What is the purpose behind pain?

I sleep an average of 4 hours a day. The only time I’m alone is in the shower. My breasts are now the size of cantaloupes because they're supplying an all-you-can-eat buffet to a newborn. If you get close, I always faintly smell like baby’s breath (aka milk). My biceps are always slightly sore because I carry another human being between my bosom majority of the day. Is it crazy to say that through what appears to be my misery, I’m the happiest I have ever been?

This is a bit odd for me to grasp. So many less desirable things are now part of my life yet I am filled with appreciation, joy, and excitement. After pondering on this fact, it dawns on me that purpose is what has given me this outlook.

Purpose has the power to drive you and bring out the best in you.

Purpose makes you hopeful, causes you to find solutions, makes you think about life in a way you have not previously.

When we are trying to succeed at anything in life there has to be something that pulls us to do the hard, messy, disgusting, disturbing, and exhausting things. We must look past what is unfolding in the present and see the future is brighter, greater, and near. Purpose has the power to change our mentality and once that is done, there is nothing that can hold us back from our desires.

As a new mom I had no idea how a child would impact my life. I thought that I could have my same life and I would maneuver him where need be. Silly me. Since the day he stepped foot out my uterus, my purpose has strengthened, expanded, and transformed. When you find your purpose, an authentic reason for doing what you need to do in this life, challenges will be seen as opportunities, setbacks will turn into stepping stools, changes will bring a sense of sweet novelty to your mundane routine. People can swear their circumstances are what holds them back. The truth is, a poor attitude keeps you defeated, stagnant, and in despair. Changing the way you view your circumstances allows you to persevere until you reach the other side because a brighter day is due to come – it always does.

Don’t allow the aches and pains of growth to defeat you. Understand the purpose and power behind the pain. Understand this transformation will catapult you to a better tomorrow. Know that this mentality will only set you free.

Feel free,

Mel

What to do when you ask yourself "What are you doing this for?"

I can’t lie, behind the scenes work is exhausting. It doesn't help you hardly see any benefits from it for a long time. You’re constantly working and moving toward something, and that something even changes along the way. Because there’s not an audience clapping each time you make a leap or complete something challenging, it is easy to wonder what you’re doing all this for. I wish I could make it easy. Make it easy for everyone who is working hard for what they want but still fail to see their work pay-off quite the way they would like it to. But there’s no easy way around it, there’s only pushing through it. That’s it. That’s your only option to the other side. You can stop and say I’ll start again later. You can put it on hold for better timing or when you feel rejuvenated. But the truth is there is no better time. The foundation you’ve been building will then lose its strength, it’s growing power. It relies on your consistency. It relies on you pushing through these initial stages. You must not let go of what you know you want. No matter what. Things may not be looking on the up and up. Things could really suck right now but don’t stop. Stopping is not an option to get what you want out of life. This is the warrior in you looking for a reason to come out and fight the battles you never thought you could. We have more strength in our minds than we do our bodies. Don’t worry about whatever else is going in your life because those won’t ever be eliminated.

All you have to do is show up.

Show up every time.

Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and months into years. There is no stopping time. This time will past whether you decide to do something with it or not. Allow your actions to compound as time passes. Allow your dreams to expand each and every day. Give yourself the opportunity to be something totally different than you were before. Take a piece of time and use it. Cuz what you don't use, you lose.

Feel Free,

Mel

Break your breaking point

You ever have one of those days where you say “That’s it! I’m done. I’m not doing this anymore.” This is the day that everything changes right? This is the moment you make a complete 180 and do what you should’ve done a long time ago. No one can stop this universal change that is about to take place. Not your friends, not your family, not your co-workers, not even YOU, because this “other you” the one that is ready for this massive transformation is not willing to be stopped. Because this time is different. This time you’ve reached your breaking point and no one can tell you otherwise. Truth is we all reach our breaking point more times than we want to. And each time we do, we believe this time will be different; you will be different. At least this is the ultimate intention. Intentions are great but they hardly ever stick. I can’t count the times I have intended to work on my business just to find that days (sometimes hours) later my motivation has diminished, and I’m back to regular scheduled programming. What I wouldn’t give to bottle-up my frustrations and release it every time I needed to get focused.

But life is not that convenient.

Some days are bad but other days are pretty good. They may even be awesome. And that little voice says “This isn’t so bad. I can do this a little while longer.” As I work on myself personally and professionally, I am constantly battling my truth with my reality. I want what I believe to be success, love and happiness to be an actuality and not something that lingers in the future. I want it to be in the now, whatever the circumstance. That means the motivation needed to move forward, to progress, to have what you want does not lie in your frustrations, your intentions, or money. Your motivation must lie in the vision of who you are now and what your life is today. It’s so easy to get swept up in what our life will be a year from now, 5 years from now. It’s easy to talk about the future because it’s so damn far away. It’s a little more difficult to elaborate on what you did today to increase your income, get you closer to your dream job, add more love to your life, or bring more happiness to your existence.

Stop reaching your breaking point and start breaking the same old tired cycle. Yes, your future is bright but only if you dare to make today brighter.

Feel free,

Mel