Follow the Path (WT464)

Follow the Path (WT464)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 17 May, 2019 | Blog, Mindset

WT 464 Follow the path

Many times I’ve mentioned, “How we do anything is how we do everything.”

Whenever I am walking or driving somewhere I tend to follow the path. 

The other day we stopped in Coffs Harbour to get some chemicals for our bathroom. Ross reversed Contessa and I jumped out to run in to the shop and quickly buy what we needed. 

I scanned the carpark and found a path with hand rails. 

I headed for the path. 

As I walked up the path I realised that the shop entrance was directly opposite Ross and the motorhome. 

I turned the corner and walked the extra few metres to the entrance. 

Of course as I looked in Ross’ direction, he had been watching the whole thing and there he sat, laughing his head off. Typical of Ross, he doesn’t miss a thing, even when you wish he would. 

Embarrassed and red faced because I could have simply walked across the carpark straight to the entrance, I started to laugh myself, as I gestured my middle finger towards Ross. 

“How we do anything is how we do everything.” 

I always follow the path. 

I’m curious, what would you have done? 

Would you have noticed the quick and easy way or like me, would you follow the path, even if it takes longer?

Keep the Faith (WT463)

Keep the Faith (WT463)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 10 May, 2019 | Blog, Mindset

WT463 Keep the Faith

 My vision for travelling and working around Australia was to be able to continue coaching and training with my clients. 

I have to say the first month or two was a bit rough, especially having to dress in my corporate clothes and apply make-up. This didn’t fit the vision and on a few occasions I cried to Ross, “This isn’t what I had in mind. I visualised being on the phone coaching and helping people, wearing my shorts and T-shirt and looking out over the ocean.”

This week the vision finally came to light. Situated overlooking the magnificent Number 1 Beach at Seal Rocks in New South Wales, I got to coach, even with poor network availability and phone coverage.

I smiled as I found myself encouraging one of my clients to “Keep the Faith”. Often as I coach, a little voice in my head asks me, “Are you listening to this? Are you hearing this advice?”

On many occasions I think the advice I give is really intended for me.

As it happened, my client was feeling down and almost ready to give in and give up. “You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought”, I counselled.  This is actually the name of a book, a very big book by Peter McWilliams, which is definitely worth a read. Initially intended for people with life threatening illnesses (including life), the advice is relevant for all of us.

If I had given in or given up, we would not have Contessa; we would not be travelling and working from amazing places and meeting amazing people.

If you’re feeling down or feeling like what you want may not manifest, remind yourself, You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought and you MUST, absolutely MUST Keep the Faith.

It is only your faith and determination and commitment that will see you through the hard times until you manifest what you want, be that health, wealth or relationships.

Until next week, Keep the Faith.

She’s Here (WT454)

She’s Here (WT454)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 8 Mar, 2019 | Blog, Mindset

WT 454 She's Here

My goodness, what a difference 7 days can make.

Our beloved motorhome, Contessa finally arrived 2 days ago.

She’s here.

We placed our order about 10 months ago and for Ross and I, not having children, taking delivery of Contessa was like celebrating the arrival of a baby.

And like giving birth, it didn’t all go to plan.

The dealership promised us we would be on the road by 10am.

We arrived at the dealership at 11:30am, expecting to have a quick run through and be on our way.

Three hours later, we were nearly crying. We had no idea the induction or handover would take this long and ours was supposed to be a turbo handover.

We then had to throw a bag in the back and get going.

We arrived in Canberra just after midnight and parked on ground that wasn’t exactly level.

I was freaking out. “Don’t move! Don’t roll over.” I was scared we might roll down the hill.

Of course we were fine. It was just my anxiety and overactive imagination.

The next day we ran day one of the leadership program and it all went exceptionally well.

Today we travelled back to Newcastle to pack Contessa and will head back to Canberra next week.

She’s finally arrived and I have to pinch myself.

Less than 3 months ago, I had no idea how we would make it happen and here we are sitting in Contessa, enjoying our nomadic lifestyle.

It feels surreal and yet it is real.

We imagined this. We visualised this. We took action believing this would happen and it has.

I feel so lucky and so relieved.

Now it’s your turn.

What is it you want to manifest?

What action do you need to take to make it happen?

As Rhonda Byrne says in her best selling book, The Secret, Ask, Believe and Receive.

What most people don’t get is that the action part is embedded in the believing. When you believe something is going to happen, you take action towards it.

What’s your thing?

Ask, Believe (take action) and Receive.

She’s here!

First World Problems (WT453)

First World Problems (WT453)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 1 Mar, 2019 | Blog, Mindset

WT 453 First world problems

This week I had to catch myself. 

I found myself whinging and complaining because I had to organise to pack and move out of where we were living and wait for a week before taking delivery of our motorhome.

“This is placing so much pressure on me,” I complained to Ross.

“I was expecting to carry food from the fridge in the home to the fridge in the motorhome. I was expecting to take my clothes out of the wardrobe and hang them up in the motorhome, not to have to organise and pack for the motorhome, storage and the leadership program we’re running in Canberra during March.”

I was feeling very sorry for myself and annoyed and disappointed with the dealership and the real estate agency.

I wasn’t walking my talk and as a friend reminded me last week, “Practice what you preach and breathe.”

So I did.

My understanding of how things work from all of the personal development work I have done over the years, is that I am a co-creator. There is no point blaming others because I too am responsible.

On some level, I have created this situation.

When things like this happen, I ask myself, “What am I thinking or doing that has created this?”

As soon as I take responsibility for what is happening in my life, things change.

We had no shortage of offers from friends offering us to stay at their places, whilst we are technically homeless this week.  Thank you friends.

Whilst living in chaos this week, I couldn’t find my makeup and I certainly didn’t have an iron, so I turned up for a meeting looking and feeling very dishevelled and a little embarrassed, until I realised what I had manifested.

This was the start of my new life and my new career. It’s no secret that I don’t like wearing makeup and I prefer to dress casually, and here was the universe delivering exactly what I wanted.

So I have pulled myself into gear, accepted that I am responsible and am getting on with things. These are first world problems. I do have a roof over my head, I do have people who care about me, I do have enough to eat, I am not living in a war zone and I have work and income.

How about you? Are you stressing out over first world problems and perhaps not taking responsibility for your part in the situation? If so, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate.

Let’s be grateful for what we do have.

I appreciate you reading these thoughts every week. Thank you.

And just one more tip. I often use Hoóponopono (ancient Hawaiian clearing technique) to clear myself and the planet by reciting the following phrases over and over (in any order).

I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. 

Essentially what you are saying is “I love the universe and people. I’m sorry for my part in creating this situation, even though I may not know consciously what my part is. Please forgive me to the universe and thank you for the forgiveness.”  You can Google it and learn more. It’s fascinating and it works, whether you believe in it or not.

Thank you. I love you.

It’s All in the Asking (WT449)

It’s All in the Asking (WT449)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 1 Feb, 2019 | Blog, Mindset

WT 449 It's all in the asking

I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m not the best negotiator when it comes to getting a “good deal”. 

I tend to accept the price that I’ve been given when I want to purchase or sell something. 

I expect and believe that the person I am buying from or selling to, has the same values as me, which tends to make me quite naïve at times. 

At the end of February we will be taking possession of our Motorhome, affectionately named Contessa, to start our journey to live and work around Australia for the next few years. 

This meant we had to say goodbye to Connie, my beloved Lexus E350. 

It was a tearful day for me as I left Connie with her new owner. 

Here’s what I learned: 

I had an amount in my mind that I wanted to get for Connie. 

The offer I received was lower than this, not by much, but still lower.

My experience has also shown me that the first offer you get, whether that be for a car or house, etc. is often the best offer, so I was conflicted about what to do.

I shared the offer with Ross who immediately suggested I ask for more.

I didn’t know how to. I didn’t know the words to use. I didn’t know what to say.

Eventually I crafted an email and asked if we could agree on the revised figure, and if so, I would arrange to deliver Connie. 

To my surprise and delight they agreed.

Wow! It’s all in the asking. 

Lesson number 1 – be okay with asking. 

Lesson number 2 – be mindful of the language you use to ask. 

This little experience has motivated and inspired me and given me confidence. 

I still have a lot to learn and practice and I share this story with you to encourage you, if you need it, to be ok with asking. 

After all, if the answer is “No’, you are no worse off.

You Are Allowed to Change (WT447)

You Are Allowed to Change (WT447)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 18 Jan, 2019 | Blog, Mindset

WT 447 You are allowed to change

Today I interviewed Susan Hart and Kerrie Hourigan for our TV show. The topic was really interesting, and yet for some it might be considered taboo to talk about.

Susan and Kerrie have a podcast called “The Moon in You” where they talk about two subjects:

  1. The New Moon and the Full Moon Energies together with their associated zodiac signs, and
  1. The Menstrual Cycle, in particular the psychological aspect of the female cycle and how this affects EVERYONE, especially if you live and work with women.

Why am I mentioning this?

I want you to know you are allowed to change what you do.

Susan has owned and run a very successful bookkeeping business for the past 20 years as well as co-founded the Uniting Bookkeepers Association.

If we are not allowed to change, then Susan would be stuck doing that, even though her passion has moved towards educating and empowering women and men about the psychological and hormonal effects of the moon and the menstrual cycle.

Kerrie has also made a transition to become an authority on soul and personality astrology.

If I look at my own career history, I’ve made numerous transitions over the past 40 years and just about to embark on another.  

If you’re struggling with changing what you do, think of it this way. If you wanted to buy a new car or a new house, would you deny yourself, telling yourself that you can only have one house or car in your lifetime?  Of course you wouldn’t.

When asked what they want to do when they leave school, the majority of people don’t know. It’s often not until we experience something that we find out whether we like it or not.

I remember Ross crying to me one night after having been at university all day studying Macro Economics. “I can’t do it. I hate it,” he said. “I read the book and fall asleep but I don’t want to waste the time I’ve invested, not to mention the expense.” 

You can imagine my response. “Just quit”. Ross is a creative. He loves to take photos and is very artistic. It was no surprise to me that economics wasn’t for him.

I am in no position to make anyone stick at something they hate. I left a good government job to go to university for 4 years to become a school teacher, only to teach for 6 months and hate it. I didn’t hate the kids and I loved teaching. The bureaucracy was too stifling for me. It was not the right environment for me.  I still love to teach; I can’t help myself and over the years I have evolved and found my calling.

The same is true for you. If you’re doing something you love. Fantastic. Keep doing that.

If you’re not doing something you love, then listen very carefully, “You are Allowed to Change”. You can go for what you want and if you think about it, the happier you are, the happier everyone around you will be.

It’s the start of a new year. Don’t waste another year doing something you don’t want to do.

You are allowed to change.

Pin It on Pinterest