Take Back Control of Your Life with The Life Reclamation Roadmap

And well, I'm excited to reveal it to you.

It's got a fancy name because, well, fancy's the way I like to do things.

It's called the Life Reclamation Roadmap.

Woo, baby.

Now, this roadmap that I've created, it's designed for you, my listener, because I think it's going to spell out a journey that you've been on in your life.

And the hope is that it's going to help you figure out where you've been and where you're going.

None of us know when or how tragedy or adversity is going to strike in our life.

But the truth of the matter is, is that it does and it will.

If you've not faced adversity, well, chances are you're not exempt from it because that's just the world that we live in.

It's life.

And it's for these times in our life, for you who have faced your own troubles, have been through some stuff, whether it's relationship troubles, whether it's disabilities, whether it's accidents that have resulted in life-altering injuries, whatever it is, it's tragedy, it's adversity that we face.

And it's for you who this episode is specifically for.

Now, chances are, if you've been listening to this podcast for any length of time, you've caught on to a theme around here.

And that is that most of the guests that I have on this podcast have faced their own adversity.

They've had their own challenges to overcome.

And well, that's by design.

Because I want this podcast to be a place that inspires you, my listener, to overcome your own adversity, that you too can conquer your own obstacles.

You can face the challenges in your life with boldness and courageousness, knowing that on the other side of that wall lies a bigger and better life for you.

And so this podcast is meant to inspire you and motivate you and empower you to do it.

This October, October of 2022, will mark the 19th anniversary of when I became blind.

Yeah, I faced my own adversity.

I was 17 years old when I found out that I had a brain tumor.

That brain tumor would be removed, saving my life, but at a cost no one ever expected.

And that was me awaking from surgery to be left completely blind.

It's been almost 19 years at the time of this recording.

And to say that I've been on a journey would be an understatement.

And for you who's faced your own adversity, you understand what I'm saying.

It's truly a journey.

And over these past nearly 19 years, I've learned a thing or two.

I've been through some stuff.

And here recently, I've just been having time to reflect back on it.

Looking back and seeing how have I gotten to where I am today?

And to be honest, I look at the pieces like the pieces to a jigsaw puzzle, like the puzzles that my Nana puts together in her living room on her little puzzle board.

They all fit together.

But what's neat about this puzzle is when I look at it, I can see that it's divided into sections.

And these sections, when put together, form the big picture.

That big picture is what I have dubbed a roadmap, or in this case, the life reclamation roadmap.

Because we all have a life that we're chasing after, that we want to take back control.

We want to be back in the driver's seat.

And when challenges have happened, it's basically been like we got bucked off.

Well, it's time for us to grab life back by the horns and us ride this life for everything it's worth.

And that's what I want for you.

Inside of this episode today, I'm unpacking for you my roadmap that is designed for you.

It's comprised of four unique sections.

And here's the thing about a roadmap.

In order for you to figure out how to get to where you want to go, you first have to figure out where on the map you are.

And that is what today's episode is all about.

Because I'm going to show you these four sections of the map that are going to take you from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow.

I'm going to give you symptoms to each section to make it super easy for you to identify, hey, that's me.

Or nope, I'm not there yet.

Or maybe, yep, that was where I was.

So you're going to have the symptoms that are going to help you identify where on the map you are.

But then I take it a step further and I provide you in each section three specific action items that you can take today to be sure that you move out of that section and get moving into the next section, continuing on with life.

Because it's taken me 19 years to get to where I am.

And what I want to do for you is to provide you with a shortcut.

And that is the life reclamation roadmap.

If you're ready, let's dive in to the first section.

Stage one of this roadmap is what I'm calling survival mode.

When it's a struggle to get out of bed, when you have nothing to look forward to, that is survival mode.

When literally it's all you can do to just do what you have to do to survive.

It's putting one foot in front of the other without thinking about it.

You're just doing.

You're literally no longer living, you're merely surviving.

Because that's literally all you have the strength and the energy to do.

You've been beaten down.

And you're just frustrated, you're beat down, you're worn out, and you just don't even have the energy to think.

That is stage one on this roadmap.

This means that you've just had something happen however long ago it was, but you're in this place where you can't even think about moving forward because you're so caught up in the hurt and the pain from what has happened.

I get it.

I was there.

One of the ways in which you really know if you're in stage one is when the only thing that you can think about life is that this sucks.

If this is what life was meant to be, well then I don't even feel like living anymore.

Because this is the lowest of lows.

And you may be wondering to yourself, how do I even begin to get out of this dark place?

Well, let me just offer this a little bit of hope.

You can, you will.

That's why I created this roadmap in the first place, is because I want to help you get out of this place.

So if this is you, I have three simple steps, three action items that I want you to start implementing today.

Number one, I want you to find something that brings you joy.

Even in the darkest of days, I'm telling you there's something that brings you joy.

Whether that's something or someone, something is gonna bring you joy in your life.

And I want you to figure out what that is, and I want you to get more of it.

Be more tuned into that, spend as much time with that person as you can.

Do as much of that thing as you can.

I want you at this point to absorb yourself in that thing that brings you joy because right now you need that big time.

Your second action item.

I know this is gonna sound stupid, but I want you to make yourself start smiling.

I understand that when we're at the lowest of lows, smiling is the last possible thing that we want to do.

We don't even feel right to smile because what is there to smile about?

Well, I'm here to tell you that even though smiling takes energy, that energy is electric.

And that's the secret.

Because the more that you can smile, the more that that energy is gonna radiate through you and get to totally change your mindset.

So I don't care if you are laying in bed underneath the covers, covers pulled up over your head, at least once a day.

I want you to consciously say, I'm gonna smile and literally make yourself smile.

Even if in the inside you feel nothing but pain and hurt, I want you to do it and do it every day.

I guarantee you you're gonna notice a difference.

My third action item is something that I want you to do that I did in my own life.

I want you to create an equation.

It's a simple three-piece equation that I want you to create for you.

And it's whatever three things that equal a life worth living.

What is it that's gonna make you keep going?

What is it that makes you want to have a better life?

What is it that gives you hope?

Whatever that is, I want you to write it down.

Okay.

I want you to write that down.

I want you to create this equation.

This plus that equals a life worth living.

And I want you to remember that every single day when you wake up.

I want you to repeat that equation to yourself as a motto.

And remember that, that this life is worth living because of this and this and this.

Those are the three action steps that I'm giving you today to help you move from stage one, survival mode, into stage two, which is the light at the end of the tunnel.

How do you know when you've reached stage two, the light at the end of the tunnel?

Well, you start to feel a little bit more hopeful.

And you start to kind of feel that fire burning inside of you where you're kind of wanting more out of life.

You've moved out of that initial shock.

You're no longer just merely surviving, but you're starting to live again.

And you want to keep living.

And you just have this feeling like, maybe if I keep going, maybe if I keep pushing myself, maybe this life won't be so bad after all.

At this point, you're no longer sad all the time.

You don't cry yourself to sleep every night.

And at the end of the day, you actually see the light at the end of the tunnel.

You kind of feel like, wow, maybe there is an end to all this sadness.

This is stage two, light at the end of the tunnel.

Now, here's the question: How do you shift out of this section and keep moving forward?

Well, I have three action items for you to do just that.

Number one, you need to start waking up with intention.

I'm not a big person for setting goals.

So we're gonna stay away from that whole mindset of goal setting right now, and instead use this term of intention.

Before you go to bed at night, I want you to already have an intention set for the next day.

What that day is gonna hold, what you're going to have accomplished, what the day is gonna have in store.

Because when you wake up in the morning, I want you to have a purpose, an intention for the day.

It's gonna go a long way, trust me.

Second action item, I want you to start thinking big.

Because no one ever accomplished big things in their life without first thinking big.

You are at a critical moment in your journey right now, and it's relying on you to get out of your head and start thinking big.

You've literally just gone through one of the darkest times of your entire life, but you've made it through it.

You've made it past that event.

You've made it past that first stage, that survival mode.

And through it, you've learned something about yourself.

You've begun to grow into a bigger, better, stronger, more resilient person.

So I want you to really start reflecting on who this new person is and what they want out of life.

And I don't want you to think small.

I want you to give yourself the opportunity to dream and dream big.

Right now, you need big dreams because big dreams have the opportunity to become reality.

Number three, your third action item for stage number two is you got to put things into motion.

Where I see that so many people go wrong is that they plan, they think about things, they have ideas that they research and they never actually put it into motion.

People, they have an idea that they're gonna start this or that.

They're going to start a blog, they're gonna start a podcast, they're going to create a new business.

And so they just start researching it and putting all the pieces together, but they never actually take any steps forward.

You are smack dab in stage two, the light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, do you realize the only way that you ever actually get to that light at the end of the tunnel is if you start moving forward.

Start putting one foot in front of the other.

And matter of fact, right now, I want you to start running towards that light.

Because the faster you start moving towards it, the faster you get to have the life that you were meant to have.

Now we enter stage three.

But now what?

Symptoms of stage three?

You feel like you have stalled out.

Things aren't progressing the way you thought they would.

Life isn't moving forward as fast as you had thought, or not nearly as you had planned.

I mean, yeah, things are going good, but it's just not going good fast enough.

You've kind of stalled out.

And at this point, you're starting to get frustrated again.

You're starting to wonder, why?

What why have I gone through all that I have if this is all that there is for me?

Why?

Why is it that everybody else gets to have this amazing life and do these incredible things?

And why is it that for me, it doesn't work?

And at this point, you feel like just giving up.

Because why?

What's the point in trying anymore if it's not meant for me?

This stage is honestly the most important stage of this entire roadmap, because this is when everybody gives up.

This is when people stop moving forward and they give up on their dreams because it gets tough.

The road here is long, and we're just looking for the next thing to happen, the next exit ramp to get off, because we're tired of it.

But this is when you got to dig deep, dive in deep into your purpose, into your why, because you are in stage three and you've made it so far, and I'm telling you, don't stop now.

I've got three action items for you if this is the stage in life that you're in.

Action item number one, I want you to spend some time celebrating your wins.

You've done so much already that it is time for you to recognize it.

We have this tendency as people to keep pushing forward.

And in pushing forward, we have a tendency to not take the time to celebrate the little wins or even the big wins, the things that we've already done.

But that's what I want you to do right now.

Action item number one, you got to start celebrating what you've already done, where you've been.

Celebrate yourself.

If you got to throw yourself a party, then baby it's time for you to bust out the party poppers, order a cake, and have a party.

Second action item.

I need you to get crystal clear on what you want out of life.

This isn't setting goals.

No, this is you literally painting a picture of what you want life to be.

I'm talking not just, okay, I want this career or I want this, you know, relationship.

I want to be making this much money.

No, no, no, no, no.

That's not enough.

That's for earlier on.

You're at a stage now, here in stage three, where it is vital that you get crystal clear on the life that you want.

Because if you don't know what you want, then it's going to be really hard to get it.

What I'm talking about is I want you to paint a picture of your ideal life.

What kind of house are you living in?

What kind of relationship are you in?

What are you doing for work?

What are you doing for fun?

Who are you hanging out with?

Paint that ideal life and now put yourself in it.

And I need you to focus on that.

Because as I said, you got to get crystal clear at this point.

It's vital that you know pinpoint exactly where on the map you're headed.

Because no longer are we just picking a city, a state.

No, at this point, you've got a specific address you're going to.

I'm going to apartment 1A on destination parkway.

That's what I'm talking about.

Crystal clear exactly where you're headed.

Third action item, you got to do the work.

At this point, you've been planning, you've been doing stuff, and you know what needs to be done.

So put things into action.

Don't give up now.

You got to do the work.

In order for us to get what we want, we got to put in the reps.

Nobody ever got the amazing looking body if they weren't putting in the reps at the gym.

And so this is a time when you don't slow down, you don't give up.

Matter of fact, you push harder.

You run faster, you lift heavier, you do the things you got to do to get where you want to go.

Remember, you ain't there yet.

And sometimes the longest road is, in fact, when we're going to learn the most.

And it's going to make when we finally get there that much sweeter.

Here's stage four.

This is time for you to thrive.

You feeling good.

You feel relieved.

You're excited about life.

You wake up energized.

You're loving life.

You've got everything.

Your dreams have finally come true.

But here's the secret is that deep down inside, you're also really scared.

You're really fearful because you know where you've been in life.

And you realize, wow, it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye.

And so deep down, secretly, that eats away at you.

And you're so scared because what if the cancer comes back?

What if the tumor comes back?

What if this happens or that happens?

Well, I'm here to tell you that that is no way to live.

And that's not how you're supposed to live.

And that is why, even here on the top, on stage four, thriving in life, I've got some action items for you as well.

First action item goes to exactly what I was just saying.

Easier said than done, but you have got to focus your attention on living life without fear and without worry and free of anxiety and stress about the what-ifs.

The what-ifs will literally rob you of your opportunity to thrive in life.

In order for you to truly relish in life, to live this life for everything it's worth, to enjoy stage four like it was meant to be, you've got to get rid of that mindset, the fear and the worry and the anxiety.

And it's going to be something that's going to take a lot of work.

But eventually, you've got to push it out.

And how we're going to do that is by not making enough room, not making enough space for it, because in its place, we're filling your mind, your heart with exactly the opposite.

I want you to focus on filling your mind, your heart with gratitude.

Remind yourself of all the good things, all the blessings that have occurred and where you've been and where you're going.

And when you fill your day with that, when you wake up with gratitude, it makes it that much harder for the fear and the anxiety and all that negativity to make its way in.

So be intentional about it.

Again, shut out the bad, let in the good.

Second action item.

I never want you to be afraid to make a pivot.

Because even when we have that dream life, well, we as people, we continue to grow.

You've been through a lot of stuff already.

You've made it here.

You're in stage four.

But that doesn't mean that you stop growing.

We're always becoming bigger, better, stronger, different people.

And so I don't want you to feel like you can't make a change.

You can't make a pivot, because we all deserve the ability to dip our toe into the water to test it out.

And this is an opportunity that things are going great.

If you want to test out something new, test it out.

See what you like.

Again, this life, even though you've made it to the top, that doesn't mean you got to stop living, stop exploring, doing new things, better things.

So dip that toe in the water.

And if it feels good, dive in.

My third action step, it's about you.

I never want you to stop focusing on you.

I never want your dream job to be more important than you.

Because at the end of the day, I don't care what it is, nothing matters more than you.

You are worthy of all that this life has in store for you.

And you are worthy to have the best life you can possibly have.

And so I want you to take time out of the day to focus on you.

An easy way to do this is to start treating yourself like you treat your best friend.

So yeah, go ahead and treat yourself really, really awesome.

You deserve it.

And that's it.

That is the life reclamation roadmap.

That's how you go from lost and broken to a life of your dreams.

It's as easy as that.

Now I understand spelling it out on a podcast.

Yeah, it makes it seem pretty easy and well, life's challenging.

But in essence, it's truly this simple.

Start here, start with this roadmap, identify where you are, where you want to be.

Take the action items I've given you and put them in place and let me know how it goes.

And of course, if you would like help at any stage of your journey, well, consider working with me as a coach.

You can always reach out to me.

I would love to offer you a free breakthrough clarity session, helping you to get clear on these action items, figuring out what next steps you can take.

You can find a link inside of the episode show notes to book that free call with me today.

And that is today's episode.

I hope that it has been something of an eye-opening experience for you and has helped you realize wow, this is where I am.

And I just need to do this, this, and this, and I can begin to move forward in life.

Because remember, this life is meant to be lit.

And this podcast is meant to inspire you to live in the world.