Mari Suggs's Blog, page 17

Start doing more of what you love and less of the things you don’t!

I took a short break from blogging to catch my breath. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed with the million things I had committed to doing, but what I learned from taking this break actually surprised me.
[image error]I realized that I stopped doing one of the things that I loved doing—writing my thoughts.  Instead, I held on to the things that I considered “a must do.”

Week after week I mourned the loss of not blogging and what started happening really surprised me, I started losing steam and certain things fell through the cracks.  In the end, all I was left with was my 9 to 5 job, the one thing that makes me least happy. What was that about?[image error]My opinion is this. When you do ONE thing that you love, then  more of the same will follow. In the same token, if you do something that makes you unhappy, more of the same will follow. Seems pretty simple right? Yeah of course. But, consider your day, or days for a minute. Do you spend most of your days doing what you LOVE or do you spend them doing things you don’t particularly care for.  Ahhh grasshopper, you see what I mean. I bet most of you spend little to no time dedicated to the things you love.
[image error]I believe this is not good for you or your soul. If you’ve realized that your days are mostly made-up of things you “have” to do and you spend little to no time on the things you love, then start today making an effort to tip the scale in favor of love!  Make a commitment to yourself that each day you will dedicate some time to pursuing that thing that makes you happy, that thing that seems to make time speed by. I love that feeling. I find it funny how when I am writing for an hour it feels like five minutes, but when I am at my 9 to 5, one hour feels like an eternity. That is what I am working so hard for, to change my time.

I suggest you keep a journal. Start writing down all the things that you like doing that make you happy, then write down what you’re going to do each day to make sure, one day soon, your days are mostly filled by these things.   Some people misunderstand this type of philosophy, they think that this refers to sitting around eating pizza and chips all day, “well that makes me happy” they say. If this is what you’re thinking, then you’ve missed the boat entirely. As you can see I referred to my time passing by while I was writing, in other words working… You can work, earn a living, provide for your family and still be doing what you love. Doing what you love is not just about quitting your job and watching TV all day. Doing what you love could mean, wanting to be a stay at home mom, or traveling, or writing.

So go for it. Start doing more of what you love and less of the things you don’t![image error]Till Next Time!

You CAN do it!

So yeah, I couldn’t stay away for too long, I missed writing down my thoughts.
[image error]For weeks now I have been watching the--oh so popular--Dancing with the Stars. And for weeks I have been falling in love with Amy Purdy-a contestant on the show that has been shocking the American audience for weeks now. What is so special about her? So what! You say? Well let me tell you what makes her so special. Aside from being a fantastic dancer, her resume reads:  A US Paralympic Team Snowboarder, Para-Snowboarder, athlete, actor, Motivational Speaker, Amazing Race Contestant Season 21; all this ladies and gentlemen with being a double amputee.  Her unfortunate story is that she contracted bacterial meningitis at the age of 19 which nearly caused her life.  But she did not die, she survived! But she did not just survive people, she has lived!![image error]In the short time I’ve gotten to know this inspirational person (via TV and the web) one thing is clear to me, Amy Purdy does not know what the word CAN’T means. This word cannot exist in her vocabulary, for if it did, she would not have been able to do all the things that she has done.
Every single time she steps onto the dance floor she literally brings tears to my eyes, not because I feel sorry for her in any way, but because she moves me. She inspires me. She reminds me that we can do and have anything we desire. We just have to know that we CAN. Eliminate the thought of CAN’T out of our heads. [image error]Below is one of my favorite dance of the season, a dance between this captivating human being and Derek Hough. I hope you enjoy and hope that she moves you and inspires you as she has done me. I encourage you to have her same attitude, have a goal, work toward achieving it and live!
Till Next Time!

Goodbye For Now...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I know the news I am about to share with you will break your little hearts, but I have no choice. This is officially my last post. 

Well not forever, just for now. I hate to do this but at this time I just can't commit to weekly blogs anymore. Let me provide the reasons why.


I work fulltime
I go to school fulltime
I am writing a TV serires
I am writing a novel (on the side)
I am enrolling in TWO screenwriting workshops
AND MOST OF ALL, I am starting to do short films

The short film project is what I am so excited about. This is an awesome opportunity and a chance for me to start venturing into the industry. I will share with all of you the films once they are completed.

As you can see I have a lot on my plate, and although I love sharing and I probably will still share sometimes, I won't be doing it every tuesday.  So, if you have been following my blogs, I just encourage you stay positive, to keep reaching for your dreams and be sure to keep reading uplifting material.


Until next time :)

Intellect vs. Intuition

You cannot be anything you want to be!! WHAT? I was ready to pounce when I first read these words in Steven Pressfield's The War of Art.
But then he completed the sentence by saying you are supposed to be the person you came on earth to be. You are here to do a specific thing. If you are following, you can see that when people say you can be "anything" you want to be, the operative word is not "anything" but rather "that you want to be." In other words, anything that is in your heart is exactly what you should do or be.

Now, don't be discouraged by these words. Don't think, well I want to paint, what if that's not what I'm supposed to do?  Don't worry. The fact that this is what is in your heart to do means that this is the very thing you are supposed to do.

We are here to experience many different things and every time you do something--anything that feels right in your bones, then you know you are on the right track. Don't be afraid of trying things that appeal to you, if you want to paint, ski, write or go to medical school then you should.

You see, you're not going to have a desire to write if what you really are supposed to do with your life is be a brain surgeon. If what you want is to be a doctor and if you listen to your intuition, then you will be drawn to medical everything. You will be guided to the right schools, to articles, or even to television shows that have to do with medicine. And, if you don't let fear come between you and your intuition then a brain surgeon you shall be.

Remember you are who you are and you can fight it all you want, suppress it as much as you like, but deep inside you know the truth and until you set it free there will be aspects of your life that won't work, that won't line up.
Don't get trapped by the web of life, follow your heart and your world as a whole will be better. Your family life, your career and your finances will all blossom as a result of your courage.
Till Next Time!

Doubting yourself is detrimental to humanity

After doing a lot of work on myself, I am on my way to accepting that I do have pretty creative ideas. Ideas that I don’t have to keep putting down, ideas that I can accept as providing value to the world, ideas that are just as important as the next guy’s. This being said, this all began when I started to contemplate one of my major blocks, which was, the fact that I always told myself that my ideas weren't good enough.  Any time I had an idea it was immediately preceded by that little voice telling me “it’s already been done.” For most people, this is actually one of the toughest things to get past. But in my opinion, this is the dumbest block of all.  After all, is there only ONE mall, ONE fast food restaurant, ONE style of purse, ONE style of shoe? What if we only had ONE option for everything in this world—no variety? That would not be cool. And although I see this clearly now, this was a major block to overcome. So to this major AND annoying block I say this; we all play an important role in this world, and with our own individuality, we add color to this otherwise plain world.  No one can do “it” like you can; this is what makes you so unique. For example, you can get a burger from many different places; however, each place does it a little differently. Even if the recipes were the same, the fact that a different person is behind the wheel, this in itself will make that burger taste differently.
This mirrors everything in your life, especially when it comes to your career. At times you may think, what’s the point of doing this or doing that because it’s already been done; or, how so-and-so down the street is already doing what you want to do, but this doesn't matter.  Remember they can NEVER--no matter how successful they are--DO IT LIKE YOU.
So take a chance and believe in yourself, believe in your uniqueness and the amazing qualities that come with being you. To get yourself in motion, I believe Oprah said it best “believe, set the vision, and then achieve it.”  Here’s to overcoming our blocks!
Till Next Time!

I Am.......

By now I'm sure you've heard me talk about how we are what we think about; but, what I want to talk about today is how we also are what we SAY we are. The words "I am" are two of the most powerful words in the world.

Have you ever stopped to think about why you are the way you are. Or why you do the things you do. Well if you haven't, then start today. What you will find is that you are the things you DECLARE you are.

For example, let's say you have an ongoing declaration about yourself that goes like this "I am always late." The truth is that when you first started saying this "fact" about yourself, it wasn't a fact at all, but rather something that just happened. But, for whatever reason you took notice of your casual tardiness and held on to it for life. You held on so tightly that you started believing that you are always late, and now your declaration has become a fact, you ARE always late.

But what would happen if you were to start saying "I am always on time." Well, the very same thing would happen, you would become the very thing you declare you are. Hmm, who'd a thunk.

This is just one simple example; this principle can be applied to every single aspect of your life. Start today using the words "I am" to create the person you want to be, the person that you really are.

I will start: I am a runner. I can run half marathons with ease. I am healthy from my head to my toes. Your turn!!


Till next time

The Alchemist by Paulo-Coelhop - Chasing your dreams

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you had a great Monday and hope you have an even better week ahead. 
For some reason, I am drawing a blank when it comes to blogging this week. I am not in a funk. I am not discouraged in any way; in fact, I am feeling amazingly happy and satisfied with my life. But still, I have nothing.

So, I’ll just share with you my latest read. I just finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo-Coelho and it was pretty amazing. I've heard many people mention this book, Will Smith being one of them, but I hadn't picked up until last week.  This book was awesome because it touched on so many aspects of the law of attraction.
It is about a kid who seems to be pretty content with his life, until he's persuaded to take the journey to reach his dreams--a treasure.  Along the way he meets people that both help and impede him reaching his goal. The things that unfold are pretty "typical" of the things that happen to us whenever we decide to "go for it." 
I was reminded once again that any time we decide to take action to go for our dreams, sometimes we'll have to face an obstacle. But that is not a reason to stop trying or reaching for your desires. Remember that your desires still exist on the other side of the obstacle.  Today my message is short and simple.  I am driven to only write these words. And Remember


Till Next Time!

It might just be a blessing in disguise!

Hello once again, better late than never. (usually I post the blogs in the mornings)
It's been a pretty good few days. If you've read my blog "My 6 Days of Darkness," you know that I've had to accept a position that is less than inspiring. But, by taking my own advise and putting in motion the very thing a preach, I've come out on the other side completely amazed. 
So you've heard that people actually take time off to write, to where they go to some exotic or inspiring place to seek some sort of enlightenment or miracle from their work. 
Well not me. Not this lady.
I spent 7 months without working and by all accounts I was thrilled to have so much free time on my hands. But on the downside, I hardly wrote. For some reason my creative juices were not flowing. Everything felt forced. I have to write, I kept telling myself. So I would sit down, stare at a blank piece of paper and would write down something, anything, but nothing felt real. 
But since I started working, and have little time between school and work, I can't stop writing. The entire day all I do is think about my next novel; by the time I sit down to write every single word comes pouring out without any need to force them out.  
So of course, I wondered why that was.  Well, I think for me it has to do with the amount of distraction that I engaged in on daily basis. Yes of course I am busy at work and have your usual distractions, but for the most part is just me and my music. No internet, no Facebook, no Twitter. 
In a way it's like I'm in a constant state of meditation. So just like I always do, I'll encourage you to get quiet, to have those moments of silence with just you and God. Miracles can come out of those times. Amazing creative projects can come out of moments like those. 
Because I'm so completely happy with the fact that I am writing again and that all was not lost, I want to give thanks for the position I thought was going to kill my spirit, and subsequently my creativity, because it has done the complete opposite, it has brought it back to life.
The next time you find yourself in complete chaos and disarray over a decision you've had to make, hold your horses before you go crazy and think all is lost, as the saying goes, it might just be a blessing in disguise.                      My blessing was the gift of writing again, and I'm grateful for that, no matter what it was wrapped in.
Till Next Time!

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

So funny how things happen, the other day I had a "duh" moment. Let me explain. 

Although I still believe in everything I’ve written before, like if you want to change your life, you must change the way you think.  There is one very important thing that MUST go along with this way of thinking, and I'll explain in the next paragraphs.
I woke up last Wednesday and I was jolted into facing something that has been frustrating me. So many of us have been told to use affirmations as a way of obtaining our hearts desires or to use affirmations to change our state of mind.  
However, I am here to say that affirmations themselves do not work. You want to know what works? ACTION! That’s what works. I of course am not the first and only person to say this. I’ve heard Tony Robins say countless times, “you can say there no weeds, there are no weeds, but the reality is that there are weeds and you need to find a way of removing them.” Same concept applies to your life and whatever issues you may be facing.
Do not look out onto the world and wonder why “they” have what you want. Don’t think of them as the lucky ones. I promise you the reason they have what they have, is because they took action to ensure they would HAVE IT!
While we are sitting at home affirming, meditating, reading blogs such as mine, those people have put a plan into action and they are working toward it for hours on end.
Don't misunderstand, staying encouraged, meditating, praying and surrounding yourself with positive uplifting people are all great things to do. But none of these things alone will get you to the life you want to live. These things will make for happier and more peaceful you, but no closer to getting the thing you want.
Simply, if you want something, you MUST TAKE ACTION, or I assure you, your situation will NEVER CHANGE. You will never live that life you are seeking. So start now. Take action in whatever area of your life you want the biggest change to take place and take action to make sure the change happens.
Till Next Time

My 6 Days of Darkness!

The other day I acted, or rather did something I had never done before. I acted completely out of character. Let me explain, I consider myself a pretty level headed person. I never say anything I don't mean, I never lose control, I never get so angry to the point that I lose common sense. I never get so upset that I make huge mistakes and then have to regret it later. In fact, I have never done what I did last week.
6 days! That's how long it took for me to get over behaving and feeling like a totally insane person. But you know what, it had to happen! I needed that to happen because it helped in clearing up certain things.
So you're probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about right? Well as much as I don't want to share, I feel I have to.
Ok, so since making this big life change of learning how to always be in a positive state of mind, and thinking positive and visualizing, and meditating, and learning, and listening, and reading about anything AND everything that can encourage me AND others, I CRASHED BIG TIME.
Everything in my life is perfect, everything expect my career! Which is funny because that is the one thing I put all of my law of attraction focus on.  What I want more than anything is for my career to just be. For me to wake up every morning and work my butt off just doing something that will make me happy, subsequently making others happy, therefore, making the world a better place. Is that so hard? 
I have recently had to accept a position doing a job I swore I would never do again. A job I swore killed my soul little by little. And this decision tore me up so badly that for 6 days I reacted so drastically that I did the following;
I threw away all my journalsI threw away a scriptI unsubscribed to every single positive teacher I was followingI deleted all my social apps from my phone (Twitter, FB, Blog, Goodreads)I decided to give up and not believe in anythingI decided to give up and not write ever againI cried and felt sorry for myself for 6 days!
But then CLARITY!
Although it appeared as though something had died, it was the complete a opposite, something came back to life. For a year and a half although I believed, followed, wrote about, and talked about this life change, a small part of me wondered if I truly was this new person I claimed to be. Was I really positive Pollyanna? Did I really believe what I was selling? And after my meltdown the answer is YES! 
Although I didn't admit it to anyone, at the time of my meltdown I was so afraid of losing the person I had become, that I could bare it no longer and I had to come up for air. I needed to read, write, or listen to something that inspired me. I wanted to inspire you. I don't want to give up. I want to keep going no matter how long it takes to fulfill my dreams. I rather have a life of dreaming, of hoping that some day it will happen for me than live a life of misery by haven given up on everything that makes me happy. AHHHH. I really do feel like I can breathe again. Some of you may think that giving up is easy, but I'm telling you that having that attitude was not only so hard, but also heart breaking. I felt afraid of losing the new person I had become, the new person I learned to love and admire. I was afraid of what would happen now that I let go of my dreams, who was I to become now? No, not worth it. I had to come back. I had to stay strong; it was/is the only way for me. Not only was I not willing to let go of this new person I had become, but I was not about to lay to rest my dream of working in the entertainment industry--which is what I've wanted since I was a little girl. 
I simply share this because I need to be honest with those who read my blog. I'm not perfect. I get scared, I doubt, and I fall, but most importantly I get up again. And that's what you must do too. Doubt, fall, cry, but never—never give up!
One more thing. I have to give a great big thanks to my hubby for not giving up on me through my 6 days of darkness. He kept reminding me of who I was and what I wanted and he vowed to never let me give up--no matter what I was saying on the outside! Till next time!