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“Today, may you have peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.  May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.  May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.  May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us”. -Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was an amazing example of love in action. The ultimate life coach and cheerleader! Let her words inspire you to shine your light brighter than ever this year (and beyond) as you express your innate talents in wondrous and beautiful ways that uplift and empower us all.

Just read a wonderful article on the New York Times “A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day,” which provides some easy-to-use tips for bringing forth a feeling of gratitude. Read here >> A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day.

Have a very Gratitude-filled Thanks Giving!

Susan

Finding Joe, a new documentary based on the wisdom of mythologist Joseph Campbell, will be opening this Friday. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking to discover their life’s work, and “follow their bliss” as they express their talents in meaningful ways that serve the planet. Playing at Riviera Theater in Santa Barbara. Read about it below (from their website):

Finding Joe is an exploration of famed Mythologist Joseph Campbell’s studies and their continuing impact on our culture. Through interviews with visionaries from a variety of fields interwoven with enactments of classic tales by a sweet and motley group of kids, the film navigates the stages of what Campbell dubbed The Hero’s Journey: the challenges, the fears, the dragons, the battles, and the return home as a changed person. Rooted in deeply personal accounts and timeless stories, Finding Joe shows how Campbell’s work is relevant and essential in today’s world and how it provides a narrative for how to live a fully realized life - or as Campbell would simply state, how to “follow your bliss”.

Featuring: Deepak Chopra, Mick Fleetwood, Rashida Jones, Tony Hawk, Catherine Hardwicke, Laird Hamilton, Robert Walter, Akiva Goldsman, Sir Ken Robinson, Robin Sharma, Lynne Kaufman, Alan Cohen, Brian Johnson, Joseph Marshall III, Rebecca Armstrong, Chungliang Al Huang, David L. Miller, Gay Hendricks, David Loy and Norman Ollestad.

“The hero, in living her own life, in being true to herself; radiates a light by which others may see their own way.” —Laurence Boldt

In the 20+ years I have worked with the principles in Zen and the Art of Making a Living, guiding career coaching clients on the quest to discover and actualize their life’s work, I have seen firsthand the power of questions in shaping our lives. As Laurence Boldt says, “For all of us, the question is the Quest-I-on. In other words, the questions we ask or fail to ask shape the journeys of our lives. While most blindly go where the conventional questions of their society take them, heroes consciously choose and earnestly pursue the questions that shape their lives. . . . Will you live your life spontaneously from the heart and its pathless call, or conventionally from prescribed role?”

Many clients come to me full of questions, and almost immediately within the first session, they become aware that many of the questions they are asking are not taking them where they really want to go. For some this process is a big wake up call, for they realize they have not been listening to their hearts or being true to themselves. What questions are you asking? Do you like the direction your life is going in? If not, change your question and your life will change. Go on a quest for your best. The world needs your love.

We all know about making lists, goals, action plans, but many people overlook the biggest ally they have in creating change, their imagination! Utilizing the power of your imagination creates change much faster than with action alone. Take 3-5 minutes a day to see and feel what you want in your life. Find somewhere where you will be undisturbed. Sit quietly. Close your eyes and visualize the outcome you seek. As you do this, feel the accomplishment of this goal, dream, or habit shift (whether it be writing a book, quitting smoking, delivering a speech, etc.) The subconscious mind does not know the difference between what is real and what is imagined - so as you do this you ARE making it happen. Give this a try! You have nothing to lose but that which you want to let go of anyway!

There is nothing wrong with putting some of our cherished dreams and goals on the shelf to support another goal’s accomplishment. It is making sure that they do not remain on the shelf!

To keep your dreams alive, make time each week (preferably the same time and day) to nourish them with your loving attention. (Whatever you focus your attention on grows.) This can be done through Visualization: seeing your dream as a manifest reality, Affirmation: Declaring with clear positive statements what you want to be, do, or have. The important thing is to check in with yourself and make sure you are listening to your dreams, and giving them voice. It does not even have to be that much time - a good 10 minutes devoted to reflection can go a long way in keeping the inspiration flowing!

In the end, it all comes down to making sure we honor the inspirations that come to us by giving them tangible form where others can be moved, touched, and uplifted by them!

1. Be grateful. Count your blessings.

2. Enjoy the process.

3. See the big picture.

Hello All,

Just got off the phone with a client, and realized that not only had she, but many clients over the last few months, been wrestling with the same thing — risk. So I thought, lets talk a bit more about it, and for those who’ve been on calls (and you know who you are) this will pick up on some of those points we covered.

Risk, that friend you enjoy being with when you are feeling your best, and that you like to send home on days when you feel less so. It seems risk for so many has a neutral or negative connotation and not a positive one. The focus of attention for most is on what one is losing - instead of what one is gaining. We know that we grow by risking. We learn by risking. We become more of our best self by risking. So why the hesitation? Because we want to control what happens - that’s what it all comes down to. And in risking, there are things we can not predict. So looking at the past, behind us can provide some comfort, but it also makes it more difficult to steer the vehicle of our life’s work in a forward direction.

What does not occur to most, is that it is what they are NOT DOING IN THEIR LIVES NOW because of not risking, that is the loss - not what they fear letting go of. And these are unknowns - as it is in risking that we see beyond our current sight, our goals and dreams, and open to the mystery, that which we cannot control.

Below find a simple process to help you start risking, and continue to make it a regular part of how you approach living:

1) Begin by having a clearly defined goal in mind, a vision, a dream that inspires you.

2) Stay focused on the benefit that will come about for you having made it happen.

3) Have faith in the process: Remember you are not letting go of something you can’t live without, but welcoming something new into your life who’s gifts you will only know once you have taken that first step - that LEAP of faith.