Well, hello! Glad you are here. You can subscribe to my RSS feed or join my free weekly Clarity email to get the full scope. I do appreciate you stopping by.

As you might remember myself and Anastasiya Goers from Balance In Me were going to launch a program together. After lots of thinking, we decided that it would be better to wait until next year with it.

And then Anastasiya was inspired to create a retreat called From Sedentary To Active Lifestyle in One Month. I now understand why it looked like our program needed to wait. The retreat Anastasiya is launching now is something that she just had to launch first. I can see her passion. She put all her heart into it. I am confident she created something incredibly useful and unique. I personally never saw anything like this anywhere else.

You can check it out yourself here. Even if you don’t join, at least go and download her free 10 Minute-Do-It Anywhere Workout. Think about it: 10 minute do-it-anywhere. I am in love with this concept alone.

I had a chance to ask Anastasiya few questions about the retreat and here are her answers.

Lana: Hi Anastasiya,

Congrats on your upcoming retreat. As I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now, it looks like this retreat was a result of pure creative inspiration. Could you tell us more about what inspired you and how it all came together?

Anastasiya: On Balance In Me I write about life balance and any possible ways to reach it. Before I started working on the retreat I was writing a lot about self growth and work/life balance but then something strange happened.

I would like to say that it was inspiration but actually I stared having back problems and the reason for those problems was because I got so involved in my projects that I forgot to take care of myself. It was a wake-up call because I had the idea about running the retreat for a long time but I never actually started planning it.

Of course I am not the only person who is glued to the computer screen for many hours a day and I thought to myself “It would be great to create a program for those who do not have time to work out at the gym 6 times a week or run marathons. A program that will show people how they can stay active by incorporating do-it-anywhere 10 minute workouts into their lifestyles.”

I am not only a blogger, I am also a fitness instructor (I’ve been teaching for 7 years) and I decided to use the knowledge and experience that I collected  during all those years to help people who live sedentary lifestyles.

Lana: I loved the concept of 10 minute do-it-anywhere workouts. Are they really “do-it-anywhere”?  Could you tell us more about them?

Anastasiya: There is always something that you can do no matter where you are: in your office, in the car, on the plane, on the playground with your kids etc. Most people just do not know how they can use even the smallest space (like a cubicle) to squeeze in a mini workout. The simplest examples of exercises are lunges, squats, wall-pushups and of course walking.

The workouts that I create for the retreat are aimed specifically at people who sit a lot. I show how to stretch muscles that are generally tight and cause pains (neck pain, tension headache, lower and upper back pain), how to strengthen these muscles and how to add cardio that will boost your metabolism.

The workouts are truly “do-it-anywhere.” The only thing that you need for them is the desire to move.

Lana: Since I spend so much time at the computer, I often have back and neck pains at the end of the day, do you have any quick tips of what could help me? (Obviously without giving away all of your retreat’s content)

Anastasiya: Back and neck pains (that are not related to injuries or any degenerative condition) are caused by tight and weak muscles that cannot support your spine in an upright position. The easiest thing that anyone can do is to get up every hour or so and move for at least 2 or 3 minutes. Shoulder rolls, neck stretches are also a great way to relieve and prevent those pains. My favorite stretch for the beach is a Yoga Downward Facing Dog (you can google it.)

These pains are also often caused by stress (and I will talk more about it during the retreat) that is why relaxation techniques are often very effective in relieving those pains.

Then there is self-massage, more advanced stretches and of course strengthening exercises. I could probably talk for hours about back pain but I’d rather do it during the retreat:)

Lana: I know you are busy with the launch, so this is the last question, could you give me 3 key reasons why people should join the retreat?

Anastasiya: 1. I am sure that the retreat will make anyone healthier and make them feel better overall. (Do you know that a person who sits more than 6 hours a day is 94% (!) more likely to die early from any condition than a person who is active and sits 3 hours or less?)

2. During the retreat I will provide motivation and support that are soooo important when you develop new habits and set new goals (support and motivation are key factors in healthy habit adherence.)

3. The retreat will show you how to live actively without giving up your lifestyle and free time. You do not have to spend all your free time at the gym if you want to be healthy and fit and I will show you how you can do it.

I don’t know about you, but I am definitely in.

If you’d like to become more active,  want to try something new and don’t know where to begin and if you, like myself, would love to have few 10 minute do-it-anywhere workouts on hand and motivation to do them every day, I think you should check out Anastasiya’s From Sedentary To Active Lifestyle In One Month retreat.

It’s not another fitness program. It’s a Lifestyle Revolution.

And it starts soon. Like really soon – next Monday to be exact. I am excited.

Check out the retreat here

Follow Anastasiya on Twitter here

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Chris Guillebeau from the Art of Non-Conformity was visiting Atlanta last week as a part of his Unconventional Book Tour.  The message of his book – Set Your Own Rules. Live The Life You Want and Change The World. Love it! The changing the world part will come naturally, I believe, when you commit to living from your core and doing what matters to you.

I was incredibly inspired after listening to Chris speak at the event. I’ll  share with you the questions I asked him and his answers, as well as some golden nuggets from the Q&A session. First, however, I wanted to share a related personal story. You love my personal stories, don’t you?

So I’ve been going through a big life reevaluation process lately. Once again!

One of the peak moments in my life was moving to US 6 years ago. I changed everything – career, relationships, my future and my future kids’ and grandkids’ future. That’s what I thought, at least.

Little did I know that I didn’t make the most important change. Mindset.  Physical relocation to a new country leaving everything behind was a big deal, I have to admit, but at the core everything stayed the same.

I changed career, but I still hated highly disliked every one of the jobs I had, just like I did when I lived in Russia. I found a new circle of friends but it was very similar to the one I had before. I went back to school and got a new degree but felt that I was wasting my time. Same old stuff.

Only couple years ago the true change started happening. I decided to start my own business and committed to never do 9-5 again. I started a long journey of finding my passions, believing in myself, gaining clarity on who I am and what I wanted to do. I decided to get divorced. I let go of the friendships that kept me stuck in the past. I let go of the old beliefs that were not serving me.

I finally changed my mindset and as a result my external reality slowly but surely started changing.

Now looking back I see that one of the key steps I took  to make this change happen was connecting with the people who had already made it. Those who lived their truth. Those who had reached what I wanted to reach. At first it was my school professor, successful entrepreneur. Then going to the seminars and meeting more of those people. Then reading their books and blogs.

Recently I decided to make this process more intentional if you will. I decided to stop being connected as a silent observer and actually start having conversations.

So I sat down and wrote a list of names.  Some people on my list know who I am and we already had some kind of personal interaction.  I want to develop those relationships further. Most people on my list I never had any kind of interaction with besides reading their blogs and/or twitter feeds.

Now a lot of you know that I am a very introverted person. So the whole “conversations” thing with people I don’t personally know is actually a big deal for me.

Long story short, Chris was one of the people I had on the list. He was a very high priority too.  So of course I was incredibly excited to find out that he was going to stop in Atlanta for his AONC book tour.  I knew there would a big crowd at the event and wasn’t sure if I’d have a chance to actually talk to Chris.

I was in for a surprise. When I finally got to talk to Chris, I didn’t have to tell him my story. Why? Because he knew it already! He followed my link from Twitter, read my about page, knew I was from Russia, asked me about my son.  You can probably imagine how amazed I was.

We talked and at the end of our conversation Chris said 7 powerful words Jonathan Fields wrote a post about few weeks ago.

What can I do to help you?

I asked to interview him sometime in the near future. He said he’d be happy to do it. Real conversation. Exactly what I wanted.

Lessons I learned:

  • Set a clear intention. Just like I did with the list. The Universe will find a way to make it happen.
  • Your story is much more interesting and compelling than you think it is. Start and keep sharing it. People who resonate with you will find you and maybe even offer to help.
  • Expect that people do want to help you.
  • Don’t be afraid to approach anyone.
  • Start connecting. I wish I made the decision to start doing it earlier.

I asked Chris couple questions:

1. What are the key strategies that played the biggest role in your success? Chris’s answer was:

  • Clarity on who you are and what your message is (of course!)
  • Building strategic relationships with like minded people
  • Consistency and integrity. Don’t give up. Do what you say you will do. Always.

2. I also asked him how to approach established authorities in the niche when you are just starting out and are shy and introverted like yours truly. Chris’s answer was:

80% of big names online want to build relationships and want to help. Be genuine and authentic. And just write them. Simple. All brilliant always is.

I am going to take Chris’s advice to heart. Hope you will too.

Some other golden nuggets from the Q&A session with Chris:

  1. It’s not about being efficient, it’s about doing something meaningful. Do it even if it is inefficient.
  2. Think of your message first and then see who resonates with it. Target market is not something for you to decide on. Your target market will be people who resonate with your message.
  3. It’s never too late. It really never is. Start. Now.

I started reading The Art Of Non-Conformity Book. I’ll do a review when I am finished but I am already incredibly inspired after only first few chapters. Full of inspirational stories, actionable strategies and, of course, tons of non-conformist ideas. I have a feeling I’ll love this book.

And couple last things I have to write about, I loved how Chris looked into the eyes of every person he spoke with. He was fully present.  You could tell he was genuinely interested in everyone who came to the event. He cared. Doing meaningful work that makes you feel alive helps you stay present and connected. People can’t not like it.

Also after visiting so many states, meeting so many people and giving his talk so many times already, he was inspired, energized and passionate. At the end of the Q&A session everyone in the room felt the same. True passion is contagious.

So what will you start doing today to change the world?

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All of us want to do what we love for a living. Who wouldn’t?

There are mostly two reasons why people don’t.

A. Don’t know what my passion is.

B. I know what my passion is but don’t know how/don’t believe I can make a living with it.

My (humble) thoughts on how to deal with both.

Problem #1:  I don’t know what I am passionate about.

Every now and then during one of my workshops I get a person who doesn’t know what he/she is passionate about. I keep asking – What inspires you? What would you do if success was guaranteed? What activities make you lose a track of time when do them?

Often they have no idea how to answer those questions. Sometimes they get frustrated with me. I once even had a lady who said: “That’s why I came here, I thought you would give me the answers”. I usually don’t even know how to respond to something like this.

I recently realized that all of us do something similar in one form or another. We make things too complicated. We don’t trust ourselves and wait for someone to come and tell us the truth.

We keep buying books, reading blogs, following those who “made it”… all with one purpose – to find the answers. We keep looking outside for our life purpose, keep trying to find our passions, when in reality all we have to do is to look inside, look at ourselves, at what we do and how we feel. Ask ourselves few simple questions and listen for answers. They will come. They can’t not to.

Your life purpose is to be yourself. That’s it. It doesn’t get simpler than this.

Your life purpose is to do things that are an expression of who you are. What do you love to do? What you are intensely curious about? What do you always find time to do no matter how busy you are? What inspires you? What can you talk late into the night about?

Answer those questions and I bet you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to do. Your passions are here already. You are doing them. You are living them. Don’t make it too complicated. You know. The answers.

Once you find your passions and what makes you feel alive, just start living it. More.

Doing something that is an expression of who you are is your life purpose. Simple. Stop looking any further.

Problem #2: Know what my passion is but don’t know how to make a living with it.

My answer to that are commitment, trying and setting the limits.

Commitment.

Once you realize that life is short and that doing anything that is not in alignment with who you are is really a huge waste of your precious time on Earth, you will commit.

One decision. Changes everything.

Trying.

I coud write a lot here but you better go read this article from Derek Sivers. Love it.

Treat everything as a test. Let go of your attachment to a certain outcome.  Expect the best. Don’t mind the worst. (I know, easy to say, not so easy to do)  And keep trying.

Set clear limits for yourself.

Right now you might have to do what you don’t love, but what are your limits?  How far will you go or, to be more precise, bend? Set the limits and don’t break them. Your life will start aligning itself accordingly.

Some examples of my limits:

I am committed to making my thing work.

I am not going to get a 9-5 job.  If I ever absolutely have to get a job, I’ll go and bartend. 9-5 is not an option.

Just deciding it, brought so much peace.

When you have limits, your mind will start bringing ideas and opportunities that are within your limits.

And then just keep trying and testing.  You’ll get there.

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How It Started.

1.5 years ago I launched an ebook + video course.  I had just started my blog and “online business” and wanted to make it big with my first product. Right away.

It was called… Dream Lifestyle Creation Formula. I hope you realize how uncomfortable I am at the moment telling you about it.  I couldn’t have come up with a more hyped up name. I took it off the market few weeks after the launch. It didn’t have a chance with such name. Plus I was trying to sell something I wasn’t living myself. My dream lifestyle was not there yet. Huge mistake.

I recently was talking to my man and told him that now would be a good time to relaunch that product because I finally live the dream.

Of course, now I have different dreams. Bigger. Bolder. The cycle never stops. But still.

(I am not seriously relaunching it, don’t worry. It will forever stay in my “how could I be so stupid” folder. The product itself was really good though, I had great reviews from people who bought it. But the name… I really need to stop thinking about it now)

What was my dream lifestyle back then?

I didn’t want 9-5. And 9-5 was so on my horizon at that time.

I wanted my business to start growing. I wanted time freedom. I wanted to have happier relationship, I wasn’t happy with my marriage.

I wanted to have clarity on who I was and what I wanted to do in this world. I wanted to have a happy family with the man I love and my boy Nicholas. I wanted to have a community of like minded people around me.

At that time even a thought about a divorce scared me. My ex husband is not a jerk. He is a wonderful person. You don’t normally divorce wonderful people. I had a big excuse – I wasn’t happy. But still.

Also I am an immigrant. My ex husband was pretty much the only close person I had here in US. My family, my friends, my everything stayed in Russia when I decided to move here. I also was a stay at home mom with a small child. Not the most ideal conditions to get divorced.

I had my blog and some online marketing experience. The blog was called Dreamfollowers and I had a very vague idea of what to do with it.

I had a very vague idea of who I wanted to be. And what difference I wanted to make in the world. I knew the general direction. It looked something  like this – I am passionate about personal growth and development, spirituality and entrepreneurship. I know a lot about it, read lots of books, experienced some breakthroughs, I love helping people, let’s do something with it for a living.

Fast forward 1.5 years later. Here is where I am now.

I found the courage to ask for divorce. The process was long and painful for all of us. But it is almost over.

I wrote a list of 31 qualities I’d want to have in a new partner. Some of them were general but some were very specific. I also wrote a long description of what kind of romantic relationship I’d like to have. One of the key phrases I put there was “We completely fulfill each other’s spiritual, physical and emotional needs”. That phrase alone covers it all. In my opinion.

I met my man last February, we started (actively) dating in April and are moving in in November. He has 30 out of 31 qualities that I put on my list. The one that he misses turned out to be not what I truly wanted anyway.

He is everything I ever hoped to find in a man and more. And the best part, we truly  fulfill both of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

While going through the whole divorce thing I was ready to give up so many times and go get a 9-5 job. I was lost, scared and felt incredibly insecure about my future.

I even interviewed for the marketing position with some local company. But never took the job. And it looks like now I won’t have to. My coaching and workshops are picking up, there are new projects in the works, new ideas and new partnerships.

Speaking of coaching and workshops and ideas, it took lots of courage to get here. Putting a coaching page up. Claiming my value.  Announcing a workshop. Charging for it. Letting go of the business idea that I spent lots of time and energy on and starting over. Scary stuff.

I have clarity now.  I feel on purpose and on target. Still a lot to figure out and lots of fears to bust but I am so making a progress.

I started two groups that serve me as my communities of like minded people. Old friends from old life disappeared one after another. Painlessly and naturally.  On their place came new friends that are more in alignment with who I am now.

I think I made quite a progress considering it it has been only 1.5 years.

The funny thing is that I didn’t even notice all those changes until lately. That’s how it always happens. I looked at some of the things I was writing in my journal 1.5 years ago and it hit me. I am living it. My dreams are here. All of them. Not even one is missing.

Look at your dreams from few years ago. Most likely you are living all of them now too.

So I tried to look back and track what I’ve been doing to make that happen.

What are the key steps that I took?

Two words came up.

Clarity.

And Daring.

Really. That’s what I was doing. I kept asking questions. I kept looking. Until I found my core. My true dreams and passions. I never stopped getting clearer. And then dared. Dared to take action. One after another. Some were scary and difficult to take. Some came naturally.

Asked for divorce. Got a lawyer. Said: “I love you”.  Said: “Good bye”.  Said “No” to a getting a job even though getting it sounded like a good and “safe” idea.

If I had to break it down into steps, those are the things that I did:

1. Start asking the right questions. What is it that I need to figure out to move forward? What am I passionate about? How can I quit my job and start doing what I love? How can I move out of the relationship that is not working? How can a build a deep connection with my kids that will last a lifetime? The answers will come. Just start asking.

2. Decide what you truly want. What do you want? Why is it often so difficult to claim our dreams? You don’t even have to do anything yet. Just tell me what your dreams are. Make a clear choice. Also make sure they are authentic dreams, not something that you are dreaming by default.

3. Commit to living from the core. Commit to stop faking it. Commit to find and claim what’s true to who you are. Commit to creative self-expression in everything you do.

4. Dare. To do something. You don’t have to do it right. Just start moving in the direction of your dreams. Don’t wait for perfect timing.

I am not even going to tell you to do the best you can. Sometimes the best we can is more than we can do. I could have done so many things better than I did. Do I wish now that I didn’t do them at all? No! They helped me to get clearer. Take another layer off.

Do what you can first.  And then strive to do the best you can.

I truly believe that clarity is a never ending process. But when you commit to living from your core, life slowly but surely starts realigning itself.

What could have helped me to do better?

To move faster. To take bolder actions. To stop procrastinating on things that matter.

Two things came to mind.

1. Giving more to space to clarity.

Giving a space to dreams to emerge. To get to the core. To ask and listen.  How? I could have spent 15 minutes every day just getting clearer. Getting to my core. And tapping into natural wisdom that is there already. I was doing it but not every day.

2. I also could have used more commitment to daring.

Commitment to taking action. However small that action would be. I could have tried more. Doubted less.

You truly cannot fail. Failure is such an illusion. The more you try, the more confident you become. The more you learn. The faster you move. Forward.

So, really, the two things that I believe could have helped me are space and commitment to daring.

I want to start doing it now. I want to start daring more. And I want to spend at least 15 minutes a day getting to my core. I know, good stuff is hiding there.

And I was inspired to help you do the same.

The idea that I had right after I decided to do it myself was to create a program called 30 days of Clarity and Daring. Yes, yet another product. I won’t stop launching them until I find the one that I truly resonate with. And then another one. And another one.

We will spend 30 days making sure that every day we have a space for our dreams to emerge, for our Vision to become clearer, for layers of doubt to peel off. We will also commit to daring. Taking action. Small. Big. Medium. Doesn’t matter. But we’ll be taking action. It might be sending emails to people we didn’t dare to email before,  saying I am sorry, writing a blog post, starting a business. Now. Without waiting for the perfect moment to come.

Claiming our dreams. Acting on inspiration. Doing something. Every day. Something that will move us forward.

I love this program already. More details coming soon.

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We are surely moving to a new era. The era of collaboration.

I see more and more projects where two or more people or companies join forces and create something together for the highest good of all.

Soon we’ll stop asking the question – Who my competitors are? And start asking -  Who can I work with to create something meaningful and beautiful? Who can help me change the world? Who compliments my skill set? Who has similar goals and vision that I do?

So, in a related news, I am launching two collaborative projects in the next couple months or so and need your help, my beloved blog readers and subscribers. I believe you will benefit greatly from those projects as well.

Project #1

Project number one is a collaboration between yours truly and my dear friends Genia and Alex owners of Akel Studio –  talented photographers and designers.

Our vision is to launch a full-fledged brand storytelling agency where we’ll be helping  individuals and companies to take their brand message, their unique story out to the world.

How you can collaborate with us:

Since we are just starting, we need to compile a portfolio of projects we worked on and do several case studies for our website.

So we are looking for applicants who need all or any of our services and would be interested in working with us.

What’s in it for you?

Qualified applicants will get a significant discount (up to 80%) on what we would normally charge for our services. In return we’ll ask for a testimonial and the permission to publish your case study on our website and use it in our promotional materials.

What does “qualified” mean?

The most important requirement we have –  you must be passionate about your business or your idea.  Meaning, vision, desire to bring value and change someone’s life with what you do  – all that good stuff should be present. We are looking for all kinds of businesses. If you feel you are a right fit, please apply.  At the very least you might get a chance to get free one-on-one consultation.

How to apply:

  1. Go here and learn more about us and our services.
  2. Then send me an email at lana (at) daringclarity (dot) com with your website if available and/or few lines about you and what you do in the world.
  3. If we feel we are a good fit for each other, we’ll write you back and proceed from there.

Note: If you haven’t started your business yet but have an awesome idea and are serious to make it happen soon, please don’t be shy to apply too.

If you know of anyone who might benefit from working with us, please send this post to them.

Retweets and shares are greatly appreciated as well.

Project # 2

Myself and my friend Anastasiya Goers from www.balanceinme.com are launching a 21 day program to help you gain clarity on your Unique Value, create meaning, embrace and commit to living up to your potential and start taking inspired action toward your goals.

Why 21 days? Good you asked. We believe that consistently doing something for 21 days to gain clarity and create meaningful change (that won’t take more than 20 minutes of your time a day) has a good chance of being a life changing experience.

The name of the program is coming soon.

How you can help:

We need your help in creating the program. We are lazy like that – you help us creating it, and we get paid. No, not really.

We want to create it for you, so knowing what you need and whether you need it or not at all would be.. ummm… a useful information.

I created a survey for you that will take about 5  minutes of your time.

I’d greatly appreciate if you help us by answering the survey.

As a way of saying thank you, we’ll give you a discount once the program is launched.  Additionally, I will send you the workbook that I send to my private coaching clients when they sign up for a session with me.

Click here to answer the survey.

Thanks a lot! You are so awesome!

With Gratitude,

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I don’t want to sound superficial but…

Looks matter.

A lot.

Look, feel, style – can often change everything.

Your style, look and feel should be consistent with your message.Your Story. You. Your Brand.

I am operating under the assumption that your message and your story come from the core of who you are of course.

When there is consistency you can send a clearer message. You stick in the memory of your potential customers.You are being authentic. There is a right vibe coming from you.

Consistency is the key when it comes to branding. And everything else in life actually.

So how do you create consistency?

Let’s start with your central hub. Your website or blog.

What does it look like? Besides such things as user friendliness and effectiveness, it’s important to consider whether the style and look of it are consistent with your message and your story.

How can you do that? Easily actually, just ask yourself few questions and you’ll figure it out.

Let’s do it now.

Take a piece of paper and write down the answers to these questions.

What are your favorite colors?

How would you describe your style?

What does your ideal house look like?

What are your favorite natural elements?

Think of your core brand message. Now imagine – if that message had to wear an outfit, what would it look like?

Now think of your website/blog/central hub, how do you think it should look like to represent your style?

My example.

I am a lot into simplicity and minimalism. I prefer simple lines in clothing, solid basic colors, simple textures. My favorite color is red, but I also like primary white and black colors.

I love fire.

My ideal home is light with lots of windows, simple but stylish and elegant furnishing, a splash of color here and there, open and inviting.

My core message is clarity and truth. Being who you are, doing what you love, living your truth so that you can live with passion and purpose.

Now look at my website. Simplicity, clarity, elegance and passion are the keywords I was focusing on when designing it.

My website is consistent with my style, my look, my message, my story. It is consistent with who I am.

Start with you and then align the look, style and feel of all of your online presences with who you are.

Consistency helps to communicate your message clearer, louder, in a more authentic and distinct way.

Looks matter.

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