Reach Out and Touch Someone

Do you remember the AT&T slogan, “Reach Out and Touch Someone”? I thought of it today after reading an email from a dear friend. There are many times when someone crosses our minds and we think, “I should give him a call” but then that thought gets buried under all the ‘more important’ things to do. What if that call was the most important thing you would have done that day?

The next time you find yourself fondly thinking about an old friend, your wife, or your boss, why not pick up the phone or send along an email? Let them know you care. Tell them how much you appreciate what they do and who they are. Reach Out! I’ll bet YOU are just the person they needed to hear from with the exact words they needed to hear.

It happened to me today. I want to thank my friend Karen for reaching out today. It made all the difference in the world. Lesson Learned

A Walk in the Park

When the weather is good in Newfoundland, it is important to seize the moment and make the most of it. You see, it can change without warning. As can life. The past three days, I have ‘dropped everything’ to get out in the great outdoors for a walk in the part, twice by myself and once with the children.

I’ll admit that, each time, I had an agenda. I figured that I’d get some fresh air, clear my mind, and get back to work after a certain period of time. Ah… that fresh air can be addictive!! Once I arrived in the park and opened myself up to the miracles of nature, the stillness of the wood, the beauty in every creature, I surrendered completely, and ENJOYED!! Time passed and I was feeling so good that I didn’t want to leave. I acknowledged this and smiled knowingly. The Universe was teaching me yet another lesson in surrender.

The day that my kids joined me, I had to talk them through the process of Letting Go as well… funny, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My son had a specific amount of time planned for the walk and a particular route. My daughter was focused on the cold and how long it was taking to climb the hills. I reminded them to appreciate the moment and the wonder of it all. This lesson I had re-learned just one day before!

Besides the exercise, the Vitamin D, the clean air pushing through my lungs, I gain valuable insight on my walks. When you surrender and rest in the present moment, you achieve a sense of peace – a knowing that everything is as it should be. You get in touch with your higher self who assures you that, when you are In Flow (with nature and the Universe), all situations will resolve themselves naturally and with little effort. You will see that life IS a ‘walk in the park’.

The next time that you are buried in paperwork or housework… the next time you are thinking, if only I could get outside and enjoy that beautiful weather… take a walk in the park. If you think you can only spare 5 minutes, make that choice. Be open to the miracles that are waiting for you to experience. Your mind, body and soul will thank you for it. Lesson Learned.

Love is in the Air

This is a week to celebrate love. It started with Valentine’s Day on Sunday. Family Day, a new holiday in Canada, was Monday. Today is Pancake Day and the children and I are off to see Nanny and Poppy for another celebration of family togetherness. Do I need these calendar entries to remind me to demonstrate my love or to spend quality time with my kids or parents? I can say ‘no’ because being present with my family is part of my vision of success that I have been executing for a number of years now.

Imagine a world where every day was Valentine’s Day… full of love and chocolate!! Imagine a world where every day was Family Day. How would your world be different? (I’m truthfully not really interested in a world where every day in Pancake Day, but if it works for you, go for it!)

The truth is that YOU have control over your world. You have control over the choices you make: how you spend your time and with whom. You have the power to create and execute your vision of success. It takes foresight, discipline, and motivation to live in possibility.

On Sunday and Monday this week, I created space in my day to express my love and share one-on-one time with those most important to me. We had fun; we laughed and we cried. We talked; we listened. We made connections that help to shape the future of our relationships. We set a foundation upon which to build a secure future.

I believe the greatest gift we can bestow on our loved ones is the gift of our authentic selves, true and present. I chose to spend those days giving my loved ones the gift of my time and attention. I chose to Embrace my Potential.

Did I really need a special occasion to do this? No. I plan to do this every day. Lesson Learned.

Need help to define and execute your vision of success? Visit http://embracingpotential.com

Gratitude List

I had a very uncomfortable conversation today. It made me so sad that I was in danger of losing myself in the grief. On a conscious level, I knew it was important to feel the sorrow, but also knew I wanted to move through it. With the help of a trusted friend, I was able to release the emotion and spend the rest of my day in a healthier, happier place.

On days like these – and we all have them – it is particularly ‘easy’ to remember the darkness over the light. In fact, out of our 60,000 daily thoughts, we tend to cling to the 80% that are negative. Honestly, I have always been one of those ‘annoyingly positive’ people who sees the silver lining in every situation and the potential in all people so I’m not sure if I really do cling to the negative as a rule but I certainly have not always been so aware of my thoughts and the effect they have on my day.

One of the nightly rituals I created with my children when I was first divorced was to ask, when I tucked them in to bed, “What was your favorite part of today?” I’d listen then as they recounted one or ten stories about something good that happened. It is a nice way to connect, especially after a busy day and MORE especially, if the evening hadn’t been picture-perfect. Years later, the ritual continues and it has become part of my daily self-care.

When I go to bed at night, I have a habit of reviewing the day and clinging to the positive. I think of all the things for which I am grateful. On days like today, it seems challenging at first, but here goes:

1. Someone said “I love you” to me
2. I enjoyed a perfect chai tea latte
3. I received a compliment about my work
4. I had 93 fans join my brand new facebook fan page in 24 hours
5. I was hugged tightly - twice
6. I received a cheque in the mail
7. I looked down on the beautiful city of St. John’s from Signal Hill as the fog rolled in
8. I exercised, and felt really good about that choice
9. I shared a laugh with a stranger
10. I had my first-ever blog comment!!
11. My driveway was clear of snow
12. My cat, Cornflake, was particularly cuddly
13. I shared a special moment with my mom

What is on your gratitude list? I encourage you to end your day by reviewing all the things that happened for which you are grateful. It will make a difference in your life and in the lives of everyone you touch. By living in a state of gratitude, you will shift your level of consciousness from that of ‘lack’ to that of abundance… you’ll be amazed at what will show up!

My list above is just a drop in the bucket… and I know I could go on and on. I am grateful for health, family, friends, work, and this very day because of the Lesson Learned.

For more on me, check out my website: http://embracingpotential.com

Get Smart

Smart leaders surround themselves with smarter people. If you want to be a leader in your own life, know who and when to ask for help. To operate efficiently and harmoniously, it is important to recognize where your talents exist and where they do not. I’ve had something on my to-do list for 8 months… I have dreaded the actually DOING because I figure it will take me an enormous amount of time to complete. I have agonized over the fact that it isn’t done, and over the fact that it will take me at least twice as long as anyone else to do it because of my lack of skill. I dare not add up the number of hours spent THINKING about it because I’d say I could have gone on vacation for the opportunity cost.

And that’s the thing. Time is money. With limited time that is not a renewable resource, I want to spend it Living in Possibility. I am making conscious choices about how I spend those precious moments at home, at work, at play and at peace. Looking around my home (also my office), it became quite clear where to start: housework! If you’ve been keeping up my posts, you’ll know that I am not opposed to child labour and I will shamelessly enlist my children to empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, clean the kitty litter, set the table, and fold laundry. You see, the children have come to understand very well that the more time Mommy spends on housework, the less time she has for play. My time with them is limited and very precious; I’d rather spend it making memories, not doing chores. Of course, since the house won’t clean itself, we work together as a team to get it all done quickly and THEN, we play!

Today I enlisted the help of Live More Virtual Assistants http://www.livemoreva.com , Spark Marketing http://www.sparkmarketing.com and my mother. I will ask for their help and expertise when I need it. They will be integral to the success of my business because they allow me to focus on my vision and keep doing what I do best. I am getting smart and it will show… in my bottom line. Lesson Learned.

Check out my website designed by Spark Marketing. http://www.embracingpotential.com

Kicking the Habit

Is there something that you do repeatedly as an automatic response to a specific situation? Do have habits that you’ve been trying to break? Do they cause you regret or shame? Have you lost out on opportunities because the habits you have are hindering your progress on the path of success? I have asked myself these questions as they related to unconscious choices that I have made in many areas of my life over the years. As I choose now to live with deliberate intent, I am more aware of these patterns as my ego tests me to embrace my potential.

Habits are formed in the ego state – they are an unconscious repetition of patterns which do not serve your higher purpose. The ego taunts you, and you hear yourself saying: “It takes too much effort. Why bother? This is comfortable, familiar.” But it is really comfortable when your choices cause you dis-comfort either physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually? You may smoke, overeat, bite your nails, overspend. You may look to dull the pain of loneliness with addictions to gambling, sex or work. Or your habit may come in the form of a relationship… one that makes you unhappy most of the time, but is still reliable in a sense. Whatever your habit, however it appears in your life, it is one you regret when you look in the mirror.

Take a moment – PAUSE. Ask yourself why you regret these choices? Know that it is because they are not allowing you to embrace your potential and execute your personal vision of success. Listen to your body… Do you feel tired? Do you feel anxious? Tense? These are all signs that your life is not in alignment with your true purpose.

In order to open yourself up to what is possible, you must first let go of old patterns… this may mean a job, relationship, or lifestyle. Breaking the habit is a difficult thing which takes determination and courage. Get clear about what you really want… craft your personal vision of success, and then start making new choices that will move you forward on that journey.

We have the freedom and power to live with deliberate intent. In every moment, we make a choice how we will respond. We make a choice whether or not to respond in a way which serves us. If you are struggling with a habit that is eating away at your self-esteem, self-confidence, or self-expression, make a conscious choice to TAKE BACK CONTROL. Step out of the victim role where you have been hanging your hat, and step into your authentic being. If you need help with this, following the PAUSE formula I have outlined in other blogs. Visit my website at http://embracingpotential.com.

Make a conscious effort to live deliberately. You’ll be amazed at what shows up! Lesson Learned.

Make a Wish

Remember when you were a kid and you’d read stories about a genie released from a lamp who would grant you three wishes? How hard was it to come up with three wishes? Not too hard, if I recall… and as you got older, AND SMARTER, you realized one of your wishes could be for more wishes!! Or you could wish for a pile of money and then you wouldn’t need the genie anymore!

In my last post I expressed my thoughts on whether money can buy happiness. It got me thinking more about how I would live differently if my income multiplied dramatically overnight. Taking it one step further: how would my life be different if I had unlimited time, energy and money. What would be on my wish list then?


Well, last week I made 10 wishes following instructions from one of my favorite websites: http://www.janspiller.com/index.php. I shared it with some other people and was surprised to hear that they had a hard time coming up with 10 wishes. Imagine! I wondered, “Where has that childhood enthusiasm gone?” I remembered then, from my workshops, that most people cannot easily articulate what their lives would look like if they had unlimited time, energy and money. They really need assistance. (If you need assistance, now would be a good time to check out http://embracingpotential.com/.) While this is great for my business potential (smiles), it does leave me with that question of why making a wish was so much easier when we were kids.

As we age, our minds become full of judgments and perceptions that ultimately create limiting beliefs. [I’m not smart enough. I’m not good enough. Nobody ever listens to me. I’m nothing special. I don’t deserve it. …] We all have our own; the bottom line is that they keep us small and sitting on the sidelines of life, unable to even WISH for success. Do you recall experiencing this negative self-talk? I certainly have. And then I get inspiration from this piece from Marianne Williamson (http://www.marianne.com/) that I have actually memorized:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You
are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is
nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure
around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born
to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some
of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are
liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Friends, we MUST dream big if we want to play in the big leagues. We must summon the courage to wish for success if we are to attract it. We must step up to the plate and take a swing if we hope to ever hit a home run. [Enter ego’s limiting belief] But what if we strike out? What if? At the very least, we will inspire others to try. As a parent, the greatest gift I can give my children is this example.

What if I make a mistake? What if I get hurt? What if I fail? I say, “So What??” It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. It is in the journey that life’s reward is found and there will be no reward if you don’t take the first step. MAKE A WISH and enjoy the ride. You are worth it. Lesson Learned.