What do you want?
Like, absolutely most of all.
With no disclaimers, or apologies, what is your heart’s burning desire?
Take a long hard inward look right now… where you are, as you are and ask yourself, “If money were not an obstacle… if a pandemic wasn’t in our midst… if I could see clearly into an uncertain future, what would I want? What can’t I live without?”
Do you dare ask such things?
Do you have the courage to peel back a layer or two and let yourself imagine?
I talk to a lot of people.
In my coaching and wellness business, I’m a pursuer and I’m pursued.
It’s my aim to connect with at least 25 people every single day…
see how they are, ask how I can listen, pray, take interest in some achievement of theirs, mourn what they’re grieving, celebrate what their accomplishing.
It’s my thing.
It’s what I do best.
People are my passion… helping them find their essence, live from their truth,
navigate tough decisions well, live beyond and above circumstances with drive and power.
I ask almost everyone I’m with at some point, “So, what do you want?”
I’m always so surprised how few people even know what to say.
Like, they are not allowed to want anything, you know?
It might be audacious.
It might be selfish.
It might be foolish.
I see people literally looking over my shoulders, surveying the room, as if in search for an intruder.
They swirl their eyeballs in circles, hunch their shoulders like they’re being forced to reveal a secret, and either don’t want to be heard or caught, and say, “I have no idea. I’ve never been asked quite like that.”
And I say nothing.
I don’t speak.
I keep my eyes on them and wait.
This is their signal that the coast is clear and they are safe.
When they get that, some people cry.
Some squirm.
Some shift in their seats.
Some walk away.
Some stand still.
Some laugh.
It’s not a funny laugh though.
It’s an “I don’t deserve your attention right now, so I’m going to meander away and shrink” laugh.
Or in some cases, a mocking laugh.
But…
I’m still standing there.
Looking at them.
Seeing them.
Waiting.
I read a thousand narratives in their eyes. I make up stuff that may contain zero truth, but likely not.
For the most part, people don’t dare.
They’re entrenched in survival mode, trapped in distractions just trying to get by.
Overwhelm has become their status quo. They accept it as normal.
And wanting is simply a luxury they best not afford themselves.
The risk is too high.
I enter in.
With my presence I say, “Friend, you get to want. You’re worth that.”
In our conversations, when we sift through the cluttered headspace and past the wounds of broken trust, here’s what I probably hear the most, “I want to be well. I just want to feel good. I’m so tired.
I’m aching inside and out. I can’t sleep. I’m too busy to exercise. My kids need something every second and there’s nothing left for me at the end of a day. I hate looking in the mirror. Just one hour of having energy, and strength to make a change would be everything to me. I have no idea where to start.”
I’m not one to fix anybody. That’s not my job.
That’s what God does.
I don’t cure or diagnose or treat or prescribe.
I listen.
And then, if invited, I offer what I have… me; my heart, my tools and resources and strong belief
that full health is available.
Health in body and spirit and mind and heart.
In relationships and dreams and anything imaginable.
That’s where my head is.
That’s what I believe.
That’s my obsession.
Our overall health is largely our choice.
I am laser focused on pointing people toward first, allowing themselves to want, and second,
feeling the ultimate, soul-healing pleasure of a high functioning and healthy body.
All of it. In and out. And all around.
There are sicknesses and disease. There are sprained bones, and cell mutations.
There are hearts that don’t tick in time and tummys that don’t digest on call.
I get it.
There are troubles for sure.
There’s so much I don’t understand and even fear on occasion.
If I think about that stuff too hard, I’ll toss in the towel too.
I’d give in to what “they” say and lie there like a victim.
I’m a human who sees through the mirror dimly.
However, I choose to spend my time and word count on what’s possible, what’s within my control, how I can impact a diagnosis. I have endless upon endless choices.
What we put in our mouths, take-in with our eyes and ears, send out of our mouths, think in our brains, and hold within our hearts is critical. And much of it lies within a buffet of options.
Restored health and wholeness might be within our grasp after all.
So, with my coaching focus, my new book and companion journal, my online wellness wholesale accounts I help people open and own, and the epic retreat and video series in the works, I will forever place my last dollar and breath on the bet that we can truly be well.
We are the captains of our own lives.
I think about that man, lying near the pool in Jerusalem.
Bethesda.
Paralyzed for 38 years when Jesus happened on to him and asked, “Do you want to be well?”
Reaching for Jesus he says, “Sir, I can’t get into the pool with the stirring, healing waters.
People go ahead of me every time I try...”
And Jesus says, “Pick up your mat and walk.”
And the man does.
He was lame, and now he walks.
He wanted bad enough, made his want known at just the right time, to the Savior of the world who could actually do something about it.
And his life was changed in a moment.
And yours can be too.
Do you want to be well?