Lamisha Serf-Walls

Investing in YOU

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photo credit: deeplifequotes via photopin cc
photo credit: deeplifequotes via photopin cc

Do you know the difference between the people living the dream and those stuck just dreaming?

It boils down to one word: Investment

The people living the life of their dreams made a choice to invest in themselves.

The people that are stuck in dreamland didn’t.

It’s that simple.

Whether it is time, money, or energy, investing in yourself is a MUST if you are going to get from where you are to where you want to be.

So, when was the last time you invested in yourself?

Hmm…that long huh?

How’s that worked out for you?  Are you living the dream or stuck in dreamland?

There are probably 100 excuses you can give me this very second as to why you haven’t invested in yourself.  Maybe you think you don’t have the money, the time, or the energy to invest.  Maybe you have children, a family, commitments, a day job etc. that you think restrict your resources and you just aren’t sure how you can fit something else in.

I know better.  Those are just the excuses.

The truth is when you want something bad enough and you are ready to take the leap, you will find a way to make it happen.

You will carve out the time, hustle up the money, and you will be so inspired by the life you are living, energy won’t be a problem.

But it also comes down to value.

How much do you value YOU and what life can be for you?

Living the life of your dreams is possible as long as you don’t settle.

Close your eyes and imagine what you truly want out of life.  Not what you think you can get or what you think is possible. What do you want?

What’s the first step you can take to invest in YOU?

Not sure?

Start by investing your time in a 30-minute consultation to chat about your vision and how I can help you make it a reality because you ARE worth it.

November Theme: Gratitude & Giving

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Happy Friday you Darling Dreamers!

It’s the end of another week and the start of a new month!  I can’t believe in 2 months we will be moving into yet another year of wonderful goodness.  Can you feel the energy speeding up with the holidays quickly approaching?  I sure can!

I have been thinking about 2014 a lot over the last few weeks.  While each year feels like an opportunity to start anew, 2014 seems even more like a clean slate.  Maybe it has to do with my current job coming to an end and the options for the future still to be determined.

Every year around this time, I get excited for the newness and a fresh opportunity to make huge strides in my life and to make it an even better year than the one before.  I tend to do a bit of reflection on the past year to identify the growth, evolution, and lessons learned as well as figure out what I still want to work on.  Then, I might sit down to write a letter to myself for the year ahead or create a vision board of what I want to achieve (depending on how I am feeling).

Do you do any type of reflection before you set your intentions for the coming year?  I asked around to some of my friends and many of them said they haven’t even begun to think of what they want in 2014.  Have you?

If you haven’t, I encourage you to take some time to do just that.  Ask yourself the following questions:

What did I accomplish in 2013?

What lessons did I learn?

What didn’t I accomplish that I wanted to?

What was holding me back?

That last question is a big one and it may not be something you can readily identify.  Many people would answer that with a simple word : Life.

When it comes to resolutions, intentions, goals, and big dreams there are a number of things that can hold a person back.  Maybe you are fearful of failure (who isn’t?).  Maybe you have a fear of the unknown.  Some people fear success.  Others say that lack of motivation, inspiration, and a plan to do what they love is the issue.  Maybe it’s time, resources, money, connections, confidence, that is keeping you where you are.  Or maybe you have no clue what it is.

Identifying what has held you back from achieving your deepest desires is a step in the right direction.  Knowledge is power, so knowing what it is is half the battle.  The other half is knowing what to do to get through it.

As we move swiftly into the November and the holiday season, I encourage you to take some time to reflect on 2013 so far.  Don’t just identify the marks you missed, but make sure to identify the things you did well.  The good, great, and amazing moments of 2013 should be celebrated!

With that said, I wanted to let you know that I have created a theme for November and that theme is Gratitude & Giving.  With the holiday season upon us and a new year just around the corner, I wanted to extend some amazing (and FREE) opportunities/gifts for you lovely readers.  While I am planning for 2014 to be an incredible-blow-my-mind-adventure, I also want to place my focus on the abundance and beauty that is in my life in this very moment.

So, for your first gift, you can download your copy of my article : 20 Ways To Keep Your Dream Alive!  All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter and I promise NOT to send you unnecessary, boring, emails just to send them.  This list is truly my VIP list, so you are going to want to take full advantage of the awesome gifts that are coming this month.

I hope you have a magnificent weekend and as always, thanks for reading!

Love

Dreamer Highlight: The Creative Chrysalis and Fat Pony Vintage & Art

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It has been a few weeks since I last shared a specific Dreamer Highlight post and this particular edition is long overdue.  I have had these two wonderful friends and artists on my mind for some time and wanted to share with you their wonderful talents and why I am so inspired by their work.

Amazing Rosary by Kenetha Stanton at The Creative Chrysalis
An amazing Rosary by Kenetha Stanton at The Creative Chrysalis

I first met Kenetha Stanton through a friend of a friend about a year ago and she immediately inspired me to start this very blog.  Since then her writing and creativity have blown me away as she continually inspires me whether she is weaving words together on her blog The Kintsugi Life or she is creating new inspirational jewelry.  I have watched as her artistry has been taking to new heights in not only her magnificent rosaries, necklaces, earrings, and other pieces, but also as her list of published writing has grown.  She is a woman of many talents and I am so happy to watch this artist, coach, writer, and yoga instructor live the life of her dreams as she follows her heart.  Please check out her blog The Kintsugi Life where she discusses finding the beauty and strength in the brokenness of life.  You can also check out her beautiful Kintsugi inspired rosaries, jewelry, prayer shawls, and so much more in her Etsy shop at The Creative Chrysalis.  I have purchased several of her pieces and they are simply beautiful.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.

My custom Mosaic from Tori Beth
My custom mosaic from Tori Beth

I am also very excited to share with you an incredibly inspiring, creative, and high-energy friend of mine who I have known for many years.  Tori Beth is an amazingly vibrant and creative artist/up-cycler/radio DJ who has created some truly magnificent mosaics (one of which I am so very lucky to own myself).  A lover of anything with a story, Tori shares her vintage items and some of her amazing creations on her Etsy page with Fat Pony Vintage And Art.  If you like things that have a story you are going to love some of her finds.  And if that doesn’t make her incredibly awesome enough, she also loves digging into Earth to see what she can find with her metal detector.  You don’t have to know her personally to know that she is a woman who goes where her joy flows, but I assure you when you see some of her awesome pieces like the one featured below, you will know she is a woman living the life of her dreams.

The thing I love about these two incredible women is the fact that they are able to take something broken, damaged, and older pieces to create something new.  Kenetha literally creates a beautiful piece of work using her Kintsugi method and Tori takes old, broken items and breathes new life into them.  There is something about blending the old and new that is inspiring and reminds me that no matter how old a dream may be, you can always find a way to breathe new life into it.

Another thing I find incredible about these two women is how they have managed to find a way to satisfy their dreams, their creativity, their passions all while not limiting themselves to only one thing.  Who says you have to choose just one?? I think if we all listened to this advice, we would have more people living amazingly versatile, exciting, and inspirational lives.  Are you one of those people?

I hope you take some time to check out the beautiful work in the links above and support these awesome artists (and friends) and if you know of anyone that you think should be featured in the Dreamer Highlight posts please feel free to pass them along.  And if you should find yourself struggling to embrace, celebrate, and live the life of your dreams, hop on over to my “work with me” page or email me at lamisha@lifeoncedreamt.com to schedule a free coaching call.

 

Dreamer Highlight: Leah Pearlman of Dharma Comics

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One of many wonderful pieces at dharmacomics.com
One of many wonderful pieces at dharmacomics.com

I am so excited to share with you this week’s Dreamer Highlight.

Last week while I was perusing the internet I stumbled upon an interview Lilou Mace did with Leah Pearlman in Japan and after hearing about her journey and viewing her website, I fell in love with her creativity, drive, and her artistry.  In the video (that you can view here), Leah tells Lilou how she stumbled upon her inner artist as she was on her own spiritual journey to find her life purpose.  As she followed her inspiration to different places in the world she found herself drawing these stick figure comics that served as documentation of some of her favorite memories, thoughts, or inspirations.  She later found that what started off as a hobby, quickly escalated into something greater and that is when Leah Pearlman found her inner artist and Dharma Comics was born.

Dharma Comics is a concept unlike any other I have seen and upon seeing one or two of her illustrations you will instantly fall in love.  Leah takes lovely spiritual quotes, musings, thoughts, and her own inspirational sayings and couples them with her unique illustrations to make genuine works of art.  Check out her website here to see her collection of thought-provoking and inspiring comics that speak to the soul.  I have highlighted some of my favorites here, here, and here.

One of the things I love so much about her story is that she followed her heart every step of the way.  She did the things that felt good to her by traveling the world and while she was “searching”, she wasn’t doing anything that felt like struggle, work, or stress to find her passion.  She allowed it to unfold organically as she followed each little inspirational nugget along the way.

Simple?  Maybe, but it works.  The more we struggle and fight to do anything, the more resistance we bring to it.  When we allow ourselves the joy of doing what we love and follow our inspiration on the way to our dreams, we are allowing the energy to flow and we remain open to the possibilities around us.  It is there you may realize that thing you were reaching for was there with you all along.  You couldn’t see it because you were trying so hard to find it.

If you are looking for a lot of inspiration and some wonderful work, check out Dharma Comics.  I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Do you have an idea for the next Dreamer Highlight post?  If so, feel free to contact me with the info.  I would love to check it out!