Moving from Survival to THRIVE Mode

I grew tired of simply surviving.

Like so many people in this world, I have spent most of my life living by default. Just as a default setting in a computer automatically dictates how programs are run and what steps are taken for certain tasks, my life played out in default based on decisions, beliefs, situations and circumstances which others determined for me.

Of course, I didn’t realize this at the time. We are all set on default mode to some extent. Our family histories, expectations and belief systems become ingrained in us at such an early age they are assumed to be the normal way to live, move and react. Those of us raised in dysfunctional homes where abuse and/ or negative views of life were a daily occurrence grew thinking these were the norm for most of the world. Or at the very least the norm for us.

Living by default offered no alternatives.

Dreams and goals were often looked upon as a waste of time because ‘life in the real world is the school of hard knocks, and you just better get used to it.’ With those type beliefs deeply ingrained – living by default offered no alternatives.

But there is something better!

Several years ago,I believe God finally set my feet on a different path when I woke to the realization in my 50’s that I did not have to continue living by default. God is a good and loving Father who had amazing plans for my life and I could achieve the dreams, hopes and visions I had always secretly harbored in my heart because He was the one who had placed them there.

I decided to OPTIN to Living rather than surviving.

Through a series of events, I began to break free from an abusive, poverty-driven mind set and learn to OPTIN to life. To LIVE with the expectation that I can and will THRIVE rather than simply survive. That dreams really can become reality when I put intentions and actions into place and believe that with God on my side, nothing is impossible!

An OPTIN Life is..

even more amazing with friends!

This means of course that my life is a journey and I am not ‘there yet’….as far as some goals. But – I know I am not where I used to be either! I daily make the decision to intentionally opt-in! I now take action to design my day with intent and purpose in mind.

Reset Your Life Options ..

OPTIN-2-Living!

Are you are tired of life in the default mode? If you are tired of sleep-walking your way through life-there is hope! You can decide here and now to Optin-2-Living!

I cannot make that decision or take action for you. It is after all YOUR life to live.

However,I am here to cheer, encourage and help in any way I can.

Together we can enjoy life knowing that we are made to THRIVE!

Be blessed!

What is Optin Living?

Optin Living is making an intentional plan to live life to the fullest!

Waking up to realize that each and every individual deserves to live their optimal lifestyle in all areas including fitness, finances, family, faith, field (work),friends and fun! (Thanks to the Ooola Guys, Dave Braun & Troy Amdahl for breaking it down into these all-inclusive areas!)

I chose the term “OPTIN Living” when I decided to stop living my life in the default mode of simply surviving one day to the next, one paycheck to the next without a plan, purpose or goal in sight. For me an OPTIN-2-Living plan includes:

O – Optimal health & wellness.

P – Personal plan to pursue goals and dreams.

T -Transformation in the areas of health, attitudes, spiritual well being and finances.

I – Inspiration given and received within a community of like-minded individuals online and in real time activities.

N – Natural, non-toxic solutions to obtain optimal health and wellness.

It is also a place offering support, motivation and encouragement to build an atmosphere that creates an environment of safety and support that encourages others in their pursuit of the healthy future they can also access when they choose to optin-2-living rather than settle for simply surviving.

My 5 year plan to Financial Freedom

In my last post I explained that I am seeking financial freedom as one part of living a healthy balanced lifestyle. Having grown up following the expected life plans designated by those around me, I believed that part of being a responsible adult meant getting a job, cashing a paycheck, paying bills and repeating the cycle. As my parents and grandparents said…There is no happily ever after this kiddo is the real world. Working 40 or more hours at a J.O.B ( defined as just-over-broke).

As I broke free from living life in the default mode I started to rediscover long forgotten dreams and visions that perhaps there was something else. Having had a lifetime love for art, I began to put myself out there as an artist and was pleasantly surprised to find a small group of fans, make a few sales, and show my artwork throughout my local community. The only problem was that I quickly realised sales of artwork was not going to help me reach my goal for financial freedom. It is a labor intensive progress, only so many pieces can be created by me at any given time and it is not a consumable product. Even the biggest gallery has only so much space for art.

Having also had a love for essential oils and found them to be helpful in providing me a natural alternative to prescription meds or over-the-counter products that I never felt confident in using I decided to research into the possibilities of building my own business with essential oils. I knew having used several oils bought both on and off line that all essential oils are not created equal. for instance, I have bought eucalyptus oils from several sources for help with migraine relief. Some labeled ‘Therapeutic Pure’ oil had no effect at all, while others a\had varying degrees of effectiveness.

A friend introduced my to Young Living Essential Oils and after trying several of my standbys for a few weeks, I decided to research and see what made these oils so much more effective!

What I found out is that while all other companies out there are essential oil brokers, contracting to purchase their oils from various sources with no real control over the products they buy, Young Living Essential Oils the oldest essential oil producers in the world! Yes, Young Living produces their oils with an amazing Seed-to-Seal process that gives them total control of the product that you purchase directly from them. Literally from the choice of seed that goes into the ground, cultivation methods, the unique distillation process based on each oil, rigorous testing and sealing their products in their own facilities each step is controlled to bring you the highest quality essential oils in the world.

I knew this was a company I could gladly become a part of because of the amazing care and attention they place on this amazing Seed-to-Seal processes.  I began by purchasing a start kit of introductory oils and quickly fell in love with each and every oil in that first shipment!

As anyone likely understands building a business of any kind is not an ‘over night option’. no get-rich-quick day dreams here! I do have a vision, goal and plan for financial freedom in 3-5 years. In all likelihood a reasonable steady income by the 3rd year and more freedom by year five. The financial freedom I have in mind is not simply a residual income each month without the need for full-time hours. My definition of financial freedom includes time freedom and the freedom to choose when, where and how I work my business. When, where and how I give to others by helping individuals to pursue their own financial freedom and giving into various projects and ministries as opportunity arises.

Year One – Lay the Foundation! Discover-Share-Invite!

Explore all the amazing products and business opportunities available through Young Living. Build my knowledge base for  the products through personal use and research. Build my knowledge base  for building a successful business and networking with an amazing team of individuals. Individuals with a common focus to encourage each other to Optin-2-Living their lives to the fullest with all natural products and a fun, healthy balanced lifestyle.

Year Two – Network and brainstorm with my team to grow our businesses and share the amazing benefits of both the Young Living products and the business opportunity for others wanting to join the team and begin their own oily journey the health, wellness and abundance.

Years Three to Five – As everyone on the team continues to Discover-Share and Invite others to try Young Living Products, residual income becomes a reality. With each member doing  small to moderate steady sales each month, everyone benefits! Real financial freedom is a reasonable expectation by Year 5.

According to Market Research Store – the Global Essential Market sales is ready to explode to 9.8 Billion USD by the year 2020! This is another reason I am confident that my choice to work with Young Living Essential Oils is the best thing I can do to obtain my financial freedom while building a healthier lifestyle for myself and my family!

If you are interested in becoming a part of my team or simply looking for more information concerning Young Living Essential Oils. Leave a comment below!!!

Be blessed and never forget to OPTIN2Living with intent & purpose!

Finding Financial Freedom

Before anyone gets all wacky and starts wondering what financial freedom has to do with living an optimal healthy (balanced) lifestyle, I am sure we agree that while money cannot buy happiness, lack of money to cover basic necessities sure makes life overly difficult in all areas!

For my entire adult life I have worked and depended on a paycheck from an employer to provide or produce the income needed for home, health, groceries and occasionally a special indulgence now and then.However, it didn’t take me very long in the workplace to realize income was always tied to hours on the clock. As soon as I was unable to work….income ceased.

Only very recently have I begun to understand there is a way to (in time and with hard work for 2-5 years) to have income continue to come in without my clocking in to  a schedule and jumping through hoops to secure someone else’s future at the expense of my own. The answer is  building a source of residual income.

So what is residual income?

“Residual income (otherwise called recurring or passive income) is a regular source of income that continues to be generated after the initial effort has been expended.”

Some examples of residual income include:

Interest from stocks, bonds, or savings

Income from rental properties

Royalty payments from books or movies

Income from commissions from recurring sales

A weekly paycheck or one-time payment from purchases or services rendered is a linear (or one-shot) income. Linear income demands constant work and output for income to occur.

I am currently working to build a team that will work together to provide me with a stream of residual income within the next 3-5 years. That will be around the time many of my peers are looking to draw on their social security. It is my opinion that relying on social security payments as an option in 3-5 years carries far more risk than investing in a plan to become an entrepreneur and establish a residual income source. The added bonus of having a source of passive income no dependent on the government is increased income at at  time when many people find the need to downsize or cut corners trying to stretch a meager monthly check is a huge motivation for me to put in the time ane effort now to make it happen. (My personal opinion is that social security ‘benefits’ may not even be an option by then at the rate the government is dipping into those funds).

Building a business that can be run from anywhere in the world, around a schedule that works for me is not an overnight project! It will require a concentrated effort and an investment of time, money and investments in learning the ins and outs of recruiting and motivating a like-minded team of enthusiastic entrepreneurs.

I am building a business around products I love and a company I totally believe in and I am already a part of an amazing team of leaders that have not only shown this the potential of what is possible, but they are available to help and encourage every step of the way.

Stay tune for more about my business and why I decided what company to work with in the next blog post!

 

Make THIS Year A Success

Here we are about to begin a new month. School is about to jump back into session for many and along with the school schedules comes a a zillion things added to busy lives.Many families are pressing on and wondering where has the summer gone so quickly!

Perhaps you have been thinking that those lofty dreams and goals you had for this year seem as far away as they did when you made that New Year Resolution. Perhaps you are disappointed that yet again your goals seem so hard to reach.

The good news is that there is still time to succeed in 2016!

Perhaps you won’t meet all the goals you set at the first of the year, but you can certainly change one thing and make progress towards those bigger goals. There are five months left this year. One goal per month met = 5 successes and THAT is a great head start on 2017.

My goal for August is to incorporate more intentional exercise into my day, to strive for that recommended 10,000 steps per day. Since I don’t always carry my phone 24/7 … (Yes, I’m strange like that and it frustrates friends who have their phones always at hand!)

I am also scheduling exercise breaks into my day … 10 minutes at a time to walk, stretch, work on connecting with myself and the world around me.

The beginning of a fresh new month can signal the start of something amazing that can become a new healthy part of your life. Where will one change or goal accomplished lead in your decision to THRIVE and Optin-2-Living your very best life possible?

Grab a pen. Make a goal and an ACTION Plan for August, then share in comments!

I’d love to hear from you!

Be your best & Be blessed!

Escape Fear with A Leap of Faith

For years I simply survived from one day to the next in default. Each day it felt another part of me was disappearing into the quicksand surrounding me. Fear further paralyzed me from even considering a change was possible.

Until – a thought managed to break through that suggested that just maybe, life was not meant to be a struggle with no hope in sight. That perhaps my life had purpose and a meaning if I would break free from the fears surrounding me and weighing me down.

The fear that things would ‘never change’actual became the spark that something had to change.  The fear that unless I made a way for positive change to take place in my life, my son, daughter, and grand kids would feel they too had to simply survive with whatever tiny portion of life the universe handed to them. My desire that they experience more in life, drove me to find a way to prove more is possible.

But fear is relentless. As soon as a decision to change fear rears up with all the reasons why change is a big mistake!

” You will fail (again).”

“You don’t have what it takes.”

“You can never change’.

“Its not worth it”

“You’re not worth it.”

“____________ ” (fill in your fear here)

BUT – once the fear of NOT changing becomes bigger than the fear of changing, Action is required.

My first was believing God created me for more. So with His help – I can be more.

My next decision was to ‘do it afraid, if necessary, but do it!

Take that leap of faith without seeing the landing zone, having all the answers or

waiting for the fear to vanish.

That leap of faith in the face of fear is the key to that first step towards a life of freedom, health, purpose and abundance.

Has fear vanished since I took that leap of faith three years ago?  Nope. But in the midst of living and taking action to see those changes coming to pass, the fear doesn’t linger as long as it once did. I don’t find myself overwhelmed by fear any longer.

Instead, I acknowledge it, examine it in the new light of truth at work in my life and press ahead.  The future is bright and no doubt holds more than I can imagine -but my vision, dream and expectation is now in the knowledge that I fully Optin-2-Living with my eyes on the goals rather than the fears.

That leap of faith made it all possible!

What could you accomplish if you weren’t afraid?

Perhaps NOW is the time for your Leap of Faith.

Take that leap.

Do it afraid if you must,,

but decided today to LIVE life to the fullest.

 

 

 

 

Living Your Best Life Possible

Optimal living means although we all have some restrictions, we also have the potential to live more fully than we might imagine. The biggest restriction can be changed once we dare believe we deserve more and can indeed accomplish more in our lives and the world around us. Some restrictions do apply simply because we are all individuals and at different places along this journey called life.

My level of optimal fitness, for example, will not be the same as a grandmother coming to a rather late realization that I have the power to change as that of a 20 year old college student. Were we both to start a program to get in shape at the same time -we could both work towards an optimal level of fitness, yet our results and programs would not be identical.

An optimal lifestyle is the best lifestyle for you. Reaching the highest goals in  light of the path you were designed to journey and the life you were meant to live.

While one description says optimal means the ‘best outcome within certain restrictions’, I want to say that we must be careful not to stumble over the restriction part of that definition and use perceived restrictions as an excuse to stay locked into habits or situations that leave us stuck in default mode or weigh us down with a sense of hopelessness.

Most the restrictions in our lives can be challenged with the mindset to do so. Getting that stinkin’ thinkin’ booted out opens us to the possibility and realization that we can be more, do more, dream more and achieve more. Of course the first step in realizing an optimal lifestyle in the seven areas of life is daring to believe it is possible. Recapture the dreams and visions for your life you may have given up on in the past and design a plan to chase after them once again.

Without a vision or dream, people perish.

So to get started, grab a paper & pen -take some time to get alone and start dreaming again. What does your optimal lifestyle lifestyle look like?  If time, money, job, family obligations of present circumstances were no object….where would you be right now?

What would you be wearing? What would you be doing? Where would you live?What does your home look like? who are you spending time with? what church or house of worship do you belong to? What is that passion that wakes you up every day with a sense of excitement?

Write it down. Uncensored.

Then close your eyes and visualize it.

Now make a plan – and take that first step towards making it a reality.

Easy? Nope.

Worth it? Absolutely!

 

 

Thoughts Are Free – But Choose Wisely

The good news is- Thoughts are free.  The bad news is – that according to some researchers our minds process between 50,000 -70,000 thoughts per day. Even more troubling is that in many of these same reports, it is said that 80% or more of the thoughts we dwell upon are negative!

When I woke to the fact that I had lived most of my life in the default mode, the first thing I had to examine were the thoughts taking place on auto-mode. Sad to say, at one point in time nearly all the thoughts in my mind were negative regardless as to the past-present-or future state of affairs.

It has been said that whatever we spend time focusing on grows and personal experience in my life bore that out! The never-ending replay of negative chatter went on and on and always seemed to bear negative results. Stress increased, bills mounted, relationships got  more abusive or neglectful, life was one constant struggle to the point that I considered more than once to simply end my life to stop the chatter.

It was at just that moment in time that I received a copy of a book titled Battlefield of the Mind, by Joyce Myers and saw several video teachings based on this book which drew my attention to the power ‘Stinking Thinking’ holds over our lives unless we start paying attention and do battle against those type of thoughts.

Through prayer and determination, I began to pay attention to all those free thoughts jostling for room in my mind and decided to give the Negative Nelly Committee an eviction notice. Lest I mislead anyone into thinking that just deciding to ‘think positive’ is a quick fix, let me say – NO it is NOT!  It is a lifetime of repetition that has given the negative thoughts power and tenure and it takes time, determination and attention to uproot the strongholds of a lifetime.

But – it can be done and it is worth it! I believe it is also the very first step towards designing that OPTIN-2-Living lifestyle that allows us a balanced life filled with dreams, goals and vision to believe and work towards a better tomorrow.

Where to start?

You cannot change what you don’t acknowledge – How big a role does negative thinking play in your life?

What would your life look like without that negativity?

For me – prayer is the key to major changes. God is the Dream-Giver and He has the power to show you how to exchange the negative chatter for His affirmations of power, love and a sound mind.

Then pay attention to those thoughts that pop up countless times during the day.

At the first time of negativity – nip it in the bud! Find something positive to focus on instead. Positive affirmations work! Especially when based on God’s love and purpose in your life.

Jeremiah 29:11- says, ” I know the plans I have for you- plans of Hope and a Bright future”..

Never settle for less than that! You are worth so much more!

Optin-2-Living – live with intent and purpose, you are meant to THRIVE!