[Note: This is the first in a series of what I hope will be daily video posts. I've got a lot on my mind, and writing feels too slow. We'll see how this "daily" thing goes, but today's eclipse gave me a bunch of ideas. Here's the first one. Enjoy!]
What are you "shedding" this fall? How are you taking advantage of all the changing energies to clear space and get yourself ready for the new year?
Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year, and while I love seein my kid get dressed up, it always bums me when the parents (who do most of the heavy lifting, let's be honest), get the short end of the "treat" stick.
Yup. You heard me. Amazon is making The Secret Watch free to download today. I'm hoping we can get the story into the hands of 500 new readers. Just think what a difference that would make for helping people define success on their own terms and create the work life balance they crave.
Here's the link: http://amzn.to/11NiW86
No tricks. Just enjoy this Halloween treat before Amazon pulls the plug tomorrow!
One of the perks of working for myself is the ability to create my own schedule for the day. One of my "must do" activities each morning is prayer and meditation as part of The PEACE System. It helps me clear my head and prioritize my day so that I can be my best self and do my best work with fewer distractions.
Well, one morning during meditation, I was struck with this vision of Dorothy jaunting down the yellow brick road on her way to the Emerald City. At least, I presumed that's where she was going. And then I saw her face... (more…)
Every once in a while, if I'm a lucky mom, I get to take a weekend day just for myself. No specific plans, no agendas, no real commitments, just an opportunity for me to be "in the flow" of life and do whatever comes to mind.
Unfortunately, the entire day was NOT going according to plan.
My oldest had his own agenda, as did my husband and youngest son. And somewhere in there groceries needed to be picked up and delivered to the homestead. And I had an appointment that was SUPPOSED to be at 12:45 that conveniently got bumped to 11. That was actually a good thing, because it meant I'd have an entire afternoon that was obligation free.
So my "day" off was really a "half day off", but when you're a busy mom with special needs kids, you take what you can.
(Aside: that was mistake number one!)
Since I had to get groceries and come back home, I took my husband's car for the fuel economy. I'm still not sure if that was a good or bad idea.
I wrapped up my morning activities to leave for my appointment. I was working on finding the "leaky holes" in my wealth container, and I was excited to share my discoveries at my 11AM appointment - with my therapist.
I just wasn't expecting to actually break a real-life barrier... while I was driving.
There's a tricky piece of interstate we call "the mix-master" in my hometown. I'm sure there are busier places in the world, and I'd bet many big cities have their own version of this.
Ours is a 4-lane stretch of road near the airport in a primarily industrial area. That means LOTS of semi-truck action, and crazy drivers that want to get past them, cutting them (and the rest of us) off to get wherever they think they needed to be ten minutes ago.
I was NOT a distracted driver. The ground was NOT wet. (more…)
For some of us, there comes a time in life when it feels like everyone has given up on you.
You might even feel like giving up on yourself.
Don't.
As I write this, I've just returned from spending the day in the hospital with my oldest son. Suffice it to say he's on the brink of giving up on himself. He waffles, as I suspect many teenagers do, between thinking he's the greatest thing since sliced bread and seriously wondering why anyone "wastes" their time with him.
If you've followed me for any length of time, you know the trials (more…)
This was one of the hardest things I had to write. I didn't want to tell you to "be authentic," or to "become a rock star" nor come back with the witty "you're not special" missive.
Because I do believe that we can be authentic, become a rock star and be utterly special if we use our T.A.G.S. effectively.
Your talents, abilities, gifts and skills (otherwise known as T.A.G.S.) are your edge. It's that thing that makes you unique. Because you were fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image, you are indeed special.
The key to increasing your income isn't to invest in yet another "blueprint" or to uncover the hidden "secret." These will work only if you share the T.A.G.S. of the guru who's selling that program.
Instead, to find your money sweet spot, you need to uncover your strengths and stop focusing on your weaknesses. The easiest way to do this is to add your T.A.G.S. to your idea or business, as that will trigger a flow of income.
Yup, you heard me. Look back 10 or 20 years and you'll find a talent, ability, gift or skill that has laid forgotten and dormant.
Mine is music. I recently started playing the organ for a congregation. The last time I did so, I was still in university working towards a degree. That was 15-years ago.
To prepare for my debut on the organ, I went digging into a box in my basement for old song books.
What I discovered were pages and pages of unfinished compositions that I started writing in the mid-1990s. My side project is finishing those compositions and getting the choir at my church to sing them.
I now incorporate music and music training into my teachings. I help my clients find their voice when talking about money and there's no better way to teach this than through a song or by using voice exercises. This is what makes my teachings different from other money coaches out there. (more…)
by Erin Margolin
[Editor's note: This is day 23 of the Be Your Own Guru series. Ever had a controversial project that you just KNEW would be amazing if you could get it in front of the right people? If you have ever wanted to rally a throng of people around your dream, if you've ever considered using crowdfunding to raise money for a project, here's a real-life example of someone who did it. I met Erin at a conference a couple of years ago, and never dreamed that she would one day be spearheading a campaign to support children with gay parents. The Gay Dad Project is a documentary that Erin and several of her colleagues are working on - and they raised more than $20,000 in support of that project. But it wasn't without it's hassles - and many lessons learned. I asked Erin if she would share some of those lessons, along with some encouragement for those of you that have a dream in your heart that may not be easy to bring into the world.]
Referenced in the video:
Learn more about The Gay Dad Project
The Gay Dad Project on IndieGoGo
ERIN MARGOLIN is a New Orleans native, writer, mama of three girls, and co-founder of The Gay Dad Project. After years of always saying yes she’s learned to say no sometimes, because she’s found that "yes" is best reserved for what matters most: her blog, the LTYM Show in Kansas City, and making a documentary about growing up with a gay dad a reality. She also loves books, antique typewriters, Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, social media, yoga pants and playing Memory with her twins, who always, always win. You can connect with Erin on Twitter and Facebook, as well as on her personal blog.
[Editor's note: This is Day 22 of the Be Your Own Guru series, and we're continuing the them of "how-to's" this week. I met Winnie in an online class, and we teamed up to practice elevator pitches. Then we started talking about fear, love and God. Yep. Deep stuff. Winnie's got a great take on fear and how to get past it today.]
That famous social commentator, Anonymous, is quoted as saying “Owning a business is the best self- development program around.”
How right she is.
Whether you’re an accidental entrepreneur, fulfilling a lifelong dream of being on your own, or you’ve got talents and a passion you’re driven to share with the world, at some point as you build the business you come face-to-face with emotional baggage you either didn’t know you had or were sure you had unpacked when you were 18 and still knew everything.
Starting a business isn’t hard. Any child can tell you how to start a lemonade stand: Figure out what you’re selling, come up with a price, put up a sign, and collect the money.
by Dave Ursillo
[Editor's note: This is Day 21 of the Be Your Own Guru series - and this week we're getting into a lot more "how to". This is Dave's second appearance in the series, and this 20-something whippersnapper's got moxie. Take a cue from Dave today and let your mind flow and find more courage and confidence as you write.]
If you want to become your own guru -- a centered source for self-growth, burgeoning awareness and spiritual expansion -- you must write.
Now, I should say that I don't throw around must's and should's very often. And in this case the 'must' is only as true as your intrigue by the concept itself: that writing, beyond all other mediums and forms of human communication, is an extraordinary albeit complex means of not just sharing ideas and telling stories, but becoming deeply attuned to one's own truth, beliefs, ideals and aspirations.
I have come to believe that writing is the most divine of art forms. First, writing is a means of understanding: by putting pen to paper, you engage is a reflective (if not confrontational) process of facing your own truth. That means that, in writing, you are bound to encounter every fear and insecurity that plagues your subconscious; every shred of hope and aspiration that makes your heart beat; every touch of pain that has ever scraped your skin and each taste of love that has ever graced your lips.
As you dig, you will learn. And the old, outdated, naive (more…)
[Editor's note: This is day 20 of the Be Your Own Guru series. Teresa is a friend as well as a colleague. She's most effective at providing experiential examples around abundance and feelings of scarcity. I practically begged her to do a video so that you could get a very visual, experiential take on why doing/making"more" isn't always the answer to your "not enough" problem.]
Video Highlights (more…)
[Editor's note: This is Day 19 of the Be Your Own Guru series. Cassandra is not just a seasoned business owner, she's also my Sister in-law. Her tasty hand made granola has been on my Christmas wish list every year that I've been married! In the series, we've already talked about when it might be a good idea to quit. Here, Cassandra gives us some guidance on how to keep plugging when quitting isn't the best option.]
Small business owners are a special breed, and female business owners are even more special. I know; I’m one of them. Over nine years ago my daughter and I started Hearth Strings Foods, Gourmet Granola Products. We started out as a small cottage bakery, selling at several farmer’s markets. Soon our products caught on and by the end of that year we were invited into a local chain of health food stores. During this time our daughter decided to fly on her own and spread her butterfly wings, so things began to change for us.
Before long we gained access to the largest gourmet grocery chain in the Southeast (based in North Carolina but with stores across the country). We now have that entire chain for the state of NC, the original chain, and over the last year we have added a large national health food chain, also based in NC. It’s been a busy nine years - a blur really - but there has been much growth, much learning, and plenty of mistakes to count as learning experiences.
It’s this lesson that I’d like to focus in on for the purpose of passing on a bit of valuable wisdom and encouragement for all business gurus out there, experienced and newbie alike. So, here goes!
Let me throw out a question for you to chew on:
“Can the attitude and outlook of the entrepreneur directly impact the bottom line of that business?”
It seems like a rather basic, simple question doesn’t it? Well, let’s take a long gander at this little gem of the obvious. During the last 4-1/2 years as the economy has gone through it’s free-fall plunge, many business owners have hit bottom. Some have yet to find the bottom and are still free-falling. That’s the depressing news.
Here’s the upside. (more…)
by Leela Sinha
[Editor's note: This is day 18 in the Be Your Own Guru series. Leela offers us a 7-minute audio that speaks out about the information our body sends us all day long - and how we need to stop ignoring it if we want to experience peace, pleasure, and balance in our lives.]
Highlights of the audio:
1:13 - The double edged sword of "letting go"
2:30 - Ways to achieve balance
3:10 - An exercise to connect to your true self
4:00 - The smartest part of you (hint: it's NOT your brain)
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Leela Sinha is a certified coach and ordained minister focused on helping you experience real pleasure. Following pleasure isn’t about shutting down everything else. It’s about having a way to find your heart again. Leela says it's "the most engaging, exhausting, invigorating play I’ve ever done. It certainly feels too good to be associated with 'work'. But it’s not exactly relaxing. It’s more like summiting a fabulous mountain with an amazing companion. (That would be you. The companion. Or maybe the companion is me. It’s all about perspective.)"
Want your own great things? Ready to have your body back? Visit Leela's website, BodyOfPleasure.com or connect with Leela on twitter or facebook.
[Note: This is Day 17 in the Be Your Own Guru series. Today is also the re-launch of Dr. Eldon Taylor's book "I Believe: When What You Believe Matters". This post contains excerpts from his book. It's also an exploration of our brain's "efficiency trap" that keeps us mired in self-limiting beliefs.]
When I was a kid, I looked up to my grandmother.
Grandma was a looker as a young lass. She even sang in a local nightclub with her sister. The story goes that one night, when her boyfriend couldn't come to pick her up from work at the club, he sent his brother to bring her home. That "brother" went on to be my grandfather. That's their wedding picture on the left.
Even though she was "old" by kid standards, Grandma was cool and refined. She knew how to put on makeup and wear a dress (something my mom NEVER did), after a day of working in the yard, getting her hands dirty... and it always looked effortless and matter-of-fact with Grandma.
Okay, I still aspire to (more…)
[Editor's note: This is Day 16 of the Be Your Own Guru series. This is Melanie's first adventure as a guest contributor to ANY blog, and I'm humbles to share her voice today. Melanie brings the perspective of an artist and an intuitive to this conversation. She reminds us that we all have our own guru inside ourselves - and it's time to let it shine.]
Guru: the act of being a pure, spiritually aligned wise one.
Are you your own guru, or is someone else? Do you feel that this thing they are is separate and nothing to do with your own existence? Are they teachers and gurus who convince you they’ve got it down and are perfect super uber spiritual beings? (& Perhaps you're not?)
Well perhaps they have it down.
BUT
Everyone is unique.
Everyone is diverse.
Everyone has a different life...
Culture...
Take on things...
Approach...
Awareness...
Gifts.
If we are all unique, so are (more…)
[Editor's Note: I've known Sarah for several years, stalking her at first, and eventually hiring her as a coach and consultant in my business. Her work on developing fiercely-loyal communities has been, hands down, the best training I've ever gotten from her. In fact, this is Sarah's third appearance on the blog (Here's part of our last interview). I'm thrilled she's joined us for this series to help you share your true voice more courageously with your budding Noble Empire.]
People often ask me “How did you do what you did at Escaping Mediocrity? That tribe was, and still is, rabid.”
When I look back to the beginning, I didn’t set out with a formal strategy to “build a rabid tribe”. What I set out to do was build the space I longed for and couldn’t find. I was exhausted by the sameness of all the blogs out there. The glossed-over lives of people I was supposed to aspire to be like. Business strategies that just felt wrong. No real conversations about what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur.
I wanted something else. So I built it. I remember saying to someone at the time “I’m absolutely certain that at least two people will read my blog for the next month or so. They’re my best friends so they have to.” I really had no idea who else, if anyone, would show up. And my friends would only stick around for so long.
At that point, I made three pivotal decisions (more…)
By Doug Knight
[Editor's Note: This is Day 13 of the Be Your Own Guru series. Today, we roll into more of the "brass tacks" of building a Noble Empire. I met Doug at a local TEDx event, and was blown away not only by his passion for non-profit work, but also his ecclectic music tastes. Over the past year, I've come to learn how dad-gummed smart he is. If you're looking to dive into a new venture, this could be the kick start (or the warning flag) you've been looking for.]
A friend of mine asked me the other day, “How do you…you know… start something?” My friend was having trouble articulating what truly he was trying to get me to talk about, but after a round of drinks it came out a little easier to understand.
Ah…. got it. The old “High Risk, Tough-to-see-but-know-its-
It’s one of those weird things, especially now with our economic situation as a country (broke), as a typical American (in debt), and as a community (“get a real job” talkers). But I think the first thing I would say to someone who is even just considering such a move is to first ask yourself…. “Are you Happy?”
Now this “do what you’re happy at” talk is obvious to many and simple to say (hard to do). But I don’t just mean the personal happiness that you perceive in your dreams when you see yourself as the President/CEO/Chief Food Taster at Honkin’ Industries, Inc.
I’m not talking about money or being a boss per se; I’m talking about that happiness that happens when you live by a “Work Hard, Play Hard” mentality – where you’re not sure when you are working and when you are playing because both bring you so much JOY.
Being happy also doesn’t mean always in the positive column. You must also know (it is guaranteed) (more…)
[Editor's note: Today is day 13 in the Be Your Own Guru series. I met Tiffany as a contestant on Prosperity's Kitchen. Her mission spoke to me, as I hope it will you. Her commitment to helping young girls take ownership of their dreams is something we can all learn from as we strive to reconnect to our true voice and trust ourselves again.]
Think about a time in your life, around age five or so. Remember how you knew you could do anything you wanted? How you knew you could change the world?
You got excited, you were present, and you didn’t give a crap what anybody else thought.
But most of us lose it, to some extent, along the way. We let other people dictate what we’ll do with our lives. The kids that grow up and go on to rock the world are the ones that still have that passion as they grow older. They never lost sight of their awesome - or they reclaimed it in adulthood.
How do we reclaim our awesomeness? If we’ve lost it, do we even have time to get it back?
Follow these steps to be present again in your life, and embrace your awesome.
1. Allow yourself to feel pain. You’ve got to make that emotional connection, or it’s just not going to stick. Take some time for yourself one afternoon. Go someplace you really enjoy being and where you can concentrate, and bring a pen and paper with you. Start listing all the things you
wanted to do and be when you were little. List all the dreams you had. Big and small, crazy and doable. You’ll start to notice something: you’re getting a little not-so-fun gut feeling, you’re realizing the pure joy you had when you had those dreams. Determine that from this point forward, you will dream and you will help support others in their dreams. This is your little mourning period.
2. Dream those dreams and be a believer. My daughter and I believe in fairies. Sure, we’ve never actually seen them, but do you know how absolutely exciting things are when you believe in the possibility of them? Life is no longer seen through practical black and white glasses. There’s color and beauty and huge dreams and possibilities. Whatever it takes, dream. Write it down each day. Make a vision board. Keep those dreams alive and start looking at the world from that vantage point.
3. Help someone else dream. This might be your spouse, child, friend, neighbor. It doesn’t matter. When you help someone else dream, you get caught up in those happy feelings. It’s no longer about you, but how you can help that person realize their dream. When you’re in this spot, you start dreaming again yourself.
Technology, books, mentors are very useful, but to get started with anything in your life, you first need to check-in with yourself. You’ll see the untapped potential there.
I’d love to know: what were your childhood dreams? What are your big dreams now? Let me know in the comments below!
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Tiffany Manley helps girls realize that they can find all they need to sparkle and shine within themselves. She uses education appreciation, career exploration, & confidence construction to help girls realize they can dream gargantuan dreams - and that they can achieve them. Her website is a collection of resources for boosting self-confidence in young women (and their moms!), homeschooling, and more. You can also connect with Tiffany on twitter.
[Note: This is day 12 of the Be Your Own Guru blog series. Today's video offers you an opportunity to think about how perception works in real time, and how living your life according to your own perceptions can be both a blessing and a curse.]
We all walk through life with preconceived notions about our world.
We call them beliefs.
Often, these beliefs color every interaction we have - without us even realizing it.
If you carry a belief that strangers are dangerous, you'll behave differently than if you were raised to be cordial to strangers.
Neither belief is inherently good or bad. Neither belief guarantees a positive or negative outcome.
In the video below, you'll see a piece of paper. What color is it?
That question seems simple enough, right? I mean, you can look at it and easily see that it's pink, right?
Clearly, anyone with a fully functional ocular device can tell it's pink. Right?
Well, it all depends on what side of the paper you're standing on.
In the video, I challenge you to consider (more…)
[Note: this is Day 11 of the Be Your Own Guru series. It's a poem that came to me when I was researching a quote that's often attributed to Bruce Lee. "I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, And you are not in this world to live up to mine." is actually a line from the "Gestalt Prayer" by Fritz Perls. It let me to think about how much stuff we don't say or do because of the expectations of others. This poem was inspired from there.]
There are words you want to say that remain unsaid.
Why not just say them instead?
Sometimes the truth is painful and hurts,
but I'd rather truth flow freely, than in spurts
that stop and start, or ebb and flow.
When the truth is irregular, how will you know?
People wear masks of perfection or shame. (more…)
[Note: This is Day 10 in the Be Your Own Guru blog series. And this is about the time when people start to feel overwhelmed, "behind" or they just feel like quitting in general. Is that you? If so, read on!]
There comes a point on every journey where you need to decide if you're going to stand up for what you say you believe, or quit.
"It's when things seem hardest that you must not quit." is the closing line of Whittier's famed poem "Don't Quit."
That's easier said than done sometimes.
Most of the time, actually.
See, there's a relief that comes in quitting... in letting something unravel so that you can walk away.
Maybe, like me, it's more than one of those things - or all of them at the same time. I've let things unravel a few times in my life. I moved across country when things were too lonely at college. I moved back home, cross country again, when things got too hard and lonely out West. Each time, I left stuff behind for other people to clean up. And don't get me started on the number of houses I've moved out of since I've been back in Michigan. I've left plenty of things behind I wasn't willing to deal with anymore. It was just to much/overwhelming/hard for me to sift through all those old things/memories, and decide what to keep. So I just let it all go.
I've even done it with a business or two. It got too hard. My heart wasn't in it. I was looking for relief.
But now, I'm standing in a space where hard is pressing in on all sides, and it's the kind of hard that tests my mettle. It's a situation (several, actually), where I've been called on the carpet and my beliefs are being put to the test. If I really believe in what I say I believe in, I must behave in a certain way, otherwise, I'm just paying lip service to what I say is my truth.
Ever been there?
Shoot! It's even hard to just quit - I mean you've already invested a ton of time, (more…)