Guest blog contributor, Chris Sopa’s daughter, Natalie Sopa, 19 years old.

“Above all, don’t lose hope” 
~Pi, “Life of Pi”

When you look up at the stars, what do you see? Do simply see stars? Do you see beauty? Do they make you feel insignificant? Or do you look up at the sky, with the stars reflecting off your eyes like fire above a stagnate lake and feel possibility and hope?

Most of the time when someone looks up at the stars they don’t see the beauty or the possibilities that hold ungodly amounts of hope. They see a sky that is too large to comprehend; a large quantity of space that holds mysteries not yet known to the human race. Many feel themselves shrink back, feeling smaller and smaller by the second until they feel like an empty void of space.

Sometimes in life, things can make you feel small, unimportant, and insignificant. They can tear you apart piece by piece, ripping your soul so you feel like nothing but a deep, unexplored sea. Whether it is a divorce, a breakup, the death of a person or dream, or something as small as a deceptive lie told to you, these kinds of events can hurt you more than you would ever possibly think. The wound may heal, but most of the time there is always a scar left over on your soul. Then, once something happens that is similar to the event that created the scar, the wound is ripped back open.

Feelings like this should not be ignored. Like my Mom always says, most of the time if something keeps bothering you and ripping open a healed wound, there is a lesson that you need to learn from it. It may not always be so obvious because pain can leave such rough scars on our souls, our subconscious always remembers the pain, so; unless we do something to heal the wound to make the scar fade we will always feel reoccurring pain. We must strive past the pain and get to the source of the sorrow. You must keep digging until you get to the center of the earth. There you will find the lava that is fueling your pain.

Cooling that lava is where the peace will rise like evaporated water. As many experts say, “This is easier said than done.” The journey to peace might be more painful and rigorous than the wound itself, but the result is worth the fight.

Whether you feel like an endless space filled with stars or a deep sea filled with mystery, there is always hope for something new to be discovered. What will you discover at the end of your journey to peace?

For your FREE copy of Chris Sopa’s 7 Steps to Changing Any Behavior click on the photo below.

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc.

“Do not allow the distractions of your day, your body, and your thoughts to own you. Step outside of the body and observe it as a vehicle that you instruct, a vehicle that transports you through time and space and documents experience. When you have a thought of someone who has passed into spirit, you are with them. When you hold a thought of disease, you start to become it. When you have a thought of limitation, you are gifted it. Where your thoughts are is where you dwell, it is your creational address. This address then becomes your quantified universe and defined field of light. Redefine who you are to yourself and then it will follow as the day follows the night that you will be re-defined in every cell of your body, and level of your life.  Do not be humbled by your own light, for it is grander than you can conceive. That is your Divine Right and your Divine Inheritance. All things belong unto you.“  ~Rev. Angela Peregoff

There was a study done recently on goal-setting.  100 people were asked if they had goals for their life and out of that 100, only 10 people said yes that they had goals.  After following those 10 goal-making individuals, they found that only 2% of them actually went on to achieve their goals.  What was different about that 2%?  Why did they go on to achieve their goals but the other 8 did not?

I travel all over the world and have spoken to many different types of audiences.  I have facilitated lectures to CEO’s all the way to upcoming female leaders in Gambia, Africa that could not read, write or speak English.  One thing I find in common with all of my audiences is that when I ask the question, “Who in here knows what they want?  Who has goals for their life?” I get the deer in the headlights look.  A few stragglers raise their hands (that 2%), but the others act as if I just asked them a question in Swahili.  It still to this day puzzles me as to how any of these individuals make decisions in their life not knowing what they want?

One myth many seem to believe is that life just happens and our job is to respond to life in the appropriate way.  That could not be further from the truth.  That is like saying you are a pinball in a pinball machine getting knocked around this way and that by life and you just have to take it.  I choose to believe something different.  I choose to believe that creating our life the way WE want is a God-given right.  We are the Michael Angelo’s of our lives…we are the creators.

What is different about that 2% who go on to be creators of their lives?

1. They take the time to define their priorities – what are your top three priorities in your life right now…in order?  Family, career, physical health?  There is no wrong answer.  If you do not know what your priorities are, everything, my friends, becomes a priority!  Priorities shift and change as you change.  Define them today and revisit them often.
2. Their behaviors match their word – once you have identified your priorities, make sure your behaviors match what you say.  That is called self-integrity.  If I were a fly and followed you around all day long, at the end of the day, I should be able to tell you what your priorities are by watching your behaviors.  If your behaviors are not in line now, make adjustments.
3. They define very specifically what they want – make a bucket list of things you would like to do, have or accomplish before you “kick the bucket.”  Be as specific as you can (color, place, time).  Do not worry about how what you identified will come to pass, just write it down.  If it pops into your mind, it goes on the paper.
4. They have a plan of action – take the top 3 items on your bucket list and make a plan of action – dates and all.  Identify what you need to do, piece by piece, to accomplish this goal.  Work backwards from the end point to today.  Have the self-discipline to stick with it.  Ask yourself why you want this goal so bad and if you want it so bad, why haven’t you achieved it yet?  Make a plan of how to overcome these obstacles before they arrive.
5. They have an undying belief in themselves and see their goal as already accomplished – the old adage of seeing it before you believe it has really thrown a glitch into the thinking of many individuals in achieving their goals.  The true equation of manifesting what you desire is to BELIEVE IT, DO IT, HAVE IT.  You must believe a thing is true first in order to act accordingly. Your believing begins with your thoughts:  your conditioning leads to a thought; every thought leads to a feeling; every feeling leads to an action and this equals your end result.  Change your thinking and change your life (there is a great book with that as the subtitle coming out in 2 weeks!  Stay tuned… J)

Starting today, begin to believe you have the right to life; the right to live that life the way YOU want to.  Go grab a “paintbrush” and start your masterpiece.

One of the 2%,

Chris 

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by how we react to what happens; not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life; a positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes.  It is a catalyst…a spark that creates extraordinary results.

The most destructive habit => Worry
The greatest joy => Giving
The greatest loss => Loss of self-respect

The most satisfying work => Helping others
The ugliest personality trait => Selfishness
The most endangered species => Dedicated leaders

Our greatest natural resource => Our youth
The greatest “shot in the arm” => Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome => Fear

The most effective sleeping pill => Peace of mind
The most crippling disease => Excuses
The most powerful force in life => Love

The most dangerous pariah => Gossiper
The world’s most incredible computer => The brain
The worst thing to be without => Hope

The deadliest weapon => The tongue
The two most power-filled words => “I Can”
The greatest asset => Faith

The most worthless emotion => Self-pity
The most beautiful attire => Smile
The most prized possession => Integrity

The most powerful channel of communication => Prayer/Meditation
The most contagious spirit => Enthusiasm

The world’s greatest cross-country driver,

Chris

BE SURE TO CONTINUE TO FOLLOW OUR BLOG AS I MAKE THE 2300 MILE TREK, STARTING TODAY, TO MY NEW HOME IN ARIZONA….PICTURES, STORIES AND INSPIRATION TO COME!!!!

To learn more about Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.