FIND YOUR HAPPY: An Inspirational Guide to Loving Life to Its Fullest (2 page)

I thought it was normal for people to cry themselves to sleep every night. In fact my cry fests crept into the workplace. It was a daily routine to cry in the bathroom at work. The higher I climbed on the corporate ladder, the more alone, empty, and scared I felt. I was living a life that wasn’t made for me. I didn’t relate to anyone in the advertising field, and I didn’t care about selling people things that they didn’t need. It all felt so false and misdirected.

One night, regretting the fact that I had just forced my dinner into the toilet and mad at my friend for refusing to give me more painkillers, I found myself choking on my tears, crying on the cold bathroom floor. I had hit my rock bottom.

I looked around and didn’t recognize any of my reality. The giant timber beam loft in downtown Chicago, the title of Senior Art Director at one of the world’s top advertising agencies, the giant paychecks — none of it felt real. None of it was what I really wanted. I had carefully crafted every aspect of this life, thinking that it would all make me happy, but with each new promotion and each new “thing,” I came crashing harder to the ground. I had just worked three 14-hour days in a row. The exhaustion, combined with lack of self-care had taken its toll on me.

I was suffocating in the madness because I was trying so hard to be someone I wasn’t. I was pretending to fit into a mold that was so clearly opposite of me. I bowed my head in exhaustion and prayed. I yelled and screamed into the thin air. I pleaded with God, asking Him for help. Within an instant the air stripped down and calm filled the room. The tears immediately dried. I felt something very new. I felt peace come over me. A calm presence filled the space between my neurotic self and the real me. I heard my inner voice gently say, “Follow your heart.”

I stood up, pulled the cap off my overpriced red lipstick and made a master list of what I wanted. I wrote intentions to pull myself to happiness on my bathroom mirror. No longer was it okay for me to focus on what I didn’t want. I was going to get clear and navigate my ship back to happiness. The bottom gave me clarity and an authentic insight into the possibilities of living a fulfilling life. What I wanted was to be a writer, and I longed for exploration, adventure, and to be able to work outside and from anywhere in the world. I made it my full-time mission to become a travel writer.

Suffering through the depression and addictions sparked a deep desire in me to stop holding back and to start living a life that had real meaning. Luckily for me, I discovered the source of my unhappiness was the fact that I was ignoring my inner voice and refusing to ask myself, “What do I really want?”

I immediately took stock and redirected my future. I left my high-paying corporate job, sold almost everything, and moved out west. At first it was like teaching an old dog new tricks; I resorted to my safety zone of doing what was familiar. I took a job in marketing and the depression crept back in as I rotted under the fluorescent overhead lights. I would gaze out of the third floor window, and the trees that lined the streets would whisper to me, “Shannon, you don’t belong in there, you belong out here with us in nature. Come play with the world.” I started to use the job as a bridge to connect me to my future self. Who I wanted to be was more of a focus than who I was. I allowed myself room to be me, which included spending evenings and weekends with my writing self.

I pulled out and dusted off my magic bucket list and began to fearlessly check things off. I traveled solo to Paris and explored the culture and myself. After that journey I published many stories in inspirational books, like
Chicken
Soup
for
the
Soul,
and national travel magazines. It was as if the universe was winking at me, saying, “Welcome to the real you!” Sharing my stories with others seemed to not only open up a space inside of me that yearned to come alive, but also motivated others to have enough courage to follow their own hearts as well. By sharing my real self, I inspired others to be true to themselves, thus continuing my love affair with writing and sharing my experiences to help others find their inner light. For the first time in my life, I was leading with my heart, rather than my head. Things started to flow more easily, and life didn’t feel like such an uphill battle. I was in line with who I wanted to be rather than forcing myself to fit some confining role set up by society’s standards, my parents’ or professors’ view of how it “should be.”

Obviously, it was tough to leave a day job. All of the security wrapped up in working 9-5 had kept me in limbo for a couple years. I would long for happiness and felt ashamed for allowing myself to stay in an environment I couldn’t stand.

That changed, of course, when I traveled. Every time I would go to another place, a spark lit up in me. The conversations I had were more enriching, and the beautiful earth would smile at me. I lived in a constant perma-grin state. It didn’t matter that I was stuck in the middle seat on the airplane, lost my luggage or had to travel 12 hours by plane with dehydration, a hungry belly, and a migraine. It never mattered that I couldn’t speak the local language or even read the signs. When I traveled nothing else mattered and I felt free to be me. Through my authentic, vulnerable experiences of life, I learned that happiness is not a destination but a state of mind.

I found that even when a situation seems dreadful or impossible to comprehend, it is an experience, and being present in the experiences, rather than removing myself and running away, is part of living a fulfilled life. Complaining keeps us from connecting to our true self and keeps us in the shadows of life. Feeling life is the connection to being happy.

Every time I travel, I am like a wild horse being released from captivity behind caged doors. Being able to roam and explore all the facets of the world, my heart is happy. I found my happy; for me it was cracked open through moving through the fear, depression, and anxious emotions to discover a world of wonder, adventure, authenticity, and raw aliveness.

Today, I travel, write, and explore the world and share my tips on finding lasting happiness through workshops, lectures, and on my website. I created the site playwiththeworld.com, an online destination full of inspiration, motivational tips, and foolproof tools to help others find their happiness. I receive messages from fans all around the world who are moved by my transparency. They share stories of recognizing their own courage and stepping into their true selves. There is nothing more rewarding for me than to see the impact I can have by being my true self and, in turn, seeing it inspire others to be real. By sharing myself with others, I find it gives all of us an opportunity to impact the world together as we move to a more transparent, honest, and loving place.

The message I share is not about travel. For me, travel is the catalyst for the bigger picture. It is about authenticity and purpose and living your dreams and being true to yourself so you can be of highest service to the world. That is what this book is about. I hope it will help you “Find Your Happy.” My website and all of the work that I do is dedicated to helping others fall passionately and full heartedly in love with their lives. Through podcasts, lectures, audio downloads, vlogs, stories, and workshops I have seen the impact living our dreams can really make.

I feel I have found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow . . . the happiness on the other side of fear is the pot of gold of life. And when you strike gold, you want to tell everyone. I want to share my happiness; my mission is to share this message with the world.

Life is always going to throw us curve balls and situations that “don’t fit” or “work” with what we expect. Learning to see the beauty in all situations is what I do and what I want share. My work is much bigger than travel writing. When I tell people, I am a travel writer, often they are struck with envy, they’ll say, “What an amazing job! I am so jealous! WOW! I wish I could do that.” My answer is always the same, “It is amazing, and you CAN do it.” You can do anything you want in this life. You can make the most out of every single moment. I am not saying let’s all go out and be a population of travel writers. I recognize that people don’t really want to be a travel writer, as much as they long for the sheer notion of stepping away from what is not working in their lives to follow their hearts and live a life they love. This is what is reflected in their eyes.

No matter where we go in the world, no matter how much money we make, what we own or how fat or thin we are, we all want the same thing – happiness. We all want peace and we all want to feel love. I teach people how to do that and that is what this book will do for you. I was able to pull myself out of a desperate situation into a state of constant peace and happiness, and so can you.

Travel writing is my happy, but this book is not about travel writing. It is not about galloping around the world, frolicking between exotic destinations to be pampered in the trendiest hotels. It is about exploration of self, loving allowance for others, and cultivating an awareness and compassion for one another so we can create space to allow ourselves to be free, to be 100% us.

Imagine never feeling guilt, fear, or loneliness again. This book is designed to help you remove the blocks that are keeping you from living your true self because when you do walk that path, you can’t help but to glow from the inside out and authentically
Find
Your
Happy
from within.

Through my “All Clear, Take Off” approach, I share the tips and secrets I used to pull myself out of depression and into a place of pure love, excitement, and joy. By first clearing out space, physically, mentally, and spiritually, we create a clean, clear space for our dreams and goals to manifest into reality. Having happiness is not a challenge when we remove the blocks to happiness and seek it from within.

I spent the majority of my life looking for happiness out there — in a boyfriend, in a new car, a new promotion, or a gigantic loft. Whatever it was, I was always searching in the wrong places. It wasn’t until I started to travel and experience life fully that I realized happiness is within us at every moment. Once I recognized this, my entire world began to shift.

My dreams started to come true faster. I was meeting wonderful people and I was more content and at peace with the world and myself. It all started with my dream, believing in it, and actively living each moment of my life. Every day is an adventure and my goal is to help others navigate their own life adventures. It is daring to take a stand for what you want, but we all owe it to ourselves to love life and to be fully happy.

I’ve come a long way from being stuck on a path that wasn’t made for me. The tears of rage have never come back. I went through all of the addictions and the depression and emotions associated with being off track. I know how it feels to be stuck, to feel hopeless, and to ask yourself, “Is this all there is to life?” With a daily practice of setting intentions, clarity, and focus I have manifested an authentic life that is in balance with me. I am no longer living in fear or letting society tell me what I should or shouldn’t be doing. Life is exactly what you want to make of it. Life is a precious gift and this book is my gift to you. For anyone who has ever felt off track or consumed by fear, worry or outrageous emotions, this book will help you learn to love life again.

My focus is to help people all around the world, through my writing, travel trips, personal coaching, group workshops, and lectures, to create lives that they are in love with. I offer tools, motivation, and courage to help people follow their hearts, play more, dream bigger, and start experiencing an extraordinary life! Are you ready to love your life fully? Let’s dive in!

Introduction

T
hank you for choosing a path of love and focusing on happiness.
Find
Your
Happy
is one sure step of getting you on track to love every single moment of your life. At this point you may be wondering what the plan is. The purpose of this book is to help you remove all of the clutter (mental, physical, emotional, even spiritual) that is keeping you from being all that you can be. The idea is to help you shine light on the areas of your life that need a little tender loving care. You will create positive change and love your life fully.

My journey of suffering through addictions and depression to find happiness has equipped me to guide you. Sharing my experiences with others through coaching, workshops, and lectures has given me the power to stand behind the methods shared in this book. What follows in these pages is the result of me digging deep to find happiness on the inside, rather than seeking it externally. I have spent years perfecting this method and guess what? It really works. When you believe you will achieve.

Through my “All Clear, Take Off” method you will begin to see shifts in your own life. The way you relate to people and the amount of energy and time you spend trying to make things happen will no longer feel like a chore. Life will flow more effortlessly and you will enjoy the entire ride. The beauty of “All Clear, Take Off” method is that it is the first book to really dive deep and look at all the areas of life that aren’t working. If you are trying to detoxify, but your teacup is full of old tea, there is no balance or room for anything new. Naturally good and bad tea cannot come into your cup because it is full of bad tea. When you begin to remove the tea, chucking the things that don’t work and getting rid of the drama and negative baggage, then miracles can happen. Sadness can turn into happiness. Opportunities can come to you and you can receive them. When the teacup is empty, you can put good things into it, like your hopes and dreams. You can invest in things that have value and make you feel good, but you must start with clearing out space. It is a mandatory approach that so many self-help books and happiness gurus skip over. Starting right now, choose to make a commitment to yourself. This journey is part of life and you have come to the best place possible to declare the start of the new you. Say goodbye to the depressed, sad, and scared you, because after you turn the page, the fun stuff begins. You will be in the driver’s seat on the road to success in life.