I quoted these thoughts from the Brahma Kumaris in last night's AQ Community Call:

"Rest does not come with sleeping, it comes with waking. This is both an insight and an action of enlightenment. When we are enlightened we relise that real rest is possible only when we become free of illusion and we no longer struggle against life. Illusion is the idea that people should be, and do, what we want them to. The truth is, all is as it should be, despite appearances, or our perceptions of others to the contrary. This means you can be easy on yourself, easy with others and easy with the world around you. Easiness is a virtue, an attractive one at that. It is much more influential than force. So quit forcing, end the struggling and . . . relax!"

Remember, struggle is strictly overrated!

Posted by Kim George at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more." 

Erica Jong

The Illusion of Control is all about our attempts and constant striving to re-arrange the world to fit our view of how things should be.

Should is one of the most dangerous perceptions we can have.  When we perceive things to be a certain way, and don't allow other possibilities or considerations, we often end up disappointed, frustrated, and in struggle.

It's like the person "stuck" in their miserable job - yearning to make the break and start their own business, but they never do.  Why?  Because the perception of safety is that a paycheck is guaranteed. 

When you were born, life didn't come with a money back guarantee. Deep down, we all know nothing is certain.

Except what exists inside us.

Our Greatness.

In reality, we see time and again that our perception for safety can keep us playing and thinking small.  Ultimately, it keeps us from doing what we can do.

And before we know it, that dream has died along with a big part of ourselves, in the satin lined coffin that we have decorated with our assumptions, beliefs, and insecurities.

Is your perception of safety holding you back?

Posted by Kim George at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New to AQ - Abundance Intelligence?  Here's a quick synopsis for you:

Abundance Intelligence is a form of intelligence that is made up of aptitudes, conscious patterns and beliefs that enable us to do what we CAN do consistently and authentically.

Your AQ is measured by identifying your Abundance Quotient - the prevalence of Abundance Aptitudes in your life.  Your SQ - Scarcity Quotient - is measured by the prevalence of the Illusions in your life.  Illusions are sources of scarcity thinking.

For every Illusion there is an equal and opposing Abundance Aptitude:

Self-Worth:  you are complete, you have more than enouch exactly as you are; conscious patterns: capacity, greatfulness, catalyst

Empathy:  compassionate internal awareness -- the degree to which an individual consciously directs his or her awareness inward; conscious patterns: internal drivers, discernment, effectiveness

Self-Expression:  the ability to consistently give voice to who you are; conscious patterns: receiving, simplicity, flow

Actualization:  consistent and authentic action; conscious patterns: stepping back, curiosity, perseverance

Significance:  knowing who you are and living into that greatness every day, shifting from external expectation to internal realization; conscious patterns: engagement, decisiveness, inquisitiveness

Surrender:  the willingness to let go, allowing life to unfold through us so that we can remember who we are; conscious patterns: personal responsibility, intention, vulnerability

Inquiry: the ability to question your answers consistently; conscious patterns:  willingness, strategic thinking, adventuristic

Posted by Kim George at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New to the Illusions of Scarcity?  Here's your handy, dandy quick reference guide.

An Illusion is a layer of conditioning that provides evidence we are living in scarcity.  Each of the 7 Illusions is made up of conditioned patterns and beliefs.  All of the Illusions keep us from doing what we CAN do.

The Illusion of Not Enough: where the belief that you can't trust who you are results in feeling incomplete; conditioned patterns: more, scriptwriting, contingency

The Illusion of Comparisons:  consistently comparing ourselves to the external world to validate our belief of who we are; conditioned patterns: external drivers, personalization, busyness

The Illusion of Struggle:  the cycle of resistance, striving, and complexity that keeps people from doing what they can do; conditioned patterns: resistance, striving, complexity

The Illusion of Time:  focusing on what you don't have instead of what you do have; conditioned patterns:  rushing, attachment, distractibility

The Illusion of Hope:  waiting for other people or events to solve our uneasiness of who we are; conditioned patterns:  expectation, powerlessness, assumption

The Illusion of Control: when a person's happiness depends on re-arranging the world to fit their idea of how things should be; conditioned patterns:  care-taking, role-playing, self-defense

The Illusion of Certainty:  when the need to know an outcome keeps you from acting, making authentic decisions, and doing what you CAN do; conditioned patterns: complacency, tactical thinking, perfectionism

Posted by Kim George at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 5th and final step in our series on moving from Goals to Abundant Declarations is the conscious pattern of Personal Responsibility.  In my book, Coaching Into Greatness, I define Personal Responsibility as releasing blame and vicitmization to become fully responsible for your life.

It's no mistake that this conscious pattern is one of three that makes up the Abundance Aptitude of Surrender.  Taking Personal Responsibility is as much about what you let go of as it is about what you hold onto and claim as your own. 

Goals are a source of scarcity when you find yourself playing the Contingency Game.  For example, one of my clients had a big dream of moving his business out of the basement of his home and into an office park.  He told himself for over a year that he couldn't accomplish this until he had x number of clients, and he couldn't reach that number of clients because he was a solo-preneur and was working as hard as he could.  He needed office support, but he told himself he couldn't hire anyone until he got office space because it wasn't professional to have staff working out of his basement. 

Kinda' like a dog chasing after it's tail.

Of course my client was wise not to jump into space he couldn't afford.  I'm not saying he should have gotten in over his head.  But his inability to see how he was stuck in the contingency of "If . . . then" kept him from taking Personal Responsibility for what he could control, moving forward and reaching his goals. He was blaming his present circumstances for his future failures, all the while forgetting that he was in control of his business, he made the decisions.

Eventually, through our coaching, the solo-preneur hired part time help which freed him up to work more on the business than in it.  He was able to spend more time selling and aquiring new clients, which increased his revenues and enabled him to move into an office space.

Is Contingency causing you to avoid taking Personal Responsibility?

Posted by Kim George at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This month I purchased a set of Well-Being cards based on the work of Abraham-Hicks. I highly recommend their materials and books for anyone interested in learning more about one particular area of Abundance - the Law of Attraction.

The idea with these cards is to pick one randomly whenever you are looking for reflection or inspiration.  Here's the card I picked this morning:

"It is not my responsibility to convince anyone of anything."

This is a profound statement and directly related to the conscious pattern of Personal Responsibility.  In my upcoming book, Coaching Into Greatness, I define Personal Responsibility as "releasing blame and victimization to become fully responsible for your life."  We usually think of blame as outward directed, but how often do we blame ourselves when something doesn't go the way we planned or someone reacts differently than we intended?

The Illusion of Control occurs when our happiness depends on the actions or behaviors of someone matching up with the way we think they should act. The reality is that none of us can control anyone but ourselves.  And yet, a large part of our lives can be whittled away in the frenzied pursuit of making ourselves right.

What are you taking on that is preventing you from living into your greatness?

Posted by Kim George at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My good friend and web goddess, Shari Horne, (who is designing the soon-to-be-unveiled Coaching Into Greatness site), recently mentioned a new site to me.  As I learned more about the organization, I became more and more fascinated with their approach to eradicating poverty.

Kiva's slogan is "loans that save lives" and that is exactly what this organization does.  Kiva's website provides snapshots of budding entrepreneurs in rural regions of Africa.  These people aren't looking for a hand out, they're looking for a loan -- a loan to purchase goats, start a brick making shop, sell used clothing, or purchase and sell livestock.  A microloan as small as $25 can mean the difference between a life of poverty and a life of abundance for these people, most of whom live on $2 a day!  By partnering with existing microfinance organizations, Kiva ensures that 100% of the loan goes directly to the entrepreneur and doesn't get locked up in administrative fees.  The entrepreneurs are monitored closely, updates on their progress sent to the lenders, and magic happens. 

Kiva's philosophy is a powerful example of Abundance Intelligence.  In particular, this organization reflects the conscious pattern of Personal Responsibility.  By giving people in poverty the means to do what they CAN do, Kiva provides a powerful vehicle for these entrepreneurs to be who they are in the world.  With no groveling, no hand out, no humiliation.  This is business and the loans get paid back.

Another amazing example of how creativity, innovation, and caring come together in an Abundant solution to provide lasting change.

What Abundant solution can you apply to your own business?

Posted by Kim George at 09:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Realistic:  Of or relating to the representation of objects, actions, or social conditions as they actually are.  (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000)

Truly abundant goals are realistic goals.  What does that mean?  To implement goals and get the results we want, we have to first carefully consider what we want.  A realistic goal is based who we are -- not who our boss, parents, spouse or any other external driver thinks we are.  The most successful goals are based on intentions that are in alignment with our values, our vision, and our capacity. I may have a big audacious goal to be a millionaire by the end of 2006.  However, if I am not even making $20,000 and I'm not taking specific, actionable steps to change my reality, this is an unrealistic goal.

I've seen a lot of unrealistic goal setting in business people.  It's great to dream big and everyone can benefit by creating a big vision, but if that vision is not grounded in practical, tangible ways, it is unrealistic.

So why do so many people recycle unrealistic goals year after year?  I believe it's related to the Illusion of Struggle and the Illusion of Control.  A lot of us have a love affair with struggle, don't we?  We identify with struggle.  We think it shows us the boundaries of who we are.  When things are hard, they may be more familiar.  By always striving, we negate who we are by buying into the idea that we're incomplete, less than, not enough.  When we create goals that are ungrounded and always out of our reach, it's a way to keep things safe, predictable. We can stay in control of our lives, because we can predict how it's going to turn out.

Unrealistic goals are like the tug of war you played at those family picnics as a kid.  There's a lot of effort back and forth, struggling to win, but in the end, there's only one winner.  When a person creates unrealistic goals, they're not the winner - complacency is.  Unrealistic goals set us up for failure and more struggle.  They're mighty convenient that way.  They keep us playing small.  They keep us from living into our greatness and being abundant.

Could you benefit from a little reality in your goal setting?

Posted by Kim George at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)