Tag: self help

The Test of Patience

Friday Paul Ayo

I was at my window this week, watching the wind blow, watching the cars pass, watching the weeds grow. I thought of getting out the mower, ready to start a spring and summer and fall, in the South, of mowing, clipping, and composting the yard refuse. Imagining the work, the sweat, and the neighbor women who’d come to their porches in the middle of the day to observe, it made me wonder: why is this important?

Instead of mowing the lawn, I could plan my next book or outlining my next script. But like always, I’d choose the sun, the mower, or the possibility of getting rid of my lawn all together. Who needs things that make more work for you? 

I grew up working in the heat, watching things develop at a slow pace until done. The value was I learned patience and how to stick with something until I finished. 

The outcomes were slow, but the reward of leaving and returning to see the outcomes made it worth the hassle.

So, I dusted off the mower and got ready for my exercises of patience. The walking back and forth, the clean-up afterward, the leaving and coming back to see an accomplishment.  

Photo by Rockstaar

P.S. I hope you are making progress with your next big move. If not, make the phone calls, outline your ideas, plan and make the hustle pay off. I’m taking a crash course in color grading. I’m picking up a few dozen new skills as this web series takes shape. Happy Saturday! The day is yours.

Transcend

Friday Paul Ayo

I commonly work 18 hours a day. Six are for my dreams, 2 are for meals, 2 are for driving, and leisure. The other 8 hold up my world. I’ll never grow frustrated with this circumstance, the gift of purpose overshadows this challenge.

It’s easy to grow satisfied with the hustle to manifest your dream, but often, we never take inventory of our progress and human connections along the way. We’re so interested in the next move. We forget the simple things that are most important.

Take a breath to remember where you are. The world is vast. The air sustains us. Breathe often. Breathe with purpose. Breathe, because, of all the things we do, our next breath is literally the most important task of all.

Photo by Martin Adams

P.S. The world is a beautiful place. Don’t forget the landscape, the pebbles, the alleys, and the small places have the best inspiration. Still editing my webseries and putting the pieces together to make the project whole.

Moving Forward

Friday Paul Ayo

The little things that best alter our lives are hidden within the simplest changes.

Tweaking the colors on your website, adding a poem to your timeline, or getting professional headshots for your website may be the flair you need to connect with your audience.

What’s critical is that you find the pace and routine that helps you procure your zone of development. The zone of development is the gap between where you are and where you plan to go. Identifying the gap fosters growth and leads to abundance because you see the leap you intend to make. 

The alternative is stagnation. Stay as far away from this place as possible. 

Everything changes when your desire for generosity and abundance outweighs the notion to remain the same, play the same, and reach the same.  Reach for the platform you envision, the goal only you can see, take a deep breath, and leap.

Fabrication

Friday Paul Ayo

Our greatest gift to our audience is the truth we share. 

I came across an article that explains some magazine articles fabricate lifestyles and pass them off as real to sell products and services to people that don’t need them.

I was intrigued by the idea of fabricating a life, as I craft fiction, but my aim isn’t to manufacture needs. My purpose for writing is to connect, teach, and shed age-old shortcomings.

Despite our genre of writing, I’m sure our goals should always be better than telling a lie.

***

My new schedule is my greatest lifesaver. I have more time for family, friends, and more writing. I can definitely say, I went on a diet this year. The result: I trimmed a lot of wasted time from my schedule. Consider your schedule. It’s amazing what you’ll find.

Photo by Ashkan Forouzani

Solutions and Value

Friday Paul Ayo

I was reminiscing with a few of my friends about the complexities and uncertainties of life.

We talked about the triumphs and difficulties of the past year, and everyone was offering their solutions.

My business minded friends love their markets as a solution, saying, “People make all moves according to profit.” My holistic friends talked about home and health, saying, “If we’d make the the planet and our home lives better, we’d all be happy.” My disillusioned friends wanted to chat about something else. They said, “It’s all rigged anyway. Why are we talking about this?”

I thought my holistic friends had the strongest point, but I stayed out of it. Watching the fray is much more interesting from the distance, and I wasn’t interested in their solutions. I was more intrigued by the value of the problems being solved. 

*** 

I’ve taken to my lamplight to write at night. I figure one day away from the pen is too much, and adding a simple writing session at night adds value to each and every day.

Credits

Photo by Olav Ahrens Røtne

First Saturday January 2021

Friday Paul Ayo

I’m sure fitness, new business models, and new beginnings are all trending. I’m sure we’ll work to be our best for the next three weeks. I’m sure we’ll hit that dreaded third Monday of January, which has been dubbed the worst day of the year.

Despite the peril of new year commitments, we’ll take on our visions. We’ll add new routines and focus on our goals, no matter what. 

And as the year persists, the sun will rise and fall, and most likely, rise again and fall again. My hope is every sunrise and sunset falls on your bravest actions.

Author, Bronnie Ware considers regret in her Book. During her work as a nurse, Ware saw countless people in the last few days of their lives, and their number one regret was,  “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

Instead of more, we may consider less. Less of the unimportant and more of the big, brave, bold endeavors that will mean the most to us and our loved ones as we strive for our best each day.  

Photo by: Josh Forson

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Happy First Saturday of 2021!

As always, my latest read is live and ready for your eyes. Jay, your driver, is working through the city when he happens upon a group of concert goers with a few issues to unpack while on their ride home. We’ll see if he can keep it together with this new group of passengers.

I hope you’re working your on your next venture and I hope you’re learning tons on your journey. I’ll be posting more of my short fiction this year and more of my get you going posts for 2021. Keep striving for your best. A journey that helps others is priceless.

The New Year has been a true gift. The idea of a clean slate and another 365 days of art and life has me super-psyched. My web series is still in progress. I’m slowly, but surely, becoming a pro with editing software.

I’ve also reconsidered my writing process by doing two things. First, I’ve made my writing space more Friday friendly (better organized), and number second, I’ve adjusted my work flow for the best content not the fastest speed. I hope your pen is moving and I hope you find amazing words and an inspirational to story to share with the world. Peace and Blessings on your journey!

Strategies

Friday Paul Ayo

Wasting away in your own imagination is trending down. Dig into your awesomeness and strategize for greatness.

The Enemy

Friday Paul Ayo

The challenge is not your enemy.

Often, we avoid difficult situations because we wish to avoid feelings of insecurity and uncertainty.

We firmly place ourselves in the throws of comfort which makes each day easier and easier.

I remember the times when I stopped exercising and placed a hiatus on achieving greater and greater goals. I was avoiding my greatest challenge and choosing lesser passions for safety, comfort, and assured direction.

This was the enemy. Choosing less, choosing comfort, choosing the moderate difficulty setting. Don’t quit your day job or spontaneously retreat to a remote cabin.

Challenge yourself. Raise the stakes of your workouts. Get back into the gym or develop a personal workout routine. Study yoga and deepen your experience by truly seeking enlightenment with your practice. Get that business going and offer so much value you hit the Forbes list in a few years. Work on that bestseller and don’t quit until the manuscript is ready.

The day is yours. Hit the the ground running. Transcending the challenge is the reward.

Your Pathway

Friday Paul Ayo

Too often we chase trends and popularity to hack our way to success when we need to engage in honest work that will stand the test of time.

Do what makes you remarkable rather than mundane.  Offer your best as and impress each of your clients with your honesty, integrity, and brilliance and solve problems and provide your best work.

You are the gatekeeper. Own your steps and stay on the path to success.

Let’s Go!

Friday Paul Ayo

Another day, another opportunity to put together a championship effort to make your dreams and your vision a reality.

Stay focused. Stick to the work. Achieve the impossible!