Check out the post I did for www.examiner.com on how to leave the corporate world and start your own business:
July 8, 2009
April 21, 2009
The Millionaire Mind
I’ve had a number of clients recently say they’ve read/attended “The Millionaire Mind”. These clients also seemed to know, or at least were familiar with, some of the NLP processes that I use during my coaching sessions, thus I was intrigued about what it was they were learning through “The Millionaire Mind”. I was also intrigued because I’ve adapted my WealthyMind materials into what I’ve called “The Empowered Mind Workbook”, which is focused 100% on self-alignment, which will help you achieve all that you want.
Anyway, true to the Law of Attraction, I received “The Millionaire Mind” book as a gift, within weeks of thinking that I really needed to read the book. So I started flipping through the book and found that much of it is very familiar to me. Some of it was new, or at least positioned in a different way, which allowed me to pull some really great nuggets of information from it.
One nugget I’d like to share with you is listed below and is in regards to “Negativity”. The reason this jumped out at me was because I was recently having lunch with an ex-colleague and dear friend of mine, when we got on the topic of how happy we were and what a bummer it was to connect with other people that weren’t feeling as happy and at peace these days and how it felt like such a drain on energy to be talking to people who were constantly complaining.
Now, don’t get me wrong, we work as coaches with some folks that are in this pattern however, the difference is that these people, whom we work with, are making a real commitment to making whatever changes are required to help them live a happy and fulfilling life.
So, this activity, that is outlined in “The Millionaire Mind”, really spoke to me, and now I’m passing it along to you!
Good luck and report back with your experience!
Seven Day Challenge
For the next seven days, the challenge is to not complain – out loud or in your head. You can only speak in “positive” terms. In a way, this is like forcing yourself to see the “silver lining” in every situation. As I’ve mentioned before, gratitude has been proven to help your immune system, and in a way, being positive and refraining from complaining, is a bit like being grateful!
So start today! Carve out seven days of “no complaining” and away you go!
February 27, 2009
What is Your Core Question?
Recently I was working with my coach on identifying and changing my “core question”, also known as a “primary question”. Why would one want to make this discovery and shift? Well, our core question is the One question we ask ourselves on a regular basis, regardless of the circumstances. It is a question that can either help us or hinder us. Mine, as it turned out, was no longer helping me in leading the life I wanted to lead. What was it you ask? Well it was as follows:
“How can I be the best, and most put together in this situation?”
On the surface it doesn’t seem so bad, but when you dig a little deeper, you realize how much it gets in the way. It caused me to not try out new things or, if I did, I worked EXTREMELY hard to get good at them quickly. It stopped me from participating in conversations where I did not perceive myself as the “best” or “most put together”. I was tired of living that way and wanted to be able to ease up on myself, so I adopted a new core question, which is:
“How can I best support myself and others?”
This new question has been so liberating for me and has allowed me to further align myself with my dreams.
So think about it, what is your core question and how might you want to change it?
February 20, 2009
Life Happens
As many of you know, I have two blogs, this one, which is aimed more to “personal development” and the other, which is focused on “professional development”. My posting on the SuccessfulHR blog is one that is relevant for both sites, therefore, I want to share it with you here:
http://successfulhr.wordpress.com/
I hope it helps you a little when “Life Happens” to you.
January 23, 2009
Dealing with Tough Times
Times are tough, no doubt about it. It is during times such as this that we are challenged at our very core. As some of us get swept up in the negativity, we begin to shift in ways that are far from good. It often starts subtly, like bad behaviors that creep back in. Those things we thought we had worked through, rear their ugly heads again. We start eating poorly and sleeping becomes a challenge. We obsess over the things we would never have given importance to when things were great. Sometimes we even see ourselves shifting and feel as though someone else is controlling us. We begin to pick fights with loved ones and argue over the smallest decisions. So what do you do about it? How do you maintain your sanity when there is so much to deal with out there?
First, you need to come to terms with the fact that things are always shifting and changing. Then you need to decide what things do you need to let go of so you can move forward? What do I mean by that? There are always behaviors, attitudes, thoughts, even relationships that may no longer be serving you. So ask yourself – “What do I need to let go of in order to continue moving forward?” Keep in mind, that as you let things go you will begin to feel lighter, freer and less susceptible to the negativity around you. Once you’ve got that taken care of, make a list of things you enjoy doing and go do them. Things that give you peace of mind and energy. It can be anything from listening to music to taking up a new hobby or volunteering. Whatever it is, it needs to be meaningful to you.
So to recap, your 3 steps for getting through these times are:
- Change is constant, so embrace it.
- Let go of things that no longer serve you (I let go of watching the news – too depressing).
- Start doing something that gives you energy (I started exercising and reading).
Don’t worry about dialing this in right away, you may need to try different things before you get to a balanced state of being, where you are the peace amidst all the chaos.
Leave comments about what you’ve let go of or have started doing, to help give others ideas!
January 2, 2009
Bringing in the New Year
I am bringing in the new year with a whole lot of optimism and gratitude. I know that things will continue to improve on a global scale and I will continue to do my part to help them improve. I look and see many people not only surviving, but thriving. What makes them special? In all my research, training, reading, etc. I realize that it is the combination of optimism, gratitude and being true to who you are.
When you are being true to you and being grateful for what you have, it is much easier to have an optimistic view on life. This will then be the catalyst to help you manage your state of being and open you up to seeing all the possibilities around you. It will unlock your potential to solve what may have seemed like insurmountable obstacles. It will give you the key to enjoy your life and to live.
Why not give it a try? Here’s a quick tip on how to get yourself aligned to survive and thrive:
- What are you grateful for?
- Who do you need to be to be authentically you?
- What’s great about an obstacle in your life and how can you enjoy the process of resolving it?
Happy New Year!
November 19, 2008
Changing with the times
It is so fascinating to me, to see how my plans continue to evolve and morph. Since my last posting, I’ve launched a new HR Coaching Program: http://www.insightscc.com/resources/HR_Coaching_Program.pdf that is gaining a great deal of momentum. I’ve decided to part with my business partner on the WealthyMind and minor things like changing my newsletter from Constant Contact to Aweber.
Change is always so constant and so wonderful, in that as one thing ends, some thing else is always begining. Since making changes to my strategy and focusing, I’ve found more and more opportunities that I would never have seen. I am working on a relaunch of my website, and even created a plan on some longer term Personal Growth initiatives. I find that I continue to evolve and expand in ways I never thought possible.
I am grateful to all those around me, my new husband, family and friends. So many good thoughts and gracious words that come my way and how free and happy I feel in pursuing my dreams. So although things continue to morph and change, and sometimes I don’t even know where it is going, I am grateful for the journey I’m on, and I’ll just keep on trekking!
May 9, 2008
Getting ready for the Wedding…
It’s that time, less than 2 months until the big day. As I was writing out my LONG list of to do’s leading up to the big day, I started to feel extremely nervous. Not the “cold feet” kind of nervous, but the “crap do I have time to get it all done” nervous. The more I let myself feel nervous and less than resourceful, the more anxious I got. So in true coaching fashion, I asked myself what can I do, to help manage my state of being leading up to the wedding. What came to me was a simple yet effective NLP strategy called “Circle of Excellence”. It made me feel a ton better and so, I share it with you. Try it out and you’ll see how quickly you can shift your thinking!
Circle of Excellence Steps:
1. Start by imagining a circle on the ground in front of you. If you have trouble conjuring up this image, do what cartoons do, and just pull a circle out of your pocket and place it on the floor.
2. Make your circle unique to you, add color, texture, sound, etc.
3. Then ask yourself what state(s) of being you would like in your circle. For example in my case I wanted to be “sharp”, “positive” and “efficient”
4. You then need to think of a time when you had those states of being. Once you identify such a time, step into your circle fully accessing the time where you had the appropriate states of being. If you have different examples for each state, then access them separately, e.g. 1st think of the time you felt sharp, step into the circle fully accessing the time you felt sharp, then step out of the circle. Think of the time you felt positive, then step into the circle again accessing the time you felt positive, etc.
5. Once you’ve added all your states of being to your circle, step into it one more time thinking about carrying this “Circle of Excellence” with you in the future. For example, I visualized myself running all my wedding errands with these feelings and to make it even more vivid I saw myself crossing out to do’s from my list.
6. At this point you can give your circle a name or symbolic representation to remind you of this way of being. You can also pick up your circle and put it in a pocket or throw it on your head as a hat… whatever works for you so that you feel you are carrying it with you moving forward.
I hope you find this tool as useful as I did. For more information or questions check out my website at www.insightscc.com
March 26, 2008
Change is Constant…
As I sit and listen to a friend tell me about the reorg at work, the kitchen remodel at home and their spouse changing their job, my mind searches for the appropriate thing to say to provide the appropriate amount of support. What is it that I want to say? Oh yes, I sense the words coming: “Well you know, the only constant in life is change”.
I’ve noticed that we tend to use this adage as a way to comfort in times of heightened chaos. During the times when things seem to be out of our control, the only way we can calm our frazzled nerves is to blame the universe and it’s law that says “Change is Constant”. Although I agree that change is something that sometimes seems to happen to us, there are other times when we put ourselves steps closer to self medication or mental breakdowns. We often know that we have 2 or 3 big changes happening and we decided to take on one more. Or sometimes we have so much change happening in the parts of our lives we have less control over that we then begin to “fix” (or shall I say change) the things we do control.
Given that we put ourselves in this situation, we should do each other the favor of shining the light on this human pattern. Instead of telling a friend, colleague or relative, ”Change is constant”, you can try “Are you taking on too much?” or “Have you taken time to recharge your battery”. Anything you can do to help someone pause and take stock of what is on their plate is enough to help keep them sane for that much longer.
