“Hold up your cup here is some positive tea that I want to pour out for you.”   We all have dreams, don’t we? Dreams of being the most successful person at work. Dreams of being a thriving entrepreneur. Dreams of writing that book that you always wanted to. But then something comes in between and those dreams are tucked away in the garage of our lives for that one day in the future.   Why do you have to wait for that one day? Why do we have to tuck our dreams away? Why have you settled 5-13 years on a job you're not happy at? Deep down, you know this is not what you want out of your life, even though it may be convenient financially. You know exactly what you want to do, you know how you want to live your life, but something is holding you back.   Is it the little voice inside your head that tells you you’re not good enough? Is it the negative judgment from concerned friends and family? Do you realize that these little voices can chip away at your self-confidence? Yes, they could fatally corrode your confidence. Well, today I want you to recapture your passion and confidence for your dreams. Do you know that your dream matters? Do you know that your dream will serve a purpose on earth?  Do you know that your dream will help someone in life?   Your dream should not be cast down or put on hold. If it is friends, families, and acquaintances that are advising you not to follow your dream and are unknowingly holding you back, then don’t share your thoughts with them. That simple. Yes, it is great to have feedback, but only if it is going to encourage and develop you, not demolish your confidence. If you really believe in your dream, ask the experts for directions and rational suggestions, not concerned friends and family members that don’t know all the facts.    Your dream is non-negotiable!! That's right say it with me, "NON-NEGOTIABLE!"  This means you refuse to negatively discuss your dream or even change it. Let me say it this way, "What you dreamt to do, no one or anything should be able to negatively discuss it or change it. It's Non-Negotiable!" -Lyoshi Esters   Here are some Non-Negotiable tips for you:   Eliminate Negative Self-Talk – This Is Non-Negotiable! Negative self-talk limits you, increases stress, and hurts your self-concept. Here’s a tip, as you notice yourself saying something negative in your mind, you can stop your thought mid-stream by saying to yourself “Stop.” Saying this aloud will be more powerful, and having to say it aloud will make you more aware of how many times you are stopping negative thoughts, and where. Replace it with positive affirmations like: I ENJOY THE VARIETY OF LIFE, I SEE AND VALUE MY UNIQUENESS, I AM EASY ON MYSELF, I GO FOR THAT WHICH MAKES [...]

“Hold up your cup here is some positive tea that I want to pour out for you.” According to Dr. Andrew Newberg, words can change your brain. In his book Words Can Change Your Brain, he states that “Language shapes our behavior and each word we use is taught with multitudes of personal meaning. The right words spoken in the right way can bring us love, money, and respect, while the wrong words or even the right words spoken in the wrong way can lead a country to war. We must carefully organize our speech if we want to achieve our goals and bring our dreams to fruition.” We all are aware of great leaders past or present who've used the power of words to revolutionize and revitalize our emotions and minds to what we believe we should be as humans. From Ronald Regan's 1987 speech that challenged Soviet leader Gorbachev to "tear down" the Berlin wall to Barack Obama's famous "A More Perfect Union" speech, or his popular campaign chant "Yes We Can," we are all well aware that beliefs are formed by words and they can be changed by words. However, what about us? I believe we each have words to ignite change, to move ourselves to action, and to improve the quality of our lives? Do you believe there is power in words? Do you believe that words can change your future or the moment you are presently in?   For instance,  we say these words to ourselves: Monday. 8:30 am: I am not good enough to work here. Tuesday. 5:15 pm: I'm not a good mother or father. I could be doing so much more right now. Wednesday. 6:30 am: This job isn’t paying all of my bills. I hate myself. Thursday. 9:00 pm: Things just won't get better for me. Do I have to wake up for work tomorrow? Friday. 2:00 pm: I am the worst human being. No one will ever love me. I make too many mistakes. Saturday. 4:00 pm: I'm so sick and full of pain. Maybe this will always be with me. Sunday. 10:00 am: I still don't feel like I'm in a good state of mind even after going to God in prayer.   Do you see what's going on here? What happened? Why are we thinking and saying these things to ourselves? Words happened. Words we told ourselves. Words others told us and we believe. Someone once said, “the words you speak become the house you live in." If you are a negative person and always speaking death, doubt, doom, and gloom and defeat in your life, that is what you will have. Words can function like medicine; they either have a positive impact or damaging effect.   Just like medicine can either cure or kill, words can bring life or death. -Lyoshi Esters   Unbeknownst to us, every day our words can kill our hope, self-esteem, confidence, desire, joy, peace, and beauty. There's [...]

Do you know that people who are stuck having the same problem are in a cycle? It’s like they are on a treadmill going nowhere. You face the same old stuff year after year. Same old job year after year, wishing you could get out, situations with your children, the financial treadmill, chronic failure, repeated illness or sickness, family dysfunction, and negativity. You feel like you’re going to suffocate because there is so much weighing you down. You don’t really know why, but this force is relentless. No matter what you do, you carry this knotted heaviness inside everywhere you go. You keep repeating the pattern and now nothing feels right anymore. You look at your life and marvel at how it doesn’t feel like ‘yours’ at all. You desperately want to escape; you badly want to move beyond the cycle. However, you keep going around in a circle. Have you ever felt sometimes that your life was going around in circles? It can be frustrating, dizzying, discouraging and hard to know what to do about it. So what are some steps to break this cycle?   Ban Negative Self Talk Do you often identify with your struggles? “I’m depressed.” “I’m a failure at school/work/life.” In those words, you can hear, “This struggle is me,” or “I’ll never overcome it.” How many of you have said these words, either to your closest confidante or just to yourself, when no one else is around? You’ve been brainwashed to go from powerful to powerless, but you don’t have to remain stuck in that place. There is a way out of this cycle, and it starts from looking within. After reading this article, go find a mirror and say, “I will listen to that whisper of hope that says, ‘you can do it, try again.’” “You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.” -Les Brown   Cultivate gratitude You’ve probably heard it a million times, but keeping a gratitude journal about what you’re thankful for can have a big effect on your mindset. “Gratitude is the heart’s memory,” says the French proverb. You might wonder, when things go wrong what do you really have to be grateful about? Think of the worst times in your life, your losses, your sadness, and then remember that here you are, standing tall, that you made it through the worst times of your life. You got through the confusion, you got through the obstacles, you endured the storm, you survived the dark relationship. Remember what you’ve gone through, then look to see where you are headed.   Love and Accept Yourself Unconditional love means you love yourself no matter what. It means you have unconditional worth. Love yourself without judgment. To love yourself is to be with yourself through the hard times. The love deep inside awaits you to come home. It is your palace of refuge, a place that knows no bounds, other than to receive you in [...]

“Hold up your cup here is some positive tea that I want to pour out for you”.   Are you bored? Or more specifically, is your life boring? Do you feel stuck in your life? Is it hard for you to actually have fun? Don’t worry because I know how you feel. It seems we do the same things every day. So, for most of us, life is busy. However, we’re certain that there are times when we’re stuck at home, bored. We’ve all been there, when all our work is finished, or maybe everyone’s away and you’re home alone and bored. Today, let’s do something new and different. I would like to share with you 10 things to do when life gets bored.   Go on a walk/run. Challenge yourself to leave your cell phone in your purse or pocket. Admire the view. Create a Vision Board. (Write down 5 things that you want to accomplish by next month.) Strengthen your brain (Read/Listen to books.) Become a member of a fitness gym. Provide service to others. (Help someone in your community.) Host a game night. (Invite your friends over for a fun night of board games.) Clean out your closet. (Make a trash pile, a donate pile, and a keep pile.) Challenge yourself. (Set some goals for yourself that you never really thought of achieving and set out to accomplish them.) Get out of the house and meet new people. (One of the absolute best ways to rid yourself of boredom is through stimulating conversation.) Cook for fun. (If you don't really consider yourself a baker, look online for some beginner recipes and you will surely find something easy and delicious.)   “Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours."  – Dale Carnegie   The world and life – both are small. Go and enjoy every bit of it. Don’t miss the good things in life, worrying about the undesired. Stop being bored, and start being creative.   When life is boring, I hope you'll use these ideas to help you get out of any slump.   #AlrightNow #BreakOut

Learn How Saying No Can Be Liberating!   “Hold up your cup here is some positive tea that I want to pour out for you”.   Is your need to please everyone getting in the way of your happiness? Exhausted. Empty. Enslaved. Do those words describe you? We have probably said “YES” more than enough times and it has caused us stress. Why is it that one of the most common words in the English language is so difficult to say? I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me, there are lots of reasons I have a hard time with that one simple word. I want to please people. I don’t want to be mean or unhelpful. I don’t want to burn a bridge or miss an opportunity or miss out on something fun. I don’t want people to be mad or upset with me or to speak poorly of me. So sometimes I’ll say “Yes” to avoid that feeling. Hmmm….. Does that sound like some of you? Why don’t we say “no?” We don’t have the guts to do it. We don’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers. We’re afraid people will think that we’re not committed. We’re concerned that people will think we’re not team players. We’re concerned that people will think we are unwilling to sacrifice. And so, time and time again, we say yes when we shouldn’t. Often at the expense of something else. Does this sound like you? A yes comes out of your mouth before you have the chance to stop it and you are agreeing to something you don’t want to do. Believe it or not, saying yes to everything is also an addiction. Often times, our guilt, fear and anxiety rule our minds when we say no. Read this carefully Alrighters: Don’t feel the need to feel guilty about your decision. This will only promote anxiety and unwanted stress. Be confident when you say “NO.” Don’t always see saying “no” as letting down another person. See it as an opportunity to do something to make yourself happy and focus on your wants and needs. So, say goodbye to being a people pleaser and learn how to confidently say no to someone without feeling bad about it. Get rid of those who use you or take advantage of you. They never call you or think of you unless they need something from you – and they’re really good at persuading you to give in to them.   There’s another word for that kind of persuasion: it’s called mass manipulation. Do you feel like you’ve been manipulated, taking advantage of? If so, it’s time to WIN back your life!   “It’s only by saying “no” that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.” – Steve Jobs      DON’T BE AFRAID TO SAY “NO” Never dwell on what people think about your decision. Walk away with peace of mind. Let it go!   YOU DON’T NEED TO [...]

Use These Sure-Fire Tips to Conquer Your Fears!   “Hold up your cup here is some positive tea that I want to pour out for you”.   Are you a FEAR KICKER? “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” — Nelson Mandela   The number one barrier to living confidently is FEAR. You, quite frankly, deal with it every day in small and large doses. Fear has a way of keeping you in prison and preventing you from living the big life you imagine. Fear is the little monster that sits on our shoulders, holding us back from growth, success, fulfillment and happiness. It's fear that prevents you from being an entrepreneur. It's fear that stops you from ending a relationship you know is wrong for you. It’s fear that invades your thinking while taking an exam. It's fear that hold you from living your best life. Sometimes we are aware of our fear, but much of the time, we are so “used to it” that it becomes our normal. Obviously, this is a HUGE problem! WAKE up reader. “Fear is STEALING your life!” Fear is taking stealing everything that you suppose to have, like love, joy, peace, and happiness. I always say, your fear should not have a cozy room in your life. “Whatever you do — don't let your fear live with you. KICK FEAR TO THE CURB." I've spent many years of my life believing, one day, I'll be the person I was meant to be. I waited and hoped, and I circled my comfort zone like a sad puppy. I now realize the key is to get beyond that and take risks without letting the fear of failure take over. By taking calculated risks, not being afraid to try new things, and continually challenging ourselves, it becomes easy to cultivate openness to new experiences. If you want to live fearlessly, you absolutely must let go of some beliefs and actions. Here are some of them: What other people think of you. You will never please everyone, and it is hardly worth sacrificing yourself to entertain some other person's beliefs about who you should be or what you should do. Fear of failing. You will fail. Again and again and again. Legendary speaker Les Brown said, “You will fail your way to success.” It is an inevitable part of success. Accept that, and failure won't be so intimidating. The discomfort of fear. Fear is annoying or uncomfortable. No one likes to be sitting in fear. We'll do just about anything to bypass it. But you must know from experience, it is temporary. And it doesn't kill you. Fear disappears when confronted! As I conclude this article, do what scares you. Start small: take baby steps. If your dream is to speak in front of a room, but the [...]