Let me get down to it. I've done A LOT of self-development over almost 30 years now, and I have come to the foregone conclusion that there's a simple recipe for a great life, and it goes like this:

• Live life to the fullest,
• Pursue your vision,
• Lust for life,
• Do all you can to be the best version of you,
• Strive to reach your full potential, to ignite your Greatness...
• And whatever is in the way, that's the work, commit to it
• Learn, grow, evolve... repeat!  
  
  

I'm not saying it's easy, and I'm certainly not saying we don't have some inner-work and healing to do. Often there are layers of thoughts, feelings and beliefs we need to unpack; a necessary break-up with unhealthy patterns and habits, and often deep healing of past wounds. Why, to remember the truth of who we are, aligned to our true nature, our Greatness!

So the recipe goes a little like this:

•  Ignite your Greatness;
  
•  Allow the hidden aspects that are at play to appear;
•  Work through those layers, release and clear the blocks;
•  Have what you desire driving the bus!

And the absolute game-changer is to BE YOUR OWN GURU. 

For too long we have been looking outside ourselves for the answers, when all we need is already within. Learning how to be your own Guru is a game-changer getting you in the drivers seat of your life as a powerhouse C.E.O. (Consciously Embracing Oneself).

To navigate your life with your own personal blueprint, understanding your own inner alchemy - turning metal to gold, seeing your own magic, co-creating with the Universe, making peace with your mind, aligned to your true nature... this is the Inner Greatness Guru embraced!

When we have the awareness, a deep understanding of what is at play, an ability to accept whatever is, and the tools to keep changing our paradigms, we become a powerhouse Co-creators!  As 'Abraham-Hicks' say, 'tapped in, tuned-in, turned on' with life!

I could write about this all day long.  In short, you have the power, you always have, it's just got lost in the noise.  The key to a life of Greatness is to be shown the way, and often this means to be shown what's also in the way.  To have someone in your corner, to have someone guide you back to what you already know.

For too long there has been shaming about having someone guide us to a better life, it's time to break this old paradigm.  And I'm not just talking about doing for ourselves, the world needs our light, our aliveness, our greatness.  it's so time to find our guide or guides to ignite our inner Guru. 

So.. if you are ready to ignite Greatness join us at our next Mentorship Program, 'Be Your Own Greatness Guru', 6 month mentoring program, Melbourne, July 4th, 2017.  Here's the link -Be Your Own Greatness Guru Mentorship Program.

Until next time....

Keep Dreaming, Keep Believing as Greatness awaits!
Love, Lara

“Live life as if everything is rigged in your favour.” - Rumi
 
This is one of the most powerful quotes I have experienced.  I’m not talking about its use as a mantra, affirmation, or conceptually, I’m talking the literal sense of this as an energetically embodied way of Being. 
 
I used to think that to create and manifest was to use my mind, and it got me well along the creation path, however it’s also been tiresome and hard work.  There’s a better way, one that generates from effortless action.
 
We are so much more than our minds.  If we look at Quantum Physics, that everything is energy, and we are energy, we start to understand that we are also connected to an infinite source of energy (our potentiality). A resource that creates a magnetic field, and as a magnet is designed it draws everything to it’s field... so why would we be any different.
 
Beyond the mind is an energy that has it’s own intelligence.  Studies that look at the electro-magnetic field of the mind versus the heart have resulted in evidence that the heart’s field is 5000 times stronger than that of the mind; I mean really doesn't that says it all. 
 
It puts a whole new spin on ‘we attract what we focus on’.  The Law of Attraction, whilst on the right track, talks about how you think and imagine you already have whatever you are wanting to bring into manifestation; the dream life, the dream job, money, travel etc.  It often puts us into action to create it, the challenge is it's more mind-management, effort and hardwork that will only get us so far. 
 
Imagine your entire being as a vibrational match to what you wish to manifest in your life, how much more powerful would that be?!
 
We, as energy beings, have powerful resources far beyond the mind - heart intelligence, soul intelligence, body intelligence.  Imagine the power of each aspect of our being simultaneously activated! 

This is the Lore of Creation - what we become we attract.
 
When we can access this intelligence, when we learn how activate this life-force into play, we become powerhouse creators!  By turning on and tuning into this power source, just as we would plug in a computer, we become the computer!  We tap into an infinite source of energy. We are now activated, our life-force ignited and our greatest potential, our GREATNESS at play!
 
To shape life as if everything is rigged in your favour, begin by following these simple suggestions:
 
1.  Ask empowering questions. 
 
What is the next best step to fulfill my greatest vision? 
What is my next step to align to my greatest life?
 
2. Listen.
 
I mean really listening.  Stopping the busy-ness, finding a place that feels solid within, and asking the question, consciously breathing and listening, deeply.  Stay in this space until all of the external noise quietens and continue with your question. 
 
If you listen you will hear it and feel it. Then all you need to do is say yes to your greatness, say yes to life! 

Life doesn’t happen to you, it comes through you.

Until next time...

Keep Dreaming, Keep Believing,
Lara
 
If you want to discover how to activate your Vibrational Blueprint to align to your greatest vision check out our next retreat in the beautiful Ubud, Bali.  7-days, 10 cottages, our own paradise, 12 fellow travelers.  – Greatness Warriors – A Way of Life 2017 Bali Retreat.

For the most part it seems when life comes undone, we complain. 

We complain about our jobs, health, money, friends, partners, weather... and the list goes on.  The challenge with complaining is it's more than just words, it affects our entire being. Words cast spells. 

I like to think of words, birthed from thoughts, like a spiders web. We are spinning our web with each thought and it continues to expand connecting each thought until we have built where we dwell, where we come home in ourselves.  If it is built in negative thoughts, or words, bound with complaining, that is where we dwell.

So perhaps it's time to build a web that only captures what you choose consciously and deliberately.

Yes life can be stressful as it throws us curve balls, and yes sometimes it can feel like we are fighting a loosing battle. So it seems only natural to complain.  The challenge in this - complaining also affects our brains and our physical health, and not in a good way. A sense of sadness or melancholy is increased, along with real dissatisfaction with our daily lives.  And then we become stuck in the loop (or the spiders web).

The physiological effects of negativity and complaining creates added stress and can lead to health problems; complaints of headaches, body pain, bloating, feeling blue. One way to combat these symptoms is through learning how to stop unnecessary complaining.  To shift our focus. To change the habit. To choose to be kind, gentle and loving in place of the complaint. 

Complaining in essence is the association of focusing on what we don’t want.  Often linked to the inability to accept what is and unwillingness to take responsibility for our part in the creation. 

You may have heard the following; what you focus on expands. It's so true. So might as well choose to focus on what we want, not what we don't want.  It takes the same amount of energy and is better for our overall health and well-being!

When living out our daily lives, it’s often easy to look around and blame the world for our perceived problems.  The real quest is to take responsibility and ownership for our lives, to come to accept what is, and to be kind with ourselves.

Ultimately how the story of our life unfolds is all in our choices.  And to create better health physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, we have to change a few things in how we are approaching life.  2 simple considerations:

1. You are in charge of your own life

If you look back at your own life, you’ll begin to realise that everything you have ever done up to the present moment was all a result of the decisions you’ve made. Sure there may have been people around you who have 'convinced' you to do some of the things you may have done. But it all ultimately depends on your choices and no one else... so who’s really to blame?

When we see life from this perspective we really do see how we have control. Suddenly there is no one else to take responsibility but our-self.  We begin to see that among everything that’s happening around us, what we have is always free will and choice. 

Wisdom-bite:  Our lives are orchestrated by the questions we ask ourselves. Staying in a state of curiosity replaces complaining in an instant.

2. You can’t be a leader if you behave like a victim

Would you rather live a life with rules, or lead a life that is governed by you? I’m certain the answer is simple.  It’s really easy to put blame on things that are external to you, as it avoids personal responsibility and allows you to refuse the possibility that you may have things that can be changed. So what can you change?

Being a leader in our life takes courage and requires the willingness to face our fears, experience failure, and take complete personal responsibility of everything that happens to us. It will break away our ego, which for most feels like a real threat... who I am without my identity?  To have the courage to let go of our identity we can create a new way of being: living life deeply present, connected, alive and free. 

Wisdom-bite: The answer isn't to box it away, rather how can you accept and allow what is and lovingly choose something greater for yourself.

You have no one else but you to make it happen, you are the Creator of your life experiences, it's a moment-by-moment choice.  Go forth and choose deliberately as the C.E.O. in your life!

Until next time...
Keep dreaming, keep believing as Greatness awaits.
Lara

Ready for Greatness? CLICK HERE to read our upcoming events.

We all have this one in common, we all create expectations that lead to disappointment.

There are two sides to expectations. We have to manage our own expectations and we have to be aware of others' expectations of us. Disappointment is a two-way street.

It's human to feel disappointed now and then. As an optimist I tend to hope for the best in situations, although it doesn't always work out the way I want.


Having had my share of disappointments, I've become more aware of my expectations and learned how to hold them in check. We become disappointed when our expectations of ourselves, others, situations or things are unrealistic and not met.  They create small crises that we either forget about in a few days, or they can create massive issues that last a lifetime.

Managing our expectations is important for a number of reasons, the main one being our own sense of happiness. The less disappointment we face, the happier we are. The second most important reason is that our expectations tend to create demands, requests or orders on other people, which causes stress in relationships. The more we allow ourselves to feel disappointmented, the more unhappy, unmotivated and stressed we become.

There is a better solution: become aware of and modify your expectations.

Examples of how expectations by others and ourselves play out follow...

Expectations set by others of what we can achieve

A Gestalt psychotherapist,Dawn Binkowski, notes that: "In my practice, I deal with clients who were told by their parents that they were destined for greatness. When that doesn't happen, they become lost, especially when there's no backup plan. Dealing with disappointment and mediocrity can be a huge challenge."

Expectations of ourselves

We often set unrealistically high expectations for ourselves. As Dawn points out, "they are always focusing on what's wrong and as a result, feel anxiety, and obsess. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy and an endless cycle of high expectations leading to low self-esteem and increased anxiety."

Our expectations stem from our beliefs, our beliefs flow from our needs.

Example - If I am lonely and call up a friend, I have an expectation that they will relieve my loneliness. If at the last minute they cancel, I will be disappointed, because they aren't going to fix my problem.

Notice that it's not their problem and they are probably not effected by the situation. The responsibility is on me.  If I understand that I have made a request to my friend and if I allow them to make their own choice, I can be okay with what ever happens.

It would be worse if I'm explicit with my expectation of them because that creates a demand. It causes pressure on the relationship and if they still bail, then the disappointment is greater knowing I made a demand that was rebuffed. Sometimes disappointment can really hurt when it touches the ego and we take it personally.

Here are eight steps that will help you begin to short circuit your process of creating unrealistic expectations:

1. Become aware of expectations you are creating.
2. Understand the beliefs behind your expectations.
3. What are your needs in the situation? Are there other ways to meet them?
4. Is your expectation a reasonable or a likely outcome?
5. When your expectation turns out to be incorrect, notice and adjust accordingly.
6. When you are disappointed, don't take it personally.  Learn to love being with you.
7. Stay flexible: What other options do you have?
8. Be okay with "what is." - Acceptance will set you FREE!

Feel called to step into your greatness and break free of expectations, consider joining us in one of our upcoming programs - thegreatnessacademy.com.au

Until next time....

Keep dreaming, keep believing,
Lara xo

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What is ego?  Is it a dirty word?
 
I experience ego as a beautifully displayed shopfront.  Designed to lure me in.  And once inside the shop I see things I like and things I don’t necessarily like.  The intention of course is to have me stay and buy.  That I will see more of what I do like than I don’t and I can be influenced to make a purchase and to come back again.

And then there’s the locked storeroom, the room we are not allowed to enter.  A room that can only be accessed by a very select few, by those who have been given the key.  We hide things we don't want to be seen in the storeroom.
 
The ego is designed to lure us in.  We display what we believe will have people like us which feeds into one of the human needs - love and connection.  The ego is also the guard, the gatekeeper that will protect that hidden room and who gains entrance.  Another way to see the ego is a fierce protector of what precious jewels or hidden secrets lay beyond what the eye can see. 
 
To drop the ego is to learn the art of vulnerability – the willingness to be seen.  Not just presenting the good, but embracing all parts.  The perceived good, bad, fears, humanness, flaws and brilliance – we humans are the full package!  This is what makes us human.  And yet for so many the idea of truly being seen represents such a threat to the ego, it will protect and defend at all costs.


My own account of ego in the drivers seat equates to hard work and effort.  Keeping the shopfront perfect, when in actual fact it is not, is exhausting.  It can seem relentless.  It creates disconnection from deepening connections.  It appears false, harsh and defensive.  It creates distrust.  It forms a barrier in authentic expression.  It creates a block for deep learning and gained wisdom. 
 
Ego is a prison that creates pain and tension in our lives. How can I be so sure, as this was my journey.  If I wasn’t accepted then I wasn’t going to be loved, I wouldn’t be successful, and I didn’t belong.  I would do all that I could to protect the truth from being seen, that I was in fact flawed. 

To live a life of GREATNESS is to live as our true self, to be perfectly imperfect, to show who we truly are.  Until we do we are pretty much living a lie. 
 
So how do we breakup with unhealthy ego?  Here are 7 tips.

1. Own our humanness!  Let yourself be seen as a messy human.  Keep it real.  Yes it takes courage, like anything the more we own the parts we feel will be perceived as weak or we feel ashamed, those parts own us.  In other words, they sit in our psyche as something that is wrong and we project those aspects on to others and make them wrong.  It’s a self-perception projected on to others that creates separation and conflict.  
   
   
2. Recognise we are all students of life.  We never stop learning, nor evolving.  The minute that we do we are trapped in our current paradigm.  A master enters the room with an empty cup.  (Think about it).
   
   
3. Be the brave leader.  It takes one person to be the risk taker and to lead by example.  To be courageous enough to show vulnerability, to share a little about what is in the storeroom.  So often we all have things we are afraid to share.  And yet when we do and the other person has had a similar experience, it’s the most comforting experience we can have.  We feel seen and understood.
   
   
4. Get curious about it.  Like anything the more we read, converse or study in any area of life, the more we come to understand.  There are some great resources available to learn how to free yourself from ego and live more authentically.  For example - Brene Brown TED talk on Vulnerability (over 6 million views so on to something!)
   
   
5. Speak from your heart.  The heart has it’s own consciousness.  It’s a profound shift from being in the head.  Head is ego.  Heart is essence.  Heart intelligence speaks differently and experiences the world through different eyes.  Learning to be heart centered is one of the most beautiful human experiences, it’s what we are here to remember.
   
   
6. See beyond ‘I’.  'We' are all in this together.  Essentially we are all trying to work out this thing called life.  When we connect at a deeper level and see each other from this place of understanding, compassion leads the way.
   
   
7. Be the change, leave a legacy.  If we are to impact positive change we need to show up.  If you don’t feel to do it for yourself, do it for the next generation.  Leave a legacy of leading others to what it is to be authentically and unapologetically YOU!  Be a change maker, a planet shaker, a risk taker!  Be the change!

In Melbourne and ready to embrace Greatness?  We have a one day workshop coming up that will create profound insight and give you the tools to step into your beautiful, unapologetically YOU world!  The Art of Self-Leadership one day workshop on April 13th 2016 or perhaps join us at the upcoming 6-week program Dance With Life program.  Call or email for more information. 

Until next time....
Be bold!
Lara
www.thegreatnessacademy.com.au

Self-reflection, asking good quality questions are essential for us to become consciously aware of our drivers in life.  To be the CEO in your life is to recognise you are the creator of your life experiences.  Self-Leadership is the name of the game.

The Result

When this balance is achieved, you gain a richer, more fulfilling life: connected, present, alive and free. With more self-awareness, achieving your goals, feeling more balanced, less stress, more authentic and greater self-confidence.

Activity - and GIFT

To step into greatness is to ask quality questions of yourself. To reflect and look within through self-inquiry. Your Greatness Journal Writing handout below.

Until next time...
Let Greatness Become YOU...

Lara xo
PS - We have a number of events in action - CLICK HERE to view

I was recently visiting Tasmania, a place I had never visited before, and in truth it had never really held much appeal.  I think because I have spent many years traveling extensively throughout NZ, and being Tasmania is renowned for it’s similarities, my story, 'so why go'.  Hmm... after one week exploring… I feel in love with this land... and it inspired me to share some personal insights and reminders for Greatness.

I share my story shortly, in the meantime here is an overview of the 9 Reminders to live in your Greatness - Present, Connected, Alive and Free!

1. Never-say-never
2. Preconceived ideas are just that, pre-conceived
3. We are all artists
4. Life is about getting real
5. Take time away from the busyness trap
6. Don’t make assumptions
7. Get out of your own way
8. This moment is all we have
9. Loose the seriousness - Find your joy!

This one is up close and personal., here goes.... When I was 8 years old I experienced something that set my life on a path of fear, anxiety and panic attacks.  Something that haunted me for a very long time.  I recall such terrifying feelings taking over my entire being.  That’s another story for another time.
 
It wasn’t until I was 18, flicking through a magazine and there it was, an article that finally shed light on what I had been experiencing for 10 years that had me live in a state of deep fear - an article that spoke of all of the symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. 
 
For a decade I had experienced panic attacks, I lived most days with a sense of dread, not knowing what was ‘wrong’ with me. Where most people love sunset for all the beauty it represents, I would be consumed with fear as the sun went down.  As dusk would approach I would feel a fear come over me like a giant wave,  the sun setting represented the time when the panic attacks would occur, night time - the time when the original trauma was experienced.

It didn’t stop there.  Daily experiences would trigger the panic and the panic attacks began to occur more frequently with anything that I would associate with being out of my comfort zone. A sense of anything to fear, whether that be starting at a new school, being on my own, a school exam, being bullied (as I was) at school – at these times I was frozen with fear. 
 
Everything would get distorted, my vision would blur, I would feel all of my colour drain, my heart would race like a locomotive at full stream, the pounding in my heart sometimes so intense it felt like it was going to explode.  I would even black out but be fully conscious.  I felt like I was being swallowed by darkness.
 
In those early years my parents did all they could do to comfort me through it not knowing what it was, meshed in with my inability to put words to the experience.  I can now say confidently that I am grateful they didn’t take me to a doctor as back then I’m certain I would have ended up on some radical medication. 

Whilst we are trying to live the life we believe we should… we are destined to live a life of tension.

Once I discovered what I was experiencing had a name I went in search of a solution.  I had western medicine telling me the only way I could deal with this condition was being on anti-anxiety meds; one doctor telling me it would be for the rest of my life!  I felt like I was a flawed human being.  I would swing from feeling fearful and depressed… as I couldn’t see a way out.  I would look to the external and anything that could distract or numb me from the darkness.
 
In my desperation I took the meds for a short time and found they made me feel worse, so I took myself off.  I spent the majority of 10 years thinking that living with this ‘condition’ was my life.  
 
Reading the article was the catalyst that began my search to find the solution.  My last full blown panic attack was at the age of 35. It took 17 additional years and many desperate attempts to escape these terrifying experiences.  Not to mention hiding the shame I felt from the world to finally come through the other side!
 
I now feel I know and understand anxiety and it’s cause.  I understand that the event that triggered my terror had planted the seed of ‘danger’ and I was living in fear of the future, specifically nights.  And my association to the future was tangled in a web of negative thoughts, associated feelings and limiting belief patterns that would just have me rewrite the story each day.  I would feel lost and at the mercy of the storm, desperately searching for the compass and the way out. 
 
If only I had known what I now know today.  That said I am grateful for the experience, as strange as that may sound to some, as without it I would not be who I am today, and certainly not be able to guide others to heal.
 
Anxiety is not something that can be resolved with medicine.  Medicine blankets the cause, it numbs who we are.  Anxiety can be resolved by learning mindfulness, learning to be in the present moments with our thoughts. Recognizing the old patterns of thought going into the future and deliberately training the mind to be in the present, tracking them to tune them to a certain frequency and intention. 
 
Anxiety sets a trigger in our physical being.  Learning to be in your body, meditation, grounding practices and breath work, diet and exercise play a big part in the process.  Learning to be true to self. 


Sometimes we just have to die a little inside in order to be reborn.  To rise again stronger and wiser.

Intentionally surround yourself with people who encourage you, remembering your environment is essential in your experience, as it will either create a sense of peace or tension.  Be mindful and deliberate each and every day of the people, places and situations you experience knowing you have a choice to say no.
 
Medication comes at a cost! I recently watched this video and it frames a rather harsh reality of how this epidemic of anti-depressants is literally killing us; killing our sex drive and our natural desires.  Helen Fisher did a TED talk on the following (paraphrased):  100 million anti-depressant’s are prescribed in the US each year.  They are going generic. Serotonin rises,  dopamine decreases.  Dopamine is associated with romantic love , sex drive decreases and without orgasm we don’t produce the connection to produce the biology of the brain to fall in love.  And a world without love is deadly place.

Watch Helen's TED talk - http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_tells_us_why_we_love_cheat
 
Western medicine is not the answer (although I realise it can be the only short term solution for one's survival and there are always exceptions). Through therapy I was able to understand what was at play and with my tenacious nature to find answers I gained many tools to help manage these experiences.

Alternative medicine, acupuncture, somatic practices, psychotherapy slowly but surely helped me tip the power.  Coming to understand the brain and how fear plays were incredible gifts.  I live FREE of these aspects and have done so now for over a decade, so the good news is, once you know how and have the tools and you do your inner-work you too can live free.  Not just free from fear, anxiety and panic, but truly LIVE like never before,
 
A Paradigm Shift invitation

If you (or someone you know) are struggling with anxiety, panic or depression perhaps welcome these aspects as your soul’s cry to awaken, to realize who you truly are, to heal the parts that have shied away from living fully.  Often we need to experience great challenge and adversity to come home to who we truly are, living in our Greatness – Alive, Present, Connected, Free!

Love & Greatness
Lara
 
PS - Please share this with anyone you know who could do with some insight as it can literally save someones life as it did mine on that day I read the article.

PSS - For those who follow me on social media, now you have insight into why I post some many photos of sunsets as it's the symbolism of my celebration of life.. ahhh....

A GIFT FOR YOU - Download your FREE Greatness Guide today, 9 modules Manifesto for A Great Life.
 
Lara offers 1:1 Mentoring sessions in person or via skype. She also runs transformational workshops and programs that will have you reclaim your true essence and Dance With Life ™- see website for more information or contact us today.

Everything we do leaves clues…

Often when we are going through an experience of change, transformation and awakening, it's hard to see the benefit immediately.  Sometimes it can take a day, a month, a year or longer, but at some stage we get to see the gifts and see there were always clues.

I was inspired to write this blog, '7 clues to inspire your path to GREATNESS', as I came across a paper I wrote whilst on my intensive 12-month journey in 2008 studying a program, The Mystic Way.  A combination of many modalities largely focused on Psychotherapy, Jungian philosophy and Archetypal principles.  Or so I thought!  In reality it was to turn me inside out and tip me upside down!  I am beyond grateful for what I experienced for reasons I will share in the following words.

To put this into context I have shared an excerpt of my paper below, which I think you will find somewhat raw and relatable on some level.  Within these words are so many clues leading me to my calling and purpose as I think you will see.

Summary of the 7 clues that follow:

Clue 1 - Don’t take on what ‘the experts’ say as gospel
Clue 2 - Everything we do leads somewhere
Clue 3 - The ego versus the spiritual ego, same driver different costume!
Clue 4 - Without the compass you have no direction
Clue 5 - You get loved up
Clue 6 - Get messy
Clue 7 - The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. (click read more to continue...)

All too often we are seeking externally for the life we aspire to have.  The challenge in that is we are then reliant on things that are outside our control.  Life is always going to throw us curve balls and when we are attached to have certain life experiences that are outside ourselves to determine our happiness, we are setting ourselves up for a fall. 

Why?  Because Greatness is an inside job.  Feeling present, connected and alive is something generated within.  All the material wealth in the world can create an illusion of happiness, but what happens when it comes apart?  Life seems empty and meaningless.  Who we are, in our essence, is a powerhouse creator!  We just need to know how to create the masterpiece of our life - consciously and deliberately.  To find peace and happiness here and now.

Here are 6 simple and profound truths to get you in the drivers seat of your life's journey to Greatness.

1.  There is nothing outside yourself - everything that you seek is within. 
2.  You are the creator of your life story.
3.  You are not your story.
4.  You have a choice in every moment of how the story goes.
5.  Every experience serves you to awaken.
6.  Love is your compass.

1.  There is nothing outside yourself - everything that you seek is within. 
Get curious about everything, have a dialogue with your skeptic, don’t believe anything that doesn’t serve you.