"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman
Activist

Get Your Heart in the Game™! What does that mean and how do you do it? What does that really mean? Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between people who are genuinely excited and turned on to life, and those people who just seem to be getting it done?

I am fascinated by people who truly live with their heart in the game! And you know it the minute you encounter someone who loves life and shows up with that kind of mixed exuberance and wonderful calming presence. It is completely inspiring and maybe even a little disturbing. Not so much because they are so phenomenal, but more because they make you feel better ... like you too, have more going on than you have noticed!

Through hundreds of interviews with some of the most passionate and engaged people I have distilled two simple characteristics they all seem to have in common. I invite you to consider for yourself how to live with more excitement and energy, and experience more real fulfillment in your life.

It's time to unravel the mystery, break the code and discover your own essential ingredients to a well-lived life.

The two characteristics of people who have their "Heart in the Game™ are:

1. They are in an active state of appreciation for the gift of life.

2. They hold themselves accountable to that gift and approach each day intending to make a difference and to make their time count.

Together these two characteristics fundamentally change the way you experience your day. If you have ever woken up dreading what's ahead, and thinking about how exhausted you are and wondering how you are going to get through it all, you know what many people feel continually ... just hoping and praying something good happen might happen to them. A perspective of gratitude and appreciation is not difficult. It does require a choice to live with conscious intention. It is a profoundly significant shift that takes a bit of practice to sustain.

Top Ten Ways to Get Your Heart in the Game™!

1. Embrace all of Life - resist nothing. Life isn't a slug-fest. You are not a warrior. You don't have to fight your way through the hard bits. Attention, Intention, No Tension. Three words that could radically change how you experience each day. They are good reminders about how to live especially in a world that insists on evolving and transforming and shaking us out of our comfortable routines and patterns. Stay engaged - pay attention to your life with a focus on what is possible from here. Start each day with a positive intention about how you want to BE. And accept whatever is happening with no tension ... allow yourself to be curious, even fascinated ... How would that change your day?

2. Live in this moment. Right now. Life only happens in the present. Guilt and worry and the endless thoughts that run through your mind deprive you of experiencing what is available to you right now. Joy, love, peace, comfort, exhilaration all exist in the moment when your senses are fully attuned to what is happening. There is no pain in this moment. Pain occurs as a result of a stressful painful story you repeat to yourself about what already happened or is about to happen.
   
   

3. Have a reason. Know why you get up in the morning. Honestly ... nobody gets up to get it done. Take the time to think about life's bigger questions. What is important to you? How do you want to make a difference? The biggest reason people don't know this, is because they don't know and believe that every single day they add value by the small things, gestures, conversations they have with others. A smile, sincere thank you, effort to do whatever you do the best you can ... that's the way to start.
   
   

4. Don't be Afraid of Fear. Allow it. Check it. Manage it. Your instinct may tell you to "fight or flight." Instead of running and hiding or becoming paralyzed and doing nothing, breathe and become more focused. Become as present as you have ever been and completely in the moment. Let your senses inform you of the best response. This is true for imminent threats and the ones that we face most often ... in the form of ambiguity, change and uncertainty, psychological pressure and anxiety. Recognize and acknowledge fear but don't let it guide your actions. Use fear to become more present and aware in the moment.
   
   

5. Show Compassion. Compassion isn't sentimental. Compassion is what allows us to care deeply and still do what needs to be done. Compassion is fortitude and strength. It connects us to ourselves and each other. Compassion is the gateway to forgiveness. How would you feel more alive if you were more tuned into how others are feeling and what might be making them feel that way? How could you be more compassionate with yourself? What would you be doing differently in a situation where you had more compassion? At the end of each day ask yourself how did I demonstrate compassion towards myself and others today?
   
   

6. Choose to have a positive impact. When you take the time to notice how a comment lands, or a conversation or interaction leaves someone else feeling you become more conscious about having a positive impact. In every encounter you leave someone feeling either better or worse. The cool thing is that the impact you have on another is the impact it has on yourself. You can choose to feel great by making others feel great.
   
   

7. Check your greeting. Choose to be better than fine. When someone asks how you are surprise them with something upbeat and interesting - outstanding, terrific, fantastic or with something a little lighter, like, "living the dream, Baby ... or "verging on excellence." Don't be boring. Think of it like this, every time you respond it's a choice point - you can choose to be ok, not bad, getting by, hanging in there ... or fabulous. And you are what you think about - you move in the direction of your thoughts. Each time you respond positively you feel a little more fabulous. What could be wrong with that?!
   
   

8. Get connected. Not to your wireless device. Get connected to people and nature. It's simple if you want to feel alive you have to hang out with live things. So, take some time for real conversations - not pretend ones where you really haven't a clue what was said just a few minutes later. Take the time to see the other person, look into their eyes and decide to be interested and curious. And give yourself permission to go for a walk and spend some time in nature. A trip to the mountains is restorative, or even a look out your window ... can reconnect you to yourself and give you a lift!
   
   

9. Start a list of FIRSTS ... do something for the first time. It doesn't have to be big. When you do something for the first time you feel more alive because you can't do it on automatic pilot. The experience reconnects you to your childhood and a sense of play and adventure. It could be a big thing that feels like a risk - like for me getting my motorcycle license last summer or simply taking a new route to work, or eating something you never have. Another good list is 25 things you want to do before you die. This kind of activity makes you realize that there are so many adventures and new experiences still waiting for you and that life really has just begun.
   
   

10. Recover, Recover, Recover. That is an essential skill if you are going to live with your heart in the game™! Once you decide to live with purpose and passion and follow your heart you will be swimming upstream - the majority of people do not live with conscious intention and are merely getting by. The cynicism and apathy that is pervasive will at times knock you off your path. Committing to living fully takes practice just like anything else. It requires you choose to recover and get back on the rails again. You can do that by remembering who you are and how you want to live and the impact you intend to have. It helps to have a personal positioning statement, a vision board, a morning intention you set daily, some positive people around you, something inspirational to read, a journal to write in about what you have learned or just taking a breath and saying to yourself ... "how fascinating." Now Recover.