For the next few days, you will have the distinct pleasure of being inspired by my 4 day trek across country to my new home in Scottsdale, AZ.  My bucket list buddy Donna and I are traveling in my lovely Chevy Cruze, affectionately named “Miguel,” trying to find things such as the “biggest ball of twine” on our way.  We are currently traveling through Pittsburgh, PA on our way to our next stop (11 hours from now) in St. Louis, MO.

Over the years, I have done quite a few road trips with friends and on my own.  I used to print out my maps ahead of time and have everything planned out before I left for my long journey.  As I have become the “experienced road warrior” I have found the beauty in getting “lost.”  Even though I now have a GPS, which I couldn’t live without, even the GPS “gets lost” at times.

For instance, when Donna and I arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday there was construction EVERYWHERE!  Our GPS, which we have come to rely on, went crazy because every time it tried to take us down a road, we ran into a detour or road block.  We eventually made it to our hotel, laughing hysterically that it took us an hour to travel 4 miles!

As in life, we need to have a guide, whether in the form of a map, a GPS or goals we set.  That map gives us an overall context of where we are going…the big picture (your vision), so to speak.  But once the journey begins, in order to experience the beauty of the journey, you must be open and flexible to how the journey presents itself.  The visions you have are the glasses you wear when you make the decisions you need to make on your journey.  But, the path that leads you to the vision is still an “unknown.”  And every once and a while, as you walk your path, your vision may change.  Be open to that change.  Remember, God has better seats than we do.  He can see a lot more from his vantage point than we can from ours.  Trust his path more than your own.

Allow yourself to be fully present, don’t be afraid to venture into new lands and allow the Universe to unfold itself to you.  Those “unknowns” we tend to be so afraid of are almost always where the miracles lie.  The paths that were not “in the plan” are usually the ones that lead us best to our vision.  Your only job is to be open, have unrelenting faith and be courageous enough to just take one more step.

“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” ~Andre Gide

Following the detour signs,

Chris

For more information on Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.

Safety and security are such basic needs for a human being that we do not even worry about our other needs if these two needs are not met…hence why it is at the bottom of Maslow’s famous pyramid!  We need to feel safe in order to function.  It is a basic need and one most would list as a top priority.  People will do anything to feel safe…even things that are not so noble such as steal, lie and cheat.  Not only do we need to feel safe physically, but we have emotional and mental safety needs as well.  When we feel unsafe we tend to soothe ourselves with certain things and we all have those specific things we go to that make us feel “safe.”

I remember watching the movie “The Kid” with Bruce Willis and there is a scene where he sees his child self in his kitchen and cannot believe what he is seeing.  He feels mentally and emotionally unsafe.  He frantically starts to make a sandwich and is repeating over and over again, “Safety in a sandwich!  Safety in a sandwich!”  We find comfort in food, people, places, songs, books, and sometimes unhealthy habits such as drinking, smoking or drugs.  Our ego drives this safety need so strongly (because it is afraid of dying) that it talks us into doing anything we need to in order to feel safe.

The problem is, what we usually find in these comforts of ours is a false sense of safety.  If we truly believed these things made us safe, why would we be looking for a comfort?  We are looking for a “known” and think if we know what is going to happen, have a plan and can predict the future, we are then safe.  This could not be further from the truth!  Our true safety is in the unknown…in faith and trust itself.  Faith in a higher power; faith in yourself; trust that the knowledge you have attained throughout your lifetime has turned into wisdom; and trust that if in your heart it feels right (regardless of what anyone else says – including your own head!) it IS right!

I recently had an experience I would like to share that exemplifies that we are always looked out for and the power in trusting the process of living in the unknown.  I decided a few months ago to move from MD, where I live now, to AZ.  It was a scary decision because it is a new place where I know almost no one and my family and friends live out East.  I decided to take the steps to do it anyway, found a friend to move in with to share expenses and started looking for a place to rent.  My friend found a house that is in the perfect location and is absolutely beautiful, so we put in an application and prayed we would get the house, knowing if we didn’t get this one we would get one eventually.  The next day I got an email from my assistant, Ruth titled “You won’t believe this!”  Ironically (or is it), the man who owns the house my friend and I put in an application for in AZ is the next door neighbor of my assistant in PA!!!  He saw her name on my website when he looked me up and proceeded to contact her and got a glowing (thank you Ruth!) unsolicited reference!  Needless to say, we got the house and I am moving in 3 weeks!  J  Coincidence or divine intervention?  You choose…

Make a decision today or this week where you will not know the outcome.  Take a chance and do something just because if feels right.  Don’t analyze it, scrutinize it or judge it.  Just do it!  Then, see what the Universe brings to your door.  Sometimes you have to close one door before another one will open…the lock on one unlocks the other.  Just try it…the only thing you have to lose is the chance.  And if you lose the chance, don’t worry, another one always comes around the corner…just wait and see 😉

Making a choice instead of standing still,

Chris

For more information on Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.