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The power of gratitude

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This morning I awoke to a beautiful sunrise, the light was so pretty as it shone on the trees in their various stages of brilliant colors. I immediately felt grateful for experiencing that in my day. I’m also grateful for having coffee and cream and sugar at my fingertips, my cat playing with me, the book I am enjoying, a refrigerator stocked with food. Get the picture? Being grateful raises your inner vibration. It makes you happy. And when you are happy and grateful, the Universe sends more of what you want your way. It just does.

I know this may sound simplistic, but that’s how the Universe works. I won’t explain it in this post, but I will challenge you. Make a list of twenty things that you are grateful for, right now, today. These can be things you have or to add a different twist – things that you desire that you believe to be coming to you.

Look at your list and really feel that warm feeling of gratitude. Put it down. Pick it up again later today or in a few hours and read each one, then feel that warm feeling of gratitude again.

Do this for a couple of weeks and notice if there are any changes in your attitude and/or any unexpected things/opportunities that show up for you.

Do you believe in magic

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I love Chris Angell, street magician.  He makes what he does look real.  But he does it so well – my belief is suspended and I believe that he actually levitates and does all the other amazing illusions I’ve seen.  My logical brain can’t see the trick and so it has to believe.

Now, follow me here.  Chris Angell and any other magician never, ever really saws women in half, or makes the Statue of Liberty disappear or any other such thing.  But, for the sake of enjoyment we believe what we see or don’t see.

What if I told you that you have the power to create real “magic”!  But, in order to do it – you would really have to believe or else it wouldn’t work.

I am in the process of writing a book that will be published in a few months.  In it, I’ll be sharing formulas, actual duplicatable ways that you can create magic in your life.  You’ll learn from women who have achieved great success in their business lives.   One turned her life around from being broke – to being a millionaire.   None of these ladies are magicians – yet they all have discovered this “magic” formula.

You may have heard about a little something called the Law of Attraction, I don’t like to mention it – as i think the movie the Secret didn’t really do it justice.  But, the Law of Attraction is just part of the formula – there are other Laws of the Universe that these ladies have tapped into – and you can too.  In fact – it’s your birthright.

Stay tuned for more on this.  There will even be an excerpt from a chapter.  it’s great stuff.

Take it easy

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Well, now that Halloween’s over, that can only mean one thing – the holiday season is here.  Thanksgiving and all that food you either have to make or the flurry of travel to the relative or friends house.  All that last minute preparation and/or packing.  The stress of just getting family together, let alone whether the gravy will come out lumpy or if you should try that new recipe for pumpkin pie.  And, there’s all that shopping and fighting crowds and AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH.

If you get stressed out every year at this time, you are going to get stressed out this year also.

UNLESS

You try a different approach.  It’s really that easy.  For example, if you’re not sure of the recipes for the Thanksgiving meal practice them in smaller quantities on your family now.  Make that new pumpkin pie recipe and serve it to your family.  You can make homemade cranberry sauce in advance and freeze it, same with whipped sweet potato casserole.

Now, if it’s the family dynamics that makes you crazy – you have control over this one too.  While you don’t have any control over what your nutty relatives do or say, you can control how you react.  Don’t let them bother you.  If you usually get aggravated – just don’t let that happen.  You are in full control of your emotions, they can’t control your emotions no matter what they do.  Just set the intention before the holiday that you are going to fully enjoy the day – no matter what happens.  If the turkey is over or underdone – so what, if Aunt Betty drinks a bit too much hard cider – so what, if someone spills wine on your new tablecloth – you get the point – so what?

Practice this now.  Pick a day and just set the intention that you are going to enjoy your day – no matter what.   If you’re stuck in traffic and that normally ticks you off – let it go.  Pop in your favorite CD or audio book and enjoy the time.   You get the picture – turn what is usually a negative into a positive.

You’ll be amazed how it changes your day…..

Fail fast, fail often –

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And success cannot elude you.- Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive.

Thank you Carrie for reminding me that I have failed at so many things and couldn’t be happier about that. It means that I’m that much closer to my success. But, also, it reminded me that I really don’t like using the word failure. Because I don’t think I failed at any job or business or relationship. I just think that I didn’t achieve the results I had thought I was going to achieve.

A short story to make my point. The Wright brothers wanted to conquer the sky – to give wings to man so that he could forever soar with the birds. They did achieve gliding, but real flight – that they failed at. But, perhaps they should be remembered as two of the most successful failures in history.

What!! How dare I make that claim? Well, because through research I have come to find out that a man by the name of Glenn Curtiss was really the father of modern day airplanes. Mr. Curtiss, along with a mastermind group that included a Mr. Alexander Graham Bell, designed a plane he called the June bug that not only took off under its own power, but stayed aloft and actually flew.

I think more importantly than that, Glenn Curtiss’ planes were also as safe as aircraft could be in those days, compared to planes made with the Wright Brothers design. Planes made by the Wright Brothers had a nasty tendency to crash and kill their pilots due in part to an error in the design of the wings. This made the Wright Brothers a bit cranky and they wound (well, the surviving Wright brother) wound up suing Mr. Curtiss for stealing their patented plane design until World War 1 came along and the government stepped in and told both parties to kiss and make up because they needed planes to use in battles.

In closing, although Wilbur and Orville failed to make safe planes – they made a name for themselves that history will long remember.

So, I embrace failure – or should I say – I embrace not achieving my desired outcome – And you should too!

Random thoughts

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What is a rule of thumb?

Why is something simple – “A piece of cake?”

That would cost an arm and a leg!  At some point in time, did people have to pay for things with body parts? Nasty!!

At the drop of a hat.  Huh?

What is square one and why do we have to go back to it?

And, last for today – No room to swing a cat.

Throw in your two cents (another one) in the comment section below… 🙂

I feel your pain

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No, I don’t.  How could I?

As I’m not that intuitive I can only feel mine.  But, I can understand your frustrations.  Maybe you are feeling stuck in a rut in your life or you have challenges that you’re facing.  Is your relationship with your spouse making you unhappy?  Do you have a weight issue?  Is there too much month left at the end of your money?

Well, listen up, and you may not like what I’m going to say.   Whatever is going on in your life right now, at this very moment – is all of your creation.   You have created the reality that is your life – no one else.

Don’t like that?  It’s true.

Hey, I’ve created some really crappy stuff in my life too.  And, I’m sure that I’ll create/attract more.

But, I am not a victim.  I realized that I have the power to change my circumstances if I choose – and so do you.

But, you have to change something – your mind.  You have to change the way you think.  You have to stop blaming others for your crap.  They are responsible for their crap.  And so it goes.

You want relief?  Here are some steps that can change your mind and change your life.

1.  Make a decision to change – right now.  And, that decision means that you are committed to your new way of thinking and won’t ever, ever, ever let yourself go back to the way of thinking you had before you read this.  You have to have a big reason WHY you want to do this.  Example: I tell you to give me $5000.00, but you only have $2000.00 in your bank account.  I tell you that if you don’t give me $5,000.00 in twenty four hours I am going to burn your house to the ground, with your pets inside.  How committed will you be to getting that $3,000.00?   You wouldn’t stop, you would do whatever it took (ethically and legally, I would hope) to get that money.  And, you wouldn’t stop when you got tired, you wouldn’t stop because you didn’t feel you were worthy of the money, you wouldn’t stop for any reason.   That’s the level of commitment to change that you need.  Get it or stay where you are.

2. Don’t blame others for your circumstances.  Blaming makes you a victim and victims have no personal power.  It’s your mess, admit it and that will free you to move forward.  Don’t blame yourself.  What?  Then who are you going to blame.  Nobody, that’s who.  You are just going to look at your circumstances as a learning experience, that’s what they are there for.

3. Fall in love.  What?  Fall in love – with yourself.   We are taught from a young age not to think too much of ourselves – HOGWASH!!  You have to love yourself to be good to yourself and to be able to love and give to others.  So, cozy up to that bathroom mirror and give yourself a big SMOOCH!!  Fall in love with who you are.

Okay, that’s enough for today.  Do steps 1-3 above.  Do them if you want change.   No excuses – just DO THEM.

And, get ready for magic…..

There’s no joy in Red Sox Nation

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Last night, for fellow members of the tribe in Red Sox Nation, we witnessed an event we’re not used to – the Sox lost and aren’t going to the World Series. The Rays jumped all over each other, yelling and screaming and no doubt had a champagne and cigar fest in the locker room. They were a wildly happy bunch of guys.

When the camera panned over to the Red Sox dugout – it was quite a different scene. The players were packing up their things, it didn’t look like there was much talking going on.

It didn’t have to be that way.

In other words, I would love 🙂 to see players congratulating each other on a game well played – even if it meant they didn’t get to go to the World Series. Because if you can’t find some good in every situation – life just ain’t as much fun.

Just my opinion.

But, it’s my blog 🙂

Stick figures = six figures

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???

Simple – yet profound. How stick figures led to a six figure income.

A big Thank You to Connie Ragen Green for sharing this valuable info as part of her chapter for my upcoming book on women who make six figures and more doing what they love.

If you put just this concept into action, it could change your life – it changed Connie’s.

Connie was at a place in her life where she had to make a change.  Her job no longer was the joy that it once was and she had health issues that challenged her keeping the job as well.  Totally out on her own, she set out to design her new life and career.  Knowing just a little about the law of attraction, she decided to create an image of the new home that she wanted to live in.  She admitted to not being a good artist, but wouldn’t let that deter her. She just drew the house that she wanted, the upstairs rooms, the details like white shutters on the window, her dogs by her feet, and a beautiful view out her window.

And, then she drew herself as a stick figure sitting at a computer desk in a room in the house, smiling as she was writing.  She finished the picture and put it right in front of her face in her office where she could see it every day.

Then she started visualizing and feeling what it was like to be living in the new home – she really felt as if she was already the owner.  She pictured herself feeling healthy and rested and being in the house working at a job in which she was doing what she loved and making more money than she was making in her present life.  When she looked at the picture – she felt as if that new home and new career was her reality – even though it was so far removed from her present life at the time.

In just six months she was living in the new home – a home that looked exactly like what she had drawn.
And, she was beginning her new career doing what she loved  (writing).  And in just three years that dream of living in her new home, with a career that she absolutely loves and is earning her over six figures is now her reality.

That is the power of visualization and attaching a strong emotion to what you visualize.

Thank you again Connie.  You are a true inspiration.

Keep it up

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On Sunday, I posted that this was going to be accountability week.  I hope you got your list of things you just had to get done for the week.  It’s Tuesday – are you on track?  Do you need a push?  Have you even made your list yet?

One of mine is that I have to make a pie on Thursday.  The list doesn’t all have to be big things.  But, I have company coming and I know that it would be nice for my visitor if they were treated to a big piece of homemade pie.

I can’t list my biz lists here – this is my personal blog (for the moment).  Well, I’ll tell you a couple of them – I have to transcribe two interviews for chapters in my upcoming book.   And I have to have them transcribed by Saturday.

I also have to finish a proposal for some contract work by tomorrow.  (this is a big job and one of those “scary goals”).  But, I’m on it!!

There, now I’m publicly accountable.

Oh, and I have to come up with a topic for a real blog post by the end of the day….

I’m cheering you on.  Let’s have a productive week together.

Who do you answer to?

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This is all about accountability. Where the rubber meets the road. Where you actually do and follow through with what you commit to.

Since it’s Sunday, I wanted to give you an idea that can make you have a great, productive and happier week.

See, it’s a cycle. You make a decision to do something, then you follow through, you feel a sense of accomplishment, that’s a reward to motivate you to do more, so that you get that good feeling again. Here’s the opposite – You make a decision to do something, then you don’t follow through, you might feel a sense of wanting to beat yourself up, not physically – that would look weird. Mentally – which is worse. Then you have a bad feeling and what’s worse is you’ve broken trust with yourself. Now, you can’t trust yourself to follow through, and if you can’t trust yourself – who can you trust??? Yikes. You don’t want to go there – because it sets you up for bad vibes.

So, Lee Ann, how can you make this process easier?

Steady, grasshopper. Sit down, take a deep breath. Exhale (second, very important step to breathing). Now, repeat after me. Accountability buddy.

CRACCCKKKK!!! This is where the lightning bolt hits. Now, touch your forehead with your forefinger and say to yourself – That’s easy, I can, hey wait a minute, what does she mean by that?

Here’s how this works, it’s so diabolically simple and profound, it’s very often overlooked. Find someone you like and who likes you. Tell them your decision, tell them what you are absolutely, positively going to get done in the next day, two days and/or week. State your goal out loud. If possible, check in with your accountability bud at the end of every day of next week. keep each other on track. If you see your buddy not doing what they said, gently ask why. Ask them to do the same for you.

At the end of the week – tally up. You will have completed some of your tasks and celebrate. Nothing elaborate unless you want it to be. You can simply virtually high-five each other over the phone or email.

**************Advanced Tip****************

Choose a scary goal, take what you set out to do and push yourself just a bit past your comfort zone. This is where magic and momentum start to happen.

If you want – you can post your goals for the week as comments to this post. I’m very good at holding people gently, yet firmly accountable.

There’s no time like the present.