The Gift Of Going Within: A True Lightbulb Moment (Like, Literally)

Yesterday as I was starting to pack for an upcoming trip to Chicago, I found myself frantically searching through my closet for a pair of pants. And not just any pants...my favorite comfortable and cozy black fleece sweatpants. 

The beautiful thing about living in a pre-war studio apartment located downtown is the charm. The bad thing about living in a pre-war studio apartment located downtown is the lack of closet space and built in lighting. As a result, for the last two years, as the sun slowly fades across the Mesa crest, finding anything in my closet has become something liking dining at Opaque ... a sensory experience where I try and feel my way to a handbag or pair of heels hiding amongst an endless sea of accessories in the dark.

So when 2 minutes turned into 10 minutes turned into 15 minutes (all over a silly pair of sweatpants), I panicked.

Then...I got a grip.

In that moment I realized I was missing the one important fail proof sensory tool of all: my internal self.

When dealing with the most fearful and stressful of circumstances, going within seems a practical no-brainer (an almost automatic response if you will), and I find myself easily led to the answer I'm seeking with a simple prayer of intention to resolve the situation. Yet when faced with a frustratingly mundane human experiences such as trying to find a pair of sweatpants in a small dark closet, I freaked. That's why it was no small blessing that after almost half an hour of panic, I was led to remember my true self...my internal guidance system, which infinitely connects to the all-knowing Source (a.k.a God, Universe, FP, or whatever other word you use to describe that Being that's part of, yet bigger than you).

When I came to my senses, I silently asked a simple question: "God, how I can I get more light in here?"

BOOM! Answer (Almost Immediately actually...and like a big giant swap across the side of my head).

My true self said: "Well, why don't you turn on the light?"

OMG! The light?! I had forgotten about the light. You know, those cute little solitary bulbs attached to a piece of string that you see people tug on in the movies? Yeah...I forgot...this closet actually HAD one of those.

I AM NOT EXAGGERATING when I say that for almost two years, I had opened that closet door a million times...and not once had I thought about that light (let alone turned it on).

Yet there it was, right in front of me.

A lightbulb.

Amazing.

I stood there in disbelief for a minute, then pulled the darn string. HALLELUJAH!!! It was like having an entirely new closet, with clothes and shoes and handbags I'd forgotten I owned. And there they were, in plain sight...my favorite pair of black fleece sweatpants.

See, the thing I learned from this whole closet/lightbulb debaucle was that answers to our problems (no matter how big or how small) are always available. We simply have to remember to go within and actually ask. 

More importantly though? It was a reminder that our minds only perceive things we believe to be there...unless we open up to the possibility of a different point of view. My true source provided that different point of view, and I was lead to a lightbulb that literally hung from the ceiling right in front of my face for almost two years.

Living from the possibility of a different point of view is the starting place for living A Love Styled Life. It's how I've personally come to curate a completely bespoke lifestyle...one that involves styling myself in the things, people, and experiences I love, every single day.

You, too, can create your own version of a bespoke life. It simply starts with being open to the possibility that you can live life a different way.

Quiet yourself, go within, and simply ask. 

I promise, if you sit in the question with a little faith...you, too, will be led to the answer. And who knows? You just may find that your answer has been right in front of you all along.

xo - Cynthia

photo credit // lightbulb on string * women surrounded by light

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New Perspectives: When The Questions Surface, Be Still And Let The Answers Come

As entrepreneurs, we're wired for action. We crave creating and doing and building, as if our entire life and business depend on our ability to do so. And to some degree, this is true. But what do you do when the questions surface? Or the direction of your business doesn't feel quite right? What do you do when you know you have more to offer (i.e. in your programs, products, offerings, etc...)? When you want to create new things that don't necessarily align with where you've set the direction of your business? What do you do when you feel paralyzed by all the creative possibilities running through your heart?

The only thing you can do and should do...

Be still.

I can tell you from first hand experience, it's the only thing you MUST DO. Answers and truth can ONLY find you in the stillness. And it's in the stillness that magic and miracles live, where the right ideas and the right people will find you, providing the beautiful solutions to the worries of your heart. This was my week. And this is how my answers came. I was still. And I listened. And now? I take action (more on the exciting and expansive changes coming to my work in the coming week). 

For creatives, getting still can be a challenge. So here are three quick tips for finding stillness in the business of your day to day life:

1. Disconnect! Put away the cell phone, and go for a walk without it. I know what a radical concept this is, but I promise that over time, you'll crave that time away from your clients and your apps. 

2. Free write! With paper. And a pencil (yes, a pencil...not a pen or a computer...a pencil). There's something simple and nostalgic about putting paper to pencil, and it ignites within you a time when things were likely quieter and simpler. Try it...first for 15 minutes. Don't stop, and don't judge what shows up. Just write, and see what happens.

3. Meditate! Yes I know...everyone says it, but honestly, it works. Close your eyes, sit still, and allow yourself to just be. Start with five minutes, and expand from there. Take one breath at a time, and just sit within your thoughts. Don't judge what comes up, but find peace in each and every moment of breath.

At the end of the day, everything starts in the stillness. Find the stillness within the noise, and the magic and miracles will find there way to you.

New Perspective: The Answer Is In Our Anticipated Memory

As you know, this week my website (and my business) launched to the public. Having worked behind the scenes for so long, seeing my passion shared with you (those I seek to serve most) has truly been a dream come true. Thank you to each and everyone of you for your support and your feedback...it is appreciated more than you know!

With all that said, I have to admit, at the end of my first day I struggled...struggled with the big giant question of WHAT NEXT? Having spent so much of my time and focus on the project of creating a strategic plan for my business (and of course, the rollout of my new website), I felt a bit lost. I knew I needed to take action on the next big phase of my work, but finding an answer to what exactly?

I was drawing a complete blank.

And to be completely honest? It freaked me out. How could I really move forward with growing my business to the next phase, when I had no idea what NEXT really looked and felt like?

 So I did what I always do in times of great ambiguity: I surrendered the answer to God and The Universe, and released the worry to faith that my question would be answered. JUST BE COOL, I kept saying...the answer will come.

And just like clockwork, the very next day it did...from perhaps the MOST UNLIKELY PERSON EVER: My teenage niece. Specifically? The way my niece's generation perceives life through their everyday (and often obsessive) interaction with Instagram.

Yes, you read that right...

INSTAGRAM!

As you'll see in this short and amazing video below, my niece's generation approaches life through the anticipated memory of each and every moment. They not only experience life from the perspective of their future self...but they are also taking action from the memory they expect their future self to experience of each moment.

And while so much can be said about this, especially as it relates to the Law of Attraction and the process of manifesting your dreams, the biggest message this generation can teach us is this:

Our decisions, actions, thoughts, visualizations, strategies, etc...ALL OF THIS SHOULD BE GUIDED BY THE FUTURE SELF WE SEE OURSELVES BECOMING. 

After watching the video, for me in that moment I knew what I needed to do (and I started to take action based on the person and entrepreneur I saw myself being 1 year from that very moment). The irony of the message? It's the same process I take you through when working to create transformational events: starting from the transformed place you visualize your clients being at the end of the event and working backwards from there.

At the end of the day, the message was a simple yet important reminder that the answer to everything we truly need is already within us. So when the ambiguity and the fear start to bubble to the surface, all we have to do is ask for the answer and JUST BE COOL, knowing with unwavering faith that the answer is only moments away from bubbling to the surface. 

Tell me, what was your biggest take away from my niece, this video, and her generation? I'd love to hear from you, so leave a message in the comments below.

Wishing you #ALoveStyledLife week! xo - Cynthia

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*image source // glitter guide tumblr