5 Things To Do When You're On Fire

This is the final post for 2012. So I thought I would share some practical ideas that are essential when one is "on fire".

. I suggest the follow five actions be completed to be successful.

1. ASSESS the situation. Are you just dealing with a spark, smoldering or in complete inferno mode. Give yourself permission to decide whether you are just toying with a little spark and want nothing more or if you feel you are heading into much more explosive territory and are really excited about this possibility.

2. PLAN...After making your decision, determine what comes next. Is it time to learn more about going forward, make more contacts, share your plans, get more exposure or is it time to revamp and redirect your flame? Have you been just lighting match after match and getting a small spark but don't really have the desire to commit to more and need to basically ignore the urge to strike the match again or are you ready to keep that fire burning long into the future and need to determine what steps you take to get it to that stage? A plan keeps you from spinning your wheels and going no where. List what you need to put your fire out or to let it rage.

3. ACT...Don't just plan steps you will take. Be very proactive. Maybe this means breaking away from a past behavior, past associates, stagnation, poor choices, poor direction and stalled intentions. It could mean developing a specific schedule for starting off on a better foot, making the right contacts, developing a support system, spending time daily moving your flames in the direction you want. You can't stay on fire standing still, you will just burn out. So either douse your flames or gather the fuel you need to blaze. Action is commitment. You can't move forward standing still. It's not enough to have a plan if you don't act on it when it's time. You won't be any further ahead having a smoke alarm but freezing in space when you hear it go off. Something's burning...so get moving.

4. EVALUATE...Every time you act, you must evaluate whether your actions achieved what you hoped they would. Do you need to tweak your methods? Are you stuck fanning a flame that isn't growing? Do you need better fuel? Does that mean you need to connect with others who can help you grow or learn more about the resources that can spread your flames in new directions? Are you already spread too thin and can you blaze better if you concentrate on a specific niche rather than a broad spectrum? Look at your results and determine if the way you are handling your fire has the outcomes you wanted.

5. CALL FOR HELP...No one expects you to handle a roaring blaze on your own. You need a team to put your fire in perspective. You need appropriate resources to deal with your flames. Be assertive. Seek our answers, support, ideas. Join forces with like minded individuals. Take courses, attend conferences, listen to webinars, seek mentors, and tell others what you need. Even strong burning fires need to add to the forces to grow them periodically. Are you ready to dial the proverbial "911" to ask for help in controlling the blaze? Do you need support to clean up what's left of a burned out life to help you move on to a more appealing scenario or is it time to request assistance because you can't handle your flame all alone anymore?

When you have a passion, an idea that won't let go, a goal you feel you must reach, you must take some definite steps to handle your fire. I hope this year you put out the flames that were never meant to be and ignite the sparks that are your true passions.

IN CASE OF FIRE...STOP procrastinating  DROP your negativism or lack of faith and ROLL out your future plans today.

This time next year I want YOU sharing YOUR Trailblazer story!

If you want some great help in getting your fire from the spark stage to blazing and beyond come sign up for the CALLED WOMAN conference in March  this year. You'll discover many ways to go from  Fire starter to Trailblazer and connect with others who did the same.

What one of the 5 steps is holding you back from directing your fire in the way you want it to go?

What makes you ON FIRE?

BUT WHAT IF THEY WERE WRONG?

I have about 24 hours to decide whether I should wrap the gifts or even finish the last minute shopping. Only 24 hours to decide whether I just should leave all cleaning and cooking behind, forget about the garbage and go on a spending spree.

Should the laundry just stay piled up and the dishwasher go without being emptied? If you only have one day left, why worry whether clothes are clean or a carpet is vacuumed? Who cares if beds get made or if there is enough milk for breakfast? And why pay a bill that's due or make another appointment or even go to work because if the Mayans were right, none of that will matter anyway.

But...only IF THE MAYANS WERE RIGHT.

Many of our choices are based on what we believe because we obviously can't know the future. We choose to earn a degree because of where we see ourselves years down the road. We choose our soul mate because we believe we will live happily ever after. We choose our investments because we believe we might make a nice nest egg and we stay in or leave a career often because of something that drives us in a specific direction.

And those decisions will always be the right ones, but only IF WE ARE ALWAYS RIGHT.

Personally, there are some things I will take chances with and some I certainly won't. I might leave the laundry for another day or wait until the last minute to wrap those gifts, whether the Mayans were right or not but I prefer to take my chances on tomorrow. I believe the future is there for the taking and when your heart is being led in a direction you must take that step. 

You CAN be too cautious, you CAN be too careful and you CAN be too certain what others say is true and allow someone else's remarks about your future determine your choices, but only if you believe them and only if THEY ARE ALWAYS RIGHT.

But no one can always be right so you need to decide what you are waiting for because the New Year is just around the corner and I do believe we are going to be around to see it. Do you believe you have the potential to bring your dreams to fruition and make your passion happen or are you letting some other people decide what will happen to that dream?

The Mayans may have thought it would all be over tomorrow and you may be hearing your future doesn't look so great either. But, if you really have a passion, I suggest you prove them both wrong.

Live today as though it were the first and best day of your life and take the steps to make all your tomorrows the way YOU want them to be. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to pair some socks and take out that garbage.

What have you been talked out of doing by people who you thought were right?
If you knew the end of the world was just around the corner, what would you regret not having 
done?

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• 10 Reasons Why It's Not The End of the World As We Know It
• Everything Wrong About the Mayan Doomsday Predictions

UGLY TRUTH...BEAUTIFUL VOICES

This is not a post I want to write. It's a post I have to write. Several weeks ago as part of a blog hop, I chose to write about my Passion Project; supporting efforts to help victims of human trafficking. So many people asked, "How can we help? What can we do?"

There is no hiding the blatant facts. Human trafficking is on the increase and is a huge profit machine not just in third world nations but also in the United States. Many people believe trafficking occurs primarily in large cities, but often the trafficked victims are first located in the comfortable bedroom suburbs we live in, oblivious to the girl at the mall, brainwashed by her owner and forced to locate "new unsuspecting girls" to lure into this life;so oblivious to the young girl on the corner with a backpack looking like she is just another teenager, but her entire world is in that backpack;change of clothes, condoms, and a bedroll she calls "home"

Once you hear how these victims were pulled into the trafficking arena, you feel more than disbelief or repulsion.You are appalled to learn they have been beaten until their spirit is broken, moved from place to place and forced into a life too horrific for most of us to even fathom. Children as young as 12 years old. Oh yes, in my city and in YOURS too.

Wellspring Living is one of just a handful of places in the country serving to rehabilitate these victims. This agency has spent years raising the awareness of this crime and when a victim is rescued or manages to escape, Wellspring Living offers an amazing step by step program to rehabilitate and return these individuals to school, a job, a home, a life.

It costs $56.00 to support a girl for one month in one of the programs at Wellspring Living. JUST $56.00! can help  bring back a dream, spark a hope, rebuild a life, surround a girl with a future.

THINK ABOUT THIS: If just 28 people donate $2.00/month or $24 a year, a girl in the program can receive a year of care. AN ENTIRE YEAR for a ONE TIME contribution of $24 or $2.00 each month(Less than you might pay for a cup of coffee DAILY!!)

So you asked how you could help; where you come in. PLEASE would you be one of the 28 VOICES who offers a one time gift of $24.00 or contributes just $2.00/monthly.
 Contribute HERE and every cent of your contribution immediately goes to helping the victims at Wellspring Living.

Every circle of  28 VOICES supports one girl for one year. PLEASE consider becoming part the circle to make a difference. Your donation is tax deductible. Do it for your own daughter, niece, granddaughter, friend, student. 

Donate so someday there is no need to to share this ugly truth, no need for programs to rehabilitate and restore, no further growth of modern day slavery.

28 VOICES exists because of this ugly truth. Won't you please give the gift of a beautiful response.

To learn more about Wellspring Living visit their website and read the stories, get the facts, see the videos and learn more about their amazing programs.

Trafficking is not specific to one town or location.Please let me know if you would like to start a 28 VOICES program in your town. I'll be happy to show you how.


20% of every copy of FINDING YOUR FIRE (paperback) goes to helping WELLSPRING LIVING

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GETTING BEYOND RICH

  
She was like most wives and mothers in typical middle class America. She had a home, a car, a boat and a comfortable life. She had money saved in bank accounts and 401 K plans. She worked hard. Jen McDonough was a girl just trying to live the dream with her husband and four children.

But, as they moved up in life, they moved up in debt and although it seemed like they were swimming easily with the tide with their heads above the water, there was massive danger just below the surface. With over $150,000 in debt and a son who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, adding another $30,000 to their already teetering finances, Jen and her husband made a difficult decision and in that process traded one dream for another. It was a decision many know they need to make but few really do and with that decision, Jen changed every aspect of her life and can show you how you could do the same.

I won't spoil the story because Jen's book, LIVING BEYOND RICH is a must read for anyone whether you feel trapped in a circumstance or situation or believe  you have taken the necessary steps on your way to making your dreams happen.  Jen's story will make you wonder, "How did they ever do that?" or "What would I do?" Told with such transparency and sincerity, Jen shares profound insights and principles about getting from the bottom of the pit you never planned to find yourself in to the top of the mountain where you belong.
You might feel like you are on the brink of success or so far at the bottom you don't know how to get out. Either way, Jen's story will make an impact you won't forget.

Wipe our Debt (Photo credit: Images_of_Money)

I recommend her story so highly, you can purchase it from the link on  left side of this blog.

How your story begins is not as important as how it ends.

How do you think yours will end?

What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?

What would you do differently if given another chance?

Comment on this post and be entered to win an autographed copy of LIVING BEYOND RICH.