WISH Radio: Straight Talk for Women’s Health

Michael Gerber: The Making of a True Entrepreneur Do you have dreams, ambitions, skills, and passions in life? Perhaps you’re thinking of turning your passion into a business. Before you start signing off the incorporation papers and hanging a fancy poster in your window, you might like to hear what Michael Gerber has to say. You see, most of the 500,000 new businesses that are started every month in the U.S. alone will fail. You can be pretty sure that the ones who don’t will have read and applied the principles of Michael Gerber’s book “The E-Myth.” He joins us here today to share words of wisdom for dream-builders and business owners. About Michael Gerber Michael E. Gerber is a true legend of entrepreneurship. Inc. Magazine
 calls him “the World’s #1 Small Business Guru” — the entrepreneurial and small business thought leader who has impacted the lives of millions of individuals and hundreds of thousands of companies worldwide for over 40 years. Michael E. Gerber is the author of the mega-bestseller “The E-Myth Revisited” and five other E-Myth books concerning small business and entrepreneurship.  Additionally, Mr. Gerber has written 14 industry-specific E-Myth Vertical books co-authored by industry experts.  These books are written for: Attorneys, Accountants, Optometrists, Chiropractors, Landscape Contractors, Financial Advisors, Architects, Real Estate Brokerages, Insurance Stores, Dentists, Nutritionists, Bookkeepers, Veterinarians, Real Estate Investors and soon to be HVAC Contractors. Today, Michael is on a new mission, to bring economic development strengths and capabilities to millions of people around the world by awakening the new entrepreneur within them.  His one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial incubator called The Dreaming Room: Design, Build, Launch & Grow™, is now being led throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. This program will soon be sponsored by cities throughout the United States, and soon in cities throughout the world. Based on his intimate, in-depth experiences with entrepreneurs in his Dreaming Room™ events, along with the tens of thousands of clients his company has coached and mentored over the past 40 years, Michael E. Gerber has  authored his revolutionary new book on entrepreneurship and The Dreaming Room™ called: “Awakening the Entrepreneur Within: How Ordinary People Can Create Extraordinary Companies.” Mr. Gerber believes that awakened entrepreneurs seek a path that has, at its core, a higher, more inspiring meaning than just making money, selling a product, or seizing market share.  According to Mr. Gerber, a new entrepreneur is a trailblazer seeking to transform lives in all areas – from designing a small business, building it, launching it and growing it. As a result of a participant’s experience in The Dreaming Room: Design, Build, Launch & Grow™ the evolving entrepreneurs within will discover the means to create a new company, or transform an old one, while going on to work ON his or her business and life, rather than just IN it — unfailingly reflecting his or her transformational resolve into the actions needed for a company to flourish. Michael and his wife, Luz Delia, live in Carlsbad, California. Visit Michael's website here.

Ali Brown: Powerful Business Mentorship for Women In a world where white shirt collars and blue shirt jackets dominated the scene. And this is in no small way thanks to Ali Brown. While there have always built families and others who built businesses, Ali Brown has built an empire--an empire of empowerment for women who want to do both. She's taken the male-dominated marketing scene and sprinkled in a whole lot more sass and femininity so that women like you can live your true wealth and doing what you love and making money from home. She's blazed a trail for women and she's here to share with us what it takes for you to do the same. You can visit Ali Brown's website here.

Danielle LaPorte: Screw Your Principles & Get Your Life Back If you’ve been living your life wondering when you’re going to finally find balance, brace yourself. Balance is a myth. If you’re trying to be a well-rounded and upstanding citizen on planet Earth who sticks to her principles and follows the rules, well, maybe it’s time to screw your principles and write new rules. Why be well-rounded when you can be a multi-faceted firecracker who makes the world a better place? When you feel how you want to feel and you do what comes naturally to you, you’ll cross the sacred divide between who you are and who you have the potential to become, and if there’s one woman who can help you start the fire that will get you there, it's Danielle LaPorte. Such a great call with the firecracker, Danielle Laporte. Her fearless authenticity and intentionally contradicting conversations are a sure pick-me-up whenever you need it.

  Vishen Lakhiani Talks Real Targets, Clear Goals and Oceanloads of Awesome This is a call for the entrepreneurial hustler, the big life goal-maker and anyone who is looking to take clear and specific actions to upgrade the quality of their lives, business and relationships. I shared this call as part of our WISH Revival because Vishen's results over the last few years since the time of this call are certainly proof of his ability to put this wisdom into action. I also know that many people have professional goals and dreams, and that this call will be super inspiring to anyone looking to really step it up a few notches, and fast!  On that note, he hustles in this call and just about everything he does, but you can tell that he had prepared in advance the things he wanted to say, so it's a bit more like listening to a fast-paced lecture than a relaxed conversation, but it certainly sets the tone for success, so have at it!! Here's What You'll Learn in This Call: The stages of development you’ll pass through on the way to achieving true success! Why the states of stress and anxiety prevent success and expansion. How to achieve the "state of flow" How your thoughts affect the results you get in your life and how to change and improve them! Vishen’s trick to radically juice up his marriage, business, parenting and EVERY part of his life! Understand Vishen’s concept of “blissipline” and how he uses it in his business to build a powerful team of goal crushers! The questions he asked Richard Branson about how he keeps his productivity with 300 different companies, and what he said. Vishen’s morning routine that sets the mood for his entire day! How to place your order with the universe for the life you want. A powerful exercise to help organize your life’s vision for the future so you can walk into it! And much, much more! About Vishen Lakhiani Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Vishen moved to Michigan, USA in 1995 to study at the University of Michigan, where he majored in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. There he discovered AIESEC, a non-profit student run organization dedicated to nurturing young leaders into becoming global leaders who want to make a difference in society, and eventually became the Vice President for the USA team, in charge of nominating and sending AIESEC students abroad for internship programs. In 2001 he moved to New York to work for a technology company in the legal industry. To deal with the stress of the job, he turned to meditation, and studied The Silva Method, a popular mindfulness program developed by Jose Silva. Inspired, he became a qualified instructor and began teaching meditation classes for the program. You can read a lot more about Vishen and his amazing work here.

Dr. Maya Angelou: The Love, The Legend and the Passing of Her Torch You can flaunt your fancy dresses and primp your pretty hair, but you won't find true beauty there. It's in the reach of your arms and the span of your hips. It's in the stride of your step and the curl of your lips, and if ever you felt yourself to be less than a Phenomenal Women, then perhaps you've not taken the time to acquaint yourself with the work and life of Dr. Maya Angelou. While she never gave birth to a baby girl, she is a mother to women of all shapes, sizes, colours and creeds, and she's here with us for a few moments to share her wisdom, grace and inspiration with us all. I can't believe I got the chance to speak with this incredible woman. This is the MOST nervous I ever was for an interview and you can totally hear it in the intro. It was worth every moment of nervous, sweaty magnificence shared with this incredible woman! Hope you enjoy her little gems of inspiration and wisdom for women that she shared with us in this call.   Here's What You'll Learn In This Call:  Her grandmother's lesson on how to stay true to yourself. The dangers of being too serious. The first step to getting out of really difficult situations and circumstances. The most important virtue a woman can have and the one most other virtues depend on. Why a woman should absolutely NEVER participate in gossip. NOT EVER. How Dr. Maya Angelou used her years of silence to powerfully enable her ability to listen. In this call, I asked Dr. Maya Angelou what she would ask of the woman to whom she passes her torch. Listen to her clear and specific request to women. Her wish for women. Visit Dr. Angelou's website here. And if you want a fantastic dose of her wisdom, head over to youtube and check out her interviews with Oprah!! AMAZING!

Katherine Woodward Thomas Helps You Call In "The One" You curl your hair, spritz perfume, and prepare yourself, just in case today might be the day. You scope out the possibilities in the local produce section of your favorite health food store. You keep your eyes up, and hopeful, at the hardware store, the shopping mall, your friend’s birthday party, and while walking down the street, and though you do not mean for your optimism to wane, admittedly you sometimes wonder if maybe you’re just not meant to find “The One”--that special companion to walk by your side in love and life. Well before you hang up your glass slippers, sit back, and soak in the warmth and wisdom of one of the world’s foremost experts in matters of the heart. Katherine Woodward Thomas is here to share what it takes to call in the one you’ve been looking for. Here's What You'll Discover In This Call: How to know when to take your friends' advice and when to ignore it The kind of support you really need to make your dreams and goals happen. Why we seem to get stuck in unhealthy or unproductive patterns of behaviour and how to break free. Where the work of calling in "The One" really starts and what it should look and feel like. How to find out what promises you've made to yourself or others that you may have forgotten about (but that are still subconsciously calling the shots on how you live!) The process you need to follow that will really help you make a breakthrough in the direction of love! And so much more!! Katherine could barely hold herself back in this call and it's loaded with juicy inspiration and wisdom to inspire you on the road to a love you deserve to have! To learn more about Katherine and her work, please visit her website here.

Alison Armstrong: Making Sense of Men for a Lifetime of Love Ahhh, romance. You meet him, you hit it off and the excitement is exhilarating. You bask in the intoxication of pheromones and the flutter of butterflies in your belly when you see him, when you say his name. You pretzel yourself into pretty positions and make yourself a magnet for his attention. He's so generous, he always calls, is kind and attentive, and you are the object of his attention. Until, he does something you think is "stupid," or "mean." Then you start wondering if it's because of the size of your thighs, or maybe something you said. Insecurity moves in, he stops calling, fireworks fizzle and you're right back where you started--pointing your finger at another hairy, testosterone-bearing beast that just didn't cut the mustard. And the truth is, as long as you keep pointing your fingers at him, chances are the vicious cycle will continue. There's more to understand about these handsome, hairy creatures. There's more you need to know about how your behaviour influences him and what you can do to not just get his attention, but his affection, love and commitment. Here to share a few lessons about how to make sense of men for a lifetime of love, is Alison Armstrong. About Alison Alison Armstrong was born in Laguna Beach, California in 1960, Alison Armstrong has been designing and leading transformational programs for adults for over 20 years. Since 1989, she has been training others to facilitate growth, healing and transformation. In 1995, after four years of studying men for her personal benefit, she created the Celebrating Men, Satisfying Women® workshop series to share her extraordinary findings with women across the nation. With her friend Joan McClain, she founded PAX Programs Incorporated with the mission of “altering society’s culture by transforming the way women relate to men.” PAX, the Latin word for “peace” and an acronym for Partnership, Adoration and Xtasy, creates peace between the sexes by providing unique and immediately useful information to women and men. Visit Alison's website here.  

Byron Katie and "The Work" of Disbelieving Our Thoughts If you’ve ever felt too fat, too poor, too tired, too busy, too beaten down, shaken up or tossed inside out, then you know suffering. You may have noticed that when you stopped to blame your bank account balance, ex-boyfriend and the size of your thighs, things didn’t really change much. If, in spite of all you kind thoughts, good deeds and the very best of intentions, you still find yourself suffering, then lend an ear, pull out a pen and paper, and get ready to do ‘the work with Byron Katie! In This Interview, You'll Get A Spiritual Spanking When You Find Out:                         Why any person, every person, can overcome the pain and suffering of their thoughts. The simple steps required to overcome our most crippling thoughts. How Byron Katie overcame crippling insecurity, stress and depression to achieve global influence as a trusted spiritual leader. What separates us from the world and how can we restore our connection to life and to others. How can you turn your entire life around by examining your thoughts honestly and without judgement. How to use these tools to address your health and body condition. This interview is loaded with great stories that will help you question the way you respond to life and crack open the doors to a whole, new opportunity to love yourself, others and life. How to lose your fear regarding your health condition. About Katie Byron Katie, founder of The Work, has one job: to teach people how to end their own suffering. As she guides people through the powerful process of inquiry she calls The Work, they find that their stressful beliefs—about life, other people, or themselves—radically shift and their lives are changed forever. Based on Byron Katie's direct experience of how suffering is created and ended, The Work is an astonishingly simple process, accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds, and requires nothing more than a pen, paper, and an open mind. Through this process, anyone can learn to trace unhappiness to its source and deal with it there. Katie (as everyone calls her) not only shows us that all the problems in the world originate in our thinking: she gives us the tool to open our minds and set ourselves free. Byron Katie became severely depressed in her early thirties. For almost a decade she spiraled down into rage, self-loathing, and constant thoughts of suicide. For the last two years she was often unable to leave her bedroom. Then one morning in February 1986, she experienced a life-changing realization. There are various names for an experience like this. Katie calls it “waking up to reality.” Learn More About Byron Katie and her story here.

SARK: Live Like the Movie Star You Are You love chocolate, and movies, and reality TV. You love flowers and cute kids that sit on your knee. You love talking with friends, and reading good books, and giggling to yourself when some hottie in the street gives you a look. You love spring, and sweet smells, and delightful dessert; so it doesn’t make sense that sometimes when you look in the mirror, it hurts. It’s a wonder that in spite of your enormous love, overwhelming generosity and kindness towards others; you sometimes struggle to give it to yourself. That’s why we have invited the world’s most succulent, self-loving superstar, SARK, to help you finally start living like the movie star you are.

Neale Donald Walsch: When Everything Changes, Change Everything This was one of the very first interviews I ever did for the WISH Summit. It was recorded in 2010. This is a fantastic call about how to bring communication difficulties and explains some of the underlying problems preventing our ability to understand one another. This call is well worth your time. Neale Donald Walsch puts the film The Secret into perspective and explains how this film went way off the mark. This call will inspire you to use your spiritual ninja skills to make your life, and the lives around you, go right. [podcast src="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4357930/height/47/width/450/theme/standard/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/" height="47" width="450"] Visit Neale's website here.  About Neale Donald Walsch Neale Donald Walsch is a modern day spiritual messenger whose words continue to touch the world in profound ways. With an early interest in religion and a deeply felt connection to spirituality, Neale spent the majority of his life thriving professionally, yet searching for spiritual meaning before experiencing his now famous conversation with God. The Conversations with God series of books that emerged from those encounters has been translated into 37 languages, touching millions and inspiring important changes in their day-to-day lives. Neale has written 29 books on spirituality and its practical application in everyday life. Titles in the With God series include: Conversations with God, Books 1-3; Friendship with God; Communion with God; The New Revelations; Tomorrow’s God; What God Wants; and Home with God. Seven of the books in that series reached the New York Times Bestseller List, CWG-Book 1 occupying that list for over two-and-a-half years. His most recent books are When Everything Changes Change Everything (2010), The Storm Before the Calm (2011), The Only Thing That Matters (2012), What God Said (2013), GOD'S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD: You've God Me All Wrong (2014), and Conversations with God: Awaken the Species (Book 4)(2017). Conversations with God has redefined God and shifted spiritual paradigms around the globe. In order to deal with the enormous response to his writings, Neale has created several outreach projects, including the CWG Foundation, CWG for Parents, Humanity’s Team, the CWG Helping Outreach, and The Global Conversation --- all accessible at the “hub” website www.CWGPortal.com, and all dedicated to help the world move from violence to peace, from confusion to clarity, and from anger to love. Neale's work has taken him from the steps of Macchu Picchu in Peru to the steps of the Shinto shrines of Japan, from Red Square in Moscow to St. Peters Square in Vatican City to Tiananmen Square in China. And everywhere he has gone --- from South Africa to Norway, Croatia to The Netherlands, the streets of Zurich to the streets of Seoul --- Neale has experienced a hunger among the people to find a new way to live, at last, in peace and harmony, and he has sought to bring people a new understanding of life and of God which would allow them to experience that. Neale has a home in southern Oregon where he lives with his wife, Em Claire, one of America’s newest poetic voices (www.emclairepoet.com). They travel extensively throughout the world, speaking to audiences and sharing the messages of the Conversations with God material, as well as offering the healing messages held within Em's poetry.

Kyle Cease: Your Pilot to Infinite Possibilities While you may not expect it, your next dose of self-help inspiration and deep spiritual wisdom will be coming at you from the lips of a dude who wears his baseball cap backwards. Kyle Cease has quickly become one of the world’s most loved comedians, but hidden between the waves of belly laughter he serves audiences around the world is a hefty dose of spiritual butt kicking. Kyle joins our online stage this evening to inspire you to boldly pursue the life of your dreams, to make the impossible ... possible, to express your authenticity, and to do it all with earth rumbling laughter and a loudspeaker. I love Kyle, and whenever I spend time with him I feel amplified and elevated. This call was one of our most popular ever and the response we had back from this call was awesome! An inspiring example of life off leash and unscripted, I hope you LOVE this call with my dear friend, Kyle!  

Dr. Veronique Desaulniers: Your DNA is Not Your Destiny Being dealt a diagnosis of breast cancer can be a daunting thing, especially when you’ve been eating organic, exercising, popping your herbal supplements for years and working in health as a chiropractic doctor. The factors that affect cancer seem more complicated than they appear on the surface, and if there’s one woman who has dedicated her life to figuring it out and spreading the word, it’s Dr. Veronique Desaulniers. Years of research, disciplined investigation and some rolling up of her spiritual, physical and emotional sleeves, Dr. V. proves that your diagnosis is not a death sentence and your DNA is not your destiny. Here to share the seven essential steps to recover from or prevent the disease is breast-cancer conqueror, Dr. V.   About Dr. Veronique Dr. Veronique Desaulniers, better known as “Dr. V”, has maintained successful practices in the Wellness Field since 1979. She graduated from Life Chiropractic College in Atlanta, GA, in December 1979. For the next 20 years she practiced in middle GA, attracting patients from all over North America and as far as Europe and Africa. The last 10 years of her practice, she focused on a Women’s Wellness Center. Because of her passion for health and wellness, Dr. V undertook extensive studies in various fields of “Energy Medicine”. Specializing in Bio-Energetics, Meridian Stress Analysis, Homeopathy, Digital Thermography and Chiropractic, Dr. V brings a unique approach to Health and Wellness. After 30 years in active practice, she decided to “retire” and devote her time to sharing her personal, non-toxic healing journey with Breast Cancer. Her years of experience and research have culminated as “The 7 Essentials”, a step by step coaching program for healing and preventing Breast Cancer Naturally. When you work with Dr. V, she saves you time, effort and money and helps you achieve the vibrant health you are searching for. Her web site and story have touched the lives of thousands of women around the globe.

Marla Cilley Helps You Declutter to Restore Your Confidence When I look back over the hundreds of interviews I did for the WISH Summits and other online courses, one of the people who left the best impression on me was Marla Cilley, also known as "The Fly Lady," from her website dedicated to helping women get control of their personal environments and loving themselves more in the process. I had always been aware of the connection between how a person maintains control in their environment, and how they feel in their head/mind. But trying to shove productivity tips down the throat of the "already overwhelmed" isn't much good. Marla masters "baby steps" and is the perfect voice you need whispering in your ear to remind you that you're doing ok, and one step at a time is still moving forward. Marla spent a lot of time talking and getting to know me before we did our call, and she was incredibly generous with her time and attention. She insists that she does what she does because she just wants to help, and it comes through in everything she does and in how she connects with others. I hope you really enjoy this call and connect with Marla and her great work on her website here. About Marla Cilley Marla Cilley is The FlyLady. She does not fly a plane! To keep a long story short, Marla loves to teach people to flyfish. That is how she got the name — FlyLady. Marla is a SHE (Sidetracked Home Executive). This system saved her life and continues to bless her. When Marla found the www.SHEsintouch.com website years ago, she needed a user name for the forums. Everyone was trying to help her come up with one. When they found out that she loved to flyfish and she taught it at a local college, they came up with “FlyLady.” It is because of Marla’s SHEness that she can now teach others. On December 7, 1999, someone asked Marla for help, and the FlyLady mentoring group began. This group has always been her gift to whoever joined. All Marla ever wanted to do was help people. And now, the name, FlyLady, has come to mean so much more. One of her members came up with a great acronym for it: Finally Loving Yourself (FLY) – this is the gift that FlyLady wants you to receive. It was only after Marla learned out how to “FLY” that she was able to become the person of her dreams. She has three rules that she lives by: Don’t sweat the small stuff; what doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter. Laugh everyday. Even if it is at yourself. Love like there is no tomorrow. You can learn more about Marla and her work here.

Pete Cerqua With a 90-Second Workout That Really Works!! I loooove, like love, love, LOVE Pete and his 90-second butt-kicking workouts! Who can possibly make excuses for not having time when you break a workout down into 90 seconds? This was the first interview I did with Pete, and the next time we spoke to each other, he told me that when the attention came roaring in, he realized that the only other interview that had as much influence on his business was one he did with Oprah.  Pete gets interviewed hundreds of times a year, and this call rocked his business and YOU (our amazing community of butt-kicking, rule-bending rockstars, jumped on board with enthusiasm.   About Pete Cerqua Pete Cerqua owns and operates the 90-Second Fitness flagship studio in New York City. One of New York’s most respected and in-demand fitness trainers, he has been helping people lose weight for more than twenty years. You can find him on Facebook here. (And just because it's totally awesome, stay tuned because I'll be sharing the other interview I did with Pete soon, too!!

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride on How to Health ADD, Austism, Depression, Anxiety & Other Mood Disorders What if autism and ADD are here to teach us a lesson--a lesson about the environment, personal responsibility and values? What if our children are offering through autism an opportunity to be our teachers--to help us weave our way back to a way of life that makes sense and is sustainable. Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride is a neurologist whose medical training offered no solutions when her young son developed autism. Driven by a commitment to uncover the solutions that would restore his health and heal her son, Dr. Campbell McBride created the GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) protocol. Here to help explain what it takes to restore our children’s health, and truly understand the lesson our children are here to teach us through the conditions of ADD and autism, is Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride.   About Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride is a medical doctor with two postgraduate degrees: Master of Medical Sciences in Neurology and Master of Medical Sciences in Human Nutrition. She graduated as a medical doctor in Russia. After practising for five years as a Neurologist and three years as a Neurosurgeon she started a family and moved to the UK, where she got her second postgraduate degree in Human Nutrition. She practices in the UK as a nutritionist and not as a medical doctor. She is well known for developing a concept of GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome), which she described in her book Gut And Psychology Syndrome - Natural Treatment for Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Depression and Schizophrenia, now in its second edition. Thousands of people around the world follow the highly successful GAPS Nutritional Protocol to help themselves and their families. You can learn about GAPS on www.gaps.me In her clinic Dr Campbell-McBride works as a nutritional consultant with many patients with heart disease, high blood pressure, arrhythmia, stroke and other complications of atherosclerosis. She has become acutely aware of the existing confusion about nutrition and these conditions, which spurred an intensive study into this subject. The result of this study was her book Put Your Heart In Your Mouth! - What Really Is Heart Disease And What We Can Do To Prevent And Even Reverse It. Dr Campbell-McBride is a keynote speaker at many professional conferences and seminars around the world. She frequently gives talks to health practitioners, patient groups and associations. She is also a Member of The Society of Authors, The British Society for Ecological Medicine, and is a Director on the Advisory Board of The Weston A Price Foundation. She has contributed to many books on nutrition and is a regular contributing health editor to a number of magazines and newsletters. You can learn more about her work here.

Dr. Moira Dolan: How to Restore Ethics in Medicine Twice a year, they say. You should get a mammogram twice a year as standard preventative measures for breast cancer. But they don’t tell you you’ll be pumping 1000 times the radiation of a chest x-ray through your delicate breast tissue while you do it. They won’t mention the likelihood that anything they find will lead to biopsies or lumpectomies that are likely to be completely unnecessary in the first place. Quick to prescribe, slow to explain the repercussions, mammograms are being recommended for women at an alarming rate while breast cancer rates continue to rise. Here to explain the stats and offer the facts behind the mammogram scam is Dr. Moira Dolan.   About Dr. Moira Dolan Dr. Moira Dolan has a strong purpose to establish ethics in the field of medicine. She attended the University of Illinois School of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Illinois Masonic Medical Center. She is certified by the American Board of internal Medicine. Dr. Dolan has over 35 years of clinical experience in a variety of practice settings. She was a consultant for many years to the Texas office of Inspector General where she investigated medical fraud. Dr. Dolan currently serves as the Chief Medical Director for PRGX healthcare, carrying out the scrutiny of medical records that is required by the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Dolan is a commissioner with Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights International, a watchdog group that investigates and exposes fraud and abuse in the field of mental health. She is the Executive Director of Medical Accountability Network, and in this capacity she has made site visits to psychiatric institutions to document abuse, served as an expert witness in lawsuits regarding misleading diagnoses and harmful medical practices, and testified at the FDA and in the legislature on electroshock and adverse effects of psychotropic drugs.

Lynne Twist on How to Understand the Soul of Money I first met Lynne Twist in Hawaii when she whizzed in to give a presentation at the Mind Valley Seminar happening there. I was so moved and inspired with her story, that I spent the next couple years persistently tracking her down until we finally managed to schedule THIS interview. It's so interesting to me that Lynne's interview, Lara's interview, Carol's and Mary's ALL have so much more to do with the "Attitude" and "soul" of money, than they do actual financial managment. While I think both are important, I do believe the human spirit is senior to the physical/material world, and that your attitudes and ideas about money and abundance have a lot to do with what you're willing to allow yourself to experience in life. If you're looking to upgrade your spiritual and financial software, this call is a very special one with a very special woman. I noticed that Lynne was recently on Oprah, too, and you can find another clip with Oprah here. Dive in and level up, Sister!   About Lynne Twist For more than 40 years, Lynne Twist has been a recognized global visionary committed to alleviating poverty,  ending world hunger and supporting social justice and environmental sustainability. From working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta to the refugee camps in Ethiopia and the threatened rainforests of the Amazon,  as well as guiding the philanthropy of some of the worlds wealthiest families, Lynne’s on-the-ground work has brought her a deep understanding of  people’s relationship with money.  Her breadth of knowledge and experience has lead her to profound insights about the social tapestry of the world and the historical landscape of the times we are living in. Acclaimed Author Her compelling stories and life experiences inspired Lynne to write her best-selling, award-winning book “The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life” (W.W. Norton, 2003) which has been translated into nine languages including Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Bulgarian and Portuguese. You can learn more about Lynne and her work here.

Mary Morrissey is Helping You Raise Your Level of Prosperity & Abundance I first learned about Mary through her son, Mat, who you would have learned about during our "relationship" burst of calls a few days ago. He insisted and highly recommended his mom for our WISH Summit, so we brought her on board and did not regret it. While I did other calls with Mary, this one stands out for me because of her fish pan story. While every speaker and interview brings something different, one of Mary's greatest gifts is her story telling ability and you'll hear throughout this call some real doozies. It seems like every time you ask Mary a question, she can answer it with a memorable story. I'll let you dive in and enjoy what Mary has to say about raising your level of prosperity and abundance in this call:   About Mary Morrissey Speaker, best-selling author, and consultant for over four decades, Mary Morrissey's transformational talks and seminars have made her one of the elite teachers in personal development. As a sought after expert on the “Invisible Side of Success", Mary has spoken three times at the United Nations, facilitated 3 different week-long meetings with His Holiness The Dalai Lama and met with Nelson Mandela in Cape Town, South Africa to address the most significant issues our world is facing. Mary has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, and an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters and is the author of two best-selling books, No Less Than Greatness and Building Your Field of Dreams, which became a PBS special. Mary Morrissey® is the founder and owner of Life Mastery Institute®: The Premier Life Coach Certification Company in the world. As a world-class inspirational speaker, executive coach, and corporate consultant, Mary has 40 years experience of empowering individuals in achieving new heights of spiritual aliveness, wealth, and authentic success. Among all her achievements and degrees in higher learning, Mary’s favorites are the two black belts she has earned, one in Success and the other in Failure. You can learn more about Mary and her work in the world, here.

Lara Merriken On Why Intuition Is Your Best Investment in Business I included this call as part of the WISH Revival because Lara. Is. SO. Neat. She was planning to go into medicine, originally, but during a hike with some friends, she had the idea for how to make a natural and healthy "candy bar." She borrowed a food processor from a friend (she didn't even have one at the time) and began the foot work for the HUGE success we all know as "Larabars." In order to make it all happen, once Lara had decided what she was going to do, she got herself a job in a health food store and began to do the foot work necessary to understand what she would need to do to make it happen. This is an old interview, and I apologize for the sound quality, BUT it's worth it! :-)   About Lara Merriken Denver-native, Lara Merriken had an idea to make a convenient, whole food bar that tasted delicious. As a former junk-food nut, she desired something that was indulgent but wholesome. After scouring the aisles of grocery stores and noting popular flavors of ice cream and cookies, she delved into her own product development. With friends and family serving as focus groups, she tinkered with recipes. The next step was to launch a company that would initially be five delicious Larabar flavors: Cherry Pie, Apple Pie, Cashew Cookie, Banana Cookie, and Chocolate Coconut Chew. She also assembled a sophisticated manufacturing arm... what amounted to be a Cuisinart and a rolling pin. Today, millions of Larabar bars are sold each year. Lara lives in Denver with her husband and son. You can learn more about Lara and her mission, here.

Carol Look on How to Make Yourself a Magnet for Abundance I looooove Carol Look. As soon as she and I started to do calls together, I just couldn't get enough, and in fact I did many different calls with her over the years. I'll be sure to post my favorites below. For the record, however, the call you're about to hear is one of my ABSOLUTE favorites because this conversation marked a significant change in my life. During this call, Carol shares some exercises to raise your level of abundance and unblock the negative thought patterns and beliefs that have been holding you back. When I did that exercise, I made a conscious and powerful decision to upgrade my life. I'll share the whole story on the podcast before I introduce the call, but I'm dusting it off my shelf and sharing it again because for me, this call was a game changer for my level of prosperity and personal freedom, and so I hope it can be that for you, now, too!! Here's What You'll Learn In This Call: How do you get into the state of abundance. Just looking around the room to find what’s not working, o How to dramatically simplify the law of attraction jargon. Little tiny exercises you can do to improve your situation. How to do things out of inspiration instead of obligation! Why scarcity comes across in what you do, and how to act from an attitude of abundance. Carol’s story and how she began using EFT for the laws of abundance! How to release limiting beliefs and self-sabotage to let abundance move in! How to use EFT About Carol Look EFT Master, Carol Look has been a pioneer and leading voice in the EFT community for 17 years. Before becoming an EFT Master, Carol was trained as a Clinical Psychotherapist and earned her Doctoral Degree in Clinical Hypnotherapy. She has worked in the mental health field for over 20 years. Carol is known for combining her distinguished background in traditional psychotherapy with “energy medicine” for unprecedented innovations in the application of EFT. Carol is recognized and respected around the globe as a premier success and abundance coach, inspiring people to attract abundance into their lives by using EFT and the Law of Attraction to clear limiting beliefs, release resistance and build prosperity consciousness. A highly sought after international speaker and workshop leader, Carol authored the popular books, Attracting Abundance with EFT, and the bestselling Amazon Kindle books “Stop Feeling Lazy: How to Break the Procrastination Cycle” and “Enough Is Enough: How to Stop Emotional Overeating”. She has led workshops in Australia, Canada, England, France, and Brussels and all over the United States; she has been a popular guest on the industry’s leading Healing Tele-summits. She has taught EFT workshops at numerous prestigious organizations and hosts her own workshops several times a year. Known for her clarity, focus and direct teaching style, Carol is a featured Energy Therapy expert in the field’s leading DVD documentaries about EFT: “The Tapping Solution” and “Operation: Emotional Freedom.” In addition to mentoring thousands of energy practitioners worldwide, Carol recently launched her Abundance Coaching Program for practitioners who are passionate about coaching others to lead lives of exceptional success. You can learn a whole lot more about her here.

Jean Haner on How to Read the Wisdom of Your Face I LOVE, love, love, looooooved this call with Jean Haner, and I love everything about Jean and her amazing work. I just had to share this with you as part of the WISH Revival. During this call, Jean does an analysis of my face, and it's pretty shocking what she comes up with. Of course, once I fell in love with Jean, I had to contact her for prescreening any of my future dates. When my current hubby and I finally found each other, she was one of the first people I called and she gave us an amazing face reading, with all kinds of empowering wisdom about our birth dates. It was JUST AWESOME! I wanted to include this call because it's fun, vibrant, super inspiring and it will make you want to learn more about the wisdom on your face, and those of the amazing, diverse people around you! About Jean Haner Jean Haner teaches powerful techniques to “read” people’s inner natures. With a 25-year background in the ancient Chinese principles of balance and health, Jean places an emphasis on compassionate and affirming ways for people to live in alignment with their own true selves. She is well known as a warm and inspirational teacher, providing grounded, practical information that can be put to immediate use. You can learn all about her here www.WisdomOfYourFace.com, and definitely sign up for her newsletter, because she regularly shares some of her readings of well-known faces and it's just awesome!! 

Michaela Boehm On The Goddess Who Wears Gumboots If you struggle to fit your femininity in a pretty, little pink box, you're going to love this call with Michaela Boehm. She strips the glitter off the "Goddess" and brings it right back to the pig barn where the real live, multi-tasking women are making life happen. So often as a "woman" I feel painted in "domestic kid-loving mess." This week, in particular, our youngest  has been a vomit and diarrhea BOMB ready to go off at any minute. Couple that with whipping up breakfasts, lunches, supper and essential oil forcefields for the rest of the family and keep up with the laundry as a result of the little body fluid bomb going off, and I am heavily immersed in the mess and magnificence of life. So sometimes I don't feel very "feminine," but listening to this call again was a balm to my multitasking wounds and a lift of the feminine spirit if you need it! About Michaela Boehm Michaela Boehm is a lineage holder in Kashmiri Shaivism Tantra having received a classical tantric education from a young age. In addition to over twenty years of extensive academic and clinical background in psychology and counseling, Michaela also traveled and co-taught with David Deida for 13 years. She has developed a women’s curriculum for feminine embodiment as well as teaching couples and men about the principles of intimacy and polarity. You can learn more about her and her workshops and teachings here.

Mat Boggs is Cracking the "Man Code" You're going to love Mat and laugh a lot during this call, because he is real and wondering and very in tune with his topic. As you'll learn at the beginning of the call, Mat's background of broken marriages inspired him to investigate far and wide into what it takes to make love work for the long haul. He's done a few interviews with us, but the two will be sharing as part of this series are on how to Crack the "Man" Code, and a little more about his project everlasting. Since the time Mat and I recorded this call, he got married, had two beautiful children and has created some Youtube videos on relationship advice for women about men that are being seen by millions of people around the world! You'll love checking out his books, website and youtube videos! Here's Mat's Mission: To increase love in the world, one heart at a time. I specialize in helping women understand the hearts and minds of men so they can attract the relationship they desire. If you are getting back into the dating scene and want to know how to meet men and build attraction in an authentic and confident way, OR if you are dating or in a relationship and you want less frustration and friction, and more connection and communication you will find invaluable insights and tools in this website.'s Mission: Here's Mat's Story: Over the past 8 years as a relationship coach giving dating advice to women all over the world, I’ve dedicated my life to helping people just like you find love and create extraordinary relationships. What I believe… I believe there is no greater ambition in life than to build a thriving relationship someone you love. I believe you CAN have the love and partnership you desire. The best dating advice is to start with yourself and building a life you absolutely love living. Life is to be lived fully with an open heart, going after our dreams, and creating moments that matter with people that matter to us. You are more powerful than any condition you’re facing. Your city, your job, your physical condition, your history, none of these things determine the results you get in life.  That might be a hard pill to swallow, but it's true. Your results come from you, your state of mind, what you choose to focus your attention on, and the actions you take. If we want new results, we have to be willing to step outside our comfort zone and try new things. This was definitely the case for me… Ever had your heart crushed?  Yeah, me too.  Probably the worste pain I’ve felt.  Which as a former Division 1-AA college football player is saying a lot. After having my heart broken yet again and being single for a frustratingly long time (to say the least), I decided once and for all to learn what it takes to attract lasting love. I read every relationship book I could find.  But that wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted the best dating advice in the world.  I wanted to learn relationship secrets directly from couples that had built amazing long lasting marriages. So, I jumped in an RV and traveled over 12,000 miles around the United States with my buddy (Jason Miller) and my grandma Dorothy to discover the Secrets of America’s Greatest Marriages. At the end of our journey, my best friend and I wrote the book, Project Everlasting: Two Bachelors Discover The Secrets of America’s Greatest Marriages (published by Simon and Schuster). The principles and practices I discovered from these couples changed my life! Since then, I’ve met the love of my life.  Fell in love and got married.  Today, we are happily married, living in Southern California. You can learn more about Mat and his projects here.   

Gay & Katie Hendricks on How to Create a Love That Lasts This power couple is a pillar of what to do to make love work, and if you've never heard their work or spent time soaking up their wisdom, you're going to love this call. Loaded with tools and suggestions for understanding your lover, or another you're deeply invested in, this call is your ticket to happily ever after! About Gay & Katie Hendricks Here's how they describe their story: Our meeting and connecting happened across a crowded room—really—in January of 1980. We recognized each other first at an energetic/spiritual level and have been thrilled and curious to learn more ever since. From our first conversation we’ve been passionate about relationship as a path of awakening. We committed and re-committed each step of the way to our first intention: we create a relationship that runs primarily on positive energy. In these videos we introduce you to the magic moves that continue to guide our daily choices. This conscious relationship map contains processes and practices that can enliven and harmonize your close relationships, as it did ours. We’d love to live in a world where people celebrate each other as equal partners, spending most of our time in expressing genius and supporting creativity. We invite you to join us in the adventure of a lifetime, conscious loving. You should definitely go straight to their website and check out their amazing videos and services.

Cynthia Kersey on How to Be An Unstoppable Force For Change I was so excited to do this call with Cynthia Kersey. I share more about the story in today's podcast. At the time of this recording, Cynthia's work centred around coaching and inspiring people to be unstoppable. And during this call you'll hear how she gets excited for some of the different kinds of work she was doing in the world at that time. In particular, her work building schools in Africa became the centre point of her career, and she organized an entire foundation around raising money to serve and support the world in this way. What started out as an initial project and fund-raiser became the primary drive of what she does. I hope you'll find Cynthia and her work as inspiring as I do. This call is LOADED with inspirational stories that will help you feel and BE unstoppable!! About Cynthia Kersey Cynthia Kersey is the Chief Humanitarian Officer of the Unstoppable Foundation whose mission is to ensure that every child on the planet receives access to the life-long gift of education. Cynthia is a leader in the transformational industry. She’s the bestselling author of two books, “Unstoppable” and “Unstoppable Women”, a collection of powerful stories and strategies from people who through perseverance and consistent action turned obstacles into personal triumph. These books have motivated countless readers with over 500,000 copies sold worldwide in 17 languages. “I want every child on the planet to receive access to the life-long gift of education” Cynthia is also an inspiring speaker, entrepreneur, national columnist and contributing editor to Success Magazine, and was a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show when Oprah launched the Angel Network. Cynthia is a member of the Transformational Leadership Council — an organization made up of internationally known thought leaders and educators including founder Jack Canfield, creator of the mega best-selling “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series. As an organization, they impact millions of people worldwide and through a rigid vetting process awarded the Unstoppable Foundation as their designated humanitarian organization to support in 2012. Cynthia’s passion is showing how each of us can solve the world’s most seemingly impossible challenges through simple individual actions. You can learn a lot about Cynthia's work now on her website, here.

Brian Johnson is Bald, Bold & Brilliant with Top Tips for Optimal Living Brian is probably one of my favourite people in the entire universe! He's made smart decisions for himself and his family, and is the most well-read person I know. After having achieved financial success, he decided how to make the best of his smarts and abilities and resources to serve the world. That's how he create this site: www.optimize.me. I've loved watching Brian over the years, and this call below is one of the later calls I did with him. I hope this makes you want to gobble up wisdom from him and add him to your list of allies in life. He works hard reading books so you won't have to, and makes it easy for you to apply the knowledge and wisdom of the best teachers and philosophers that have ever lived! Dive in and I really hope you enjoy this call! Here's What You'll Learn In This Call: How to start with what you know to make life radically better. How to identify that ONE thing you could do which would have the greatest benefit? Brian’s trick for simplifying self-development Brian’s best tip for how to get over overwhelm! His journaling practice and what it does for him! The scientifically established method for optimizing our lives. Understanding the power of “thinking on paper” and how journaling can up level your life! What the The ultimate currency in life is happiness! The results of an incredible study of four-month test where Zoloft and exercise were compared for the effects on depression! How to tap into your innate wisdom and talk to your 110 year old version of yourself! And so, so much more!! About Brian He's so freakin' expiring, but words don't cut it. You can learn all about him when you decide to join his community here.

Janet Attwood: Find Your Passion, Follow Your Purpose I pulled this interview up from the archives of the WISH Summit to share because it still stands out to me as a powerful, life-changing call. Janet was so sincere and passionate about her topic, that there was a moment that really moved me where she started to explain why finding your passion and following your purpose isn't just something to do in your spare time--it's your duty and obligation, and not doing it has a cost to life. I wanted to bring it up and dust it off because the message still has value and Janet's message will move you! Here's What You'll Discover in This Call: What is "passion" and how do you tap into it? Why 80% of people wake up totally disinterested in what they do and how to stop being one of them! Why it's not a mistake that you love what you love! How to make passion-based decisions! How passion links individual intelligence to the organizing power of Nature. How to leave the "hut" and move toward the "castle." Tips to help you step up your level of happiness and prosperity. The first steps toward experiencing more passion in your life. What's a "conscious creator" is and how to become one. How "The Passion Test" has changed the lives of even the most powerful people, and what it will do for you! How to conquer fear and take big steps in the direction of your destiny! Why it's not about you to follow your passion!! And much, much more!! About Janet Bray Attwood Janet Bray Attwood is the co-author of the New York Times Bestsellers, The Passion Test – The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose and Your Hidden Riches – Unleashing the Power of Rituals to Create a Life of Meaning and Purpose.  She is also co-author of From Sad to Glad: 7 Steps to Facing Change with Love and Power. As an expert on what it takes to live a passionate life, she has presented her programs as a featured speaker to hundreds of thousands of people around the world with The Dalai Lama, Sir Richard Branson, Stephen Covey, Brendon Burchard, Tony Hsieh, Nobel Laureate F. W. deKlerk, T. Harv Eker, Jack Canfield, Lisa Nichols, and others. Janet has taken hundreds of thousands of people through The Passion Test process all over the world. She is the co-founder of The Passion Test Certification Program, which has over 1,800+ Certified Facilitators in over 50 countries. Janet is also the co-founder of The Passion Test for Business, The Passion Test for Kids & Teens, The Passion Test for Coaches, The Passion Test for Kids in Lock Down, and The Passion Test Reclaim Your Power Program for the homeless. You can read the rest of her bio and discover her website and resources here.

This was one of the very first interviews I ever did as part of the original WISH Summit, and it was with the very first woman to hit the self-development stage in a significant way, Dr. Barbara De Angelis. I'm sharing this call again because I find it a powerful call loaded with action steps you can take to shift your mindset right away!! Here's What You'll Learn in This Call: How she found her path and finally realized why she was here. How your comfort boundaries are stopping you from seeing what’s really there? The best way to measure freedom and how to increase yours. Why thinking that things are “fine” is a trap you should be careful of! Why there’s nothing “missing” with you. It’s more about what you need to let go of in order to free yourself. How to identify your “baggage” and what to do to let it go. What to do if you know there’s more, but aren’t sure how to reach it. The most common things that drag you down and how to spot them. How to navigate through the unexpected to define ourselves. How do women block or push down their power—their power to transform others. The characteristics of a powerful woman and how to recognize one when you see her! You'll hear amazing stories about what changing your limitations can do and feel totally motivated and inspired to take action, stop wasting time and making your life what you want it to be!! “The true role of a teacher is not to take you anywhere, but to help you pay attention to where you already are.” -Barbara DeAngelis Dr. BARBARA De ANGELIS is one of the most influential teachers of our time in the field of personal and spiritual development. For the past thirty-five years, she has reached tens of millions of people throughout the world with her inspirational messages about how to create a life of true freedom, mastery and awakening. As a best-selling author, popular television personality and sought after motivational speaker, Barbara is legendary in the field of personal transformation as one of the first people to popularize the idea of self-help in the 1980’s, and as one of the first nationally recognized female motivational teachers on television. Through her sold-out seminars, TV and radio programs, publishing and speaking, she has created her own Barbara De Angelis Brand, and is sought out not only by corporations, celebrities, and entrepreneurs, but by anyone who wants to learn how to transform themselves, their business, and their relationships from the inside out. Dr. De Angelis is the author of sixteen best-selling books which have sold over ten million copies and been published throughout the world in twenty-five languages. She has had an amazing FOUR #1 New York Times Bestsellers, including Real Moments, Are You The One For Me?, Secrets About Men Every Woman Should Know, and Chicken Soup for the Couples Soul, as well as HOW DID I GET HERE? Finding Your Way To Renewed Hope and Happiness When Life and Love Take Unexpected Turns, which received numerous awards and high acclaim. You can read the rest of her mind-boggling biography here, and explore her current website, books and offerings! 

[Communication Challenge] Day 10: Be Enthusiastic You made it to Day 10!! I hope you feel proud of yourself for sticking to it. I'm certainly grateful you ventured this way and cross electronic time and space with me. I hope you had the chance to test out the exercises enough to be able to see for yourself that self-worth doesn't come from how you look or what you wear or how much stuff you can pack in your closets, but from how you COMMUNICATE AND CONTRIBUTE to the world around you! Now that you've had a good dose of inspiration and have felt what it takes to lift life up a little, it's time to put wisdom into action and it will be your turn to do the same for someone else! Go ahead and listen to this FINAL day's assignment! Everything you need to hear and know to complete this step is explained in the call, and the tool you'll need to complete this final assignment can be found below, in today's blog, along with a few final tips and bits of inspiration! Go get 'em, Tiger!! You can find the rest of the blog post here.   

[Communication Challenge] Day 9: Be Brave Wow! Look at you! If you've been following along and made it to Day 9, you're here reading it and giving it your time and attention then you ROCK!! Make sure you're doing your best to apply the information so you're getting what you came here to this 10-Day Communication Challenge in the first place for! I hope you performed some small random act of kindness, and that you got to feel the zing in your arms and the tingle in your toes that comes with doing something good for a total stranger! Given some of the bumps and bruises and lessons learned the hard way in life, it actually takes quite a lot of courage to communicate. Very often we don’t say what we want, because we’re afraid we might make someone mad, or hurt someone’s feelings, or sound "stupid," or be laughed at, etc. It can be pretty scary to really speak what you feel or think, but few of us consider what the cost to ourselves and to life is when we say nothing? As I explained in yesterday's podcast, some of the most life-changing experiences women have had in their personal one-on-one coaching with me has been our taking inventory on the cost to themselves, their family members, and to Life that came about because of the things that went unsaid. It may be scary to ask that question or make that statement to someone, but the inner turmoil you feel when you don’t say anything is often far more uncomfortable than the short term stress of keeping quiet!! So, take a deep breath, stand tall, and hold your head up high because it’s time to be brave and this lesson will help you do it!

[Communication Challenge] Day 8: Be Kind  We’re in the home stretch now and if you're here, then you've done an amazing job sticking with it and making it to Day 8 of our 10-Day Communication Challenge! If you've been following along and doing the exercises, then chances are pretty good you've already started to experience some positive benefits to your courage! This can be better confidence, more awareness, and a sense of inner calm and a lot less stress. If you've been applying the exercises from Day 5 and Day 6, then you should be really feeling the difference in your communication with other people. Maybe they're wanting to talk more to you, share more about themselves. If you've listened to the lesson from Day 7, then you'll know how to gracefully stop communication when you need or want to. In 2010, a research article published in The Journal of Social Psychology entitled “Acts of Kindness and Acts of Novelty Affect Life Satisfaction” found that participants who engaged in random acts of kindness or acts of novelty over the course of the 10 day experiment felt greater life satisfaction. Other research has shown that happy people tend to do more for others, which, in turn, makes them feel good, which causes them to want to continue to do things for other people, indicating a circular effect relationship between kindness and happiness.  I thought you might like to put these findings to the test for yourself, so go ahead and listen to today's power podcast for Lesson 8, and read the accompanying article on the blog for more insights and tips!  

[Communication Challenge] Day 7: Be Complete If you've been blasting through the lessons in our 10-Day Communication course, then you will have acquired a few important skills that will help you with today's lesson. By now you should be practicing how to be really present to communication when it happens, and also noticing that sometimes little prickles and frustrations can rise to the surface. When that happens, you're job is just to face things and observe what happens. It will get better, easier and you will understand more about the situation the more you do it. We've also talked about the tremendously valuable communication trick of being interested compared to being interesting. One will help you feel much more natural and authentic in your communication and will make communicating much, much easier.  Now today's lesson will build on these previous tools and take it one step further. Just like any muscle, the more you practice these communication skills, the easier it will be to do all the time! If you learn today's tip and put it into practice, you'll understand one of the most time and energy-sucking mistakes people make in communication and how to avoid it. Just this one trick will make people so much happier when they communicate with you, and it will make you feel brave and in control of communication and of your life!! Go ahead read the rest of the blog on this topic for more tips, and listen to the power podcast below for more inspiration and ideas on the action step!  

A lot of people think communication has to do with how you speak or articulate your ideas, and while that's certainly a very big part of communication, it's at least as important to understand whether or not the things you express are understood and able to be received by others. In order to really truly be a good communicator, you have to be interested in the other person.  One of the biggest reasons people struggle in communication is because they have a lot of attention on themselves--how they look, what other people will think of them and their ideas. This is like putting communication on crutches. It's VERY hard to be interested when you're trying to be interesting! Knowing that, one of the very best things you can do to improve your communication is others, is simply take your attention off of how you look, and get busy LOOKING at other people with the intention of really trying to understand them--be interested. When you take your attention off yourself and put it sincerely on trying to see, understand and be present to the person you're with, your communication will immediately become more fluent, natural and agreeable to others! Keep reading the rest of the blog here for more tips on being interested, and check out today's assignment on the accompanying podcast below.

[Communication Challenge] Day 5: Be Comfortable Welcome to Day 5! Congratulations, you’re halfway through the 10-Day Communication Challenge, and halfway towards finding your own inner communication ninja. Just you wait until we hit Day 10, when I load you up with the action step and secret weapon that's going to put little goose pimples on your arms and make you feel SO alive. You know, it really is true that you are as alive as you are willing to communicate, and I wish I could march on over to your house and hold your hand to do every single one of these exercises as part of the program. But since I can't, I just need to count on you and your courage to get us through. I think you're SO brave for being here. Especially since I really believe it does take the light and spark and fire to TWO brave people to help pull one person out of the mud!! I know so far, we’ve really been focused a lot on getting you more present in the moment, removing distractions that prevent your from staying really present, and that should be paying off, if you've been doing the exercises. Now we're going to take it up a notch. You should be feeling a little more courageous, a little more ready to face your tigers, so this lesson has got just what you need to take it to the next level! Go ahead and dive in and listen to today's lesson, and then read the rest of the blog post which accompany's this podcast for more tips, resources and suggestions!

[Communication Challenge] Day 4: Be Active Alright, you've been cruising along at top speed in our 10-Day Communication Challenge, and if you've actually been listening to the podcasts, and completing the action steps, then KEEP GOING. It's all going to pay off soon. If you haven't done them, then reach out to us for help by message on Facebook, on the blog comments, or send an email at any time so we can help you. You didn't come here to stack more unsuable stuff on your thinking shelf! You came here  to make life better, and that takes sweat and action! And that's a HUGE part of what today's lesson is all about! Whether you're folding laundry, making supper, cleaning the bathroom, or doing any other mundane task in your house, the whole point of today's assignment is to notice the difference a time pressure makes on how you feel, and what you can do. If life really is a game, then you need to yank yourself up out of the toxic sludge of seriousness and make it FEEL like a game. One of your best opponents is, THE CLOCK! So throw on a timer, tie up your hair and watch the difference a little healthy pressure can make to how you feel! Go ahead and listen to the podcast that accompanies this lesson here, but keep on reading below for a few other tips and suggestions to help you crank up your communication juice on Day 4! You can access the rest of the blog post to accompany this podcast here.

Congratulations! You’ve made it to day 3 of our 10-Day Communication Challenge!  If you want something to be different, YOU have to be different. You’re well on your way to becoming a communication ninja! I’m sure after completing Day 2’s assignment you’re beginning to realize the draining impact too much time on electronics can have, and the rejuvenating power of human connection!  If you're continuing to go for your daily walk, then you will feel DOUBLY boosted with courage and communication-generating juice! Today, we’re going to take that knowledge a step further and open your eyes to the power of releasing yourself from the harmful, life-crushing, dream-bashing effects of bad news! We're going to take a Bad News Break and put in a "Good News Policy: and you can listen below to learn all about the podcast that accompanies this blog post! And if you're finding this on the podcast first, then pop on over to the blog to catch the rest of the tools, treats and downloads that accompany this lesson in the 10-Day Communication Challenge.

[Communication Challenge] Day 2: Be Social Congratulations! You’ve made it to Day 2! (Woot! Woot!!) If you completed your preparations, downloaded all your treats aaand, you've listened to Day 1 and completed your action step, then you're in that 10% of world-changing weirdos who actually DO what they say they're going to do! That pretty much makes you my new hero! *swoon* Now, let's see if you're up for more in our adventure together! In a world of technology that gives the perception that it is so much easier to stay connected with family and friends, it’s eye-opening to realize how much social media and the presence of electronics actually prevent us from being social on a person to person basis! We’re hoping the observations you made during your previous assignment will amp you up for today’s assignment! Get ready to unplug and reconnect with the real world. Go ahead and listen to today's assignment and then read below for more details, tips and even extra inspiration to motivate you to TAKE ACTION on this one! You can catch the full blog post that accompanies this podcast here. 

[Communication Challenge] Day 1: Be Present "The present moment, if you think about it, is the only time there is. No matter what time it is, it is always now."     -Marianne Williamson Welcome to Day 1 of The Enthusiasm Experiment--a FREE 10-day communication course to prove you are as alive as you are willing to communicate. If you completed the preparations for the experiment, and downloaded all the goodies you'll need then it's time for us to dive in and begin taking on the ACTIONS that will get you the results you came here for! With 3000 media messages a day bombarding your brain and millions of dollars invested in the next great advertising campaign for another thing you don’t need, a person can feel pretty distracted and insecure sometimes. The pain of the past and worries about the future can drag your attention out of the present moment, causing relationship difficulties and unhealthy responses to situations and people in your environment. Whatever it is that's got your attention by the cajones, this little fixer upper will get you feeling more connected, present and interested in life and the people around you, so give it a chance!! You can catch the rest of the blog post which accompanies this podcast here.  

[New Year, New You] Day 21: If Life is a Game, Here Are the Rules Life is a game. Unfortunately, it’s a game that has become so steeped in confusion and seriousness that few people even realize they’re playing a game anymore. It’s as if we all started playing a game of Monopoly, but then instead of being the player, we started to believe we were the pawn.  When we get stuck on the “jail” square, or experience other losses and difficulties, we forget that it’s just a game--that we can just wait our turn and roll the dice and hope for another chance around the board. Life calls to us to roll the dice, every day. Every day there is a new sun that rises and a fresh start to begin again. Every hour the hands of the clock make another spin of the dial. In an ideal situation, you continue to improve your ability, responsibility and influence over life. The more you know, the better life gets.  Each moment, when we choose to allow it, is another opportunity for us to press the reset button and start again with more hope and a sense of adventure, keeping our eyes on our goals. How much fun would a game of “Snakes and Ladders” be if there were no snakes? Who would bother playing soccer if there was no opponent? In overcoming the obstacles that stand between us and our goals, we can have a spirit of adventure and play much like we would in playing any game. Life’s obstacles have become overwhelming because of the degree of confusion and misinformation that has prevented us from understanding the rules of the game, or identifying a clearly defined playing field on which to play. So in the interests of creating a great new adventure and overcoming life’s obstacles with more confidence, I’d like to introduce you to a few elements of the game of life, so we can get busy playing! You can catch the full blog post here. 

[New Year, New You] Day 20: How to Take Up More Space Life is either expanding and improving, or declining. There are no flat lines in life until we’re dead. As soon as things are flat and unchanged, they are beginning to decline and fall apart. Since the time you came into the world, you’ve been accumulating wisdom and experience. As your body grew, you gained strength and physical ability. It’s perfectly acceptable to assume that with new wisdom and experience life should improve--things should get better and you should become more competent. A well-known and almost overused quote by Marianne Williamson comes to mind, though I’d like to take it a bit further than most do and offer an explanation for why this quote may be true: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.” -Marianne Williamson When you were young, chances were good you acted without hesitation. You weren’t afraid to speak your mind, run without wondering how you looked and declare even your wildest dreams to be certainties about your future. Then, under some of the unkind pressures of life, you, a droplet capable of great influence, started to question your ability to influence and create a positive effect on life. You may have learned through others around you (those who did not have your best intentions at heart and who likely were under an unbearable burden of their own confusion) that you were too loud, too ugly, too messy, too stupid, or any number of other disqualifying features. Maybe as you aged and acquired more confusions, you started to make mistakes and act in error. You caused problems for yourself and other people. The more you started to doubt yourself, regret your decisions or create problems by acting in error, the more you held yourself back from causing harm. It’s as if our failures and frustrations cause us to question who we are--we act less, think and worry more, and do our best to hold ourselves back from the flow of life to avoid causing more problems. This behaviour is the FUNDAMENTAL REASON people withdraw from life--we doubt ourselves and fear causing more harm and so withdraw and limit our influence rather than extend it. Out of confusion, we create problems. Then, having created problems that don’t align with who we know we are capable of being, lacking the tools to understand why and with no support to help us clear up the confusions and resolve the problems, we begin to withhold ourselves from life. We create illness, failures and other “reasons” to take ourselves down. It is for this reason that we do not shove someone who is struggling further down the chute with punishment or blame. It will only push people further away from life and create a decline for ourselves in the process. You can read the rest of the blog here.

[New Year, New You] Day 19: The Power of Personal Integrity The way our modern society is organized, it is very easy to believe that the most valuable skills are those that involve a high capacity for traditional learning and knowledge. The “thinking” professions of medicine, pharmaceuticals, law, accounting, etc., are the most consistently high paying professions. Many professionals in the arts (music, drawing, painting, etc.) have a reputation for being “starving artists.”  There are only a small percentage of artists who achieve significant financial success, never mind make a comfortable living at it, compared to the number of lawyers, doctors and accountants who consistently pull in the big bucks for what they do. “Thinking” is the state of being most highly rewarded socially and financially, and it's pounded into us for at least 12 years of the standard education most children receive. But it is not the most rewarding state of being, nor the most influential for improving your overall health, happiness, confidence and prosperity in life. In fact, it is the least important and should receive the smallest amount of your time and attention compared with other, far more life-altering, confidence-boosting states of being, like certainty, self-confidence, the ability to trust your own perceptions, observations, and the ability to make decisions and to trust the decisions you make. When it comes to being alive and feeling alive, trusting your gut and having the courage to stand by your convictions is more important than just about any other thing you do in life. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh What The Heck is "Personal Integrity" Anyway? You could lose all your money, lose all your personal possessions, your income and friends and even your relationships, and if that happened, you would still be left with the primary foundation of your life--your relationship with yourself--your confidence, your certainty, your ability to stay true to your values, goals and beliefs. If you have that, nothing can hold you back from making life go right and from feeling alive, no matter where you are, no matter what you're trying to achieve. I understand "personal integrity" as having the courage to be YOU--to say what you honestly believe and observe to be true, even when you are afraid of punishment or rejection. It's being willing to hold your own ideas, state your goals and personal views and "take up space" as you are for who you are. This website defines "personal integrity" as the quality of being honest with yourself and others, and living a life that is aligned with your moral principles. Personal integrity is knowing what you know, trusting what you know and having the courage to stay true to those observations in spite of pressure to do otherwise. And any time you compromised your own personal integrity, you broke trust with yourself and began to doubt yourself and your decisions. Self-confidence has everything to do with trusting yourself and trusting your decisions. You can read the rest of the blog post here!   

[New Year, New You] Day 18: How to Find More Love When You Need It If it's true that problems have solutions, that the difficulties in our relationships and personal situations can be solved, then we owe it to ourselves, and to life, to maintain a certain degree of interest and commitment directed toward the resolution of our problems, especially with other people. It appears that the firecracker part of life is trying to improve, to produce and contribute in order to rise above the noise and that where life is stuck or struggling, there is more likely a heavy burden of confusion and overwhelm than there is the possibility that there are any "bad people." Where life flows easily and smoothly, there's is understanding and a high degree of admiration--a sense of closeness to others, to your environment.  Where there is struggle and sickness and strife, life gets stuck and we are far better investigating what we may not fully understand with the hope of finding some information that helps us get perspective, rather than risk kicking already overwhelmed people further down the chute of life. Easier said than done, though, so this blog post should help you out a bit!

[New Year, New You] Day 17: How to Overcome Overwhelm We're nearing the end of our 21-Day New Year, New You Challenge! The last two posts were pretty juicy and action-packed, so I thought this one might be coming at the right time. It's easy to feel burdened by things to do, and overwhelmed with everything on our plates. Our reactions to this sense of things "slipping out of control" or "being too much to handle" can vary, but feel something like standing in the middle of a heavy storm with things moving all around, but you don't know how to grab on or where to start. Once you know this simple fact, you've got the first and most important piece of information you need to handle any amount of confusion or overwhelm! Whether you're trying to handle yourself, or trying to help another person you care for, this blog article has some powerful basics for lifting people up from the bottom of the bucket so they can get perspective and get life back on track. A Little Disclaimer First of all, I would like to make it clear that I am not a trained or licensed therapist, psychologist or medical doctor. This information is not intended to replace qualified health care practitioners. However, should you choose to consult “qualified” health care advice, you should know the following; There are no biological markers to determine the presence of most psychiatric conditions. No psychiatrist or mental health care practitioner has ever claimed to understand the “cause” of depression or most psychiatric conditions. No psychiatrist or mental health care practitioner has ever offered a “cure” for such conditions. What many mental health care practitioners have done is silence the symptoms and remove the burden that depressed, anxious, bipolar, schizophrenic, etc. people have become to the rational-minded people around them. This “silencing of the symptoms” has taken the form of the form of straight jackets, electroconvulsive shock and other acts that can only be considered human butchery. Even the head of the task force assigned to create psychiatry’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (their catalogued list of “illnesses”) has now revolted against the system and denounced what he considers the “medicalization of normal.” Direct-to-consumer advertising has contributed to a whopping $76 billion annually in antidepressant sales, and they are now being prescribed by general practitioners, and even osteopaths for everything from diabetes, heart disease, non-specific pain symptoms, anxiety, panic, obsessive compulsive conditions and even eating disorders! There's a much better way to address problems of mental overwhelm, confusion and high stress. Let's take a look: What Overwhelm Feels Like My husband tells a great story about his flight years in the military. The “Hercules” is an aircraft used by the Royal Air Force, and named after the famous Greek guy. ;-) It carries about 100 passengers or three land rovers and is often used to transport cargo, passengers or both. Craig was doing regular flights from UAE (United Arab Emirates) into Baghdad and Iraq at the time of this event. Because the aircraft was sometimes fired at from surface to air missiles, and because these missiles worked on tracking the heat of engines, their plan was to put the engines to idle up at 20,000 ft, make up a random pattern each day (that they made up every day at the time so as not to be written, tracked or predictable) then spiral down in different places to land in different spots on the runway, and avoid being easy targets for gunfire. The pilots found this a lot of fun, because they got to throw the big aircraft around with steep banks, curves, dives, etc. and all in the dark with the lights off!!  There was also the added challenge that you couldn’t use the engines, you had to glide in. One time, just after landing, Craig walked back down the aircraft from the cockpit, feeling triumphant and excited to have saved the day and safely landed, and saw that a whole lot of his passengers (soldiers who were being shipped in for duty in Iraq) had thrown up all over themselves or peed their pants. Then he realized it was probably not as exhilarating for them and a whole lot scarier and a much more difficult ride being in the back of the aircraft. This made him stop and realize that even though they were in all in the same aircraft doing the same things, because Craig could see what was going on and knew what to do and had a lot of control over the situation, he LOVED it and found it totally fun. For his passengers, who couldn’t see what was going on, didn’t know what was happening and didn’t have any control of the situation, it was scary, confusing and even sickening. From the front of the aircraft, where you can see, predict and understand what will be happening, the ride can be fantastic. And yet, if you’re in the back of the aircraft--where you can’t see, cannot predict or know what to expect, you can easily end up hurling all over yourself. That’s a lot how life looks when we fail to have good control over our lives. This can even happen by failing to be properly informed and supported by our loved ones through transitions and everyday experiences, even from the time we came into the world! We can easily feel stuck in the back of the aircraft--confused, disoriented and out of control. (I believe this, is one of the biggest reasons children act out in protest against our ineffective leadership and control. This is part of the reason for spilled milk, feverish nights and unpredictable temper tantrums. The more you work to consistently and predictably inform your children of what to expect, and the more you keep good control of your life’s aircraft and navigate with your attention on where you’re going, the better things will go.) You can read the rest of this blog here!

[New Year, New You] Day 16: How to Spot Your Enemies Being a good, kind person, you might assume that everyone else is, too. But chances are good that you’ve already experienced a person or two along the path of your own live who appeared to have been working against you. If you’ve ever had accidents, injuries, illness, or struggled with self-confidence, that you have met or been very connected to someone whose intentions seemed that they were not in your best interest. We’ve discussed that it’s very hard to change the things you’re not willing to comfortably face, and we've also looked at the fact that sometimes the reasons we cannot face things comfortably are because we don’t fully understand them, or because your attention is stuck in past failures, losses and disappointments. Another reason that some situations are difficult to handle is because you don't see them as they really are--you see what you want to see, NOT what's actually there. It's very important to listen to people's words and understand their intentions. Sometimes wolves do hide in sheep's clothing, and not being able to spot one can have dangerous consequences for you health, happiness and overall well-being in life! You can read the rest of this blog here. 

[New Year, New You] Day 15: How to Pick Your Friends You can pretty much count on the fact that sun will come up over the horizon in the morning, and that gravity will pull dropped objects to the earth, etc.. This offers a certain sense of stability and predictability in life, and we like that. Which is why one of the most challenging obstacles we have to overcome in life is the fact that we have been given very few tools to understand or navigate the wildly unpredictable, surprisingly volatile, hotbed of human emotion–our relationships with other people. While we’re all built pretty much the same way mechanically speaking, we don’t all have the same amount of spiritual “fuel” in our livingness tank and so we’re all going to face obstacles and challenges in life with varying degrees of persistence, courage and certainty. One of the biggest frustrations in relationships comes from the disappointment of realizing that other people do not respond to circumstances or situations as we might have hoped. Maybe our kids aren’t as productive or honest as we expect, our spouses may not be as attentive to our needs as we want, maybe there’s a friend who doesn’t take as much responsibility for her mistakes as you think she should. What if you could predict, with the help of a few little tricks, exactly how your friends, children, spouse, coworkers and even employers would behave? And use that information to pick winners every time? This blog post will help!   You Are a Like An Antenna When I tried to explain to my kids why things like personal integrity and values are more important than the material possessions in life, I told them, “You are like an antenna… an antenna that puts out a frequency based upon what you decide you are committed to being, doing and having in life. And the quality of the people you meet, the experiences you have and even your personal belongings, will all be determined to a very large degree by the frequency you put out into the world. I explain it a little better on the podcast here. The more you are being true to yourself and your goals, the more you’ll be doing the things it honestly takes to reach those goals, the more you’ll be having the things you most want and feel good about in life. So why can’t everyone just get on the work hard and stay happy bandwagon and make their lives amazing? There is a reason: Life can dish out some uncomfortable experiences and these can knock a person down, reduce the amount of “fuel” in the spiritual tank they have to face life’s challenges and obstacles with. Any situation where you felt your goals, ideas, beliefs or your character (your unique way of being) came under attack could have contributed to lowering the amount of fuel in your tank. If you often found yourself in situations where you didn’t know how to be yourself, or you didn’t feel you could stay true to your dreams and goals without receiving a great deal of criticism or encountering big difficulties from someone else around you would have been like a big, fat leak in your energetic boat! You can read the full article on the blog here.

[New Year, New You] Day 14: How to Lose Your Need to Be Liked We've been talking about how to peel back the layers of misinformation, opinion, and burning hot lies you've been fed and led to believe over the years about the way life works and what you're capable of, so we can help you find your rebel spirit--the feisty firecracker that's been burning inside of you since Day 1! When you follow the mob, or go with the flow, being careful not to ruffle feathers or rock boats, you can find yourself one day stuck in a socially acceptable spiritual straight jacket. It's not even very easy to recognize your goals and dreams anymore, or identify your real passions and interests. And if  you do, then when it comes time to express them in life to other people, or actually do something about it, you feel frozen and petrified. It's like you're standing there with a match in your hand, but too afraid to light the spark of that inner firecracker and let her take up space for fear of offending someone, or being rejected. Remember earlier in this series, when I talked about sex, chocolate and sunsets? I shared the one thing they all have in common, and explained that this "thing" was sensation--the flutter of energy moving through, on or around you. Sensation is the big spiritual pay check in life, it's why we do things. It is the thrill of adventure! If sensations were like gemstones, then admiration would be diamonds. It's the most valuable sensation and the one people are most willing to "pay" for with their time, attention, and self-sacrifice of various kinds. And yet, one of the tricky things about being liked, or receiving admiration, is that the more you want it and need it, the less of it you'll get. And any time you changed yourself or sacrificed your goals and values so someone else would "like" you more, you got yourself into a bit of a mess. This article explains how to get out of the trap of needing to be liked, so you can finally start truly liking yourself and loving your life! You can read the rest of the blog to accompany this podcast here.

[New Year, New You] Day 13: How to Find Your Rebel Spirit In yesterday’s blog post I wrote about how other people’s ideas, comments and behaviour can influence how you view the world--sometimes without your even realizing it. I mentioned the idea of the “dusty puppets” in your personal psychodrama as these shadows of the people who have been there and passed along their ideas or behaviours to you and that with so many of these influencing you in any given moment, sometimes it can be hard to figure out which ones are really you. What are the goals you have because you "think you're supposed to" and what are the goals you have because that's what you, as a spiritual firecracker, actually yearn for? The pressure to fit in and follow the rules can be all-consuming. It’s much easier to be socially acceptable than to feel like there’s something about you other people don’t like or can’t readily accept. But finding your rebel spirit--your personal goals, aspirations, beliefs, values and ideas that you are willing to hold in spite of any pressure or rejection--that’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do. At the end of your days, if you haven’t found that, who have you lived your life for? "If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." -Jim Rohn Social Veneer: The Thick, Sticky Layer of B.S. Coating Real Life Tomorrow’s podcast and blog lesson will be doozies, so I encourage you to stay tuned for that one, but leading up to it I want to explore first this idea of “social veneer” - the thick and sticky coating on life that tells you how to act, dress, talk, walk and engage in life so as to be socially acceptable to other people. Social veneer is what prevents people from rocking boats, ruffling feathers or being “confrontational.” But social veneer is also what has prevented people for many years from understanding the earth wasn’t flat and not all women are witches! While there are wild, brave and beautiful exceptions to the rule, for many of us, it feels easy to follow the crowd and fit in. It feels easy to eat your Wheaties and pass your tests in class. It’s easy to buckle down and shut up and do what you’re told because everybody likes you that way and being liked feels good. It certainly makes life easier for everyone else around you when you don't fiddle in class, make noise in public, or talk about the wild and unreasonable things you want to do with your life. But it’s a slow road to spiritual death and the greatest ideas, the most earth-shaking realizations and mind-boggling discoveries never came from a “mob” of socially compliant robots, they came from one brave, person who was willing to see things outside of the box--someone who dared to defy "the way things are" and actually change them! “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” ― Henry Ford

[New Year, New You] Day 12: Believe What You See, Not What They Say The entire conventional education system operates on the assumption that you will dutifully swallow the information you are given, accept it as truth, then regurgitate it politely and perfectly at a specified date and time on test day. And after an average of twelve years of daily practice drilling this technique in place, it's no wonder we tend to believe the things we're told without questioning them, or considering whether it's important and valuable to.  We're cruising along at top speed during our 21-Day New Year, New You Challenge, and if you're still here tuning in and showing up, then you are a rare breed of rebel--someone ready for the article I'm about to share with you.   You can read the rest of the article to accompany this podcast here.

[New Year, New You] Day 11: Ditch The Distractions to Reach Your Dreams So we’re tipping over to the second half of our 21-Day New Year, New You Challenge and if you’re still here, then hat’s off to you! Thank you for your time and attention and persistence in sticking to it. I know this is going to pay off for you. No matter how sloppy and sleepy my messages may have been, the fact that every day for the last eleven days you’ve been checking in and committing to yourself still makes you more powerful than if you’d allowed yourself to get sucked down another Facebook rabbit hole, or Netflix binge! Today we’re talking about “distractions” and how to ditch them once and for all. We’ve been talking a lot about the importance of being present and discussed why where you put your attention will determine everything about the results you get in life. So how do we handle the distractions that come up and seem to take so much of our time and attention off the track of the better life we’re busily trying to create for ourselves? With three teenagers and one child with autism in our house, I consider myself almost an expert at figuring out what it takes to eliminate distractions, crank up productivity and feel super-charged about your progress and focus in life. I had to learn things the long and hard way!! Hopefully a few ideas in today’s blog article and podcast can help spare you a lot of wasted minutes, days, weeks and even years of unnecessary distraction!  

[New Year, New You] Day 10: Life Goes Where Attention Flows We've hit the halfway mark of our 21-Day New Year, New You Challenge. Today's message is a wake up call to the worriers out there, and a word of caution to the overly cautious. Sometimes the more you stress and avoid and fear something happening, the more likely it is to actually happen. On the other hand, as long as you keep your eyes on the prize, no matter what obstacles and surprises come up for you in life, chances are very good you'll get there.  Life really does go where attention flows, and today's podcast and blog article prove it. You can access the rest of the short blog article to accompany this podcast here.

[New Year, New You] Day 9: Alive As You Are Willing to Communicate While we all know about the power of anti-oxidants and omega fatty acids, few people discuss the fact that you are as alive as you are willing to communicate. What makes some of us more able to communicate and others crawl into our shells? What tricks and tips and solutions can we find to feel more able to confront difficult and uncomfortable situations in our lives. The answers will be found in this series of articles on Communication. Let's start at the beginning with a look at the only two kinds of communication that are possible and three big reasons why it might not be working the way you expect it to. There Are Two Kinds of Communication If you keep on filling a glass of water, without stopping to take a few drinks, eventually it will spill. If you are driving with a full tank of gas and never stop to fill it up, eventually you will be stranded on the side of a road. Communication is a lot like many other kinds of energy in life, it works in flows. There are essentially only two kinds of communication; incoming communication and outgoing communication. There's communication you put out from you to others and the world around you, then there's the communication from others and your environment which is coming in at you. When the balance gets out of whack, as in there's a significant imbalance of flows, you can start to feel kinda funky. For example: If you listen to too many lectures and read too many articles without taking that information and sharing it, applying it, using it, talking about it, doing something with it, you'll feel kind of stuck in your head. Whereas, if you learn information and also get the chance to apply it and put it into action and get results, you'll feel really motivated to learn more. If you let someone talk to you too long without putting in a few of your own words, or sharing your thoughts and ideas, you may end up feeling irritable or overwhelmed. (Conventional classrooms are a classic case of too much inflow, not enough out flow. Students are expected to sit at their desk 8 hours a day while they get Think of how you feel when you send an important message to someone and you're waiting for them to reply to you. What about when you send a message and don't hear back, or when you call for someone and they don't answer. Letting the balance of incoming and outgoing flows go too far either way, will not feel good. Most of the situations that have been upsetting to you for one reason or another in your life, were very likely situations when this communication balance got WAY out of whack--so far out of whack you didn't know what to do to handle it--like; accidents & injuries, surgeries, break ups, death, etc.