An Invitation to the Bold Life

Posted on February 8, 2013May 25, 2014 by Sandi Amorim 10 Conversations

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Be bold, be brave and move forward with a peaceful and loving heart. Make your life matter!

Now that is a call to action that stirs the soul and I’m not surprised to find it on Tess Marshall’s About page!

Tess is all about facing down your fears and living a bold life. Her passion and integrity inspire, as does her willingness to share her experience generously through her work and her writing.

She is a writer, speaker, and courage coach with a master’s degree in counseling psychology, but she’s also a down-to-earth woman with a welcoming smile and a great laugh. I had the good fortune to meet Tess in person last year and she’s become a trusted online friend.

It’s been awhile since my last spotlight, but when I heard Tess was launching a new program, 30 Days of Bold, I knew right away I had to get her here. When you read her writing, her passion for supporting people in overcoming their fears and living out loud is palpable.

Tess believes, “It’s our responsibility to acknowledge, face, and dissolve our fear.”

In her own life she’s walked the talk dealing with challenges she faced, using them as fuel to create an awesome life for herself, and anyone around her.

I’m delighted to shine the light on Tess Marshall and her passion for The Bold Life.

1. Why are you here?

My primary reason for being here is to learn how to love unconditionally.

I can judge how I’m doing by my own peace of mind and the state of my relationships. Everyone here is my teacher: my family, friends, clients, community, and the entire world.

The love that I have and the love that I give will make the world a better place to be.

2. What is your future calling you to do?

My future self is calling me to play bigger.

Be bolder. Experience more joy. Dissolve fear faster.

And to continue to help others do the same!

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Ramblings of an Overactive Mind

Posted on December 16, 2011October 23, 2012 by Sandi Amorim 14 Conversations

At the start of the month I was introduced to Reverb, a month-long writing challenge. Like other online challenges I’ve done it’s introduced me to a new community, and as in any group, individuals stand out.

Jason Benoit stood out like a sore thumb.

His blog, Love Letters & Suicide Notes, is a foreign land, a land in which you might lose yourself in words or perhaps fall into a darkness which could scare you off, never to return. It’s this tension that makes his writing powerful.

I read a lot, and skim even more, so to catch my attention and leave me on the edge of my seat not wanting a story to end is quite a feat. There are probably hundreds of Reverb posts being published each day; his is one of the few I look for.

It’s that compelling. And, it’s not for the faint of heart. It challenged me to stay with it, to keep reading, and I’ve gotta tell you it is not easy reading.

It is however, extraordinary reading because he masterfully shines the light on our darker emotions, the ones we most try to hide.

Jason writes about the humanity of living; the good, the bad and the often ugly, and I appreciate that. It’s easy to put on a happy face, smile big, and make it look like you’ve got life handled. What’s not easy is baring your soul, and yet he does.

So beautifully.

His writing reaches out and invites you in, even when he’s writing about a traumatic event from his past.

And when he writes about beauty, connection, intimacy – the emotions we all want more of – it is heart-breakingly beautiful.

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Hit That Reset Switch!

Posted on September 9, 2011October 22, 2012 by Sandi Amorim 8 Conversations

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

A few weeks ago a tweet caught my eye as Nichole Kellerman announced a contest to win a spot in a wellness program she was offering. Because I’ve been lucky and have won a few things in the past few months I threw my hat in the metaphorical ring hoping to win.

I’ve gotta say, I didn’t read all the details of the contest as I was kind of swept away by my enthusiasm to win again.

Fast forward a week and I get the notice that I’m in! Yay!

A spot in Nichole’s program is mine and I proceed to go back and read the details.

Oh oh. . .

My first thought was “Oh no, it’s a diet! Damn! I refuse to get back on the diet bandwagon, now what do I do?”

So I contacted her and came clean. I hadn’t read all the details, I was sorry I’d wasted her time but I simply was not interested in dieting.

Her response impressed me. She encouraged me to modify it as needed to feel good doing it. She really heard my concerns and empowered me to choose and said she’d understand either way.

Hmm. . .her integrity was apparent and I agreed to participate with the modifications we discussed.

Fast forward two more weeks. . .

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How to Be Rich and Happy: Spotlight & Review

Posted on September 2, 2011October 22, 2012 by Sandi Amorim 6 Conversations

Follow Friday Series

An Admission, A Review & A Spotlight

Follow Friday Series

The Admission

I started talking to Tim Brownson about having him in the spotlight months ago. I wanted to combine the Friday spotlight with a review of Tim’s book (co-authored with John P. Strelecky) and that’s when my procrastination kicked in.

In my 15+ years as a student of personal development and 10 years of coaching I’ve read a helluva lot of books, and the title How to Be Rich and Happy made me groan aloud.

Really Tim?

How to Be Rich and Happy???

Sounds so. . .I don’t know. . .too good to be true maybe?

It’s fair to say I had a reaction to the title, which began the cycle of procrastination, putting it off time and again.

If I’d told him, he’d probably have laughed and had me read An Easy Way to Beat Procrastination where he says,

“As a human being your brain is pre-programmed to avoid pain whenever it can.”

At first I thought, “What pain? I love doing these spotlights!” but the pain quickly became clear.

The pain was related to my reaction which lead me to believe I wouldn’t like the book itself which lead to “I shouldn’t review this book”which lead to why the hell read it then!? I’d completely forgotten it had started with a desire to have Tim in the spotlight.

The worst thing about the procrastination was the blow to my integrity, one of my core values. Honouring my word is essential to my well-being. I’m not kidding, it really is that important to me and here I was putting off something I said I’d do months ago.

When you’re committed to walking your talk, the only thing to do when your integrity goes out is clean it up. That I hadn’t kept my word became a fierce thing in my mind, staring me in the face like one of Tim’s Dobermans!

So I read the book.

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Living a Life Less Ordinary

Posted on August 27, 2011October 22, 2012 by Sandi Amorim 11 Conversations

A life less ordinary takes integrity.

It takes being a stand for something greater than yourself and today’s spotlight Stacey Herbert lives this way.

You might be wondering why I’m posting a Friday spotlight on Saturday and my answer is integrity, or rather a breakdown in integrity. I’m going to be writing more about this in future but for now let me just say this –

the level of integrity that’s gotten you to wherever you are becomes insufficient to take you to the next level of whatever you’re up to in life.

Simply said, what got you here won’t get you there.

And I’m talking about my own integrity for a moment. I could give you the reasons and excuses for why the spotlight didn’t run yesterday, but what’s important is that it didn’t, not the why. Part of the power that lies in integrity is the ability to acknowledge and clean up the breakdowns quickly, without the drama.

How could I not own this breakdown and then have Stacey here as a guest? She writes brilliantly about what she calls the integrity gap:

What started out as an integrity breakdown has quickly become an opportunity to realize there’s a gap, and what better time to own that than here in Stacey’s light?

So without further ado here is Stacey Herbert, a fellow philosopher (we both love the work of Brian Johnson and his Philosophers Notes). I encourage you to read her blog and follow her adventures. I trust you will fall in love with her as I have.

1. Why are you here?

If you’d asked me this question a little while back I may not have been able to give you an answer. I was stumbling through life, having wonderful ups and life altering downs.

I had no focus and struggled to put a label on me or identify my purpose in life.

Then something incredible changed in me. It’s been a long time coming and at times very painful, but it’s opened me up to who I am and why I’m here.

Although it scares me to articulate it publicly, the reason I am here on this earth is to love, encourage, enable and support people to live their best, most highest, audacious life. It doesn’t sound like much of a job description, but I’m slowly coming to terms with that. My first task is to lead by example.

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Nothing to Undo

Posted on April 22, 2011April 16, 2014 by Sandi Amorim 27 Conversations

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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Crushing on Men With Pens

Posted on February 18, 2011April 9, 2014 by Sandi Amorim 12 Conversations

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.

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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Igniting revolution from the inside out.

#FollowFriday

An Invitation to the Bold Life

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Ramblings of an Overactive Mind

Hit That Reset Switch!

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

How to Be Rich and Happy: Spotlight & Review

Follow Friday Series

An Admission, A Review & A Spotlight

Follow Friday Series

The Admission

Continue reading →

Living a Life Less Ordinary

Nothing to Undo

Crushing on Men With Pens