Life is an Echo

"Life is an Echo"...

I heard this on an episode of Grey's recently and my brain almost exploded. Surely I'm not the only one who can binge watch Grey's Anatomy and come away with more life lessons than I can count :)

Life is an echo... what you give... you get back.

There is an old Chinese proverb that expands this thought.... as well as scripture galore that basically says....

What you reap you sow...

or how about...

What goes around comes around...

What you see in others first exists in you...

You get the picture.

I started really thinking about this and I'm beginning to understand the power of these words.

LIFE IS AN ECHO.

You see we have a voice. There is power in our voice and also power in HOW we use it. What we speak will most likely... BECOME.

Think really hard about what you hope for. Think about the dreams you have, the people you love, the future you envision, and then think about what comes from your mouth on a daily basis... Do you spew death or do you plant seeds of life? Do you function in negativity or thrive in hope? Do you see the worst in others, or do you give them the benefit of the doubt? Do you forgive, or do you hold yourself and the other person hostage because of your grudge against them? Do you focus on truth... or do you create lies.... stories in your head that hurt you.. and others?

The list goes on and on... if you think about it.. it almost seems more natural to give in to the negative space than it is to focus on the good. That's where our mental and emotional strength comes in.

It really is simple... and not a science to be mastered by any means... it's simply CHOOSING to see life through a different lens. It's catching yourself when you begin to fall into the abyss of ugly and forcing yourself to not go off the ledge... it's the decision to run in the opposite direction from anyone or anything that affects your positive vibes... recognizing the toxicity in your life and burning the bridge between you and the world that clouds your view.

Here are two examples from my own personal journey.. both are simple yet they remind me how important it is that I continually breathe in and breathe out... HOPE.

I get asked all the time...

"How did you manage to open an orphanage across the world? How did you manage to create a path that has brought so many children home to families?"

Lovelies, do you know how many people said it would NEVER be done? Do you have any idea how many tried to STOP it? The orphanage in Sierra Leone exists because a few good people refused to listen to the noise... because we BELIEVED and would not accept anything BUT success. We put out a vision... we didn't waiver... and the echo that returned is what you see today... It did not happen without obstacle after obstacle...and many times we wanted to quit... we crumpled under the pressure.. but we GOT BACK UP and we continued to BELIEVE. I listen to families in the adoption pipeline speaking so much negativity into their stories... how awful their process is, how LONG it's taking... their kids are NEVER coming home.... I'd like to whisper this truth and etch it on their hearts for the days they forget...

"PLEASE don't speak that into your story.... you have the power to bring exactly that into your life... DEATH. You can kill your own dream if you are not careful... Keep saying they will never be home... and you are RIGHT... they will never come home... SPEAK HOPE and BREATHE life into your story... BUILD up the ones fighting your battle across the world with words of affirmation...and then they too will take on your battle cry and never give up... TRUST me you'll be glad you did."

I was also told Network Marketing would ruin me. When I joined the business 5 years ago... you have no idea how much negativity was spewed my direction... Making it work... finding time to build a business from the ground up was FREAKING HARD... and I could have looked at the number of consultants who never succeed and assumed that would be my fate. But I refused to believe that... and I fought hard... because my family deserved ALL of me and not just PART of me. I hear all the time....

"I don't have time for this biz. I'm not a salesperson. I just don't see myself doing something like this. No one will support me."

BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Well... again. you are EXACTLY correct. If you say you don't have time... you won't find it. If you say no one will support you... likely they won't... WHY?

Because YOU DON'T BELIEVE in it yourself.

I have a woman who joined me several years ago in business and hasn't grown her company since she started... why? Because I have NEVER heard her say ONE positive thing about her opportunity. All conversation leads back to lack of interest, lack of time, no one wants to buy from her.... etc... And she's right... would you want to join someone in business that lives in that space all day long? Me neither. Her voice speaks death over her business every single day.... and that is exactly what she got... a garden that never grew.

I also think the way we frame information... affects how our brain processes it... for example...

"50% of marriages end in divorce."

This tells us our likelihood of making a marriage last is SLIM. But.....

What if we said instead.... "50% of marriages last a lifetime"....

This tells us we have a shot. And instead of flee mode... we stand ready to fight instead for the one that lasts a lifetime... for the person we love.

"Only 7% of companies have a female CEO".

This tells us our likelihood of ever getting to the top as a woman is almost IMPOSSIBLE.

What if instead we said... "7% of US fortune 500 companies are led by women, this gives us the hope and opportunity to close in on the other 97%."

This rallies us around a chance to gain ground rather than focusing on the gap. Instead of thinking we are screwed as females... we pull up our bootstraps and we work our way to the top... because we BELIEVE we can... because there is room for us where we choose to plant ourselves.

All this to say...

WHAT are YOU speaking over your life? Where do you spend your mental space? WHO do you spend your time with... who surrounds you? If it's a bunch of Negative Nancy's who only have time for gossip and complaining... FIND NEW FRIENDS.... like NOW.... Whatever you absorb... WILL COME OUT.

If you see now that LIFE is an ECHO...

What is your new mantra? Because you know it has to change.

What will your circle of friends look like? Because you know it also has to change.

What will you choose to believe in? Hopefully yourself... because I'd bet on YOU any day.

Start using this filter...

"Is the echo of my life...beautiful? Do I see fruits of my labor in my children? my friends? my spouse? If not. Zip your lips.... until you have something nice to say... shut down your brain and STOP TALKING until you reset the circuit.

If it's true....what goes around comes around... you reap what you sow...

Then you don't have time to waste. You get ONE life. Depending on how you use it... you could produce an echo that outlives you... and that's the end goal. Leave the world different than how you found it.

Life is an echo... what do you hear from your own?

P.S. Do I have this whole thing figured out? Of course not... that's why it hit me upside the head and I couldn't sleep last night... I recognized the areas where my echo is LOUD and obnoxious... and does NOT serve me or anyone around me... Having said that, I'm hitting the reset in the areas I stumble.. I hope you will to :)