Tag Archives: freedom

author, Book, friendship, writing

Be Knowing What DRIVES You!

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Have you ever wanted something so bad that all you could do was talk about it, think about it, dream about it?

Perhaps you wanted a pony as a child.

Maybe it was to make it to the Olympics.

I wonder if it was thinking about getting married.

What was that “something” that just drove you into perpetual conscious and unconscious thought which caused you massive action?

This morning it started with a question from a personal development course that I am doing: What drives people?

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Luckily I have an inner circle that is very tolerant of my philosophical questions coming out of thin air, so I started by texting one person.

Princess P ended up saying: “People that I love and enjoy, nature, adventures… Celebrations and traditions power me.”

Next I texted another person, Dr. K to hear what she had to say: “Before coffee: coffee”. (I must admit that I get up so early and excited for each day that I forget people may still be sleeping.)  After coffee, she text back and said, “Health and Happiness”. And then Dr. K asked her mom and she said, “Live in the moment and look to the future… not stuck in the past with regrets.  Also strive for excellence not perfection.”

Then I texted a few people more because I was oh so curious.  I love PEOPLE and I loved hearing what drives them.

One friend shared that she was contemplating this exact question.

Awesome A shared, “Creating a loving home for my family.”

Double D (the one who keeps giving me back my hat!), said, “My family” and

RvZ said “Work, play, laughter, kinda combo. Achievement. Getting stuff done. But the days that I spend in nature are pretty top.”

When you have great conversations like that all day long and ponder such a question like “What drives you?” the answers come clearly.

What drives me?

Harmony.

Freedom.

I seek harmony in the world around me through relationships, nature, and within myself.

I move towards freedom to be my authentic self, freedom poured out for others to be exactly who they are, time and financial freedom for my family and friends.

What drives you?

Here is my “drive” story for today: Before dinner, my boys, spied a digger down end of our road.   They had this incredible drive to go and see this digger.  The talked about this digger and wondered why it was there throughout the entire dinner. They ate without complaint and then they were off out the door without a word, just so that they could get an eye on this digger.

Drive.

Target.

Success.

The boys reached their target!

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Our brain is a cybernetic system and unless you pick a target, your unconscious brain will choose something for you.   Think about these three boys and yourself as a child, what drove you?  What did you love to talk about, think about, dream about?

Today, why don’t you find what drives you and then choose the target?

Go for it!

You “Cann” do it.

food, life, psychology

Be Finding Freedom in your Fridge

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Food used to take up a plethora of mental space.

My mind felt like a ferris wheel running around and around about food.

What should I eat?

When?

How much?

Did I eat too much?

Now, I feel completely free.

I have found food that brings me freedom.

Complete meals including protein, carbohydrates, fats, and minerals.

I have returned after two weeks of renting out our home to vacationers.

The house was empty except for our furniture, every cupboard, dresser, even the refrigerator were empty.

I have not rushed to the grocery store to stock my fridge full so that I don’t feel empty inside because I AM FULL!

My mind is free to think of other things other than food.

My mind lives in abundance, it dreams and it knows that I will eat exactly what I need each day.

I know that my boys have enough food.

I have found freedom in my fridge!

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After two days, we are going to add a few things to the refrigerator, but just enough.

Knowing we have enough

Living with enough.

Being enough.

(This post was inspired by my friend AM and her mom C!  It is great so share your fridge epiphanies with people.)

friendship, mindset, Parenting, writing

Be Living a Dream 

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Our home is in another’s hand.  

We are roaming around our region in Grandma and a Papa’s truck and camper. 

No plans.  

No agenda. 

Just living in the moments that create our days and make our lives.  

It’s a dream of ours to do this.  

Creating a bit of financial freedom through sharing our home.  

Making carefree memories for our boys.  

Day one is complete with a stop for a paddle and kayak.  

  
Throw in a post-hockey camp tailgate party provided by friends celebrating their sixteenth wedding anniversary.   

 A stop at a beach then up the road for ice cream.  

Now we are tucked in and ready for sleep on our friends beautiful acreage with crickets singing us a nightly toon. 

Don’t be surprised if you see our rig pull into your driveway if you are living close by…. 

No plans.  

No responsibilities. 

One moment. 

One day.  

One life.  

Living a dream with my boys and friends.   

 

Book, encouragement, God, philosophy

Be a Motivational Philosopher

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Forty-one years old.

I have figured out what I want to “be” in this life!

I want to use my ever-thinking, hardcore mind to write.

Using every word I utter to encourage and inspire.

Pouring light into every person I pass and meet.

Being vulnerable and open myself first to bring that out in others.

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I want to motivate others to find freedom through whatever means works for them.

My company has solutions for everyone.

Untying knots that hold people back.

Shaking things up.

Agent of change.

Helping people dream and achieve their goals.

Achieving my goal of spending more time with that hardworking man behind me!

Using my gift of being a motivational philosopher.

Being.

Me.

Boys, Business, Family, Goals

Be ‘Success’ful

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I am not sure who to credit this photo or these words with, but I believe that this is the definition of success for me. I saw this on facebook and it struck a chord deep within me.  I heard a loud ‘gong’!

I believe I need to embrace all these words below the iceberg to be ‘Success’ful.


Hard work.

Risk.

Late nights.

Struggles.

Failures.

Persistence.

Action.

Discipline.

Courage.

Doubts.

Changes.

Criticisms.

Disappointments

Adversity.

Rejections.

Sacrifices.


For the first time in my life I am living outside my comfort zones EVERY DAY. I know my dreams and freedoms live OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT ZONE.

Did you know I was afraid of horses?  My heart skipped a beat today as I lead this large animal with my son on his back.  I was afraid.  Did that stop me?

Absolutely not!

Success for my son.

Being ‘success’ful outside of my comfort zone.

Aging, God, Grief, health & fitness

Be Asking One Question

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I truly believe I can help people.

I never really ‘knew’ how.

I never have felt that I could do enough as a teacher.

In the church, I felt like I never had a gift or a talent.

I could make a joyful noise to the Lord, but was never musical or led to anything else.

Until last November, I didn’t know how I could SERVE other people in this world with love, and endless energy…

Forty pounds overweight, still in deep grief over the loss of my mama that happened not a year previous, I asked my outdoor fitness trainer, Krista King, what I thought was a simple question: “Have you ever done a cleanse?”

That question that was asked through my pain, my mud-pit of wave-crashing despair opened up a completely NEW world and pried open a completely OLD ME!

Since that ONE conversation and the products she told me about, the layers have peeled back.

I was LOST but am now FOUND!

Me.

Freedom.

Food.

Health.

Relationships.

And yes, some residual income for my family.

All just by making asking one question.

And then making one choice.

One choice for…

Me.

The layers were peeled back and I saw:

Ten year old me that loved to drink vanilla shakes every day.  NOW, I have the privilege to drink nutritious vanilla shakes EVERY day and maybe throw in some chocolate or strawberry, if I FEEL like it.

Eighteen year old competitive volleyball player me who wanted to lead, but was surrounded by negative self-talk and unbelief. NOW, I believe in the power of me and am surrounded by positive people who believe in me, themselves and want to lead AND serve others around them.

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(I am #12 in the photo, gotta love those bum huggers)

Twenty year old me who fought on the volleyball court to perform every weekend, but just could never pull it together for two matches because of the fuel in her body.  NOW, I have completed one triathlon and I truly know that my forty-one year old body can do ANYTHING.

Thirty-nine years old, overweight, actually obese for my height, me, was using food to fill an empty hole.  I was looking for food to magically do “something”.  NOW, I have food that fuels me.  I have food that brings me freedom in thought and spirit through shake and cleanse days, protein bars, electrolyte drink and fifty MORE products.

Forty-one years old, I have transformed my body, my mind and my spirit.  I have bought a bikini with confidence just because I can.  I have walked down the main street with no “noise” in my head about what I look like or how I feel about what I look like.

FREEDOM!

I have helped myself and now I know that I can help people.   And yes, this product line does involve network marketing, which I love and you can read my blog about it here.

With the company I am partnering with, the opportunities are endless.  Aging well, being healthier, having more energy, performing better, losing weight or adding a few bucks to your pockets to bless people with, the possibilities are limitless.

I am humbled.

I am grateful.

I am ready to serve anyone that wants an opportunity like I was given just seven months ago.

Don’t be afraid to take the time to listen to your body and its needs.

Don’t be afraid to ask a question.

One question changed my life!

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1st photo: After my first cleanse in November… and still going strong seven months later.

2nd photo: One week after my mom died.  (Who knows why I took this one?)

Boys, Christianity, Family, health & fitness

Be ‘Moving’ Backwards to go Forward

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My counsellor has been working with me to let go of the Western ideal that we move from point A to point B never to return to ‘old stuff’.

When I continue to go over this old ground in my mind, I feel like a failure, I feel shame and I feel mad.

My inner dialogue goes something like this:
“What this again? Seriously Joanna. Are you really going to have this same conversation again? Are we really going down this path? How could this happen again?”

Thanks to my counsellor, I have shifted this A to B mentally to be more of a deepening spiral. Like a tornado funnel.

Oh I like this analogy because sometimes I have me some wind blowing around me!

Yes, I am going to go over the same road again but I am going to be in a different place on my path, a deeper place. (I am almost 40 you know!).

Last night, was a huge mental shift downward into my deepening spiral.

For weeks I have looked for a once per week hockey program that we could do in Ktown. Do you think I could find one? Nope! Minor hockey, that wants to devour families lives with their three times per week practices/games, is the show in this town.

Sooo….
We decided to take JC out of Grade One forty-five minutes early and drive the boys sixty kilometres back to the town we just moved from so that the boys could play hockey.

They are back at the rink they know.

CC has the same coach he had last year.
Papa was on the ice with CC.
JC got to move up a level.
He gets his own jersey this year.
I get to see old friends each week.
AND THE VERY BEST PART, NANA CAME TO WATCH. Can you see me up and jumping around?

It was amazing night of going backwards. JC’s teacher was supportive of our idea, dad laced up his skates and even went for a morning skate to get ready, lastly mom looked me square in the eyes and said, “I am really glad that you are coming here for hockey!”

Anything for you Mama! Now if only I could meet your request for a new body!

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JC waiting to give his brother a high five before his turn on the ice.

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Papa and CC working together.

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OC watching the action.

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Nana is on the right in the toque.

Sometimes you need to go backwards to move forward. Lesson learned. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Deeper. Deeper. Deeper.