(Photo courtesy of Marcia Wieder)
One of the greatest illusions in the world is that we are in control. Certainly, to some extent we have control over various aspects of our lives but even then, we're really just crossing our fingers and hoping for the desired outcome.
In reality, every moment of our lives is a crapshoot.
The only moment that truly matters is the one in which you're standing right now because in the next one, something completely unexpected could change your life forever. It doesn't really matter what you've got planned or how you intend things to turn out; Life has a way of unfolding as it sees fit.
Of course, having dreams and goals, making plans to achieve them and acting on those plans are all essential. But it's important to strike a balance between planning for the future and truly living in the moment so you can experience the fullness and richness of Life.
There's no one on the planet who understands and truly lives this balance better than the deeply inspiring global visionary and thought leader, Marcia Wieder. As CEO and founder of the Dream University, Wieder has spent the last three decades literally changing the world by training thousands of people to identify, clarify and realise their dreams.
Known for her unique motivational speaking style, Wieder delivers a powerful punch on huge stages around the world, inspiring audiences across the globe to "Dream big" and then showing them how to make it happen. Her work has even led her to collaborate with three U.S. presidents, appear on the Oprah Winfrey show several times, and have her own PBS television special.
(Photo courtesy of Marcia Wieder)
Obviously, none of that would have happened without planning, hard work and dedication to pursuing her goals. But equally important to this petite dynamo is the need for freedom. Her ability to be completely spontaneous, truly living in the flow of life and delighting in surprise and the unexpected may well be rooted in childhood.
"One belly-laugh memory is that I was in bed and my father got all three of us kids up in the middle of the night," recalls Wieder. "It was freezing cold and snowing like crazy, and he decided we should all go sled-riding...And I just remember laughing with glee!"
Eyes twinkling, she continues, "I have this memory of...sitting between [my father's] legs and he was sitting behind me. It was a big 'Whee!' moment of giggling and laughing and when we got to the bottom, we fell over in the snow, which made it even more fun!"
With spontaneity being the lifeblood of Wieder's existence, she adores the unpredictability of traveling with as few plans as possible. While many people would come unhinged at the prospect, Wieder thrives on it. "I took my watch off 30 years ago. It's my anti-aging secret," she smiles, looking several years younger than she is. No doubt her radiant, childlike spirit has a lot to do with that...
"I really loathe routine," she acknowledges. And travel is one way she can avoid it. "I love meeting different kinds of people. I love the exquisite beauty, I love new foods, I love to shop. I love the air and feel of being in a place that is new and foreign to me; it feeds my soul."
And apparently, so does a little place in the mountains of Mexico, San Miguel de Allende, with world-class jazz, art institutes, organic markets and a warm, friendly atmosphere that has Wieder contemplating a move. "I made more friends there in a month than I had in five years in L.A. I did an experiment [at home in Beverly Hills] on a warm, balmy evening when I went walking and no one would make eye contact with me."
Speaking from personal experience, I know how powerful that connection is for her. As we stood chatting in a kitchen and drinking wine some months ago, Wieder looked into my eyes - more like into my soul - and began telling me about myself. As a psychic and medium, I'm usually the one on that side of such an exchange. I must admit, it was a bit unnerving, albeit brilliantly helpful in terms of some exciting business suggestions that she offered most graciously.
(Photo courtesy of Liberty Forrest)
"The older I get, the more I value...the quality of my life and friendships and relationships," asserts Wieder. "How I use every day is important to me. I practice what I call Every Day Enlightenment, spending more time in the light following my heart, my dreams, my joy and my bliss and less time in the dark being hijacked by doubts and fears, [mine and other people's]. And then living a virtuous life, and the virtue I hold highest is integrity, [which] in this conversation is about spending more time in the light."
Wieder continues, "My barometer is joy. I lost that for a while and became about work, security and money. Now I'm back to 'What will make me happy today?'"
After putting on this year's enormously successful Wealthy Visionary Conference, Wieder "...ran away to Fiji," where she found herself in scuba gear and taking up reef drifting. "I felt like I was in somebody's aquarium...I was floating by spectacular colours and sea life and fish, and there was nothing to do. Nothing. The tide would just take you...it felt so childlike and dreamlike and there was nothing for me to do except be completely present in the moment for the joy or for the beauty or for the surprise of it."
It's the perfect metaphor for how we should live our lives in the flow, and a prime example of how Wieder is doing just that. And with her 15th book, Dream: Clarify and Create What You Want recently released and already an international bestseller in ten countries, along with creating a multi-million-dollar business, she is also living proof that you don't have to sacrifice success in order to find the joy of being truly present in every moment.
For more about Marcia Wieder, visit www.marciawieder.com
For more about this author, visit www.libertyforrest.com