2015 was my breakthrough year. That’s the year I started to get serous about really figuring out what I’m passionate about. I was tired of living in this passionate cycle, doing the same things every single day and never feeling fully fulfilled. I knew I was made for something greater and I decided that I’m going to figure it out.

And when the student is ready, the teach appears…

So I was gifted tickets to Chalene Johnson’s Smart Success live event and it changed my life. Today, I’m reflecting on that even that changed my life and I am sharing the lessons that I learned and applied.

1. You can do anything you want to do but, is it worth it, and does it make sense?

I always had this thing where I though, “I can do anything.” Which is a great attitude to have but I didn’t know when to use it. I had this contrarian thing when someone said I can’t do it, I said, “Oh, watch me” and I did it anyway. I’d kill my self and I’d break my knees but I’d do it. This made me see that I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I can do anything I want to do.
Is it worth it and does it make sense if I’m going to do this one thing and I’m going to kill myself? My health is going to be in jeopardy. I’m not going to be honoring my priorities. I’m going to be neglecting the people that I love. I’m going to be spending so much time on this one thing and other areas in my life are going to fail. Is it worth it?

That evaluation was everything for me. That made me see that I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.

It’s really important to take some time to figure out what your priorities are.

Figure out if it’ s worth it. Does it make sense?

Think of it this way…If you’re creating a vision board and you put up a picture of a hot girl because that’s what you want to look like, does it make sense if you have seven kids and you have to worry about waking up early and getting them up for school and then you a 9 to 5 job and you have to come home to your family. Does that make sense? Is it worth it? This was a HUGE takeaway for me!

2. Systems

I already had some systems but I never knew why they worked. I kind of stumbled upon them along the way and they just worked for me. When people asked me how was it that I’m able to do something, I didn’t know hot to put it to words. My answer was always, “I don’t know, I just am.”

I wasn’t able to articulate to them why my system worked. Chalene actually explained about the mind and the brain and why systems work. That all made sense because I realized I have this ability to set my mind on something, get really focused and just do it. I can focus in a room full of noise and everyone could be screaming and yelling but I could focus and just do my work.

I’ve always been able to do that all through school. I really wanted to be able to explain to other how I am able to focus so well because I really wanted to help them do the same. And Chalene bridged that gap for me.

I’ll give you an example…

I always workout in the morning. I used to teach spin so I would always set up my clothes the night before. When I woke up, I saw my workup clothes and I just automatically put them on and went to spin. Everyone would always as me how I’m able to wake up at 5am and workout. My answer was always, “I don’t know. I just do.”

But I learned that me putting my clothes out is a trigger. Setting up my clothes in a place that I see them as soon as I open up my eyes, tells my brain “let’s get ready!” I don’t have to worry abut getting out of bed and looking for something to wear. Now that makes sense. I can explain that to people.

3. It’s not about finding your purpose, it’s about living with purpose I was always so caught up in finding the end.

What is my purpose? What is the thing I’m supposed to be doing? I didn’t get it. I would see people and they were where they’ve always wanted to be. And I always said to myself, “They just got lucky. That they are one of those people who just kind of knew what they wanted and it just worked.”

But I’ve learned that it’s not luck. We think it’s luck because all we see is the end result. All those people actually do the work and they notice opportunities because they’re doing the work. Opportunities are always there. People show up. They see the opportunities and they grab them. It’s just like learning a new word. All of the sudden, you hear it everywhere. The whole world didn’t just learn this new world with you, it’s always been there. But now your mind is open to it and you get it. It’s not about finding that purpose. It’s about doing whatever you’re doing with purpose so whether it’s taking a vacation, do it with purpose. If it’s talking to a friend, do it with purpose. If it’s going out to have a cup of coffee, do it with purpose. Don’t be thinking about five million other things. Don’t be on your phone. Don’t be writing about your business plan. Just whatever you’re doing with purpose. Then purpose will find you.

4. I am enough

A lot of times we don’t want to say no to opportunities. We feel like we’re going to miss out. We feel like we have to be doing everything because other people can’t do it as well as us. And that we have to please people. And that’s because we don’t feel like we’re enough. We don’t feel like we matter. We feel like we have to keep doing things to prove ourselves worthy enough.

When someone would say, “You can’t do it.” I said, “Oh, watch me. I’m going to do it”. And that served me back then because it helped me accomplish lot of things. But I also did things I really didn’t need to be doing just to prove a point. And it wasn’t worth it, and was a waste of my time.

You just have to realize that you’re enough. You have everything inside you. You’re worth it. Just show up. Just do the work and just worry about what’s going to help you be happier. Just press start. That’s all. That’s all you’re in control of. Don’t worry about what other people think. Just start.

5. You don’t have to do more to be happy.

If your priorities are spending time with your family, spending time with your kids, spending time with your loved ones, just do that. Say no to some things – it’s okay.

People matter. When people matter, things just fall into place. Growing up, I didn’t like to spend time for myself. People would tell me that they’re going out on a spa day and that they’re just going to do nothing and that for me was like a death sentence. Why would you do nothing? Why would you take time for yourself? That just didn’t make sense. That’s so selfish, I would think. I was always go, go, go. Do, do, do.

Just slow down, figure out what’s important to you and spend more time just doing that. You are enough.

Just do you and then everything will fall into place. Don’t live life by other people’s rules. Create your own happiness with your own success, with your own definition, not by what the world tells you. Not what other people tell you.

The number one regret of the dying is that they wish they had the courage to do what they wanted to do rather than live life by other people’s design. They realized it right at the end of their lives. But you have that now. You’re still here. You’re still alive. You can realize that you’re enough and that you can live the life of your dreams. So figure out how you want to feel and then do things that help you feel that.

Things happen to you when you’re ready. You’re in the right place at the right time. Not by luck but because you did the work and you’re here. It happens when you’re ready. I never believed in that. My mom used to tell me everything happens for a reason. I used to roll my eyes all day and say, “Watch me prove everything wrong.” I’ve always been like that.

My life’s mission was to prove that the universe is wrong. But I’ve learned, especially in 2015, that things happen to you right when you need them.

You are exactly where you need to be.

Here’s a story for you…
Ten years ago, my friend went to San Diego to run a full marathon. She’s trained for it and she asked me to tag along just to keep her company and cheer for her. I never trained; I was running a few times a week but just casual running. I didn’t even have proper running shoes. I bought running shoes the night before the marathon I decided I’m going to run this marathon. A full marathon, 26.2 miles…

I knew that people will tell me I can’t and I decided that I’m just going to do it anyway, for no good reason. I didn’t even tell my friend until the night before the marathon. Of course, like a true friend, she freaked out! “You haven’t trained, you haven’t done anything. Are those new shoes? You need sweatproof socks!” She was going all over the place and I simply said, “Relax, I’m just going to do this.”

I ran with her, I didn’t slow down. I went at the same pace. But, I wasn’t planning to take water with me. I kept thinking, who needs water? She forced me to take a water bottle. She had extra sweat-proof socks that she gave me. Along the way, there were so many things that I didn’t know or prepare for. You’re supposed to have salt with you because you lose so much salt as you sweat. You’re supposed to have snacks with you. You’re not supposed to run a marathon in brand new shoes. You’re supposed to buy half a size up. It’s a long five to seven-hour run. If my friend wasn’t there, I would probably have passed out or gotten injured.

My toes were all blue after the run because I used brand new shoes that were the wrong size. I was sore for days. So what was my outcome? What was I trying to do? I proved to people, who probably didn’t care that I could do it, and I felt cool. In the end, I still didn’t feel like I was worth it, that I was enough. It actually feels dumb now looking back on it.

I ask myself, “Why did I do that? Why was I trying to prove things to people? People who didn’t even matter to me.

You are worth it. You don’t need to prove things to people. You don’t need to do things that are crazy and that don’t make sense.

You are enough. Remember your worth. Remember it starts with you.

If you’re not happy, if you’re not where you want to be, no matter what you do you will never feel fulfilled. It starts with you. My motto is, I change the world my changing myself. It’s only when you take those courageous steps to change yourself, to change your life, that’s when you change the world around you.

Do you remember who you used to be before the world told you who you need to be? We live by what the world tells us. But we rarely ask ourselves, what do we really want? Be fearless in your pursuit of happiness. Just do what makes you happy.

Create a life that you love. That doesn’t mean neglect the people that are important to you, they’re part of your life, they’re a part of what makes you happy. But stop worrying about what other people think, do what makes you happy. I know that most people think that’s selfish, but actually it’s selfless.

It’s only when you’re fully happy and satisfied that you can give your best to those around and you can serve them at a level that you never thought possible.