Tag: dreams

Posted in Confidence

Finding Your Voice in Confidence #5

Posted on by HOLLY STEVENS

Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.

ee cummings

Have you been able to connect with and hear your inner voice? Have you taken time to get quiet? Have you discovered your choices or decisions that align with your highest good?

We are blessed with an amazing guidance system. It is absolutely amazing. In truth, it is so much better than any other personal GPS!

It is so easy to get caught up in our daily routines and habits. We often ignore the messages that our Intuition is providing us. Again, if we choose to get quiet and listen to these messages, decisions come to us faster. We feel movement ahead as never before. Knowing that we can choose to get quiet, and listen to ourselves in the most external chaotic of situations. We can choose to take a breath and to quiet our internal chaos, while we listen for/to our inner voice. Sometimes we have to physically get away to be in the quiet to get quiet. Other times, we just need to take a deep breath and consciously quiet our mind while we listen.

Having freedom from the opinions of others is especially important. One of the greatest GIFTS we received at birth is the capacity to CONSCIOUSLY ponder within our OWN Self. Each and everyone of us can think our own thoughts, considering those thoughts BEFORE actually acting on them. We can unlock the freedom to follow our desires. We can also get warnings when something is not in harmony with our being.

We DO NOT need to look for, or have the approval from others. Authentic Self-Confidence can ONLY come from WITHIN US. The opinion of others is not truth – the TRUTH is WITHIN US. Developing Rock- solid Self-Confidence will support us through any challenges we face in our journey of life.

As we get in touch with our CORE being, the source of our Confidence. Discovering, and allowing our inner voice to speak, while we truly listen, THIS is what makes us feel ALIVE.

We are now learning the secret of where to find our Authentic Self-Confidence when we need it most. This involves making a strong, deep, loving connection with our inner voice. By doing so, we can call upon it anytime we need to be liberated from the opinions of others. When we are “FREE to be ME”, we are our OWN SELF. We can be confident. We feel comfortable and at ease, no matter the situation.

Discovering the formula that the world’s most successful people have chosen is life changing. They develop their confidence in the most heart-felt ways for decades. I will share these steps shortly. We can walk through them one by one. We will apply them to each part of our lives. We put them into practice regularly. Our passion for life will amplify. We will share this confidence from within ourselves with those around us.

The capacity to consciously ponder within our Self is one of life’s greatest blessings. We have the ability to consider our own thoughts. This is a unique gift. We are gifted the ability to first, think our own thoughts, then considering those thoughts BEFORE we act on them. We know this knowledge gives us the freedom to pursue our own desires. We also understand that we can be aware or alerted when something is not in harmony with our being. Being aware of both internal and external influences, and how they are affecting our Authentic Self-Confidence.

Since we can remember, we have been taught to look outside ourselves and to others for approval. Seeking a smile or nod from our parents. Seeking good grades from our teachers. Seeking the glances from our romantic partner. Listening for words of approval from our spouse or partner. Seeking the promotion from our bosses. These are activities and moments that build our confidence. They seem helpful in some way or another, yet they are only external, not Authentic Self-Confidence.

Authentic Self-Confidence comes from ONLY ONE PLACE: from WITHIN. Allowing the approval of others to build us up, allows their criticism to tear us down just as easily. The fact of the matter is: the opinion of others is not truth. TRUTH is INSIDE each and every one of us. Confidence is from the inside out, THIS is what we are developing the AWARENESS of: CONFIDENCE IS FROM THE INSIDE!

Once we realize and accept that confidence is an inside job, it becomes deeply ingrained in our being. Nothing anyone can say or do will manage to negatively impact us. No one can tear us down for any length of time. We are UNSHACKLING from WITHIN us, something we have ALWAYS had, an UNSHAKABLE AUTHENTIC TRUE SELF-CONFIDENCE. This unshakable Self-Confidence will see us through ANY of the challenges we face. It will also guide us through anything that comes our way from here onward.

We may have had a very specific, damaging, life-changing moment. It was a situation or circumstance. Someone said something that cut us to the core. This happened as a child or as an adult. KNOW THIS: that was something that happened. What was said was not truth or what happened has a positive seed planted within it! Each of us is deserving of HAPPINESS. By BIRTHRIGHT, we are entitled to a Authentic Self-Confidence, freeing us from the opinions of others!

Spend some time one-on-one with your Self. Really get in touch with your core being. It is the very source of YOUR Confidence. Practicing these five steps with dedication will expand your Self-Confidence. Use true attention and diligence to reach a new awareness.

Napoleon Hill studied many successful people. He is famously known for his research and findings. He formulated these steps which are proven to build Self-Confidence.

Napoleon Hill's Formula for Building Self-Confidence:
   Step ONE:    Believe that there is a power in you great enough that you can achieve what matters to you.
   Step TWO:    Concentrate your thoughts on creating a clear mental picture of you being the person who is living the life you desire.
   Step THREE:  Trust that the desire you hold in mind, if kept in mind, must, by invisible law reproduce itself in the world of form.
   Step FOUR:   Promise yourself to keep at it until you have developed a sufficient Self-Confidence to reach your goal.
   Step FIVE:   Commit to not only being the person who's living this life, but doing that with truth and justice in all that you do, so that all that's required to bring about this goal becomes yours.

When we are faced with overcoming failure, facing fear or there is a decision weighing heavy on us. When we feel stuck in the pursuit of our purpose, passion or life dream, go back to these five steps. They will guide you. Print them off and keep them with you. They serve as a reminder of how to access YOUR Authentic Self-Confidence. Be open to YOUR INNER VOICE. Allow it to do the talking while you do the listening. See the opinions of others diminish as you engage in YOUR TRUE AUTHENTIC SELF-CONFIDENCE.

Here is a recap of what I have personally learned and use myself and would like to share with you:

  • The ‘self’ with a little (lowercase) “s” is our personality and all the things we have achieved or not achieved. Some recognize this as our ego.
  • The ‘Self’ with a big (uppercase capital) ‘S’ is the power. This intelligence is here in us at ALL times.
  • Trusting my Self is the ultimate in Confidence.
  • Confidence is not built from the outside in. It is built from THE INSIDE OUT!
  • Self speaks to us in the degree of OUR WILLINGNESS TO LISTEN, always in the here and now.
  • Utilizing Napoleon Hill’s proven Five step formula for Building Self-Confidence. Believing, Concentrating, Trusting, Promising Self and being Committed to the Self that is created in/of/for ME.
  • There is an art and a science to reaching our passion, purpose and dream. The art is the visioning. The science is the vibration.

The suggested actions that I do take action on each and every day are:

  1. Adopting and practicing Napoleon Hill’s Formula for Building Self-Confidence
  2. Remembering daily to place my Confidence and trust in the Power breathing me. NOT in my personality, history or talents.
  3. I write a clear and detailed depiction of the image I want. I write it in the current tense as if it is real right now!

This is #5 of #5 in this series of Authentic Self-Confidence. Please join me for a review of everything I have shared with you. It is about Unshackling an Unshakable True Authentic Self-Confidence. Find more at https://www.facebook.com/unshackledhappiness/. Empower yourself to turn the key. Break free of your shackles with belief in your Self. Trust your abilities to live your life with passion on purpose, starting TODAY! This is my true, given passion. My purpose is to empower others to be the best they can be. They can achieve this in any moment, situation, or circumstance they face.

GO! DO! BE! with TRUE AUTHENTIC SELF-CONFIDENCE. Embrace all that YOU have been CREATED to DO and BE. Act with PURPOSE and PASSION from WITHIN YOU!!

Cheering you on every step of the way,

Holly

Posted in Confidence

Building Confidence #3: Embracing Failure for Growth

Posted on by HOLLY STEVENS

Hold up your head! You were not made for failure. You were made for VICTORY! Go forward with a joyful confidence.

George Eliot

Are you feeling ready to befriend the fears that are holding you back? Are you prepared to let those fears become stepping stones? Will they guide your journey of passion and purpose in your life now?

We have all had failures in our journey this far in life, and if you haven’t, well… I’m afraid life is passing you by. Those failures we’ve had do not make any of us failures! On the contrary, we can actually use our failures. All the obstacles that have been in our way have helped to BUILD our Self-Confidence. We need to find the gift of growth each failure has blessed us with.

Each of us has a POWER within that is GREATER than ANYTHING we have gone through. It is also GREATER than anything we will ever go through. As we’ve discovered, we have ALL experienced failure, that my friend, is what allows us to be HUMAN. We don’t get it ‘right’ every time. That is impossible. When we do fail, we can see and use the OPPORTUNITY to gain wisdom, understanding, growth and strength.

From the moment we were born into this life, we have faced and overcame obstacles! As I mentioned in Confidence #2 post, we relied on the infinite to overcome one of our very first obstacles. This was about communicating our basic needs. Being fed, diaper changed, letting our caregiver know that we are uncomfortable. We learned to fall asleep on our own, learning to sit up, crawl, walk, talk, to tying our shoes. We’ve all put our shirt on backwards, or inside out while learning to dress ourselves. We’ve all put our shoes on the wrong feet. For a young adult, learning to read a map involves challenges. They take the wrong turn. Running out of gas can happen when becoming a responsible {Response-Able} adult. Generally there was never a second thought that these were failures or that we were a failure because of them. It’s OKAY that we made mistakes along the way.

Nobody ever likes to “get it wrong.” Messing up is not fun, it can cause headaches, heartaches, and stress. There have been a mistake so painful that we choose not to ever think about it again. Yet it replays in our minds repeatedly. Sometimes even unconsciously. Over time, sometimes days, sometimes years, our self-confidence dissipates. We give up because we feel as though we will never “get it right.” We think, what’s the use? There is indeed a useful part of failure – every perceived failure has a seed of success planted within it. We MUST be willing to look for it. We have to understand one crucial thing. We must trust that it is okay to get it wrong on the path to getting it right.

We have experienced many small failures accumulating over time. Alternatively, we feel we have encountered a significant failure. We have had failures, but we are NOT a failure. “Failure” is just simply a meaning that we have placed on a situation that we have had. We have the POWER within us to re-frame any experience. This serves us and grants us self-confidence. It does this instead of tearing us down. Every time something doesn’t work out or goes differently than we envisioned, we try it again another way. We do this until it works. That, my friend, is simply the BLESSING and GIFT OF GROWTH! This is another part of gaining wisdom.

The expansive feeling comes from growing and expanding through failure. It also involves understanding that we do NOT ALWAYS have to “get it right” or be perfect. We can think about a particular circumstance that did not turn out the way we had hoped. Through reflection, we can see that we are MORE than that event. We are MORE than that circumstance. We have gained wisdom…

OK, now, take a deep breath and hear what I am about to say… you feel discouraged and even worried that thinking about failures will only cause more feelings of failure. We DON’T stay there, we DON’T focus on the failure, we acknowledge it and we set it aside. Remember, this is about BUILDING SELF-CONFIDENCE. Learn how the Power within us is greater than ANYTHING we have gone through. It is greater than anything we will ever go through.

Be GRATEFUL for this (failure) experience to learn, for it is the seed that was planted. Now, just be still, see, and even listen all while being open to the growth of your Self-Confidence.

Here is a recap of what I have learned, utilizing myself and furthermore want to share with you:

  • I have had failure, that does NOT make me a failure, failure does NOT have me. I AM more than ANY failure I have ever had!
  • EVERY failure has within it, a seed of greater advantage.
  • I can set down any ideas I’ve had about failure. I am GRATEFUL for yet another learning, growing, strengthening day in my life.
  • Failure is simply another opportunity for me to learn.
  • Learning is done through trial and error. I started learning that way from day one of my life. It is still the same today. I get it right and get it wrong, figuring it out as I go.
  • The learning through success is EQUAL to learning from failure. BOTH inform us. BOTH guide us. BOTH make us MORE of who we are capable of being!
  • NO ONE is exempt from failure. Everyone of us has experienced it in one form or another. It is simply part of being HUMAN!
  • As children, it was taken for granted that we should make mistakes. As adults, we have adopted the thinking that we should get it right all the time.
  • Some of the most accomplished individuals, had some of the most massive failures, yet, they DID NOT GIVE UP!

Here are three things that have been suggested I do on a continual basis, reminding me that obstacles are opportunities:

  1. Writing out in my journal at least 10 successes that I have had in life. I start with early achievements like learning to walk and tying my shoes.
  2. Remember this affirmation: “it is OKAY to get it wrong.” You will find the right way eventually.
  3. Whenever something does not go as I had planned, I can neutralize it. I realize that it is simply something that happened.

The next step I will share with you in Confidence #4 post is Clear, Confident Decision Maker. We have connected with the part of us that puts fear and failure into its proper perspective. Now, we are moving into Clear, Confident Decision Making. Here, we will offer a simple strategy. This strategy is powerful for making decisions. These decisions are in service to the highest good. We have used this skill many times without even realizing it. The good news is, we will now know what it really is. We will also know how to develop and strengthen it. Just a little secret I want to share with you… it only takes practice!

Here’s to GROWING and STRENGTHENING our AUTHENTIC Self-Confidence, with wisdom, power, passion, and purpose!!

Holly

Posted in Confidence

Unlocking Your Potential: The George Danzig Story

Posted on by HOLLY STEVENS

I came across this powerful true story and wanted to share it with you…

George Danzig was a grad student in the mathematics department. He informed the grad students about an exciting opportunity. Whoever got the best grade on the final could be hired as his research assistant for the following year.

That job was a plum job. Everybody wanted the job. George said that he studied so hard for that test. He was up until the middle of the night. Then he overslept and was actually late to the test.

He got there in time to take the test. He was handed the test and went to the back of the room. As he was answering the eight math questions, he got through the eight math questions fairly easily. When he looked on the blackboard and there were two problems on the board. He copied them down and he began to work on those two problems and he couldn’t solve them.

He began to think that somebody in this room is going to solve these problems. What’s wrong with me? He kept working and working and working on the problems. He couldn’t get them solved. By the end of the time that was allowed, some of the students asked for additional time to work.

The professor said they could take the test home and bring it back by Friday. George, too, asked for more time. He said just to bring the test back by Friday.

He went home and sat up night after night. This was Monday. All day Tuesday. Tuesday night. Wednesday and Wednesday night.

He just kept thinking somebody is going to get these solved. Why not me? Why not me? Finally by Thursday morning he had one of them solved. Then he kept working, working, working late into Thursday night and on Friday morning he solved the second one.

He took the test back and got it turned in by eleven am, which was the deadline. He went home wondering what would happen. Sunday morning at seven am there was a knock, knock, knock at his door.

He jumps out of bed. It’s his professor. His professor says ‘George, you’ve make mathematical history! I was thinking on the way over here, you were late to the test right?’

George said ‘Well yeah, did I do something wrong?’

‘No,’ the professor said, ‘it’s just that the eight questions were the test. I told everybody who was gathered that I’ve had such a great time teaching all of you. If you want to have fun for the rest of your life, solve these two questions. They are unsolved math questions that even Einstein himself went to his grave unable to solve. How did you do this, George?’

George recounted his thoughts. If he had approached the problem differently, he might have succeeded. If he had known ahead of time that no one had solved those problems, he would have changed his strategy. This change meant he might not have accessed the solution within himself.

That same access is within everyone of us!

Now, I don’t know what it is that you are facing. But, I know this is about YOU. YOU are in the art of becoming. You are a son or a daughter of the Infinite. You are of the Most High… to be EVERYTHING YOU want to be, EVERYTHING YOU are created to be, to give EVERYTHING YOU want to give… even to build YOUR DREAM LIFE!

Know there is ALWAYS a solution available for ANY problem you are facing.

Your job is to stay open to that possibility…

Believing In You!

Holly

P.S. Would you like support unshackling your passion and building your dreams? If you would like a complimentary no-obligation strategy session, shoot me an email at hollystevenswlc@gmail.com