I developed a mini-project for myself this past week and that was to listen carefully to what people were saying.

It was interesting to me that a theme developed – and it was one of regret. Now, the other interesting \’coincidence\’ (and I don\’t believe there is such a thing) is that, at church on Sunday, that was the topic for the sermon. It was part of a series titled, “God has an App for that!” Gave me goose bumps! Then, later that day at home, while I was making soup and listening to “Jukebox Oldies,” an Engelbert Humperdink song came on…..”How could you leave without regret? Am I that easy to forget?”

While I am never at a loss for words, it was an interesting experiment to spend more time actively listening. I encourage you to try it. We can learn a lot about the people, and the messages, around us.

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one\’s courage!” – Anais Nin, 1903-1977

Many of the conversations I\’ve had with people over the past week have revolved around dreams for their lives, dreams for their families, dreams for their business. Have you given this much thought lately? We know how time flies – in fact, here we are at the end of January already! So, what are you waiting for?
When I\’m engaged in these conversations, typically, I have 3 favorite questions:

  • What DO you want your life to look like?
  • What\’s getting in the way?
  • What are you going to do about it?
  • It\’s not complicated. We make it complicated. It\’s mostly about fear.

    You\’ve heard me speak, many times, about the value of having a vision board. I have come to the conclusion that people do not write down their goals, or create vision boards, because they are afraid. They are afraid of their own power of actually making things happen! I know from personal experience that the most difficult part is:

    • Making the decision
    • Stepping through the fear
    • Savoring what\’s on the other side

    When I was on my trip(s) around the world, the passengers traveling with me soon learned about my fear of water. However, as it happened, there were \’water events\’ every time I turned around! What\’s with that? It was up to me to make the decision to live life to the fullest and \’get in the boat\’, so to speak – step through the fear – and join the rest of the passengers on some of the most memorable experiences that I/we have ever had. Can you imagine what I would have missed had I not gone for the \’lunch on the Felluca” on the Nile? Or hopping in the water taxi in Viet Nam to visit the Floating Village or, better yet, just getting into the water at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland – which helped tremendously in the healing of my psoriasis!

    (If you would like to join me on the next world tour in the fall, call my friend, Ben, President of Travel Guild: 1.800.268.4284 for information.)

    The moral of the story is “how could you leave without regret?” I, for one, will be darned if I let F.E.A.R (false evidence appearing real) get the better of me – I intend to live my life to the fullest – each and every day! What about you?

    Steps2Happiness Assignment
    I only have one question for you to consider this week. I took this from the current issue of Oprah magazine, that I read yesterday. It is simply this:
    What is the most important thing in your life?

    Answer this and I will guarantee that you will take control of your life. When you try new things, and meet new people, you are developing the confidence and courage to move forward and invent the life you truly want to live.

    Now that you\’ve handled the questions, how exactly do you live your life fully, 97-98% of the time? I\’ve outlined every secret in detail, and it\’s all in my “Steps2Happiness Home Study System”, so you can start using it all right away to get similar results. In addition to the exact techniques that have worked for me, the System includes everything you need to know to prioritize what to work on first, clear the decks, and set up simple, solid systems to organize your life. It\’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you\’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. That\’s why my clients have gotten such great results from it. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. So easy. You can get yours at www.steps2happiness.com

    Pat Mussieux is an expert coach on mind-set and goal-setting techniques, helping female baby-Boomers add more happiness to their daily lives. To get your free CD: “The 10 Steps2Happiness”, visit www.steps2happiness.com