Or go obliviously unnoticed. 

It’s all up to us.

So here we stand on the edge of a new moment. Moments, if defined as seconds, happen 86,400 times per day. We move from one moment to the next almost seamlessly, as one moment morphs into the next, and then the next. The busy pace of life today causes us to misplace entire days, let alone notice a single individual moment.

Transitioning between the moments is done without much thought or reflection. As we blindly enter the Next Moment, we bring with us the contents of the previous moment, which contained the contents of the moment prior to that one. Each moment is a clean canvas that is colored by what it is we decide to bring into it. That is, if we even bother to make a decision in the first place. If you don’t even notice the moment there is no need to think about what to bring into it.

FREEDOM The great thing about entering the Next Moment is that there are no rules. No list of regulations or restrictions. We are free to bring anything and everything with us. Sometimes the stuff we bring inspires us and propels us forward. Sometimes the stuff we bring just weighs us down, keeping our wheels spinning in the mud that surrounds us from time to time.

So, what have you been taking with you into your next moments?

Attitudes, expectations, and perceptions will all shape the quality of the Next Moment, and by extension, the quality of our lives. When was the last time you took an inventory of your own attitudes, expectations, and perceptions? The good news is that we are the only ones that determine our attitudes, expectations, and perceptions. The world and those in it will surely attempt to shape us, but we alone will always be the ones ultimately responsible for ourselves.

Before you enter the Next Moment, press the pause button on your life. Just stop for a quick minute and ask yourself one question:

If the Next Moment were to be perfect, what exactly would that Next Moment look and feel like?

Whatever it is you’d like to find in the Next Moment, are your attitudes, expectations, and perceptions in line with what it is you hope the Next Moment will be?

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD As you prepare to step into the Next Moment, will you weigh yourself down with a backpack full of uncertainty, fear, weakness, bitterness, jealousy, disappointment, or desperation? Or will you walk into the gift of the Next Moment empowered by hope, abundance, possibility, optimism and confidence?

The Next Moment really doesn’t care either way. It’s job is to show up. Our job is to decide what we’ll bring with us as we cross the threshold into the Next Moment. It’s a decision that can keep us content in our discontent, or can set us free to become all that we were created to become.  It’s all up to us.

Each day outside influences are given endless opportunities to mold and shape our attitudes, expectations, and perceptions. The media reminds us on a constant basis of all that is “wrong” with the world. The societal pressures to be the “right” weight, date the “right” people, drive the “right” car, drink the “right” beer, worship in the “right” church, and the inevitable comparisons we make between who we are and who we are “supposed” to be. And then there are the opinions of others and the acceptance or rejection that comes along with it, especially when those opinions come from those who claim to love us the most. 

POSSIBILITY & PROMISE But the Next Moment is a blank slate. The Next Moment is a starting line. The Next Moment is the first note in the unfinished symphony of your life. We can chose to let the external influences hijack the Next Moment, or we can chose to be empowered with the possibility and promise that reside within us and within every Next Moment.

So, what will you bring into the Next Moment?

Living Half Full is about making the most of all the next moments of your life, starting with this moment, right here, right now. It is deciding that life is about opportunity and growth. It’s about rediscovering and reconnecting with the greatness that lies within all of us. It’s about dumping any negative emotional baggage onto the bed and repacking your suitcase with exactly what you’ll need to maximize the Next Moment…and the rest of your life.

It’s a great day to be you!

–  Carl Jung

So, what are you searching for, and where do you expect to find it?  All too often the expectation is that what we seek is “over there” somewhere. Isn’t that how we’ve been conditioned to think? When was the last time you were told that what you are seeking can be found within you?

Jung challenges us to look within, to connect with the contents of our hearts. To awaken to the truths within ourselves. To go beyond looking outside and dreaming about what could be by looking inside and rediscovering and reconnecting to what we were created to become.

Awaken to your real self. Expect to find the answers from within. That’s the only place you’ll ever find them.

It’s a great day to be you!

Never did I expect one simple question to dramatically impact me so profoundly.

It wasn’t so much the question itself, it was the interaction that stemmed from the question. We began with a very innocent and simple question, which morphed into a conversation which gradually became a far deeper conversation, well beyond where either one of us ever expected the conversation to go. Through our dialog we discovered many similarities between us. We also shared some of our hopes and dreams as well as some of the troubles life was throwing at us.

It was an incredible conversation, much more of a connection between two people comfortable enough to entrust some deeply personal thoughts with each other, and a commitment to proactively “be there” for each other. A promise to inspire each other as we strive to fulfill our hopes and dreams. A promise to help each other get unstuck when the weight of our troubles grinds us to a halt.

Our conversation has challenged me to re-examine what friendship actually means.

NO CLOSER We all have people in our lives we consider friends. Friends are people that you’d do anything for. Usually helping out a friend in need is reactionary. They need our help because something has already happened that they need to resolve. Being there is what good friends are supposed to do.

Most relationships these days, including those with our friends, have become more superficial. The pressures and demands of each day leave very little time for the deeper things, a troublesome side effect of the age we live in. You’d think that with Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and unlimited texting that our relationships with our friends would have gotten deeper. But have social media and cell phones actually brought us closer to those we consider friends?

DEEPEST FEARS My conversation with my new friend was the deepest, most meaningful conversation I have had in a very long time. I had forgotten how this type of conversation makes me feel alive, makes me feel purposeful. It is forcing me to look at the quality of the conversations I have with all my friends. I wonder how well I really know the people I consider to be the most important in my life.

I know where my friends work. I know their birthdays. I know their political views. I know where they vacation. But do I know what their deepest fears are? Do I know of the frustrations that they may be feeling in their lives? Do I know of their regrets? Do I know of what they really hope to achieve in this world?

Sharing deeply held emotions is not something people readily volunteer. We are taught that we need to be strong. We are not supposed to show any weakness or fragility. Sharing deeply held emotions opens us up to uncertainty, the uncertainty that our honesty may be used against us. In an unforgiving world, who wants to show that they are vulnerable? Who wants to admit that they hurt?

QUIET DESPERATION Something tells me that inside all of us, though, there is something that hurts. Behind the warmest eyes, the prettiest smile, the manliest of handshakes, inside there is something that hurts. Perhaps a quiet desperation. It could be fear, frustration, confusion, uncertainty, a lack of acceptance. It could be events in your past that have profoundly damaged you. It could be as simple as feeling alone.

If I am a true friend, isn’t it my responsibility to know these things about my friends? Do I not have an obligation to let my friends know that I am always available should their hurt start to hurt too much? That I am here with shoulders to cry upon and shoulders to stand upon? That I am here to inspire them and to challenge them to become all that they were created to become?

I’ve always “been there” for my friends when they’ve needed me. But do they know that I am here for them before they need me, before the hurt starts to hurt in the first place?

BEING PROACTIVE Even those who are friends may not be willing to share their deepest thoughts or the source of what hurts. Again, society frowns on the admission of pain. But letting those in your life know that you are available, unconditionally, to help them deal with their pain may open up a dialog that can possibly make the pain go away.

Pain usually never goes away by itself.

There is a hauntingly beautiful song by the band REM entitled “Everybody Hurts”. (Link to view the video is at the bottom of the page.) The song encourages us to “take comfort in your friends”. It’s a great thing to have friends to comfort you when the world is bringing you down. But the lesson my new friendship has taught me is that friendship should be far more proactive.

Friendship is more than being there when things go wrong. It’s about establishing deeper connections, about really getting to know those you love and cherish the most. Proactively befriending those in your life creates a deeper connection and understanding which has the power to change lives, both for you and those around you.

It’s being there before things go wrong.

The love established through deeper human connections is the ultimate pain killer.

Gandhi tells us to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Establishing deeper connections with and a deeper understanding of all the people in your life will profoundly change your immediate world and all those in it.

DON’T ASSUME Take a look at your circle of friends. Sure, they know that you’d be there for them in their time of need. But do they know that you’re there for them before their hurt starts to hurt in the first place? I encourage you to gain a deeper understanding of those you love and to establish a more proactive relationship with all of them. Let them know that you are there for them, to encourage and inspire them, to chat when they feel weak, to remind them of all the greatness that lies within them.

Isn’t that what friendship should really be?

And don’t assume that they know. Be proactive and make sure that they know.

In our fast-pace, disposable, superficial world, never before has the need for deeply meaningful human connection been greater than it is today.

It’s a great day to be you!

Click here for the video link to “Everybody Hurts” by REM

–Friedrich Nietzsche

When was the last time you thought of yourself as a “marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity”?

We have all been divinely assembled with a unique combination of talents, gifts and abilities. No one before you nor anyone to come will be configured exactly as you are. With such uniqueness comes great value and worth. But with such value and worth comes the responsibility to fulfill the promises contained within the gifts you possess.

Nietzsche is right. We are “only once on this earth”. We only have one opportunity to live up to the great purpose we have within us. This is it.

Celebrate your uniqueness and share what you are with the world. We all really need you to do this.

The world needs you to be great!

It’s a great day to be you.

WARNING:

This post contains a BIG BOLD STATEMENT.

It seems like a lot of people are looking for happiness. Walk through any bookstore and count the number of times you see the words “happy” or “happiness”. If you had $5 for each time you saw those words you could probably make a mortgage payment. Just for fun, Google the word “happiness”. The last time I did, Google came back with over 75,400,000 entries. I found sites about happiness quotes, happiness poems, happiness articles, happiness blogs, happiness affirmations, happiness posters, happiness videos, even happiness retreats. I found happiness everything.

I can’t help but wonder…with such an overly abundant supply of happiness support materials, are we in the middle of some sort of unhappiness pandemic?

THE SMILE FACADE We all know unhappy people, the ones who are so unhappy on the inside that their unhappiness bleeds through to their outside. But there is a second batch of unhappy people. I call them the Functionally Unhappy.

The Functionally Unhappy show no signs of unhappiness on the outside. They smile. They laugh. They can even be successful by traditional societal standards. But in the moments of silence and reflection in the course of their day, they are reminded that something is missing. Something just isn’t right. The Emptiness Demon is whispering not-so-sweet nothings in their ear.

The Functionally Unhappy are thrilled to be distracted by the busywork associated with the daily activities of life. The distractions allow them to not have to face the unhappiness perculating just below the surface. Distractions can also take the form of retail transactions, bigger houses, and exotic vacations. As the distractions fail to produce the desired result of real happiness, that frustration is often muted with comfort food, alcohol, and in some cases, drugs.

The Functionally Unhappy are also searchers, always trying to find that one key to happiness that has to be lying around somewhere.

I am a recovering Functionally Unhappy person. I have lived what I speak of. Despite all the good things in my life, I just wasn’t happy. I was always searching for whatever it was I thought I’d need to find my happiness. The unhappiness was always present at various levels of intensity. It was like walking with a pebble in your shoe. No one knew it was there, but I could feel it with every step.

YELLING AT GOD There was, and to this day remains no logical reason why I was unhappy. I had everything I was supposed to have. Nothing was holding me back. Nothing was in my way. Yet something was missing. When you spend all your time searching, you spend no time being present. There was a gnawing clash between my expectations and my reality, even though I could never clearly define my own expectations. It was a time of great frustration.

Next time you talk to God, ask Him about the time I was yelling at Him during a long, lonely walk on the beach.

My quest to “find” happiness lead me in many directions. Usually it lead me to Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble became my happiness methadone clinic. I knew that the answers I was looking for were to be found within the pages of some book on some shelf somewhere in Barnes & Noble. Or so I hoped.

I bought a lot of books.

MOMENT OF CLARITY Everyone seems to have a theory on attaining happiness. The theories range from the spiritual to the scientific and everything in between. Even after reading all those books, I found nothing in and of itself was the “cure” to my condition. The One Man Army of Misery marched on and on.

In my search for real happiness, I eventually came to understand that I had a vision problem. It wasn’t my eyes. It was what I was seeing.

A significant moment of clarity came my way when I stumbled upon a quote from Wayne Dyer: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” It sounded physically impossible, even illogical, that simply seeing things differently could change what I was looking at. But somehow it did. Those fifteen words challenged me to look at everything from a different perspective. Most importantly, I was challenged to look at myself and my life through a different paradigm.

Which has lead me to the BIG BOLD STATEMENT: Happiness is not something you attain, it’s something you realize.

I’ve never found happiness. Yet I am extremely happy. More peaceful than I can ever remember being. But I never found happiness. Finding happiness implies that it is located outside of you, over there, somewhere else. Like finding your car keys or a great parking space at the mall.

Happiness only comes from looking inside. I was already happy, I just didn’t know it. I needed to change the way I looked at my life, and that change enabled me to slowly begin to appreciate all the wonder I had been surrounded by all these years.

ROOT OF ALL HAPPINESS As money is the root of all evil, the root of all happiness is appreciation. It was only when I began to allow myself to fully appreciate who I was as well as all the dormant greatness that was bestowed upon me did the sunshine of happiness break through the storm clouds. Only when I allowed myself to begin to fully appreciate the family, friends and relationships I already had in my life was I able to walk away from my darkness. The same eyes that once only saw what was missing now only saw what was. The same mind that stewed in impossibility and scarcity now celebrated all that I was and all that I was capable of becoming.

The pebble was no longer in my shoe.

No one is born unhappy. That’s something we unknowingly and gradually bring upon ourselves. And that comes from us forgetting about who we really are. We focus on attainment and fitting in, we enter the realm of status and ego, even at the unintended expense of squelching the greatness and purpose that lies within us. I don’t fully understand how I got so lost, but I do understand how I got back. Changing how I thought about myself and my life allowed me to regain the appreciation that I once had for myself and all that is in my life. Only with the foundation of appreciation was I able to realize the happiness that I spent years trying to find outside of me.

Happiness is not something you attain, it’s something you realize.

Living Half Full is all about appreciating the greatness of your life. And only from that authentic appreciation can we ever expect to make the most of the unique combination of talents, gifts, and abilities that dwell within each of us. There very well may be 2,134 ways to be happy, but no one will ever know true happiness without first appreciating the greatness of the life they already have.

Celebrate all that you are and all that you are capable of becoming.

Regain the reverence and appreciation for all that you are.

Realize your happiness!

It’s a great day to be you!

You’d think after some 50,000 meals that I’ve had in my lifetime I would have figured out this eating thing. It’s not the physical act of ingesting food that’s got me stumped. It’s not the chewing, and my fork skills are excellent.

It’s the tasting.

Food, for the most part, is something that I simply consume. It’s no different than regular unleaded is to my Honda Accord.  When the tank gets empty it’s time to refuel. Spending a great deal of my time on the road affords me the opportunity to sample a wide variety of not-so-good-for-you fast foods.  Far too many of my meals begin with a static-filled conversation involving a speaker and a window.

EXCUSE #1 I rationalize my eating habits by invoking the reliable “I don’t have the time” excuse. I call that Excuse #1. Just far too much to do today and for every remaining day of my life. “No time to sit down and enjoy a real lunch…I don’t have the time.” I’m really good at Excuse #1.

For someone who eats far too much fast food, I tend to watch a lot of the Food Network. I don’t really cook that much because…(insert Excuse #1 here). I am always amazed with what I consider the extravagant extremes of some of the recipes being prepared. My favorites recipe extremist is chef Bobby Flay. To support my claim, I offer as evidence two menu items that can be found on his website: “Fried Chicken and Wild Rice Pancakes with Pink Peppercorn Butter and Maple-Horseradish Syrup” and the “Grilled White Corn Taco with BBQ Pork Loin, Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes, and Tomatillo-Red Pepper Relish.” Wow. And those are just the names of the dishes…imagine the presentation!

I never understood “fancy” food. The range of my palate is best described as being equal to a box of Crayola crayons. A very small box of Crayola crayons. Blue is simply blue, yellow is simply yellow, and green is simply just green. For me, food is either good or it’s not. Not the evaluative credentials that will get me hired as a food critic any time soon.

INTIMATE DETAILS I am amazed, though, how a chef can stick his pinky into a sauce pan and identify every ingredient in the pan with a single lick of his finger. His highly developed palate makes that possible. Much like a sommelier being able to describe the character and nuance of a particular wine. The chef and the sommelier have both developed their palates to an advanced point where they are able to discern the most intimate details with a single taste.

It’s all about the intimate details.

What gifted chefs and sommeliers do that I don’t do is taste. I mean really taste. In the moment that the food or drink is being tasted, nothing else matters. They are fully present, aware only of what they are tasting at that moment. Their intense presence combined with their trained palates affords them the opportunity to fully extract and identify all the layers of flavor, the textures, and the contrasts contained within each bite or sip.

CELEBRATE THE NUANCE In our never ending journey to get wherever it is we feel the need to get to, our lives can take on a fast food quality. Each day just another step on the Stairway to Someplace Else. Each day mindlessly morphing into the next. Life, with fries. Next window, please.

Life wasn’t designed to be consumed. Life was designed to be tasted, to fully extract the layers of flavor, the textures, and the contrasts of the moments of our lives. That can only happen when we are fully present in each of the moments of our lives. No tomorrow. No yesterday. Just now. Right here. Given the chance, our senses will provide us with all we’ll need to celebrate the nuances of each moment.

Are you fully extracting the flavors, textures, and contrasts of your life?

ACTION PLAN The first step is stopping. Find yourself at any given moment and just stop. Just for a moment. Invoke the senses and simply observe what you see, smell, hear, and feel. No need for judgement. Let be what is. Just be fully present in this moment. Allow the moment to take you where it may. Then offer the universe a message of thanks and gratitude.

Repeat this stopping and observing process several times each day. Schedule selected times each day if you need to and put it in your planner. Repetition creates habits, and soon stopping and observing will become second nature. You’ll soon be awash in appreciation of all that you are and all that you have in your life.

Living Half Full means living fully present. It is only when we are fully present that we will see and celebrate all that it is we already have in our lives. No need to be climbing the Stairway to Someplace Else when you come to fully appreciate where you are right now.

Bobby Flay’s “extreme” culinary creations are a celebration of flavors, textures, and contrasts.  Celebrate the flavors, textures, and contrasts of your life.

Reconnect with your own intimate details.

It’s a great day to be you!

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.”

– Lucille Ball

Up until recently most of my own regrets were related to the things I have yet to do. Things I’ve thought about and backburnered or simply dismissed for various “justifiable” reasons. Dreams and ambitions never allowed to be anything more. In the context of our own capacity to maximize the talents, gifts, and abilities we all have been given, things yet undone is greatness unrealized. It is capacity unfilled.

What is it that remains undone for you? How much of your own greatness remains unrealized?

Today is not a time for regret. Rather, it is a time for recognizing and recommitting to fulfilling the divine promise that resides in all of us. A time to rediscover and to nurture the greatness that lies within.

Waste no energy looking back lamenting what has yet to have been attempted. Instead, use that energy to propel you to maximize all that you are capable of accomplishing. Begin getting done what remains undone. It’s the first step towards fulfilling your purpose.

It’s a great day to be you!

Give yourself 3%.

I just purchased my all-new 2010 calendar. Just waiting for December to end and up on the wall she goes.

It was about this time last year that I purchased my all-new 2009 calendar, waiting for 2008 to run its remaining course. In some ways 2009 was a breakout kind of year. Certain goals, such as starting this blog, transitioned from concept into reality. LivingHalfFull.com has been read in 49 US states (hello W. Virginia?) and in 59 countries around the world. As much as I look back upon the successes of 2009, in other parts of my life, the only thing that changed was my age.

All I have gotten is older.

A STINGING REALIZATION This past year’s 365 days presented themselves to me as opportunities for growth in so many areas of my life. Yet in many areas of my life all I am is just another year older. Years, like life, can easily just slip away, one innocently wasted unfocused moment after another. I’ve incorporated the “I’m just too busy” mantra into my life for years. I’m really quite good at it. But of the 8,760 hours we have in a year, couldn’t I have found even a little time to work on areas of my life I’d like to improve upon?

I can’t change my past, but I can shape my future.

JUST 3% I’m all done with “just getting older”. I’m throwing that away with the 2009 calendar. You and I, we all have great things to accomplish. Our talents and gifts, our abilities and passions need to be nurtured and cultivated if we are to fulfill our divine promise to ourselves and to others. Excuses will never get any of us to where we were intended to be.

To get me closer to where I was intended to be I am committing 3% of 2010 to my personal growth in areas of my life that I feel are important to me. Things that simply got pushed to the back burner as life went from proactive to reactive. Just 3%. Just 5 hours per week. That’s less than what the average person spends watching TV each day.

Committing just 3% of my time to myself will allow me to:

• exercise for 30 minutes 5 times per week;
• invest 90 minutes per week into hobbies and activities I enjoy;
• contribute 1 hour per week in service to my community.

The results of investing just 3% of my time in myself are stunning. By this time next year I will have exercised some 130 HOURS, invested 78 HOURS developing my music, photography, and baking skills, and contributed 52 HOURS in service to my community through volunteer work.

Wow. All that from just 3%.

ASK YOURSELF What impact would committing just 3% of your time to your own personal growth have on your life?

THE ACTION PLAN New Year’s resolutions seldom last, but true commitments always do. The new year brings with it the opportunity to rediscover your greatness, a challenge that will profoundly impact you and all those you come in contact with.

Here are five simple steps for using your 3% to improve any area of your life…

• Commitment- This is your life. Don’t dabble. You and you alone are solely responsible for the quality of your life. You are a unique configuration of talents, gifts, and abilities that only you can offer to the world. Be in awe of all that you are, and let the understanding that you still have more to offer be the spark that fires your commitment and resolve.
• Identify Key Areas of Improvement- What areas of your life do you want to grow in? Physical, spiritual, relationships, community service, education, etc.? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to play the guitar. Perhaps you’ve wanted to finally finish your degree. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to volunteer at the local school helping children learn to read. Listen to the voice inside that has somehow been silenced over the years by the deafening sounds of the pace of everday life.
• Write Them Down – Clearly define exactly what it is you wish to achieve. Write down the specifics, ideally on a 3X5 index card or whatever it is you feel works for you. Read these cards several times daily to reinforce these new habits you are developing. With phone calls, meetings, and just the mechanics of our daily schedules, writing down your intentions will prevent them from being cast aside.
• Schedule Them – Make appointments with yourself. Schedule and block out the time you need to make these things happen. If you had a doctor’s appointment next Tuesday at 1:30, you’d plan your day around it. The same rules should apply here. This is your life. It may seem difficult to spend 30 minutes doing yoga when there is so much other important stuff to do. Understand that the 30 minutes dedicated to your yoga are equally as important as any of the other important stuff that also needs to get done. If you don’t make the time, you simply won’t ever take the time.
• Review Monthly – Each month review your level of success. Have you been able to keep the appointments you make with yourself? How do you feel now that you have been investing in the areas of your life that have been important to you? Should you reallocate how much time you spend on each individual area you are seeking to improve?

When you take down your 2009 calendar, ask yourself if you lived up to the opportunities that the past year presented to you. Before you put your new 2010 calendar up on the wall, take a look at it. You hold in your hands a blank canvas of time on which you can paint and color a life of your dreams. All based upon the choices you’ll make in direct proportion to the reverence and awe you have for yourself and the opportunities to fully manifest your own internal greatness.

One year from now, don’t be just another year older.

Live up to your own greatness.

That’s the ultimate gift!

It’s a great day to be you!

– Ben Okri

The human spirit is amazingly resilient, so long as we remember that we are all stronger than we often give ourselves credit for being.

At some point in life we’ve all had to overcome, to endure, to transform…relying upon hidden sources of inspiration and strength. Those hidden sources remain within.

In times of adversity and uncertainty, embrace the source of strength that lies inside you.

– T. S. Eliot

Have you ever wondered how far you could go? How much you could accomplish?

Usually, the need to accomplish is a function of ego driven by competition. Many derive their own self worth and self esteem by measuring their accomplishments against what others have or have not achieved.

I am reflective in quiet moments contemplating Eliot’s words. How far could I actually go? What is actually possible for me to accomplish? In my contemplation, ego is absent. I am no longer concerned with achieving to impress either myself or the world. I am inspired by the possibility of fully living up to my most advanced self.

Each of us has been created and sent into this world with a unique combination of talents, gifts, and abilities. With these talents, gifts, and abilities comes the capacity for fully expressing such talents, gifts and abilities. Our greatest challenge and responsibility is maximizing our capacity to express ourselves fully…to live up to the greatness that lies within all of us.

ROADBLOCKS There are two things that will prevent us from living up to our capacity for greatness: attitude and complacency. Many people fail to recognize their own greatness and divinity. Some who do recognize their own greatness and divinity simply refuse to accept it. Why? Recognizing and accepting your divine nature comes with a huge amount of responsibility. Some, perhaps many, will question their worthiness to be in possession of divine greatness. Doubting your worthiness will ensure that your divine promise will never be fulfilled.

The second roadblock is complacency. At some point many of us reach cruising altitude. We’ve made it. Life is good. We are comfortable and once we are comfortable the goal is to maintain that level of comfort. As we search for ways to maintain our comfort, our life of unlimited abundance has become a life of settling. Your talents, gifts, and abilities, embedded within you and to be shared with the world will sadly never be fully realized.

ALL ARE WORTHY We are all here for a specific reason. We have all been given our unique combinations of talents, gifts and abilities which are the tools that we have been given to fulfill our reason and purpose for being here. The key word is ALL.  All of us are here and all of us have been given the tools that we possess. All equally worthy to house the talents, gifts and abilities that are uniquely ours. All leaves no one out. If one is worthy then all must be worthy. If we weren’t worthy of our talents, gifts, and abilities, why would we have been given these attributes in the first place?

With our talents, gifts and abilities comes a responsibility to fully develop them. To share them with the world. Much like the natural world. Apple trees, for example, never get complacent. They were created to fully develop and share their unique fruit with the world. And that’s exactly what it is that they do.  Apple trees never reach a cruising altitude nor do they shift their focus away from producing their fruit in favor of maintaining a certain comfort level. Apple trees were created for a certain purpose in this world.

Just like all of us were.

INDIVIDUAL PROMISE Living Half Full means embracing your own unique and sacred talents, gifts and abilities and sharing them with the world. We all have extremely important roles to play during our time here on this Earth. Only when we all live up to our own individual promise will our world be able to fulfill its own.

So, how far can you go? What’s holding you back?

Maximize your capacity to express yourself fully…to live up to the greatness that lies within you.

The world needs you to be great.

It’s a great day to be you!