Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Motivational Monday, What Changes Ways & Get Off The Fence

30 Day Blogging Challenge

Motivational Monday!
One of my all-time favorite quotes is from Hunter S. Thompson..."Buy the ticket; take the ride." For added context, go here . How much does "Buy the ticket; take the ride" apply to you? Are you a "get what you signed up for" type? Or someone else?

The full quote is:
“No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride...and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well...maybe chalk it off to forced conscious expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten.” ― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Interesting quote Fivesixer . A darker author than I usually read, but this is worthy of a great prompt.
This to me is about living life... a harsher version of the non fiction book I am currently working through - Love Louder: 33 Ways To Amplify Your Life. I have a feeling Mr. Thompson has taken a more cynical view of the world. You bought the ticket, you take the ride and deal with whatever happens to you. Life is not easy. It can get rather difficult and challenging at times, but we can't check out. We bought the ticket... we are all in.... unless you choose to huddle in a corner and not participate in your life. By living our life, and dealing with those more unsavoury moments, we are learning from those experiences. We probably learn more from the harder parts of our life than the easier parts... but life gives us both, whether we want them or not.

Thompson seems to think, that life beats you... and in the fact that we all die in the end, I suppose he has a point, but I would prefer to keep things lighter.. keep things more positive, even when the going gets rough. Dealing with pain and hardship does not have to suck the lie right out of you... it is all a matter of choosing your attitude. Kick but and take names. Put your faith in a Higher Power and pray.

I agree that you must 'tune in'. I agree that there are times to 'freak out', but I want to hold off on the idea of being 'beaten' beyond the deathly end. For me, I have come to find peace with my spirituality - looking to God and putting my faith in front of me... hoping things will all work out for my good as I make my way through the world as it is. In doing that, I am not saying I will not experience the harsh aspects of life... but I will view them as less detrimental and more hopeful... as a way of teaching me what I need to know so that I can help others experiencing the same kind of thing. It also makes me more compassionate to others, and makes me see my purpose as one who must reach out to others. We cannot do this life alone. We need others; and that's what makes life not so forlorn or scary.

Blog City – Day 862

Prompt: What kind of experiences or thinking makes a person change his ways, either from good to bad or from bad to good?

A person adrift in the world, feeling alone and scared will probably be more inclined to blow wherever the world carries him or her. Having no faith or 'North Star', nothing to believe in or anchor them, will blow them off course.

If you don't stand for something you will be... how does that saying go? If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/02/18/stand-fall/

I think if a person has beliefs and attitudes and a group of supportive friends and family, they will stay on course, but if they falter... let life have its way, they could experience something that has their world shaken and interpret it as negative and soul sucking. Those who have experienced great loss can go either way... it all depends on those attitudes and support system. Alone and without faith, you falter; finding faith and a supportive, caring circle of friends can bring a person back into the fold.

I think the key is to have faith or belief in something greater than yourself and have friends and family who love and support you through the good and the bad things that come our way as we make our way through this life.
Stay strong and carry on.

Love Louder - Amplifying My Life

I have decided as part of my blog to comment on each of Preston Smiles's ways to Love Louder. He has written an intriguing little book or 33 Ways To Amplify Your Life. The full title is Love Louder: 33 Ways To Amplify Your Life.

Day 17 - Get Off The Fence And Jump! Go Hard Or Go Home

"All the best fruit is out there on the skinny branches. Those who go big, risking all, open themselves up to the possibility of gaining it all. Those who sit on the sidelines, commenting on those who are risking it all, are destined to live a life of what-ifs."

Which one do I want to be,... well, I can tell you I have been living a sidelines life for a long time and I am ready for a change. I don't think I have been commenting on those risk takers... but I have been a little envious of there achievements... and wishing those things for myself. Making the change is a scary thing... but worth it if I want a life I can feel proud of and feel accomplishment that I revel in.

Not taking the risks... and you never know what you are capable of. Loving louder is about recognizing the voice of our dreams beckoning us forward... and acting on what it is calling us to do. "It's about giving up the safety of the herd and pushing into the unknown zone, where dreams can become a reality."

Hear the call, feel the fear, but move forward regardless.

Going after anything in life... anything worthwhile, you may stumble and fall, you may look stupid and make mistakes... that is part of the process of achieving. Don't be afraid to make those mistakes or look a little stupid... the success that eventually comes is worth all that.

Preston Smiles writes that the "comfort zone is the place where dreams go to die, and where vitality goes to die with it." He says to put yourself our there. "What imprisons you also points to your freedom; do that thing you have always been afraid of, and you will open yourself up to that feeling of freedom." I have acted at times, taken a risk to reach out and make a call or spoken to something thinking they will reject my request... only to be rewarded with a full sense of amazement when they agree to my request - the world open up and smiles at me when I do that and I realize my fears were trapping me and keeping me paralyzed into a place that anxiety lives and breeds. I want freedom from that place....
"If your going to fall, fall forward, going after your dreams. The destination will always change, but the person you become on the way is priceless." That is what I want for my life.

#LOVELOUDERCHALLENGE
What's the one thing you've been afraid to do or say for years? DON'T DIE WONDERING WHAT-IF. Do it NOW. Take the action that moves you forward. Make the call, write the first page of your novel, send the email.... whatever it is. Do it now!