Ready, Set, Go! (Special Edition)

by Rafael Badziag

  After some period of self-reflection, I realized the challenge in front of me was one of acceptance for my love of intuition and spirituality. Up to that point, words like intuition and spirituality were undiscussables in the workplace, so I was holding back – refraining from giving all of myself to the work. A short time after this realization, I became aware of a Spiritual Life Certification program sponsored by the Emerson Institute.

  This year-long program taught practices for meditation, guided imagery, quantum inquiry, and mindfulness. Like the tortoise, I had to make a decision. Stay comfortable or accept the challenge of something new.

  I went for the specialized certification and, while in pursuit, I was introduced to a visionary CEO who offered me an Executive position within her mission-driven bioscience company. The transition into the Executive position was a natural next step in my career. The work was intense and fast paced. By comparison, the coaching certification program had me doing work that was mindful and paced to match my client’s natural rhythms.

  The corporate work required action, action, action. The coaching work supported a variety of activities: self-reflection, mindfulness, and some big life-altering decisions. The corporate work required attention to staff at all levels of the organization, the coaching work allowed me to focus on one inspirational person at a time. It did not take long for me to reach yet another decision point. This time I more fully accepted the challenge. I reset and chose to make coaching inspirational people my full-time work. I still get to work with visionary Executives and now have the good fortune of also working with artists, authors and other creatives as well. Today, I am the happiest I’ve ever been.

  My story, and those of my clients naturally align into three easy steps, referred to here as the Tortoise Method. When you feel this push to go beyond your existing circumstances, use the tortoise method to increase your sense of personal satisfaction and grow into an extraordinary life.

  THE TORTOISE METHOD

  1. Reflect

  Whatever your life circumstance up until now, it may have seemed easiest to just to keep on doing what you’ve always done. But there is a cost to this decision.You’re missing out on aspects of your identity and actually increasing the likeliness of frustration or dissatisfaction setting in. When parts of yourself are left undiscovered or, worse yet abandoned, this is a guaranteed loss. We are meant to do so much more than live an ordinary life.

  Our most effective lives come from the steady work of internal reflection.

  Our tortoise knew that that there was something more inside. Take time to consider how you got to your current life. Is every part of you being fully maximized? Constantly consider new possibilities.

  2. Accept

  Once the pathways of self-awareness are open, we must then begin to take action. When the hare asked if anyone wanted to race, the tortoise was ready. Too often, we think that in order to live our best life we must make big, bold moves. What if in our organizations and our homes, we started with smaller more deliberate steps? Our tortoise did not quit everything she’d ever known, sell her shell and move to the Bahamas. Instead, our hero took one small step, she accepted the challenge of something new.

  We may never know whether the tortoise expected to win, but we do know that the win only became possible because of the single decision to step forward into the race.

  When we accept the challenge and begin taking one small step at a time, new doors are sure to open. However, let’s be real, if you have earned a partnership as a well-respected lawyer and have a dream to be an artist – not everyone in your life is going to jump for joy at the life changes that may come with following your heart’s desire. Your loved ones will have questions. Heck, you’ll have questions. Following our natural inclination for personal growth will definitely come with a bit of uncertainty.

  Still, we have a responsibility to expect more from each other, but not in the “get-more- done” way to which we’ve become accustomed. Instead, we must dig deeper to continually uncover activities, career and love choices that give us a sense of meaning. The opportunity in our modern, technology-driven world is to be more of who we’re meant to be, . . . to continue to grow beyond what has been tried before, . . . to excel beyond what our predecessors and ancestors set in motion long ago. We can only do this successfully if we accept the challenge, whenever it arises.

  3. Reset

  To the best of our knowledge, our tortoise had never raced before but she carried a desire in her heart to be in the race. The road ahead was fraught with uncertainty. Would the tortoise be accepted by loved ones? Were there resources to support the racers? What would happen if an injury occurred? These are all reasonable questions but none that stopped our hero. She took her expertise as a tortoise and followed her heart, resetting herself into a racing tortoise.

  Remember our traveling Dad mentioned earlier in the chapter. Sure, he felt busy, but at his core, the real issue was that he had a deep unmet desire to write. His work and sense of responsibility had become his reason for not acting on something he’d always wanted to do. In his case, he also worried about the quality of his writing. Between work, family and fears, he’d subconsciously made the decision not to write anything at all. When he rediscovered this long-forgotten desire, he was able to tap into his love of the written word. Rather than setting a goal to have a best seller, which kept him stalled and frustrated, this dad simply began to schedule small chunks of time to work on his writing. This single decision to reset himself into a writer only took a few hours a week, could be done while traveling, and reignited passion into every aspect of his life.

  CONCLUSION

  The tortoise did not win by being more efficient, more driven or even more confident than the hare. She did not have a better life coach, a better fitness trainer, more time or more money than the hare. She just had a strong desire for something new. She reflected on the intrinsic truth of her identity, accepted the challenge presented by the hare and reset her life one deliberate step at a time. Ultimately, she won. In today’s world, we have access to more technology and more information than ever before. For the well-being of humanity, it is vital that we slow down just long enough to tap into what we need and want for a meaningful life, continuously seek out opportunities for personal growth and joyfully accept new challenges.

  Ready. Set. Go!

  About Desiree

  Desiree Aragon Nielson serves as an inspirational coach, card reader and speaker based out of beautiful Northern California. As a mother, wife, daughter, friend and former Executive, she helps inspirational people tap into their greatness and see things in a remarkably positive light.

  In healthcare, Desiree was instrumental in the implementation of an executive-level succession planning process. She designed an award-winning healthcare Leadership program for emerging executives. Desiree uses this experience developing people in combination with her abilities to intuitively communicate. Desiree recognizes that given the public nature of their work, inspirational people are expected to be "on" all the time. Artists, authors, and visionary business executives are always being watched. And, they are frequently faced with the challenge of living authentically while sustaining their powerful influence. Desiree partners with inspired people to process difficult situations and grow themselves into greatness.

  Desiree is passionate about making our lives more joyful. She has an uncanny ability to pick up on subtle nuances which allow her to quickly show inspirational people fast changes they can make to manifest bliss back in their lives. It has always been easy for Desiree to lift up others so they can fully see and maximize their potential.

  Desiree has designed and delivered retreats and workshops for audiences in Asia, Canada, Costa Rica, and throughout the United States. In individual, group and large event settings.

  Desiree has developed hundreds of inspirational people across a wide variety of industries, including artists, authors and CEO’s of fast-growing companies. Desiree has been certified to
train and facilitate premier leadership programs, deliver difficult messages, and influence with persuasion. She is also a Certified Spiritual Life Coach.

  Desiree is a member of the Women’s Speakers Association (WSA) and an active member of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

  People are attracted to Desiree’s strong ability to synthesize complex qualitative ideas while easily connecting with their ultimate intention. And, Desiree is attracted to inspirational people who desire to use their innate gifts to have a positive impact on our world. These factors make it Desiree’s personal mission to provide inspirational people with uplifting dialogue so they can think and grow out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary.

  You can connect with Desiree at:

  • https://www.instagram.com/desiree_aragon_nielson

  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/desireenielson

  • https://www.facebook.com/desireearagonnielson

  CHAPTER 18

  SLAVE TO LOVE

  BY GLEN JAKOB MANDALINIC

  We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.

  ~ Joseph Campbell

  THE BEGINNING – BABY STEPS

  We find it very difficult to start to write at all without being grateful to Nick Nanton, Brian Tracy and all the people behind the scenes that we take for granted for the process of metamorphosis. This is what dreams are made of – this time it’s not Iowa. All those voices in your head. It’s a fine, tethered line between success and insanity. We don’t have to tell you. When I begin to go insane, I take baby steps. I acknowledge my breath – the giver and taker of life. In those moments, I realize I am nothing, yet everything. One of those voices led me here.

  PART 1 – THE END OF INNOCENCE

  When I was 7, my father took me to see my best friend one night at some place I had never seen before. She was 6. I was happy for some reason as I hadn’t seen her for a while – she was our next-door neighbor – and she was in hospital for a while. We weren’t playing in the backyard these days. Things weren’t the same anymore. So, we get to this place, I ran inside and ran straight to the casket – passing these people crying and wearing black. It hadn’t dawned on me. . .

  Anxiously, and in anticipation of catching up with Suzy, I grabbed the box she was in and leaned over into it. Bang! My brain exploded.

  This was not Suzy, she never wore heavy duty make up. I stayed awake that night until I couldn’t stay awake anymore, under the shelter of the blankets. I don’t remember the next day. Everything was a blur after that.

  All the decades that followed blended into one moment in time. From the confusion was born a fusion.

  PART 2 – THE JOURNEY BEGINS – THE WIZARD OF OZ

  Suzy woke me up.

  We (me and my voices) commenced a journey, consummating periods of numbness and enlightenment, suffering and joy to succumb to the beginning once again. We were going around in circles. We have feelings that we don’t like, and are puzzled in a juxtaposition of ambiguity and helplessness as to why we have them. We don’t want them. Yet we have them. Are we putting too much emphasis on the wrong knob? The voices in my mind hijacked me. I lost the plot. I crumbled to the cold tile floor.

  I had no one, but at the same time, it felt as though I had everyone and everything – every tree, every branch, every ocean, every wave, every star, every blade of grass. Some force picked me and my voices back up again. This went on for many years. We had to unlearn to learn … and I was a very slow learner.

  PART 3 – ADAM AND EVE

  One day, the Lord came to Adam and said … “I’ve got some good news & some bad news.” Adam looked at the Lord and said, “Well give me the good news first.” Smiling, the Lord explained, “I’ve got two new organs for you, one is called a brain, the other a penis. The brain will allow you to be very intelligent and have intelligent conversations with Eve. The penis will allow you to reproduce intelligent life form on this planet. Eve will be very happy that you now have this organ to give her children.” Adam, very excited, exclaims! “These are great gifts you have given me. What could possibly be bad news after such bad tidings?” The good Lord looked upon Adam and said, “When I created you, I only gave you enough blood to operate one of those organs at a time.” ~ Anonymous.

  PART 4 – MOTHER NATURE HAS THE LAST WORD

  Life asked Death: “Why do people love me but hate you?” Death responded: “Because you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth.”

  ~ Author Unknown.

  No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent.

  It clears out the old to make way for the new.

  ~ Steve Jobs

  PART 5 – ROUND UP THE USUAL SUSPECTS

  At the beginning of your film there are many voices, by the end of your film there are only two – they eventually became one, and finally, one with nature. Just like in the movies.

  PART 6 – WISHBONE OR BACKBONE

  New York City can be the loneliest place on the planet and at times things can spiral downwards very quickly. And when the beer runs out, the piano man stops singing and the bar closes, you only have yourself and your voices with the cold wind biting on your face. But one voice stood out this night – Franky’s voice, sharing his grandfather’s wisdom that was passed onto him. He said, “Glen, I found in life, that to get through it more comfortably – it is better to have a backbone than a wishbone.” Thank you, Franky, for being a light in those dark times. I never forgot. That changed the course of my life once again.

  PART 7 – LEARNING TO WALK AGAIN

  It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants.

  The question is, what are we busy about?

  ~ Henry David Thoreau

  1. If you can ‘kill a thought dead’, for that fleeting moment you can do anything. And therefore, this power is valuable if not epic. Not only will it free you from mental torment, but it gives you a concentrated power absolutely unknown to you before. How do you do this? Practice breathing with total awareness. Otherwise, it’s just a dream.

  2. Acknowledge yourself from time to time. Listen to yourself breath. Give him/her a name. They are part of your make up. Acknowledge your other self. The other you. Introduce yourself to one another. It will be the beginning of a wonderful relationship. Talk to them in the mirror. Look him/her in the eye whenever you remember. Get along with them.

  3. Your heart beats if you listen. The heart has a brain . ~ Gregg Braden

  4. I get lazy with my mouth – so breathe through the nostrils only, it’s all good. In fact – I found out the hard way – the more one keeps their mouth shut, the sooner the results surface. Once a wise man said nothing. ~ Buddha.

  5. Nostrils. Breathe Maverick. You can do this. Don’t be a Goose. ~ Tony Scott – Top Gun.

  6. “They only see the glory – they never see the story.”

  7. To breathe consciously is to look at yourself in the mirror of your soul. It’s in this position, with practice, that the answers start to appear to all those questions that you have asked.

  8. Before you can really ever love anyone – it helps so much to love yourself first. That one had me stumped for a decade . . . two or three. I beat it. – Laline – Carlito’s Way.

  9. Be patient, for some it will take days, for others months, and yet others – years. I fall into the ‘years’ category.

  10. If you can’t do the above – then do it in a way that works for you. And go easy on the people that walk over you. Sometimes they are the ones that need the most love. They probably just don’t know how to put it into words.

  11. “If you are not evolving you are just revolving.” ~ GJM

  12. Nostril Awareness/Nostril Art. "The art of breathing is the art of life." ~ GJM

  Unconsci
ous breath = Unconscious life.

  13. In the end, people will judge you anyway, so don’t live life impressing others, live your life impressing yourself . E. Infante.

  PART 8 – REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

  Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently – they're not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.

  ~ Steve Jobs.

  PART 9 – CONCLUDING THE JOURNEY

  This journey isn’t easy. But the destination is in sight. Just look up at the night sky.

  PART 10 – “A LOVE LETTER TO MY CHILDREN”

  When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.

  I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.

  There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us.

  This universal force is LOVE. When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force.

  Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it.

  Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others .

  Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness.