The Strong Within Affirmation Podcast

Thoughtful Thursdays-#374 January 18th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I Focus On The End To Know Where To Begin

"I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe."~Dalai Lama

Maybe I might be oversimplifying how our lives work, but where your focus goes is where your energy flows. Where your concentration resides is what will actualize. Where your emphasis is put is what will determine your output… Where your attention lies is whether you get the whole meal or only the french fries…. too many rhymes??? Never. My rap game is on point…and as the famous rap group of the 90's Digital Underground said in their song The Humpty Dance… "top 10 rappers please allow me to bump thee."

Ok, but in all seriousness, we overcomplicate life by putting our attention upon the things that should have no worth in deciding what we can achieve. We focus on how things aren't going right, we focus on who is in our way, we focus on how we aren't talented enough…and not that those things don't matter…but they aren't the final truths in who we become.

We decide our fate by sinking the ship before we've even pushed off from the shore. Many of my mentors have talked about a similar idea, that's said differently. Dr. Wayne Dyer says, "Think from the end." Stephen Covey say, "Begin with the end in mind." And I'm sure there are a multitude of other ways it's been said over the course of humanity. But this idea gets looked over because it seems too simple to really have any power in helping us, and we think that maybe it might be too hard to see what we want at the end of what we're chasing after. We feel we have to have all the answers right away, or that we need to know every twist and turn along the process of our pursuits.

But that puts more pressure upon us, and instead of creating a clarity of why we are doing something…we then create a habit of jumping without really thinking. And sometimes we need to jump to get moving, as we can overthink and over complicate things, but if it becomes a way of existence …then we'll always live our lives trying to find our way out of a dark tunnel with no flashlight.

Dr. Wayne Dyer talked about thinking from the end when he would write his novels. He would see the cover. He could visualize it finished and see it in his and other people's hands. And by thinking from the end, he said that when he wrote, "all he had to do was put his pen to the page and the words came out." He was divinely inspired as the creative process wasn't just about him creating but him connecting to something more than just himself.

And I think that's why we think creativity is so hard. We say we have to be inspired, we have to sit down for hours and hope it happens. We think that it's all about getting talented enough to be able to put great work into the world. And yes we need to sit down, we need to put in the time to hone our crafts, but we've been coming at creativity from the wrong angle.

If you were to talk with some of the greatest artists, the greatest writers and poets, or the greatest speakers… a good amount of them will say, "yes I did the thing I set out to do…but I connected to something more. The greatness in my work just happened, as something more transpired than just 'me' doing the work."

Which makes me think about when I've given various speeches on living a more fulfilling existence through my life coaching business. And while I practiced and prepared weeks before the date I was to give the presentation, I still would get nervous right before speaking wondering if I might forget something or maybe I might not connect with the audience. And so I feel this nervousness rise right before I get up to talk…freaking out that I've forgotten everything, and I don't remember how to start.

And that has literally happened where I got so anxious I forgot the exact beginning I wanted to start with. I think it was a story, or a silly joke, or something to help me segue into the topic…and even though that happened, I still did fine. Because if I've done the preparation before the presentation, then it just flows. The funny thing is I usually like to film my talks to get better from viewing them, but also because I don't remember what happened during the talk. I just get in flow, and the words just pour out from me as if it was half me and half something more than me.

Over the years, I've become better at hearing myself when I speak in front of big audiences. I want to be in flow, but I don't want to be a zombie that has no clue what just happened from my talks. I've reminded myself that I need to pay better attention to the voices I'm hearing inside my head, pun intended, so I can connect better with the audience. You see, I get excited when I talk and I want to speak fast. So, I work to hear myself during a presentation to slow down my speech patterns consciously. I also work to pay attention to the crucial points that I really want to hit home with the audience. I work to create bookmarks in my mind that when I come to an important point, I will pause and repeat the idea back to them—for better information retention.

The whole purpose I'm getting to, is that if we put in the time…the creativity will happen. But not because it was all us, but because we connected to something more than ourselves. And if you can think from the end, or begin with the end in mind with a crystal clarity…you'll find the pathway more easily laid out for you. You'll find you connect to something more than yourself more readily and more deeply. Great creativity is not in the course of saying, "look what I did;" it's the journey of saying, "look in how I connected…with the work, with myself, and with something greater than myself."

Today's Personal Commitment:What are you committing yourself to this year, the next 5 years, or the next 10 years? And have you thought about it from the end, to see with crystal clarity of how you'd like it to go? It's not that this practice is an exercise in controlling things, but it's about seeing that the more you practice the habit of visualizing things from the end, then the more you will see your power changing. You will see that what you think is what you create. It will be like you becoming a fortune teller…manifesting what you set in your mind. And the more you do it, then the faster things will come to you.

There are energies and powers within this world that we never tap into because it's always about physical work, it's the idea of pushing through or pulling up your bootstraps no matter what happens. And mental and physical toughness are warranted in making your life great…but to connect to your greatness truly is about something more. It's about being able to visualize goals with crystal clarity and think from the end, so you not only can begin creating them…but you also know where to begin.

We get in the habit of planning our appointments for the day, knowing what we will wear for the day, knowing what we will be eating for the day but we never take the time to visualize that end goal with crystal clarity. What makes seeing things from the end so different than all those other smaller habits?

So whatever your major goals are this year, I want you to get in the habit of seeing it in your mind every morning and night for 365 days. Try to get as crystal clear a picture of what obtaining that goal would look like, smell like, taste and feel like. See it in your hands, walk around it to see it from every angle. How will it change you and the people around you by reaching that goal? Be as vivid as you can, for the brain doesn't know the difference between a real picture or a vision in your mind. So the more clearly you can see it in your mind, then the more likely you'll be able to create it in your reality.

So again I challenge you to visualize, to think from the end, and see your goal vividly every morning you get up and before you go to bed…and I challenge you to keep reminding yourself of your why. The more you know why you are doing something, then the more you will stay connected and motivated to the thing you pursue.

I Focus On The End To Know Where To Begin

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Wisdom Wednesdays-#373 January 17th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

My Dreams Pursue Me

"The world is like a reverse casino. In a casino, if you gamble long enough, you're certainly going to lose. But in the real world, where the only thing you're gambling is, say, your time or your embarrassment, then the more stuff you do, the more you give luck a chance to find you." ~Scott Adams

I was on social media, and I saw a picture oh Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock, working out and he was wearing a shirt that said chase your dreams. My perception of the Rock is a hard worker no matter what he does. And I recall watching a video of him talking about his life right out of college.

His dream was to play in the NFL, and he was in the city of Vancouver playing his first pro game for The Calgary Stampeders in the Candian Football League at the age of 22. And 2 days later…he was cut from the team. If he would've gotten that wish, he wouldn't be the person he is today. He wouldn't have realized the different dreams he's come to now. He said that "playing in the NFL was the best thing that NEVER happened. You have to have faith that the one thing that you wanted to have happen was the best thing that never happened."

But, It's hard to know what direction to go in life. That what we want may not be the best thing for us. So how do you move forward, if your chosen direction isn't right? And what do you do, if you're unsure if you should give up on your dreams? I think it's a complex question because we're looking at our answers from only our point of view.

We want to know every twist and turn, we want to be fortune tellers who know what the future, we want to be absolutely sure that we didn't waste our time. But when we think that way, we're blocking ourselves. We're holding ourselves back and only giving half our heart living inside uncertainty.

I spent years putting only half my heart, half my spirit, half my energy into things just in case I was wrong, and so I kept one foot in and one foot out of the door just in case. And while I thought I was being clever, and playing it smart, what I was really doing was playing it safe. And by playing it safe, I was actually living a dangerous life. I was making my time almost irrelevant.

I lived dangerously by feeling sorry for myself thinking I didn't get what I want, I spent years complaining how it is too hard or how things never goes my way, and I spent years wasting energy on being only halfway committed to something. Because what I didn't consider—is what did it matter if I got what I wanted or not, if I gave my whole heart to something? We spend so much time looking at poor old me, and how it's so sad it didn't work out. And by keeping our focus upon all the tragedies in our lives, it cripples us. It keeps us from achieving better things in our lives, and it keeps us from moving towards the new goals we're meant to obtain.

When you give your whole heart, your whole spirit, your full beliefs into the work…it will produce something great. Even if it's not what you expect, you change the way dreams happen by operating your life in this manner. It's no longer about chasing an elusive dream. It's about pursuing the better you. And when it's less about a specific outcome…dreams will find a way to you. You will be reversing the equation, and you will be reaping the rewards that come with the betterment of creating the best you.

We live our lives in fear. We're afraid to love again after having our heart broken, we're afraid to work towards something in case we're disappointed again, and we're afraid to live because there's so much uncertainty within it.

And while life is uncertain that isn't something to be afraid of, it's something to rejoice in, because even if you didn't get exactly what you thought you should've…you'll find you got something so much better by committing yourself to a pursuit. You will ALWAYS find a peace in the pursuit of becoming the best person you could be. So, if you put your attention to fear and failure…you'll find and create more of it. But if you focus more towards industriousness no matter what the outcome, if you focus on love in the moment for what it is, and if you focus on living fully in whatever direction you face…you will always see beauty. You will always find magic. And you will always be rewarded. Maybe not exactly how you expected, but with something even better than you might have imagined.

On a side note, sometimes goals don't happen on our timeline. We give up too easily, and when we don't put our whole heart and soul into something we prolong the time being able to obtain it. But if you focus on the betterment of YOU during your pursuit, you'll never be disappointed by what you create along the way.

Today's Personal Commitment:I decided to talk about this subject today because I was feeling sorry for myself. I was feeling lonely as I was telling a negative story about past relationships. And I have to be very aware and catch this type of thinking, as it's easy to just go into autopilot and feel sad for myself. I'll think things like, no one will ever love me, that relationships are too hard, or that I'm meant to be alone. And those are all limiting beliefs. They are ways to keep me stuck in fear. They are reasons to keep doing things halfway and put the blame all on me, or someone else, never truly growing from the situation.

So I want to ask you:

-What's that place, your kryptonite, that you go to and feel sorry for yourself?

-What are you doing in your life that's keeping your foot halfway in the door and halfway out? -What are the things you're afraid of; what are the stories you're telling yourself that are keeping you from fully committing towards what you pursue?

Alfred Lord Tennyson said, "it's better to love and lost than never to have loved at all." And when someone tells us that quote to help us in harder times, it's not appreciated much. Our eyes narrow as we shoot daggers of pure hatred at the person only trying to help us. While we know they're only trying to help, we get upset because we don't want to hear it. We don't want to look at the brighter side of things. We want to rationalize why we should stay in our pity, hurt, and anger.

The appreciation for that quote doesn't come until we get far enough away from the heartbreak. And when we can do this, we get clarity that the end wasn't the end of something infinitely; it was the beginning of something different.

Goals are hard endeavors because we make them life or death and say it will be forever. We're asked as young children what do you want to be when you grow up? Which conditions our young minds to think that when we grow up we'll only be able to make one choice, and be stuck there…so we must choose wisely. By thinking that way, it keeps us frozen because we don't want to make a mistake and be stuck forever.

-So, what is something whether big or small that you can commit yourself to fully this year? -What is something you can do this whole year, even if you aren't getting exactly what you want during your pursuit of it? -And how can you put your whole heart, mind, body, and soul into the task not for the reward of what you expect…but in knowing you'll become better by this no matter what the outcome?

If you're going to be changed, don't be changed by bitterness, anger, or from the frustration of things not going your way. Be changed because you were open to putting in the resiliency of committing yourself fully to something no matter what the outcome would be. That's one of the most freeing things you can do—to be open to all possibilities while focusing on being the best you wherever your attention is at the moment.

My Dreams Pursue Me

The Rock- Best thing that never happened. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iye7YYJt6A

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Tag Me Tuesdays-#372 January 16th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I Am Centered

I like to think I'm a pretty balanced guy, physically. I spent a good portion of my life training in the weight room and playing a multitude of sports. I played ice hockey in college and I learned a thing or two about having better balance. Now that I personal train people in the gym, I work to help them be more physically balanced in their life as well.

Think about someone who is losing their balance on an uneven surface. Usually what they do is stand up straight too fast, locking all their joints making themselves as rigid as possible, which puts them even more off balance as they throw their arms in the air frantically in hopes of finding their center. But if you are aware of your center of gravity, your hips, you learn how to move and adjust more efficiently without wide ranges of motions that destabilize you. I talk to my clients about being supple in their ankles, knees, and hips. It's like shocks on a car, the more stiff and rigid they are the more the car bounces roughly, but the more ease and agile the shocks then the smoother and more balanced the ride is. And by being more supple in those joint areas, the person only has to make micro movements to rebalance themselves.

You see, we have this false idea that balance is a stable place; that once you find it, you are good. That's why we try to stand up straight so quickly. We think that's the most balanced spot for us, tall and upright. But balance is always needing to correct itself. Your muscles will never be able to be perfectly still, even if they look it, they are adjusting all the time. Learning to physically have better balance is a great thing to work on, but what happens when you aren't balanced mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

At the end of every spin class, I give the same speech. If you have to leave early, please wipe down your bike and sign out, but if you can stay to cool down, meditate, and stretch…it will help to bring more balance into your life. I continue by saying that, "we go about our lives from one problem to the next, one stress to the next, and one excitement to the next…never taking time to center ourselves. So let's begin the process of coming back, to what strengthens us."

I believe in the power of focus and meditation to help our healing. In fact, while I was brainstorming this podcast, I got a call from a friend who was feeling really overwhelmed with everything that's going on in their life. She told me how she felt she was getting sick and was feeling run down. So, I talked about the effects that stress has on our body…and there's even a statistic on WedMD that says 75-90% of all doctors visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.

It was 11 pm so she couldn't go to the doctors anyways, and she began crying saying how bad she felt. When she gets sick she gets emotional saying she wants her mom…and I know that feeling because for guys, when I have gotten sick I am always sure that I am dying. I literally think in my head how this might be my last night, and so I begin praying to God asking for forgiveness for all the bad things I have done in my life in hopes of penance. But somehow, I always seem to make it through even though I'm sure it's my last day on earth.

Anyways, I said to my friend… are you in a comfortable spot? And she said, "yes, I am sitting at my desk."

I did a guided visualization mediation with her focused on healing and relaxation. I do a muscle relaxation technique where they systematically go through their entire body relaxing it. I have them envision a healing light at the top of their head. I like to use the color blue as it feels calming to me, but you can use any color that feels healing to you. And so I did a guided meditation with her, by instructing her breaths and telling her to move that healing light down her body slowly and feel it help relax every muscle in her body.

We did a quick meditation since it was late. But I also wanted to prove how just taking a minute or two to focus on meditation and her breathing would be simple, yet powerful for her. So we did a 2-minute meditation. I asked her how she felt after we were done, and she said felt better and calmer. We talked a bit more, and she thanked me for always being there to rescue and help her…but I corrected her right away and said, "I don't rescue you. I remind you about your own power within."

Our conversation, whether she knew it or not, was about finding her calm and finding her balance again. It was about understanding the healing powers within her body…and how it knows exactly what to do when we stop overly stressing and we get out of our own way—when we relax and let our body and mind do what it does best…heal us.

When we re-center ourselves we come back to a truth that we have forgotten a long time ago—that life isn't as complex as we make. So find your center by breathing deeply again, find your center by working to eliminate the negative stress in your life and know that most stress occurs from how we look at the situation, and find your center by calming your emotions knowing that they aren't in control of you, you are in control of them.

When we can come back to our center, when we re-balance ourselves, we begin re-aligning ourselves to let our body, mind, and soul do what it does best…heal us…and make us stronger…we become better humans, better individuals, better people by remembering this strength.

Today's Personal Commitment:See if you can relax your whole body on command. Get comfortable and close your eyes. Start at your forehead and move down your body progressively to relax each muscle in your body. If you're having trouble doing the visualization then try something called progressive muscle relaxation technique. This is where you will flex the muscle you are trying to relax so you know what it feels like engaged…and then relax the muscle. Go down your whole body from top to bottom and see how much more you can relax and re-center yourself.

One tip is to remember deep breaths in and out. Try it a few times today; you don't have to do it for a long time just take a few moments out to stop and focus on centering yourself. See how much this helps re-center and calm you during your day today.

I Am Centered

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Mindful Mondays-#371 January 15th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

What I Share Is What I Get Back

"People say New Yorkers can't get along. Not true. I saw two New Yorkers, complete strangers, sharing a cab. One guy took the tires and the radio; the other guy took the engine." ~David Letterman

A philanthropist can give their money to those less fortunate, a warrior can give their life to help the cause, an artist can give their talent to create beauty…and those who worry and fret, get back what they give into the world…more worry and fear.

We're all married to something in this world. Whether you're in a romantic relationship or not, we are connected to what we focus upon. So, you're either married to your problems and sadness, or you're married to your growth and happiness. We either adore worry and fear, or we participate in love and hope. There's no in-between, you cannot focus on two things at the same time, so when you focus on fear, worries, and sadness you make a vow to commit towards living in sin. And not necessarily the sin of the Ten Commandments, but a deeper folly of chaining ourselves unnecessarily…the continually act of self-corruption.

And while I am going to get into some of the Christian Bible today, this is not to speak about religion, but to speak about love. The highest commandment of all.

"Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

But how can you love God, how can you love your neighbor if you don't love yourself? Because when we focus on fear, when we choose to make that our home, when we decide to stay in our anxieties and worries instead of assessing them and moving through them—then we aren't loving ourselves. We are actively choosing to hate ourselves. And maybe that might sound like a strong statement, but think about a good friend who was in trouble—would you tell them to stay in their fear, would you let them destroy themselves down a path you know that you could help them turn away from? No, you wouldn't. Yes I know we don't control anyone, but the people we love we want the best for them, and we try our best to help them, to guide them, and to be there for them so they don't live in fear and anger. And if we would do that for others, why don't we do that for ourselves?

When I'm working with new life coaching students, I work to help them be aware of all the negative things they'll say in a day. And in this first phase, they become very sad during this time. And I play dumb not knowing what's going on, as I ask them why they are so upset. They tell me that they were so excited in seeing the places they were negative about at first, but as they did more of this mindful exercise, they realized they were getting more negative. They felt that by them focusing on their negativity that it was bringing out more negativity in them.

I listen to them so they can get out everything they need to say; and after they're done speaking, I bring a higher awareness to them. I tell them that they weren't getting more negative…they were becoming more aware. You see, we literally are clueless to how much we focus on negativity and problems in our lives. We don't see how much worry we have in our life. And we don't see all the negative things we say about a situation, about other people, and about ourselves. We've become married to our problems, and what we put out into the world is exactly what's returned to us.

We all know that famous quote in the Bible that's used at weddings… You know, "love is patient and love is kind…" but do you know what's said before all those famous verses that we almost know by heart?

Let me share it with you: "If I speak in human and angelic tongues- but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing."

We are all married to something in our lives…

-Will you be married to worry, anger, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and self-deprecation? -Or will you be married to love of self, love of others, and love of the situation no matter what's going on?

Because what we put out into the world is what is returned back to us. What we give is like a wheel. Life is a cyclical pattern. And so if we give more love to ourselves, we give it more fully into the world; and thus that love is returned to us. But if we practice more fear, self-hate, and worry…it's returned to us like a wheel with its brakes on. It will not move, we will not move…we trap ourselves by thinking that living…consists in merely surviving.

So in essence, if we speak in human and angelic tongues, if we have the gift of prophecy and knowledge, if we have faith, and if we give away everything we own…but do not have love. Then we are nothing. The pattern starts within, when we love ourselves, we can love our neighbor, we can put a higher love into the world; and in return, we will be returned more love to continue the process of being not only mindful of what we're doing, but aware of what we truly can be.

Today's Personal Commitment:What are you sharing into the world? If you're able to do this exercise right now, stop everything and let your intuition talk. Write down at the top of a piece of paper "What Am I Sharing Right Now." And then begin listing all the things you're putting out into the world in your current status right now.

Don't write down what you hope to be putting out, don't write down what you don't want to be putting out, just be real and write down what you are putting out…with no filters. After you write your list down, look over it and ponder on it for awhile. Don't ponder on judgment, just look at it to become aware of what you're doing. You aren't a good or bad person for what you're doing, you just are you at the moment…unaware.

And now that you've thought about what you're putting out into the world, write down:

• 1) What you want to be putting out into the world.
• 2) Ideas on how you can do that.
• 3) Making a plan to follow through.
• 4) Commiting yourself to that plan.

Be the wheel that moves, be the cyclical part that shares love internally and externally…instead of the wheel that focuses on fear, anger, and self-hate. Don't be the wheel with the brakes on. Be the wheel that gives kindness, hope, faith, and love freely and purposefully.

So let us not be worried about seeing our fears and think that we're getting worse for viewing them, let be different. Let us have to courage to view them to become more aware. Let us learn to love ourselves, so that we can love the world back. And let us reap the benefits naturally, by putting great things out so great things will return to us.

In marriage we make the vow until death do us part…what are you bonding yourself to? Make it to something good.

What I Share Is What I Get Back

Thanks for listening to The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Smiling Sundays - #370 January 14th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

The Work Is My Reward

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit." ~Napoleon Hill

Now be honest, when you first saw this affirmation you were disappointed…you were like nu-uh… I don't find the reward in the work…maybe you even cringed a little on seeing this. Work, effort, putting in the time to do something gets a bad rap. We look at the challenge ahead as punishment because we want to be at the end of a task right away, and we want the reward as quickly as possible.

But getting the reward too quickly makes us not respect it as much then, and it puts a false sense of expectation upon ourselves—that the end reward, is the only reason we're doing something.

My original reason for starting a podcast was the reason that kept me stuck. I heard people were making money from them, and so I figured I could find a way to make money doing it too. And that's not a bad reason for wanting to do something, we all have to make a living somehow…but money has never been a motivator for me. And so, I spent years wanting to do a podcast and make a bigger impact with my time…but I spent so much time telling myself I didn't know how to do it, that I didn't know if it would be worth my time since I might not make money from doing it…and so I kept waiting, talking myself out of why I couldn't…until one day I just decided to leap. I said to myself, "if you never make any money off of this, even if no one listens…that's ok because I want to make it my mission to put value out into the world. And so I lept, I took action and decided to commit to putting out a podcast daily no matter what happened.

I just had to get crystal clear on what my mission was, to bring value into the world, even if I got laughed at for not being good enough…and that's what helped me to overcome my fears of making mistakes or not being good enough. In fact, I had to launch, to make mistakes, so I could get feedback and create a better experience for listeners. And I'm still tweaking it and learning…and doubting myself from time to time

At the time I knew it would be work, but I didn't know how much. I originally was going to do it five days a week from Monday to Friday, but in my head I said… "wouldn't it be cool if you had 365 days instead of 261?" And again I jumped and decided to commit to the work no matter what.

Every week, I still get nervous if I can tell something new, or I get fearful thinking that I've run out of stories to share about my life…but the truth of the matter is, even if I tell similar stories or give the same message from time to time…it's going as it should be. Everything I'm speaking of…is needed. And not because I'm saying that I'm important in how I craft the message, but more that we need to continually hear the subjects I'm speaking on. The subjects of mindfulness, of where we put our attention, or knowing that we are the ones in control of our lives, or that blame keeps us powerless, and many other deeper messages. We need these messages told to us…over and over again.

It's like prayer. When things are going great, it's easy for me to not to pray much, if at all, as I can take things for granted. And so I can be harder on myself saying you know better, you know this already…but while we do know what we need to do…we still need to keep reminding ourselves of what we want in our lives because it's so easy to forget sometimes.

So with rewards, I know I need to keep reminding myself that the happiness wasn't in obtaining the thing, the joy wasn't in getting to the end…but the reward was being awake during the work. It's like going on a hike. I live by the Smokey Mountains here in eastern Tennessee, and when I go hiking I've noticed how my eyes are more on the ground. I do it because I don't want to misstep on my climb. While it's partly due to safety, it's also due to finding the quickest way to the top and then back down.

I've forgotten that the whole reason for the climb was to enjoy the beauty along the way, not only at the top. I've said this quote many times, but it needs to be said again… "be careful of having your eyes so focused on the end goal that you miss the things along the way." The best parts of the hike weren't in only getting to the top to see that beautiful view…but it was looking the whole time I was climbing…because that was equally as beautiful as well.

We are a society focused on goals, achievements, and on obtaining things. We've gotten used to telling ourselves the lie that the reward was in getting to the end of something…and while that is ONE reward…it's not the whole reward. The greatest times in my life were when I had to climb, when I struggled and was tested; when I wasn't sure how I would make it, but I believed in something more, I believed more in myself and found a way to be more creative to keep me from staying stuck; and the greatest times in my life were when I learned to let my mind be still within the moment…and take it in.

There's something beautiful about industriousness, in the work we push ourselves towards. There's something beautiful in the sweat we pore from our bodies in moving forward no matter what the costs, there's something amazing in the transformations that happen along the way of our journeys…and not because we focused solely on the reward…but we saw the reward in every part of the journey.

Today's Personal Commitment:What reward are you focused on right now? What journey are you taking at this moment? And are you enjoying each footstep in your journey…or only mesmerized by the gold at the end of your journey?

Today, no matter how crappy you think the tasks are on your desk I'm going to ask you to transform how you see them. So think about what you have to do today and ask yourself:

• How you can talk about them differently
• How you can think about them differently
• And how you can go about them differently.

Sometimes the easiest way to happiness is not in changing your path, but in knowing you were the one deciding whether to love your path or to hate and fight every step along the way. You are the one in control, not the task, not your boss, and not anything outside of yourself. Find joy in knowing that you are free. That you are free to choose where to focus. So, will you be so hell-bent on reaching the end that you miss all the beauty along the way, or will you find a way to know the rewards are in the work.

And on a final note, I was part of a reality TV show on MTV called I Used To Be Fat. And no I didn't name the show… I think they wanted to get a shock factor for marketing purposes, so forgive me for the harsh name of the show. But the reason I'm bringing this up is the gal I worked with, Holly, we climbed a trail called the Chimney Tops in the Smokey Mountains. I'll place a minute clip from the episode on my site of us climbing that trail. And in the clip it's so easy to miss all the beauty along the way trying to reach the top. One thing that they didn't tell you in this scene is I gave Holly my backpack that I filled with rocks and sand to challenge her more. Yes, I am that mean.

The thing I wanted to help Holly do in our journey together was to not focus on the weight loss aspect, but to focus more on the internal change. Because I know that lasting change comes…only when we change from within. Holly did a great job for all the hard work I put her through, but she struggled a lot with whether she wanted to continue to keep working as hard as I pushed her. And you'll hear in this clip how we can get so focused on the end goal that we miss the beauty along the way…even myself as I was pushing her to reach the top faster. But we only had so much time that the camera crew could be there, and it was a workout that I wanted to push her, so that's my excuse for rushing…it's not because I wasn't enjoying the beauty along the way.

If you want to see the full episode, I know you can buy the it on Amazon.The episode is called Holly and it's season 2, episode 7 of I Used To Be Fat, and I'm sure you can find it other places too.

The Work Is My Reward

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Synergistic Saturdays-#369 January 13th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I See The Bigger Picture

"I think when you work on fossils, and you realize that a species is there, and it's abundant for quite a long period of time, and then at some point it's no longer there - and so, when you look at that bigger picture, yes, you realize that either you change and adapt, or, as a species, you go extinct."~Louise Leakey

I was trying to think about what to say for this podcast, and I was having trouble thinking of where I'd like to take it. I sat in front of my computer for 20 minutes, at least, listening to music to help calm my mind. When all of the sudden I was startled as I heard a small guttural growl.

I jumped a little and looked to the left of my desk. I saw one of my dogs, Storm sitting upright, staring me down. It was one of those moments I've heard parents talk about who wake up in the middle of the night and their child is staring at them in the dark…and it creeps the hell out of them, as it looks like a scene from a horror movie. But I saw Storm's kind eyes and knew she wanted something.

I was perplexed at what she was doing because I'd just let the dogs out, and then fed them dinner. But Storm kept staring at me. I thought, well, she might want my usual hugs I give to all the dogs. So I got down and gave her a hug, and petted her for a bit to see if she just wanted attention. She quieted down. So I got back to my desk and went back to work. I then heard that same guttural growl again in the family room. So I went out to investigate what was going on. I had an idea what Storm was doing, but I went out to investigate.

And when I got out there, my hunches were validated. Storm loves to whine and cry when she feels someone is laying in her bed. And Jolene had snaked Storm's usual nighttime hangout place. I have more than enough beds for the dogs, but Storm for some reason won't lay down, and she cries until one of the dogs moves from where she thinks she deserves to lay.

The reason I bring this story up, is because we are like my dog Storm in our lives at times. We're so focused on not getting what we think we deserve that we'll only see the problem instead of the whole picture. We're so close to the problem that we aren't able to see all the possibilities of greatness in our lives.

Storm gets so focused on—this is my spot, my bed, that I'll be upset and whine until I get my way. And while whining isn't a good long-term plan for getting what you want, it sometimes does help Storm. She usually gets her way if she whines long enough, not because a dog moves from her spot, but I move the dog for her, so she will finally be quiet.

In our lives, we have gotten so accustomed to airing what bothers us, that it feels normal to talk about problems. We've become like those old people in nursing homes who only talk about what medicines they are taking, what sickness they are dealing with, or what aches and pains are bothering them. And while that sounds comical…it has become our reality. We get on facebook and talk about how sick we are, we talk about the issues we're having at our jobs or at school, and we talk about the sadnesses in our lives. And I think it's good to share things with people, but we air EVERY problem to the world…that we get comfortable talking more about problems than finding better things to focus on.

I do believe in talking about what bothers us, but there's a difference by talking something out to find an answer rather than just talking to complain. And I will keep reminding you of my favorite life coaching saying, so that it becomes a part of our subconscious… "we don't get what we want, we get what we focus on."

When you can begin focusing more on what's going right in your life, you'll find that you not only attract more good in your life, but you create more good in your life. And by being active in seeing the good, you become more creative, you become more open to different scenarios and possibilities…and you actually become happier.

Life is like a bicycle wheel. Think of the spokes in that wheel as the events in your life. Now, when one of those spokes breaks—it seems like the end of the world. It seems like things don't, or can't fit, together like they should. It feels final, it feels devastating, it feels uncomfortable… but what I just said was… "it feels." I didn't say it was the end of the world. Because when you step back from the problem, you see that your life wasn't about that one spoke or even a few of those spokes—your life was the whole wheel. And within that wheel, all those spokes keep the whole tire supported and still able to move.

When you are able to step back and see that each event, each process, of life isn't the end of something, but actually a piece of the whole process, it brings truth into your life. You see that it's all connected, not determined on thing to make you happy.

I spent so much of my life focusing on the problem that I made the problem bigger than it was. I stressed myself out more than I should've, and thus I made the situation worse. So when you're feeling like you're dying from sickness, when you feel like it's the end of the world after you'be been fired or laid off, when you feel you can't go on after you go through a breakup or when you get a bad review or negative comment about who you are…

take it in.

Step back to get some room to breathe, take some deep breathes and find the calm within the moment, and take a look at the bigger picture. See the beautiful intertwining of life, in ALL the spokes of your life, not just the one spoke that feels broken.

Today's Personal Commitment:What spokes feel broken at the moment in your life? And why do they feel like the end of the world to you…or at least a major problem for you? Write your answers down; and then step away from the paper for an hour, a day, or even a week. Come back to it when you've had time to step back and breathe from those problems…and then see how you can observe the bigger picture.

Write down:

• 1) The opportunity in the hard events.
• 2) Write down the lessons you can learn from these harder events.
• 3) Write down what you eventually want to get from making it through these events.
• 4) And then write down the steps you need to take to make that happen.

The problem isn't the broken event in your life. The problem is the way you see the problem. So let's begin seeing our problems less as problems…and more like stepping stones helping us get to the other side. We think that a wall is between us and the dreams we have in our lives, but the dream and where you are right now really aren't all that different. They're the same person; except the better version, the dream version of yourself, just decided that their problems weren't their focal point. So they looked past them, and found a way to get past them…in an efficient, deliberate, positive manner.

I See The Bigger Picture

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Fantastic Fridays-#368 January 12th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I'm Always Willing To Ask

The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love. ~Margaret Atwood

I was listening to a speaker talk on why it's so hard to remember people's names, and she were saying the reason was because our mind didn't know where to place it. She got all technical about what part of the brain is used and why it has trouble remembering. And like we forget names, it slipped my mind what part of the brain she was talking about. The reason that I think I forgot what she said, was not because it wasn't interesting, but because I didn't care.

It's not that I didn't care about her, or her topic, it's that I didn't put value on why I should remember the name of a section of the brain that she was talking about. I tune out when people start talking about all the parts of the brain…the frontal lobe, the temporal lobe, the parietal lobe, the hippocampus…in fact, my brain gets over-"lobed" out…" get it overload..to over-"lobed" out …ok it's a bad joke when you have to explain it, right???

Anyways, I think there are multiple reasons why we forget names, but before I get into all the reasons, I think the best way to remember names is by understanding WHY we should remember names first.

I was listening on the radio to a podcast or some sort of interview, and the person was talking about remembering people's names. He said that if he forgets a name, he'll ask them again. The embarrassment wasn't as big a deal because there was a bigger purpose than his embarrassment. He wanted to know the person, and by him continuing to ask that person however many times he needed to, was him saying to himself and the other person that I WANT to know you…even if I have to be embarrassed asking again.

And that was such a powerful idea, that it's stuck with me. He'd turned the embarrassment side of the argument upside down and said this is not about me, but it's about you. It's that I care so much in knowing you, that I'll keep asking your name if I have to.

If you think about it, one of the biggest reasons we don't remember people's names is from where our attention is. And our attention usually is in two places…nowhere—you know, those silly random thoughts that are always going on with what we have to do, what we forgot, what was the name of that song, etc…and the other place our attention is mostly on… is ourselves.

We've gotten into the habit of making conversations less about who we're talking to and making more about ourselves. It's about us being known rather than knowing someone else. We worry more about sharing what we know, who we know, or what we bring to the table…as a matter of showing our worth. We have become a society so self-absorbed that we're missing out on some of the greater parts of life. By knowing people's names, or trying to get to know people's names more attentively, it helps us to connect more in this world.

But it's so easy to be tuned out not just in remembering names, but in life in general, and as I stated in the beginning of the podcast I believe it's from how we're assessing the value of something. I remember taking a communication class in college, and we talked about scripted responses. You know those questions or statements that we're able to answer without thinking about—like how we're doing, what's going on in the weather, or the things that are going wrong in life at the moment. They are processes that take minimal thought, and we've learned that in the beginning of conversations scripted answers and questions are part of our normal dialogue and customs.

So if we don't need to have much thought in the beginning of a conversation, then we don't put value into the beginning of a conversation…which means we are less likely to pay attention. So when someone tells us their name, our brains are literally turned off. We aren't actively listening, as we're most likely in scripted question and response mode. And we all have been there saying these words, "uh huh, you don't say, oh that's interesting"…all while we aren't even paying attention.

But I want to challenge you to think differently about names and conversations. The real reason why you should know someone's name is because it means you really care about someone. I was walking into the gym to start my day, and I saw a newer member of the gym and so I said, "Hey Scott, how are you doing?" He replied, "I'm great Chris, thanks for asking." Now while that was a simple conversation…for me, it was about me recognizing him…not just as a face, but as someone important. Now granted, Scott and I have only chatted a few times in passing, and I saw him again about 20 minutes later in another part of the gym, and he said, "Chris, thank you for remembering my name. It doesn't seem like much, but it really means a lot to me."

And that's what remembering names means to me. It's me actively saying I see you, I want to know who you are, I care about you, you are important to me.

I don't remember everyone's names, and I do get embarrassed asking people their name 20 times, in fact I've done it a bunch of times and I apologize for it…but I also let them know that I want to get better at remembering their name. You see for me it's not about being good at remembering everyone's name. It's that I want that person to know that I want to be better at remembering THEIR name. That they are important.

And really what it's about is paying attention to the beginning of a conversation to hear their name.

I'm not too bad with names, but I'm not as good as I used to be at it. I think it's due to being rushed in everything I'm doing as my mind is on all the random thoughts I'm focusing on. And in my younger years I placed even more value on remembering names. I used to work in a bar, and it was my mission to know everyone's name in the bar on a particular night. I remember one night they were all new customers, and I could name off all 50 of the patron's first names. I wanted to know their name so they felt good, but I also had an ulterior motive… I wanted better tips too. So there was a secret agenda in that time in my life…but I still hold the importance of a name.

It feels good when people know who we are. It feels good when we are perceived as memorable. It feels good connecting with people on a deeper level than just scripted questions and responses. And it feels good having conversations and interactions that are more than just about ourselves.

I could give you all these tips on how to remember people's name such as using their name 3 times in a conversation, use associations, make it a new years resolution…but in the end it's really simple it's about your why, it's about the value you put on knowing someone's name.

Maybe you don't see knowing everyone's name as important in the grand scheme of things, and that's fine. But the next time you say I'm bad at remembering names…maybe you should ask yourself if it's more that you don't care to know someone's name. Because in the end if you really cared, you'd do something different.

Today's Personal Commitment:Wow, I left you with a pretty harsh last thought, saying that you may not care about knowing people…but I wanted to get your attention. Sure there's only so much we can focus on, and trying to remember everyone's name may not be a priority to us. So maybe it should be less about knowing everyone, and more into having more meaningful interactions.

Because if we're so caught up in scripted conversations, where we don't think or we don't try to really connect with people, then are we truly getting the most out of life? Are we learning from people, are we hearing them so we can help them when they're in need, and are we getting more out of a conversation than it always being about ourselves? It feels good when we feel heard, when we feel people are really listening to us. So why not give that gift to others?

When we listen intently and actively to others, it gives more room for ourselves to be heard back. But let's not make this about what we can get. This month I want you to pay attention to your conversations. I want you to work in not getting into autopilot of scripted response and question mode. I want you to see if you can really connect with people—to hear their name, to put value on knowing their name, as you work to remember their name for a different reason. See what happens when you stop saying I'm bad at remembering names, and instead…begin figuring out why you want to know people's names better.

Let's work to let people know they're known and that they matter. It may seem like a small thing, but it's a huge thing when you know someone remembered your name because they wanted to know who you are.

I'm Always Willing To Ask

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Thoughtful Thursdays-#367 January 11th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I'm Already Wealthy

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants." Epictetus

I'm going to go deep on this podcast, so bear with me…grab some popcorn or whatever snack you prefer and let's change together.

One illusion we live our lives in, is that we don't have what we want or what we need. And thus we put our energies into focusing on what we lack instead of putting energy towards creating the thing we want. And when we put our attention on what's lacking, we train our subconscious to continue to keep coming back to that place as if it's our home. Which then conditions our subconscious to create energies that focus on keeping ourselves confined within "want" instead of achievement.

The law of attraction states that likened things attract likened things. And there are people who say it's all a bunch of malarkey, but it's because they've named it something different. They've called it a miracle and act of God through prayer, they've called it the act of visualization and application, they've called it hard work and determination, or they've called it good energy focused efficiently…but in the end no matter what you call it, whether it be the law of attraction or something else, matters not…it matters about how you focus.

Ok, I'm going to get all brainiac on you here. Although I'm not a super genius, I'll try to interpret these experiments as simply as I can for you. We've all heard of Einstein's equation of E=MC2, or Energy=Mass times the speed of light squared, and basically this equation is saying that there's no difference between mass and energy…they're the same thing…which really blew my mind originally. Because how can energy have mass, how can it have form? And where I'm going with this, is that our thoughts are energy—which means they actually are physical things, they create things. But how can things that we supposedly cannot touch have form? Now before I get into experiment explaining this, think of it like this, while we cannot touch light physically, we still know it's there…it's still physically doing something.

There was an interesting experiment called the double slit experiment. So how it worked, was a board was set up set up in front of a screen. The board would either have one slit or two vertical slits cut out of it. They slits looked like a capital letter "I."

Many different substances have been used in this experiment such as physical objects being shot at the board to light or lasers being shot at the board to understand how particles and waves act. The scientists wanted to understand what electrons were. Were they particles or were they waves? So they shot electrons at the board to see how they passed through the slit making an impression on the screen behind the board.

What they saw, was when the electrons went through the single slit they acted like a particle, they behaved as something that had mass. They formed an I shape on the screen behind the single slit board.

However, something interesting happened when the electrons went through the double slit. You would think the electrons would behave like they did in the first experiment and make two "I" shaped forms on the screen since the only thing that had changed was adding an another slit on the board. However what happened, was instead of two "I" shaped forms…it formed a band of multiple "I" shaped impressions of the slit on the screen.

What this experiment proved is that electrons can be two things; they can be physical, and they can be waveform. They aren't confined to being one or the other. And this left people confused for a long time on how to define an electron, as either a particle (something physical) or like a wave (nonphysical). What's even crazier about this experiment is that it changes by where the observer is standing…or how they are measuring. Meaning if they wanted to understand why the electron acted like a wave and they zoomed in to see what electrons did during the double slit experiment…then the electron acted like a particle instead of a wave.

So, what I really found this to mean…is even in physical scientific experiments…on the smallest level of looking at what all "matter" is made of—electrons…they're changed by the way it's observed. Which means the way you observe your life will determine how something will change. Your thoughts are actually energy, and energy is equal to mass, so where your thoughts focus upon…is what you will physically create in your life.

If you observe your life on a higher positive vibrational scale…you will change your truths. It's much more than just thinking positive; it's about how you observe things. I like to say this example, "the reason people's lives don't change is that they only try positive thinking…when in fact it's about positive 'BE-ing'. It's not about trying something; it's about knowing and becoming the thing you want before you become the thing you want. How you decide to view an event is the physical truth you will create for your life."

I'll include two videos so you can see the double slit experiment explained better at the bottom of this post on my website.

Now in this final experiment, I'll talk about, it will bring home what I was just saying. There's something called sympathetic resonance, which basically states that likened things will take on the same frequency from the thing that's vibrating. So in the experiment, two tuning forks are beside each other, but not touching each other. One tuning fork is struck, and then the struck fork is stopped by someone putting their fingers on it to stop the vibrations and the tone. Now most of us would think that would stop the vibration and the noise we hear, and it does, but only on the struck fork. The fork that was next to it, is still vibrating and you can hear the same frequency pitch that the struck fork emitted in that second tuning fork that wasn't touched.

So, what that means is the fork that wasn't touched was affected by the other forks vibrational frequency. It took on the vibration and continued putting out the same noise. So now take this experiment and think about how your thoughts aren't just thoughts. They are energy and they emit a frequency. So if thoughts are energy and energy is the same thing as mass, as something physical, then your thoughts are things. When your thoughts, your vibrational frequency, is put out into the world it basically is passed from one object…you…and then transferred to something within the world. Your focus will not only attract what you put your attention on, but it will also create it within this world as well.

The law of attraction isn't just thinking positively…it's aligning your thoughts to match frequencies of the things you desire. The universe is all about harmony. So what you put out the universe reciprocates in perfect harmony. The universe doesn't differentiate what is good or bad as we do, it just reproduces what you give to it. And so, if you focus and put out negative frequencies…they are returned to you. But if you consistently focus on higher and better vibrational frequencies, then those…are returned to you.

Thoughts become things, and what vibrational frequency you emit into the universe is what will be created. But it's more complicated than just creating things, it's more about aligning yourself up with the frequencies that create the things you want. We have confused creating with alignment. The law of Conservation of Energy states that everything in this universe is neither created nor destroyed. When we truly understand this, then it's not about creating our wants but it's about aligning ourselves up with our wants. It's about becoming the full embodiment of our wants before we obtain them. So I want you to really hear me on this…it's not about creation…it's about alignment.

You and the universe are in a collaborative, symphonic, performance together working to create a mutual harmony. Everything you do will be harmony, but will it be the tune you wish to be aligned with, or will it be the return of the things you focus on that you don't want. Because as they say, the universe doesn't judge…it just grants your wishes of what you're focusing upon.

Now maybe this all might sound crazy to you, and I would've thought the same thing years ago, but I've seen too many miracles in my life to believe in them as only being happenchance or coincidences. And as they say, when the student is ready the teacher will appear, and many teachers appeared for me when I was open to seeing a deeper truth.

There are three examples that come to mind that have proven to me of these principles being true…and if I don't convince you, that's ok because I believe you should find your own truth and learn to live by it, but I'm hoping to help you see another possibility.

The first example of aligning myself was finding one of my greatest mentors, Mike. It was a time when I was looking for truth, not just what hand been spoon fed to me my whole life. I wanted to explore all possibilities. And it seemed rather lucky that at the time I was looking, that my actual next door neighbor, Mike, came into my life. And through a series of events, over a few years of being able to chat with him every day, I was gifted a chance to learn some of his higher wisdom no one had ever told me before. And while it seems like I was in the right place at the right time, it was the intention I put out into the universe…I wanted to hear a deeper truth and when I asked that Mike appeared…right next door in fact.

The next example is always a pleasant surprise when it happens, but it's happened so many times that even though I'm surprised, I know better as it not being a coincidence. I've had many good friends come and go in my life, and there've been multiple times I would think about them after a few years of not communicating at all. The latest one was my buddy Dillan, we hadn't talked in about 2 or 3 years, and as I was getting in my car to go to work he popped in my mind. I said, "I need to call Dillan, I wonder how he is doing."

And the crazy thing is he called me. And it's not that he called me a month later, he called me that exact day. Now mind you I wasn't on Facebook looking for them, I wasn't talking with friends or acquaintances who knew him who might have let him know I was talking about him. He lived in Washington at the time, and one small deliberate thought came into my mind, and I knew I wanted to talk with him.

Now I don't know if Dillan was thinking about me and that's why he came up in my mind to call him, or that he felt my thoughts about wanting to connect and that's why he called me…but I've lost touch with friends over the years, and I would think about them, and they'd call me back that day or week. It's happened too many times over the years to be an accident or to be called a coincidence. And as Einstein once said…"coincidences are God's way of remaining anonymous."

My final example of the power of aligning my thoughts was when I was laid off from work. I was looking for a job but not too hard at the time. And I was getting bored from eating Cheetohs, Ramen noodles all while playing video games all day. It's amazing how hungry you get doing nothing. So yes, I was a lazy bum during this time. After getting to my boredom breaking point, I decided something had to change. I decided to send out resumes in full force by doing something different. I made sure that everything I sent out, the recruiter had to physically touch. I wasn't going to email anything. I was going to physically go to the building and hand them my resume, or I was going to fax it in so they had to touch the piece of paper to get it, or I was going to mail it through the post office so they would have to open the envelope and physically touch my resume.

In my second week of doing this, I started getting a bunch of calls. I was embarrassed I didn't know who was calling me for interviews. I knew I sent out my resume to a bunch of companies, but I didn't recognize any of the companies names that were calling me back. They say when you're interviewing you should do your homework on the company, so I didn't want to look like wasn't doing my due diligence and not look interested or knowing anything about the positions I was applying for, but I had no clue who the company was when they contacted me. And after the 6th or 7th call within a week, I said sheepishly, "I'm really sorry to ask this, but I don't know who you are, how did you get my resume? I don't remember sending it to you." And the recruiter said, oh I found you on an online resume site.

Now while that wouldn't seem weird, the funny thing is I had my resume on that site for two years and hadn't heard a peep from anyone…even when I was in the job before I got laid off. Now people will say that I must have triggered something by going on the site to look for jobs, but I didn't go to that site to look for job placement ads. The only thing that had changed was me putting out specific energy and it being returned to me. I got what I was looking for; it just didn't happen exactly how I was expecting it.

So in conclusion, the law of attraction has changed my life by teaching me that—what you can hold in your mind, you can create in your life…your mental energy creates substance. Your thoughts physically create things from where your focus resides. And there are four steps to help align yourself how you wish in your life:

• Know your imagination is energy; your thoughts create vibrations.
• Those waves will be put into the Universe
• The Universe will return what you put out there. The Universe is always in harmony with your thoughts, so pay attention to what you're aligning yourself with.
• Learning from reciprocation. If the Universe returns what we give it, and we aren't happy with how things are happening, be aware and ask how you can change your vibration. It's about purity of mind. Your mind is like water; if you're focusing on your lack, your weaknesses, and on how things don't work out for you…then you make your mind darker. You make the purity of it unpalatable. The Universe doesn't judge where your focus is, it returns what you give it.

And the more you practice this way of operating upon purity, then the better you'll get at creating what you truly want, and you'll be getting those things faster. And people will see your efforts as luck or call you a magician…but you'll know it's not magic per say…it's focus.

Now I know this was a bunch of information, and maybe your head might be spinning at the moment. But I wanted to talk about physical proof of the power of our thoughts and the universe, not because I need to prove it to myself, but rather I wanted to give you some basis on actual science and experiments that open up your mind to possibilities.

For me, I don't care so much about facts as I've seen the law of attraction happen in my life too many times to count. I like to think about it like the topic of love, you don't need an explanation how it works, you know it works…and thus you spend your energy on what's important…loving…instead caught in endless in figuring out that mystery.

A lot of the science I referenced, I made sure to talk with my good buddy Charles about. He graduated with an aeronautical engineering degree, so he understands this stuff better than I do…but he told me how he uses the law of attraction in his life.

He said, "I am in a dual feedback loop…the universe has something happen to me… and I will transmute it by making it positive and send that out to the universe which it will then react back to what I put out to it. I'm constantly taking back what the universe is giving me, and then focusing on keeping it on a positive higher frequency. I'm changing the Universe's return frequency, as I stay consistent. I'm constantly updating. I'm taking the negative lower energies and continually updating it to higher positive frequencies to change what's returned to me; you can't B.S. the universe…it knows. You have to will it; you have to become what you put out there."

And like what Charles said…the reason you change what the universe is sending you is not because you outplayed the Universe in its game, but the Universe saw your consistency in your focus and said, "I will give you back what you emit, I will give you back who you are." So in the end, the law of attraction brings you what you want, not because you out-willed something, but because you became what you wanted in every fiber of your being. When you understand that you are already wealthy, in every area of your life, you'll find that your life changed not because you did something physically different, but you became different. Your vibrational energy aligned with abundance instead of lack…which in turn, gives you the capacity to live beyond your dreams.

Today's Personal Commitment:This was a pretty long podcast, so I want to make this easier and only do a visualization to help you begin thinking and acting differently. Think of the Universe, or whatever you want to call it…God, Abba, Science, Energy… and visualize it as a person who you can talk with. This person knows you inside out, someone you can't fool. And this person can grant you anything you focus on…this person will harmonize and return exactly what you put out there. Think of this person as sitting across the table from you, or next to the park bench you're on, or going for a walk as you tell them what you want.

So the next time you want something or you want to become something different, instead of forcing things the old way of pushing back or trying to make things happen only physically…what if you were to change your energy to better harmonize with the Universe. What if you were constantly updating, not getting upset at what's given to you because you know it's not a punishment…it's just the return of the energy you've been putting out into the world.

It's my hope that if you see your exchange with the Universe on this deeper level, you will change how you interact with the Universe. You won't throw your hands up in the air and say it's just my luck… you will instead begin working on updating your energy to higher vibrational frequencies. You will work on purifying your mind to align better with the Universe. You will be like sympathetic resonance, you'll be like that tuning fork, knowing whatever frequency you give out will be returned to you exactly as you've put it out there. So how pure is your mind, how high is your frequency…and do you focus more on abundance and the possibilities of what you want rather than the focusing on your lack—the things that you think are bad in your life or missing from your life?

But I do have to warn you, by choosing the path of purity and a higher vibrational frequency of your thoughts and your actions…you won't be able to live in blame anymore. You won't be able to say it's not your fault, you won't be able to live in the dark, ignorant, and unaware…you will know that everything you are a part of is your responsibility. And if you don't like where you are, then you have to be diligent in constantly updating your mind and your ways. Your thoughts are more than just random nothingness…they are energy, and energy is not only power…but it's "matter" too. Your thoughts are things; you are a creator, and I hope you focus on creating well. I hope you remember that you're already wealthy, because when you do remember this…everything changes.

I'm Already Wealthy

Dr Quantum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPeprQ7oGc

Light Experiment Double Slit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iuv6hY6zsd0

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Wisdom Wednesdays-#366 January 10th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I Follow Through Because Of My Fears

"I can give you a six-word formula for success: 'Think things through - then follow through.'" ~Eddie Rickenbacker

I like to think I'm organized, that I do what I need to when…I need to, but I've created habits that feel more natural than they should. I 've let fear creep under my skin, as it feels more like a standard operating procedure than a choice I've decided upon. And the reason that is is that I've been lying to myself to keep me from facing my fears. I've chosen more to live in the story of avoiding my fears, rather than telling the story of where my fears came from.

I think it's because I bought into the ideas of who society tells us to be. To fall in, to fit in, to be a piece of the system. And those are good things, for every society to thrive and continue thriving…there needs to be a certain amount of buy-in to the ideas within that system. But sometimes it can be crippling to the creativity of the individuals within that system.

And in our system we've been told to not make too much noise, to not interrupt what's been working for all these years, we've been told to fit in line and happiness will happen by falling in with the masses. And for me, the story I told to fit into the system was about getting people to like me, being acceptable to others, not standing out so I wouldn't be judged harshly. So, I quieted my healing voice for others by being worried I would be stepping out of line, that I wouldn't be good enough, that people who were more qualified than me should be doing it instead of me.

I have this fear about returning calls. I know it sounds silly, but when I get a new lead it's the predicament of the 10,000-pound phone. That's what we called it when I was in the sales force. It's the difficulty of picking up that phone to do what's necessary in contacting a potential prospect. But it's not that the phone is hard to pick up, it's that I have weighted myself down with my fears so that I can't even put my hand near the phone.

I'll overthink the situation and process all that would or could go wrong, rather than seeing the bigger picture. And so it's easier not to call, than it is to be worried about messing up. It's easier to focus on failure than it is to work on learning from our mistakes and continue moving forward. Because when we focus on the fear it gives us a reason to cop out, to make excuses of why we can't, and we think that the comfort of not moving forward is better than the sadness of being stuck in the same spot.

Every time I've lead a bad coaching session was due to me focusing on myself. It was the pressure I put on myself to have the answer, to be prepared for every twist and turn that could come my way. And what I was doing by doing that, was focusing more on me than I was focusing on my student.

I work to guide my sessions through active listening and intuition, and when I remember this and purposefully work to put myself there…the sessions always work themselves out. In fact, when I thought I had a bad session, a student will say it was the best one yet. The reason I felt it was bad was that I was focusing on myself, and me being the hero, rather than being the questioner helping my student see they were the one shifting themselves not me making them change.

The reason I've helped people was not because of all the advice I'd given them, but by helping them to get to the root of what's bothering them…and then letting them come to their a-ha moment. Sure, I'll give advice, and I work to ask powerful questions…but the power of helping someone isn't about handcuffing their hand to mine and telling them this is how it will be solved…it's about giving them the space to talk it out. And that gives them the power, to see the problem for what it really is. That gives them the chance to look at their fears and see that they aren't what they thought they were…they were just the amplification they put on the fear of everything that could go wrong.

And so coming back to my fear of calling back people, the root cause of it comes from being a failure. It's the fear of not connecting with the person, not being able to help them, or not making a conversion from them wondering if they should do business with me or not. It's the fear of not making enough money in my business and being a failure in my endeavors, and it's the fear of not having all the answers and failing that person.

It's me overthinking, instead of looking at what the real purpose is behind the call. And it's really simple when you think about it. It's just me calling them back, and having a real conversation with them by asking what's going on. It's about seeing if we have a connection to work together, to see if I'm the person that can be there for them, to help them see their potential. I've put too many unrealistic expectations on myself. And those expectations are—that I have to help everyone, that I have to connect with everyone, and that I have to be the answer for everyone.

And by thinking this way, it only magnifies my fears…because I'm putting an expectation on myself that is unrealistic for ANY human on this earth. The expectation that I have to be everything to everyone. And to tell you the truth, when I look at it honestly, that sounds exhausting. Because what I really want is to make a difference in the lives of the people I can connect with, the lives of the people who are open to trying something different, and to be a helper in allowing people to see their true potential…because I never was their answer…I was just the spark to help them fan the magnificent fire within themselves. It was about changing an overwhelming flame within, into a directed flame with purpose.

Your fears, it's not that they aren't valid, it's that there's something behind them that may not necessarily be true. Once you begin looking at what you want and why the fear is holding you back…you will then begin seeing the root of your fears…and you'll begin seeing that your fears really aren't what you made them out to be.

So every time you feel that fear, know that everything that was something valuable to us was behind the wall of fear. Know that it was the Universe asking how willing you are to pursue your goals. Know that the fear is not a wall to block you…but a wall to challenge you to climb over and be strengthened from. As the strength is meant for you to hold onto what you seek, not just obtain it for a brief moment.

Today's Personal Commitment:So, what unrealistic expectations are you putting on yourself? And what are the fears you've created by holding yourself to that expectation?

The fears we hold onto didn't come from "nowhere," they were deliberately processed in our subconscious by the things we overwhelmed ourselves with. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Abraham Lincoln, "My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure." And that's what fear does to us; it tells us that it's more comfortable to live in failure rather than to move through our mistakes.

Fear is the lie we tell ourselves that if we mess up, then it will be the end of the line for us. But the only reason there'll be an end of the line, or a failure, is if we decide to give up. If we decide to live within the lies of the fears we hold, instead of climbing over the walls of fear to be strengthened because of the climb. Fear is not the end of the line; it's like the weights in a gym—asking whether you're going to pick it up and move it, or continue ignoring and walking away from it. Be strengthened because of your fears…not weakened by the lies of your fears.

So write down the expectations you have, and ask yourself, "is it realistic of me to think this way?" And if you find you've got some unrealistic expectations, ask yourself why you're holding onto those thoughts. I think it will be a good starting point to realizing your fears and then beginning to address them differently. Let's begin climbing those walls instead of being stopped by them.

I Follow Through Because Of My Fears

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide

Tag Me Tuesdays-#365 January 9th The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

It All Will Happen How It Needs To

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." ~Steve Jobs

I know how much easier it is to look at what's going wrong than to see what's going right. I know it's so much easier to be caught in the present moment of chaos or a problem, then it is to remember in how the past has always found a way of working itself out.

In the present moment we will stress over a problem, and decide that it will always be this way…that the future will be directed by the problem now. But the reason the future changes, is not because of the event that's happening in the moment…it changes by the way we respond to that event. Whether we decide to let the problem control us and be our future, or whether we look at the power of who we are, that we've always risen above our problems, knowing they changed by choosing to see them differently.

When we see a problem only at face value, then we connect with the problem and associate the problem as a part of us. So in essence even though the problem is outside of us, if we only see the surface of the problem, then it latches onto us…and we become the problem. Which we will then define our lives as the problems within it instead of seeing ourselves as the miracle that will overcome any problem, outlast any problem, that will become more creative than the problem, and that we will ultimately be the solution to the problem.

You see, when we look at how things are instead of seeing how we want them to be, then we are doomed to live our lives in a repetitive cycle of negativity. We are doomed to stay in a place of no change, the place that keeps us stuck in the problem, because we feel the problem is the thing in control…instead of us viewing that problem from a different vantage point.

And maybe that's because we only view our lives from the physical plane instead of seeing all levels of existence…the spiritual, the emotional, the mental, and the environmental. And when we see only one realm, we miss the entire equation. We see a problem as an obstacle, as an end to something good, when in fact it's just another process of life. The universe always bends towards balance and justice. And I know in my life, no matter what's happened…it has…and always will be worked out. It may not be exactly how I thought it would be…but if I decided to look beyond my pain and hurt…I saw an answer and I found meaning in it.

My good friend Charles told me a story about his brother passing at a young age, and I asked him how he ever found solace in it. He told me that even in the darkness there's light. In fact you can find the light better in your darkest moments…and even though it was a hard time for him…he found his way towards seeing the light. He found a way to know that the light was brighter in his darkness…and while it was unfortunate what happened…he found a way to celebrate and continually celebrate his brother.

I don't know your problems or your tragedies…but I can feel your pain. I can't promise to be the person who will take your pain away, but I hope to be a person to remind you that even in your greatest pain there's more happening. There's always a light that's shining, and while we may not understand it at the time, if we continually keep finding ways to face that light, to go towards that light, the goodness, then we will always find a way to know that the pain wasn't meant to hurt us or to break us…but it was a part of life…and only we could be the ones to decide to find meaning through it all…instead of only finding pain through it all.

I hope you won't be one of those people always caught in your problems never being able to see that the only reason there was a problem…was because you never chose to see anything different. And if you feel you're there now…be willing to do something different, be willing to stop the pattern of only seeing the problems in life…and begin asking how you can see the opportunities in your life.

Today's Personal Commitment:

I got to thinking about what vows are…and looking it up in Google it states that a vow is a solemn promise. I usually refrain from using the word promise because it's one of those words that people throw around so much and then not follow through that it doesn't have meaning like it used to. We'll say I promise this or I promise that to people and we then don't keep our promises.

And when looking up the word vow, the archaic use of it meant to dedicate to someone or something. I talk about the power of our word usage, and I think being dedicated to someone or something is a higher cause than just making a promise to make a promise. I know we're good intentioned when we make promises, but that's all it is…a good intention…rather than to solemnly swear or dedicate yourself to something. So I'm going to challenge you to make a vow to something this year in your betterment. What would you like to dedicate yourself to this year? What would you like to be your utmost focus? It's not that you can't do other things, but it's about having more clarity and focus in your endeavors. What's your main dedication this year?

Figure out your worthy cause, and since this podcast is about asking where and what we put our focus upon…what if you were to vow to find the positivity in every situation this year. To see the negative but immediately work to find the benefits in the negative.

What if you were to dedicate yourself to finding the opportunities in every situation?

How would that change your life? There's only one way to find out…but your vow should be something you decide upon, not just my suggestion. So, for the next week think upon this and then write your vow down and sign it and date it. Frame it if you need to and put it somewhere where you can see it daily. Put a reminder on your phone for your vow to pop up every morning and remind you.

Whatever it is that you need to do to remind you of your vow…do it. I'd love to hear what you dedicate yourself to. So, let me know if there is anything I can do to help you on this path. I'm sending great energy your way on your journey.

It All Will Happen How It Needs To

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide