In early January 2015, I received a call from a long time friend who had just returned from our corporate training center. “You have to meet her. She reminds me so much of you. High energy. She’s great.”
In his typical style, he promptly sent a follow up email stating how he enjoyed working with PJ over the past week and introduced me, asking a favor to set up a mentoring call (the power of your network!) Now the ball was in my court to follow up. And I didn’t. I let the email sit for weeks, months and finally in March, something at work triggered a ‘moment’ and I quickly scanned through my email. “Hi PJ, Sorry for taking so long to follow up. Do you think we could set up a mentoring call?”
Fast forward a few weeks later to what may be, to this day, the best mentoring session I ever had. From the moment we started talking, I knew there was a connection. She understood what I was saying, that I wanted something more, that I felt that I had more in me to give back. And everything she talked about, I had in my head. The connection was unbelievable.
She didn’t give me the typical mentoring advice. She talked about ‘Bliss’ – finding your spot in the universe. And how the hardest part in finding it was slowing down, releasing quiet, getting rid of expectations. She gave me a lot to think about during our call, one of the most powerful was “What do you want people to see, to think about, when your gone?”
On our next call, she asked me if I tried meditating. I thought for a moment and I said, “Well, I pray, does that count?” Yes, it does. But, praying is us talking to God, meditating is listening to the universe. And that’s how I found out about Deepak and Oprah’s 21-day meditation challenge (there’s a new one coming up – Creating Peace from the Inside Out: https://chopracentermeditation.com).
Over the course of the 21 days, I became less focused on the outside world, more on the inside. Life started to present signs that this was the right path and it was interesting how it was like unwrapping a Christmas gift, anticipating what was under all of the wrapping paper. The idea of a peaceful, purposeful, good news community to spread light was born during that 21 day meditation, and I’m still ‘unwrapping’ as I’ve embarked on the launch of the blogging world and community.
Fast forward to New Years 2016 and the time to make those wonderful ‘New Years Resolutions.’ My focus for the year – “Body, Mind, Spirit’ and I used a dry erase marker to write on my bathroom mirror so I could see the focus every day. Is it tough to stay focused? Absolutely! Especially as you are juggling a career, the household, meal planning, laundry, extra-curricular activities for the kiddos and often, when a free minute surfaces, you long for a 10 minute nap or a 10 minute uninterrupted conversation with they hubby vs. a 10 minute meditation. It’s tough but, without the focus, you slowly get into a routine, “Groundhog’s Day” (though I’ve never seen the move, it’s a good analogy for doing the same thing over and over and over).
So take the time, commit to yourself 10 minutes to sit quietly, reflect on your thoughts, your dreams, your focus because, in the words of PJ, “You can’t be the best you, until you invest in you.”
Update: I wrote this post three years ago, and since then I’ve had such tremendous growth on my path to becoming an aspiring writer. My connections and insights from PJ contined and in fact, if you read the last blog post on the Morning Ritual, you’ll see that she continues to provide influence into my life, sharing nuggets that help me on my journey. So I ask you, what nuggets are you emparting on others? Are you paying it forward? And if not, why not? I guarentee you will learn more from yourself, and you will help pave the way for others to come after you.
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