Beyond the Page
Over the last few years, I’ve been on a path of self-discovery and understanding. Having read a book by T. Harv Eker years ago, I came to recognize certain things were holding me back in ways I couldn’t quite understand yet.
You live your life, day in and day out, not realizing what sort of things plague your mind and keep you caged into the routine you’ve built.
I’ve known for a long time there was a lingering you’re not good enough in my head keeping me back, due to which I had dropped a good few story ideas when I was younger, but I hadn’t understood how deeply rooted in my mind was.
During lockdown, I had gotten a chance to attend one of T. Harv Eker’s courses online, which was almost a chance of a lifetime (attending live someday will top it).
Navigating Life’s Journey: One Step at a Time
The process began in 2020 and then proceeded to have several hiccups before I arrived where I am now in 2023. When the pandemic hit, I was doing my crazy hours in hospitality, just dealing with it daily without having passion left for what I did. There’s built energy that starts to suffocate, and you don’t realize just what sort of pressure it puts on you from all around you. You want to break free, but you’re stuck, physically paralyzed, almost from making a change.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to bake. I love to make deserts that make people go, “Wow, this is delicious”, but when you’re stuck doing it with the food you don’t even like particularly and give up hope of making something different and exciting, even that drive to make the best cake in the world goes.
Everything Happens for a Reason
The lockdown did good for me. I’d not only gone through T. Harv Eker’s course but also Tim Han’s (which was very long and included an immersed participation through Facebook lives and videos inside the course group, completing tasks that helped me open up about who I was and what new purpose I wanted to give myself).
It was a time of looking at myself better and not being negative in the way I spoke to myself. It was about understanding that I was bigger than my little quiet voice that kept putting me down. I had returned to exercising then and joined a community for support. I lost the weight gained previously and committed to a process that made me feel better.
What happened, though, was I went back to work and, somewhere along the way, fell out of my consistency and into some of my old routines.
Yet the self-growth process continued.
Since returning to work, I became more engaged with customers and did not hide away in the kitchen. A few years ago, I can honestly say I couldn’t have done it. I couldn’t have stood before strangers and followed their orders, smiling confidently.
When I started, I honestly believed I was faking it (fake it until you make it, right?), but over the past few years, I came to realize it was just an aspect of my personality that I didn’t allow shined through for anyone, but my best friends.
And it was in that time of growth when I returned to Just One and moulded it into its current version. Since then, I’ve only re-written it for story details, some scenes, grammar and style. The Just One story that is with beta readers today is the one that won’t change as a whole.
The Benefits of Enrolling in Courses
This year, I was allowed to hear the likes of Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi and many others, helping me further in my journey. I’m happy to say that I’ve returned to my exercise routine over the past three months, rebuilt my consistency and am working on my social media presence from that same consistency muscle. There was also the bravery to take the leap in all that time when I enrolled on college at the beginning of September without fully grasping all it entailed.
“When you stop growing, you start dying,” by William S. Burroughs.
I will never stop quoting this one, as I’ve learned how true it is. I honestly believe some part of me was dying until 2020, and I know I’ve grown so much in the past three years. I want to mention one more name now – Rebecca Louise. This one has been my trainer (on YouTube) since my best friend first linked me to one of her videos years ago. Despite having faulted a couple of times along the journey, I always go back to her, not just in training but also in growing my mindset. She’s a big fan of the quote: “If you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right” by Henry Ford, so it has stuck into my head over the years.
Ready, Fire, Aim
So, what’s it all about?
It’s about how you talk to yourself or how I talked to myself then and now. It’s about affirmations that solidify belief. It’s about exercising when I don’t feel like it or can’t make it in the morning, so I have to push myself to do it in the afternoon. It’s about not being horrible to myself when I don’t end up exercising (it happens). It’s about showing up tomorrow, even if I skipped today and taking the leap into the unknown because, as T. Harv Eker says, it’s “ready, fire, aim”. My current course is a big part of my personal growth. I’ve finally mustered the courage to follow my aspirations and focus on the skills I’m most passionate about – writing, graphics design, video editing (and even coding). It’s about consistency in my actions and taking responsibility for my actions.
I’ll dedicate one of these posts to my routine and mindset in my everyday life, but for now, I wanted to share a little bit about my journey to becoming who I am today.
Dive into the Details
Truth is, I wouldn’t call myself fearless. It would still be a long way from that point, yet I am now brave enough not to let that quiet little voice convince me not to take the leap when I’m going for it. It’s about being brave enough to show up for myself and not let fear stop me from following my dreams. It’s about writing this blog post about my journey to leave it on my blog.
It’s about changing your physiological state to influence your mind (something my YouTube trainer Rebecca Louise says often). Smile even when you don’t feel like it, and see how that makes you think. Stand taller even when you feel like crumbling into yourself or slouching your shoulders. Let that impact how you feel about yourself, your physical appearance, and all the little quirks you let bother you. It’s about getting up early in the morning, even when you’ve had a long day yesterday and making a habit of doing the same thing each day.
If you’ve never heard any of the names mentioned above, I encourage you to do so. They’re a fantastic eye-opener to living your best life and recognizing what’s stopping you from doing just that. And see the way you talk to yourself daily. It wasn’t easy building a muscle. It wasn’t easy talking to myself. Affirmations are a fantastic tool to help you get there.
Favorite Affirmations
As I finish this blog post, I’ll leave you with some of my favourite affirmations I often come back to:
“I act in spite of fear.” (T. Harv Eker)
“Over, under, around, or through, whatever it takes, I’ll do.” (T. Harv Eker)
“I am willing to do whatever it takes.” (T. Harv Eker)
“My inner world creates my outer world.” (T. Harv Eker)
“The only thing that’s keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself.” (Tony Robbins)
“I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” (W.E. Henley)
“You are amazing; let the world see this incredible part of you every day.” (Dean Graziosi)
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” (Jim Rohn)
“Where focus goes, energy flows.” (Rebecca Louise)
Make sure to like and subscribe to this blog to get updates (either through WordPress or Mailchimp. Leave a comment while you’re here; I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject and, if you’ve taken any of these courses, what you think about them and how they’ve helped you in your journey.
Until next time…
~Love, L.V.
L.V. Luca 