THE POWER OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Encouragement is something that you can never get enough of.

How could it change your perspective of the world around you if you made a choice to encourage even a handful of people this week?

Some of the best leaders in the world are those that consider themselves "encouragers". Remember your favourite family member, teacher, coach, sunday school leader and all of those other special people that you remember as your cheerleaders?  Who considers you their cheerleader?

Support comes in many different forms and for some, just knowing that you are rooting for them can make all of the difference in the world.

Similarly, find people who can be an encourager for you. Knowing you have support and caring is the fuel that keeps hope in others alive and gives you great confidence in knowing you have a solid network of great people around you.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO SPREAD YOUR WINGS

The thing about confidence is that it is built upon through experience.

It's easy to do the things you are good at, however, it is a whole other story to tackle the things that challenge, stretch or intimidate you.   There is no telling your full potential unless you try and try and try again.   With experience comes wisdom and through that knowledge you will grow, learn and understand who you are and what you are capable of more and more as you go.

Learning to fly takes time, effort and skill however when you do take flight the feeling is amazing.

Photo Credit: Victoria Craig

PASSION IS THE FUEL

Have you ever had an idea that just won't go away?

That persistent gnawing at your spirit and you just know it's your time to take it on.  That is where dreams are born. When the passion for your vision wells up and bursts forth and the excitement just makes you giddy and gives you the energy to take the risk.

When everything in life feels like it is happening in multi-colour and nothing seems like it can stand in your way. You are the artist with a vision and are inspired to paint.

Or... maybe you find yourself with a lot of tools or skills in your life but lacking any passion to use them fully. Unable to grasp a vision, those special skills are just sitting dormant and waiting to be expressed.  Ideas don't have to be big. They can be just the smallest spark of inspiration.  It is often in  those small moments that beauty is uncovered.

DON'T JUST BE ORDINARY

It is so hard to stand out from the crowd.   It's a weird feeling of being proud of succeeded or leading something but at the same time feeling vulnerable to scrutiny and judgement.  There are so many incredible people I have met thus far in my journey of life.  From skills, to experiences to just plain life wisdom or those with resiliency and the ability to overcome situations that seem so daunting an unimaginable to others. I am constantly in awe of the really interesting people that I meet.  So much more than myself I must say.  

I love being able to see the extraordinary in people.

Do you have people around you that see how extraordinary you are?  You should.  It may not even be viewed as extraordinary in your mind but to others they see it differently.  We just need to believe it...and well that is often the hardest part of journey.