Wrap it up and Rip into it, a Birthday Process

Birthdays are interesting, they vary by culture, society, family tradition and personal meaning.  The pivotal birthdays always tend to mean more: entering double digits, becoming a teenager, legal permission to drive, drinking age, voting, 30, 40, 50, and 60.  Outside of the “special birthdays” it becomes a personal preference for what birthday holds a significant meaning just like all events in life you get to give them meaning.

I can’t lie I loved turning thirteen and emerging out of the cocoon of childhood and spreading my wings as a teen, although having a strict father meant not much but the year changed.

My sixteenth birthday was super exciting and landed me at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to receive my driver’s license, it also meant I got keys and a car.  It was also the day I was employed without pay by my parents as a chauffeur to my three younger siblings!

My eighteenth birthday meant I could vote, but I had two years until the next Presidential election so it was more of a verbal title that collected dust on the shelf for a few years, but it definitely felt cool knowing I could vote and fight for my country in war.

My twenty-first birthday meant cutting up my fake ID (sorry dad) and heading back to the DMV to get my “Over 21” ID. 

Since turning twenty-one I can’t say that any birthday really had the esteem of 13, 16, 18 or 21 but turning 36 years old this year is going to slam the first four out of the park!  I will never forget the excitement of my thirteenth, 16th,18th and 21st birthdays but my thirty-sixth is a birthday that I have decided has special meaning. 

Don’t get me wrong they were four amazing birthdays, collectively they were a grand slam, each signifying each as a home run year, but they packed a certain hype that was created by tradition, society, cultural and family where my 36th birthday is personal. 

This is my year…I finally get “it” whatever it is and my 36th year is my year!

I can’t help but wonder what birthdays and new years would be like if we all began to look at them outside of traditions and Hallmark celebrations and gave them a deep and personal meaning.

This year I went through what I call “The Wrap it up and Rip in to it Process” closing up my 35th year and preparing for my 36th!

First, I grabbed a new journal which is a pale pink leather journal that says “DREAM BIG LIVE BOG” in gold lament writing that I love!!!  Inside on the first few pages, I wrote a few quotes and verses that I love that really stir my soul to have at hand when I need inspiration, support, uplifting and more! And left a few pages blank to add to as I feel inspired.

About page five I wrote “The Wrap it up and Rip in to it Process: Sending off 35 and Saying Hello to 36 on December 11, 2015 “. 

Then I wrote a column of “thank you” all the way to the bottom of the page.  Next to each “Thank you” I wrote down all the experiences I gave a “positive” and “negative” meaning to that happened in my 35th year. I used my “gratitude journal” which I keep to reflect back over the last year.

Gratitude in the positive is always an easy one where finding gratitude in the “negative” can be a difficult  but once you shift your thoughts around an experience you shift the experience.  Some of the experiences were harder to shift than others but I have no desire to be anchored by any negative experience, so Im always willing to go through the pain to get to the good stuff!

Then I made a “More of List” with all the stuff I want more of in my 36th year at the top of the list was joy, which has lead me to theme my 36th year, Submerge my Soul in Joy!

Lastly I set my goals for my 36th year, leaving space to add as the year progresses!

The Wrap it up and Rip in to it Process is definitely a new tradition for me and one I cannot recommend enough for those of you who really want to seize each year and live full out! 

Here’s to a year of Submerging My (Your) Soul in Joy!

 

xx DRM

 

 

 

 

You’ve Got a GREAT Dream…What’s Your Strategy?

You’ve got a GREAT dream…What’s your strategy?

Great Dream Whats Your Strategy

As a success strategist this is the first question I ask all my clients, “What’s your strategy?”

Knowing what you want is easy, as a matter of fact, it’s why most people hire me!

The majority of my clients know what they want, they are just stuck or have no idea how to get it!

You want more money or financial freedom?
What’s your strategy?

You want optimal health or your health back?
What’s your strategy?

Searching for your purpose?
What’s your strategy?

Without a strategy…you are left without direction and destination!

Wanting is easy…most people can easily create a list of what they want, on the spot!

But, creating a method of obtaining everything you want and having the drive to obtain it is a whole different ballgame

The exertion it takes to obtain the proverbial “Life of Your Dreams” is why many people have a never ending list or “I wants” for which they will always dream.

Making those dreams a reality takes a strategy; plain and simple if you want success, whatever it is, you have work to create it.

Step 1:  Define what you want to achieve.

More money is a common one for many people.  They will simply state, “I want more money.”

So, I hand them a dollar, NOW they have more money, but what they meant was much different than what they said.

Step 2: Create a picture of exactly what you want to achieve. Be descriptive, detailed, and precise; so you know exactly what you are working for. Set a time frame in which you wish to achieve the desired outcome.

Keeping along with the money theme an entrepreneur in a new business might say, “I want to be collecting $17,000+ a month through my online marketing and taking home a salary of $3000 a month. This increase in money will assure that I am able to cover all costs and generate new business through marketing.”

Step 3: List out the action steps to create the added income.

This list will always vary, person by person, business by business, and circumstance by circumstance.

Important questions to ask yourself are:

“What are you willing to do to get there?”

“How far are you willing to stretch yourself?”

“How bad do you want it?”

The aforementioned entrepreneur may create a list that includes, increase working hours making service more available, increase man power, increase re-evaluate current marketing , bring in new products, or other items or tasks that will create added revenue.

Step 4: Create a timeline to achieve the steps.

What’s a reasonable amount of time to achieve this goal? Setting a time frame is important because it places a sense of urgency on the situation and sets a time frame making it less daunting.

Step 5: Begin to work towards your goal with perseverance, dedication, and motivation!

Go for it! Remember, everything is achievable and a solid strategy secures success!

And always be open to small shifts that may drastically shift your entire outcome and enhance your experience!