Awaken the Genie Within

Stealing Without Knowing It

Once again I've been inspired by my favorite Reverend - Dr. Michael Beckwith of AGAPE. His sermon on Sunday hit such a truth chord in me that I had to share it with you in my own words.

If I were to ask you how many times you've stolen something from someone in your life some of you might say, "I've never stolen anything from anybody. I could never do such a thing!" That was certainly my thought when I heard the question. But as quickly as that thought came to me, it vanished as soon as I understood the stealing being talked about wasn't a material issue - it was an emotional issue - the dreams, the hopes, the goals, the intentions.

Understanding the idea of stealing from that place, I knew I had been guilty many times in my life of stealing someone's joy about a dream they were sharing with me in the moment. When I thought it sounded crazy and unrealistic I let them know it and right before my eyes, their balloon had been popped, convinced it was too ridiculous and out of their reach. Although that was a lot of years ago, and it's certainly not how I respond to other's dreams today, the fact still remains, there was a time in my life when I walked around pretending to be the voice of reason, when in truth, I was robbing them of their Spirit without knowing it.

Perhaps this is something you've done in the past yourself. Or maybe it still happens occasionally. Either way, it's certainly worth being conscious of as often as possible so you can be the dream catcher for people, giving them the support and encouragement they need to make those dreams come true.

If you find this hard to do with people or perhaps just with certain people, do an honest check-in with yourself and discover why this is. Is there jealousy involved? Are your own fears being projected onto the other person? Whatever it may be, it's worth transforming, because you never know when you may want your own dream catcher.

Randy Pausch

I would imagine most of you know by now that Randy Pausch passed away on Friday. If the name is not ringing a bell, Randy became quite famous when his "last lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University ended up on You Tube. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon and discovered one month prior to that lecture that he was dying of pancreatic cancer and only had months to live. He appeared on Oprah giving an abbreviated version of the "last lecture and also wrote the book, The Last Lecture.

Millions of people have been touched by this man and his words of wisdom. So why am I writing about this if more people than not know about Randy and the fact that he has passed on? Because of this particular statement the writer of the LA Times wrote as part of her article about Randy's death:

Some people believe that those who are dying may be especially insightful because they must make every moment count.

My first thought was, "This is true." My second thought was, "Why do we have to wait until we are dying to make every moment count."

If the truth be told, I write this as a reminder to myself as much as I write it as reminder to you. It's just too easy to get overly caught up in the seriousness of our day-to-day lives. The pettiness that can take place between people, the hurt feelings, the need to control others, the jealousies, the resentment and on and on.

It serves us to always make every moment count. And it should be done with love, mindfulness and appreciation - if for no other reason than because we're still here and have the opportunity to make a difference in the world - no matter what that difference is. Don't measure the difference as big or small. That's not the point. The point is you can make a difference and those differences you make all matter.

I'll leave you with a few of Randy's words of wisdom.

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people.

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

Don't obsess over what people think.

Bringing You a Little Laughter

I found this on Marianne Williamson's blog while doing some research on the internet and thought it would be a quick way to bring a little laughter into your life today. The following are from church bulletin boards and we all know what a little typo can do for the Soul! Enjoy.

1. The Fasting & Prayer conference includes meals.
2. The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
3. Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8pm in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
4. Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
5. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
6. Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
7. Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
8. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
9. Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
10. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
11. Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
12. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
13. Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
14. Potluck super Sunday at 5:00pm - prayer and medication to follow.
15. This evening at 7pm there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
16. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10am. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
17. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7pm. Please use the back door.
18. Weight Watchers will meet at 7PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

Now go out into the world and bring your smile!

How We Treat Others

A woman called me a few days ago inquiring about doing some coaching. As it turned out, after a 5-minute conversation she was good to go. No, this is not the norm. It just so happens that this particular woman was very ready for some insight and personal change - my question to her was all she needed to switch on the light.

One of her biggest frustrations was the lack of appreciation she receives from her friends for all the nice things she does for them and how this was starting to put a strain on her relationships. She said, "You know, I'm a good person. I pride myself on making sure I treat others the way I would want to be treated."

That was all I needed to hear for the moment and I asked her this; "What if how you want to be treated isn't how your friends want to be treated?" Long silence and then, "Oh my gosh! I never thought about it that way. I just assumed since I like to have people do certain things for me and check in on me often that they would like that, too. I need to go back and talk to my friends and share with them what you've just asked me so I can be there for them in a way that matters most to them."

This is a very bright woman! We spoke for another minute or two and then off she went to transform her relationships and her life. I have seen this scenario over and over again between intimate relationships, parent and child, friends and co-workers. Even with the best of intentions we can find ourselves treating others in ways that not only don't they care about, but it can be the exact opposite of what they really need or want.

Give some thought to how you treat those you're closest to. Check in and see if you do what you do for them because it's what they really need or want or is it really about your needs and wants? And, on the flip side, if someone in your life is treating you in a way that really doesn't serve you, why not let him or her know as lovingly as you can and what you would prefer.

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Click on the URL to listen to Linda Koss interview me about my book, Awaken The Genie Within on HealthyLife.netRadio - July 11th - http://www.healthylife.net/RadioShow/archiveSB.htm

Motivated By Inspiration or Ambition?

I was motivated by inspiration to write this after a client said to me, "I am so motivated by my ambition and I just don't understand why it's been such a struggle every step of the way."

There have been many times throughout my life that I found myself more motivated by ambition than by inspiration. And what I learn over and over again, is each time ambition outweighs inspiration, it's more of a struggle than a flow as I move toward my heart's desires.

And, when I am feeling reeeeally ambitious, I find myself agreeing to things that aren't right for me in the long run and I have to back up a few steps to get myself back on the track that doesn't have all sorts of hurdles to jump over. You see, even though I thought my exuberant ambition was speeding me forward, it actually slowed the process down because I stepped outside of trust and remembering what would serve the highest good of all involved.

It's easy, when presented with a situation that appears to bring you shortcuts, to want to jump on that bandwagon, immediately. But what we'll often find out is there are no shortcuts to any place worth going. Sometimes the shortcuts don't allow us to discover new possibilities along the way that can take us to even greater heights than we could have imagined for ourselves.

So if you find yourself with lots of ambition and an equal amount of struggle consider this:
The more willing you are to be motivated by your inspiration, the more assured you can be that you'll be Divinely guided every step of the way, bringing you more ease and less struggle.

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P.S. I am looking to speak to a few nurses so if you know someone who is a nurse I would be very grateful if you could connect me with them. Please email or feel free to call with the information.
linda@awakenthegeniewithin.com or 310-375-4800

Everyday Greatness

We all know about the numerous people in the world who fall into the category of greatness based on the well known contributions they've made. Well, I'd like to bring your attention to the greatness that happens everyday that we don't necessarily notice or consider as greatness by people just like you and me.

For the past couple of days I played with noticing the greatness that shows up with people, and I was tickled pink to see how much greatness there really is taking place every single day. Here' s just some of what I encountered in less than 24 hours.

1. A woman was looking at my mailbox as I arrived home from my walk. She was quite upset because she had scraped against it with her car and some of the paint came off. She felt terrible and I reassured her I wasn't upset and it's just a mailbox - no harm done. The honesty of this woman brought out her greatness to me.

2. I took a taxi home after dropping my car off at my mechanics. The cab driver, Larry, is a man of true greatness. Not only does he love his job, exude kindness and joy, but he has a few elderly clients who are regulars that he gives a ride to church every Sunday and doesn't charge them!

3. A woman who bought some of my books to sell in her massage clinic and who has a background in corporate marketing, spent two hours with me sharing ideas, information and contacts to support me in my goal to promote my book to certain massage corporations. This was done from the greatness of her heart expecting nothing in return. Absolutely blew me away!

4. I watched a gentleman get out of his car to assist an elderly woman cross a busy street more easily and quickly.

Human beings walk this earth every single day doing great things not for the fame or money, but because they simply want to. All you need to do is look for it - you'll find it!

Spend this holiday weekend focused on the greatness out there and see what shows up in your world and how it makes your day a better day!

Have a beautiful 4th of July and make it a safe one!