15 Things to Ask Yourself Before the End of the Year | #LiveALittle

15 Things to Ask Yourself Before the End of the Year: 
1. What have been the most exciting wins of your life so far in 2014?
2. What have been the most disappointing moments in your life in 2014?
3. What are you most grateful for so far in 2014?
4. Do you feel you’ve taken a step forward in maximizing your potential thus far in 2014? If so, how?
5. If not, what has prevented you from maximizing your potential and performance in life this year?
6. Is this something that is in your control?
7. What is one powerful change you can make right now that would impact your life almost immediately?
8. Can you make this change now and try operating differently for the rest of 2014, to help you continue the progress into 2015?
9. Is there someone you can call/text/message to help you be accountable for this change?
10. How would making this change set you up differently for 2015?
11. What has been a theme for you in 2014?
12. What would you like your theme to be in 2015? Come up with one or two words at the most.
13. What is the predominant feeling you would like to be having in life for the rest of the year?
14. With that in mind, what is the predominant feeling you would like to have in life in 2015?
15. What are three actions you can take to ensure that you feel that way at work for the next month or so?

How do you #LiveALittle? | Blog Series | Featured Member: Katie in Baltimore

Name: Katie 

Location:  Baltimore

• When did you start to #LiveALittle (make the changes)? 

About six months after my son was born. I had gained 100 pounds when I was pregnant and needed to loose the weight. I was so upset over the weight and how drastically my life had changed, I knew I needed to change my whole life around. 

• What do consider your main accomplishments?

My return to college was huge for me. Getting a college degree was my dream. One day- I just applied. I was so scared... And I was accepted. And they offered me a HUGE scholarship. It was a dream come true. Balancing that and two jobs and my son is a struggle, but I am honestly living my dream. 

• What does everyone around you notice as 'different'? 

I trust that my intelligence is valuable. I am a smart woman, but I have never been confident enough to show that. I never felt like I could be the "smart girl" and still be "valuable". Now I know that's not true. I speak my mind. I now hold my head up. It's been liberating. 

• If you wanted to create an environment where motivation can thrive, what’s the first thing you would do?

Encourage intelligence. Encourage artistic freedom. Encourage love and understanding. I would give people the ability to feel like they can be 100% true to themselves no matter what. 

• How do you show that you believe in yourself? 

By working my ass off every single day. Nothing speaks louder than your own work. 

• How and where do you find inspiration? 

My husband and my son. Both are incredible and strong. They pick up where I just can't. They are infinitely understanding and patient. They remain my biggest cheerleaders and make me laugh when I am beyond exhausted. 

• How do you keep your feelings from clouding your decision-making? 

I focus on what is real and what I conjure up in my head. My husband is my "check and balance" system. I spout things to him and he acts as a trampoline- bouncing the good to me and the negative away. 

• What’s the best way to keep your eye on future results or maintaining?

With weight- it's all about how hard the journey was. Once I reached a certain point, I donated every stitch of big clothing I had. No "fat pants" are even in my house. No excuses. No options. 

With education it's all about making a better life for my family. A better life for me. I don't have an exit plan. If you give yourself the option to fail- you will. 

• What dreams and goals inspired you to succeed? 

I want my son to see my receive my degree. I want people to finally recognize me as something more than a pretty face. I want to prove to myself that my brain is valuable. That I am valuable. I may get a law degree. I may get a PhD. Not sure. But when I do know- I'm ready. 

How do you #LiveALittle Series? Featured Member: Lauralee in Kansas

Name: Lauralee 

Location: Kansas

• When did you start to #LiveALittle? 

Lauralee's "before" #LiveALittle Picture 2 years ago

When I was 28 I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. It freaked me out! I was massively overweight and then I started showing symptoms of that at a very young age. I decided then and there I couldn’t hide inside myself or in food anymore. That was 2 years ago.

• What do you consider your main accomplishments?

Well, this one is hard because through this journey I have accomplished so much. The biggest one for me would be building a bigger and better relationship with God. To be honest, I got to where I am because of him. He was on every run, workout and struggle with me. Don’t get me wrong, I give myself the credit where it is due but I prayed a lot to get through workouts and over cravings. I also believe the amount of weight I lost on my own was a huge accomplishment. 120 lbs gone! It’s crazy to think I was carrying an entire extra person. But my FAVORITE accomplishment is the ability to run. I LOVE RUNNING. I could never do it before! Now I am running 5-7 miles some days. That is rad-tastic!!

Lauralee current picture "LivingALittle

• What does ‘working on yourself’ mean to you?

This is one of my favorite questions to answer. Obviously being massively overweight, I had a problem with food. That problem didn’t stem out of no where, it was a way to cope. I smoked for years and then I quit. I drank at least 3-4 times a week and now I have a drink or two once or twice a year. I could conquer issues in my life but the one with food I just could not overcome. When I started ‘working on myself’, it started with the intention of being “skinny”. I had no idea the path I was about to take myself down. I spent a lot of time in my own mind facing the things I hated about myself. The things I wanted to change had so much more to do than with weight. I am sensitive inside and hard outside. I wanted to please everyone. I hated my body. I thought I was stupid. The list could go on and on and on. The thing is, when you spend a lot of time with yourself, you have to face your faults head on and then the hardest part comes: changing them or accepting them. Working on yourself has a ton of different sub-categories and they all kind of collide together. The moral of my drawn out explanation: Working on yourself to me means that loving yourself is ok. Disliking things about yourself is ok. Accepting yourself is a process that takes a while and that is also ok. I read a quote once that said “You’re not made for everyone to like you” and once I accepted that was ok, the self love came a lot easier because if you can’t love yourself, who will?

• How and where do you find inspiration?

As self-absorbed as it sounds, a lot of time I find it in myself in an assortment of ways. I get that awesome “high” competing with myself. Can I run faster? Can I lift more? Can I push my limits? I love it! I am constantly trying to be better than I was the day before, but if I fail in my own eyes, I TRY NOT TO get too down. I also find it in music, the bible and in others. Lots of #LiveALittle members cross my mind daily and inspire me to push myself! It’s not a competition with them but a reminder ALL people can reach their goals! It’s amazing how people I have never met have impacted my life so much!

• When is breaking the #LiveALittle rules okay?

I want to honestly believe never. We should always be focused on becoming better people. Life gets in the way of living sometimes if that makes any sense but I think once you adopted the lifestyle it should become a habit. Shit happens. I am just going to be straight up honest. I don’t have it all together and if anything at times I have more problems then I can deal with. Luckily, I also have a strong faith and I refuse to give up on myself. We are precious beings. Whatever your personal beliefs are don’t really matter. There is only one if you in this world and that means you must be pretty special and taking care of yourself (not just physically but also mentally) is completely acceptable! Besides, #LivingALittle is fun and life should be a good time, it’s too short as it is!

Fear of Death is Fear of Regrets

My biggest fear is death. Apparently a lot of others are just like me. Public speaking is the #1 fear of Americans with death being a close #2. That means more people would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy. But death really isn't my biggest fear, its actually the 5 minutes before you die, assuming I'm going to die of old age in a nursing home somewhere. That 5 minutes before I die will be my time to face all my regrets. That's what scares me. Those regrets. At that time before my death I won;t care what people think about me, what people are saying about me behind my back, I won't be worrying about small dumb shit that doesn't matter, but I will be thinking about about all the times I did. How I let others effect me negatively. How I missed out on amazing crazy opportunities because I was worried I would look silly in the eyes of others. How I stayed at a job I hated because I was worried about truly finding something I loved and took a chance and went for it. My worry is that I will spend my entire life worrying but the last 5 minutes sad because I worried. That last 5 minutes scares me to death, literally.  I want my last 5 minutes to be thinking about the amazing things I did, the loving people in my life, and having no regrets.

That Mother F*cking Restart Button

The feeling can be wonderful. Everything is going good. Exercising on a regular schedule. Eating the right things. Going to bed at a good time. Then it happens. The bottom falls out. One lazy day turns into two, then five. A week goes by and now a month later exercise has gone to the back of the mind. Eating crap food. Sleep schedule starts going to hell. You've gone completely off track and the self madness starts to set in. Is it all worth it? 

Nope. Time to hit the restart button. 

We sometimes have a hard time imagining the end result. Which is life. Living longer and living healthier. It is easier to just living in the moment instead of planning for the future. But this isn't a saving account. This is life. Is there a huge difference between living to 55-60 and living to 85-90? You bet your sweet ass there is. That's 25-35 years. 25-35 years of laughing, movies, watching our younger family members grow up, and a lot more. 

I needed to hit that restart button again and I did. I've made a huge goal this time. I've vowed to run 100 miles. 2-3 miles a day for how ever long it will take me. No other focus right now except that goal. I need to prove something to myself. Pushing that restart button is not going to be embarrassing. 

Living to at least 85-90 is the long term goal. 

One thing is very clear, hitting the restart button is a lot better life choice than hitting the "power off" button.  

I must #LiveALittle

Warning: Accountability is not included.

Not only does someone need goals to succeed but they also need promises. Self promises. It is incredibly hard to make self promises when you don't have very much self love, worth, or esteem. You can't trust yourself. You've already spent years of breaking promises to the one person you are supposed to love completely unconditionally, yourself. That was my dilemma. With this new #LiveALittle lifestyle I needed to make some self promises but I needed to get down to the nitty gritty of what they should be.

My first promise needed to reflect why I was even making an attempt at a new #LiveALittle life. I wanted to get out and be more active. Seeing the world was becoming more of a priority to me and my new job was giving me the opportunity to get out more.  A flight to Las Vegas via Southwest Airlines put a huge scar on my self esteem at the beginning of my journey.
Got to the airport early, grabbed a coffee at the Starbucks, read some articles on my iPad waiting for my flight at the gate, got A list seating, boarded the plane, took out my laptop, sat down, buckled my seatbe........ Try again, buckled my seatb.......... Damn, suck it in fatty. Buckled my seatbel............Holy shit. I'm too fat for the seatbelt. This was one of the biggest eyeopening experiences of my life. It was all making sense, how could I travel and experience new things if I couldn't fit in normal airplane seats? I also had recent memories of how I couldn't ride the roller coasters at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City because the safety bar wouldn't latch due to me being too big. This was serious.
Promise #1: Live a healthier and more active lifestyle. 

Sitting for long periods of time in front of the television watching entire seasons of shows like Sons of Anarchy, Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men used to fill my weekends. I didn't know anyone in Kansas City and I didn't have any intentions to meet anyone so getting out and about was detoured again by bullshit. If I wasn't too fat to do it, I was too lazy. Notorious for always mumbling to myself, on the long lazy ass weekend of extreme Netflix watching, "Damn, I'm so bored". How in hell could I be bored?! I lived in amazing city with hundreds of things to do. I had no right complaining that I was bored. Choosing to stay at home and not venture out was my own doing. Laziness was my problem and a fear of change or trying something different. A change my pattern is what I needed, and to live outside my current comfort zone. Focus on starting local, and go from there. Needed to look for activities happening in my community like Waldo Days, Irishfest, Union Station, or just garage sale driving, and venture more out from there. With this new way of thinking I would hardly be at home. Always be moving.
Promise #2: Never complain about being bored.



Not only would I complain about being bored sometimes I just wouldn't want to move. Just lay in bed. Making excuses why I couldn't meet new friends for happy hour or go on a 12 mile bike ride through Lenexa & Overland Park. Lying to myself was something that came very easy. It's something I still struggle with daily. Constantly want to lie to myself and make up excuses to not live a little bit more. To just give up and lie. This is possibly the toughest of all of the promises. Still struggle with it but I've come so far.
Promise #3: Stop making excuses & lying to yourself

The fourth promise I needed to make to myself, in order to live a better and more productive life, seems like it would be a tough one but it's really not. I compare it to removing a bandaid. What's the least painful way to remove a bandaid? You guessed it, just rip it off. I needed to get the negative out of my life. Negative people, vices, habits, thinking, everything. I've got to be really careful here because some of you reading this might take it personally and I think I'm talking about you when I mention getting the negative people out of my life. If you are taking it personally and think I'm talking about you you're absolutely right. Only negative people would think that way. If you haven't heard from me in awhile then at least you know now why. So at least it's a win/win? Getting rid of negativity was like I was having a fire sale. Everything negative must go! Smoking cigarettes, GONE! Shitty unloving girlfriend always complaining and talking mad smack on all her friends, GONE! Getting liquored up weekly, GONE! I still enjoy a drink now and again but seriously, if you're over 35 and enjoy getting schammered daily or weekly you might want to reconsider your choices. But hey, its your life, this is just a promise I needed to make to myself.
Promise #4: Cut out all negativity

So far my promises seemed very doable. I needed to stick to them. Figuring out how to keep myself accountable was the tough part. Talk the talk, no problem. Walk the walk, "Houston we have a problem." Accountability. I figured the best way to create accountability is to tell the masses what you are going to do and the promises you are going to make. I knew the perfect place to announce my promises and ask for assistance in keeping them. In fact, asking others to examine the same promises and maybe make them for themselves might even increase that accountability. People relying on others in a full accountability circle, what a great concept. The #LiveALittle Project members were perfect for this and the promises I was making to myself fit right in with other struggles people face with trying to live a #LiveALittle life. So not only would the word of the promises spread but the word of The #LiveALittle Project would spread with it.
Promise #5: Spread the word about the #LiveALittle lifestyle and encourage others to make the same 5 promises

http://TheLiveALittleProject.com

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who Hustle.

If you're in the automotive retail industry you know who Grant Cardone is. Grant Cardone is a motivating, in your face, "Don't be a little bitch", coaching, social media posting, branding superstar that has positively touched many.  I don't sell cars but as my pal Sean Stapleton says, "Everyone is in sales. Doesn't matter if your desking deals or sweeping the service department floor, you're in sales." Professionally I'm digital marketer in the auto industry that provides services to dealerships and Grant has greatly influenced me. The dude is good at personal branding. Grant hosted a NatGeo television show called The Turn Around King, he's put on hundreds of training seminars, video blogs, and has wrote a few books over time. One of those books really grabbed my attention. "The 10X Rule." Amazon describes the book as:

"While most people operate with only three degrees of action-no action, retreat, or normal action-if you're after big goals, you don't want to settle for the ordinary. To reach the next level, you must understand the coveted 4th degree of action. This 4th degree, also know as the 10 X Rule, is that level of action that guarantees companies and individuals realize their goals and dreams."

With my new found #LiveALittle lifestyle this book seemed right up my alley.  It was time to make more action, stop settling for ordinary, and truly start to realize my hopes and dreams.
My commute to work is around 30 minutes so I purchased the audio book. With no idea what to really expect I started listening the day I downloaded it. Grant started out pretty strong, would get distracted a few times but listening to Grant's side bar commentary was well worth it. Hearing Grant get excited and pumped up about his own words made me a true believer that he owned every word coming out of his mouth. He didn't just preach it he lived it everyday. He brought back the true positive meaning of the word "Hustler".  Not a nickel and dime punk that did anything to make a buck but a true work your f*cking ass off-hit the grind stone running-self made hustler. I wanted to be a hustler. Listening to Grant's words even made me believe he wanted me to kick ass.   A few other things really stood out to me too and were "aha" moments.

Average is a failing formula.
I never thought about this concept. Studies show that the majority of Americans strive for average. Strive for average. Repeat that one more time. They strive for average. They don't believe they are average so they are working on just becoming average. I thought I was average, heck I thought I was above average but I wasn't. I was one of those striving for average. Many might disagree with this whole striving for average statement but I bought into it. I still do. Living a #LiveAlittle life may not be living below average, average, or above average but it does put things in perspective. I don't want to make a medium income, have a average relationship, average vacations, learn normal things, etc. By living a little bit more every single day is my way of staying above average.

It is your moral duty, obligation, and responsibility to your family, your company, and your future self to achieve success.
Wow. After setting back and making excuses about why I couldn't achieve my goals this really hit hard. I mean I've hit goals but I usually did them half ass or changed them multiple times to fit my slacking nature . This truly called out the person I had been before discovering a #LiveALittle journey.

Become Omnipresent. 
In other words "be everywhere". No excuses for being bored. Be everywhere. Always be moving either physically or mentally. Keep your mind, your body, or your hustle always in check and in demand. This one may not fit everyone but it fit me in a few different ways. For one, I'm a digital marketer in the automotive industry, a very competitive industry with outstanding digital marketing solutions and consultants, and I need for people to not only know me but trust the advice I give. Personal branding is all about marketing. If I can't market myself how can I expect you to believe I can market your business? Personal branding isn't the only thing I need branded, I also wanted to market the #LiveALittle Project too along with the inspirational stories from all of the members. The #LiveALittle Project is an amazing motivational and inspirational group I think the entire world needs to know about. Success for myself and the #LiveALittle Project was not just going to find me I had to fight for it and become omnipresent.

Grant Cardone's words from The 10X Rule may not be what you need but it was exactly what I needed at the time and even now. Promises I made to myself and what I challenged members of The #LiveALittle Project to were directly influenced by The 10X Rule. Out of dozens of promises to be made to one's self in the #LiveALittle lifestyle 5 really stood out and seemed the most important. If you promise to keep reading my blog, go back and read a couple you may have missed then I promise to break down the 5 #LiveALittle Promises in my next post. Before I started writing this post I noticed "My #LiveALittle Project" blog hit 1000 views. Thank you. Thank you for reading my story.

You rock.

Many Ways To Commit Suicide, I was doing the Extended Version

This is the blog post that has been haunting me since I started writing about my personal journey of positive transformation. Regrets are something I don't have a lot of. Everything I have done in my life I would do again but in a healthier way. Never been a huge drinker. Drugs have never been a big thing for me either. I'm mumbling to stall so I don't have to tell you that I was addicted to cigarettes for 20 years. Little embarrassed that cigarettes controlled my life.  Jesus Christ cigarettes are expensive and possibly the most dangerous murderous things that are legal. Thinking back over the past 20 years I spent thousands of dollars on a horrible addiction. Blaming anyone but myself for having that nasty habit would be ridiculous. Smoking made me believe I looked cool and a little dangerous. Thought the girls around me were attracted to a man who smoked. Little did I know I just looked like an idiot and smelled horrible.

Parliaments were my huckleberry. Almost two packs a day. It was time to break up with Mr P-Funk. That's the cool name Parliament smokers called their cigarettes. P-Funk is a shorthand term for the repertoire and performers associated with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and the distinctive style of funk music they performed (thank you Wikipedia). Cold Turkey worked once for me in my 20 years of smoking. "Worked" probably isn't the right word to use since I only stopped smoking for about 3 months. Using a e-cig helped me stop smoking for 30 days. Nothing truly helped me quit for good. I had noticed television commercials for Chantix, the stop smoking medicine prescribed by a doctor. Like all other pharmaceutical commercials the side effects disclaimer at the end of the commercial scared the BeJeezus out of me. According to the Chantix' website these are the possible side effects:

Some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions while using CHANTIX to help them quit smoking. Some people had these symptoms when they began taking CHANTIX, and others developed them after several weeks of treatment or after stopping CHANTIX. If you, your family, or caregiver notice agitation, hostility, depression, or changes in behavior, thinking, or mood that are not typical for you, or you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, anxiety, panic, aggression, anger, mania, abnormal sensations, hallucinations, paranoia, or confusion, stop taking CHANTIX and call your doctor right away. Also tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems before taking CHANTIX, as these symptoms may worsen while taking CHANTIX.

When I see that a pill could cause "suicidal thoughts" it gets my attention and a big fat NOPE. My best friend had his doctor prescribe to him so I thought I'd sit back and see how it worked. He mentioned that it was giving him crazy vivid dreams but other than that he would forget to take the pills & eventually he stopped taking the pills altogether. Meanwhile I was still determined I would quit. Many times I would get a wild hair and proactively throw away a half packs of cigarettes proclaiming that I was done done done only to buy another pack two hours later. Struggling was full on but I knew something had to give. Either I go full throttle on quitting or give up and wait for the lung cancer to set full in. I needed to at least give Chantix a shot. In all actuality continuing to smoke cigarettes was basically committing long term suicide anyway. 
"Whoa, expensive." My first thoughts after arriving at CVS Pharmacy to pick up my Chantix. Insurance paid for nearly nothing. Some insurance programs, I've been told, will cover a lot of the cost. Unfortunately my insurance did not but after weighing the amount of money I have spent on cigarettes over 20 years the price didn't seem so bad anymore. The prescription cost me about $240 out of pocket for a month worth of medication. 
Started taking the meds the very next morning. One a day for the first week and I could continue to smoke. I didn't feel any different that first day. It was like I never took the pill but I still had hope. The second day I took the pill again in the morning and went on with my day. I was anticipating feeling different so I don't know if the light headiness I had later that afternoon was from the Chantix or just from another stressful work day. Took the third pill the next morning and noticed that my morning cigarette tasted slightly funny. Didn't taste as good as the night before. It was just a slight change. Throughout the day all of my cigarettes tasted different but not horrible enough that I didn't want to smoke. Day 4 was pretty much the same as day 3 with all of my cigarettes now tasting even worse. Day 4 consisted of smoking nearly half of what I had been smoking. There were no side effects kicking in. No noticeable changes except the taste of cigarettes was changing. No weird dreams or thoughts of killing myself so something was going right! 
Day 5. I will always remember day 5. This was the first day in 20 years that I did not want or crave a cigarette. I took my pill in the morning and continued my day without smoking once. When I say there was no craving I mean absolutely zero want for a cigarette. I felt amazing. To this day I have not smoked again but the Chantix journey would continue. You don't just stop taking it after you lose the cravings. It apparently needs to get deep into your system and that would take anywhere from 30 days to 6 months according to the doctor. 
On the 8th day is when the instructions say to start taking two pills, one in the morning and one before bed. Taking the pills now became fun for me because I realized they were working and I was having zero side effects. That was until the 9th night. Took my before bedtime pill and laid down for bed. I fell asleep easily but completely woke up at 3am. By completely woke up I mean wide eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the day. After laying in bed wide awake until 4am I finally got up and went through my morning routine, just 3 hours earlier than normal. The 10th night I was so sleepy at 7pm that I went to bed only to wake up at 11pm then 2am then 4am. Each time I woke up I felt like I was wide awake. Luckily I could fall back asleep a half hour or hour later. This sleeping pattern continued the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th night. My sleep was really being effected and it was starting to effect my work and personal life but I still wasn't smoking. It was a complete bitter sweet feeling. 
I'm not a doctor but I pulled a doctor making decision and decided that I would stop taking the pill before bedtime and only take the morning pill. I didn't want to start smoking again so I had to really manage this carefully. My plan worked. The weird sleep patterns stopped and I still wasn't craving any kind of cigarette. Another bonus is no other side effects were apparent. I had finally kicked this habit. I was going to win. 

Day 24 was the last day I took Chantix. I can't remember why I stopped taking the pills before I was supposed to but I did. Could of been that I was worried about the other side effects taking hold and I wanted to head them off at the pass before they attacked. So officially it took just over 3 weeks of Chantix to finally break free of one of the most disgusting and life consuming legal habits there is. 

My #LiveALittle lifestyle was really coming together. Healthy was a new word for me but I was doing it. Losing weight, eating better, exercising, getting out more, making new friends, and now no smoking. The world was mine. What was next? What mountain could I climb metaphorically? It was time to finally sit down and read something I'd been telling myself to read for a long time. I was officially ready to read the words of Grant Cardone. One of the most energizing, hard working, no excuses, not taking average as a lifestyle, 10X living son of a gun's working in the same industry as me that I have had the chance to meet.  I was ready to educate myself. 

What would Grant Cardone do?