Category Archives: Purpose

Why It’s So Vital to Embrace Change!

Being based in northern Europe, it takes a bit longer for spring to reach us. Although we do start to see the signs with lighter days and hearing the birds chirping, which is reassuring that the winter will come to an end. There’s always a sense of rebirth that comes with the spring. One of my favorite sayings is:

Life is change, Change is constant. Growth is optional.

Like the seasons changing each year, there is also a consistency in that change that is also comforting. Many people say they are resistant to change but in reality it is the unknown that makes them uncomfortable. When you can change your perspective to see that all change gives us an opportunity to grow, then you can step into the unknown with excitement rather than fear.

It’s great that neuroscience can start to explain this in a way that makes sense. When we are in fear, we have cortisol and adrenaline running through our bodies, which actually cuts off our ability to think clearly and make rational decisions. When we are looking forward to something, it puts our mental state into curiosity and expectation, which actually helps to activate oxytocin to be produced in our prefrontal cortex or executive brain. This is where we are able to see with a larger perspective and activate our creative thinking.

When you become aware of the neuroscience behind our interactions—it helps to be able to relate to everyone as a human being. It helps to eliminate the divisive thinking that separate so many people. After all, we are ALL spiritual beings having a human experience on this amazing planet.

I like to compare this to water. If you have a puddle of water–after a while the water grows stagnant and starts to smell. But when water is constantly flowing like a stream, it is fresh and rejuvenating. This IS life.

So embrace the changes and know that you can be in the driver’s seat of your own growth!

Why is Knowing Your Purpose So Important?

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The two most important days in your life are the day you were born…and the day you find out why. ~Mark Twain

It is essential to know why you do what you do. This is your purpose. And when the purpose is clear and communicated to everyone in a way that is understood, everyone is on the same boat, so to speak and can move forward in the right direction.

Like building a house and putting down a strong foundation, this is the first foundation block to creating an Amazing Company.

A company is a system, just as an individual, a family, and even the Universe. When you know how to optimize the system, you bring the best into your world. A big part of this is in knowing why you exist. In the business world, it is the reason why the company exists.

Here are a few examples of great purposes from our model companies that we feature in our book, Engage!:

– TOMS Shoes—it is a “One For One” movement; not a shoe.

– MindValley—it is about “Pushing Humanity Forward” and optimizing human potential through personal development products and education.

– HCL Technologies—putting “Employees First, Customers Second” has taken this global technology company to $4 billion in revenues in 3 years—and the primary focus has shifted to their people.

– Southwest—giving their customers the “Freedom to Fly” drives their business forward and give clarity to all business decisions.

– Achievers—they are “Changing The Way The World Works” through recognition.

The clear purpose is one of the key foundational elements that you can build your company on… and your life too. When a company is not in touch with its purpose, it will be lost.

Why do you do what you do? Let’s say you’re an executive of a company. You want to make a good living.

Why is that? Because you want to live a good life and take care of your family.
Why is that? Because you want to make them happy.
Why is that? Because it’ll make you feel good.

Why is that? Because you want to be happy too.

When anyone does this exercise on a personal level, eventually we end up with just a few core reasons: love, happiness, and peace.

It’s a simple exercise and it shows that even though we all come from different walks of life, we all have the same core desires within us…which doesn’t make us so different from each other after all.

A purpose statement is like a compass—guiding you on the path to reach your destination. A company may have a purpose well defined, but the important question to ask is this:

Is it a purpose that will inspire others to take action?

If not, it is probably not the bigger purpose. We can lift a company’s purpose to a much higher level just by asking “and why do we do that?” several times until you discover that higher purpose for being. Knowing the purpose then becomes the guiding light for smooth sailing. The same is true on a personal level.

After going through so many difficult years, I now know my purpose is “Bringing Joy To The World” by teaching all that I have learned along the way through my books, courses, programs, etc. Even Jim Carrey, one of the funniest people alive, has his own personal purpose defined very clearly—“Free People From Concern”.

A clearly defined purpose statement is the foundation to building a purpose driven life and a purpose driven company.

What In The Heck Are You Asking?!

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The quality of your questions determines the quality of your life.

Let me explain what I mean by that. I’ve come to see recently that we are all asking questions to ourselves all the time. Those questions are determined by the filters of our experiences and programs that we have lived our lives by. This explains why some people can be crushed by a situation and others rise above and thrive through the same circumstances. It all comes down to the questions we’re running in our minds.

I was put into a horrific situation where my life changed 180 degrees in a matter of seconds—from a dedicated mom of two beautiful young girls a nd a successful business woman with a concrete plan to expand her company internationally…to sitting in a 10×12 cell in a high security jail with total uncertainty and fear, completely isolated from her family while my daughters were growing up with me. This situation lasted almost FOUR years! I would never wish this on anyone!

In the first months, I often asked myself:

Why is this happening to me?
What have I done to deserve this?
When is this ever going to end?

In order to survive, I immersed myself in reading anything positive I could get my hands on. It became a personal development bootcamp in the highest regard for me and I began to see the world differently. As I searched for my inner strength and courage, I began asking different questions:

What is the higher purpose to this situation?
What can I learn from this challenge?
How can I serve others while I’m here?

My questions changed from a “victim mentality” to a “victor mentality” and I became strong. I was able to stay focused on my dream and my deep faith that it would come true: my charges would all be dropped, I’d walk out of the building I was in, and return home to my family where I belonged and that I would be there to raise my daughters. Although it took a long time…that was exactly what did end up happening.

Are you aware of the type of questions you are asking yourself? What would happen if you changed them to more empowering questions? How are you reacting to the situations that come up in your life?

Things just happen. But then we label them according to how we view the world. So a situation can be a big problem where you focus on what is going wrong…or it can be an opportunity where you focus on the solution.

Successful people always find the solutions that drive them through their challenges. They grow, develop, and become better people because of everything that they have experienced. Others who focus on what is wrong all the time can easily become angry, bitter, and stuck, which only perpetuates their situation for the worse.

A leadership mentor explained to me once how it really is essential to bring in light into any situation and not focus on clearing out the negative stuff, because if you bring in enough positive energy and enthusiasm, the problems and negativity will dissipate naturally. It helped me to realize just how powerful we really are and that we have the ability to determine the quality of our lives by the choices we make and by questions we ask.

Here is a powerful exercise: practice saying everything you say in a positive way. Sounds easy at first, but it can also take some effort because unfortunately, our world often conditions us to see the worst! Stating things positively is a great place to start becoming aware of the questions you are running through your head and why.

My final question to you now is: are you paying attention to what the heck you’re asking yourself and how can you change those questions so that they serve you in a positive way?

Choosing Love Over Fear in the Face of a Terror Attack

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On the afternoon of April 7th, there was a terrorist attack in Stockholm, about three blocks away from where I was working on a video project. As we were wrapping up the filming, we could hear sirens and saw several police cars driving towards the city center. We were loading up the video equipment to move on to the next location when the crew got messages about what had happened. All we knew at that time was that a truck had driven onto a busy pedestrian street and drove into a busy department store. It was chaos and we drove away from the area to get to the next location. We tried to continue filming but soon stopped as everyone was quite concerned and wanted to get home to their families so we postponed the rest of the filming to another day.

Stockholm is a small city and we probably only have two degrees of separation max when it comes to knowing people. I actually had a friend who was sitting right above where the truck drove into the department store and she felt the impact and knew something was wrong. What she told me afterwards–and what she consciously chose to focus in on—was the amount of love and heroism from all the people. I believe humanity has a natural ability to reach out and support each other, especially in times of trouble. We (for the most part!) are hardwired to care and have empathy for each other. And this event was an example of this. Because afterwards, people who lived in the city center were posting on Facebook, opening up their homes to people who got stranded in the city (all the trainings and metro systems shut down immediately) and were driving people home. There are countless stories of people choosing to help and support each other in whatever ways they could afterwards.

Someone decided to have a LOVE demonstration two days later and posted about it on Facebook Friday evening. I believe it was one of the biggest turnouts and a strong message of solidarity for Sweden that we choose love over fear. Swedes refuse to allow the insane actions of a few people ruin what Sweden stands for—an open and trusting society. I’m so happy to know that our underlying values in this country are strong. And yes, even though there are still problems, if the vast majority can choose love over fear each and every day, we will make great progress to creating a world in which we all want to live. This small little action is something to keep in mind each and every day, no matter what you do. And collectively, we can—and will—change the world!

This 2 minute video shows what happened that day at the peace demonstration. It was made by Herman Caroan, a very talented videographer, and immediately went viral.

What is Your Great Vision?

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Having a vision, a goal, and staying focused on it is one of the most powerful creation tools we can use when we want to proactive create our lives. Our minds are incredible.

Our imagination is a tool that we can use to create anything in our lives! Being able to visualize and actually see and feel yourself experiencing a better life will help you to bring it into reality. Our thoughts are charged with a frequency that we send out into the quantum field and that brings into our life that same experience. Anything is possible when you understand how to work with the spiritual laws of the Universe!

We are energy magnets creating our lives all the time. We have the power to choose our thoughts. That is the key to manifesting what you desire. Your vision is you placing an order with the Universe. And the more often you can see yourself there with the strong feelings of it being real, the more powerful your dream will become, and the sooner it will come into being. However, it is important to release any expectation of time and allow it to happen in the perfect time.

This is why visualization is such a powerful tool for us. Seeing things in our minds helps us to believe it is possible and it is proven that the brain cannot tell the difference between imagination and reality. Then we must take the next step and truly believe that it will come to pass (faith). After that, we must release it and trust that it will come to us in the right time (acceptance and allowing).

As soon as we put an expectation of time onto a desire, we can set ourselves up for disappointment or discouragement—that’s when we are lacking in patience and higher understanding. Know that everything will resolve itself one way or another. And believe in that immense power that we all have within.

Even in my biggest moments of doubt when I was separated from my family for so many years, I meditated and continued to see myself going home—the answer I kept getting was that I was going home.

I held onto that vision and believed in it with all of my heart. But I had to learn to let go of time and of any expectations. It had to happen in its own time. This was a hard lesson to learn. Acceptance of this certainly came in handy during that time and now is one of the ways I can manage my life now.

My question to you is: what is your great vision now? What dreams are waiting to become your reality?