Tag Archives: success

It’s Your Season, It’s Your Purpose

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iGnite - living with purpose

Point to Ponder:
Do you struggle with defining or finding your purpose, feel confused about your life, or feel fearful that there isn’t enough time left to do what you want to do?

by Neissa Brown Springmann

by Neissa Brown Springmann

Since moving to San Diego, my life has drastically changed and taken a 180 degree turn. I do not yet have any friends here, and except for taking Durant and Malaine to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and tending to my iGnite responsibilities and duties from afar, I don’t have any commitments either. I won’t lie, when talking to the iGnite leaders, family, and friends and occasionally peeking at Facebook and Instagram, I experience bittersweet emotions. It stinks to be on the outside looking in, missing out and not able to take part in what I’ve created in iGnite in Austin. I have also experienced extreme withdrawals from my addictions: the “being busy addiction,” “having places to go addiction,” and the “feeling needed and wanted” addiction. There are times when my ego screams so loud that I find myself taken over with feelings of inadequacy and the desire to busy myself just so I can feel important and accomplished again. Then, finally, it dawned on me that not only was my evil ego in my way, but what I was really struggling with the most was my purpose.

With the help of Martha Lynn Mangum, iGnite member and business coach, reminding me that our society inundates women with the destructive message that if we aren’t working 60 hours a week, involved in a million organizations, committed to regularly volunteering, acting as the home-room mom, and only taking two-weeks of maternity leave, or just tending to our own or our family’s and community’s needs, that we aren’t enough. Pu-lease! Don’t get me wrong, I believe in having a passion and purpose outside of our family, but not at the expense of jeopardizing our marriages, not being a present mom to our children and neglecting our relationships. Looking back, while living in Austin I definitely tip-toed into those zones and was drinking the toxic Kool-Aid. This is my destructive tendency, and I have to consistently check myself to make sure I am being counter-culture.

It has been a very long time since I have wondered about my purpose. While living in Austin, my family, friends and iGnite were absolutely my purpose and they kept my heart pumping fast and hard. Originally, I thought starting iGnite in San Diego would be my first purpose-filled project, but now I’m not so sure about that. For now, I’m declaring that I am on a prayerful, peaceful, intentional purpose-finding mission project. I’ve narrowed my purpose down to:

  1. Learning how to become a fully-attentive, loving and supportive wife to Russell (which is hard to admit because of my strong will, pride and independence)
  2. Appreciating this colorful and unique time I have with our preschool-age children and being a fully attentive and fun mother.
  3. Remotely supporting and leading the iGnite team, the iGnite members and our efforts to iGnite Austin and impact, inspire and empower every woman to live a healthy and purpose-filled life.
  4. Taking the time to get on my knees everyday and pray for myself, my family, my friends, iGnite and anyone I know who is in need of prayers or who I told I would pray for them. While I am a faithful person, embarrassingly my prayer life has been pathetic, and I’m tired of being lip-service only. Please let me know if and how I can pray for you. Seriously!
  5. Becoming involved with our church, The Rock, and serving the San Diego community.

I must confess that while I’m feeling content with my new purpose in San Diego, there is sooooo much I want to do in my life! For example, I want to write a book, I want to be on the speaking circuit and I want to grow iGnite so that women all over the world can iGnite in a positive and inspiring community. I wanna, wanna, wanna! And with that said, I get nervous and afraid that I am going to miss my opportunity, run out of time and miss out. But, thankfully, for the first time in my life, I found a Bible translation that I can actually understand called The Voice, and it’s teaching me about patience. Even though Adam, Pharrell, Gwen and Blake aren’t quoted in it, I have learned so much! One of the things that has been glaring is how late in life God uses people. Of course he uses children, like when He used David to defeat Goliath when David was only a teenager, but for example, Noah, Abraham, Sarai (Abraham’s wife) were waaaay past their “prime,” or what we today consider our “prime.” Granted, people back then lived longer, but by human standards, they were still considered old, and they fulfilled God’s purpose for them much later in life.

I recently watched a special on television called Try, Try Again where John Stossell chronicled the lives of great inventors and authors who not only failed before having success, but were also “past their prime” before having any success and fulfilling their purpose. Just to name a couple: Julia Child was 50 before writing her first cookbook, and Harland Sanders (a.k.a Colonel Sanders) franchised his first Kentucky Fried Chicken at age 62.

All in all, I write this journal not to go off about my personal purpose journey, but rather to encourage anyone who is struggling with defining or finding their purpose, feeling confused about their life, or fearful that there isn’t enough time. For sure we all sometimes feel a sense of urgency because we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow, but fear cannot be the reason why we do or don’t take action. Instead, remember that there is a season in life for everything and that our purpose can evolve, morph and even change. Sometimes we’re in a season of action, and other times we’re in a season of self-reflection, contemplation and quiet. Regardless of the season you find yourself in now, when you weave in prayer and intention, you will without a doubt be led down the right path and your fruit will be ripe.

Action Item:
Remember there is a season in life for everything and that your purpose can evolve, morph and change over time. Approach your season of life with prayer and intention.

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Do You Believe In You?

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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

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.

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Persist to Achieve

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We’re entering our 4th week of January & are pacing ourselves for positive long-term & permanent change. Maybe this is a breeze for you, or maybe you’re struggling. Either way, we’re in this together & we’re walking along-side you. In this week’s video, motivational speaker and life coach Tony Robbins provides valuable insight into how to make our positive changes STICK. As you watch, ponder your “why” & next week we’ll put pen to paper & make this thing HAPPEN!

Video not working? Watch it here on YouTube.

Don’t have 10 minutes to watch?  A few of our favorite points from Tony’s talk:

Statistics show that 90% of people who made a new year’s resolution have already broken it by January 15th!

There’s something inside of us that makes us want to make things better.

Getting things is not going to make you happy…the secret to real happiness is progress. If we can make progress on a regular basis, we feel alive.

You don’t have to work on changing… everything in life is always changing. Change in life is automatic, but progress is not. You have to work at it.

The first step for lasting change is have a vision. A vision for what you really want…what excites you…it has to be a compelling vision, not something that you have to push yourself to do.  You’ve got to have strong enough reasons that you’re going to keep going when the going gets tough.

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The Third Metric

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How do you define success?

by Pam Owens

by Pam Owens

I’ve been successful. That kind of “check the box” successful.  I’ve always been a pretty good student, excelled in college and graduated with a perfect GPA from graduate school while working three jobs —  one that had me traveling 40% of the time. I married the best guy ever who I grew up with and met in church, and launched a successful business that has sustained for years. We built a home, had two amazing children, are the first line of support to our aging parents and volunteer in the community.

Check, check, check!  I’ve checked all of the boxes. I did it “right” and in the “right” order. The problem was, I was not present for any of those activities. I was a spectator in my own life, and my definition of success (the one that society has truly thrust on all of us) had me fooled.

Then I realized that if I was going to get it right for the next quarter of my life, I had to enter into the third metric. Simply put: I had to redefine what success and well-being looked like for me. What about you? How do you “show up” everyday? Still checking those boxes? Come to the Intentional Renewal Retreat and figure your true definition of success… and walk away changed.

— — — — —

Pam OwensPam Owens is President and CEO at Edge of Your Seat Consulting, Inc. and is a featured speaker at iGnite’s Intentional Renewal wellness retreat in February 2014.  Back by popular demand, Pam’s authentic, passionate and hysterical take on life is something all women can benefit from. As a wife, mother of two, business owner and speaker, Pam understands the importance of taking the necessary time each day to nurture oneself so you can be your best.   Known for her no-nonsense communication style, Pam has toured the U.S. for the last 16 years delivering customized training, strategic planning, fundraising consulting, keynote speaking and executive coaching for corporate clients, school districts, non-profits, higher education institutions, religious entities, and small businesses.  Join us at the Intentional Renewal Retreat and learn more about putting the “third metric” into practice in your life.

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Do You Get in Your Own Way?

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Jane F. skiing like a pro at Lake Escape class

The only thing standing between you and your goals is the B.S. story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it!

WOWZA! Did the quote hit you between the eyes like it did ours? It’s so true!  We determine our success, which is directly related to our attitudes and beliefs about ourselves.  Don’t limit yourself, judge what you want or worry what others think.  Make up your mind and GO FOR IT!  Goals always turn out better than you imagined- much like the kid in the video below.  I am sure the flip was a goal of his, but not the outcome! SO COOL!

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Who are you going to share your goals with? 

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What’s Your Monkey Bar?

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“First tell yourself what you want to be, then do what you need to do.”
– Epictetus

Action Item:
Set a goal, back it with objectives, then support it with action, practice and positive reinforcement (and let others support you!).

by Cary Fyfe

by Cary Fyfe

The quote and action sound simple, right? At first glance — yes, then when we move forward with the goal in mind, we get tripped up. It’s so easy to dream big and set goals, but not so easy to accomplish them. Why is that? A million reasons like: “I ran out of time,” “I don’t have the resources,” “I don’t have the strength,” “my life is too scattered,” etc. All true, but only if we set our sights on the goal, then neglect to engage in the small steps that enable us to reach the goal. And what are those small steps? Find them in this story about CK, a 4 year-old preschool student of mine:

CK stands alone on the playground, nestled into a shady spot beside the monkey bars. She seems unaware of the gleeful sounds of play surrounding her; she ignores her friends’ requests for her to join. I look toward the object of her thoughtful gaze, and she is intently watching a playmate guide her seemingly effortless way across the monkey bars – back and forth, over and over – reach, grab, dangle, swing, reach again…a natural and unselfconscious dance for this four-year-old peer. She continues to watch, then sees me and slowly approaches, something clearly on her mind.

“I want to do that.” She points to her swinging friend. “…but I can’t” she adds.

I reach for her hand and we walk together to the monkey bars. Together, we survey the ladder — up to the launch, the length of the bars to the ladder on the other side, and the length between the bars. We talk about how the metal is hard on sweet, innocent palms, of how it’s hard to maintain a strong grip.

“What CAN you do on the monkey bars?” I ask. Without answering, she shows me as she climbs the short ladder, affirms her safe stance, reaches for the first bar with one hand, then the other, then turns to look at me again. Where moments before there had been a look aglow with possibilities there is now a cloud, casting a shadow of self-doubt across her face. I smile and urge her forward with a nod, she turns again to the bars, and with the twinkle returning to her now determined focus, she reaches one hand out, then the other, and drops her feet from the ladder. She swings – I will her to hold on. The earlier shadow crosses her face again – I tense every muscle in my body as if that would be the force that enables her to stay aloft. And with my smiles and the excited hurrays of her friends who are now cheering her on, she breaks her personal record for holding that first bar, then moves ahead by reaching out for the second. Does she make it the first time? No. And not the second or third either, but she is now clear about her goal: she is going to cross the monkey bars. She now knows her objectives: to hold on to one monkey bar and swing, to reach for the next bar and repeat, to continue this practice until her goal is reached. Her support when she loses faith? The encouragement of her friends and her teacher, the inspiration of her peers doing what she so badly wants to be able to do, her growing strength from practicing and experiencing small successes.

And she moves toward this goal by doing just that – she practices. And even in her four-year-old world, there are roadblocks. It rains the next day and we don’t make it to the playground. She chooses to play chase with friends over monkey bar practice every now and again. She gets a blister and has to rest for a few days. But in time, she makes it across, and when she does, there is cause for celebration like nothing has ever been celebrated before in her short life. And it is a golden moment, one that launches her towards her next goal: to cross back over again.

So, what’s your ‘monkey bar?’  In other words, what goal/goals are you striving toward? Whether physical, mental or spiritual, this week is our week to allow ourselves to revisit the simplicity of moving forward with our goals and desires, which will move us closer to living our legacy. Therefore, set a goal or goals. Back it up with specific, reasonable objectives that enable you to move towards accomplishing that desired behavior. Then actively practice those objectives in your daily life – again, even in the tiniest ways. Find support and encouragement by surrounding yourself with supportive people, or positive and inspiring readings or situations. You can also share your goal someone who is happy to nudge you gently forward, as you see fit.

“First tell yourself what you want to be, then do what you need to do,” and we will continually celebrate together and for each other like no one has ever celebrated before!

Point to Ponder:
What is something difficult you would like to accomplish this summer, but don’t know how you will make it happen?

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How to Become Your Personal Best

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Get Out There and Be Amazing

“Strive to be better. Strive to be more. Strive to be amazing!” Anonymous

About Neissa

by Neissa Springmann

Several years ago while working with a business coach, I was warned that as long as I was striving for both personal and professional growth it was likely that some of my relationships would shift. At first, the coach’s comment startled me, as I couldn’t imagine my life without my current (at the time) friendships. However, what she was really referring to, was that if I was committed to my being my best both personally and professionally, inevitably the law of attraction would come in to play and my relationships would change.

Then, not too long after, I read something similar in a book called The Slight Edge. Author Jeff Olson suggests that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. This concept, while simple, is brilliant and forced me to contemplate exactly what I wanted my life to resemble. Between my marriage, profession, friendships, parenting, health, and spirituality, I realized that I needed to seek mentors and role models that have what I strive to become and attain. Therefore, I would need to spend as much time learning and absorbing wisdom from them as possible.

This concept is no different than what our parents cautioned us when they said, “we are the company we keep.”  I’ve always found it interesting that life’s wisdom and lessons don’t end after high school or college. Rather, we often get busy and forget that growth and becoming our best is something we must always pursue, or else our marriage, friendships, profession, health, spirituality and parenting skills (and more) become stagnant. In other words, we miss out on reaching our fullest potential, becoming the people we are created to be and pass up the greatness that life has to offer us and we have to offer life!

Finally, I read a fantastic article by Brenton Weyi. In it, Brenton suggests that in order to be our very best and be amazing, we must remember the following:

No one does it alone, i.e. it takes a village.

And, we must have three essential people in our lives at all times:

  1. A person who is older and more successful than you to learn from
  2. A person who is equal to you to exchange ideas with
  3. A person you can mentor and keep you energized

So, what do you say? Are you ready to stretch, grow and be amazing? If so, surround yourself with at least five other incredible people, become a mentor and begin your journey to becoming your best!

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Point To Ponder:
Are your close friends and relationships inhibiting your growth or are they a reflection of what your best life looks like?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Action Item:
Determine the areas in your life where you’d like to experience growth and positive change. Then, identify the people who have the amazing characteristics and life you wish to attain. Learn from them and model their behaviors.

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Don’t Break Your Chain

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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.

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Point To Ponder:

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

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Action Item:

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

To your health,

About Neissa

Neissa

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