DRESS YOUR TRUTH

Come alive. Live your truth. Look GREAT! You have an energy about you. Is it dynamic, subtle, striking or animated? Want to know? When you learn to dress your truth by choosing the right fabric, cut and color plus hair, jewerly and make up for you it all comes together and works right for you.
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Let Gratitude Be Your Attitude

How can I thank thee, let me count the ways.

1.    Thanks for washing the dishes
2.    Thanks for picking up the kids from soccer
3.    Thanks for your support in words and actions
4.    Thanks for giving me the opportunity to pursue my hobby.

At certain times of the year; Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day we as a nation take stock and reflect on what we are thankful for.  Of course, we should be doing this on a regular basis but there’s nothing like a national holiday to drive the point home.  There are even products out there to help remind you to be grateful.

  §  Cards – There’s a card for everything.
        §  Journaling - Writing down what you are grateful for on a continuing basis
        §  List – Making a list of all the things you are grateful for and then keep it handy so that you can read it periodically.
       §  Gratitude Rocks – A special polished stone, sometimes with a saying on it, is put in your pocket or purse to remind you whenever you see or touch it to be thankful.

All of these are great ideas to start using.  Pick whichever one you feel would be the most useful to you.
When we look for things to be thankful for we tend to look outward.  I want you to do something different.  I want you to take a look at yourself and be thankful for the times you have done something for yourself.  Just like when you are in an airplane, you need to put on your own oxygen mask first before helping the person next to you.  Therefore, what have you done for yourself?  What have you done to take care of number one, you?

Have you been eating healthy, exercising regularly, reading a good book, got a massage, took a college course, or anything else you have done just for you?  Thank yourself for putting you at the top of your list for a change.  Oh! And while you are at it, be in gratitude for all the natural talents you possess.  If you aren’t sure about what you have to offer Your True Heart's Desire can help you with that.

The whole point of being in gratitude is that it puts you in a different frame of mind, your outlook on your friends, family, work, community, and even the world changes.   Even when things did not turn out the way you would have liked, be grateful for the learning experience because now you have gained the wisdom to handle the situation differently.  Being in a state of gratitude effects your whole being from your language, to your demeanor, to how you carry yourself.  It becomes a part of you.  You embody the emotion and it shows up in everything you do.  And who doesn’t like being around someone who is always in gratitude?

Let gratitude be your attitude.


Thursday, December 15, 2011

If You Got it Flaunt it


"As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given."  ~ Mary Lou Retton

Every day you make choices that determine your future outcome.  Every choice you’ve made, every decision you made has brought you to the place where you are today. From the friends you chose to hang out with to what you did with the education you’ve received has transformed you into the person you are today. 
Did you study hard throughout the class year or did you decide to cram for the test at the end of the year. That was your choice and so was the end result.  You chose who to date and marry some good and some not so well.  Throughout these choices you were given the opportunity to learn from your choices, to filter out what you want from want you don’t want.  The choices you make give you clarity to make better choices with the intention of making you better person.
Has there been a time in your life when everything was clicking, you were operating on all cylinders, you were at the top of your game, in the zone?  How did you feel? Was it easy? If so, you were in harmony with who-you-are and using your talents to their fullest.  That’s the funny thing about being who-you-are, you not only get to do what your good at but it’s easy. Sweet!
So many people spend their time working on what they’re not good at, hoping that one day they will somehow become balanced, a complete person. The Gallop poll has proven that the most successful people work on their strengths and find someone or something else to cover for the rest.  The best advice is to focus on what you’re good at and let the rest take of itself.  You will always find someone or something to cover for your weaknesses.
Rock it!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Give Money to Receive Money

Give money to receive money. It’s the law but you won’t find it in any book. No. It’s one of the laws of the universe, the law of Giving and Receiving.

Ever notice that there is always an equal but opposite to everything; up/down, back/forth, give /receive.  It’s different aspects of the same energy and absolutely everything has energy even the seemingly stagnate coffee table beside you. Its nature harmonious intelligence in motion, everything seen and unseen constantly flows without us having a conscious awareness about it.
Your mind, body and spirit are in a constant dynamic exchange of energy but stopping that current of circulations is like stopping the flow of blood.  And what happens when blood stops flowing, it begins to clot and becomes sluggish in its movement. Somewhat like our economy right now.  The flow of money is moving very slow and it’s having a hard time getting back into the current. How do we fix that?

First let’s back up a bit and explain a few things. “The word affluence comes from the root word “affluere,” which means “to flow to.”  The word affluence means “to flow in abundance.”  Money is really a symbol of the life energy we exchange and the life energy we use as a result of the service we provide to the universe.  Another word for money is “currency,” which also reflects the flowing nature of energy.  The word currency comes from the Latin word “currere” which means “to run” or to flow.
Therefore, if we stop the circulation of money – if our only intention is to hold onto money and hoard it – since it is life energy, we will stop its circulation back into our lives as well.  In order to keep that energy coming to us, we have to keep the energy circulating.  Like a river, money must keep flowing, otherwise it begins to stagnate, to clog, to suffocate and strangle its very own life force.  Circulation keeps it alive and vital.” (The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success – Deepak Chopra)

Getting back to the Law of Receiving is simple.  In order to receive you have to give. It’s not give and take but a free, loving and joyful type of giving combined with allowing the receiving to come to you.  If you stop the flows of either you interfere with nature’s intelligence.  The more you give the more you will receive.  It will keep the abundance of the universe circulating in your life. And this just isn’t for money but for everything.  If you want joy you give joy. If you desire to be loved than you need to love others, want peace – give peace, want more clients – help others to get clients. You have to give freely and with joy the thing you wish to receive.
Giving isn’t just for birthdays, anniversaries and holidays.  You can give freely anytime, anywhere and to anyone.  It’s your choice.  Go for it!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Retire! Bah Hum Bug

You’re as young as you feel , saving the best for last or it isn’t over till I say it’s over might describe the individuals who continue to learn, achieve and grow well into retirement years.  It’s as if they’re just hitting their stride.  Age is but a number.

They have such drive and sense of purpose that it propels them to continue to learn and grow.  Now with the wisdom they’ve earned through the years they’re able to continue to make their mark. What’s interesting is that their achievements are from different venues; fashion, political, athletic, education, science, music and the arts. It’s a true testament that it’s not over until you say it is.

The achievements of the following individuals didn’t happen overnight but were an accumulation and extension of what they’ve already experienced.
    
Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another” ~John Dewey


Take a look at just some of the well known individuals who made or continued to achieve and grow in their 70’s.

70 – Dr. William Mayo founds a medical clinic which will bear his name.

71 – Fashion icon Coco Chanel debuts the Chanel suit.

72 – Karl Wallenda, of the famous Flying Wallendas, walks a high wire between the Eden Rock and Fontianebleau hotels in Paris.

73 – Ronald Reagan is elected President of the United States.

74 – Ethel Andrus founds the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

75 – Piano virtuoso Claudio Arrau stays busy ion his seventy-fifth year, performing a total of 110 concerts.

76 – Thomas Jefferson begins designing buildings and developing curricula for the University of Virginia.

77 – Astronaut (and Senator) John Glenn returns to space on the Space Shuttle Discovery mission.

78 – Grandma Moses begins her career as a serious painter.

79 – Giuseppe Verdi composed the opera Falstaff.



There are people all around that are still learning and growing well into their retirement years.  Take my grandpa for example.  He finally gave up dairy farming at the ripe old age of 75.  That’s hard work at any age.  However he didn’t retire, that wasn’t his nature.  He rented out his land to another farmer and took up raising heifers and peacocks.  He also had taken up woodworking in his later years and now that he had more time he began making even more and difficult pieces. No he wasn’t famous but he did set an example for his children and grandchildren to follow.  He finally passed on when he was 91 years old.

What does this tell me? That when you stay engaged in life, have a sense of meaning and purpose you are more likely to live longer and enjoy it more too.

What does it say to you?

Monday, November 21, 2011

Where’s the Reset Button?

Ever have those days when things just aren’t going right and you wish you could start all over? I’m giving you permission to do just that.  Push the reset button.

Of course sometime you may need a total shut down and reboot.  However, it’s much better to do one of those versus pushing the escape button.  By escaping you’re not dealing with what’s going on and what you could learn from it.  The restart and reboot buttons say you know something isn’t right but you’re willing to meet the obstacles head on with new direction, determination and focus.  It’s about taking the negative out of the situation and turning it around into a positive one.

We all need to have a reset button. The problem comes when you either don’t recognize it or don’t create the space to allow your mental and emotional state to deal with it. When something isn’t working for you – restart.  Who says you have to continue on in that capacity anyway, no one?  It’s just you plugging away hoping things will get better if you keep keeping on.  Instead stop, take a deep breath and remind yourself of what makes you great.  Once you’ve got that “feel good” feeling back go back to what you were doing.  If you’re having trouble with that you may need to have a conversation with someone who knows you well enough to get you back into that space.

Okay, your system has been reset.  Go be the talented, amazing, fun loving person you are.  

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Tenacity of Fran Drescher

She takes a licking and keeps on ticking. For those of you who don’t know her let me give you a brief history.

She was married to a guy she knew in H.S. for 20 years.  She had a hard time getting acting gigs because of her nasal sounding voice. Instead of letting that stop her she used it to her advantage. Her then husband and her produced the show “The Nanny” which was a huge hit and very funny.

When she was a young adult an intruder raped her and her girlfriend.  Her husband was a witness but was unable to help them.  IT took her a few years to come to terms with it but she didn’t let that stop her from living life.

Sometime during her marriage her husband came to realized that he was gay and came out.  She supported him even though it meant the end of her marriage.

Several years ago she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. So far she’s had a clean bill of health since then.  It was such an ordeal for her she decided to write a book about her experience entitled Cancer Schmancer.

She has remained friends with her ex-husband and now he is producing another TV show for her called Happily Divorced.  It’s about a former married couple living together due to financial reasons.  Oh and by the way, he’s gay.  Sound familiar?

Here’s a women who keeps turning the negatives in her life into positives.  It’s what I refer to as flipping it which basically means the same thing.  Take whatever you don’t like that’s happening to you and find a way to have it work for you instead.

I don’t know what Fran Drescher came into this world to do because there are so many examples to choose from.  However, when you look at how she’s dealt with the negatives in her life I’d say she’s doing it. The message; Find a way to turn the negative into a positive.

Question, what do you think you’re here to do based on what’s happened in your life?

Monday, November 14, 2011

Commitment – Not Just a Piece of Paper

There is something about vocally making a commitment, putting pen to paper and having witnesses that suddenly solidifies a commitment.  It’s as if it reached into the center of your being and makes you react with a sense of this is really important. Remember it. Don’t renege.

To the witnesses it gives the contract credibility but still there’s the physical words and signage that really gives it credence.  It not only brings it to the forefront of your conscious but gets embedded at the cellular level.
 
Commitment changes relationships. Your friends, neighbors, co-workers and even your in-laws come and go. Sure you may be uncomfortable with the change in the relationship but there was no commitment to fall back on.  They never indicated that they were going to be your friend forever. Besides, did you really lose a friend or did one of you decide she needed to move on in order to grow? If that’s the case then you never lost the friendship.

How many times have you known or heard about a couple who have lived quite well together for several years only to get married and shortly thereafter get divorced? What changed the relationship, the commitment? It took on a new meaning, more importance.  Now a commitment has been made not only to another person but to yourself to uphold. Can you do it?

For some reason people think they’re getting married to appease religious beliefs, society or government.  Not true. Even in the Catholic religion, out of the seven sacraments, marriage is the only sacrament that is given from one person to another, the church only overseas it as a witness from God.  Therefore the commitment is between the man, women and God.  It’s a really a private matter. If it’s not upheld you are breaking a promise not only to the other person but to yourself and sometimes those are the hardest to face, breaking a promise and thereby letting yourself down.

There are a few people who claim they won’t marry because it’s just a piece of paper, REALLY? The number one reason a person would say this is out of FEAR; fear of failure. If you don’t make a committed statement then you can’t fail.  Sure the person might go on and one about freedom from outside influences but really it comes down to fear.  It’s interesting to note that people have no problem signing contracts and commitments to do a job, make payments or such but to make a commitment to another person propels it to a whole new level. Suddenly excuses come up.

My favorite excuse is when a couple claim they won’t marry until everyone has the right to marry anyone they want.  That’s a cop out, a stall tactic.  It’s a way to draw attention away from them and onto another group.  As if the laws were immediately going to be changed so that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie could get married.  Does anybody really care?  They’re both pretty independent and I would venture to say that if the law did change they’d find another excuse.  If they ever do get married it’ll be on their own terms.

It’s also interesting to note that even children with unwed parents want them to have a commitment to each other.  Eventually they will question, plead and sell the notion of it to their parents. Is this out of fear, society pressures or is it engrained at a cellular level from our creator that contracts and thereby commitments are part of our purpose for being here?

With that said, what do you think it is about a commitment to another person that propels it to another level?

Monday, November 7, 2011

Take a Little Piece of My Heart

That’s what it feels like when you dishonor yourself by being inauthentic.  A little piece of you dies because you chose to go with the crowd, to fit in, liked or accepted. That’s the price you just paid.

It’s not something tangible like money or even physically observed but something deep down happened to your self-esteem and respect when you chose to be inauthentic, to be who you really are just for the sake of being able to fit in.

It’s such a high price to pay and yet you won’t even realize how much until one day you wake up and wonder “Who am I? How did I, the real me, get lost in this game of life”.

I’ll tell you how it happened, slowly, bit by bit, with one fear after another until there are only traces of you left. Your truth is still hidden, afraid to be exposed which is quite understandable if you’re not quite sure about them or aren’t the type of person who can be diplomatic when disagreeing with others.  However, pretending to be, or hiding your true nature can cause all sorts of physical and emotional problems. 

One day you may explode and those around you will stand there in shock wondering what got into you. There must be something wrong with you if you can’t control yourself.  But who do you have to blame, no one but yourself because you let the fear of not being liked and accepted get in the way of being your authentic self?

What do you do now?  Well, you discover who the authentic self is within.  Day by day and bit by bit you meet those fears head on until your authentic self no longer feels the need to hide. In the end, you’ll find the people who are still in your life truly love and accept you for who you are.

Monday, October 24, 2011

What I Like About My Face Book Friends

As a life coach I get to know my clients on a very deep level. They tell me their hopes and dreams, things they may not even tell their friends, all without fear of being judged. Their secrets are safe with me. Of course my job is to get them to embrace their talents and encourage their dreams. Face Book is like coaching in a way but instead of listening closely to what the other person is saying, you read what the other person is posting.

Face Book is great in that it gives us a somewhat safe environment in which to express ourselves. You post your daily events, a picture of you and your friends, quotes and viewpoints. We get to know what’s important to you. What are your interests and hobbies, even what teams you follow? Each posting brings us closer together and reveals a little bit more of you. It reminds me of a song from The King and I. Getting to know you, getting to know all about you, getting to like you, hoping that you like me.

We all get to know who you really are not the façade that you may present to the world. We get to know the true spirit behind the shell. That’s not to say that you are normally a fake but that when we interact with others on a daily basis we don’t usually share what truly is important to us. For example; how well do you know your coworkers? Do you REALLY know what is important to them and to what depth? When a friend on Face Book posts pictures, quotes or comments say on servicemen, a tragedy, or spiritual insights you really get a sense of who the person is even if you don’t agree with their viewpoint.

I’ll admit that there are Face Book friends that I don’t personally know but after following their posts I want to meet them. I may even say that I really like this person. In fact, there have been several occasions where eventually I have physically met a Face Book friend. I feel as if I know them. Yes, Face Book breaks down barriers.

There are millions of Face Book users worldwide but with each post it’s becoming a small world after all. Agree?

Thursday, October 20, 2011

You Have Everything You Need to Succeed

Look around. Take a closer look. You already have the talent you need right now for the next phase of your goal. Why else would you have it? You either have it because it’s the primary resource you need to achieve your goal or it’s a secondary supporting talent. Either way it’s something you don’t need to think about, you just do it.

Every talent you have right now has prepared you for the next phase of your goal. Therefore you already have the tools you need to succeed.

It really is true. If deep down you didn’t think you could do it you wouldn’t even have the goal to begin with. And it just doesn’t apply to you it applies to those you know.

You already have all the resources you need. They may be three degrees removed from you but they’re there.

- It could be three more web sites you need to search before you find your answer.

- It could be three more calls you need to make before you find the person that can help you.

- It could be three more places you need to check out in order to start the elimination process.

- It could be a friend of a friend of a friend that finally gives you the job you’ve been looking for.

These are just a fraction of the resources you have available to you. The important thing about your goal is not only thinking about it but taking action. A seemingly insignificant casual conversation could be just the break through you’re looking for. Take stock of not only what you have going for you, like your talents, but who you know.

Be persistent.

Keep your eye on the prize.

Above all else have the faith that it’s not a matter of if your goal comes true but of when.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Inner Child Gone Wild

This past summer I went to Disney World 30+ years after my first visit. However, this time I saw it from a creative and business point of view. I marveled at all the different theme parks, the imagination that went into creating it and the logistics of maintaining it. It sure has grown.

To think it all started with one man’s vision, and a big one it was. Who would have thought a cartoon mouse could have developed into a multiple theme park that people from all over the world would one day visit. It truly is amazing.

Where did it begin, in Walt Disney’s imagination? That’s where all creativity starts, in your mind. You have a thought and you keep adding more to it. Eventually you take action and wah..la. You’ve created something. The sky is the limit when you use your imagination. Anything is possible. An imagination is the spring board for creativity.

Creativity is defined as the ability to take a unique idea or thought and create a colorful image for yourself and others to enjoy. We all have the ability to create to one degree or another however society tends to regard writers, singers, movie makers, musicians and artists as the only creative ones. This is not true. However, these people have a strong passion to express themselves. It’s something they must do.

Walt Disney falls into this category. As an artist who drew he continued to work on improving his characters even after being rejected. That didn’t stop him because drawing was something he had to do. He definitely let his inner child run wild. He created many cartoon characters that are still known today. Even after Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto characters were cemented in our lives he continued to expand and build upon his vision. What else could he do to bring joy to others?

In addition to Disney theme parks there’s a whole movie company built around good family entertainment. Walt Disney had a vision over 50 years ago that continues to grow today.

What a feeling it must be to bring so many smiles, laughter and joy to so many people. WOW!

And what made him so great? He listened to his inner child of creativity and let his imagination run wild. The world has been changed forever because of one man’s imagination.

Thank you so very much, Walt.

What can your imagination do?

Monday, October 10, 2011

BWCA on fire– Is it a good thing?

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in MN recently experienced the destruction of 160+ acres of land. It’s sad to see such a beautiful untouched wilderness destroyed but then again it IS the cycle of life.

Nature is always in perfect harmony. When the fire struck the BWCA it was nature’s way of saying it was time for a fresh start. It had been the same way for far too long and needed to be renewed. It’s nature’s way of making adjustments to be in harmony. Out with the old and in with the new. In the chaos of nature order will emerge and something new will be reborn.

Quite a few years ago I was in Yellowstone National Park and saw the acres’ of trees that were destroyed. Laid bare were the rolling hills of barren tree stumps and fallen branches. But if you looked really close you could see new growth already taking place. Little shoots of trees that one day would tower over the boulders and shrubs beneath them.

With that shift I gave a sigh of relief and realized everything is as it should be. Nature takes care of itself and even after a seemingly defeat it was already picking itself up with the seeds of growth.

Makes me wonder why humans can’t do the same, your thoughts.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

What You Can Learn from Dancing With the Stars

Relax, it’s not to dance. It’s something more important that you can use in your daily life.

If you’re a fan of DWTS you’ll notice that celebrities who started off as so-so end up pretty good before they’re eliminated. The professional dancers have worked with their partner to bring out the best in him or her.

Basically that means if their partner isn’t limber enough and has difficulty doing a certain move the professional will choreograph a routine that accents what their partner can do instead of forcing her to do a move that’ won’t show her in the best light.

As the weeks progress, if or when the celebrity can finally do the move it gets added in to increase points, otherwise the professional continues to work with what the celebrity can do. Of course they’re still pushing their student to do everything better but if the gal can’t do the splits the professional will use a similar move that will look just as elegant.

What can you learn from DWTS? It’s simple. Go with what you can do, accent the positive aspect of what you can do versus bringing attention to what you can’t do.

It’s no different than finding clothes and colors that work for you versus choosing a style or color just because it’s the “in” thing.

When you’re doing what you’re best at you’re always in style.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Making the Shift from Smart to Wise

At what point does one become wise? The truth is there really isn’t any one significant event or time when someone is considered wise. It’s an accumulation of events, experiences, sadness and joy that ultimately earns the recipient the term wise.

Tis not knowing much, but what is useful, that makes a wise person”. ~ Thomas Fuller, MD

A wise person hears one word and understands two”. ~ Yiddish Proverb

Oh and one thing you’ll notice about people you consider to be wise, they exude humility. It’s as if through all their experiences they’ve learned where they fit in the world and are grateful for all they’ve experienced.

Here are some people who didn’t slow down as they were getting older but continued to pursue their ambitions well into their 60’s.

60 – Dr Hattie Alexander discovers the cure for bacterial meningitis.

61 – Sharpshooter Annie Oakley nails 98 of100 clay pigeons in an exhibition at a North Carolina gun club.

62 – Louis Pasteur inoculates his first patient against rabies.

63 – Eugenicist Francis Galton demonstrates that each person’s fingerprints are unique. Criminals worldwide mourn.

64 – Betty Ford, wife of President Gerald R. Ford, opens her eponymously named clinic to treat substance abuse.

65 – Colonel Harland Sanders begins nationwide licensing for his special fried chicken recipe, which will come to be known as Kentucky Fried Chicken.

66 – Michelangelo completes his Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel.

67 – Engineer Joseph Baermann Strauss celebrates as his masterwork, the Golden Gate Bridge, is opened to traffic.

68 – Lillian Cater, mother of President Jimmy Carter, joins the Peace Corps and works for two years as a nurse in India.

69 – Mary Kaplan realizes her goal of running a marathon in every U.S. state – and finishing first in her age group in each race.

It proves age is but a number. You have as much life left in you as what you put into it.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Nobody Does it Better

“Nobody does it better.

Makes me feel sad for the rest

Nobody does it half as good as you

Baby, you’re the best”

These are lyrics from the song, “Nobody Does it Better” sung by Carly Simon.

When it comes to the combination of your unique talents, nobody DOES do it quite the way you do. The problem is discovering what that unique thing you do IS. What is it that makes you special that makes you stand out from the rest?

If you’re really good at singing or playing sports it’s obvious what your thing is. But even with these obvious talents there’s the underlying tenacity and driving force that makes the person strive to be better.

Therefore, even though someone’s good at sports what makes him stand out might really be his willingness to go the extra mile, to have laser like focus on the task at hand. That’s his real talent and it’s what will bode well when he’s an adult.

However, let’s say you can’t quite get a handle on what it is that makes you grand. Perhaps instead it’s your encouraging words that lift another person’s spirit, to carry on, or your ability to listen intently when anyone tells you what’s going on in their lives.

These are the talents that aren’t going to make you stand out in a crowd or win awards but are going to give you the respect a and admiration of the people you have touched. It’s up to you to decide what is more important and what would give you the greatest satisfaction.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Nobody’s Perfect

Guess again. Don’t strain yourself on this one because it’s not a “who” that’s perfect but a “what”. What’s perfect, nature?

It may teeter a bit one way or another but it’s always striving to remain in perfect harmony. It may not appear that way to us humans but nature has been doing fine long before humans arrived. All the natural resources that existed eons ago are still here.

Species come and go naturally on their own without any interference from humans. Some species evolve, adapt, and expand like the various types of big cats and bears while others disappear like the dinosaurs. The same can be said for the various types of indigenous people and cultures that we now know existed.

We live in a world of constant change. As a human race we can learn to adapt and evolve or we will also become extinct. That’s not to say that we’ll all die but rather our cultures and way of life will no longer look the same tomorrow as it does today, but then nothing ever does stay the same does it?

Is that bad? No. Who’d want to stay the same anyway? That’s boring. It’s going to change with or without your cooperation so you might as well get over it and go with the flow. Instead of viewing change as the enemy view it as an adventure with the attitude, “I wonder what life has in store for me today.”

The whole world is in chaos right now. There are still some adjustments that need to be made before the pendulum can swing back and find its own harmony again. Out of chaos comes order. Unfortunately, we are still in the chaos stage.

Action Step: If you look at our own life and compare it to one, three or five years ago, where are you on the pendulum swing? Are you still swinging more to chaos or do you feel you’re on the back swing and you’re finally adjusting to a new order? Take comfort that order is on the way and like nature we’re also striving for harmony.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Raise Your Credit Score

Give yourself credit for what you’ve done and how far you’ve come.

Too often we overlook the things that we do on a daily basis as insignificant because it’s easy. It’s what we do. In reality for you it might be easy but for the guy next to you it’s a struggle. That’s why it’s so hard to give yourself credit, it’s easy. For some reason we believe that to be valued it must be hard to do. Nonsense! I’m on a revolution here to change that kind of thinking. Are you with me?

Here’s a clue. When someone gives you a compliment about something you did and your response is something like, “It was nothing or no big deal”, that’s your clue that it’s one of your talents. Remember those moments when you’re feeling a bit down on yourself.

Here’s another easy test. Look back at the week and reflect on what you’ve accomplished. Take it a step further and look back at the last six months. How far have you come? What goals did you set for yourself and meet? If not, have you gotten closer to it? Every step you took brought you closer and closer to where you are today. Give yourself credit.

It fluctuates. One week you may give yourself a three while another week you were hitting nines. That’s really good. Give yourself credit.

Instead of looking at how far you have to go to reach your goal, look at how far you’ve come. The results may surprise you. Sometimes the goal isn’t’ so much a “doing” thing but a “being “ thing in that you’ve grown as a person. Others may not notice the growth that’s taken place but you have. Give yourself credit.

Every course, conversation or book you’ve read has brought you closer to who you want to be. Give yourself credit.

How high is your score now?

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I Confess

I’m a feel good junkie. Guess what, so are you? It’s nothing to be ashamed of.
You always want to feel good about yourself. You seek out activities that you’re already good in. If you’re not good at math you’re certainly not going to apply for a bookkeeping job or play hockey if you can’t skate. No, you’re going to choose the job or activity that you’ve already had some success in and hopefully build on it.

Deep down what you’re looking for is to feel good about yourself. Why take the chance of receiving a bad review from your boss or embarrassed because of your lack of skill on an ice rink? You consciously choose what you’re good at. It’s as if your spirit has a safe guard mechanism to protect your self esteem. Isn’t that sweet?

Even the language you use is part of this mechanism. When you hear a put-down it’s indirectly a way for the person talking to feel better about him. By drawing attention to another person’s fault it makes him look good. In extreme cases the person may adopt a poor-poor pitiful me attitude which is like him screaming for some positive feedback. Make me feel good. Make me feel good.

If you really think about the underlying reason why you do what they do, it’s to feel good about yourself. You’re a feel good junkie.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Middle Age – I Think Not


The fifties are more like coming into your own and hitting your stride. By this time in your life wisdom takes over where knowledge and experience left off. All the choices you’ve made have come to fruitation or starting to emerge. It’s a grand time because if you don’t have the “I don’t care what anybody thinks” attitude already, you sure have it now.

Reasons that held you back in the previous years now vanish and you come into your own. Your true colors emerge. But why wait until you’re in your fifties when you can work on that attitude change right now.

Take a look at the unique people who’ve made their mark at “middle age.”

50 – Charles Darwin publishes his pioneering work, On the Origin of Species.

51 – Sandra Day O’Connor becomes the first woman justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

52 – Tchaikovsy composes a ballet suite called The Nutcracker.

     - Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman, starts a fast-food chain called McDonalds

     - Leonardo da Vinci completes the Mona Lisa.

53 – Margaret Thatcher is elected as Great Britain’s first female Prime Minister.

      - Walt Disney opens a theme park he calls Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

      - Ernest Hemingway writes The Old Man and the Sea.

54 – Henry Heimlich makes public a choking-prevention maneuver that will eventually be named after him.

55 - Author Alex Haley publishes his epic masterwork, Roots.

56 – Gustave Eiffel completes the design for the Paris tower that will bear his name.

57 – George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States, receiving all 69 electoral votes. He will stand as the only President unanimously elected.

      - Annie Peck becomes the first person to reach the summit of Mount Huascaran in the Andes.

58 – W. H. Hoover develops an electric suction sweeper that is soon dubbed a vacuum cleaner.

59 – Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross

     - Madeleine Albright becomes the first women Secretary of State for the United States.

This just a reminder that it’s not over till it’s over. Make the best use of the time you have here because when you hit 50 you may only be half way there.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Celebrate What Unites Us Not What Divides Us


“As world events reflect, we remain far from mastering the art of human relations. We have invented no technology that will guide us to the destinations that matter most.

After two world wars, the Holocaust, multiple genocides, and countless conflicts, we must ask how long it will be before we are able to rise above the national, racial, and gender distinctions that divide us, and embrace the common humanity that binds us.

The answer depends not on the starts or some mysterious forces of history; it depends on the choices that you and I and all of us make.” ~ Madeleine Albright

Nothing tears people more apart than pointing out what separates them from one another rather than what binds them. Take any natural disaster and suddenly nationality, race, gender or political affiliation doesn’t matter anymore. People unite for the common good of solving the problem at hand.

As the saying goes, “Where attention goes energy flows”. When you focus on what divides us, even more things that divide us will come to mind. Things that you didn’t even give much thought to now rise to the surface and become important simply because you put your attention on it. However when you focus on what binds us you can actually feel yourself becoming more calm and relaxed. Try it.

I’ve traveled to many places around the world and for the most part everybody is the same. They want the same things out of life like raising a happy and healthy family, finding fulfillment in their work and being able to worship in their own way. There are things that are understood in any culture like laughter and compassion. These are the things that we should be focusing on instead of our differences.

The real kicker is you and I have the power to bind us rather than divide us by the choices we make every day. It could show up in what we do or say.

Make the call.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Make Your Mark. Do it Your Way



“What do you want to be remembered for when you die? I love to ask people this question. Their answers tell me much about what they’re up to in life.


I once had the opportunity to ask Steve Jobs the cofounder of Apple and creator of the Macintosh computer. His answer surprised me. He said, “I want to be remembered as the best father in the whole world.” Not what I expected from a living legend – a brilliant man who is leading pioneer in the technology revolution, and a marketing genius to boot?


If I were to ask you the same question, “How do you want to be remembered when you die?” what would your answer be?


You don’t have to be world famous to make a difference in the world. Perhaps you are active in your community, or in your church or synagogue. Maybe you are involved in politics. Millions of people make a difference by volunteering in hospitals, hospices, homeless shelters, and social service organizations. Maybe the difference you make is in the arts, with your music, writing, painting, sculpture, or other art form. Perhaps you are one of those angels known as teachers – who make a huge difference by educating our next generation of citizens. And maybe, like Steve Jobs, the difference you are most interested in making is within your own family.


The question is: What will be your legacy to the world?”


What do you want to be remembered for after you die?

Make your mark in your own way. It doesn’t matter if no one else thinks it’s special. It only matters if YOU think it is.

Clue- If it makes you happy it’s special

Make your mark!







Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The Fabulous 40’s

Just when you think your life is on the down swing along come some remarkable people proving you wrong by hitting their stride. All the hard work and lessons they’ve learned have finally reached a climatic point where everything starts to come together and presto, greatness.


Life isn’t over. It’s just beginning.

You know the saying “I wish I knew then what I know now”, that’s part of the wisdom you have in your forties. The forties are the accumulation of what you learned thus far but the difference is now you’ve got the courage and maturity to pull it off.

Just look at what these people achieved and they haven’t even reached middle age.

40 – Harriet Beecher Stow publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

     - Leo Tolstoy finishes writing a mammoth novel he titles War and Peace.

41 – The oldest punter in the NFL, Jeff Feagles is names by his fellow players as one of the league’s top punters.

42 – A man apparently not afraid to seek guidance for direction, Galileo Galilei invents the compass.

43 – Physician John H. Kellogg creates a flaked breakfast cereal.

44 - Sam Walton founds Wal-Mart.

45 – Henry Ford introduces and automobile he dubs the Model T.

     - Gene Rodenberry unveils a TV series he calls Star Trek.

     - Walter Cronkite assumes the role of anchor of The CBS Evening News.

46 – Charles Darrow invents a board game called Monopoly.

     - Volleyball legend Karch Kiraly plays his final matches before finally retiring.

47 – Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovers an antibiotic called penicillin.

48 – Mark Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

49 – Chef Julia Child writes Mastering the Art of French Cooking.


Don’t let age be an excuse.


“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.” ~ Confucius

Monday, August 15, 2011

You’re One of a Kind. Go With it.


“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.

It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions.

It is your business to … keep the channel open … Whether you choose to take an art class, keep a journal, record your dreams, dance your story, or live each day from you own creative source, above all else, keep the channel open?”


I really like this quote form Martha Graham because 1) it encourages you to look at what unique thing you have to offer and to express it 2) It reminds you that because you’re unique there’s no point in comparing yourself to others and you need be grateful for what you’ve got.

Sometimes you can get so focused on the talents of other people you forget that you have some too. All that does is make you feel bad about yourself and that won’t make you happy.

It’s okay to acknowledge and appreciate someone else’s talents but remember you have some that they don’t have.

Action Step: Anytime you catch yourself feeling bad about yourself because someone else has something you believe or wish you did have, remember that it’s their gift.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

You’ve Only Just Begun


When I was a teen I thought my 40 something parents were old and that it was down hill from there, boy was I wrong.

The 30’s is when most people are establishing themselves in their career and settling into a family routine, if there is such a thing, where family plays a big part of life.

As the 40’s emerge there are the ceremonial “over the hill” parties and jokes. The kids are more equipped to take care of themselves and you’re established in your career.

The younger generation looks at these times as being over the hill but really you’ve only just begun. Typically, it’s somewhere in the 30-40 age range when a person starts to really discovering who they are. What is it they really want out of life? Where do they want to go from here?

Take a look at some of the people who didn’t start to wither away but who continued to challenge themselves to be more than who they started out to be. In this list are some famous and not so famous people who have made their mark in profound ways. How many times have you sang, “Happy Birthday to You”? Do you know it was written by a 34 year old woman?


30- Sylvester Stallone stars in Rocky, a film he also directed and wrote.

30- Thomas Edison invents the phonograph.

31- Shakespeare pens Romeo and Juliet.

32- Lila Wallace, along with husband Dewitt, founds Reader’s Digest.

33- Thomas Jefferson pens the Declaration of Independence.

33- George Lucas creates a film called Star Wars.

34- Phil Knight launches a shoe and apparel company that he calls Nike.

34- Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

34- Kindergarten teacher Mildred hill composes the music for a ditty called “Happy Birthday to You.”

35- Margret Rey writes a children’s book called Curious George.

36- Albert Einstein proclaims his general theory of relativity: the fields of physics and astronomy will never be the same.

36- Ben Franklin invents the Franklin stove.

36- Johnny Carson debuts as host of The Tonight Show.

37- Ann Landers begins a newspaper advice column.

37- Amy Tan publishes The Joy Luck Club.

38- Dr. Jonas Salk develops a vaccine for polio.

38- Coco Chanel unveils her perfume, Chanel No 5.

39- After dropping 70 pounds, Jean Nidetch creates a movement called Weight Watchers.


This is just a small fraction of the people who have made a difference at a young age. Wait till you see the list for the fabulous 40’s.

The point being, age is but a number. Don’t let it hinder you from what you were born to be.



Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Real Men Wear Pink


Why do some men look good in pink, or for that matter any pastel color, contrast?

Typically the more masculine the guy the greater chance he looks better in soft colors. I know some men don’t like to wear soft colors because they think it makes them look wimpy. That’s a personal viewpoint. However we’re going for contrast here, therefore soft colors on a dark hair and skin make the person stand out more. The opposite would be true for guys with lighter hair and skin. It’s the contrast between the man’s features and the color that make him stand out. The color accents the person and balances out the masculine energy.

The opposite would be true for a woman. A very feminine women looks good in masculine attire, it balances out the female/male energy, while some women in masculine attire can’t pull it off.

It’s the Ying and Yang principle. Balance the energy. I think that’s one of the reasons men and women are attracted to each other. Ever notice that when one of them is strong in something the other one is not? As partners, they’re balancing the energy between the two of them.

It doesn’t just show up in relationships but also work. A boss will hire the person who best fits the need. In other words, the area that needs filling will balance out the business so that it functions more efficiently.

Contrast helps balance the energy. It’s saying that as spiritual beings we’re always trying to balance the energy around us. It could show up in the people we’re with, our environment, work, or even the kind of clothes we choose to wear. We aren’t consciously aware of where our spirit is at but it’s instinctively trying to put our being and environment into alignment. However, sometimes our conscious mind tries to fight it by saying it doesn’t want to do that. That’s another story.

Ying and Yang, Karma, call it what you will but your spirit is always working at achieving balance whether you’re aware of it or not.

Therefore, perhaps the struggles and challenges you’ve had in your life are just your spirit trying to balance itself out.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Paying Taxes? Good! You’re Making Money

The first time I herd that phrase I was a little taken aback. Who wants to pay more taxes? If anything, people want to pay less. In fact, most people look for ways to get out of paying as much taxes as they can. They look forward to receiving a refund and plan on how they’ll spend it. I use to be one of them.

But then I realized the statement was true. If you’re paying taxes you’re making money and the more taxes you’re paying the ore money you’re making. They go together like milk and cookies. Therefore, if you want to be rich you have to get into the mindset of paying a lot in taxes.

To expect to be rich and get a refund does not compute. To believe that you can be rich and still receive a refund goes against the law of the universe, give and receive. In order to get something you have to give something in equal or greater value. It’s like playing the stock market, the greater the risk the greater the reward. It’s also like the executive who gets paid a lot of money, she has the greater risk and responsibility therefore she gets the larger paycheck. If she doesn’t do her job then the whole company could go under which affects all the other employees.

Ever notice that the people who pay the least amount in taxes also are the poorest? Of course you have. If you’re poor and you’re not paying hardly anything in taxes, then it would stand to reason that you would be able to dig yourself out of that state of affairs. However, that’s not how it plays out.

According to the Universe they remain poor because they unknowingly choose it. They don’t know they have the power to change their situation. They’re looking for what they can get and not looking at what they can give. It’s the old saying, what goes around comes around. In the Bible it’s referred to “You reap what you sow”.

Now the Universe isn’t particular on the giving part. The giving could be something of value or your expertise or helping others in their pursuit. What it does want is for you to be very clear on what you want, believe it will happen, start taking the steps to make it happen and when bits of it start to arrive, accept in with gratitude.

If you have the mindset that you’ll always be poor then guess what, you will be. You’ve already decided that’s how it’ll be. The people who have risen from poverty BELIEVED that they would. If you’re always looking for a program or society to bail you out then you’re not willing to do the giving part. Some people have even adopted an entitlement mentality, as if to say, the government (you and I) have to take care of them.

They don’t realize they have the power to change their reality. Some people even afraid to work more hours or take a promotion because it’ll mean they’ll pay more taxes. They’re not looking at it for a broader perspective. You may just have to do that for awhile in order to get to the next level.

As for me, I want to pay lots and lots of taxes.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

What Cell Phones can Teach us About Faith?

Telephones still amaze me. You can dial a number across the world and in just a few seconds you’re connected. Amazing! It just baffles my mind how Alexander Graham Bell even had the thought that it was possible. Look at us now!

How about radio? Who knew all those radio waves were always around us just waiting to be tapped. Makes you wonder what else is out there to be discovered. We’ve probably only scratched the surface.

Combine the two and what have you got – cell phones. Who today doesn’t have a cell phone, not many? They’re everywhere and being used for all sorts of things. How many applications do you have?

They’re getting to be so common and such an integral part of our daily lives that some people can’t live without them. Teenagers practically can’t communicate without them. If they’re not talking on them they’re texting, listening to music or playing a game. They’re taken for granted.

What confuses me about some people is how they can grasp the concept of everyday technology that they can’t see or understand yet question the existence of a higher power because they can’t see, hear or feel it. They need proof.

Does everything have to be proven first to be believed? Science is an avenue for proof. It’s the mind saying convince me or to say that it’s right. Technology is the vehicle for the possibilities. It’s the concept put into physical form.

You can’t see radio waves but we know they do exist. It’s evident in the cell phones we use every day. In fact we can have various types of information transported by using a different frequency. We know that carbon monoxide can kill you but we can’t smell it. We know there are sounds that the human ear can’t hear but other animals can hear them. Why then is it so hard to grasp spirit? Seeing, hearing and feeling aren’t a prerequisite for believing. Sometimes you just know something is right because it feels right.

Intuition is like that. It just feels right. It directs you to do what’s best for you. You can’t see it but you can hear it if you pay attention to it. It’s not about proof but about trust, it’s trusting yourself enough to listen to what’s best for you. It’s having the faith that it’s coming from a higher power.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Stop Discrimination. Let’s Start with Sports

Yep. If we’re really serious about having a good representation of our society then we’d have more white people playing professional football and basketball and we’d have more women running the country. What do you say, yes or no? Should we do it?

However, let’s be realistic. As any coach will say you put the best person suited for the job or task in and not just because it’s their turn or to be fair to the other players. If you’re really serious about winning you use your best player or combination of players to execute and deliver to achieve the results you’re looking for. Besides being talented you also need to have the desire, drive, determination and passion to achieve the results requested of you. Oh and another thing, you need to get along well with others. Therefore, you can be the best wide receiver in the league but if you can’t get along with your fellow teammates and coaches you’re not going to last long, not because you’re not talented but because it’s exhausting trying to appease one player. It becomes a drain on the whole team and it’s just not worth the trouble. This happens in sports and well as business. Actually in the business world you’re let go a lot faster.

Using the best person for the job is what I believe is essential for success in business, government and our society today. Professional sports, business and government would look differently today if it weren’t for the individuals who not only had the skill but had the will to see themselves through all the obstacles they had to endure to get there.

Therefore if a black person is better than a white person playing a sport then they should be the one to represent their team, city, state, country, sex, race and nationality, if a white women is better equipped to run the country over any man then she should be the one chosen to do so. The same goes for any other field out there be it business, sports or government.

It’s not necessarily that there aren’t qualified people to do the job, but that the most qualified person doesn’t have the will to do it. This isn’t a negative statement but a realization that perhaps the person has values such as family that out-way any contribution they believe they could make. In that case, we don’t always get the best qualified but one of the best from the pool of candidates. Remember, sometimes just having the tenacity to stick with it has propelled some unlikely candidates into the position.

Let’s stop trying to be fair, who said life was supposed to be fair anyway, and have everyone focus on what they’re good at doing and let the chips fall where they may. I wonder what that would look like.

Monday, July 11, 2011

You Should Never Grow Up

Why, because kids get it. They love themselves. You can’t love others unless you love yourself and kids instinctively know this but sadly something happens as you grow up. It could be a well meaning adult who pops your bubble; a parent, teacher, friend or relative who puts their viewpoint ahead of your enthusiasm and zest for life. Instead of encouraging your outlook they counter with the glass is half empty scenario. They mean well in that they don’t want you to get hurt so they give you a reality check with maybe a hint of sarcasm or throw in a cut down which most likely dampens your dream.

Take the little girl who states she draws the best flowers. The adult may comment that it is nice but she could do better or comment that she’s being a bit arrogant which gives the child a different perspective and now it affects her outlook and self-esteem. She’s just been give a reason NOT to love herself. People may see her as too self absorbed and they won’t like her for it. If this continues to happen with drawing or any other endeavor, she’ll begin to doubt herself and grow up squelching her self-love. Of course this doesn’t happen overnight or with one event. It keeps getting played out over and over in different situations until she doesn’t have a good grasp on what there is to love about her. Sadly it takes years, if at all, to reverse the damage that’s been done.

My daughter recently was looking in the mirror and commented on how she thought she had really big eyes and nice eyebrows. She thought they were her best feature. I saw her self-love for what God gave her shine through so I agreed, plus it’s the truth.

I’m going to ask you to take a moment and think back to when you were a child. Was there anything that you really liked about yourself? You may have to go back quite a way if nothing immediately pops in your head. Chances are its still true today. That’s you loving yourself. Remember that.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Turn That Music Down. I Can’t Hear Myself Think

Did your parents ever say that to you? Mine did. I never understood what they were talking about back then but I do now.

What is it about a kid’s brain that they can take so much in at one time and still want more? Some kids insist that they need to have the TV or be listening to music otherwise they can’t get their homework done. Sometimes I think it’s because they need to keep one part of their brain occupied so they can concentrate on the task at hand. Their brain is like a sponge therefore they have this enormous capacity to take in information without being consciously aware of it. We all have this capacity but it’s much greater when we’re younger.

So what happens as we age? I believe we still have this capacity and desire to take in information however was we age we’re not looking “out there” for the answers so much as we’re trying to connect with our higher self. Instead of looking for an answer “out there” we trust our own instincts either through experience or knowingness that has served us well in the past.

I’m sure there have been times when you’ve been in your vehicle where either the traffic or weather got so bad that the first thing you reached for is to turn off any noise around you. You turn off the radio, let go of the phone or tell the occupants to be quiet so you can think. Perhaps what you’re really saying is that you need it quiet so that you can listen to your inner guide. It’s saying ‘I know what to do but I can’t hear it with all this commotion going on’.

This is an example of listening to your inner voice. The great thing is that it’s always there for you. You just need to give it a platform to be heard.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Too Much Structured Play is Ruining Our Children – Let Them Play

Talk to any parent and they can recall a time when they bought their child something but the child had more fun playing with the packaging than the toy. Or, the child could have made up a story regarding a set up of Tupperware, pots and pans, sand, blocks, you name it. If there aren’t toys or games around give it time and your child will think up something to do. It’s their imagination running wild. Our brains are very creative and they can’t stay still for long.

Imagination is where dreams are created and realized. It all begins in the mind. First you have to have the thought to even begin to figure out how you’re going to make something happen, which brings me to structured play. Structured play is well and good to teach our youngsters how to interact fairly with each other. However in this effort to effectively socialize our youngsters, their active imagination gets squelched. There gets to be so many rules and regulation to follow that the children aren‘t given ample space to develop their imagination. It sometime s becomes a control issue for the adult population as if they constantly have to entertain their children. That is nonsense.

It’s actually in the quiet self play when a child or an adult for that matter connects with who they really are. They begin to hear what their guides are telling them. They listen to the inner voice inside that tells them what advice or direction to take.

It can happen to you to if you listen. However, as an adult you can get so busy doing this or that you aren’t listening until something happens and you hear yourself say something like, “I knew I should have (blank) instead of (blank).” It’s when your thoughts start to wander that you’re starting to connect to your inner self. Listen up. Sometimes it happens when you’re doing the most mundane things like cleaning, driving or walking. You’re mind isn’t actively engaged and therefore it’s free to wander when you’re doing a routine task. This happens quite a lot for some people but then there are others who really want to connect so they meditate by focusing on their breathing.

The point is when you set your mind free from active thought your imagination can really take off. Some of the best ideas come to you when you stop concentrating on what you want to create. Children do this naturally but as we mature we tend to forget to just play. Let’s play.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create."

~ Albert Einstein

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Coffee anyone?

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.


A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up; she was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside I am bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

May we all be COFFEE!!!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Grass isn’t Greener on the Other Side

It only appears to be greener. Your grass is already lush and full of vibrant color. You’re just not seeing it. What it really comes down to is perception and the underlying cause of that is comparison.

When you start comparing yourself to others your mind can play some real nifty tricks on you. It puts thoughts in your head about other people’s material possessions, education and career choices compared to you. Soon little things that you probably never gave much thought to start to creep into your mind and it becomes almost like a disease. With each comparison your emotions begin to rise with feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness where it didn’t exist before, all because you compared yourself to someone else.

The sad part is you did it to yourself. Comparing yourself to others is like comparing different varieties of apples. You can eat all of them but some are better for different reasons. There are apples that are better for pies, baking and canning while others are straight up good to eat fresh. But even within that category people have different tastes. Red Delicious apples are good to eat fresh as well as Fuju but the Fuju variety is a bit sweeter. It’s all a matter of taste.

You are like a variety of apple. You have your own unique flavor that people like for varying reason and they like you just the way you are. Even though there are other people out there with some of the same skill sets, you bring your own unique flavor to the mix. Try to remember that next time you find yourself comparing yourself to someone else. Besides, if everyone were the same there would be some people that weren’t needed.

“You were born an original. Don’t die a copy” ~ John Mason

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

What Do You Want to be When You Grow Up?

There are a while lot of people who would like to know the answer to that question. They may spend years trying to figure it out, searching in all the wrong places, but then again maybe not.

All the life experiences you have are getting you closer and closer to your answer. With each new job, activity or situation you weed out what you do want from what you don’t want. You find yourself making decisions about it without possibly being conscious of it. It helps you make the distinction between what you value and makes you happy versus what you can do without.

However, wouldn’t it be great if you could save your time and energy to get it right to the heart of it? You can - more on that later.

When I first asked myself this very question I got caught up in the “doing” part of it as in what am I supposed to be doing when I grow up. Therefore, professions and crafts entered my mind. Then I got caught up in the description of the profession as in what kind of education was required, what would a normal day look like and what kind of salary could I expect. Those things alone took a few potential prospects out of the picture. These were all distractions from what I was truly looking for.

It took 30 years before I took the time to analyze this question. When I realized what I really wanted to know is what am I supposed to “be” when I grow up, the question took on a whole new meaning. To “be” meant things like happy, productive, respected, kind, loyal and loving. It’s not a profession anymore but what I want to be on the inside. And in the end, isn’t that what we all want from life?

And then another revelation happened, I realized what I really was asking is what is my purpose in life which isn’t a “doing” thing at all. What would give me the most satisfaction? What am I supposed to doing here while I’m on earth?

What an awakening revelation!

When you ask yourself what you should be when you grow up what are you REALLY asking? Are you like me asking what your purpose is or do you want to know the profession you should be in? It’s something to think about.

If you would like to discover what would give you the most satisfaction, what you’re truly looking for, then you should take the Core Passion assessment. You can read all about it on my website. The Core Passion ® assessment will help you uncover the fire that burns inside you that longs to explode. You can take the assessment at any time. It will give you the tools and language to describe what you’re looking for.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Osama was Wrong. Surprise!

That’s the word from the Light Collective.

The Light Collective is a very large group of spiritual beings who are channeled through Kathryn Harwig. I’ve been going to the forums for over a year now where anyone in the audience can ask a question of the Light Collective. Sometimes the questions are of a personal nature while others are of a broader spiritual nature, such as where do crop circles come from and what happen when we sleep.

Some people believe in channeling and others people don’t. However, it must be becoming more acceptable since the book and movie, The Secret, is based on the channeling of Abraham Hicks.

What differentiate the two channels are Abraham Hicks talks extensively about the Law of Attraction. When questions are asked by the audience the response is filtered through the Law of Attraction. You are the creator of your experiences and you have the ability to create what you wish. You are always creating either by default or by design. Why not create what you desire instead? The Light Collective also takes questions from the audience and talks about how we’ve created our current situation, however, but the Light Collective will access spirits (alive and passed over) for the answers you seek. They will answer questions regarding your health, which job offer to take etc.

Getting back to Osama bin Laden. At the last forum he had recently been killed and so the question was asked about him.

Q; I have a question about the death of Osama Bin Laden. Is there any further truth that we are not aware of?

A: There are many things that have been told about the planning behind his death. Of course there are things that you are not aware of. There was more talk than you were told about between more agencies.

He is, in fact, quite dead. Of course he is not quite dead, he had moved to another dimension in which he is analyzing how wise his decisions were. This will take him a considerable period of time. He was quite surprised to discover that he was so wrong about why he was doing things.

Q: Were there any virgins waiting for Osama Bin Laden?

A: That was one of his surprises of course.

Q: No virgins?

A: There are very few spirit virgins.

Well now, that makes sense. We’re eternal spiritual beings who have lived many lives. Sometimes we came here to earth as a man and sometimes as a woman. It would be silly to think that through all those lives we remained a virgin. Plus, in the spirit world we don’t have bodies, we’re energy.

I would have loved to know exactly what he was wrong about but that’s another question to ask. If you would like to attend a forum to ask your own question you can check out Kathryn’s website for the details. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

U.S. in Mideast Business

How did the U.S. ever get so involved in another country’s business in the first place? I’d say it’s because we were asked.

There was a time in history when the U.S. got criticized for not paying attention or caring about what was happening in Europe. We were accused of being in our own world, and we were. We had no reason to get involved in the politics and territory disputes of other countries. We were totally solvent as a country. What was in it for us anyway?

Eventually we did get involved in other country’s business due to pressure and the growing need to establish forging relations. So in essence, we did get something out of it, we became established as a reliable foreign partner.

It would be naïve to believe that on country helping out another is solely doing it out of an act of kindness. It could be to promote democracy, gain diplomatic favor, protect an ally, and gain a strategic foreign base location, trading in goods and services or a host of other avenues. The point being, we do expect to get something out of it. No matter how much on the outside it appears we’re defending another because it’s the right thing to do, we’re still getting something out of it. Sometimes it shows up soft as diplomatic relations and other times it’s bolds as exchange for oil.

The U. S. wasn’t committed in WWII until Pearl Harbor. Basically the Japanese picked a fight (a bolder form of asking) and we complied. For years the Mideast has been trying to get our attention about their conflict. While the extremists try bullying tactics by bombing our embassies and ships, the powers involved on one hand criticize us for getting involved while the other criticizes us for not helping out more. We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. How do you win in that scenario? I’m still confused as to what they were trying to accomplish. They didn’t want us involved in their business yet they’ve kept picking fights. We’ve been dancing around this whole Mideast conflict for years but when 911 came we were thrust smack dap into it and now it is our business.

Even though the extremists say they want us out they continue to make it our business. It doesn’t make sense. They figure if they hurt us enough we’ll back off. On the contrary, it just pisses us off and becomes our business. I’d venture to say that we’ll get out of the Mideast conflict when it stops becoming our business and when we’re not getting anything out of it.

Just like in human interactions and events it’s good to ask yourself if it’s any of your business, if it’s not, stay out. The vast majority of emotional turmoil, arguments and upsets are due to someone getting into someone else’s business.

The next time you find yourself getting upset over a person, situation or event stop and ask yourself if it’s any of your business, chances are its not. You will find yourself a whole lot happier when you stay in your business.

As far as the US is concerned, do you believe she’s staying in her business?