My year in review – 10 game-changers of 2014!

This has without a doubt been the most challenging, exciting, interesting and successful year I’ve ever had – both personally and professionally. I’ve invested more in my business and myself this year than ever before. I’ve committed to daily practices like never before, I challenged and stretched myself like never before, I’ve faced fears and overcome obstacles like never before.

I’ve travelled thousands and thousands and thousands of miles to be able to learn from and be mentored by the some of the most successful and influential people in the coaching, personal development and writing world – from Brendon Burchard to Bo Eason, Roger Love, Jim Kwik, Karen Salmansohn and Bruce Carse.

Through my travels and training I’ve connected with and met some of the most incredible people. I’ve made new friends who I feel as if I’ve known forever and who I’m sure will be in my life for a very long time. Sadly, some friendships have dissolved but that’s often what happens when people grow and change at different rates and with values and ambitions – energies are no longer aligned. So I’ve made peace with those departures realizing that not everyone will be in our lives forever or in the same capacity. Everyone has their own journey to travel and so at some point it will often be inevitable that we will need to go our different ways – not because we don’t care but because we do.

I’ve taken everything I’ve learnt to heart and I’ve been doing my absolute best to put what I need into action in a way that feels authentic and right for me – even though some of these choices may translate in the short term at least into slower progress. But I know I’m not in this for the short term. I’m in this for life – this is my mission during my time on earth, this is my passion and so for me thee is no other way but to do it “my” way.

This year I’ve felt what I can only describe as a cosmic shift in my soul, in my awareness and my commitment to raise the bar in my life and follow my dreams like never before. I took the hugest leap of faith in January with no guarantees of outcome. But what I did have was a rock solid commitment and belief in what I was doing. And now almost 12 months later it is all coming together like I could never have imagined and although I know there is still so much work ahead, I cannot wait to take it on, to keep challenging myself and continue to bring the best of myself to my clients, to my friends, to my family and to the world.

So what made this year so epic for me? What did I do differently and better this year? What caused this unbelievable shift towards realizing my dreams like never before and getting so comfortable with the uncomfortable?  There were a lot of things at play and in reality it has been many, many, many years of running the miles to get to this point but I’ve narrowed it down to the 10 actions that I feel had the greatest impact this year – that created that tipping point for me.

I hope some, if not all of these speak to you and inspire you in some way to look at your life and decide that it’s your time to fly, to follow your dreams and show up fully as the real, vulnerable, committed and amazing person you are!

Here are my top 10 game-changers of 2014:

1. Become absolutely clear on who you want to be and what you want to do. Without clarity you will always be roaming and distracted so quit doing what isn’t aligned with your vision and dream.
2. Get rid of every alternate plan to your dreams! When you have no other option but to make plan A work it’s amazing how committed, creative and resourceful you will become. I committed to plan A in January of this year, eliminated all other plans and have never looked back. Scary yes, rewarding – absolutely!
3. Know and share your story. I shared my story with more people, more openly and with more vulnerability this year and it made all the difference. I’ve gained more support, more encouragement and created more relationships and connections in 1 year that probably in the past 5 years.
4. Actively seek out and surrounded yourself with like-minded people; people who are on the same journey you are, who have the same values and ethics as you have. Surround yourself with people from whom you can learn and grow. You will raise your game guaranteed.
5. Immerse yourself in personal development and learning. I took this to the limits in 2014. I put in the miles, literally and figuratively towards furthering my personal growth and learning like never before including in the fields of genetics, psychology and marketing. I’ve stepped up to the plate of mastery in huge way.
6. Trust and listen to your intuition – the more you do the louder it will speak to you so that it will become impossible to ignore it. Create the space in your life to allow this to come through and then face the fears that will inevitably come up straight on. Trust that you can do it because you absolutely can!
7. Take imperfect action. This was probably the hardest thing for me to do this year. But I realized imperfect action to the best of my ability is better than no action. And the amazing thing – I ‘m still here to tell the tale, the world didn’t come crashing down on me and I’m now doing it with less fear and greater ease.
8. Remove distractions and stay disciplined in the daily actions that will move you closer to where you want to be. What you stay disciplined at will confirm your intentions, your purpose and passion. What you stay disciplined at will confirm that you are on the right path and there will not be a challenge or hardship that will cause you give up or throw in the towel and trust me there were many days where you will like doing exactly that. So many times this year I could easily have given up – when it felt like everything was hanging in the balance and nothing was coming together. But don’t – stay disciplined and intentional with your actions and choose to keep pushing towards what is pulling you.
9. Stay open to all possible opportunities and unattached to outcomes. Focus on the why and not the how. This was another huge challenge for me – to move forward without certainty as to how things would play out, with no safety net or Plan B. And all I can say is that I’m so glad I did because I could never have imagined what has unfolded. I’m so grateful that I did not limit myself by getting caught up in the minutia of the how.
10. Create and build meaningful, authentic connections and relationships. I have put my heart, soul and time into building new and meaningful connections and relationships this year and it has opened up my world and the sentiments have come back 10-fold. If you have a huge dream you cannot go it alone so make the effort to do the same.

So that’s the kind of year it’s been. I hope what I have shared with you today and over the past couple months will serve you well and that 2015 and beyond brings you an abundance of clarity, courage, energy, joy, happiness and fulfillment and that you show up completely in your life, that you face your fears and take on the challenges of your journey so that you make your dreams happen. You have something the world needs, you have something to share, and you matter! And I hope I can continue to support and inspire along the way!

Until next YEAR – embrace your inner truth, live your purpose and make your contribution in the world.

With gratitude and appreciation,
Lauren