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Huge news! On becoming a Hay House author (somebody pinch me!)

Huge news! On becoming a Hay House author (somebody pinch me!) dwylhq1

Some days are really big days, and I just had one of them. It was the day I signed a deal with Hay House, for them to publish my first book! It is a book about freedom, written for anyone who feels trapped, stuck, hemmed in—not in control of their own time, money, or destiny. It is for people who are afraid that life is passing them by, but feel powerless to do anything about it. It is a timely self-empowerment manifesto: an inspiring and practical manual that will enable people to recognise that freedom is a choice. I am busy writing it now and cannot wait for it to be released worldwide in Spring 2017!

Hang on a minute. Let’s just rewind. Did someone just say I’m going to be a Hay House author? Am I dreaming? It certainly feels that way right now, because this is not just something on my ‘Do Before I’m 40 Bucket List’, but something I have been dreaming of for many years.

In case you’re curious about how it came about, I’ll share the story here. I warn you, this is going to be a long post, because I want to share all the pieces of how this particular dream has unfolded. So get yourself a nice cup of tea and we’ll begin… (Note: I would love for you to help me bring this book to life. Right at the end of this post there’s some info on how to get involved!)

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Why reading is making me happy + download your own Happy List for FREE

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This is a post by our Senior Editor, Rachel Kempton

One of the (many!) great things I’ve resolved to do in 2016 is to spend more time doing things that make me happy – like reading. I love reading and my shelves are overflowing with books that are all begging to be read. So I’ve set myself a challenge: to read a book a week, every week, for a year. As well as increasing my knowledge, giving my brain a good daily work out and opening my mind to new thoughts and ideas, I hope that priorising my passion for books will inspire me to work on improving all aspects of my life. What’s more by 31 December I’ll have read 52 books – what a great feeling that will be!

I’m only a few weeks in and I’m already reaping the benefits of burying my head in a good book for half an hour a day:

  • I look forward to that little bit of me-time I carve out for myself each day
  • It feels like a really productive use of my time – unlike watching TV or surfing online
  • It helps me to switch off
  • Reading before bed is helping me to sleep better
  • Finishing a book is satisfying and that feeling of finishing things is motivating me to develop a habit of completion – in all other areas of my life
  • Deciding what to read next is fun
  • It’s a great way to learn more about my hobbies, interests, and passions
  • Now I’m in the flow of reading, I’m excited about stepping out of my comfort zone and trying other genres/styles

I love this image about the benefits of reading by designer Raphael Lysander which includes some fascinating statistics on how reading can help with stress relief, mental skill development, and forming relationships, etc.

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During January I was reading:

  • Finding Your Element by Ken Robinson: a great source of help, advice and motivation if you’re pushing through the daily grind, lack passion for what you do, or are wondering how you can start doing what you love.
  • Walking on Sunshine. 52 small steps to happiness by Rachel Kelly: inspired by Rachel’s own life experiences this little book is bursting with tips, tools and positive thoughts to help you better manage the pressures of everyday life.
  • The Artist’s Way for Parents: Raising Creative Children by Julia Cameron: this book is packed with practical advice and is a great reminder that by taking time (even little moments) to nurture our own creativity we cultivate joy in our  own lives, which we can then share with, and model for, our children.
  • F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin, who suggests that saying F**k It is the perfect Western expression of the Eastern spiritual concept of letting go, giving up, and finding real freedom by realising that things don’t matter so much (if at all).

What’s next? The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, which promises that I’m “about to discover how I can create the most extraordinary life I’ve ever imagined… right now.” Watch this space!

This month I’m especially grateful for these fascinating books which have taught me so much, and to the inspiring authors who wrote them. I’m also grateful to my husband who’s doing the book challenge too – keeping us both motivated – and to my sister, Lisa, who, on hearing about my challenge, sent me dozens of pictures of her bookcase and suggested we swap some books. All these things are on my Happy List.

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“Be grateful for what you have now. As you begin to think about all the things in your life you are grateful for, you will be amazed at the never ending thoughts that come back to you of more things to be grateful for. You have to make a start, and then the law of attraction will receive those grateful thoughts and give you more just like them.” ~ Rhonda Byrne, The Secret

What is on your Happy List this year?

If you want to take more notice of the things that make you happy in the months ahead, download our Happy List – it’s completely free, and it’s a simple interactive PDF which allows you to note one thing every day that you are grateful for. Thousands of people used it last year and really enjoyed noticing the small and big things, and having a record to look back on. You can get yours here.

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Download a low res version of The Happy List here.

Download a high res version of The Happy List here.

Last chance to join our life-changing e-course Do What You Love (Starts today!)

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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

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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…

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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

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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.

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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

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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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You can download a high res version of this to print here.

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.

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You’ll find more information or register on the next course HERE.

What does living a simple life mean to you?

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“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.

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Your free 2016 New Year’s Revolution kit is here!

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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.**

Christmas for free! Join our experiment in giving and receiving

Image credit BHS

Image credit: BHS

It’s Beth here, easing my way back into things after four months of maternity leave. I have so much to share with you from that time, which has seen us welcome a new baby into the world, move house and work on some exciting plans, but I’ll save all that for the coming weeks (once I have caught up on some sleep…)

For now I want to say a huge thank you for all your kind words when Maia arrived. She is an angel baby who has melted our hearts.

I also want to invite you to be part of an experiment.

To Mr K’s dismay, the Christmas carols went on today. I know it’s only November, but I love Christmas, and in my eyes the longer I can eat mince pies, listen to ‘Silent night’ and dream of snow the better. I have been talking to members of my family about this Christmas, trying to find ways to make it special without spending a fortune. Besides the seasonal celebrations we have four birthdays and two wedding anniversaries in our immediate family, and December becomes a never-ending stream of gift exchanges. My sister-in-law suggested we give each other ‘free presents’, and I loved the idea at once.

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Why meditation can help you do more of what you love

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Meditation is an ancient practice that encourages us to take responsibility for our own state of mind, and change it for the better, in order in order to transform ourselves and experience inner peace in the midst of worldly chaos.

Meditation brings many benefits. As well as helping us to relax and de-stress, it can boost concentration, increase self-awareness, improve health and wellbeing, slow the ageing process, and make us feel happier. It can also help us figure out answers to questions or decide which path to take whenever we find ourselves at a crossroads in life; something that happens, as if by magic, when when we open ourselves up to the universe and allow ourselves to be guided by intuition – the quiet voice within.

When we go enter deep meditation we find ourselves in a space of infinite possibilities, infinite correlation, infinite creativity, infinite imagination, and infinite power of intention. It’s from this space of freedom, clarity and inner wisdom that we gain valuable insights and discover solutions to the issues bubbling to the surface of our consciousness.

Just sit for a few minutes each day with yourself, with no distractions. See what comes up in your mind, try to quiet your mind, and then see what comes up again.

What is your inner voice saying?