Shifting Gears – Take Your Life To The Next Level

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing…” – Helen Keller

I am committed to living my life out loud and being a catalyst for others to blaze their own trail.

Some say, “Life is short,” yet, there are abundant reasons for it to be filled with extraordinary experiences, breathtaking fulfillment and ongoing joy; of course, we could perceive a myriad of obstacles in getting to this exulted state. In actuality, there is only one.

Ask yourself two questions: Are you living your dream life?  If not, why not?

The most common responses: “No, not really,” for the first and, the second one has all too many like:  “The economy;” “I don’t have the money;” “I don’t have the time;” “I don’t have the know-how;” “I have too many other obligations (meaning, other priorities). Fortunately, not one of these is true or real! Fact is, your perception of these assertions might be real to you; on closer examination, for the most part, they are illusions. Let’s examine this.

The Economy: Recently, many lifestyles have been affected, even drastically. The question so commonly asked, “Why are some people doing very well, even thriving in this economy? Is it luck?” No, it is doing the right things dictated by the circumstances. Same old, no longer works! Where many stall, others actively seek opportunity, find it and thrive. It is one’s inability to shift that is causing the pain; not the economy. Why the inability?

I don’t have the money: It may sound crass when I say, “So, what are you doing about that?” We have unlimited opportunities in this country of free enterprise. You may have heard the statistic, 96% of retirees don’t live the life they had imagined because of financial constraints. The hopes, generally based on working for others, have simply not materialized. Somehow, becoming entrepreneurial, leveraging incomes based on the efforts of others, as well as your own, did not become a part of the thought process. Why not?

I don’t have the time: Each of us has been gifted the same 24 hours per day! How you spend it is at your total discretion.  Do you spend large chunks doing a job you hate (as do over 85% of all employed), or are you addicted to video games or other non-productive pursuits? Is your energy spent working toward a goal that leads to excellence and fulfillment or . . . are you treading water? You have choice. What’s blocking you from exercising it in the most meaningful and productive manner?

I don’t have the know-how: None of us were born with know-how. We learned through formal education, apprenticeship programs, imitating others, or the school of hard knocks. Why is it some learned and continue to learn, and others don’t? If you are one of the latter, what has blocked your path to success?

I have too many responsibilities: Life is full of responsibilities. When people from vastly different backgrounds and circumstances (Gandhi, Mandela etc.) supersede the ordinary and achieve the monumental. Again, we must ask what blocks us from reaching similar heights?

There are many reasons people give for being stuck in their present circumstances. The one persistent and extremely powerful block is your personal BELIEF system. While too many are raised with the belief, “I am not good enough,” it is really only one of those erroneous perceptions we ‘bought into.’  Even the most casual exploration of humanness reveals our magnificence; amazing bodies, minds and spirits.

Even with this, most still need to find a way to break through the conditioning. The formulae is simple, expediting it, generally not. The first step is to find a strong and positive sense of self. Some accomplish this by reviewing their bucket list and finding challenges they have been postponing.  Climbing a serious mountain was on mine. With time the challenge expanded and when I climbed to the top of Mt. Everest, I became the oldest person in the Western World to have climbed the highest peak on all seven continents.

I now take people on life-changing adventure travel experiences where they gain personal breakthroughs and shatter limiting beliefs. Imagine being in the most wondrous natural setting and being encouraged to enjoyably, and proudly stretch your awareness and shatter perceived physical limitations, beyond what you ever considered possible. Think of snow-covered peaks framing the horizon on all sides; or thousands upon thousands of animals roaming the veldt; or being exposed to cultures vastly different from your own where people might be extremely poor – by our standards – and at the same time extremely happy.

With a shift ‘in being,’ people now ask, “What do I really want? What excuses do I no longer need?” The answers lead to new actions and a life re-imagined. As mentioned earlier, I serve as a catalyst for change.  If you don’t think you can do it alone, come trek with me. Your journey toward fulfilling your dreams does take some work, and then it is invariably exciting, rewarding and ultimately… priceless!  Remember, you CAN do this and excuses do not bring results.

For more information about trekking with Werner, visit AfricaWithWerner.Wordpress.Com (June 2013) and EverestBaseCampWithWerner.WordPress.Com (October 2013).

Photo Credit: Rupert Taylor-Price