Are you connected with a meaningful sense of purpose in your life?

Many people still ponder the age-old question “why are we here”.  When you don’t have a clear sense of purpose, it’s easy to feel scattered, unfulfilled, dis-connected and lost – even to the point of not feeling like you belong here.  I’ve been there – to the point of being suicidal as a teen, because I didn’t feel a meaningful sense of purpose for my life.

The good news is…I discovered my purpose within and I now love my life and feel so gratefully fulfilled.  We all have a purpose –each and every one of us.  Sometimes we have a false sense of purpose through our conditioning – what our parents or peers tell us we have to do and be. This can ultimately cause a lot of inner turmoil because we feel we have to live up to the expectations of others to be loved and accepted, but the heart knows what it wants.  If we don’t honor our heart, we suffer.

Another false sense of purpose is in thinking our purpose is our relationships and roles. Your purpose is not a role or function.  When we mistake these for our purpose, we feel lost and empty when the relationship, role or function ends.  Relationships, roles and functions are vessels for us to live our purpose, but are not the purpose.

So what is our true purpose?  My truth about it is that we have more than one and I define the main purposes as Divine Purpose and Heart Purpose.  Divine purpose is the same for everyone – we are here to experience what we really are – the divine energy of God (Creator, Spirit, Universe).  The heart purpose is the sharing of our gifts.  We have an array of gifts to share, and coupled with our unique personalities, we express them differently.

The short answer to how I turned my life around – from feeling so lost to being so in love with life is that I realized what my gifts are, and I aim to share the in everything I do and be.  To feel fulfilled, share your gifts freely, from the heart, without attachment to the response of others.  It’s really that simple, unless you don’t know what your gifts are.

If you aren’t sure what your gifts are, I have a free Discover My Gifts worksheet that you can download by clicking HERE.

Have fun discovering your gifts and sharing them everywhere and in everything.  That’s how you life from your heart, and living from your heart is what cultivates true, unconditional joy and fulfillment!

Lately I’ve been aware of my spirit calling to me and telling me to let go – I’ve been a student of learning to let go for much of my life. You see, I consider myself to be a strong-willed, independent and intelligent woman but this “drive” often keeps me stuck in my head.  Living from my head has led me to many achievements but the purpose of the achievements has not always been aligned with my heart, and therefore, creates only temporary and fleeting fulfillment before I’m off to the next venture. 

My intuitive friend recently did a reading for me and told me that my head is one of my worst assets because it is so strong and keeps me dis-illusioned from my heart.  This year I’ve definitely pushed myself and strategized to “do” what I want.  But I realize now that I’ve left my heart on the side lines and it’s calling to me.  I feel the yearning for spiritual fulfillment that I’ve been neglecting in myself.

My past conditioning created the masculine drive to succeed in me, and believe me, it has served its purpose during some difficult times in my life.  It is not my natural state though.  Discovering this awareness and answering the call of my heart, I pause to listen to it.

It is gently reminding me to love myself, to enjoy the entire process of life and to open my heart and share my gifts.  My ego sometimes gets caught up in the thinking that I have to accomplish my next goal to be successful.  But my heart reminds me that opening to share my gifts in every moment is the path to true joy and fulfillment that nothing outside of me – no getting and having – can create.

In this time and space of spiritual awakening – opening -  I find that I don’t want to take in any more information that will help me to “do”.  I’m only craving information that reminds me to “be”.  I find myself surrendering to letting life live me, rather than me trying to figure out how to live life.  Surprisingly, this beautiful surrender feels peaceful, nurturing and yet breath-takingly powerful. 

Being human, I realize that I get wrapped up in the ego dynamics we humans tend to operate on, and then I find that the love, abundance, joy and freedom that I AM is elusive to me – ever chasing it to get it, and clinging to it in fear of losing it when I find it.  And then my heart reminds me that those are the very gifts I possess to share with others, and in this sharing I enjoy these gifts myself.  Listening to and opening my heart fosters the spiritual fulfillment I am yearning for. I AM complete as I open to embrace my heart fully. 

Lately I’ve been aware of my spirit calling to me and telling me to let go – I’ve been a student of learning to let go for much of my life. You see, I consider myself to be a strong-willed, independent and intelligent woman but this “drive” often keeps me stuck in my head.  Living from my head has led me to many achievements but the purpose of the achievements has not always been aligned with my heart, and therefore, creates only temporary and fleeting fulfillment before I’m off to the next venture. 

My intuitive friend recently did a reading for me and told me that my head is one of my worst assets because it is so strong and keeps me dis-illusioned from my heart.  This year I’ve definitely pushed myself and strategized to “do” what I want.  But I realize now that I’ve left my heart on the side lines and it’s calling to me.  I feel the yearning for spiritual fulfillment that I’ve been neglecting in myself.

My past conditioning created the masculine drive to succeed in me, and believe me, it has served its purpose during some difficult times in my life.  It is not my natural state though.  Discovering this awareness and answering the call of my heart, I pause to listen to it.

It is gently reminding me to love myself, to enjoy the entire process of life and to open my heart and share my gifts.  My ego sometimes gets caught up in the thinking that I have to accomplish my next goal to be successful.  But my heart reminds me that opening to share my gifts in every moment is the path to true joy and fulfillment that nothing outside of me – no getting and having – can create.

In this time and space of spiritual awakening – opening -  I find that I don’t want to take in any more information that will help me to “do”.  I’m only craving information that reminds me to “be”.  I find myself surrendering to letting life live me, rather than me trying to figure out how to live life.  Surprisingly, this beautiful surrender feels peaceful, nurturing and yet breath-takingly powerful. 

Being human, I realize that I get wrapped up in the ego dynamics we humans tend to operate on, and then I find that the love, abundance, joy and freedom that I AM is elusive to me – ever chasing it to get it, and clinging to it in fear of losing it when I find it.  And then my heart reminds me that those are the very gifts I possess to share with others, and in this sharing I enjoy these gifts myself.  Listening to and opening my heart fosters the spiritual fulfillment I am yearning for. I AM complete as I open to embrace my heart fully.

Have you ever felt like you’ve worked so hard and put in so much effort, but you’re not seeing the results you expected?  Have you been driving yourself to a near breaking point trying to make things happen?  If so, then I know how it feels because I’ve been there too.

I was burning the candle at both ends, racking my brain on finding solutions for the changes occurring in my life and trying to anticipate what would happen next so I could have it covered.  I thought I was being pro-active but this energy was really re-active because it resonated with “lack” consciousness – fear of not having enough, being enough, doing enough or trusting that life will take care of me.

Trying to force the flow feels much different than truly going with the flow.  To be honest, I didn’t really know what going with the flow even meant.  I realized that when things were going the way that I thought they should, it was easy to say I was in the flow.  But when changes were happening or things weren’t how I thought they should be, I felt very disconnected from “the flow” and it whipped me back into my small self – the ego part of me that gets fearful and threatened.

My past conditioning had trained me to be in survival mode – where I had to make things happen.  It was me against the world and I had learned to be a fighter and achiever.  Not to say that this didn’t help me in the past to overcome some dire situations and achieve some significant accomplishments in my life, but it wasn’t because I was living for the joy of it – it was because I thought needed to.

I hadn’t shut off “survival mode”.  Survival mode creates fear, lack and separation and in this state, you can never do enough, have enough or be enough to feel safe.  Can you feel how restrictive this energy is – tensing the body, running fear through the mind and holding the breath?

Can you think of a time when you lived in survival mode in your life, and when that may come up now for you if your buttons are pushed?  I learned a lot from this, once I became aware of it.  I discovered that unconsciously, I believed I had to prove my worth, I felt I was responsible for everything and I mistook what my source of security really is. There were some amazing treasures uncovered under this layer of survival mode:

1. I realized I don’t have to prove my worth!  I am already good enough! 
2. I am not responsible for making life (or others) behave a certain way.  I’m responsible for my energy:  thoughts, beliefs, words and actions – and if I don’t like my current energy, I can choose to change it.  I create my reality!
3. God is my true Source of abundance, not my job, looks or relationships.  Abundance may flow through me and through the form of these things but they are not the source.  I am open to both giving and receiving abundance without the need to cling to those outside things.  I know that I’m taken care of always.

When I’m in alignment with these three truths, I easily grow with the flow.  It’s when I slip back into the small self and forget these truths that I struggle and create un-necessary suffering.

I am delighted to introduce you to a friend and colleague of mine, Michelle Casto, aka “Bright Michelle” and invite you to join us for a special call.

Michelle has assisted thousands of people to find the authentic happiness they were looking for in their work and lives.

 What if you could access the wisdom of your own soul to make your most important life decisions?

 What if you could earn a great living doing exactly what you were born to do and love every minute of it?

Michelle’s experiential and powerful methods have helped thousands create lives that are lived with incredible passion, purpose and prosperity.  She has mentored people all over the world and she leading a very special call where she will share:

 ·        What it takes to earn a great living in these changing times

·        The Destiny Success Process that ensures success in this shift of consciousness

·        The various levels of Purpose and how to stop settling for less and start shining in your unique brilliance

·        How to be fully “soul-expressed” and sing the song that is in your soul.

·        Most importantly, she will teach you exactly how to avoid the common traps that keep you small and limited.

So, if you find yourself feeling “trapped” or stuck in a situation now, then you will definitely want to be there. 

Sign up for this complimentary call and learn from a true “Destiny Master.”  Apply her methods, and you will soon find yourself living a life on purpose.  Choose to feel the power and success that you have desired for so long.

It’s all happening 4/26 and you can attend as my guest,
http://www.budurl.com/alignd

As I’m preparing to launch my new book, Divine Worth, on May 24, I’m vibrating with its message.  The book is a gentle reminder and guide to discovering that your true self worth is divine and unconditional…always.

I find myself venturing more and more outside of my comfort zone to unleash the untapped potential that I’ve been hiding from the world.  I’m aware that fears of judgment from others and of not being good enough had held me back so often in my life, and with gentle acknowledgment, I bring myself back to the truth that my worth is not based on the reactions of others, and my gifts are meant to be shared.  So are yours!

I feel inspired to share this with you because so many people hold back from living their true potential because they fear that they are not good enough to do what they desire, or they feel they’re not worthy of receiving what they desire.  So much human potential is wasted from the self-limiting mindset of unworthiness.

This fear can keep you trapped in your comfort zone…fantasizing about what you really want but being too afraid to pursue it.  You may even experience inner conflict because your heart is urging you to fly and your head is afraid of failure and rejection – which can lead to projecting this inner conflict onto others, plummet you into a lack-minded consciousness and foster frustration.

In the big scheme of things, life in this body is relatively short my friend.  If you are holding back from letting your light shine, then fear no more.  You were born with your gifts and your light to share it in the world.  SHINE!

I invite you to ask yourself what you would do if you knew you were already worthy of doing it.  Ask yourself if there’s anything you’re hiding from the world that you’d really love to share.

And this is a gentle reminder and a celebration of you my friend because YOU ARE ALREADY WORTHY and HAVE AMAZING GIFTS TO SHARE!

Click HERE to view my networking tips video:

I was recently at a networking event and I noticed how many people just jump into telling you (or should I say “selling you”) about everything they do.  I found that it’s helpful to take off the sales hat when you’re connecting with people and just be your authentic self.  Listen to the other person and find out how you can help them with what they’re doing.  Then, when they ask you what you do, talk about the benefits you provide in a way they can connect emotionally.

For example, instead of me answering with a reply like “I’m a business coach”, I reply with “Imagine what it’s like to have a passionate purpose you want to fulfill.  I help people fulfill their passionate purpose by creating and growing a conscious business.”  This creates an opening for people to want to find out more about me, how I help people fulfill their purpose and it creates an emotional connection.  Even if the person I’m talking to doesn’t fit my ideal client, they may know someone who does, and can feel more confident referring me because they get a more authentic sense of what I’m about.

I’m also sharing this article from Fabienne Fredrickson – it may be helpful to overcome the nervousness many people feel when attending a networking event (see below).

As always, feel free to post a comment

Wishing you joy & prosperity,

Kimberly Ann Coots

To Get More Clients from Networking, Pretend It’s Your Party!

There are a few different types of professional networking events, one of them being the “free-for-all.” That’s the kind of networking where you’re basically thrust into a roomful of people who seemingly know each other and are supposed to introduce yourself. Ouch! That’s not always easy, even if you feel like a born networker.

A tactic I use when I’m feeling really overwhelmed by a roomful of people I don’t know is that I pretend it’s my own party. That’s right, as if I’m the one who organized the shin-dig in the first place.

If you know me personally, you already know that I’m a pretty social person and I LOVE to entertain. That being said, I’ve thrown hundreds of parties since my early twenties and I’ve had many occasions to feel what it feels like to be a host.

A host:
1.  is in control of the situation
2.  is confident
3.  knows most everybody
4.  has the right to ask if they don’t know you

In throwing cocktail parties and barbecues over the years, I’ve experienced more than a few times someone in my kitchen or living room that I didn’t know, usually a guest of one of my guests. I usually feel really comfortable going up to that person and saying, “Hi, I’m Fabienne. We haven’t met yet. What’s your name? Who did you come with tonight?” with a smile. I used to call this my ‘Ultimate Icebreaker,’ especially when I was single.

Taking that as a cue, when I get slightly shy in a large overwhelming networking situation, I shift my way of thinking about the event and pretend it’s my OWN party. Then I do the same thing, using my ‘Ultimate Icebreaker.’ It always works and I’m never nervous once I get started!

The best part of it is, sometimes, the person I walked up to and started the conversation with often DOES feel like it’s my party, or at least that I’m really confident. I guess that’s not a bad thing for attracting clients.

Your Assignment:

Pretend it’s YOUR party and that will somehow make it much more OK for you to approach strangers at a networking group. Then, use my Ultimate Icebreaker: “Hi, I’m so-and-so. We haven’t met yet. What’s your name? Who did you come with tonight?” with a smile.

If you’re not sure where to start with networking to get clients in the first place, check out The Secrets of Master Networkers Manual™. Step by step, I take you through everything you need to do to get clients from networking, and pull clients and referrals in easily and consistently. Get it today at www.secretsofnetworkers.com.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System , the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in record time…guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing & success mindset articles on attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your in.come, visit www.clientattraction.com.

As a coach for conscious entrepreneurs (and being a conscious entrepreneur myself), I have learned that connecting with a meaningful purpose and finding passionate ways to fulfill that purpose, not only leads to greater prosperity, but also to feeling more joyful and fulfilled.  I can recall many times in my life when I questioned what my meaningful purpose is, and once I discovered it, how I could fulfill it.   Finding and fulfilling that answer has led to more prosperity and passion in my life, and now I help others find and fulfill their purpose – whether it’s in starting your own conscious business, or helping you grow a business you already have .  If you’re ready to  grow, serve and prosper, I have a gift to support you in manifesting your desires.

Through my own personal transformation and 17 year career in business development, I’ve discovered the mindset, systems and strategies to create and grow a successful, conscious business.  It brings me great joy to share this with others who also have a desire to connect with purpose, prosperity and making a positive impact in the world.  One way I serve into that joy is by offering you my Conscious Business Booster Kit download (it’s free).  Visit www.KimberlyAnnCoots.com to sign up to have this valuable free kit delivered to your email inbox.  We all deserve to live a life of purpose and proserity – are you living yours?

“Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put into every heart”. – Rumi

Wishing you a life of purpose and prosperity,

Kimberly Ann Coots

This morning I discovered a mama deer and her fawn on the hill behind my house (which is located in a subdivision).  They were both looking at me as I was looking at them. I was awed by their grace and presence – these two beautiful creatures.  Then I noticed that the mama deer had a hurt leg and was having a difficult time walking on three legs.

I called several wild animal rehabilitators to see if anyone could help them.  In the cold winter, in a populated area with little food, I was concerned for the well-being of the deer and her baby.  They stayed there on the hill for several hours before finally…and slowly…they moved on.  I can only hope that they made it to safety.

Last night I was with a group of women and one woman shared with us a lesson she had learned.  She said that when an animal shows up in your life and is wounded, to give gratitude for the animal bringing its message to you, even in life-threatening circumstances.  I’ve studied animal medicine for a while so this was intriguing to me.  Someone asked me what the energy of the deer represents, and I responded “gentleness”. 

Then today, these two deer show up.  I thanked them for their reminding me to be gentle with my self and with life.  I know that lately I’ve been pushing myself and this message of gentleness came at just the right time.  In my animal medicine book, it says:
“…find the gentleness of spirit that heals all wounds.  Stop pushing so hard to get others to change, and love them as they are. Gentleness is a tool to solve your present dilemma.”

I was so touched by this message that I wanted to share it with you too.  If you can relate to pushing too hard, or just plain being too hard on yourself, then be gentle my“deer”.

Last week I had a session with my spiritual mentor and he helped me become aware of how I’ve been holding back from letting love into my life fully.  Not just love from another person, but love for myself, love coming to me from Spirit in the form of food, abundance, etc. This was such a powerful realization becausing I didn’t consciously know I was doing it, nor did I realize the signficant impact it has played in my life.  My conditioning as a child and teenager formed these beliefs that people use love as a game and to be very cautious about it.  So when love was showing up in my life (as it does always), I was denying receiving it fully due to fear.  I can tell you this type of conditioning leads to feeling overly independent, fearful, controlling and makes it difficult to fully commit to others (at least energetically).  When we get caught in our stories, it may seem safe to shut everything out, but it doesn’t feel good.

In my personal story, many of the caregivers and friends who I felt should love and nurture me really used me – basically draining my life energy.  As a result, I learned not to trust anyone and “go it alone”.  I was responsible for everything, I had to control things the best I could, and loving with heart wide open was selective.  While I’ve transformed alot of my past self-limiting conditioning, this piece was waiting to be discovered.  Just in becoming aware of it, I felt it shifting.  I also learned that I had arrived at a point in my life where I can discern who is draining my energy vs. who is not and so it is safe for me to let love in because I can now choose who is in my life.  Wow does that feel good – I can let that “love guard” down to freely let love in, as well as give love out.  

I also learned that it was love that helped me to have that guard up in the first place so that those people didn’t drain me to the point of no return. I just didn’t realize it was ok to let that guard down after that experience was over. I’m not that scared, alone and desperate child anymore.  Many people are seeking to “get” love to make them feel good and worthy, but love is not something to be gotten.  We ARE love and it is in our giving and expressing of ourselves that we realize that love has been ours, IS us, all along.

Are there any ways in which you’re keeping love out in your life, and if so, are you ready to let love in?

Who What You Really Are

Previously, in Part I of this series addressing the question “What causes people to feel unworthy?” we talked about unworthiness conditioning.  In this post (Part II), we’ll explore how the awareness of what you really are can help you connect with your true, unconditional divine worth.  These are excerpts taken from my new book Divine Worth – Break the Bonds of Unworthiness and Create the Life You Desire (being release in May ’11).

Being in a material world, you may think that you are your body, but you’re not. You are not your titles, your age, your weight, your bank account balance, your thoughts, or your feelings. All of these things are temporary aspects of your human life while you’re here on the planet.

You are the divine essence of Creator (Source, God, Universe, The One, etc.) which is eternal. Even after your body has expired, the essence, or energy, of what you are will still exist. Some people refer to the essence as the soul, spirit, or divine spark. The “who” that you think you are is really the ego forming your temporary individual personality as part of your experience of life on this planet. Therefore, there is no such thing as the ending (death) of what you really are, only the ending of the physical form (body) and all of its ego identifications (the “who” that your ego thinks you are).

The ego is part of the human experience that forms your personality in response to your environment (society). It is the “who” you become, or try to become, largely based on what society conditions you as. This includes your parents, peers, and institutions such as schools. Your first experience with the ego is usually with your parents or caretakers. You begin thinking of who you are through their interactions and communications (or lack of). If a child is constantly punished and told he is bad, what beliefs and identity do you think will be formed from this conditioning? What level of self-worth do you think this child will believe of himself? Let’s say the child is placed with a new family who is loving toward him and disciplines him with love. Now he becomes “good.”

Do you see how the ego personality can be molded and that it is not the truth of what you are? You are not the identity that society assigns to you. You can choose to be whoever you want because you are the divine creative energy of All That Is.

I think of the ego as the actor or actress. Ego identities can change, either by choice or by changing your environment. Through these personalities that you portray in life, you experience All That Is. You just need to remember that you are not the personality; you are the consciousness that experiences of the personality.

Remember what you really are and celebrate your divine and exquisite presence Dear One!