Motivational Whisperers

In order to make 2012 your best year yet, experts suggest that we schedule a few minutes to ask ourselves and answer a few questions so our year is planned in advance. As you likely know, planning is bringing the future into the present, writing crystallizes thinking and crystallized thought motivates action.

 

1. What am I doing to improve and use more of my potential? 

 

2. What goals have I written to accomplish?

 

3. Are they specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and tangible? (SMART Goals)

 

4. Have I created detailed plans of actions with monthly steps to reach them?

 

5. What obstacles do I face to achieve these goals?

 

6. How am I going to overcome these obstacles and roadblocks?

 

 

The following study demonstrates the importance of goal setting:

 

VALUE of WRITTEN

 GOALS
 

 Harvard Business School Survey of Successful People 

 

The 3% group with written goals outproduced the 10% group from10 to 100 to 1!

 

The average net worth of the 3% group was  50 times greater than the 10% group!!!

 

 I have several coaching packages to help you formulate and reach your goals and offer a FREE CONSULTATION:
            516 623 4353        eileen@balanceandpower.com

 

 

How are you holding up? Sometimes, especially during this time of year, we expect ourselves to be superhuman. We want to cook the best meals, be the best hosts, get everything checked off of our list, plan our next year, wrap all of our gifts, and do it all absolutely perfectly. We want everything to go just as we planned. We push ourselves to the limit to make sure this happens, and we crumble when things go wrong. Are you feeling some of this pressure right now?

I definitely am. For those of you who follow my blog, you may have noticed that my posting in the past couple of months has gotten more and more infrequent. If I’m being completely honest about it, this really bothers me. I don’t want to have to admit that I can’t do it all. I thought that I would be able to write every day and get through the busy holiday season with my gift business. But guess what I’m realizing? I’m human. I have 24 hours in the day just like everyone else – and even if I stay up until 4 or 5 in the morning making and packing orders (it’s true), I still couldn’t catch up enough to where I could also write. It was a huge wake-up call for me, which is why I wrote the Are You In? post last week. I now know that I can’t do both – the gift business and writing. So I’m choosing to write and saying goodbye to the business.

Because of all of this superhuman pushing, Dan and I both got sick. But we knew that we couldn’t take time off – not when there were hundreds of orders to make and ship. So we continued to push.

Our dear friends were scheduled to arrive, and I still wasn’t well. And still we pushed to get the house ready for them.

I thought we were doing a great job of keeping up with it all – orders were going out, we were getting healthier, and our friends were here. And then they opened the microwave to make some tea. My worst fear was realized – we forgot to clean out the tapioca explosion that had occurred. I felt mortified and guess what? Human. My skeletons were exposed – I wasn’t perfect. I was just getting by. I had pushed myself as far as I could go. The house wasn’t immaculate. I wasn’t writing every day. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was human.

And you know what? It’s okay.

Our friends laughed about the microwave and asked if they could help us catch up with the orders. They embraced our humanness because they love us, and we do the same with them. The challenge is to be able to turn this love and acceptance onto ourselves.

I am human, and so are you. And while I know that we know this in our heads, remembering this at all moments can sometimes be challenging, especially during this time of year.

And so over the next few days when you are celebrating the season and spending time with your family, please remember this. It’s okay if the casserole doesn’t turn out like you had hoped. It’s okay if the gift that you brought for your sister arrived broken. It’s all okay. Take some time to accept and embrace your humanness. And then embrace this in everyone you come across. This is a good thing. We aren’t machines. We aren’t programmed to be perfect. That’s the beauty of being human. We get to make mistakes and learn from them. We get to cut ourselves some slack. We get to enjoy life and laugh about all of this.

So thank you for accepting my humanness, and thank you for embracing your own.

Happy holidays! I can’t wait to see what 2012 brings for all of us! ♥

I am very intuitive as are many of you reading this article.  When I experience the "chills-tingles" and a feeling that rings true I know it's my intuition- or that something is true...no matter what. 




Today a coaching client revealed to me in the first  three minutes that she is "very intuitive" was wondering if her feelings and actions were perhaps fear based; was it fear or intuition that was leading her to feel "compelled" to take some actions that she was not happy about, that she was seeing me today to gain greater insight into and understand if it was fear or intuition that was leading her.

 This evening, no coincidence that nothing was "on demand" TV  that I was interested in, so I picked up a professional journal that was on my coffee table all week - "Choice the magazine of professional coaching" ; this issue focusing on "Intuition & Coaching".  One of the many interesting articles written by colleagues pertains to the fear or intuition question.
 

 Now, back to my client.  After discussing her issues and challenges, we decided to "tap" (EFT- Emotional Freedom Techniques) on the issue of feeling compelled to do something that she admittedly felt shame  about - that was clearly giving her anxiety attacks. 


When we began, her feeling of distress about this was 10 on a scale of 1-10.  After several rounds of tapping she was down to 5, and saying she was feeling more at ease, relaxed.

In the process, a few core issues revealed themselves - revelations to her and more material for us to work on in 2012.  In the process, I also gave her three medical referrals to holistic doctors.  I used my intuition in facilitating EFT and it guided all my statements and questions, which gave me a greater insight into what my client truly needed.  


This of course gave my client a deeper level of understanding and clarity as well, because I  tuned into her through my intuition and not the analytical side of my brain. 

 

Intuition is always the winner - follow your gut - no matter what - trust yourself,  honor your true feelings (emotional and physical) and act on them. 
 

 

 If you need help uncovering your true feelings and direction, I'm available for a complimentary consult via phone or skype.

It’s all about first impressions.  Your Opt-in is more important than anything else you do.  It’s the first impression when someone visits your website and what they can find there.  Let’s compare your opt-in to a first date.

 

What Do You Do?

Bad Opt-In: “Hey, I threw in this in for free. No sense in giving away any valuable information.”

Customer: Geez, this isn’t what I thought it would be.  It doesn’t tell me anything!

 

Good Opt-In: “I make people feel special.”

Customer:  Wow, great information.  I really learned something.

 

Pay careful attention to who you actually attract ... how do the people who buy your services see the industry, what do they care about, who do they listen to, what are their values?

 

Who Cares About What You Do?

Bad Opt-In: “It doesn’t matter; I’m just about getting your name and email address so I can sell you stuff.

Customer: “Am I just another face in the crowd?

 

Good Opt-In: “I care about you and your pain.”

Customer: They really get what I need and I see how they can help me.

 

Your opt-in looks like or was done by a professional.  You spent time figuring out what your potential client’s pain is and how you can help them.  You provide valuable content that is relevant to your target market. 

 

How Do You Access Who Cares?

Bad Opt-In: “I’ll just keep sending you emails in hopes that you’ll go out with me again.”

Customer:  Holy cr**!  I wish this person would stop sending so many emails every day.  It’s all sell, sell, sell.  Unsubscribe!

 

Good Opt-In: “I respect you.”

Customer: I really want to know more about what this company does and how they can help me.  I’ll sign up for a class or buy one of their products.

Your opt-in really is the first impression people get when they come to your website.  I don’t believe that you can ever give away too much information.  Not everyone can do what YOU do, but you can certainly help them understand what it is that you do.

What impression is YOUR opt-in saying about you and your business?

Find out More Business Increasing Tips & Get My Free E-book on How to re-purpose your content for profit.  

 Here are tried and true survival tips for the “sandwich” or “open sandwich” generation challenged  folks among us: 

1. Keep the big picture forefront,  try not to get lost in negative possibilities.
    
2. Be patient.  Perhaps reframe a situation to have more (positive) possibilities.
    
3. Understand your own agenda and priorities.  If you’re having difficulty doing this, pay special attention to #4  and  #5  and  possibly seek advice.
    
4. Follow your mind and heart.
    
5. Stay focused.  Meditate.  Breathe. 
    
6. Take care of yourself.
    
7. Ask for help when possible.

This is one of my favorite lists by one of this generation's wisemen:
Deepok Chopra.

1.       Listen to your body’s wisdom, which expresses itself through the signals of comfort and discomfort.  When choosing a certain behavior, ask your body, “How do you feel about this?”  If the body sends a signal of physical or emotional distress, watch out!  If the body responds with joy and comfort – go for it!

2.       Live in the moment.  The present is the only moment you have.  Have your attention on what  IS and see its fullness in every moment.  Have psychological acceptance totally and completely that this present moment is as it should be.  How could it be otherwise?  This moment is as is because the universe is as is.  Don’t struggle against the universe.

3.       Take time to be silent, to quiet the internal dialogue, to be guided by your intuition, rather nthan the externally imposed interpretations of what is and what is not good.

4.       Relinquish your need for approval.  There is great freedom in that choice.

5.       When you find yourself reacting with anger or violence to any  person, situation or circumstance- recognize that you struggle only against yourself.  Don’t be so hard on yourself.

6.       Know that those you react to strongly whether you love them or hate them, are reflections of yourself.  Use the mirror of relationship to guide your own spiritual revolution.

7.       Shed the burden of judgement- you will feel much lighter.

8.       Don’t contaminate your body with toxins: food, drink or toxic emotions.

9.       Replace fear-motivated behavior by love-motivated behavior.

10.    Understand that the physical world mirrors the process in our own consciousness.  Cleaning up the environment and getting rid of toxic wastes and dumps that contaminate our earth, its rivers and oceans is worthwhile, but even more important is the flushing out of toxic ideas that contaminate the human mind.

Reprinted from Creations Magazine Spring ’95

I have studied these principles and apply them in my life.  Being human, I am do not always do this :). I help my clients to live them as well.  I explore many of them in my interactive manual  SOAR! with Resilience™   and tell success stories of my own as well as clients who have gone on to be happy and SOAR!  You may contact me for a complimentary consult: BalanceandPower  516 623 4353



   Related Article: Building Your Business With Tools From the Angels. 

Hello all you marvelous MWers!! I wanted to take a moment and say thank you to each and every one of you here. 

A huge thank you to Dawn who brought me to the MW fold. I feel very enriched by all I have seen, heard and participated in, with such awesome peeps!

I am looking back on this year of learning, with much gratitude and love for all those who helped speed me on my journey. I am blown away by the caliber of people I have met, the sheer volume of information I have been able to soak up and the new friends I will go forward with into 2012.

For me once again, 2011 was yet another Phoenix-like rising from the ashes; taking on a new challenge, immersing myself in the Social Web. I am happy to be counted among those who can call people like Dawn Abraham, Patricia Wall and Mari Smith mentor. 

In 2012 my journey will be all about 'FOCUS': Laser sharp and directly onto Google+ and by extension Google and all that they offer , I look forward to sharing the wealth of information and applications that I utilize daily, which will make this new Social web a more interesting place with many more avenues for us all to explore. 

 TROOL-Y looking forward to 2012!

Move into 2012 with good energy and focus... 


Are you stressed about Christmas spending?  Do you feel pressure to spend over your limit?    That will rob you of your energy so you can't focus on the present and get excited about setting your goals for 2012. 



My suggestion is that you enjoy the Christmas holidays but do everything in moderation.  What do I mean?  Set some boundaries around your spending. Buy what you can afford. Give from your heart. 


The best way to plan for 2012 is to look back to your recent past, 2010.  So take a look back at 2010 and ask yourself the question:

One year ago around this time what was I doing? Where was I at?

Next, Where do I see myself in 2012?

Third, How will I achieve that goal?

Here are some other questions to ask yourself in order to flesh out your goals. Where do I want to live? What do I want to be doing to make money? How many hours do I want to work per day/per week? What income do I want to have?

An important key to having what you want is deciding what you want way ahead of time. Then visualize yourself experiencing what you want.

I encourage you to get out a sheet of paper and review where you were last year. In the process of doing this some guilt may come up for things you didn't get done. The key is to forgive yourself for what you didn't accomplish. It's now in the past and there's nothing you can do about it.  Don't hold it against yourself or carry it like a monkey on your back into 2012. It will only set you back.

Write down all the things you didn't get done and at the bottom of the page "I forgive myself." The next step is to tear it into shreds or burn it so you can free yourself from the mistakes and missteps of 2011. You will become lighter moving forward in 2012.

Last, write down what you desire for 2012 and visualize it. Include all the support you'll need to achieve your goals.  If you take the time to work on this during the next two weeks you will find yourself going forward into 2012 with ease and joy. You will have let go of the guilt and heaviness from your unaccomplished goals and you'll experience gratitude for your achievements  in 2011.  This will give you the momentum needed to jump into 2012!

And unlike many of your friends you will not be looking for help with your New Year's resolutions. We know it doesn't work for the vast majority of people so why go down that road again.


Get a jumpstart on 2012 by doing a review of 2011. Take a look back at 2010 and answer some questions about where you were, where you want to be and what help you'll need to achieve your goals. You can apply this to any area of your life.

 Here's an audio link of a talk  I gave about the subject of goal setting and giving yourself a break.


Do this before January 1, 2012 and you'll be rocking! Good luck!

Warm Regards,
Lorna Blake
Life Empowerment Specialist
www.mpowerurself.com

Related Article: Smart Goals Brings Prosperity in Your Life 

As a normal part of life, stress enables us to get things done. If left unmanaged, stress can lead to emotional, psychological, and even physical problems. Stress causes a disruption in the flow of vital energy through the body. These energetic imbalances can throw off the immune system or cause symptoms of pain, sleep disturbances, abnormal digestion, headaches, menstrual irregularities, aggravation of already troublesome health conditions and, over time, more serious illnesses can develop. 

Stress is cumulative.  Stressful situations that last over a long period of time can create an ongoing low-level stress that puts continual pressure on the nervous system, increasing activity, and can cause the overproduction of hormones. The extra stress hormones over an extended period of time may wear out the body's reserves, lead to fatigue, depression, a weakened immune system, and a host of serious physical and psychological ailments. 

Some signs of stress overload include:

- anxiety or panic attacks
- feelings of constant pressure, hassled and hurried
- irritability and moodiness
- physical symptoms such as stomach problems, headaches, or even chest pain
- allergic reactions, such as eczema or asthma
- problems sleeping
- overindulgence in food, alcohol, smoking, or drugs
- sadness or depression



Stress is often the cause of illness and the deterioration of health. Finding a release valve for your stress can help you stay healthy. According to research, stress, frustration, and unresolved anger can play an important part in throwing the immune system off and allowing pathogens to affect the body. 

Research has shown that EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), meditation and relaxation techniques can reduce stress levels. My private sessions and workshops/trainings integrate these modalities with Peak Performance Success Coaching for your life and career: www.balanceandpower.com

While it isn't always possible to remove the external forces causing stress, the ability to effectively deal with stress is a choice. Take time for yourself to cultivate the energy you need to handle your stress more skillfully and effectively. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing stress or a stress related disorder, contact me for more information about how the modalities mentioned in the previous paragraph can help you regain peace of mind and stay healthy.  Schedule an appointment today!  516 623 4353   balanceandpower