Imagine a butterfly. What a feeling to spread your wings and fly through life!

I have made MAJOR changes in the past few years regarding my business, my personal life, my language, my thoughts… and have spent a great deal of time regrouping on my life long desires. It is as if I have crawled out of a cocoon and my wings are flapping in the fresh air just like a beautiful monarch butterfly. Read more if you like on my website at www.sheryllynn.com.

Experiencing any kind of success, and a great deal of success at that, is knowing all along that the colorful rays of light eventually will warm your whole being.

In my opinion great success is simply about taking new steps everyday in a forward motion. And in the analogy of a butterfly, fluttering your wings as best you can until you can fly. As you reinvent yourself, fail, grow, do it over, fail again, you cannot help but eventually succeed sometime along the way. It is inevitable. Success is less frequent than the setbacks, but it is oh so sweet when it comes. The question then becomes, what are you doing on a daily basis to move yourself forward everyday toward all the things make you tick. Are you kind enough to yourself, allowing yourself the freedom of knowing that if you want something badly enough- it will show up…eventually.

Here are a few suggestions for spreading your wings.

• Only say out loud what you really want.

Your language has more weight than you think. Do NOT give any time, energy, thought and especially spoken vocabulary to that which is hard, not working or a headache. Long ago I gave up words like; someday, I might, I can’t afford this, what if…etc. Instead, speak words of success, prosperity, knowing and believing in your purpose.

• Live audaciously

And so what will everyone else think? I know this is a major concern for most people I know. Between what to wear, the kind of car that you drive and the bad business decision made 10 years ago…(I could go on and on you know) there is plenty of reason to live carefully, fearfully, cautiously. Audacious living on the other hand is living in adventure, fearless, boldly and daring. When you are this person, others watch, listen, and learn from you. Give others a reason to be inspired by YOU and give up on what everyone else thinks, they really don’t care all that much anyway.

• Be efficient everyday

Do you find yourself traveling quickly through everyday and then flopping on the bed at night, usually before 10 P.M feeling exhausted and wondering how you will ever get up and do it all over again the next day? However if your minutes and hours are spent doing what you are doing with focus and attention, and doing it solely with the end result only to be a success your final outcome will send you soaring each day. You see, you will NEVER get it all done. There will always be more. Relax. Focus. Take a few timeouts during the day and get clear again on what can you do in the moment to be completely efficient. It adds up you know, surely as 2+2 equals 4.

There you have it, tiny steps, little life flutters that cause a ripple around the world. You have heard of the butterfly effect right? Set yourself up for great success and bask in the sunlight everyday, even if just for a moment, to celebrate whatever tiny bit of success comes to you each day. Finally, get ready for the big successes to come your way. Just get ready o.k?

Topic today, CELEBRATING CHILDREN! It has been an interesting summer with traveling to Merrill, WI to gather up my two younger children and making the trip back to Florida. We did enjoy seeing all of our family, visiting the fair and playing in the cool northern outdoors. They GREW so much in only two months time and oh my, their young “lady - ness” (is that a word?) is heating up. This fall they will be first timers at a preforming arts middle school in Jacksonville, Florida. They are fine tuning talents for their own life journey ahead.

My oldest daughter is traveling abroad in Ecuador currently and staying in Quinto. She is only 19 years old and working on being free enough to begin to see all that the world has to offer. Her dream is to live in Europe. My own dream is coming true soon as well. After years of not being with her because of divorce – she is looking to land at our home for a while in here in Florida. I cannot wait to be with her and have our family back in touch after so long. It feels good to look at all of them in the eyes and tell them how very happy I am to be their mother.

Side NOTE: I was reflecting today about house cleaning and children. It has been 19 years since I have taken on the task of having babies. 19 years of laundry and cooking and cleaning. 19 years of emotional, physical and ….well mostly physical endurance of the ups and downs of parenthood. I let my body go for a long time, became stressed with fear of how to keep it all together, angry sometimes that I felt so alone in it all, you know… the “why me” attitude. So even though my children are getting older and they do help out with house cleaning, (of course with gentle prodding), I still enjoy the smudges on the light switches, the piles of attempted laundry, crumbs left on the table after dinner has been long cleaned up and yes, even the toothpaste in the sink.

The picture is my oldest daughter’s permanently tatooed foot – I think it sums what she feels is important – and I concur – having the freedom to wake up everyday and enjoy children and all that comes with it – is a huge gift to celebrate.

What about you? Where are the children in your life today and what are you celebrating them for?