A 360º Look @ Life: Health is a Form of Wealth

Part 3 in the Series from theWealthSource Blog

By Guest Blogger Dennis Stephens, Neuromuscular Therapist

The Buddha said, “What we think, we become.” There is no more important arena where this truth applies than in our health, because when it’s all said and done, our mental health controls our physical health, and our attitudes show up in our bodies as well as our minds.

In my practice as a neuromuscular therapist, I treat physiological ailments that generally manifest themselves as musculoskeletal pain, general discomfort and low energy. Often the surface triggers for the symptoms I see are associated with an injury, disease or skeletal imbalance. But below the surface, in nearly every case, I see the results of mental attitudes.

Like animals, we can tell a lot about others just by looking at them. We notice nonverbal messages from just about everyone we meet. We can easily sense another person’s disposition, mood and energy level, if we pay attention. We don’t always know specifically what is causing the vibes we pick up on, but seeing what a person is feeling, and how their thoughts are affecting them, is not that hard. It’s interesting to note, though, that we’re often oblivious to what our own body language is telling others about what we think about ourselves and about our lives.

Think about what you know of the body’s expression of our mental states: If we are sad or depressed, the body droops. When our body droops, our energy level drops. We collapse in on ourselves and the energy we need for health and vitality is not channeled where it needs to go. When we’re stressed, there is tension. Our muscles tense and shut down movement and the flow of energy. The chemicals our bodies produce under stress – lactic acid, adrenalin, other hormones – accumulate in our muscles and cause inflammation that we experience as stiffness and pain.

When we’re happy, our bodies are perky, our step is light and we feel physically in balance. Tension is minimal and our physical energy flows as it’s supposed to. Our bodies work in harmony with our minds, and they both are part of the same cycle, each influencing the health and fitness of the other.

How often do you experience stiffness, soreness, muscle pain? How about tension, difficulty sleeping or lack of energy? If you’re one of the lucky few who can answer “rarely,” more power to you. But chances are, you feel at least some of these conditions just about every day. When you do, you have a choice, and you have more power than you may think you have over the way you feel.

Diagnose yourself. Think about what’s going on in your life. Sometimes it’s obvious: There’s trouble at home, work is overwhelming you, someone you care about is hurting. Other times you may need to dig a little deeper. Something may be bothering you that isn’t obvious. It may be a deep and complicated part of your life you haven’t resolved. Whatever the situation is, first deal with it as best you can.

Make an amends, let someone know you’re thinking of them, clear away the looming trouble at work. Get clear through therapy or spiritual work on an issue that has followed you a long time. Then begin to think about how your body feels when you’re in a fit and happy state. Stand up straight, with your shoulders over your hips, your hips over your knees. Tilt your pelvis and shoulders back and your chest out. Breathe deeply, filling your chest to the top. You’ll be amazed at how simply aligning your body the way it supposed to be aligned when you’re happy and relaxed will affect your attitude about whatever is bothering you.

You’ll be amazed at how simply carrying yourself as though you’re happy can manifest happiness in the moment.

Dennis C. Stephens LMT, NMT, CST, LDT is a neuromuscular, lymphatic drainage and craniosacral therapist specializing in helping the body recover and heal from injury, chronic pain and muscle conditions. Contact him at 713.789.0080 or visit him online at www.DennisStephens.com

The 360º Look @ Life™, Part 2: Financial Wealth Comes When the Outsides Match the Insides

Part 2 in the series “Your Life is the Most Important Thing in Your Life”

By Guest Blogger John Hill, CTS, RFP

What do how I feel, think, and live have to do with money, prosperity or wealth management? Let me share what I learned about the connection.

I grew up in a family where money was never discussed, where planning was kept secret, and where there was an attitude that there was never enough. In fact, I recall my mother telling me she couldn’t afford to get us Popsicles from the ice cream truck because she needed the quarters to buy bread. My parents’ mentality of scarcity became ingrained in me, and as a result, I grew up feeling there would never be enough to go around.

In spite of these beliefs, I experienced some measure of what folks call success – the trappings that said I had money, that I made a good living and was therefore “somebody.” But although on the outside I appeared quite successful, on the inside I felt small, lonely, insecure. I was terrified I was going to lose what I had, or wasn’t going to get something I wanted or needed to be “okay.” I felt if I didn’t get whatever “it” was, then I would once again be “not okay.”

Now, the fortunate part of this story is that the very thing I feared eventually happened to me. The beliefs I worked so hard to keep buried deep within literally came back to haunt me, because I found myself ill-prepared to handle the success I had achieved. Why do I say “fortunate?” Because this story isn’t quite done.

I discovered that deep within, the driving force of my unconscious belief system about money that had been programmed into me as a young child was wreaking havoc. The chickens had come home to roost! Although I had been trained to help other people build sound financial foundations based on time-tested, fundamental economic principles, I had never truly bothered to internalize these principles. More importantly, I had not pulled the skeletons out of my closet and taken a clear look at these stowaway beliefs.

You may be thinking “what is this guy talking about?” Stick with me: You are about to have an eye-opening awareness about the true nature of money, prosperity, and yes, even wealth.

What I have shared so far was the problem. I had little emotional, mental or spiritual intelligence when it came to understanding the nature of money. I had believed for years that money was simply the green stuff I carried around in my wallet, the paper I traded for things I needed or wanted, and if I could just get enough of it, I would be happy, content, and successful. I would be somebody.

The real issue was that I didn’t REALIZE I felt this way until a number of events occurred that literally stripped away all of the outside trappings of success, leaving me financially naked.

I had made a number of decisions around money that ultimately led me to where I am today. I thought those decisions were good at the time. And in fact they were, but not in the way I originally thought. They were good because they opened me up to be transformed.

Having experienced considerable financial success, I decided to build some waterfront homes to sell for profit. However, what I did NOT do prior to that was ensure that my personal finances were in order. I should have paid off my home, cars and other debts, but I felt there was no end to the money that could be made in the mortgage industry by fixing up homes and reselling them.

So I went full-bore into the projects, with every dime I had. I had no idea, though, that there was a global mortgage and financial crisis about to converge in the perfect storm. To make a long story short, the homes I bought were appraised for about $1.3 million, and three months later, they were appraised for about half that amount. I lost my entire investment.

I then became ill, AFTER giving up my disability and medical insurance. I was originally diagnosed with a form of liver cancer. After spending what little money I had left on tests, I finally discovered what I had was a liver abscess, not cancer, but not before my gall bladder ruptured, a complication that led to emergency surgery. I eventually recovered, but only after nearly a year of struggle.

To my credit, as a result of spiritual and personal growth work I had done in previous years, I was able to approach this crisis in a constructive way. I chose to go mining for SPIRITUAL gold, so to speak, and the lessons I learned from this humbling process gave me the opportunity to replace many of my unconscious beliefs with consciously chosen beliefs about the real meaning of wealth.

I have since recovered my health and much of my financial wealth. But more importantly, I have learned that true wealth is who I am when I don’t have money. In fact, true wealth can only be built upon the foundational understanding that money is alive and breathing, that it desires to be treated with respect, humility, care, and honesty. Only to the extent that I allow my belief system to be challenged and restructured, am I capable of handling wealth. My attitude now reflects to money that I have become a safe individual; money can feel comfortable around me. I have learned the principles of cash and carry. I don’t use other people’s money unless there are corresponding assets to use as collateral, and I don’t invest all my money in the same asset sector.

I’ve learned it’s okay to have significant savings. It is okay not to constantly feel like every waking moment needs to be spent generating income. It is preferable to insist that I pay professional fees when they are earned so that I will be treated in like manner. It is essential to surround myself with professionals who can challenge my ideas, so I am held to a higher standard through accountability.

Today, I implement accountability in my personal finances through following a financial plan. The plan is like a railroad track keeping the locomotive heading in the right direction. Basic principles, such as settling old debts, using current tax law ethically and legally to plan for retirement, operating my business in a way that reflects my consciously chosen beliefs about money – these are the codes by which I plan and live today so that financial ambiguity and vagueness don’t constantly sabotage my success.

What’s more, I have been able to pay forward these precious hard-won lessons to the clients I serve as financial and business advisor.

I have found that once these spiritual laws are mastered, when our foundational structure on the inside is congruent with that on the outside, we find ourselves experiencing wealth and prosperity in ways we haven’t even thought of, and we become content with the way life presents itself. That, my friend, money simply cannot buy. Today, I have created and continue to cultivate a sacred space in my soul and my life into which wealth may flow.

Develop an internal structure inside that aligns with what you want on the outside. Do what you have a passion and heart for and money will be attracted to the integrity of the structure you’ve built.

John E. Hill, CTS, RFP has served as a business financial professional since August 1990. He has been awarded the prestigious designation of Certified Tax Specialist by the Institute of Business & Finance and the designation of Registered Financial Planner by the Registered Financial Planner’s Institute. He has more than 600 hours of industry continuing education, and has helped more than 1,500 business and professional clients. He is currently working on his Master’s Degree in Financial Services (MSFS), and works in depth in the highly advanced areas of business entity structure and tax planning, retirement strategies, and insurance and risk management. As a result of his professional experience of more than two decades in business tax, financial, and insurance matters, Hill has brought proven expertise in offering solid strategies and solutions to the greater success of South Texas business owners and professionals.

Visit John online at http://houstonbusinessadvisors.com

New Year’s Resolutions Are a Bad Idea! Get a Free New Year’s Vision Instead

As common as New Year’s resolutions are, they really are a bad idea. In fact, nearly 80% of people who make them report they’ve broken or abandoned most of them (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/dec/28/new-years-resolutions-doomed-failure). That ever happen to you? If so, how did it feel? Did you find the guilt or the self-reproach a little debilitating, maybe?

The New Year – this new year, or any other new year – can be a time of renewal, a marker for a new start. The problem is not the desire to do things differently, though. It’s the belief that a simple declaration of intent is all it takes to make a new start. Real change involves more than intention; it involves calculated action, and more importantly, what I call a “New Year’s VISION.”

A vision is different from a dream. We all have vague, floating ideas of what we’d like our lives to look like. We see ourselves as being rich, being happy with our families, enjoying a life of carefree relaxation or exhilarating achievement. We see ourselves healthier, more productive, free of a compulsion or even an addiction. Those of who get to see our lives unfold the way we want to, though, are the ones who have a VISION instead of a dream.

The power of accomplishment doesn’t come from the next thing I keep doing, it’s what happens between the dream I have and the steps I take. The connecting link between dreams and action – the thing that makes a dream a vision, in fact – is COMMITMENT. Commitment has its own energy. There’s a powerful quote, often attributed to Goethe, but which is actually from W. H. Murray in The Scottish Himalaya Expedition, 1951, that explains the magic of commitment:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back— Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”

Goethe’s contribution to the dialog is: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."

The bottom line is that where there is real commitment, the universe tends to align itself to bring that commitment to fruition, and part of that power exists outside one’s own ability and desire.

Here are the actions we propose as a path to achievement of your New Year’s Vision:

Visualize the END of the year. Look around you and see what your life will look like if you spend the coming year living your best life. What tangible things will you have? What relational and spiritual gifts will you be enjoying?

COMMIT to having what you have visualized. Affirm in your heart that what you want WILL be what manifests. Know that the very power of your commitment will help fuel the journey.

TELL SOMEONE who can add their energy to your vision, and who can serve as a sounding board as you measure your progress throughout the year. Telling someone makes the vision real; it takes it out of the realm of a pipe dream and brings it to the realm of possible.

LET GO of the expectation that your vision will look exactly like you see it now, when it is ultimately manifested. The great paradox of creating a New Year’s Vision is that you don’t know enough to be able to predict what it will look and feel like it when it actually blossoms in the context of your what your life will look like when it happens.

TAKE ACTION. Plan and execute the steps you will take over the next 90 days.
MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS. Moving toward the fulfillment of your vision is a continual process involving three critical, repeated exercises: Act, Review, Redesign. Continual tweaking of the plan is crucial to keeping a proper trajectory.

DON’T TRY THIS ALONE! Get yourself a professional coach! Coaches are experts in the technology of success.

Manifesting a New Year’s Vision (as opposed to keeping a resolution) can be a complex, ongoing challenge (if it weren’t, you wouldn’t need to make to make a resolution, right?). So start today with complimentary coaching session. Walk away with a New Year’s Vision for 2012 in your hand.

Contact Kim Sawyer at theWealthSource.com or call 832-298-0143.

The 360º Look @ Life™, Part 1: Defining the Ten Life Areas

Part 1 in the series “Your Life is the Most Important Thing in Your Life”

In our last article, we laid out the idea that success in life as a whole takes more planning than success in any one area of life (makes sense, no?). So now we’re going to put some basic definitions on each life area to give us a basis from which to incorporate them into our 360-degree life plan.

Career
For most of us, our career is how we make our living, but the truth is, there’s more to it than that. Some of have jobs we don’t consider to be our careers, and some of us have callings outside of our jobs that motivate and define us. So for our purposes, we’re going to discuss career in terms of our life’s purpose, whether we earn our living from fulfilling that purpose or not.

Finance
There are two parts to the financial picture: The revenue we produce and the wealth we create. We find that these areas correspond directly with our attitudes and how we view them. So the financial arena we’ll discuss in the 360-degree life plan will address how we live, think and feel relative to money, prosperity and wealth.

Family
We don’t all define family the same way. Not all of us have spouses, partners or kids, and we don’t all have extended families, either. So we consider the people within our closest circle family for purposes of this plan. As one of our ten major life areas, the people we share our lives with are an important influence, so the way we handle those relationships has a major impact on our overal success.

Social
Our social lives cover everything involving other people. Yes, that’s broad, but it’s important we plan the way we show up with our friends, our networks, our colleagues, even the communities we serve through volunteerism and service.

Spiritual
The spiritual involves how we relate to questions such as Who am I? Why am I here? What is life all about? So it’s no wonder it’s an important component of our plan for a successful life. Our spiritual pursuits give our life purpose and serve as a guide to navigate virtually every challenge we face.

Recreation
It’s easy for ambitious, driven people to relegate recreation to an indulgence, a frivolity we might allow ourselves if we have time. But they call it re-creation for a reason. Part of a plan for a successful ife includes purposefully addressing how we recharge and ready ourselves through our leisure life.

Creativity
Creativity is the backbone of professional success, and it plays a profound role in our personal happiness. Our section on creativity is provided by a professional artist and designer who has worked in the creative arena for 30 years.

Learning
In this age of constant change, we all are constant students. How we learn is a foundation of how we create a plan for a successful life.

Environment
The environments in which we spend our time – our work environments, our homes, our social arenas – all affect our emotions, our outlook, our entire being. Planning and managing how we relate to our environment impacts our whole life.

Health
If we don’t maintain our health, little else matters. In our lives today, lived for the most part in offices and on sofas, we have to be proactive in making sure we keep our bodies fueled, energized and protected. A plan for management of our health is a core component of a plan for a successful life.

These elements cover every aspect of our lives. True success depends not only on planning for each area, but planning in a way that integrates them. The next installment of theWealthSource blog will expand on how to plan for effectiveness in each of these life areas, and will be followed by a clear program to integrate them for a 360-degree life plan.

Kim Sawyer is an Executive Coach and President of theWealthSource®. He provides individual and group coaching, training and facilitation, and he speaks to corporate and professional audiences around the country.

The 360º Look @ Life™ Intro: Your Life is the Most Important Thing in Your Life

Sounds silly, but it’s actually a profound truth that is often overlooked. The reality is success in your life as a whole demands more planning than success in any individual area of your life. Every other part of your life plan has to fit within your overall life plan. If you are going to have a plan for the staffing needs of your company, for example, how effective will that staffing plan be if you don’t have a business plan? It’s the same thing.

In my coaching, speaking and training, I divide life up into ten areas that comprise what I call the 360 Degree View of Life™. It’s a 360-degree view because it encompasses your WHOLE life. Without a view of your life as a whole, it’s hard to see the whole importance of any one area, because every area of your life relates to every other area.

There is nothing magical about the ten areas. Each area identifies something important in and of itself, with as little overlap or duplication of other areas as possible. But ultimately, my 360-degree plan is really just a way of looking at something to help you think about things more clearly. The 10 areas the 360 Degree of Life focuses on are:

Career
Finance
Family
Social
Spiritual
Recreation
Creativity
Learning
Environment
Health

What makes the focus on each of these areas effective is the matter of Relative Evaluation. If I want every area of my life to contribute the most to my life, I have to know what I want that life to look like and I need to know what I value. What is important to me, and what do I value more and what less? One of the most important pieces of information an individual can have is clarity about his or her relative values regarding the larger areas of life.

I don’t believe in balance. I don’t believe in work-life balance or anything that involves the word balance. I believe in life integration. All the parts have to work together and be attended to in some way. That doesn’t mean I put the same amount of energy into all of them. It means I need to be thinking of these ten life areas; and to whatever extent I need or care about each one at any given time, to that extent I need to put energy into it. My belief is that all ten areas require at least a little bit of energy, if I want to be as complete and fully capable as possible.

This blog series will discuss each of the ten Life Areas and how to leverage them individually and as part of a 360º Look @ Life to achieve the maximum from your life plan. It will demonstrate how to conduct a Relative Evaluation on each area, and how to synchronize each area for maximum effectiveness in living your total life.

So stayed tuned!

Kim Sawyer is an Executive Coach and President of theWealthSource™. He provides individual and group coaching, training and facilitation, and he speaks to corporate and professional audiences around the country.