Awaken the Genie Within

Step Back and Assess

Lately I've been receiving tons of emails offering me the next best way market my business and myself. Sometimes I'll spend time reading an email longer than I know I should - it grabbed me, sucked me in and before I know it, I'm contemplating yet another way to grow my business.

In those moments, I literally have to say to myself, "Stay the course, Linda. Don't get off track or you'll never reach your dream." And when I do step back long enough to remind myself what my dream is and that all important why, I realize that 99.9% of the stuff that shows up is meaningless for me.

Oh sure, there are times when I feel like I'm missing an opportunity that could really make the difference and propel me forward, but I learned long ago, that's just not true. It's simply my Gremlin doing her thing and having me operate from a place of fear, not trust. Trust in myself, trust in my journey, trust in my process and trust in my dream.

I can't stress enough the importance of staying true to yourself at all costs. Not just with business decisions, but in all aspects of your life. It's so easy to get caught up in the moment and jump on the bandwagon. Especially when others around you are doing so or telling you why you're about to miss the opportunity of a lifetime - personally or professionally.

One of the hardest things in life is to stand your ground and not follow the crowd or do what someone else thinks you should do. What's right for someone else is not necessarily right for you. And when you go against your gut, the results are usually less than stellar. It requires trust in your higher self, confidence and your willingness to have the patience to wait for a calm feeling and a gentle voice that says, "Yes, this is the time." "Yes, this is the right choice for me."

Embracing Messy

Something interesting happened recently that's never happened before while coaching three of my clients on separate occasions. They all used the same words with me when describing the new behaviors and habits they've been practicing. They said, "The process is messy." And then, in their own individual way, they expressed that they're starting to understand the importance of embracing messy.

We can't always be graceful and classy when we're exercising new emotional muscles. As a matter of fact, more times than not, we'll find ourselves fumbling around for a while as we strengthen those muscles and move toward the results we desire.

During your "messy" stage, the people in your life may be confused or shocked by your new reactions, responses or choices just because they've never seen this side of you before. This can make the dance that you're used to doing with each other feel clumsy. That's okay. It just takes time to learn new steps so you and the other person or people are back in the flow with each other and hopefully dancing more gracefully together than before.

The most important component is your willingness to embrace the messiness when you experience it. Resisting it or beating yourself up about it only prolongs the process and brings you more self-inflicted pain than necessary. I always encourage my clients to share their insights about the messy place they're experiencing with those who are directly impacted. Doing this can create patience and support from others because they're not being left in the dark as to what's going on. You're openness to be vulnerable is very powerful, and as you allow people to help you through, it gives you the ability to move out of your messy place more quickly and easily.

True Surrendering Leads to Miracles

When we truly surrender from the deepest part of our Being, miracles occur in magnificent ways, as you'll see from this story.

A girlfriend of mine, who is a single mom, had been out of work for a year, and needless to say, she was going through an extremely difficult time financially and emotionally. It was time to pay her mortgage and although she thought she had enough to do so, she was wrong. Lowering her head in utter despair, through her tears she whispered, "That's it, I surrender. I've done everything I know to get work - to keep myself afloat. I'm out of ideas, energy and spirit. I completely let go and turn it all over to you."

Within a matter of seconds a tremendous sense of peace washed over her unlike anything she had felt before. Although she thought she had surrendered many other times throughout the year, speaking similar words, she told me she realized this was the first time she actually meant what she said.

Within fifteen minutes after her powerful surrender the phone rang. The woman on the other end asked my friend to come in for a job interview. Apparently her application "randomly" showed up in the computer database dated from six months prior.

There's more. Within a half-hour the phone rang again and it was from another employer asking her to come in for an interview. This was a job she applied for when she became unemployed, a year ago!

Today, my friend is happily employed, full of gratitude and now truly understands the process of surrendering.

I invite you to remember this story if you ever find yourself fighting an uphill battle. At some point in time you will need to put down your sword and truly surrender - allowing for something greater than you to take over and finish the battle for you. When you are ready, in the deepest part of your Soul for something different to happen, the opening will be felt and the miracles can occur.

There's Always Another Side

A girlfriend was telling me about some things that were going on with her elderly parents and the very emotional stuff she went through with her dad while growing up. After about 10 minutes she said, "But I also have to say, he always bought me that new bicycle I wanted. He took me to the skating rink knowing I loved to skate and he bought me clothes I liked."

As she shared this other side of her childhood, it occurred to me how often we ignore the joyful times that happened because the less than joyful experiences have clouded our memory for so long - especially if those experiences were traumatic. And the more time we spend in the cloud, the more it can feel like there wasn't one moment of joy.

When my friend finished sharing some of the fun times she had with her dad, she expressed how much better it felt talking about those good times than all the other heavy stuff. It allowed her to see her dad in a different light than she usually does and it gave her the ability to have more compassion for him - realizing there was a human being, who at some level, really did care and was doing the best he knew how.

I obviously don't know your personal history, but I'm inviting you to revisit it in a way that allows you to look at it with new eyes. It doesn't have to just be about parents. It can be with any relationship you find yourself telling stories about that come from the heavy bag. Open the lighter bag and search for the moments that brought you some joy - even if they were short-lived. Then maybe, you could share those moments with someone who's only heard about the other moments.

Being Grateful for Your Enemies

The word enemies may be a bit strong, but its use is to simply make a point. We all have people in our lives that we don't necessarily like. Perhaps you've gone so far as to express your hate about someone to another person. Maybe you really do see some people as your enemy.

Whatever your feelings are toward those less than desirable people in your life, you need them in your life. You see, without them, you cannot fully embrace the practice of tolerance, understanding, compassion, patience. These are the exact people who strengthen your spiritual growth. These are the exact people who teach you the most about yourself. These are the exact people who give you the opportunity to transform your life.

It's perfect when you're surrounded by people who love and support you. They're the ones who will often bring out the best in you and keep encouraging you to move forward in your life. But it's these other people who show up from time to time that can have you moving forward by leaps and bounds.

As you embrace them and look inward questioning your reaction, you have an opportunity for growth and to develop an inner strength that wasn't there previously. From this strength and better understanding of yourself, you'll find yourself handling difficult circumstances and people with ease and grace.

I encourage you to practice expanding your consciousness toward being grateful for your enemies - let go of resisting them, speaking poorly of them, or wishing them ill will, and notice the advantages you gain from the experience.

She's a Wonderful Listener

While browsing through the book store I overheard a gentleman say to his friend, "What I love most about her is that she's a wonderful listener." His friend's reply, "Really? What makes a great listener in your mind? How do you know she's really listening to what you're saying?"

"She asks questions that lets me know she not only hears what I say but wants to learn more. When she isn't clear about what I said she asks me to elaborate. No matter what's going on around us, she right there with me. I always know I have her full attention and that feels really good. She doesn't start making it about her. Not enough people do that."

Listening is truly one of the greatest gifts we can give another person. It's such a simple way to show someone that we care. This gentleman described perfectly what great listening is like and it never hurts to be reminded. I know it I appreciated it when I heard it - even if I was eavesdropping!

The New Year and Change

Happy New Year!

I always find the beginning of a new year interesting because of all the talk around creating personal change. However, for many people, there's no real commitment to follow through with creating their change.

You can make all the promises you want to yourself, and others, but unless you're really ready to make the changes, it's not going to happen. Circumstances and people don't change just because the calendar year does. Change takes work and it's not always easy. But when you get to the other side, boy is it worth it!

If your intention is to have a life you love in 2008 then you must first be honest with yourself and take the time to answer some questions:

1. Do you really want certain areas of your life to be better?
2. Are you willing to do what it takes to make them better?
3. If you are, what will that require?
4. What pain might you experience with this change?
5. Are you willing to feel the pain and still move forward?
6. What can you do to support yourself along the way so you create the change you want?
7. How will your life be better with this change? (Go beyond, "I'll be happy, relaxed, peaceful." Dig deep)
8. How will this change benefit others?
9. Who might feel hurt by this change?
10. Are you willing to move forward if it's for the highest good of all concerned even if some people do feel hurt?

When you dive into these questions honestly, you may experience some resistance. This is normal because real change can be scary. All sorts of excuses start showing up as to why you shouldn't change. Letting go of old, familiar ways can be extremely uncomfortable and your Gremlin will fight you to the end to keep things status quo.

I promise you this...when the old, familiar ways becomes more uncomfortable and painful than the idea of making changes in your life, you're on your way!

I invite you to not create a New Year's resolution and embrace what's better for you for the rest of your life, not just for a month or two. Think about the questions above and then write down your answers so you can see in black and white what you need to do to make the necessary changes that will serve the highest good of all concerned. And then take the most important step of all, action.

I wish you a magnificent 2008 and beyond!