The F.U.N. Principle™

Leap Into Your Now - Day 55 - Have you compromised your masterpiece?

As part of World Book Night, I had the opportunity to celebrate the life of Maya Angelou through her book, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". Unlike you, I had the opportunity to read this book in school, but was grateful and excited that it was being promoted for this monumental event.

World Book Night gave me the opportunity as a selected participant to give away 20 books to promote literacy and the printed word. I would be part of thousands who would distribute books in their community and it felt great. I was able to share and facilitate the book giveaway at the RailRoad Book Depot in Pittsburg, California. As part of the event, we watched an interview with Maya Angelou and she shared so many pearls of wisdom.

Yet, one thing she shared stood out to me and I wrestled with it all night. She said that she never wanted to create masterpieces so that they would get dusty on the shelf. I've read everything that she has written and I can't imagine purchasing her work and never reading it. Even in her books that are not about poetry, she paints every sentence with colorful descriptions to the point that you see her thoughts in your own mind. It has challenged me in my own writing and I'm grateful.

Yet, the word masterpiece is so strong as it relates to this challenge. Did you know that a masterpiece is considered to be an exceptionally creative piece of work that is your best? As I thought about all of the things in my life that I believed to be exceptional and creative, I also considered their current placement. Where were they and how were they being used? Could I blow dust off them or were they in the attics of my mind waiting for an eventual garage sale? If they were so great, how come they were dusty?

And then the big C-word came to mind - C-O-M-P-R-O-M-I-S-E! The reason that they were put on a shelf is because I had compromised them away. Whether I had acted on them or not pursued them to the end, the very idea that I did not see my masterpiece ideas and visions to the end spelled out compromise. And I challenge you on this day. Look back in the libraries of your own mind and write out a list of things that you have placed on hold. Even if you don't have a finished product in hand, compromise is lingering if your masterpieces are dusty!

And just because the idea didn't work with a particular person or even in a particular city, does not mean that the masterpiece is not worthy. Do not....again...do not tie a God given vision to a person and limit it to the confines of what the world offers. Wow! This is good to me! Be oh so encouraged today in getting your lists together. We are going to see this thing to the end as a group! I'll be back tomorrow to discuss what to do with a masterpiece list!

Be blessed!

Gina

Wow! I can't believe how fast this month passed. Yet, I am very excited about what lies before me. There is approximately one week before we end our Leap Into Our Now Challenge! It has been a roller coaster ride for many of you...in a good way.

In either case, I am going to challenge you to take advantage of the next week. Take hold of every possibility and do the work to move them to actual.

So often, we can focus on the what if's without turning them into "completed"...what's next?

I can't wait to hear about your journey and look forward to the month of June! It's my birthday month,so it's going to be about F-U-N!

Leap Into Your Now- Day 51 - Is compromise winning or losing?

Wow...I can't believe that we are already at Day 51 of this challenge. How's your assessment and confrontation of compromise going? I have found this process to be such a revelation for me and truly an indicator and red flag finder of areas that I previously compromised but maintained. When you know that you are the holder of something that you personally lessened the value in or gave up partially on, keeping it in your atmosphere can be overwhelming.

As you continue to pursue the identified prize in your life, you may find the idea of addressing any compromise in your life to be harder than you originally imagined. I had an opportunity to be "assigned" a major project by default. A couch was delivered two weeks ahead of time and I was forced to clear a junk room and go through a number of boxes at one time. I also had to give up things that I previously thought to be of value to make room for what was new. For me, my revelation was stimulated by going through boxes. Something else may trigger the process in your life, but the concept is the same.

As I looked at the contents of the boxes and the action that was needed to get them cleared, I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. Here I found myself in the process of receiving something that I really wanted, but struggling to make room for it in my life. When you are in the midst of transition and you are forced to look at past behaviors that don't match where you are heading it will require your absolute focus if you truly desire to win.

Each of the boxes I examined contained a hodge podge of items that I had either neglected or forgot about and I couldn't even remember how they got there. Some boxes were clear results of other things getting my attention. Other boxes contained items that had partial value because either things were given away or broken but something in me wanted to hold onto the value of the past.

So, as you go through your own process, I challenge you as you identify the compromise to also identify what you are holding onto whether it be in your mind or in a box in your house. Challenge the why behind it. Challenge if it fits in where you are headed. Challenge yourself to let it go. And finally, challenge yourself to forgive and move forward.

Have a wonderful Friday and keep sending me the updates about your progress through this challenge!

Be blessed!

 

Gina

Leap in your Now - Phase II - Day 37 - Compromise is not an option!

Happy Good Friday everyone! I'm so excited going into this week-end and entering into the next phase of our 90 day challenge. For the first phase, we focused on not putting things off and it feels good to have resolve in the atmosphere. Addressing and assigning expiration dates for clutter in our lives was critical for the first phase and I'm so glad that you joined me.

This next phase will focus on living with a winner's mindset. I am going to challenge you daily to do this. A winner's mindset is not limited to a particular event or day. No matter what we face, there ought to be a resolve from the inside out that echoes a champion. Yet, I am clear that there are many reasons why the powerful voice is silent...and one of them is due to the C-word....compromise. I am going to repeat this key word until the end of April in every update that I share.

Why? Because I know that many times we give away the completeness of our ultimate prize because we compromise along the way. There is no sense in pursuing greatness and settling with mediocrity. I understand that the world's system would have you believe that compromise is necessary to get along with people or to remain in a place of agreement. Yet, the question that I have for you is..."With all that compromising that you have done along the way....are you really getting along with everyone and are you in agreement?" I'm sure many of you were already mouthing the word "NO".

When you are clear about the ultimate prize for your destiny, you keep it in your radar and vision at all times. You protect it as if your life depended on it. If you were running a race with the ultimate goal of winning first place and found yourself in the lead, why on earth would you start walking at the last stretch so that everyone can pass you up? The image of giving up should be what you see in your mind when find yourself compromising. Until the end of April, your job will be to seriously look at your life goal's and fight off compromise at every angle. So as you prepare yourself for this next journey, write down today's challenge and place it in a visible place that you look at daily to remind you that, "Compromise is not an option".

Have a great week-end!

 

Gina

Leap Into Your Now - Day 29 - I can still see my YES!

Wow....I can't believe that we are approaching a month of not putting it off. This month has not come without challenges. Yet, I believe that I am closer than I have ever been to major breakthroughs in my life. Today, I received a "no" that I believed would be a "yes". As I walked down the hallway, I asked God, why "no" to this? I really needed this opportunity. Before I could sit down, I heard the words, "For every no that you have received, I have a Yes".

I have been challenged by many people NOT let no's stop me from being successful. No's tend to show up right in the middle of your process as inconvenient stop signs to deter you from progressing forward. Some no's have caused me to digress, delay, and give up. Yet, at this point in life and even in the midst of this challenge, I am determined to not let a no come between me and my yes. I am also encouraged to know that I have an ultimate prize that I seek. This is why a little no can't possibly be bigger than my greater yes. Do you know the size of your yes? I can hear the commercial that says, "Do you know your number?"

I contend if you know the size and can see your greater yes than you will refuse to allow these little no's to stop you another day. So, even if a stop sign...a small no...or even a large no shows up in your day, I challenge you to look that at that no and confidently say...."I can still see my yes" - Be encouraged - Gina

Leap Into Your Now - Day 24 - The Power Of Resolve

Sometimes life has a way of encountering situations that appear to be out to knock you down on purpose. Yet, on Day 24 of not putting things off, I declare that you must embrace the power of resolve.

Resolve should cause you to make a decision and bring any disagreements to an end. When you move in resolve all doubts or anxiety should not prevail. As a result, you should start to notice a change...not in others, but in you. So, please stop looking to others as your virtual measuring tape to determine if things are going your way. Resolve is tied to your personal race and measuring it by the reflection of others doesn't fit in the equation.

The idea behind adopting resolve is that you purpose something greater for your life. I'm talking about a right now greater....not next year, not next month, not next week, not when things get better, not when you get more money, not when that person finally changes....but right now.

Purposing something greater does not require that your life be in tip top condition. In fact, it is at the height of your facing adversity that the power of resolve interlocks with purposing something greater to produce a breakthrough moment in your life.

Even on a muggy and rainy Saturday afternoon in California, agree and declare with me that your resolve to live out your God given life and walk in authority on your destiny path is so much greater than any problem you face.

I watched a show last week and the person said for every time that he was knocked down, it only took 5 seconds for him to get back up...now that is resolve in action. As you look at your own situation, what will be your testimony? You have to get back up so that you can share with the world.

Have a great Saturday! Gina