Tag: passion

  • Canyon Ranch: A Retreat for the Soul

    Canyon Ranch: A Retreat for the Soul

    I had Canyon Ranch on my vision board for the longest time. Every morning, while getting dressed, I’d look at the items on my vision board and dream of the day I’d get to go to Canyon Ranch.

    But for the longest time, I took no action.

    You see, a vision board is only effective if you take action on what’s on your board. You can look at your board every single day for years, and not have a vision materialize. Vision plus action–that’s the formula.

    So finally, one day last year, I realized I either had to start saving up for Canyon Ranch or find a way to be a part of their program. I sat down, pulled up the website, and saw that they had a speaker program.

    I applied and offered to speak about passion. No surprise there to those who have been following my passion journey for the last several years–to say “passion” is my passion is putting it mildly.

    On January 21 and 22nd, I presented two sessions, one on “Unwrapping Your Passion” and the other on “Passion at Any Age.”

    It was so fun!

    I brought my friend Sharon with me–she is a professional sign language interpreter and a close friend. We go way back–all the way to college years. Not only did we have a soul sister travel experience, we also nurtured our own souls in the process. Canyon Ranch is quite the magical place–not only because of the beauty in the surroundings, but also because of the healthy food and learning opportunities they offer.

    Canyon Ranch turned out to be above and beyond anything we expected. When we arrived, we made a beeline for the outdoor pool and did some walking laps while enjoying the sun. In the hot tub, we met Lois from New York. She and her husband own a home inside Canyon Ranch. They have been coming to Canyon Ranch for years and consider self-care a vital part of life.

    Sharon and I also biked to the Sabino Canyon and hiked for two hours. Then we went for some pampering–I opted for a water massage and Sharon went for a facial. I also tried something new: Aerial Silks.

    The whole experience at Canyon Ranch was simply amazing. It was a chance to recharge and refresh our energy. I absolutely loved the speaking experience there. The food was beyond amazing–especially considering they do not serve salt at the table (you’ll find a grinder with some secret ingredients that spice up your food.) There are so many classes to choose from that you’ll never run out of things to do.

    If you are looking for a holistic, inclusive opportunity to revitalize your life–Canyon Ranch is your place.

    Karen Putz is known as the Passion Mentor. She helps people unwrap their passion at any age. She is the author of multiple books, including “Unwrapping Your Passion.” To learn more about passion, head over to The Passion School.

  • Finding Passion in Your Past

    Finding Passion in Your Past

    Just this morning, I came across a interview about passion that I did years ago on Career Tips and Trends: 

    The way I looked at it back then, at that time I was juggling and I was spinning plates as a mom. I think a lot of people can identify with that. You want one plate and you spin it and the other one starts to wobble and you move on to the next plate and spin that one too.


    Sometimes, in the whole process, you lose yourself. You lose your purpose. You lose the “why am I here and what am I doing”. It becomes very overwhelming at that point to try to juggle it all. That’s why I think it’s so important to be doing something that you really are passionate about doing. It makes that juggling and plate spinning that much more easier.
    What happened two years ago, on my 44th birthday I was extremely down, quite overweight, very unhappy, out of shape. I was at a point in my life where I was sort of questioning everything that I was doing. One of the things I did at that point was I was thinking back on my life and what was the happiest time of my life. What was the point in my life before I started to fall out of joy and I was doing something that I really wanted to do?


    Waterskiing was the thing that came to mind. My husband found a link to the station and on the Today Show was a 66 year old woman who was barefoot waterskiing. That video was not captioned, but I didn’t need the captions. All I could see was a 66 year old woman waterskiing on her bare feet on the screen. I started to cry because if a 66 year old woman could do this, then what was my excuse? There was nothing holding me back from pursuing that passion again.

    In my work as a Passion Mentor, one of the exercises I take people through is a “Look Back at Your Past.” 

    It’s really simple, but the activity often brings out some rawness in people. For one thing, when you’re looking back into your past, you will find stories of your life that bring joy as well as hurt or regret. 

    The key is to focus on the joy. 

    And your job today, is to bring joy, passion, and fun back into your life. At any age. Y

    Yes, I really do mean at ANY age.  You may not be able to experience that passion as you did in your younger days, but you can bring it back in a different way.

    For example, if you were the star quarterback in high school but you can’t play football today–you can still dream up ways to enjoy football in a whole new way: 

    • Go on a Passion Quest to see a game in every football stadium.
    • Coach a local junior football team
    • Create an e-book about fun football facts
    • Gather your high school football team together for a reunion
    • Play Fantasy Football

    Passion is a way to LIVE

    Passion is an attitude. It’s a way of living life that taps into your God-given gifts and the beautiful energy you have inside of you. 

    At any given moment in time, you can tap into your gifts and pivot in a new direction. 

    If you want some help in unwrapping your passion, I have a book, Unwrapping Your Passion, Creating the Life You Truly Want AND a new course, Unwrap Your Passion. Both of those products will give you the tools and the direction to create a whole new, passionate life. 

    Begin now. 

    Karen Putz is known as The Passion Mentor. She specializes in helping people unwrap their passion at any age so they can live with joy. She is the author of multiple books and currently on a quest to barefoot water ski in all 50 states. She is a Social Ambassador for Southwest Airlines. Follow her at #southweststorytellers. 

  • Inspired Conversations with Linda Joy About Passion and More

    Inspired Conversations with Linda Joy About Passion and More

    “The moment we stop learning is the day we start dying.”  ~Karen Putz

    Linda Joy is the founder and producer of Aspire magazine, one of the most uplifting magazines out there. Every Tuesday, Linda has a radio show on OM Times called “Inspired Conversations.” Linda invited me on her show to talk about passion–and we had a great conversation! For those who can hear, you can access the radio show here:

    http://bit.ly/InspiredRadio  (replays available for one week)

    Or you can read the transcript here:

    [00:01] Grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine and tune in for inspired conversations with publisher Linda joy on Tuesdays at 2:00 PM Eastern. Linda creates a sacred space for leading female luminaries, empowering authors, Heart centered female entrepreneurs, coaches and healers, a soulful venue where guests openly shared their fears and obstacles they’ve overcome, wisdom and lessons learned, and the personal journey that led them to the transformational work they do in the inspired conversations to empower you on your path

    [00:38] to authentic, soulful living.

    [00:43]  LINDA: Hello, welcome to inspire conversations. I am your host, bestselling publisher, Linda Joy and all the conversations that I love to bring you through the radio show. Then we’ll always have been a common thread that runs through each one and it’s stories in conversations with women who just touch and inspire me because their life of their life journey, right? And we all have different things that we’ve overcome in our lives. And I always find these nuggets of inspiration in someone’s story. And that’s as true for today’s guest as it’s ever been. You know, we always hear the phrase, follow your passion. We hear that phrase all of the time, don’t wait, but what does it truly mean? And more importantly, how do we discover what and always is? Today’s guests, Passion, mentor Kevin Putts, interviewed over 200 people in her passion study. Today we’re going to talk about the hidden meaning behind the word passion and the three clues that will help you unwrap yours.

    [01:51] LINDA: And before I get on, introduce Karen and I just want to give a little side note. You may notice brief pauses between my question and Karen’s answer. Karen is deaf and we’re doing this interview using an interpreter and I got to tell you, Karen’s a true inspiration, I’m excited to have her here, Karen, known as the passion mentor, is passionate about living life to the fullest. She is dedicated to helping people in Midlife who are tired of being stuck in mediocrity, who are looking for more meaning by teaching them how to unwrap their passions and live with gratitude and joy. Without self doubt. Karen’s a certified passion test facilitator, the author of several books, including Unwrapping your Passion, Creating the Life you Truly Want. She’s been featured in the Chicago Tribune, CNN, Headline News, More magazine and Chicken soup for the Soul Find your happiness. For fun. Karen walks on water as a barefoot water skier. Welcome.

    [03:00] KAREN: Thank you so much for having me. What a great introduction to walking on water. Yeah!

    [03:08] LINDA: Well, I got to tell you, I am so excited to have you here and I want to invite you to share your story of becoming deaf from a fall while you were barefoot water skiing and what your journey has been like since that.

    [03:25] KAREN: That has been a very interesting journey. I was born with normal hearing. I can I can remember being able to hear as a very young child. I started losing my hearing in elementary school and I got my first hearing aid, at the age of nine and I hated it. Absolutely hated it. It didn’t really do much good for me. In High School I discovered the sport of Barefoot Water Skiing and oh my goodness. I love that sport. Every time I got out on the water, put my feet in the water. I just came alive. It was definitely something that I was very passionate about and then one day at the age of 19 on a Sunday, I turned to cross the wake and I took a hard fall into water. I just couldn’t do a normal tuck and roll. When I got into the boat, I was deaf–only I didn’t know it.

    [04:29]  KAREN: There was no sound coming out. My friends were talking, but I dismissed it and I thought, oh, I have water in my ears. Something. But that night when I laid in bed tonight and Tinnitus started, this horrible ringing sound. You can’t shut it down. You just constantly hear this sound over and over and over again, and that lasted for several months. I thought my hearing would come back, but being deaf was here to stay. So for me, it was a very dark time in my life because I had struggled my entire life being hard of hearing and trying to fit in, trying to understand people, being left out of conversations and just a poor self esteem growing up and now I was deaf. So it was just a very dark time in my life. One day I woke up and I realized I had two choices. I could continue to fight what was going on, continue to struggle, continue to grieve, continue to cry, or I could accept the journey. It was a very pivotal time in my life because when I woke up and I realized I wanted to accept the journey, I started learning American sign language, I met my husband. We have three deaf and hard of hearing kids and life opened up and it’s very different, very beautiful way because that was no longer fighting who I was meant to be.

    [06:25] What a beautiful way of looking at your challenges, Karen. That’s the kind of conversations that I love having on this show because as you know this, someone listening right now that’s struggling with something in their life and they may be ready to give up in your story is a true inspiration. No, it lead you. It sounds like your accident, your fall, lead you to exactly the work you’re doing today. What led you to start researching passion.

    [07:01] That is so true. I really believe that we’re on this journey of life for different reasons and I couldn’t see it as a blessing back then, but it is a blessing today. For me, passion started eight years ago when I saw a Today Show segment and on the Today Show was this 66, you have women, barefoot water skiing, 66 years old. At that time I was 44 years old. I had long ago given up the sport and I thought that I was too old to even enjoy that sport ever again and here I’m watching these 66 year old woman on TV. So I got in touch with her name is Judy Myers and she invited me to Florida to barefoot water ski again and I was 200 pounds, out of shape, all the way, but I met the world barefoot champion and he gave me a barefoot lesson and the minute I put my feet back on the water, oh my gosh. The old passion can just flowing back and I have been barefoot water skiing for eight years now and it’s been absolutely amazing. I have met barefoot water skiers all over the United States. I’m actually doing 50 states for my fifties.

    [08:35] I love it. It’s like you reconnected to your childhood passion in mid life and what a powerful message for all of us in mid life who’ve given up on our dreams and our passions.

    [08:49] Absolutely, and that is my message to people is that literally you can unwrap the gift of passion til the day you take your last breath. It is so very possible because passion is a gift within us and it’s something that needs to be unwrapped for us to live it.

    [09:14] How did you decide to follow the path and become a certified passion test facility facilitator and do the work that you’re doing in the world? Was the Today Show episode your impetus to start that journey?

    [09:28] It was actually the path of me rediscovering passion again, but won’t really. That leads to depression with the fundamental steven. He said, Oh, you need to read this book is called the passion test, and so I ordered the passion test by Janet and Chris Atwood. I sat down with the book and I set the intention to meet Janet. I want to meet Janet and a friend of mine told me about Janet coming to Chicago and I was kind of stuck because I had committed to a fundraiser and it was on the very same night that Janet was coming to Chicago, so I didn’t know what to do and I opened the book and it came out and it said, “when you are faced with a choice, a decision or an opportunity, choose in favor of your passions. My heart was not in that fundraiser. I had done the work that was supposed to be done for the fundraiser. They really didn’t need me, so I chose to meet Janet that night and it was just absolutely amazing.

    [10:48] I love that you followed your intuition, right? And a lot of people struggle with that. They struggle with following intuition and you tapped in and followed your passion and the whispers of your heart.

    [11:05] KAREN: That’s been a lesson that comes up over and over and over again, and I think it’s something that many of us we have never been trained to listen within. And when will you listen? Listen, I mean I hope starts opening up and it was really getting into a gift and it’s a beautiful thing. Can you imagine a word it? When you listen within you really tap into the gifts that we have. There will be so much joy and happiness.

    [11:42] LINDA: Oh, I live my life that way, so I agree. I agree. We’re going to ask. Well, thank you. We’re going to take our first break and I’ll be back in a moment with Karen Putz. agelesspassions.com,

    [12:01] a conscious lifestyle for a mindful life, sometimes. Radio

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    [14:39] LINDA: Welcome back. You’re listening to inspired conversations with me is that passion mentor, Karen Putz and we’re talking about her life defining moments when she rediscovered her passions and how he or she is writing books and spreading her message. And I am so grateful that you were able to join me today. Karen.

    [15:02] KAREN: Such a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me.

    [15:05] LINDA: Well, one of the things that I lead my life by following my, I call it soul whispers, and in that moment that you chose to attend Janet’s event over the fundraiser, you tapped in and listened. Did that begin your journey towards learning a new way of navigating life?

    [15:29] How do you want to live? and I often think about that sentence, you know, when I’m faced with what are the that I should do something or feel I want to do something. I always asked myself in the long run, am I tapping into my gifts? Am I using my passion? Am I sharing others with it? And when I asked those questions, me down the right road,

    [15:59] LINDA: Same here, same here. I like, I have to follow my truth. I need to follow my heart. That’s what gives me fulfillment. Yeah, absolutely. So you discovered in your work that this three clues that help us unwrap our passion. What are those three clues? Karen?

    [16:22] KAREN: before we jump into that, let me tell a little bit about passion and stuff and exploring the meaning behind it. I mean passion is your joy as the is simple version of thinking, of passion, is passion, is your joy, how you live your life with joy, passion, and bliss. And a surprising meaning behind passion is the willingness to suffer. If you are willing to suffer, you will go above and beyond to do the thing, didn’t experience the things that you will are passionate about. So that is the definition of passion that I use and the three clues to where you can find your passion. The first one is by looking in your path. Think back to the activities that you engaged in when you were full of joy. Activities in which time, just flow by seamlessly, activities that you look back on and say, wow, I wish I could do that again.

    [17:33] KAREN: So those are some of the clues you get by looking back in your past and identifying those moments of joy that you were engaged in. So that’s one. The second clue to your passion. Thinking about the present, have you ever been standing in line somewhere? And then you’ve got a million thoughts going through your head. Some of those thoughts are clues to your passion watch where your mind goes when you are sitting in a very boring meeting and you’re not engaged. Your mind will start wandering for things that you wish for, the things that you wish you could do. Two things that you maybe even some of the moments in life, so when you are in the present watch where you thoughts go, that’s the second one. The third one is what I call the Someday Syndrome. Think about things that you’re putting off for Someday, Someday when I have money, I will…fill in the blank. Someday when the kids leave home, I will fill in the blank. Someday things are big clues to things that you wish for, things that you hope for. So with us, we have though, if you sit down and think through those three clues, you will often come up with a list of things that will guide you, steps that you can take to invite more passion into your life.

    [19:14] LINDA:  I love it. The someday syndrome. I remember living in my twenties and thirties that way I was always looking, oh, one day I’ll do that. Someday I’ll do that, and that one really resonated with me because I did that for many years. I put off my joy and that’s such a sad way to live and I’m so glad that you shared that. For the listeners who may be doing that in their lives, what would your advice be to them?

    [19:50] KAREN: Well, I can tell you right now, you can search calendars over the whole world and you will not find a Someday on them. Things that you are putting off. In many, many cases they are your passions and take steps in that direction, one of my someday things was that, you know, oh, barefoot water ski when my kids are grown and gone. Wow. I’m really glad that I didn’t wait for that. My kids were still in school. I was traveling and barefoot water skiing, when I came home and the kids had a happier mom because I was out there experiencing my joy. So don’t put off your joy for Someday because your family, your kids,  the universe benefits when you capping into your joy and your passion. That’s your gift back to the world when you tap into that passion.

    [20:57] I believe that I believe that joy is contagious. I also believe that women are the nurturers of the next generation. And when our children see us living our joy, we’re teaching them that it’s okay to experience joy and follow our passion. So what a beautiful gift you gave your children.

    [21:22] KAREN: You know, my kids have really benefited from that in different ways, especially my daughter. She loved acting and she was going to college. She was kind of frustrated and she really wanted to act. So she made a decision to leave college and then she got a call on Broadway as a swing and she did that and it was an amazing, you know, openness for new life for her today. She’s performing and acting at the school that she dropped out of.

    [22:00] LINDA: Oh, I love it.

    [22:02] KAREN: Funny how that works.

    [22:05] LINDA: Life comes full circle when we follow our passion and our joy and it’s no different for me. I started aspire magazine 13 years ago with no experience in marketing or publishing, but a deep joy for the message I wanted to share and I just kept trusting in the next step in staying connected to my joy and passion and here we are 13 years later with radio shows and book publishing and the magazine, all because I follow my joy and passion. So I love the work you’re doing in the world to get that message out.

    [22:46] KAREN: Thank you for that. Your work. You have spread joy to so many people out there. Such a wonderful feeling to know that your gifts, your passion has an impact on others.

    [23:03] LINDA:  It’s such a fulfilling feeling as you know, because you do a lot of speaking and coaching and sharing this powerful message and it must feel so. I’m so not validating, but so empowering to you to know that you’re making a difference in the lives of others.

    [23:24] KAREN: I think it’s a wonderful feeling when someone connects to their passion and and it doesn’t have to be a huge big thing. I’ll give you an example of a woman that I had given my book to. She went home. She opened the book and literally by the third chapter, she realized she was missing the passion of dance in her life. She was newly divorced and a grandma. Right then and there she signed up for dance lessons. It has been exactly one year later and she has been dancing every week since then. She reconnected with an old dance partner. Like I’ve been told people. Their passion comes in little gifts as well as did get a lot of people think, oh, I need to find a passion, quit my job and move to an island and that’s going to be my life. For some people that may be, but for other people, passion is smaller gifts and even though smaller gifts, big, big joy.

    [24:36] LINDA:  I believe that too. I truly believe Karen, that not everyone is called to be an entrepreneur or an author or a coach. We’re all here to share our joy and our passion in our own unique way, and she following her passion for dance is spreading joy, spreading love and inspiring others in her own magical way.

    [25:01] KAREN: Absolutely.

    [25:03] LINDA: So what would you tell someone who comes to you and says, I don’t know what my passion is can you help?

    [25:11] KAREN: I love that it happens to me.

    [25:21] KAREN: but passion is a gift. I want you to think about an onion for a minute. There are many layers of an onion. For some of us, we find passion in the outer layers. Some of us find it immediately, some of us have to peel through the layers to get to that core, but an onion, just like us is a living thing. If you leave it sitting on a shelf for too long, it’s going to rot away, and for many of us were at that point of rotting way where we feel like, okay, I don’t have any passion. When I have someone who comes to me like that. The very first thing you need to do is we need to change something. When we turn something into action, what does that. We change the thoughts, and the attitude, and the action itself. So we start there and the other very important key to the whole thing is that you must learn something new. You must invite something new into your life and it may not be the first time. It may not be the second time. Sometimes we have to present something new. We feel like a fool because we’re inexperienced with something new and we might give up too soon. So if you’re on that path where you feel like I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what my passion is, we take action with something new

    [26:59] LINDA: and I love your analogy of the onion because that’s what it felt like for me is just unfolding and peeling layers until I remembered the things that gave me joy as a child. And and for me, it was really just being committed to doing the work to reconnect with my passions. Which I’m 56 now and I think I’m still unfolding because I think we evolve as we age.

    [27:28] KAREN: Okay. Do you think about it? You actually will unwrap your gift, but that will be a beautiful way of looking at life to continually unfold.

    [27:42] LINDA: Yes. Because we don’t want to be stagnant. Like you said, we don’t want to sit on the shelf, you know, like that onion that just withers away and dries up and dies. We’re going to go to break Karen and when we come back, let’s talk about, you know, this false belief that we’re too old to follow our passion. I’ll be back in a moment with Karen Putz, the passion mentor. You can learn more @agelesspassions.com,

    [28:14] free your mind, expand your soul on times radio.

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    [30:23] LINDA: Welcome back. You’re listening to inspired conversations with me today is Karen Putz, Passion, mentor, and author of unwrapping your passion, creating a life you truly want. You can learn more@agelesspassions.com. So Karen, so many people in it. You mentioned it earlier. Use the excuse. I’m too old to tap into their passion and find their passion or do the inner work. What do you have to say about that?

    [30:56] KAREN: I actually love when I hear that one too because I know how untrue that is. I think from the time we hit the age of 40, 45 where you get bombarded with messages, like slow down, that all my goodness were all getting older. We are told to slow things down, you could break some bones. We need to start taking 15 different medicines. We need to do this, we need to do that. They’re all the messages that we’re bombarded with. If you turn on the TV, every other advertisement is a drug, a advertisement. What if instead we had walmart or who showed us a snapshot of what life could look like at 80, 90 and 100 years old and what is the picture would be really different. Feel big media company and bought a car rolling back and they are doing exactly that. If you go to the website is filled with inspiring story.

    [32:01] KAREN:  The people at an older age of life. We’re living life completely fully so when we can start taking that magic and sending that out to people and getting them to be like that instead of slowing down at a certain age, we should be ramping it up. We have more time. We have more money. Kids are grown and gone. It’s the absolutely put the time in like the start exploring something new. There’s a man named banana George and I wrote a book by the same title, Banana George. He lived to 98 and at the age of 80 he started doing  amazing things, learning to snowboard. He barefoot water skied until he with 93, he rode a camel, he raced a car. He lived a full life , so we need a different picture of life as we get older and one that is fully, you know,  vibrant filled with people who are learning new things. We need to get that concept out there that we never stop learning. The moment we’stop learning is the day we start dying.

    [33:17] So beautifully said. I, I believe that. I believe that we need to stay connected to our souls, truth by passion and joy. And you know, I have grandchildren now and I have a little granddaughter who’s this spirited little sprite and I look at her and remember that as adults we forget the joy and passion that we were born with. Do you notice that too? That as children we came as such bright lights and we’ve just have to remember who we are.

    [33:54] That is so beautifully said. We can learn so much from children because we forget how to be a kid and they have so much to teach us. We can tap into that energy at any given moment.

    [34:12] She reminds me, I believe my grandchildren. I have an 18 year old grandson and a soon to be seven year old granddaughter and since they came into my life, I see life through their lens now. And I’m a busy entrepreneur and way back when my grandson was born, I didn’t take as much time as I do now to be in the present moment. Having him come into my life brought me back into that moment. And you’re so right. Children, um, a such beautiful teachers on every level, spiritual teachers that joy teachers. And um, why are you working on now in your life? I know you’re speaking and you have your book. Unwrapping your passion, creating a life you truly one. What do, what are you most passionate other than water skiing about right now?

    [35:11] KAREN: Oh my gosh. I just discovered painting. Never knew that had an artist like that. And I love getting up and painting. So that’s one new passion to me, but the other projects I’m working on, um, developing courses and I want to do more online. So next year instead of as much I hope to do teaching

    [35:38] LINDA: well, you have such a powerful message, I can see the doors opening up for you for that and this is such an important topic in your own inspirational journey of overcoming perceived obstacles. And I like to use that phrase because I don’t believe anything is truly an obstacle. It’s just our way of looking at it. Your personal story is an inspiration in which is why I wanted you here today. If someone asked what the greatest gift you’ve received since becoming deaf from that fall, what would it be?

    [36:18] KAREN: Wow. That is a good question. Since becoming deaf I think it’s that my world opened up because my entire life I felt very small. I always imagined myself next to people who could hear. I didn’t have deaf and hard of hearing role models to look up to. I played very small. After I became deaf I really stepped into the journey of being a person who is deaf, really embracing the American sign language, the deaf community, the hearing community. That’s part of my work that I do now as well. So I think the greatest gift becoming deaf was simply the gift of stepping into myself and I think it’s a gift. Our past, recognize that the things that happened to us in life, they shape us, but they don’t define us.

    [37:28] LINDA:  That’s so beautifully said. I like you for many years, but looked at my childhood as um, and things that have happened during my childhood as a weight I had to carry. And it wasn’t until about 1992, I think I was about, I don’t know, 30, 31 years old when I woke up to the truth that my past doesn’t define me, but my thoughts and actions on a daily basis define me. That’s when everything changed for me. And I went from welfare queen of self sabotage to the woman I am today. Because of that. That one aspect of our past does not define us in US circumstances. Don’t define this, so thank you for sharing that wisdom, Karen.

    [38:20] KAREN: You Bet. That’s an amazing journey that you’ve been on. Can I ask you that same question back to you?

    [38:28] LINDA: Yeah. The greatest gift, the greatest gift I’ve learned from my experience is that we are much more powerful than we believe we are and that when we turn inward for love and validation and self worth, instead of outward searching for those things, we will find everything we need to transform my life and now many years later, all of my brands are dedicated to inspiring woman to live from the inside out so they can discover their truth. That passion, that joy. So my. That was my greatest blessing because now I’m able to share it today.

    [39:17] KAREN: Oh my gosh. That’s beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.

    [39:21] LINDA: Thank you for asking. No, on your website, ageless passions, which I love the name, right? It’s like there’s no limit to when you can connect with your passion. Tell us about why you named your your business. That because it really resonates with me.

    [39:42] KAREN: You know, it’s funny, the name was actually chosen by another person, who was working with me in developing my brand and we were trying to come up with the name and she came up with it agelss passions, wow, that really fits. It is my message, you know, passion. Absolutely ageless and she just nailed it for me.

    [40:08] LINDA: Well, she did a great job because she really captured what you do and it really resonates with someone like me who is on the path. The moment I saw your url, I guess you can call it. I started following the links and that’s how I found you. And then I heard about your book and I said, Oh yeah, I have to get to know Karen. So here we are today.

    [40:33] KAREN:  I’m so glad you did that. I’m so thankful our paths crossed. I love the magazine.

    [40:39] LINDA: Thank you. Karen When you work with people, what do you notice that the majority of people are that come to is a woman? Because that’s what I noticed comes to me the most. Women are waking up knowing that they’re. They’ve been playing small in some area of their lives. Have you found that to be true?

    [40:58] KAREN: I think probably 75 to 80 percent of who I work with, are women and the other 25 percent are men. They are humans looking for something more, looking to make an impact, looking at ways that they can use to their gifts. Is there more to life than what I’m experiencing right now? That’s what I see coming to me because people are noticing my facebook posts and living with passion has been really amazing in terms of that experiences and being able to meet people and being able to barefoot water ski in 17 different states. So people come to me, they’re like, wow, I want your life. And I always laugh and I say, you don’t want my life because my life is designed for me. Let’s design something amazing for you. But what they’re really saying is that they want to tap into the joy. They want to understand and honor their gifts and they don’t know how

    [42:09] so true. So through ageless passions, they can connect with the yearning inside themselves that recognizes that something’s missing. And I love the phrase you just used life designer. That’s so beautiful.

    [42:27] Sure. We have helped from a bigger design on that for sure. But it’s true that we don’t lack in a how much we can design our own lives that we need to get up each day and set intentions for how we want to live. You can find answers, I’ve found in that sentence, “how do you want to live?” And the way you answer that is unique to you and contains the answers you need.

    [43:01] It’s so true. And you have to tap into your passions though to find and create the life that you wish to design because without knowing what those passions are, I feel that you would, we would create from that other place, from the show than the half dues. I don’t know if I’m phrasing that correctly, but from my own experience I used to follow the shoulds and have to’s instead of my passion, um, because I wanted to do what was right or what was expected. Do you find a lot of your clients use that language? Should have to, must

    [43:36] I think they do. the Typical American way of life encourages that kind of thinking and living, you know, hi myself. Even my husband is living somewhat of a traditional life in that sense, but we supplemented with that with other enjoyment. So for us, we’re still learning. We’re still learning how to tap into power and still learning how to create and design the life that we really want to enjoy. It’s a learning process, I think for us.

    [44:17] Oh definitely. Yeah. I believe we’re always, as you said earlier, always unfolding. That’s I’m part of the human experience. We are never quite there. We’re always unfolding to honor our truth.

    [44:36] Absolutely. You’ve just said it beautifully. We are with them. I think part of what is the struggle is when we achieve a goal, it is a letdown. We often forget that the journey to that goal is the goal itself, and that’s something that we are all in the painting, the goal.

    [45:05] LINDA:  It’s so true because we’re. The world has always pushing and striving and if we fall into that trap, we become disconnected from ourselves and I know that used to be my truth, especially in my thirties and forties, but now I like to drop down into my body and listened to my soul and spirit to create my life by design. As you so beautifully said earlier, and now when you teach, how do you get people to tap and how do you teach them to tap in and quiet down and listen to this, I’ll use the word soul. Um, instead of the shoulds and have tos

    [45:51] KAREN: Meditation. Just having that time in your day where you are reflecting, where are you when you’re looking within? When you get so quiet, the voices inside of you become so loud that you can’t ignore them. That’s their glow. That’s where we get our answers, this will we get the inflammation, we need the guidance in life by becoming still, becoming quiet. My daughter and I, we did a 90 minute meditation once with a group of women and it was so powerful to be in that group. I had a notebook and I literally filled that notebook up with all the thoughts that were coming in. Now I know that I have an advantage because I’m deaf. I can turn my hearing aid off and I instantly have silence, so it’s kind of a nice thing there. The blessing right there and I can meditate pretty quickly with silence.

    [46:58] LINDA: That’s another gift. You found your advantage.

    [47:05] KAREN: Absolutely. Absolutely.

    [47:08] LINDA:  So in our last few moments together, is there a piece of wisdom or insight more than you’ve already shared that you’d like to leave our listeners with?

    [47:18]  KAREN: That’s a good question Linda. Know and understand that you are beautifully unique. There Is not a single soul on this God given earth who is like you. Not a single soul. You are a unique fingerprint in the world and it’s up to you to take the gifts that you uniquely have, to recognize them and honor them and share them with the world I think that is the lesson that I want people listening to take away .

    [48:06] LINDA:  Such beautiful parting gifts that you left our listeners and I want to invite everyone, visit agelesspassions.com to learn more about Karen’s inspiring work and to learn more about her books, including unwrapping your passion, creating the life you truly want, and follow her on her facebook page too because as she said, she is painting now and I love seeing all her posts are inspirational in the creative out posts, so we tried to follow her. Karen, thank you for being here today.

    [48:42]  KAREN: Thank you Linda, Thank you for allowing me to have the pleasure to be here. Thank you

    [48:47] and everyone. I invite you to join me every Tuesday at 2:00 PM eastern time on the OM Times network for the inspire conversations radio show. Until next time, choose love. Choose Joy, choose happiness. My friends blessings.

    [49:07] Thanks for listening to inspired conversations with publisher Linda Joy. Join our sacred space every Tuesday at 2:00 PM Eastern and me leading female visionaries, empowering authors, heart-centered female entrepreneurs, coaches, and healers inspired conversations with Linda. Joy is a soulful venue where guests share the obstacles they’ve overcome, along with wisdom and lessons learned on their personal journey that led them to the transformational work they do in the world inspired conversations to empower you on your path to authentic and soulful living.

  • How Do You Want to Finish Off 2018?

    How Do You Want to Finish Off 2018?

    The week of Thanksgiving is always the week that reminds me of how quickly the year flew by. This happens every year. I feel a sense of urgency to do the things I set out to do in the beginning of the year–the things I procrastinated because I thought I had lots of time.

    When my kids were really little, my mother-in-law always told me that motherhood would go by “in the blink of an eye.” That was back when five minutes felt like a year–and all I longed for was a few seconds of peace and quiet so that I could shower long enough to actually wash my body.

    But I blinked…and the kids grew up.

    I’m afraid if I blink again, the years will spin even faster.

    So I’m learning to live with intention and to be more mindful of my time. I’m still impulsively saying “yes” to things that suck away time so I’m learning to pause before I respond to a request.

    What really makes time stand still is the ability to truly be “in” the moments that you’re experiencing. It’s the process of living with intention instead of reacting through life.  As 2018 starts to wind down, you can actually ramp up your living by evaluating “how” you want to live.

    • How do you want to spend the last weeks of the year?
    • What projects/experiences do you want to complete?
    • What’s not serving you well–what can you “let go of?”
    • What is something new you can learn?
    • Who do you want to connect with?

    If you’ve spent the year reacting to things that are happening instead of being the catalyst–you can turn things around by creating new habits, new routines, and new experiences, all with intention. Whether you do a major pivot or a baby step in a new direction, that simple tweak can make all the difference in whether you end 2018 with a smile or a sigh.

    And here’s a tip:

    Instead of waiting until January 1st to begin the year with new goals and resolutions, start right now to make the shift in a passionate direction. Here are two courses to get you on your way:

    If you’ve got a book in you–this course will get you started (and finished!) writing your book: Stop Talking, Start Writing

    If you want to create a whole new life, this course will give you the tools to Unwrap Your Passion

    Karen Putz is known as “The Passion Mentor.” She is the author of several books, including Unwrapping Your Passion, Creating the Life You Truly Want.

    I was thrilled to join Best-selling Publisher and Host Linda Joy on the Inspired Conversations Radio Show on the #OMTimes network. Linda’s show is dedicated to bringing you intimate, authentic conversations with today’s leading visionary women in personal and spiritual development, success and mindset, natural health and wellness, conscious business and self-empowerment.

    You can access the show details and transcript here:

  • Passion Takes Time to Develop

    Passion Takes Time to Develop

    Painting is a new passion of mine. I unwrapped this passion in a roundabout way. My daughter suggested a painting night many moons ago. My first painting was simply a blend of different colors. I sold that painting for $100 and donated the money to a deaf school.

    I dabbled here and there with paint on canvas. I really had no instruction in this medium, I simply danced my brush in various ways and stood back to see what transpired. Then I discovered alcohol inks and fell in love. Most days I paint. On the days I don’t, I’m usually scrolling through Instagram for ideas or thinking about what I want to paint next.

    What I’ve discovered about passion in this process is that sometimes passion takes a long time to develop. Persistence is the key when you’re starting out with something that is new and requires skill to advance. As you grow, learn, and refine, passion can emerge from the process. If you give up too soon during the learning stage, you may miss something that could bring your life to a whole new level of living.

    Seek out mentors, teachers, coaches, and guides. Those who’ve walked the passion path before you can pave a smoother path ahead for you.

    Allow yourself to experience something new in a deep way–especially something that requires skill, expertise, or a big learning curve–give yourself the time to adjust and adapt. When you embark on something new–there are always dark moments, mistakes, blunders, and low points. Embrace the valleys, because on the other side, you may find great passion.

    Helen Keller said it best:

    “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.”

     

    Karen Putz is known as The Passion Mentor. She is the author of Unwrapping Your Passion, Creating the Life You Truly Want. 

     

     

  • How to Make This Year Your Most Passionate Year Ever

    How to Make This Year Your Most Passionate Year Ever

    Here we are, halfway through 2018. Here’s a question to ask yourself: Are you living with passion?

    Because you see, passion doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to search high and low for passion, you simply have to unwrap it. It’s a gift within you.

    When I first began studying this thing we call “passion,” I interviewed over 200 people on the topic. I received many different definitions, but all of them with a pretty common theme. My friend Jackie St. Onge gave me what I think is the best definition of passion:

    “Passion is your joy. It is the essence of who you are.

    You have to unwrap it to find it.

    The mind, body, and soul become one when you find it.

    Passion comes naturally to a person. It’s like running water; turn on the tap and it flows. “

    The first step to living a passionate life is making a decision–and you have two choices: 1. Letting life happen to you. Or 2. Making life happen. When you make the decision to stop sleepwalking through life and embrace a new way of living, that’s when life starts opening up to you.

    Here are ten things you can do to make the rest of the year your best year ever:

    1. Change your mornings. Grab a copy of The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod–this book has the best advice ever on how you can begin each day with passion.
    2. Become clear on how you want to live. Grab a spiral notebook and write down 100 things to be, do, or have in your lifetime. Every day, pick from this list and take steps to get you  closer or to actually live it.
    3. Watch how you react to your thoughts. You may not be able to control what pops up in your head, but you can certainly control your reaction to your thoughts.
    4. READ. READ. READ. What you put in your mind determines how you will live your life. Start with my book, Unwrapping Your Passion. (And there’s a book list in the back of the book for more reading.) You’re getting the wisdom of many passionate people in this book.
    5. Prioritize your time. Recognize what’s truly important in your life and let the other stuff slide.
    6. Let go of the relationships that are dragging you down, down, down. Hang out with those who are living with passion. Learn from them.
    7. Find a mentor, coach, accountability partner who can guide you down a passionate path.
    8. Have a vision that’s bigger than what you’re currently experiencing and believe in it. You must believe it to see it, as Wayne Dyer used to say.
    9. Try something new. Always. This is the action that leads to new eruptions of passion in your life.
    10. Invite joy, bliss, and passion in your life every single day. They will show up.  Then end your day with gratitude and begin again.

    Ditch the mediocrity and start living with passion. If you need some help getting clear or how to take the steps to a passionate life, I have a few spots open in my Passion Mentor program. Email me at karen @ agelesspassions with “A Passionate Life” in the subject line. Start now, and you’ll end the year having the most passionate life ever!

     

    Ladies, this weekend is for you: Ladies Night Inn, A Retreat for Your Soul

     

     

  • Choosing Passion Over Fear

    Choosing Passion Over Fear

    “Are there any alligators in this lake?”

    I was down in Florida, about to take a barefoot water ski lesson from a two-time World Barefoot Champion. The thought of alligators didn’t cross my mind until that moment. I was about to get into a lake that averaged 600 alligators per square mile…

    And I was scared.

    “Alligators don’t come near the boat because the engine scares them away,” my instructor reassured me.

    My passion for the sport of barefoot water skiing was about to outweigh fear. I put my feet on the water, stood up, and felt a joy that had been buried for too many years.

    When you do something you’re passionate about, you are willing to challenge yourself to do more than you ever thought you could do — you step way, way, way out of your comfort zone when you live on the edge.

    I was hooked, but there was just one problem — the more lessons I took, the more the fear escalated. When I floated in the water while waiting for the boat to pick me up, I imagined hungry 13-foot alligators slithering underneath.

    Then the nightmares began.

    At three in the morning, I was jolted awake by the image of an alligator with a wide-open mouth about to snap down on me.

    I contemplated giving up the lessons and skiing in lakes that were alligator free — but that would mean giving up passion over fear.

    “You need to face your fears,” the World Barefoot Champion told me. “You need to see them for the magnificent creatures they are.”

    “Are you crazy! I can’t do that!”

    I shuddered at the very thought.

    All fear stems from the imagined and the unknown. The human mind is very powerful in dreaming up scenarios that feed on fear. Yet, the only way around fear is smack dab through it.

    And here’s the thing: You attract what you fear. How do I know this? Because alligators started showing up in my life left and right.

    A few years later, I started barefooting with Ken Cowles — who is known as The Gator Guy. He’s a state licensed alligator trapping agent. He’s the guy you call when a wayward gator gets stuck in your pool.

    “We need to conquer that fear you harbor,” he told me one day. Then he hauled out a ten-foot gator and made me sit on it.

    I was shaking for a long, long time afterwards.

    The act of getting upfront close to the very thing that I feared most was cathartic. I discovered I had the courage to do the very thing I was extremely frightened of.

    There’s a part of you that comes alive when you do something that you think you cannot do and you get to the other side of it.

    If you’re holding back in life because of fears that you harbor within you, it’s time to get clear on what you WANT in your life, not what you fear.

    Choose passion over fear.

     

    Karen Putz is known as The Passion Mentor. For a daily dose of passion, follow her on Instagram at The Passion Academy.  To unwrap your own passion, grab the book, Unwrapping Your Passion.

  • A New Course on Passion at Udemy

    A New Course on Passion at Udemy

    The difference between an ordinary life and an extraordinary one is:

    PASSION.

    Passion is an energy like no other. Once you unwrap passion and implement new habits–life takes on a whole new dimension.  I study and live this on a daily basis. Through the ups and downs, passion is fuel.

    In the last several years, I’ve talked to over 200 people about passion and learned from the experts. I wrote a book about everything I learned about passion: Unwrapping Your Passion. I’ve given the Passion Test to hundreds of people and I never fail to be amazed at the results–people ARE making a difference in their lives by choosing to live passionately. We have a kinder, happier world when people are engaged in practices that bring joy.

    And now YOU have the opportunity to take a course that will give you the tools to unwrap your passion at ANY age.

    And I really mean ANY age. Passion is a state of mind–it’s an energy you can tap into. Learn how you can tap into yours:

    Udemy Course: Unwrapping Your Passion at ANY Age

    When you follow Karen Putz’s formula for Unwrapping Your Passions,

    the gift you’ll find inside right next to your passions will be deep, true, and lasting happiness. 

    Marci Shimoff, NY Times Bestselling Author of Happy for No Reason

  • Would You Sell Your Home To Live on a Boat?

    Stephanie Palmer came home from work one day and told her husband Jim, “We need an adventure.”

    Stephanie, who worked in early childhood education for 25 years, was getting ready to retire and partner with Jim in his coaching business, Dream Business Coaching.  With the business, they could work anywhere in the world as long as they had access to cell service and a solid internet connection.

    After 28 years living in the same home, they were toying with idea of selling the house and doing something different–yet, they weren’t quite sure what “different” was going to be.  They both enjoyed watching shows on HGTV that showed beautiful places to live and they considered moving to the Caribbean.

    Then one day, Stephanie had an idea.

    “Why don’t we live on a boat?”

    Stephanie and Jim always enjoyed their outings at sea on their 30-foot Sea Ray. Every time they went out on the water, stress melted away and they came off the boat renewed and re-energized. The more they thought about it, the more the idea of living on the water appealed to them.

    When Stephanie and Jim presented the idea to their four children, they received positive feedback and support. Stephanie recalls how it all unfolded:

     

    For the past few years Jim had felt ‘finished’ with the house we were living in.  It was the house where we’d lived for the past 28 years and raised our children.  I was torn.  We had kept it up and done some remodeling and an addition that I was enjoying.  I also liked to think of it as a place where the family came together for holidays, where our grandchildren could play in the beautiful yard where their parents had played years before.   Finally, I didn’t have any idea where I wanted to move to next.

    I had worked in early childhood education for over 25 years and I was feeling ready to move on. Truth be told, I was burnt out and didn’t enjoy the work anymore.  I didn’t know what I wanted to do, as far as work but one day it just hit me – I needed a big adventure!  Not sure what that was, what it looked like, but I had a feeling.  Together Jim and I batted around a bunch of ideas.  I knew how much Jim loved boating and I had a desire to travel, so I threw out the idea of living aboard a boat.  Jim LOVED it!!!  

    I was a bit uncomfortable with telling other people about this home we chose.  I have been a person that feels the need to do what is acceptable and expected.   Our children were the first people we informed of this idea.  They were so excited about it!  It is truly their excitement and encouragement that has kept me moving forward.  

    We spent about a year preparing for the change.  I gave notice at work.  I began to pack up the contents of our home deciding what to throw out, donate or put in storage.  We prepared the house for sale.  Jim searched boats for sale.  Over the year, Jim and I were amazed at how smoothly everything went.  We felt God’s hand at work, guiding us.  

    As I write this we have been living aboard the boat for 3 months.  I can’t believe how much I love it!  Life is simple, comfortable and easy.  We feel like we are on vacation all the time.  For now we have an 18 month plan, this summer in New England, the winter in Florida and then the next summer back on the Chesapeake, our home port.  We are considering spending more time living on the boat and traveling either the Great Loop or to the Bahamas.  But what we are both content with is making decisions as needed, we don’t have everything planned out to the nth degree, we are just going with the flow.

    Stephanie and Jim’s new home is a 50-foot Carver yacht. In the beginning, they had to learn everything they could about navigating a large craft themselves. They were nervous, excited, and a bit scared at taking on such a big adventure, but Jim knew that from his own coaching practice, the most growth occurs when you step out of your comfort zone.

    “Stephanie and I, we couldn’t run the boat ourselves, its a lot of teamwork,” Jim said.  “Pulling in and out of the marina is a two person job.  When we left the coast of New Jersey  going into New York and we saw the Statue of Liberty, we got chills. We had spent an hour in choppy water  and we were pushed out of our comfort zone in a way that we had not been pushed out of for several years.”

    I asked Jim to share the challenges they faced. “Challenges? You mean other than today, yesterday, and the day before??” Jim chuckled. “There are definitely times of challenge.  When you try to do something new– live on a boat, start a business, you sometimes become excited  about doing something fun and different, then the other side of your brain says,  ‘what if,  what if,’  what if I can’t park it, or hit someone, or run out of gas or I can’t run my business…

    “A lot of people don’t do big things because they’re unsure of what will happen,” Jim continued. “If you are thinking about doing something big–go for it. Life can be shorter than you want it to be. If you have an adventure in mind–your mind will play the “what if” game, but go for it. People near death regret the things they didn’t do–time ran out on them. Stephanie and I didn’t want to get to the end of our lives with regret, so for better or worse, we are doing it.”

    During one of the first trips on a river, the very thing that Stephanie and Jim worried about, happened. They ran aground in shallow water, right in front of a marina, with people on the dock watching. Jim turned to Stephanie and he laughed. “We hit the ground. Check it off the list. No one got hurt–there ya go!”

    What’s more, Jim explained, there are two types of people, those who run aground, and those…who lie about it.

    Jim and Stephanie work three days a week on their business and use the other four days to explore new places and things. As a business coach, Jim applies one of Zig Ziglar’s famous quotes to his business: You can get everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. Jim is all about helping others create successful dream businesses. “Passion is something that lights you up and gets you up out of bed earlier–you will work a little harder–that’s what passion does. I don’t live for the weekend. Here, every day feels like a vacation.”

     

    And every day on the water, Stephanie and Jim are grateful to see both the sunrise and sunset. Success means being able to live life on your own terms, Jim says.

    “Success doesn’t have to do with how much money you earn. It’s about living life the way you want to live.  You’re not wanting for anything–you’re content. You can make your own choices. That’s an internal level of success that people are striving for. The ultimate thing is to have time freedom–and live life on your own terms.”

     

    For more on Jim and Stephanie:

    Our Floating Home

    Dream Business Academy

    Jim Palmer, Dream Business Coach

     

  • Embrace Your Weirdness

    Lori Moreno of Ambassadors VIP posted a question:

    If you could go back and tell your young self something, what would it be?


    I was pondering this question during a 3:45 a.m. ride to the airport.

    My response was simple: Stand out. Embrace your weirdness. Share your gifts.

    Stand Out

    I grew up hard of hearing. Every single day I struggled in school to appear as “normal” as possible. As the only kid with a hearing aid, I measured myself against people with normal hearing and I couldn’t do the things that they could do (group conversations, music, talk in the dark) with ease. 

    As a result, I always felt “less than.”

    It wasn’t until I became deaf that I learned to step comfortably into my authentic self. I was no longer afraid to show my hearing aids (yes, I added a second one.) 

    In fact, they’re now beautiful pieces of art,


    Yeah, I wish my younger self knew that place of authenticity that says, “This is who I am.”

    There’s a line in the movie, What a Girl Wants, that says:

    “Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?”

    The worse thing you can do is blend in with everyone else. When you do that, you squelch your own passion. You diminish your unique touch in the world.

    The world doesn’t need carbon copies. The world needs you. 

    Embrace Your Weirdness

    We all have habits, quirks, and unusual stuff that we are passionate about. In a world of mass conformity, this might seem…weird. 

    What if, instead of trying to stuff your square (or hexagon) self into a round hole, what if you embraced your weirdness instead? 

    When you conform to other people’s expectations or judgments of you, you’re swinging like an untethered sail in the wind. What’s more, a sailboat moves forward against the wind. So tether your weirdness and move forward. 

    My ultimate favorite shoes are Vibram Five Fingers. I wear them everyday. One morning I showed up at a breakfast meeting with a friend who is a business coach. The shoes clearly made her uncomfortable. 

    “Never wear those in public with me again,” she said. 

    At first, I felt ashamed. I silently berated myself for not appearing more businesslike in public. 

    Fortunately for me, the feeling didn’t last long. Those weird shoes have climbed to a peak in Colorado, perched the edge of a cliff in Nebraska, walked through a waterfall in Oregon, water skied on the Fox River, and endured a triathlon in Naperville. 

    Weird has brought me a wonderful life. 

    Share Your Gifts

    I wish my younger self would have recognized the unique talents, skills, and abilities within me. I would have tapped into them right away instead of putting them off for years. 

    You are as unique as your fingerprint. That means there’s no one in the whole wide world who can be you. 

    So stop hiding your talent. Don’t let fear cloud your growth. If you’ve become dull and stagnant from repetitive routine–shake things up. Dust off your creativity. Approach life with a whole new wonder and a beginner’s mind. Do the stuff that your younger self is screaming for. 

    Become a kid again