30 Days Of Genius Blog: Elle Luna

Living your own life, following a path you’re not sure where it leads, and making your dreams a reality (literally). This is Elle Luna. No matter where you are in life, she has exactly what you need to hear.

I have taken her interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis, extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next level, or at least a different level than the one there are on.

Please enjoy.

I Don’t Know What To Do

Then you are at a crossroads, and that is a beautiful place to be. You have the chance to possibly make the biggest decision of your life, so you must choose wisely. I know that sounds like a lot of pressure, and it is, but I have a way of navigating through all of the uncertainty. You need to take all of your options, all of your choices, and put them in to one of two categories, either should or must.

Should. These are all of the expectations that others put on us. Your friends, parents, community, and possibly even the culture as a whole. When you choose a “should” it feels awful. It’s heavy, it’s constricting, and it haunts us. Yet we choose it anyways. We are choosing our lives for someone or something else.

Must. These decisions are who we are, what we believe, and what we know is true. They are our convictions, knowings, longings, and dreams. By choosing a must, we are honoring who we are and why we are here.

It sounds easy, but it isn’t. Even if you choose must, you have to deal with should. You have to understand the difference between the two, where they come from, and why they are pulling you in. If you don’t deal with should, it will stick around. By bringing awareness to it you are catapulting in to must. If you know where all of the conscious and subconscious “shoulds” come from, you can gain an understanding of them and avoid them. Just like any problem, if it is not dealt with it will linger.

If you have not heard of it, The Alexander Technique is basically: when we stop doing the wrong thing, the right thing does itself. The more you stop doing “should,” “must” has no other option but to happen.

Don’t be afraid of where you are right now. Discontent is a wonderful catalyst for change. You are most guaranteed to get light when you are most in the darkness. I learned to lean in to my problems. If you are falling, dive. Find out how to take your situation and flip it on its head. You have to step in to your shame, anger and fear, because the other side is freedom. There is no way around it, only through it. The sooner you accept that the sooner you will get past it and on to something bigger and better.

Can You Really Make Your Dreams A Reality?

Absolutely.

I did. Literally.

I had a recurring dream of a space, and I found it, ironically on Craigslist. How crazy is that?

That never would have happened if I didn’t listen, and pay attention to myself.

We are living in a time where we are addicted to being busy. With all of the running around, when do we listen? When do we hear what our mind and body are saying to us?

I was listening, but it actually took a friend asking me, “Have you ever thought about looking for this dream in real life?” for me to act on it. That one question changed everything.

From that point I went out and literally made my dream a reality. I found the space I was looking for, then I freaked out. Now that I had everything I was dreaming of, I had to create. It wasn’t the end of my dream, it was just the beginning. It sounds a little strange, but it is difficult when you are in the midst of everything you have asked for, and you are just sitting there.

It was time to work.

In the same way you need to know yourself, to distinguish between should and must, to know your dreams, you have to know how you work. What is going to allow you to continue living your dreams?

I focus on structure, accountability, and intuition.

I love the saying, when we have more fun we get more done. Part of having fun for me is feeling good. That means eating well, meditating, moving my body, going to sleep early, and having accountability. It feels good to HAVE to do something because someone I care about is depending on me to get it done. That is the beautiful part about doing what you love, you will be busier than you have ever been in your life and you won’t feel it. It isn’t really work. You want to do it better and better so you fine tune how you work constantly. I have myself on timers, I study signs of boredom, and I know how to center myself to stay in this positive and creative space. When I feel far away, when I am not having vivid dreams, I know I need solitude, to be able to come back to myself. The empty space invites everything in. That time and space allows me to come back to love, joy and happiness.

“The more we treat ourselves like a precious object, the stronger we become.” — Julia Cameron

“Follow your bliss, and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t even know they were going to be.” — Joseph Campbell

Quotes

Discontent is the most amazing catalyst for something new.

When you are falling, dive.

You are most guaranteed to get light when you are most in the darkness.

“The more we treat ourselves like a precious object, the stronger we become.” — Julia Cameron

“The cracks let the light in.” — Leonard Cohen

“You can have jobs, you can have careers, and you can have callings.” — Stefan Sagmeister

Elle Luna Links

Website

The Crossroads Of Should And Must