Direct Life Coaching

6 months - and no shows!

That is how long it had been since last performing with my improv group I co-founded. Theater problems have kept us in the black - but now we were back!

Just one thing...less than 5 minutes before my wife and I left to drop our kids off for the night, and for me to get to the theater to prepare for the show - one little thing happened...

she went into labor!

Baby #3 was coming, and this was the message for dad, "Get use to it dad - you're being upstaged!"

On Friday night, at 10:32pm, Shepherd Hayden Thomas made his first starring premiere.

Mom and dad gave him two thumbs up!

A funny thing happens when your wife goes into labor, mainly, everything else is no longer as important. Sure, there was a chance I could still make the show, but after the mid-wife checked to see where things were - we both decided it wasn't worth risking.

Good call!

Kids tend to align our priorities - don't they? Yet, it tends to be only the big and dramatic events that grab our full attention. Birth is one of those situations - as is when your kid doesn't feel well. Nothing else matters until they are okay.

Heck, look at me right now. I am sitting on the couch writing this blog - but I had to take a minute to laugh at my 2-year old flip-flopping around me in my sandals. And, does it get any better than him actually knowing how to tell me, "Not fair!"

I'll admit, having three kids ages 5 and under is a little intimidating to me, but it also means I'll be constantly reminded of what is most important in my life. How can't I...they will be staring be right in the face...literally.

Not to be outdone - I was able to perform the next night - and it felt good. Are you coming to the next show?

For those of you who haven't seen pictures of the baby - click here:

http://homepage.mac.com/hollisterthomas/PhotoAlbum27.html

Or, to see Shepherd's first movie - click here:

http://homepage.mac.com/hollisterthomas/iMovieTheater28.html

Have a great day everyone - and if you need a boost - give me a call!

Much love,

Travis

Hey everyone - just wanted to let you know that my beautiful wife delivered a handsome 8lb 15ounce baby boy last night.

Shepherd Hayden Thomas

Shepherd just recently met his brother Holland and his sister Trinity - and mom is doing great!

More to come later :)

Much love!

Travis

"The ref blew the call!"

"Politicians lied!"

"My parents never helped out."

"That guy totally cut me off."

Odds are, if you have ever uttered one of those phrases - or any other type of "justification," it is because you are explaining why things didn't work out.

We LOVE justification for our failures - and I am just as guilty as anyone. A few weeks ago I talked about how your ego is a dream killer. Well, your ego loves justification - they are best friends.

Ego & Justification = BFF (Okay, only the teens got that one - OMG)

Here's the thing about justification, and why it is so dangerous - it's because you might actually be RIGHT! We really may have gotten rooked on that bad call. Our parents really may have held us back (not you mom and dad), politicians have been known to lie, and that guy really is a clueless driver.

See - you have every reason to be upset - and you will probably find others to support you and throw fuel on the fire.

But, when it is all said and done...

WHO CARES?

Are you really looking to have a reason for NOT being happy or successful - or would you rather dust yourself off and get back at it? Because, if you need an excuse - you will always find something. It is a lot harder to keep taking punches and continue to keep coming back.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

You either live an unfulfilled life surrounded by the justification of why you couldn't do or be the person you wanted to be. Or, you keep plugging away, you keep scrapping and adapting - not taking failure or unfairness as a cop-out - but just another hurdle to get around.

Don't tell me why it didn't work out. Tell me what you learned from it and are now doing better!

I can run down a list of ego driven justifications of why I haven't achieved certain goals - but none of them make me feel good when I go to sleep at night. As Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soul for the Soul series explains it, "They all amount to a bunch of 'So what!"

So what are you doing about the obstacles preventing you from being and doing the things you want to do?

In my favorite "spiritual slap in the face book," Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy says it this way, "The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible. Exceptions only confirm this rule, proving that failure is occasioned by a too feeble faith."

"Too feeble faith." Ouch. Not me.

If you have been wronged, I really am sorry - but now what? Or, like Jack Canfield would say, "So what?" Join the club!

If justification is your worst friend - then let's hope we can all work on seeing that we are NEVER justified for giving in on our purpose and passions.

If you are needing your own "spiritual slap in the face" - give me a call :)

Much love!

Travis

Labels: Chicken Soup for the Soul, christian science, direct life coaching, Jack Canfield, mary baker eddy, Science and Health, travis thomas

I am needing to sit down right now and write this blog - just write it!

There is a lot going on...new baby soon...two new shows next week...life coaching meetings...rehearsals...running the kids to classes...fighting crime (okay...one of the things I listed isn't true). Guess which one?

Writing this blog is very important to me - a priority - but I let other (less important) things creep in and steal my focus. Not to say these other things weren't important - but to put them on my scale of importance - they don't bring me the satisfaction of writing the blog.

So the question is...how important are they? And, why are they taking me away from what really makes me feel good?

I, like many of us, get preoccupied with "important and urgent" tasks - that only in the long run prevent us from doing what we really want to be doing. These are the things we commonly call "fires that pop up" - so we put them out. In fact, we might be really good in putting these fires out - but at the end of the day - what kind of progress did we make?

Unless you are a firefighter - just putting out fires isn't enough.

If you are not a firefighter - the question you should be asking yourself is..."How hot is this fire? Do I need to be the one to put it out? What happens if it doesn't get put out right this very moment?"

Sure, they're are plenty of fires that need immediate attention - but there are many more "to do's" that we have deemed "fires" that really don't require our immediate focus - and dare I say - might not even need us.

Your job is to figure out what really is a fire - and what is not. Your next job is to figure out why these fires happen - and solve them from happening again - or delegate them to someone who is a better and more appropriate firefighter.

Okay, enough of the firefighter analogy.

Here are some potential addictive distractions we give way too much attention to:
* answering every blessed phone call (Curse our new cell phone obsession)
* being a slave to e-mail (trust me - if it's an e-mail - it can probably wait. If there really is a fire - they'll call - and when you don't answer - they will leave a message)
* the news (might there be a better and more informed way to get what you really need that doesn't involve a 24 hour news network or the 6:00 local news? Answer: Yes, there is!)

These are just three to start - and there are many, many more!

Cut these out - and what might you do with your extra time?

Maybe...read something inspiring OR sit with your own thoughts for 10 minutes OR work on your favorite hobby or activity OR have a stimulating conversation with someone OR notice what a beautiful environment you live in.

How about a little spiritual reflection or personal growth time? Prayer? Meditation? Might getting your thoughts in a better place improve all the different aspects of your life?

I bet you can think of a few more. I need to thank Timothy Ferriss and his book "4-Hour Workweek" for enlightening me to these distractions - and I recommend reading his book for an even clearer explanation of the value of mastering these "fires."

Bottom line: When there is something you really want to do (a better option) - you find a way to get it done! If your boss tells you that you can call it a day when your work is done - I guarantee that you will get the so-called 3 hours of work you need done in about an hour. All you needed was the better alternative - and you made it work.

So, what would you rather be doing instead of putting out fires? Answer that question honestly - and you hold the key to the fulfillment and satisfaction you are craving.

How hungry are you?

Much love!

Travis

PS - I am glad I took the time to write this - it felt a lot better than doing some organizing (which will still get done on its own time).

Labels: 4 hour workweek, direct life coaching, timoth ferriss, travis thomas

Wouldn't it be great if we were all on the same page?

I am not a singer, but wouldn't it be great if we were all singing the same song - or telling the same story?

Maybe it's your spouse, boss, kids, or our world leaders - it would just be great if we were all governed by the same set of laws and motives.

You look at the world conflicts taking place, and not only are we not literally talking the same language - it seems we have strikingly different views of right and wrong - good and bad.

You look and what is happening in your own backyard - and you think - did he really just say that?

I think to myself - we all inhabit the same earth, we breathe the same air, and we all seem to want health and happiness - why can't we all sing the same song?

As a spiritual practice, I pray daily for this idea that all of us are indeed governed by one set of laws and motives - to me I think of it as one Mind. To me, my spiritual practice thinks of this one Mind as God - but you might translate that to Being, or just a power bigger than yourself.

So, I pray each day to try to see the good in everyone and everything - to (try) getting past my opinions and judgments of others (friends, family, strangers, politics, etc.) and instead see that the same Mind that I connect to for inspiration, creativity, and ideas is the same Mind that everyone else has access to as well.

Not always easy to do ;)

This past weekend my wife and I attended a yearly spiritual association that she and I belong to. It's a great opportunity to spend the day getting a spiritual boost and rejuvenation. Our speaker this year was a fabulous woman who has been a military chaplain for the past 30 years - and she broke down a word in a way that I have never viewed it before.

Back to my prayers - each day I pray to see that everyone and everything in this universe is governed by the same rules and laws.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to show people that we really all are on the same page - instead of separate disconnected strangers?

What would that one word be? Well, as our speaker revealed to us - the word already exists...

Universe!

Uni = One
Verse = song/prose, etc.

Smack! Can't believe the word "universe" has been sitting there the whole time - yet the simple and powerful significance of the word never smacked me in the face - until now!

Everyday in my prayers I have included the universe - never acknowledging that the universe had already included me.

We are not separate and disconnected. We are all on the same page, singing the same song, telling the same story.

Sure, my voice is awful, but it fits in there somewhere. Yes, other people may have horrendous punctuation and grammar - but they are still telling the same story. Regardless of our differences and hang-ups - the bottom line is that we are all in the same universe - and hidden within the complex symphonic schemes is a thread of harmony that connect us all.

(Wow, can you believe I just wrote "symphonic schemes"...isn't that even grammatically correct?)

How would your day be different if you approached it from the standpoint that you and your coworkers are inherently on the same page? Or, that you and your spouse are singing the same song - and even (big gulp here) that you feel our world leaders are on the same page - WITH GOOD INTENTIONS!

It might seem too big to ponder - so let's start small. Let's take this concept into our daily interactions. Let's expect more harmonious relationships in our day to day lives - and instead of looking for differences - let's embrace the diversity all of our "song singers" bring to the chorus.

Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health, "The universe is filled with spiritual ideas, which He [Mind] evolves, and they are obedient to the Mind that makes them." (I added the word in brackets)

That my friend is harmony - not chaos. Cooperation - not conflict. Brotherhood - not strangers.

This might be a big pill to swallow - so if you need a cup of water to wash it down - give me a call ;)

Much love,

Travis

Labels: christian science, direct life coaching, mary baker eddy, spirituality, travis thomas