Tag Archives: Darren Hardy

STOP: Pull Your Weeds!

Point to Ponder:
What weeds to you need to remove from your life in order to make your year all you hope it to be?

Neissa Springmann

In order to be our best and see our 2016 garden grow into what we want, hope and envision it to be, we first have to rid our 2015 gardens of the overgrown weeds. Similar to prepping your garden from one season to the next, in order to create space for the new and healthy vegetation to grow and blossom, the old and dead must go.

I learned this ‘Clean the Slate’ exercise from iGnite member and business coach, Martha Lynn Mangum, and much like celebrating our accomplishments, unexpected wins, successes and all that we are grateful for from 2015 (as we did last week), this exercise is part of the strategic and vital process of starting anew and getting the results we want.

Very much like pulling our 2015 garden weeds, another analogy that really resonates with me is one of a forest fire. As Darren Hardy of DarrenDaily (a daily motivational podcast), states, “A forest fire is a very powerful and important act of nature. This is how Mother Nature clears out the old to make room for the new. It removes it’s previously restricted limitations and helps reset the conditions so new life can form. While this process begins in difficulty, it gives the forest a fresh start. Soon new picturesque plant species are able to thrive since they no longer have to compete for the sun with the previously tall, dead trees that hoarded the sun. Glorious new trees are able to climb majestically to the sky because room has been made for it’s room to expand.”

Of course we have to remove physical, mental and emotional weeds in order move forward, see progress and experience the new outcomes we are hoping and working towards! And, of course we would never plant anything new and beautiful plant on top of a bed of weeds and unprepared soil… so why in the world would we set new goals and intentions before pulling our 2105 weeds first? We wouldn’t!…therefore before setting your new 2016 goals, you will need to pull the following 2015 weeds by identifying and writing down the following information:

What Disappointments did you experience?
Do you have any Regrets?
Are there Unfulfilled Expectations lying around?
Is there any Undelivered Communication that didn’t get dealt with? Acknowledge any communication you need to clean up with anyone. You don’t have to have an actual conversation, rather acknowledging that the communication was undelivered works to.
Do you have any Unfinished Business weighing you down? This can be goals you set out to accomplish but were unable to or have not achieved.

From something as simple as still needing to organize your office, the act of placing any disappointments, regrets, unfulfilled expectations, undelivered communication and unfinished business on paper will give your mind and spirit the capacity to evaluate exactly what you want to move forward with as well create new and fresh opportunities for yourself. Hang onto this information, especially your unfinished business because we’re going do something with it next week. It’s going to be a great year!

Action Item:
Identify and write down any dissappointments, regrets, unfulfilled expectations, undelivered communication and unfinished business left over from 2015. This action will give your mind and spirit the capacity to evaluate exactly what you want to move forward with as well as create new and fresh opportunities for yourself.

You May Also Like:

Do You Believe In You?

6 Replies

iGnite - You were created to do something great

Point to Ponder:
Do you realize you are here to do something great?

by Neissa Brown Springmann

As I’ve written about in past journals, my favorite magazine is SUCCESS. SUCCESS provides countless stories and tips for anyone striving for personal and professional success and wanting to become better. Darren Hardy is the publisher and founding editor and he also provides a free and daily motivational message called Darren Daily, which I love. His quick, interesting and inspiring message is sent every morning via text and email. Because I’m a motivation junky and don’t think you can ever have enough positive messaging in your life, I subscribe to his service. I don’t always listen to it, but when I do, the impact is far greater than the three minutes I spend listening to it. Most recently I was inspired and encouraged by Darren’s terrific message on the power of believing in yourself.

I wish I could say that I never lack belief in my abilities, both personally and professionally, but I definitely do at times. As a whole, I would venture to say that self-doubt, a lack of self-confidence and belief in ourselves is what prevents us from getting exactly what we want in and out of life. Whether it be the career we desire, a mutually respectful and loving relationship, or simply trying something that we’ve always wanted to try, it all starts with belief in oneself.

This certainly trickles down to our children, marriages, and really all of our relationships. Where, when, and if we doubt someone’s abilities, even if we don’t speak it, has a negative energy and can be physically felt. Belief or lack of believe has infinite effects. Can you imagine if from the day you were born you heard the words, “I believe in you!” Can you imagine the compound and staggering effects!? And what if we added the words, “I believe in you and I love you? You were created to do something great!” Can.you.imagine?! To speak in terms of last week’s journal, ‘It’s Time to Turn on Your Shine’, our shine would be on all of the time!

You may be thinking, “I never tell myself I don’t believe in myself,” but do you ever tell yourself that you do believe in yourself and that you were created to do something great? The heart knows what the brain is thinking, and vice versa. We can’t hide from our doubt or disbelief.

The words “I believe in you. You were created to do something great!” cannot be heard or told enough, and we must always speak them out loud and to ourselves everyday, in every circumstance, and in all situations. Then, we should also speak those words to everyone else — our spouses, people we are in relationship with, colleagues, children, friends, family members and strangers. My mind gets blown just thinking about the progress we would make and how much happier, healthier and satisfied our lives would be if we did this on a regular basis. To believe that a divine source, whom I believe is God, not only believes in us but also created every.single.one.of.us to do something great, would forever change the negative and limiting thoughts that we can have about ourselves and others.

Small children are fearless inspirations. They will try anything and they believe they can do everything. The picture above is of my four-year-old son, Durant, at Solona Beach on his boogie board. While his boogie board is sitting on the sand and not floating on the water, he believes he is surfing. I didn’t tell him otherwise, I just cheered him on.

This child-like and child-proof sense of belief is what we can never lose and can never stop instilling in others.

Action Item:
Regardless of the lies that someone in your childhood may have told you, you must always remember that you were created for greatness. The lies were about that person, not you, and the unfortunate lies that someone once told them. Don’t let someone else’s lies define you, your future or your family’s future. Instead, let the truth — that you were created to do something great & that you were created to shine — define you and your family’s future.

You May Also Like:

Spring Cleaning the Mental Garbage

4 Replies

“Tell yourself everything will work out, things will get better, you are important, you are worthy of great things, you are loveable, the time is now, this too shall pass, you can be who you really are, the best is yet to come, you are strong, you can do this!” – Doe Zantamata

Point to Ponder:
What stories have you bought?
What stories have you created and clung to as a way of excusing yourself from having the family, relationships, health, career, self- confidence, life you want, etc?

Action Item:
Decide what the new story is you’re going to tell yourself
about who you are and what you are capable of.

If you are like me, I really want a couple of days to completely dedicate to spring cleaning. The idea of clearing out the clutter and non-essentials that I have collected over the past year (or ten…) would be liberating and feel so good! But, of course the ability to dedicate several days to this task (which I would need) is almost impossible. Instead, I’ve made it a goal to clean a little each week. With that said, I also feel like I have collected negative and useless thoughts over time that aren’t true and don’t serve me, my family, my relationships, or my life. In other words, I’ve collected mental garbage that I need to purge and be done with!

Darren Hardy, the author and publisher of my favorite magazine Success, recently wrote an excellent article titled “The Stories We Tell Ourselves.” The article is heavy on physicality, but it can of course be related to everything we tell ourselves we can’t do — our excuses and even the lies we tell ourselves. So while we are spring cleaning our homes, what better time to focus on mental spring cleaning too. I actually think it’s equally as important, if not more important that the physical act of cleaning our homes.

THE STORIES WE TELL OURSELVES
by Darren Hardy

We are all excellent storytellers. We have a story for everything. We have a story for why we can’t lose weight, stick to our diets, jog, do pushups, get up early, eat healthy, exercise regularly and stay disciplined. Examples are:

“I’m big-boned.”
“It’s bad for my knees.”
“I don’t have time.”
“I’m too old.”
“It’s impossible when I travel.”
“I deserve a reward.”
“I have PMS.”
“It’s fat-free.”

Recently my friend Kerri told me a story she heard when she was six months into her pregnancy. She had gained a significant amount of weight (she was, after all, pregnant) and started to worry whether she could ever regain her previous figure. She called a mom-friend and asked, “What really happens with this baby weight after my son is born? Will it all go away?” Her friend replied, “Well, a woman once told me you keep 10 pounds per child.” Kerri nearly dropped the phone. The friend’s pronouncement deflated her hopes of returning to her pre-baby weight and shape.

Later that week, Kerri was at the spin studio where she takes fitness classes. Kerri related the 10-pounds-per-child story to Wendy, who also was there to work out. “That’s ridiculous!” Wendy exclaimed. “I’ve had seven children, so I should be 70 pounds overweight. That’s just an excuse—don’t buy that story.” Then Wendy added that “it won’t be easy or automatic, but with hard work and time, you can get your body back… and better.” This mother of seven was indeed in terrific shape, better than most who have never given birth. My friend decided to buy Wendy’s story instead of her other friend’s.

You know that the only thing keeping you from the body you want—the energy and vitality you want—are the stories you buy and retell yourself (and others).

RELATED ARTICLES:

Dodging Chicken Little

3 Replies

You Have So Much to be Thankful For

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into clarity, problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past…brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.
– Melodie Beattie

I find communication to be a fascinating and powerful tool. There’s no doubt that what we put into our minds is also what we give to the world, which affects every facet of our life. From television, movies, and magazines, to music, books and the conversations we engage in, they all create positive or negative programing, energy and outcomes. One example is the news. I enjoy being up to date on local, national and world news. I feel it’s my civic duty to be educated; however, when I listen or watch too much of it I find myself feeling and sounding more like Chicken Little than the optimistic and grateful person I strive to be. As a result, I put myself on a daily news budget and subscribe to as many encouraging communication outlets as possible.

As we all know and experience, there is no perfect life, as people and the world are not designed this way. However, our ability to wake up every morning, regardless of our current circumstances, and give thanks for what we have rather than focusing on what we want and don’t have, is the key to living a joyful and fulfilling life. Furthermore, there’s no doubt that ‘light attracts light’ and when we focus on light versus darkness, it invites light into our hearts, minds and lives.

As an effort to dodge Chicken Little or expand your current state of gratitude, I urge you to start off your week by answering the Gratitude Assessment questions below, provided by author and motivational speaker Darren Hardy. Then, place your answers in a location that can be seen throughout the day and week. There’s no doubt that if you take the time to fill out your Gratitude Assessment questions on a regular basis, your mindset and relationships will improve and your life will take a positive turn that will lead to better days, weeks, months, and years!

Gratitude Assessment

Three amazing people in my life are:

Three great things about my physical body are:

Three great things about my home and where I live are:

Three great things about where I work and what I do for a living are:

Three great gifts of unique talent and skill I have been given are:

Three great gifts of knowledge and experience I have been given are:

Three ways I have experienced “luck” in my life are:

Three ways in which my life is wealthy, abundant and prosperous are:

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Point To Ponder:
Which do you fixate more on and therefore allow your life to be most impacted by: thunderstorms or rainbows?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Action Item:
Fill out the Gratitude Assessment questions and stay focused on all of the good that fills your life.

To your health,

Neissa

Leave a Comment

Don’t Break Your Chain

3 Replies

Don't Break the Chain

It’s not about being the best. It’s about being better than you were yesterday.
– Unknown

A few weeks ago, an iGnite Member sent me a quote, which happens to be our quote-of-the-week. I thought it was a brilliant quote, as the pressure of being ‘the best’ is overwhelming, daunting, and requires a winner and loser. The idea of striving to be better everyday is personal and less competitive, making the goal much more achievable and enjoyable. At the time, I knew I wanted to incorporate the quote into a journal entry, but I wasn’t exactly sure how it would happen, as my intention is to let each entry grow organically and authentically. Sure enough, just as I was thinking about how I would use the quote, I ran across an article by Darren Hardy featuring Jerry Seinfield. This is what it said:

A young comic asked Jerry Seinfeld if he had any tips for him starting out as a comic. What he told the young comic would benefit him for a lifetime. Seinfeld told the comic that the way to be a better comic was to create better jokes. And the way to create better jokes was to write every day.
But his advice went further. He explained a technique that he uses to keep himself motivated, even when he doesn’t feel like it. Jerry explained the calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write. Here’s how it works:
He said, “Get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. Maybe somewhere your family can see or your office mates. The next step is to get a red magic marker. For each day you complete the task of writing, put a big red X over that day. After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.”
Seinfeld understands that daily action yields greater benefits than sitting down and trying to knock out 300 jokes in one day. This calendar system works because it visually reinforces us to stick with that consistent daily action. Skipping one day makes it easier to skip the next.

The visual of not breaking the chain resonates with me. Each consecutive day I don’t break my chain will allow me to be better than the day before, just as the quote states. In addition, every day that I take action towards my goal will strengthen my ability to be my best, and will build discipline and positive momentum for my goal and my life in general.

Honestly, I have not chosen my goal, habit, or positive action yet; however, I have come up with a multitude of positive actions that, if implemented everyday, would lead to incredible results. For example: drink 64 oz. of water a day, take my vitamins, tell my family I love them, write a note to a friend, exercise, pray, journal, get 7-9 hours of sleep each night, eat at home vs. eat out…

Literally, the list is infinite, but as Jerry suggests, “just choose one and purchase your wall calendar and a red magic marker.” Then, start your objective and don’t break your chain to being your best and better than you were yesterday.

————————-

Point To Ponder:

If implemented everyday, what habit, behavior or action would make the greatest impact on your life?

————————-

Action Item:

Determine your habit, behavior, or action. Then purchase your wall calendar, red marker and start your chain!

To your health,

Neissa

Leave a comment