“I’m a feary person, and fearing things isn’t a positive thing so please give me some tips or ways to quiet fearing and be courageous. Thank you…”

I am absolutely dedicated to empowering my Facebook fans (and readers of my blog, well, in fact anyone!)  to instigate their life change and so I want to dispel some myths surrounding ‘fear’ and inspire you to utilize fear as a springboard to achieving everything that you want in life. Ready? Let’s go!

Fear v’s Intuition

Whenever we feel the overwhelming sense of fear arise with in us it is important that we start to tune into our emotions, our mind and our spirit to ascertain whether this fear is unreasonable or totally valid.

Let me explain, there are both irrational and rational fears:

Irrational fears are circumstances, items, people, situations and ‘things’ in life that we have developed a feeling of intense fear towards as a direct result of a traumatic event. For example, you may have a serious fear of spiders because a younger sibling jumped out at you with one when you were younger! The same goes for a fear of flying, a fear of clowns, confined spaces or any other fears.

Although such fears may seem perfectly logical to you they are absolutely crazily illogical and are holding you back from taking huge strides forward to become the person that you were created to be.

Rational fears: Time and time again I hear incredible stories of people who have tuned into their intuition to foster a profound relationship with themselves. It is through the development of this fine tuning that these people have discovered their bodies’ natural ability to offer warning signs for impending situations. Time and time again I hear incredible stories of individuals who have tuned into their intuition so acutely that they did not feel that it was right to go to work on a specific day, that day turns out to be 9/11, the London bombings or some other dramatic event which if they had continued on their current path would have altered their life, forever.

Animals do this all the time. Do you notice how dogs bark well before you hear anyone coming up the garden path? Dogs can be trained to tune into scents and uncover illegal drugs. You can be trained to tune into your intuition too. In the very instant that you feel a sense of fear overcome you simply tune into your body and listen to what your emotions are telling you and act upon them. As you trust your natural instincts more you will be more at ease with these feelings of fear and you will be guided to greater places.

Simple techniques to master your fear

Once you have tested your feelings of fear and you are absolutely damn sure that you know it’s an irrational fear it is totally and utterly time to do something about it. There are a number of techniques that I use and coach others to adopt to conquer their fear once and for all.

Firstly, I seriously have to tell you that if an individual comes to work with me because they have a fear I get so damn happy! Why?! Well a fear is like crossing a wooden rope bridge, you really don’t want to do it but the other side of that bridge is an untold paradise waiting for you to discover. When I coach people who have a fear I am literally walking with them across that rope bridge as we take their life to the next level. Now, isn’t that damn exciting! Conquering fear is awesome and here’s how you can do it…

Become the master of yourself

The very presence of fear means that for a moment in time you have surrendered control of your body and have allowed a mere feeling to take the driving seat. You, at all times, should remain in control of your body, your mind and your physiology.  Your unconscious mind runs your behaviour – your body and mind and their responses have been defined by your past experiences and memories which have formed your present day patterns of behaviours.   Somewhere within your life experience is a trauma related to the event or situation that you have developed a fear over. Each time you encounter this scenario you elevate this fear over your life and give it power and so time and time again for a matter of 30seconds, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, a day or however long it is the glitch in the programming of your mind elevates this fear, magnifying its importance over your life and allows it to take control.

Sensory control techniques

Each one of us makes meaning of the world through one of three main senses: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (tacticle/feeling). There is a point in time where fear starts to creep up on us, just before it completely overwhelms and consumes us. With the goal of re-programming your subconscious mind to create a new behaviour it is at this point that we need to take control of our fear via sensory control techniques. Here is how you can do this:

Determine which of your senses is your primary sensory receiver. Your primary sensory receiver is the sense that you predominantly use to make meaning of the world:

Visual: If your predominant sense is visual you will find yourself making the following comments “I see what you’re saying” or “can you show me the bigger picture”.

Auditory: If your predominant sense is auditory you will make statements such as “that sounds good to me” or “I hear you”. My guess is that the individual who messaged me and as a result kicked off this post has ‘auditory’ as her primary sensory receiver as their message stated that they wanted to “quiet” fear.

Kinaesthetic: Kinaesthetic learners will be found making comments such as “that feels right” or “I know how you feel”.

Once you have gained an understanding of the way that you take in the world it is important that you then create a sensory control mechanism to overwhelm the fear that is growing within you. It is important to note that at this stage we are not trying to deal with the actual source of the fear whether this be spiders, planes or confined spaces, we are trying to regain control of our body, mind and physiology so that we can tackle the object that causes the fear from a position of control, as opposed to being out of control.

It is now important for you to develop a sensory control technique that you can fire off as soon as fear starts to make its presence known. Effective sensory control techniques are different for everyone and really do depend on how fear manifests itself within you. I know one individual, who we will call Mary, who told me that she knew that fear was starting to arise when it felt as though her stomach was tying itself up in knots. Mary explained that as her stomach was tying itself up in knots it was making her scrunch up and feel small and vulnerable. I asked Mary to think of a time when she felt most confident. Mary is a teacher and stated that she felt most confident when she was standing in front of the classroom where she felt tall, bold and strong.  Mary concluded that when she felt fear start to tie her stomach in knots she would stand up tall, extending her shoulders with her head held high and she would walk around powerfully and confidently in the same way that she does as a teacher. Whenever Mary did this her fear instantly subsided so that bold Mary was left to objectively conquer the fear that was rising within.

To create your own sensory control technique simply acknowledge how fear makes its presence known to you and then recreate the visual/auditory or kinaesthetic response in you that makes you feel confident. As you continually repeat this technique you are reprogramming your subconscious mind to react to fire my asserting the physiology of a confident state.

Further examples of sensory control techniques may include:

Visual: If fear makes its presence known to you in a visual way, whenever an image of fear is created you may want to switch this image to an image of you in your most confident, happiest state – this could be speaking in front of a group of people, laughing with your partner or relaxing on a beach on holiday with your family.

Auditory: Whenever fear makes its presence known to you in an auditory way you may choose to replay the sounds in your mind of the situations, settings and contexts where you are most confident – this may be the sound of friends laughing at your jokes, this may be the sound of your boss telling you how great you are or the sound of your partner telling you how loved you are.

Kinaesthetic:  When fear is starts to make itself evident in a kinaesthetic way you may choose, like Mary, the stance of you in your most confident state. This may even result you standing on a chair to make you feel even taller! If fear is a feeling that makes itself apparent in your stomach you may choose to place your hand on your stomach and allow feelings of confidence to flow out of your hand and into the centre of your stomach.

Imagine the fear becoming reality

Once you have created your own sensory control technique that will enable you to regain control of your body, mind and physiology it is important that in this controlled state you allow yourself to tackle the source of the fear head on.

At this stage I encourage my clients to imagine the fear becoming a reality. It is only by allowing yourself to feel these full ranges of emotions are you then able to put this fear into perspective. To do this I want you to sit back in a chair and relax. I want you to take deep breaths and as you breathe out allow all your stress and anxiety to subside, breathe in and as you do imagine yourself breathing in peace, visualise this peace travelling to every area of your body – from your toes to the top of your head.

Now, in your most relaxed state I want you to create an image of yourself and in this image you are undertaking the event or activity that is the cause of this fear.  Keep breathing deep breaths and as you do keep breathing in peace and confidence. Visualise the colours and sounds of this event unfolding. As you watch this scenario unfold allow yourself to feel this full range of feeling – fear, being scared, pain and vulnerability. Whatever it is that you are feeling as this event unfolds simply allow yourself to experience this full range of emotions. Keep these events running in your mind until you feel that you want to stop. Repeat this process over the next couple of days and as you do simply notice the feelings that you feel. I am not asking you to address these emotions but to simply experience them.

When you allow yourself to experience the emotions of the situation or circumstance that you feel without actually being present in that situation you allow yourself to witness the full range of emotions connected to the deepest fear that you have. In my experience the fear is always greater than the reality and so in running this process we are allowing ourselves to experience ‘worst case scenario’.

I once ran through this process with an individual who was scared of flying and when he allowed himself to visualise and experience the full range of fear attached to this event he always imagined the plane crashing. By taking his mind to the most extreme place and experience the emotion around it this individual then realised that his fear was actually death. I then went through the next, ‘increase your zone of comfort’ technique with this individual and he went on a number of occasions to watch planes take off. After watching 5 planes take off he felt that he was ready to get on a plane. When the plane was about to take off this individual realised that the fear that he had imagined was greater than the reality and now he doesn’t stop flying!

Increase your zone of comfort – baby steps

Each one of us has a comfort zone – the place that we are happy to remain in and we certainly don’t want to be pushed beyond. We may be comfortable with our friends but not with new people, we may be comfortable talking to friends but not on a stage, we may have a fear of planes and so we are far happy to remain in our comfort zone and never experience the world beyond our country. Our comfort zones are where we operate best but to truly conquer whatever our fear is we need to increase our zone of comfort with baby steps.

In the example of coaching the individual who had a fear of flying above we increased his zone of comfort in a number of ways including spending time in an airport, watching passenger’s board a plane and watching planes take off. When we had increased this guy’s zone of comfort in this way the next step was have him experience a flight simulator it was at this stage, along with employing all the techniques that I have explained so far, that he was ready to experience a real plane. This guy had taken baby steps to tackle his fear head on and this is what you need to do.

I want you to write a list of all the ways that you could increase your zone of comfort regarding your particular fear – absolutely small baby steps that will enable you to build the confidence you need to face your fear head on. For example if your fear is public speaking you may create a presentation to present to 3 friends, you may watch videos of speakers who you admire, you may ask your boss if you could give a 3 minute introduction in a meeting and slowly progress to 10 minutes on a stage. Whatever your fear is the goal is to subtly tackle it head on, one small piece at a time so that you ultimately increase your zone of comfort and become more and more confident in tackling your fear.

As you write this list make sure you do little things every week to increase your zone of comfort, slowly but surely work through the list that you have created to build your confidence.

Fear is your springboard

Want to know what excites me about facing your fear? Once you have finally tackled that event, situation or circumstance that fills you with fear you are absolutely full of confidence as you realise that you actually did it! I have worked with individuals time and time again who have conquered their fear and as a direct result have used fear as a springboard to develop a confidence that takes every aspect of their life to a whole new level  – relationships, careers, family, hobbies or sports. It really is outstanding to see what can happen when you tackle your fear.

Initiate the techniques that I have shared with you today, embrace your fear, own it and conquer it and as you do stand in awe at just how amazing you really are (you absolutely really are!)

Receive free life change resources by subscribing to my e-newsletter in the right hand box at the top or by clicking on this link: Mark Bowness – Life Change Instigator Newsletter.

Please also go ahead and ‘like’ my Facebook Page to ask questions and engage with a growing community of people just like you, people committed to Life Change. It would be great to see you there! Mark Bowness – Life Change Instigator – Facebook page. Or follow me on Twitter @mark_bowness

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Go ahead and like my Facebook page where I regularly upload inspiring images and inspiring pictures with quotes designed to instigate your life change:   Mark Bowness – Life Change Instigator – Facebook page. Or follow me on Twitter @mark_bowness

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Stephanie Bottrill’s suicide note.

This morning I woke up and read story that broke my heart. A single mother from the UK committed suicide because she was unable to afford an extra £20 per week to cover the cost of an empty room in her house. The reality is that this situation is not simply a ‘story’ and the horrific truth is that this example is only the tip of the iceberg. The financial state that countries around the world have got themselves into have resulted in leaders, politicians and you and I having blood on our hands and something HAS to be done.

For those of you unaware ‘bedroom tax’ is the British government’s answer to ensuring that families are living in houses that are adequate to their needs, enough bedrooms for enough people. Whilst a solution a solution to our housing problem has to be found the reality is that this ‘bedroom tax’ is hitting the poorest hard and it’s clear cut rules result in disaster for those whose children are starting to fly the nest.

Let’s go back to the horrific truth that I woke up to read this morning. Stephanie Bottrill was a 53 year old single mother who had lived in her council house for 18 years raising two children. Steven, her son had left home some time ago to start his own family. Stephanie’s daughter Laura, moved out 2  months ago to live with her partner. Both Stephanie’s neighbors and children were aware that she was sad that her daughter had left, however they were only recently aware of her struggle to be unable to pay the £80 per month bedroom tax for the two empty rooms. Naturally, Stephanie did not want to leave the home that she had raised her children in, however the council were also unable to provide her with a smaller house and so under the rules of the ‘bedroom tax’ the money was owed.

In Stephanie’s suicide note she explained to her children, family and neighbors that no one else was to blame but the government and the council tax. After posting a letter and house keys through her neighbors early one morning Stephanie took her life.

This situation absolutely pains me. I have first had experience in being in a deep dark mental state that, as far as your concerned, leaves you with no choice but to end your life. The resulting action is so, so sad but the mental torture and agony leading to this point is very hard to bear.

The blood that is on our hands

I appreciate that this is a strong statement that I am making. The ‘bedroom tax’ has been conjured up by well paid staff in offices in London without any realistic understanding of what it’s like for individuals and families in this situation. The decision makes, along with the government who have sanctioned ‘bedroom tax’ have blood on their hands but what about you and I?

The absolute truth of the matter is that countries around the world are in the economic situation that they find themselves because we have spent, loaned and spent again. We have wanted the biggest, the best and the luxurious in every aspect of our lives – from cars to technology, from eating out to holidays and quite frankly the world’s financial system is crumbling as a result. Governments are seeking to find ways and means of clawing back money because of the way that we have spent and so I genuinely believe that everyday citizens around the world have blood on their hands too.

Re-imagining our ‘communities: Reversing the poverty

I cannot express to you how passionate I am with a vision for ‘community change’ that takes places as a consequence of our own personal ‘life change’. I believe that a life change revolution in this way could dramatically positively impact individuals like Stephanie who are crying out for help, only the cry is an internal one that is not voice to the external world.

I am dedicated to a vision to re-imagine how we live out ‘community’. For so long we have relied upon the government for hand outs, to guide us, to care for us and look after us and as a result local governments are bursting at the seems and their financial rivers have run dry.

But, what happens if we no longer look to the government, but we look to within ourselves – our resources, our skills, our support and we re-image the way that we build, create and live in communities?

The sociologist Karl Marx believed that society should financially be run on the basis of ‘each according to their ability to each according to their needs’ meaning that more money should be given to those who work hard but that these finances should be divided among the community according to their needs.

I totally believe that we should re-imagine how we should manage our finances, with a community perspective in mind (this does not necessarily mean that we give all our money away!). However, more importantly I believe that we each have a role to play within our communities and we need to step up to fulfill these roles. I believe that each person, according to their ability, should invest into the members of their community according to their needs.

Let’s begin to re-create community

I totally understand that my thoughts are just that, merely thoughts. I have asked questions and there will be a whole heap more questions to ask, along with a need to answer to ascertain the answers. However, my thinking is merely the beginning. There is absolutely no way that I want people like Stephanie, living in pain behind closed doors – it’s time to wipe the blood off our hands by standing up and instigating powerful community change. Are you in?

Read the full story here: Bedroom Tax victim commits suicide: Grandmother Stephanie Bottrill blames government in tragic note

I am looking for 20 revolutionaries who will work with me to create a blueprint for community change. If this is something that you are passionate about take a read of this and register: Life Change – The Revolution.

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As a direct result of this article I had over 2,000 hits to my website, over 200 sign-up’s to my ‘How to change anything in your life. Guaranteed‘ e-course and over 100 emails containing questions and requests for other interviews. It has been a seriously full on week, but I have loved every single minute of it as I take huge strides forward in my vision to instigate life change. I seriously love it!

If you have not seen the ‘Onward and Upward’ article in the Executive Style section of the Sydney Morning Herald of the website please do go and take a peak.

Receive free life change resources by subscribing to my e-newsletter in the right hand box.

Please also go ahead and ‘like’ my Facebook Page to ask questions and engage with a growing community of people just like you, people committed to Life Change. It would be great to see you there! Mark Bowness – Life Change Instigator – Facebook page. Or follow me on Twitter @mark_bowness

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Are you standing in the shadows?

I have worked with a considerable number of people who are standing in the shadows of who they were created to be without even knowing it. One lady I coached struggled with confidence and believed that if she had confidence it would absolutely transform everything in her life.  I once coached a young man who was working in a factory and even though he yearned to be running his own business he did not consider himself to be ‘good enough’. The most heart breaking example is that of a homeless guy that I used to  hang out with. This guy was extremely intelligent but one mistake resulted in his wife leaving him, his children hating him and being forced to live on the streets. I asked him why he did not take the steps to forge a new career, to get a house and create a new vision for his life. He replied “because this is the life that I deserve”.

If you are asking yourself whether you are standing the shadows of who you were created to be? You simply need to answer the following questions:

Do you believe that you should be earning more money than you do?

Do you wish you had greater confidence?

Do you wonder why people treat you the way that they do?

Do you believe that you have to accept your ‘lot in life’ because you ‘deserve it’?

Do you put your head down, try and get by in life and do the best that you can?

Do you believe that a past mistake does not entitle you to anything greater in your life?

If you answer YES to ANY or ALL of these questions then you are absolutely 100% standing in the shadows of who you were created to be! I want to enable you to walk out of the shadow and stand into the glorious truth of who you are.

The you that you were created to be.

If you yearn for a life that is different to the one that you are living, this yearning is an indication of the you that you were created to be. The very fact that you desire greater confidence; that you wish you could love yourself; that deep down you hunger for something more is a strong signal to tell you that you are merely standing in the shadows.

This is powerful, damn it, this is seriously powerful. I have this crazy image in my mind of a bright shining silhouette of the you that you were created to be walking ahead of you. If you stop living in the shadows of yourself and walk into that silhouette and connect with who you were intended to be then man, you can do anything. You CAN do ANYTHING. When you align yourself with the person that you were created to be suddenly you start walking in power and confidence with the ability to do anything that you set your heart upon doing. You want that, don’t you?

Out of the shadow and into the light in 3 steps

1)      Forgive yourself

One of the predominant restraints that forces people to lurk in the shadow is the inability to forgive their past mistakes. Please, please listen to me. I want to speak so deep into you…

You are so beautiful. Absolutely nothing, nothing that you have done in your past can hide your beauty. Your beauty shines so brightly through your errors. You need to forgive. Deep, deep down, you need to forgive.

I meet so many people who struggle with the ability to forgive themselves for the things that they have got wrong – relationships that have gone wrong, people you have hurt, items you may have stolen… anything, whatever it is, it’s in the past.

Gosh, I cannot explain to you how I have struggled with this very issue. The key to the transformation in my own life was this:

I began to appreciate that the errors in my past were conducted by a guy who knew no better at the time, for whatever reason. I was unable to forgive myself is because I had grown – people now mean more to me, I have more life experience, I have become wiser, I have developed a greater love. The reason that I struggled to forgive myself was because I was acutely aware of the pain that I had caused.

You need to do the same.

The realisation of this truth enables you to turn your past mistakes into the foundation that causes you to be a better person. Your mistakes become the springboard that launches you out of the shadows and connects you confidently and powerfully with the you that you were created to be.

2)      Increase your self-efficacy

‘Self-efficacy’ is my favourite word. I absolutely love it.

‘Self-efficacy’ is the measure of one’s own ability to complete tasks and reach goals. By determining the beliefs a person holds regarding his or her power to affect situations, it strongly influences both the power a person actually has to face challenges competently and the choices a person is most likely to make.

Do you grasp this? Self-efficacy is the belief in the power to affect the situations in which you find yourself.

If you are standing in the shadows then your self-efficacy is zero. When your self-efficacy is so low it controls you, it owns you, you head in the direction that the world forces you in. You are not confident; you believe that you are small and lowly with no power to change any circumstance or life situation in which you find yourself.

If you have the high levels of self-efficacy you are blazing, unstoppable, you have the power to change situations, circumstances and finances. You have the ability to shoot for the stars, to make things, to believe in things. You are powerful. You want this don’t you?

There are two ways to increase your self-efficacy:

a)      Tell yourself how amazing you are every single day. I totally mean this. Every single morning I want you to stand in front of the mirror, look deep into your eyes and say the following:

“Today I am stepping out of the shadows and I am connecting myself with the me that I was always created to be, the powerful me. There is absolutely nothing that I can face today that I do not have the power to change. I have forgiven myself and as I do, every single day I get stronger, I grow in confidence, beauty and wisdom. I am excited. As I step into the most powerful me, let’s go and kickass today!”

b)      Push your boundaries. Seriously, when we push our boundaries in little, small ways, we start to increase the size of our comfort zone. When we realise that we can actually do the things that we thought we could not we gain greater confidence and we then start to accomplish what we previously thought was impossible. Find anyway at all today to push your boundaries, no matter how small it may seem.

3)      Do not dwell on yesterday, create your tomorrow instead.

Quit thinking about yesterday, worrying about the things that you cannot change or moments in which you wish you had done something different. It does not matter, it’s gone.

Tomorrow is your future, it is yours to develop, create, own, change and make. Your future is a blank canvas on which you can create any beautiful picture that you deserve. Step out of the shadows and start creating your future.

Seriously, I absolutely love you guys, I believe in you more than anything else in the world. I don’t want to see anyone standing in the shadows of the powerful you that you were created to be. I want to see you live the life that you deserve.

Engage with the techniques that I have shared with you and make a final decision to start walking powerfully into today, tomorrow and your future. Your friends, your community, your country and the world need you to leave the shadows behind. I am counting on you!

Receive free life change resources by subscribing to my e-newsletter in the right hand box.

Please also go ahead and ‘like’ my Facebook Page to ask questions and engage with a growing community of people just like you, people committed to Life Change. It would be great to see you there! Mark Bowness – Life Change Instigator – Facebook page. Or follow me on Twitter @mark_bowness

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I appreciate the pain of a break up, but there is a reality that newly found singles also need to hear.

I am so passionate about this subject and providing an answer to this question that I put together this podcast.

If you are struggling to get over your ex, you HAVE to listen to this podcast:

Receive free life change resources by subscribing to my e-newsletter in the right hand box at the top or by clicking on this link: Mark Bowness – Life Change Instigator Newsletter.

Please also go ahead and ‘like’ my Facebook Page to ask questions and engage with a growing community of people just like you, people committed to Life Change. It would be great to see you there! Mark Bowness – Life Change Instigator – Facebook page. Or follow me on Twitter @mark_bowness

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Go ahead and like my Facebook page where I regularly upload inspiring images and inspiring pictures with quotes designed to instigate your life change:   Mark Bowness – Life Change Instigator – Facebook page. Or follow me on Twitter @mark_bowness

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I am currently in Victoria, Australia working with four Grade 4 children at their after schools club called ‘The Learning Club’ (TLC). After spending time with these children I wanted to develop in them a real passion for their community, for the incredible people who live in their neighbourhood and to ultimately enable them to discover a community hero within.

Myself and my colleague, Beth, have launched a project called ‘Discovering Community Heroes‘ – before I share with you the details of the project I just wanted to give you some background on the afterschool’s club.

The Smith Family – working with 605,000 disadvantages children

The Smith Family is a national, independent children’s charity helping disadvantaged Australians to get the most out of their education, so they can create better futures for themselves.

The Smith Family’s work in 97 Australian communities is extended and enhanced by nearly 19,600 members of VIEW Clubs of Australia together with more than 7,800 volunteers from the community and its corporate partners, who volunteer their time and energy to ensure the organisation reaches children in need.

Creating Community Change

As you will be aware I have a deep and overwhelming passion to inspire life change which would bring about community change. With that in mind I am working in collaboration with Monash University, The Smith Family and Morwell Park Primary School to inspire four young children to gain a passion for their community.

So, what is ‘Discovering Community Heroes’?

Check it out right here: www.discoveringcommunityheroes.com

We believe that there are heroes both in the Morwell community and around the world, unknown people who do very special things. Whether it’s a super nanny, an incredible neighbor who looks after their neighbors or a fantastic shopkeeper. Community Heroes are people who inspire, do awesome things and bring about change in little or small ways.

The children have created a website with the goal of hearing from members of the public both locally and globally to hear all about your community heroes. The goal is that the children will meet local community heroes and perhaps, Skype with community heroes around the world.

So, how can you help?

It would be absolutely awesome if you could help in the following ways:

1) Please head over to our guestbook and leave a positive message for the children to inspire them in their search to discover community heroes. The children are reading these messages and would LOVE to hear from YOU.

2) Email Discovering Community Heroes and let us know who your community heroes are – we would love to profile your community heroes on our website and maybe set up a Skype call with your hero and the children.

I cannot tell you how passionate I am about working with these four children who believe that adults let them down and that no-one does anything special – we are set to prove them wrong.

It would be incredible if you could play a small role in ‘Discovering Community Heroes’

Thank you, Mark!

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All over the world individuals are awakening to a realisation that they were created, not merely to live, but for a purpose. Instilled within each individual is a reason for being, a personal legacy that if aligned to would take their life in the most incredible direction.

I am working with people and communities around the world with a goal to connect individuals with a passion to re-awaken their personal vision and purpose for their lives. My job is to do whatever it takes to enable you to develop the confidence, the self-belief and the skills that will enable you to live the life that you desire to live and consequently transform your world.

From the 9 – 5 treadmill to the world stage

There is a blanket of lethargy around the world that is caused by the ‘9-5 treadmill’. I communicate with many, many people who have the same Sunday night feeling of dread over their Monday morning – getting the children ready, the school run, the demanding work day, the pressure from the boss and little time in the evening only to do it all again the following day. As one individual stated, “my life is like a never ending, incredibly painful Groundhog Day!” Many people live their lives with one question resounding around their mind, ‘surely I was created for a greater purpose than this?’

This way of life can result in broken marriages, broken children, lack of money, unhealthy addictions, mental pressures and very sad lives. Enough is enough.

Life Change – The Revolution is taking place and people all around the world are making a stand against the 9 – 5 in the belief that they were created for a unique purpose, a purpose that only they can fulfil. This revelation is taking individuals off the 9-5 treadmill and as they connect with their personal vision and commit themselves to their own life change they are being placed on the world stage – changing lives, whole communities at a time.

Redeveloping communities with a purpose

Governments are reducing local funding resulting in the closure of community centres, vital community services and essential spaces. Our children are disillusioned, a passion for education is at an all-time low and a generation is rising who are happy to live off government handouts.

The rise of the internet has resulted in disconnected communities. No longer do we know our neighbours living next door as we converse with virtual friends in far flung countries. The internet may have shrunk the global village but in doing so it has engendered “slaktivism” – a focus on activism and online fundraising for causes that have become hot topics through ‘viral’ promotion and with personal involvement being nothing more than a click of a mouse.

As individuals encounter their life change they are fuelled with a passion to live their legacy, a legacy that is practically outworked in a hands on way as lives are lived for the local community. In this way Life Change – The Revolution is empowering individuals to re-discover a vision for their community. Communities were historically developed to generate local employment, to be the epic-centre of trade and commerce and to play a significant role within their country.

As Life Change Revolutionaries are living out their personal vision within their locality they are dedicating themselves to creating a blue print for community change empowering their community to rise up, to serve its country and as a result change the world.

Life Change Centres leading the Life Change Revolution

In 2006 I created Tribewanted.com – a concept that brought people together from around the world to develop an eco-island in Fiji. As hundreds of people came together to impact a 200 acre island in Fiji the results were astounding with $500,000 Fijian dollars invested locally, with over 100 locals employed and lives impacted globally.

I now have a passion to develop a similar model for communities on our doorsteps – local people, fulfilling their personal vision and dramatically transforming the community in which they live.

Life Change – The Revolution starts with Life Change Centres, a place where the community can come to learn, develop, grow and change any aspect of their lives – from personal growth to the development and outworking of their life legacy.

Life Change Centres will become a hub to develop a blueprint for community change. Important questions will be asked – what are the needs of community? What vision do we have for our community? What role will our community play in bringing about change in the country and indeed the world?

From Life Change Centres will flow community action that will transform, re-shape and re-model the locality in a way that is dictated by its citizens, instigating powerful life change for all.

Communities are labelled disadvantaged because of their economic position – lack of funding, market forces, labour markets and housing markets and as a result of government economic and public policies. Nevertheless, within each community exists individuals who simply have to tap into their personal vision and start a life change, a revolution that will change the world.

Life Change – The Revolution has started; will you change your world?

If you are passionate about instigating a Life Change Revolution in your community please submit your details below. This is a specific email list for those who want to work with me on a blueprint to powerfully transform their community. If you are interested and are also on my other email lists – please still make sure that you do fill in the form below.

Do you want to start a life change revolution in your community?

I want to work with 20 revolutionaries to create a blueprint for community change. A blueprint that will start in your community and will be modelled around the world.

If you want to lead a Life Change Revolution in your community please fill in this form – I will be in touch! 

Name:

Email:

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The post Life Change – The Revolution: My powerful vision for world change. appeared first on Mark Bowness.

Along with the rest of the world I woke up to hear about the events that unfolded at the Boston Marathon. Yet again another mindless and tragic event took place that resulted in both loss of lives and a painful experience that will negatively impact individuals and communities for years to come.

Nevertheless, among the pain and the devastation something very special caught my eye. The majority of us will have seen the video footage of the actual attack, repeatedly. At the moment that the bomb exploded hundreds of people ran away from the center of the explosion, and rightfully so. Faced with that situation it is important to get away from the source of the harm. However, if you keep looking at the film there are a number of people who, despite the danger, ran to the source of the attack to be of as much assistance to the victims as they possible could.  I like to call these people ‘community heroes’.

Incredibly, in any national or global disaster you will find these community heroes. Through a quick google search I found many more stories of such heroic acts including the likes of William Rodriguez, a maintenance worker at the World Trade Center  who ran into the building and saved 15 lives, unlocking the doors for fireman along the way. I read about Timothy Coulson , a school teacher who smashed his way out of a tube train to help people dying in a carriage as a result of the London 7/7 attacks. I also read many, many more stories of brave community heroes.

And what about our communities?

The acts of these brave individuals really did get me thinking about the communities that we live in. I am passionate about life change that results in individuals living out their legacy and as a result bringing about community change.

It is my hope and my belief that only a small number of people will ever be forced to experience tragic events similar to that of the Boston Marathon. However, within each of our communities there are hurt and broken people who need help, who are silently crying out for support and who need a visitation from their own community heroes. Such people may be of an older generation living alone, they may be suffering from verbal or physical abuse, there may be an organisation desperate for support work or an obvious community need that no-one is doing anything about.

And what about the community hero in you?  

I cannot find the right words to express how passionate I am about the fact that each one of us has a legacy to live out right now. The outworking of this legacy, by its very nature, will result in each one of us becoming a community hero who will powerfully and radically transforming the areas in which we live.

How exciting is that? Don’t you want to become a community hero?

I genuinely believe that good always, always out shines the bad. What could be more fitting than a whole bunch of people around the globe (i.e. YOU) being inspired to actively pursue community hero status where you live?

Take some time out to think about, research and discover how you could become a community hero. It may be through one main event or perhaps you could become a community hero every single day as you perform small but powerful acts of awesomeness in your neighborhood.

Become a community hero and together we can change the world.

The post Boston Marathon: Is there a community hero inside you? appeared first on Mark Bowness.