I know going for your goals in life and chasing your dreams can be extremely tiring at times. Believe me – I am with you here!
You’ve got to get yourself a good strategy in place for when the going gets tough. Working on your “go to” strategy upfront will prepare you for those harder times – because we all know, those days will come.
The best way to stay on top of your game, is to prepare for the game, not when you’re winning but when you’re losing.
So start planning right now for those challenging times and be prepared to kickstart your “go to” strategy when it is urgently needed.
Stay strong, stay resilient and stay focussed my friend.
Everyday you must be brave, battle the barriers and become the greatest version of yourself.
There’s only one way forward when you’re reaching for your dreams and that’s to keep digging deep, day in and day out, in order to achieve what you want.
This digging process can seem real tiring at times, especially if progress is slow but you must keep going until you get there.
“There” might be just around the corner or very faraway but if you are really passionate about your goal in hand, the distance, near or far, shouldn’t put you off.
Remember why you started and remember the pain of staying stagnant or indeed, going backwards – that very thought absolutely terrifies me and always seems to help me regain any lost focus.
Stumbling blocks along the way can seem to spoil the journey a little bit but always be mindful of the purpose behind what you’re doing and the end result which will inevitably be yours.
You’ve got to believe that you will achieve this dream or goal, for without this self-belief, you could be building on shaky ground.
Eliminate all failure by never giving up on what you truly desire and find ways to stay energised and focussed on the goal in hand.
The more progress you make, the more confident you will become and the closer you will move towards your dream.
Stay disciplined, determined and committed to the end outcome – hold that vision so strong in your mind and never let it go.
The greatest reward will come from your everyday efforts being channeled in the right direction.
Don’t sway on the heavy days, stay light on your feet and put your mind and body into ‘drive’ mode.
Laser focus, tunnel vision or whatever you want to call it – just make sure you stay on track and see how your life positively changes before you.
Happy digging my friend!
It’s Your Life – GO GET IT!
By Clarabelle, London, UK Created on 16 August 2022 Posted to Blog on 11 September 2022
I know you need help – we all do at certain times in our lives. Below are five simple steps to help you move forward in life:-
What you firstly want to do, is specifically work out, what kind of help you need. You might ask the question – “What end result do I want”?
Next, we have to get real here – you need to be brutally honest about what’s happening for you now. A good question would be, “What’s my current reality?”
We now need to move your thinking from the current challenge to thinking about, what it will feel like to you, once you have achieved your goal or overcome your current challenge – really get yourself excited about this! To raise your thinking, ask yourself, “What will it feel like, look like or be like for me, once I have achieved this goal?”
Then you need to think about, what resources are out there, in order for you to tap into, to get the right help. Ask yourself, “What options are available to me?”
Next, you need to take some self-action. A good question here, might be – “Given all the options available to me, what’s the best way forward?” and “What plan will I put in place in order to make this happen? or better still “What’s my first step?”
Now, it really is, over to you, to get to work and progress on. If you put in 100% effort and remain committed to the change – you’ll definitely get there.
Keep measuring, reviewing and fine-tuning along the way – it will definitely keep you on track.
It’s Your Life – GO GET IT!
By Clarabelle, London, UK Created on 5 August 2022 Posted to blog on 23 August 2022
Whenever I want to make a significant change in my life, I give myself a 100 day challenge to make it happen.
I will set the goal in hand, mark the start and end date and then everyday, I just bloody well GO FOR IT!
I have read so many times over and over again that it takes 21 days to break a habit but unfortunately that has never been true for me. I know this, because I have put it to the test many times before. I would be interested to know, has it ever worked for you?
In my opinion if you aim for a really juicy goal that you want to achieve and stay wholeheartedly committed to achieving it – the 100 day rule, gives you more than enough time. I have used this for daily running challenges, healthy eating changes and life-changing career decisions. 100 days, to me, is the PERFECT timeline for making a real positive impact on your life.
So let’s say I start today, 1 August 2022 and set myself a goal to write one blog post everyday for the next 100 days. That means, the 100th day lands on 8 November 2022 and I just know that by that day a HUGE positive impact will be made on my life – for me, it’s almost guaranteed.
You want a new job? Try the 100 day challenge.
You want a new relationship? Do the 100 day challenge.
You want to get fitter? Action the 100 day challenge.
You want to move home? Apply the 100 day challenge.
You want to start a new business? Implement the 100 day challenge.
It even works for training for a marathon – and I’ve run four!
And the goals list goes on……
The key here is, you must be committed to the goal in hand and you must NEVER miss out a day – if you do, give yourself the consequence of needing to start from day 1 again! (But then that wouldn’t be 100 days anymore).
Whatever date you are reading this, pick a feasible goal that you really want to achieve. Mark down the start of your 100 day challenge and highlight your end date – now it’s time, to GET TO WORK!
Are you up for the 100 Day Challenge?
Don’t overthink it – START NOW!
Oh and please let me know how you get on – I want to hear your SUCCESS story, so that it can INSPIRE and MOTIVATE others.
This is your year, I just feel it for you, I know great things are on their way to you, feel how good that feels, visualise yourself in that place you are aiming for, your spirit is high and you are shining like the brightest star. You are the brightest star in the sky….remember THIS IS YOUR YEAR, go make it happen!!
Measure your progress,
Day by day.
Feel your progress,
Move your way.
Dig even deeper,
Prove to yourself,
That you deserve abundance,
Success and true wealth.
I have a plan, a vision, a strong desire for changing things for myself for the better and you know what, the plan is working, it is starting to show me results in the areas I am wanting them.
I think it really does go to show, that you get more of what you focus upon, this is so true. You do have to put the work in though, but if it’s a strong passionate desire you’re working towards, then the work is never an issue and often the work is a complete joy.
I have a plan, a BIG plan and it’s working.
I urge you today to get yourself a plan, and then put it into daily action, yes, moment to moment, go to work on your plan – it may take some time but you will get there, believe me, YOU WILL.
I love writing to you, I really do, I just absolutely love it. I do hope that you see, read and feel that when you visit here, I hope my love for writing to you shines through.
Thank you for being here, I have faith and belief that you love my writing to you too.
Whilst going for your dreams, you are always being tested by life. But there is much beauty and true wisdom in the lessons we learn from “going for it” on this journey.
You have to stay super focused amongst the everyday distractions and this is when you can really tell if it is your true burning passionate desire to achieve this goal. If it wasn’t, you’d most certainly be very tempted to give up as soon as it gets a little tough. It is at these times, a super passionate person would dig in even deeper, put in extra effort to really stay on track or take things up a level. A determination like no other will spur you on to keep going and you will stay resilient towards achieving the goal in hand.
This is me and I want this to be you too. This is where I am at and I am telling you, nothing is going to stop me and I want you to feel the same about your dreams and goals in life. I am building up serious momentum each and every day and I am starting to feel the spark lighting up inside of me. I want the best ever life for you and for me and I do hope your focus, determination and inner strength is as strong as mine and if not even stronger.
If I can do it, You can do it, We can do it – Let’s do it!!
I see you, I know you’re watching me, I believe you are listening to every word I whisper, I feel you’re desire for a better you, a better life, a new tomorrow.
But I know you are a little scared, you have fears, but you’re going to be alright, you’re going to be much much better than alright. How do I know this? I just know this, because that’s why you’re here, everyday you visit me and you know it will help you, you know it will help you ease your current pain and you’re gonna make it.
Did you hear me right? Yes, you, YOU, you’re gonna make it, that dream you’ve always wanted to achieve, that burning ambition living inside of you……it’s making its way to your heart, it wants to breathe true life into you, it’s getting ready to take on the world and nothing is going to stop it, which means nothing is going to stop you.
Pause for a moment, think about it……really think about it, you can see it right? I know you can, because I can see it too. WOW, it looks amazing, your future self is so grateful you took the courage and made the first step now. Go on, take another step, that’s right, you’re doing really great…….do you feel your heart smiling, it is you know, it is smiling with super joy because you’re heading in the right direction. Where are you going? Maybe we could do this together, help each other along the way, two brave soldiers heading out into battle and the only outcome possible is reaching the rainbow at the other end.
What a great day this is, this is the most amazing day for you, you might not realise it yet, but you’ve just climbed a huge mountain and you’re now looking at the view from the top……..You may be a little bruised getting here, but you’ve got here, wasn’t it all worth it, don’t you agree that you deserve so much better for you and for your family. Let’s go my friend, there’s another mountain to climb, but we’re in this together, fighting with our hearts and minds to achieve EVERYTHING that we want and more.
Position yourself into a “create” mindset, by “creating” you’re setting your imagination free. Imagination is the starter key to your success, because everything starts there first.
Yes the whole process takes a lot of commitment, time, energy and effort but if it’s something you’re really passionate about that will never stop you. Nothing will stop the passionate heart…..believe me, nothing!!
I am living and breathing my passionate heart and I will never stop…..never because I believe in what I am creating.
Share your dreams with the world by creating what’s in your imagination. Your imagination is the genius of all geniuses……do the work and make it happen for you.
I really love it when I am in a writing mood, it can happen to me at any time of the day and when it does I just have to capitalise on it, as best I can. This moment is now, suddenly I have an enthusiastic urge to write and I just have to do it. Here is a little poem to you from this happy mood moment:
Creating My Tomorrow
Fluffy and white,
Like cotton wool.
Clouds in the breeze,
Air fresh and cool.
Snowy moments,
A blanket of space.
Tranquil surroundings,
A different place.
Making it happen,
Hopes and dreams.
Fill up my corner,
Rainbow beams.
Moonlit skies,
Are pretty and pink.
Soft melting colours,
Make me think.
Time is not here,
I am at one.
Always myself,
Smiling at the sun.
No questions to answer,
For I know what’s true.
Creating my tomorrow,
In today what I do.
Experiencing life,
Embracing this treasure.
Loving the journey,
Surprised with pleasure.
The imagination is such a wonderful thing, keep on creating and continue to exercise that beautiful muscle.
See in the mind’s eye what you want to achieve in life, envision that so very powerfully in your mind and live and breathe your desire. It’s got to come to you, your everyday behaviours will help you achieve that. So choose wisely in what you do daily and ensure you are putting your energies in the right direction.
Let your imagination come alive and fuel your desire for success today.
You have to put the preparation and planning in today to get what you want out of tomorrow…..put the hard work in now and reap the rewards down the line. Better days are on their way for sure.
Have the vision of your goal cemented in your mind and imprinted on your heart and never let go until you have achieved it. Let your actions do the talking and don’t stop until you get there because you are going to get there…..you are.
Don’t stop my beautiful friend, all the hard work and effort will soon give you the returns that you want and more,
Let’s get going,
Don’t you stop.
Keep your head up,
Beep beep bop.
See the goal,
In your eyes.
Feel and believe,
It’s your surprise.
So soldier on,
Break through it all.
Imagine your life.
Over the brick wall.
At the rainbow’s end,
Celebrate your glory,
This is your life,
This is your story.
By Clarabelle.
Let’s get going my friends, you and me, let’s get going today!!
It’s been over a week since I’ve posted on this blog so I do apologise for this, I haven’t forgot about you.
Being prepared for an opportunity puts you in pole position and I know this has worked for me now and in the past. Preparation is the key to making things happen because you are setting yourself up for when the opportunity takes a smile.
So if you’re hoping and waiting and wanting that perfect opportunity, get yourself prepared now, do what you can today and you’ll be welcoming that new gateway with open arms.
The gateway to the world is there for the taking, do what you can today and it will reduce or fully eliminate all fears of the unknown.
I was speaking with a good friend of mine this evening who is highly successful in their field of elite health and fitness and I wanted to share with you his four D’s of success. Below is what he considers to be the basic foundations of his extreme success to date in this industry:
1. Diet (Healthy Nutrition)
2. Discipline (Self)
3. Determination (Self)
4. Desire (Burning)
He explained to me how he applies these basic success principles in his daily life and how good this makes him feel. I just felt it was really good to share with you his thoughts, to help you learn and apply these principles in your daily life.
It certainly inspired me and got me thinking about the principles that are missing from my daily life and for me “Discipline” is the one I need to work on.
Which of these success principles do you feel you need to work on or what do you feel is missing from the list?
It’s great to share this knowledge with you and add a little bit of value to your life.
I have set myself a new 90 Day Challenge which will start on Friday, 7 February 2014 and will last until Wednesday, 7 May 2014. This challenge is to push myself forward with my music career and achieve as much success as I possibly can in this period of time. I have decided to, take it up a level – drive into a new gear and I am excited about this.
Join Me
If you would like to join me on this 90 Day Challenge that would be absolutely wonderful because we could support each other. What you would need to do is think of something that you want to achieve over the next 90 days and put your full heart and soul into achieving that. It’s amazing the results you can achieve, when you increase your energy levels and focus towards something that you really want.
Pure Passion
This 90 Challenge will take pure passion, persistence, discipline, a positive and self empowering attitude, courage, bravery, self belief, faith and a touch of boldness. You may need to take yourself to places you’ve never been……the unknown awaits YOU but so does the success.
So, LET’S DO IT, let’s do this together and achieve our dreams.
I will be updating my Clarabelle Facebook Page every day on what I’ve been doing and achieving, so please head over there and check it out. Here is the Facebook Page Link: https://www.facebook.com/clarabelle.org
CLARABELLE 90 DAY CHALLENGE, LET’S DO THIS TOGETHER.
YOUR DREAMS ARE WAITING FOR YOU.
What are you going to be celebrating at the end of the 90 Days?
I’d really love to know.
I’ve been back in poem mode recently and have written some deep thinking “look in the mirror” poems recently. I wrote the one below, this evening, it’s entitled “Heart with a View”, I hope you like it. Love, Clarabelle
Heart with a View
You, yes you, with the broken smile. What’s your story, on this rainbow mile? Why do the tears, run down your face.? Why the sadness, in a heartfelt place? Invisible chains, keep you stuck. Thoughts of fears, and “wish me luck”. But just around the corner, a harp plays for you, Its melody so precious, like a heart with a view. Just one more step, nudge forward a little more. The pitter-patter of your feet, reveals treasures to explore. For this life is an adventure, a colour one. It offers you everything, under the sun. So feel these whispers, as they talk to you. The cloud is an angel, guiding you through.
When you go for your dreams and goals in life you inspire others by your own doing. They see you moving forward in your own journey in life and it can truly inspire them too.
Inspiring Change
I have received some lovely messages from people who have shared with me that because I am going for my own dreams and goals in life, it is inspiring them to do that too. Isn’t that such a lovely thing. So by not only changing your own life for the better, you are also inspiring change in others. Like a beautiful ripple effect, your positive energy touches the hearts of others.
This is such wonderful thing and I truly do encourage you to just go for it in life because by doing so, you will also inspire others around you – this is the most amazing thing about it all.
This poem was inspired by my previous post, “What is Perfection?”, and I just had to share it with you.
Perfection is in the Imperfections
There is a perfection, that will never stay true. The perfection in your mind, stopping you. The word perfection, has a flaw. Perfection is in the imperfections, this is my law. When you believe this, you can start where you are. Then you’ll make progress, then you’ll go far. So eliminate perfection, from your life right now. Keep going, stay strong, Imperfections are WOW!!
Sometimes we can all be our own worse critic, saying things like “I can’t do this because it’s not perfect.” Life is not perfect, nothing is and if you honestly think you have to wait and get going until everything is perfect, then you might have to wait a very long time……then, my friend, you may have missed the boat!!
Progress
I have said this before on this blog and I will say it again, “perfection is in the imperfections”, just like “beauty is in the eye of beholder”. Please don’t put your life on “hold” because things aren’t “perfect” right now, think of baby steps towards progress.
If I had waited….
If I had waited to start this Clarabelle Blog until everything was perfect in my life and in my posts and poetry, I would never have started it and you wouldn’t be here, reading this right now. 🙂 If I had waited to release my own songs until everything was perfect then you wouldn’t have the opportunity to listen to them right now. I heard someone say the other day that it can take the best part of 20 years to master something, wow 20 years is a long time, I can’t wait that long, can you?
Start NOW
Start where you are, NOW, hold that vision in your head and do something everyday to move you closer to your goal. It’s amazing the new people and opportunities that cross your path when you just decide to, go for it.
I love this motivational video, below, which I came across on Youtube yesterday, the words ring very true for me and it is worth the 7 minutes to listen to it and be inspired.
Keep it real, keep it true to your heart and believe that you WILL do this.
Have a super inspiring day my lovely friends and thank you for being here.
In my day job when I am coaching I often work with people on how to identify what they want in life. This can be a difficult one for some people because it isn’t always obvious for them, for many different reasons.
There is one coaching tool that I use which often gets great results for the person and I would like to share it with you here today so you can try it, if you wish. I call this the “What I Want” Table (see photo below).
Take a blank piece of paper (see photo below) and head it up “What I Want“. State underneath this what life area you want to focus on for e.g. “Health”. Draw a table with two columns. On the left hand column, write the heading, “What I Don’t Want” and the right hand column, write the heading, “What I Want”.
People struggling to identify what they want in life often find it easier to start with what they DON’T want in that area of their life.
Complete the left hand column first for e.g. what you don’t want to think, feel, do and experience in this specific area of your life and then write down the contrast of that on the right column, i.e. “What I Want”, i.e. what I do want to think, feel, do and experience.
This is a really simple but effective process in helping you identify what you want by thinking about what you don’t want first. It can make identifying the “What I Want” process a whole lot easier for you.
Your BIG Why
It is also really important to have a big enough reason as to WHY you want to achieve that goal in the first place, why is it so important for you to achieve and it must also be in alignment with your core values.
If you are struggling to think about what you want in life, please try the above process and let me know if it works for you. This process really works for me and for some of the people I coach but it is important to know that we are all different and just because this process works for me it doesn’t mean it will work for you. But hey, I say, please give it a go and tell me what you think.
I set specifics goals for myself at the beginning of 2013 and I review their progress every 3-4 months together with some fine tuning of these goals. All these goals are also directly related to my Vision Wall that I created in the spring time of 2012, please see the Vision Wall page here on this blog for more specific details around the process I followed specifically for that.
Today I want to share with you the process I have carried out in creating my Focus Goal Cards as this is something you may wish to do for yourself.
I have seven specific Focus Goal Cards that I completed for myself.
Each Focus Goal is written on an A6 size piece of white card (see photos below) with the following details:
Date you start the goal card
Goal Details
Why this is an important goal for you to achieve
Action steps you will take (on back of card)
Your signature of your commitment to achieving this goal
Date you expect the goal to be completed by
Ultimate Success Formula (F.A.S.T.) (on back of card)
F.A.S.T Ultimate Success Formula
Clarabelle’s Goal Card
Below is a photo of an example for you:
Example Focus Goal Card
Example Focus Goal Card
The A6 size Focus Goal Cards are for my office desk so that I can read them often when working from it.
I also wanted to be able to keep my Focus Goal Cards at hand, so that I can read them when I am out and about, so I decided to create a miniature version of each Focus Goal Card, beginning with an “I Am” statement for e.g. “I am in perfect health”.
Goal Cards in handy Wallet
Wallet Goal Cards
I then keep these smaller cards, with less information on them, in my Focus Goal Card Wallet in my handbag and read them throughout the day, as much as possible.
Subconscious Mind
What I am specifically doing here, is that I am consciously and deliberately making an effort, with repetition in mind to shift these goals from my conscious mind into my subconscious mind so that I will then automatically do things every day that are in support of me achieving these goals.
Focus Goal Journal
In addition to the above I also have a Focus Goal Journal (photo below) where I continually write each specific goal on the notepad journal, line after line after line, filling up each page – again this is so the goal moves more quickly from my conscious mind into my subconscious mind.
Focus Goal Card Journal
Bespoke Process
So there you have it, that’s the Focus Goal Card process that I am currently going through. I am fully aware that this is the final quarter of the year and I wanted to step it up a level in order to ensure I achieve what I want, so this is what I decided to do to achieve that. Together with my Vision Wall I feel this makes a dynamic goal achievement processthat is bespoke to me and I know what works for me. For yourself, it may be a completely different process but I guess you won’t know until you try it for yourself and if you do, please let me know how you get on, I will certainly let you know how I am getting on in a future blog post.
After all, “What you think about, you bring about”and I want YOU and I to do everything we can to support that process.
Know what you want and just you go for it and please do whatever works best for you.
I just thought I would share that one with you today. No matter how many bumps on the road there are, when you are passionate about doing something, it never feels like you have to really force yourself, you never need to fully push because the passion that you have for that thing indeed pulls you forward.
Choose a goal in life that you are passionate about, one that is in alignment with your values and watch yourself soar.
The last 4 months I have been training vigorously for the Loch Ness Marathon to be held this Sunday, 29 September 2013. This is my final week of training and I am pleased to say that it has all gone reasonably well with only some minor injuries and a few cuts and bruises. This is my third marathon, I did the New York Marathon in 2007 and the London Marathon in 2010, both really challenging but amazing experiences. Below is a photo of the training plan I have been following for the Loch Ness Marathon 2013:
I am excited about the Marathon run this Sunday, it can be a very exhilarating and highly emotional experience as you push your body past the realms of capability. I am not sure if I will commit to doing another Marathon, I may look for a new fitness challenge, so this Sunday I am going to embrace the whole experience fully and be so thankful for my health, energy and fitness levels to take me past the finish line. Below is a photograph of my running medals since I started road running in 2007:
I have learned a lot about myself whilst setting myself these running challenges or any challenge for that matter. I know when I fully commit to a goal that I want to do, my determination and tunnel-vision focus will always see me achieve it. It is like I have this inner dial in my subconscious mind switched to whatever the goal is and I know I am going to do it, I have absolute faith and belief that I will achieve that goal…..butit has to be a goal that I am passionate about doing!!
Of course, just like any goal you want to achieve in life, you have to have a plan and you have to introduce new daily rituals which will support you and move you towards that goal. Just like my Marathon Training Plan above, then all I have to do is follow it…..simple!! Hahaha, well sometimes not so simple but I know you get my drift. 🙂
So there you have it, this Sunday, 29 September 2013, I will be running 26.2 miles in an around Inverness, Scotland and I look forward to sharing the success story in a future blog post.
What goal have you always wanted to achieve and why? Maybe, today is the day you decide to commit to it fully, set the inner dial on your subconscious mind to whatever it is and just you go for it.
Most people spend more time planning their yearly holiday/vacation that they do their life.
What do I mean by life planning?
I believe it is about YOU exploring some of the the following things:
Looking at want you specifically want from life.
What experiences you want to have?
What contribution you want to make?
Identifying and understanding your core values.
Living your life in alignment with your core values.
Aligning your goals and desires to these.
Making a plan of action on how you are going to achieve that.
Putting the plan into action i.e do the “doing part”.
Measuring progress along the way.
Celebrating successes.
Reflecting on your learning experiences.
Continuously developing and implementing feedback.
Reviewing and fine tuning your goals along the way.
Setting an appropriate timescale for achieving these goals
Some of you may not know this, but I am a fully qualified Coach (Executive, Life & Career), I have had my own Coaching, Leadership/Management Training and Human Resources Business since 2008. I work with clients in business and privately on the above stuff, I also do tons of work on this myself for my own self development.
If you don’t make a plan or set goals for yourself it can be really easy to “just drift by”, like a cloud in the sky and sometimes helping other people to live out their dreams more than your own. I am all for helping people with their dreams but this should not be at the detriment to your own self.
Take some time today to think about what you REALLY want from life and how to live your life more in alignment with your core values. When you do this you will be moving more towards long term life fulfillment rather than just quick fixes and short bursts of happiness.
Maybe just maybe your were meant to read this post today and maybe just maybe it will inspire you to take that first step towards living the life you truly desire and truly deserve. Don’t be a drifting cloud in the sky, be that SUN shining bright and full of forever happiness.
I wrote this song because I wanted the lyrics to inspire people to really believe in themselves and go for their dreams and goals in life. The song is entitled, “I Am The Greatest” and I want the person singing along to it, to really believe that they are and to feel encouraged and empowered by the words from within. Inspiration is everywhere and I do hope you find some of it in this song. Below is the Youtube video of me singing it for you. I am still working on the backing tracks but I didn’t want that to stop the process of me sharing this with you. 🙂 Wishing you a day filled with love and inspiration, love Clarabelle.
The image below says it all really. I wrote this next poem for you. May you never give up on all that you are becoming and more. Love to you Clarabelle.
Never Give Up On You
Never give up on you
Show them what you can do
Dream a little more
Opportunity will knock on your door
Abundance awaits for you
Keep going, see it through
Step closer to your goal
Sweet diamonds come from coal
I love using the power of visualisation, I feel it is a very beneficial exercise to apply when you want to distance yourself from a current problem, so as to help you find the solution or if you want to think creatively about your future self. Here is a visualisation exercise that I came up with that really helped me to look at where I was at, what I was doing and what needed to change (if anything). I would recommend you have some quiet time and space to do this exercise effectively, you may also wish to have a notepad and pen available, so you can record your thoughts, feelings and any action points you may want to take from doing this exercise.
Imagination
Imagine yourself looking down on yourself from above, like having a birds-eye view of what you are doing. See yourself right now going about your business, look at how you operate, who you talk to, where you go, what your routine is like, what daily rituals you have and even listen to what you’re thinking and communicating. Now I want you to look at the things that are serving you well and think about why this is and in contrast to that I want you to think about the things that you are thinking and doing that are not serving you well. Let me give you an example:
Map
When I did this exercise a few months ago, I looked at the places I was going to, I then drew out a map of this on my notepad, I didn’t like what I seen because I had got into the habit of going to the same places and never really getting out of a 50 mile radius from where I lived……that really made me think and immediately I got to work on making choices and decisions that would change that for me. This then led me onto exploring new places, meeting new people who inspired me and from that I started doing some things a little differently which have served me very well.
Challenge Yourself
So today I want you to challenge yourself to do this visualisatoin exercise and step out of who you are and take a birds-eye view of you living your life. If you don’t like what you see, take a note of what you want to change, what you want to do more of, what you want to do less of, what you want to say ‘yes’ to and what you will say ‘no’ to. Take the time to reflect on it all because by applying these new insights, it could just be the turning point you need in your life right now.
Not happy? I challenge you to make the change today.
I hope you take the opportunity to try out this visualisation exercise and I would love to hear what new insights you got from it.
Don’t let life pass you by, do all you can to make it a great life, think about who or what inspires your soul, what connects your spirit to another dimension, what gives you that feeling of excitement inside……..hold on to that thought, embrace that special feeling because that’s who you are, that’s what makes you YOU.
There is a special something inside of you, a precious gift that is waiting to be unwrapped, unfold it gently and release its magic into the Universe. I see it now, I see you sparkling and glistening, touching other happy spirits and uplifting the temporary broken ones.
Close your eyes right now, feel that special gift inside of you, let this unique feeling penetrate every part of your being, let it flow, let it out, let it dance with the stars under the moonlit sky……your light is special, like no other light, let it glow.
I know you are smiling now, you feel it, you believe it, now let the people of this world welcome it with open arms.
May you have a truly magical weekend, only you can make it magical, do it and don’t let life pass you by.
Thank you Universe for making this a truly MAGICAL weekend for me and for you.
Gratitude has such a magical power, it is more powerful than you could ever imagine, it has the power to change you from within and in doing so change the environment around you. Feel very blessed for everything you have in your life right now, deliberately be grateful for it all, you will then know what I am talking about because you too will be holding the magic in your heart.
I am forever grateful to you for reading these posts and joining me on the path of gratitude.
Sometimes when I am out running it feels like a kind of meditation, it really does, I feel I can really get to the core of my own wisdom and truth about life. Today, when I was out running I was thinking about this:
“In my experience, life goals are rarely achieved by only going in a straight line, because the experience of life is not straight, it is much more fluid and free-flowing than that. Sometimes in life we have to embrace the challenge of not always stepping forwards or even backwards for that matter, in a straight line. Sometimes we have to take zig-zag steps to the left and to the right, to truly experience and embrace life for what it really is. I believe that , life is not a straight line…..on your journey today, think about taking “The Zig-Zag Way of Life“.
Much love to you today, I’m zig-zagging all the way to my goals, Clarabelle 🙂
As some of you may already know I have my own Professional Coaching Business, Murray People International Coaching, www.murraypeople.com. I set up the business in 2008 after a wonderful career as a Human Resource Professional and now nearly 5 years later, it is still growing strong…I love coaching. I mainly coach Senior Executives in Global Companies but I also do private one to one Career and Life Coaching, I am fully certified as a Professional Coach. I really love working with people and seeing them achieve their goals in life. I deliberately make a real effort to continually develop myself everyday so that I can use my learning in my one to one sessions with my clients, I know the better that I can become, then the better I will work with them, and the better they will become and get the results they want. Every new coaching tool I learn for clients, I also apply to myself, this helps me to personally evolve and increases my self-awareness. So lately I have been asking myself my own questions about my life, here is the question I asked myself recently:
What do you want your life to be/look like one year from now?
So, of course, I went to work and I looked at each area of my life and in great detail wrote down what I specifically want my life to be and look like one year from now. I absolutely loved this process. I looked at the following areas:
Health
Environment
Money
Career
Intimate Relationship
Fun
Family & Friends
Leisure & Activities
Personal Growth
Three pages later and I had a wonderful vision of where I WILL be one year from now because I believe that will happen for me, because I WILL make it happen for me. I have a very good track record, I was thinking of goals I have set myself in the past and fully committed to and I can honestly say I have achieved every single one of them, so this gives me an abundance of self-confidence going forward.
What About YOU?
If you want to make positive changes in your life, I would totally recommend that you sit down quietly with a notepad and pen or type on your computer/iPad and answer that question for yourself:
What do YOU want YOUR life to be/look like one year from now?
What you do after that is your choice, I read my list every morning, so I can get my specific goals embedded into my heart, mind and soul and this helps me to become super focused in achieving that for myself, sometimes without even trying. You see it is like programming my brain to focus on achieving that for myself, so my everyday choices and decisions are in support of those life goals. I am super focused, laser focused, fully committed and fully passionate about making these goals happen for me. I want the same for YOU, I want you to have a better life, I want you to have everything that you have ever wanted, I want the BEST for YOU, I truly and honestly do. It’s your life, GO GET IT!! (I think I may make that my new slogan!!)
May every thought that you think today, be in support of a better you and a better life for you, lots of love, as always, Clarabelle.
You may remember a few weeks back I blog posted for the very first time a YouTube video of me singing one of my original songs “I Am Here”.
This has been a dream of mine since I was a child to be a successful songwriter but I never did anything about it until now…..over 30 years later!! I have a strong inner belief in my creative talents so I just started writing to different music production and publishing companies to get their feedback on my lyrics/songs. I am so excited because I received some really positive feedback this evening from a company in Nashville who I wrote to no less than 24 hours ago, here is what they said about my song:
Claire,
I hope you’re having a good day. I’ve had a chance to review your lyric, “I Am Here”. Please see review below.
“I Am Here”: You have good rhyme through out the lyric which creates good rhythm which makes the song flow well. You have good imagery and description as you use your words to paint the scenes and bring the song to life. You’ve captured and expressed the emotions well as you can feel the love, hope, strength, longing, wonder etc… This is important b/c emotion is how people connect with music. The subject matter is strong as well as the length, song structure and verse/chorus format.
“I Am Here” is a lyric we’d be interested in working with you on.
The reason I am sharing this with you is because I want to use myself as a real life, in the moment, example. I want YOU to never let go of your childhood dreams, believe in your abilities and talents and put your energy out there……the Universe WILL respond, believe that, I am living proof of that.
Now, I have no idea what will happen with my songwriting career going forward, but all I know now, is that this has truly inspired me to keep going and going and going and going. By me putting my energy out there and getting that response this evening, it has given me even more motivation, drive and enthusiasm to carry on and make it happen for myself. I will absolutely keep you posted on developments.
Remember, YOU are a miracle already, YOU have the magic inside of you to dream big but also to turn that dream into a reality…..PUT YOUR ENERGY OUT THERE!!
Much love to you as always, follow your dreams that you hold in your heart, Clarabelle.
I was talking to one of my clients only last week about deliberate practice towards a desired goal that is in alignment with your core values. Today I came across this YouTube video by Dr Bill Crawford, I really love his work and what he stands for, I learn so much from him. Watch the video below, it really does make a lot of sense.
Wishing you a wonderful day today, love Clarabelle.
I am having a serious chat with myself today, I have the energy and enthusiasm to really move forward in life, to achieve all that I want to achieve, to embrace life and all its challenges and to breathe in the most beautiful view from the top of the highest mountain.
The conversation I am having with myself today is this:
“Out with the old and make room for the new“, this is a MUST for me, old everything is going, I have to make room for the new, it needs the space to thrive, it needs space to breathe and it needs me to create the space for it. This new energy will bring an abundance of everything I’ve ever wanted and I know NOW is the time to make room for it. I need to get out of my own way and just do it. This is serious stuff, this is MY LIFE, there is no going back, there is only right now and the dreams that I hold in my heart. I will make this change for myself, I will clear out ALL of the old and welcome the new with true love, open arms and a warm smile.
YOU
I sincerely challenge you today, to have a serious conversation with yourself:
What do you need to do?
What do you need to commit to?
What fears do you have to face that are holding you back?
Now is the time, this moment is all we have, DO IT FOR YOU, it’s your life GO GET IT!!
Wishing you a beautiful day today filled with committed action and inspiration that will live in your heart forever. Lots of love, Clarabelle
“Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.” George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian
Loch Ness Marathon
I signed up for my third marathon a few weeks ago and I started my training this week. I am doing the Loch Ness Marathon, Inverness, Scotland, UK on Sunday, 29 September 2013. I previously completed the New York Marathon in 2007 and the London Marathon in 2010, both I found very challenging but also remarkably rewarding and fulfilling in terms of committing to a specific goal and achieving it. When I completed my first marathon it really did give me the belief that “anything IS possible”if you put your mind to it and do what you need to do everyday to get there. I am excited about doing the Loch Ness Marathon this year because I feel I am experienced enough now to totally relax and enjoy the whole experience, I know it will still be physically and mentally challenging but I am prepared for that. After I complete this third marathon I am going to give each of my marathon medals to my nephew Sean (9 years), niece Megan (6 years) and niece Carmen (1.5 years) – I want them to receive these medals in the hope that it will inspire them to believe in themselves and go out and achieve anything they want in their lives, so I really do need to get that third marathon medal!!
Reflecting
I have been reflecting a lot recently (well actually, I reflect all the time, so nothing new there really 🙂 ) I have been thinking about what really works for me in terms of achieving my own goals and below is a list of what works for me:
Firstly, I need to want to do something, I have to see the real benefit and purpose in doing it or I will not fully commit. My goal has to be meaningful to me and be in alignment with my core values. It also has to be my goal and definitely NOT someone else’s goal unless I am in fully alignment with their idea/goal.
Once I have decided that I want to do something, I then make a full commitment to doing it, without a real commitment there will be no real follow-through to the end, so I know I need to fully commit. Commitment to me is doing whatever it takes to get there, not in a unselfish or mean way, in a “I can do this” way.
Next I need to do some research into what I need to do to ‘make it happen’, I research into who has done it before, what the experts say, what do I need to know that will help me on my way.
Then I need to make a plan of action to ensure I commit to what needs to be done, this plan of action is a structural stepping stone for me, I have realised that if I have an easy and simple daily structure to follow I will do that – simple, visual diagrams and charts work best for me. I put the new learning into practice and tick off my daily achievements along the way – for me this definitely works!!
I also ensure I measure my progress along the way, What were things like at the start?, Where am I now in terms of progress? and How close am I getting to my desired goal?
I also like to celebrate my mini successes along the way, this is the fun part and I am also very mindful of “enjoying the journey” and having gratitudefor what I am progressing towards and achieving in my life.
Another important aspect of me achieving my goals is, in some way to inspire others to work towards and achieve their goals, “if I can do it, then YOU can do it“, that really is an important one for me.
Throughout the whole process I know I have to stay super focused to get to the end goal, I constantly visualise succeeding and celebrating my achievement. I am a highly visionary person, so I find this one quite easy, I imagine and picture in tiny details me achieving my goal, what I am wearing, who I am speaking to, how it feels, I visualise every specific detail of the end result. I 100% know this is one of the most important steps in helping me get there – it keeps the dream/goal alive inside of me, and gives me that “never give up” attitude.
I am a confident and determined individual and I know that from my past experiences anything I have put my mind to achieving I always have, I know I am a “High Say” “High Do”person and I set high standards for myself.
The above are just some things that I do towards achieving my goals, for you it may be slightly different or a lot different and I would love to hear, What works for you?
Whatever you do today, may it take you closer to your dreams and goals in life, YOU have the ability to achieve whatever YOU want to achieve, BELIEVE that, SEE that, YOU are the creator of your own reality…..GO NOW MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR YOU!!
Much love to you today, as always and thank you for reading this post, Clarabelle.
I set myself high standards because I want to be the best that I can be. I want to become a better person every day, sometimes I get this right, sometimes I don’t, but as long as I learn from it and apply the learning going forward, I know I will progress.
I don’t strive to be perfect, what is perfect anyway? To me the closest thing to perfect is in the imperfections, that I feel is our uniqueness. I don’t want to be like anybody else, I just want to be me, I like being me and I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.
Today, I want you to embrace in the fullness of this life, the wonderful person that is YOU, everything about you is special, believe you are the miracle of all miracles. Believe in YOU, in all that you do, let your spirit fly and let your imagination free your soul into the Universe. This energy will take shape and form into something that may be beyond your belief right now but I want you to have faith and hold onto that vision because you are a magnet for it and it’s making its way to YOU.
I met with a wonderfully inspirational man on Sunday afternoon for coffee in Glasgow City Centre, he is a Film Maker and creative writer. We met for about 2 hours and within that space of time I felt so inspired by his words. He is a “go-getter”, living his dream, he wakes up every morning feeling excited, he just loves life and you can feel the power of his light shining from within. He spoke about “Chasing Happiness” and what that meant to him….I was truly blown away!! There is one other phrase he said that particularly stuck with me and that was “re-invent yourself”…..I loved that, because in my mind it opens up a whole new world and “I am”. This next poem is inspired by that meeting, I do hope you are inspired by it too, love Clarabelle.
This is a blog post from an old blog of mine, I wrote this post in April 2010, 2 years prior to me starting this poetry blog. I thought I would share this with you because it is amazing how life evolves as we grow and develop. If someone had told me back then that I would now have a poetry blog and was so commited and passionate about it, I would never have believed them…..my creative writing desires are stronger than ever. We are all on a journey of personal evolution, much of this will be invisible for you right now, who knows what great things you will be part of in a few years from now. Much love to you today. Clarabelle
Personal Evolution
Below is that original post from April 2010:
I absolutely LOVE my job but it wasn’t an easy job getting here—it took me 36 years of learning, being, doing, hoping, having, not having, feeling and experiencing the highs and lows of real life and work. It is only now that I feel wise enough and knowledgeable enough to share this experiential learning.
When I Grow UP I want to be…..
From the age of 5—15 years I went through different phases of wanting to be a Mum, Air Steward, Dancer, Model, Nun, Song Writer (I had a real desire to write the winning Eurovision song – still do!!), Primary School Teacher, Nursery Nurse and a Secretary. So where did my early career ideas come from, maybe………
Mum: Watching my mum lovingly support and care for our family; wanting to be just like my mum and also being the proud owner of various dolls such as (in its day) the famous ’Tiny Tears’.
Air Steward: Wanting a ‘glamorous’ lifestyle (perceived) and the opportunity to travel all over the world, maybe even marry a pilot!! I also think the popular TV advert for Caledonian Airlines had a big influence….I remember wanting to be a ‘Caledonian Girl’.
Dancer: I was a massive fan of the hit TV Programme ’Fame’ and loved dancing from an early age – still do 🙂
Model: Watching Miss World on TV and aspiring to be like one of these beautiful woman. I wanted to wear that crown!!!
Nun: There was a real religious influence here from my childhood days, in particular at Primary School and I went through a really ’holy’ stage—that was until I discovered my like for boys!!
Songwriter: I used to lock myself in my bedroom for hours and make up songs, I would practice and practice them all day long and never got bored of it—this was a perfect escapism for me at such a young age. To this very day I still remember the songs and so do my closet friends. We often burst into these songs after a few wines!!
Primary School Teacher: I used to babysit for my next door neighbour when I was in my early teens—I loved watching their 3 kids, probably because I could be a ‘big kid’ myself. This inspired me to want to teach young children to learn and develop—I then found out that I would need to study for a further 5 years after Secondary School and this sadly (at the time) put me off.
Nursery Nurse: Again my love for children and helping them to learn and have fun. My Guidance Teacher at Secondary School totally put me off the idea “that’s not the career for you he said, that’s not a good job”. How easily influenced I was as a teenager.
Secretary: Well I figured I would go with the safe bet and be a secretary, after all I was good at typing, passed all my Secretarial Studies exams with flying colours and oh yes my mum did that when she left school and she told me fabulous stories about her career in this field. That was it at the age of 15 I aspired to be a secretary. Well there was nothing else, was there……???
My Career Path
So I finally had come to the idea that I would be a Secretary. So I went to typing College to learn how to touch-type—this proved to be a very worthwhile skill to have during all my future jobs. What where they? Well, my career experience consists of:
Shop assistant, sales representative, hotel waitress, 20 years of various office type jobs from receptionist through to human resource management. A couple of these jobs which I liked and some others I have quite closely hated.
An Independent Decision
Then at the age of 34 I decided to think very carefully about my future career and where it was heading. Why then? Well lots of reasons I believe, but I think coming out of some personal turmoil combined with some major achievements made me a much stronger person with a really determined ‘can do’ attitude.
This included personal triumphs and goals such as Graduating from University in 2005 in Personnel Practice, running the New York marathon in 2007 (I then later did the London Marathon in 2010) and Graduating again from University in 2008 in Human Resource Management. It was in 2006/7 when I seriously reflected on my future and felt much more equipped to correctly answer the following question…….
So what do I really want to do when I grow up?
To answer this, I identified my core values and what they meant to me, I looked at what job activities I particularly enjoyed doing, I thought about what are my strengths, what was I truly passionate about doing, what excites me in life, where did I want to see myself 5-20 years from now and the ultimate question: How was I going to get there?
I had a real belief and confidence in myself and I knew I wanted to have the freedom to explore new territories, learn new things and meet new people. I knew that I wanted to help other people achieve their dreams, goals and aspirations in life. I wanted to coach and mentor people to do just that, I got excited about the thought of it and felt strongly passionate about it. I was truly ready for this and felt fully motivated and inspired to do so.
What did I do?
I researched into Coaching, I wrote to no less then 200 practicing coaches in America asking for their advice, I then went to New York and met some of those coaches, left my full-time job as Human Resource Manager, studied for a further year and achieved a Diploma in Coaching at Distinction level (94%), started up my own business at the end of 2008 and that’s where I am at the moment. I have BIG plans for the business and I know that I will only achieve this through hard work and commitment. To be honest, at times it feels like starting all over again—to what it was like over 20 years ago.
What have been the best parts of my job so far?
Most definitely supporting and empowering other people to achieve their dreams, goals and aspirations in life. Almost 90% of my work to date has been career/business/leadership goals related and with my Human Resource Management background and sound coaching and mentoring experience—it works very well and benefits my clients greatly.
Also being my own boss and having the freedom to use my creativity and innovation to lead the business into great things that will inspire others to achieve great things for themselves.
Personal Learning
I have learned so much over the last 17 months of my business (to date almost 5 years!!) and I feel very proud to say that I have video blogged my real time journey all along the way. My vision is that one day it will be professionally edited and shared with you at home in the format of a short film/documentary.
But………what about being a Songwriter?
Hey, I can still do that, my career ain’t over yet, it is just at the beginning—the true beginning.
******
On 29 March 2013 – Clarabelle says:
I have now had my business for almost 5 years and I still continue to love it…….I am also planning another business which is indirectly linked. I must say however that nothing at the moment, beats the feeling of writing for this blog and getting messages from other bloggers and readers out there……you are magnificent in every sense of the word and my heart and soul is touched everyday with your responses. I see my future in this blog and I do hope you join me on the journey.
Thank you for reading this post today, lots of love Clarabelle.
Clarabelle 