wow~ i was just browsing through this year's pictures attempting to choose what's going out on our Christmas cards and as i look back i'm struck with what an amazing year it's been!
our life here at home - our daily "humdrum" if you will, is extraordinary ... we're home with our kids, we're volunteering in their schools and driving field trips and golfing and dancing in the kitchen and we're assisting others in creating the life they want for themselves. fabulous!
my little walk down memory lane reminded me of a huge distinction i got in cancun, mexico with my daughter this past march.
we'd been conferencing with 1,000 of our closest friends and afterwards Riley (now 10 years old) and i had a "girl's date" at Xel-Ha, a nature preserve/marine animal water park south of playa del carmen.
Xel-Ha is federally protected because of its unique eco-system ... a lagoon where an underground river meets the ocean. The snorkeling is fantastic and the wildlife on the paths around the lagoon ... well, let's just say I didn't know iguanas grew that large!
we floated down a river, rope-swinged into freezing cold cenotes fed by underground springs, went shelling on an iron-shore shoreline where the beach used to be prior to Hurricane Wilma ... and learned a little something about life along the way.
you see, where this underground river emerges from the rock and flows into the lagoon there are cliffs that form a small canyon. one of these cliffs is called the "Cliff of Courage" as, you guessed it, they've built a bridge and a pathway up so you can jump off into the river.
so, naturally, Riley and i jumped. now, i don't possess a natural love of heights but with a fearless 9 year old I get to do a lot of "high" things these days. the "Cliff of Courage" is one of those phenomena that, from the river or even the other side, doesn't look THAT high ... in reality it's probably 20 to 25 feet above the water.
but when you're actually up there with your toes hanging off the edge it can be daunting. because it "looks" a lot easier from afar, there were a lot of people milling around up around the ledge with us ... young kids, teenagers, older men ... i was one of the few mom-types up there ... and I noticed something very interesting while observing all this anxiety and activity:
less than half the people up there on the "Cliff of Courage" with us actually jumped.
who were they? there was absolutely NO demographic ... no age, no physical fitness level, no gender ... the people that jumped simply did it. you could see in their eyes they were resolute in their choice to jump. they walked up to the edge, checked out the drop, backed up a step or two (if you're 9 years old this is when you back up 10 feet and take a running start) and flung themselves into the air.
those that didn't jump? they were all standing back ... thinking about it ... mulling it over ... peering over the edge ... commisserating with all the others who were "trying" to jump ... feeding each other's fear ... the longer they stood there in their in-action the greater the probability was they would find themselves walking back down.
and i really got "it" in that moment ... the power of CHOICE. You see, when you CHOOSE to do something, you have two options: follow-through on your word/commitment to yourself or violate your own integrity.
i climbed up there having made the CHOICE to join my daughter in a leap off the "Cliff of Courage". i could relate to those who were hanging back out of fear ... again, heights don't thrill me. but because i'd made a CHOICE to do it i had NO FEAR because the end-result was already determined. not jumping was NOT an option.
so i just did it.
and then i wound up doing it about five more times before the day was over because at that point my daughter had one of the coolest moms in all of Xel-Ha that day.
as for those who were "trying to jump" ... as i see it "trying" to do anything is meaningless. standing on the edge of a cliff isn't "trying to jump" ... it's NOT jumping. i guess "trying to jump" would be leaving the edge and somehow floating in mid-air and failing to fall. not likely to happen.
"Trying" to do anything is a middle ground reserved for mediocrity ... it's an excuse for not achieving something extraordinary in life.
don't TRY to do anything. CHOOSE what you want to do and then Just Do It! (maybe those guys at Nike were on to something!).
CHOOSE to be extraordinary and COURAGEOUS and before you know it you'll be INSPIRED and then you'll discover more areas in your life that deserve to be extraordinary and you'll find yourself being courageous again and that inspiration will ... ahhh, you get the picture!
here's to your extraordinary life!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Gratitude AGAIN!
i just received the most beautiful email from a friend of mine ... just a simple email to his mastermind group running through a litany of things he has to be grateful for.
but my heart is lifted and my spirit is rejuvenated because i stopped in that moment - in the midst of a morning filled with cheerios and carpools and intense negotiations with my three year old's strongly held fashion choices for the day (ALL red shorts and tank top - we have snow in the forecast today - but, oh my does he ever feel HANDSOME today!) - to BE grateful for my life as it is RIGHT NOW.
i find the biggest roadblock to that place of gratitude is the "little voice" in my head that chatters away with a running dialogue of all my missteps, miscalculations and mistakes and generally reminds me what morons we all can be.
that "little voice" is completely disempowering.
i have a new tool for shutting up that "little voice" ... okay, maybe not shutting her up completely but at the very least putting her in time-out for a very long time.
"LOVE, ABUNDANCE, GRATITUDE"
when i stop the destructive monkey chatter and replace it with those three words i FEEL the difference in my body as well as my mind.
"LOVE, ABUNDANCE, GRATITUDE" ... now THAT's empowering!
thank you, mike, for reminding me how much i have to be grateful for and for giving me cause to stop and reflect on it this morning. YOU made a difference in my day and for that i thank you my friend!
P.S. - my friend mike is up to BIG things ... as a member of our armed forces mike has a passion and a vision for assisting soldiers returning from combat zones as they reintegrate in to a non-combat lifestyle.
P.S.S. - if you've got friends or family in the military keep checking back for an update on mike ... what he's working on has the potential to absolutely transform the life of the men and women who have given up so much to protect our freedom!
but my heart is lifted and my spirit is rejuvenated because i stopped in that moment - in the midst of a morning filled with cheerios and carpools and intense negotiations with my three year old's strongly held fashion choices for the day (ALL red shorts and tank top - we have snow in the forecast today - but, oh my does he ever feel HANDSOME today!) - to BE grateful for my life as it is RIGHT NOW.
i find the biggest roadblock to that place of gratitude is the "little voice" in my head that chatters away with a running dialogue of all my missteps, miscalculations and mistakes and generally reminds me what morons we all can be.
that "little voice" is completely disempowering.
i have a new tool for shutting up that "little voice" ... okay, maybe not shutting her up completely but at the very least putting her in time-out for a very long time.
"LOVE, ABUNDANCE, GRATITUDE"
when i stop the destructive monkey chatter and replace it with those three words i FEEL the difference in my body as well as my mind.
"LOVE, ABUNDANCE, GRATITUDE" ... now THAT's empowering!
thank you, mike, for reminding me how much i have to be grateful for and for giving me cause to stop and reflect on it this morning. YOU made a difference in my day and for that i thank you my friend!
P.S. - my friend mike is up to BIG things ... as a member of our armed forces mike has a passion and a vision for assisting soldiers returning from combat zones as they reintegrate in to a non-combat lifestyle.
P.S.S. - if you've got friends or family in the military keep checking back for an update on mike ... what he's working on has the potential to absolutely transform the life of the men and women who have given up so much to protect our freedom!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Gratitude & Puffer Fish
i had a flat tire this morning. not at home tucked nicely in to my warm garage, but out on the interstate. and you know what? i couldn't have had a better start to my day!
how, you ask? well, i immediately recognized that there was a LOT to be thankful for. and when i realized that gratitude was my very first response, i got to be a little bit proud of myself. i've come a long, long way in a couple of short years.
so this is how my morning went down ...
my navigator has a nifty little "low tire pressure" light on my dash, which is sometimes set off when it's really cold, as it was this morning thanks to the first snowfall of the season!
but this morning i got the "really, really low tire pressure" warning so i pulled off the interstate and swung by my drycleaners to check it out. drycleaning in hand, i could hear the rear left tire hissing.
across the street from the drycleaner is a brand new tire store i hadn't really noticed before - it still has the "Grand Opening" sign hanging from the roof - so i drove the car across the street and was met at the curb by a technician who immediately told me "that's a BIG leak, i don't know if we can fix it."
they couldn't, thanks to a razor blade that i picked up along the road somewhere, so sometime this afternoon we'll have a brand new tire.
you know a flat tire is generally not a planned event. it disrupts your day. it usually costs money. it can involve getting dirty. but you know what? flat tires happen.
i chose the flat tire, and all the opportunities for gratitude it presented me:
1. my kids were already safely dropped off at their respective schools. i was alone with my egg mcmuffin (minus the icky canadian bacon).
2. i have a warning light on my truck. i knew something was out of wack. i got off the interstate before it went completely flat, thereby sparing myself the pleasure of enduring icy, wet splashback from a heavily traveled slushy road while waiting for AAA or my husband to come rescue me.
3. there was a brand new tire store in the perfect location to solve my problem.
4. they can get the right tire for me by this afternoon. i get my car back today.
5. i didn't ever have to get out my car and pretend i knew how to change my tire, much less knew where my spare's located. (i do now). my hands never got dirty!
6. $250 is now put in circulation via the tire store, which will pay its employees, who will spend their paycheck and keep that money in circulation ... it's all about the flow, baby!
and speaking of flow and gratitude ... (here comes the quick topic change back to Hawaii) ...
well, i'm obviously very thankful we departed the Big Island of Hawaii a week before the earthquake, whose epicenter was just off our hotel's beach in waikaloa. experiencing an earthquake is NOT on my list of things to do before i die!
i'm thankful that, in spite of significant structural in infrastructre damage, there were relatively minor injuries and no fatalities!
i'm thankful the nice people who served us during our stay there are safe.
and i'm grateful for puffer fish ... one in particular, who assisted me in truly experiencing relaxing and getting in to the flow.
the hilton waikoloa is built around a lagoon that opens right up in to the ocean. i snorkeled in this lagoon nearly every day and on our last day i went out for a final snorkel with the intention of seeing the elusive eel i kept hearing about and swimming alongside a massive sea turtle again.
i started early, knowing that the lagoon gets a little murky in the afternoons. but i didn't see a darn thing except a bunch of puffer fish. curious thing about puffer fish - they're way more interesting if they're puffed, but puffing them means they're frightened or spooked so the intentional puffing of a puffer fish feels rather cruel to me.
i never saw a puffer fish in full puff.
but in a moment of clarity, i simply let go of my snorkeling agenda and decided to just hang with the puffers. so i picked the handsomest fella i could find and just followed him around at his speed, zig zagging around the lagoon.
and before i knew it i'd seen not one, but four eels. two were a nifty blue color, one was neon green, and one poor gray fella.
i stopped and thanked my puffer guide. then reminded him that a turtle would be nice too.
we swam back to the mouth of the lagoon and who did we meet swimming in?
mr. giant sea turtle. head to feet he was longer than i am tall. and he was beautfiul and graceful and peaceful. i swam above the turtle for half an hour totally thrilled that this is what my life looks like!
i can't tell you for certain that i wouldn't have seen these sea creatures anyway, but when i stopped and made a conscious shift in my way of being in that moment - from frustration to gratitude - well, that's when miracles happen.
here's to gratitude and miracles every day!
how, you ask? well, i immediately recognized that there was a LOT to be thankful for. and when i realized that gratitude was my very first response, i got to be a little bit proud of myself. i've come a long, long way in a couple of short years.
so this is how my morning went down ...
my navigator has a nifty little "low tire pressure" light on my dash, which is sometimes set off when it's really cold, as it was this morning thanks to the first snowfall of the season!
but this morning i got the "really, really low tire pressure" warning so i pulled off the interstate and swung by my drycleaners to check it out. drycleaning in hand, i could hear the rear left tire hissing.
across the street from the drycleaner is a brand new tire store i hadn't really noticed before - it still has the "Grand Opening" sign hanging from the roof - so i drove the car across the street and was met at the curb by a technician who immediately told me "that's a BIG leak, i don't know if we can fix it."
they couldn't, thanks to a razor blade that i picked up along the road somewhere, so sometime this afternoon we'll have a brand new tire.
you know a flat tire is generally not a planned event. it disrupts your day. it usually costs money. it can involve getting dirty. but you know what? flat tires happen.
i chose the flat tire, and all the opportunities for gratitude it presented me:
1. my kids were already safely dropped off at their respective schools. i was alone with my egg mcmuffin (minus the icky canadian bacon).
2. i have a warning light on my truck. i knew something was out of wack. i got off the interstate before it went completely flat, thereby sparing myself the pleasure of enduring icy, wet splashback from a heavily traveled slushy road while waiting for AAA or my husband to come rescue me.
3. there was a brand new tire store in the perfect location to solve my problem.
4. they can get the right tire for me by this afternoon. i get my car back today.
5. i didn't ever have to get out my car and pretend i knew how to change my tire, much less knew where my spare's located. (i do now). my hands never got dirty!
6. $250 is now put in circulation via the tire store, which will pay its employees, who will spend their paycheck and keep that money in circulation ... it's all about the flow, baby!
and speaking of flow and gratitude ... (here comes the quick topic change back to Hawaii) ...
well, i'm obviously very thankful we departed the Big Island of Hawaii a week before the earthquake, whose epicenter was just off our hotel's beach in waikaloa. experiencing an earthquake is NOT on my list of things to do before i die!
i'm thankful that, in spite of significant structural in infrastructre damage, there were relatively minor injuries and no fatalities!
i'm thankful the nice people who served us during our stay there are safe.
and i'm grateful for puffer fish ... one in particular, who assisted me in truly experiencing relaxing and getting in to the flow.
the hilton waikoloa is built around a lagoon that opens right up in to the ocean. i snorkeled in this lagoon nearly every day and on our last day i went out for a final snorkel with the intention of seeing the elusive eel i kept hearing about and swimming alongside a massive sea turtle again.
i started early, knowing that the lagoon gets a little murky in the afternoons. but i didn't see a darn thing except a bunch of puffer fish. curious thing about puffer fish - they're way more interesting if they're puffed, but puffing them means they're frightened or spooked so the intentional puffing of a puffer fish feels rather cruel to me.
i never saw a puffer fish in full puff.
but in a moment of clarity, i simply let go of my snorkeling agenda and decided to just hang with the puffers. so i picked the handsomest fella i could find and just followed him around at his speed, zig zagging around the lagoon.
and before i knew it i'd seen not one, but four eels. two were a nifty blue color, one was neon green, and one poor gray fella.
i stopped and thanked my puffer guide. then reminded him that a turtle would be nice too.
we swam back to the mouth of the lagoon and who did we meet swimming in?
mr. giant sea turtle. head to feet he was longer than i am tall. and he was beautfiul and graceful and peaceful. i swam above the turtle for half an hour totally thrilled that this is what my life looks like!
i can't tell you for certain that i wouldn't have seen these sea creatures anyway, but when i stopped and made a conscious shift in my way of being in that moment - from frustration to gratitude - well, that's when miracles happen.
here's to gratitude and miracles every day!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Yes You Can!
we arrived safely back on the mainland yesterday afternoon after spending an amazing week on the Big Island of Hawaii.
my intention at the beginning of the week, as evidenced by my diligent blogging from the US Airways lounge in the Phoenix airport on the way to the island, was to blog daily.
didn’t happen.
i could beat myself up over it but the truth of the matter is i was rarely in my room ... i was out living life, enjoying spending time with friends, listening to amazing speakers, and masterminding about life in general with people whose opinions i value greatly.
so, rather than turning this blog entry into the equivalent of a vacation travelogue slideshow on my living room wall, i thought i’d focus today on the most inspiring moment of the trip ... don’t worry, you’ll most likely be regaled later with stories of turtles and puffer fish and drum circles and helicopters and volcanoes, etc.
but today is dedicated to the time we spent with Rick and Dick Hoyt, a father-son racing team who are already on the island in preparation for the Ironman Triathlon coming up on october 21. if you haven’t heard of the hoyts, you deserve to. check them out at www.teamhoyt.com.
even better, tune in to the Ironman coverage to see team hoyt in action.
together they’ve competed in over 206 triathlons and over 64 marathons, including 24 straight Boston Marathons, as well as hundreds of other road races. they also bicycled across the United States in 45 consecutive days.
a phenomenal record of achievement, especially when you consider that rick is confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy as a result of a complication during his birth 44 years ago.
during these races, rick rides in a custom boat, bicycle seat and a wheelchair while his dad, dick, powers through the race. in dick’s words, “i’m the muscle, rick is the heart”.
they got started racing by chance, when a 15 year old rick wanted to participate in a local fundraiser. after the race, he looked at his dad and told him it was the first time he didn’t feel disabled. and that was the day “Yes You Can” was born.
they now race around the world and champion the cause of the disabled. but their story reaches so far beyond the disabled in body, they inspire the disabled in spirit.
what a powerful message: “Yes You Can”.
my friend aaron observed, “imagine what the world would be like if every dad was this dedicated”.
imagine.
so, join me on october 21 in cheering on these amazing men who are living testament to their stand for limitless human potential.
even better, join me in honoring them by embracing a “Yes You Can” mindset and carrying the torch out in to the world!
my intention at the beginning of the week, as evidenced by my diligent blogging from the US Airways lounge in the Phoenix airport on the way to the island, was to blog daily.
didn’t happen.
i could beat myself up over it but the truth of the matter is i was rarely in my room ... i was out living life, enjoying spending time with friends, listening to amazing speakers, and masterminding about life in general with people whose opinions i value greatly.
so, rather than turning this blog entry into the equivalent of a vacation travelogue slideshow on my living room wall, i thought i’d focus today on the most inspiring moment of the trip ... don’t worry, you’ll most likely be regaled later with stories of turtles and puffer fish and drum circles and helicopters and volcanoes, etc.
but today is dedicated to the time we spent with Rick and Dick Hoyt, a father-son racing team who are already on the island in preparation for the Ironman Triathlon coming up on october 21. if you haven’t heard of the hoyts, you deserve to. check them out at www.teamhoyt.com.
even better, tune in to the Ironman coverage to see team hoyt in action.
together they’ve competed in over 206 triathlons and over 64 marathons, including 24 straight Boston Marathons, as well as hundreds of other road races. they also bicycled across the United States in 45 consecutive days.
a phenomenal record of achievement, especially when you consider that rick is confined to a wheelchair with cerebral palsy as a result of a complication during his birth 44 years ago.
during these races, rick rides in a custom boat, bicycle seat and a wheelchair while his dad, dick, powers through the race. in dick’s words, “i’m the muscle, rick is the heart”.
they got started racing by chance, when a 15 year old rick wanted to participate in a local fundraiser. after the race, he looked at his dad and told him it was the first time he didn’t feel disabled. and that was the day “Yes You Can” was born.
they now race around the world and champion the cause of the disabled. but their story reaches so far beyond the disabled in body, they inspire the disabled in spirit.
what a powerful message: “Yes You Can”.
my friend aaron observed, “imagine what the world would be like if every dad was this dedicated”.
imagine.
so, join me on october 21 in cheering on these amazing men who are living testament to their stand for limitless human potential.
even better, join me in honoring them by embracing a “Yes You Can” mindset and carrying the torch out in to the world!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
My Hat Goes To Hawaii
me and my hat are presently wiling away a few hours in the phoenix airport, awaiting our connection to KONA, HAWAII. we're straddling a little round coffee table in the US Airways lounge under the strict supervision of tracey at the front desk, whose primary job responsibility today is to ensure we understand, without question, the "no feet on the furniture" policy.
in spite of the fact i've lived in colorado for 17 years she must be able to still smell the "oklahoma" on me ... i don't hear her warning anyone else of the "NO FEET ON THE FURNITURE" rule, which she announced to us the minute we sidled up to her desk.
now john's reclining, using his carry-on bag as an ottoman, but occasionally tracey will glance over here to confirm his giant peds aren't actually touching the coffee table.
i just smile and wave and keep on clipping his toenails.
okay, i'm not really clipping john's toenails in the phoenix airport ... that would be CRAZY seeing as you can't even say the words "toenail clippers" in an airport anymore. much less pack them on your person. but i'd really, really like to see tracey's face if she were to catch me mid-clip ... with toenail shards bouncing off the upholestery right and left.
but today i'm going to hawaii so tracey's furniture fetish isn't bothering me. not even the intimate frisk i received from the security screeners in the denver airport, thanks to my underwire bra, could take the bloom off this day's rose.
toenail clippers and bras aside, i'm wearing my hat today and feeling good about it for two reasons:
first, i bought this cute little straw hat with the black band about 15 years ago. it was expensive. made in italy. and it looks pretty darn cute on me if i do say so myself. but i've never worn it outside of my house. might sweat on the sweatband or ruin it or something.
i was in my closet the other day, surveying my hawaiian atire options, when i noticed the hat glaring at me. it never leaves my closet. it wanted to go to hawaii. i said yes. after all, what's the point of having nice, expensive stuff if i'm not going to wear it or use it today?
my decision to take my hat to the steamy tropics was liberating. i found myself pouring orange juice in to our fancy-schmancy-wedding-gift-wine-glasses that have never been used ... our harmonica, the "nice" one (i guess you really can't take the oklahoma out of the girl!), has now been broken in by wyatt ... it's sticky and covered in cheerio juice and making sweet, sweet music these days ...
use it or lose it. that's my new philosophy. if i'm not gonna use it or wear it, i'm giving it away. if i'm "waiting" for the right moment ... well, the correct answer there is "THIS is the right moment."
hat lesson #2 ... i'm a little self-conscious in my hat. i couldn't pack it, being that it was an expensive hat and all, so it's riding in the main cabin with us. on my head.
i wore it in the denver airport. i'm now wearing it in the phoenix airport. people look. not for any reason other than i'm an aberration in the airport landscape. for a while i took it off and then i realized i wasn't wearing MY hat out of concern for what other people were thinking.
"looking good. looking bad."
it owns us and drives us unless we really get how ridiculous it is.
so i proudly put my hat back on. smushing down my hair until the hawaiian humidity kicks it up a notch. and i feel great.
why?
well, in about 7 hours i'm going to be wearing my first lei (thank you tony, our driver, who kindly pointed out that as this was not "fantasy island" he would not be waiting with fresh flowers unless we were willing to pay for them in advance. we did.)
so i've got the whole lei thing going for me today ... but i also can now tuck the "i don't CARE what other people think" thing in my backpocket. i felt it. i saw it. i honored myself. i put my hat back on.
QOD: what would your life look like if you never considered how you "looked" to other people???
aloha!
in spite of the fact i've lived in colorado for 17 years she must be able to still smell the "oklahoma" on me ... i don't hear her warning anyone else of the "NO FEET ON THE FURNITURE" rule, which she announced to us the minute we sidled up to her desk.
now john's reclining, using his carry-on bag as an ottoman, but occasionally tracey will glance over here to confirm his giant peds aren't actually touching the coffee table.
i just smile and wave and keep on clipping his toenails.
okay, i'm not really clipping john's toenails in the phoenix airport ... that would be CRAZY seeing as you can't even say the words "toenail clippers" in an airport anymore. much less pack them on your person. but i'd really, really like to see tracey's face if she were to catch me mid-clip ... with toenail shards bouncing off the upholestery right and left.
but today i'm going to hawaii so tracey's furniture fetish isn't bothering me. not even the intimate frisk i received from the security screeners in the denver airport, thanks to my underwire bra, could take the bloom off this day's rose.
toenail clippers and bras aside, i'm wearing my hat today and feeling good about it for two reasons:
first, i bought this cute little straw hat with the black band about 15 years ago. it was expensive. made in italy. and it looks pretty darn cute on me if i do say so myself. but i've never worn it outside of my house. might sweat on the sweatband or ruin it or something.
i was in my closet the other day, surveying my hawaiian atire options, when i noticed the hat glaring at me. it never leaves my closet. it wanted to go to hawaii. i said yes. after all, what's the point of having nice, expensive stuff if i'm not going to wear it or use it today?
my decision to take my hat to the steamy tropics was liberating. i found myself pouring orange juice in to our fancy-schmancy-wedding-gift-wine-glasses that have never been used ... our harmonica, the "nice" one (i guess you really can't take the oklahoma out of the girl!), has now been broken in by wyatt ... it's sticky and covered in cheerio juice and making sweet, sweet music these days ...
use it or lose it. that's my new philosophy. if i'm not gonna use it or wear it, i'm giving it away. if i'm "waiting" for the right moment ... well, the correct answer there is "THIS is the right moment."
hat lesson #2 ... i'm a little self-conscious in my hat. i couldn't pack it, being that it was an expensive hat and all, so it's riding in the main cabin with us. on my head.
i wore it in the denver airport. i'm now wearing it in the phoenix airport. people look. not for any reason other than i'm an aberration in the airport landscape. for a while i took it off and then i realized i wasn't wearing MY hat out of concern for what other people were thinking.
"looking good. looking bad."
it owns us and drives us unless we really get how ridiculous it is.
so i proudly put my hat back on. smushing down my hair until the hawaiian humidity kicks it up a notch. and i feel great.
why?
well, in about 7 hours i'm going to be wearing my first lei (thank you tony, our driver, who kindly pointed out that as this was not "fantasy island" he would not be waiting with fresh flowers unless we were willing to pay for them in advance. we did.)
so i've got the whole lei thing going for me today ... but i also can now tuck the "i don't CARE what other people think" thing in my backpocket. i felt it. i saw it. i honored myself. i put my hat back on.
QOD: what would your life look like if you never considered how you "looked" to other people???
aloha!
Kristy and the Spiderman
today i'm celebrating wins ... and the friends who help us spot them when we're too wrapped up in life to see them on our own!
i take my job as "parent" seriously. the way i look at it, i chose to bring two children in to my life and this world (with more than a little divine inspiration!). my vision of parenting is much more than simply "good health, good manners, good grades" ... i'm really striving to raise two humans who will make a difference in this world.
as such, i'm constantly on the lookout for areas where i've engaged in "unintentional" parenting ... in other words, where i've said or done something without examining how that will impact two very impressionable young people.
if you are a parent, you most likely have experienced the "telephone magnet syndrome", a unique afflication occuring in many 3 year olds causing them to morph in to high demand monsters the moment they sense you're on the telephone. wyatt is unique in that he doesn't necessarily want MY attention. he wants the attention of whomever is on the other end of the line.
the other day i was speaking with a new friend/business associate and wyatt was clamoring at my feet to talk too. i wasn't comfortable yet thrusting this individual in to a conversation with my son so i ever so sweetly told my precious 3 year old that this individual "probably has much better things to do than talk to you right now."
ouch.
there goes my mother-of-the-year award.
i immediately cleaned that up with wyatt and you know what? he got it. i've decided the art of forgiveness can best be learned by watching a child.
my friend kristy is a really good sport when it comes to chatting up my little guy on the phone. must be something in the water out there in rhode island. nice folks.
kristy and i were talking the other day, just catching up, and she could hear wyatt doing his thing in the background ... suffice it to say there were capes and spiderman underwear involved - he was in full-out imaginative play - and she asked if he wanted to talk to her.
assuming the answer would be "YES" and that he would tear off his cape in order to take the call, i handed the phone over and asked him, rhetorically, "do you want to talk to kristy?"
"nope"
hmmmm ... unusual ... not what i expected ... possibly rude as the phone was already dangling in his face ...
but in the moment i chose to let it go. in the past i might have attempted to force it ... i might have pointed out how rude that was ... i might have apologized all over myself for his actions.
but that day i just let it be.
kristy's response? "it doesn't get any more authentic than that does it?"
and you know what? she's right.
say what you mean and mean what you say.
"wanna talk?"
"no."
end of conversation.
so today i'm celebrating that i honored wyatt's authenticity rather than pushing him in to doing or saying something just to make me look good.
i'm celebrating his being a "say what you mean and mean what you say" kinda guy.
i can already hear his future spouse thanking me ... assuming he's given up the superhero "man panties" (as he calls them)!
i take my job as "parent" seriously. the way i look at it, i chose to bring two children in to my life and this world (with more than a little divine inspiration!). my vision of parenting is much more than simply "good health, good manners, good grades" ... i'm really striving to raise two humans who will make a difference in this world.
as such, i'm constantly on the lookout for areas where i've engaged in "unintentional" parenting ... in other words, where i've said or done something without examining how that will impact two very impressionable young people.
if you are a parent, you most likely have experienced the "telephone magnet syndrome", a unique afflication occuring in many 3 year olds causing them to morph in to high demand monsters the moment they sense you're on the telephone. wyatt is unique in that he doesn't necessarily want MY attention. he wants the attention of whomever is on the other end of the line.
the other day i was speaking with a new friend/business associate and wyatt was clamoring at my feet to talk too. i wasn't comfortable yet thrusting this individual in to a conversation with my son so i ever so sweetly told my precious 3 year old that this individual "probably has much better things to do than talk to you right now."
ouch.
there goes my mother-of-the-year award.
i immediately cleaned that up with wyatt and you know what? he got it. i've decided the art of forgiveness can best be learned by watching a child.
my friend kristy is a really good sport when it comes to chatting up my little guy on the phone. must be something in the water out there in rhode island. nice folks.
kristy and i were talking the other day, just catching up, and she could hear wyatt doing his thing in the background ... suffice it to say there were capes and spiderman underwear involved - he was in full-out imaginative play - and she asked if he wanted to talk to her.
assuming the answer would be "YES" and that he would tear off his cape in order to take the call, i handed the phone over and asked him, rhetorically, "do you want to talk to kristy?"
"nope"
hmmmm ... unusual ... not what i expected ... possibly rude as the phone was already dangling in his face ...
but in the moment i chose to let it go. in the past i might have attempted to force it ... i might have pointed out how rude that was ... i might have apologized all over myself for his actions.
but that day i just let it be.
kristy's response? "it doesn't get any more authentic than that does it?"
and you know what? she's right.
say what you mean and mean what you say.
"wanna talk?"
"no."
end of conversation.
so today i'm celebrating that i honored wyatt's authenticity rather than pushing him in to doing or saying something just to make me look good.
i'm celebrating his being a "say what you mean and mean what you say" kinda guy.
i can already hear his future spouse thanking me ... assuming he's given up the superhero "man panties" (as he calls them)!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Traffic Jam in the Buffalo Underpass
do baby buffalos make good pets? the only reason i ask is i had an up close encounter with one this morning and he was pretty darn cute. it got me thinking about our own herds and the people who watch our backs ...
more on that in a sec ...
out and about early picking up kids and dropping them at preschool and orchestra practice i was in the mood to treat myself to a quiet drive home over some rutted dirt backroads. i drive this road a lot. today there's snow on the mountains ... from pike's peak to rocky mountain national park. mountains as far as the eye can see and it's truly a majestic sight.
that's what i went for.
but today the buffalo were out. they live on this cute little farm with a cute little red barn and a cute little silo. their cute not-so-little pasture is divided by this rutted road. these buffalo have a nice life. they even have their own underpass that gets them from pasture to pasture efficiently.
today there was a traffic jam in the buffalo underpass.
chow was arriving in the west pasture. buffalo who were hanging casually in the east pasture now have the intention of getting to the chow. quickly.
i stopped. today the buffalo were way more interesting than the mountains. i got out of my car and walked right up to the fence flanking the buffalo underpass.
now i don't know much about the dynamics of buffalo society ... the hierarchy ... their moods and personalities ... but the buffalo who were still idling in the traffic jam on the east side were definitely getting aggressive. snorting. pawing. pushing.
i walked back across the road to the chow pasture where buffalo are popping out of the tunnel one-by-one like candy in a pez dispenser and that's when i met the baby buffalo who stole my heart.
he was darn near airborne when he shot out of the tunnel. and then he tripped and fell. i liked him immediately.
i guess, this morning, i was slightly more attractive than the buffalo chow as he stopped and checked me out. my phone has a "built in" camera (ha) so i pulled it out of my pocket, stuck my hands through the fence to get as close as possible and then proceeded to drop the danged thing as i was pulling out the stylus to operate the touch screen. a camera yes. an efficient camera no.
but now i really baby's attention. while i'm quietly cursing the stylus and considering the merits of just letting the buffalo HAVE the phone (if i dared show you the crappy pics you'd understand!) i notice he's tentatively moving towards me.
i'm on my knees, reaching for my phone. watching.
baby is taking one step forward and then glancing back.
you see, a couple of BIG buffalo stop who've just popped out of the tunnel have now stopped to watch. the fence is starting to feel REAL flimsy ...
and here comes baby. one step forward. one glance back. one step forward. one glance back.
until he's about 5 feet away, which was plenty close for us both. and then we just kind of had a moment. he was all gangly legs with a grayish brown coat and huge blinking doey eyes.
i could almost hear the pitter patter of little hooves across our high sheen hard wood floors ...
baby buffalos are really, really cute ... if you're in to the mangy coat and hump kinda thing.
i didn't get the picture i wanted as he stampeded back to the big boys as soon as I reached in far enough to get my phone out of the grass and slipped against the fence, which really felt more like hitting a giant cheese grater, causing quite a rattle ... but i was really moved by how brave he had been ... getting as close as he got before i wiped myself out.
but this is what i suspect happened ... these big buffalo who had stopped to monitor the situation were the supporting players in baby's choice to act courageously. and i had an extraordinary experience this morning, just hanging out in a baby buffaloes space for a few moments because of his courage.
so it got me thinking about the power of having people in your corner. not in some grand intangible way, but really, a small group of people who support you in being courageous in life.
my dictionary defines courage as a "firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty".
if you're up to something big, you're going to encounter difficulties. that's just the way life works. want an easy life? go sit and watch tv and never leave your house. you see, courage isn't the lack of fear or doubt, courage is ACTING in the face of those fears and doubts.
the dictionary says this takes a firmness of mind and will. well, i don't know about you, but some days i just don't want to do it on my own. i require a swift kick from someone reminding me i am courageous. someone standing beside me. a couple of big buffalos watching my backside, lest i backslide into mediocrity.
there's a word for this dynamic, possibly coined first by napoleon hill in his book "think and grow rich". a mastermind group. regardless of who thought up the phrase, some well-known authors and business folks are putting this topic on the map again. why? because it's transformational.
simply put, it's folks connecting with other folks in order to support each other in living an extraordinary life.
i have a brand new mastermind group that's meeting officially for the first time this week.
i'm jazzed.
an office supply entrepreneur from texas ... a pilot and army reserve professional working just miles from the pentagon ... a brilliant 20 year old with a heart of gold ... a mindset coach from colorado ... and me ... all different walks of life and not necessarily much in common except we're all up to something big.
and we're here to support each other in playing big.
i'll keep you posted on what we're up to so check back often. trust me. these are people you want to know.
i'll also be posting some great resources here in the coming days on the power of the mastermind and how you can create this same support structure in your life!
QOD: what would you be able to accomplish if you had a team of people in your life unabashedly supporting your dreams and visions rather than holding you down like a 1,000 pound backpack?
more on that in a sec ...
out and about early picking up kids and dropping them at preschool and orchestra practice i was in the mood to treat myself to a quiet drive home over some rutted dirt backroads. i drive this road a lot. today there's snow on the mountains ... from pike's peak to rocky mountain national park. mountains as far as the eye can see and it's truly a majestic sight.
that's what i went for.
but today the buffalo were out. they live on this cute little farm with a cute little red barn and a cute little silo. their cute not-so-little pasture is divided by this rutted road. these buffalo have a nice life. they even have their own underpass that gets them from pasture to pasture efficiently.
today there was a traffic jam in the buffalo underpass.
chow was arriving in the west pasture. buffalo who were hanging casually in the east pasture now have the intention of getting to the chow. quickly.
i stopped. today the buffalo were way more interesting than the mountains. i got out of my car and walked right up to the fence flanking the buffalo underpass.
now i don't know much about the dynamics of buffalo society ... the hierarchy ... their moods and personalities ... but the buffalo who were still idling in the traffic jam on the east side were definitely getting aggressive. snorting. pawing. pushing.
i walked back across the road to the chow pasture where buffalo are popping out of the tunnel one-by-one like candy in a pez dispenser and that's when i met the baby buffalo who stole my heart.
he was darn near airborne when he shot out of the tunnel. and then he tripped and fell. i liked him immediately.
i guess, this morning, i was slightly more attractive than the buffalo chow as he stopped and checked me out. my phone has a "built in" camera (ha) so i pulled it out of my pocket, stuck my hands through the fence to get as close as possible and then proceeded to drop the danged thing as i was pulling out the stylus to operate the touch screen. a camera yes. an efficient camera no.
but now i really baby's attention. while i'm quietly cursing the stylus and considering the merits of just letting the buffalo HAVE the phone (if i dared show you the crappy pics you'd understand!) i notice he's tentatively moving towards me.
i'm on my knees, reaching for my phone. watching.
baby is taking one step forward and then glancing back.
you see, a couple of BIG buffalo stop who've just popped out of the tunnel have now stopped to watch. the fence is starting to feel REAL flimsy ...
and here comes baby. one step forward. one glance back. one step forward. one glance back.
until he's about 5 feet away, which was plenty close for us both. and then we just kind of had a moment. he was all gangly legs with a grayish brown coat and huge blinking doey eyes.
i could almost hear the pitter patter of little hooves across our high sheen hard wood floors ...
baby buffalos are really, really cute ... if you're in to the mangy coat and hump kinda thing.
i didn't get the picture i wanted as he stampeded back to the big boys as soon as I reached in far enough to get my phone out of the grass and slipped against the fence, which really felt more like hitting a giant cheese grater, causing quite a rattle ... but i was really moved by how brave he had been ... getting as close as he got before i wiped myself out.
but this is what i suspect happened ... these big buffalo who had stopped to monitor the situation were the supporting players in baby's choice to act courageously. and i had an extraordinary experience this morning, just hanging out in a baby buffaloes space for a few moments because of his courage.
so it got me thinking about the power of having people in your corner. not in some grand intangible way, but really, a small group of people who support you in being courageous in life.
my dictionary defines courage as a "firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty".
if you're up to something big, you're going to encounter difficulties. that's just the way life works. want an easy life? go sit and watch tv and never leave your house. you see, courage isn't the lack of fear or doubt, courage is ACTING in the face of those fears and doubts.
the dictionary says this takes a firmness of mind and will. well, i don't know about you, but some days i just don't want to do it on my own. i require a swift kick from someone reminding me i am courageous. someone standing beside me. a couple of big buffalos watching my backside, lest i backslide into mediocrity.
there's a word for this dynamic, possibly coined first by napoleon hill in his book "think and grow rich". a mastermind group. regardless of who thought up the phrase, some well-known authors and business folks are putting this topic on the map again. why? because it's transformational.
simply put, it's folks connecting with other folks in order to support each other in living an extraordinary life.
i have a brand new mastermind group that's meeting officially for the first time this week.
i'm jazzed.
an office supply entrepreneur from texas ... a pilot and army reserve professional working just miles from the pentagon ... a brilliant 20 year old with a heart of gold ... a mindset coach from colorado ... and me ... all different walks of life and not necessarily much in common except we're all up to something big.
and we're here to support each other in playing big.
i'll keep you posted on what we're up to so check back often. trust me. these are people you want to know.
i'll also be posting some great resources here in the coming days on the power of the mastermind and how you can create this same support structure in your life!
QOD: what would you be able to accomplish if you had a team of people in your life unabashedly supporting your dreams and visions rather than holding you down like a 1,000 pound backpack?
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Happy September 10th!
Sunday was my birthday. September 10. I don’t say that in order to solicit a bunch of belated birthday greetings. Although expensive gifts are always welcomed. Ha! No, I bring it up because I used to love my birthday. Growing up it usually meant I had the first birthday of the school year so my parties were bashes, with my entire class invited and I, of course, was the Queen in a paper hat – the center of attention - for those couple of hours. During our annual “back to school clothes” shopping trips my mom would inevitably not purchase some of my favorite selections, to my disappointment, only to have them appear weeks later in birthday gifts. Sweet.
I didn’t even mind that milestone 30th birthday, a “couple” of years past.
But they stopped being fun in 2001.
The eve of 9/11.
We were in Texas, visiting my family, when the planes hit and we knew our life here in the U.S. would not feel “normal” again for a long, long time.
For some reason we didn’t have my official birthday celebration on the 10th that year. We were waiting for some more family to fly in and join us. Of course all air travel was suspended for days that morning so they didn’t get there but we did manage to tear ourselves away from FOX and CNN later that evening to go eat some Mexican food.
But it was a melancholy celebration, with our conversations entirely focused on the differences between my grandmother’s childhood and the world my daughter had been born in to. That day I could not see the possibility of optimism anywhere. And ever since I’ve gotten into a little non-age-related funk around my birthday.
Until Sunday.
We celebrated with grown-up friends on Saturday night so my entire birthday actually revolved around our family - me, my husband, and our children. And we did exactly as we pleased on Sunday. We got up early and hit the Castle Rock Arts Festival. Because we got there early, we were able to strike up a conversation with an amazing oil painter, Katherine McNeill www.katherinemcneill.com . John (an extremely talented artist for those of you who haven’t seen his work) engaged Ms. McNeill in a conversation about technique and before we knew it she’d pulled out a painting-in-progress and we all enjoyed a significant chunk of her time, with the kids actually getting to work on the painting with her. It was fun and creative and inspiring and priceless.
Then on Sunday night we gathered around the island in our kitchen with boiled shrimp, fresh French bread, brie, grapes and chocolate cake ... my requested birthday dinner menu. We cranked up the iPod sound system and let the kids take turns spinning the tunes (everything from “Hillary Duff” to “Queen” to “Monty Python’s ‘The Galaxy Song’”) and we danced.
Sunday was a perfect day. I didn’t get caught up in anything but hanging out with the people I love most in the world, celebrating and doing things that make my heart sing.
September 10, 2001. The last full day over 3,000 people spent with their friends, family and loved ones before their lives were suddenly and unexpectedly extinguished. There were a lot of sweet, precious memories created that day. A lot of last photographs. A lot of last laughs.
“Live every day as if it’s your last.”
I’ve heard that phrase a thousand times, but remembering September 10, 2001 reminds me, again, how “serious” we should be taking that advice. Because for those people who boarded planes the next morning and went to work in tall buildings and reported for duty in secure buildings, September 10, 2001 was their last day on this earth.
And the best way I can honor them, any and all politics and memorials and 21 gun salutes aside, is to live my life to the fullest every day without squandering one precious minute – it’s called living a life of intention. And I believe in my heart, if those 3,000 were to speak to those of us who remain, that would be their message.
So the birthday funk is over. I now choose to see September 10 as a day of celebration and life. It’s a reminder to me that tomorrow is NEVER guaranteed ... that all I have is right now ... and right now ... and right now ... It’s a day to celebrate the lives of those who didn’t live to see September 12, 2001 and to honor them by playing full out while living my one fabulous, extraordinary, precious life here on this earth!
Happy September 10th Everybody!
I didn’t even mind that milestone 30th birthday, a “couple” of years past.
But they stopped being fun in 2001.
The eve of 9/11.
We were in Texas, visiting my family, when the planes hit and we knew our life here in the U.S. would not feel “normal” again for a long, long time.
For some reason we didn’t have my official birthday celebration on the 10th that year. We were waiting for some more family to fly in and join us. Of course all air travel was suspended for days that morning so they didn’t get there but we did manage to tear ourselves away from FOX and CNN later that evening to go eat some Mexican food.
But it was a melancholy celebration, with our conversations entirely focused on the differences between my grandmother’s childhood and the world my daughter had been born in to. That day I could not see the possibility of optimism anywhere. And ever since I’ve gotten into a little non-age-related funk around my birthday.
Until Sunday.
We celebrated with grown-up friends on Saturday night so my entire birthday actually revolved around our family - me, my husband, and our children. And we did exactly as we pleased on Sunday. We got up early and hit the Castle Rock Arts Festival. Because we got there early, we were able to strike up a conversation with an amazing oil painter, Katherine McNeill www.katherinemcneill.com . John (an extremely talented artist for those of you who haven’t seen his work) engaged Ms. McNeill in a conversation about technique and before we knew it she’d pulled out a painting-in-progress and we all enjoyed a significant chunk of her time, with the kids actually getting to work on the painting with her. It was fun and creative and inspiring and priceless.
Then on Sunday night we gathered around the island in our kitchen with boiled shrimp, fresh French bread, brie, grapes and chocolate cake ... my requested birthday dinner menu. We cranked up the iPod sound system and let the kids take turns spinning the tunes (everything from “Hillary Duff” to “Queen” to “Monty Python’s ‘The Galaxy Song’”) and we danced.
Sunday was a perfect day. I didn’t get caught up in anything but hanging out with the people I love most in the world, celebrating and doing things that make my heart sing.
September 10, 2001. The last full day over 3,000 people spent with their friends, family and loved ones before their lives were suddenly and unexpectedly extinguished. There were a lot of sweet, precious memories created that day. A lot of last photographs. A lot of last laughs.
“Live every day as if it’s your last.”
I’ve heard that phrase a thousand times, but remembering September 10, 2001 reminds me, again, how “serious” we should be taking that advice. Because for those people who boarded planes the next morning and went to work in tall buildings and reported for duty in secure buildings, September 10, 2001 was their last day on this earth.
And the best way I can honor them, any and all politics and memorials and 21 gun salutes aside, is to live my life to the fullest every day without squandering one precious minute – it’s called living a life of intention. And I believe in my heart, if those 3,000 were to speak to those of us who remain, that would be their message.
So the birthday funk is over. I now choose to see September 10 as a day of celebration and life. It’s a reminder to me that tomorrow is NEVER guaranteed ... that all I have is right now ... and right now ... and right now ... It’s a day to celebrate the lives of those who didn’t live to see September 12, 2001 and to honor them by playing full out while living my one fabulous, extraordinary, precious life here on this earth!
Happy September 10th Everybody!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Imagination and Integrity
I was having a conversation the other day with an acquaintance and he blew me away with a seemingly random comment:
"Our futures are really only determined by our imagination and our integrity."
As I sat with it I realized what a beautifully simple truth he'd just shared.
Imagine your future just like you'd like it ... and then simply become the person of integrity who is their Word.
I love the way this guy put it. My kids get it.
Dream it and do it.
Become a person who is known by your Word. If you say you're gonna do it, then the world knows you through its listening of you as the person who will do it.
Then go do it.
"Our futures are really only determined by our imagination and our integrity."
As I sat with it I realized what a beautifully simple truth he'd just shared.
Imagine your future just like you'd like it ... and then simply become the person of integrity who is their Word.
I love the way this guy put it. My kids get it.
Dream it and do it.
Become a person who is known by your Word. If you say you're gonna do it, then the world knows you through its listening of you as the person who will do it.
Then go do it.
Monday, August 14, 2006
The Sasquatch Award
some days you just gotta lighten up ...
go to www.messinwithsasquatch.com to see some of the funniest TV commercials around ... scroll over, past Sasquatch, to the camera hanging on the tree and watch the four commercials for beef jerky ...
now, consider this: someone was given the task of creating an ad campaign for beef jerky.
beef jerky.
how do you sell beef jerky?
flavor? texture? packaging?
nope. BIGFOOT.
yep. somebody somewhere actually had the conversation, OUT LOUD, that went something like this:
Bob: "Hey, let's use Bigfoot to sell beef jerky!"
Everyone Else: "Not just any Bigfoot, let's have a couple of folks pester Bigfoot like a couple of pre-teen girls at a slumber party!"
evidently bigfoot sells a LOT of beef jerky. i can't prove that as i'm not a beef jerky afficionado but it's apparent that at least their commercials have quite the cult following. which creates buzz. which eventually sells beef jerky.
so what's my point?
have fun.
don't you think the guys and gals who thought up the "Messin' With Sasquatch" ad campaign had a BLAST doing it? can't you see them sitting around someone's coffee table laughing till they cried?
make it fun. be you. get creative.
BE THE BIGFOOT!
who knows, maybe we'll have a weekly "Sasquatch" award for the best "out of the box" suggestion of the week!
go to www.messinwithsasquatch.com to see some of the funniest TV commercials around ... scroll over, past Sasquatch, to the camera hanging on the tree and watch the four commercials for beef jerky ...
now, consider this: someone was given the task of creating an ad campaign for beef jerky.
beef jerky.
how do you sell beef jerky?
flavor? texture? packaging?
nope. BIGFOOT.
yep. somebody somewhere actually had the conversation, OUT LOUD, that went something like this:
Bob: "Hey, let's use Bigfoot to sell beef jerky!"
Everyone Else: "Not just any Bigfoot, let's have a couple of folks pester Bigfoot like a couple of pre-teen girls at a slumber party!"
evidently bigfoot sells a LOT of beef jerky. i can't prove that as i'm not a beef jerky afficionado but it's apparent that at least their commercials have quite the cult following. which creates buzz. which eventually sells beef jerky.
so what's my point?
have fun.
don't you think the guys and gals who thought up the "Messin' With Sasquatch" ad campaign had a BLAST doing it? can't you see them sitting around someone's coffee table laughing till they cried?
make it fun. be you. get creative.
BE THE BIGFOOT!
who knows, maybe we'll have a weekly "Sasquatch" award for the best "out of the box" suggestion of the week!
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Saturday's Quote of the Day
"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. ACTION always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action."
- Frank Tibolt
- Frank Tibolt
Friday, August 11, 2006
Quote of the Day
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Scenes From The Mall
I went clothes shopping with my 10 year old daughter yesterday. She received a nice gift of cash from her grandmother and she campaigned hard to buy some of her own school clothes without my "input". We negotiated a bit. If she paid I agreed to only veto when an article of clothing fell into the "inappropriate" category. And any of my rulings of "inappropriate" would go unchallenged.
So off we went. Frankly, as she's moving from "children's" sizes to "juniors" sizes I was anticipating encountering too tight, too short, too high, too low ... but what we encountered was much more disheartening.
Her very first selections were from a niftily-displayed shelf of t-shirts with pictures of bunnies and unicorns and rainbows displaying verbiage such as:
"I did it but I'm blaming you"
"It's all about me"
"If you buy me stuff I'll be nicer"
"Cute but Mean"
Veto.
Veto.
Veto.
Veto.
Yuck. You see, our culture is not organized to support the extraordinary. Ordinary is easy. It's comfortable. It sells t-shirts. This is what I saw. Victim. Victim. Victim. Victim. And being a victim, which is apparently not only accepted but celebrated on t-shirts marketed and sold to our pre-teens, must be one of the lowest forms of living. It requires to thought. No intent. All it requires is breathing, sitting back, letting life happen, and complaining about it.
And I'm not going to stand for it. Not in my world. My stand for my children, my community, my business, my world, is that extraordinary is possible. And I believe one of the keys to living an extraordinary life rests in the quality of our conversations. Our language.
Cute bunny t-shirt. Terrible language.
Not happening in my house.
But that stack of t-shirts created a fantastic opening for my daughter and I to have a conversation about the power of our language.
Helen Keller said in her autobiography (paraphrased) that before she learned language at the age of 10 her experience of life was that of an "unconcious clod of earth". Every memory was tactile as she had no language in which to process her experience. Without language she could not even grasp the concepts of love and friendship, laughter or happiness.
But look what she accomplished after the age of 10.
There's power in your words. Use it wisely.
"I am a possibility"
"I am extraordinary"
"Living with intent"
"How can I serve you?"
So off we went. Frankly, as she's moving from "children's" sizes to "juniors" sizes I was anticipating encountering too tight, too short, too high, too low ... but what we encountered was much more disheartening.
Her very first selections were from a niftily-displayed shelf of t-shirts with pictures of bunnies and unicorns and rainbows displaying verbiage such as:
"I did it but I'm blaming you"
"It's all about me"
"If you buy me stuff I'll be nicer"
"Cute but Mean"
Veto.
Veto.
Veto.
Veto.
Yuck. You see, our culture is not organized to support the extraordinary. Ordinary is easy. It's comfortable. It sells t-shirts. This is what I saw. Victim. Victim. Victim. Victim. And being a victim, which is apparently not only accepted but celebrated on t-shirts marketed and sold to our pre-teens, must be one of the lowest forms of living. It requires to thought. No intent. All it requires is breathing, sitting back, letting life happen, and complaining about it.
And I'm not going to stand for it. Not in my world. My stand for my children, my community, my business, my world, is that extraordinary is possible. And I believe one of the keys to living an extraordinary life rests in the quality of our conversations. Our language.
Cute bunny t-shirt. Terrible language.
Not happening in my house.
But that stack of t-shirts created a fantastic opening for my daughter and I to have a conversation about the power of our language.
Helen Keller said in her autobiography (paraphrased) that before she learned language at the age of 10 her experience of life was that of an "unconcious clod of earth". Every memory was tactile as she had no language in which to process her experience. Without language she could not even grasp the concepts of love and friendship, laughter or happiness.
But look what she accomplished after the age of 10.
There's power in your words. Use it wisely.
"I am a possibility"
"I am extraordinary"
"Living with intent"
"How can I serve you?"
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Remember the Karate Kid?
Remember the movie "The Karate Kid"? Teenager picks up and moves with his mom to a new town and immediately is the brunt of the bullies' attention. Enter Mr. Miyagi who offers to teach this downtrodden teenager karate. Teenager shows up at Mr. Miyagi's house early one morning expecting to be taught karate and instead winds up washing and waxing cars (wax on with right hand/wax off with left hand), painting fences (it's all in the wrist ... tall boards right hand, short boards left hand) and painting the house (side to side). A couple of days into these strangely executed "chores", with not even a mention of karate, the teenager finally gets mad. This isn't what he expected. This isn't what he signed up for. Where's the blackbelt?
And then there's movie magic. Mr. Miyagi starts throwing punches and kicks and the teenager instinctively defends himself with the same arm movements as wax on/wax off - wrist up and down - paint side to side.
Ahhh ... Mr. Miyahi HAD been teaching him karate. Just not in the way the teenager had expected.
I realized, listening to last night's Blackbelt Call, that many of us (myself included) are like the teenager in "The Karate Kid". We've come here to "get" something we've never had before.
Freedom in our financial circumstances. In our time. In our ability to choose our life and our lifestyle.
We've come here with an agreement to be coachable and trainable, to engage fully in the training and support in order to get the results we've come here to get.
And then our old programming takes over.
In my experience this is the way this happnes: the "little voice" in my head starts chattering away, telling me that I am free to pick and choose what's taught on the training calls. That somehow 100% of THAT doesn't apply to me.
I've been here over two years. I've heard John Lavenia talk about visualizing with details. I've done it. A little. Mostly I haven't cultivated the mental muscle to stick with that visualization before I'm planning my grocery shopping list or noticing that my toenails need to be repainted.
You may be tripped up by something else. Maybe you haven't cracked open Beyond Freedom yet. Maybe you're not tied in to this community via the daily Wakeup calls. Maybe you're in the "getting ready to get ready" trap and haven't yet picked up the phone and called your prospects back.
Whatever "it" is, if you're not doing these five things every day you're the karate kid. You want that "thing", but the old programming is still fighting to keep you in your comfort zone. And guess what, extraordinary lives don't emerge from the realm of reasonableness.
Extraordinary lives that impact the world emerge from ordinary individuals willing to take unreasonable action.
So here it is, again. The five things LEADERS do EVERY day, especially when it's not reasonable or comfortable:
1. Daily Visualization and Meditation - discussed in detail on last night's Blackbelt Call.
2. Personal Development - hmmm, that's pretty simple considering you're holding in your hands "Beyond Freedom".
3. Income Producing Activities - simply put:
5. Cultivate the Expectation of Leadership - this is my take on leadership ... it's not about orders or directions or delegation ... true leadership is inspiring others to, in turn, inspire others. If your dream and mission in life moves from your head to your conversation it becomes real for you and it becomes real for the person you're in conversation with. Leaving them inspired to inspire others. That's leadership. If you're not inspired by yourself, trust me, you're not inspiring anybody else.
I talked to Wendy Stevens yesterday. She's turned in 7 Beyond Freedom orders since Friday. She had two sales yesterday and only put three people on the calls because she's committed to recreating with her children these last two weeks of summer. She's in the flow. And she's in the flow, serious flow, because she's got an amazing muscle for this business. She's waxed on and waxed off, just like she was told to do. Even when she didn't "feel" like it. Even when she didn't see how it was making a difference in her life and in her business. She was a good student. She's done the five things daily and consistently.
And because she's inspired by the fact that she can build her life around her children - because she's CHOSEN to build her life around her children, two of the three people she spoke with yesterday were inspired by Wendy before they EVER listened to the business presentation.
And they got started. And now they have an amazing community to connect with, an amazing product that will allow them to open up a world of possibilities for themselves. They have a future, now, that is separate and distinct from their past.
How cool is that?
So who are you being? If you've also been the Karate Kid, stop it. Right now. Do the Five Things every day. Starting today.
Inspire yourself and you will inspire others.
And then there's movie magic. Mr. Miyagi starts throwing punches and kicks and the teenager instinctively defends himself with the same arm movements as wax on/wax off - wrist up and down - paint side to side.
Ahhh ... Mr. Miyahi HAD been teaching him karate. Just not in the way the teenager had expected.
I realized, listening to last night's Blackbelt Call, that many of us (myself included) are like the teenager in "The Karate Kid". We've come here to "get" something we've never had before.
Freedom in our financial circumstances. In our time. In our ability to choose our life and our lifestyle.
We've come here with an agreement to be coachable and trainable, to engage fully in the training and support in order to get the results we've come here to get.
And then our old programming takes over.
In my experience this is the way this happnes: the "little voice" in my head starts chattering away, telling me that I am free to pick and choose what's taught on the training calls. That somehow 100% of THAT doesn't apply to me.
I've been here over two years. I've heard John Lavenia talk about visualizing with details. I've done it. A little. Mostly I haven't cultivated the mental muscle to stick with that visualization before I'm planning my grocery shopping list or noticing that my toenails need to be repainted.
You may be tripped up by something else. Maybe you haven't cracked open Beyond Freedom yet. Maybe you're not tied in to this community via the daily Wakeup calls. Maybe you're in the "getting ready to get ready" trap and haven't yet picked up the phone and called your prospects back.
Whatever "it" is, if you're not doing these five things every day you're the karate kid. You want that "thing", but the old programming is still fighting to keep you in your comfort zone. And guess what, extraordinary lives don't emerge from the realm of reasonableness.
Extraordinary lives that impact the world emerge from ordinary individuals willing to take unreasonable action.
So here it is, again. The five things LEADERS do EVERY day, especially when it's not reasonable or comfortable:
1. Daily Visualization and Meditation - discussed in detail on last night's Blackbelt Call.
2. Personal Development - hmmm, that's pretty simple considering you're holding in your hands "Beyond Freedom".
3. Income Producing Activities - simply put:
- Generate leads (CFF, Quicklister, Liberty League sites all have great training and resources!)
- Call your prospects back (Liberty League has a script, we've provided "our" script, prospecting training calls are held three times a week!)
- Put your prospect in front of the information via the business presentation call
- Follow up with them and get their questions answered via a three way (follow up training is posted on the Liberty League site)
5. Cultivate the Expectation of Leadership - this is my take on leadership ... it's not about orders or directions or delegation ... true leadership is inspiring others to, in turn, inspire others. If your dream and mission in life moves from your head to your conversation it becomes real for you and it becomes real for the person you're in conversation with. Leaving them inspired to inspire others. That's leadership. If you're not inspired by yourself, trust me, you're not inspiring anybody else.
I talked to Wendy Stevens yesterday. She's turned in 7 Beyond Freedom orders since Friday. She had two sales yesterday and only put three people on the calls because she's committed to recreating with her children these last two weeks of summer. She's in the flow. And she's in the flow, serious flow, because she's got an amazing muscle for this business. She's waxed on and waxed off, just like she was told to do. Even when she didn't "feel" like it. Even when she didn't see how it was making a difference in her life and in her business. She was a good student. She's done the five things daily and consistently.
And because she's inspired by the fact that she can build her life around her children - because she's CHOSEN to build her life around her children, two of the three people she spoke with yesterday were inspired by Wendy before they EVER listened to the business presentation.
And they got started. And now they have an amazing community to connect with, an amazing product that will allow them to open up a world of possibilities for themselves. They have a future, now, that is separate and distinct from their past.
How cool is that?
So who are you being? If you've also been the Karate Kid, stop it. Right now. Do the Five Things every day. Starting today.
Inspire yourself and you will inspire others.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
caps
alright, i’ve been inauthentic. i’ve been a fraud. you see, i started this blog under the cover of the “Capitalization Rule”. you know, that “Capitalize the first letter of a sentence, the letter “I”, and proper names thing they teach you in school and “they” insist on perpetuating.
so here’s the deal. i don’t like capitalizing anything. i don’t know when it started. it’s darn near an obsession. and i never, never capitalize in my normal everyday life ... not in business ... not in personal situations ... but i got the “Girl Gets A Blog Girl Must Act Grownup” thing going on Day 1 and faked it for nearly a week. so i’m going back to the way i am ... no caps ... except for those times emphasis is required at which point i may use ALL CAPS which i understand in internet etiquette is like yelling so if i yell into the little ears on your eyeballs at some point in the future please accept my apology now. and then get over it. or get off it. or just get far, far away from it.
so here’s the deal. i don’t like capitalizing anything. i don’t know when it started. it’s darn near an obsession. and i never, never capitalize in my normal everyday life ... not in business ... not in personal situations ... but i got the “Girl Gets A Blog Girl Must Act Grownup” thing going on Day 1 and faked it for nearly a week. so i’m going back to the way i am ... no caps ... except for those times emphasis is required at which point i may use ALL CAPS which i understand in internet etiquette is like yelling so if i yell into the little ears on your eyeballs at some point in the future please accept my apology now. and then get over it. or get off it. or just get far, far away from it.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Tip of the Day
Being a bit on the obsessive side of “organized” I have always diligently managed my computer files with intricate subdirectories and applied a rigid file-naming system. Example: in my personal documents I have subdirectories for “faxes”, “memos” and “letters” with subdirectories by year. Then I strictly name the files by date and content.
Pretty dry.
Pretty uninspiring.
So I just started a little somethin’ somethin’ to brighten the day ... to make me smile ... to get the creative juices flowing.
I’ve started naming my files with facts and adjectives! Woo Woo. Well, lemme tell ya, there’s a completely different feeling I get when I pull up files with names like:
“Most Amazingly Productive Keywords Ever” or
“Lori’s Fabulously Creative Advertising Ideas” or
“Brilliantly Inspiring Blog Thoughts” or
“Proud To Be An American Letter to Accountant about 2005 Tax Returns”
Rather than dry, crunchy file names like “Keywords”, “Blog”, “Ideas”, “2005 Taxes” ...
You get the feeling ... try it using words like “deserve”, “create”, “powerful” ... words that resonate with you. Words that make you feel good. It’s just a subtle tweak to yourself reminding you how wonderful, powerful and fabulous you really are!
Pretty dry.
Pretty uninspiring.
So I just started a little somethin’ somethin’ to brighten the day ... to make me smile ... to get the creative juices flowing.
I’ve started naming my files with facts and adjectives! Woo Woo. Well, lemme tell ya, there’s a completely different feeling I get when I pull up files with names like:
“Most Amazingly Productive Keywords Ever” or
“Lori’s Fabulously Creative Advertising Ideas” or
“Brilliantly Inspiring Blog Thoughts” or
“Proud To Be An American Letter to Accountant about 2005 Tax Returns”
Rather than dry, crunchy file names like “Keywords”, “Blog”, “Ideas”, “2005 Taxes” ...
You get the feeling ... try it using words like “deserve”, “create”, “powerful” ... words that resonate with you. Words that make you feel good. It’s just a subtle tweak to yourself reminding you how wonderful, powerful and fabulous you really are!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Backseat Rules
On Sunday we spent 14 hours in the car with our 10 year old and our 3 year old driving back home to Colorado from the Texas Hill Country. The trip is about a thousand miles and normally takes a good 15 hours but thanks to the “Honda with an attitude” that passed us right in front of the “Braums Dairy” right outside Dumas, Texas (lovely, just lovely) we drove, um, a “little” over the speed limit through New Mexico. The elevated rate of travel plus the “potty-stops-only-when-you’re-in-pain” rule got us here a full hour faster. Yeah.
Somewhere around Eden, Texas (home of “Venison World” where you can purchase deer meat “homegrown in the Garden of Eden” ... wink wink) those of us who rule from the front seat instituted a new rule for those individuals residing in the back seat (in addition to the above-referenced “potty rule” enforced for the first time when the rear wheels of our Navigator exited my folks’ driveway Sunday morning):
IF IT ISN’T NECESSARY TO SAY IT, IT’S NECESSARY NOT TO SAY IT
This became necessary as young son became enraged at big sister, who dared to LOOK OUT HIS WINDOW. Big sister, righteously indignant, retaliated with the “big-giant-bug-eye” move that nearly drove young son mad from the constraints of his carseat. Thankfully they were strapped in to their separate corners. As you can imagine, there were lots of unnecessary words flying around the backseat ... for about a minute ... before the above stated rule was instated with authority.
IF IT ISN’T NECESSARY TO SAY IT. IT’S NECESSARY NOT TO SAY IT.
The rest of the trip was butter. Even the chain-smoking gas station attendant meandering through the gas pumps in Raton, New Mexico barely got our pulse up. The kids held hands and sang “kum bay yah” the entire trip ... okay, maybe not, but they DID share some beef jerky.
Anyway, Great Rule.
For Prospecting.
For Three Ways.
For Kids In The Backseat.
So remember this when you work your business today: Don’t chat. Don’t sell. Don’t gush. Just have a genuine conversation with someone. When you’re prospecting, remember, you’re simply evaluating their level of desire based on a very simple conversation. If you’re doing a Three Way, simply acknowledge the other associate by stating “Bob is entirely capable of answering your questions Jim, he’s simply brought me on the line to demonstrate the last step in the system to you” and then ask for their list of questions, which you will simply answer without any drama or embellishment.
Just confidence.
If you’re not already on the Three Way Support list consider demonstrating your leadership (even if it’s your first day in the business!) by adding your name today.
And remember: If it isn't necessary to SAY it, it's necessary NOT to say it!
Just ask my kids ...
Somewhere around Eden, Texas (home of “Venison World” where you can purchase deer meat “homegrown in the Garden of Eden” ... wink wink) those of us who rule from the front seat instituted a new rule for those individuals residing in the back seat (in addition to the above-referenced “potty rule” enforced for the first time when the rear wheels of our Navigator exited my folks’ driveway Sunday morning):
IF IT ISN’T NECESSARY TO SAY IT, IT’S NECESSARY NOT TO SAY IT
This became necessary as young son became enraged at big sister, who dared to LOOK OUT HIS WINDOW. Big sister, righteously indignant, retaliated with the “big-giant-bug-eye” move that nearly drove young son mad from the constraints of his carseat. Thankfully they were strapped in to their separate corners. As you can imagine, there were lots of unnecessary words flying around the backseat ... for about a minute ... before the above stated rule was instated with authority.
IF IT ISN’T NECESSARY TO SAY IT. IT’S NECESSARY NOT TO SAY IT.
The rest of the trip was butter. Even the chain-smoking gas station attendant meandering through the gas pumps in Raton, New Mexico barely got our pulse up. The kids held hands and sang “kum bay yah” the entire trip ... okay, maybe not, but they DID share some beef jerky.
Anyway, Great Rule.
For Prospecting.
For Three Ways.
For Kids In The Backseat.
So remember this when you work your business today: Don’t chat. Don’t sell. Don’t gush. Just have a genuine conversation with someone. When you’re prospecting, remember, you’re simply evaluating their level of desire based on a very simple conversation. If you’re doing a Three Way, simply acknowledge the other associate by stating “Bob is entirely capable of answering your questions Jim, he’s simply brought me on the line to demonstrate the last step in the system to you” and then ask for their list of questions, which you will simply answer without any drama or embellishment.
Just confidence.
If you’re not already on the Three Way Support list consider demonstrating your leadership (even if it’s your first day in the business!) by adding your name today.
And remember: If it isn't necessary to SAY it, it's necessary NOT to say it!
Just ask my kids ...
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