Salome S.:

Hello, and welcome to episode number 64 of the Shine Show. It is my absolute privilege to bring back my friend, Brad Bizjack to you today to come and share with us the incredible magic of appreciation. And how you can use appreciation to really unlock the abundance in your life, and turn any of your failures upside down and really use it to power you to move forward. At the end of this episode, we do just a wonderful visualization exercise. And if you're driving, I highly recommend you pull over, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and sit in a place where you can really take it all in. So without further ado here is Brad.

Salome S.:

Giving up your time and freedom to make money is so 2009. Hi, I'm your host Salome Schillack. And I help online course creators launch, grow and scale their businesses with Facebook and Instagram ads. So that they can make more money and have an even bigger impact in the world. If you're ready to be inspired to dream bigger, launch sooner and grow your online business faster, then tune in because you are ready to shine, and this is the Shine Show. Brad, thank you so much for coming back.

Brad Bizjack:

Thanks so much for having me again. I'm freaking happy to be here. This is awesome.

Salome S.:

I'm very happy to have you. I know that my audience loves you, and I know that my audience appreciates what you share. So, I wanted to have you back on because I listened to your webinar. And it was 8:00 PM when I switched on your webinar and your webinar's freaking long, dude. It's a two hour long webinar. So it was 8:00 PM when I switched it on and I was still listening at 9:30. And I was still paying attention because you are so engaging and the content you shared in there just made me go, "Whoa, I got to have you on and we've got to talk about appreciation and gratitude."

Brad Bizjack:

Yeah. Absolutely. It's such an important topic that I think a lot of entrepreneurs, especially if you're not where you want to be yet. I feel like it's a topic that a lot of entrepreneurs are missing.

Salome S.:

Yeah. It was a topic that I was missing. And I didn't grow up in an environment where I was taught the importance of gratitude and having an abundance mindset and focusing on what I have rather than what I didn't have. My kids have this little saying, and I often have to remind them. They would say, "Don't let your ice cream melt while you're counting someone else's sprinkles." We say that to each other all the time. And it's kind of a way to remind us to focus on what we have inside our hand and to appreciate what we have because when we appreciate what have that grows and it becomes more. And I think that's what your Appreciation Academy is about. And that's what your message is about. Isn't it?

Brad Bizjack:

Absolutely. I think at least from personal experience, I used to have these really limiting beliefs of, "I'd be happy when my business took off, or I'd be grateful and happy when I had more money." And I was living in this resentment of my past. And I felt like there was this big weight on my shoulders. And gratitude is what solved it. That's what made everything go away.

Salome S.:

That's amazing because I had exactly the same experience. And I want to stop there for a second because I want to ask you, what do you think it is that conditions us to believe that we're going to be happy when we have money? Or we're going to be satisfied when we have success? Where does it come from? For me, I can look at my upbringing. I look at my parents. I know my personality. I'm very driven by success. I'm very driven by significance. Tony Robbin's core needs. For me, significance is a giant core need. So, needing to be successful is important to me and I've learned that that's not wrong, but I've also learned that it can have its pitfalls, right?

Brad Bizjack:

Yeah.

Salome S.:

So where did this come from for you?

Brad Bizjack:

I think it really stemmed from, I would agree growing up. I think my parents would fight and scream and yell about things all the time. And particularly there were two topics. There're two things that really, really held me back in life. And one was money and one was this idea of needing to be validated or needing to feel like I was enough. I remember specifically, my parents would fight and scream about money all the time. And it was like, I'm not sure if you can relate to this. But my dad would work 90-100 hour weeks to barely get by. And there was too much month at the end of the money. Right? I remember seeing them fighting. Going up to my mom and being like, "Mom, why are you guys always so upset?" And she said, "It would be easier to be happy if we had money and if we have [crosstalk 00:05:07]"

Salome S.:

Who said that?

Brad Bizjack:

Yeah. And so, I thought in the moment that making money was A, hard. B, that it would disappear right when you had it. And then, if you didn't make a lot of it, you couldn't be happy. And on top of that, I had a really tough relationship with her. I mean, I'm not sure, like do you have people in your life where no matter what you try, it feels like you're walking on eggshells around them?

Salome S.:

Yes.

Brad Bizjack:

That's how it was, and I craved that love. But the whole point of bringing that up is I felt like I wasn't enough. And I had so much anger and resentment for that. And you pair that with societal conditioning of needing to have an instant, perfect life and all these things. And I think it's an environment that easily grows into a mindset of the significance. Not willing to be happy until you have X validation, money, whatever it. That's kind of where I started.

Salome S.:

And did you find... Because I find this is true for me, was true for me, and is still true for, I would say my siblings, especially one of my brothers, because we grew up with the same messaging. But it spirals into anger. And when you're resentful of your lack of success, and your lack of money and your lack of being where you think you deserve to be, you link success and money to your own worth. It could create anger. And I see my brother is constantly angry and I remember feeling that way too.

Brad Bizjack:

I feel like you and I are similar in a lot of ways in that regard. And I think when it comes to... One of the biggest pieces of gratitude is not only accepting, but deciding to love your past. And I think maybe it will help your people if you guys are listening to this. Would it help if I share how this anger, this resentment stemmed and how it turned into gratitude and all that stuff. Would that help you guys?

Salome S.:

Yeah. Please share please. Please do.

Brad Bizjack:

And this goes right in line with what you said, Salome. I told you about how I was growing up and I felt like I wasn't enough, and money was this big thing. And so, starting my adult life, I was $90,000 in student debt, and I had a lot of resentments. I was that guy that really pretended life was amazing, but on the inside I was struggling. And I use positivity as a coping mechanism for pain. And I just wanted that freedom. I wanted to be debt free. I wanted to create a life where I felt like I mattered, and I wanted to outperform my past. Instead of feeling like I was running away from something, I wanted to feel like it was sprinting towards something now. And it was like this spirit in my stomach. And I found online business and it was the ticket. Right? And that's how I was going to change my financial life.

Salome S.:

Yeah.

Brad Bizjack:

And I tell the stories of freedom, but it was like no matter what I tried, it was two steps forward and two steps back. I was literally doing what I was supposed to. I was investing in seminars and doing these things. But it was like it wasn't working for me. And I started to get into my head like, "Am I not able to do this? Am I not destined to succeed? Am I just meant to be mediocre?" And people would tell me like, "If all it took was hard work, you'd already be successful." So, I was thinking like, "Why isn't this happening?" And I was that guy that would see other people being successful and it made me feel less than. But I kept trying to find the solution to this in the strategy piece.

Brad Bizjack:

And the strategy wasn't [crosstalk 00:08:30]. And I needed to find the marketing idea or the tracking system or whatever it was. But it was like I kept on self-sabotaging. And this is getting to gratitude in just a second. I remember being, it would be like 11:00 PM on my couch. And I knew I needed to go to bed, but I'm downing a bottle of wine and binge, watching friends on Netflix. And I was feeling sorry for me. And I saw my laptop, literally staring at me going, "Dude, change your life, you have all the tools you need." But I just didn't care, even though I cared so much. And so I remember my mentor saying I needed a mindset coach. And on our very first call, she said something so simple and it changed my life forever.

Brad Bizjack:

I was talking to her about how I was trying. So freaking hard. "I'm reading the books. I'm doing the podcast. I'm listening to all this stuff. Why isn't this working for me?" And she said, "Brad, you're so attached to success that you're missing the whole point." She said, "Brad, business success and money isn't going to cause lasting happiness. Happiness and appreciation for your life is what's going to lead to success." She said, "If you want to change your life, you need to appreciate everything. Everything about your past. Everything about your present. Everything about your mom. Everything about your money. You need to find a way to love where you are right now, because appreciation is the master skill to business." And I was resenting everything at the time. And I can keep going on that story, but that was the aha moment that really changed everything. And after that, it kept on getting dug in a little bit deeper. But does that make sense so far?

Salome S.:

Totally. It makes total sense. And I think it is such an important thing to pause on and pick apart a little bit. Because how do you look at things that you have been resentful of? Things that you have scribed negative meaning to. Things that have shaped you in a negative way all your life and go to appreciate them. How do you make that shift? The aha moment is one thing, but how do you look at your relationship with your mom? The constant fighting. The conditioning. The $90,000 debt. How do you look at $90,000 debt and go, "I appreciate you."

Brad Bizjack:

It's easy to blame. A victim mindset is incredibly attractive because it gives you a way out of taking responsibility. It means that you don't have to confront what you're actually afraid of. And so, how do you actually get through that? What I started doing is, I started taking a look at my best qualities. The things that I love the most about myself. My hunger, my drive, my empathy, my love for my wife. All these incredible qualities. And I ask myself, why did those exist? And I started to realize that like, holy crap. Most of them, not all, but most of them were because of the contrast of what I didn't want in my life. I realized that all of these things, my hunger, my drive, my passion. All of it was because my mom and my financial situation were the way they were and if they were different, I wouldn't be the man I'm proud to be today.

Brad Bizjack:

And so, it was the best thing that ever happened for me. And I realized that life was always happening for me and not to me. I realized that, instead of blaming my past, I can think my past. If they were any different or my situations very different, there's no way I'd be in this journey right now. So, it was the best thing that ever happened. And I realized that my pain had the gift inside of it to lead to emotional freedom if I found that meaning. But I had to take responsibility for it. And it's so easy to stay in that victim mindset because we're getting from it.

Salome S.:

Yeah.

Brad Bizjack:

[crosstalk 00:12:15].

Salome S.:

I love how you say that you were able to appreciate it because it gave you the contrast because in the end, it's not the thing you resent that you then appreciate, it's who you became as a result of the things you resent that you appreciate. And therefore, the thing being the catalyst for that life change is why you end up appreciating it. Am I right?

Brad Bizjack:

Yes. And I also practiced appreciation for those negative things happening. And what I mean by that is, I started practicing gratitude for the debt. That's actually one of the top-

Salome S.:

How do you do that? I mean, for the debt and for the family stuff and for the negative messages you internalized growing up as a child. How do you appreciate that stuff?

Brad Bizjack:

You find what it's leading towards. You create a vision in your mind for something better. And you realize that if it wasn't for this, I wouldn't be on that journey to begin with. So, that was the on switch. The debt was the on switch to financial freedom. My mom was the on switch [crosstalk]

Salome S.:

Oh, I love it. I love it.

Brad Bizjack:

Which was the best thing that ever happened.

Salome S.:

I love that. You have to say that again.

Brad Bizjack:

Okay. The debt was the on switch to financial freedom. The feelings I had growing up, it was the on switch to self-worth and feeling emotionally sound and having all this empathy. If it wasn't for those things, I wouldn't be here. So I started practicing gratitude for them. And what's interesting though, is that once you practice gratitude for the things that you hate, your life changes very, very, very fast. And I can go into that if you want [crosstalk]

Salome S.:

Yeah. Tell me about that. I love how you came to this. This is the first time I've ever heard someone explain it that way as it being the own switch, or creating the desired life you want. And so, therefore you can appreciate it. So, I want to know two things. The one thing is I want to know, how do you practice gratitude? Like actually practice it for those negative things. And then next question after that is how did it change your life?

Brad Bizjack:

Yeah. So in terms of how to practice gratitude and how to practice gratitude for the negative things. When we start learning about being grateful for the past, it's really easy to only focus on that. But I also encourage people to be grateful for other things too. Existing things in their life, beautiful memories and things that they want in their future to come true. So I did all of that together, but how do I actually practice it is, I think what a lot of people do is they do gratitude as a checklist item, just to get it done with for the beginning of the day. They do their gratitude journal and they're done, right? They write three things in the notebook to feel better.

Salome S.:

Oh, that's often how we're taught. That's the practice of gratitude is write down 10 things or 3 things or that, and now I'm practicing gratitude. Awesome. I get up from the chair and I'm resentful again.

Brad Bizjack:

Exactly. It's like you practice gratitude, and there's nothing wrong with the gratitude journal, it's beautiful. That if you practice gratitude for five minutes once a day, and then you're pissed off and overwhelmed for 23 hours and 55 minutes, doesn't really have a good effect. So it's something you become. It's finding the beauty in everything. I think what happened was life was so painful at a point that I made a decision that no matter what life gives me, I'm going to find a way to love it, no matter what it is. And so, when things don't go right, I always find a way to fall in love with it. Even if it doesn't feel good. Nothing wrong with not feeling good, but you can love it and choose a new meaning that leads to a better life.

Brad Bizjack:

To actually answer your question, how I practice it is, instead of it just being something to write down. I do a closed eye process every single day that involves a lot of deep breathing. I put my hands physically on my heart and I start appreciating just the fact that I'm alive. And how some people have lost that gift. And I appreciate that, like your heartbeats 100,000 times a day without you doing anything for it. That's insane. And so I practice gratitude for that. I practice gratitude for different events in my life that did not go in line with my expectations. I practice gratitude for beautiful memories.

Brad Bizjack:

And then I practice gratitude for what I want in the future and visualize it before it happens. But the key is, I don't just say the things, I actually relive it like I'm there. So the memories, like I picture my wedding day with her. I'm pointing for those guys listening to the audio in the other room. But I'm listening. I think about my wedding day with my wife and the first time I saw her in her wedding dress. And I literally go back to the moment, and I let that flood me up with gratitude. And I do that all the freaking time. And it just primes your mind to feel amazing, because if you're not proactive about what comes in your eyes and your ears, you're reactive to others demands and everything else.

Salome S.:

Yeah.

Brad Bizjack:

And so I just programmed myself with that every day and it's led to incredible results. That was question one. And before we go on to question two, does that make sense?

Salome S.:

It does. It makes total sense and I love it. There's a couple of things that I love about what you've said. The one is the practicing gratitude for past, present, and future stuff. I love that because you can be grateful for things that are still coming your way or experiences that are still coming your way. And then, the other thing I love is what you're saying to practice that gratitude for... I know Tony Robbins also talks about practicing gratitude for things that aren't money related, or aren't things that can go away. So, he would literally then be grateful for birdsong. Because birdsong, it's not something he achieved. It's not something he accomplished. It's just something that is there and he didn't put it there. And I suppose it can go away, but you know what I'm saying. Things that are not money related or success related to just be grateful for just life.

Brad Bizjack:

It's so important that we do that too, because if we don't find gratitude for the little things, then it's hard to find gratitude for the big things. Success builds on success, right? So, if I can't be grateful for this pen in my hand, then it's much harder to be grateful for other things, and just the future. You mentioned something about being grateful for your future. If you think about why we set goals anyways, like this is law of attraction 101, anyone listening. We don't set goals for what we get, we set goals for the feelings we think they'll bring. And so, if you visualize the goal coming true and you're grateful for before it happens, you've already achieved the goal in your mind, which means that your actions will then align with what will bring you your dreams. So, it's a double dose of awesomeness.

Salome S.:

Yes. It is. It is. Because you already get to feel the way you're going to feel when you get the thing, but now you're reliant on you. And the other thing is this, just being grateful for life. Like you said, "Just being grateful for your heart beating." I mean, does it get any better than that? Takes the focus off of our constant chasing after success and money. I love that. Okay.

Brad Bizjack:

You just triggered another thought that I had. And the second question by the way is about what were the results from doing this?

Salome S.:

Yes. There you go.

Brad Bizjack:

The thing that also is amazing about gratitude is that it's the antidote to suffering. So if you're in the middle of a launch and things aren't going well, or your ads aren't doing what you thought they would. Or you spent all this money and the launch is not going the way they want it. Or you're in a fight with your spouse, or whatever the painful situation is. Pain is guaranteed, suffering is your choice.

Salome S.:

Yeah.

Brad Bizjack:

And so, if you practice gratitude what it does, is it allows you to realign with your heart instead of thinking with the fear based mind.

Salome S.:

I love it.

Brad Bizjack:

And it takes away any limiting emotions that prevent your business from growing. And so, just wanted to add that in there before going into the results.

Salome S.:

I want to add something in before you go to the results too. I love how you say like this exercise that you do every day and how you tap back into those feelings and those emotions. I have seen you do that and anchor those emotions in your body all the time. And I can just imagine the spiral effect. I haven't done that. I did NLP training and I was taught how to do that, and haven't done it since the training. But I can imagine, now I'm in a place where I can see the effect that would have on your life when you can really anchor those positive emotions in your day to day life. It's like, what's the expression? "You don't dig a well until you're thirsty." Is it that? I feel like you build up. You fortify yourself with positive feelings because it's too easy to just default to negative feelings.

Brad Bizjack:

Totally. It's well, every emotional state is just a pattern. I always like to look at emotions as a record that's playing in your mind, or like a CD playing in your mind. And most people think that their emotions are just part of who they are, but it's not. It's just, you've practiced that pattern so many times that it feels like part of who you are. And so, gratitude, and without getting into too much detail. When you interrupt that pattern and you shift more on practicing gratitude instead, that becomes the CD you listen to everyday. And so, you start to think that that is part of your identity. And when you think that's part of your identity, everything you do operates through gratitude. So everything else becomes easier, because you're aligned with your heart. Your heart always knows the answer to what's [crosstalk 00:21:53].

Salome S.:

Yeah. And you have to live up to what you believe about yourself.

Brad Bizjack:

Yeah. Yeah.

Salome S.:

That's very cool. Very cool. All right. Tell us how your life changed super fast when you started practicing gratitude.

Brad Bizjack:

Well, it's funny. When I was... I kind of shared about how my coach shared that aha moment with me. And so, I bought a ticket to a mindset conference. I figured like, "What the hell, what I'm doing, isn't working so I'm in." And have you ever noticed that the universe is really, really funny? Like it tests you to see if you're full of it or if you're actually all in. Well, in the month leading up to the event, I got fired from my job. And so like, $92,000 in debt, zero savings, income gone. And I've got a part time job teaching group fitness. And just was dealing with some really tough things. Just feeling a lot of shame and guilt and going back to those limiting feelings. Luckily, I already had the tickets to that conference. And something pulled me there.

Brad Bizjack:

And so I went to San Diego and I go to the conference. Go to the grocery store to buy peanut butter and bread because I couldn't afford to eat out. And get the groceries, get back to my hotel. Refresh my bank account balance. Like I did a 100 times a day at that point and I'm in the negative. [inaudible] overdrawn, and walk into the conference that day with my tail between my legs. And the topic that day was appreciating your past, present and future is the key to breaking through in your business. And I just went through this insane transformation of finally believing that. Finally believing that if I want to change my business and my life, I have to appreciate my life first. And I started applying it to everything. I started applying it to being grateful for getting out of debt or for the debt. Being grateful for my mom, being grateful for my business. How it was faring, it wasn't growing, doing anything. And everything started to change. In about five months time, we paid off that $92,000 debt.

Salome S.:

Wow.

Brad Bizjack:

We moved [inaudible] the same city. I bought her an engagement ring. We ended up getting [inaudible] from a corporate America. And we went on to generate half a million dollars in income in the following year. And now we have-

Salome S.:

Oh, that's spectacular.

Brad Bizjack:

It's freaking amazing. Now we have a daughter coming and from appreciation, I'm never going to have to miss a memory with her.

Salome S.:

That is fantastic.

Brad Bizjack:

That's the power of gratitude. It changes everything. Yeah.

Salome S.:

Yeah. And the beautiful thing for me, seeing you and getting to know you is seeing how this is the stuff that you hold on to now. You're not holding on to money and the successful. And although you have very high expectations and very big dreams, which I love. I have too, is that the thing that you hold onto and the thing that sustains you and that is so visible in your life is this drive to appreciate and enjoy the ride there.

Brad Bizjack:

I appreciate that. I've kind of learned. I spent many years of my life so attached to what happened and the outcome and believing that it was harder for me and all these negative things, that it just feels too good to not be grateful. And I slip up, like there are times when I'm getting limiting patterns, but all you got to do is recenter yourself and connect with your heart and find things to be grateful for and you get out of that [inaudible 00:25:06].

Salome S.:

And I'm sure it's like a muscle that you're building. Like that muscle memory stays there and you get out of it quicker.

Brad Bizjack:

Oh, absolutely. It's like working out just like you said, where like, sometimes you go to your in-laws and you eat nothing but grilled cheese and cookies for a week. And so, when you get back to working out the next day, when you get back. You're really, really sore for a couple of days, but you're back into it really quick. That's how it goes with the gratitude.

Salome S.:

It is. Yeah. It is. We all have grilled cheese and cookies times, but we get back in. We get back into it. Brad, thank you so much. I want to ask you one last thing. I want you to guide us, me and my listeners, guide us in your gratitude practice. Let's do it. So if you're driving a car, you may want to stop the car right now because closing your eyes is going to be involved in this. But if you are, I invite you to come back to this, even if you want to... Maybe we can create a little audio clip of this or something

Brad Bizjack:

And full disclosure. This is something that I personally learned from Tony Robbins. So, I did not create this myself, but it's something that I practice every day. And I think there's a unique way of doing it. I think [inaudible]

Salome S.:

Yeah. Well, I love how you do it. So, go ahead and guide us in a gratitude practice, please.

Brad Bizjack:

Yeah. Well, this is a fun surprise. I wasn't expecting to do this now. I love it.

Salome S.:

Well, I likes to put my money where my mouth is.

Brad Bizjack:

Let's do it. All right. So, first of all, like Salome said, get somewhere where you are just totally focused. If you're driving a car, pull over. Do not do this while driving. Before we actually start the gratitude practice, I want you to start to think of something in your life that stresses you out right now. Grateful. Right now, but think of something that stresses you out right now. On a scale of 1 to 10, like an eight or nine or something really, really stressful that you don't know how to solve. And it could be something with your spouse. It could be something with money. It could be something with your business. Just think of something in your life that's stressing you out. And now what I want you to do in this stressful situation, is to start to make that tension with your body. The tension with your body that comes with stress.

Brad Bizjack:

And I'm going to lean down away from the microphone now, but maybe like your head goes down and your shoulders tighten up and your chest tightens up and just whatever you do when you're dealing with this stressor right now. Make that tension with your body and feel the anxiety, the stress, the panic, the worry, the fear that goes in to not being able to solve that problem. And just sit in that crap for a second and how you don't know how to get through it. You don't know how to get past this and you just feel stuck in your life in some way, shape or form. And [inaudible] just to feel the emotions, and ask yourself, is that an effective way to solving that stressor? And the answer obviously is no.

Brad Bizjack:

But I want you to feel the stressor and pick something that's really, really impacting you right now. Otherwise, you're not going to be able to notice that it changed. So, now that we have our stressor, take your body out. Sit up nice and tall. You're in a different state than you were before. So, if you were slouching before you listened to this podcast, slouching. Now you're standing shoulders back, chest up, close your eyes. I want you to take a really, really big, deep breath in your nose. Exhale at your mouth. One more time, really big, deep breath in and exhale at your mouth. One more time. It feels good. Doesn't it? Big, deep breath in and exhale at your mouth.

Brad Bizjack:

Now take both your hands and physically put them on your heart. Physically feel your heart. And as you breathe, breathe deep into your heart. Feel the power of it. Feel the strength of it. Focus just for a second on what your heart has guided you to do or to be, or to give or to share. You didn't need to buy this heart. You didn't need to earn it. Something not enough of you to give you this amazing gift of life the moment you were. As long as it beats you live. It beats 100,000 times a day, even when you sleep. A freaking gift. Just take a moment and appreciate the fact that this is beating in your chest right now. Just love that for a moment. And feel the gratitude of that for a moment. Start to let that well up within you right now. Just feeling so much appreciation. So much joy, so much gratitude. The fact that you're alive, you're experiencing this gift of life.

Brad Bizjack:

In this beautiful state, go back to an incredible memory from your life that you can just feel deep feelings of gratitude for. Any memory at all. It could be 30 years ago. It could be today. It doesn't matter. Just go back to one of your favorite memories that you can just feel incredibly grateful for. And here's the thing, don't just see that memory from the outside or looking back. I want you to relive it. Step into that moment like you're there. See it through your own eyes. See what you saw then. Hear what you heard then. Feel what you felt then now, like it's happening all over again. Right in front of you feeling so incredibly grateful. Just take a moment and appreciate that gift for a second. So appreciate that beautiful, incredible memory. A gift.

Brad Bizjack:

And when you're there and you feel so much appreciation for that memory, breathe it deep into your heart right now. Really big deep breath in, through your heart and right back out of your mouth. Knowing this feeling is within you whenever you want. Now go to a second memory. That's another memory. Any memory at all, that you can be grateful for. Home with your kids, husband, or wife, boyfriend, girlfriend. Any memory, it doesn't matter. Go back there, and relive that memory for a moment. Seeing things through your own eyes, not from the outside. Breathe the exact same way you did then. Feel what you felt then. See what you saw then in the moment. Just experience it all over again, feeling so deeply grateful. Just love it. Just cherish it. Just appreciate it for a moment. When you feel the gratitude of that amazing gift of a memory, read that in your heart right now. Really big, deep breath in, right through your heart and back out of your mouth.

Brad Bizjack:

Finally, let's go to a coincidence. Something in your life that you didn't expect to happen, but it led to something beautiful. You cherish. A person, a career, an insight. Something that changed your life. You didn't make it happen, but it happened. You were inside the coffee shop and you met the love of your life. You didn't mean to get pregnant, but now you have an amazing family. You saw an Instagram ad, and now you're building your dreams. Go to that coincidence real quick. The thing that you weren't expecting, and just think of everything in your life right now that you treasure or value because of it. And just well up with gratitude for that. Was that a coincidence or were you being guided? Keep your hands on your heart with your eyes closed. It's so beautiful when you realize that life is always happening for you and not to you, even the problems. They're gifts. They lead to a more elevated version of you.

Brad Bizjack:

So just take a second and feel so grateful for this coincidence in your life. This thing you weren't expecting. This piece of grace, just for a second. And appreciate it and love it and cherish it. When you feel the gratitude for that, go ahead and breathe that deep in your heart. Really big, deep breath in, right in your heart and back out of your mouth. And now start to feel all of these together now. Just kind of welling up within you. Feel it like a crescendo. Just try to double the amount of appreciation and gratitude you have for this amazing gift of life right now. And see just the gratitude for your heart beating 100,000 times a day and go there for a second. Feel your heart and appreciate it.

Brad Bizjack:

And just like the movies, let it flash in front of you. Feel the gratitude for that first memory all over again. Making that gratitude grow even stronger in that second memory. Go back there again. And that coincidence growing even stronger and outgrowing and just appreciating and loving and cherishing this amazing gift of life and start to weld it up and triple it now. Feeling so much gratitude. So much energy just radiating throughout your entire body in every single direction. Down through your legs. Up through your arms. Up through your head. Just feeling so grateful. So alive. So happy. Just say, thank you. Just say thank you for this amazing, beautiful gift of life. In this beautiful state, go back to that stressor that you totally forgot about because it's impossible to feel pain when you're grateful. Go back to that stressor, and from this beautiful, incredible state, ask your hearts to complete the following sentence.

Brad Bizjack:

In this stressful situation, all I need to remember is like. In this situation, all I need to do, what I'm going to say. Ask your heart for guidance. In this stressful situation, all I need to do. All I need to say. All I need to remember. When you feel like you have some sort of guidance to that stressor, go ahead and open your eyes. You just got a glimpse into who you really are. That is the you, that can solve any problem. Because you don't control the length of your life, but you do control it's depth and it's meaning. You're not meant to feel crappy. You're not meant to feel any sort of limiting emotions consistently. They serve us, but we don't stay there. And gratitude is what gets you out of those challenges. What if that person were running the show? What would be possible? I hope that served you my friend. And I hope that served you guys listening to this too.

Salome S.:

That's was awesome. Thank you so much.

Brad Bizjack:

You're welcome.

Salome S.:

Thank you so much for showing up with 110% of you today, and for sharing all of that with us. I really appreciate you.

Brad Bizjack:

I appreciate you too. I appreciate just how dedicated you are to serving your people and helping them and loving them. And just, those guys that are listening, Salome is just so above and beyond. Her number one focus in her business is how to make your life better. And I appreciate you for that because that is such a rare quality, and I just want to honor you for that. So, thank you so much for having me today and I appreciate you as well.

Salome S.:

Thank you. Thank you so much. And I know it's light for you. You've been very kind to jump on at Aussie time when it's probably bed time for you. Thank you so much for serving us, Brad and I am so excited to see your future. And I appreciate what you brought for us today. Thank you. Wow. Well, I hope you feel just as relaxed and ready to receive as I do right now. Thank you so much, Brad. That was amazing. Now, I hope that you got just as much as I did out of this episode. And if you did, I would really, really, really love it if you could go and leave us a review on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast.

Salome S.:

It means the world to me when I hear from listeners. You guys send me emails. You guys reach out on DMS and you tell me what it means to you to listen every week. But please go and subscribe and leave us a review, so I can see who you are and what you think of the podcast. I appreciate you, and I appreciate all the amazing messages I get from listeners. I hope you have a safe, a whole, a well nourished and a gorgeous week, and I'll see you again next week. Take care. Bye. Thank you so much for listening. If you had fun, please come back next week and remember to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a thing.