Are you Living your Genius?

I've asked myself this question periodically. Now is one of those times.

The question came from my life coach (Peter) about 5 years or so ago, when I had entered another business venture, and life was hectic and stressful. I'd come to a cross-roads...a fork in the road. Life just wasn't cutting it for me, and I didn't really know anymore what success meant for me. I had been chasing what, at the time I thought was success...being wealthy in my own business. I had been chasing what I'd had years before, when I was 'living my genius', as Peter helped me discover...a huge breakthrough for me at the time.

I, with Peter's help had discovered that when I had my martial arts business/club, that at this period of time, I was actually living my dream...my genius! Wow! At the time I didn't know it, and since then had been seeking the lifestyle I enjoyed while at the pinnacle of my health and fitness, as well as the pinnacle of success of my club.

You know...I wasn't making alot of money. But it was enough to do what I wanted and when. During the day I would go to the gym and train; maybe do some more training in the park; do my paperwork and admin stuff for the business; do the shopping, cooking and general household chores; go cycling with my dog or take my dog to the park and play, and prepare my lesson plans to teach that night.

During the nights I would teach martial arts. Weekends were taken up with more teaching, going to tournaments or attending events in which we and our students performed. And then we'd always have a yearly sabbatical and hold a martial arts camp. We had so much fun...especially the kids!

So what was it that I was chasing?...FREEDOM!

Freedom to do what I wanted, when I wanted. Keep fit in the process. To do something different...something unique where I felt like I made a difference in someone's life. Something that would inspire people to become the best they could be and influence their lives in ways they never could imagine.

The best feeling in the world is when you have this person, whether child or adult come through your door. They may not be the most talented, or the most co-ordinated person, and they may not have a lot of self confidence. But they have the right attitude. An attitude of perseverance. It was my job to recognise their strengths, help develop those strengths and bring them to fruition.

And the most rewarding thing for me was to see the change in them...the way they had grown as a person...become better, stronger, more confident. To see their faces light up when they had achieved something significant for them...however seemingly small (gee...sounds alot like raising my Philomena). That is a feeling worth more than any monetary gain or success I could ever achieve, and is something that not everyone has the privilege of experiencing.

So, you see...I was living my genius. And now after many mistakes (no doubt I'll make plenty more), I have come to the realisation that for me, as long as I am being the best person I can be...I'm physically strong, healthy and active...my life is filled with the richness of people, experiences, learnings...and I am doing something which I feel is unique...I am in fact living my genius!

Ciao for today...Kerry :)