Embracing My Journey ~ Living with passion & purpose!

As I continue on my journey of sharing the stories of those who have created the life of their dreams I am reminded of a quote by Socrates, ” “Living well and beautifully and justly are all one thing.” Life is beautiful and it is up to each of us to enhance that beauty day by day….  Today I am speaking with Susan Diamond, an amazing woman who is living both well and beautifully!  Welcome Susan!

Tell us about the path you traveled to arrive where you are today:
■ My dream was simple, like most other people – it’s to be happy. Figuring out what makes you happy…now that’s the tricky part! So I took a hard look at what I liked to do vs. what I was forced to do, or expected to do and made the conscious decision to center MY life around doing what I do best – that’s what seemed to make me happy and surprisingly I realized I felt a sense of freedom that I didn’t realize was missing.

Here’s some steps I took:
Accepted the fact that I could only control MY own life – not my kids, husband, family or friends. So I changed my reaction when people went off course. “Oh well – that’s their choice” became my mantra – how positively freeing that I no longer had to figure out how everyone else should live!

I always had a spiritual side that I felt but could not act on. Being religious was frowned on in my family but as a young adult I started attending worship services. I love the message that I get from the prayer book, the sermons and the community of being grateful and knowing there is a higher being helping me to take care of me. How liberating to do what’s not expected of me and what a wonderful result I found! Observing the Sabbath every week by taking just one day out to rest, reflect and relax has been a major driver to living my life of dreams.

Simplifying material wants and needs. I was at a point where I wanted to make a job change but knew it would require a cut in pay. I persuaded my husband that we should drastically downsize; home, car and other major expenses and live below our means. He’s an accountant and was onboard with that suggestion and I was free to leave my job.

Raising financially independent children. When other parents were subsidizing their adult children’s income so they could live a certain lifestyle, we said no.  Remember that big house we got rid of? That eliminated the option for our kids to boomerang back after college.

What kept you moving forward on the days things were not going exactly the way you were hoping they would?
■ I brainwashed myself to be cheerful and shake off bad moods. I have these two-way conversations with myself, “self put a smile on, even if it’s fake”,  read a happy book, think good thoughts… it works.

What piece of advice would you give to someone who has decided they would like to live in a world of their own creation?
■You are an adult, you can make your own decisions based on what you think is right and what you want to do – not your parents, kids, spouse, family or friends, they’ll get over it…or they won’t. Stop asking others for “permission”

What special things do you do for yourself daily to maintain your momentum and energy levels?
■I start the day with prayer, everyday – fixed prayers so I remember what to be grateful for, to praise God and celebrate me.

If you could spend 3 days on a deserted island with two people of your choosing, who would they be and why?
■My two kids – the most interesting people I know.

What is your favorite audio material and what do you enjoy most about this material?
■NPR, I like the variety of news, stories and smart talk.

What is your favorite reading material and what gives it that special place in your heart?
■The Jewish Reform prayer book, Mishkan T’Filah. Variety of prayers, poetic readings, songs, teachings and inspiration

Who has inspired you and what is it about them that you found inspirational?
■My father inspired me, he taught me to enjoy work, not to hold grudges and to love easily. He is a very happy man and he lives it.

What do you see in your future?
■Continued love and mutual respect among my family and in my lifestyle

Where is your favorite place in the world to spend time, what is special to you about this location?
■My home, I surrounded myself with items that please me, it’s comfortable and holds wonderful memories.

Who has been your greatest support system and how have they shown you their support?
■My husband, my best friend, my kids, my parents – can’t narrow it down to one. They all know me and still love me, they all understand me completely and they all can make me feel better when I’m down or confused.

What / who are you most thankful for and why?
■The usual, family, friends and good health and I’m also most thankful for my energy. I love being able to do whatever it is I want to do.

What is your favorite way to contribute or give back?
■I use three things, my voice, my time and my money to charitable causes, civic issues, my family and friends.

Please share the top three things you feel people would benefit from doing if they truly desire to create the life of their dreams?
■Examine your dream and be sure it’s authentic. Get down to the basics how can your dream be one of worthy pursuits. Are material possessions essential to this dream? Reshape your dream to focus on what has always been important, a life of praise, labor and love.

■Take time out every month, week or day to count your blessings and give thanks. Do it in a formal way either at church or synagogue or with fixed prayers. Even if you don’t believe -  give yourself a generous timeline to try it and then follow through and do it.

■Give yourself a break and focus on living only your own life.

Anything I missed that you would like to share?
■Turn off t.v. – big time waster and very depressing to watch the sensationalized news accounts. Read your news instead.
■Get a best friend.

Thank you Susan for taking the time to share your story.  I encourage everyone to take a few minutes and connect with Susan Diamond at: http://www.facebook.com/susiediamond

In gratitude,
Caryn

Caryn Gottlieb FitzGerald, “the Manifesting Queen”
Set your mind to it and create it today!
http://www.CarynFitzgerald.com

This entry was posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 7:12 am and is filed under Caryn's writing, Living the life of my dreams. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.