Category: Inspirations

Who switched the price tag?  There are times when we find ourselves operating on “auto-pilot.”  We get so used to things happening a certain way that we don’t even give much thought to our daily activities.  We start our day the same, we have the same cup of coffee, we take the same route to work each day, and we sit in the same seat.  As the day goes on people pop in and out of our space and some speak while others don’t bother.  When asked how we are doing, we answer with vague responds such as, “Same old same old!”  Oh how I hate that response, and usually I will let the person know that it’s unacceptable in my world.

Even though I am considered by most a very positive and upbeat person, there are days when things get the best of me.  These past two years have been a test of my endurance in more ways than most will ever realize.  I have felt like the person who sees a sale price on TV or on-line, and when I get to the store the salesperson quotes me a much higher price.  My internal thoughts  immediately are, “Who switched the price tags?”  Of course they always have some type of story as to why the price is not what was seen elsewhere.  Then there are the stores that do the “bait and switch” where they give a low price just to get you in the door, but then they tell you that you really don’t want that item because it will not last or serve the purpose that you need.  Mattress stores are famous for doing the “bait and switch.”  I have yet to go into a mattress store and come out with the item that was advertised.  Those sale prices are not what you want no matter how good they make it sound during the commercial.

You can either accept the status quo and go through life simply surviving, or be the person who doesn’t fall for the “bait and switch.”  You get to decide the price tag of your purpose, your destiny, your future, and your Alabaster Oil!

Preparation is the key!  Knock and the door shall be opened. We hear that all the time, however what we fail to realize is no door is going to open for the person who is not prepared to walk through it.  When you really think about it, why would you want to walk inside a door that you are not ready to enter?  Many of us are being prepared for stuff that we haven’t asked for or even know is coming our way.  That’s just how God works.  One day you find yourself in the midst of a crowd that you never thought would envelop your gifts and talents, and the next thing you know someone slides your name to the right person who holds your next level key.  There are quite a few sayings that line up with being in the right place at the right time.  For example, “Be kind to strangers because you might be entertaining an angel,” or “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.”  I am sure there are many more but those two came to mind for me.

In our daily walk it is important to acknowledge everyone as a human being and a child of God. I understand there may be times when it’s hard to do that.  We have a tendency to compare sins and pass judgment based on what a person looks like, the type of job they have, or how they create joy in their lives.  If they dance, or drink, or have children out of wedlock.  We place a number of expectations on others before we will consider them acceptable citizens not only in our spear of influence, but also in the world.  Who gave us the final say?  Where did our list of judgment items come from?  Unfortunately, with our limited vision of how big this world is we can easily mistake our way as being the only way.  In order to get prepared and be ready for your “level-up” it is imperative that you close your judgment eyes and open your vision to this amazing rainbow of people, who may be the catalyst for taking your gifts and talents to a world beyond where you stand.  Your next preparation assignment just might blow your mind, because preparation is the key that opens the door!

Where are you headed?  When you get in your car and start driving you know where you plan to go. Whether you use your memory or a GPS there is some form of direction required.  If you plan to make a right turn then your steering wheel will be turned to the right.  Although you will look both right and left for traffic your ultimate goal is to go to the right.  The same thing is true when you find yourself in a situation where you need to back up.  In order to do that you will need to look through your rearview mirror and your back windows.

It is very interesting that we know all of the above when driving our vehicles, but when it comes to our daily lives, we seem to have lost our navigation system. Why is it that we think we can move forward in life by staying in park?  We get into comfortable situations and refuse to grow or develop.  We stay in jobs we hate.  We remain too long in relationships that we know are over, yet we keep hoping that something will change.  And it will, when you change!  Life shows us the possibilities and we walk right over them, because we are too afraid to take a risk and try something new.  We see everyone else prospering and thriving and we ask why not me?  My question to you is, have you done the work that the other person has done?  Do you get up early?  Do you stay up late?  Are you passionate about what you do and what you want out of life?  Is there anything that you would do on a daily basis that brings you joy, whether you got paid a dime or not?  Are you willing to do what it takes until you can do what you want?  These are some of the questions that you might want to reflect on, because where you are looking is the direction you are going to go!

 

 

 

Who’s sucking on you?  The other day I noticed that one of the flowers in my vase was dying so I decided to remove it so that the others could continue to thrive.  So many times in life we are being sucked out of our energy, hope, dreams, and finances by dead flowers who only serve to drain you dry.  Do you ever feel like you are surrounded by people who only take, take, take, but rarely remember to give back?  Why is it that you are always supporting and pouring into their dreams and ideas, yet when it comes to your vision they seem to be blind?  Everything for them is a bottom line item; what’s in it for me?  Sometimes what’s in it for you is not visible right now.  Maybe what’s in it for you will come from that someone who knows someone else.  Stop trying to see the end result all the time and let God show up and do His magic.  I promise you what’s in it for you will be much bigger than you could have ever planned.  Check out my latest book, “Walking in Your Season of Receiving,” where I share stories of blessings coming from unexpected sources on a regular basis.  The good part is, the blessings are still coming!  https://gerispeak.com/season

 

Destiny lies in your discomfort.  If it were easy then everybody would be doing it. Even then no one would be able to do it like you.  As you enter the new year please take stock of the gifts and talents that God has placed in you.  This may involve looking back a bit just to see how He showed up in your life previously, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Don’t park there though!  Keep it moving.  Your source of discomfort many times is where your destiny lies.   None of us want to be the bearer or receiver of bad news, and of course no one wants to feel hurt and pain.  The trick is to remember that all things work for the good of those who serve the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

As I say in my new book, “Walking in Your Season of Receiving – Seven Steps to Recognizing God When you Can’t see Him,” ‘you don’t always have to be a participant in your own life.  It’s okay to just sit on the sideline sometimes and watch God work.  As participants we tend to doodle and dabble and move things around to get our desired result, while getting in God’s way.  If you simply be still you may see God’s  blessings come from unexpected sources.’  I have truly lived this over the past three years.  Once I surrendered all control to God for my life, I watched Him take really good care of me.  And He will do the same thing for you as long as you do not curse the darkness or murmur in the wilderness.  Work with what you have instead of complaining about what you do not have.  God can take your little bit and turn it into an amazing blessing in a matter of seconds.  Not days, not weeks, not months, but SECONDS!  It is time to allow your discomfort to create the pathway to your destiny.

Sometimes in order to move into our next we have to change our now.  If everything you do is based on your current environment, belief system, and what you see, then you are stuck in the now.  You need to learn how to see, believe, and experience things outside of your reality.  Day dreaming and night dreaming can be a beautiful thing, however if you never put action behind those dreams then you are just having sweet dreams.

I have a couple of coaches that I respect and appreciate their advice on how to move forward in business, especially when it comes to branding and getting your message to a wider audience.  Recently I talked with one of them about my goals and visions for Geri Speak, and where I see myself in the future.  After sharing, she presented me with the question, “What would it take for those things to happen?”  That question gave me pause, because I know what it takes to move forward financially, emotionally, and physically, but I didn’t really have any steps in mind of what it takes to get to where I see myself in business.

Recently I was watching a podcast about positioning yourself to be found.  Although the conversation was about steps that women can take in order to facilitate their possibility of dating, this holds true for professional relationships as well.  Remember, people do business with those  they know, like, and trust.  How can someone know, like and trust you if all they see is your social media profile?  Anyone can create a social media account and pretend to be whatever they choose.  You become a real person when people see and connect with you in person, or by video if the relationship is distant.  I have attended out of town events because of the persona that someone expressed through their video, not because of their social media page.  So how you show up determines how you will be perceived by an audience, whether it’s through social media or an event.  Although it may be uncomfortable to change things up a bit, your NEXT may be in your discomfort!

My belief is, if you stay ready then you don’t have to get ready. As soon as I put something in the universe I start preparing for the manifestation.  By the time what I want starts to show up, I am ready to implement my plan.  If you use this method on a regular basis at some point it will become second nature.  There are disadvantages to being extremely organized because change can throw you off-key.  However, over the years I have found a way to overcome that as well.  I always leave room for exceptions to the rule, in the form of mishaps, failures by no fault of mine, oversights, etc.  Some of these things came with age and others came with practice and planning.

The question is, are you ready for what you are asking for?  If not, how long will it take you to get ready.  We live in a society of “right now!”  While you are thinking about doing something others are already doing it.  While you are playing catch up others have moved on to the next level.  Time waits for no one.  There is something called the 5-second rule, by Mel Robbins, which says, “If you have an impulse to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill the idea”. This doesn’t mean that everything you try will work out. This doesn’t mean that you should jump head over hills into every idea that pops into your head. You will know which ones to jump on and which ones to let go of. I have thoughts all day long about things that I would like to try, but I also know myself like no one else does. But then, there are those days when I know immediately that this is an idea that I need to pursue, whether it works or not. Some ideas are there to guide you to better ideas down the road. So, needless to say, I’m sitting on ready!

 

If you have a computer, then you have seen the notice that says, “Do not turn your computer off. We are downloading an update to your system.”  Somehow or another it always happens when you are rushing and trying to get something done and move on.  Instead you have to wait until this machine shuts down before you walk away.  You don’t want to leave your computer running because of the likelihood that you will forget to return later.  And thus goes the story of life!

God is always downloading, unfortunately too many of our systems have been turned off during the download, or we don’t use His computer at all. We tell ourselves that there’s no need to keep in touch with all the updates.  Why bother spending an hour or more in meditation or communion with God, when He’s everywhere anyway?  It’s not like you can separate yourself from Him.  If He has something to tell you He’ll say it while you are on the go.  And all that may be true, but there are times when your computer needs an update and the only way to get that update is be actively involved with the computer.  When your computer is turned off you get no downloads.  You only get them when you have participated in a scenario that requires more information in order for your system to continue to work properly.  Sometimes the download involves upgrading critical functions to an already overloaded system.  Maybe it’s removing some stuff that is no longer needed, or stuff that is holding you back from getting the best results out of your efforts.  Everyone who has Facebook know that it is constantly changing the way we do things.  Most of that is because it doesn’t want to become stale or commonplace, and some of it may be that competition calls for an upgrade to their system.  In order for us to move from our comfort zones and move into the destiny that God has for us, we need to be aware of the areas where He is trying to update us.  The older I get the more I thirst for knowledge, especially in areas where my writing, speaking, and travel is concerned.  So I try to stay open to change, growth and development in whatever form God sends it. Don’t Shut Your Computer Down. God may be installing an update!