When you are able to go after your dreams and passion you can deepen your level of joy in the skill that came to you as a gift. When you excel at your gift you are given accolades. You are sought after by others. You are given money for your natural talents. That in truth you would do just to do.

You should not be upset when you are successful at believing in yourself and having the courage to go after you dreams. You did not give up when you fell down. You got back up. You helped others believe in who they are and you have encouraged them to believe in their dreams. You have been a catalyst for others. You are a trail blazer. You knew their was a pathway through the forest. You made the trail that others follow. You create reciprocity for others who have that gift.

You can notice that twinkle in their eyes from the moment that you see them. They are stars that are able to shine from the first time that you see them in their element. Igniting others passions and helping them to climb to the next level. You do this for them because you want them to succeed. The more the person practices at their gift the easier it becomes for them to do. Making it look effortless.

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Comments by Kellie

Melissa’s words are very poignant and very intentional.  Part of living with joy is being intentional in all we do.  We can invest in ourselves and connect to who we are inside.

Focusing on the gifts that you’ve been given, and how you can increase someone else’s life with them is one fabulous way to glorify the creator.  So what gifts do you have that you could share with the universe?

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I would love to hear your thoughts about what gifts you have that you are ready to share with the world.  You can share them in the comment box below.  If this post resonates with you and you want to share it with your Facebook and Twitter friends, feel free to click on the buttons located at the beginning of this post.

Donald’s parents taught him to strive for anything that he wants in life and never lets anything stand in his way.  With two words he ‘pays it forward’ by encouraging people to keep going all the while telling them they are special.

“Keep Rockin” he says, and these are typical words you will see on Donald’s Facebook page.  Between his group and his personal page, Donald’s following has grown to nearly 8,000 in less than 6 months.  How?

Donald’s vision, and primary message: “Disabled or not we can rock the world!  Rock on!”

The interaction on FB inspired Donald to create wrist bands that say “People with Disabilities Rock!”  The first order was quickly sold with requests that motivated his second order.  This small tool began making a big splash among his followers.

His parents told him to never give up on his dreams and as a result he’s personally connecting to, inspiring and motivating people all around the world.

When Donald hears people say, “I’m totally limited in my ability.” he tells them what his parent’s told him, “You can do anything you set your mind to.”

Building the group connects him with everyone who joins and posts comments. Donald responds daily, encouraging people to “keep doing what you’re doing and live your life to the fullest.”

Those who post on “People with disabilities” group tell Donald that this group makes them feel “liked”, “accepted”, and that “they are not alone.”  It’s no wonder this 23-yr-old leader is building momentum!

Article Written by Linda Grace Cox

On “What’s Your VPA” radio show tonight, you’ll hear Donald share in humble amazement that, he is making an impact in somebody’s life, and to that we say, “Yes you are Donald….yes you are!”

To hear this fabulous story, and find out how easy it is to build your Facebook Followers the way Donald has, listen in this evening at 7pm EST on Motivational Radio.  Click here for details

Please comment and SHARE by tweeting and FB-ing this post.  Thank you for being part of a wonderful community of “UN-limited” people who know what it means to Live Beyond Limitations with Vision, Power and Action.   We’d love to hear from you!

I use to want my kids to know me better, so they would judge me less, this was before knowing about the twelve pillars of success.  I wrote a book for them to read ‘someday’ in case they wanted to know more about my history.  My own insecure thinking brought on those thoughts of course, but that was then.

Pillar Twelve:

Leave a Legacy: “Live a life that will help others spiritually, intellectually, physically, financially, and relationally.  Live a life that serves as an example of what an exceptional life can look like.”

How serious should one be about leaving a legacy?  What does it really mean to leave a legacy?  If you think about some of the greatest leaders in history, you’ll find Ghandi who’s legacy was peace; Martin Luther King Jr who’s legacy was about a dream of freedom for all races; Mother Theresa who’s legacy was feeding those in need, and the list goes on.

None of us can choose how long we will live but we can all choose how well we will live.  Will we be rich, poor, happy or sad, mean or loving?  It’s all a choice no matter your history.

If you’ve claimed to be a self-made millionaire, you have not blazed that trail on your own.  You have done it with the help of those who came before you.  When we follow a path of great men and women who came before us, then we are sure to leave a trail of good fruit when we’re gone.

If we can live a life that serves others than we will have left a legacy behind us that isn’t about ego, but about love and selflessness.  If we can be an example of our words, then others will know it’s possible.  It will be the credibility they need to be effective in their relationships and in their lives.

Glenn Dietzel wrote these 20 statements regarding Legacy:

1. Your Legacy always starts with insignificance.
2. As you move forward out of procrastination, you don’t have to get it perfect, you just have to build momentum.
3. Get your Legacy going NOW; movement builds momentum and permanent habits of success.
4. Feedback is the answer to all your prayers.
5. Always take focused, inspired, outcome-driven action.
6. The action you take right NOW reveals the next action.
7. You must look within for value, but must look beyond for perspective.
8. Whoever has the strongest focus wins in the market place. Split concentration is why you fail.
9. Your twin tickets to freedom: marketing and sales.
10. Greater sameness will never get you better results. Be different!
11. The road to success is defined by doing things in the order of their importance…By doing what other people do not want to do!
12. The language you use at your weakest moment is the key to driving your success forward.
13. Safety is riskier than you realize. caution shouldn’t be thrown to the wind, but without risks, life isn’t an adventure.
14. Always set goals in the context of those ahead of you – the secret to quantum leaps is to think big and do small simultaneously.
15. The closer you get to the goal line…the stronger your resolve must be. Success works on an inverse square formula.
16. You can only see what you know. And what you know must be revealed to you by another person whom you connect with at a heart level.
17. The key to moving forward rapidly is based on the quality and quantity of your pain: the pain of going back must exceed the pain of moving forward.
18. It’s not the idea but the presentation of your idea that is the key to your legacy!
19. It’s not the idea but the presentation of your idea that is the key to your legacy!
20. It’s not the idea but the presentation of your idea that is the key to your legacy!

If you wait to learn the pillars of success, you may find yourself making the same mistakes over and over and eventually asking why you waited until your life was weighed down with regret before you made a course correction.

What kind of legacy do you want to leave? If you were to die tomorrow how would you be remembered? What would you change today that would re-frame life or create a course correction for you?

A VPA Legacy

It is important for me to continue teaching  – Vision, Power, Action because it will help so many people look within themselves for joy instead of buying into the idea that the external world provides it.  My goal is to reach as many physically challenged people around the world as I can but I can’t do it alone.  Here is just one of so many reasons why it’s important for me to share.

This weekend I was sitting in a group class and there was a deaf couple that someone was translating for. The topic was about hearing whispers from God.  Now whether you choose to say Universe or another name its all the same creator or energy field in my world.

The translator raised his hand, took the mic and said, “Can deaf people hear the voice of God?”

The teacher looked puzzled.  He didn’t respond to her question but turned instead to the 300+ of us sitting in the room for help with the answer.  I listened to the quiet voice inside my heart which said ‘raise your hand.’
So I raised my hand and a mic was handed to me.  “We are all deaf to a degree.” I began.  “If not, Jesus never would have said, If only you could hear, to his own disciples.  We are no different.  The voice of God comes from inside of us, not out side of us.”   The deaf can probably hear this voice more often because they can listen internally without even trying. For those who hear we are so easily distracted by noise that the voice is drowned out.

This is why Pauline Victoria and I have decided to teach the concepts of Vision Power and Action  to the physically challenged community.  They need to know they are not alone and that people do care about them.  If you are someone who would like to get involved with Pauline and I and the incredible work that has begun just let me know.  You don’t have to be disabled, but you do have to know someone who is to really get it.

I’d like to thank the late Jim Rohn, and Chris Widener, for developing Pillars of Success and for leaving their own legacy for us to learn from in so many fabulous ways.

Please visit the links below to review the pillars you may have missed and as always I hope you enjoy tremendous success as you implement them into your life.

PILLAR ONE

PILLAR TWO

PILLAR THREE

PILLAR FOUR

PILLAR FIVE

PILLAR SIX

PILLAR SEVEN

PILLAR EIGHT

PILLAR NINE

PILLAR TEN

PILLAR ELEVEN

Would you use words like Genuine? Humble? Forgiving? Healer?

In review of Jim Rohn and Chris Widener’s book ‘Twelve Pillars‘ there are some fundamental factors that are timeless in all of leadership.  The most important one is that learning to lead yourself is a must.

Success Pillar Eleven:

The World Can Always Use One More Great Leader

Many people fear becoming a leader because they’ve known someone who is brash and arrogant, and yet still lead, so this view of leadership isn’t appealing based on the example.  What I find is that those brash leaders are the people who get the most attention, like the misbehaving child, because of the negative behavior.  I believe these people to be in the minority of great leadership, but like a child who has not yet learned to lead with wisdom and patience, they will be held accountable at one point or another.

The word I will use today for the leader I am about to highlight is “Fruitful”.

Alex Mandossian is teaching thousands of people how to create a life for themselves, doing what they love on line, with a goal of assisting them in changing their personal economy during an economic recession.  From my perspective, Alex genuinely cares about people and their well being and the fruits of his labor shows.

With all of his success, Alex no longer needs the money but he teaches what he loves because he believes in his vision, or purpose, which is to help create joy by boosting someone else’s personal economy.  There will be people who will judge his motives, and claim he is doing it out of greed or pride, but until we know how to look beyond our own limiting, and judgmental beliefs through his heart-centered teachings, that is exactly what people will think.

I was one of those people who judged Alex in the beginning.  I had my own limiting beliefs about sales, money and all sorts of judgments against people who understood it and used it to help others on a large scale rather than played small.

Alex Mandossian understands his own VPA BluPrint to Success and lives it out by example.

Like Alex, the fruits of your labor must be evident, and you must recognize the Source by which you acquire all great things.  When you learn to help others from your heart, with a proper motivation of servitude, gratitude and love, the fruits of your labor will be self evident.  The money will come as a side benefit to this choice.

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”  Mark Twain

Another VPA quality to a great leader is forgiveness.  Over time great leaders learn to forgive themselves for past failures, as well as forgive others who may have hurt them.  They accept the path they are on with patience and perseverance, and within a few years in awe of the Vision, Power and Action they allowed to flow through them, they succeed.

Here is a wonderful way to think about how men and women become great in their time.

Observe the blossoms of a fruit tree that’s bearing fruit.  The blossoms fall off before the fruit pours forth.  So it is with leadership.  Part of you must die to selfish ways so your fruits can burst forth to be shared with anyone and everyone who wants it.

If this makes sense to you then you probably understand how the law of attraction works.

Others are attracted to you when you have blossomed and your fruit reveals itself.  Another way to consider this comes from scriptural writings where Jesus says,

We will recognize good people by their fruit, bad trees cannot bear good fruit, but good trees do.

So I hope you determine what your VPA is as you write down your values.  Take time to forgive, time to love and live according to your calling or Vision, your internal Power and by taking Action in tremendous ways.

Don’t forget to place your ‘one word’ for great leadership in the comment box below and I’d be delighted to know you shared this post with others through facebook or twitter.  I so appreciate you!

Please visit the links below to review the pillars you missed:

PILLAR ONE

PILLAR TWO

PILLAR THREE

PILLAR FOUR

PILLAR FIVE

PILLAR SIX

PILLAR SEVEN

PILLAR EIGHT

PILLAR NINE

PILLAR TEN

I once took a position as Assistant to the Vice President of a University and felt amazingly blessed to be there.  While having lunch with some of my co-workers one afternoon I was asked how I got the position.  Before I could answer, one of my friends piped in and said, “She does the little things very well and asks for more when she’s done, it’s just that simple!”

I was surprised, and SO thankful that she jumped in with such a wonderful response, because I was about to say “I knew the secretary to the president very well.” That was a turning point for me.  I saw how much of an impact her answer on our other co-workers and realized, she is right, I did do those things.

This is the reason I write books like Vision~Power~Action – Your Bluprint to Sustainable Success, and why Jim Rohn and Chris Widener write books like Twelve Pillars.  They change lives.

Pillar Nine:

Your Income Will Seldom Succeed Your Personal Development

I’d like to share one example of those ‘detailed things’ my friend mentioned in hopes that you’ll find a take-away from this post that is easily applicable to your own life.

There was a phone system at the university that was high tech in its day but the directions to use it were horribly challenging to read.  My co-worker in the next cubicle was an older person and I helped her to figure it out almost on a daily basis.  I didn’t mind it, but it meant stopping what I was doing each time to assist her.  I thought about how my ‘helping’ her was actually keeping her from learning on her own and I didn’t want her to be dependent on me.  I heard these words in my heart…

When you can figure out a way to teach people to fish rather than supply the fish on a long term basis you will teach them to live with greater human dignity, not just look for the handout.

I stayed after work one night to completely figure out the system so I could type up short cuts that would be much simpler for her to use, and perhaps would save us both time. When I was done I looked at what I had made and thought it was good.  I recall wondering if that is how God felt after creating the entire world.

The next day I handed the instructions to my friend who said.  ”I can’t believe you did that for me.”

She told our co-workers and eventually others began to ask for the short cuts as well.  I found myself handing them out to the 6 secretaries on that floor.  They were so impressed that it was eventually printed in the back of the university directory for the entire university and the following month and I was asked to give a workshop on the Meridian Mail system to teach the university employees. I was given a raise shortly thereafter.

This ‘system’ if you will, of giving to others has served me very well, and it will you to when you figure out that we are here to share Vision, Power and Action with one another every day of our lives.

Jim Rohn and Chris Widener wrote a simple book on understanding simple concepts and I think out of all of the pillars this is my favorite.

I made more wealthy friends in this past year than I have ever known in my entire life, and not a single one of them are wealthy for the sake of money.  They are wealthy because of what that wealth allows them to accomplish with their lives.  They realize money doesn’t make them problem free or able to live without discomfort or disease.  They realize there is no security in money and that it could disappear over night.  It didn’t take long for them to understand that money does NOT make the world go round.

My friends are influential because they did what I did in that story above, they created something out of nothing, gave it away to those who needed it for free, and eventually got paid for doing it.

What I learned from my own experience back then was that it wasn’t the raise that created the joy inside me, although it was a nice side benefit, it was the confidence it gave me to do the same thing again and again.

Read this quote from one of the most influential speakers Jim Rohn from his book “Twelve Pillars” on pg.89

“After you become a millionaire, you can give it all away because what’s important is not the million dollars; what’s important is the person you have to become in the process of becoming a millionaire.”  Jim Rohn

You don’t have to give it all away. The point he was making is that you could if you wanted to, because you know how to get it all back again.

So here it is – (drum roll please)

• Find a need
• create the solution to fill the need
• give it away for free
• and you will eventually be compensated for your efforts.

That’s it!  Does it take more than just staying after work for one night simplifying something complicated?  Sure! It might, but the key is to find the need you are to fill.  It’s important to have a vision of what you want to accomplish to fill the need of course and my VPA Radio Show may help with that every Friday evenings at 7pm EST. Just log into http://motivational-radio.com and you’ll keep your personal development growing.

Thank you for dropping by. I appreciate you so much!  Do comment and retweet if you feel this post was helpful.  If you want to read the previous Success Pillars see below.

Abundant Blessings,

PILLAR ONE

PILLAR TWO

PILLAR THREE

PILLAR FOUR

PILLAR FIVE

PILLAR SIX

PILLAR SEVEN

PILLAR EIGHT

Isn’t it true that, in general, people listen long enough to think their own thoughts then wait for the person to finish so they can interject those thoughts into the conversation?  You know you’ve done it before, or maybe still do…me to.

Its for reasons like these that personal development is so important and why books like the Twelve Pillars by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener are so important.  We all need to grow, but I didn’t always feel that way.

Success Pillar 10:
All communication brings the common ground of understanding.

The year was 2002 and Steven Covey seminars were inspiring people all across America just as they still do today.  My supervisor, Dr. Wayne Perry, Director of Physical Therapy at Andrews University, is one of those people who enjoy seeing others grow in personal development, so he hired a man named Dr. George Soper, Senior Vice President of Memorial Hospital in IN, to come to our work place and teach his staff the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

At first I was bored. Dr. Soper was great, but I was so disinterested in personal development at that time that he needed to strike a chord in order to get my attention.  When he did, I sat straight up. I listened intently as he told us stories about how the skill of listening, and the skill of understanding, impacted his life.

It was as if I were hearing new information for the very first time.  In reality I’d probably heard it many times before but not in story format, which for most is an easier way to learn.  Nor were these concepts exampled on a consistent basis by anyone I knew to fully grasp the concept for myself.

By the time he was done talking I knew I wanted to practice the art of listening, and understanding, on my oldest teenage son, whom at the time had started to rebel.  It wasn’t like him and I wanted to understand why.  Dr. Soper’s techniques seemed easy enough to try so the next day I invited my son to lunch.  After eating quickly I physically put my finger over my mouth to hold it shut, just to remind myself that I was there to listen and understand only.  I wanted to see if this really worked.

It found it extremely challenging.  I wanted to the do the parenting ‘norm’ and say things like, “You did what?!” “You said what to your teacher?!” “Well no wonder your grades are lower than they should be!” etc. etc.  My will was in a constant battle to over-rule my mind much, less my try to keep my tongue still. I was beginning to see how damaging my personal beliefs had been about parenting kids with critical words.

“No wonder this poor kid feels rebellious.  Just look at how many times you’ve wanted to correct his behavior during the last 10 minutes!” I thought.

To anyone who has ever done this I want you to know that it is NEVER TOO LATE to make changes in your behavior to turn around any relationship.

I remained with my finger over my mouth, determined to listen and to understand… and understand I did.  I saw his pain, his desire to want to do well in school, to have better relationships with his family and to live a life where he could feel happier about himself rather than be corrected every 10 minutes.

My silence worked so well that it changed my life right there.  I also worried my son greatly.

He stopped in mid sentence, as if to realize he was the only one talking. “Mom, are you okay?  You haven’t said a word the entire time. You just sat there and listened.  What’s wrong?”

I laughed out loud.  My son had no idea what was going through my mind or heart at that moment.  I wanted to throw my arms around him and dance a mini jig at him affirming what I had done, but I just smiled and told him, “I’m really good.  I really enjoyed our talk.”

I left the restaurant with several thoughts and feelings going all different directions, one of which was “I did it Dr. Soper! You were so right!”

So here are a few tips on how to be a good listener and not an interrupter:

• When you want someone to understand you – say to them – “Please tell me how you see this situation”
• When you want to be heard you say, “I’ll listen to you first, then I’d like to share how how I see it.”
  
• Get clarification – “Is this what you are saying….?”
  
• Affirm – “I think I understand you felt….?” use emotions like happy, sad, hurt, frustrated
  
• Your side of the story – “From my perspective it seemed….” gently share your perspective and feelings

These tips are extremely helpful if you can consistently apply them in your life.  Focus on them and they will expand your relationships in ways you can’t imagine and remember it’s never too late to listen or to understand.

Thank you Dr. Soper, Dr. Perry and Dr. Covey for teaching me how to be a more highly effective parent and person.  I continue to teach the skills I’ve learned from you and if you ever want me to speak to your students about seeing their purpose or Vision, accepting the Power they have within them to accomplish it, and to take action on what they learn, let me know. 

Thank you for reading this article.  I appreciate you so much!  Please leave a comment below if you can relate to this post, and retweet if you found it helpful in any way.  Previous pillars are listed here:

PILLAR ONE

PILLAR TWO

PILLAR THREE

PILLAR FOUR

PILLAR FIVE

PILLAR SIX

PILLAR SEVEN

PILLAR EIGHT

PILLAR NINE

Abundant Blessings,

I’ve come to understand that unless a person speaks from their heart about themselves and/or the ‘why’ behind what they are selling, they may know little about increasing the lives of others with intention.  All too often we’re so busy trying to make a living selling a product that we forget to ask whether it will bring increase into the person’s life or not.

Pillar Eight:

All Life Is Sales – The Power of Persuasion & Influence is talent and virtue

In the Twelve Pillars, written by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener, they refer to Sales as being ‘all of life’.

Sales is influence, nothing more, nothing less.  Rohn and Widener say that in order to influence others you must become a person of talent and virtue.

So how do you do that?

Lets first understand that talents are your gifts and virtue is your character.

The definition for Talent is; special natural ability or aptitude: as in a talent for drawing as an example.

The definition of Virtue is; moral excellence; goodness; righteousness, moral and ethical principles: as in choosing high integrity for instance

As we grow – we hone our skills, we create more opportunities for ourselves by sharing what we learn, but amidst all of it – others look to us for guidance or recommendations.  This is the power of influence.

You were born to influence!

Have you ever noticed how much influence we have over our parents as babies?  When we want something that we can’t have we cry and throw a fit until someone gives in.  Our parents have options of course, and if they are wise they will resist the temptation, or simply reason out that whatever it is we are asking for would bring increase into our lives.

The dramatic exchange of sales in our infant years is what teaches us the power of influence; crying loudly, or long enough, that mom and dad eventually give in.  Little Johnny wants a new bike.  Sold.  Teenage boy meets teenage girl and wants to take her to the prom.  Sold.  Going to college and needs a new car. (cha-ching!) Sold.

Wouldn’t you agree that we are born to influence one another right from the beginning of time?  How you use that influence will determine your success. Will you decide to work harder on yourself than you do on your job?  Will you work on your skills and character long enough to find out where they can take you or will you allow the fear of success to drown out those thoughts?

Take the 30 second VPA quiz

If you were flying in a hot air balloon looking down at yourself, what do you see yourself doing?  Who would  you be connecting to?  Who are you influencing?

This quiz can give you a vision of what you may be called to do, or what you might want to be doing with your life, and wouldn’t now be a GREAT time to see it? I’ll leave you with this thought:

• V = clear VISION of what you are called to do or desire to do most in life – no one else can tell you what that is
• P = the POWER to believe God has already provided you with the strength you need to accomplish it – imagine the possibilities
• A = with inspiration to take ACTION you can do it one step at a time – no matter how big or small – you can accomplish

Education is vital to your success in every day life but truly it’s all in the heart connections of your VPA (Vision~Power~Action) that can move you forward in business, in relationships and in life.  If you want to hear more on how you can understand this message read here.  If  you have time to read more of the precious 7 pillars they are listed below, and as always, I invite you to comment and share if this post serves you. When you share it this might also serve others.   Abundant Blessings my friend.

PILLAR ONE

PILLAR TWO

PILLAR THREE

PILLAR FOUR

PILLAR FIVE

PILLAR SIX

PILLAR SEVEN

Kellie’s Personal Story:

By looking at me, no one could ever guess the challenges life has presented me.  A few years ago I managed an office that builds orphanages around the world, I was a successful life coach and real estate investor.  I was also a content wife and mother of three who loved to volunteer in my community. But in 2007, my entire life changed.

My 18-year-old nephew died in a drowning accident. His mother (my little sister) died of cancer just a few months later.  Due to the emotional turmoil and extensive traveling across country to assist family, I returned home to close the doors to my company. I started to wonder if life would ever feel normal again, then the unthinkable happened.  I took a bad fall on black ice and landed directly on my head, causing a serious brain injury.

My life was patchy with frequent blackouts that led to long periods where I couldn’t talk, walk or comprehend adult conversations.  The doctors said I would be fine over time, but there wasn’t much they could do other than therapy.

Brain seizures controlled my life for the next several months, up to 9 a day, and pain and neurological problems enveloped me.  My right limbs would go limp during and after a seizure and tremors persisted throughout my body while resting. The world stood at a permanent 45 degree angle while standing and my disability had become evident to everyone close to me. The humiliation of having a seizure in public kept me from going out.  I felt very alone and isolated.

After the onset of my disability, I could have chosen to allow the physical and emotional pain suppress my very being, my identity, my hope.  But I chose an alternative path.  I traded in the isolation, the humiliation and pain for peace, hope and purpose.

“It’s not what happens to you,

but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus

With a transformation of my own thoughts, it became very clear that our thoughts affect how we feel.  I have chosen to share my experiences to reveal to you that the possibilities that you dream of must begin with YOU.

“If you were flying in a hot air balloon above the ground – looking down at yourself – what do you see yourself doing?

Who are you connecting with?”

Years ago I worked for a VP of a college who actually evaluated my work performance based on that one question above.  I thought he was joking but he wasn’t.  He wanted me to decide what my goals were, what I wanted to do with my life, and my ‘why’ behind doing it, then to submit an essay to him.

THAT was my evaluation? I left the office that night speechless, but feeling relieved knowing I had two weeks to come up with something.

For 2 weeks I tried to write something down and came up with nothing.  The night before my evaluation – I couldn’t sleep.

As I reflect on it now I get a good belly laugh out if it.  I recall seeing him in my mind and I’m thinking, “Why are you punishing me like this?!” As if I were a 5-yr-old little girl.  It occurred to me at that moment that I had no goals in life.  I had no idea of what my purpose was and it was startling to see my own reaction and how I had been handling it.

I sat in my stairwell looking up at the vaulted ceilings and thought backwards rather than forwards.  The only thing that came to mind was at a very young age I sat in front of my parents television watching ‘Feed the Children’ and I wanted to go feed them.

It seemed to me that was a desire that had never quite left me.

So this is what I wrote down for my employee evaluation:

“I want to feed children that are starving.  I see myself in an open field with many little orphan children and I’m playing and laughing with them to celebrate their full bellies.”

I somehow turned it into a poem and felt utterly ridiculous handing it to him the next day.  I watched for his reaction, but he simply read it, looked up, and then quietly said, “Is this really what you want to do?”

“Yes.” I said confidently.  “I know it isn’t much of a goal, but I never realized I didn’t have any goals until you made me do this exercise.  Now that I know, I believe I can do something about it.”

Here is the amazing part – A few months later I was on a plane heading to Honduras to feed, laugh and play with 64 orphaned children!  My wonderful husband, Jon, made that trip possible for me but in writing that goal down it helped me to see it before it ever came into existence.  I saw how important that was and is for my life.

That’s what started me on a journey of getting real with myself, and with God, over a decade ago.  I sought out mentors that were both head and heart connected to learn from and here is what I discovered one needs to have to turn dreams into reality:

• V = clear VISION of what you most desire
• P = a belief to know that God has already provided you with strength and when you tap into that POWER – imagine the possibilities
• A = with inspiration to take ACTION you can do it one step at a time – no matter how big or small – you can accomplish anything

Many People Ask Me How I’ve Managed to Do What I’ve Done…and I Say, “One small step at a time, and with great big faith, I find victory“

As a speaker and a coach, I meet and train people every year who are on fire for change.  I also have a radio show on Motivational Radio with over 3.85 million listeners.  Myself, along with my Co-host Pauline Victoria have a blast sharing insights with you about creating and living out your personal Vision Power and Action plan.  Since both Pauline and I are physically challenged, (You can read Pauline’s story of being born without arms or legs) we are encouraging anyone with a limitation of any kind to join us in our life of encouragements to follow the VPA tips we discuss on the show.  We interview celebrities and every day heroes who have over come HUGE battles in their own lives.  VPA works!  Do join us every Friday evening at 7 pm if you can.

We hope that you will also join our fan page so we can answer any questions you might have about our radio show.

The more you share and give, the more you receive.

Abundant Blessings,

Kellie

This will literally stop people in their tracks. They usually look at me and say, “Wow! Really?”

I’m not certain that other cultures do this type of platitudinal exchange; “Hi, how you?” “Fine, how are you?”  “Fine.” and yet neither party sincerely cares what the answer is they just go about their day.

I’m not sure that “platitudinal” is an actual word either. Platitude means ‘common place’ so I embellished it to fit.  One can do that as a life long learner.  I’m certainly not the wordsmith Denis Waitley is as you can see from this wonderful description below.

Pillar 7: Be a Life Long Learner

“You’ve got the vicious cycle or the victor’s circle. Let’s get out of the vicious cycle. We imagine ourselves to be successful. We preplay it by simulation. We rehearse; we drill; we practice; we perform. Sometimes, we perform well. We feedback with reinforcement. Sometimes we do poorly–more input needed–always to the imagined desired result, always to the outcome we want, never punishing ourselves in the downward spiral. Winners imagine through goals, simulate through rehearsal, perform and then feed back.”
–Denis Waitley, excerpted from the 2004 Event, DVD 2 and/or CD 4, Track 7

So here is what I’d like to briefly share on this pillar that Jim Rohn and Chris Widener wrote about in their book Twelve Pillars:

1. If you choose to be a life long learner then accept with that choice both victory and defeat. They are both inevitable.
2. Feedback in business is vital to our growth or we stay right where we are.  You can handle it – and if you can share enthusiasm with your team they can handle it too.  As a team you can decide whether or not you want to use what was suggested and let go of the rest.
3. Let go of personal criticism and judgment.  It is not easy but it is vital to your success.  Turn off the noise in your head.  Learning comes more quickly from the stillness of life than from the noise in your mind.
4. Imagine your goals, go through the rehearsal of what you want to see happen in your life, and then go out and do it.  When there is a vision of where you are going, you can find the internal power that motivates you toward action.  It’s the nature of our own choosing.
5. If you need more inspiration then seek it until you find it.  If you need more money then use your creative imagination to increase the lives of others and you will find that to.

When you make the choice to be a life long learner then the only real limit to your success, in truth, is you.

Do you remember when other kids would put the letter “L” to their forehead and shout, “LOSER!” and it would hurt your feelings?  Well for us, whenever we do something dumb around here we put the letter “L” to our heads and shout “LEARNER!”

Learning to connect emotionally to your V.P.A. can bring you wealth of multiple kinds so stay tuned for more pillars of success, and if you didn’t read the previous one’s they are linked below.

I am always open to feedback!  I would love to hear what you think of these success pillars so far and whether or not you have implemented them, or if they were helpful. Please comment and share below and thank you for taking time to do so in advance.  It shows your desire to be a life long learner.

PILLAR ONE

PILLAR TWO

PILLAR THREE

PILLAR FOUR

PILLAR FIVE

PILLAR SIX

Abundant Blessings,

Pillar Six – Surround yourself with people who exhibit and live consistent to the values and skills you want to acquire and develop.

Perhaps you feel its hard to find others who believe the same way you do?  I understand, but it’s really not as hard as you might think.

While my husband and I raised our son’s years back we did most of it unconsciously just like our parents did.  We allowed our boys to watch an abundance of television, hang out with the neighborhood kids, drag them to church, not really contributing to the lives of others (unless we made them volunteer somewhere).

We believed as our parents did that we were doing well in our parenting methods as long as our kids weren’t breaking the law or offending people.  I often wonder what percentage of parents believe that to be true as well.

When each of our sons turned 18 within a few years of each other, I noticed that it wasn’t what we taught them that hurt them, but what we didn’t teach them that hurt them the most.

For example, we didn’t teach them;

• how to have a clear vision for their lives

• how to remain positive or to have self control over their own thoughts

• how to invest in themselves

• how to control their finances;  like setting up different accounts for necessities, giving, saving, long term spending and financial freedom accounts.  We did however teach them to use a check book and a credit card like most parents do.

• how to surround themselves with people who are encourager’s and visionaries

• how to be people of action who could be go-givers

• we didn’t teach them to understand their own internal power or know how to use it

Don’t get me wrong, I cherish my sons who are very intelligent, loving, hard working, married to wonderful women and they are doing extremely well considering.  We (and they) understand that we did the best we could with what we had at the time so this isn’t about beating myself up.

I know too that they will learn as I have, and as you have over the years, through their experiences and grow from them. Or they might choose not to grow from them, but either way it is their choice.

I’ll never forget lying in bed staring up at the ceiling saying to my husband, “Jon, we didn’t teach the boys how to live, we taught them how to survive.”

He replied, “Yeah, and what’s wrong with that?”

Jon was very good at surviving and very proud of it.  We were both use to surviving and although I once admired him for his great survival mentality and instincts, I saw at that moment how limiting it really was.

I said, “Nothing if that is all you want to do, but I think we are meant to do more than just survive in life.”

As he fell asleep, I quietly made a choice to find out how to be a better example, have better relationships, be a better person for the sake of our little girl who was then six, and for my own sake.

Jim Rohn and Chris Widener talked about Pillar Six being vital to your health and well-being, but without seeing the truth in that statement you may never understand how important it is.  Here are a few questions they suggested to ask yourself:

• Who am I around?

• What kind of effect are they having on me or my life?

• What do I read when I’m around them?

• What do I watch when I’m around them?

• What do I listen to when I am around them.

What I began to learn was that God gave us nature in all it’s grandeur and there was such awesome nobility in it to learn from.  If we took enough time to watch it there are enough lessons in it to consume our every waking moment.  I knew also that true nobility is not about being a better man than others, but about being a better man than you use to be and when you discover each moment of this new life you feel something shift.  Something awakens inside of you that cannot be explained but you want to share it.

Associating with people now, right where you are, who can uplift you and encourage you to be a better man or woman than you use to be is VITAL to our very nature.

It isn’t going to help your today or tomorrow if you hang out with people who are ‘surviving’ and do you know why?  You will not be challenged to be a better person, to grow in character and strength.  Fortunately for me, my husband saw that changes were needed over time and wanted to find those changes for himself as well.

That’s what it means to increase the life of another human being.  To learn how and to give back, and to teach others to do the same. If you want to have vision, to understand your internal power and learn to take incredible action in peace, then you may have to start finding other friends to learn and grow with and spend more time listening to your internal silence.  Especially while you’re in nature.

Don’t like being challenged in this way?  I can relate… but it is what it will make of you to do so that you can look forward to.

Elizabeth Ross said, “If you shield the mountain from the windstorms you will never see the carvings of your life.”

No matter what you go through be grateful for it as it adds to the beauty of your life, and remember to share it with others.  Associate with those whom you’d want to share you pain and joy with AND who can challenge you to grow beyond it.

I appreciate you so much.  To thank you for visiting my page I would like to send you a free gift of Connecting Secrets up in the right-hand corner. Just watch the video and it will explain.  As always feel free to re-tweet and comment below and if you missed any of the previous pillars but you’d like to catch up here they are:

PILLAR ONE

PILLAR TWO

PILLAR THREE

PILLAR FOUR

PILLAR FIVE

Abundant Blessings,