Hi! I'm Paul Flood.

Welcome to the Optimist Heart. I appreciate your stopping by to learn a bit more about me. I’ll start by introducing my family. Brenda, my wife, and I got married back in 1980 and we have two daughters, Kirsten and Shannon. We also have four grandchildren as well as a wonderful dog and my constant hiking and work companion, Emma (a Catahoula mix).

I am an optimist. An optimist knows there is an answer and a solution to anything that happens in their life, with an awareness that something greater is trying to emerge. That’s me. The list of things I cannot control is long but how I react to or feel about them is always my choice.

After a few decades of searching for something “better” and how to be “better” and live a “better” life, an awareness hit me like a bolt of lightning. What I’d been searching for outside of myself was never elsewhere. I realized what I needed to find was with me all along. It was me. The spiritual path is a search inside, often using methods, tools, and guidance taught by amazing teachers we find outside. 

Looking at this picture of those so dear to me, I'm reminded of the main reason for my optimism, the love that fills the universe and my life.

How I Arrived Here

Throughout my life, I've always felt that things would work out for me. I was always a dreamer and was willing to do things differently. I took a lot of risks and experienced many ups and downs just like anybody does in their life. My downs took me very far down into the darkness.

I went from a six-figure corporate job to struggling to pay for food. I had to sell one of my cars to get the money to pay the utility company and get my power turned back on. I finally realized that I had a choice to make. I could continue as things were, drinking more every day or finally sobering up and starting a new life.

I chose a new life.

It’s a bit ironic that I have a degree in organizational behavior and spent my adult life studying personal development, philosophy, motivation, psychology, peak performance methods, and spirituality. Despite knowing what to do, I never realized how to apply it to my own life.

It was like spending a lifetime building a house, one room at a time with each room being in a different city. Nothing was connected. As I entered a new room that offered a new method to success and happiness, things went well as long as I stayed in that room. Once I left and got back to “real life,” I felt lost so I searched for another room.

I drank. A lot, a real lot and it caught up with me. You may have read stories or seen movies about people who collapsed on the floor, a shaking heap of misery and tears, begging God for help? I used to wonder what it was like until it was me.

It wasn’t a story or a movie. It was the worst moment of my life. However, it became the best moment of my life as the help from God I asked for appeared. It was the moment my recovery and healing began. The help was always there, I chose not to see it and when I finally did, miracles occurred.

I decided to get sober,

A Course in Miracles says that a miracle is a change in perception from fear to love and that they are natural. When they do not occur, something has gone wrong. I let love into my life.

I decided to get sober, spirituality became my guiding light as I realized I needed help. I got my help from God) and embarked on a spiritual and mystic journey that opened my eyes to what I am and the incredible miracles that were occurring every day. I understood what I’d missed during my decades of study and practice. Many angels, in the form of my wife Brenda, sisters, friends, therapists, and others in recovery were incredibly supportive and made the early days bearable and the later days enjoyable.

I woke up. That awakening was not only about seeing myself in a new light, but also in seeing everyone and everything much differently. The mountains of material and the thousands of hours of study began to make sense. I applied it to my life from a new perspective and my life dramatically changed.

"Paul, you have to teach this!"

Over the years, I’d have conversations with friends and acquaintances. Many opened up and revealed issues and challenges in their lives that were bothering them, causing pain and confusion, leaving them feeling empty, confused, and without direction. I’d listen to what they said, how they said it and offer some thoughts and suggestions.

Their reactions? “Are you teaching this?” “How can I work with you?” “You have to teach this!” “People need to hear this.” “You can help a lot of people.”

Several times, people reached out to me days, weeks, even months later and thanked me for changing their lives!

“Paul, I’ve been on cloud nine since we talked.” “Talking with you was like taking a brain shower! I have a whole new way of looking at my business and life. Thank you!”

People called me their teacher.

I’m able to listen to people, what they say and how they say it, particularly the words they used to describe themselves and their situations, and come up with suggestions they could immediately apply for a major shift in how they thought about themselves. When they made these shifts or changes, I learned I was helping them change their lives. The changes were transformational.

I teach a process that shows people how to transform their lives by transforming their thoughts.

Why a process? Life can seem complicated, confusing, and overwhelming.

We want simple things and for things to be easy. It does take some time, patience and practice and, most of all, a willingness to change. You realize to transform your life, things need to change, starting with the thoughts that seem to control every aspect of your life.

You may be frustrated with trying different programs that promise you’ll suddenly find inner peace, massive abundance, perfect relationships, healing, perfect health and be able to manifest whatever you happen to desire at a given moment in time. Those things can and do happen but that’s not a promise I make.

My process teaches you to recognize, stop and change the negative and judgmental conversations that fill your head. Without that control, nothing will happen and old patterns will return and the life you’re trying to change will remain the same.

Once you learn to control your thoughts, a transformation begins.

Things that used to drive you crazy, bring you down, or set you off in a fit of anger will no longer have the slightest impact on you. They’ll strengthen your serenity and inner peace. The person you see in your mirror loves and appreciates you more each day. The shouting voice of judgment becomes a whisper and eventually disappears.

One day, you’ll look back and say, “Wow. My life is better than it was. I am grateful I took the time to learn and apply this process.” Others notice something different about you as well and may ask you for guidance or suggestions. Your optimism grows as you choose love over fear and anger.

You’ll understand why my optimism is boundless and my heart is overflowing with love and gratitude. You realize you’ve stepped into a new beginning as memories of the past are less painful. your future is filled with dreams and your days are filled with wonders.

I have different products and programs that teach you how to recognize what is holding you back or keeping you in a perpetual cycle of judgment and guilt. You learn powerful tools and processes of recognition and release. What is right for you depends on where you are starting and the transformation you desire. Thanks for reading this brief story about my journey and I hope I have the opportunity to participate in guiding your transformation.