The Chains On You

We all have chains that bind us. Some chains bind us to our past and some to our future and we are stuck in the middle of the tug-o-war called today. The chains that bind us to the future are pulling us toward our greatness as we are being held back by the chains of our past.

Our greatest potential are those chains that pull us toward our greatness, the problem lays in that fact that we cannot clearly see what that future really is. It's an intangible. As much as we try to envision it, dream about it, and plan for it, it is still as if we are looking at it through a dense fog at times. We can see some color, a shape, and maybe even smell what we believe that our future will be like, but inevitably, it is still an illusion of sorts. Our future is an abstract thing that we cannot completely grasp a hold of without some doubt.

Usually, the chains of the past, are those things in which left scars on us emotionally. Those words from a family member or friend that cut us like a knife. That resentment that we feel toward someone that did us wrong. Maybe it's a mistake that we made and just can't seem to forgive ourselves for. Whatever it is, understand that these chains only serve one purpose, to keep you from your greatness. 

The chains that bind us to our past, many times, are stronger than those pulling us to our future. Our past is a tangible thing. We lived through it. We were able to touch it, taste it, hear it, smell it, and feel it. It is real, whereas our future has not yet become a reality. Sure we can still move toward our future, our own personal greatness, but the chains of our past, slow us down, and will prevent us from achieving all that we can or should accomplish. Now for the good news, I have a solution for the chains of the past and how to break them so that you can move toward you personal greatness faster and achieve more. Let go of them. I know that you have heard it a thousand times or more and yes, I know that it's not just that easy. I have had several chains that I had to learn to let go of. It took time, patience, mentors, and a lot of self discovery. But by letting go, I have released myself from many of those things that were holding me back and have been able to grow as a person.

The chains that are pulling us toward the future are only as strong as your greatest weakness. Don't be afraid of your weaknesses, but rather embrace them and work on them. You want to make those chains as strong as possible and you can only do that by working on your weaknesses. You will have to be at your absolute best to achieve your absolute best. Your absolute best is waiting for you, so begin today by letting go of the past and strengthening your weaknesses.

Dream Big...Pursue Big...Live Big

Fear Paid Me A Visit

Four weeks ago, I wrote a blog entitled : "Me and My Precipice" and told about a change coming in my life and how I was going forward without fear. I realized this week, that I may have spoken to soon. I thought that I was closer to the edge than I really was. It was also a reality check for me, because I realized that I am still further away than I had first thought. I have been exchanging emails with a friend of mine about making this change in my life. This change will be the biggest risk that I have ever taken. When I received one of his emails this week, for some reason fear decided to pay me a visit. I got that uneasy feeling in my stomach, that internal trembling sensation, and a huge does of "are you doing the right thing?". They say, "The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward." I understand that concept and I realize that my success is ultimately up to me. I will need and will receive help along the way, but it's up to me to put in the work. No one can make me successful, that it up to me.

Instead of accepting the fear as fact, I embraced it as a natural reaction. I didn't feed my fear with negative thoughts and running away from it. I took the fear and analyzed it for what it really was, a fear of the unknown. I don't know what the future holds, I can only rely on this very moment. I don't even know how my day will end. As I began to embrace my fear, I felt it growing stronger. I knew that running from it would not fix it. I have to face it head on. A part of me wanted to ignore it and wait for it to pass, that has never worked for me in the pass, and I didn't expect it to this time either. As I began to listen to the fear, I was able to rationalize what it was that I was really fearing....failure. The heavy dose of PMA (positive mental attitude) that I have been feeding myself for the past two years came in very handy. The time and effort that I have spent in developing me, paid off.

By the end of the day, the fear had pretty much went away. My wife was there of me to lean on and be my strength when I felt weak. She is an amazing woman and believes in when I need her the most.So when you feel weak, fearful, or unloved, don't be afraid to lean on those who have supported you the most. Embrace those emotions and realize that you are stronger than any of those emotions. One of my favorite quotes from Les Brown is, "Ask for help, not because you are weak, but ask for help to stay strong. Ask for help and don't stop until you get it."

I found this great passage online; "Courage is "taking action is spite of fear." In fact, you can only experience courage in the face of fear. Fear is our greatest obstacle to living happy, peaceful and powerful lives. The true definition of fear is "anticipation of pain." Since anticipation is based in the future and the future only exists in our imagination, fear does not exist in reality. It only lives in our head." -by T. Harv Eker

Needless to say, I am still moving forward in the pursuit of my passions and dreams. I will not allow fear to hold me back. I understand that fear will visit me again but once again it will meet up with the fire that burns inside of me to make a better life for me, my family, and those whom I come into contact with. I do not welcome fear, but I will answer the door when it knocks with courage.

Dream Big...Pursue Big...Live Big!!!

My 1st Year of Blogging

I has now been just over a year since I began my weekly blog. So, I decided to take a look at my stats and see what has happened. I have has 811 views from 10 different countries. I wonder if that makes me an international writer? :) I starting writing this blog in order to share some of my life experiences and to hopefully help people change their lives. I never realized how therapeutic it would end up being for me as well. Not only have I touched lives, but it has helped me in transforming my life as well. 

I wanted to take this moment and thank everyone who has taken the time to read my blogs. I am thankful for each and every view that I have had and will ever have. I sometimes allow doubt to creep in and wonder if what I am doing is making a difference. All I can do is have faith and continue to follow my heart and believe that it is. I love what I do and as you continue to follow me, you will see even more and even bigger changes coming. I believe that I am on the path that I was destined to live and you are capable of living your passion as well.

As I continue to follow my heart and share my perspectives, I hope that it continues to touch lives. If you are reading this, then you are one of those who I hope to reach. Remember that we only have the now, our past is gone, our future is not yet here. So take every moment and cherish it, love it, and make the most of it. Time slips away from us so quickly, but what you do with your time can leave a lasting impression on not only your life, but the lives of family and friends, and probably people that you will never meet. We are all connected in this web of life. Our actions and lack of actions have a rippling effect on this web. What kind of effect will you have on the web of life today?

I am always open to addressing questions in my blog, so please feel free to contact me at aiaolifecoaching@gmail.com. You can also find me on Facebook at AIAO Life Coaching. I look forward to hearing from you. Live a blessed day and bless someone else today.

Top 5 Blogs Viewed My 1st Year

1) Laying on a Nail - 28 views

2) A Bully In My Life - 25 views

3) I'm Sorry, But You Have Been Chopped - 21 views

4) Just Wait - 19 views

5) When Did You Succeed? - 18 views

Dream Big...Pursue Big...Live Big!!

The Shadow of Fear

Our fears cast shadows in our lives. They limit our abilities to enjoy life to it's fullest. The fear of heights can limit our chances of skydiving. The fear of water can limit our ability to enjoy a beach vacation to an exotic island. A fear of bug might limit our chances of seeing all of the beauty that a rainforest has to offer. 

I believe that the worse fear of all is the fear of becoming who we were destined to be. We become scared of failure and the unknown.We fear that we don't deserve what we desire in life. We fear the rejection of others because of the choices that we need to make. When we fear these things, we begin to settle for less in our lives. We settle for what is easy and convenient. We take on a job or career that is not fulfilling. We are in a relationship that isn't as great as is should be. We live in quiet desperation of what could have been. As time goes by the shadows that fear cast upon our lives grows and grows until we become used to the darkness that we have created. We have created this darkness by our lack of making decisions and reluctance to action upon the passions that we were born to fulfill.

The problem is, try as we might, we can never completely extinguish the light of the passions that we were born to accomplish. The only way that we can escape that desire to be more than we have been is death or decide to fan the flame and begin our journey to our destined greatness. As you begin to fan the flame, that is your passion, it will turn into a small fire and with consistent and persistent action, before you know it, that small fire will turn into a raging inferno that will soon take over the shadows that fears have created in your life. Stop questioning how, when, or even if it will happen when you make that decision to take actions in your life. If you truly desire to make it happen, it will. The universe is on your side and will act in your favor in equal proportion to your efforts. This will take some time, so be patient. The law of sowing and reaping is always in effect. You will face some stumbling block because you will still be reaping what you have sown in your past. But the fruit of your labors will come back to you. I have learned patience, determination, commitment, and faith during my journey and I would not change a thing. I now understand that these were lessons that I needed to learn because they were some of my weaknesses. 

Stop allowing the darkness of fear to consume your life and fan the flame of your passion into a firestorm that will result in a happiness and peace that you have never known.

Dream Big...Pursue Big...Live Big!