All Posts by Darrell Gurney

June 14, 2017, TGIW: Enjoydurance

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Nothing great is ever done without much enduring.” –St. Catherine of Siena

There’s always a next level up we’d like to see in our lives.

More fulfilling career. Greater experience of relationship. Improved health and well being. Fit finances. Ability to contribute and make a difference. Something to aspire to.

It’s the hanging in until we reach the prize that presents the rub.

We all know the story of Abraham Lincoln, and how many supposed “failures” he had to rack up before becoming President. We all know how many “failed” light bulbs hit the waste bin before one burned for Edison.

Throughout history, there are countless examples of how endurance paid off.

Yet, when the seeming “Fail” button lights above any of our dream endeavors, what makes up the rope to keep us climbing?

One strand might be the palpable and visceral depth of the desire…which we don’t diminish just because we haven’t gotten there yet.

Another might be the mindset that all of “this” is simply what there will be to look back upon after having succeeded. (Remember: lost elections, dud bulbs.)

And a final strand may be the affirmative answer to the simple question: “Are you having fun along the way?”

How will you braid your own pull toward your next level up?

Got enjoydurance?

“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.” –Langston Hughes

June 7, 2017, TGIW: Stress Test

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“The components of anxiety, stress, fear, and anger do not exist independently of you in the world. They simply do not exist in the physical world, even though we talk about them as if they do.” –Wayne Dyer

Times are interesting for sure.

Is there any more fuel for stress today than there was last year, last decade, or last century?

Who knows? We don’t compile that data. Not here anyway.

One thing for sure, the more stress that gets expressed, expanded and elevated, the more seems to show up.

We are living in times of high-potential stress. It’s what we each do with that potential.

Given that muscles are only built from resistance, perhaps this is a perfect time to build muscles around stress.

We can either add to the escalation in our responses and reactions, or peacefulize events and environments through intentional workouts.

Simon Sinek says “We live in times of high stress. Messages that are simple, messages that are inspiring, messages that are life-affirming, are a welcome break from our real lives.”

We seek to do that each week here.

What messages can you send out today, whether initiated or in response, to turn the tide toward peace?

Got stress test?

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one though over another.” –William James

May 31, 2017, TGIW: Tell Someone…and Re-NEW-ALL Discount

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Telling someone how you feel is honestly the hardest thing ever.” –Unknown​

Many of us have been shaped by the self-made-man or self-made-woman motif.

There’s a lot of John Wayne swagger in our images of being successful and together.

And yet, if you dig underneath the neatly coiffed outward appearances, all people experience personal and growth challenges.

One downfall is keeping what’s inside to ourselves.

Too often we find out stuff was going on with someone only after they’ve removed themselves from the conversation.

Yet, if we tell our own truth, others sense the safety to do the same.

In many respects, telling others serves our greater good.

Want to realize that you’re just like everyone else? Tell someone what’s going on with you.

Want to find voices more supportive than those in your head? Tell someone what you’d like to achieve.

Want to be sure you achieve what you say? Tell someone and ask them to hold you accountable.

What can you tell someone today to plug into resources outside of your own?

Gonna tell someone?

“Tell the truth, or eventually someone will tell it for you.” –Stephanie Klein​

May 24, 2017, TGIW: The Art of the Start(Over)…and Re-NEW-ALL Offer

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” –Seneca

What’s the big deal about starting over?

There’s a cultural stigma that says, if you have to start over, you somehow failed on the first attempt.

Yet, every new day offers a new opportunity to take a new look at what’s in front of us…even if it’s patterns, projects and processes that may been going on for a while.

Perhaps it’s the ability to see newly what’s already in motion, to come from “beginner’s mind” even when things have been proven to work (or not), that is an ongoing practice we want to develop.

An intention to grow invites change. Change invites constant transtion. Constant transition invites starting over…again and again.

How empowering would it be if we could all get comfortable with a casual response to the common greeting “How are you today?” with “Great! I’m starting over!”

Where can you choose starting over today…even if nothing is broken?

Got starting over?

“Maybe it’s not always about trying to fix something broken. Maybe it’s about starting over and creating something better.” –Unknown

May 17, 2017, TGIW: Alternative Energy

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” –Aristotle​

According to current perceptions, the evidence is in.

They are or it is definitely wrong, screwed up, off track, and whacked.

The question is, what choice are you going to make as to how that “fact” affects you?

It’s difficult to balance out what seems to be the very real, tangible, hard and fast proof of our “rightness” with the completely invisible impact of energetic vibrations because the seduction of vindication is juicy.

Yet, more often than not, the impact of unseen negative vibes has cost ripple effects that show up in apparently unrelated yet powerful ways.

The boss levels what appears to be criticism in the morning, and the cat gets kicked at home in the evening.

A business partner leaves you feeling slighted, and all of a sudden there’s issues with your power steering.

Watching our energy flow like a hawk and making conscious choices as to which direction we will drive it (vs. it flowing the path of least resistance, like water) can have the cat and car much happier…not to mention ourselves, in the long run.

What alternative energy choice can you make today?

Got alternative energy?

“Negativity…it can only affect you if you’re on the same frequency. Vibrate higher.​” –Unknown

May 10, 2017, TGIW: Showtime

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Life is not a dress rehearsal. The curtain is up, and you are on. So get out there and give it your best shot.” – Unknown

As kids, we had the opportunity to do show and tell in school.

How many of us stressed about it overnight?

How many of us wondered how we’d do?

How many of us rehearsed, practiced our talk in the mirror, and timed ourselves?

Thank God our innocence didn’t know of those things.

Sure, we learn to be “professional” in our work as we grow and mature.

Yet let’s not let go of the reason for it all underneath: sharing our current evolvement of Self.

If we can get there, amid all of our professionalism, that’s movement in the right direction.

What kills that forward movement of Self is all the good reasons why we’re not ready.

What can you declare yourself ready for today, anyhow and anyway?

Got showtime?

“Do not be afraid of improving slowly. Be afraid of standing still.” –Leo Babauta

May 3, 2017, TGIW: Active Re-Intention

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Intention leads to behaviors which lead to habits which lead to personality development which leads to destiny.” –Jack Kornfield

Many great and creative minds say it’s all about intention.

“Our intention creates our reality.” –Wayne Dyer

“Let the power of intention lead the way.” –Sharon Salzberg

“All that counts in life is intention.” –Andrea Bocelli

“A good intention clothes itself with sudden power.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

And many also say a good intention and $1.85 will get you a cup of coffee.

“Many of our intentions die after we have put their harness on.” –Henry S. Haskins

“Men with good intentions make promises. Men with good character keep them.” –Ronald Oliver

“It’s not intentions that matter. It’s actions. We are what we do and say, not what we intend to.” –Kristin Hannah

“There is always a gap between intention and action.” –Paulo Coelho

For those who haven’t already resigned themselves to no possibility (which many have, whom we can’t reach anyway), we can wax eloquently on the potential for our lives, careers, dreams and purposes for being on the planet.

Yet, concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary question, the unasking of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans.

“Will you really? But really really??”

Got active re-intention?

“Take action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.” –Dr. Steve Maraboli

Wednesday, April 19, TGIW: ReThink

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Change can be frightening, and the temptation is often to resist it. But change almost always provides opportunities – to learn new things, to rethink tired processes, and to improve the way we work.” –Klaus Schwab

What if A didn’t necessarily need to precede B…or what if there was a way to get to Z by circumventing the linear alphabetic song.

In other words, we often set up rules in our minds as to “the way things need to go” in order to get from A to Z. And, by establishing such rules — consciously or (for the most part) unconsciously — we create a reality. Change becomes prescribed to take place a certain way.

We often can’t imagine a result we’re committed to having in our life, our career, our business, our relationships simply showing up. That’s what’s called “magical thinking,” and we all know we have to work for it.

So says the industrial mindset, and we can all agree that simply saying it or waiting for it doesn’t have it appear.

And yet, somewhere within that rigid and calculated “truth”, if there were the slightest crack of radical possibility that things may not be so fixed as how we see them, what might have a chance to happen outside the rules?

Let’s not throw the earnest-strategy baby out with the bathwater, and perhaps there’s value in making room for unexpected and unforeseen fortuitous factors to creep in.

Got rethink?

“Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them. They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits. We can make our new normal any way we want.” –Kristin Armstrong

April 12, 2017, TGIW: Breathing Disorder

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“In all chaos, there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.” –Carl Jung

“Waiting to exhale” is a phrase many are familiar with, if not from the movie of the same name, just the experience of life as lived.

Stressful events in our lives and the world can cause a virtual breathing disorder.

Personal or planetary chaos may attempt to deflect our attention and hope from what Thoreau calls our individual versions of “the direction of your dreams…the life you’ve imagined.”

Perhaps in getting back to basics, the most basic of basics is to remember to breathe… into the disorder.

Here’s some thoughts to help you take a breather from world or personal events, and be inspired (latin inspīrāre, to breathe upon or into ):

“True stability results when presumed order and presumed disorder are balanced. A truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits to be transformed.” –Tom Robbins

“One way to break up any kind of tension is good deep breathing.” –Byron Nelson

“Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.” –Thich Nhat Hanh

“Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.” –L. Frank Baum

“I wake up every day and I think, ‘I’m breathing! It’s a good day.'” –Eve Ensler

“I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter. As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good.” –Maya Angelou

“The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.” –Erma Bombeck

Got breathing disorder?

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” –Albert Einstein

April 4, 2017, Open Invitation TGIW: Relaxspiration

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” –Chinese Proverb

The tendency is to do, and do, and do…and keep doing until done.

Our cultural work ethic values pressing forward and figuring it out, whatever it takes.

There’s a lot to be said for pressing forward, yet especially with an easy touch.

When the chips are down, we often go head down, nose to the grindstone and get so tight that we only breath in.

We forget that tight means no openings for entry…of new ideas, innovative approaches and, God forbid, playfulness.

Winston Churchill, a man with the fate of the world on his shoulders, painted to open his mental creative faculties for battle.

Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors of all time, was an avid fisherman–with no bait because he wanted solitude and inspiration, not fish.

Researchers have discovered that people exhibiting relaxed playfulness appear to be better at coping with stress, can easily see things from new perspectives, and are more likely to report leading active lifestyles.

So, the next time the tight wad of forcing an outcome wraps you up, contrary action such as loosening your grip may save the color in your knuckles and even incite some chuckles.

Got relaxspiration?

“Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer. ” –William S. Burroughs