Play
& Book Excerpts
Clean
Out the Closets of Your Life
(Born
Successful Publishing)
© 2002 DeLores Pressley
Chapter One
The ____ Slove:
Inspecting Our Closets of Life
How long has it been since you cleaned out your closet? You’ve been putting off
getting rid of those clothes that don’t fit you anymore in hopes of losing
weight and fitting into them again, right? Do you have shoes cluttering up the
floor of the closet that you haven’t worn in years?
What is it? What holds us back from cleaning out the clutter in our lives? What
keeps us from starting the business that we have always wanted? What keeps us
from adhering to a lifelong fitness program that we know we need in order to live
a long, healthy life? What keeps us in negative relationships? Why don’t we
keep our financial affairs in order?
Are you avoiding making changes in your life in the same way you’re avoiding
cleaning out your closet? Well now is the time to throw out the old, bring in
the new, and put your shelves in order.
In this book I’ll show you how to develop a plan for making changes in your
life giving you a new perspective to live the life you want to live complete
with a purpose. You will learn developmental techniques for creating balance in
your life. Find out how to replace bad habits with good habits.
Throughout the book you will be presented with what I call a “Clean Closet
Moment”, or CCM. A CCM is a time when you relate a necessary life change to a current
moment in your life. The CCM will cause you to think and take action on that
eye opening moment. For example, during the writing of this book my husband
Grant and I took a trip to Florida for a speaking engagement. On our way to the
airport we were discussing the book and its purpose. Grant turned to me and
asked, “Are you living the life that you are writing about?” Needless to say I
became upset with him for turning the table on me, so I didn’t talk to him for
about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes might not sound like much time but when
you’re a talker like me, that’s an eternity! His question for me became my
turning point in writing the book. When we boarded the plane, I immediately
took out my notebook and began writing. I wrote more on that plane ride than I
had in six months. That’s how a Clean Closet Moment works.
In addition to the Clean Closet Moments, you will find similar Clean Closet
Exercises. Each exercise will request that you take out your journal. If you
don’t have a journal, I recommend getting one. I don’t mean quit reading to run
out and buy a journal. All the exercises can be done on regular paper. The
message I want to get across to you is the importance of journaling. Journaling
is a way to capture your deepest thoughts and feelings in a way known to no one
but yourself. Take at least 15 minutes a day to write something in your
journal. Expand upon the happenings in your day and how you felt about good or
bad situations or people that you encountered throughout the day. You’ll find
journaling to be very enlightening and relaxing because you release certain
energies that you might not otherwise release. That reason alone can be the
biggest benefit to keeping a journal.
Before we begin, let’s identify what might be holding you back or keeping you
from cleaning. Are you afraid to let go of a part of your life when you were
happy? Perhaps that box of childhood keepsakes reminds you of the dreams you
had that never quite came true. What happened along the way that prevented you
from having the life you dreamed of? There are many factors that may come into
play.
...
DeLores concludes the chapter with:
As we follow the theme of cleaning of closets, we’ll look at life as the
“house” and the components of life as the “closets”. I have found that change
takes hard work and commitment. With that in mind, put on some comfortable
clothing, put your favorite music in the CD player, grab your gloves and your
cleaner… let’s get things in order. Better put on a hard hat too - we just
don’t know what we’re going to find in here!
DeLores Pressley is an international keynote
motivational speaker, author, and CEO of DeLores
Pressley Worldwide. She is also the founder of She Elevates, a not-for-profit
organization that provides young girls with mentorship and educational
information about entrepreneurship.
As a motivational speaker, Delores has traveled across the U.S. and
internationally. Most recently, she has given speeches at the Pink Power Breast
Cancer Awareness Tour, Department of Social Development and Gender Affairs for
the Turks and Caicos Islands Government and the Union Pacific Railroad: Women’s
Lead Conference in Nebraska. She has appeared on several major TV networks,
including OPRAH and Entertainment Tonight.
DeLores is the recipient of many business and
community service awards, including The Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award
presented to her by President Obama.
Please note: An interview with DeLores appears
in the Sanctuary June 2017 issue.
Find DeLores'
feature interview HERE.
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