Live Boldly: Live closer to that thing that makes you sing.   Mary Anne Radmacher Part of living a bolder life is to take risks.  To put yourself out there and see what might happen.  Many lessons go along with that but today I want to focus solely on what the quote from Radmacher says to me, and perhaps to you as well. I think that sometimes the thing that makes us sing (in heart, in spirit, etc) doesn't make sense on the practical level (income, etc) so we often place it on the back burner and watch it simmer away down to nothing while we engage in a more practical way of living.  But perhaps that isn't so practical after all.  Our souls can dry up and burn out in the practical applications of life.  But we have to eat, right?  We need to have a roof over our heads, right?  Right and yet... If it (what is "it" for you?) makes you sing then get creative, take it off the back burner of your life and begin to let it boil.  Let it...

The jump is so frightening between where I am and where I want to be...because of all I may become I will close my eyes and leap!   Mary Anne Radmacher I love the visual this quote from Radmacher (a favorite quote master of mine in case you hadn't noticed) brings up in my mind. In my mind I see myself standing at the edge of a cliff called "You are here" and a mere five or so feet away is the cliff called "Where you want to be" and all I have to do is one giant leap.  Except I've been standing on the edge of cliff "You are here" for a long time, too long really.  I toe it, I've walked along it, I've peered down over the edge of it, I've tested if I have to leap to make it to other side or if I could just stretch myself and make it across, I've even looked around for materials to build a bridge over to the other side.  But there is no way to get over to "Where you want to be" unless I leap. I'm going to have to jump....

As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.   Mary Anne Radmacher Today's quote kind of goes along with yesterday's .  When we decide to do or say something for someone and it brings light to their day or world, even if just for a moment, then the by-product is we have been lit up as well.  There are numerous studies out there about how helping others is the best way to help ourselves.  Depressed?  Do something for someone else?  Stressed?  Go participate in an outreach of some sort that will help others.  Apathetic/lethargic?  Get out of yourself and light up someones world.  You'll find that your way will become clearer.  Your apathy will shake off and a path will be made known.  Now if you go to light up someones world with the motivation that you will receive benefit as well then expect it to go wrong.  It doesn't work that way.  We must be light bearers to others with pure motives, wa...

Live Boldly: Forgive more and judge less.   Mary Anne Radmacher Today's quote is a courageous and risky choice to make...daily.  It's not something you decide to do once and it happens.  You have to make the choice daily.  And some days it is harder to make the choice to be risky and courageous.  Some days we just aren't up for it while other days we have the energy. Why do I say that forgiving more and judging less is risky and requires courage?  Because it requires you to open up and expose part of yourself emotionally.  It means you are making a choice to risk getting hurt again.  It means you are making a choice to not be someones judge and jury.  It's a bold move to forgive more and judge less.  It requires a strength in character to do it. It is "second nature" for us to judge based on: appearance, political affiliation, religious preferences, job positions, school choice, etc.  Pretty much anything that is different than ...

See today's challenge as tomorrow's breakthrough: you will thrive.   Mary Anne Radmacher What seems to be the obstacle for today?  Or maybe its not an obstacle but a challenge.  Maybe the challenge lies in getting over the obstacle!  I think those can be two different things.  But regardless, what is it for you today?  It doesn't have to be a "grandiose" challenge, it can be something as small as eating 100 less calories today.  The challenge is yours to conquer and nobody has permission to judge what the obstacles in your life are.  Because we are unique, our challenges will be unique to us and what will help us develop character.   How do you approach challenges?  Do you groan and grunt your way through and just wish for it to be over, not ever looking for what treasure can be gleaned from it?  Or do you groan and grunt your way through (*grin* let's be honest we all groan and grunt our way through a bit) but have the awareness...

Practice sorting through the much to get to the must.   Mary Anne Radmacher I was thinking about how true today's quote is on several levels of life. In material terms it means we sort through all the "much" in our homes (multiple TVs, computers, unused furniture, "collections", paperwork, etc) and we weed out the much to get to the must (do *you* really need multiple TVs, computers, etc?  Why are you hanging on to unused things when others could be using it?  You see what I mean I am sure).  So it benefits our home life when we can make it a practice to sort through the much that accumulates to get to the must.  Sometimes the much we justify as necessary but really evaluate the necessity.  Is it truly a need or merely a want you've tried to make a need? In emotional terms it means we sort through all the "much" in our hearts (toxic relationships, unhealthy behaviors, wrong thinking, etc) and we weed out the much to get to the must (the toxic r...

Lean forward into your life.  Begin each day as if it were on purpose.   Mary Anne Radmacher Is this day on purpose for you?  Are you looking at this day with anticipation of what can and will be?  If not then you've got a long day ahead of you.  Here's the deal.  It's all about our attitudes and perspectives.  Leaning forward into our days and lives gets our heads and hearts in the game (so to speak).  Dragging ourselves into our days and lives keeps us sour and whiny.  Lately I've been wishing people a happy birthday with the expressed hope that they can spend the day celebrating the life God has gifted them with.  That's an attitude of leaning forward into your life.  And while we all have an "off" and bad day now and then, overall our lives have purpose and we should eagerly lean into that purpose.   (Yes even the mundane has purpose.)   So lean forward into your life and see what purpose arises. ...

live with intention. walk to the edge. listen hard. practice wellness. play with abandon. laugh. choose with no regret. continue to learn. appreciate your friends. do what you love. live as if this is all there is.   mary ann radmacher I've had a magnet on my fridge for years with this quote on it.  It's a great reminder to me - and I need these reminders - of what a full life consists of.  Even if I just put into practice one or two of these each day I'm better off.  How?  Well take, for example, "walk to the edge".  Living my life backing away from the edge and playing it safe leads to regrets.  It does.  I don't know of anyone who was happy they played it safe in the end.  We learn and grow the most when we walk right up to the edge of what brings us fear and we look over and make a move to conquer it.  Today's quote reminds me that I want to live each day developing my character and living a full life.  I hope you...

Begin.  It may appear complex but you can see the way: begin.  Simply begin.   Mary Anne Radmacher I have a problem with beginning things that feel, look, and truly are overwhelming and complex for me.  And what overwhelms me is probably not what overwhelms others.  We all have those things that tend to make our heart rates rise, our hands get clammy, and our minds spin and go nowhere productive.  Traveling is my most recent overwhelming and complex thing.  I get myself WORKED up about packing and about all the logistics.  And yes, I know how to pack well - especially for overseas etc.  But I still get overwhelmed and I don't, I can't, begin.  So what happens?  I'm frantically packing last minute and having to make unnecessary runs to the store for things I procrastinated on because I was feeling stuck.  If I would just begin.  Even if, in the case of packing for a trip, it means opening up my suitcase and placing...

Begin, simply begin.   Mary Anne Radmacher The first step to anything is this.  To just begin.  Dive in.  Don't wait until the time is right, the finances are right, the mood is right, the stars have aligned how you want them to, the weather is cooperating, "I'll start Monday", and any other reason you can come up with to begin.  Just simply begin.  If you don't, if I don't, then we run the risk of never beginning at all.

Courage does not always roar.  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."   Mary Anne Radmacher Some of the most courageous people are the most quiet people.  Courage is not always loud and out there for all to see and hear.  In fact, more often than not courage is found in the quietest of lives where the roar of courage is core deep - for core deep is where it counts.  Our cores are where we need the courage and if by the time the courage is a whisper when it finally surfaces then so be it.  If it is still roaring then so be it.  We have more people than I could ever fathom living out their lives with that core deep courage that is roaring deep and whispering on the surface.  The world at large dismisses them because they fly under the radar but their courage surpasses that of the one who skydives, snowboards off of cliffs, scales the tallest building in the world, wrestles with wild animals....