Look At What You CAN Do
Jen McDonough is a client who has attended the Speak It Forward Boot Camp and been part of the Speak It Forward Coaching and Mastermind Program. What's more, she's applying what she learned and just booked her first paid speaking engagement.
Jen has become a great friend and one of the best compliments I could give her is she lives her message! This is the main reason we asked her to respond to our SHOW UP AND SHINE questions. As you will see, the success mantra that jumps off the page from her answers is this: Stop looking at what you can't do and start looking at what you can do!
photo credit: Jen McDonough
SHOW UP AND SHINE Questions:
If you boiled life down to one philosophy that brings meaning and adds value to your life no matter what circumstances you face, what is that philosophy for you?
To courageously and fearlessly serve and be led by God. Also to inspire, encourage, and motivate folks to take ownership of their attitudes and action in order to rise about their weak points in life to become their strongest selves. This will lead to living a beyond awesome life for themselves and others.
What are one or two success factors for you?
My goal is to be an awesome wife and mom as well as to live a meaningful and purposeful life. Having laser focus in knowing where I want to go is vitally important in helping me weed out the clutter that shows up in all our lives as it allows me to move forward each day. Incremental steps are golden.
What is one of the biggest mistakes you've made and what did you learn from it?
I have fallen on my face time and time again in finances, personal growth, health, etc. However, out of it all I learned that failure can be a GREAT thing as it can drive you from your weakest moments to your strongest self. Our financial turnaround is what we are most known for. We use to live like 70 percent of folks today—paycheck to paycheck. However, after 48 months our family went from being emotionally and financially devastated to paying off over $212,000 of debt and medical expenses. Realizing our actions and attitudes are a choice we control has been extremely empowering!
What is your best advice for people who want to SHOW UP AND SHINE? What would you say to help people live into their bigger story?
Stop looking at what you can't do and start looking at what you CAN do. For every 100 excuses of how we can't do something, there may be only one step for how to start. However, taking that one step will produce MANY opportunities to create successful outcomes. Anyone can get through the easy times in life; it is the hard times that shape us into champions. Only when we ask ourselves “what can we do” will we see impossible situations turn into growing opportunities.
Question: Which one of Jen's insights connects with you the most and why? How do you plan to apply this insighty?