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Do you wanna be on Oprah?

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I’ve been to a few seminars recently and at each one Oprah’s name is mentioned. Authors – they want to get on Oprah, speakers – they want to get on Oprah. It seems as if they think Oprah is the Holy Grail and their key to the castle.

I don’t need to get on Oprah. Don’t get me wrong – if she sees my book and wants to talk to me about it in front of a few million of her closest friends, I’m all over that. But, if it never happens, I’m ok with that too.

Why?

Because of a message here:

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Food for thought. Oprah didn’t have an Oprah.

What does that mean to you? Think about it….

The Sky is falling – at least that’s what the experts tell us

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From what I hear, there’s a recession going on. It’s tough economic times and people are stressed and scared. Personally, I am facing a lawsuit brought against me by an ex-business partner with a trial in less than ten days. I can’t post specifics until it’s over, but needless to say that could cause me stress as well – ya think?

Well, I don’t watch the news, and here’s why. The media is scaring you all that watch it and focusing you to focus on the negative. It helps them sell ads and make them money. It does nothing good for you. Turn it off. Unplug yourself from the downward spiral of negativity. Believe me, if there is news that you must hear – it will find you through people that you come in contact with.

I just spent a week at two seminars learning wealth, business and mindset strategies from some of the most successful internet marketers, speakers and authors on the planet – and almost all of them said this exact same message. Unplug yourself. Mark Victor Hanson said it. I listen to a guy that’s built an empire on the back of one brand.

It may be a bit scary at first – but, try this for a week. Trust me on this one. Hey, just reclaiming the time you spent watching that negative newscast is worth the effort. Now, with the time you’ve reclaimed – do something to move you forward. If you have a dream – here’s a perfect opportunity to decide if that dream is something you really want to do. If the answer is yes, you can start actions to make that happen. If the answer is no – like my friend and mentor Marcia Wieder says – “Dump it” – and start working on what your new dream should be. Who do you want to be? Who do you want to help? What impact do you want to make on the world?

To help make that easier – unplug yourself. In order to look inside yourself for the answers, you need to be less stressed and you need some quiet time – without the noise and barrage of stuff that flies our way every day.

I promise that to be true. So, here’s to the start of the 7 day break from the negative newscast. Let your imagination soar. It’s time to reclaim your dreams.

Ready, set, go.

Reality films

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I know that there is reality tv, but they’re not my reality!!

I like to take lessons from films instead. This lesson comes from the movie Glory. I watched it last night and while I thought it could have had more character development – it was a good story.

The basic story was of the the black soldiers (and their white colonel) who joined the 54th regiment from Massachusetts and weren’t content with just doing menial labor – they wanted to go into battle. They didn’t have to. They could have just done their time, gotten paid (they weren’t paid that much as black men, in fact, many were slaves) and been done with the whole war thing. Instead, they were thinking that they wanted to contribute in a bigger way to a cause that was greater than their lives. Freedom from slavery. But, also to prove that a black soldier could be just as good in battle as a white one. That their blood was the same color.

And, half of the 54th regiment were killed during an assault.

The lesson I take away is this. We are all here for a reason, and it gets clearer when you start asking yourself – how do I contribute to the bigger picture? What am I here to do that will make it a better place to be? It’s time to tune out radio station WIIFM (What’s in it for me) and tune to a new frequency – what can I do for others.

Try this today. Go practice random acts of kindness. Notice how it feels. Really notice how it feels. Even if you’re not acknowledged for the kindness, like if someone just blasts through a door that you held open and that ticks you off, this is when it’s especially important to feel good about what you did.

Don’t let anyone’s negativity poison your feeling good. Try this for today – the whole day. And, let me know the results.

What the Dickens?

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I have to plug a faaaaabulous book that I read yesterday.  Yes, I read it in one day – I couldn’t put it down.   The title is Life’s Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard.  I don’t want to give any of the book away – but the title of this blog post has something to do with the premise.

I also had the pleasure, (and I mean pleasure – this guy’s a great speaker), of seeing Brendon in person at Big Seminar in Atlanta.  The beginning of his presentation involves a hilarious take on his skydiving experience.  But, the part of the presentation that got my brain cells churning were three questions that he asks himself at the end of each day:

Did I live?

Did I love?

Did I matter?

I can see where asking these questions each and every day could change your life.

Did you live?  Did you live your day to the fullest, appreciating each experience?  Or do you just struggle to make it through the day just so you can wind up exhausted and thankful the day is over?  There’s a world of difference between the two.  And, what is so cool is that you don’t have to wait, in fact you should never wait until something gets better in your life before you appreciate what you have.  Try going through a day really living it and enjoying where you are now.

Did you love?  Did you treat people with respect today and love?  Did you give smiles away, hug your children a little tighter, tell your significant other or parent how much you appreciate and love them.  And, here’s a biggie – did you treat yourself the same way?  Did you love and respect yourself?

Did you matter?  Each day that you live, you are leaving a legacy – whether you’re aware of it or not.   Do you have a message that can make someone’s life easier, happier?  What skills do you have that you can share with the world?  Don’t hold back.   Your time is now.

Did you live?  Did you love?  Did you matter?

Are you a Beatle or a Rolling Stone

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Here’s the thing about this post – be yourself. The Beatles took the country by storm with their long hair, their music and everything that made them Beatles. They were truly different and truly themselves. Then, the Rolling Stones came along and although they were from England, they didn’t try to be Beatles. They are different, their music is different and they are truly always themselves.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (Beatles song reference:) – but what does this have to do with me, Lee Ann, get to the point.

Be yourself. There’s immense power in being truly who you are. When you can honestly say that you don’t care what others think of your actions because you know that you are acting in true accordance with your true self. Mick Jagger knew that his success was in NOT being like Paul McCartney – and he was right.

This being yourself can be very tricky. I know for a long time I tried to fit in with the crowd. I socialized with a group of ladies, but I never quite fit in. I joined their bowling league, their mah jongg club – I tried to talk about subjects they talked about, have their interests become mine – and I was miserable. It just was a bad fit, they really didn’t like me. And, here’s the kicker – I thought it was me!! I thought that there was something wrong with me and if I could just fix it, I would fit in. What was wrong with that picture? Everything!!  When I realized that I couldn’t deny who I was and and trying to “fit in” would just not work – I realized it was impossible to fit in because I was hanging with the wrong crowd.

When I changed who I hung out with – I was liked for who I was.  There was nothing wrong with me.

That’s the lesson.  And, it involved a tough decision.  I had to basically make all new friends, and I was lonely for a while.  But, the friends I have now – are truly soul mates.  I enjoy their company, nothing is forced.  And it feels wonderful.

Behind the curtain

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I’m parting the curtain to tell you why I’m posting all this inspirational, mind-set, self-growth info.  It’s because I’m studying and implementing it like mad.

It’s also because as a soul-entrpreneur, I believe that your mind-set is THE MOST important factor for your success.  Yes, I shouted, because I’m that passionate about the fact that having a positive mindset along with strategic marketing that promotes a good product will give you fantastic results.

In fact, I am writing a book about this very subject.  The book is about women soul-entrepreneurs, woman who have developed their passion, what they truly love to do, into six figure and in some cases million dollar businesses.  And, they are using the internet as their place of business.  They don’t have retail stores, they don’t sell shoes or widgets – they sell information.    And, their products are all so different yet they share these qualities – a positive mind set, courage and faith.  They also are givers – they give of themselves and get back far more than they give.  In fact, the more they give – the more they receive.   And, they want to impact the world in a positive way.  That’s big thinking.

So, here’s a peek at my other passion – business and marketing.  That’s why Seth Godin’s blog is the only blog I recommend at the moment.  He has such great insights into marketing and life really that I relish his posts.

So, you’ll start to see a mix of mindset and marketing here – I hope you like it.

Your past is your Present

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In a previous post I said that your past doesn’t exist to harm you.  That is true.  The only reason it’s there is to be a rudder, a guidance.  If you cut yourself – the skin closes quickly.  If it stayed open for a long time bacteria would flood in, which would end in your eventual demise from a massive infection.

Same with a mental wound – it needs to close.  Your only takeaway from a wound is what you can learn from it.  Use the wounding not to punish and beat yourself up – but as a wise teacher that has taught you an important lesson.  In my life I have had to forgive people who wounded me.  I learned that from my wounds I gained strength as I realized that they had no power over me.  When I realized that they were just events and they didn’t define me as a person.  When I could truly say that I love,  honor and respect myself too much to let events and circumstances define me.

Therefore your past is a present, a gift.   It’s a gift to learn a lesson from.    If you felt abandoned because you’re parents divorced – realize that their divorce had nothing to do with you and everything to do with their relationship.  Let that feeling of abandonment go and accept the fact that you are the same good person you were before the divorce.

You are awesome.  Gotta love that.  🙂

And, if you want to attract the good stuff into your life – you gotta believe it.

There is only one You

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I am accelerating the journey towards finding my Self and purpose by being a part of David Neagle’s mentor study program. I am on the verge of letting go of the baggage that my Ego wants me to hang onto, I h ave done it before and am doing it again. When I let go before in my life, amazing things showed up. When I realized that there was only one me and I was unique and special and loved myself for that (Yes, that’s a necessary component). When I did that I got a dream job of mine as talk show radio producer and I met my husband. Why didn’t I stay in that place of self-love and non-judgment if those good things were happening?

Don’t know. But, I think it’s because I let the past, my past drive my bus again. You know, that stuff that we carry around that defines us. Those, I’m not good enough feelings that were implanted years ago. Well, no more of that for me. I realize now that there is no past. If it did exist – where is it? It only exists as memories or pictures or old movies, but not in anything tangible. Here’s an analogy. You are a boat – make yourself whatever kind of boat you want – and you are on the ocean. As you move forward, behind you (the past) there is a wake. You look behind and see that the wake exists for a short time and then it just blends in with the rest of the ocean. The wake of the boat is your past. It can have only the control of your Self as you give it.

So, let it go. Let it merge with what it really is – nothing. From today forth – repeat this mantra to yourself. There is only one Me, I am unique and special and I love who I am.

You are not the third grade teacher who told you that you would never amount to anything, you are not the parent who scolded you or whatever negative events happened in the past.

You are an entirely new person, there is not even any cell of your being that is the same as when you were in the third grade (unless you are currently in the third grade!). All those cells have died and been replaced by new cells.

There is only one Me, I am unique and special and I love who I am.

Try it. And go through your day with that thought in mind. Your life will change – it has to.

You have immense power

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Consider this thought for the day.  If you cut yourself shaving you don’t use your conscious mind to heal that wound, do you?  You can’t tell your blood to clot, your cells to form a scab, new cells to generate to create new skin – you don’t consciously do any of that – it just happens with perfect precision.

If you have an emotional wound – then why would you try to use the same mind that can’t heal a cut to heal your emotional wound?  You can’t and never will be able to.  Instead you have to just let your subconscious mind do what it’s meant to do.  Your part in the process?  To neutralize any opinion of the wound.  In other words don’t qualify it as having any size or that it is good or bad.  Instead, think of the wound as just being or think of the event that caused the wound as just neutral.  The event was neither good nor bad – it just was.  It is your build up of that event that gives it energy.  You can neutralize that negative energy by just saying to your Self that it was merely an event.  The only power or energy it has to harm you is what you give it.   So, choose to give it none.

This is not to say that an event like segregation or slavery isn’t “bad”.   However, consider the woman who is segregated and then grows tired of being looked down on and acts accordingly.  Let’s give that woman a name – Rosa Parks.  Rosa was not the only woman of color to be segregated – they all were.  However, Rosa  through her action, united a world that put the wheels in motion so that segregation as she knew it would cease to exist.  Therefore for Rosa – that act of segregation was good, not just for her, but for all her brothers and sisters of color.

This is proof that it is never the event that is “good” or “bad”, but our reaction to it instead.

It’s something to think about…

My purpose is….

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It can and will be felt by you when you reach the truth.  If you think it has to be a lofty “Mother Theresa” or “Ghandi” type goal – here’s one for you.  Michael Jordan’s said that his purpose was to play basketball.  Not a purpose to change the world – but it was what he feels he was put on the planet to do…

I am on a purpose hunt right now, have been for the past 3 or 4 months.  It may take time to reveal itself – but, I have no doubt it’s there.  Why?

Because I have had moments where time stopped, where I was so engrossed and happy to be doing what I was doing.   I was a talk show radio producer and worked an eight hour shift from six pm to 2 am .  And, there were may nights when the 2 am producer either didn’t show up or called to say they couldn’t work.  So, guess who filled it?  That meant that I worked 16 hours answering the phone, queuing up spots, monitoring the broadcast for content and to bleep out any “bad” words, contacting celebrities for the programs, etc.  16 hours straight and loved it.

So, I know that I don’t want to be a talk show producer again – however, there is some valuable info that I can pull out of the tasks that i was doing to show me my purpose.

What could you do for 16 hours straight and be so in love with it that you didn’t feel it was “work”.   There are clues…