Live your own story Motivational speaker shares secrets to living a better life

Aadam Adkins presented Three Secrets to Living a Better Story to a crowd of roughly 22 people Saturday afternoon at the YMCA. Adkins described himself as a transformational life coach and motivational speaker.

He started his presentation by by asking the audience why they decided to be there. And after hearing a range of answers, Adkins asked everyone if they'd like to experience more life freedom, more joy, and more personal growth.

According to Adkins, freedom is the basis of life, while the purpose of life is to have joy. Access to joy is found in freedom. Personal growth is the result of living in joy and experiencing freedom.

"Once it starts and you're aware that is begun… it's going to take you on quite a journey in this thing we call life, in this story that you're living," he said.

He said what people really yearn for is more of themselves..

"You're yearning for that union between the physical you that's here …and a non-physical you that exists at the same time."

Adkins said who we really are is that nonphysical you that has everything available to you.

He then delved into his own personal story, one he reflected on and said he wasn't living.

"I was living a story for somebody else," he said. "… I wasn't invested in the story at all."

Adkins described the story he was living as something other people wanted him to have.

After turning 40 he decided to run 40 consecutive miles. Reflecting on the experience, he looked at his journey, a journey he called a story.

In that story he discovered what was important to him: he loved running.

"Do what you love to do every day in life," he said. "Make time for it. Make time for yourself. Figure out who

you are and what's important to you."

He then told the audience what made a good story: a character who wants something and has to overcome conflict to get it.

He tied that into his presentation by suggesting everyone is their own character who wants something and, in order to get it, has to overcome conflict.

This was his first secret - discovering who you are.

Adkins said we can't allow ourselves to be defined by labels as they will suck the energy out of you.

"You are found in your awareness of you," he said.

According to Adkins, by searching for who you really are you're connecting the physical and non-physical you.

This tied into his first tool: finding what gives you energy.

To find that energy, he suggested asking yourself what you'd like to have more of in life.

Once we can begin to identify who we are we can identify what's important to us, which was his second secret.

These desires, Adkins said, were put there by your non-physical self.

"You're the main character who wants something," he said.

And if we don't know what we want, we don't know where we're going.

If we're aware of how we're feeling and respect those emotions, we tap into who we are, which in turn leads us to the right path.

Adkins then shared his second tool: identifying the characteristics of those we admire because they're a reflection of who we are.

"It's called resourcing," Adkins said. "You're actually resourcing who you are in somebody else, and what comes out is a reflection of who you are. You're just energetically drawn to them."

Adkins third secret was that we needed to make new decisions and commit to something to help overcome the conflict keeping us down.

To make the right choices, they should feel good.

"It's what's keeping you from experiencing and living in freedom where joy is available abundantly and where you can continue to grow," he said. "… and as you grow so too will your story."

He then shared another tool: the perfect 10 day, where we should begin to live within what Adkins termed the heart space.