as a result their storage solutions are many. But the difference with Marie Kondo is that she focused on reducing the amount of stuff, and keeping only what you really need, or what ‘sparks joy’. So it’s OK to keep that one pink tea cosy that your grandma knitted you when you got your first house, even if you always make your tea in a cup. But in doing so, by allowing yourself to cling onto one or two precious things, you are able to let go many other things that you don’t need or even really want.
I do my sorting in batches, one room at a time. And if there is a lot to sort, then one corner at a time. I am ruthless these days. I have five piles:
(1) Sell it on Gumtree/CraigsList/eBay or to independent shops
(2) Give it to a friend (but only if they really want it)
(3) Give it to charity
(4) Recycle it
(5) Keep it
Last chance to join our life-changing e-course Do What You Love (Starts today!)
One of the best parts of my job is guiding people through the Do What You Love e-course journey, because I see them cracking open, unfolding and growing in front of my eyes.
I see people grow in confidence, make bold moves, discover new things about themselves.
They get a ton of ideas for getting paid to do what they love, and put together real plans for moving forward.
Crucially they reorganise their lives around what really matters to them, so they can do more of what they love every single day.
This is the ninth time we have run this course and the results continue to astound us. Just recently one of our course graduates said,
“I can’t believe it’s nearly a year that’s flown by since we took the course and how far I’ve come; physically, emotionally, personally and professionally.”
This is why we do what we do, and I why I started Do What You Love in the first place.
Class begins today, and this will be the last time we run it until the end of 2016 (because I’ll be working on a very exciting project which I will share shortly…)
CLICK HERE to register and begin your journey of self-discovery to find out how to do what you love, every day.
Hope to see you in class for a transformational experience to remember!
Beth
Broken your new year’s resolutions already? Here are 8 smart ways to get back on track
Apparently more than 25% of us who made new year’s resolutions will already have broken them, due to a scientific phenomenon called ‘False Hope Syndrome’. I think that might be just about the most depressing name for a syndrome I have ever heard! Anyway, if you are one of them, don’t worry. We’ve put together eight smart ways to get back on track. (Number 3 is a quirky favourite). Let us know how you get on!
1 Take a deep breath, make yourself a nice cup of tea and say, “It’s OK, each day is a new chance to start again. So let’s start again, starting today.”
Just like that. Simple. Beating yourself up gets you nowhere. And anyway, what does it matter that you missed a day of doing X or not doing Y. The most important thing is sticking to it most of the time.
2 Track your progress.
Find a way to focus on what you DID do, rather than what you didn’t. I have started running again, having not run more than a couple of times in two years. I really don’t like the bit that involves achy muscles, but I love the feeling of being free in the fresh air. I have a cool run tracking app on my phone which tells me when I have done a personal best, and makes me feel proud even if I just ran around the blog. There are several out there including Runkeeper, Mapmyrun, Strava, Endomondo and Nike+ running.
3 Forget about regular January 1 New Year and go for Chinese New Year instead.
This falls on February 8, so you have plenty of time to make plans, make space and commit. 2016 is the year of the Monkey. To be more specific, it’s the year of the Red Fire Monkey. Traditionally Chinese New Year was held before farm work began again, and was a time of preparation for the year ahead. Sounds good to us, and we always like an excuse to eat some tasty Oriental dumplings.
4 Make better resolutions.
I mean ones that are in the context of doing what you love, not goals in a vacuum. If you need help with this try our free New Year’s Revolution toolkit.
5 Remind yourself that change takes time, and commitment, and baby steps.
Overnight successes don’t really happen overnight. So get clear on the changes you want to make, but be realistic about how you are actually going to make them happen. If you need help with this try our free L.E.A.P. 10-day mini-course on taking action
6 Be less extreme.
Quitting something altogether is a bold move, but is an awful lot harder than cutting back, or cutting something out slowly. (But if you really want to be bold, go for it. The stakes are higher, but so are the rewards. And if it doesn’t work out, try again. You might like this piece from Forum for the Future on how to make success out of failure.)
7 Make a conscious effort to change the patterns in your day that put you in the way of temptation.
If your resolution is to do with eating less cakes, take a different walk home so you don’t walk past the cake shop etc. It’s obvious, but one of those things we so often forget to do!
8 Join us for the Do What You Love e-course starting next Monday, where you will be part of a community of people from all over the world, carving out their personal path towards doing what they love at work, and in the rest of their life.
If you are looking for a new direction, want a new challenge or feel like it’s time you took control of your life again, this is the course for you. I am hands on during this five week course, and am there for you every step of the way. Here’s a short video about the course if you want to know more:
You can still register here but hurry, class begins on Monday January 18! (Note: This is the last time this class will run until late 2016).
Be kind to yourself this year!
Beth and team
Happy L.E.A.P. year! Free mini e-course to kick start your year!
Happy new year! In case you hadn’t noticed, 2016 isn’t just any year, it’s a Leap Year, so it’s extra special.
These days we all complain about not having enough time to do the things we want, but as this is a leap year we all have a whole extra day to play with, and we can use the concept of ‘leaping’ to inspire us all year long. What will you do with your 2016?
Now the new year is here and things already feel different. Calmer, more relaxed, full of promise. Personally I have a major change to make this year, from business owner to writer (more on that soon I promise, it’s very exciting!) Given the time of year, I am sure you have also been thinking about changes you can make in your life. Well I have some good news for you my friend…
To help you make the most of it, and commit to at least one important change, we have designed a 10-part mini e-course called L.E.A.P. to help you find the courage, dedication and focus to make a major leap this year. It is FREE – our gift to you as we begin this new year. I hope it will help you get your closer to doing what you love, for life. Sign up here and begin today!
What’s it all about?
In this very simple FREE ten-part mini course, we offer you a fun new way to make any kind of important change in your life. This could be something small but important, like a new way of nourishing yourself, or something major like quitting your job and changing career. Sometimes we can get so caught up with thinking about the thing we want to change, and so hung up on what might happen if we make the change, that we go round and round in circles and never actually get anywhere. (Sound familiar? We’ve all been there!) This mini series offers you a whole new perspective—or set of lenses—through which to view your opportunity and make decisions to help you make that change, whatever it may be. Try it, it might just work for you!
How it works
Once you have registered here, each day for ten days we will send you a short email introducing the next step in the process. Each day will focus on a different ‘career’ to use as your lens through which to view the opportunity and challenges. So for example, day one is all about seeing your challenge through the eyes of a doctor (not suggesting you consider becoming a doctor, but rather considering the qualities and characteristics of a doctor, and how they might approach a given problem).
Each day you will be given details of the step you are on, a new lens through which to view your challenge or the change you want to make, and a simple exercise to do, or question to answer, to help you move forward. By the end of the ten days you should have made a major psychological shift towards making a specific change in your life, and hopefully will have taken action in the right direction.
Sound good? Sign up now and begin today. It’s free, so what are you waiting for?
I am using this very course to make my own big change—from happy blogger to professional writer—and I cannot wait to see what change you decide to commit to with L.E.A.P. Be sure to let me know on Facebook or Twitter!
Happy leaping, and a very happy 2016,
Beth and the DWYL team
PS Still not spent any time looking back over the past year and designing your ideal 2016? Our free toolkit New Year’s Revolution is fully updated for 2016 and waiting for you to download now. Mr K and I spent several happy hours in a coffee shop working through it together, and it has become the basis for all we plan to focus on in 2016.
PPS If you feel like you need a real helping hand with making major shifts this year, finding your passion and strategising how to do what you love every day, join us for the next Do What You Love e-course. The course begins on January 18, and won’t run again until the end of the year, so if you want a structured five week programme to help you make major changes this year, don’t miss it. Register here.
Happy New Year! Make this the year you do what you love
What is it you really want? The courage to start a new career? The time to pursue passions and hobbies? The freedom to travel and have big adventures? Or simply to “feel differently” about your life, just as it is? All of those wants — and so many others — stem from one big desire… The desire to do what you love.
And if that’s what you want, you’ve arrived in the best possible place you can be. This is your launchpad — and this is your community. And the Do What You Love e-course might just change your life.
Do What You Love is about re-opening doors that you thought were locked shut… re-opening possibilities that you thought were long gone… and illuminating possibilities you never knew existed.
If you find yourself thinking things like: “I can’t afford to _______” … or “I’m too old to _______” … or “I’m going to need years of training before I can _______” … or “It’s just not realistic for me to _______”… or “But what if ______”, Do What You Love will show you that all of your options are still open, no matter what your current circumstances and responsibilities may be.
Inside this course possibility is your new reality.
Make this year the year you start doing what you love. Find out more or register HERE.
What are you celebrating today?
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HOW TO BE HAPPY (AND CALM, ORGANIZED + FOCUSED)
If you are caught up in the busy-ness, exhausted, feeling the stress and wanting some respite from the noise, this eight week course will be a tonic for you. ‘How to be Happy (Calm, Organized + Focused)’ will give you the clarity and quiet confidence you need to give wings to your dreams. It will help you ‘sort your life out’ before you actually sort your life out and show you how to get what you really want, with ease.
You’ll find more information or register on the next course HERE.
What does living a simple life mean to you?
“Joy is in the detail… the spice in your egg nog, grass sparkling with frost. There is happiness in moments – of quiet by the tree, in a distant peal of bells. Acts of kindness capture it; family traditions preserve it. Savour it your own way, perhaps curled up on the sofa, making decorations or stepping out in the wintry air. Christmas is complete when you celebrate the simple things.” ~ The Simple Things magazine, December ’14
If you’d love to make life simpler in 2016, don’t just make yet another New Year’s resolution, start a revolution!
Our fabulous FREE resource, ‘New Year’s Revolution‘, is a practical kit to help you make 2016 the year you do what you love. Our 24-page PDF will help you extract the good from 2015, look ahead and shape your 2016 into the year you want it to be. It includes a powerful technique to help you make positive life changes to turn your dreams into reality, and make your ideas happen. Download your copy for free here and be inspired.
Your free 2016 New Year’s Revolution kit is here!
With the holidays rapidly approaching it’s easy to get caught up in all the busyness and festivities, and before you know it, the new year will be here. Take a few moments for yourself, before things get too hectic, to reflect on 2015 and plan ahead for 2016 to make it amazing. Our wildly popular resource ‘New Year’s Revolution’ kit is back, and it’s still free! You can download your copy here.
‘New Year’s Revolution: A practical kit to help you make 2016 the year you do what you love’ is a FREE 24-page PDF to help you extract the good from 2015, look ahead and shape your 2016 into the year you want it to be. It includes a powerful technique to help you make dreams into reality, and make your ideas happen.
Doing what you love doesn’t happen overnight. It is an attitude, and a way of life, and it takes courage and boldness to make the tough decisions which let you get there. It also takes thought and planning, so we have created this special gift to help you on your way. Thousands of people like you have used this resource for meaningful planning and visioning.
Don’t make yet another New Year’s resolution, start a revolution!
**UPDATE: YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION OF NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION FOR 2017 HERE.**
How to start living a fear-free life
Today’s post is from our Senior Editor, Rachel Kempton
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” ~ Nelson Mandela
If we could wave a magic wand and remove all your fears – every single one of them – how different would your life be? What would you do?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot since my grandpa got ill. At the ripe old age of 88 he might be frail and suffering with a brain tumour, but as he looks back on his life, he’s as positive as ever about the amazing experiences he’s had and the valuable lessons he’s learnt along the way. He talks with so much passion and pride about his adventures, for example: how he rose through the ranks to become Captain in the army and took big risks for high rewards in business; how he travelled the world and bought a 27ft yacht which he sailed around Holland, and how he taught himself to play the piano and he even wrote a book about his experiences so our family have a record of the life and times enjoyed by his generation. “I’ve had the most wonderful life,” he always says, “I’ve no regrets. None whatsoever.”
Self published: my grandpa’s book. He always says ‘life’s not bad’ – it’s his way of saying ‘life is wonderful’
It must feel amazing to be able to look back at your life and know that you have achieved everything you wanted to. You must feel immense satisfaction and inner peace knowing that regardless of how scared you might have felt, or how worried you were about the impact of your choices, you were brave enough to follow your dreams and live the life you imagined.
As John Lennon puts it: “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
Fear can be a good thing – if we choose to see it that way
It doesn’t matter whether you are a first-time parent, an aspiring traveller or a seasoned athlete, every single one of us is afraid of something. Fear is a tricky emotion. It can paralyze you. It can keep you from your dreams. It can keep you small, safe and comfortable. At yet, in just the right doses, it can also be your friend.
Or fears can be our greatest source of power, our biggest motivation and our best teachers. What they need is love. Fear only grows when you let it consume you and that usually happens when we forget how helpful it is trying to be. Ultimately, fear really does want the best for us, no matter how irrational it may seem.
Embrace the four Cs
- Clarity: Of course it’s only natural that we want to deny, run from and ignore the things that scare us, but the first step in dealing with fear is to recognize that it is inevitable. Keep a clear and objective mind and it is possible to move through fear and overcome it. Just stay focused on what you want to achieve, and what you’re doing to get there.
- Choice: when you choose to make friends with fear you open yourself up to a whole new world of possibility. Think about all the fantastic opportunities that could come your way if you can find the courage to expand your horizons.
- Confidence: it may take a huge amount of strength, but when it comes to facing your fears it helps to be in the know. Preparing in advance – whether it be with information, physical training, psychological help and support, or by improving your skills or level of experience – will help you keep your cool and maintain a sense of control when the going gets tough.
- Character building: remember that we can only grow if we have the courage to challenge ourselves. When we face our fears we become better versions of ourselves.
As you face your fears and increase your freedom and happiness by allowing your dreams to become a reality, the good life is inevitable. So ask yourself this: what would I do today, if I were brave?
Need more inspiration? We love these books about bravery…
- Achieving The Impossible by Lewis Gordon Pugh
- Brave by Disney Pixar (read-along storybook)
- Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
- Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting: The Power of Positive Feelings by Lynn Grabhorn
- Fear – Essential Wisdom For Getting Through The Storm by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers
- F**k it the ultimate spiritual way by John C Parkin
- Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
- Mad, Bad and Dangerous To Know by Ranulph Fiennes
- On Becoming Fearless… in Love, Work, and Life by Arianna Huffington
- Rising strong by Brené Brown
- The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
- The Fear Cure by Lissa Rankin
- What’s Stopping You? Why Smart People Don’t Always Reach Their Potential and How You Can by Robert Kelsey