Aloha!!

Today I am writing to you from Maui. I am here with my whole family and we are having a blast playing and relaxing together.

(keep reading for more pictures below)

However, the truth is that I wasn’t always as relaxed, easy-going, and lighthearted as I am today. There was a time in my life when I was constantly stressed out, worried, and on edge. The pure thought of running around at the beach in a bikini gave me anxiety, the idea of couples lounging at the beach together only made me more aware of my own lack of love in my life, and the whole idea of taking time off when I should be productive and furthering my career made me feel guilty and useless beyond measure.

So what changed me and the way I live my life today?

The answer is simple: Real-life experiences that I intentionally sought out.

I believe that life lessons don’t get absorbed through thoughts or even words, but through real-life, tangible experiences.

Think about how many great books and websites there are that are full of wonderful tips and advice for how to solve all of your problems. If we followed all these books, nobody would struggle with their weight, their job, their finances, or their love life. However, the reality is that despite all this public information available at our fingertips, we do still worry... all the time. The reason is that even though we can read about what we should do, we don’t actually do it.

Now, doing something is much scarier than thinking about something. I get that! However, that is also where the crucial difference lies between people who live their lives passively and those who live their lives actively and pursue their dreams.

A few years ago, I realized the following about myself: I had all of these secret hopes, dreams, wishes, ideas, passions and desires for what I wanted to feel like in my own body, what kind of romantic love I wanted, what I wished my relationships looked like, and what kind of career I wanted to have that would truly fulfill and challenge me… YET I wasn’t seriously pursuing any of them. Why? Because I was scared of failure, not making enough money, and wasting time. Because I felt ridiculous and silly saying out loud that I wanted to just feel free, competent, in love, abundant and powerful. Because it was easier to just do nothing and play it safe.

The game changer for me was when I began to collect actual experiences that proved to me that I could, in fact, create what I wanted. The more I started to talk about my dreams openly, the more positive experiences I collected, the more confident I grew in myself and my abilities.

These experiences first started when I was in grad school for Counseling Psychology where I actually had to be vulnerable (instead of reading about being vulnerable), share openly, learn to face my shadows and heal my own wounds. Suddenly my thoughts and secret desires weren’t just in my head anymore, but they were discussed and brought to life. I had great mentors, teachers, and friends who now shared my vision with me… who now believed in me.

This was a crucial shift because my inner world started to enter reality!

Since then, I have made it a point to collect as many experiences as I can. I even stopped asking for stuff for my birthday and christmas and instead ask for experiences. This year I learned transcendental meditation, went on a retreat to learn more about living free, and got support to hire a business coach who could teach me the ropes of being an entrepreneur.

Underneath this collection of experiences is an even deeper and more profound shift: I saw myself as worthy and actually started to invest into myself. And I don’t mean only financially, but also emotionally, spiritually, and creatively.

This is what self-integrity and self-love are all about and it has changed my life!

As a life coach, I have made it my life purpose to help others do the same. That’s why I am offering something extra special for the holidays:A real-life experience for you to use to bring your secret dreams, hopes and wishes into reality + a solid game plan for what your next steps are.

For the holidays, I am offering 3 hour VIP intensive coaching sessions + a 30 minute follow up session that you can use in whatever way, shape or form you like. Before we hop on the phone or on skype, I will send you a little gift box to infuse our session with a celebratory feeling and off we go pinpointing your challenges and finding solutions for how you can move forward in a powerful, fun, and authentic way.

Some examples for what you could use this VIP Experience for include:

developing a solid, bold, and FUN game plan for 2014 so you can actually do the things you say you want to do (vacation, ask for a raise, feel confident, find love…)
creating a self-care routine that actually works for you and leaves you feeling glowing, alive, energized, and beautiful (instead of being bored at the gym, hating the treadmill, and force feeding yourself broccoli)
finally figuring out what your authentic strengths are so that you can stop trying to force yourself into a mold that doesn’t naturally fit you and instead start utilizing what’s naturally yours already.
un-burdening yourself from feeling down and negative about what your life has in store for you and figuring out a way to start fresh feeling more positive and excited about what’s coming up.

Your investment: $450.

If you are sincere and interested in getting together with me 1-on-1 to unpack your story and have fun while creating a plan that meets your needs and gives you direction, I would love to talk. Hit reply or email me at Caroline@carolinezwick.com.

As promised, here are some more pics from Maui:)