A NEW TOOL FOR YOU!
…Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.
- Charles Swindoll
It’s finished! It’s Done! And you helped create it!
Recently I held a workshop that many of you attended. I asked for your input and if you would share with me the key things you would find most helpful and what would be the easiest way for you to receive and absorb it. (After all, it’s only helpful if you actually get through it, right?) Soooo…
Thank you to all who responded.
This new system is now available for you and I believe this is something that will truly enhance your life, support your progress and magnify your success!
To hear more about it please click the link below and it will take you to a short presentation…
The 3 Step System to Revitalize Your Life, Goals and Relationships
P.S. I have a NEW free gift for you! Download your F.R.E.E. Special Report; Conquering Change, Take the Scary out of Transitions and receive my complimentary bi-monthly ezine by filling out the big green box at the top of the page!
Do you have the Summer Doldrums?
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. ~Mark Twain
Summer Doldrums
Here is a list of 25 fun and thoughtful things you can do to cheer someone else up (and yourself in the process):
1. Reverse gossip; share something nice about someone you know.
2. Send an older person a beautiful card, (did you know old folks tend to not get a lot of mail these days and they love it!).
3. Forfeit the war for the good parking space with a smile and a wave.
4. Pay a nice compliment to a stranger.
5. Spray your neighbor’s weeds while you’re out spraying your own!
6. Spend an afternoon chatting with people at a Senior Center! These folks are lovely and very friendly.
7. Grab a shopping cart from the grocery parking lot on your way into the store.
8. Ask to speak to a manager and comment on what a good job you think they are doing.
9. Offer to take care of someone’s children for an afternoon so mom can have a few hours to herself.
10. Offer to water someone’s plants while they are on vacation.
11. Include someone you know in one of your regular activities.
12. Send or take a care package to someone who is sick.(books, magazines and their favorite goodies)
13. Offer to go to the grocery store for an older person in your neighborhood.
14. Let someone cut in during rush hour traffic.
15. Let someone with just a few items go ahead of you in the checkout line.
16. Share your special skill with someone who is interested in learning it.
17. Adopt a pet from a shelter that is going to be euthanized.
18. Wave to a child in a car.
19. Volunteer your time for a worthy cause.
20. Take dog bones, food and toys to a dog shelter.
21. While you’re at it, volunteer to walk a few dogs.
22. Smile and say hello to everyone you see today.
23. Take the time to pay someone a sincere compliment on their appearance or something they are doing.
24. Leave a surprise anonymous gift, flower or plant on someone’s doorstep or desk at the office.
25. Don’t just hemorrhage from laughter…alert your friend about the toilet paper strand that is stuck to her shoe as she prances out of the restroom at the restaurant.
Do you have any ideas on how to cheer someone up? We’d love to hear them… please share them in the comments section below! Stay cool, stay positive and enjoy your summer!
P.S. For more ideas on how to stay positive sign up for the F.R.E.E. 21 Day Attitude Adjustment Course and receive my complimentary bi-monthly ezine by filling out the big green box at the top of the page!
MILE MARKERS – are you counting?
It’s truly amazing and a little hard to believe I am a grandmother and my little girl and best friend is a very efficient loving creative Mother. I really do marvel at the job she is doing!
Saturday was my adorable granddaughter’s first ballet recital. Yup, a star is born. As I watched her confidently dancing in her beautiful blue costume my heart swelled with pride and joy. It seems like only yesterday it was my Lexi up there performing. Where did the time go?
Flowers? For me?
After the show as we filed out of the auditorium to wait with flowers for our little celebrity I ran into a couple of Alexis’s friends from high school, now with little stars of their own. It seems like only yesterday these very women were only girls whispering and giggling on the phone together. Where did the time go?
If I close my eyes, become very still and think back I can almost remember the feeling of being on the stage myself; the smell of backstage, the camaraderie of my fellow performers and the bonding ceremony of putting on our stage makeup. Where did the time go?
As my mother and I crowed about how fabulous our Kenzi did the conversation drifted to a time in my mother’s past when she danced for her father with her dance class at the veteran’s hospital, just before her father died. She still remembers her mother sewing special velvet dots on her costume wings when the other girls only had ink spots on their wings. Where did the time go?
As I write this post I wonder if Alexis knows how special these times are and is she really taking the time to really savor the moment. Not just the photo image but all the details of the glorious and juicy emotions of these mile markers. There will come a time when she will say where did the time go?
Mile markers, are you counting them? Are you really taking them in? Are you making moments?
But more importantly…is there something more you want to do? Is there something you’ve been waiting to do “when the time is right?” Don’t wait, time flies, do it now. Five or ten years from now you will be looking at photographs and saying, where did the time go?
Time is our most precious commodity. Find your passion. Unearth those buried desires and dreams and start now. If you wait for the perfect time it will never come.
“Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything. Do something. Anything.”
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Does Your Attitude Need a Little Work?
There are very few things having a positive attitude can’t make better. Simply stated the most successful and happy people have one. A positive attitude is like anything else; you have to work at it and on it. If you don’t continue using it – it gets flabby so…
How’s your attitude lately?
Take this short quiz and find out!
Get This – Survey Results – GlowDay.com
Could your attitude use some work? I invite you to join me (as my guest) for the FUN F.R.E.E. Positive Attitude Workshop on Tuesday, May 25th at 5:00pm Pacific.
Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.
– Author Unknown
There is still time to join us, scroll down below and register today!
P.S. By the way, I am really hoping you can make this call but I know there are times when, well…things just happen. So rest assured you won’t miss a thing. If you register a recorded version of the call will be sent to you if for some reason you are unable to attend.
P.P.S. If you receive this via email click http://www.womenintransitiononline.com/deborah-speaks/ to view the quizz!
What do Synchronicity and Positive Attitude Have in Common?
Well for me this week… a lot. The definition of synchronicity is the coincidence of events that seem related, but are not obviously caused one by the other.
I don’t know about you but I have always been intrigued by this concept and yesterday I believe I have experienced just such an event!!! Really, the craziest thing just happened to me.
You know, for the past month or so I have been working VERY hard on a new workshop I will be unveiling very soon. Consequently I have been doing an awful lot of research, writing and working some very long solitary hours. As a result of this I am afraid I have fallen into a bad habit. I find myself becoming lost in the project and looking up to find it is evening and my brain is simply numb and empty. Lately I have been stumbling into the TV room, turning it on with the intention of turning the brain off for a little while and I wind up spending the rest of the evening in a television stupor. It doesn’t seem to even matter what I watch!
Now if you read my blog much you all know how I feel about television and its effect on our creativity and attitude. I am one who would like to find the strength to simply get rid of my television entirely. So I have to tell you I was definitely feeling guilty spewing about the evils of TV and being the very one who was watching news and murder mysteries till the wee hours of the night! Yup, shame on me.
So here’s the synchronicity thing…
Last night I had just finished writing the article, “Positive Attitude and Staying Fired Up” for this week’s e-zine and I sauntered into the den and switched on the cable news channel and silently told myself, “Geez, I have to stay somewhat connected to the world, right? I’ve hardly been out of this house. I’ll just watch it for a little while and then turn it off.”
The den lit up and the sound of my favorite commentator filled the silence as I went and prepared a salad. Just as I sat down at the breakfast bar to eat it while I watched it suddenly switched off. Just like that it was silent. Hmmm. Ok, I’ll just reboot the cable box. That’s the problem for sure. Four minutes later it switched off again. This rather frustrating scenario repeated itself about four times and then it happened.
I noticed the soft red blinking indicator light on the front of the TV. A sinking feeling ensued followed by frustration and anger. The “Lamp Unit” has burned out. Now this has happened once before and will happen again but for now there will be NO TV until I order the part and replace it.
As I mentally fretted about what I might do with the rest of this evening to unwind it occurred to me I had just finished writing an article about staying fired up and even offered an exercise to help us notice how negativity can creep itself into our lives and the effect it has on our attitude.
Enjoy the silence...
Doctor heal thyself! Here’s the good news:
I eventually closed my tired eyes, dusted off and listened to one of my favorite motivation tapes. Very inspiring and pleasant I might add.
Tonight, which is approaching, I plan to dig through and revisit some of my forgotten and favorite CD’s I discovered while digging for the manual for the TV. I am actually looking forward to this. There are some great memories in these songs!
I will also spend some quiet time on my porch enjoying the last of the cool evenings and have a really good conversation with myself. It’s a perfect opportunity to the listen to some of thoughts or conversations that occur in my head.
Did you know that the average person has over 60,000 thoughts per day! Amazing isn’t? I told you I’ve been researching!! Silence, it’s a good thing.
If you are interested in learning more about the 5 simple habits that can change your life sign up for the 21 Day Attitude Adjustment Course!
P.S. By the way, watch for the upcoming F.R.E.E. Attitude Adjustment Workshop coming VERY soon!
Mother’s Day Thoughts
It’s that time again; it’s finally here…Mother’s Day! Ah, we are such special people aren’t we? In my opinion there is no one more powerful and influential than a mother. Each of us with our own special style; what we have done, said and are is being refined and adjusted through the years but still bears a glimmer of our mark and of all who came before us. Now that’s powerful!
Our shoulders are broad and strong. We are blamed, admired and revered in fairy tales as both wicked and kind and we are the fodder for countless jokes; consequently a number of comedians likely owe their success to us. Indeed attempts to define our enigma can be seen from books to the physiologist’s couch and still our mystery remains.
This day always brings back the childhood memory of the “breakfast in bed” tradition for my mother. In fact I can still smell the bacon and recall with detail the bustle as my father and all of my siblings contributed to the breakfast effort and the tiny kitchen it occurred in. I remember the excitement as my Dad carried the final results on a tray with a little flower down the hall as we all followed to surprise my Mom with the annual feast. Right on cue she feigned surprise and delight while I am sure she wondered what she would find to clean up in her kitchen and the effort it took for her to stay in bed and listen as the commotion ensued! I also remember being scolded by the family to not eat Mom’s breakfast and my secret delight as I stayed behind, snuggled next to my mom as we shared her special treat! I thought I was so sneaky and yet, everyone really knew!
Memories, we all have them. And so it comes again. That time when we try to show our Mom’s our appreciation for all the years, good and bad, that we shared, what we bring with us today and what we have passed on to our own children.
I had such fun collecting what I feel are some of the BEST quotes and sayings about Moms. I hope you take a moment to read these and experience a sense of inspiration.
Take a seat and enjoy!
“Though motherhood is the most important of all the professions – requiring more knowledge than any other department in human affairs – there was no attention given to preparation for this office.”
–Elizabeth Cady Stanton
“And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see – or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read.”
–Alice Walker
“It was when I had my first child that I understood how much my mother loved me.”
From “For Mother – A bouquet of Sentiments”
“It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.”
–Erma Bombeck
“What took me by surprise is the way I feel when her face lights up when I walk into a room because I am her world and she is mine. Being a mother is like taking your heart out of your chest and watching it walk around.”
–Author Unknown
“The greatest thing she’d learned over the years is that there’s no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one.”
– Author Unknown
“When a child enters the world through you it alters everything on a psychic, psychological and purely practical level.”
–Jane Fonda
“Motherhood is not for the faint-hearted. Frogs, skinned knees and the insults of teenage girls are not meant for the wimpy.”
–Danielle Steel
“Now, as always, the most automated appliance in a household is the mother.”
–Beverly Jones
“The lullaby is the spell whereby the mother attempts to transform herself back from an ogre to a saint.”
–James Fenton
“Grown don’t mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What’s that suppose to mean? In my heart it don’t mean a thing.”
– Toni Morrison
“The story of a mother’s life: Trapped between a scream and a hug.”
–Cathy Guisewite, “Like Mother, Like Daughter”
“Adorable children are considered to be the general property of the human race. Rude children belong to their mothers.”
–Judith Martin
“People always talked about a mother’s uncanny ability to read her children, but that was nothing compared to how children could read their mothers.”
–Anne Tyler
“A vacation frequently means that the family goes away for a rest, accompanied by mother, who sees that the others get it.”
–Marcelene Cox
“Children seldom misquote you. They more often repeat word for word what you shouldn’t have said.”
–Mae Maloo
“Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own.”
–Aristotle
“It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn’t.”
–Barbara Kingsolver
“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.”
–Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty
“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.”
–Author Unknown
“A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.”
– Diana, Princess of Wales
A little girl, asked where her home was, replied, “where mother is.”
— Keith L. Brooks
“A daughter reminds you of all the things you had forgotten about being young. Good and bad.”
–Maeve O’Reilly
“There is a point at which you aren’t as much mom and daughter as you are adults and friends.”
–Jamie Lee Curtis
“Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.”
–Judy Garland, to her daughter, Liza Minnelli
“No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement.”
— Florida Scott-Maxwell
“Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother’s secret hope outlives them all.”
–Oliver Wendell Holmes
A hundred years from now…it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove…but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
–Kathy Davis
“Children should be taught not the little virtues but the great ones. Not thrift but generosity and an indifference to money; not caution but courage and contempt for danger; not a desire for success but a desire to be and to know.”
–Natalia Ginzburg
“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”
–Tenneva Jordan
“If at first you don’t succeed, do it the way your mother told you to.”
— Author Unknown
“Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion and sorrow too. Nothing else ever will make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop his own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own.”
–Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons
“What would men be without women? Scarce sir, mighty scarce.”
–Mark Twain
- According to the US Census Bureau there are 82.5 million mothers in the United States.
- Mother’s Day is widely reported as the peak day of the year for long distance telephone calls.
- Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for many restaurants. (Try and get in one on Sunday!)
- Retailers report that Mother’s Day is the second highest gift-giving holiday in the United States (Second to Christmas).
I hope you enjoyed these thoughts and quotes offered by and about mothers throughout time. We are many and we are special. When Mother’s Day arrives take a moment to appreciate yourself and all the mothers in the world for the important caring work we do every day of every year.
Happy Mother’s Day
to you all
Deborah Hayes
I Dared You… how did you do?
Whew, the week has come and gone and I don’t know about you but I found this past week to be full of surprises!
What did I discover? Here are a few answers to my own questions:
- What did you do in lieu of watching TV?
- I mowed the front lawn at 5:30 in the evening. This is definitely unusual!
- I finished a couple of half read books.
- I spent a couple of wonderful evenings with my granddaughter, mom and daughter.
- I took the time to revisit my goals/vision journal and found myself adding to it!
- I actually cooked myself a meal, lit a candle and enjoyed a leisurely glass of wine.
- I used some of my evening time to meditate and breath.
- I listened to some of my favorite inspirational tapes.
- I took the time to dust off and ride my bike with my friend!
- How did you feel?
- Very anxious at first.
- What did you like about it?
- Eventually the incredible awareness of myself and surroundings.
- I did not feel mentally or physically tired or exhausted at night.
- What did you dislike about it?
- I found it very hard to turn off my thoughts to sleep!
- What surprised you about this experience?
- I was very surprised at the amount of “found time” I discovered.
- I was also shocked at the amount of TV I had been watching and how unaware of it I was.
- Do you think it made a difference in your mood or attitude?
- I felt better and had more energy.
- It was not so much that I was happier and more positive, which I was, but more importantly that I was much more in touch with what I was feeling whether it was good or bad.
- And of course… did you cheat?
- Just twice!!!!!
So how did you do? You know you don’t need a challenge to try this experiment. You can start enjoying the sound of your thoughts whenever and as often as you like.
Now for the rest of the story… visit this week’s e-zine. Here is the link to the page http://www.womenintransitiononline.com/current-issue
If you are not currently receiving the bi-monthly e-zine and would like to:
Here is the email link http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/join.asp?merchantid=160571
March 4th IS PLEDGE DAY!
Take the Challenge!
Are you going to join me? Pledge to not watch TV for 7 DAYS, or whatever you think you can manage! I am posting this today thinking most of you probably won’t read this until tomorrow sometime. I have received a couple of emails with some pertinent questions and suggestions surrounding this event and I will share them with you below:
Suggestion: A couple of you felt a better start date, with the weekend approaching, would be Monday.
I agree, and really, you should start your pledge on whatever day you think will work best for you! For me the weekend is the time when I typically am out and about a lot I and watch the least amount of TV. If you think it would be easiest to give up TV during the week this, is what you should do!
Question: A couple more of you felt a week might be a little aggressive and wondered if committing to less time to start would be advisable.
Again, Good Point! I have done this before on a couple of occasions so I guess I am less apprehensive. You should all do whatever feels right for you. I can tell you it does help to have a partner or friend to share the experience with. The one thing I noticed on the two occasions I have done this is the amazing amount of found time I had and the quandary of what to do with it all.
Whatever you do, I hope you will share your experience, as I will, in the comment section at the end of this post. Every time I do this I swear I am not going to watch TV EVER Again!! But like all bad habits; it’s so easy to fall back into them so refresher courses are great! I have found that I fall back into the bad habit when I feel the need to watch something positive, like the Olympics, or something I feel is very important, like the President, Republicans and Democrats purposing to discuss health care… that’s not really what I saw but it was an interesting experiment in human behavior, or misbehavior!!!! But I try not to discuss politics or religion. My motto, to each his own!
Anyway, when I do indulge in something I think is positive, I find, via commercials, I get plenty of negative messages in the process!!! But like kicking any bad habit; if you fall off simply start again. Eventually you will find less of a need for a refresher course and you will be ready to sell your TV!!!!!!
If you want to publicly commit, sign up in the comment section at the end of this post or feel free to email me at deborah@womenintransitiononline.com.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. If you missed the previous post about this event and need further instruction, scroll down to the I Dare You…dont listen post.
Woman in the News, Ms. Peggy Kligman
It’s never too early or too late to live your dreams…
I am so pleased to have the opportunity to share Ms. Peggy Kligman’s inspirational story. So often when I ask women, particularly in this economy, if they love their life and what they are doing they say “I don’t like it but what else would I do? I’ve done fill in the blank forever.” Here’s a beautiful example of Getting Your Year in Gear, (excuse the shameless self promotion). Through her experience of overcoming Ms. Kligman has found a very unique and FUN way to help other women.
Here’s her story from her website:
Grandma Pandoshus aka Peggy Kligman is the creator of the Goat Game.
After three failed marriages and several dysfunctional (and sometimes abusive) relationships, Peggy Kligman aka “Grandma Pandoshus” was desperately in need of dating rehab. In 2004, after proclaiming … “no more relationships for me”… Peggy took a break from relationships to resolve her past by inventing the Goat Game. “It’s fun and playful and it worked for me. Through the goat characters (similar to human behavior) I was able to recognize why I exhibited self-destructive behaviors and made poor choices. As a result of this awakening, today I am able to enjoy a healthy and loving relationship.”
Once Peggy broke free from her past of heartaches, she soon thereafter embarked on her newly discovered joyful single lifestyle. She announced, “If this game can help someone like me, then I must share it with others in need of dating rehab.” Subsequent to test-marketing the game throughout the Texas region while exhibiting her game at counselor’s conventions, Peggy was delighted to discover others were quickly recognizing the benefits of the Goat Game. Now, Peggy has launched her game online so that everyone can play and it’s free! (www.thegoatgame.com)
Peggy goes by the moniker Grandma Pandoshus. When asked why she goes by the name “Pandoshus”, she responds, “My grandmother Doshie was a shining light during my dreadfully dark past! She was a woman of strength who prevailed from a baaad marriage by leaving her abusive husband and, with her integrity intact, single-handedly reared five happy and well adjusted children. Imagine her courage especially during the early 1900s!” She adds, “Pan—the playful half-man half-goat mythology character—along with the derivative of my grandmother Doshie is why I chose Pandoshus as the voice of the Goat Game.”
Peggy is also a motivational speaker and the author of “Wisdom2Win”, an empowerment handbook which guides the reader on how to stop the whining and be the winner. She lives in the El Paso, Texas region and speaks to audiences on the subject matter of empowering oneself to live to their fullest potential. She facilitates Goat Game Gatherings to singles’ groups throughout the nation. To learn more about Peggy, visit www.wisdom2win.com. To play the Goat Game online or to purchase your own game, visit: www.thegoatgame.com
- Do you have a great story, we want to hear it! Are you experiencing some delicious success or fulfilling a dream, inspire us! Have you started a new business, tell us about it! SHARE YOUR STORY. Submit your information to Women in the News at http://www.womenintransitiononline.com/deborah-speaks/women-in-the-news/.
- P.S. Speaking of improving your life and attitude, don’t forget to take the Don’t Listen Dare!!! It starts on Thursday. Scroll down to the ”I Dare You…don’t listen” post below and sign up today.
I Dare You…don’t listen!!
Wow! Apparently I’m not the only one who feels television can have a negative effect on the life and attitude. I received a lot of great responses to my Look What Can Happen When You Don’t Listen post last week. (by the way, I love, love, love emails but it is perfectly OK to comment on the site as well)
Anyway, in one of those emails was a GREAT IDEA for a fun experiment… hence the dare:
Take the Challenge
NO TV?
Starting Thursday, March 4, 2010 I dare you/me to turn off the television for 7 Days! That’s right no TV. Keep a little personal journal and send in your observations about this experience.
-
What did you do in lieu of watching TV?
-
How did you feel?
-
What did you like about it?
-
What did you dislike about it?
-
What surprised you about this experience?
-
Do you think it made a difference in your mood or attitude?
-
And of course… did you cheat?
If you are game sign up in the comment section. On March 4th I will write a post announcing that start of the dare. We can share our thoughts by returning to this post and commenting throughout the week, or whenever you feel like it.
Can you give up television for Seven Short Days out of your life?
Come on, have some fun with this and take the dare! Pledge your commitment today!!
Deborah Hayes, CTA Life Coach
Empowering women to live a life of consequence, a life without regrets that is your own unique version of the life you love. About Deborah
deborah@womenintransitiononline.com
Find me on facebook
