Recently, my dear friend, Annie, posted on Facebook, ” The camera loves you! You just can’t take a bad photo! I think you have the secret of life!” Many thanks Annie for such a lovely compliment but today’s tech makes it easy to delete the bad pics! Annie’s comment started me thinking about what was my secret to living life abundantly. So, today I’m sharing with you a part of the journey that led me to my secret sauce of great living, health and wealth!
It took decades of learning to completely listen, let go and surrender to being fully present in the moment and being mindful. It would have been grand to have someone like me around in my youth, the person I have evolved into, to guide me, but ya know, I’m not sure I would have listened! Why do we have to learn the hard way? Accountability, and being responsible for our actions and behaviors, offers intense life lessons that when listened to, can create powerful change in mind, body and spirit.
I used to think that doing it all by myself was key – how wrong I was! Learning to ask for help and feedback signals strength, not weakness. No one can do it all by themselves, and life taught me that it truly takes a team to succeed. I also learned that listening to how my body feels and my intuition provides lots of answers. And speaking of listening, my trusted advisors, those amazing friends and colleagues who make up my physical boardroom, always share the best insights! And, when I meditate, the messages from my Angels and non-physical guides who make up my “Enchanted Boardroom,” always add spice to the cornucopia of information that comes, adding richness and ease to the decision-making process.
As an intuitive leader, who thrives on helping others succeed, I had to learn about boundaries. They are the key to my health and success. Driven by the values of Trust, Honor, Respect, Integrity, Loyalty and Love of fellow man (T.H.R.I.L.L.) that run very deep, putting up boundaries protects myself and my family. I had to learn to give myself oxygen first (the flight attendants motto!) then serve others. I just did not know how to do it! All I wanted to do was serve, and the lack of boundaries caused me to burn out multiple times. When I finally asked for help, it arrived. Sometimes it was immediate, and other times, it took a bit, though it did show up when I completely surrendered.
Daily listening, and surrendering to the messages that come, still challenges me. Every day I practice tuning in. Sometimes F.E.A.R., (Forgetting Everything is All Right), and living in my logical brain, take control. Isn’t that the human experience though? We often step forward with a logical step-by-step plan towards our goals, but get stuck on following that plan so strictly it creates huge amounts of stress and falls apart because we weren’t listening, or are too scared to listen to the intuitive hits that come. When we learn to move forward with trust and flexibility, the plan falls into place with detours that often make the plan even better. I’ve learned the value of working with only an idea, and a rough sketch, without a detailed plan. The details emerge and are added to the project checklist at just the right time and place. No pressure, just ease. (That’s a big deal for Ms. Planner here.) Fueled with faith and trust that “Everything is All Right,” (E.A.R.), things always work out.
Recently, my husband and I practiced E.A.R., and going with the flow, on our trip to Ireland. The first part of the trip was well thought-out and planned because we were attending a wedding. After the wedding, and much to my shock, my plan-it-to-a-“T” husband decided that this trip would be different. No plan, no hotels, just a “let’s go with the flow and see where life takes us” attitude. We did have a “sketch” of where we wanted to visit, and we tuned in to how we felt each day about what we would do and where we would land. It was the most glorious trip! The lack of intense planning gave the trip life, fun, ease and a flowing adventure that was amazing.
The process of listening to, and integrating, the practical and logical with the emotional, energetic, intuitive and spiritual to operate coherently, was easy to learn, though making it a daily habit has been challenging. I believe that those of us who are teachers, teach what we must learn for ourselves. My focus of teaching leaders how to listen, REALLY listen, and trust the process by surrendering and getting out of their own way, easily contributes to integrating all sides of themselves.
So, my secret sauce is to set boundaries, listen to your intuition, ask for help when needed, integrate all sides of yourself, and live with expectation and the intention that Everything is All Right. And it always is, during the good times and the bad.
It is my joy to share this hard learned wisdom with you.
To your success!
Terry Wildemann
Intuitive Leadership®
www.IntuitiveLeadership.com