July 21st- #202 Fantastic Friday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I stand up for myself

I put myself first, so I can put others first. I don’t tolerate chaos or people treating me unkindly, so I stand up for myself as I would stand up for the people I care about.  When I stand up for myself, I’m saying I am worth it, and I’m saying that I deserve better.

I don’t judge people for being unkind to me, I know they all have their own “stuff” going on, and it really has nothing to do with me. So I will remember to be firm when I stand up for myself, as I’m really showing people how to treat others better, and ultimately how they should treat themselves.  I take nothing personally because I know that those who criticize me are only doing it because they feel they are not where they want to be in their lives. If they were comfortable where they were, they wouldn’t be judging anyone.  So it has nothing to do with me, and I will not take their attack personally, but I will stand up for myself to be the example and the reminder that they are veering from being the people they want to be.

I am worth it…and so I will do what’s right for me…as I stand up for myself.

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

July 20th- #201 Thoughtful Thursday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

Forgiveness feels good. I forgive more freely.

Forgiveness feels good, so I’ll forgive myself and I’ll forgive others more readily.  When we express and utilize forgiveness more often, we allow more peace and calm into our lives. 

We live in a constant battle zone.  We have our guard up from all the people who have let us down, as we don’t want to be disappointed or hurt ever again. We get into a fight stance within our mind so that we never let people close enough to us, and we never give people the chance they need to grow…as we all make mistakes and need forgiveness given more freely.

We put up walls, and we defend our walls to the death never really getting to know people, never really trusting people, and never really living a life of beautiful proportion.  We get what we focus on, so if we think the world is untrustworthy…we will find more of that.  If we think that people are only out for themselves and this world is all about greed, you will attract more of that and you will find more of that.  If we think that whatever we do won’t matter and we’ll always fail or be let down, then we’ll not only attract more of it but we’ll create more of it as well.

Forgive yourself for your mistakes, hold yourself to a high standard, expect great things from yourself, want better things for yourself…but also give yourself the slack to make mistakes and to forgive yourself for your mistakes. The kinder you are to yourself, the kinder you will be towards other people.

I have found in my life when I’m angry at other people, it’s because I’m angry at myself. I’ll say things to myself such as, “I can’t believe I was so dumb to trust them. I can’t believe I believed their story, I knew better. If only I would have listened to my friends or my intuition I wouldn’t have let that happen… I wouldn’t have allowed this person to hurt me.”

Yes, we should listen to our intuition, but we need to forgive ourselves and others… so we can attract the right energy and people into our lives, and so we can tear down the walls that are keeping us from living a beautiful and full life with the people we want in our lives.

Forgiveness feels good. I give it more freely to others and to myself.

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

July 19th- #200 Wisdom Wednesday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

Peace, Calm, And Kindness is where I make my home

A client of mine was telling me about how they were doing poorly on their exams.  There would be questions on the test that were never discussed in class or that weren’t covered well in the book, and she had spent weeks preparing for the test.  Her blood would get boiling during the test as she would get angry thinking about how the test wasn’t representative of what they did in class. In her frustration she would say something like F’ this test, and continue to let her emotions control her and get the best of her.  Always finishing the test in an angry state rather than a calm and relaxed state.

During our conversation she told me the things she would say to herself during the test such as, “just give up,” or how she’s not smart at this stuff, how she was going to fail anyways, or that the other people in the class are so much better at this and it comes so easy for them.  And by telling herself these things, she was creating an environment of internal lies that were permitting her to do bad, and her anger was a protection mechanism to allow her to fail and create her own self-fulfilling prophecy—that she wasn’t good enough, or smart enough, to get her degree in this field of study.

What tests in your life are you getting rattled in and then not doing well on because you’re letting your frustration control you? 

For my client, we talked about how every emotion usually has a root emotion underneath it.  While she said she was angry, I made the suggestion that it’s not so much anger but more insecurity that she isn’t smart enough to do well on the test…and then she finds way to make that belief true by being upset and letting her emotions take control. Which then begins her answering questions on the test not in her best mindset.

Life is a test, there are times where we need to stand up and be angry, but there are more times where we need to listen better to what’s going on outside of ourselves and what we are saying inside of ourselves. When we take time to make peace, calmness, and kindness our residence we will not only make better choices and have better outcomes…but we will be in control of ourselves in most situations.

Look at any police officer, military personal, nurse, or firefighter…when an emergency happens they don’t freak out, they do what they’ve practiced over and over calmly.  The more you practice calmness, peace and kindness in all your interactions… the more centered you’ll be, and the more naturally it will come to you to create better outcomes.

Peace, calm, and kindness is where I make my home.

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

July 18th- #199 Tag Me Tuesday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

It’s easier to focus on feeling good than to stay feeling bad

Feeling bad feels comfortable, and while it’s easier to feel bad in the beginning it’s actually harder in the end.  Meaning, it hurts us more in the long run.

Someone wrote a blog recently about all popular self-help tips that he think are bogus. One he talked about in particular was “how it takes as much energy to create a negative thought as it does to create a positive thought.” Essentially saying that our thoughts whether positive or negative take the same amount of energy to create.

In the blog he began working on proving his point that the habits we create make things easier…so if you think negatively, a negative thought takes less work.  I totally agree with what he’s saying, but he is splitting hairs by focusing on rhetoric…rather than the root of that thought.

Each thought in it’s creation has the same amount of energy, but what habits we decide to focus on will make our efforts easier or harder.  The real question is, how do you want to live your life?

Do you want to focus on why you can’t, how you aren’t smart enough, how you’re not lucky enough, how it wasn’t in your cards, or any other excuse you can come up with to not try…or do you want to focus on how you can, why it could be possible, what would happen if it happened, or that with the right mindset you can create a way.

What we focus on we attract. What we focus on is who we become… so why would you want to focus on feeling bad? Besides the fact that it gives you the reason to play the victim, it gives you the reason to not try and be comfortable in failure, and it gives you the reason to blame others on why you can’t.

What do you want for your life? 

Success starts in our mind first and then we find ways to make it happen in reality.  So I’m going to challenge you to focus on how you feel, to steer and pivot away from feeling sorry for yourself or playing the victim…and I’m going to challenge you to keep your energy on feeling good, to work to your maximum effort in feeling good not only in your mind but to feel it deep within your bones in every moment. I’m going to challenge you to live up to your potential…and to make feeling good an easier habit for you, rather than focusing on feeling bad.  You are worth it, to create better habits that make it easier to feel good.  The choice is ALWAYS yours.

It’s easier to focus on feeling good than to stay feeling bad

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

July 17th- #198 Mindful Monday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I am an opportunist

I’m not a positive thinker, I’m not an optimistic thinker…I am an opportunist thinker. I’m always looking for the opportunity in every situation. I work to see the good, I work to find the bad to see how I can course correct, but I am always trying to find what is the lesson or opportunity in every situation.

I don’t believe in coincidence—I’ve found that great and purposeful things are happening all the time when I decide to look at the bigger picture.  Things can look to be chaos on one level, and on a higher level there is harmony. 

I work to find clarity and the higher level through my chaos to not only find the harmony in the situation, but to know that in every hard time I’ve ever gone through was the Universe challenging me to shed my skin of comfort and to step into something bigger.

Every challenge and every problem was the process of me being forged through the chaos, so I could step into the harmony I desire for my life. 

Like the yin and yang, life will balance itself out, and if you take your time to not react to the chaos, but to process and respond accordingly…You will find the opportunity, YOU will take the chance on becoming better, and YOU will create the harmony you desire for your life.

Positive thinking doesn’t work because people only TRY it when they feel like it. Optimistic thinking doesn’t see the whole picture as they are seeing a glass half full instead of seeing a glass that is too small for their unlimited potential.  When you focus on opportunity thinking, you’re stepping back to see a bigger picture, and you’re challenging yourself to not only find the opportunities in life, but to create them as well.  Opportunities are in every situation. Will you choose to see them, and will you follow through in making them your reality?

I am an opportunist.

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

July 16th- #197 Smiling Sundays The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I create great relationships

We think that great relationships just happen. That we meet the right people and it all falls together nicely.  And while building great relationships from the start can be a huge advantage, great relationships happen by the work we put “first”… into ourselves… to be better in the relationship.

I know I have the tendency to think that when there’s an issue in a relationship whether it be business, romantic, or familial…that the turmoil comes from them…and a good amount of the time it can, but if that’s what we are focusing on…that everyone else is at fault… then there’s nothing we can do about that.  We are essentially powerless.

But what if you were to look at every relationship, and ask the questions of how you could bring more value into the arrangement, how could you let the other party know their opinion is heard and considered, how could you put more thought into listening before responding and asking what is best for the whole not just what I want, and maybe even asking how can I give freely without expectation of return.

Great relationships happen by the work and effort we put in making ourselves better for the relationship.

When you create a better ME, you create a better environment to foster amazing relationships. 

Great relationships don’t just happen, they are created in every moment.  How will you give your best self in each relationship today?

I create great relationships.

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

July 15th -#196 Synergy Saturday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

My dominant intent is to feel good

I get it, it’s easier to focus on what’s going wrong than what’s going right.  But that’s what keeps us stuck in negative emotions. Like attracts like, and if our attention and focus is continually on why we can’t, why something will be too hard, or why life is unfair…then we will continually trap ourselves in the emotions we have a tendency to gravitate towards …and that is continuing to focus on feeling bad.

It is our dominant intent to feel good in life, for when we do this we not only create greatness in our life but we attract it as well. The things that you are seeking are actually seeking you, so when you learn to focus on feeling good, most, if not all the time…then you learn to attract those great things to you as well.  Feeling good may sound silly, but it is one of the greatest pursuits you’ll ever go towards, because it not only helps you to feel good in the moment, but it helps you to create and attract more good into your life. 

I wrote a poem on how easy it is to hold onto negative emotions as they comfort us, and in this poem it’s about me leaving them behind, and thanking them for being there when I needed them, as it’s time for me to move on. You see bad emotions aren’t our enemy, they were there to protect us at one time, to help us make it through…but over time we have clutched onto them thinking they would keep us company, that they would keep us safe from being hurt again… so here’s the poem I wrote about it.

The funny thing is negative thoughts are quite polite, as they don’t want to bother you. 
They just hang on knowing you need them, 
Knowing that you feed your comfort from them,
Like an old friend never letting you down as you expect them to be there when things go wrong,
Like an overbearing parent who wants to keep you grounded saying,

“Now hunnie don’t get your hopes up.  I want you to be realistic.”

They care so much, that they don’t want you to dream so big and be hurt…
So resentment, worry, anger, fear, bitterness, disappointment, and the such hold our hands like good friends saying, “I am here.” 

And so we continue to say things such as,
“Maybe I may want to hold on,
Just incase my dreams don’t go as planned,”

“But this time it’s different…I think it’s time to let go…”

“Thank you for being here, I know you meant no harm, thank you for helping to keep me grounded until my wings were ready to fly, thank you for showing me the other side so I could appreciate real goodness in the world. 
If I hadn’t seen both sides I might not know any different.”   

It’s time to empty me,
Becoming a new vessel,
Leaving the past behind as I hold onto the dreams and hopes of the present and future.   

Opening my sails,
It’s funny how natural it feels,
Not sure what will be ahead except for the new friends I’ve invited,
“Hope, love, excitement, appreciation, and joy… thank you for joining me.” 


“Oh… we’ve always been here waiting… 
until you were ready.”

As a small chuckle lightens up my face,
From understanding that the opposites of life aren’t so different,
It’s just a choice of focus really.

“So, where are we going to first guys?”

“Let the wind take us and see what happens.  Now that you’ve cultivated a relationship with us, everything is possible.” 

My ship leaving the harbor as fear shrinks.
My hand straight and touching above my eye
As I give a saluting wave goodbye,
I’ll see you again, Fear… but not because I’ll need you, and not because I‘ve shrunk from my task ahead, But because every new challenge has that glimmer of you, saying…
“Are you sure you don’t need me?”

I continue waving as I say,
“Not this time, things are different now, my eyes are fixed upon the possibilities.  Thank you again old friend for your patience with me, not pushing me until I was ready to be who I am.”

My dominant intent is to feel good, every moment of my life.

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

July 14th – #195 Fantastic Friday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I am the author of my life story

You are not the narrator, you are not the main actor, and you are not the producer in your life. You are the author, you are the one in control, you are the one making edits, you are the one deciding what the conflict is in the story, you are the one who allows certain characters to stay or to leave, and you are the one who is ultimately writing every page of your life.

Now that can sound like a scary thing because it takes away the blame and excuses that we can put on anyone else…because when you know you are the one deciding all your thoughts and your actions…then you understand you are the one pulling the strings, you are the one deciding to see the truth or the one pulling the wool over your eyes blinding yourself not someone else, and you are the one who decides to move forwards or backwards in your life.

You are the one with your finger on the button, and not a scary one of being the person behind the button of a nuclear warhead.  For the button you are in control of—is not one of who lives and dies, but of one who decides to make their life beautiful or not.  You are the one who will decide whether you WANT your life to be beautiful, you are the one who will see that the conflicts of your life aren’t permanent but more to make you better, and you will see that those who come and go in your life are to brighten your life in every which way.

You are the author of your life story, so what story are you going to write? Are you going to write a story of excitement, of beauty, of great challenges that you will overcome no matter what…or will it be a story of how it’s not fair, how people leave you, how you never have any luck, and that you are not the one in control.

I hope you choose the first one. I hope you take control of your life and remember that… you are the author of your life story.

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

July 13th-  #194 Thoughtful Thursday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I am willing, I am able, and I am worthy

A few affirmations ago I had these all separated as single affirmations, but they work so well together. I think we must be willing to do the work, we must know that we are able to do the work…and that we are worthy and willing to continue upon the path of making our life and everything around us beautiful.

I love to use the word beautiful, not because I’m only a visual being, but it’s the idea of seeking for the highest form of purity.  It’s the idea of seeking to find the peace, calm, and essence of a moment at its core.  For some of the greatest writing, art, or music I’ve ever loved were quite simple renditions.

If you talk to the artist, it may not have been their favorite piece, but their fans loved it. The reason the artist didn’t like the work is at times we think we need things to be complex, that we had to put in a million hours to make something great, but the most simple things are beautiful because they have stripped away the unnecessary and they have brought out the essence of a thing to be SEEN…to be truly seen for what it is.

Think about someone you love, yes you may love the wonderful things about them, but do you love the simplicity of who they are.  Do you love the simplicity in their soul…not because of what they do…but more of who they are without having to do something.  I’ve met amazing individuals where you could just feel the awesomeness of them without having to have a conversation with them. You could feel the essence of their beauty without them having to do something for you.

And this, is what I hope for myself…that I can bare the simplicity of my soul, so that others can know that they don’t have to do anything to be beautiful…except to be themselves.  I’m already impressed by who you are, not by what you do or have done.  It’s my hope that you remember that to be willing, to be able, and that above you are worthy…and to let others know they are too.

I am willing, I am able, and I am worthy

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

July 12th-#193 Wisdom Wednesday The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I open myself to great opportunities

IN every moment, opportunities are all around us. Whether you want to call it miracles, coincidences, or energy flowing constantly…it really doesn’t matter. Not because the idea doesn’t matter, but because how we recognize what it is…won’t matter…it’s whether we decide to accept it into our lives or not…is what really matters.

My greatest times were when when I was grateful and in appreciation to receive what came my way. I have the tendency to work solo, and to only focus on the idea of “Look what I created…look at all the hard work ‘I’ put in”…and it’s good to be industrious and to work hard, but when I’m focusing ONLY on “I” did this, I’m closing myself off to connecting to greater energies at play in every moment.

If you talk to any writer, they might say I sat down and did the work, but they will also say there were many moments where it wasn’t them, where flow happened and beauty seemed to just come from another place—that the gods of writing blessed them…or that God helped them…or something from outside of themselves just took over.

We are part of something bigger than just ourselves, and when we remember this…we stop working so hard from blocking the things around us. Yes, we don’t stop working, but rather we continue to work hard, but we allow great opportunities to bond with us, and we allow great opportunities to come into our lives.

Everything great I created, started first with me being committed to doing the work, but it also was the process of opening myself up to greater possibilities, it was the process of connecting the collective subconsciousness around me, connecting to greater energies, connecting with God…or whatever you want to call it.  For how you name it really doesn’t matter, just that you know it’s there, and you can partner with it at any time you decide to.

So let us let go, and let us grab hold onto the great opportunities around us.

I open myself to great opportunities

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