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My Original Welcome Message…Sorta

March 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I had to go Hollywood on myself and do a director’s clapboard CUT! while taping my welcome message last week.

My original message is good, IMO, but too long. Originally over 12 minutes I had to slice this down to the YouTube required 10 minutes. And even though I taped a shorter version that is featured to your right, this edited original version still offers some valuable insights so I’m going to share it with you anyway. No sense in scrapping perfectly good material. Take a look:

So, what did you think? Did this longer version provide you with something that is useful to you? I hope so! Please comment below as I’d love to hear any takeaways you may have gained from this or how this was helpful to you in some way. Thanks!

In Celebration,
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Filed Under: Family Life, Reconnect With YOU, Spirituality Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Group Coaching Call Nuggets

March 16, 2010 By 2 Comments

I just got off of my awesome group coaching call with 18 other amazing women and I want to share a few of the golden nuggets that came out of today’s session.

This month we’re working on the topic Eliminate Indecision and Choose With Confidence and today we dug deep to really uncover what causes indecision. One powerful woman was bold enough to take center stage and share her personal struggle of being unhappy with her job of 9 years and wanting to leave, and knowing she wants out, but failing to create her exit plan.

As this woman was coached live through where she is and where she wants to be, a lot of things came up that resonated with the rest of us on the call. And even though some of our own personal struggles may not be identical to hers, we were still able to benefit from what was shared as it related to her story.

So here are some of the key points that really resonated with me:

  1. Indecision is fear-based. When we’re faced with a decision and we get stuck in analysis-paralysis of “Should I, shouldn’t I?” or even buyer’s remorse after we’ve moved forward with a decision and we constantly twist and turn the situation around in our minds, we are failing to make a decision and be confident in that decision based on fear. Fear of what others may think; fear of making the wrong decision, fear of not having enough money to follow through, etc. It all boils down to fear that we either don’t have enough or that we aren’t enough.
  2. When we are faced with a decision and we’re at that critical point where we begin to fall into our old analysis-paralysis patterns, we need to stop and remind ourselves that to truly move forward with confidence, we need to stop living from a place of What Was (past) and What If (Future) and start living from the place of What Is (right now). Now is all we have and if we operate life from the moment we are currently in we will experience the peace of being in the now instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
  3. How different would your life be if you lived as if the Universe was full of abundant resources? Or another way to ask this , and I think we’ve all been asked this at one point or another is, what would your life be like if money were not an issue? Can you dare to imagine what your life would look like, feel like and smell like if every decision you made came from a place of absolute knowing that the Universe is infinitely abundant and that everything you could ever possibly want or need is available to you right now? But guess what it is! The Universe is full of abundance and all we have to do is decide to receive it. Abundance is our birthright, but so many of us are standing in our own way with fear.

There was so much more that was shared on the call but these are three things that really stood out for me and they go back to the process of Decide. Act. Receive. Once we make a clear decision and act on it with confidence, we will receive blessings. Guaranteed.

I hope that this has been helpful to you in some way. Please share and let me know if this resonated with you, or some of your best practices on making decisions and following through. I’d love to hear from you. And if you liked it don’t forget to pass it along and share!

In Celebration,
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Filed Under: Personal Growth, Reconnect With YOU

Just Say Yes!

March 14, 2010 By 9 Comments

I was reminded of a great principle in church today that reminds us to not ignore the call within us to do more, be more and have more than we are right now.

I’d love to take a few moments to share this wonderful concept with you. Just click on the play button below and check it out!

Is there something inside of you that has been speaking to you but perhaps you’ve been ignoring it because you’re not sure how to make this thing real? If so, that’s okay! A lot of times when something bigger than us is calling us to action it can be scary because we have no idea how to make those small little seeds that have been planted within us grow into something amazing. We can’t see beyond where we are currently of how to make it possible. But if we only take the first step and say “yes”, I promise you, your path will be revealed to you step by step. But it won’t happen until you say “yes”….even if you have to say “I have no idea what this means and I don’t have a clue as to how to make all of this work, but I am going to trust what I am being lead to do and say YES.”

Did that resonate with you in some way? I’d love to hear about it so please share your thoughts and insights below as they can be a blessing others.  Oh, and re-tweets and Facebook love are always appreciated! Have a fantastic day!

In Celebration,
{siggy}

P.S. Please excuse the wobbly video and the occasional sighs in the background….my cameraboy is nine and his arms were giving out on him!

Filed Under: A Life You Love, Personal Growth, Reconnect With YOU, Spirituality Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

2 Tips To Unblock Your Energy For Increased Clarity And Creativity

February 2, 2010 By 2 Comments

Do you ever have those days where you feel like your energy is stuck? Where you feel like you’re blocked up inside and can’t really be as creative or productive as you know you have the potential to be? Well, I was feeling that way recently… And fortunately for me, one of my good friends, colleagues, and now mentors, Marie Forleo, gave me some priceless tips to help ‘unblock’ my energy.

via katiefreiling.com

In Celebration,
{siggy}

Filed Under: Finding Your Passion, Spirituality Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What I Miss Monday

January 25, 2010 By 2 Comments

Dining Out….

Choosing to live a healthy lifestyle can certainly curtail the pleasures of eating out regularly, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner.

It seems like a lifetime ago, but I remember eating out without nary a care of how the food was prepared, whether it was fried and smothered in some type of heavy sauce, loaded with cheese or oozing with sugar. Ahh yes, gone are the good ole days when I would meet with friends to eat out and enjoy savory appetizers, a fat-laden meal, a cocktail or two and dessert. Sometimes it was all-you-can-eat brunch. Sometimes it was lunch and then dinner later…it didn’t matter.

When my husband and I met things didn’t change much. We ate out with friends, indulged in Friday night free-for-alls with an extra large pizza, root beer, chocolate chip cookies and a movie. The next morning we’d feast on grits, eggs, biscuits, sausage and/or bacon and juice. Later we’d have lunch and then dinner. There were no boundaries. We have photos to prove how our lackadaisical approach to nutrition manifested in packed on pounds…..but I won’t share those! ; )

Things are VERY different now. We eat clean Healthy mealsix days a week and allow ourselves one “free” day a week to eat a bit more freely….though we don’t go buck wild with it. We exercise 5-6 days a week and it is extremely rare that we eat out during the week. We even plan our free days to accommodate special events like the upcoming Super Bowl. If we end up at a party we’ll move our normal Saturday free day to Sunday, because what fun is it to be at a Super Bowl party and not enjoy all of the calorie rich appetizers? That’s half the fun!

I do miss eating out more frequently, but I do not miss the extra 20 or so pounds that accompanied that footloose and fancy free lifestyle. By me cooking 99% of our meals I know exactly what is going into our bodies…I have complete control and I like it better that way. By using ingredients like sea salt, agave nectar and coconut oil in my regular cooking regime I know that I’m giving my family some of the healthiest ingredients nature has to offer and that makes me feel good. We may not be indulging our unhealthy cravings on a daily basis, but we are blessing our bodies and showing our kids a lifestyle (through example) that won’t manifest into childhood diabetes or obesity, and a lifestyle that will certainly not fail them in their adult years. So, here’s to good health!

In Celebration,

Filed Under: Health, Fitness & Nutrition, Personal Growth, Reconnect With YOU Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The opposite of an MLC – how it’s done. | LifeTwo

December 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Use the icon above to subscribe to LifeTwo’s Home Page in a reader like My Yahoo or Google Reader (see this page to learn more about RSS and for information on our other feeds). Or if you use one of the following services, just click on its icon:

via lifetwo.com

An inspiring story told from the perspective of a husband who has fallen head over heels in love with his wife of 20 years all over again because she has committed herself to being the very best she could be despite her age. Loved it!

In Celebration,

Filed Under: Personal Growth, Reconnect With YOU

Are Your Beliefs in Alignment With What You Know to be True?

December 16, 2009 By 2 Comments

As I lay in bed the other night before drifting off to sleep, something profound occurred to me. I realized that a lot more work is yet to be done in me….not that I didn’t already know this, but the realization was of the work that I’m not even aware of that has yet to be done.

I realized that there are a lot of things that I know to be true. I currently have some health concerns that I would like to release once and for all, and two things that I know to be absolutely true are 1. that ANYTHING is possible with faith and 2. the body can heal itself of any imbalance or disease. I know these things to be true because I have seen and heard countless stories of people healing themselves through faith and action of what doctors deemed as “incurable”, and I have personally cleared my body of an imbalance that my own doctor was recommending a “slice and burn” remedy, through faith and the actions of forgiveness, love and an altered diet. So I know from personal experience that those above statements are absolute truths.

HOWEVER, what occurred to me the other night is that while I know these things to be true, for me to still have some health concerns must only mean one thing: my belief system is not in total alignment with what I know to be true, otherwise, I wouldn’t have these issues.

What I realized is that somewhere deep inside is a belief that is the complete opposite of what I know to be true. And, it is probably buried so deep that I can’t even recognize what it is. This is frustrating to say the least because how can I know what to address if I don’t even know what I’m addressing?

Sure, there are things that I am currently working on and I would imagine, as it has happened several times already, that as I work on one area or issue, other things come up that require attention and I work on releasing those things as well. It’s just part of the process. But hoping that I can uncover it on my own may not be enough.

So, instead of me trying to fumble around in the dark, I simply did the only thing I knew how to do. I asked for help. I asked God/Creator to help me recognize and release those beliefs that are not in total alignment with what I know to be true about abundant health and healing. And now that I’ve asked, I am  changing my request for help to a prayer of gratitude for the help: “Thank you for helping me to recognize and change the belief or beliefs in me that was or were not in alignment with my truth. And thank you for allowing my beliefs to now be in total alignment with my truth.” Being grateful for something before it has materialized in your life is a powerful act of faith.

So as you go through each day managing your midlife celebration, ask yourself what it is that you know to be absolutely true (what you have experienced personally in the past or witnessed in others). It could be health related or it could have to do with your career, finances, family, spirituality, friendships, love relationships, how you feel about yourself, your ability to experience success, anything. Then ask yourself if what you know to be true is in alignment with your belief system. Here’s another example:

If you know it to be true that it IS possible to be successful and not live paycheck to paycheck worrying about expenses, but your life is not producing those same results, chances are that somewhere inside, your belief system and what you know to be true are not in total alignment. One sure way to know this is that if you constantly tell yourself success-filled thoughts, but find yourself regularly speaking words like “I’m broke”, “I can’t afford”, “I can’t seem to get ahead”, “The recession…”, “Everything is so expensive…” to family, friends, co-workers and strangers in the checkout line at the grocery store, then there is surely a disconnect.

Once you’ve identified the disconnect, simply ask for help. Whatever higher power you believe in, start there, and if needed branch out to family members, friends, your church, and communities of like minded people. Help is ALWAYS available, you just have to reach out and ask for it.

As you receive the help you’ve sought out, get moving. If you receive help in the form of advice that makes sense and does not compromise your sense of integrity, take action! As you continue to move forward and towards your greater good, only good can unfold as a result of it. I know that to be true in my own life. But it cannot and will not happen if you receive help that you do not act on.

Even if your beliefs are not in total alignment with what you know to be true YET, they can and will be. Have faith, trust the process and take action. Together, we’ll get there.

In Celebration,
Signature

Filed Under: Personal Growth, Spirituality Tagged With: , , , ,

Buckets of Blessings

December 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A couple of Sundays ago in church the message we received for the day was about “Buckets of Blessings”. The topic was based on the book, How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.48.31562A

A brief overview of the premise of the book is that everyone inside of them has an invisible bucket. When we are filled with love, joy, gratitude, happiness, etc., our buckets are full and overflowing. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, when we are feeling angry, sad, bitter, unforgiving, etc. our buckets are very low if not completely depleted. And whether our buckets are full or empty, we project the contents of our buckets to others through our words and actions.

Now, the other part to this topic of having invisible internal buckets is that we each are also equipped with dippers, which would resemble a ladle. As we share love, kind words, encouragement, support, a smile, a laugh and compassion with others, we are filling their buckets, even if they have not been filling their own buckets. Yet, when we judge, condemn, refuse to forgive, hold anger and bitterness in our hearts towards others, we are dipping into their buckets and taking away their supply of good. But the most powerful lesson of all is that as we give or take away from someone else’s bucket, we do the same to our own supply. So the question we were left with was “Are you a bucket filler or a bucket dipper?” We were then each handed a miniature sized bucket that had someone’s name written on a piece of paper inside and throughout the week we were to be bucket fillers by sending positive and well-meaning intentions and energy to the names on those slips of paper.

In my own experience from doing the exercise, it felt good to feel my own energy level rise as a result of doing something good for someone else….even something as simple as sending positive thoughts. So my question to you as it was placed to me, are you a bucket filler or a bucket dipper?

Bucket filler Bucket dipper

If you are striving to be a bucket FILLER, here are five strategies that were shared with us on how to keep your buckets and others’ buckets overflowing:

1. Prevent Bucket Dipping
(So avoid negative thoughts, words, energy and actions as much as possible. It isn’t always easy, but it is possible if you step back and observe yourself more closely. By doing this you will quickly recognize if you’re dippin’)

2. Shine a Light on What is Right
(Love and praise all that is good and keep your comments to yourself when someone makes a mistake. For those of us who are parents, we strive to practice this daily by encouraging and being coaches to our kids and praising them for their good instead of condemning them for what they do wrong. If you absolutely HAVE to shine light on a mistake, choose your words carefully and correct with love)

3. Make Best Friends
(Value the people who come into your life for everyone comes into your life for a reason or a season. Appreciate and honor them and take the time to foster a friendship with them as when done in love, friendships are mutually beneficial)

4. Give Unexpectedly
(Do something nice for someone that isn’t expected. Treat a co-worker to lunch, iron your husband’s shirts, watch your neighbor’s kids for a couple of hours so they can go on a date. All of these and so many others are little things that can mean so much to someone else. And in doing something from the heart that is unexpected, it makes you feel great!)

5. Reverse the Golden Rule
(The Golden Rule states “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, which deals with reciprocity and the idea that so as you give, so you receive. But why not give without expecting anything in return? Why not give of yourself freely and joyfully to others without expectation of them returning the favor? How freeing would it be to do a favor for someone without expecting them to “owe you back”, or giving a few dollars to a homeless man on the street without questioning whether or not he keeps his word to you and really uses it for the food he says he’s hungry for or if he uses it for something else? Think of how good it will feel to do something good from the heart just because)

I encourage everyone as we travel through this midlife celebration to think of ways we can be bucket fillers instead of dippers. Bless others with the gift of who you are authentically and your bucket will constantly runneth over.

In Celebration,

Filed Under: Personal Growth, Spirituality Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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