Oprah made me do it.  I think thats what I’m going to tell my parents — when I finally tell my parents that I lost my corporate job and that no, I’m not looking for a new one — that I’m leaving it up to the universe to guide me, along with a boat load of determination and a heap of blind faith.  Sorry mom, sorry dad.  I’m blogging (all the way to happy).

Crickets.

Now you’re either shocked that its been more than 30 days and I’m more than 30 years and I can’t fess up to my parents, or that I’ve made Oprah my scapegoat.  My guess is both and I’m okay with that.  But before you judge, let me first clarify, Oprah didn’t really make me do it.  And by “it” I mean choose “happy” over traditional employment, the kind they’d understand, with measurable goals, predictable income and dependable benefits, you know, the kind suitable for a supporting a family, like the one I just lost.  Oprah dared me to do it, actually.

No way you say?  Yes way, I have the proof!  Class, please turn to page 27 of, What I know for Sure, by Oprah Winfrey, scroll to the bottom, last paragraph.  The sentence reads, “I dare you.”   That’s right, there it is — and completely in context mind you.  No need for me to bend the facts or distort the simple truth (ha!).  It’s in Oprah’s gospel and it ends the chapter on Joy — a chapter dedicated to following your joy and marveling at all the amazing things that will happen if you’re open to it.

Well, I’m open.  And falling in line with all those who can’t silence the voices that swirl in their heads and swell their hearts either.  I’m seizing this moment, the only one I know I have for sure.  So it’s perfect I think, I mean, if Oprah dares you, you pay attention, right?  You rise to the challenge, you don’t just gloss over the words and jump on LinkedIn to replace one j-o-b with another.  “I dare you.”   She practically commands you to begin a little thing called your life, your in the moment, mess lovin’ happy life.   Not the safe one you have, or in my case had.  The one that lets you say I have no regrets and doesn’t punish you for showing up a little late to do so.

“I know for sure that I don’t want to live a shut-down life — desensitized to feeling and seeing.  I want every day to be a fresh start on expanding what is possible.  On experiencing joy on every level.”  Oprah Winfrey

And so here I am.  I am going to follow my passions, connect with my purpose and share my experience as more than an experiment in joy, but as a real honest example of what it means to be happy.  I want to live deliberately and be the foundation for my kids to do the same.  And I feel my time is now, I know my time is now.  I want to inspire those around me as I have been inspired and believe in myself like never before, believe like I have no fears and believe like my life depends on it, because it does if the alternative is knowingly letting it slip by.  I know this.  And Oprah knows this.  So come on, you have to admit, I make a pretty good case here, Oprah is the way to go.  Hands down (or up to that spirit above).

Now, if you’re thinking spending my nights magnetizing Oprah is not only a ridiculous waste of time but completely unnecessary, let me back up and explain why breaking the news to my parents has to date alluded my to do list.   It sounds ridiculous.  It sounds selfish.  It sounds like a cop out.  It sounds glutinous and irresponsible.  Well, I’m here to tell you it’s none of the above, that choosing the joy within and listening to the voice inside is by far the harder path to follow, because happiness is not automatic, certainly not at first anyway.  And you are your own worst enemy, filled with endless excuses and conditioned responses.  It is so much easier to do what is expected because it’s most likely what you’ve always done and there’s a bizarre comfort in conditioned responses.

Following your bliss is exhierating yes, but it’s also scary as hell.  Otherwise everyone really would be doing it.  It forces you to face both your very real fears (like people will laugh, I’m not good enough) and slay your imaginary dragons (like people will laugh and Im not good enough).  Yup, you read that right — in the end, any fear you have is a roadblock you created, a barrier you believe stands in your way.  An illusion taught to you or created by you.  And because you believe it, it does stand in your way until you move past it and realize nothing holds you back.   I repeat:  you are the only thing standing in your way, every excuse, every fear every doubt, you put there.  Everything is possible, you just need to believe it.

“Making a bold move is the only way to advance toward the grandest vision the universe has for you.  If you allow it, fear will completely immobilize you.”  O.W.

And this is what really got me thinking, when do we switch from believing anything is possible to believing in our fears more than ourselves?  When does the joy in life, the joy of life, get replaced by the sum of all our fears and begin dictating our reality?  Is it taught to us?  Or is it a simple self doubt that grows into self sabotage? Is it perceiving “failure” as a sign to toss in the towel instead of shifting our thinking and tapping into some good old fashioned perseverance?  And how does fear take over anyway?  Does it sneak in while you’re asleep so that you’re never fully aware of the parasite on your soul?  Or can you pinpoint the exact moment  you decided to play it safe and turn your back on the bright eyed wonder struck spirit you once embodied?  Maybe it starts with Santa Clause, maybe with college rejection letters.  Either way, for practically all, it’s unavoidable.  It’s undeniable, almost a rite of passage or an affirmation that you’ve grown up by giving up and growing out of your dreams.  You stop searching for possibilities and start living with only what you’re told is possible.  In essence,  you turn your light off, or as Oprah says, you sit it out instead of dance.

I can pinpoint the first time I chose safe (college) and know that for the most part, safe was good to me.  Safe had my back, safe earned me money and safe allowed me just enough freedom to reminisce and explore but never cross the line.  Safe would gently call if I strayed or administer a stern warning if I got too bold, offering up some sort of uncomfortable punishment if I dreamed too big, keeping me in check.  And in the end I liked safe and safe liked me.  Or so I thought, because as it turns out, I wasn’t really happy with safe and safe wasn’t really happy with me!

And so here I am, at the crossroads of “should and must,” a junction I know I’ve encountered more times that I care to admit, and for the first time in my post college adult life, I’m choosing what I must do, I’m choosing to be happy and deciding now to view the world as my playground and believe in endless possibilities once again, over what I should do, get that j-o-b.  I’m dropping the limits I’ve set up for myself and unlearning years of false facades and stepping into all the abundance of the universe with childlike abandonment.  By choice, with a little help from Oprah.

And speaking of kids, if you ever have the opportunity to spend any time around them, you know exactly what I’m talking about here.  The young ones, anyway.  Their world is limitless, filled with endless possibilities, fantastical dreams and a wondrous whimsy that wraps your heart in bath towels fresh from the dryer.  You can’t help but warmly smile as flying saucers fight fires, fairy godmothers unpack groceries and dinosaurs play doctor.  Astronauts come equipped with winged jet packs, prince charmings sip tea and soft serve ice cream flows from your faucet.  You are one minute on Mercury and the next skipping stones from a teepee.  Everything is not only possible but ultimately real.

Kids see no reason to employ the laws of gravity or inertia, they have no use for social constricts or any concept of time or space.  They just play  — and to the best of their ability, enjoy every second of what they can dream up next.  They don’t stop (to eat or nap) and make sure they’re playing by the rules or ask if hippos really know how to drive, they simply blow past obstacles with ingenious ideas and magical determination.  And this can last the whole day, going from one happy to the next, living in a world of infinite possibilities and absolute abundance.  Their innocence is inspiring and exhausting.

Why exhausting?  Because choosing to be happy, living in the moment means you never sit it out, you always dance (thank you Lee An Wompak).  You turn the light back on. And my guess is that most people don’t choose happy because it requires the discipline to be present.

Now I know soft serve isn’t going to replace my water (although it is technically possible), but I also know changing my core belief system to one similar to my kids has power, serious power.  Being in the moment and being happy generates positive thoughts and positive thoughts really do rule your world —  and happiness is an inside job.   So doing more of what makes you happy, staying inside those positive thoughts, will ultimately lead to success and wealth and whatever else you’ve got hiding in that pot of gold.  As long as you believe it and sustain it.

I know, you think it can’t be this easy, that fining joy and being happy more is really what can change your life?  That it has to be more complicated than doing what you love and creating happy energy, positive thoughts, and then sitting back and watching as ideas spring to life and the magic begins to resonates everywhere for you.   And you’re right, it’s not easy, your slaying dragons remember?  But it is simple and it is at work in your life whether you choose to accept it or not.   So act deliberately, choose happy and let joy be your guide.  And do it now.  Do it for yourself, do it for your kids, do it for Oprah!  But just do it already and when you find your groove and you know you’re dancing, watch the ripple effects.  It’s nothing short of a miraculous.

“One of my greatest lessons has been to fully understand that what looks like a dark patch in the quest for success is the universe pointing you in a new direction.”  O.W.