News Flash!

What’s up with the news? No, really, tell me, because I don’t know. I don’t watch it, rarely read it, and couldn’t tell you much about what’s going on in the world.

Is that a bad thing?

I do know some of the big things. The big ones, like the bombing of the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day, is something that you didn’t have to watch the news to find out about. It was in the public consciousness pretty quickly after it happened. Someone at work mentioned it, then facebook statuses sent prayers east to the race. I saw some video clips online, later that day… So the big stuff does find it’s way to us. Whether we watch the news or not. And still… I don’t.

It was several years ago, in the summer, when I was mowing and listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer (on my old party-machine iPod), that he talked about the news. He showed me that my mind is like my body, and whatever I put into it, it becomes, and whatever my mind becomes, my life becomes… Just like my body. I never was a big news watcher, and that sealed it for me. I leave that to others, and when something really big comes along, I always find out, or I don’t. It seems to work for me.

Now, last night, I waited in a long line at the Sprint Center in KC, among thousands of people ready to hear a speaker. I was excited to be there too. I was lucky to be among my church family, and we were going to see Dr. David Jeremiah. As I became part of the wave of people entering this huge event center, I had to wonder. How has this man, attracted so many followers to show up? I don’t know him well, and I am here.

What is it, that has us all here together? Is it him? Is he that dynamic of a person, that 8,000 people, just want to hear him talk? It can’t be. He’s on the radio every day. Is the music going to be so awesome, that we all showed up for that? Not really. It’s good, but hey, so is YouTube, for finding songs to worship to. Okay, it must be the camaraderie of being among believers and sharing the evening together… hmmm, kinda, but that didn’t get me to invest my whole evening. I have a great church family to worship with weekly.

It came to me in a flash. The News! It’s the News, that we came for. The Good News.

It wasn’t about Dr. J, it wasn’t just the music and the high production of the event. It’s the Good News, that we all showed up to hear. We always want the Good News!

So why did I give up the Network News, years ago? It ain’t Good. Period.

Sure they’ll give you a 2 minute feature at the end of some feel-good story, but it’s so minor, that I won’t sit through the whole fear-mongering mega-drama for those two little minutes.

I could be a more informed citizen of the world. I could be more compassionate to the struggles of people in other countries. It’s true. I am compassionate, and concerned about what is going on right here too. From my perspective of debt-freedom, purpose-driven and radically unconventional lifestyle, I am concerned about all the ‘normality’ around me. Normal Sucks, in my book. That’s the News that I fear we don’t want to really hear.

Anyway. We will show up for the News. Good News especially. When I invest in a coaching agreement with someone who I want to work with, I want to hear the Good News. The Good News, that YES, I can do this. YES, it IS possible. YES, someone else, like me, has done this before, and now I can do it to, with their help. That is GOOD NEWS!

Next weekend, I’ll be in Denver, Colorado. I am attending a workshop called Writing from Your Soul. It’s hosted by Hay House. One of the speakers is Dr. Wayne Dyer 🙂 Wow. I am really excited about this trip! Meeting him is something I’ve had on my bucket-list for a looong time. This checks off, a couple major things for me. It begins a journey to produce a book, or books, or e-books, or children’s books, or some kind of writing that I have been waiting around to begin working on. This workshop is the starter’s pistol blasting into the air. And I will learn, from one of my all-time favorite mentors, a PBS legend, Dr. Dyer.

I’m going to hear the News. I’m eager and ready and willing, to use this news to make a new decision in my life. I want transformation, not just information. Now I wonder, if just making the commitment to show up, is half of the Good News. Knowing that if I make this a priority, if I engage, then I have started. I want to know that I can do it. This is a clue, that Yes, I can. It is available for for anyone, and that includes me.  Thank God.

Last night as my good friend and mentor, Steve, jogged out of the Sprint Center, to retrieve the car. I saw a sign across the street. With thousands of believers pouring out of the doors, and walking around, but not into the bars and nightclubs, I had a thought… Finally, tonight, we brought the Real Power and Light to this district. We are the Good News. It wasn’t the songs, or the books, or even the sermon we heard. It was the body of Christ, in all it’s forms, gathering together, and living a moment out loud.

I don’t miss the Network Evening News a bit. Too bad if you think me immature. I don’t miss seeing the Good News, any chance I can get though.

Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols

 

In Love of Lostness, Mystery and Adventure

I’ve slipped lately. I’ve floated away. Adrift upon currents that criss-cross and flow to God-only-knows, this kind of travel feels as ethereal and romantic, as it does chaotic and lost.

I’m falling in love with this aimless buoyancy, on a new level.

Do you prefer order to anarchy? Would you rather experience repetition instead of adventure?  How about structure vs. freedom? Hmm… tricky to answer.. no?

In our world, here in our home, the juicy and lovely and tantalizing moments lately, have come in being open to anything. It isn’t as much an intentional letting-go as it is showing up with no agenda. Just an overall idea that I want to help, and to serve, and that’s it. It’s a bigger trust than I’m used to. To be a castaway, instead of a frantic paddler splashing my dingy ever so slightly toward a far-off lighthouse, that I’m hoping exists when I get there. Or even worse, to untie for a short trip around the little marina, again, waving to everyone that I wave to every day, and safely returning, well before sunset, to clean off the droplets and button-down again for the night. Just like I did yesterday, and the day before, since the beginning.

I’ve have seen some powerful stuff unfolding this week. Tectonic plates are grinding and shifting. The sun is now rising and blasting light into formerly dark and remote valleys. Yes, mountains are falling into the sea. Are these the kind of changes that can happen with a perfectly diagrammed to-do list, and an app on my smart-phone to track my productivity?

Hell no.

This is the the work of something bigger than me. This work is immense. This is the work that can only be seen and experienced when I let go of the safety of the dock and my daily routine. It’s not create-able, it’s not plan-able, it will never become, with even the most thorough ‘getting-things-done-ness’, I can muster up.

This is the unfolding of eons of tiny continental movements. I can’t move continents. But God can. I can’t make myself arrive at a new destination that I don’t even know exists, but God can. I can keep myself respectably tied and anchored into my little mooring spot, and pretend that life doesn’t rock me and move me with storms. I can say, ‘I’m doing good. Yes, I’m very busy.’ with scurrying around performing routine maintenance on my vessel, re-positioning the knick-knacks, while it sits in the same place day after day. But God made us to sail.

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”
– Grace Murray Hopper

See God created us to move upon the seas, thrusted by the winds, resting in the calms. His winds, divine powers, blow the damn doors off our puny little pattlin’ efforts. I’ve seen it happening lately.

In case you’ve wondered, yes, I live on a different planet now. I don’t inhabit the same ol’ Earthly places that I used to know. It is another world here. It’s absent of so much familiarity, which I miss often. Especially when the storms hit. The community, the crew, where I used to belong, is far away now. It’s a choice to be out here. But lately, there is evidence of new land on the horizon. Mirage or not, it’s the only new sight seen for months. It ignites the heart, to dream of what may lie ahead, on these new shores.

The truth amongst all this metaphor, is that lately the magic, the progress, the delights in my life have developed in the ‘in-between’. They’ve materialized from the ether and I can’t explain how they’ve arrived. Serendipity is too cute. Coincidence doesn’t exist. Seeing is believing though.

Stuff that I’ve dreamed about for years is about to happen. A wish for another, becomes, with perfect timing. Release and surrender and nimble anticipation of ‘what’s next’, is electric in this appropriate springtime moment. The only moment. The now moment. Yes, now is when it happens for me, for you, from God.

Sometimes now is the calm, as the breeze settles and humidity rises and the stillness can unnerve us. Everything comes in waves however. Even stagnation. It passes with a cleansing rain. We’re fresh again, the sail ripples and snaps. We tighten our lines, crank the winches, redirect and laugh and smile. Waves lapping our sides, we’re again on the move. Action is exhilaration, not arrival.

Open up our mind. Cut away the old knots, don’t waste time to untangle. Supplies? We’ve got plenty… Really. Skills? They only come through practice. We’ll never be ready. Every storm is different anyway. Every day unique. What worked today, won’t tomorrow. Except eagerness, willingness, resolve and imagination. ‘How’ are we ‘supposed’ to do it? Who cares? ‘How’ is a crippling question we all want to know. Forget it forever. Look back afterward and see that the ‘How’ was magic. The ‘How’ was the hand of God. The ‘How’ was saying Yes, and showing up. The ‘How’ only appears in the story, after the action.

Scary? Yes. That’s why the seas are wide open, and the ‘safe’ harbors crammed full.

Can we die out there? Will we perish at night, crashed hard by a rogue wave? Some will. But all will perish anyway. Some never seeing a sunrise beyond the horizon of home. A crusted and barnacled structure sun-bleached and worn-through by rot, rather than use. Sails neatly folded and new, wrapped tight in wait of an adventure that never was. Abuse of our gifts, if you ask me. But then again, if you read this far, I’m not writing about You.

There are few who come here. Few who read these messages in a bottle. For those few, I thank you.

I am blessed lately to recognize the magic and see that it’s not me. I am aware that these bright highlights have come through the most mysterious ways. I am just open, I have no plan, I am ready to receive, and don’t care if you would rather hear the How-To’s and Top 10 Ways. That stuff, that mesmerizing and delicious stuff, keeps us stuck: only learning How it worked for someone else. Our way is unique. It’s never been done before, and never will again. We all get this opportunity. It’s our birthright. We are divine children of the Almighty, we are vessels, we shall Sail!

Sincerely,

(In loving dedication to my uncle, Captain Stephen R. Nichols.)

Aaron Nichols

Ships Are Safe in the Harbour (poem, author unknown)

All I live for is now
All I stand for is where and how
All I wish for are magic moments

As I sail through change
My resolve remains the same
What I chose are magic moments

Because ships are safe in the harbour
But that is not what ships are made for
The mind could stretch much further
But it seems that is not what our minds are trained for

We call for random order
You can’t control Mother nature’s daughter

Ships are safe in the harbour
But that is not what ships are built for

The witch hunter roams
The scary thing is that he’s not alone
He’s trying to down my magic moments

As we sail through change
Ride the wind of a silent rage
And sing laments of magic moments

Ready to Sail! Join our weekly workshop/discusssion ** time change this week **

The Hangout/Podcast timeslot for next week is shifting. I will host it on Wednesday the 17th at 5:30. Email me at aaron@truenorthffc.com – before Wednesday if you would like a personal invitation to participate.

Check out all of my video workshop Hangouts here, to get a feel for it. Join us if you dare!

And if you like Podcasts – I have converted all my workshops to audio, for your listening pleasure, here. 

 

Weirdforgood Hangout – 8 – Fishy Out of Water & CONTEXT is King!

Our floppy fishy story, leads us deep into a discussion about the ‘CONTEXT’ of the world we live in. Did you know that the CONTEXT you perceive the world to be, is actually a construction of your mind that can be remodeled at any time, by YOU?

Dig Deep again with us this week, in one of the most enlightening and real conversations on the web, here at our weirdforgood world!

With Aaron Nichols & Michael Wright

You’ll want to have a notepad handy again this week!

You can read more about me, Aaron Nichols on my about page. (sorry that my video feed is choppy!)

or Michael Wright’s website — http://www.fatherofone.com

Enjoy!

To be part of next week’s Hangout — Email Me at aaron@truenorthffc.com, each week I send out an invitation email with the details on how to get setup. (It’s pretty easy) then join us at 5:30 CST with 45 minutes to get in depth and have a fun — REAL discussion!

Flips and Flops but Don’t Stop!

Flopping on the bank, bouncing up and down in the mud, wiggling and squirming, my struggle exhausts me. A wide open mouth seems to gasp, but the dry air does me no good. My greenish black scales and white belly don’t feel like they belong here. A tailflap or another spiky raise of my back spines is useless. These things I can do, my abilities, seem pointless here.The stuff that is naturally me, just isn’t working… at… all…

I want to point our discussion today to CONTEXT. It’s the key. CONTEXT makes all the difference in our world. Nothing else can shift us as fast, as quick and as for real, as a complete overhaul of CONTEXT. 

How long have I been here? Too long to remember the before times. What is it like? Tiresome, Painful, Aggravating, Depressing, Hopeless, Pointless, Bleak and Barely Worth the Fight Anymore… But I flop around some more… That’s all I can do… One eye resting in the mud, the other pointed at the sky. My side fin is pinned under me. It can’t lift my body. It takes all my nonexistent energy to quickly heave my being up and (maybe) forward. Or sideways. Just somewhere adjacent, somewhere ever so slightly different. Heck, how do I know… It’s hard to tell where I am, when the only visual glimpse I get of the surroundings is in a sudden fleeting flash of movement, during my exasperating action.

My gills are parched. The land is scary, where I can barely breath. At first I would panic and freak out, and flop and flop and flop some more. Even the slightest splash of the shallowest puddle would provide life again. After awhile, I learned to live without. It’s a sincere and deep suffering, when the air all around, steals my moisture, and leaves me almost without a reason to go on flopping.

Then there’s the caked on grime and muck. I am getting all gummed up and sticky. Little stones and twigs and dead grasses adhere to me. Yuck! I don’t like that feeling at all! It’s annoying and embarrassing to look so ugly and dirty…

I’m feeling alone now too. I can’t remember the last time I was laughing with friends, or sharing a meal with loved ones. I’m the only one like me here. I can see the occasional little ant go by, or notice the black fly who stops to rest on me. A break from his buzzing around. It seems everyone else here, has the tools to make it, in this world, but me. They can scamper over the mud, or fly through the humid air, to wherever they’d like to go. I just wish I was a bug sometimes. Then this life would be easier…

I haven’t eaten in forever. My favorite meals of little juicy worms or spastic swimming larvae, are not here. Not out here on the bank. Even when I see a worm, they crawl right by me, I flop at them, but fail. Boy do I feel stupid.

My plight feels hopeless. So I just sit sometimes and wait. What else can I do? I think it will have to end at some point. I can’t go on forever like this right? So, why am I still here? Why have I made it this long, in this crummy condition? Why am I here, doing this flopping, yet still feel so stuck! And now, I am not just sad or forlorn or sorry about my stuck-ness, dammit I’M MAD!!!

Yeah! This SUCKS! It Sucks! It Sucks! It Sucks! So I silently scream my fishy head off, without making a sound. Flopping around on the land, where I don’t belong.

Until.

Until I flip that one most important next flop. I couldn’t see how close to the water I was. And I can’t say for sure if it was even me. It could have been gravity that rolled me. Or maybe someone else came along and nudged me with a boot, or a stick. However it has happened… all of a sudden…

SPLASH!!!

Whoosh, down into the coolness. Water! My Home! I just fell so fast and easy down, down, down into the sweet drink of life. Sucking and slurping and swishing. It’s almost too good to be true! I feel the tingle and the wash of wetness rinsing me outside and in. The caked-on mud and grime now floats and drifts away as I work my fins loose once again.

My equilibrium is returning after so long without use. I can sense things around me in brand new ways. I feel the current, the flow. I know that taste, that smell, everything is familiar again. I am receiving messages from all around. A young frog just exploded out of his hiding place, I may have scared him. The plants wave and rub and touch me, such a welcome massage. A wise old turtle lurks down below me, I feel his mass and just know it’s time to move out of his dangerous reach.

Still in disbelief, my recharge is almost instantaneous. I am wide awake and electric with energy! In my first real try, I Zing! and I Dart! and shoot around effortlessly, carving intricately around rocks, over submerged stumps and under an angled fallen limb! Haha! What fun it is to swim again! I am strong and sleek and made to glide! It’s just so nice to see all of my world, my eyes are wide open again. I know what’s ahead of me, where I want to go, and how I want to get there. I can plan and shift and go as slow or as fast as I’d like to. It’s up to me now.

Feeling refreshed, full of life, clean and at home again, I can look for nourishment. I grab some quick snacks under mossy rock. I cruise on. I am really feeling giddy now. My fears are gone. My belly is filling up, and there is plenty to eat here.The bleak hunger that was killing me, is now a smorgasbord of choice morsels!

What’s that? Movement and silver flashes up by the rapids! A whole school of friends! Wow, what fun they’re having! A few quick wiggles of the tail and I’m with them! Jumping and frolicking, daring each other and taking a leap up and over some rocks! Whoa! Not sure I’m ready to jump up and out of the water again just yet!

Ha, these are the finest fishy friends a bass could ask for! They have no idea, that it was just a short time ago, that I was struggling up on the bank by myself. Amazing to me, that now it just doesn’t even matter! My past was long gone the instant I hit that water! I could be myself again!

My true self is such an easy thing to be… Me! When I’m where I’m supposed to be. My struggle is gone, barely even a memory! All I can do is thank God. Way back on the dirty dry bank, I didn’t want to flip or flop or hardly even shrug. I almost, just almost, Gave Up.

But I didn’t. And how, or why or who could’ve known when that struggle would finally end. If I really think back, I know I had given up, over and over and over. It was a series of letdowns and actions and hopes dashed again. But that final move, that final flippity flop, or gravity roll, or nudge from another, was so slight, so small that I didn’t see it coming.

My CONTEXT was reborn in an instant. My CONTEXT, that seemed like death, is now washed with life. My depressing and pointless attempts have ended. It’s now time for flight and fun and freedom again. All in a shift of CONTEXT…

And the amazing thing about this story for us human beings is that when this shift of Context happens, it’s instant. Context lives in our minds. It’s not all about our surroundings. Context is how we process the world around us. It can seem physical however. That is how strong our minds are. It can physically feel like a dying dried out fish, hitting the cold fresh water of a stream, to shift the Context of our minds. It happens in a tiny moment, right where we are at. It takes no change in location, or job, or purchase, or sale, to feel the bliss of a Context shift.

I’m writing today, living in a  new world. A new context. Right now I breathe in a minty brisk air. It’s invigorating! Right now, my mind sizzles and pops with creativity. Right now, my heart is exploding with fullness of love and deeply connected peace. I am in knowing again.

I want to publicly thank my wife Lindsay, for being the spark that ignited this most recent big shift. Wow. What an honor, to share our lives and moments like this together. These are special ones. I appreciate each delicious breath. We did ask for it in prayer. I have asked for the help of others, of Coaches. I am in full awareness that I was nudged back into the freshness of a world I belong, by a power much greater than my own little flip-flapping could ever accomplish. Thanks be to God.

Are you feeling the fresh and fantastic ease of your natural confidence and power? Or do you struggle and gasp and feel the pain of separation from your true calling? Or have you wiggled yourself into a nice shady spot, in the cool mud, resigning to make the best of the situation. Do you say and believe things like: “It is, what it is”, and intend to just ‘get through’ life, riding it out, in tragic comfort on the banks, nowhere near the fun of your true fishy potential?

These choices are ours to make every day. I suggest to keep on flopping, don’t give up, you never know when the next step is the one that makes all the difference 🙂

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

(attributed to ― Albert Einstein)

Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols

Shift your CONTEXT by talking with me about ‘Struggling or Swimming?’

You’re invited to join the next weirdforgood hangout, and engage in our online workshop – you’ll need a free Google+ account, 45minutes to work with us, at 5:30 CST. You need a device with a camera & headset/microphone. If you can Skype, you can do this, (it’s actually really easy  ) Then email me at aaron@truenorthffc.com – before Tuesday – I’ll send you the hangout invite through Google+ when we start.

Check out last week’s hangout here, to get a feel for it. Join us if you dare!

Weirdforgood Hangout – 7 – The Big Bad Wolf of Self Judgement

The Two Wolves Story begins a fantastic discussion about self judgement in our Hangout this week. It is an empowering feeling to recognize that we are in control of whether we ‘feed’ and give life to our negative thoughts and beliefs, or our positive and life enhancing thoughts… OR, how we can take anything that comes at us, and find the message, and be the change that we want to see in the world.

With Aaron Nichols & Michael Wright

You’ll want to have a notepad handy again this week!

You can read more about me, Aaron Nichols on my about page. (sorry that my video feed is choppy!)

or Michael Wright’s website — http://www.fatherofone.com

Enjoy!

To be part of next week’s Hangout — Email Me at aaron@truenorthffc.com, each week I send out an invitation email with the details on how to get setup. (It’s pretty easy) then join us at 5:30 CST with 45 minutes to get in depth and have a fun — REAL discussion!

Weirdforgood Hangout – 6 – Failure and Fear and HOW to Beat it :) with Melissa Ford

Must Watch! We’re covering Failure, Fear, Public Speaking, Getting Coached by Steve Chandler and Lots More!

With Aaron Nichols & Melissa Ford

You’ll want to have a notepad handy again this week!

(my video streaming is choppy, but the WORDS are worth your time!)

We’re using my blog – An Ornate Cathedral of Failure… Me as a launching point.

You can read more about me, Aaron Nichols on my about page

or Melissa Ford’s website —http://www.empoweredparentingsolution…

Enjoy!

To be part of next week’s Hangout — Email Me at aaron@truenorthffc.com, each week I send out an invitation email with the details on how to get setup. (It’s pretty easy) then join us at 5:30 CST with 45 minutes to get in depth and have a fun — REAL discussion!

An Ornate Cathedral of Failure… Me.

All I have done is everything wrong. I have mistakes and screw-ups in spades. In this blog I’ve shared some of that, to You, in the last couple years. Right now, I can honestly say, in this very instant, I struggle to type. In between ridiculous distractions online and listening to some amazing music by Rodriguez (MUST WATCH!), I dabble and drift. 

Yeah, I’m screwing this whole thing up at this very minute. It’s true. I’m actually pretty good at that. Taking my own time and energy to aimlessly meander. Spinning my own wheels, losing track, skittering, tumbling about, without direction. Oh, and I don’t just enjoy these little fairytale adventures in laziness either. It’s a self inflicted torture, to willingly engage in mental hypnosis while worlds crash down around me. I feel guilty, I’m mad at me, I suck.

In this exact moment though, with the 70’s sounds in my headphones, a quiet messy house, heater under-desk, and a stinky black dog who groans in the kitchen 3 steps away, I find it spellbinding, how much I have managed to not do, in the last few years.

It’s actually quite mesmerizing. An ornate and expansive Cathedral of Failure.

When I step back and remember, it was this time of year, 4 years ago, when something was unsettled inside me, and I wanted OUT of my life as it was, or at least certain parts of it. I never stopped long enough to plan out, really where I wanted to exactly go. I may have thought I had a good plan, or a path in my mind, but that is really bullsh!t. If I said it, I was only kidding myself. I didn’t. In fact, I was a whining crying baby boy, throwing a life-tantrum. I saw nothing through the eyes of gratitude. In haste, I figured the best way to fix things was to make a radical change of career path, and take a long road trip. Everything would then start to fall into place. My wings would grow after I leapt from the safety of the ledge… So Fly Will I! Yeah! Jump!

uh… yeah.. uh… okay… anytime now wings!… crap, this is gonna hurt…

Splat! Crash! Smash!

OUCH!

See, I never once considered that the thing I really wanted to see changed in my life was ME.

I wanted my job to change. I wanted my bank account to change. I wanted my feeling of freedom or direction or pursuance of something more special, more dramatic and exciting than the ordinary life, I had lost hope in, To Change. Yeah, so I’m waxing profound again, about the past, again. Sue Me. Quit Reading. Go Away.

Ha! It is something pretty freaking sad to look back on now. I made over 5 times as much money every year then. I had way more toys and security and friends and social events and girlfriends too. Back then I had my hand on the knob to control so many of the worldly things in my life. I even had a paid-for house, no other bills. I could have probably asked for  an extended vacation, or some time to get my head straight after the loss of my cousin, to suicide, from the employer who I grew with, for over 10 years. All the world of possibilities were mine. Yet, all I could see was a tunnel vision, a tiny spot way out ahead, nowhere close to where I was then. I wanted out!

Just screw it all! Was my basic plan of action. So many ‘important’ things in my life back then, got the ‘just screw it’ treatment. And toss ’em away, I did. What a move. Wow. Who does that? It’s actually crazy. Insane.

Or at least it can make you go insane. Riding through a meat grinder and realizing you pushed yourself in. Is there something that today, in this look-back, that I can relay to you, that may be of use to you? How about this: I have small but real and true hope in a $49.07 purchase at a grocery store.

Yeah, 49 dollars and 7 cents. That’s it. That’s your tool. That’s your advice. Words of Wisdom that can change your life into anything you want. Now go live by them.

Interested? Why would you be. It’s just a silly dollar amount of an ordinary purchase. And, remember, I’m a man who’s built an artistically decorated Cathedral of Failure, over a long period of years. I have nothing you would want to exchange with me. A dinky house in a small Kansas town. Hardly any money. No fun party times. No flashy car. No stuff atoll.

And a really really smelly dog. The last bath she had was 6 months ago, for our wedding.

So again, I invite you to leave, check out, go to a more successful man’s blog. Someone who’s made it. Or just spend some time watching this, instead of reading about my almost 50 dollar grocery store purchase and some words of wisdom… Go! Git! Begone!

Still here? Really? Crap. Okay.

I’m going to tell you something amazing. This is no exaggeration or lie. When Lindsay and I shop at the grocery store, we always end up at the checkout line with very close to $50 dollars in the basket. Every Week. Always within a couple bucks of $50. How? Easy, a calculator, right? Just add up what goes in there? Nope. Haven’t used a calculator at the store in years. I don’t even really pay that close attention to the prices as we go, and mentally add up the costs. It’s true. Do you believe me? I have tried to be as honest in the first part of this blog, so that you may believe me now.

I get a ‘feeling’ for how much money we’ve spent as we go through the store. I can just sorta steer us toward the checkout when it feels like we’ve hit our budget… Budget? Yeah, we do have a goal that our grocery expenditure be $50 each week. BUT, we do not explicitly calculate this. And we don’t even really care, if we exactly stick to it. Sometimes later in the week, we buy more. So it isn’t even really a hard and fast rule… BUT, on Sundays, when we shop, no matter what goes in, it adds up to around $50 every time.

Last Sunday, driving back home from Arkansas, heading north through Garnett, we stopped at Country Mart. We grabbed groceries with a snow storm coming in the next day or so. We also tried a few new items, since we’d never shopped there before. We bought items in different brand names and different sizes than we normally do. Everything about our shopping trip was different. Except the cost. $49.07. We looked at each other and I giggled aloud. Ha!

We have truly mastered a Habit. This thing that we used to have to work at, and make mistakes to learn, and keep trying to hit, week after week, now is super duper easy. In fact it’s so easy, I don’t even ‘think’ about it in my head. That’s right. I don’t use my head for math. I just ‘feel’ when it’s right. I have nothing other than that to share with you.

A habit can be made out of ANYTHING. When formed, life is easy. Doesn’t take effort. A habit can be something positive and helpful; a discipline. Or it can be a rut, an addiction, a broken record of failure, that you’d like to STOP!

How does it work? What keeps the momentum going? I don’t know. I’m not even sure that it’s me doing it. It may be God, or the Universe, or Dumb Luck.

Who Cares! It can be started, stopped or changed at any time, but us. Best done in tiny bites at a time.

We all master habits. And you probably do the exact same thing when you buy groceries too, right? Do you force and stress over each little price as you buy? Or do you just throw things in, and when it feels full, you go check out? AND, if you do, are you spending what you intended to? What you explicitly set out to spend? It’s just a question of intention. Are we deciding first a goal, then hitting it with committed action? Do that often enough, and it becomes a harmonious rhythm that you would have to try to stop, if you wanted to.

What could we do, with that knowledge? What could we do if we practiced mastering habits? We could literally change our life into ANYTHING we wanted it to be! We could make habits of time, money, exercise, learning, serving, relaxing, skydiving or even watching news programs designed to create stress! (kidding! If you do that, STOP IT!)

Taking a giant leap of faith, and tossing away years of hard work, and going all but completely broke, taught me this at least: I can commit to and create any new habit. I don’t have to uproot my whole life to do it.

Tomorrow, I step across a threshold of 17 months of Sobriety, 6 Months of an amazing Marriage and around 3 solid years of an ever-deepening relationship with God. Yeah baby. Those are some seriously exciting habits to tend to. These things are no joke. This is solid ROCK to build a life on. Keeping my momentum going forward in these areas has become the juice of life. It’s better than beer, finer than wine, quicker than liquor. One great woman in wedlock, beats flying solo, with a girlfriend around, because that’s how we were designed to operate. And brushing clean the connection to God in my life, has electrified parts of me, that I never dreamed were worthy, or capable, or even present in junky little me. (including writing these words)

I’ve suffered in life. I’ve suffered the pains of the emptyness of the world. Entitled, and ungrateful, and a snot-face. Still do sometimes. BUT, the better suffering is this: Knowing that this amazing powerful force beyond comprehension of God, and Christ Jesus, are blasting a blinding white light of love and hope and forgiveness and purpose, and yet I am still reluctantly holding onto my smallness, my miniature toy cathedral of mistakes. I could drop it anytime. The one triune God has opened doors. I suffer as I sit and wait for more of a sign. I intellectually ‘get’ that I gotta get out of my own way, and I suffer, as I see that I’m not. When I habitually ‘get it’ energetically, It will be true in my everyday world.

Dang, Hurts So Good.

Suzanne Stauffer, an amazing woman, spent time with me this week. She did a lot of things that created a resulting feeling of freshness deep within me. She unfolded and she enlightened and she sparked something personally, spiritually, maybe deeper than I realize right now, within. She does that for people. Over the phone. Anywhere in the world. How freakin’ cool is that! I’m inspired by her, and others like her, that have worked with me in these profound ways. (See list below)

I wanna be more like that. I see something awesome in changing someone’s life for the better, even in super tiny increments. We could plant seeds. They could grow big and grand, or small and beautiful. In your world, what would you want?

There’s a habit I now put into place for myself. To help people. I can do that too. After awhile it will be second nature, and I’ll just ‘feel’ it… Course, that would be crazy…

Just like me 🙂

Be Love Today.

Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols

Here is a list of the professional coaches and mentors that I’ve personally spoken with, in person, or on the phone. These teachers have guided my progress, kicked my butt, and loved me forward in life over the last year. Thank You All!

Bobbie Robertson – http://www.bobbierobertson.com/
Charles Redd 
Chris Dorris – http://christopherdorris.com/
Clarence Thomson 
David Wetmore – http://www.davidwetmore.com/
Deb Schanilec – http://reachdabbleshine.typepad.com/
Dusan Djukich – http://www.straightlinecoach.com/
Erin Haskell – http://clearpurification.com/?page_id=210
Jason Westlake – http://jasonwestlake.com/
Joelene Robinson
Kevin Wile
Lisa Peake – http://peakeproductivity.com/
Megan Sillito – http://megansillito.com/
Melissa Ford – http://empoweredparentingsolutions.com/
Michael Wright – http://www.fatherofone.com
Molly Fiore – http://www.pkexcellence.com/
Steve Chandler – http://www.stevechandler.com
Steve Tefsky – http://www.facebook.com/stevetef
Suzanne Stauffer

And Tim Soule – without whom, I would be sorely smaller as a man. Thank You, Deeply.

Want to talk more about ‘An Ornate Cathedral of Failure… ME!’

You’re invited to join the next weirdforgood hangout, and engage in a workshop – you’ll need a free Google+ account, 45minutes to engage with us, at 5:30 CST, and device with a camera & headset/microphone. If you can Skype, you can do this, (it’s actually really easy  ) Then email me at aaron@truenorthffc.com – before Tuesday – I’ll send you the hangout invite when we start.

Check out last week’s hangout here, to get a feel for it. Join us if you dare!

 

Weirdforgood Hangout – 5 – Hiding Monsters Under the Bed

A GREAT Hangout with TONS of killer ideas and discussion. Join in with your comments below, or connect with us online next week, and be live in the Hangout with us.

Our launching point is Hiding Monsters Under the Bed from last week’s blog.

With Aaron Nichols, Melissa Ford & Michael Wright

We Cover life issues like:

  • Why our thoughts can be so powerfully scary – like Monsters under the bed
  • Our negativity can only live in the dark, so let’s bring it up to the light and test it out
  • How an experience can shape our thoughts profoundly, even when silly and false
  • How Caring, doesn’t have to mean Hitting the Panic Button
  • How seriously do I want to take this Crappy Thought?

You’ll want to have a notepad handy this week!

Another great discussion that we invite you to check out!

You can read more about me, Aaron Nichols on my about page

or Melissa Ford’s website – http://www.empoweredparentingsolutions.com

or Micheal Wright’s Blog – http://www.fatherofone.com

Enjoy!

To be part of next week’s Hangout – Email Me at aaron@truenorthffc.com, each week I send out an invitation email with the details on how to get setup. (It’s pretty easy) then join us at 5:30 CST with 45 minutes to get in depth and have a fun – REAL discussion!

Weirdforgood Hangout – 3 – The Smashing Trees

We invite you to watch and leave your own comments on the discussion we host in the Hangout this week.

Our launching point is The Smashing Trees Blog from last week, and we open with the razor sharp question:  “Do you think I get, how the world works?”

We cover:

  • Strong Thoughts create Strong Feelings?
  • Outside In vs. Inside Out
  • Testing Slowly Through a Thought vs. a Runaway Train of Assumptions
  • My response is My responsibility
  • What ‘World’ are we trying to ‘Get’ Anyway?

And cool stuff like that…

Enjoy!

To be part of next week’s Hangout – Email Me at aaron@truenorthffc.com, each week I send out an invitation email with the details on how to get setup. (It’s pretty easy) then join us at 5:30 CST with 45 minutes to get in depth and have a fun – REAL discussion!