Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Recently someone asked me, “Darryl are you growing?” Now, I truly wasn’t sure if this person was consciously asking me this question to see if I was growing personally, but I was pretty confident they weren’t asking me if I was physically growing. The question really hit me. It made me think, “Am I growing, expanding and evolving…?”

The more I thought about it, I began to realize that, I grow, when I get out of my comfort zone. Let me share a story about myself. When I was a little kid, I was very shy and never wanted to be in the spotlight. Actually, I did everything in my power to be invisible. When all eyes were on me in school, I would get super nervous and it was hard to speak in front of others. I was the kid who never raised his hand in class, because I thought if I spoke up then the other students would look at me. Sounds crazy when I think about it but that’s how it was.

I lived this way for too long and never changed. I made sure I stayed in my own comfort zone. For awhile I was okay with this. I was okay being small and unseen. It was more important for me to be comfortable. However, deep inside me, I hated that I chose to be small and comfortable. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone but was afraid.

Finally I got sick and tired of living this way. I had dreams and wanted the bigger me to show up. I knew that I couldn’t be the small little boy. If I wanted to make a difference and play a bigger life, I need to face my fear and get uncomfortable, I would need to step out of my comfort zone.

What I learned when asked, “Are you growing?” Is that I grow as a person when I get out of my comfort zone. When I take action and move toward what I fear.

I faced my fear and started public speaking. This was a drastic change and at times I felt like I got way out in the land of uncomfort, a place that was very unfamiliar to me. When thinking back I was very alive, each time I got up to speak, I felt I was growing as a person. My confidence grew more and more. So if you want to grow, you must get outside of your comfort zone.

Here’s a great exercise…. I refer to this as the circle of comfort. Draw a circle on a piece of paper, inside the circle is the land of comfort. If you want to GROW you need to step out of the circle. So write down specific actions, such as, make a presentation, pick-up the phone and make that call, leaders step up. The great thing is you can go back to the circle and find comfort.

Go and face your fears, step out of your comfort zone. You’ll grow as a person and your life will change before your eyes.

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Are you using the POWER of your Subconscious mind?

What I’m going to share with you in this video can be the difference of happiness or sadness, success or disappointment, fulfillment or emptiness.

I’m going to share three highly effective strategies to use your subconscious mind.

Before I do that let’s define what a subconscious mind is - your subconscious mind is a massive never-ending storage room. It stores all the information that your conscious mind doesn’t. Your subconscious mind stores all of your previous life experiences, your beliefs, your memories, your skills, all situations you’ve been through and all images you’ve ever seen. It can be difficult to put your arms around its vastness. Your subconscious mind is always running, it never stops.

Let’s take a look at an example. Do you remember how difficult it was when you did something for the first time? Learning to ride a bike, learning to play an instrument or learning how to drive a car. For me speaking in front of people. My first few times didn’t go so well. Those experiences would remain in my subconscious mind until I chose to change it. It was many years later where  I made the decision to go into my subconscious mind and install a new program and get new experiences in there. I had to work at it and initially it was very difficult. I still had fear and pain in my subconscious mind when it came to speaking in front of a group. However, I used three strategies to break inner block I had within to become a pretty good speaker if I don’t say. I’m going to share this three strategies in a moment.

Understanding how powerful your subconscious mind is very important to grasp. Research states that 85% of your behavior comes from your subconscious mind - 85%! That’s the power of your subconscious mind!

Let’s put this into action!

#1 Feed your subconscious mind on what you WANT (not what you don’t want). Keep this present and possessive.  

I am healthy, physically fit and abundantly energetic and love to exercise.

I am financially wealthy and money flows to me easily.

#2 Ask questions! “How can I use the power of my subconscious mind?” Your subconscious mind will provide the answers. NOt only is our subcons mind a vast storage unit it is also connected or a piece of the universe, divine or high power. You don’t need to know the “how” just go inside, trust and ask the question to your desires. And keep asking the question over and over. Your subconscious is there to serve you and it will deliver.

#3 Visualize what you want! Paint the picture in your mind on what you want in your life. Anything and everything; relationship, money, health, fame, travel and adventure, people you want to meet, things you want (home, car). If you find it difficult to visualize in your mind’s eye, then find pictures off the web or magazines and make a dream board.

These are three powerful ways to use your subconscious mind, use them and you life will change!

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY EXERCISE - this will support you to implementing the strategies

5 Morning Rituals To Start Your Day

So how do you begin each day? Do you wake up like a zombie, go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, and think "what day is it?" Then you might just start thinking about all the stuff you "have to do" for the day and then get a sick feeling in your stomach. That may not be how you begin your day, but what you do each morning especially in the first couple hours determines how your day can possibly go.

I personally cherish my mornings. I'm blessed with six incredibly beautiful children who I absolutely love beyond life it self. And, that's why I love my mornings. I wake up before the family because I need that time for ME. I don't just wake early to watch TV or read the newspaper. I get up early to do my morning rituals which sets the stage for me to feel centered, excited and ready to kick butt.

So here's my morning rituals that I've been doing for years. These aren't the only rituals that create a great day but they have worked for me.

#1 Have Your Day Planned/Scheduled
This ritual has the potential to change and transform your life! Having your day planned the day before gives you direction and focus for the day. You can give it a quick review before you go to bed and when you wake there's no wasted time doing unproductive stuff. So this ritual begins the previous day and you can write down (schedule) your morning rituals.

#2 Drink water
After I dress and brush my teeth, I go to the kitchen and drink about 30 ounces of water. This hydrates my body and it feels great. I'm a tea drinker (I was a coffee drinker but switched over about 10 years ago) however I avoid drinking tea the first couple hours of the day.

#3 Exercise
Starting your day off with exercise gets your heart pumping and blood flowing. I've been working out in the morning for many years and it has been a key ingredient to feel amazing for the entire day. So if you haven't been working out in the morning, just begin and start - you'll be so happy you did!

#4 Meditate/Solitude
Meditating in the morning is a wonderful way to center your mind. It's very easy to fall into the routine of allowing your mind to think about all the "stuff" you have to do. If we allow our minds to think to far into the future it's easy to get stressed. So allow 15-20 minutes of quiet time and allow the the mind be free. Yes, you'll have many thoughts, but this time you won't grab a hold of any of them. Let them come and go.

#5 Read/Listen to something inspiring
There's plenty of negative news in the world and if you turn on the television you'll find it. That's why it's so important to not watch the news at the beginning of your day. Flood your mind with a book that inspires you or provides motivation. Listen to an audio program that gives you strategy to develop in your professional and/or personal life.

These aren't the only rituals that can transform your day but a great start. You have the power to change your life if you choose. That starts with how you choose to begin your day. That's how you change your life, one day at a time. So either use these morning rituals to begin your day or craft your own. What's most important is that you take action and begin your morning rituals.
Free audio program "Being Productive In Life & Business"

Staying Motivated

Let's face it we've all struggled staying motivated sometime in our life. What is motivation? And how the heck can I get more of it?

Have you ever heard or been told, "Your a motivated person or that person is self-motivated". Apparently when someone is motivated it's visible for the world to see. Well if that's true what if you're not motivated, what does the world see?

Here's the point, motivation is defined different by people but it also has some common traits as well. Instead of writing a really long blog, I want to invite you to listen to my audio program "Staying motivated". The link is below so go and listen now or download and listen later.

Audio Program "Staying Motivated"

Think BIG Play BIG

Accountability Academy Enroll Today!

Accountability Academy

Do you struggle following through on your tasks? Do you have clear goals? Are you excited about them? Have you noticed that you fall short? Do you want to start making progress in your life?

Well then you need to learn more about my upcoming online coaching program "Accountability Academy" I'm pulling together four individual strategies that I've been using for years personally and with my worldwide coaching clients. If you want to move forward in your life you need systems. The people who are achieving their desired dreams have a personal accountability plan.

Stop living in frustration and disorganization - you are worth it!

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The Power of Listening

So you probably heard the saying, “You've got two ears, one mouth, so you should listen twice as much than you talk.” There's so much truth in that. But here's the real situation. People struggle with listening. Do you truly feel like you're being heard from somebody?  Or are they just there, not truly engaged?  You don't feel like they're present?

Well, this is the deal. If you want to change that, you have to change that with yourself. There's three levels of listening.  Level one is when someone is talking and you are literally saying, “What's this mean to me?” How am I going to get involved in this?” So at level one there’s one main question you ask inside your head. What does this mean to me. That's level one.

Level two is engagement. You're really listening to the person. You're looking to find out what's their values? What's missing in their life? So you're really, really, really focussed, and you are present, and you are engaged. That's level two. 

Level three. Level three listening, is hearing the unsaid. You can feel what they're feeling. You can feel what's going on around them and understand their environment. This is an extremely powerful level. So, where do you think most people listen? What level? Well, if you said level one you're right. Most people are at level one, but here's the secret. If you want to go from level one and begin to live in a place of level two. Where you are really focused on that person, and then really entertain yourself with going to level three at times. 

Here’s the secret. You have to take the focus off yourself, and you have to put it on the other person. That's the secret. It's simple, but if you do that people will feel that you're present. You won't necessarily have to solve anything for them. They'll want you around a lot more. You'll become a more effective leader. People will come to you more. It's that powerful. 

So go out and play at level two, and entertain level three. Level three is really feeling the unsaid. You know them better than they know themselves in that situation. So the power of listening is about listening more than you talk, and you'll make a huge difference. You'll get results for yourself, but also those who are around you. 

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Getting Out of a Rut

So what exactly does it mean to be in a rut? Well, number one is if you feel like you're stuck, you feel like you're not moving forward, but you're conscious and aware that you can be doing so much better. You're in a rut. What get's us in a rut? Well, pretty much what we choose to focus on. We might have been let down from all our results that we are not getting. We could be overwhelmed. Typically we're focusing on what's not working really well in our life. That just beats us down. You know it might take a month, it might take a week, depending, but eventually it just gets you down. And then you don't do much. You're still active, but you're disappointed because you know you can be doing so much better. 

So that's what puts us in a rut. So the question is, how do you get out of a rut? It's like eating an elephant. I don't eat to many elephants. I don't know if you do, it's more of a metaphor. You can't eat an elephant with one bite. That's what most people do to try to get out of a rut. Everyone wants to go really really fast. We put too much on our plate and can't get it done which results to frustration. Which ultimately keeps us in a rut. 

So the strategy I recommend with my clients that I am coaching, is start doing the little things. I mean the real small things that give you some momentum. Yeah, initially you're going to beat yourself up, and say, “So what this was so small who cares”. You can't have that voice anymore. You need to do the little things. Start telling yourself, “That was pretty good, I did that!” Then you move on to the next task... Then the next task... You start accumulating some progress, and it starts to feel pretty good. 

You might not even want to admit it, but you're going to think this feels pretty good. What will happen when you take little steps? You’ll start taking action and you’ll also start noticing other things to do. Your focus will begin to change for the better. You’ll start building some momentum up. When you're feeling good you’ll shift into the good energy. Once that happens you can put a little bit more on your plate. Then you can start redefining between tasks and your goals. You get the picture? We all want to move forward and make progress. However the ultimate goals is to achieve life results. 

So if you're in a rut don’t stay there. I hope that strategy works for you. Just remember to become aware that you are in a rut. You need to get in action and start to move even if it means on small actions. 

To your happiness and success.

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