Thank You, Thank you!

 

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” – John Lennon

 

My version. . .my first boyfriend asked me what my goal was in life. I said ‘to be happy’ to which he replied, ‘That’s not enough. Think bigger.” 

I think John Lennon and I got it right though.

What’s bigger than happiness?

And today I am feeling very happy because it’s the two-year anniversary of this blog.

thank you

Who knew when I shipped this baby thanks to Seth Godin’s Linchpin, that two years would go by so quickly?

Two years of dealing with my lizard brain, who would no doubt still have me dreaming of ‘someday’ becoming a writer.

Two years of learning things I thought beyond my scope of capability; so many late nights challenged by technology and resistance.

Two years of laughter and memories and love; connecting with the most amazing folks on the planet.

Because of you.

Sure, I may have kept writing if you hadn’t been here but I’m not so sure I would have covered some of the issues that have come up. Nor would I have I begun dreaming bigger, more delicious dreams.

YOU kept showing up, inspiring ideas and fueling my passion, so that I ended up stretching way beyond what I first imagined.

So.  Freakin’.  Happy.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

And because I want to thank you with more than words, I’m inviting you to a 30 minute coaching session.

A gift from me to you. No strings, no agenda.

Just my deepest thanks for being here.

gift box, white with red ribbon: photo credit - Thomas Hawk

Nothing to Undo

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Pretty All True is in the house today and as one of Kris’s many fans (ever notice the small distance between fan and fanatic?) I just have to say…

SWOON!

She has this way about her that makes me laugh, cry, SNORT, and just generally love every moment she shares of her life.

The good, the bad and the…not always pretty.

When she’s good, she’s really, really good. And when she’s bad she’s brilliant.

I can think of no other writer I read regularly who covers so much emotional ground. I love that she lets us in to bear witness. I love that she lets us love her even when it’s uncomfortable.

People?

I have a Kris Crush.

I so do.

1.  Why are you here?

I am here because weakness met weakness and surrendered. I am here because of broken bits and shards that never cohered into a whole. I am here because of mistaken promises. I am here because of damage. I am here because of harm. I am here because of insanity. I am here because of cruelty. I am here because of evil. I am here because of failure.

I am here because I did not break, although breaking was intended.

I am here because I am stronger than I expected to be.

I am here because I am weaker than I hoped to be.

I am here because I am determined.

I am here because my path thus far has led me…ere.

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Relentless Got Me Here

 

re·lent·less

– showing or promising no abatement of severity, intensity, strength, or pace

Synonyms: determined, dogged, grim, implacable, unyielding, unflinching, unrepenting

Damn! Doesn’t sound very appealing does it?

But being relentless about something you want with your whole heart and soul?

Hell yeah, sign me up!

That’s what I’m talking about.

Being a force to be reckoned with, a dog-with-a-bone for something that burns from inside, keeping you up at night.

I have been called relentless.

Ugh. At first it made me cringe.

It triggered that primal “Will they like me? or Will they kick me out of the tribe?” fear.

But…then I got to thinking…and realized this relentless part of me has generated a lot of satisfaction and joy in my life.

This dogged-unflinching-unrelenting part has got me here, to my 100th blog post.

That may not sound like a big deal, but here’s the thing…

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Crushing on Men With Pens

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

James Chartrand got my attention early on in my foray into social media. I was intrigued by her humour, wit and presence, whether on a Men With Pens blog post or in a 140 character tweet.

And yes, you read that right.

Her story is both shocking and inspiring, and like many who commented on this initial reveal, I was surprised that it’s still an issue in this century.

shadow of a man holding a mask

The tagline for this series is Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things, and James is a perfect example of what I mean by that.

She did what needed to be done – to raise a family, have a successful and fulfilling career, and thrive in a society that still takes issue with gender.

What’s uncommon is that she did it without fanfare. She simply did what it took.

The lesson in that IS extraordinary.

It’s easy to let circumstances stop you. At some point, you’ve probably thought, “It’s not the right time to…start a business, pursue your dream, commit to a relationship” etc.

Newsflash: It’s NEVER the right time. The circumstances and your reasons will always be there. That’s life. But you can choose to focus on what you want instead. Reasons or results. Choose.

That’s the part of James’ story that really inspires me. She had a lot of reasons – to play small, get a job and survive. But she didn’t. She took a bold, gauntlet-has-been-thrown stand for living life on her terms.

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Rebel with a Cause


Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Sometimes I follow people on Twitter because they’ve piqued my curiousity.

That was definitely the case with today’s spotlight, Francisco Rosales, the guy behind Social Mouths.

Whether it’s getting more traffic, developing a marketing strategy or rocking on social media, he’s got something to help you out!

Let’s start with some quirky facts about Francisco:

  • He’s married to the Naked Elephant
  • He’s unteaching his kids everything they learn at school
  • He’s living life on his terms, while helping as many people as he can
  • He wants to help YOU be successful online!
And so, my curiousity was aroused.

Just this one link on his site kept me reading for some time.

You can also hear his voice over at another of my favourite resources BlogcastFM.

He and Srini cover a lot of ground in this 45 minute interview packed full of blogging and social media goodness!

Today though? Francisco is shining as we talk about what’s most important to him.

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How to Stop Singing the Blues

 

You’re on top of the world, feeling good and life blindsides you.

What do you do?

Do you pick yourself up right away and move onto the next task at hand?

Or do you sing your own personal version of the blues?

We’ve all been down that road. But what I’m curious about is how you get through it. Just to be clear, I’m not saying there’s one right way to get through it.

On the contrary.

What works for you may not work for someone else, even when you have a similar issue.

So how do you know what will work?

Experimentation and good ol’ fashioned research! Over the years I’ve tried numerous ways to get myself through it when the blues come out of nowhere and pull me in!

While it’s not always easy to coach yourself (in fact, sometimes it’s nearly impossible!) the more tools you have in your toolkit, the more resourceful you’ll become over time. Not quite the same as having your own coach on speed dial, but in a pinch, self coaching can make enough of a difference to get you heading in the right direction.

If you’re like me, there are times in life when you can still be knocked off kilter when things don’t go the way you’d planned, and head into a tail-spin of “Lady Sings the Blues!”

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If I Could Say Anything

 

We need to talk.

If we were dating, it’d be time to fess up (I’m on a roll, this is my second confession this week) and that scares me.

Since we started seeing each other four months ago (has it really only been 4 months?) I’ve been wanting to make a good impression, wanting to show you my best.

Except…

What I thought was my best was not.

Likable, nice, funny, smart – check.

My best? Not so much.

I’m saying this because I’ve had moments of:

  • biting my tongue
  • suppressing myself
  • ignoring my instincts
  • sweeping a thought under the rug

I have stopped myself in so many ways from saying what I wanted to say. But enough is enough; this can’t go on.

If I could say anything, I’d say what I wanted to say, straight up.

I’ve been afraid.

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Fuck the Lizard Brain

My lizard brain is saying:

Don’t do it! Don’t blow your momentum. . .

  • with a silly post
  • by swearing
  • lots of other crazy, lizardy chatter

Fuck the lizard brain.

Since launching this blog life has been intense. Taking on the 31 Day Build a Better Blog challenge added fuel to the fire already burning and it was getting HOT!

So my guy and I packed a picnic dinner and headed down to the beach with our books. Continue reading

Living in the Questions

 

When I started blogging I declared somewhat boldly that I had come up with a theme, a road map of where I was headed. It was all well and good to begin just to begin (thanks to guru Seth and his call to action), but I’d begun questioning my Why.

Why do it? Why put myself out there? Why take the risk?

As the doubts began to creep in, I decided to return to my tribe – who I love and trust much more than my lizard brain – and what they told me was this:

I’m relentlessly curious, a life-long learner and I’ve got more questions up my sleeve than Houdini!

It’s so damn easy to forget who I really am when LB starts whispering in my ear.

It blows my mind that somehow I stumbled upon the profession of coaching and had the biggest insight of my life:  this is what I’m supposed to be when I grow up!

What a relief to finally know and begin using my strengths rather than wondering why I had them! Up until then no J.O.B. had fit the bill and I constantly felt like a round peg in a square hole.

It’s been said when you know your Why, anything is possible.

My Why was so big (honouring my values of growth, learning and contribution) and so loud that it drowned out my lizard brain long enough that I could take the first steps, and then the next.

It took something to keep my word, writing and posting – shipping – every week. I began by really getting into the questions. I jotted down questions that worked with clients; questions I overheard; questions we usually don’t have the courage to ask ourselves.

Then I read How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. In this very cool, yet practical guide Michael Gelb invites us to begin training our vast untapped resources to start thinking like Leonardo.

Is it really possible to think like a Renaissance genius?

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Look Seth, I’m Shipping!

 

I have become a Seth Godin groupie.  In the past two weeks, I’ve read The Dip and Linchpin, the book that’s inspired me to finally take the plunge and “ship”.

I’ve thought about it, read about it, downloaded “how to” ebooks about it and so on. That’s just a few of the many distractions that have stopped me in my tracks. Each time, I’ve rationalized and come up with what I thought was a valid reason to wait. The lizard brain won each and every time.

Until NOW.

As I’ve immersed myself in Seth-land, I have felt challenged, called out and energized, all at the same time. In The Dip Seth says,

“Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other.”

My wrong stuff (procrastinating & obsessing, wasting hours online “researching”, etc.) has been exhausting. My right stuff (hanging out with my writers’ group, even though I was barely writing) has fed my soul, however inconsistently.

Seems like an easy choice, so why has it been so damn hard to quit the wrong stuff?

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