thoughts to ponder

If you’ve never chosen a theme for your year before, it can be:
a broad, general statement

a thread of consciousness or thought

kind of like a vision or mission statement but not so stuffy

an overriding idea

a repeating thought

a unifying idea

memorable

the subject of discourse or discussion

ongoing meditation with God or self

helps keep you focused, on target, on track

supports Laws of Attraction – if you’re telling the Universe clearly what you desire, then you’re more likely to co-create it!

provides ongoing encouragement as you see your theme coming to fruition throughout the year

Will your theme be:

fun or serious

personal, professional, or both

yearly, monthly, or for an event or project?

Will you start on January 1 or your birthday or your business anniversary?

Will you publicize your theme or keep it to yourself?

I’ve had a number of themes for myself over the years including:

Connection & Community

Sacred Spaces

The Year of Allowing

Elizabeth’s Year of Extreme Self Care

—general and specific—that might inspire you:

Creativity

Trying new things

Taking better care of your health

Organization

Being a better communicator

Learning

Making more money

Deepening your relationships

Living a more balanced life

Developing your spiritual practice

Adventure

Play more

How Much Joy Can I Stand?

My Year of Unexpected Financial Windfalls

The Year of Sacred Spaces

I'm Sexy, Sassy and Unstoppable

Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

Forgive

I’m worth it!

Have fun, fun, fun in all I do!

Big leaps of faith

Do it or dump it

Time is valuable

Prosperity first

Pick the low hanging fruit

No more Lone Ranger

What do you really, really, really want this year in the areas of

RELATIONSHIPS

CAREER

FINANCES

HEALTH

SPIRITUALITY

PERSONAL GROWTH?

Brainstorm your dreams and desires for the coming year. Think big, think small, think in the box and think out of the box. Think short-term and long-term. Think realistically and think pie-in-the-sky! The idea here is simply to capture all of your desires on paper so you can then go back and review all the ideas in your head!

If you can, spend some time with this over the next few days. Journal, talk to friends and family, create a vision board, find a personal anchor (rock, photo, etc) and then pick your theme.

Remember

What are the next three phone calls you'd like to receive?

I just got off the phone with my awesome mastermind group... coaches around the country who I met during the Beyond Six Figures Program for Coaches with Eva Gregory and Mary Allen. In this program, I learned tools and skills to take my group coaching programs to new heights! I'm starting another new coaching group live and in person in Tallahassee, FL on September 15th. Details can be found at www.inspiredentrepreneur.com.

But I digress...

So, in my mastermind group, we help each other problem solve, brainstorm and get unstuck. We celebrate our successes, we analyze our failures and serve as a sort of "board of directors" for each other and our businesses. Here's a great resource to help you create your own mastermind group.

Sooooo... one of our members today was talking about a slow period in her business and was seeking coaching, strategies and ideas for how to deal with this. A powerful question that came up was this:

What are the next three phone calls you'd like to receive?

Think about that for a minute. If you could get your phone to ring three times before the end of today, who would you want to hear on the other end of the line? Some ideas...

- a potential new client

- an invitation for some free PR for your business (maybe an interview on radio, TV or in the newspaper)

- a current client who's really happy with the services you provide and who wants to refer someone else to you and they ask "do you have any space for a new client?"

- someone offering you an all-expenses paid vacation

- a friend offering to babysit your kids for the weekend

- your partner calling to say they're going to treat you to a nice dinner out tonite "just because"!

A lot of times when business gets slow, it's because we need the space to think, to regroup, to recommit to our vision. Sometimes we simply need a little break, some time to rest and rejuvenate. So what do you want? What do you  need? What do you choose?

Decide today and make a clear declaration about the next three calls you'd like to receive. Then sit back and watch what happens!

P.S. One more note about my mastermind group...

We've been meeting for almost a year now and these wise folks always have something brilliant to share. Big thanks to Bev Martin, Suzee Ebeling, Joselito Laucendia and Karen McMillan - you make me a better coach and human being each time I talk with you. Thank you for sharing your gifts and your expertise with me!

The wildly successful author of the Harry Potter book series delivers her 2008 commencement address "The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination."

Click here to watch the video or read the transcript. Funny, poignant, inspiring! Well worth your time!

Life is busy. Life is full. Life is complicated. I get sidetracked. Or I get stingy. Or I just plain forget.

But I have a roof over my head and food on my table and I can afford gas for my car. I am very, very, very grateful for the wonderful life that I have and for the opportunities that I've been given.

Sometimes I need a little nudge, a reminder, that a little money goes a long way.

One of my favorite inspirational websites www.tut.com is starting a great program called "Gifts from the Universe" and this month they are highlighting the Global giving Relief Funds for China and Myanmar. Click here to donate. I just did.

It's easy. It's fast. And it matters.

The saying "Think Globally, Act Locally" is a good one but I also think that "Think Globally, Act Globally" is equally important in these trying times.

This is the e-mail message I received from TUT today.

"Kindness always wins, Elizabeth.

Always, always, always.

-- The Universe"

I really needed to hear that. In the past two weeks, I've noticed myself getting angry and agitated a lot - mostly at other people. I'm not easily upset so I've been looking for the gift in these situations. What am I to learn from these experiences?

"Do I know the whole story?" 

Eric and I received poor customer service a few weeks ago when renting a condo down at the beach. I got really angry that the employee was rude to us, that they messed up our reservation, etc. But after taking time to reflect as I walked the beach (always a great place to contemplate life!) I realized that I didn't know the whole story.

Maybe that employee had a horrible morning and was late to work. Maybe someone important to her had hurt her or was sick or had died. Maybe she felt trapped in a job she didn't enjoy. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

By considering all the possible options, I was able to realize that her treatment of us wasn't because we had done something wrong but was a symptom of something happening in her life. Something I wasn't aware of. Something that had nothing to do with me/us.

Making this discovery allowed me to have more compassion for her. I had initially filled out the guest comment survey and wanted her manager to know of my dissatisfaction. But I decided not to mail it afterall. That would only service my ego and give it the illusion of being powerful and "right". Instead, my authentic self, my spirit self just wants to send that employee my good thoughts and compassion and hope that she was just having a bad day.

Acting with kindness and releasing that anger and negativity feels very freeing. I am once again reminded that stepping back, asking "Do I know the whole story?" and not making assumptions or judgements is a very loving, authentic and powerful place from which to live your life.

Where have you had a similar experience in your life?