Play & Book Excerpts
Clean Out the Closets of Your Life
(Born Successful Publishing)
© 2002 DeLores Pressley
Chapter One
The ____ Slove: Inspecting Our Closets of Life
How long has it been since you cleaned out your closet? You’ve been putting off getting rid of those clothes that don’t fit you anymore in hopes of losing weight and fitting into them again, right? Do you have shoes cluttering up the floor of the closet that you haven’t worn in years?
What is it? What holds us back from cleaning out the clutter in our lives? What keeps us from starting the business that we have always wanted? What keeps us from adhering to a lifelong fitness program that we know we need in order to live a long, healthy life? What keeps us in negative relationships? Why don’t we keep our financial affairs in order?
Are you avoiding making changes in your life in the same way you’re avoiding cleaning out your closet? Well now is the time to throw out the old, bring in the new, and put your shelves in order.
In this book I’ll show you how to develop a plan for making changes in your life giving you a new perspective to live the life you want to live complete with a purpose. You will learn developmental techniques for creating balance in your life. Find out how to replace bad habits with good habits.
Throughout the book you will be presented with what I call a “Clean Closet Moment”, or CCM. A CCM is a time when you relate a necessary life change to a current moment in your life. The CCM will cause you to think and take action on that eye opening moment. For example, during the writing of this book my husband Grant and I took a trip to Florida for a speaking engagement. On our way to the airport we were discussing the book and its purpose. Grant turned to me and asked, “Are you living the life that you are writing about?” Needless to say I became upset with him for turning the table on me, so I didn’t talk to him for about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes might not sound like much time but when you’re a talker like me, that’s an eternity! His question for me became my turning point in writing the book. When we boarded the plane, I immediately took out my notebook and began writing. I wrote more on that plane ride than I had in six months. That’s how a Clean Closet Moment works.
In addition to the Clean Closet Moments, you will find similar Clean Closet Exercises. Each exercise will request that you take out your journal. If you don’t have a journal, I recommend getting one. I don’t mean quit reading to run out and buy a journal. All the exercises can be done on regular paper. The message I want to get across to you is the importance of journaling. Journaling is a way to capture your deepest thoughts and feelings in a way known to no one but yourself. Take at least 15 minutes a day to write something in your journal. Expand upon the happenings in your day and how you felt about good or bad situations or people that you encountered throughout the day. You’ll find journaling to be very enlightening and relaxing because you release certain energies that you might not otherwise release. That reason alone can be the biggest benefit to keeping a journal.
Before we begin, let’s identify what might be holding you back or keeping you from cleaning. Are you afraid to let go of a part of your life when you were happy? Perhaps that box of childhood keepsakes reminds you of the dreams you had that never quite came true. What happened along the way that prevented you from having the life you dreamed of? There are many factors that may come into play.
...
DeLores concludes the chapter with:
As we follow the theme of cleaning of closets, we’ll look at life as the “house” and the components of life as the “closets”. I have found that change takes hard work and commitment. With that in mind, put on some comfortable clothing, put your favorite music in the CD player, grab your gloves and your cleaner… let’s get things in order. Better put on a hard hat too - we just don’t know what we’re going to find in here!
The ____ Slove: Inspecting Our Closets of Life
How long has it been since you cleaned out your closet? You’ve been putting off getting rid of those clothes that don’t fit you anymore in hopes of losing weight and fitting into them again, right? Do you have shoes cluttering up the floor of the closet that you haven’t worn in years?
What is it? What holds us back from cleaning out the clutter in our lives? What keeps us from starting the business that we have always wanted? What keeps us from adhering to a lifelong fitness program that we know we need in order to live a long, healthy life? What keeps us in negative relationships? Why don’t we keep our financial affairs in order?
Are you avoiding making changes in your life in the same way you’re avoiding cleaning out your closet? Well now is the time to throw out the old, bring in the new, and put your shelves in order.
In this book I’ll show you how to develop a plan for making changes in your life giving you a new perspective to live the life you want to live complete with a purpose. You will learn developmental techniques for creating balance in your life. Find out how to replace bad habits with good habits.
Throughout the book you will be presented with what I call a “Clean Closet Moment”, or CCM. A CCM is a time when you relate a necessary life change to a current moment in your life. The CCM will cause you to think and take action on that eye opening moment. For example, during the writing of this book my husband Grant and I took a trip to Florida for a speaking engagement. On our way to the airport we were discussing the book and its purpose. Grant turned to me and asked, “Are you living the life that you are writing about?” Needless to say I became upset with him for turning the table on me, so I didn’t talk to him for about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes might not sound like much time but when you’re a talker like me, that’s an eternity! His question for me became my turning point in writing the book. When we boarded the plane, I immediately took out my notebook and began writing. I wrote more on that plane ride than I had in six months. That’s how a Clean Closet Moment works.
In addition to the Clean Closet Moments, you will find similar Clean Closet Exercises. Each exercise will request that you take out your journal. If you don’t have a journal, I recommend getting one. I don’t mean quit reading to run out and buy a journal. All the exercises can be done on regular paper. The message I want to get across to you is the importance of journaling. Journaling is a way to capture your deepest thoughts and feelings in a way known to no one but yourself. Take at least 15 minutes a day to write something in your journal. Expand upon the happenings in your day and how you felt about good or bad situations or people that you encountered throughout the day. You’ll find journaling to be very enlightening and relaxing because you release certain energies that you might not otherwise release. That reason alone can be the biggest benefit to keeping a journal.
Before we begin, let’s identify what might be holding you back or keeping you from cleaning. Are you afraid to let go of a part of your life when you were happy? Perhaps that box of childhood keepsakes reminds you of the dreams you had that never quite came true. What happened along the way that prevented you from having the life you dreamed of? There are many factors that may come into play.
...
DeLores concludes the chapter with:
As we follow the theme of cleaning of closets, we’ll look at life as the “house” and the components of life as the “closets”. I have found that change takes hard work and commitment. With that in mind, put on some comfortable clothing, put your favorite music in the CD player, grab your gloves and your cleaner… let’s get things in order. Better put on a hard hat too - we just don’t know what we’re going to find in here!
DeLores Pressley is an international keynote motivational speaker, author, and CEO of DeLores Pressley Worldwide. She is also the founder of She Elevates, a not-for-profit organization that provides young girls with mentorship and educational information about entrepreneurship.
As a motivational speaker, Delores has traveled across the U.S. and internationally. Most recently, she has given speeches at the Pink Power Breast Cancer Awareness Tour, Department of Social Development and Gender Affairs for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government and the Union Pacific Railroad: Women’s Lead Conference in Nebraska. She has appeared on several major TV networks, including OPRAH and Entertainment Tonight.
DeLores is the recipient of many business and community service awards, including The Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by President Obama.
Please note: An interview with DeLores appears in the Sanctuary June 2017 issue.
As a motivational speaker, Delores has traveled across the U.S. and internationally. Most recently, she has given speeches at the Pink Power Breast Cancer Awareness Tour, Department of Social Development and Gender Affairs for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government and the Union Pacific Railroad: Women’s Lead Conference in Nebraska. She has appeared on several major TV networks, including OPRAH and Entertainment Tonight.
DeLores is the recipient of many business and community service awards, including The Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by President Obama.
Please note: An interview with DeLores appears in the Sanctuary June 2017 issue.
Find DeLores' feature interview HERE.
