The Open Seas Keep this Sailor Selling – Meet Steven Perlman

 

Quote of the Day: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Guest of the Day: Steven Perlman is a Philadelphia insurance and investment advisor, as well as a professional speaker with Referral Coach International.

Passion: Steven’s passion began as a teen and is sailing.

Challenges: He finds the boat itself a challenge: the upkeep and expense and maintenance. Steven has found, however, that he does not have his own boat to enjoy sailing. Instead, he takes over the helm for friends who have boats, so they get a much needed break and the ability to enjoy their boat, and he gets to sail.

Learned About Self: Steven says, the water is“Where to go when I want to find peace.” And that he needs this peace in his life. He adds, “My life, like many people’s lives, is just filled.” Steven gives the most amazing imagery of what it is he loves so much about sailing in this episode and how it has helped him keep a healthy balance and stay connected to the universe in his life.

 

To bring sailing into your life…

Envision: Envision these images: the breeze rippling the sails, the water tapping against the boat, the wind in your hair, music emanating from the cockpit, steering the boat with your feet, enjoying a nice cold cocktail – connecting with the universe and the elements of the planet in this way. “It’s the current, it’s the air, it’s the water, and it’s you.”

Explore: Take a catamaran ride on a vacation (ask the sailor to shut the engines off). Look into sailing schools and clubs for beginners.

Execute: Make up your mind that you are going to try it out: “As long as it’s in your mind, nothing else is gonna matter.” And then, get prepared to get wet! Rules of thumb: A) don’t wear anything you don’t want to get wet, and B) be very careful if you’re wearing white! (Steven chuckles.)

 

Advice to Listeners: “…I’ve been very, very fortunate in many, many areas of my life…at my core I am a life insurance guy who also is licensed and does some investment work for their clients. Being in business for myself has offered me enormous opportunities that a lot of people do not have. Being in the insurance and investment business offered me opportunities to do things that my own dad wasn’t able to do for me…my dad only made it two one of my football games my entire life. When my son was growing up…not only was I able to make it to every one of his games, but I made it to, probably, 90% of his practices. So, you know, there was an enormous amount of personal satisfaction that I got from being in business for myself.” When reflecting on being self-employed Steven reflects on the words of Rory Vayden: “Success is only rented, it’s never really owned, and the rent is due every single day.” He adds, “I have always had to perform and live with both the pressure of, and the benefits of, having a career that’s been in my control. So, to that, being able to find that thing in my life where I sit back and I know with 100 percent certainty that maybe not for the entire time, but for a portion of that time, that I am going to be able to connect and decompress and feel like I am a part of the bigger planet has just been absolutely magnificent for me. And I would wish that for anybody, whether it’s sailing or anything else they have a passion about it. What is it that grounds you and makes you part of the bigger universe, and not just totally tied up and focused inside your own little world?”

 

Motivational Go-Do!

Go online today, look up sailing schools in your area, sign up for one introductory class.

How Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System can rally around Steven Perlman:

Website: www.netchampsys.com

Twitter: @networkingchamp

And, as always, on the Facebook page: Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System

 

CLICK HERE to listen to Steven’s interview.

If you enjoyed, a review on iTunes and Stitcher would be much appreciated!

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Episode 168 – Thursday Lesson: Radical Self-Care with Cait Byrnes

 

Quote of the Day: “Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-respect.” –www.gatewaywomen.com

 

Guest of the Day: Cait Byrnes is a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach who works with women dealing with exhaustion, fatigue, and burn-out to help them feel vibrant and excited through nutritional education, emotional support and radical acts of self-care.  She believes that women’s health is a feminist issue, because society teaches women in particular that they need to care for everyone else before themselves.

Passion: To inspire women to take care of themselves in order to carry on with their lives in a meaningful way.

The Skill: Radical Self-Care: Cheap and Easy Ways to Treat Yourself, Stress Reduction, and Nutrition

Importance of Skill: These skills are too often forgotten about in our busy lives, and because too often people feel guilty for doing so.

 

The Lesson: Radical Self-Care

  • Cheap and easy ways to treat yourself: Epson Salt bath (1/2 cup Epson Salt, ½ cup baking soda – can add essential oils), Hay House Radio, Community Acupuncture, look to barter volunteer services at yoga studio, spas and community acupuncture establishments, guided meditation
  • Stress Reduction: Watch stimulant intake: caffeine, chocolate, etc., use the 4-7-8 breath, exercise/movement, lavender essential oil (in bath, on linen, in car, in office – to make: 1 ounce bottle, ¼ rubbing alcohol, rest with water, 5-10 drops lavender essential oil), allow yourself to sit with the stress/anxiety and rather than pushing it down, let it out.
  • Nutrition: Fueling your body in the right way will make you feel better emotionally. Find what works best for you, but general guidelines: be open to experimenting through food, use a Food and Mood Journal, get enough water (should be the first thing you have in the morning), drink 60-80oz of water a day, eat veggies of all colors, get enough protein and enough healthy fats: coconut oil, fish, nuts, seeds, avocado, have protein with each meal, especially for breakfast. Be mindful of sugar intake and processed foods, stay as close to the source as you can (raw vegetables). Stay on the outer rim of the grocery store.

 

Listener Resources:

 

To include radical self-care in your life…

Envision: Envision achieving goals but consider why you want to achieve them. How will they make you feel? Keep asking yourself “why” until you get to the truth.

Explore: Use the Food and Mood Journal, see the resources above.

Execute: Schedule your self-care into your calendar, because it is just as important as work or medical appointments or taking your kids to their activities.

 

Advice to Listeners: Cait says that there is a chapter on how to ask for help when you need it included in Cheryl Richardson’s book listed above that is very helpful. She states, “…I think that women, in particular, feel shameful if we have to ask for help, because we feel like we’re super women and we can do it all, we don’t need anyone. Which, I mean, we are super women and we can do it all, but sometimes we need a little support and that’s OK…it’s so OK to need a little help or a little support in whatever way that is.” She adds, “…don’t let anyone shame you for incorporating self-care or for asking for help.”

 

Motivational Go-Do!

Go do your 4-7-8 breath anytime you feel stressed today! And… go to caitbyrnes.com/freebies to get a FREE Food and Mood Journal.

 

How Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System can rally around Cait Byrnes:

Website: www.caitbyrnes.com

And, as always, on the Facebook page: Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System

 

CLICK HERE to listen to interview.

 

If you enjoyed, a review on iTunes and Stitcher would be much appreciated!

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Self-Preservation is Political Warfare

 

Quote of the Day: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” –Audre Lorde

Weekly Show Reflection:

You can tell by the length of this week’s episodes that our guests had some important ideas to share. And these three guests, over these four episodes spoke with such heart about self-care.

I could not do justice trying to summarize all of the powerful points made by Kirstin, Steven, and Cait, but I will tell you that if you need to make self-care more of a priority, you should listen to some or all of these episodes.

Kirstin Nussgruber is a two-time cancer survivor and a health and wellness coach who works with people on balancing their body, mind, and spirit. Kirstin brought some very interesting ideas to the table. One being that her illnesses were meant to teach her lessons. She shared with us details about the complicated relationship she had with her mother, and her decision to try to heal herself from the emotional pain of it while both she and her mother were battling cancer diagnoses. Uniquely, Kirstin’s way of caring for herself was through past life regression. If you find past life regression as fascinating of a topic as I do, then you will enjoy this episode and you will understand why I encouraged Kirstin to elaborate, and made the decision to extend her interview to two episodes.

I found Kirstin’s advice at the end of Part II powerful, and I would like to share that with you here: “The challenges in our lives, the crises in our lives…the difficult times in our lives, are there to actually push us forward, to catapult us forward, and they’re sent to us because the universe knows we can do it. So, if the universe knows we can do it, then, you know, who the hell are we to not believe in ourselves that we can actually do it, too? So turn it around. Of course, when you initially have that challenge, you need to, kind of, digest that first. And we do that… with the typical emotional reactions and that is absolutely needed and fine. But then we kind of come out of that, like a phoenix rising out of the ashes…” Make the intention to the universe: “I am open and I am ready to learn and receive.”

The second guest of the week, Steven Perlman, really surprised me. Steven is a keynote speaker, as well as a seasoned salesman, specializing in insurance and investments. He has been in his own business for much of his career, and he talks to a lot of people. You could say that networking is his life, however, he was genuinely happy that for once he could talk about his passion instead of his business. Since he was a teenager, Steven has been in love with sailing. He uses such beautiful imagery to describe what he loves about sailing, and why he needs this in his life. That sailing adds balance to his high pressure, high-paced work life by slowing it down and connecting him to nature. If you, or anyone you know, needs a reminder that there is more to life than work, than corporate life, than parenthood, entrepreneurship, caregiving or anything else that drains you – this is an episode for you. I ended this interview genuinely happy that Steven found this outlet in his life, and that he found it so early in life. It was a great reminder of the power of passion, and that we all deserve to have that space in our lives.

Cait Byrnes was the third guest of the week. Similar to Kirstin, Cait is also a health and wellness coach, but Cait’s focus is women who are suffering from fatigue and burn-out, and she does this through nutritional education, emotional support, and the promotion of radical self-care.  Gentlemen, though, do not feel left out. You can a) apply all of what Cait talks about to yourself, and b) gain some serious insight into the minds of women through this episode. So my advice is: Enter, but do so at your own risk. Cait and I talk about many key concepts that surround stress and self-care, and she gives incredibly valuable resources that you can find in the show notes to that episode. It may be the longest episode I’ve recorded, yet, but I didn’t want to edit anything, because if you are in need of self-care, you will want to hear every word.

So, I could tell you hear when discussing self-care that too often people put themselves last, that you need to give yourself permission, that you need to put the oxygen mask on before you can help anyone else. But my guests did such an amazing job, a thorough, showing this to you this week that there is very little for me to elaborate on on this front.

What I do want to talk to you about is which episodes you listen to and why? For example, you may be drawn to one or two of the episodes here, and maybe you think Steven’s won’t add value to you because you’re not in corporate. Or Cait’s won’t add value to you because you’re not a woman.

If that is the way you are utilizing this tool, and I hope that Motivate Me! has become a tool for you, then you may not be maximizing this show to its capacity.

So often listeners tell me that they start an episode and think, “Ah, this isn’t going to relate to me at all.” But then they give it a few minutes and find that it actually does. Because what happens is, they realize that while the guest may have had cancer and they never have, they do have that complicated relationship with their mother – or their sister.

This goes back to the concept that we are all connected. We are all connected – because we travel the same paths, we just each wear them differently. We are all connected – because we are here to learn the same lessons.

I would like to teach a lesson to you now. This is not a new idea, very little of what I talk about is. But, I want to teach a lesson to each of you who feels that you do not contribute much to the world. That you are not an important player. Maybe you live a simple life. Maybe you don’t have children. Maybe you don’t have high career aspirations, you never started your own business, never invented anything. You’re not a celebrity, you didn’t cure a disease.

You are special and you do impact this world. I don’t care if what makes you special is your chicken pot pie – I LOVE chicken pot pie. Do you know how happy a great chicken pot pie can make a person? Yes, actually, you do! And, I am sure you have a whole story about where the recipe came from, and different times that you made it for specific people. The love in that chicken pot pie could have cured an illness, mended a broken heart, it could have made someone feel loved who didn’t even love themselves. It could have made someone feel seen and understood.

And, yet, you may feel that you do not impact this world. Oh, I am sorry, but I thoroughly disagree. That chicken pot pie could be the one you make in the kitchen with your children or nieces and nephews. It could be the very memory they hold dearest from their youth. The softness of the dough, stickiness of the filling, the warm aroma that fills the kitchen. The toothless grins, the fighting over the last piece, the full belly grogginess.

Long after you are gone, your chicken pot pie could be what brings everyone around the table. It could be what sits on the table as they talk about all of their favorite memories of you. About all of the times you made your chicken pot pie, and how this one is good – but it just doesn’t taste the same.

Ladies and gentlemen, please ask yourselves today: What is my chicken pot pie? Because you already have one.

Call to Action:

 

The Motivational Go-Do!

Answer: What is my chicken pot pie?

CLICK HERE to listen to this week’s reflection.

 

If you enjoyed, a review on iTunes and Stitcher would be much appreciated!

 

Let us help you live a life you will be excited about…

the only regret you’ll have is wishing you had started sooner.

 

 

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Heal Body, Mind, and Spirit with Kirstin Nussgruber

 

Quote of the Day: “Just keep swimming.” –Dori, Finding Nemo

 

Guest of the Day: Kirstine Nussgruber is a two-time breast cancer survivor, and the founder of Eat Holistic LLC where she teaches cancer warriors, survivors, caregivers, and those wishing to prevent becoming a cancer statistic in the first place. Kirstin is about beyond cancer nutritional and lifestyle modification.

 

Passion: Educating and guiding people on their path to help them see through the cloudiness caused by self-doubt and limiting beliefs. Her goal is to help people ignite their personal spark by teaching them how to adjust their lifestyles, nutritional habits, and to help them get in tune with themselves mentally and emotionally.

Challenges: “…I think it was more of overcoming my own resistance inside. Thinking, ‘I can do this, I’m worth it, I can start all over, I can do this…’” She was in her mid to late thirties questioning herself about whether she can start her life over again. “Can I, basically, start a whole new career, and then be successful at it, because I don’t have any credibility, I’m not that young, ‘How am I going to do this with a family?’ and so on and so forth. It was just… your own little ego, I guess, coming into your own way, and these little self-defeating thoughts coming up. But that wasn’t really the overriding factor, I think it was just later the language a little bit was a challenge for me, because although I speak German, I hadn’t studied in it, right?” So, finding the right translation for certain technical terms was a challenge for her. Also, coming to the United States and finding an organization that understood the credentials she had earned was difficult.

Learned About Self: “That if you put your mind to it, nothing can stop you. That it always is your own inner-self that you need to confront if you think you can’t do something. But you absolutely can do something if you put your mind to it. And that I am a continuous student. I am always learning new, and even though I have a certain qualification…you go right back to the drawing board, and it’s up to you to put yourself out there in the firing line. Especially in a subject like nutrition… there are so many controversies there. And it’s all good, it’s all good, but you need to really stay on top of it. And then, especially when it comes to beyond cancer nutrition because we have to be extra careful…” (Listen to this episode for a detailed description of what she means by this.)

 

Suggested Resources:

 

To become a teacher of life experience…

Envision: Picture yourself achieving the end goal – don’t just see it, feel it. Feel as if you are already in that position. Make a date with yourself daily to do this. Use an alarm and train yourself to achieve the end goal. This is a form of meditation and it’s a form of intention-setting. This can be done in under one minute.

Explore: Explore: “If you’re interested, you’ll do what is convenient, but if you’re committed you’ll do what it takes.”

Execute: Stop and make an intention, and then seeing what you need to do daily to make it happen. Do you need to change a habit, carve out time, restructure something in life, do you have to educate yourself, network, or research schools? Make the first step by setting an achievable goal on a specific date on the calendar. Make sure it is achievable.

 

Advice to Listeners: “The challenges in our lives, the crises in our lives…the difficult times in our lives, are there to actually push us forward, to catapult us forward, and they’re sent to us because the universe knows we can do it. So, if the universe knows we can do it, then, you know, who the hell are we to not believe in ourselves that we can actually do it, too? So turn it around. Of course, when you initially have that challenge, you need to, kind of, digest that first. And we do that… with the typical emotional reactions and that is absolutely needed and fine. But then we kind of come out of that, like a phoenix rising out of the ashes…” Make the intention to the universe: “I am open and I am ready to learn and receive.”

 

Motivational Go-Do!

Decide what the one thing is that you want to change about yourself right now. Whatever that is, big or small, is your true essence speaking to you.

 

How Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System can rally around Kirstin Nussgruber:

Email: kirstin@eatholistic.com

Website: www.eatholistic.com

And, as always, on the Facebook page: Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System

 

CLICK HERE to listen to Kirstin’s interview.

 

If you enjoyed, a review on iTunes and Stitcher would be much appreciated!

Read More

Heal Body, Mind, and Spirit with Kirstin Nussgruber

 

Quote of the Day: “Just keep swimming.” –Dori, Finding Nemo

 

Guest of the Day: Kirstine Nussgruber is a two-time breast cancer survivor, and the founder of Eat Holistic LLC where she teaches cancer warriors, survivors, caregivers, and those wishing to prevent becoming a cancer statistic in the first place. Kirstin is about beyond cancer nutritional and lifestyle modification.

 

Passion: Educating and guiding people on their path to help them see through the cloudiness caused by self-doubt and limiting beliefs. Her goal is to help people ignite their personal spark by teaching them how to adjust their lifestyles, nutritional habits, and to help them get in tune with themselves mentally and emotionally.

Challenges: “…I think it was more of overcoming my own resistance inside. Thinking, ‘I can do this, I’m worth it, I can start all over, I can do this…’” She was in her mid to late thirties questioning herself about whether she can start her life over again. “Can I, basically, start a whole new career, and then be successful at it, because I don’t have any credibility, I’m not that young, ‘How am I going to do this with a family?’ and so on and so forth. It was just… your own little ego, I guess, coming into your own way, and these little self-defeating thoughts coming up. But that wasn’t really the overriding factor, I think it was just later the language a little bit was a challenge for me, because although I speak German, I hadn’t studied in it, right?” So, finding the right translation for certain technical terms was a challenge for her. Also, coming to the United States and finding an organization that understood the credentials she had earned was difficult.

Learned About Self: “That if you put your mind to it, nothing can stop you. That it always is your own inner-self that you need to confront if you think you can’t do something. But you absolutely can do something if you put your mind to it. And that I am a continuous student. I am always learning new, and even though I have a certain qualification…you go right back to the drawing board, and it’s up to you to put yourself out there in the firing line. Especially in a subject like nutrition… there are so many controversies there. And it’s all good, it’s all good, but you need to really stay on top of it. And then, especially when it comes to beyond cancer nutrition because we have to be extra careful…” (Listen to this episode for a detailed description of what she means by this.)

 

Suggested Resources:

 

To become a teacher of life experience…

Envision: Picture yourself achieving the end goal – don’t just see it, feel it. Feel as if you are already in that position. Make a date with yourself daily to do this. Use an alarm and train yourself to achieve the end goal. This is a form of meditation and it’s a form of intention-setting. This can be done in under one minute.

Explore: Explore: “If you’re interested, you’ll do what is convenient, but if you’re committed you’ll do what it takes.”

Execute: Stop and make an intention, and then seeing what you need to do daily to make it happen. Do you need to change a habit, carve out time, restructure something in life, do you have to educate yourself, network, or research schools? Make the first step by setting an achievable goal on a specific date on the calendar. Make sure it is achievable.

 

Advice to Listeners: “The challenges in our lives, the crises in our lives…the difficult times in our lives, are there to actually push us forward, to catapult us forward, and they’re sent to us because the universe knows we can do it. So, if the universe knows we can do it, then, you know, who the hell are we to not believe in ourselves that we can actually do it, too? So turn it around. Of course, when you initially have that challenge, you need to, kind of, digest that first. And we do that… with the typical emotional reactions and that is absolutely needed and fine. But then we kind of come out of that, like a phoenix rising out of the ashes…” Make the intention to the universe: “I am open and I am ready to learn and receive.”

 

Motivational Go-Do!

Decide what the one thing is that you want to change about yourself right now. Whatever that is, big or small, is your true essence speaking to you.

 

How Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System can rally around Kirstin Nussgruber:

Email: kirstin@eatholistic.com

Website: www.eatholistic.com

And, as always, on the Facebook page: Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System

 

CLICK HERE to listen to Kirstin’s interview.

 

If you enjoyed, a review on iTunes and Stitcher would be much appreciated!

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Friday Lesson: Your Dreams Only Seem Impossible

 

Quote of the Day: “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible” –Francis of Assisi

Weekly Show Reflection:

Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for stopping in for this Friday’s reflection.

Before we get started, I have a few fun “housekeeping” things, as they say, to talk to you about.

One of those things is that the time has come for me to announce your new name. Yes, very excitingly this has been a topic of discussion in our private Facebook group. Some people feel as if “listeners” or “audience” is too general and not personal enough. And, I think after 163 episodes we’re ready. There were suggestions such as Motivated Ones and Peeps and Tribe and The UltiSys – because remember: our group is Motivate Me! – Ultimate Support System. And that is what I hope we can get people to do: pull together positive, supportive people and provide encouragement and understanding, be realistic about life and laugh as much as we can. Marie’s response was: “We are a community, I think. We listen, learn and lift one another, and that’s truly what a community is about. I’m really grateful to be part of this one.” And Racquel said: “I’m cool with anything you want to call me. I just always think of Motivate Me as a support system.” I am sure you can see how both of these responses, along with all the others, made me super happy. So here it is, staying in line with what I think we all feel is our goal here, and using an abbreviation from the show that stemmed from our guest, and my daughter’s boyfriend, Michael Scotti Jr, who abbreviates everything because he is in film: You will now be officially referred to as the MoMe Team. MoMe for Motivate Me! and team – because who doesn’t want to be a part of a team? And team – because every member of a team is important. And Team, because that evokes chanting and clapping and motivating and encouraging each other…and that is how I see you and me and us.

So moving on MoMe Team, I have been getting a lot of great feedback about the show. And, something that comes up most is that people look forward to the Friday reflection. So Veronica and Gina and Jason, that you for your feedback, I’m thinking about you today.

If you are a MoMe Teammate out there listening right now and would like to send us show feedback about what you’re digging, what you’re not digging, what you would like to see that we’re not doing, I would love to hear from you. There are many ways to get me, but the easiest is probably just to shoot me an email at Lynette@motivatemepodcast.com. AND, if you’re somebody who has been sitting back thinking about applying to be on the show, I suggest you send that email now, because BIG NEWS here, ladies and gentleman: the format of our show will be changing on April 20th.

As you know, we will be taking Motivate Me! on a 50-state road trip the first week of May. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS: We will be having a sendoff party on the Jersey Shore boardwalk May 4th, so everyone can meet the crew and wish us luck. It would be amazing if you could be there. If you want details, such as details for our sendoff party, or if you would like a copy of our itinerary, go to motivatemepodcast.com and sign up for our newsletter!

So, the thing is, I have so much information to share with you about the trip. And about the preparation for the trip, because something that is always in my mind is how to show you how to incorporate a passion into your life. The best way for me to do that is to show you the steps I take to do that. By now, I think you know that I am a show don’t tell kinda girl. So I would like some time with you to end what we have now realized is Season I in order to officially start Season II on April 20th.

April 20th is exactly two weeks before our sendoff party and it is also my 48th birthday. You know how when your birthday comes you feel like, I don’t feel any different today than I did yesterday? Well, in complete support of living a life of design, I decided that for me, that was not going to be the case this year. So on that day, we will have a shift in format and we will all be getting ready for the #MOTIVATEme, America! Road Trip 2016.

What can you do to prepare? In order to be a part of all the great things we’ll be putting out, you will want to make sure that you do these things: 1) request me on Facebook, I am simply Lynette Renda, 2) join our private group Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System, 3) go to motivatemepodcast.com and submit your email to receive our crazy itinerary, 4) follow us on Instagram: Motivate_Me_with_Lynette_Renda, and 5) follow us on Twitter: @MotivatePodcast. You can probably just search my name in each of these mediums and we should all come up. I am assuming that you have already subscribed to this podcast. I know this sounds like a lot to you now, but each of these mediums will have different content from the trip, that’s why you want to be subscribed to each.

Next, I have a couple of shout outs I’d like to send out to some top contributors in our private Facebook group Motivate Me! Ultimate Support System. To Ruth and Hillary and Kelli and Keith thank you! Ruth, I look forward every day to the humorous daily picture you post, it’s quirky and adds a new perspective on life. Hillary, your drive and courage and appreciation for the little things in life always makes me stop and think. I’m really proud of the way you have taken charge of your life. Keith, I am so appreciative of the thoughtful responses you give to the questions and comments of the other group members, and Kelli, the meaningful passages you post really show me how much you get the message of this show and the point of the group. I told you all this week how adorable you all are and how grateful I am to have you in my life, and I meant it. You and the rest of the members just make this world a happier place for me. I know our group is young, but I hope it will be doing the same for all of us soon.

Enough about me, let’s get to this week’s guests.

All of my guests this week have achieved something that others may have thought impossible. I have to tell you, I had so much fun speaking to the guests this week. For one, I found each of their passions incredibly interesting. Now, I admit, that’s not hard to do because I find many careers and hobbies and interests interesting.

But, on Monday we had mentalist and keynote speaker Christopher Carter – am I right or am I right that being a mentalist is super cool?! You all are well-aware that I have a personal interest in body language. I have to tell you, though, that Christopher took my interest to a new level. He uses his knowledge in body language to both perform for entertainment but to also help people perform better and communicate better in the work environment. He uses it to teach communication and empathy. A) I thought that was sincerely interesting, and B) I thought it was nothing short of amazing that this is an understanding he discovered on his own through his own study. That, as I say on the show, is profound to me. Now, today’s topic is about achieving the impossible. This is a severely shy boy who grew up and out and went to college, got married, and during a graduate program decided, ‘No. I don’t want to do this; I want to become a mentalist.” Christopher Carter had the courage, despite his shyness, despite his lack of knowledge in the entertainment industry, despite the fact that he was a grown married man, to take on what others told him was impossible and become a mentalist and keynote speaker.

On Tuesday we had a duo on the show, Avery Pontell-Schaefer and Erica Busillo, who are working step moms, who take their jobs as step-moms so seriously that they are not just step-moms, they are step-momming. Now, here is the thing with Avery and Erica. They approach their role as step-moms very seriously and with positivity, and they are on a quest to encourage other step-moms to do the same. Their site momward.com launches tomorrow, March 12th, and they are calling on all step-moms who want to share their positive experiences to come join them. Achieving the impossible is today’s theme and I see these two doing just that. They are transcending the negativity that can often be found in blended families by taking the high road, the positive road, and they are getting great results because of it. Of course, they have the same challenges many other blended families have, but from what they said, the problems are shorter-lived and they are happier families because of it.

On Wednesday, Keri Norley was on the show. Keri was born in Chicago and lives in Australia and as a Feng Shui, numerology, and colors coach. Keri has done a couple of things people would see as impossible: she moved to Australia for one, and for another, she walked away from the degree she earned in early education to take a much more spiritual path. And she continues to speak on and consult on practices some may not see the value in. However, she has made it work and is living a life she truly enjoys. You can hear it in Keri’s enthusiasm for life.

Thursday’s lesson was taught by previous guest Jason Shurgot. Jason is the founder of MillionaireNotes on Instagram where in only fourteen months he grew to over 150+ followers. His lesson was on 7 easy steps to start a digital business for free, and Jason is doing it. So many times as an entrepreneur people are discouraged, either by others or by the market they are a part of. But, Jason talks on the show about a couple of the business failures he has had in his life, and he remains undaunted by those that try to tell him what he wants to achieve is impossible.

Looking at my own life, there are so many things I’ve attempted or achieved that people thought was on the impossible side: getting married at nineteen, starting a karaoke business when people barely even knew what karaoke was, going to college at thirty, getting a masters at forty, writing two novels, starting a podcast when so many people don’t know what podcasts are, going on a 50-state tour.

I had an unexpected and powerful conversation with someone today that really brought a couple things home for me, that is blowing me away a little bit right now for how on target this conversation was with what the topic is for today’s reflection. I was speaking with a friend through text messaging, and I told her that I would like to interview her when my crew, Cassie and Chelsea, get to New Jersey. At first she lit up excited that I had saw value in what she’s doing, but she quickly went to why she would not want to be in front of a camera.

And it really relates to achieving what you may believe as impossible, and how it is really just thoughts and perceptions. How much you care about what others think of you and how much you allow the opinions of others to impact your actions.

My response to my friend was: “There are five reasons why I could say I shouldn’t be in front of a camera.”

And she said, “Exactly. You’re such an inspiration.”

Her words created this thunderstorm of emotion in me. I started to doubt my own abilities. I mean, if someone is going to feel that way about themselves, then that’s what they’re going to see when they look at me. And as we’ve discussed here before, what we put down in others is what we really don’t like about ourselves. So my first question was: Is this all people will see when they look at me?

But, see, there is something much stronger than that in me, and to tell you the truth, I’m not sure where it came from. I don’t know if it’s a confidence or a knowing, and just like some people are shy or others feel they lack worth, I refuse to let the opinions of others deter me from what I want out of life. I just refuse.

Then I teared up. Not for myself, but for my friend and all of the other beautiful, intelligent, special women out there who live less because of what boils down to their own self-doubts. Because of what they think others are thinking when really it’s only what they are thinking about themselves.

I know that there are millions of women who could be doing so much more with their lives. Who are holding themselves back. Who could be changing the world and the lives of people in it, if they could just see in themselves what others truly see.

This is why I love the words of Francis of Assisi so much because sometimes we need to trick ourselves into achieving the impossible. So ladies, “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

I believe in you.

Call to Action:

 

The Motivational Go-Do!

Don’t let your own opinions hold you back from achieving what may seem like the impossible.

CLICK HERE to listen to this week’s reflection.

 

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