Living Into Greatness R&D:  Question Your Answers

Thursday, August 25th, 7pm eastern

We spend most of our lives searching for answers—answers to who we are, to the meaning of life, and everything in between.  We yearn for evidence and proof and reassurance that the decisions we make are the right ones.  Join Kim as she explores the solution to the Illusion of Certainty.  In this class, we will explore the 3 common patterns of our drive for certainty and discover ways to shift to Self Inquiry to more effectively question our answers.

To register for this call, send an email here.

Posted by Kim George at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quotation reminds me of one of my favorite books, The Man Who Planted Trees,written by Jean Giono.  This is a powerful little story, just 50 pages long.  In it, Giono tells the story of a lone shepard who takes it upon himself to plant 100 acorns a day in the desolate region of his home.  After years and years of faithful devotion, the shepard had planted 100,000 trees, 10,000 of which survived and began to thrive! Because of his efforts, the earth that was once black and charred from the soot of nearby factories is now lush and green, teeming with life.  Soon people move back to the area, building homes along the streams that have rejuvenated with life.  Children can be seen playing and laughing.  Through one man's simple, yet profound act of love, vision, and commitment, the land was reborn.

There's a strong parallel here to the Living Into Greatness 4 step process: 

1. Awareness
2. Acceptance
3. Consistent Action
4. Authenticity

The shepard was aware of the environmental need in his homeland.  He was also aware of what would make him most happy in life.  He accepted what he could do about the problem - he could plant 100 acorns a day.  He didn't agonize over what he couldn't do, or worry about what he was doing, he chose consistent action to live into his greatness.  Lastily, despite growing age, fatigue, and what would have filled many with doubt and boredom, the shepard continued to show up authentically, living the person he was, doing what he could do.  The result changed the world.

How are you living today?

Posted by Kim George at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What happened to me vs. What happened

This is a powerful distinction which was brought out during a recent call on The Illusion of Time (thank you, Droku!) 

The perception we have of time is one of the greatest sources of unhappiness.  Our perception of time is relative--it is simply our perception.  Time is a dangerous trap for many who find themselves stuck in the past - longing for the way things used to be, or regretting what happened, or caught up in the future - hoping things will miraculously change, procrastinating. 

One of the biggest causes of unhappiness is our view of things that happen in our lives.  We can choose to view an event like an illness or job loss or any change in our plans as something bad, looking for what we've done to deserve this, why we're so damn unlucky in life.

Or we can use one of the LIG principles and accept that life just is.  It is not always easy.  It doesn't always go the way we planned.  It's not a straight line from point a to b.  We can't ever have it locked up.  And then perhaps we can begin to see that events in life are what happens, not what happens to us. Accepting what is is the greatest freedom of all.  It releases us from trying to make things happen or rearrange the world.

It's not what happens to you that matters, it's what you do with what happens that matters.

Posted by Kim George at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Living Into Greatness R&D:  Embrace Synchronicity

Thursday, August 18th, 7pm eastern

Control occurs when we try to re-arrange the world, and other people, to fit according to our plan.  Join Kim as she presents the next installment in the LIG process – the solution to the Illusion of Control—one of the primary sources of scarcity thinking in life.  In this class, we will explore the 3 most common patterns of control, how it shows up in business and in life, and how to make the shift to conscious patterns that embrace synchronicity.

To register for this call, send an email here.

Posted by Kim George at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"To keep a lamp burning, we have to put oil in it."

Mother Teresa

Greatness is living your life in a way that reflects that you already have everything you need.This quotation makes me think of one of the arguments that frequently comes up around the concept of greatness.

In discussing this with a few people, I've sometimes gotten a cynical remark.  "Well, if I'm already great, what's the point of doing anything?"

The point is that although greatness is innate, it's no excuse to rest on our laurels.  There's a reason I call it Living Into Your Greatness. When we keep our greatness to ourselves, not only do we deprive ourselves of actualizing the best of who we are, we deprive the world. 

Each time you choose to play a smaller game, to sit on the sidelines, you're robbing someone else of the opportunity to experience who you are.  Ultimately, that is the one true gift we can give.  And yet, so many of us never unwrap the present.

Posted by Kim George at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night I was flipping through a business magazine when I noticed an ad by Philips Electronics.  The full page ad shows the picture of a very happy baby with a big smile on his face, laying on his back.  But it wasn't the happy baby that caught my attention, it was the headline underneath:

Things start uncomplicated.  Why change them?

Think about that.  When you were born, you were uncomplicated.  In one way, you were a clean slate, waiting to be imprinted by society and culture and norms, but in another way, you already had your "DNA of Greatness" coded within you.

And then what happened?

You were taught by your parents, reigned in by your teachers and influenced by the "anonymous they" - you know these people - you refer to the "anonymous they" when you say things like:

I couldn't do that - what would "they" think?

Everyone knows that's the way it should be.

Well, you know, "they" say it takes (insert your favorite saying here).

And so on.

This conditioning has a way of making things more difficult than they need to be.  When things are complicated, we give ourselves permission to get caught up in them.  Not only is this a convenient distraction, but it keeps us in the Illusion of Struggle.  It gives us something to identify with.  We can relate to it because we've been there before.

What difficulties have you become comfortable with?

Posted by Kim George at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time;  what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better."

Sydney J. Harris

How true this quotation is!  How many times do we long for something to be different, but lack the energy or inspiration to make it happen?  To find out why we're stuck, we have to go deeper. 

Most people live on the surface of their lives, playing just small enough of a game to avoid what's keeping them from doing what they can do.  I call these people Surface Dwellers.  They're seemingly content to go through life, loving routine, seeking comfort in familiar people, places, and things.

And yet, if they were to begin to go below the surface of their symptoms and frustrations, they'd discover what has really been driving them.

Conditioning Patterns which are made up of Conditioned Beliefs.

This is the work that we are exploring with Living Into Greatness.  It is the process of going deeper to discover what keeps you stuck.

Posted by Kim George at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Living Into Greatness R&D:  Think Positively, Act Accordingly

Thursday, August 4th

“You’ve gotta’ have hope!”  And yet, so many people sleepwalk their life away, longing and yearning for something better to come along and solve their problems or relieve them of responsibility.  In this solution to the “Illusion of Hope” in the Living Into Greatness series, Kim challenges you to explore your habits around hope and shows you how hope can be more damaging than rewarding.  Discover specific strategies for turning hope into a catalyst for action.

To register for this call, please send an email here.

Posted by Kim George at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)