Mistakes Are The Answers To Your Questions

Back in 2006 when I became an entrepreneur, the second company I started was an online pet company. I had no prior experience in the pet industry or textiles. I would have to learn everything along the way. I also acknowledged that some mistakes would come with a cost and that would be the cost of my education.

The idea was to design an all in one jacket / harness for dogs. This new design would help dog owners keep their pets warm during cold months without the hassle of trying to fit the happy puppy with a jacket and a harness.

Since I’m not a designer I contracted a designer to design the piece. After a few designer duds I learned about The International Academy For Design, which had a graduating class with fresh talented designers looking for opportunities. A job posting was sent to the academy and soon after five fresh talented designers were interviewing to become the designer for the pet label.

Months later the final design and prototype were completed but only after many iterations. It was ready for production. Fortunately, manufacturing wasn’t a big concern because my business partner had family with ties to manufacturing.  

Another piece that was designed was a silver locket engraved with the company logo. The locket was something spectacular. Unfortunately, the price tag to design the locket was about five or six times more than it should have been. The designer that was contracted didn’t have his own lab or equipment. It wasn’t until I went to pickup the locket that I learned the locket legally wasn’t mine because the designer never paid the jewelry house he worked out of for the materials.

The web store finally launched in December of 2007, but as quickly as the store opened it was shut down due to another pending issue, again around the design of the silver locket.

I made a ton of mistakes working on that project and with each mistake I learned something new. If that company were operating today I would still be using all my knowledge that I gained during the start-up phase. In the end the company didn’t get off the ground because of differences between people that had nothing to do with the pet company.  

I would not be where I am at today if it were not for all those mistakes I made. Lessons all well worth experiencing – Invaluable. 

Mistakes Are The Answers To Your Questions

The Safety And Comfort Of Your Inner Child

Everybody including you has the power to influence change within your life. What you believe to be true about your current situation and how you should act is a false illusion based on what you think will satisfy your emotions. 

The images you envision of your current day situation are distorted images that were created to validate your emotions – A defense mechanism you deployed so not to be hurt by the outside world. You create a safe haven to protect self from the outside world, believing this what you have to do. Each time you retreat to this safe place, the walls become thicker as you become more comfortable with the false feeling of safety and soon you will become too afraid to leave the comfort of your safety for fear that you will be hurt again. 

Eventually you will forget that you created this safe haven until that day comes when you feel disconnected from the person that lives inside of you – Your inner child.

Only you have the power to bring down your protective wall by learning the truth about what you believe. Challenge what you believe with facts, not an illusion of what you want to think to be true or you will barricade your inner child forever, missing out on the true meaning of life. 

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor 

The Safety And Comfort Of Your Inner Child

External Validation - A Life Of Disappointment

People everyday focus on external factors, meaning they are more focused on what is happening beyond their control rather then what they can control. They believe this is the way of life. For these people, anything that does not meet their expectation or how they believe things should go will create a reaction often expressed in anger. Unknown to the reactor, the reason why they reacted is not because they were disappointed nor because their expectation was not met; they reacted with anger because of a familiar feeling that lies deep within their soul.

Children learn their behaviors and attitude based on the environment they develop within. A child that does not receive any positive support during their early childhood years will likely seek external validation as an adult. They will be unable to self-validate and will look at someone who they feel represent an authoritative figure so they can cast their expectations onto them only to be disappointed time and time again. Each time they have an expectation, they fall victim to disappointment and become enraged with the person that let them down. They have no control over the other person but yet they feel that person owes them happiness in some way.

It’s difficult for a person to see this kind of pattern persist in their life. It’s not until they consciously take a step back and look internally to understand why they continue to feel disappointed by those around them, why they feel that other people should provide the validation they seek, or why they feel the person that represents an authoritative figure in their life owes them happiness. Only then, and only if they dig deep into their soul will they understand why they feel the way they do and why they feel angry towards the people that disappointed them.

1. What do you expect from those around you?
   
2. What happens when they do not provide the validation you seek? 
   
3. What feeling or emotion are you left with when you’re not validated? 
   
4. Why do you feel these people must meet your expectation? 
   
5. Do you have control over anybody but yourself? 
   
6. Do you want to regain control of your life? 
   

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach & Mentor 

External Validation - A Life Of Disappointment

The Power Of Purpose - A Unique Gift

I’m smiling from ear to ear. It really is amazing what happens when you are living your purpose; things always work out and even more so, things just come to you because the stars align. I believe everybody has a unique gift. Some people will know their gift from birth, others will develop it over time, but many more will never even know they have one.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to extract myself from the outside world. I don’t know if it was luck, fait, or just the power of the Universe at work, but in the past five years I’ve been fortunate to have been given the opportunity to spend a ton of time by myself with little to no external influence to soul search. The last two years of my professional corporate career I lived in a hotel that is in a small town in New Jersey, I spent hours upon hour soul searching. When I resigned from my position, I returned to Toronto to become an entrepreneur. Money was tight because I was starting a new business so I stayed home most of the time, and unless I was with my business partner I was alone soul searching.

On March 25 2007 my eyes opened to my unique gift. All that time I spent alone searching for the answer to what I was meant to do for the rest of my life was finally answered. The moment I discovered my true purpose my life changed instantly. One day I’m starting a new pet company and in the next second I’m helping people live a different kind of life. My new career took off. The stars definitely aligned.

Up until this past December my life was crystal clear. Suddenly, I decided to add a twist to my life that took me down a different life path. The path I took was bumpy with lots of rocks, which bounced off my vehicle and sometimes hit me in the head. I pulled over a few times to check if was going the right way, but each time I checked the road map it appeared as if I was going the right direction, so I continued. With each passing mile in this new direction I moved further away from my purpose that fostered my unique talent.

When someone is in tune with their unique gift they drive their life towards the life they dream and things begin to materialize right before their eyes, but if they move away from their unique gift the power that comes with their gift starts to disappear slowly over time. The further away you move from your gift, the less power you have. Two weeks ago I pulled over to check my road map yet again only this time when I read the map I learned I was moving in the opposite direction.

Fortunately I fund my way back. The moment I arrived things started happening almost instantly again. The telephone started ringing with new opportunities and once again I felt like the sky was the limit. But most importantly I saw my future surrounded by joy and happiness like I did back in December.

When you are fortunate enough to realize you have a unique gift, your purpose becomes crystal clear as the stars align, granting you the power to drive your life whichever way you want to go.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor

The Power Of Purpose - A Unique Gift

Another Idea

I was in the shower, rinsing the shampoo out of my hair when I came up with another idea. Not again! The last time I had a brilliant idea it consumed my entire time and took me back to my goals to rethink and reprioritize them; lessons well worth learning. I did end up learning so much I created a second business from my new knowledge. Fortunately, my new idea is not a business it’s more like… I’m not sure what it’s like yet.

For now I will let the idea sit in my head. I own the domain: www.comingsoon.com and the twitter account www.twitter.com/comingsoon

Enjoy the beautiful, sunny, warm weather today.

Bruno LoGreco

Another Idea

Abandonment - The Emotional Scar To Your Inner Child

My childhood memories are quite fond. I have memories of when I was 2 years old, just a baby. I remember my grandparents visiting from Italy; they took me for a walk down the street. Some memories are only still shots, a moment in time. Some memories are more detailed as I grow older. I remember my brother locking my mother into the cellar. That happened in the middle of a 70's winter. I clearly remember the consequences that followed too. I was only 3 years old.

Life Coaching Clients who go through my self-awareness program will tell you I preface their first session by saying, “Nobody is to blame for what you may uncover during your sessions. You are an adult now, and you must accept responsibility for your actions; you can no longer look for someone to blame for how you feel or for what you do. You should also know your parents did the best they could with the tools that were passed down to them. It’s a cycle that many, including you don’t even know you’re in.” Most clients who work with me are ready to learn what many people fear: The truth behind who they truly are.

Although I have many fond childhood memories, I also have the typical memories of: Abandonment, neglect, shame, and guilt among others, no different than anybody else. There is one particular memory of abandonment that will trigger my self-chatter. On command I could alter the direction of my journey and cast a shield to protect my inner child from experiencing another blow of abandonment. A few years ago, if I foresaw the possibility of experiencing the emotion of abandonment I altered the direction of my journey to protect my inner child instantly but had no clue that I was doing it. This behavior prevented me from enjoying my life to the fullest for fear I would be abandoned again.

The wounds of an inner child are very real and very much alive in everyone. The scar is deep, and the emotion is real. The feeling the inner child is left with when it’s not healed is isolation, alone and disconnected from the adult. People who experience depression, or experience troubled relationships, or ongoing life dissatisfaction may be feeling the remains of a wounded inner child. The pain to severe and the scar to deep for many, they often run from this experience never healing the emotional scar, and the cycle continues from generation to generation.

Fortunately I am aware of my inner child - from time to time he likes to make himself known by reacting strongly to certain events leaving me left with the same feeling as when I was a child. When my inner child surfaces I allow him to go through the process of feeling – basking in his emotions as I the adult Bruno validate his feelings. Suppressing his emotions would be denying his existence - he does exist. In the past when I did not validate his emotions he would seek validation externally. He was never direct with whatever he was feeling, he disguised his emotions within a joke or a general statement, but listened carefully for the validation. Boy oh boy - I don’t need to tell you what would happen if he wasn’t validated.

You are allowed to feel down and blue, little guy, it did happen and you have every right to feel blue. You’re safe and everything will be okay. Tomorrow is a new day. ☺

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach & Mentor

Abandonment - The Emotional Scar To Your Inner Child

Inventory Of Time - What's Left For Your Dream?

Startled by the alarm clock alerting you it’s time to wakeup your day must begin. On most days you make it out the door on time but on many days you’re rushing out the door already behind schedule. The average person will require 547 hours almost 23 days to get ready in the morning.

Contemplating the day ahead the commute to work begins. You make one stop on your morning commute to fill up the gas tank or for a cup of coffee before getting to work. The average person will spend more than 180 hours 8 days commuting to work each year.

Acknowledged by your co-workers with passing nods your time at work has only begun. A meeting at 10:00 a few phone calls at 11:00 and soon it will be lunchtime. You fade into la-la-land dreaming of a better life in the middle of the afternoon before you sign out for the day. The average person will work 1804 hours 75 days.

After the commute home from the office, the long day is finally over. Too tired to prepare dinner, delivery seems like an option. You turn on the T.V. and tune to the local news and the headlines read: An Instant Star was born, Susan Boyle leapt to almost immediate global fame when she sang, “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables on the reality show, Britain Got Talent. You reach for your computer to watch Susan’s performance on YouTube and text your friends to tell them to watch too. The average persons viewing time of a personal device is 1825 hours 76 days.

A day isn’t complete unless you socialize. After telling three different friends about your long day including members of your family, you begin to yawn and rub your eyes; a clear indication your day is coming to an end. A person speaks with family and friends an average of 1241 hours 51 days.

The day comes to a close with passing thoughts of today, yesterday and tomorrow as you drift into a deep sleep. The average person sleeps 2373 hours 98 days.

A normal year has 8760 hours, 365 days. The average person will spend 5597 hours 233 days yearly on day-to-day activities and responsibilities. When you factor in sleeping time 2373 hours 98 days, the average person is left with 790 hours 32 days for self.

What is not factored into this equation is the average time a person will spend running errands, attending functions and of course unexpected events that will take you away from more of your time.

How much time do you have left for your dream?

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach & Mentor

Inventory Of Time - What's Left For Your Dream?

Blogging: A Source Of Expression

That was a good decision to return to blogger. I thought I wanted a blog on my website - although technically I still have one. I did not delete the blog link from each page instead I pointed the link to blogger. So nothing really changes – I still have a blog, the blog is still linked to my website, the only difference is I now can express myself again.

Moving to the new blog was like moving to King City after my first year of high school. The beginning of a new school year and I’m all alone in a new school in a suburban town forty-five minutes north of Toronto. Can I say culture shock? I remember walking into my new high school on the first day back after a horrible first summer in the burbs. Everybody wore Birkenstock sandals – flip flop – flip flop – that was all I heard up and down the hallway. Everyone at King City High wore flip-flops. Where I grew up in the city, kids wore Dr. Martins, steel toe I might add. Where do I fit in? That was all I could think about?

Oddly enough until this moment I had not remembered that experience. Moving to the new blog felt the same way, but in a different kind of way. I had lost my voice or the desire to write for the new blog. There was a level of expectation, self-imposed no doubt, hovering over my head. It was like walking through the double steel doors at my new high school on the first day of school, “What will they think about the new kid on the block? I wonder if I’m cool enough, or if I’ll fit in?” Frozen still just inside the double steel doors with eyes wide open clueless of what to say to anyone.

www.brunologreco.com continues to point to a blog when you click on the blog link located on the sidebar of each page. The difference is, here I feel grounded and at peace. I can express myself with no self-imposed expectation of what I think I should write or how it will be received. Here it is about me, my thoughts and my journey through life, but over there it was about them, potential clients and how I could help them, not realizing I severed my one source of expression, who I am and my journey into life.

Welcome Home!

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach & Mentor

Blogging: A Source Of Expression

Life, Learning Lessons & Goals

I miss this blog - My new blog at brunologreco.com is not the same. I feel somewhat blocked when I attempt to write something, I cannot think through my thought and if I do I feel rushed due to other tasks that I feel I must complete - As quickly as I start writing I discard it. I feel somewhat lost, like I’ve succumbed to noise, to my environment, disconnected from the things that once brought me joy and happiness.

I often tell clients and friends that life is one big learning experience and when you stop learning its either because you are dead or stuck somewhere on your life path – that’s how I feel, I feel stuck on my life path – I stopped learning, I stopped reading and doing the things that enriched my life with knowledge and wisdom, instead I entrenched my being into a new way of life believing that I must do it to succeed – A false belief.

Today is about reconnecting with self, spending time revisiting my goals and objectives, prioritizing tasks based on real goals, not false beliefs, which can make you become discombobulated. Today is about going back to the basics:

1. Who am I? 
   
2. What makes me happy? 
   
3. What will put on a smile on my face? 
   
4. When do I feel most challenged?
   
5. Can I do more of what challenges me in a positive way?
   
6. What tasks am I resisting and why?
   
7. Can I do less of what I resist? 
   

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach & Mentor 

Life, Learning Lessons & Goals