Align

Drew’s Reminder,

      Align.  I’m sure you’ve heard that word used in multiple situations.  If you look up the word in the merriam-webster dictionary you will see the following definitions:

      - to arrange things so that they form a line or are in proper position

      - to change (something) so that it agrees with or matches something else

      - to join a group that is supporting or opposing something

The topic of this blog is focusing on the middle definition of agreeing with or matching something else.   

     Let me paint a picture to help dive into this topic.  In order to paint that picture I will need to create two fictional characters, John and Mary.  John and Mary are in the same situation in different companies. Both are in a job right now that they don’t like.  They have ambition to do something else, they need to make more money or they simply don’t like their boss.  Their desire is to change their situation and get a new job.  When I finish telling both of their stories I want you to let me know who is aligned with their desires.   

 

      John goes to work every day and is unhappy.  He gets his job done because he has to but deep down inside he’s just not happy being there.  He does what needs to be done and that’s it.  While he is at work he is constantly thinking about how he wished things would be.  His wishes he had a better job.  He wishes he made more money and is stressed about his current financial situation.  He wishes his boss wasn’t his boss anymore.  Is John aligned since he is wishing for the things he desires?  Hold on to your answer for a minute while I discuss Mary.

      Mary too desires a new job.  She too doesn’t like the situation she is in.  However Mary refuses to be unhappy.  Mary deep down knows that the situation is temporary.  She knows that not only can she do better but she will do better.  Mary has accepted the fact that she has another job; she’s just not in it yet.  Mary goes to work with a great attitude.  She’s not upset, she’s focused.  She gets her job done even if takes going above and beyond at times.  If her boss does something to upset her she acknowledges the dislike and moves on because she knows she won’t be there much longer.  She is grateful that she has her current job because it will help her in the next role.  Is Mary aligned with her desire for a new job?

     Now let’s discuss your answers to the questions.  Is John aligned to his desire for a new job? If your answer is yes then you are incorrect.  John is actually sabotaging his chances of getting a new job.  John is not aligned.  Getting a new job for John would be a great thing for him.  He would be happy in a new job.  He would excel in a new job that he liked.  He would go above and beyond in that job.  In order for him to be aligned he needs to have those same traits now.  He needs to be happy in his current job.  He needs to excel in his current job.  He needs to go above and beyond as necessary in his new job.  If he does all of those things he will be aligned.  Once he’s aligned with his desire he is one step closer to achieving it.  

     However, there may be a case when John does get a new job.  If he wasn’t aligned from the beginning then that new job stands of chance of missing something.  He may get into that new job that makes more money but his boss is worse than the last one.  He may get into that new job and hate the work life balance.  He may get into a new job that just isn’t challenging or fulfilling so he loses his ambition.

     Mary on the other hand is aligned to her desire.  She is sending out the right energy to attract everything that she wants.  She will be that person you know that we all call lucky.  In actuality she wasn’t lucky.  She created her own circumstances.  She attracted exactly what she needed which lead to her achieving her desire.  That recruiter that calls her out of the blue or that job that all of sudden comes open is not a matter of luck.  It’s a matter of being prepared and aligned to her desire.  We have been given a great gift of thought.  That gift allows us to create our own reality.  Our job is to trust that fact and focus on making sure we are aligned with what we want to create.

     I know there isn’t a silver bullet to solve every situation.  If there was we would all be using it.  The one think I do know is that your thoughts create your feelings, your feelings create your actions and your actions create your results.  That is why you need to align your thoughts and feelings to the results you desire.  If you do that you will take the right actions.  You may not see the direct correlation to every action and result.  You are supposed to.  Leave that to the universe, your creator, God or whatever you choose to call the omnipresent spirit of your life.  

      The next time you have a desire ask yourself how do you need to align to achieve that desire.  If you want to run your own business you need to align yourself to act like a business owner.  For example a business owner will spend money to make money.  If you are scared to spend money then you aren’t aligned with being a business owner.  Haven’t you heard the phrase “scared money don’t make money.”  My daughter told me that the other day when I was debating on buying some product to sell.  It showed me that I need to work on being aligned with my own desires.  If you want to be rich you need to align yourself to being rich. 

      If you want to have a spouse then you need to align yourself to having a spouse.  Here’s an example I heard on a podcast I recently listened to.  A life coach had a client that desired to be married.  The life coach told the client to do some interesting things to align the client to being married.  The coach told the client to cook for two when cooking.  Eat one of the meals when finished and eat the other later.  The coach also told the client when going to bed to turn down the sheets on the other side of the bed as if the spouse was joining that evening.  This wasn’t all the advice but it was two of the actions that help the client become aligned with being married.  I’m sure you know the rest of the story.  The client was successful in meeting their spouse and is now happily married.  

   So think of your next desire.  Write it down.  Then write down what it means to be aligned to that desire.  Next, make the changes in your life to align yourself to those desires.  This may sound like too much work or maybe even seem silly to you.  If so, ask yourself what you are doing to help achieve your desires.  Is it enough?  Is it working?  Be honest with yourself.  You have one life to live and you are living it right now.  Why wouldn’t you do everything possible to live it the way you desire? If you don’t you are only hurting yourself and your chances of achieving your desires. We don't want that so go out and get aligned.  Enjoy the journey!

With gratitude,

Drew

The beauty of experience.

Drew's Reminder,

      Let’s face it.  We live in a material world.  Many of us have a strong desire to collect material things.  We all want what we consider the basic materials of life that make us comfortable.  Things like a house, a car and clothes.  For some us those are just things we need to survive and therefore we work to obtain them.  For some of us those material things have a deeper meaning in our lives.  They are a status symbol to show how successful or unsuccessful we are or have been.  In many of those cases we look at those material things as  vehicles to make us happy.  Yet in the end no big house or nice car by itself can make us happy. 

     As I’ve stated before we aren’t really interested in the nice big house.  What we are interested in is how that nice big house will make us feel.  Yet if you don’t concentrate on those feelings you run the risk of getting that nice big house and then not achieving the feelings you wanted in the first place.  In those cases you end up chasing the next big material thing.  Sound familiar?  I’m sure you know someone who is on that constant chase and they never end up in the final destination of being happy.  Because no matter where you are in the spectrum of having material things you have the capability to be happy right now.  That’s because happiness is a feeling.  You have beliefs.  You have thoughts.  Your beliefs influence your thoughts  and your thoughts create your feelings.  There’s nothing outside that can control that.  No material thing can create your beliefs.  No outside material thing can create your thoughts.  Only you can.

     Now instead of material things let's turn the discussion to experiences.  I believe experiences are much more valuable to all of us than material things.  You see with an experience you are actually using your mind to evaluate the experience.  To experience anything you must use your mind to have thoughts about the experience.  In good experiences those thoughts lead to good feelings.  Several experiences can also lead to you having beliefs about something associated with those experiences.  An experience can have a long lasting effect on your life if it creates or even reinforces a belief.  Beliefs lead to thoughts, thoughts lead to feelings, feelings lead to actions and actions lead to results.  So great experiences ultimately lead to great results in your life.  This can lead to a wonderful circle of life.  You have a great experience. You create or reinforce beliefs.  Your beliefs create great thoughts.  Your great thoughts lead to great feelings.  Your great feelings lead you to taking great actions.  Your great actions lead to great results.  Eventually one of those results will be another great experience.  Therefore you get caught up in a wonderful circle of life.  

      A nice house in itself won’t lead to those type of results.  Unless you create great experiences in that house.  A brand new car won’t lead to those type of results.  Unless you create great experiences in that car.  A diamond watch won’t lead to those type of results.  Unless you create great experiences due to that diamond watch.  The latest pair of Gucci shoes won’t lead to those  type of results, unless those Gucci shoes create great experiences.  I know there will be some people who say those material things will create great experiences.  My only challenge to you is that you could create those experiences regardless of the material item.  Because an experience is all in your mind.  So why take a chance on spending money or time on a material item that may create an experience?  Instead just spend your money or time on creating a great experience.  Take the element of chance out of the picture and get right to the desired result.

      I’d like to give you an example of an experience that continues to bring great dividends to my life, tailgating.  On the surface a tailgate can look like different things to different people. To some it’s a chance to drink beer before going into the big game.  For others it’s a chance to eat some meat from the grill and relax before going into the big game.  Then you have the people who don’t even go to the game they just love the opportunity to sit outside with fans and watch the game on TV.  For me above all a tailgate is a chance to see friends and have fun together. The game is just a means to bring everyone together.  There’s nothing like seeing people you haven’t seen all month or sometimes all year at a tailgate.  Especially since you know you are just there to enjoy each other’s company.  Sure there is loud music (if you are lucky enough to have DJ at your tailgate), there’s barbeque smoke and there’s random people walking around that you don't know.  But when you keep the perspective in mind that you are hanging with friends and sometimes family (framily), a tailgate is a wonderful experience.  

      If you allow yourself to fully experience the benefits of just hanging out with friends and family (framily), you can impact so many good beliefs you have inside you.  Your belief that you are loved and appreciated.  Your belief that people are good natured and you attract good natured people into your life.  Your belief that it is so simple to be happy just by enjoying yourself with food, drinks and friends.   Just think about how positive this experience can be on your life.  Think of the great thoughts you will have about your friends enjoying the meat that you grilled on the barbecue or the nice mixed drink you made especially for them. If you are the DJ you can appreciate the song that you played that got them so excited and hype.  

      

       If you open your mind you can also think about the possibilities of doing similar things in different places during different times of the year (traveling tailgates, renting a cabin in the mountains, a picnic in the park, a dinner with friends, a night out on the town together).  Those thoughts will make you feel so good.  You’ll be happy.  You’ll be appreciative.  You will be at peace with life no matter what outside circumstances may be bringing you down outside the tailgate.  That peace will lead to great thoughts.  Those thoughts will lead to great feelings.  Those great feelings will lead you to take action. You’ll take action like planning an annual trip around the country to go to a random college football game with your friends.  You’ll take action like going home and sharing your experience with others so they join the tailgate and add to the great atmosphere.  You’ll take action like going to work on Monday with a great attitude because you had such a good time at the tailgate. You will be ready to take on the world.  The list goes on and on.

       This is my depiction of a tailgate.  This is what it means to me.  It is an experience.  It's an experience I wouldn't trade for a nice gold watch or a brand new car.  Those material items won't make me feel the way a tailgate makes me feel.  Those material things won't compare because they won't give me the same experience.  Sure a new car will drive me to work in a quieter cabin or softer seats.  The problem is that experience won't have the same impact on me.  A quiet cabin and soft seats won't reinforce or create any new beliefs in me.  It won't bring about great thoughts.  Without the great thoughts it won't lead to a surge of great feelings.  I need those great feelings to make me take great actions so I can get great results.  If you don't agree let me prove my point.  I wrote this blog because of the impact tailgating has on me.  There will be one person who will read this and make the decision to put off buying a new car or a new purse and they will take that money and spend it on an experience.  That experience will have a great impact on their life.  They will end up with a great result and because of that and so will I.  As always I implore you to Enjoy the Journey!

With gratitude,
Drew

Your job is not your source of income.

Drew’s Reminder,

     Your job is not your source of income.  How is that so?  My job gives me a check every pay period.  How can my job not be my source of income?  That kind of thinking can lead to you not reaching your potential.  If you see your job as your source of income then the only way you will see to gain more income is to devote more to your job.  However, we all know that your job is not devoted to you.  Your job is paying you for a service.  The job is paying you to provide some type of value.  Where does that value come from?  It comes from within.

     Therefore you are your source of income.  Provide the same value year over year and you'll receive the same relative income year over year.  Once you stop providing value then you will no longer receive any income. Once you start providing more value you will receive more income. That is how it works.  But how can you provide more value?  You could get extra training or learn a new skill.  That will most likely give you an increase in the value you provide.  However it will not be substantial.  If you want to provide a substantial amount of increased value you have to work within.

      What do I mean by working within?  You have to work on your thoughts and your beliefs.  Those are the things that will drive you to take action that will result in the delivery of more value.  There's no other way around it.  Many of you have either figured it out or seen it in action on your job or in the marketplace.  In Corporate America the people that provide the most value and get the most income are the ones who have the traits necessary to get things done.  They have confidence.  They have persistence.  They believe.  They do not worry about how something will get done.  They know it will if we put our minds to it.  They have vision.  They communicate that vision freely and openly.  They challenge when they believe something needs to be challenged.  They have no fear of failure because they understand failure is part of life.  They focus on learning from each failure so that they will be better for the next opportunity.  They know that there will be a next opportunity because this is a world of abundance and they are determined to get their share of it.  They do not wait for the next opportunity either.  They actively search for it.  They know the only time we have is right now and we must take advantage of it.  These are all great traits.

       There are some of us who exude this traits and some of us that don't.  The truth is we all can if we put in the right work and take the right actions.  Too many of us shut off work once we leave the job.  We look at doing something outside of the job as extra work and who wants to do extra work?  However, if we knew what that so called extra work could do for our lives we would all do it and do it happily.  What is this extra work that I'm referring to anyway?  I'll give you a list and tell you the benefits.

Meditating - Meditation is a practice that increases your awareness.  Awareness is the key to living life.  When you are fully aware you not only enjoy life to its fullest extent you are also fully in the moment at all times. The power of awareness allows you to minimize stress and handle anything that comes your way.   http://www.freemeditation.com/meditation-basics/

Practicing Gratitude - Practicing gratitude has an endless amount of benefits.  At its basic core it is a tool to put our emotions in a positive space.  Emotions are key to the actions we take day in and day out.  Our thoughts and beliefs will drive our emotions and our emotions will drive our actions.  Need proof?  Take any situation and compare what actions a happy person would take versus a mad person.  The beauty of it all is you are in total control.   http://www.happify.com/hd/the-science-behind-gratitude/

Journaling - Journaling is a great tool to capture your thoughts and feelings.  It can be used to practice gratitude, set and define goals, visualize, help clarify your desires and harness creativity.  There is power in writing things down.  It helps connect your conscious mind with your subconscious mind.  You will have to get into your subconscious to truly defeat any limiting beliefs you may have.  http://lifehacker.com/why-you-should-keep-a-journal-and-how-to-start-yours-1547057185

Visualization - Visualization is a mental tool that is in use everyday however many of us aren't aware that we aren't utilizing it effectively.  When you have doubt or fear about something you will visualize that something going bad.  You end up attracting that result even though it wasn't the result you truly wanted.  When you have confidence in something you visualize that something happening and you end up attracting the result that you wanted.  Visualization is intentionally attracting what you want by focusing your mind on exactly what you want and how you want it.  It intensifies the attraction which improves your chances of success.  Anyone who practices the technique can tell you stories of how it has worked for them over their life.  I'm sure you've heard of a vision board.   http://www.learnmindpower.com/using_mindpower/visualization/

     In my opinion these are most basic examples of work that needs to be done by you in order to improve your value.  Once you improve your value the income will follow and it will follow much quicker than just doing what the job wants you to do.  You have to have intangibles that set you apart from the standard worker bee.  These tools build those intangibles.  Do not fear that adding this work to your life will make you even more tired and stressed.  I promise you it will do the opposite.  You will be more energized and less stressed which leads to more value.

     Your income is based on the value you provide.  Increasing value equals increasing income. Build more value in yourself.  Skip an hour of TV every night this week and work on one or all of these tools.  You will not be disappointed.  You will be rewarded.  Enjoy the journey!

With gratitude,

Drew

Finding Inspiration

Drew’s Reminder,

 “Finding Inspiration”  

I got my eyes on you,

You're everything that I see

I want your hot love and emotion, endlessly

I can't get over you,

You left your mark on me

I want your high love and emotion, endlessly

'Cause you're a good girl and you know it

You act so different around me

'Cause you're a good girl and you know it

I know exactly who you could be

Just hold on we're going home

Just hold on we're going home

It's hard to do these things alone

Just hold on we're going home, ho oh

You're the girl

You're the one

Gave you every

Thing I love

I think there's something

Baby

I think there's something

Baby

     This is one of my all-time favorite songs.  Every time I hear it, it invokes emotions in me that I truly enjoy.  It’s almost magical at times.  But when you read the lyrics you may misunderstand why this song is so magical to me.  This song is titled “Hold On, We’re Going Home” and is by Drake featuring Majid Jordan.  It was released in 2013. 

   If you’ve read one of my previous blogs you may remember that 2013 was a very defining year in my life.  It was the year that I truly found gratitude and began incorporating it into my life.  It was a great time to learn the power of gratitude since I was at a time in my life where I could have gone into a downward spiral.  I had just lost a job that I had worked over 10 years to achieve.  At the time I was in a job that was paying me 60% of what I was accustomed to getting paid and it looked like it would be a long time before I reached that type of salary again.  I didn’t know exactly what was in store for me; I just knew everything would ultimately be all right.  Practicing gratitude gave me the peace to be comfortable in that belief.

    But practicing gratitude wasn’t the only inspiration I experienced during this time in my life.  Because I practiced gratitude I had a new lens on life and I found inspiration in many other ways.  One of those ways was by listening to the song “Hold On, We’re Going Home.”  I don’t remember when it started but I do know it was during one of my commutes home.  Once it started I repeated the process for many more commutes home.  It almost became a ritual.  I am reliving the memory of the emotions related to that ritual right now as I write this blog.

   As you read the lyrics to the song you will immediately think it is a typical love song. You would think it’s a man singing about a girl who he loves and has high expectations for.  That's probably how the majority of listeners interpret the song.  That's probably how the song writer wanted the song interpreted.  That is not how I interpreted the song.  Let’s break down the lyrics so I can explain.

I got my eyes on you,

You're everything that I see

To me the “you” in the song represented my true self.  Think of singing about yourself in third person.  You can also think in terms of your conscious mind singing about your subconscious mind.

I want your hot love and emotion, endlessly

I can't get over you,

Here the “hot love and emotion” represented the happiness that I was so fortunate to experience after practicing gratitude for 28 straight days.  That emotion was something I’d never felt and sustained at any other part of my life.  I wanted it because it felt so good.  I couldn’t get over how good it felt.

'Cause you're a good girl and you know it

You act so different around me

To me the “good girl” represented a great person and I knew I was a great person.  I also felt that the “act so different around me” represented the confidence and self worth I felt inside but did not often outwardly express.

'Cause you're a good girl and you know it

I know exactly who you could be

I really got emotional on this part of the song.  Although, I hadn’t reached my full potential; I knew “exactly” who I “could be.”

Just hold on we're going home

Just hold on we're going home

It's hard to do these things alone

Just hold on we're going home, ho oh

Home represented my ultimate destination of true happiness day in and day out.  I know I’m on my way as long as I hold on and stay the course.  I know it’s hard (if not impossible) to get there alone so this served as a little reminder that I’ll need help along the way.

You're the girl

You're the one

Gave you every

Thing I love

I think there's something

Baby

I think there's something

Baby

This represented me acknowledging I’m the one and I’m giving life my all.  The “think” in my mind was replaced with believe and the “something” was my ability to achieve my desires.  I truly believe I will achieve my desires.

    That is what the song “Hold On, We’re Going Home” means to me.  It is a wonderful song to inspire me about my overall outlook on life.  I’m grateful that my experience with practicing gratitude has allowed me to see this song the way I see it.  I believe that I will achieve all of my desires and anytime I need a little reminder I’ll put this song on and let it do its magic.   If you don’t have a similar inspiration I hope you find one soon.  Maybe you can share mine.  Enjoy the journey!

With gratitude,

Drew

Desires and beliefs

Drew’s Reminder,

 “Desires and beliefs”  

     I am not a salesman.  I don't work well by myself.  I wasn't born to be athletic.  After the wedding real life starts and all that passionate stuff in the beginning dissipates.  You can't teach an old dog a new trick.  Love just doesn't love me.  I am just not ready right now.  I'll do it when I'm ready. Do any of these statements sound familiar?  Maybe you've said them before or maybe you've heard someone else say them.  I consider all of those statements limiting beliefs.

     What is a limiting belief?  A limiting belief is any belief you have that is getting in the way of you reaching your potential.  This definition get's tricking because thinking that your potential is limited itself is a limited belief.  So we have to get over that hurdle first.  You see you were born in the likeness of your creator.  You were born in a world of abundance.  You are one with this world; therefore you have access to all of its abundance.  As I stated over and over again, everything you need is already within you.

      I know, all of that sounds like pie in the sky.  Skeptics will say everyone can't have everything they want.  That statement is also a limited belief.  However, I will accept the rebuttal and agree.  You won't get everything you want out of life.   I mean that in the literal sense.  You will not just stand up and say I want to be a physicist and tomorrow you'll be a physicist.  But what you can have are your true desires.  Let me ask you a question.  Have you clearly defined your desires in life?

     I know many of you will say, of course I know what my desires are.  If that was your answer then you missed the question.   The question was have you clearly defined your true desires.  Once you clearly define your desires you can put an action plan in place to achieve them.  Without clear definition you will not be able to get to your final destination.  It's kind of like saying you are going to go on vacation to a beach and not having a clear plan.  Imagine packing all of your clothes, getting in the car and turning on the GPS.  If you don't have the exact address in the GPS you will just go in a general direction.  If you choose south you may eventually end up at a beach.  However, when you get there, where are you going to stay?  What if there isn't any vacancy because there is a big event happening at the time your arrived?  What if you end up at a community that is only houses and there are no hotels in the area to even choose?

     Of course, most of you would not handle a vacation like that.  If you have a week of vacation you will decide months ahead of time where you want to go.  You will research locations so you get exactly what you want out of the vacation.  You will decide what you will do everyday.  You will decide where you will stay.  You will research the restaurants to decide where you will eat.  You will take direct action so the vacation is exactly like you want it to be.  If you go somewhere you've never been before you will accept the fact that things may not go exactly as planned.  You may get there and decide to eat somewhere other than the restaurants you researched.  You may do some activities that you hadn't planned to do months before.  You will plan but you are perfectly acceptable if things don't go exactly as planned as long as it’s a good vacation.

      I gave that example because you should clearly define your desires in life in the same manner.  The problem is many of us don't.  Many of us will say what we desire and just do the best we think we can to achieve it.  Many of us will say, "I desire a good paying job"?  Others will say, "I want a big house with a basement."  One of the most common sayings is, "I want to get married and have kids."  Those are all desires.  However, they aren't clearly defined.  Combine the lack of definition and any limiting beliefs you have and you will struggle to get any of them.  You may end up getting everyone one of them and still not be happy because you lacked definition of the true desire.

     I don't know what your limiting beliefs are; all I know is that you have them.  Your beliefs are the foundation of the results you are receiving in your life.  You create your own reality.  If you believe you will fail, you will fail.  If you believe you will be successful, you will be successful.  Life seems complicated to most and the only way to handle that complexity is to break it down to its simplest form.  You will have to do some work to break the complexity down.  You have to define your desires and remove your limiting beliefs.  Both tasks will take some work.  Analyze your desires and write them down in detail.  You have to know what they are to take action to bring them to life.  Everything you need to bring them to life is already within you.  You have to do the work to make them a reality.  You also have to analyze and acknowledge your limiting beliefs.  Once you know what they are you have to eliminate them by telling yourself better stories about them.  No one else can do this for you.  I can tell you over and over again how great you are or how you can have whatever you desire.  However, nothing will come of it until you belief it yourself.  If you believe it yourself you will tell yourself better stories about your life and thus eliminate your limiting beliefs.

      Let's take the desire, "I desire a good paying job."   How could you define that in more detail to ensure your success?  That is something you have to answer for yourself.  I will tell you how I would rephrase that desire with the detail necessary.  I don't just desire a good paying job.  I desire a job that allows me to take an idea and make it a reality.  I am a very creative person and want to access that skill every opportunity that I can.  I want to be paid enough money to comfortably live the life style I desire to live today.  That includes traveling without concern for cost, paying my children's college tuition, buying my wife diamonds, owning property in the Caribbean and growing my relationships with my family and friends.  I desire a job in a setting where my voice is heard and my opinion is requested.  I want to influence decisions from the lowest level employee to the head of the company.  I want a job that respects my work life balance and allows me to decided how and when to get the work done. 

     Now let's look at potential limiting beliefs you may have about getting a good paying job.  I may think that no one is going to pay my $175,000 a year because no one is paying that type of money unless you (fill in the blank).  If you believe that then you will never make $175,000 a year unless you (whatever you filled in the blank with).  However, I guarantee there's someone out there making that salary that doesn't have that (fill in the blank).   You may believe that once you reach a certain salary level you automatically lose your work life balance.  I guarantee there's someone out there making that salary and maintaining a great work life balance.  You may believe that no one will listen to you because of the level of job you are in and therefore you can't influence decisions.  I can go on and on.

     So instead of thinking those limiting beliefs, tell yourself better stories.  Tell yourself that although it may seem that I will not get a job paying me $175,000 unless I (fill in the blank); I believe when I put in the right action plan I can get a job paying me $175,000.  Although many people seem to lose their work life balance once they reach a certain level; I believe I can reach that level in the right job and maintain my work life balance.  Although it may seem difficult for others to influence decisions; I believe when I put the appropriate actions in place I can influence decisions at all levels of my company.  All of those are examples of better stories.  They all will help you achieve your desires.  They will not limit you.  You don't need limitations.  You need to believe in order to achieve.  Instead of letting your beliefs hold you back, use your beliefs to propel you forward.  Everything you need is already within you.  Believing that statement is your first step.  Let this serve as your reminder.  Enjoy the journey!    

With gratitude,

Drew