Picture This.

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."

Despite all of of our superficial things we tend to surround ourselves with, the things that make our lives seem rich and full, that distract us and make us believe we should never be without. What do they add up to? What do they create?


The superficial things for myself, well it would my car, my hair, a certain outfit,  the perfect body I strive for day after day at the gym, a perfect pair of shoes - what it comes down to is these things really mean little to none. 

In the end, or in the big picture, these 'things' are irrelevant. They are exactly that - THINGS. We strive for all these labels, objects and appearances we are convinced we need and desire. They give us something to work towards, to have, to make us feel never alone. But in the end they are still the same - things and objects. As unimportant as they were to start, they are there to distract us and keep us busy. 

The big picture here is that I am not any of these things. 

I am not defined by the car I drive, the clothing I wear, or how long I ran for this morning. All I am is made up of the people I know and the people I love. I am defined by my surroundings and who I decide to surround myself with. How you treat others and the amount of love you give. This is what makes up who you are.

Love is truly the answer to almost anything. The world is at your fingertips: love and life, it is present, it is there, always.

Realize this.

So I am built up of memories and friendships, of relationships and family. Its because of all the wondrous people I know that my adventurous life is so full and rich. For my life is filled with love and I choose to give that back to the world, to spread it, to share, to give. And still, I need to give more.

So I chose love.

For you have everything in the world if you just look around. You my friend, are never alone.

"Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls."

You are untouched and undefined, this world is what you make of it. The things, the objects, they are unimportant. Surround yourself with love and relationships built on trust, loyalty and fun - and you never will go wrong. Remember to always be the friend you want in return, to treat others with respect and understanding. 


To treat others the way WE would like to be treated. When did we forget this? The most simple of mantra’s we’ve been taught since we could walk. Practice patience and give more. Remember what it was like to be a child and install your fresh approach to everything as something new and exciting. For each day brings a new adventure.

Everything you give in this life eventually will come back to you. You must trust this.

Our lives change, that's the greatest part. For each person we meet is a new chapter. Be that powerful impact on someones life. Give them the strength, the courage for them to live big and free and to smile every day, as we each deserve nothing but the best.

And the best does come, whether we realize it or not. Most of the time we are too distracted, thinking on the next best thing. You are here, not there. Be present in your life, in your relationships. Be present in the memories you are making. For these are all the little moments, that will define and make, your big picture.

Paint your life how you like.

"Things always have a habit of getting better. When you think things are bad, dark and devastating...chin up. The sun will shine again soon.”

Sit Still

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Obama

We spend a lot of our mornings, our afternoons, weeks and even months in a daze. We walk around waiting for the next best thing, for someone to finally forgive, to come around, to grow up. For that big moment, that big opportunity to change us. We wait for ourselves to be ready, to really want something, we sit still.

We wait. And as we wait, time passes us. Quicker than the moment before. We waste our days waiting. Waiting for others, waiting for more. This is it, everything you could ever have is right in front of you. You can't wait for someone else to be ready to start a life, to move forward, to accomplish a dream. This is your world, your dreams, your life. Define it how you like.

You know your limits and you know what you need to do. You can sit back, and wait, wait for yourself to feel ready, wait for other people that might never come around. You can waste your time. Or - you can live. You can move forward, create your own change, go after your own goals.

We need to move forward, we need to grow and change and feel life. Just like the seasons, we need change. We need to constantly change our atmospheres, our attitudes, our lives. We need goals and dreams to show us how beautiful this life truly is.

I want you to dream big, bigger than you ever imagined. This world is filled with endless possibilities and you are capable of anything you put your heart into. 

"I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them." - Elizabeth Taylor

I think the greatest gift to have, is heart. To have passion, love, determination and drive, we need this. We need all of those in our lives to keep us moving forward and really, to keep us moving. We can be defeated, let down, heart broken, next to the end of giving up...and if you have heart, you will find a way. You'll find a way to get back up, to get back out there and do big things, to change the world you are set in. Your life is what you make of it. Make something big, powerful and passionate.

Define your world with your passions and heart. Go into every situation without holding anything back. Stop waiting for others, dream and do big. You CAN do this. You ARE capable. You just need to realize it.

"I have to admit, I've always been ruled by my passions." - Elizabeth Taylor

Life takes effort.

"Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship in order to get something. They’re trying to find someone who’s going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take."-Anthony Robins

Some of the most challenging, exciting and important times in our lives, are the times we spend with others. This world is big, full and constantly moving forward. We have a population of over 6 billion people. That's over 6 billion hearts, a trillion emotions, millions of feelings swirling around in this great big world. 

The honest truth: we need others.

Relationships are important. A lot of the time we like to pretend we are fine on our own, that we are independent, can rely on our selves. We go into jobs, friendships, even families thinking what does this have to offer me? Me, me, me. In this great big scheme of things, this great big world, it isn't just you. This world is about you, and about others. But mostly, life is about the relationships we make throughout our lives.

There comes a time when we grow up and realize it is us who get to decide who we want in our lives, who we need in our hearts and who we can simply let go. There are people that weigh us down, others that bring us up. You are smart, you can figure out who fits which place in your life.

Leave the bad ones behind.

But the more we seem to push others away, the more we try to get along on our own,  it's like were taking two steps backwards. The truth: we need others, we need emotions, feelings, love, hate, anything as a simple as a touch. Interactions and conversations, communication on it's own, we need it every single day. If we didn't talk or laugh, or even curse at the world once a day, we would go crazy.

What we need to realize is relationships take balance and decision. You are giving this person every opportunity and chance to come into your life, to be a part of your world. You are opening up your heart to hurt, experience, happiness. This is a big deal. But as much as you are letting them into your world, they are also letting you into theirs. So as much as this day, this world, feels like everything is about you - please remember, there are others. Everyone is struggling with a fear, a demon, an experience that weighs them down - the great things is, we are here, to bring each other up.

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Relationships; whether love, friendship or even family, take work. We need to work to have things run smoothly, fight in order to get along, life takes effort. You are going to get back as much as you put in. So I say put in 110%. Give everything to your life, your job, your passions, your relationships. Never go half-ass into anything, you'll end up with nothing...and you'll know why.

Why do anything half way?

Relationships will be give and take. They take work, communication, heart and passion. We must realize the impact we can have on others, with the reflection those people have on our world. 


Are they supporting you? Loving you? Do they bring you up? What do they bring to this relationship? And in turn, what do you bring? What can you offer? What will you commit to give them? Your answer: 110%.

You are going to meet people who have hurt you, who will bring you down. Relationships you needed to let go of a long, long, long time ago. And yet, they were in your life for a reason. To help you realize how much better you deserve, how much love you can give, and how great your life can be - without them. We need to realize the reason of the bad, to help us appreciate the good. Sometimes we overlook the good things, the good people in our lives, the things that are right in front of us. The hard part is, it takes experience and pain and loss to simply change our outlook. The good is generally there all along...

Realize the people in your life that are meant to be there, the ones who support you, care, curse you to push harder, to be the best person you can be. Realize the people you finally need to let go of, the ones holding you back, weighing you down. Drifting is a part of life. The relationships that are meant to last, will. 

Things happen for a realize. The good and the bad, they will happen. We are the one's with the power to decide who we want to surround our lives with. Who we will smile with, laugh with, play with. 

Choose wisely, as a heart is a precious thing. And always, always, handle with care.

"A heart will never be made practical until it is made unbreakable." - The Wizard of Oz

Your Life.

"It's not about what happened in the past or what you think might happen in the future, it's about the ride for Christ's sake. There's no point in going through all this crap if youre not going to enjoy the ride - and you know what, when you least expect it, something great might come along, something better than you ever even planned for." - Along Came Polly

Let go of your fears, dive into your dreams and your desires. Wanting something can be the best feeling in the world. It shows you you care, your heart is beating, that your life matters and you my friend, You Are Alive. Take advantage of your beautiful life and live. Conquer things that stand in your way, forget about your enemies, and smile with your family and friends.


What matters in life? Are the important people you spend it with, the goals you achieve, the amazing experiences and the memories. So don't fear life, don't fear change. Dive in.

"Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart, give yourself to it." - Buddha

Devote your life, your love, your dreams to something big and beyond your limits. That comfort zone, those lines you have drawn for yourself...cross them. We make these ideas, these designs, these assumptions of who we are, what we think others think about ourselves, what we think we are capable of. So what? Who cares what your neighbor thinks, your co-worker or how someone is going to size you up. That's life, it is going to happen. What YOU can do is to stop judging and start living. Stop sizing up others and stop sizing up yourself. Stop setting boundaries and limits. A lot of the time we set our goals low and our expectations way lower than we ever should because we are afraid of failing, of not achieving. We need to dream big, go new  places, conquer ourselves and our fears. We need to cross those lines, break those rules and really live and dream big. The best thing you can do is impress yourself. Because you can always do better, achieve more and reach higher than you ever imagined.

"The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for. "

- Maureen Dowd

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." - Buddha

You deserve love and affection and to laugh, just as much as the next person in this world. You need to let yourself be loved and open up to new possibilities. Change is natural and fear, fear is natural along with it. We are scared, uncertain, fearful of our future as we can't control the things and the people changing around us. Life is constantly in motion. So what? Be scared, let the uncertain settle within you, embrace the surprise, take on the challenge, the fight...this means you want something. You want something better, something more. This means you want something so badly you are willing to work for it, to be different, to challenge yourself...better yet, to challenge others. You want to move forward in your life, to progress and move up in this world. 
"Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls."
With all the excitement and fear for your future and the absolute potential that lies within your life...don't forget to enjoy this moment, right here. With every experience, bring happiness. Through every moment, remember to smile. Embrace this moment in your life, in today.  Don't get too wrapped up in the future and all the amazing things that are going to come - Remember to stop and smell the flowers...they are beautiful. This moment, today, your life....is beautiful.

“Sometimes we don't put walls up to keep others out, but to see who cares badly enough to break them down. ”

Risk

"I've been thinking a lot lately about taking chances. And how it's really just about overcoming your fears. Because the truth is, every time you take a big risk in your life, no matter how it ends up, you're always glad you took it." - Scrubs

Life is a mystery, it is different for everyone. Each moment, each second...is spontaneous and different. People will constantly drive advice into your head. Do this, believe that. Constant, constant, constant chatter. My advice? Listen, be thankful, accept, but live your life your own way. We have to learn and make our own mistakes, without failure or regret we sometimes cannot learn.

So with all this uncertainty, life is going to throw a million new and different and scary things at us. Some will bring us down, others will make us smile. They are all sorts of different shapes and sizes. What can we do? Do we wait? Wait for something new, something big, bold, different and exciting? I guess we could wait on the sidelines, wait for something exciting in our lives to begin...or, we could jump. Jump into something new, something different. Take a chance on the unknown, the unbelievable...and just maybe something amazing might happen.

So today take a chance, on yourself, on an adventure, a goal. Take a chance on someone...an experience, something new. Life is constant and changing and high pace - and sometimes, we get stuck in neutral. We get so comfortable in our lives, in our present stage that we reject new and different. Fresh is what we need, we need change. We deserve change. Life is constantly changing, moments are constantly happening. Life is constantly moving forward...you my friend, must move with it.

"You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest, that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present." - Jan Glidewell

Sometimes we hold so close to our past, what we know, the familiar, that we get stuck there. So don't sit, don't wait...jump, leap into something different, something new. It's the uncertainty of life that can be exciting. And behind every closed door lies a mystery. A new beginning, a new chance, a new change. Let it happen. Take a chance on something different today and don't be scared of the brand-new-bold things that could happen. Let them happen.

Sometimes life is about taking chances, taking risks. For the most part, we are always thankful we took them. Sometimes it's trying something new, going somewhere different...taking the long way around. And sometimes, it's forgiveness and taking second chances on others. Beyond everything we believe...it's taking risks that can make our lives exciting. Going beyond what we believe we deserve, can achieve, who we are. Most of the time, we deserve a lot more credit than we give ourselves, and a lot more than we allow ourselves to believe.

Take a chance on something different. Change your life.