From Lisa’s Chair

The journey I have been on over the last five years is something most people, me included, only read about or see in the movies.  It has been a journey of highs, lows, laughter, tears and mostly of survival and self discovery.  A journey of developing into the person I have become today.  From the lows of lying in a Spinal unit to the highs of seeing the sparkling lights of the famous “Las Vegas Strip”.

It all began this time 5 years ago with a slight nagging pain in my upper arm.  I came home from my working day and commented to my partner that my upper arm was sore.  This progressed quite quickly to a pain that affected my daily routine, stopping me from working, sleeping and socialising.  I found myself at the emergency department of our major hospital, to be given the diagnosis of a massive bulging disc on my C5/C6.  After trying so many lotions and potions I was advised  by my doctor that the only option was surgery.  I was then booked to see a “Very well known and experienced” Neurosurgeon.  I was excited to be seeing this person who would take away my pain and give me my life back.  He assured me it was a very simple operation, and I would have more hope of being hit by a bus when he discharged me, than of anything going wrong.  I was so full of hope and could hardly wait until this wonderful person was going to give me my life back, 9th February 2005.  I could never had known how his words would ring in my ears for the rest of my life………3 to 5 days, you will be back home, pain free.  Those words started me on a journey of self development into the stronger person I have become today.

Hope you enjoy my story….

Kind Regards
Lisa Monaghan

Out with the Old In with the New

9^th February, 2005, a day forever in my memory, a day I was so looking forward to. Arriving bright and early keen to get the process going, I could never have imagined how devastated my family and I would feel by late this afternoon. I really don’t think there are any words that could describe my mortal fear when I realized that I could no longer move, I was so happy as I waved to my mother at 10am that morning as they wheeled me away smiling, to the operating theatre.

 Somewhere, somehow during my operation something had happened that would change everything in every aspect of my life. My body, mind and soul were no longer as I had always known them to be. My first realisation that all was not well was saying I felt pain in my arm, I just kept repeating that something was wrong. My family were downstairs unsure of what was going on as I was due out of theatre three hours earlier.

I remember waking seeing my Son, Daughter, Mother and Partner standing there smiling, huge bunches of flowers in hand, happy to see me at last. They had no idea of the horror we were all about to face. I was so sure that this was going away and all was going to be good again. Why wouldn’t it be-I was getting a new car and had a planned holiday to the Reef. Just a day or two should see all of this go away, after all the awful pain I felt was gone. I will be home again in 3 to 5 days, the Surgeon had assured me of that.

Never could I have imaged the journey I was about to undertake, a journey of digging deep and finding survival tactics I never knew existed. It is amazing the inner strength you can find when you are faced with adversity. Look out Lisa, out with the old and in with the new……….

07/02/10

As you can see by the date on my column today it has been some time since I last wrote and things have come to light of which I could never have imagined, but for now back to my hospital stay.  My three day visit lasted for nine long agonizing months, agonizing for me, my children, my parents, family and friends.  To see the pain and helplessness on their face day after day is really hard and sad.  To see their glee is also sad, their glee because you can now hold a pen or a cup or you can brush your hair, they feign excitement but really their heart is just as broken as yours, but they have to be as happy as they can be for your sake.  You do have your happy moments of course when funny things happen and you can even laugh at yourself and as time goes on you learn to do this more and more.  As much as you don’t like being in hospital it almost becomes a safe haven or another family and leaving it, even for just a few hours can be quite traumatic.  

My first trip out of the hospital was amazing and I almost felt like an alien!  Allan, my partner at the time, had asked me to marry him and he wanted to take me for a champagne to celebrate.  I had been practicing for a few weeks with my physiotherapist, Josh, how to transfer in and out of a car, so here was my opportunity.  It was slow, difficult and painful, but with the help of my Physio’s and Allan I was in the front seat of the car, the same car that had dropped me off a few months ago to start this painful journey.  Oh how excited I felt, it felt so weird to be in a car, yet I had been driving since I was 17.  We drove off leaving the hospital behind, so excited at something so seemingly small, I immediately called my mother and said excitedly “You will never guess where I am Mum, I am in the car with Allan”, such a big moment, we were so happy.  We stopped and picked up some piccolos of champagne and went and parked down by the river and drank to our excitement, to getting engaged, to being alone together, to being back in the real world, sitting in the car like a ‘Normal’ person, life just didn’t get any better.

Unfortunately, reality has a way of biting you when you least expect it, after we had finished drinking our champagne, it was time for me to remember that I had to go back to the Spinal Unit, Allan had told me something that had broken my heart and the Physios gave us a scolding as in our haste to get away from the hospital we had forgotten to take my wheelchair.  It seems my spinal injury was going to be with me wherever I went for the rest of my life……..how could I deal with that?

Kind Regards

Lisa Monaghan

Tags: anxiety, attitude, change, coping with change, fear, happiness, inspiration, Love, personal development, sadness, Self Esteem and Confidence, self improvement

Fear of Failure or fear of success can stop you in your tracks in accomplishing your goals and becoming a success.

Fear of failure will lead many people into inertia – the inability to make decisions or take action in case they receive rejection or negative outcomes. This mental state is fairly easy to identify and there are many tools in the personal development industry to help combat this plague and reprogram the mind for success.

However, the fear of success is much more subtle, harder to spot and also harder to eradicate.

It is well documented that many people fail to achieve their goals in life due to the phenomenon known as “fear of failure” but are you aware that a major factor that is often overlooked, is a state known as “fear of success“?

This is the Science of Success – Click Here!

Perhaps you have this tendency in your life. Here are some indications of a fear of success mentality.

You settle for less than you feel you deserve or are capable of achieving.

Studying and trying to implement self improvement techniques and/or personal development tools but your life does not improve or may even get worse.

You expect things to go wrong no matter how well the situation appears to be at the moment.

You start new projects full of enthusiasm and optimism but wane in your efforts or stop short before you have completed them.

Can you identify your own patterns in the any of the above statements?

The fear of success can also make you behave in ways that hold you back. Look at the list below. These are the symptoms of the fear of success.

Procrastination is a ‘success killer’! How can you expect to reach your destination if you do not take steps towards it? Strive to do little things each day that will bring you small steps closer to your goal.

Procrastination.

Putting off what needs to be done or not doing what you know will bring you closer to your desired result. Everyone suffers from this inner ‘demon’ at some point in their lives (although some of us suffer from it more than others!).

This is why having a personal development plan is an essential ingredient in the fight against procrastination. Take action! Any action! Refine your steps as you go along but do not sit and do nothing. Taking action is one of the key aspects in personal development.

Thinking that the time is not right – have you ever waited until the timing was perfect before starting a venture? Have you ever waited until you had more information on a better plan?

Again ACTION is the key to the door to success. Taking small steps forward are better than taking none or waiting to see if your foot is landing on the right spot! Even if your actions take you away from your goal you have at least gained insight and knowledge about what does not work!

Can’t see the forest for the trees!

This is almost the opposite of procrastination but has the same effect on your personal development. The aforementioned saying is well known but have you ever given it real consideration?

Don’t get caught up in your plan believing that it is more important than the materialised goal! For many years I got caught in this trap. I started to think and act as though my plan was more important than my end result and thus missed many opportunities to alter my path and reach my goals more quickly! Let go of your ego and allow the Universe to show you a quicker route to your goal. Remain flexible.

Seeing only problems.

How do you use your focus? Do you constantly see only and alll the problems involved? If you are this way inclined it is pointless trying to change overnight! However, you can use this mindset to your advantage while you strive in your personal development to acquire an opportunistic frame of mind instead.

“How can you use seeing only problems to my advantage?” you say. “Easily”, is my reply! Look at the problems and prepare a plan to deal with them. Everytime you overcome one congratulate yourself. Use them as a gauge for your achievements.

If you keep seeing more problems remind yourself of how well you dealt with the others. Look at how far you have come! If you see a problem ask yourself, “how best can I overcome this challenge?” or “how quickly can I rectify this situation?”.

The quality of your questions are important. Use the problems as fact finders. Is there a real problem now? If so then deal with it. Is it a potential problem? If so then create a contingency plan in case it does occur but don’t get caught up in it just be prepared.

Being a Perfectionist.

This is similar to the point above and has the same effect, namely, that you never really move forward. No matter how good a job is when its finished it can always be improved! I have heard many great musicians tell how they hate listening to their own songs because they can find a million things that need improved. Yet, we still enjoy them. I think a classic example of this is “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Paul Simon. This song is hauntingly beautiful yet Mr. Simon does not think its good enough!

This is the Science of Success, Educate Yourself! – Click Here!

Enjoy the journey, follow the above guidelines and you will achieve success. Eventually your fear of success or fear of failure will dissipate and you will have moved a long way forward in your self improvement and personal development.

Don’t be scared to succeed! Success is Great! Really

Tags: fear of failure, fear of success, personal development, self improvement, Success

Read More Personal Development Books!

I would like to offer all my wonderful reader’s some free personal development ebooks to utilize in your self help and growth journey!

If you can read a book every week or two, you will become a master in your chosen field in under 5 years! Now, I can’t remember who said that but it is very true!

My chosen field is personal development and I am reading personal development books, ebooks and listening to personal development audio’s and watching video’s constantly!

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The saying goes…..Personal development is the deliberate growth or development of a particular individual to bring out their potential and capabilities making them more aware of their inner feelings and belief systems to become a more conscious, whole or healthy human being.

A shorter take on personal development could be….
“Strategies that enable me to enhance my life in all areas”

Now I do like this definition because it says what it is, simply and succinctly. The thing about personal development, is that it means different things to different people. When someone embarks on the journey of personal development, it maybe that they have chosen to improve their health, relationships, career prospects, finances etc. Sometime people talk about the mind, body and spirit, or physical, emotional and spiritual.

So how do you get started on the road to self help and personal development? Well, first of all become aware of what you already have in your life and what you are grateful for and then think about what is missing, what do you want, I mean really want? Awareness has to come first, because without an awareness there can be no conscious decision to take action.

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Becoming aware also means asking yourself different questions and then seeking out the answers. So if your question is “There must be more to life than this?” your mind is already making an assumption that there is more to life and as if by magic you start to see things around you that maybe you did not notice before.

A good way to start your personal development journey is to start familiarizing yourself with the self help concept!

Read or listen to personal development material. You must find time to learn about self help and growth strategies and to read or listen to positive and inspirational messages.

Now, my idea of the greatest road to personal development is by being a student at Success University! However, you may just want to nudge your way in to personal development by reading a personal development ebook, instead of the head on approach I take! (I want to get to where I’m going Fast…lol)

With that in mind, I have decided to provide you with some free personal development ebooks that you can download straight from my site. No optin required, just follow the directions on the page and you will have some great personal development reading at your fingertips!

My new page will be called ‘Free Personal Development eBooks‘ and will be available for your use in about an hour from now!

Please come back to Complete Personal Development.com shortly and download all your new and Free Personal Development eBooks! Enjoy!

Tags: free personal development ebooks, personal development, personal development books, personal development ebooks

My passion for personal development is well known to my readers! As a matter of fact this whole site is devloped on the theme of personal development, self help and growth.

Today I want to talk about the power of self confidence.

We are all different but for me, Self confidence is not something that holds me back. In fact I really appreciate the level of confidence I enjoy and feel that I can make the choices and decisions I want without a feeling of concern or over riding fear. That is not to say that I am always successful, but I realize that even by trying I am moving closer to a higher level of confidence and ultimately bigger successes.

I did not always have a high level of self confidence. When I was younger, I had a lot of self confidence in my ability to do well in school and sports, but my confidence in my ability to deal with life’s challenges was quite low. This was probably caused by a fear of not measuring up to my parent’s expectations and a little bit of social shyness. However, as I got older, I realized that my parents only wanted me to be healthy and to try my best at everything I did.

Self confidence or confidence in yourself means that you know that you can do whatever task you are faced with. This does not mean that you have to do every task by yourself. It means that the ones you know you can do by yourself you do and the ones where you need help you know how to find it. Confidence is a learned trait, not something you are born with. It is the force which pushes you forward and allows you to find the right path amidst the confusion and chaos of life. Confidence is the necessity you must have to assist you in realizing your dreams and goals.

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We all have the power of self confidence within us. Sadly many leave it unused for long periods of time while others use it sparingly like a miser. Forget about past worries and build the power of self confidence within you. Since you can’t change the mistakes of the past, don’t let them spoil the present or dim the future.

The first thing that you must practice is “don’t hate yourself” before deciding to practice self confidence. It is very difficult to become self confident if you do not like yourself. Remember, just like everyone else, you were born into this world for a specific reason. Think about the things that you are good at doing. Work at becoming better at them. Don’t worry about the things that you are not very good at. As a very successful person I was talking to recently said, “Why spend your limited time here on earth working on things you are not good at. Instead perfect the things you are good at and hire someone to do the things you are not good at.”

Mediocrity and poor performance are often due to low self confidence but it is not something you have to live with. You can build your self confidence by challenging yourself to take action and do something. Even though you feel as if you lack confidence, it doesn’t mean other people can tell. Building good self confidence is a wonderful thing, and it’s much easier than you’d imagine. One of the easiest ways of building self confidence is to “take baby steps.” What I mean by this is to set small goals or projects that you have to complete. Each time you do one in the time you have set for yourself, you will build your self confidence. The accumulation of small “victories” will convince your subconscious mind that you can do what you set out to do. It will then convince your conscious mind that you have a lot of capabilities and your self confidence will grow. If you continue to do this over a period of months, you will find that your self confidence becomes greatly improved. With improved self confidence you can take on bigger projects and goals and as these are completed your self confidence will grow by leaps and bounds.

Do it Now! Study Success Today – dont wait months! – Click Here…

So what other techniques are available to anyone embarking on the personal development road to confidence? It should be no surprise to you when I tell you that the single most influential person on your self confidence is you, or more specifically, your mind. This probably sounds very basic but are you using your own thoughts to re-enforce your self confidence and self esteem? Talk positively to yourself all the time. Become your own best friend and supporter. Encourage yourself to do more. Congratulate yourself on every small or large victory. Remember that very few people are successful the first time they try to do something. You didn’t ride a bike the first time you tried. Thomas Edison didn’t invent the light bulb on his first attempt either. It took him more than 10,000 attempts before he made the first successful light bulb and it only lasted a few minutes. The biggest thing to remember is that you are never defeated in doing anything you want to do until you quit. Donald Trump, during a recent interview, stated that he was richer than most people because he failed more times than most. However, in his case, he learned from his mistakes and tried again. Why? Because he was confident that he could do what he wanted to do if he just continued trying. You are no different from Donald Trump. Do what he did. Just keep trying until you succeed. When you do, your self confidence will soar and you will realize that you can do anything you want to as long as you continue trying.

The stats say, this site blows Donald Trumps self development site away! Look Now!

Another technique is to watch other people. When you see someone that stands upright and moves with a sense of purpose watch to see if they give you the impression that they have a lot of confidence. If they do, duplicate the physical characteristics of these confident people and you will start to gain the confidence they display.

One thing that you must ensure that you do not do is listen to people who talk down to you or try to tell you that you cannot do something. Usually these people can’t do these things themselves, so they try to convince others that they can’t do them either. If something like this keeps happening to you, tune these people out and stop associating with them. Your inner confidence needs to be liberated from this constant barrage of negative thoughts and statements from the dream stealers around you. Your limitations are in your mind, not in your reality.

Here are some tips for everyday practice. If you want to develop and build confidence, associate with positive uplifting people. Good people around you will help you build self confidence. If you want to build up your confidence, do something new every day. Each of these small acts will add to your confidence and also make your life more enjoyable. The most sacred thing in life is self confidence because it is the secret of all miracles. When you have confidence in yourself, you arouse everything that is stronger, greater and superior in you. In consequence, the more confidence you have in yourself, the more you will attain and accomplish. A person who knows the power of self confidence walks a path of personal development, inner growth and achievement. With self confidence a person of mediocre ability can achieve more in life than those with exceptional talents and little self confidence.

Dont be happy with mediocre! Study all aspects of Success and Thrive!

Supreme self confidence is a birth right for every person so isn’t it about time you claimed yours?

Get on the personal development road now and grow your confidence today!

Tags: confidence, personal development, self confidence

Save 20% off the Anthony Robbins Rapid Planning Planner! Now only $199!
Who is Tony Robbins?
Surely you’ve heard of him?
If not, you must have been livingin a cave for a long time!

Tony Robbins is the grandfather of Self Help and Personal Development.
Tony Robbins is THE personal development go-to guy!
I just love Tony!
A big statement? I love Tony Robbins?
Not when you consider how his teachings have helped me to completely turn my life around on a few occasions!

I have had many ups and downs to deal with – just like any one else.
Several years back – I had to overcome a major life trauma, one which I was sure was going to be the end of me! At the time, I went searching for help.

I found Anthony Robbins and the “Get the Edge” program. The ads made me know it was just what I needed, so I bought Get the Edge online and anxiously awaited the delivery.
Get the Edge couldn’t have come soon enough, after all I was suffering badly!

Let me tell you abit about Tony Robbins…….

For the past three decades, Anthony Robbins has served as an advisor to leaders around the world. A recognized authority on the psychology of leadership, negotiations, organizational turnaround, and peak performance, he has been honored consistently for his strategic intellect and humanitarian endeavors. His nonprofit Anthony Robbins Foundation provides assistance to inner-city youth, senior citizens, and the homeless, and feeds more than two million people in 56 countries every year through its international holiday “Basket Brigade.”

What began as a young person’s desire to help individuals transform the quality of their lives has grown into Robbins’ lifelong crusade as he is called on by leaders from every walk of life—presidents, political leaders, advocates for humanity, CEOs of multinational corporations, psychologists, peak performance athletes, world-class entertainers, teachers, and parents. Since fathering the life coaching industry, Tony Robbins has produced the #1-selling audio coaching system of all time. He also is a corporate Vice Chairman, and Chairman overseeing five private companies.
Robbins has directly impacted the lives of more than 50 million people from over 100 countries with his best-selling books, multimedia and health products, public speaking engagements, and live events.

Tony Robbins has been honored by Accenture as one of the “Top 50 Business Intellectuals in the World”; by Harvard Business Press as one of the “Top 200 Business Gurus”; by American Express as one of the “Top Six Business Leaders in the World” to coach its entrepreneurial clients; by Forbes as a Top 100 Celebrity; by Justice Byron White as one of the world’s “Outstanding Humanitarians”; and by the International Chamber of Commerce as one of the top 10 “Outstanding People of World.”

Tony Robbins has been selected as Vice Chairman of Health, Education, and Science for the United Nations Research Center for the International Council for Caring Communities (ICCC) NGO. Working with the Organization of American States, the Carter Center, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Robbins helped negotiate an electoral solution for peace to the strife and conflict that have devastated the Venezuelan people and their economy.

Tony has participated in negotiations that have broken the patterns of violence and de-escalated the rhetoric that invites it. Tony Robbins has worked on teams that not only help mitigate further devastation and facilitate peaceful decision-making among conflicting parties, but also inspire conflicting parties to create a mutually beneficial and compelling vision that is aligned with their respective values, raising the standard by which they live. He is also the recipient of the Timmie Award, given by the esteemed Touchdown Club of Washington, D.C for humanitarian efforts.

Tony has collaborated with political and business leaders in diverse world communities such as South Africa, England, Cuba, Panama, Venezuela, and the United States. Robbins is also a national spokesperson for the Wellness Community, a nonprofit organization that provides support, education and hope to people with cancer and their loved ones. Through participation in professionally led support groups and educational workshops, people affected by cancer learn vital skills that enable them to regain control, reduce isolation and restore hope, regardless of the stage of disease. Through his strategies for “Leadership in Times of Crisis” and his systems for “Indirect Negotiations,”

Wow! I could go on and on about Tony Robbins!

Getting back to my own experience…….

I listened to “Get the Edge“……..the whole 7 day program all on the first day!
WOW! Where had Tony Robbins been all my life?

Of course, I didn’t really take everything in, so over the next few days, I listened over and over again!
Get the Edge had just what I needed. Experience, passion, guidance, common sense, skill and care were all exhibited throughout Tonys recordings, and he made bloody good sense!
These CD’s became my life line – I would take Tony Robbins on my walkman everywhere!
I downloaded the worksheets and did my lessons.

All of a sudden the mirky waters I was trying to navigate became clear!
I can not say enough about the benefits of this program.
I became a Tony Robbins convert! I have purchased several products from the Anthony Robbins Collection since then and I’m so glad I did!

Very recently, I have been dealt another severe blow – but this time, Im not devestated, I dont want to curl up and die and I know everything will be alright.

All I need to do is get out my faithful Tony Robbins CD’s and Im sure everything will be fine.
We all need someone to guide us through, someone to show true skill and teach us how to negotiate life’s hurdles.
Tony Robbins is the man for me and Im 200% positive that he can help you work through any issues you are facing!

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I could go on and on and on…………..and on!
Tony Robbins is an absolute inspiration and someone who has definately made the world a better place! So, now you see why I say – I love Tony Robbins!
I am truly honoured and very proud to be a part of the Anthony Robbins Companies.

So people – if you want to Get the Edge in life – get Tony Robbins!
Dont just take my word for it! Oh No!
You can check out the Anthony Robbins Companies here!
You really cant go past Anthony Robbins if you are looking for the ultimate self help and personal developmentmaster!

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Tags: get the edge, personal development, self help, tony robbins