wake up call

Lessons & Reverberations

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 13 Conversations

 

The biggest lesson of 2011 was this. . .

You have to live in the now.

I know you’ve heard it before, but we all need reminding now and then. You simply can’t wait for a health crisis or any other kind of emergency before pursuing what you want in life.

When my father-in-law died suddenly last January, it was a wake-up call like no other. It lit a fire that caused a ripple effect throughout my life and business. And even though I’d thought this before, in an instant it became more real. . .

There is no someday.

It went from an intellectual concept to a burning desire to wake people up.

That is a lesson I can never forget. Its learning can never be undone. Ever.

Some days I don’t know if I’m up to this calling.

 

I think, who am I to wake people up?

And then I hear, who am I not to?

Because the alternative – people continuing to live and die with regrets – has become unbearable. Continue reading →

Be A Waker

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 18 Conversations

 

“A waker is someone who is very good at waking other people up from their metaphorical slumber, temporary or otherwise.” – Hugh MacLeod

So, are you? A waker I mean.

I am.

I look back at my life and remember all the times I just had to rock the boat and wake people up.

Being a waker had me leave the 9-5 world and become a coach, a job that actually pays me to wake people up.

Life’s funny like that.

But being a waker isn’t necessarily an easy path in life.

As Hugh MacLeod says,

“A waker reminds you on a constant basis,  just how alive you really are….And there’s something about their influence that makes you utterly unable to go back to “sleep” ever again, in spite of your best efforts.”

Think about it. . .a lot of people don’t want to be woken up. Waking up takes courage and it’s so much easier to keep your head down and play it safe.

Sometimes. . .not often, but there are moments. . .I wish I could go back to those days of being less conscious, less awake.

But not really. Continue reading →

Burning Down the House

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 24 Conversations

 

Late last night the fire alarm went off in our building, startling me out of my not-quite-asleep state. We’ve had numerous false alarms in the three years we’ve lived here, which usually end up being a quick hello with the neighbours.

Last night was different.

It was like an episode of Rescue Me, only I didn’t see Dennis Leary anywhere.

Mark and I got up, moving rather slowly, thinking it was probably just another false alarm. Then we saw the flames on the rooftop on the other side of the building and the adrenalin kicked in.

In my pajamas, I grabbed my wallet and iPhone as someone pounded on our door to leave. My heart started racing.

Continue reading →