Category: Fitness

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Behind Every Setback is a Setup

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I‘ve had an epiphany overcome me, so strongly and so completely. 
I didn’t see it as a tide coming in over on the horizon. Nor did I hear the roar of thunder letting me know that lightning was coming.
It was such a sudden occurrence, with an impact of a tsunami or a brazen earthquake. It destroyed my previously well established thoughts on life
I used to believe that I had to be brave each time I encountered a setback, to be patient, that things would turn around.
You can build bridges between ideas and thoughts.
I knew that out of the bad, good things may happen as well, but I missed a crucial point, a law of the universe.
Behind every setback is a setup.
Looking back upon my life, I can see where I subconsciously took advantage of the bad times to catapult the energy of the moment into something more productive, more effective and more palatable for me.
Imagine what I would have been able to achieve if I consciously was aware and was seeking out that setup?
Sure, you may be doubting me at this moment, but look at it this way… If you believe that pills are capable of inducing a placebo effect, how much more so would hope!
Even if my point isn’t true, your belief in the truth of my statement would make it true in your life.
Perhaps next time I should write about the effect of faith on the human psyche!
Alright, maybe at this moment you are about to start agreeing with me.
Let me share with you how I came to possess this valuable knowledge.
It started with a series of events that occurred to me over a period of about a month.
Things just weren’t going my way.
I was so upset with a particular person, that they weren’t behaving the way I wanted them to. Ergo, Ego moment.
No matter how I urged them, no matter what I did, I couldn’t control the outcomes of that person.
I was super frustrated.
So I started channeling that energy into something productive, something that made me happy and at the same time was a wonderful creative outlay.
Because of my frustration and pent up energy, my first book was created. Every note that was written came out with passion from every moment that taught me something or inspired me to be a person I wanted to be, someone free, to whom success is accessible no matter what stands in her way.
I was very proud of my book, but things weren’t falling into place the way I could see them in my mind’s eye, so I started looking for ways to control inputs into my life and my outputs, so that I could be at peace, filled with joy and freedom to thrive, not strive.
This is the pivotal moment in my story.
It hit me hard when I realized that my setback was actually a setup which birthed my first book.
Because of this awareness, I started to look for that setup behind my current setback.
That’s how I started my own second company, Pyshnyak Lawrence Publishing. The way I see it, this will be a legacy I will pass on to my wonderful daughter.

Life is full of color and opportunities. 
Soon, more and more ideas and connections started to appear to me and it became clear that the more I began to search for the setups, the more frequently I began to encounter them.
End result? Out of a tempestuous situation, one that drove me crazy because I just couldn’t control it, because of which, if I remained in that state of mind, I felt my success would be minimized greatly, I was squeezed out into a field of freedom.
I am now able to transfer the energy from one platform to another, which suits my temperament and dreams a whole lot better.
I’ve written before how I am excited to wake up in the morning.
Now I am looking forward to every challenge in my way because with my transformational thinking, I know I will end up being better off no matter what happens.
I am not afraid of my future. I am not anxious about what comes next because my mind is so trained to start looking around a problem, or a huge boulder in my way.
It will even find a way to walk through it, no doubt.

If you are a Christian, you already know that for the ones that love Him, everything will be made to work out for our good.
I knew this, but unfortunately, I never truly accepted that truth into my heart, my spirit.
If it weren’t for my very emotional time, a struggle of the soul, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
I’ve learned a lesson that is more valuable than gold.
A lesson that will not only change my life, but yours as well!
Live well and prosper!

A Creative Genius Resides Within You

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You may have accused yourself of not having a creative bone in your body but that accusation nests far from the truth.
Every one I’ve met so far has the potentially to be creative or thrive creatively on a very high level.

Ok, so why have you not seen that about you? 
Either because you are blinded and have taken your ability for granted or because, unfortunately, you just simply aren’t in the environment that would let you blossom.
For seven years of my life I worked at a company where I just didn’t fit in. I was amidst engineers who talked shop. Who seemed smart. I couldn’t talk much about their gadgets, machinery or product. Because of that I was perceived as less capable than they were.

The worst was… when I would often think that of myself as well.

I couldn’t often be noticeably creative because what creative moments I had weren’t paid attention to, not because they were not appreciating them, but because they simply weren’t seeing them. 
You see, I didn’t speak their language. 
How often I’ve seen immigrants be deemed stupid because of the language barrier!
How often they’ve felt stupid and accepted that thought and made it their own!

Examine your environment. Can you change it?
Times changed. I moved. 

I am now in an environment, propelled by the special burst of courage and energy received through my daughter’s birth, where all of a sudden I feel like I get it. I do and say things that are understood and welcomed. I realized I am actually quite fluent! 

Because of that increase in confidence and belief in self worth, I started to break down my creativity barriers. I realized that the only true barrier, was my own self. My deep-seated, deep-rooted beliefs.
What am I saying? It may not be you, it may truly be the environment.


Be like a child. Everything is so exciting to them! 
If you cannot change jobs or move, find opportunities or hobbies that you enjoy. Surround yourself with people that “get it” and whom you  “get” also.

The stronger you become in standing your ground of self worth, and validated by your own beliefs about yourself, the more freedom you will have to express yourself on all levels.

Creativity begets creativity.

Start somewhere. Just start. Not tomorrow. Today.
Although I constantly harp on this one point, I do it with specific reason, to remind you and drill it down into your subconscious; you cannot deny the world your true self.

We are losing out because of your fears. Fears come from wrong beliefs.

It’s time to turn to the new page.

Fuel that fire. 

Spring is so fresh with promise.
Your day today is filled with promise.
You are our promise.

A promise that our future has hope.
A promise that our future has a future.
Don’t bend under that weight.

Thrive.

I Choose To Enjoy My Journey

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I often find myself so focused on the end result, the destination, that I rush through the process, forgetting to enjoy it, to derive as much value and pleasure out of each moment, connection and even failure.

Of course, I’ve redefined failure to mean something much more palatable for me, a lesson learned, a practice run, a stepping stone in the right direction.

How often all it takes is to shift your perspective.

A few days ago, one lady posted an article that found that sweet spot in me at that particular time.
It mentioned this concept of enjoying the journey. I say, we need to learn to love it.
Most of our lives is spent crawling, walking or running this journey, so we might as well make it our friend.

Anyway, that concept was not new to me. Most self help and self professed gurus have been shouting out this idea from the rooftops of society. Books have been written about it.
But only in that moment it hit home. That thought made a permanent, irreversible mark on my consciousness.

The birds started singing more loudly, the colors have become more crisp, my daughter’s face became more beautiful to me all of a sudden.

I started appreciating my friends more, my new connections and connections that were falling through.

Maya enjoying the crisp Autumn leaves.


I’ve had an epiphany. I came to the source from which stems joy, being like a child. Having a childlike curiosity and doing things just because it seems fun, cool, exciting. Kids don’t care about what happens next, tomorrow, in a year. They enjoy the now.

And right now, I choose to enjoy my journey. I will be happy with every breakthrough, and with every set back, because I also choose to believe that behind every set back is a set up. A set up to something better.

Because I trust God to look after me, like a child trusts the parent, I can easily say, I choose to enjoy my journey.

And yes, it is a choice. So the power to be happy, it really is within your hands… (errr, more like within you:).

Much love to you! And… go out there, twirl, give it a whirl! We are all kids at heart.

I’m Excited To Wake Up In The Morning!

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Have you ever been in that flow of things, some call it the zone, that the time passes quickly, you derive an incredible amount of pleasure from doing whatever you are doing? I’ve been in that mode for weeks now and let me tell you…


(And please share with me if you have been there!)

 My mornings have been followed by nights, at times, where I just couldn’t sleep, as passion for what I was doing consumed me totally. I couldn’t wait to work, create and manifest something spectacular each time. I’ve spent nights or parts of nights, filled with this zapping, excited energy that seemed to pulsate through me.

It got so bad sometimes that I thought perhaps I had an anxiety problem, but it really wasn’t that. I was super happy and super excited.

What I learned quickly is that passion for whatever you do gives you an incredible amount of energy. It is the creation energy that was put out at the very beginning.
God was so pleased, He kept creating day in and day out, until He decided it was time to rest.
If God thought resting was necessary, must be pretty necessary for me as well.

I had to learn to calm my thoughts and channel that energy into the rest of my life, the rest of my day.
I didn’t get there at first. I’ve tried word search puzzles, instrumental music, reading, baths, you name it, trying to slow down my mind as it raced off, creating more and more ideas, so many that I had shelves and shelves of them in my mind.



Maya, in charge of her ride.

Once again, the power of the mind came into play here, at a moment where I thought something must be done as my soul was full of energy and my body was about to crash down, that I realized that I had power and control over this energy. So I took control and made it known, deep within me, that each day I will do the best I can, that I will sleep (most nights) when I want to and have given myself the permission to leave work to the next day. That way I am not spending the night doing, and then walking around like a zombie the next day, with my poor child getting only half or less of me.

So before the night, I tell myself, yes, I am excited about where life is taking me but I have to bottle up this energy and put it away until tomorrow, separate myself from its crackling live static, and pick it up in the morning, from where it was brewing overnight.

When I open up that channel each morning, the passion for life, the zest for my projects, come flooding me with an incredible richness of energy and pep in my step, even if I haven’t had the greatest night, somehow I get renewed.

My dears, find your passions. You will be so happy to be alive each day, participating in that creative process. Go after your dreams. Worst case? You will respect yourself for trying.
Be fearless. Be brave.
Be excited to wake up in the morning!

What is the meaning of Passionate Living?

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I’m setting out to write a book about passionate living and what it means to me. It’s a journey of self discovery, not only for myself, but also perhaps, for others.

At this moment the definition is vague. I’m not sure I’ve grasped the concept fully. I’ve tried slowing down and gearing up and moving forwards, while clearing out my past. I’ve tried being in the moment, slowly sipping my morning coffee with cream. I’ve tried, and still I’m trying to say yes to opportunities, to ignore the risk and just going for it, while losing my peace.

How do we keep in that tension? How do we stay in that magical, elusive spot called balance?

I think somewhere in there, between the tension of staying and going, there is that moment that may birth passion.











For starters, passion is something that may very well keep you awake at night. Case in point, myself. It is 1:52am and I am still awake. Full of untapped potential and great expectations for what comes next. I cannot sleep, so I must write. Writing makes me feel good. I don’t have much time during the day. My baby and responsibilities keep me busy. I’m also in the process of starting up a business with my friend.

Yes, passion makes you strive for something higher.
Yes, I am a Christian, so I will defer to my Savior for answers. Let’s see what He will let me find out!

Passion is a longing for something greater than oneself. It demands our time and energy but it gives us back the drive to make immense change. To start movements that cannot be stopped. To create waters that will flow and nothing will get in the way.

Flowing water cannot be stopped.


Passion must be fed and not starved, directed, but not stifled. It’s a gentle, fragile mistress that may turn into a lioness in the split of a second, in the split of an atom.

How do we become friends with Passion? Passion takes everything we do to another level, our emotions, our ability to give and receive love. Passion led to destruction but also to the creation of Life.


When we live with Passion, we feel on another level. We experience Life with vibrant abandon.

We are less concerned about trivial things and see and expect wonderful things in our way.


When we live with Passion, we feel fulfilled, because in the process of finding out our Passion, we learn about who we are and who we want to be. We learn about our gifts and what makes us innately happy.

You learn what you were created for.

Let’s take you back to childhood. You loved life. You thought everyone loved you, at one point. By now, you’ve probably forgotten what that feels like.


I am constantly reminded by my daughter, who lives passionately and loves people with sweet freedom, that passion lives within our reach of exploration. She expects outcomes that favor her. She believes that everyone likes her and wants to play with her. She crashes other people’s picnics as if she belongs and because she is confident, in seconds, she is eating right along with the whole lot of them. She sits on benches, next to strangers, walks up to tables in restaurants and climbs up empty seats to enjoy the company of the fresh faces. She’s undeterred. She believes the best.


Maya rejoicing in her day.

Yes, she is a child and you are no longer one.

You know that not everyone likes you, appreciates you and maybe not always things will go your way.
But you, I hope, are mature enough and strong enough to take that dose of reality and be able to surpass all those feelings that arise; insecurity, negativity, failure, lack of something, etc., and power that energy into something else-peace, forgiveness, love, appreciation…

Something happens in that process. You begin to value yourself. Valuing yourself and recognizing that you have something to offer is the first step on this Passionate Living exploration journey. You begin to blossom, become fragrant and energetic and curious about what you have stored up inside of you. Rest assured, there is a lot of beautiful material to work with within each one of us. So, let’s begin this process! Come with me on this journey.

In the meantime, just enjoy this day. Smell your child’s hair. Kiss your spouse. Walk your dog. Simple moments can be full of passion, too. They restore us and spur us towards fresh thinking!
Passionate thinking! Be happy and blessed, my friends!

My precious flower