Today every word I utter will be chosen consciously. I will refrain from complaints, condemnation, and criticism. I will walk in love.

~Deepak Chopra

These are wise words for living every day.

Have you ever met someone who has lived a long and excellent life? I had the great pleasure of meeting Louise who, 2 weeks ago, celebrated her 90th birthday.  She shared with me some profound life lessons and I was happy to realize that I am already implementing these in some areas of my life.  I also decided that I would implement these lessons in ALL areas of my life.

 Louise, who does not look a day over 70, told me about how she learned to ice skate in Central Park in New York during the winter 70 years ago.  She had decided she wanted to learn and bought herself a beautiful skating suit before she ever even had ice skates on!  She said “I had made up my mind to do it and it didn`t matter how many times I fell! I had my mind set to learn to skate so I could ice dance with the boys at Madison Square Gardens.“  With this same tenacity she also rented a bicycle for $0.25 per day and learned to ride it so well that she would race with her friends around Central Park.

 She also told me all about her 90th birthday party and the importance of celebrating everything in life.  Birthdays and special accomplishments of good friends and family included.  “Celebrations mark the good times in your memories, and that`s all that matters,“ she told me.  “If you don`t celebrate then you feel like you never accomplish anything.“ 

 This reinforced what we talked about at the mastermind meeting too.   We spoke about celebrating and bragging.  Yes, bragging. We were all told as kids that bragging is bad because it’s not good to think you’re better than others.

 I have a different perspective now: it’s not about being better than others, it’s about being better than you used to be!  That’s what life is all about.  To celebrate our accomplishments…all of them, no matter how small. And then brag about them with the people who celebrate with us with joy and love!  Because this raises our energy and continues our momentum forward.

Louise said she lived her best life by making decisions to accomplish goals and then doing whatever it took to accomplish those goals.  She would then celebrate every accomplishment and special date to really feel like she was living.  She said she has no regrets.

 What will you decide to do that you`ve always wanted to do? 
What goals have you or your loved ones accomplished that you haven`t celebrated yet?

When you`re 90 years old, what types of stories do you want to tell?

We have decided that the best way to celebrate the new direction of our business is to have a Grand Launch Party!  We invite you to join us for fun, food, and prizes on November 18, 2010, from 5-7 pm at Slainte by the Pier (15057 Marine Drive, White Rock, BC).

  How do you feel about taking really good care of yourself?  I mean really feel?  

The truth is, many of us, especially women, tend to take care of everything and everyone else before taking care of themselves.  This can lead to overwhelm and turning yourself into a piece of toast.  That’s right, complete burnout.  And if you think about it…how good are you at taking care of others when you’re toast?  Hmmm…  

This hit home for me at a very deep level as I was driving home from a networking event.  The host of this particular event is an amazing woman whose company contributes a lot to the Women For Women International Organization.  Her burning dedication and passion for her work are as strong as mine and all those other people who are doing what they love.  I was so inspired by this woman to work even harder and to focus even more on my business that I began planning and brainstorming ideas right then and there.  Honestly, I would work 24/7 if it meant that my purpose to positively change the world by would play out faster.   

 Then it dawned on me.  How good would the choice to work so much more be for me?  I would loose all balance that I have achieved so far in my entrepreneurial life.  Because working more would mean no time for my kids, for my husband, or for myself. And since I teach and promote family balance and healthy mindset to my clients, I have to live it too!   I realized that to really live what I teach, my priorities must be cemented in this order: taking care of me, my family, then changing the world.  This has nothing to do with being selfish, either.  It has everything to do with making sure I am honoring my body, mind and spirit so that they work with me at their optimum health and allow me to continue my work.  It’s the same idea as putting your own oxygen mask on and then helping others put on theirs.  

I encourage you to take a long, honest look at your priorities in your life.  Are you so focused on helping, pleasing, or serving others that your self is suffering? Even in a small way?  Ask yourself when you decided that you’re not worthy of being taken care of by you?  And remember, no one really appreciates badly burned toast. How much more could you accomplish and help if you were well taken care of physically, emotionally, and spiritually?

Prioritize your priorities and notice how your life changes magically!

Poor People spend time saving money. Rich people spend money saving time.

~ Bryan Sugars

I remember the day I experienced a very interesting shift in my business.  It happened as I was getting ready for a trade show.  I finally understood and believed in something that I had known for a long time.  And I decided to do something with that knowledge.

I had everything set up to attract huge successes at the show: my booth, my information, my forms, etc.  What I noticed was that I wasn’t on board.  My own attitude was all wrong.  Past experiences of failure (that f-word we all want to avoid), struggling to build my business, and not believing in my own ability kept me stuck in this mindset.  Now I found myself at a fork in the road.  I could either A: remain complacent and wishy-washy about the show and just go and hope to meet some people.  Or B: I could clean up my own attitude, commit my goals to paper, visualize my success, ensure my energy was high, and succeed!

It was completely my choice at this point because I had the knowledge, the information, and all those other things that make up a good trade show booth.  In fact, I realized, I had all the makings of a successful business, I just wasn’t allowing myself to be successful inside.

I chose path B.  I was 100% on board at every level and the trade show was a HUGE success for me. I met amazing people, made great contacts, and really moved my business forward.  AND I learned a valuable lesson: that attitude and beliefs mean the difference between success and the “f” word.

It is entirely up to you to succeed or fail.  That’s the case in business and in life and we all have that choice to make.  You can learn and think about things and feel like we’re not ready to play it big when in reality, you do know enough.  All it takes is just the decision to play big and the tools to let the limiting beliefs go.  I use all my knowledge every day to release my own stuff as it comes up so that I can nurture and live with an attitude and with beliefs that support me.  To me this means I am taking 100% responsibility for my own success and my own business. 

Sure, it’s easier to blame it on the economy, on the government, on neighbours, demanding family schedules, and all sorts of other things.  There are lots of people out there who have these same circumstances and yet they succeed at very high levels.  They don’t use excuses and they implement what they know.  AND they ask for help when they need it.

I hope that all of you experience this shift in your businesses and your lives so that you’re ready to implement the knowledge instead of just know it.  There are awesome tools like NLP and hypnosis that help release negative emotions and limiting beliefs and help you get laser focused.  All it takes is personal responsibility and the willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed.