Motivational Whisperers

Having a home-based business has tremendous perks.  You are in charge of your own time, activities, projects, tasks, delegation, and you don’t have to drive much to see clients or meet with vendors.  However, one of the down sides is that if you are not circulating and networking in your community, and brainstorming on-line with staff and colleagues, it can be highly isolating.

  

This can get you in trouble at times.  I know it has me.  Why?  Mainly because there’s no one around to call your bluff. 

There is no one to hold you accountable to follow a disciplined regime of marketing, sales, systems and projects, not to mention the all important Personal Development process, which is always “on-going.”  

It is hard to stick to a calendar when you feel you can do as you please, and you always have “later” or worse yet, “tomorrow.”  Besides, ONE truly is a lonely number.

What to do when you’re getting into isolation?

First, recognize the symptoms!

Consider:

• Are you postponing important tasks?
• Do you tend to start with the easy stuff first?
• Are you ignoring your calendar?
• Are you only doing what is absolutely necessary?
• Are you neglecting important conversations or even correspondences with important people in your life?
• Are you feeling less energetic than usual?
• Is your passion-light flickering at times?
• Are certain tasks that used to be joyful getting to be a drag?
• Do you find it difficult to go out and mingle at social networking events?

All these are symptoms of isolation and depression, or both simultaneously.  One can lead to the other, and your job is to find a way to get back on track, whatever that might be for you.  If depression, see a doctor, if isolation…..keep on reading.

Granted, there are things that we all have to do that are not as much fun as others, however, they have to be done.  And…with a song in your heart and a spring in your step, you can do them in JOY rather than in drag.

Options:

• Make a list of trusted friends and colleagues.
• Reach out to them.
• Find the courage to do so; it may be difficult in some cases.
• Share with them the issues you are having and ask for feedback.
• Remember, this is all about accountability, but also about reaching out and asking for help; which may not come natural to you at this time.
• Think that you are giving them an opportunity to help you and this may literally “Make their day.”
• Be clear in your request and ask for guidance.
• Let nature take its course.

 

Action Plan:

• Be prepared to listen very careful to what they have to say.
• Discern what feels best to you.
• Make a list of all the suggestions so that you can create your own mini-action plan to get you out of isolation and back on track of your chosen path.
• Be extremely grateful for all of what you have.
• Be extremely grateful for all of who you are.
• Be extremely grateful that you have these amazing people in your live, even if some of them are at a distance.
• Start your day by saying “Thank You” to your God or the Universe, and your heart will feel lighter and things will begin to turn around.
• Practice the courage to ask for what you want.
• Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
• Join a Mastermind Group.
• Get yourself an accountability buddy or coach to help you stretch your imagination, creativity and way of thinking.  It’s hard to think bigger, when you are in such a place of isolation, and yes, I know this from very personal experiences.

Assess your symptoms, know your options, take action, and ask for help. “Reach out….someone will always answer!”

Join me at Passion to the Fifth Power http://AliRodriguez.com/ecourse

EFT is always blowing my mind. 'Cause it always works!!
I was skeptical before I learned it- and am amazed at how powerfully effective it is with each personal or client application to release negative energy and create new positive emotions that result in action around issues that have been "stuck".  I can do "surrogate tapping" with  you on the phone - or without you at all- like "long distance Reiki", etc.  Just ask :)  EFT is like yoga for the emotions!  It involves you gently tapping on stress relief points of the body while I implement powerful language.  It provides relief from physical and emotional pain, and any trauma or beliefs that have been blocking your truth.  Do you feel the weight of all the 'shoulds' on your shoulders? Do you sometimes wish, 'If only I could be who I really am?' If you would like to access your own guidance and wisdom instead of seeking truth about yourself from other people or sources, you can learn to use Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to help dissolve whatever is in the way.

When you are ready for action and a circumstance occurs so that you experience confusion or fear what do you do? Freeze..nothing probably, that's human nature.  Even though it may be the polarity of what you want to do when you are ready for action, this is prime time to take stock and do inner work in order to move past blocks and make fabulous, free feeling progress. 

Writer's block, for instance, is often a matter of too much distraction.  Perhaps it's about needing fresh ideas, or being "sure of yourself", confident that what you write will resonate with your readers.  Procrastination is always fear based.  Before you can move forward, it's important to know which kind(s) of fear you're facing- that's the intitial inner work- is it fear of failure, being judged, fear of success (yes, success can take you to new scary places..) or of being controlled.

Once you've gotten the "fear factor" figured out, sometimes with assistance of a coach, then it's time to have a few guided EFT sessions.  My facilitation of The EFT Technique has been 100% effective in my four years as an EFT-ADV practitioner combining the EFT Technique with Peak Performance Success Coaching.  This includes conquering fear of public speaking, which is the number one fear in our society. phobias and procrastination.  Immediately following an EFT session using Gary Craig's short EFT Technique form, I facilitate  a deep guided relaxation-visualization session to reinforce the tapping, intuitive coach-like language and positive emotional transitions that have occurred.  
 www.balanceandpower.com/movingmeditation.php 

 Now that I've spiked your curiousity you can find out more about EFT and see me in action videos and click onto the great video affiliate link there  www.balanceandpower.com/eft.php

 

EFT HAS ACHIEVED AN "EVIDENCE BASED" STATUS, BUT IS YET TO BE APPROVED BY THE APA

What I learned from colleagues is that while the APA does recognize that EFT is evidence based (after their review of 50 research studies)they are still looking at it before rendering any definitive decision on whether they will actually accept it.  In the meanwhile, they do not give credit to any psychologists who seek continuing education credits for taking courses in it.  I actually believe this is a good thing for now, since they might otherwise try to regulate it and retain it just for psychologists, when it was intended to be a lay technique used by everyone.

 

 

 

 

I write a lot about the soul – getting to know your soul, reconnecting with your soul, loving your soul, etc. Because of this, you might think that I’ve had a wonderful relationship with my soul for my entire life. Would you be surprised if I told you that it’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve been in touch with my soul?

Like all of us, I was born a spiritual being in a human body. And like many of us, as life’s hardships piled up on top of me, I became more and more weighed down and grounded into the earth. I needed to learn how to survive and find ways to go on when I felt completely broken. After many years of these hardships piling up on top of the other, I eventually forgot about my soul altogether. It took a back seat to my human life, and it waited patiently for my return.

But my soul never left. It would quietly whisper to me over the years:

I’m here. Pay attention. Don’t apply for that job. You shouldn’t be with that person. You have so much to offer to the world. Take this path rather than the one you’re currently on. Begin living again. You are so special. Your fear is an illusion. Only love exists. Stay in the present. Keep moving forward. Share your message. You are loved.

But I didn’t pay much attention to this soft voice inside of me over the years. I didn’t think much about it – I was too busy surviving. How would stopping to listen to this voice be at all helpful, anyway?

In my last post I wrote about a spiritual awakening that I experienced just over a year ago, which changed my entire world and reunited me with my soul. In my upcoming book, Coming Back to Life, I write in detail about this beautiful experience – but what I will say for now is that I received guidance from someone on the other side. As a skeptic, this wasn’t something that I took lightly. It rocked my world completely. It challenged all of my beliefs and everything I thought I knew about the world that I lived in. But over time (and lots of tangible proof that this was really happening), I began to listen, take notes, and immerse myself in this beautiful energy. I received such beautiful messages that I am looking forward to sharing with each of you when my book is complete. But probably the most important part of the entire experience was my reconnecting with my soul.

Once this happened and I remembered this part of myself, I felt whole again. I felt such a love that I’ve never felt before. It was the love from my soul, which is connected to all of you and every part of the universe. It’s the most powerful love, and it flows through each of us if we are open to it.

I now know that I will never lose touch with this part of myself again – my soul is my connection to all of life. Without that connection, I can never be fully alive. I now listen when my soul speaks.

If you are feeling this numbness – this disconnectedness – this searching for something more, something deeper, something that you have forgotten but can’t quite remember, you are longing to reconnect with your soul.

And you don’t have to have a dramatic spiritual experience where the stars align and the heavens part – you can take matters into your own hands and begin the process yourself.

I reconnect with my soul through stillness and writing. You may find another way that works better for you – dancing, painting, being in nature, etc. However you decide to reconnect, I would urge you to begin this process. Your soul has all of the answers, which means YOU have all of the answers. And though it may not always feel this way, it’s really true.

If you aren’t sure where to start, take some time to interview your soul and see what it says. Sit down, take a deep breath, center yourself, grab a pen and paper (or on the computer) and ask your soul what it wants you to know. Write down what it says. Keep asking until you are clear and know exactly what it needs you to hear. Don’t censor yourself – don’t wonder if it’s really you or your soul writing/typing. Just keep writing. You could also close your eyes when you are writing or use your opposite hand.

If you haven’t already, you can download my Journaling Within ebook for free. It contains 50 prompts to help you get in touch with your soul. It’s a great starting point!

However you choose to reconnect with your soul is up to you. The important part is that you do so. I wish I could convey how much my life has opened up since I remembered my own soul. I went from feeling numb and disillusioned and afraid to alive and aware and fully conscious. It’s amazing, and I wish that for you more than anything else. You deserve that joy and completeness. And your soul can’t wait for you to reconnect.

I would love to hear how you reconnect with your soul. Do you have a daily practice where you are still and listen to the whispers within? Do you journal? Do you meditate? Do you take walks in nature? Please comment below and share with each of us. Your words will be helpful to anyone who is still searching and wanting to reconnect but isn’t sure how to start.

***

Jodi Chapman is the author of the inspirational blog, Soul Speak; the upcoming book, Coming Back to Life: How an Unlikely Friend Helped Me Reclaim My True Spirit; and the bestselling Soulful Journals series, co-authored with her amazing husband, Dan Teck. She would love to connect on Facebook and Twitter. Click here to receive her free ebook: Journaling Within – 50 Prompts for Self Exploration.

 

 

CHANGE, all of us want it but not all  us make it. We have this innate fear that stops us in our tracks and doesn’t allow us to push forward and make the changes that we want in life… STOP! what did I just say, fear is going to  stop us from making a change? YEA RIGHT, that’ll be the day!


Yes change is scary but  in order for any change to occur we must all be willing to to stretch our legs so to speak, not a lot, just a little. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day and no change happens over night.


We must also remember that a little change goes a long way, each day make it a goal to make a small 

change, I will give examples of this below but after making these small changes daily or even weekly, you will start seeing the BIG CHANGE in your life that you have been looking for and you will continue to THRIVE and GROW and as Ghandi once said you will start to be the CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD!

Some examples of Small Change:

Have 1 less cigarette

Have 1 less cup of coffee

talk to 1 stranger on the street

Join a social group

Have 1 less cookie

Keep on Keepin on Everyone

 

Are you ready for a change? Feeling that you have lost Hope? If you are looking for more support Danny offers a 1 hour motivational breakthrough session! During this session we can look at what is holding you back from feeling your best and finding your happiness. Learn more about the breakthrough session here

Daniel Cohen is a Wellness Counselor and a Body Image Consultant working with overweight men, women and children breakthrough their mental mindset that stops them from pushing ahead and reaching their weightloss goals. He does this by designing specialized wellness programs that help MOTIVATE, EDUCATE and REVAMP their health and well-being. For more information or if you have any questions please contact him at the e-mail address or website below.

 Related Article:  Can You Change Your Worst Hapbits?

 The good news is that research has been documenting that anyone who has a strong intention to change a habit or create a new behavioral pattern can do it (short of big physiological challenges such as addictions). 


It takes at least 21 days of repetition with no backslide.  If one backslides, then starting from day one is indicated.

 So with the above as a premise then coaching becomes even more positive for the coachee!  This is what happens:

• When someone contacts me for a consult for stress-anger management coaching and sounds motivated (vs. depressed; keep in mind I'm talking about coaching, not therapy) then I am happy to share this research and they are happy get started. 

• Each aha, each positive action becomes part of the bigger success plan.

• The accountability is both to themselves and to me.  The progress begins with the first conversation when there is motivation involved.

• When the goals have been reached, the coachee is encouraged too indulge in healthy celebration!

 

 

• Stay in communication for open ended follow up.

 

BalanceandPower offers complimentary telephone consults for 
Peak Performance Success Coaching/Training for your Life & Career.
Traditional coaching strategies are integrated with transformational mind/body techniques including EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques, Meridian Tapping).
 




Next  Article on Change: One small step can make a big change. 

I was watching
 Oprah’s Lifeclass the other night and author and speaker 
Iyanla Vanzant was talking about changing the stories that we tell ourselves.

 

Oftentimes these stories are true. They are parts of our life and parts of our past that happened. Yes, you have been hurt and mistreated and lied to and cheated on and stolen from and stepped on. Yes, your childhood was far from stellar and you weren’t treated as well as you should have been by your parents. Yes, you have had trouble speaking up for yourself and have been walked on by others because of that. Yes, your health isn’t great and you have battled one illness after the other. Yes, you lost a lot of money in the stock market when the economy tanked. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. These are all facts. No one is denying that.

 

But by staying in these stories, you’re staying in the past. By staying in these stories, you’re making it next to impossible to move on and create a new story. By staying in these stories, you’re deciding to remain a victim. I know that these are harsh words, but they are true. Believe me, I know. I have stayed in my own disempowering stories for years.

 

But what I’m realizing is that if we continue to blame the circumstances of our past, we never have to take responsibility for our present and future. Our life will always be more of the same. If you have always been that way, then you are giving yourself a way out – you’ll never have to step up and change, right? But I know that I want to change, and I suspect that you do as well. Staying stuck in these stories is keeping us from moving forward into our dream lives – the lives that we feel we were born to live.

 

One thing that I find particularly fascinating about our stories is that we’ve carried them around for so long that we just assume they are our own. And yet, oftentimes they aren’t ours at all. They have been handed down in our family or given to us by society or
 projected onto us from someone who didn’t realize what they were doing – didn’t realize how impressionable we were and how powerful words can be.

 

If we dissected each story that we tell ourselves and others, we could begin to see where it came from.

 

Oftentimes these stories are passed down from generation to generation:

 

• “In our family, we don’t go to college. We are hard workers, but we aren’t book smart.”
• “In our family, we are prone to depression. It’s just in our genes.”

 

Sometimes we have unspoken stories in our family that are just beneath the surface:

 

• “It’s not okay to show emotions. If we are upset, it’s better to stuff it down and deny feeling this way.”
• “Money doesn’t come easily. We have to struggle to have it, and even then it slips through our fingers.”

 

Other times, someone told you a story when you were a child, and you accepted it as your own:

 

• “You’re not very smart. Learning is hard for you. You probably won’t get very far in life.”
• “You’re very frail and sickly. You’re going to have a hard life just trying to stay healthy.”

 

Sometimes, our stories come from society:

 

• “The world is a violent place – no one can be trusted.”
• “The recession is making it hard for anyone to get by and prosper.”
• “The chances of making a living from your business are slim to none. It’s better to play it safe and go get a ‘real’ job.”

 

And sometimes, our stories come from a small part of ourselves that is afraid of change – afraid to fly toward our dreams:

 

• “Change is hard. It’s better to just stay in this comfortable place – even if I am not completely happy because who  knows what will happen if I leave the known.”
• “I am not really worthy of much – why do I even bother trying?”
• “I am too shy to take the stage – even if I have a message to share, it’s just too much of a stretch. And who would want to hear me talk anyway?”

 

Sometimes our stories are events that happened to us:

 

• We were abused.
• We were fired.
• We have/had a serious illness.

 

Sometimes our stories are made up from our behaviors:

 

• We are afraid of commitment.
• We are super emotional.
• We are scatterbrained.

 

But what every single story has in common is the fact that we can let go of it if we choose to. We don’t have to carry these stories around any longer. We can decide to create new stories that we tell ourselves and share with the world. And we can decide that right now.

I have decided to change my story.

 

These are some of the stories that I have repeated throughout my life:

I am shy. I have extreme stage fright. I don’t push through fears. I say no when I am given the opportunity to shine. My body is fragile. I am not able to physically do what most people can do. I have to treat myself with kid gloves a lot of the time. Money doesn’t come easily to me. I feel strange accepting money for sharing my gifts. You have to work hard and struggle to achieve in life.

 

I have begun to form my new story. Here is what I have so far:

I am grateful to be a part of this beautiful world. Everything flows easily to me and from me, including love, money, health, and happiness. I embrace every way that I can share my message with others, and I know that I am always supported by the universe each and every time I step into the public arena. I am strong – body, mind, and spirit. And I am always loved.

 

Now it’s your turn. Write down the story that you’ve been telling yourself and others.
And then write down your new story.
Your empowering, positive,
 uplifting, story. The one that you will feel proud to share. And then come back and share it with us on
 Soul Speak. We’re all waiting to hear it.

 

***

 

Jodi Chapman is the author of the inspirational blog,
 Soul Speak; the upcoming book,
Coming Back to Life: How an Unlikely Friend Helped Me Reclaim My True Spirit; and the bestselling
 Soulful Journals series, co-authored with her amazing husband,
 Dan Teck. She would love to connect on
 Facebook and 
Twitter. 
Click here to receive her free ebook:
As If: 50 Prompts to Help Manifest Your Ideal Life.

Do you know about Aura Sheilding with Light & Love Emittance?
This is always a powerful practice to set up for yourself, especially while traveling, which I've been doing a lot of recently.  This is the how and what:

• Center and ground yourself in a quiet place without distractions.   I find "The Mountain Meditation" via Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn, "Wherever You Go, There You Are" to be excellent for this purpose: 
  http://www.amazon.com/Wherever-You-There-Are-Mindfulness/dp/1562827693  
• Visualize a white - lavender aura surrounding your body reaching out at least as far around and up as arm's distance.
• Visualize a stream of light entering your aura from Source above and streaming down into the Earth. 

• Affirm your energetic shield of protection is with you wherever you go and that you have the ability to renew it whever you choose.
• Affirm your power to send light-love to whomever comes your way.
• Keep smiling and enjoy!

BalanceandPower offers complimentary telephone or skype consults for 
Peak Performance Success Coaching/Training for your Life & Career.
Traditional coaching strategies are integrated with transformational mind/body techniques including EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques, Meridian Tapping).

 

 

 

Ok lovelies, light workers, healers and the like - here's the scoop:

There is a beautiful shift May 5, 2012 ( 5/5/5) that will help to further usher in the New Paradigm. The Modern Mystery School is hosting a global movement from all initiates to non-initiates. We are inviting you (everyone!) to join us and people from all over the world.

To support this shift we're asking everyone to light a candle and put it in the window and pray for all of humanity and beautiful mother earth, through May 5th. Beyond the candle, what's the best way to participate? You can offer daily prayers, meditations, conscious daily thoughts and actions.

For those of us less esoterically inclined, the easiest thing to do is to do what brings you joy! Anything that makes you soulfully laugh and smile - no limits! Take in the sun......help someone....let your soul guide you. Imagine a world of peace and take that moment of joy you've felt with you throughout the day, with a smile in your heart and on your face. Feel that light spread throughout your body. Do this today and through May 5th and see how your life improves. And please, light a candle and take some time to pray, meditate, and be in joy during the 2 hour period from 11pm May 4th until 1am May 5th in your time zone.

And of course, repost this note, share and pass it around, and help the movement grow!

This is truly the time to "be the change that you wish to see" ~ Gandhi

 If you'd like to read an amazing and powerful prayer to work with, please vistit my FB profile where I've posted it below the main message:

  Jasons Facebook Page. 

And, you can see it here with more detail and explanation  

The Great invocation. 

Related Article:  Spiritual Nutrition for the Mind.

If you ask any business owner or entrepreneur if the business that they started is still exactly the same today as it was in the beginning, chances are pretty good that it’s not. 

I’m not saying that it’s completely different, although it can be, but only that it’s changed.  Even if it’s just adding more products or services or that they have refined or changed the way they do business, it is probably not the same as when they started.

Change.  It’s inevitable.  Whether we like it or not, change happens.It happens in our business as well as in our lives.

It may not always seem like the best thing at the time and it may not always be welcome.  Change is not something that everyone embraces and many may see it as a failure, but as Jonathan Lockwood Huie said, “Welcome change as a great adventure.”

I know how exciting it is when we first start a business (and scary too) the plans we have on how we’re going to help people make their lives easier or healthier, make more money, get more clients or lose weight.

I also know how frustrating it can be when it doesn’t go according to our plans or isn’t as easy as we thought.  How discouraging it can be to trade time for dollars.  How it seems we work more and more hours but seem to make less and less money.  We can’t get clients, pay our bills or just aren’t fulfilled with the work we do.  Things need to change; our products or services, target market, how we do business or change our business altogether. 

And just when we seem to get some of that sorted out, or in the midst, there come changes in our lives too: marriage, divorce, children, boy/girlfriend, the loss of a friend or family member, a midlife crisis or menopause.

These are all part of life.  We can’t control everything that happens in our lives and no matter how much we try, we can’t resist them either.  But change also comes bearing gifts.

At the time, we may not see the gifts, but they always come.  Maybe not in the way we expect or very clearly at first, but they do come.  With each door that closes, another opens and it’s our decision whether we go through that new door or not.

My point is, again, that change is inevitable. 

The past few months have brought some small and some large changes in my own life and business.  Some of which I have resisted, or have maybe chosen to ignore (for a short time anyways) but whether I chose to act or not, that is a decision itself.  I am powerless to stop it but have control on how I choose to react to that change.  I find that the more I embrace it and “go with the flow” into this new phase of my life, the easier things become and I see some of the gifts that the change is bringing. 

It can be hard at times to stand in the center of uncertainty and see the gifts that will come of the decisions we make, and yet they seem to happen whether we want them to or not.

If you have ever been let go from a job or been dumped by your boy/girlfriend, at that time it seems that we can feel no lower than we do.  But eventually, we get a better job or meet someone new and wonder why we ever held on to the belief that the change that occurred was so bad.

I am trying my best to embrace the changes in my life and my business.  It can seem a bit daunting at times and yes, there are times I’ve just wanted to give up, throw my hands in the air and say I’ve had enough.  But I’ve never been one to give up and I’m not about to start now.  This is another time to put on my big girl panties and push through, to become who I am meant to be.

So, when we feel that something isn’t working in our business or in our lives, it’s not because we have failed at something but that it needs to change and we need to grow.  And as we do, some things are left behind.

What have you left behind in times of change?

Realated  Article:   About Change:  Are You Making A Mountain out of A Molehill?