Redesign Your Reality: A Blueprint for How to Transform Your Life from Surviving to Thriving

By Rebecca McClain

Embrace your unique nature Reclaim your passion Live each day with intention Break free Do you ever look at your life and wonder if this is as good as it gets?

If you’re feeling stuck in survival mode, you are holding the right book. Naturally, we want life to produce as little discomfort as possible. But embracing change requires stretching beyond safety zones. Rebecca McClain helps you do just that in a positive, life-affirming way. You’ll inextricably be drawn into Rebecca’s clear, well-organized steps toward transformation.

Redesign Your Reality is a life-changing book. Presenting her blueprint for change as a four-stage process, Rebecca inspires and equips you to take charge of your life and create the future you truly desire. In walking you through each stage – from laying a firm foundation to fulfilling your dreams – Rebecca provides thought-provoking questions and reflective exercises. These tools help you manage life’s transitions, explore possibilities, and unleash potential.

You were not designed to live your life unfulfilled. Nor were you meant to wander through life without a passion or sense of purpose. Life can be an adventure where you awake each day to new possibilities. You were created to thrive! Start with Rebecca’s guidance in Redesign Your Reality and you’ll soon be feeling more energized than ever before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 14, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440113772

Rebecca McClain

Rebecca McClain, founder and CEO of Life Treasures LLC, helps individuals achieve greater success in work and life. As an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and coach, she is a recognized expert in professional and personal success. Rebecca balances her life with social and cultural activities, travel, and reading. Visit her online at www.RebeccaMcclain.com.

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Redesign Your Reality

A Blueprint for How to Transform Your Life from Surviving to Thriving

Copyright © 2009 by Rebecca McClain

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

iUniverse

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-4401-1376-5 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-1377-2 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 1/8/2009

Contents

INTRODUCTION

SECTION 1

LAYING A FIRM FOUNDATION

CHAPTER 1

EMBRACE YOUR UNIQUENESS

CHAPTER 2

FIND YOUR PASSION

CHAPTER 3

HONOR YOUR CALLING

SECTION 2

A WORK IN PROGRESS

CHAPTER 4

REDESIGNING YOUR REALITY

CHAPTER 5

GETTING YOUR LIFE UNSTUCK

CHAPTER 6

REINVENTING YOURSELF

CHAPTER 7

MANAGING LIFE TRANSITIONS

CHAPTER 8

SETTING YOUR LIFE IN ORDER

CHAPTER 9

UNLEASHING YOUR POTENTIAL

SECTION 3

A DATE WITH DESTINY

CHAPTER 10

THE DREAM GIVER

CHAPTER 11

DEFINING MOMENTS

CHAPTER 12

CLOSED DOORS ARE ARROWS

CHAPTER 13

WAKE-UP CALL

SECTION 4

A LIFE BY DESIGN

CHAPTER 14

DREAM FULFILLED

CHAPTER 15

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

CHAPTER 16

IT’S POSSIBLE

About the Author

Literary References and Web Sources

Book Titles and Contact Information

Dedication

In loving memory of

Gretchen Babb Jackson

November 12, 1958 – May 16, 1999

Heithey Henley Williams

January 26, 1957 – March 30, 2001

Acknowledgments

A special thank-you to those of you who were so encouraging. You know exactly who you are!

INTRODUCTION

What would possess a woman in the prime of her life—earning a six-figure income, living a stable and comfortable lifestyle—to resign from her corporate job to venture into a completely new territory, all on her own? Some may say, especially in these touch-and-go economic times, An unexpected windfall! Others may venture, Extreme exhaustion or More time to be at home with my family.

While all three of those things (and many more, to be sure) would suffice as reasons to hang up the nine-to-five and the suit that comes with it, so to speak, I can honestly say that I was moved by a passion and a dream. Yes, passion! Dream! Remember those things?

I am a professional, sensible, educated individual. But more importantly, I am a woman who believes that I have a divine destiny to fulfill. Because of that belief, and because I knew my own gifts and abilities, I realized I simply could no longer settle for a life of mere convenience—not when my true inspiration beckoned.

For most people, it takes a while to muster the courage to pack it all up and follow their dreams. This is perfectly understandable: part of the dream is, in fact, the unknown. It isn’t easy; it isn’t conventional, and it is, to be certain, a calculated risk. These intelligent, gifted people will endure the mundane because they believe they must, or they are fearful of where their dreams may lead them. But the real turning point comes when you can no longer deny the longings of your heart. And if you’re really tuned in and listening, you’ll begin to feel something’s not quite right if it isn’t. And as much time as we all spend getting an education, finding jobs, keeping them, honing our professional skills and becoming even more specialized as we grow, the very least we owe ourselves is to be true to that inner voice—that passion, that dream.

There is a feeling of fulfillment unlike any other that comes over you when you achieve a sense of belonging in your career or personal life. It’s an idealistic yet solid, real awakening to new views, voices and ideals—a break with the past, with tradition, with conventional wisdom and old systems. Some would say it is a dreamy or unrealistic view. Truth be told, idealism without practicality offers an unbalanced view. But there’s a time and place for everything, and that includes following your dreams. You will know when it is right to walk toward what has been calling out to you.

If you ever look at your life and wonder, Hey, is this really as good as it gets?, then you’re holding the right book in your hands. This book is divided into four sections that walk you through the different phases of transforming your life from surviving to thriving—in love and laughter, health and wholeness, and in passion and prosperity. It is a blueprint for how to redesign your current reality. By adopting the essential specifications contained herein, you can truly create a life by design.

Any builder will tell you that the foundation upon which one builds is more important than the design. A firm foundation won’t shift when adverse winds come against it because it’s established upon something concrete. The chapters dedicated to establishing a foundation in the book will give you a solid understanding of what it is about you that’s unique and special. You will discover the intricacies of your personality that set you apart from every other person in the universe. Your DNA is more meaningful than just your unique set of fingerprints. Your potential, which is made up of your gifts, talents and abilities, gives you a detailed description of who you are. This unique description defines who you were created to be in the world.

You will also learn how to identify your passion—the driving force within you—in your job, hobbies and activities. Your passion, in conjunction with your potential, is the channel through which your purpose is manifested. Your purpose is the divine plan for which you were created. Without a fundamental understanding of your unique design and purpose, life has no real meaning, leaving you wandering aimlessly, swayed by the ever-changing tides of public opinion, fluctuating economics and other vicissitudes of life.

After the foundation has been laid, we will then move on to the building process. We will begin the second section with the fundamentals regarding how to create your future. This section also addresses specific life issues that can hinder you from reaching your full potential. You will learn how to respond when life throws you a curve ball. No one ever promised that the road to success would be smooth; to the contrary, it can be long and winding, with many potholes along the way. Life is filled with unwelcome circumstances that can cause you to get stuck in a rut. Life will also present challenging transitions, closed doors and crossroads. You will be affirmed by the fact that you are thoroughly equipped to overcome every obstacle along your path—if you so choose.

The process of creating the future you desire begins with you setting an intention. Mark Twain knew that. He said, "If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there." But you can choose to live on purpose and walk with the confidence that you will succeed. Most people say they want change, but the real test comes after the intention has been set. Change requires more than a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude will allow you to see and follow a clear path from where you are now to where you want to be, but it cannot magically bring into your life the things you desire. Your good intentions must be followed by a firm commitment and steady effort.

Naturally we would prefer to embrace change without any discomfort, but it typically requires us to stretch beyond our familiar safety zone. You can resist change and live confined to the status quo, or you can embrace it and sail to new heights of possibilities. It is often easier to just stay put than it is to move forward. Even if you should succeed in your fight against change by keeping things the same, what you manage to keep will be far less rewarding than what you forfeit. Not to mention the fact that you will cheat others out of all that your life has to offer.

Let’s take a look at some examples of well-known, even famous, people who have taken the leap and headed for their passion and made it their reality. Often it seems that celebrities have it pretty easy and are spoon-fed all the way to the top, or have simply had a lot of luck behind them. But quite the opposite is true: These people who come to national and even international attention do not get there in one fell swoop; conversely, the glamour among which they surround themselves is only there by virtue of long, hard, steady work. No one works harder than most top celebrities. No one arrives on the red carpet of life without paying some pretty deep, barely-scraping-by dues, along with a heavy dose of grit, old-fashioned elbow grease, and determination.

For example, it is absolutely amazing how Oscar-winner and singer, Cher, at age 62 (as of this writing; she’s still going strong!) can still fill arenas with the young and young-at-heart. She refused to become another overnight sensation. Throughout her 40-year career in the entertainment business, she has consistently reinvented herself to conform to the times. We can set specific success goals and achieve them, but on a broader scale, success is a journey—not a destination. The human spirit needs to be constantly engaged in life in order to thrive. We were created to grow and evolve rather than to remain stagnant. Our lives are made up of a succession of experiences that make up our destiny. Once we attain a certain goal, the human spirit will inevitably desire something new and different.

The third section of this book will inspire you to step into your destiny. In addition to the thought-provoking insight contained in this section, it will challenge your inner apprehensions to change and growth. These chapters provide spiritual and practical insight into the source of your passion and dreams. Transformation begins with your thoughts, which, after all, are things.

Our experiences are what shape our thoughts and determine our perspectives. Your perception is a learned belief system based upon how you were conditioned growing up. You learned certain perceptions based upon what you accepted to be true from your family, teachers, friends and others in your circle of influence. Just as you learned your perception system, you can unlearn it. You unlearn it by replacing it with a new belief system.

We will also delve into what some people consider the mysterious origin of dreams. There have always been debates on this subject, but in this book, we will examine the Creation-based account of dreams to shed light on the discussion. We will study how the hand of providence guides us along the path to fulfilling our God-given destiny. Retrospectively, we are usually able to recognize how the decisions we made at pivotal moments in the past have brought us to the place where we stand today. More importantly, focusing on our dreams raises our awareness about future decisions that will shape our destiny.

We will conclude this book with the fourth section, which completes the blueprint for how to transform your life from surviving to thriving. This culminates with three chapters designed to anchor your beliefs and possibilities. In the pursuit of bringing your dream to life, you must understand that timing is everything. There is a temptation to give up on your dream if it isn’t being realized within a certain time frame. But, with proper timing, a synchronicity develops that links successive events. A farmer sows seeds in the Autumn with an expectation that they will sprout up in the Spring. The same seed-sowing principle applies to the birth of an idea. By understanding the nature of seasons, you will be better able to manage the stages of development between the conception and birth of your dream.

We have all convinced ourselves that we couldn’t do something, only to later find ourselves doing that very thing. The world didn’t change—we did. We always had the potential within us, but it wasn’t until we unleashed it that we were able to transform our potential into results. Most people abort their dreams based upon self-limiting beliefs. The fourth section contains ten belief principles that will clear up any misconceptions that may be standing between you and your dream.

The possibilities for your life are unlimited. You have the only DNA of its kind; you are unique in every way; and you can use this gift to your highest advantage, whether it is to become a dancer or a world-changer. You have exactly the right gifts, talents, temperament and abilities to manifest your divine destiny. You have the power to create the reality you truly desire. The keys to unlocking your future are within you, also, and include attitude, intention, commitment and effort. Don’t you realize that you have been making things happen ever since you were a child? We have all been given that ability, but far too few of us have made much use of it.

Congratulations on taking this first step toward redesigning your reality. I encourage you to read this book with an open mind. It will reinforce some things you already know, which will trigger your memory and therefore give you the impetus to actually start putting your plans into action. You will also be given some new ways and ideas of thinking about your passion, dreams and potential. As you go through the exercises in Section 1, it is important to keep in mind that the steps work best when you do them all. Go through the exercises at the pace that works best for you. You may choose to spend some time focusing on one area, or you can integrate them together. That’s entirely up to you.

It’s never too late to redesign your reality. Let’s get started!

SECTION 1

LAYING A FIRM  FOUNDATION

When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely it wasn’t just to win three gold medals. There had to be more to this life than that.

—Wilma Rudolph

CHAPTER 1

EMBRACE YOUR UNIQUENESS

No matter what age you are, or what your circumstancesmight be, you are special, and you still have something to offer. Your life, because of who you are, has meaning.

—Barbara De Angelis

I sat in amazement watching the breathtaking acrobatics performed by the Cirque du Soleil entertainers. Their physical dexterity, rhythm and choreographic precision had the audience gasping one moment and applauding the next. Remarkably, the ages of these extraordinary performers appeared to range from young adults to seniors.