​Change can feel like an icy walkway. You want to go to the other side because you have an intriguing, inspiring destination but you can't tell what's around the corner so you turn around and go back the other way.
I've been there!
 
I actually did walk across this icy mess from the other direction. In retrospect it probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done and I wouldn't recommend it for you, but I would have missed the part of the trail I love. So I decided to go for it. When I reached the other side it was such a great feeing.


                    I had arrived - I was safe - I kept my head above water (literally)                          

                        If I had fallen I would have learned something entirely different. 

                   Find a different path - Start again - Stay focused

Ok, don't cross the silly icy path. Look for the right path in the first place. Some things are going to happen by chance and some by choice. If you don't keep moving forward you'll end up back where you started, over and over again, creating the same kind of stress you've always created.  

Put your big girl/boy pants on and get outside your comfort zone.

The seven necessities of a successful business: 

• Have a clear, authentic vision
• Break through your barriers
• Create your path to success
• Keep focused
• Manage the chaos
• Have celebrations and rewards
• Live courageously

It takes courage to live the life you want. Most people just wait it out and wish they had lived differently. What will you do?

          The power of practice is beyond measure!
 
I'm a recovering perfectionist. I always have a desire to do better, do more, be more. When she pays me a visit, I know I need a little more self-love and to accept what was and what is. I need to be more of me and less of my (perfect) expectations. 

The first time someone called me the P word, I was shocked. I am laid back, fun and introspective. I take responsibility for my life, but perfectionist! Never LOL 

As you've heard me say before. 
 
                   If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, give up being perfect or right. 

There is more truth here than you can imagine. Take it to heart today. If you give up your inner perfectionist, practice living according to who you want to be, and stay aligned with your values and desires, you can create a magical world. A world filled with acceptance and joy, peace and prosperity, and you making happy, healthy choices. 

When you change, the world steps up to meet you.

The question I am most often asked is - HOW?
 
Commit and Practice 

• You will not get it right most the time
• Be you - everyone else is already taken
• Vulnerability and acceptance is the key

​Accept what is!

It seems so rudimentary but I promise you, this is the key to you being happy and to making the changes that will bring you more joy, peace and prosperity.  

If you accept where you are, where you want to go will follow. Seriously, you can't know where you want to go without knowing where you are!

Sometimes I get thinking so hard about where I am going that I forget to be where I am. I start feeling stressed and doing more. And then the gentle nudge of presence moves in and I say to myself - Where am I now and what is my next right action? I breathe, I look around, I understand, I move forward with alignment. 

I remember that this moment is the only one I have. Because I accept where I am, I know what I want to change, and consequently where I want to go. I stay focused and I LOVE MY LIFE, just as it is. 

Stress is caused by the desire to be somewhere other than you are
 
There are lots of distractions in life. Money, health, relationships, family? Pick one or all of them. We all face challenges along the way. How we react to them makes the difference. 

Do you react with ease and presence or stress and overwhelm? Let me know.

Remember to

• Breathe
• Look around you
• Accept and embrace what is
• Take the next aligned action

If you lean into acceptance, stay present and take aligned actions you will create a life you love, no matter what. 

A couple of years ago when walking in the park, a hawk landed in a tree just above me. I felt the urge and asked, do you have a message for me? I closed my eyes, I listened and I heard - Blue Water Standing Still - Immediately I felt a sense of calm, beauty and the power of being still. 
 
                                                       I use these words when my mind is spinning.
                                I see a beautiful image and I have an immediate sense of peace.
                                                      Yes, my mind spins and all to often!

Follow your own path & Listen to your inner being 
​

• Always be listening. You never know where a nugget of wisdom will come from. A bird, a stranger, a friend, a coach, a therapist. 
• Change brings on emotions and you must gain the capacity for experiencing emotions that you don't like or are unfamiliar with.
• You are braver, smarter, more beautiful than you think.
• There are no guarantees about anything except the promise of the inevitableness of change and eventual death.
• Stop making yourself wrong. What you think you did or did not do can be the gift of a lifetime (the gift will bare itself in time). 
• Be patient, kind and love yourself first. 

 
Start listening today and enjoy the mystery of a life well lived ​

​                             If it's not working do something different!

Making changes (even little ones) will enable you to -

• Have more fun
• Get sh*t done

How are you wired?
Are you a fidgeter like me? Is your tendency to be the kind of still that makes you lazy and unproductive, or maybe you push to the point of exhaustion. Whatever your innate style is, the important thing is to notice and help yourself toward creating focused success. 

Since I started my coaching practice in 2009, I have spent a lot of time sitting and it doesn't really suit me. I'm fidgety. So I thought I would create a makeshift standing desk before I buy one, and it's working. 

I get to move a bit while still doing my work. I actually feel better too. I have more energy and can concentrate for much longer times. I also use my kneeling chair and the table that's next to me when it's time to sit for a spell. 

• I can move around right where I am so I'm not avoiding focusing or getting distraction by my bodily discomfort. 
• I'm empowering myself by doing something different and being willing to change. 

Part of my - stop fidgeting - practice is to not move for at least five minutes during my morning meditation. I've noticed my stillness has helped me with being less impulsive and I am grateful. It's hard to slow my brain and body down. I'm simply wired that way.  

1. Fidgeters: You need to learn to stay focused.

• Practice sitting still for 5 minutes every day and build up over time
  

2. Stillness Lovers: You need to move even when you don't want to.

• Practice moving for 15 minutes every day without stopping and build up

3. Drivers and Pushers: You need to take a break. STOP and smell the roses, or the coffee, or just look at your naval for 5 minutes every day without stopping
The trick is to keep remembering to practice this practice!

You have to make adjustments in how you do things in order to make the changes you desire. 

​I've changed a lot over the last couple of years. A move to Seattle, a year long marketing program (I was the student) that didn't work at all for me and actually set me back big time, and a recent decision to finally settle down in one place.  

Part of our goal has been to experience ourselves in powerful ways and we have. We have been brave enough to try things that didn't work and still keep going.

Just because something doesn't work out doesn't mean it's wrong. Are you brave enough to try? To feel uncomfortable? To embrace change? 

I love my life and it's because I've experienced so many beautiful and challenging things, and I've embraced them all. There is a gift in everything if you are willing to look for it. 

We are all changing every day. What's important about change? It takes courage. It takes heart to follow your own path, especially the one that scares you. 

Change comes with small persistent focus. Are you focusing on what's great in your life or what sucks? There's always going to be crappy stuff, it's really a matter of how you interpret it and your willingness to embrace it all. 

One thing I am absolutely clear about is - the only way to move toward what you want is to accept what was, what is and to take steps toward what's next. 

        Make acceptance a Life Long Practice.

Your assignment for today -

1. Notice what you are focusing on - write it down! All of it. 
2. Turn inward toward gratitude - See if you can change the way you see things so that the things you see can change. 
3. Let it be easy - the harder we make life, the harder life is. 

Let me know what you discover. I'd love to hear from you.

Today I went for a walk by the water. It was another beautiful day here in Seattle.
As usual there were lots of dogs walking their people.

I noticed one puppy with its brand new family. They were full of smiles, laughter and happiness. I knew the puppy would remain happy and present, and I wondered if the family would...
 
Could they maintain their sense of wonder for their new family member?
​
​Staying present to the constant gifts in life, (including a new puppy), can be challenging. Here are a cuple of ways to stay present and focused on the coolness of being alive. 

• Meditate... there are lots of ways to meditate... such as Walking, Breathing, Mindfulness, Guided, Intentional, I am, Vipassana, Zen, the list is endless... and as little as five minutes a day can make a significant difference to your brain and your life.   

Science is proving that meditation is highly beneficial. It has a calming effect, which helps with:

• Increased Concentration 
• Decreased Stress levels 
• Increased Health
• Increased Happiness 

According to Mark Waldman forty five minutes of meditation a day will actually shrink your Thalamus, the information director in your brain. This is a good thing! See his TedX talk here...

• Read books... like The Power of Now or The Four Agreements. One thing that will help you stay present is reading books that keep you centered in being, (not always doing).

Why does this matter? Because you matter, your life matters, your gifts matter!!!

Be centered and present and fully enjoy the magic of being the unique, gifted, amazing you...