I know, I’m still lagging in posting but working my way back. It’s been quite a year so far, with tears of loss and pain mixed in with those of joy and success. It’s been that kind of year for almost everyone I know.

When you’re filled with self-doubt or a feeling of being “stuck” you really need to be your own best friend. Allow yourself some time to absorb the feeling and if you can, use it to fuel your desire to move forward. Surround yourself with people, places, and things that inspire you. It’s amazing how sometimes just one small thing can bring back your inner passion.

This past weekend I took some time for myself and went to see Nickelback in Irvine and San Diego. People seem to love them or hate them. As someone that’s followed their career since the 90’s when I could only hear them on Canadian Internet radio, I fall into the love camp – for a few reasons. Besides being a longtime fan of their music, my hat has always been off to them for ignoring their critics, following their passion and playing full-out doing what they love. It’s been a blast to watch them grow from their earliest days asunknown artists to the incredible multi-award, multi-platinum level success they’re enjoying today.

They always remind me to go after your passion in life with everything you have, to tune out all the negative chatter from others, to surround yourself with like-minded success driven people and dare to dream really big!

Me, Surrounded by success. 

Denise and Nickelback

When I first moved to San Diego in the eighties my family and “friends” told me I’d be back home to Michigan in year. I was told that it was too hard to make it on your own in a place like this, that it was too expensive, that I was too young, or that I wasn’t cut out for it. I always have to smile a little when I think back to those days because I’m always here

when that thought crosses my mind some twenty-five years later….;)

When you see your favorite athlete, business person or actor/actress do you ever look at them in amazement and marvel about their “fortune” in becoming successful? Do you wish you had the talent and expertise they do?

What most people forget is that they are simply seeing the end result of many years of hard work. Practice, trial and error, failures and then success. The success comes from day after day of working on a specific goal. Whether you aspire to be an Olympian or an expert in your field, the path is the same. Dedication, perseverance, a specific plan and consistent action

Your life is comprised of a series of days and minutes.

Each day you wake up and make a choice. Are you going to do something that gets you closer to your goals today? Are your goals written out very specifically? We’re rapidly approaching the end of the year. Stop and take a moment to see where you are and make any necessary adjustments.

Have a long-term plan but live it every single day. One day you’re going to wake up and see how far you’ve come and realize that your success happened one day at a time.

Call it intuition, a sixth sense, or your “gut”. I like to think of it as the deep dark recesses of your brain. The sooner you learn to access and trust this powerful resource, the sooner you can tap into real change in your life. Whether it’s in business or a relationship, the more tuned into your gut you are, the better your decisions will be.

Learning to trust your gut

At one time or another everyone kicks themselves for ignoring that “little Voice” that tells them to do or not do something. Where exactly does that “little voice” come from?  How can we develop it? Read or listen to interviews about people you consider successful. Stories of being intuitive, following hunches, and listening to the gut will most likely be present in the vast majority.

The following articles give a great inside look at the conscious and sub-conscious processes involved with what is commonly called intuition.

I learned to listen to my “gut” at a very early age once I realized that the times I’d made a bad decision were when I chose to tune out that familiar little voice inside. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to separate negative “mind chatter” from gut. Try thinking of your gut as a recollection of subconscious pieces of information your brain is feeding you, it may make it much easier for you to accept its warning signals.