Motivation
3 Steps to Start Creating the Life you were Born to Live
The Old World
There is the old world, the old ways of doing things, where you sit, use little brain power and work on an assembly line. You might like it or you might hate it, but you don’t seem to care because by default this is what you do and you accept it. You don’t question it let alone think outside the box to get creative. You don’t go to the gym because there is no point anyway. You don’t pay attention to your intuition because it is irrational and makes you feel silly. You have the same routine day in, day out and even though you might feel trapped there is no real conscious thoughts that makes you realize life is not meant to be a default of what happens to you, life is created by you!
The New World
You start to awake and there is a little voice inside of you telling you there is more. It screams at you saying, “face your fears”. You begin to awaken from monotony and begin to think creatively. The reason for what you do starts to be bigger than “just for the money”. You begin to create new ways to live abundantly while empowering others, positively impacting your neighborhood and spreading your inner love to the world. You begin to realize that it is YOU who has the power to create your life. You realize that your biggest responsibility is not to follow the rules, but to find that special gift that lies within you — The gift that aligns your purpose with your personality and soul. You know that this alignment is the greatest form of living and it leads to true happiness.
The Transition
When you are born into an era of change and awakening it can be difficult to be accepted by the people that love you the most. Most of our parents won’t agree with our new ideas and the operations of the world will still favor, for the most part, the old monotoned world.
So how do we shift proactively to start creating the life we know we are meant to live?
Step 1. Don’t explain yourself. Understand that those that don’t get the new era of awakening have their own process and you don’t have to force them into understanding your own process. Just accept that they don’t agree and continue to love them. Those that know, know. This mentality will help preserve all your important relationships as you become awakened and evolve. Sometimes we must all agree to disagree, and there is nothing wrong with disagreeing. Don’t let it consume you and allow it to get in your way of growth.
Step 2. Only take advice from your inner voice. You can see how more and more people are trying to be more intuitive because meditation now is more mainstream than ever before. Today, more people practice meditation and there are meditation studios popping up all across the country. This movement shows that there is an incredible shift towards a new way/world. People seek meditation because the more people meditate the more attuned people become to their inner voice. Meditation allows you to make decisions solely based on what is best for you and your life’s purpose. When you rely on others for advice, for example, they might give you advice based on their own realities and fear, steering you far from your own life purpose. This will keep you from accomplishing the things that you must do. Start practicing meditation (mental silence and stillness) to get used to looking inside of you to find your answers. THEY ARE ALWAYS THERE, you just have to trust and be patient.
Step 3. Follow your emotional body. As you awaken into the new world you may start to feel anxiety if you are not doing work that inspires you. What do I mean by this? There are so many people that are waking up and beginning to realize their 9–5 jobs don’t fulfill them, they are miserable, & they want something more! Sounds like you? If this is happening to you then stop living in fear and start to take action. Clearly, if you have a family and responsibilities you are not going to just walk out on a secure job, but what you can do is begin to put your inner talents and gifts to work through“side hustles”. For instance, if you love writing then begin a blog. If it is interior designing, then take a course on the weekends and start taking small clients. I can go on with examples, my point though is to become aware that you have talents and gifts for a reason and you need to start using them to live the life you deserve.
You can do anything you want in this life as long as you take action to start. Once you become aligned with this form of inner creation the universe will start to work on your side and the wind will blow in your favor. I believe, this is the fastest way towards our happiness .
Start listening to your heart and become the creator of your own future. That is your birthright.
! S T A R T C R E A T I N G !
With Love,
Zoila
Staying True to My Voice
For the last couple of months, I haven’t been writing on this platform because all my creative juices were focused on getting an article published on ThoughtCatalog. This goal came with some setbacks, because, most of my articles got turned down. I edited, revised, and resent each a couple of times, but my articles wouldn’t get approved. I’ve been wanting to write for them for some time because I love their community and spend most nights reading their online magazine. After several rejections, I stopped submitting altogether thinking that my style was just not fit for that platform.
Around the same time, I was reading every article on that site. So, unconsciously, I picked up on other writers’ tone and writing style. As a result, I started adjusting the tone and voice of my writing to those that were already being published. In retrospect, I noticed, that all the rejected articles were words that didn’t come from my own authentic core.
A Creator’s Greatest Mistake
All along I was leaving my voice, style, and tone behind and adapting to the voice of other writers just to fit in and have my work amongst theirs.
This is a writer’s [creator’s] biggest mistake. No matter who you write for, your voice must always be at the forefront of all your creations. It is the one thing that separates you from the masses. It doesn’t matter whether you write for a company’s website or a gourmet food magazine, your voice should always be consistent with who you are and what you wish to represent in this world. Molding your voice to fit a certain culture, blocks your light — the reason for your talents, your life.
After the various rejections, I realized I had to reconnect to my core. At that point, I stopped reading other people’s work and tuned into what I wanted to share and express. After my realization, it only took two days to get my first article published. The article that got accepted was one I wrote with realness, simplicity, and transparency; from my core. Using my own authentic voice was the key to my success. And, I am sure it is the key to every creator’s success.
Staying true to your voice at all times, in all circles, and in all continents is the best route to take. Your voice is your light, spread it genuinely and lovingly. That is your only job.
Now, go and spread your inner magic.
Click here to read my very first article on ThoughtCatalog.
XoXo,
Z.
Create Your Own Fulfillment
We have all been there.
You know…
That point in your life where you just got to do something you’ve always dreamt of doing, but for some reason, after the high wears off, you find yourself back to feeling mediocre or basic. It surprises you because all along you thought doing or obtaining this one thing would change everything in your life. You Thought it would bring meaning and fulfillment back into your life. Yet somehow the new car or new fancy job title didn’t bring you any of these things. You begin to realize that happiness and fulfillment in life are created inside of you and can never be obtained from external things or circumstances.
The reason why so many people live very successful but unfulfilled lives is that they forget the power of their internal life’s purpose.
External Vs. Internal Purpose
Here’s the thing, all those things you chase– materialistic acquisitions, the big career, the societal status– all these things, serve your external life’s purpose; it fills the empty spaces outside of you. Don’t get me wrong, these things are very necessary and amazing but it isn’t enough to create fulfillment.
True fulfillment and purpose lie in filling the spaces inside of you.
Your internal purpose is the one that allows you to reach divine prosperity, true peace, and absolute love.
“If everyone chased their soul the way they chase money they would find internal peace and purpose.” – p.o.w
So how do we fill up these internal spaces?
Through Spirituality. Now, spirituality has nothing to do with religion. Spirituality is the knowledge of knowing that you are a soul and have a body (instead of the other way around). Living in this awareness will get you face-to-face with your innermost potential and truth…
The one that knows that love is all there is,
the one that reminds you how abundantly full you are,
the one that reminds you that your life’s purpose is bigger than you.
It is the one that pushes you to be of service to the world.
It reminds you to take a smile and a kind word with you everywhere you go.
Being spiritual allows you to see the unseen, it answers your deepest questions.
It is your essence!
It is Life!
Fulfillment Requires Spirit
So how can you put more spirit into everything you do and fill yourself internally to create real fulfillment?
By putting love at the forefront of everything that you do. Being of service, creating things for the world, leaving a mark of motivation in everyone around you, by practicing forgiveness, and spreading compassion.
These are all the things that fill up your heart; the spaces inside of you.
Open up to this inner space, and listen to it so that you can be the best version of yourself, the one you were born to be.
With Love,
Zoila
20 Books that Changed my Life
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”- Stephen King
Stephen King couldn’t have said it better, books are magic. Words have the power to change your entire perception of the world, it has the power to expand minds far beyond their day-to-day routines. Books have changed who I have grown into. For me, a book is as valuable as travel. It takes your mind places you could never get to alone. Books rearrange our consciousness. Every time I read a book I am transported to a new place, a magical place. Books are portable Magic
I get the question, “what books do you recommend?” often and so I am happy to share my top 20 picks with you all through this post. I will separate the books into 5 categories: Personal Growth, Spirituality, Love, Finance, and Fiction/ Poetry. I am a self-help / personal development junkie, but I like to include fiction since it helps me become a more creative writer as well as expands my creativity and imagination.
** Click on the title of each book for more details and to purchase the book.
Personal Growth
- Think and Grow Rich, by. Napoleon Hill
- Outliers: The Story of Success by. Malcolm Gladwell
- The Alchemist, by. Paulo Coelho
- Feel the Fear and do it Anyway, By. Susan Jeffers
Spirituality
- The Power of Now, By. Eckhart Tolle
- The Seat of the Soul, By. Gary Zukav
- You Can Heal your Life, By. Louise Hay
- Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles, by. Gabrielle Bernstein
Love
- The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts, By. Gary Chapman
- The Course of Love, By. Alain De Botton
- The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work, By. John M. Gottman
- The Mastery of Love, By. Don Miguel Ruiz
Finance
- Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money that the Poor and Middle Class Don’t, By. Robert T. Kiyosaki
- The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage, By. Daymond John
- The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich, By. David Bach
- Money a Love Story, By. Kate Northrup
Fiction and Poetry
- Letters, to Women Like Me, By. Mirtha Michelle Castro Marmol
- The Sun and her Flower, By. Rupi Kaur
- The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure, By. James Redfield
- Little Fires Everywhere, By. Celeste Ng
With Love,
Zoila <3
Why Angels Fly
“Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” – G.K. Chesterton
I write this post today for a girl that is just like me. One that tries really hard because in her mind everything needs to come out perfect. She doesn’t want to let down anyone in her life, so she walks on eggshells making sure she does everything everyone else wants her to do. She faces failure, becomes discouraged, and quits. There is a constant voice in her head telling her she is no good. All her fears derive from that need to be perfect. She wants to unleash her fullest potential but she is weighed down by her own self-criticism and heaviness. She is unable to fly. But, despite all this, there is a force within her screaming– its time for lightness and change.
My journey from Self- Criticism to Self-Compassion
I spent all of last year practicing being a good friend to myself. The process was great, I did many meditation practices, stated positive affirmations. A lot of great things happened to me last year so I was in a role… I was telling myself how powerful I was, how great it was to be me, how to stay true to me, all was smooth talkin’ and sailin’.
But, just when I thought I was getting good at being kind to myself, I woke up one day towards the end of the year and this cloud of negative self-talk cast over me. Just when I was on a winning streak, just when I believed in my power, my ego butted right in. The “you’re not good enough” voice was pretty strong that day and I remember being so angry with myself because I couldn’t believe a year’s work was all wasted. I was back to feeling mentally weak and heavy.
What I learned though…..
As I felt this heaviness rush over me I ran to my meditation space and pulled myself together. As I sat there, letting my thoughts flow in and out without judging them, It dawned on me that this self-kindness thing was daily work. Work that must be practiced even more on those cloudy days. The truth is we have to stay on our toes when we truly want to change things within us, things that are so engraved in our core.
I felt very compelled to eliminate self-criticism from my life because I knew how much it was getting in my way. Instead of working hard I was being extremely hard on myself which got in the way of accomplishing my goals. There is this amazing article I came across called, “Don’t Beat Yourself Up” which talks about the importance of self-compassion and how it makes people more successful. I highly recommend it if self-kindness is something you are working towards. It really changed the way I looked at everything I do.
How to Replace Self-Criticism with Self-Compassion
One of the things that have helped me with self-criticism is laughing at all the negative voices. For instance, next time you hear, “I am not good enough” laugh it off and either get back into whatever you were doing or state positive affirmations. Another very important idea to keep in mind is that you are here to grow! Growing comes with ups and downs. Somedays you will do great, other days you will fall on your butt and learn something new. I began to look at every experience as a learning experience rather than a “must be perfect or else” one. More importantly, I used a whole lot of guided meditations that helped me become more loving towards myself, softer, lighter. You can find these on YouTube, This is one that I like.
With Love,
Zoila