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© 2018 Maggie Kirkland. Photography by my extraordinarily talented Wife.
 

Lately I’ve been healing, deconstructing and understanding the things that hold me back. The last couple of years have felt stagnant and unfulfilling in many ways for me. I’ve felt it a couple of times previously in life, but I’m still not used to it. It’s uncomfortable and maddening. It surprises me, though I guess it shouldn’t come as any surprise really at all.

It happens when I listen too much to what’s “out there” and not to myself. It happens when people criticize, undervalue or belittle me. Ugh. I let other people get in my head, rattle my thoughts and eventually run my life. It’s weird how that happens, isn’t it? We go along and all of the sudden we wake up one day realizing we’ve let someone else’s beliefs, anger, hurt or agendas become ours. Oh god is it ever uncomfortable.

It is...

(This stunning photo was captured by Maggie Kirkland)

I asked myself “How do I write more consistently” and then my brain answered:

“You just do.”

Valid point.

My goal during the coming months is to share short meanderings and curiosities about life via my blog to get back in the flow of organic and authentic writing.

Writing that doesn’t have a destination.

Writing that tickles the curiosities of the soul.

The kind of writing that transports me in time and thrusts me into a magical sort of flow state that I love feeling.


I’ve committed myself to doing things with greater consistency and the only way to do things consistently is by actually PLANNING for them… So I’ll be dedicating the first waking hour of my day to writing these blog posts. No more and no less than an hour. I find that if I push myself to write MORE, I burn out and end up not wanting to write the next day. I...

It’s finally time.

I’ve spent 2+ years and every single coaching session with my Coach this year talking about “writing more for myself.”


And by “more” I mean AT ALL.

Now it’s just annoying.

Why do I refuse to write like I used to? That’s perhaps my greatest question. Maybe I feel I don’t deserve it. I feel like I should be making money not writing about life. Like it has to lead somewhere important and valuable or it’s not worth doing. But writing about life is how I learn, how I contribute, and how I understand the world -- and myself.

Writing IS my currency.

When we first met, Maggie used to say she could feel the energy in the house change when I was writing and she loved it. There was a sort of magic about it. I miss that. I can tell she does, too.

When I stopped writing a couple of years ago, it was difficult not to write at first, but then, like all habits, I got used to...

Hi Friends!

Here is your weekly dose of “High Five Friday,” a list of things that are adding value to my life or capturing my attention this week.

1. What I'm Reading -- My wife and I are currently focusing our attention on leveling up our financial game. Neither of us grew up with a strong understanding of money, how to have it work for us, how to invest, or even how to fully value ourselves. We confided in our friend, Carla, and she shared an incredibly powerful book to help us on our journey (thank you, Carla!!!). We are LOVING this book (even taking turning reading it so we can both soak it up!) I hope this book helps you too: Worthy: Boost Your Self-Worth To Grow Your Net Worth by Nancy Levin. 
   
   
   

2. What I'm Watching -- This week I had a realization that about 5 years ago, I abandoned many of the tools, habits, hacks and rituals that got me to some of the BEST places in my life. I grew up listening to self-improvement tapes, attending...

 (Breathtaking photo captured by Maggie Kirkland | www.honey-photo.com) 

We live in such an incredible time. We can literally live and work anywhere in the world and make a living. There has been no other time quite like this where the only limit to our experience is our ideas, our beliefs and our commitment to making it happen. Many people are feeling pulled to adventure. To travel and explore the world around us. We’re pushing the limits of the stable job, the 8-5, and living in the same place for our entire life.

So the question is, what would it look like for you to live your life of your own terms?

 
Pull out your journal or a piece of paper and complete the following questions:

1. What do you value most in life?

2. What are your deal breakers? (these are things that if they happened, you would be done … be it with your job, your relationship, your career)

3. What are you tolerating right now?


4. What would your...

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

1. TAKE THE FIRST STEP.

 There will always be a reason that the timing isn’t right. Or you don’t know where it’s all going and why, so you neglect to begin. That’s why this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is so important. It’s profound in it’s simplicity, but powerful when actually done. That is why you must simply begin right here and now.


So instead of skeptically asking ourselves “What is it all for?” or stating, “I need to know what it will it look like in 3 years from now before I will begin.”


We must instead ask ourselves this:


“What is the FIRST thing you can do in pursuit of that relationship, career, or life you want?"


Without judgement, without letting fear wreak havoc on your mind. Declare your starting point and START now. With each and every step...

Most of us aren’t depressed. We aren’t uninspired. We don’t lack passion, dreams or ideas. In fact, what most of us are, is stuck.

We're depressed because we want something more, something different, something better, more our style, more real and true and congruent with our passions and purpose in life. When we know too much, like what our soul longs for, what would make us happier, more playful, loving, and kind, even a better contributor to our world, we must actually go forth and do that. It is when we stifle the energy that becomes us, that we grow depressed, listless, self-hating and sabotaging.

We say we’re uninspired, but we’re actually just scared. We need to summon the courage to push forward to something greater for ourselves, for our vision, for our future. We get “uninspired” because we’ve allowed inspiration in to play and we’ve waited too long to take action to allow inspiration to become our...