Time to Look Where You Are Going

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?

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 Discomfort

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.

Your Next May Require Changing Your Now

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!

Sitting on Ready

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!

Don’t Shut Your Computer Down

 

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!

Uber Dating

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Uber dating! Now that I have your attention, let me ask you a question: Have you heard about people using Uber to get to the ER rather than using an ambulance?  I was shocked when I heard that.  Who would risk their lives in the hands of an Uber driver when it comes to your health?  It was stated on the news that riders said, Uber is cheaper so they are willing to take the risk for illnesses that are not life threatening.  I thought emergency rooms were for life-threatening illnesses!

Back to my story about Uber Dating! I didn’t literally get a “real” date through Uber.  But for two hours on a recent Friday night while driving for Uber, I pushed aside all my financial concerns as I sat in an Improv Comedy Show downtown thanks to one of my Uber riders.  I picked up this couple and her brother who were going to Theatre 99.  As I was sharing my conversations about who I am and why I do Uber, I also talked about some of the blessings that I have received as a driver.  During our conversation I mentioned that I had always wanted to go to Theatre 99, but for one reason or another had never gotten around to doing that.  Low and behold, the brother who was sitting in the front with me turned and said, “I have an extra ticket for tonight if you want to park your car and go.  I’ll give it to you for free and you don’t even have to sit with us if you don’t want to.”  So, for once in my life I decided to do something impulsive and stop the world so I could get off.  The gentleman gave me his phone number and told me to call him after I find a park and he would meet me at the door.  In less than ten minutes I was parked and seated inside the theatre with three people who did not know me from Adam.  I had the most fun that I have had in a long time.  We all talked and laughed as though we had planned to be together.  Because of that gentleman’s generosity I will start to enjoy life more and will definitely go back to that theatre: I plan to schedule a date with myself for my birthday next month.  Bottom line, it pays to be authentically yourself!

Burning Bridges You Haven’t Crossed

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Don’t burn bridges that you haven’t crossed. We get so caught up in deciding who means what to us, that we sometimes miss an opportunity to receive from those we don’t know is watching. We want to rub elbows with people in the higher echelons thinking they have more to offer us, when what you need may be in the hands of the small guy standing right next to you.  Everyone passes judgment whether they want to admit it or not.  How many times have you said to yourself, or someone else, “that person probably won’t even consider me as an option to do business with,”  or “what do I have to offer them?”  We never know where our next big idea will come from.  The person you think is too big or too small to consider your product or service may be the one who challenges your growth.  We network with a purpose, which is not always to build relationships.  We size people up based on who their friends are.  If someone does the same thing as we do, then we hesitate to spend time with them.  There is enough space, time and money on this planet for all of us.  No one can do YOU like you do YOU!

Defrag and Refresh

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Defrag and refresh!  The average person nowadays own a computer either for work, fun, or for their kids educational process. If you don’t own one it’s because you don’t care or you are too old for it to make a difference in your lifestyle.  This message is for everyone whether you have a real computer or not, because we all have a mind, which serves as our computer that is constantly receiving information from all kinds of sources.  This includes daily messages from God along with all the other stuff that is funneled into our brains.  Just like a laptop or desk computer, our minds can become overloaded with files that are hindering the speed at which information can be processed.  We need to defrag and refresh our computers from time to time to get rid of old files that are no longer needed.  It is important that we take stock of what’s going into our minds and what we are putting out into the world.  As technology continues to advance, there are so many people who are using technology outside its intended purpose.  On any given day you can read about someone who has been scammed or computer hacked.

As you think about who you are and how you spend your days, make sure that you are adding good to the world. It is so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing and begin to think that it’s okay because they got away with it.  We’ve gotten to the point where we hear about something so much it starts to becomes the norm.  Let’s not allow that to happen with our expression of faith and belief in a higher being, who directs and orders our footsteps each and every day.  Let’s continue to give credit where credit is due no matter what the world believes about religion and spirituality.  In the final analysis you are the one who will suffer or benefit from what you believe.  Defragging and refreshing is an ongoing process and it may mean getting rid of some things/people that no longer serve a purpose.

Mind What You Think

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Mind what you think!  All of us have probably heard the saying, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” and to go even further, we’ve also heard, “As a man thinketh, so is he.” What does those two statements mean to the average person?  To some it means absolutely nothing.  When you look at the current state of affairs we know that so many minds are wasted.  We also know that there are numerous people who never speak life to their situation.  Doom and gloom is the word of the day.  Their surroundings enforce it.  Their home environment confirms it, and their lifestyle adds the icing to the cake.  Why do some people hear these statements and grasp them right away, and others turn a blind eye to what’s right in front of them?  How is it that two people can be from the same side of the track, yet one make it out and another gets trapped in the madness?  Why?  I don’t have concrete answers, but I would suffice it to say from my own experience that it’s mind over matter.  We have to not only use our minds for good, but we also have to mind what we think.  A thought is energy that starts the process of reality.  Therefore it is extremely important that we take our own thoughts captive.  We often ask God to do that, but it’s also up to us to capture our thoughts as well.  Learn how to reign your thoughts in when you feel them taking an avenue that is not becoming to you and your character.  Listen to that little voice inside of you that knows right from wrong.  No one should have to call you on the carpet for doing something foolish.  You already know!