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Let’s take a break!

Who ever thought dreams can make you insomniac, like literally insomniac? Thousands of questions and doubts in our hearts, we take a leap of faith just to find the internal contentment. But sometimes, we just become too hard on ourselves. We forget that we have our limitations. The burden of dreams is like carrying an entire world on your shoulders. You must let that warrior inside you rest for a bit. 

Not a long time ago, I was interviewing Lopamudra Banerjee, an entrepreneur, and a fitness coach. As soon as I made the announcement, I received a flood of messages in my inbox for Lopa to share her entrepreneurial journey. She is one brave soul. But I will tell you why this interview was a lot unique then what we see all the time. Lopa gave us all something to think about. From a sales professional to a personal fitness coach turned health entrepreneur, her journey says a lot about what happens when you choose to not take a break. Meanwhile, we hear people talking about breaking your limits and giving up everything for your goals, she shared the darker aspect of dreaming and overdoing things. 

So, as per my rendezvous with Lopa, I will tell you what I have learned about the dreams and working too hard on yourself. Also, please do visit my Instagram page to find my interview with Lopa, and don’t forget to comment and share your thoughts on dreams. Also, please feel free to share your experience and how you found your warrior spirit.

Phase One: Opportunity knocks

When opportunity knocks our doors, what a time of merriment it is. You are filled with a reviving energy and you are ready to take the world down. But have you planned things the right way? Planning is an essential part of any journey. Do you just take a vacation to a place unknown without even checking the weather of the place? No, everything that we do, requires planning. Deep down we know going without plan is a lot adventurous and we all want to feel the thrill. But a smart person will always be prepared beforehand, so that when the weather is all stormy, they have a safe shelter.

Phase Two: Nobody tells it is going to be stressful 

The actual story begins in phase two. Meanwhile, it is great that you are following your dreams, but the stress is just going to take a toll on your mind and body. It is going to break you and will make you feel helpless. If you are young your body will support you longer in the journey, but eventually depriving it of the needful rest, fun, and peace, you will notice your will starts to wither. The worst part is, you lose the quality at which you were always performing.

For many of us, it is important to give our 100% in whatever we do. But when you face work overload, are you still sure you will be able to keep up the quality? For any person quality is something which we all want to achieve. I am one of those people. Lopa is one of those people. You might be too.

It is essential in these times that we understand our limitations. We have to reinstate the lost balance. Sometimes, in the hurry to catch up with your dreams we leave behind the beautiful moments. We compromise our time with family to work hard. And in the end, we have to make do with whatever little connections are left with our loved ones.

Just like our body, the mind needs to rest too. But how to do that? It is constantly thinking, calculating your next move. Are things in your control when you are already juggling thousands of things at a time. In my conversation with Lopa ,I understood how badly restless she was while managing her growing business. It got her worried when a client did not get the results she promised. Though she never lost the business, it was too bad for her self-esteem.

As a result, things start to fall apart. Brick by brick you are back to square one with the burden of broken dreams. You must realize the importance of rejuvenating yourself. Resting your mind. Investing your time in knowing your limits and realizing when you are overdoing it. Empires aren’t formed in days or months, they take years. When we increase our pace, we forget we don’t have the energy to do it all ourselves. And also, you don’t have the resources to manage it.   

Phase Three: Rejuvenating and Restarting Again

You don’t have to give up on your dreams. Take some time out of work and start working on your peace of mind. In the end, don’t forget you wanted to achieve this all to attain a great degree of self-contentment

Understand where things are going wrong. Make a list of things that you will like to change from the last time. Start working on them. Choose wisely what and how much you want to work. Work exclusive if necessary. In the end entrepreneurship, job or business are not just about money, they are about gaining that expert badge.

How to overcome fear of Public Speaking and gain confidence?

Here’s 5 tips on how to begin with overcoming fear of public speaking!

Step 1 : Beginning with the end in the mind

As my Coach and 7Habits of Highly Effective People Master Stephen Covey says – “ Begin with the end in the mind “

Start with a vision statement for your purpose

Why do you speak on a public speaking platform ?
What kind of speaking opportunities you are looking for ?
What platform do you wish to speak on?
Whom do you wish to address?

Step 2 : Define the content and context

Define what will be of immense “value” to those startups or entrepreneurs whom I’m supposedly addressing and representing myself as a brand and Google as a brand to them – what would be a win win situation?

As my Coach Master Stephen Covey says – “Be Proactive “ and “Putting first things first”

What matters most?
Focusing on what’s utmost importance
What are some of the trending topics that would be of interest to them?
What would be a Better outcome for developers?

Step 3 : Empathise with your audience

Empathise what will be they be thinking , feeling and doing .Having Listened to startup by being a part of their conversations and looking at their profiles , I’m supposedly understanding their concerns and putting myself in their shoes.

As Master Stephen Covey says “Seek to understand then to be understood”.

What are their pain points?
What would they gain from my expertise and skills
What could be their challenges?
What are their thoughts,feelings and emotions?

Step 4 : Ideate or Brainstorm

Ideate or brainstorm what will be they excited to know or hear about .
After Empathising with startups by being a part of their conversations and looking at their profiles , I started generating content / topic ideas that would be of interest and bring an element of newness.

As the 5th Habit is all about – “Think Win -Win or Synergize”.

Where can I look for inspiration?
What , What If? , So What ?
What could be the best strategy?
How do I select the best idea & start synthesising my talking points ?

Step 5 : Experimentation / Execute

So I finally Executed or Experimented the selected idea and made it experiential .
After ideating with my colleagues and mentors and LPA associates and looking at LPA seminars on Youtube , I started conceptualising the ideas that would be engaging and encourage participation.

As the 7th Habit is all about creating “Synergize “.

How can translate this idea into reality?
How will the participants experience the subject/topic ?
What could be the learning delivery method?
What could be the possible outcomes for us & companies?

Step 6 : Evaluate

And after I spoke at this session , I performed a self evaluation on what did I do right, and what did I do wrong?

How can I do better next time?

Are there any improvement areas?

How can I practice or explore more such speaking opportunities?

Watch the Youtube video here>>

https://youtu.be/bL7Ermu4Mo4

Did you find your Ikigai?

Seeking your ‘Ikigai’

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Credit : Harriet Green ( Linkedin)

Uncertainty is jarring. It stops you from following your dreams. It leaves you with no courage to walk the road you have always wanted to explore. And worst of all, it leaves you helpless and subjective to circumstances. Gradually, you start making up for inner peace by finding comfort in the cozy materialistic life you have weaved. But when your soul is suffocating; how much do you think you can hold up?

In my brief discussion with Suruchi Shah a life coach and entrepreneur, we explored various emotional and mental hurdles a person encounters during their self-discovering journey. One thing that inspired me to my core was the role of ‘Ikigai’ – the Japanese philosophy in transforming Suruchi’s and thousand others’ life.

Eager to learn, and share the knowledge what I found out, I dedicate this blog to ikigai and its role in achieving our goals. But, before we go further, do catch my exclusive interview with Suruchi Shah on my Instagram page. Needless to say, it will help you gather the courage to take the first step towards your dreams and how to mentally support yourself throughout your journey. 

Ikigai for finding your passion

What is life like when you are not following your dreams? Probably mundane, unfulfilling. Each day waking up to an ear-piercing alarm clock you want to smash on the ground, peering through beady eyes and cursing the day ahead, how do you propose to change your situation. Why do we inflict so much pain on ourselves? Just because of fear of failure. It is downright sadistic.

It is our moral duty to keep ourselves happy. Work towards finding a reason to get out of the bed. And do one thing each day that makes you happy. At the end of the day, you would be able to answer your soul that you have done something that is taking you towards serenity. 

Ikigai is nothing but finding that very reason. This Japanese art of living was formulated to help people find balance within themselves, connect with others and the world. It opens up huge possibilities for personal development. Ikigai emphasis on starting each day with positive thoughts. Switching between moments to chid away anything negative that stands between you and your ultimate goal. Simply put, it is not about how you finish your day; it is about a positive start. 

Ikigai for finding courage within

Positive thoughts have a huge impact on our lives. They help you in creating a good mood and generate happiness for yourself and others. Each day when you wake up, no matter how cranky you feel force a good mood on yourself purposefully. It will motivate your body to work towards your dream the whole day and keep discouragement at bay.

It promotes focus. It will channel your energy, and allow you to take control of your mind and body to work harmoniously for what satisfies your soul. Happiness attracts happiness and sadness attracts sadness. A blissful life requires you to ignore the ruckus around you and enjoy the beauty of your goals.

Ask yourself, why are you in this world? What is the reason for being? What makes sense to you the most? Do you want to have a carefree life? or do you dream of becoming financially strong?

Find what makes you happy, what satisfies your soul. And don’t be afraid to set goals too high or too low. Just set an objective for being in this world and channel happiness and your efforts in reaching it. And your reason of being shall bestow energy, skills, ideas and ability to use them productively.

Ikigai for respecting your individuality

Right from the day we are born to the day we leave this world; we make connections with people. We engage with them to create emotional and physical bonds and in this course, we expect them to be understanding.

But mostly they are not. And you can’t blame them. Because nobody else is witnessing the battle going between your mind and soul. It is you alone who is going through the misery and know how disturbing it is. With this we come to two conclusions. One, respect people even when they are unable to understand you. And secondly, you don’t need their confirmation to get off that misery boat.

Ikigai encourages you to come of use to the world. It believes you have a special role in the community to play and you can create a positive impact. And, you can make a big difference in the society, just by helping yourself. Nature never gives birth to anything that is useless. The world needs you to realise your potential and work hard to reach your goals so that you can add to the greater good.

Ikigai doesn’t want you to think about yourself or have an opinion or belief about yourself. But it stresses you to find what you think about yourself in heart, body and mind. This alone unleashes infinite opportunities. Self-acknowledgement further protects you from making false assumptions about yourself and the world. It teaches you to respect difference in opinions and thoughts, meanwhile also respecting your own individuality.

Practicing Ikigai

Now that we have talked in length about what is ikigai, what does it require you to do, how does it help you in your entire life, here is how you can start practicing it.

Find what you love to do

It need not be your childhood dream, and it need not be something very realistic. It can be vague and you can redirect yourself later to change your goals again. Start by finding what do you love to do?

Scale it to a professional level

Do you see yourself enjoying what you love to do for a long time? What can you do to add value to it? How can you scale your present skills and abilities to reach pro level? Find answers to these questions.

Convert your passion into vocation

Financial uncertainties stop people from following their passion the most. For that, once you have found your passion, try to find vocation opportunities for your passion.

Add to the greater good

In the end it is all about how you can add value to yourself and to others. Most the time people leave this fourth leg of ikigai and fail miserably. It is very important that whatever you are doing should add value to not just yourself but to others too. Make it a mission. In the end ikigai is not just a personal development tool but a global philosophy.

Write us!

Thanks for staying till the end. I hope you loved to learn about Ikigai. Tell us if you knew about Ikigai already, or you have been practicing it. You can also share your experience and how it changed your outlook towards life and made you more positive in the comments below.

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“When we recognize our warrior self, we can exhibit strength without sacrificing tenderness.” ~ Madison Taylor When we feel called to explore the way of the warrior, we may feel a strong sense of dismay because we have no wish to disavow ourselves of our softer side. Yet embracing the warrior spirit is not a matter of denying gentleness or compassion–all human beings embody all traits to some degree, and seemingly contradictory aspects can coexist peacefully within us. We can exhibit strength without sacrificing tenderness precisely because both are elements of the self and both have a role to play in the complexity of existence. When we feel called to explore the way of the warrior, we may feel a strong sense of dismay because we have no wish to disavow ourselves of our softer side. Yet embracing the warrior spirit is not a matter of denying gentleness or compassion–all human beings embody all traits to some degree, and seemingly contradictory aspects can coexist peacefully within us. We can exhibit strength without sacrificing tenderness precisely because both are elements of the self and both have a role to play in the complexity of existence. We are in conversation with Suruchi Shah on her journey towards choosing to tap into her inner warrior to follow her dreams and passion with determination , go getter attitude and how she made her career transition into life coaching , Art therapist and a life skills trainer and counselor ! You can watch the recording here! We will be bringing more perspectives soon! #warriorsofchange #changecatalysts #changemakers #changinglives #transforminglives #createlife that you want #designyourlife #plan #setgoals #action

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Do you often Choose your Battles in life?

Choose your Battles

From living her dreams to becoming a catalyst in making people’s dreams come true, Deepti Arora has been my support system in finding myself. Each conversation adding something unique, positive, and valuable, I couldn’t wait when Deepti took some time out from her busy schedule to become a part of my vlog series “Warriors of Change”.

Today, Deepti is an entrepreneur and NLP coach at her venture – HealClinc. But once she too was juggling lemons and becoming creative in using them to sometimes make lemonade, or for that matter a tequila. So, without further ado, I will take you to different parts of my interview with her and what I have learned from it. Please do visit my Instagram page to find my full interview with Deepti.

Superheroes need to unwind too… 

There is a superhero that breathes in us all. It would take a load of the entire world on its shoulder and forget to analyze what are their priorities. And when things are not under their control it would freak them out. This is not just tiring; it would just take away what superheroes are known for the most – the smiling face even when things are not right.

That doesn’t sound like a superhero, isn’t it? It is not easy to realize that you are incapable of juggling too many things. If you continue you are not just doing injustice to others but yourself too by stripping off the needful mind-body equilibrium.

Defining your priorities…

I remember reading somewhere, “life never throws at you a challenge so big that you can’t cope with”. It has been with me for a long time now and it has completely changed my outlook towards the bad phases of life. Life is not going to be same all the time. And if you ask me, happiness would lose its meaning too soon if we don’t encounter sadness. We will just forget to cherish the moments in the flow of life.

Sadly, we all go into trance. How to get out of it? How do you find the serenity and happiness in the times when nothing seems to go right? I will give you one hint. Starting owning your mind. Choose your battles. Accept the challenges and meanwhile, everyone would think you just have to jump… I would say no. Never enter a battlefield unprepared.

In modern terms, plan… plan… plan… until you have found the right way to defeat your challenges. Make a priority list and let go of the things that are stopping you from winning the battle. No matter how necessary they might be to you. No matter how attached you are with it. Let go of the things that will make you lose your balance because you have that rope hanging in the air to walk and balance alone is going to get you to the other side.

We are defeated by our prejudices…

Life is all about breaking our conceptions. As Deepti said, we are all here to learn something from our experiences. In the same way, we are stopped from taking the right decision when we limit ourselves in commonly found notions of society. It is necessary to challenge yourself to continuously widen our paradigm.

For example, A working mother, a father who is wanting to quit his job to start his own business, a boy learning ballet, or a girl playing football or cricket. Society accepts us to work in a certain cliché format. We have these affixed notions in the society which want us to align our dreams around it. But happiness and peace of mind won’t come until you are satisfying yourself. Self-satisfaction is not selfish. Depriving yourself of love and dreams is a sadist. Dream and make a plan for life, the universe will fulfill all of it in time.

Having a vision for things…

Not every opportunity you get in your life will pay off. We have been there when something sounds too good to be true, you follow that opportunity but eventually it starts to fall apart. But now, when you don’t have time to invest in each and everything, vision can help you. There is no eeny-meeny-miny-moe way to choose what will be best for you. But having a vision will help you understand whether things are aligning with your long-term and short goals or not. It will not just help you in finding the financial footing, but mental peace too.

Having a vision bestows you the power to say no to the things that don’t align with your goals. Here, patience helps you greatly. When you are drowning, naturally you will pick up anything that looks like a rope to keep you afloat. But it might be a snake in disguise that is going to bite you after. In those times you have that choice to learn to swim too. What will you choose? I choose not to take an easy way out, not without fully analysing it.

Being a warrior means taking charge…

A warrior too can lose the focus. Even when things are going according to you, make sure you are not going back to your old ways. What you have learned from life and variety of experiences mandatorily be adapted in your life, you just need to scale them as per your current situation.

Above all, respect yourself, and your goals. Never let anybody else hold the reins of your life because, in the end, you will lose the power over your dreams. With physical wellness comes the acute need of finding mental wellbeing. And we can’t ignore the role of financial stability all along. Revisit your goals, and plan your life as per your current achievements to find help in a long run.

5 TIPS ON HOW TO REDUCE STRESS AND ANXIETY

Here’s 5 Tips for reducing stress in your work place and for freelancers as an Art therapist , Reiki Master and Counsellor /Executive Coach / Life Coach.

Whether you hold a full-time job as a freelancer , work from home . As the work culture is increasingly changing your lifestyle habits and your routine has changed due to covid 19 conditions , it’s now more important to work more hours for less salary 😟😟 Or more than this it’s important to find a balance – I am a Taj Innercircle Work-life Balance Champion and I could completely understand what you are going through.

I have spent at least 4- 5 years out of a 15 year career with IBM remotely working and I am with you.

So Relax , if you have been stressed out lately from the workload , just follow these simple tips for a quick time out !

⏰⏰⏰

👉5 Tips to reduce stress

👉1- Listen to music : If your workplace permits listening to music during working hours, plug-in the headphones and tune in for some light, acoustic music. Not only does relaxing music ease your brain by taking away stress, but it can also give you some much-needed motivation to complete the tasks in hand. Classical symphonies, relaxing OSTs and acoustic sound all work wonders.

👉2- Take a break by taking a walk : With the constant pressure coming from the weight of the world around us, it’s quite easy to feel bogged down and depressed. This is why one must break away from work once in a while even if it sounds implausible. A simple walk around the home can give you a fresh perspective on things and how to get things done, which is essential for slowing down your thinking and detach.

👉3- Exercise : No, I’m not going ask you to abandon work to visit the gym for a 40-minute lifting session. All you have to do is some simple stretches in between work to feel refreshed and relaxed. You can even go for a 10 min jog, do some pushups, or dance around when no one’s looking to bring back peace of mind.

👉4- Play a game ( virtual or a board game ) : There are so many options available, might as well take a quick board game or play a virtual game.

👉5- Take a mandala class and feel socially connected !

“Art is creativity for the Soul”
“Mandalas give a calming and relaxing feeling to your mind”

We have had participants from WNS , EY , Accenture , Infosys , Intel and many corporates who have attended our online workshops.

And they all feel connected and they share their feelings thoughts and emotions and empathise with each other! Don’t think too much just sign up for our upcoming mandala art therapy class and feel the difference !

These are the benefits of stress management and art therapy :

1.Quit smoking (over a period of time)
2.Manage anger

3.Increase self confidence

4.Stress management

5.Mental focus

6.Concentration

7,Release stress hormones

8.Reduce anxiety

9.Save costs of a therapist or clinical doctor by understanding your problem yourself

10.Obsessive compulsive disorder

11. How to Reduce weight and reduce Stress

Register here 👇👇👇

https://forms.gle/2C29m1iFz2Va7bRD7

Don’t think too much; just try out these simple tips the next time you get stressed to feel the difference!

Watch the video here !

When Executive Coaches meet coaches from Sports field !

Leadership lessons can be learn from any sports field – especially cricket! 

As an Executive Coach what I learnt from Rahul’s leadership and what are some of the successful attributes of a leader .We pick the attributes of whom we relate and connect to. There’s always something to learn or unlearn.

Rahul Dravid (Leader , Cricketer , former captain ) and myself on the right

This wisdom comes from a learning circle group run by Anil Santhapuri where we triggered some beautiful conversations around coaching and sports and there was an avalanche of pictures and memories shared by the group members ! 

These are some of the cherished autographs in life 😊

Did you know I used to be the vice captain of girls cricket in Godrej Hillside Staff quarters colony ? This was way back in 1980’s.When girls cricket wasn’t that popular yet.

I learnt to play cricket naturally and we used to play weekend matches and celebrate those winning . Moments as a group of teenagers back then ! We were a strong set of players!

It used to be Godrej Boyce v/s Soaps girls cricket matches and very competitive and gripping moments for audiences 🙂

We can learn a lot of lessons in life and at work from cricket !

Later in life , I bumped into several cricket players and it was a chance of opportunity and luck coming together!

Feels blessed and my heart is pouring with gratitude 💕💕 for these moments with Rahul Dravid!

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If you are wondering whose autograph this is – none other than the legendary captain and leader commonly known as “The Wall “ – Rahul Dravid.

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But why did I bring this up today as an executive coach ?

Because as an Executive and Life wellness coach , I look back and admire some of the traits these people have in them.

I always ask myself what is it that I can learn even without interacting with them? They have seen failures , leadership , success , fame and money , disappointments , regrets !

Does life spare them because they are celebrities ?! No way !

But their achievements and performance and results was evidence as it reflected their “true” potential .

Just having Potential won’t be sufficient. When “Potentiality” meets action that often leads to Results & outcomes for oneself and for the society,then self actualization is attained”

Ranjini Rao

The one who knows to handle it all and be humble and grounded are the ones I admire !

So thank you Rahul Dravid for “being” you !

What did you learn from your role model in sports or any other field ?

  • Humility 
  • Grit 
  • Courage 
  • Authenticity 
  • Silence is powerful ( while interacting with him on video shoots for IBM software group events .) I even remember prompting him to retake a video because he didn’t say “I’ll be there at Software Universe , see you there!” I made him do it again and he willingly agreed . 😁
  • Never display arrogance 
  • Prove your worth in your game on the field and improve the performance of the players and team’s excellence 
  • Focus your energies and frustration to drive excellence not tangled into Politics,Power and Authority

But I also acknowledge that I was true to my role as a digital marketing presence leader for getting the best out of what was required for audiences to relate to Dravid!

The Best version of Yourself is built this way! Being better than you were before ! 

Ranjini Rao

What do you learn from Sportsmen/women and what is the one trait or attribute you like about them?

Type here 👇👇👇

PS :I also have a business card with his autograph taken in the flight and a priceless pic with him at #theRenaissance Powai #celebrity encounters 

Bringing a Balance between happiness and reaching upto your Rainbow and big goals!

Dreams do come true !

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Your happiness hinges on maintaining a delicate balance between


1- Doing the Tasks and routine work : These could be your daily tasks and routine work like going to work , cooking,cleaning up the kitchen,doing your yard , school work , profession and shopping etc. This comes under the daily habits and doing part in life
2- Having the things you enjoy in your life : These could be physical , intellectual , virtues as assets you enjoy in your life like car, home,stereo system,stationery,piano,casio, pair of designer watches,designer shoes.Intangible assets like feeling fearless, peace of mind , happiness,joy , enjoying a calm mind and relaxed body.
3- Being content and enjoying your experiences from all that you do and have : Being means having a sense of wellbeing in your aura.Your aura is pleasant and you are comfortable in your own skin.You often sense you are in absolute harmony with the Universe and you enjoy solitude and quietness.You also enjoy an element of playfulness and curiosity to keep your inner child’s spirit kindled & ignited.You experience Serendipity,and feel you are in the right place , in the right time.

When these aspects of your life are in tune with each other then your life feels right !

How Do you feel about your life right now?

How do you achieve balance between personal development , money , Heath & Fitness, career and spirituality ?

Do you feel exhausted or overwhelmed with your life situation ?

If you are resonating with this, then I exactly know what’s going on ! I was like this !

Everything magically fitted into place when I asked for help from the universe on my goals !

Now I look back I could achieve almost everything I had aimed for !

Miracles do happen when all the life forces come together as one !

Coach with us ! Leave us your comment and thank you for being here !

“Manifest Your Dreams” -Grab Your Free Copy Of Our Special Report!

Manifest your dreams

Discover the power of positive thinking and how you can make your dreams really come true!
 
The simple system for utilizing your internal power system to manifest your dreams!
 
The law of attraction is revealed! Find out how you can seize the power that lies within!
 
How to immediately eliminate negative energy and use affirmations to turn dreams into reality!
  
And Much, Much More!

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Listing your dreams- activity!

Image may contain: Ranjini Rao, standing and sitting
Photography Credits : Matar Media , Masterlife , Venue : The Hub Bengaluru ,

With A small list of wishes is how I started my journey into product + services entrepreneurship 💕💕

Are you amazed by the “power of journaling your wishes and dreams” from the heart ? 

Try it today ! Dreams come true ! We need to trust 🙇‍♀️ and surrender 🎈🎈🎈

Take a deep breath and relax 
Write down all your wishes with a fun mindset without any expectations and then place it in front of you ! 

Everyday in the morning – look at it and say “I’m truly grateful becoz this too shall come true !“ 

“Gratitude” is the mother of all attitudes 🌸