Happy Labor Day to my American friends and family… and Happy Labour Day to my Canadian friends and family.

Yup, the concept’s the same between the two countries, just the spelling is different.

When I used to think of either word, I would conjure up images of “working hard”. And while challenges in life are to be expected, it’s not necessarily meant to be “hard”.

Now, while there may sometimes be blood, sweat and tears involved, I think of labor in a different way:

• Doing what you love
• Contributing value to others
• Bringing new life into the world

So embrace the labor (or labour) you do, and celebrate it today.

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Releasing Fault and Freeing Yourself: 11 Shifts To Align With the Energy of Personal Responsibility
by Lori Hamann

You might find yourself vacillating between two familiar points in life…

One is feeling responsible for everything in your life, including your loved ones, your clients, your partners (i.e., having the weight of the world on your shoulders) and another one is not wanting to take responsibility for anything (i.e., I didn’t ask for this, nor did I create it, life happens to me!)

Most likely you find yourself ping ponging back and forth, or hanging out in-between, unsure of what you are truly responsible for as you set out to create your life.

And, here’s the scoop — if you aren’t really sure, the path to success gets a little cloudy, and more difficult. So let’s create some clarity.

So, have you ever felt that it is just a bit easier to blame someone or something “outside of your self” or things “outside of your control” for the circumstances of your life?

Surely we all have… it’s part of the creation learning curve.

But, try this on for size: “I’m responsible for my life, period.  What it looks like, what I create, how I react, how I emote, how I communicate, how I think, how I behave and what I believe.”

So, just try it out, and feel yourself in that space. It’s powerful.

I am not suggesting that you go faster than you are ready to, but lean in the direction of this very empowered place.

Taking responsibility is about stepping into your own personal power, rather than — “It’s my fault, and look at the mess I’m creating!”

In fact — I suggest you release fault finding completely. It serves no one — and only sets you up to hold some seriously toxic energy.

Release finger pointing, and release blame. Energetically that calibrates at a very low energy, trust me But you don’t need me to tell you that, just tune in.

SO, stop trying to find fault — even with yourself. This is a really important point.

Taking personal responsibility is not about finding fault within yourself, it’s more about moving forward and being a match to what you desire from a place of noticing your preferences, versus shame and fault finding.

On the flip side of fault finding is taking personal responsibility for your life… fully.

So, here we go:

>>> CONTINUE READING Guest Post: Releasing Fault and Freeing Yourself…

Ever talked about how “miserable” the weather is when it rains, or how “beautiful” it is when the sun is shining?

Hey, we all like things bright and uplifting, but that notion takes away the all-important concept of yin and yang bringing equilibrium to the world.

“Rain is refreshing, sunshine is delicious, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”
- John Ruskin, English critic and essayist

In other words, there are positives and negatives in every experience, and it’s just your perspective that determines which side you see.

Changing your point of view is a choice.

To sum it up another way, here’s one of my favorite ’80s bands, Talk Talk, singing about how Life’s What You Make It:

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Earlier tonight, I was out at the local July 4 fireworks display with my family.

I’m not American, but I live in the U.S., my husband is American, and our son is half American (half Canadian).

So rather than look at freedom from the stance of why Independence Day is celebrated, I have my own interpretation of what freedom means to me:

Freedom to live
Without limits.

Freedom to love
Without boundaries.

Freedom to laugh
Without reason.

And freedom to enjoy family togetherness without restriction.

Happy Independence Day!

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

In honor of Canada Day, enjoy a little bit of comedy courtesy of Whose Line Is It Anyway?

I had the pleasure of interviewing Colin Mochrie, the butt of all these Canadian jokes, a few times… and yes, he was always just as fun and unpredictable then.

Gives a whole new meaning to the Goss family motto (borrowed from the Marines) of Adapt, Overcome and Improvise…

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Sure, life comes at you fast sometimes.

And when it gets overwhelming, sometimes the best thing you can do is relax and take a breather.

After all, it’s just like a car… if you don’t refuel, you’ll run out of gas eventually.

So when you need a break, here’s some hilarious fun for kids of all ages (gotta love Animal with his “Mama?” routine!)…

The Muppets performing Bohemian Rhapsody:

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

What is your subconscious mind doing when you’re involved in mindless activity, like surfing on the internet?

What about when you’re actually working on your computer?

We think it would be great if you could use that time to reprogram your mind and accomplish even more.

And it looks like it just might be possible!

If you’re as intrigued as we were, read our article about it here: Reprogram Your Brain… As You Surf?

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Whenever things don’t go the way I want them to, I sing this Bon Jovi song to myself.

It reminds me of the power I have to “adapt, overcome and improvise,” which is a Goss family slogan we borrowed from a Clint Eastwood movie (and the Marines).

It reminds me to look for the positive side of a situation, since every event has two sides.

And it reminds me of my ability to take back control:

“If there’s one thing I hang onto,
That gets me through the night.
I ain’t gonna do what I don’t want to,
I’m gonna live my life
Shining like a diamond, rolling with the dice,
Standing on the ledge, I show the wind how to fly.
When the world gets in my face,
I say, Have A Nice Day.”

- Bon Jovi, Have a Nice Day

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

How often have you taken the people in your life for granted, while you focused on business, or  your own goals, or keeping the house clean, or any other number of things that can get in the way of what truly matters?

As I just wrote in an article on the LWL Worldwide blog:

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re into personal development — working on yourself from the inside out, and becoming the best “YOU” that you can be while living in this world.

But all the personal work doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if you don’t have rich relationships with other people. It’s like trying to live in a void, a vacuum, or a hermit cave, without accessing the things that form the core value of human experience: a full range of heart-based emotions and feelings, as well as the clearest mirrors possible for your own behavior.

To find out how to turn around your limiting patterns and bad habits, read my full article and download the accompanying free report: Reverse Your Relationship Problems.

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Don’t you just want to live while you’re alive?

“It’s my life, it’s now or never.
I ain’t gonna live forever,
I just want to live while I’m alive.

It’s my life, my heart is like an open highway,
Like Frankie said, I did it my way.
I just wanna live while I’m alive.
It’s my life.”

- Bon Jovi, It’s My Life

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!