Bruce Van Horn's Blog, page 3

2016 is the Year of More!

My keyword for 2016 is “More!”

Wanting more is NOT a bad thing, nor is it selfish or greedy. Wanting more is healthy and what I want for myself and for you!

“I want more!” can, indeed, be an unhealthy expression if it is coming from a position of grasping, pleading, and a scarcity mindset. If you are saying “I want more money, more love, more freedom…” because you are convinced you don’t have enough of these in your life, your focus is on the lack, not, actually, on what you desire. I would recommend a shift in focus.

Every morning, I start my day by writing in my Gratitude Journal at least five things for which I am grateful. This list often includes things like: my health, my sons, a great home and neighborhood, great friends, an abundance of people who read what I write and listen to my podcast. I start my mornings with gratitude.

Every evening, I end my day by writing in my Victory Log. I review my day and record all the things that went well, made me happy, made me proud, made me glad to be a dad, etc. Basically, I find the good things that happened in my day and I write them down so these are the thoughts and feelings I am experiencing as I go to sleep each night.

By keeping a written record of the things for which I am grateful, and the things I count as victories, I am focusing my thoughts on what I want more of in my life. I want more of them because I already have them and appreciate them. I want more of what is already abundant and filling my life with joy!

So, yes, I want to dream more, love more, express myself more, and feel more gratitude for life!

I also wish the same for you! Focus on what you have. Feel and express gratitude for them. Want MORE of these things in your life!

Here’s to a year of more!

Namaste,
Bruce

2016 is the Year of More! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Wishing You Peace, Love, and Happiness!

My wish for you is that you experience an abundance of inner Peace, Love, and Happiness!

I also want to remind you that true peace, love, and happiness cannot be found in anything or anyone outside of you. It is something you always possess within you. You don’t have to search the world to find it. You just need to look within and experience it. It is there waiting for you, at any moment, in any situation, to choose and enjoy!

I also want to take a minute of your time to tell you I love you and appreciate you being in my life. While distance may separate us, we are connected through the omnipresent energy of Love!

Because of your love and support for me and my work, 2015 has been an amazing year! I have accomplished and experienced things, this year, that bring me to tears of gratitude! Thank you!!

Just a few highlights of 2015 are:

I ran the Boston Marathon, on April  20th, just one year after having major cancer surgery!In June, I published my book Worry No More! , which became an international bestseller, and continues to stay on the bestseller lists!My health has been great and I have remained cancer-free!In November, I co-facilitated “Transform: A Mastermind Retreat” in Kona, Hawaii, with Leisa Peterson.My “Life Is A Marathon” podcast has been consistently ranked in the top 5% of all podcasts in iTunes, with over 100K listeners in 193 countries around the world!

There are so many more amazing things that have taken place in my life this year which are not listed above, but for which I am so grateful.

The most precious gift, however, has been the gift of life and a very deep sense of inner peace, love, and happiness that I feel every day! It has been a truly miraculous year, and I have even more exciting plans for 2016!

So, during this very busy holiday season, my wish is that you will take a few minutes to reflect on your year, recognize and appreciate the abundance in your life, the perfect creation you are, and feel this same peace, love, and happiness!

Namaste!
Bruce

P.S.: I have a Christmas gift for you!! On December 25th & 26th, the Kindle version of my Worry No More! book is FREE! Please download a copy or share it with a friend! Click here to get it!

Wishing You Peace, Love, and Happiness! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

How to Completely Change Your Life in 60 Days!

Do you want to learn how to completely change your life in 60 days? I would!

On Thursday, December 17th, I’ll be doing a webinar to teach you how to do it!

Register Here!

Many of you know me in my current state as a bestselling author, life coach, empowering speaker, and host of the “Life Is A Marathon” podcast, which is heard in over 190 countries around the world. I have a huge social media following and am one of the most retweeted people on Twitter!

However, my current level of success and popularity has only happened within the last few years as a result of an intentional personal transformation.

For most of my adult life, I was miserable, unsuccessful and very unhappy in nearly every area of my life.

In this FREE webinar, I will share with you the things that I did, both the successes and failures, to completely change my life! My personal transformation took years, but I will show you how you can turn your life around and headed in the direction you want in just 60 days!

Register now to learn how to do for your life in 60 days, what it took me years to learn.

NOTE: If you are not able to attend at either of the times offered, register anyway and you can watch the replay at your convenience!

Please share this with all of your friends, family and followers!

How to Completely Change Your Life in 60 Days! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Transform Your Life in January 2016!

Transform Your Life!
2-Day Masterclass/Retreat

January 15-16, 2016
at the Omni Hotel
Richmond, Virginia

If you want transform your life and make 2016 your best year yet, you want to be a part of this 2-day Transform Your Life masterclass/retreat.

 

Register on Friday! There are only 12 seats available for this event!

Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 at 11:00am, Eastern Time

Visit the Full Event Details and Registration Page

By participating in this Masterclass, you will:

Transform your life by learning how to transform your thoughts!Develop a Life Plan to help you create the life of your dreams!Identify your limiting beliefs and learn how to turn them around.Learn how to enhance all of your relationships: family, social, and work!Learn and believe that YOU are the greatest asset you will ever own.Adopt a “Self-Employed” mindset to support your Personal Brand.Develop a personal purpose and mission statement to support your brand.Grow your “tribe” and expand your influence.Learn how to stop worrying and start living.Contribute and add value to the lives of others in attendance.Receive valuable life lessons from others in the group.Have quiet/reflective time to think, dream, meditate, pray, and write.Laugh, cry, dream, have fun, relax, eat great food, make new friends!Leave with a new perspective and renewed excitement about your future!Regular Event Price: $1,200
Special Price for this January event only:
$625!

Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 4, 2015 at 11:00am, Eastern Time

Visit the Full Event Details and Registration Page

If you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to contact me directly!

Transform Your Life in January 2016! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Just Do What’s Next!

There can be great value in setting a big goal and then breaking it down in the steps of an action plan. As a Life Coach, I work with almost all of my clients on this process.

However, there is a potential trap inherent in this process that many of us fall into. It’s a trap we unwittingly set for ourselves.

The trap is this: once we’ve broken our goal down into the steps we need to take to meet the goal, we immediately start thinking about how to accomplish all of the steps. That is the problem. We start thinking about how to carry out ALL of the steps!

We clearly understand the “hows” and can visualize ourselves easily completing Steps 1 through 4 in our plan. However, we get stuck thinking about how to do Step 5. Step 5 is a big one and we’re not sure how, or even if, we can possible complete that step. So we begin a process of analysis and self-talk around the solution to Step 5. That’s our roadblock and that’s the problem!

Do you see the problem? The problem is not that we can’t figure out how to solve Step 5 in our goal plan.

The problem is that we never actually took Step 1!

Long-range planning is important for achieving your goals, but it’s not nearly as important as simply doing what’s next!

I often find myself trying to do Step 5 before I have done Step 1–at least in my head. Consequently, I have given up on many of my goals before I even took Step 1.

Just do what’s next!

I have discovered that, by simply doing what’s next, I gain the necessary skills, information, and resources needed to solve Step 5 by the time I get to it.

Do not fall into the trap. Simply do what’s next!

— You may hear me speak about this and other similar topics on my Life Is A Marathon podcast

Just Do What’s Next! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Welcome to Bruce 5.2!

 

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Another birthday, another year to celebrate life, another year to learn, grow, and love. Welcome to Bruce 5.2!

On November 8th, I turned 52 years young! I don’t see it as me getting another year older. I treat my birthdays as upgrades to an operating system. With each year, I try to grow more and more into the fullest expression of who I was created to be. I try to learn new things, let go of things and thoughts that no longer serve me, and add more joy to my life.

This past year has been, perhaps, the best year of my life! I certainly have grown in many ways, reached many of my personal goals, and achieved things I had no idea I would experience when I turned 51.

To recap this past year, here are a few things I experienced as Bruce 5.1:

My “Life Is A Marathon” podcast was in its infancy and I had no idea that I would be reaching thousands of people every day in over 190 countries around the world, which is currently the case.My sons joined me for a “Run for Fun” cruise in the Caribbean in February, 2015.This time last year, I had a “Bucket List” goal of, some day, running the Boston Marathon. I ran it on April 20, 2015!I wrote my latest book, Worry No More!, and published it in June, 2015, and it immediately became an International Bestseller and has remained on the Bestsellers list since then. The emails I have received from people, all around the world, about how this book has helped them have been amazing!I have had many opportunities to speak to live audiences in many different settings to share a message of hope and encouragement.

These are just a few of the many, many adventures of Bruce 5.1. While they have been great, I firmly believe that Bruce 5.2 will be an even more amazing year!

To celebrate my birthday, I have a gift for you and for everyone you know!

Until Thursday, November 12th, I am giving away the Kindle version of my Worry No More! book. My goal is to give away 100k copies this week! Please accept my gift by downloading it from www.WorryNoMoreBook.com (you don’t need to own a Kindle to read Kindle books!)  If you prefer the paperback version, I’m also giving you a 50% OFF coupon for that! Just go to www.WorryNoMoreBook.com to get it. Please share this with as many people as you care to. I believe the book can truly change people’s lives!

Thank you for all of your love and support!

I love you!

~Bruce

— You may hear me speak about this and other similar topics on my Life Is A Marathon podcast

Welcome to Bruce 5.2! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Four Stages of Transformation

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.” ― Cynthia Occelli

Every living thing goes through certain stages of growth, from birth to full maturity. This is how it is supposed to be and the more we simply allow this natural process to take place, the healthier and more complete our development will be.

Many of us, often in mid-life, experience an “awakening” that launches us into a new cycle of development–a transformation. We uncover something that has been hidden in our hearts since our birth. We hear a music playing, ever so faintly, in our souls that causes us to dance through life in a different way. We discover our passion, our purpose, our calling.

Caterpillars transform into Butterflies. When we awaken to our purpose and calling, we go through a similar transformation, changing from what we have been all our lives to what we were really created to be.

Understanding the stages of transformation is very helpful to those of us going through it. It is also helpful in guiding others through it, as we recognize and encourage the transformation of our loved ones.

Stage 1: Awakening

You start to hear that small voice, the faint music,  the warming feeling of potential growing inside you. When you recognize this and grasp the potential of what you really can become, this is when the change actually takes place. Transformation doesn’t happen when you arrive at the destination. It happens when you realize that the destination exists and it’s possible for you to get there.

I didn’t become a “Marathon Runner” upon the completion of my first marathon, nor upon the completion of some portion of my first marathon training program. I became a Marathon Runner the instant I saw the faint light of potential and believed in the possibility that I could become one.

There comes a time when you become aware of a possibility for yourself that you were previously unaware of. The possibility always existed; you were just blind to its reality. This is the hatching of your heart.

Stage 2: Growing Wings

As soon as a baby bird hatches, awakens, from its shell, it is fully a bird. It is not a fully mature bird, capable of its full potential, but it has everything it needs to become what it was created to be. It must go through a period of growth, learning to chirp, to waddle on its awkward legs, to grow feathers and lose its down, to strengthen its muscles and allow its wings to grow.

This is the phase when we take in the nourishment God provides us and we become more comfortable with the awareness of what we really are. This is the time for allowing the seeds of hope and potential to grow within us. This is a stage of visualizing our future and allowing the excitement to grow.

Stage 3: Learning to Fly

Trying, experimenting, falling down, getting up, trying again, gradually getting more things right, going farther and farther, becoming more and more of what we were created to be. We try, we test, we study how others got to their level of mastery. We talk to others about our vision of becoming this new creation. We ask for help, and find mentors.

This is also a period of redirecting and gaining clarity about who are are to become. You may start out thinking you are a sprinter but, after growing and learning our gifts, discover you are a long distance runner. You may start out wanting to major in biology, then discover your deep gladness while studying psychology. Eventually, you learn what you are truly created to become and devote your life to that calling.

Stage 4: Soaring

We have discovered, as Frederick Buechner describes, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

In the phase, we are confident in our abilities, our giftedness and our calling to this new life. We are in love with our new life and we truly feel the “deep gladness” and see how the world is a better place for us having transformed into what we were created to be.

We are truly alive, vibrating with energy and excitement for who we are, for still more potential to grow into, and for the positive influence we are having in the lives of others.

Hear the music, dance your dance. Others may not hear your music. That’s OK. It is for you, not for them. They have their own music, should they choose to listen to it. As Nietzsche said “those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn’t hear the music!”

Do you hear it? The music was born at the same time you were. It was planted deep inside you by your Creator. We often don’t hear it until we learn to quiet the noise of life, our domestication, and the expectations of others.

You were created to be YOU! I hope you dance! I hope you embrace your transformation.

— You may hear me speak about this and other similar topics on my Life Is A Marathon podcast

Four Stages of Transformation appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Complaints are Super-Glue!

I think we all know people who are a chronic complainers. Every time you see them, they are complaining about the same thing they were complaining about last time.

Not only do I know people like this, I used to be one of them!

The complainer is no fun to be around because the story is always the same. They want very much for the person they are upset with, or the situation they are dealing with, to just go away, but that never seems to happen.

The reason the things we complain about rarely go away or get better is brilliantly described by this phrase from Peter Sage: “Complaining about your current circumstances is the glue that keeps you stuck to them!”

We get more of, or stay stuck in, what we focus our attention on. The problem doesn’t go away because you don’t let it. The character never leaves the stage because you keep giving him/her speaking parts in the play you are directing in your head. When you are complaining, you are shining a spotlight on that person or situation and it loves the attention!

I’m not saying there is no benefit in occasionally venting your frustrations to someone. In deed, it is very healthy to tell a close friend or professional therapist the situation you are struggling with and to ask them to help you move through it. The key to this is the “move through it” part!

Focus your thoughts, words, and energy on what you want, not on what you don’t want. If you are totally consumed with thoughts of love and gratitude for life and excitement about the future you are creating with this positive energy, you won’t have time to notice people or things which, previously, would have been the subject of your complaining.

You are the author, the playwright, the director of your life!

The secret to eliminating the upsetting person or situation from your life is to give it less speaking parts in the play of your life. Let it just be background that nobody pays any attention to. Let the focus of your play be the characters and plot that deserve attention and will leave you feeling more joyful about who and what you are!

— You may hear me speak about this and other similar topics on my Life Is A Marathon podcast

Complaints are Super-Glue! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Personal Growth is a Gift to the World!

If I take some time, just for myself, to work on becoming a better me, is that selfish?

I used to think so, and I used to make myself feel guilty about taking time or spending money for anything that was “just for me.” That is, until I discover that there is no such thing as “just for me!”

In fact, the way I was living my life, by trying to please everyone else as my highest priority, thinking that was a gift to them, was actually no gift at all. I was giving everyone what I thought they wanted from me. I was not giving them the real me, or the best me.

I often thought thoughts like these:

Self-care is selfishI must give and give and give, because that’s what love looks likeI can be happy by making everyone around me happyI must be a giver so people don’t perceive me as selfishI cannot want to be, or work to become wealthy because there are poor people in the world or that is not the social status I was raised in.

I spent most of my adult life without a self-identity or a self-worth. I had placed all of my identity into the roles I played and my worth was based on how well others thought I played those roles.

I thought I needed to be the best husband, the best dad, the best employee, the best employer, the best neighbor or friend. The problem is that “best” was based on other people’s opinion. When there were problems in any of those areas of my life, I experienced an identity crisis and tried harder to make those people happy. When there were problems in all of those areas, there was no “Bruce” left.

When I finally took time and spent energy to develop into the best “Bruce” I could possibly be, it felt uncomfortable. It felt selfish. In fact, some other people thought it was selfish, too!

Nevertheless, I set out on a quest to find out what fills my soul, what makes me happy, what helps me become the fullest expression of who I was created to be.

I worked on my thought-life and I worked on my physical health. I came to the realization that I cannot make anyone happy and no one can make me happy. Happiness is a decision based on thoughts I am thinking in the moment. I decided to think thoughts and do things that made me feel good about me. I also came to the awareness that what makes me happy is also what makes God happy, because that’s what I was created for!

I discovered that, by becoming the best Bruce I can possibly be, I can play the roles I was really created to play. I discovered that what the world needs is for me to be the best ME I can possibly be.

I discovered that self-care is not selfish. I discovered that my own personal growth is a form of generosity and is what my family, friends, and the world needs the most from me.

Personal Growth is a Gift to the World! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Peace is not a product, it is a process

What I’m looking for is not out there, it is in me.
—Helen Keller

I think it is fair to say that, at any given moment, what we really want is to feel is peace–that calm feeling of knowing everything is exactly as it should be and that we have everything we need.

Yet, most of us are singing the line from the U2 song: “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

Peace is what we are all looking for. We may call it “happiness,” but without peace, there is no happiness.

We look for peace in many places and we seek to create certain situations or circumstances that will give us peace. We look for relationships, jobs, finances, health, children, and the government to give us peace. We think “if everything would just fall into place and function the way I think it should, then I will have peace in my life.” If I had more money; if my spouse met my needs; if my children were more appreciative; if my work was more satisfying; if countries would stop fighting; if, if, if…

What if the only source of peace for your life was not outside of you? What if peace was always available to you? What if peace only exists inside?

This is what Helen Keller discovered. After years of being discontent and angry with the world, and God, because of her circumstances, Helen discovered that what she was looking for was not “out there;” she discovered that it was in her all the time.

Peace is not the byproduct of reaching goals, having fulfilling work or relationships. Peace is the path on which you travel to create the life you want. Not the other way around.

Peace is a choice you make for yourself. You cannot create peace for anyone other than yourself.

Peace comes the instant you realize that there is no separation–never has been and never can be–between you and God, the source of all you need and desire. Peace comes when you rest in the knowledge that the atoms of every cell in your body vibrate because God wants them to, because God loves you.

Today, and every day, I choose peace. I hope you do, too!

 

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