Tonight I had a conversation with my friend Steve Pavlina www.stevepavlina.com, a fellow TLC  member. He gets millions of hits on his website and he recommended that I blog and reveal more about myself. I told him that it went against the grain for me, I am reserved and I don’t really like talking about myself . He told me that if I wanted to get my message across, it would be better for people to know more about me. I thought about it and since my centre is “The Centre for Heart Living”, there might be advantages to me writing from my heart not only about material that I think can help people but also by sharing some of my own journey while striving to live from the heart.

So I will start with something I would usually consider mundane and not sure you would want to know about, but here it is: tonight I was watching American Idol. If you knew me well, you would know that I don’t watch much TV, only if something is really good or if I am too tired to read and I don’t have cable. I know that a lot of people don’t think much of American Idol but for me it’s the perfect show for coaches. I have been following it for a few years now and I find it quite fascinating to watch the young hopeful singers digging in deep and going with courage after their dream. And that is what I find inspiring.

 For me courage in all its forms touches me very deeply. I love watching the Olympics for that reason; I am totally addicted to watching the Olympics when they are on. You’ll see me tear up when I see an athlete so beautiful in his/her courage and dedication.  Athletes training year after year, lonely times working out with discipline all for a dream, alone while facing themselves in a race, a game or a performance. Sustaining the pressure and keeping the focus so they have the chance to maybe win a medal.

For me American Idol is like a kind of Olympics but with the difference that we get to watch someone follow their dream from early on, we get insights into who they are, we get to see them overcome their fears. And what I found totally inspiring last night was that the judges were talking about coming from the heart and being fully present with their songs. And that has been my experience in everything. When we come from the heart, when we have the courage of jumping in without holding back, focused on the inspiration Vs the fear, magic happens.

From what I have seen over the years the contestants that make it to the top have these traits: they a great voice naturally, they are courageous, humble and have beauty and/or charisma. For me humility is not only talking about our weaknesses, making sure that we keep ourselves small, it’s about sharing our strengths as well. It’s being able to share both sides of ourselves, the ‘famous’ yin and yang, for me humility is about really loving ourselves.

All the people I have ever met who were really successful (meaning over all life success, not just financial/career success) I have found to be humble. When someone is humble, they are not elated with themselves or depressed about themselves, they come from the heart, they have inspiration, things they are going after, they have been victorious in many areas but they have also faced many challenges and failed many times. They have faced themselves, they know who they are and that they can rely on themselves when the going gets tough, which results in self confidence, true self confidence.  

So I look forward to watching the contestants face themselves, trip sometimes when trying too hard and sometimes not hard enough and because of that watching them triumph because they hit it just right and the joy that comes with that. Joy from my experience comes whenever we are able to be without our ego, fully engaged in the moment and giving it our best. Here you go, you now know about some of my quirkiness.
 
Love + Light,
Dr Lise