Do You Believe in the Destiny of Love?

Today is the twenty-sixth wedding anniversary of my good friends, so I feel inspired to write about the destiny of love.

When you consider all of the things that must align properly for two people to meet, falling in love is a remarkable miracle.

Is it luck or destiny of love that helps people find that special person with whom they share their lives? Is it random fortune that causes two people to meet in exactly the right place together at the right time? Or is it divine intervention that brought them to this place?

I have many people in my life who struggle to find that ‘special love’. They search bars, classrooms, corporate settings, and countless other places only to return solo. Defeat looms heavily on their shoulders as though in some way they think it is their fault that a magical spark didn’t happen between them and one of the millions of other people in the world.

Those successful in love will tell you that finding that right person is all about timing and fate. When I think about all the great relationships surrounding me, the one thing they all have in common is that they all bloomed from a single, defining moment in time when the two people had a clear path to each other, despite obstacles that stood in their way.

A Look at the Destiny of Love

Here’s a clear example of the destiny of love: my dad actually met my mom at a dance where he was on a date with her sister! My brother met his bride when on a random military leave for a day in South Carolina. A friend met her girlfriend in a college class that she decided to enroll in at the last minute.  Another friend met her husband when she had engine trouble one day and just happened to beg this mechanic, now her husband, for help. As is the case with all of these first meetings, paths crossed at the right moment in time.

When it comes to finding love, people never know when, where, or how it will come at them. One day they’re lonely, the next they are floating on the wings of love. To me, finding love is a hopeful pursuit. The waiting brims with hope for a bright future. One never knows when she will walk out of her front door and find that special person.

Do you believe in the destiny of love?

The hopeless romantic in me believes it takes more than chance for two compatible people to find each other in this great, big world. I’d like to think that it is the destiny of love that brings people together with the ones they love.

The secret to progress is drive. To move forward takes time and focus, too. You must be willing to take that first step and keep moving.

To progress, one has to be willing to let go of what is known and be open to new adventure.

We all have things we want to accomplish. We set out with great intention only to be sidetracked by our psyche urging us to turn the other way and enjoy the lure of things within easy reach instead.

The Need for Progress

Maybe it’s that we want to be savvier with our money, get into better shape, or gain more knowledge so we can prosper in our careers. These things all take time, focus, and drive. They require a significant amount of patience and motivation to acquire.

Short cuts just seem easier, don’t they?

Short Cuts Block Real Progress

We’re all smart enough to know that to make any real progress, we must do the work. We can’t expect to run a company successfully without first acquiring the skill sets. We can’t expect to have a bestselling novel sustain its prominence in the market without first putting in the long hours of writing the book. We can’t expect to have healthy bodies without first treating our bodies with the respect of good nutrition and sensible exercise routines.

The reality is that we need to work to progress on those things that we deem important.

Progress Requires Sustained Action

As with any new venture, we set out on new goals fueled with what seems like a super human power. We might spend hours writing some fabulous scenes, reading a book on finance, or tackling the first week of a grueling exercise program. We feel on top of our game, fueled by euphoria from the first scene that took us on a glorious ride, from the first stock papertrade that went well, or from the first inch lost on our waistline.

Then, week two comes around and we find ourselves tempted to let the firm focus grip slide a little. Our old habits are staring us in the face begging for attention. To break an old habit, we need a sticking motivation something that will stand firm in the face of temptation. That’s when the real progress occurs.

A powerful motivator is usually an emotional one.

For instance, when it comes to my health, the drive is deeply rooted in a promise I made to myself after a great friend passed away 4 years ago. I will never again take my health for granted. He died of cancer too early in life and he would’ve given anything to have a healthy body. I have one, so I’m constantly reminded that I have to treat it with respect. It’s almost like if I don’t, then I’m disrespecting his battle. This is strong motivation for me tied inextricably to my emotions.

We’re all motivated for progress differently.

To find success, we must discover what makes us tick. If we don’t know yet what that thing is that’ll keep us strong in the face of adversity, we need to vigilantly keep searching for it.

Here’s One Way

Reach out to others who are role models and doing what you want to be doing. Find out what keeps them focused and see if it mirrors your philosophies and touches you on an emotional level.

Never give up on your journey to discover the power that resides within you. The power to progress is in all of us.

We all want things in life. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel greedy in wanting things. I guess this stems from a past of telling myself that I should be grateful for what I have today, and that to want more negates this gratitude.

That’s not a healthy way of viewing life.

I want to change this.

To get started, I’m making a list of all the positives that come from wanting more in life:

To want is to:

• dream
• pursue goals
• enlighten the spirit with positive focus
• be grateful for those things in life we can achieve with a little patience and determination
• offer hope
• enjoy the dynamic nature of our human spirit

And, to further cement my good vibe on want and desires…

I am going to have some fun in sharing 7 things I want.

I Want:

1. To travel the world in search of stories.
   2. To have balance every day.
   3. To be healthy until the day I die.
   4. A winter home in the tropics and a summer home in the mountains.
   5. For one of my booksto become a full length movie.
   6. To be in a position to philanthropically invest in other’s dreams.
   7. To sit in the audience of The Ellen Show.

What about you? What do you want?

Today, someone forwarded me an email containing a provocative question. It asked: If today was the last day of your life, would you be satisfied with how you spent it? Or in other words, would you wish you could have more time to accomplish those things in life you really wanted to instead of just living day-by-day to standards not quite to your level?

I’ve been probing around for an answer to this for several hours now.

If today were the last day of my life, would I feel satisfied with what I did with it so far?

For the most part, yes, however, there are so many things I would feel sad that I didn’t get to do, namely take a trip to Australia, learn to scuba dive; turn one of my books into a screenplay; act in a movie, open a hair salon, drive cross-country in an RV and stop at every national park, and of course there’s the big one – to empty my hectic day job schedule so I can sleep in until at least six a.m.!

In all seriousness, we get this one life to live to our fullest, yet so many of us spend most of that time spinning in a whirlwind of worry, of what-ifs, of straddling challenges, of dodging obstacles.  Few get to experience the freedom of living life out loud.

So this begs the question – how do we ensure we get to live the life we are all entitled to live when our choices might’ve taken us off course a bit?

Ask any motivational speaker or life coach and surely they’d advise to take actions that will lead you to your life goals. Mine are all rooted in freedom. That’s my ultimate goal – the freedom to create books and movies on my time. So for me, I feel like I’m heading in the right direction. I’ve got a clear goal and plan to get there. A writer needs to write, and I’ve got that covered! I just need to continue doing the work. The rest will fall into place.

For others, their goals might be more heavily rooted in charitable work or family or education, in which case, their actions would need to point them in that direction. A person seeking more family time, might benefit more from volunteering and reaching out to the community with family members rather than sitting passively in front of the television set for three hours at night.