[00:00:00] We often hear people wishing us a long, happy, and healthy life, but what if the length isn't what matters most? What if instead, it's the breath depth and purpose of each day that matters most? Welcome to the Live the Width of Your Life podcast. My name is Aneta Ardelian Kuzma and join me weekly as I interview guests who made changes in their own lives to live more fully with intention, gratitude, and joy. Be prepared to be inspired by their stories of how they shifted their mindset, took courageous action, and designed the life that they always wanted to live.
[00:00:34] Welcome back to live the width of your life. I am so excited that you are here with me. And today is a special solo episode. Today I wanted to do an episode dedicated to our one-year anniversary. We launched the Live the width of your life podcast last August in 2022. And I remember in the summer, I gave myself a month to figure out how to launch a podcast.
[00:01:00] I had this idea of what I wanted to do, which was to interview everyday people, just like me and you, everyday people who took a chance in life, who stood up to their fears, who pushed past their comfort zones, who maybe took a risk or dreamt really big, cast their vision, their net really wide. And my hope was that their stories would inspire and motivate others.
[00:01:26] My hope was that others would find their stories, inspirational and exciting and be exactly what they needed to maybe take different action in their own life. And we've recorded about 50 episodes, which have been amazing. Not only has the feedback been really positive, and I'm so grateful for all of you that listen either regularly or have listened to a couple of episodes.
[00:01:52] And I really encourage you to go back if you haven't and listen to all of them in preparation for this solo episode, I went back and I read all of the transcripts and I watched and listened to excerpts of many of them and it was really emotional. I was just so grateful that people took the time to spend with me to share their stories about their vulnerability.
[00:02:15] And two there were just so many amazing lessons and I had to try to condense it and wanted to condense it to anywhere between five to seven lessons. And so I have those for you today, but there's so much wisdom. And of course, I couldn't include all of it in today's episode, but they are available on the website, and also you can watch them on YouTube as well. So wanted to start with a couple of lessons that I learned from all the episodes going back.
[00:02:44] So the first one is you are never too young or too old to try something differently. You literally can start today. I've had guests who started amazing journeys in their teens, in their twenties, their thirties, their forties, their fifties, and close to 60.
[00:03:01] And the lesson from each of them is it doesn't matter what the age is. You literally can choose to do something different right now, today. It's your life. You absolutely can do it. Your age or people's perception of what is acceptable. It really doesn't matter if there's a dream in your heart. If you want to try something, you absolutely can choose to do it today. Don't be confined by what your friends, your family, or anyone else has to say. Just don't dip your toe in as Jim Marous says in episode two, just jump right in.
[00:03:34] So the second lesson is to do things scared, even if you are afraid of failure. It can open up a whole new realm of possibilities for you saying yes to life experiences before you're even ready was a common theme for many guests being a little naive sometimes can be very helpful and also.
[00:03:56] You're not going to get everywhere you want to go if you aren't ready to push past your comfort zones. And sometimes that just starts with being intentional, asking yourself what the best is that thing that could happen, and focusing less on the worst thing that could happen. And also just choosing to move from just barely surviving, but to thriving.
[00:04:20] Lesson three is you have to dream it first. Before we can take action, it's so important to spend time in reflection, in quiet, identifying what are my dreams. What are my goals? How big can I make this vision for my life, for myself? Vision boards and vision statements work. They are a way, to dream, to be able to get your thoughts and your images onto paper in visual form or in written form, something you could revisit over and over again.
[00:04:54] And focusing on what you want and not what you don't want is the key here is really being super [00:05:00] specific about what it is that you're looking for and then staying relentless and persistent to your dreams. See it, read it, envision it all the time. Perseverance and persistence are so important right here. I'm staring at my own vision board, which is here in my office.
[00:05:15] I look at it every morning. I look at it continuously throughout the day and I read my own vision statement at least once a week. And I encourage all my clients to do the same. And then to quote Marie Forleo and the things you don't know how to do. Everything is figured out. You can Google it. You can talk to somebody else, but start with the big dream.
[00:05:36] Lesson four, only you can define what success means to you. Too many of us for so long have lived by society's definition of what success is, and it doesn't have to be that way for the guests that were on my show, they all spent the time asking themselves what a well-lived life and what success means to them.
[00:05:58] They're not living for someone else. They're living by their own standards, living by their own rules. And it always starts with asking yourself some of the big questions like, who are you? What are you meant to be doing in this world? Why are you here? What are the causes of things that just really tug at your heart?
[00:06:16] What is your potential? What is your purpose? Your Dharma? What are you doing here? Your mission on this earth? And then also, what would you be doing if you weren't worried about what other people would think? If there was no sense of self-judgment or judgment from others. And then focus on alignment, joy, gratitude, meaningful relationships, and freedom.
[00:06:39] Look at a really broad, expansive definition of what success means. And then be open and curious about your own journey. Just always leaving room for a little bit of magic along the way.
[00:06:52] Lesson five, the path is not linear, and taking daily imperfect action in the direction of your dream is all you need to do. So I love this because so many times we can't connect the dots going forward as Steve Job says we can only do so looking back and for all of my guests on the show, and it's also true for me too.
[00:07:13] Sometimes doors are open and you can walk through them and you don't necessarily know where it's going to go. And sometimes you take a sidestep. Sometimes you go forward. Sometimes you even go backward. It's not a linear process in this transformation journey. But you don't have to have it all figured out before you begin.
[00:07:31] Actually, the best thing that you can do is just to take action, move in the direction of what you think is your dream, and then make the decisions from there. It's just a prevent you from staying stuck. As I mentioned before, being naive is a good thing. Sometimes if we're not always sure of what is going to happen or challenges or things that may come up down the road.
[00:07:52] Sometimes if we're aware of that, we might want to stop and not even take action, but it's okay to experience some of those things. It really does challenge us on our journey. You can start scared. You can start with just a vision. you can walk through a door and more will open along the way. And also if you have this attitude that there is no failure, it's just information, then everything is a lesson that we can use.
[00:08:18] You don't have to worry about deciding, hey, I tried this and I didn't like it, or I took this class and it wasn't for me. Or I started this job and it probably isn't what I want to do until I retire all of those things are okay. There is no failure unless we decide that that is a failure. It's just information.
[00:08:35] That's going to help you get 1 step closer to where you want to go. And if you're stuck you can't see the direction. Just take the next right step and trust that somebody is going to come along the way that can be helpful. A new door is going to open and just be super grateful for closed doors, sometimes those are detours.
[00:08:54] I look back and I extend so much gratitude for jobs that I thought I wanted a relationship that probably wasn't the right thing for me. A move that maybe just didn't seem like it was the right time. All of those things sometimes are exactly what we need to continue down the path that we're supposed to go on and then be open to new experiences.
[00:09:13] You never know where they will lead. It's a journey, be okay with where you are right now and know that it's not going to be forever. And then I love to always say, expect miracles and manifestations and synchronicities, because if you are too rigid about the exact steps and details and how you're going to get there sometimes lose sight of all these other amazing things to do. And then do it now, don't wait. Follow your curiosity. Follow the clues. Ask yourself better questions. Be open to things that you can't explain right now.
[00:09:48] Lesson six. If you want to grow, surround yourself with a community of like-minded individuals, you don't have to do this alone. And I think repeatedly through all of these episodes and interviews that I had with folks is the sense of community and connection.
[00:10:04] We are not meant to be here alone. We're not meant to figure this out on our own. We don't have to. We place so much pressure on ourselves sometimes to know all the answers. And guess what? This universe is so large and there are so many amazing people. Cultivate the relationships, find the connections, and learn from others as much as possible.
[00:10:25] Reach out to someone who's just a few steps ahead of you. Find an expert, hire a coach, read books, listen to podcasts, and take classes. Don't stop. Our journey of self-growth and discovery is a lifetime journey. There is no arrival. So enjoy the lessons and the steps and the progress all along the way.
[00:10:45] And then find your tribe. Find the people, the like-minded individuals who are going to support you, who are going to help you elevate, who are going to challenge you, who are going to maybe prevent you from making a mistake based on their own experience, etc. Join other communities, and continue to invest in your growth and development. It will be worth every penny. I promise you.
[00:11:09] And then lesson seven is sometimes slowing down is exactly what we need to do. The answers are always within. So this has been a constant, also a lesson for all the folks that have been on the podcast and also my own experience over the last few years, but especially over the last year.
[00:11:31] Instead of rushing, instead of multitasking, instead of choosing to do more, to hustle, sometimes, many times, actually, the very best thing that we can do is to just slow down, to quiet our mind, to go within, through meditation, through breath work, through yoga, through journaling and writing, a quiet walking meditation, spending time in nature, whatever that looks like for you.
[00:12:02] Just allowing ourselves to slow down and to hear from that still quiet voice from within is exactly the guidance that we need to move forward in our own life. Especially as you focus on personal growth, on business growth, starting a side hustle, relocating, or whatever your dream is. All of these self-care rituals and spiritual rituals actually are super important.
[00:12:27] They will help you. They will help you start your day with intention, focusing on the vision. Planning your priorities, keeping you focused, and setting healthy boundaries are going to help you stay accountable to yourself and to maintain sanity and optimal health, they're going to help you preserve your energy, which is really important for us always, but especially as you're looking to do something new.
[00:12:51] And then also just allow yourself the freedom to be creative, to do things messy, to do something creative, just for the sheer fact that it is fun. It doesn't have to turn into anything else that really is going to help spark new ideas and also just give you some opportunities to do something maybe you didn't even expect that you were going to do.
[00:13:11] And as you know, I ask every guest on the podcast, what it means to live the width of their life. And every answer, every response is slightly different, but the essence of what they said was actually very consistent. And so I've summarized it.
[00:13:28] And what they said is to live the width of your life is to live with purpose, intention, gratitude. To do the things that matter most. To spend time with the people that you care about and to live this world just a little bit better. I love it. And I agree. I think that that's a beautiful definition of what it means to live the width of your life. If you found this episode interesting, please like it or share it or leave a comment.
[00:13:57] It means the world to me for you to be able to do that and to share it with others. If you haven't already, please subscribe. And thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for listening. Thank you for all your support, all of your positive comments and encouragement, and inspiration. And if you'd like to be a guest on the show, I would love to hear from you have the most amazing day.
[00:14:19] Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you're inspired to finally take courageous action on a personal or professional goal that has been on your heart for some time, then follow this podcast because every week we'll have intimate, authentic conversations with guests who have redefined success, created healthy new habits to support optimal health, and finally release the stories and limiting beliefs that kept them stuck. And a life they didn't love. If you want to start or grow deeper in your own transformation journey, then I am happy to answer questions on a one-to-one 30-minute transformation strategy call at no cost to you. Head onto my website to book your slot today, and I will see you next time.
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