If you pay close attention, there are patterns in your life.

Your patterns differ from mine; but there are patterns — like a nudge from some unforeseen force telling you to pay more close attention to that specific thing.

Sometimes we ignore these patterns, but for good or ill, they will come back to slap and wake you up.

It may be from things you have been reading. It may be something that you’ve been thinking for a while, only to find it in your life experiences, conversations, or what have you. You sometimes tell yourself, “I keep hearing that.” Or, “Yeah, that’s something I’ve been seeing quite often.”

I decided to stop ignoring these patterns and start paying attention to them. Believe it or not, they have opened doors to things that I should have embraced along time ago.

Better late than never.

Here are some patterns in life that I’ve been seeing:

1. Vulnerability. Living life vulnerable. Being genuinely open with people in both business and life. Not only have I been seeing this in insightful books, a TED talk by Brene Brown, but also in conversations from friends and families. Strange, huh? I decided to embrace vulnerability in both my writing and my social life. And needless to say, I’m glad I did. Relationships are built on a better foundation, and you stay true to yourself. Win-win.
2. Kindness goes a long way. Everyone knows this. It’s common knowledge. But when you see it being executed, the results are outstanding. Even in some of the most troubling situations where you’re dealing with a blatant troll, when killing’em with kindness, you end up winning.
3. Reading was a pattern that I noticed a few years ago (a little too late). I noticed that many successful people that I admire attribute a lot of their growth and learning and success by reading a variety of books. Only a year ago I voraciously started reading. Words cannot do justice on how much I advocate reading and the profound effects it has on one’s mind and life. Start now.
4. The intrinsic power of your network. Often times, we think we can find success alone. That we can build a business alone. Or write a whole book alone. For some, this may be true, but for most? Absolutely not. And I don’t mean to use the word “network” in a sleazy hand-your-business-card-out kinda way. I mean actually building a close group of friends around you, each with their own lives and passions and interests and goals, and helping one another achieve those goals and build success. Teamwork would be the right word for it, something that I didn’t incorporate much until recently. Asking for help sometimes feels like a “weak” thing to do, but this is wrong. This is just an impression that was instilled early in our life. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of working towards greatness. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
5. Write things down. Moleskin notebooks. Post-its. This is something I’ve been exercising for the past few months because I realized that I can’t remember everything. Which is why I decided to carry something around where I can write down my thoughts and ideas that come to mind. Even if its something you end up crumpling in your hands and shooting into the garbage bin, at least you wrote it down and gave it a shot. What if a remarkable idea slips your mind? Let this happen a few times — as it did to me — and you’ll start carrying pen and pad in your back pocket. Mark my words.
6. When one door closes, another one opens. For example: I recently had to start my next eBook all over. Change the title. Alter the message. Start over. Page 1. Of course the initial thought is that I am ruined, that I failed. Wrong. I believe that we all get this feeling many times in our life. Don’t let it consume you. Wait for a moment. Be patient. Open your eyes and you’ll realize that there are many undiscovered opportunities.

Think about what you see and experience on a daily or weekly basis. Maybe even monthly. Do you notice certain things in your behavior, thoughts, emotions, the people you are surrounded by, etc.? Does it have a positive or negative effect on you? And why are you ignoring it?

Maybe it’s a sign that’s telling you to try something, or remove it.

Maybe it’s a sign that is telling you one door is closing, but another one is just waiting to be opened.

What patterns have you seen in your life? And did you ignore it or embrace it? I want to hear your story.