A person I admire very much once said, “I only want to surround myself with smart, happy people”. This is sometimes easier said than done. During my adult life, I can honestly say that I have met a few of the most miserable people on Earth. The type who, when I am smiling, asks very critically, “Why are you smiling?” The type who always finds fault, many times belittling others simply because they are jealous of that person. As I grew older, I learned to distance myself from the miserable ones as much as possible. But what makes so many people so miserable? Why can’t they find “joy”?
I may well have found the person who can help them. I recently had the opportunity to interview success coach, author, and speaker Laura May Culver. Laura May is the creator of the Joy Journal©. As the owner and founder of Knowself Services, she is dedicated to offering personal exploration through speaking, coaching, and consulting. Laura May is enthusiastic and optimistic, motivating, inspiring, and empowers others to live their very best lives.
Laura May explained that she is a therapist of more than twenty-five years and says she has helped people live the way they want to with every session. She believes we are successful just as we are. She explained that a success coach helps people live authentically from what is truly a success according to them. A person experiences success in life by working toward a goal that is authentically their own. A worthy ideal (or in other words, a goal) can be anything that brings forth a person’s JOY. An example of this is a person that wants to be a wife and mother and feels authentically themselves doing it. Another example is a carpenter that builds tables and wakes up excited to build, create, and share their tables with the world, or with themselves. If a person considers their goal as an expression of self and experiences joy in doing, pondering and/or sharing, and they are working toward it, that is success.
She explained that a success coach encourages and gives clarity, holds space for, and holds one accountable to, what their client deems to be success – for them. A person can have one or multiple worthy ideals in their lifetime. Laura May specializes in partnering with ambitious individuals to optimize their strengths, unlock their potential, and accelerate their professional and personal growth.
The Joy Journal
Laura May believes that we all have the light of joy inside us, it is a light in our hearts, and the Joy Journal is a tool to bring forth the light of our JOY. She explained that from a very young age she was encouraged to keep a journal. She did – she wrote everything down, with mostly negative events documented. She rarely wrote about what she wanted or what was good or going right in her life. She didn’t realize that the written word is actually creating further of the same. It was not until after fourteen years of clinical experience and decades of keeping personal journals that she came across information that changed her life.
Focus on the good in life in order to create more good in your life
The business program in which she was studying at the time pointed out the importance of focusing on the good in life in order to create more good in her life. The coaches kept telling her to “write down what you want and focus on the good. There is power in focusing on the good, the joy of life”. They said: Do you have a goal? Write it down. What do you dream of having? Write it down. What do you really want? Write it down. Do you have things in your life that you are grateful for? Write it down. Do you dream of wonderful relationships, travel, and adventures? Write it down in all its detail. Well, she did! She did not allow any negativity in any of the numerous notebooks.
One day, in the fall of 2014, while reviewing the process with a coaching client, she heard herself say out loud, “Write it down in a book that holds only the good stuff—like a journal for your joy—and let’s call it your Joy Journal”. That day, The Power of The Joy Journal© was born.
Laura May has also created something called The Red Telephone Booth Meditations https://theredtelephoneboothmeditations.bandcamp.com/ She has found that these meditations have been particularly helpful with teenage groups with which she has worked. She describes the teen years as such a powerful time in life, full of adventure, change and challenge.
Unfortunately, many youth do not have a fun time during high school or in their first years of post-secondary. If anything, their lives are stressful, and they are filled with deep emotional pain, insecurity and fear. In an attempt to feel better and handle their painful lives, youth will model adults. The idea that a ‘quick fix’ is a solution to life’s problems is prevalent in our culture. Laura May says we see this in the use of drugs, alcohol, excessive online scrolling, prescriptions, sex, self-harm and toxic relationships for pain relief. Popular glorified ‘solutions’ are destructive, and our children are the most vulnerable. She has many examples of sharing her meditations with youth groups and how they have helped them ‘wake up’ and to remember their power, their connectedness, and their truth. She has taught them that they can take certain actions to live amazing lives. She has seen amazing results with youth who have learned destructive coping habits but with her help and meditation practices, they found relief and feelings of peace.
Remember Who You Really Are
Laura May has many such meditations that can help one re-focus their attention away from the mainstream messages that keep us ‘half alive’ and living ‘half true’. She suggests finding your own way to take time out of your busy day and just ‘be’, to ask yourself, Who am I? What do I want? What am I willing to practice and cultivate to live my best life?
So, are so many of us fussy because we forgot who we really are?
Laura May is available for customized speaking engagements and is willing to travel. Companies, businesses and organizations benefit greatly from her talks and this is a great way for her to share her message with more people all at once. Book a call with Laura May and she will set it up.
If you would like to learn more about Laura May, please visit www.hotforsuccess.com. To learn more about Laura May’s more recent version of The Joy Journal Guided Joy, please visit https://a.co/d/09P44YeW.
