Change Wishing Into Doing

I read many blogs and articles that span a variety of topics. What stands out for me the most is any topic “of value”. I read personally to build a better future, by gaining knowledge, expanding my thoughts, raising my awareness and becoming well rounded. On the other hand, sometimes, it’s nice to just read something that gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling, one that lifts you up or just makes you smile..

For example, recently I read an article that really inspired me and reassured my beliefs in all the good that exists in this world. Typically the news, media, blogs, etc. are focused on whats wrong, rather than whats right and how to spread that goodness.

The article I read was written by Melissa Chapman-Mushnick. Melissa is a columnist for the Staten Island Advance newspaper. The article entitled “THE GIFT OF GIVING BACK” really struck me. Melissa as a writer in her column and Blog is on a mission to inspire, educate and create a forum for parents to have all the tools necessary to be excellent providers, leaders and models for their children. She also writes a hysterical Blog and posts about topics that we deal with everyday and yet, not many are courageous enough to express!

The article also reminded me of a quote that I love and use often.
“The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.”

–Ethel Percy Andrus

I especially loved this article because it resonates with me personally, yet, far more important, because of its value which I try to instill in the children in my life. I was really touched by the sentiment in the article and wanted to share this with my readers.

Basing our actions on our values from which we were either raised or have developed on our own can create a direct impact on the life of those around us, children especially. It’s in what we do daily, starting now, that leads us to the service we provide in the future, at home, at work, and in our communities. Obviously the values that were instilled in Melissa as a young child made a permanent mark on who she is today, the service she provides to her readers and the gift she is giving to her family in raising them with the same values based principles she learned from her parents.

We as adults have an opportunity every moment we are with a child to make a lasting difference in their lives. Let’s all step up to the plate by taking a child and guiding them through a healthy, empowering, and gratifying journey. It may be a smile, a word of encouragement, a self-esteem booster, or a well deserved lecture, either way, they will benefit and ultimately, thank you for it when they are adults.

Have a beautiful day!

Feelings are Energy.

Thoughts are Energy.

Positive feelings and thoughts of awareness, appreciation and gratitude are the “fuel” that energize your day.

Positive people produce Positive Energy.

Positivity is the “fuel” that increases your enthusiasm and raises your vibration to allow you to live your best life.

Thoughts, feelings and actions of gratitude raise your vibration. Practice gratitude daily. Turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. See yourself living your best life, envision it, dream it, think it, say it, write it, live it “as if” you were already there!

Be Grateful and see how your energy level increases…

Once, perhaps twice, but no more,
in an entire lifetime will a person have an opportunity of life-changing magnitude. When such an opportunity knocks, it’s up to you to accept it and make the most of it - or to simply let it pass by.

~ Winston Churchill

Are you listening to the messages around you?

When opportunity knocks will you be ready to open the door?

“just when the caterpillar

thought the world was over,

it became a butterfly”

~ anonymous

Take a peek at this incredible Monarch Caterpillar. What you will see is an amazing transformation process that lasts a period of 22 days. In this process the Caterpillar begins its journey as one entity, not knowing what to expect in the future, not knowing where the transformation process will lead, know knowing what tomorrow will bring, and most of all, not having any control of what’s to come.

What is incredibly amazing is that over a period of just 22 days, in a variety of stages, this Caterpillar emerges as a beautiful, healthy, and vibrant Monarch butterfly. Any person who desires to reach their full potential and become the beautiful, healthy, and vibrant person they were intended to be must first accept that without the “journey”, the transformation doesn’t occur.

It would be great if our “journey” as humans only took 22 days. I wish I could say it did, but it doesn’t. Our road of transformation happens as we travel on the “Journey Highway” as I like to call it. The trip can sometimes be long, yet, it is worth it every bit of the way once you arrive at the life you’ve always wished for! The lasting results are truly priceless!

These pictures document a 22 day journey that transformed this Caterpillar into a beautiful Monarch Butterfly, its truly amazing! Stay tuned for updates on the “journey” and how to transform into the beautiful self you were intended to be.

“No one can give you wisdom. You must discover it for yourself, on the journey through life, which no one can take for you.”
-Sun Bear

I posted a quote yesterday about Life’s Purpose and read it to a group of women as I Co-Facilitated a Powerful You! meeting last night. Only to come home and find Sue Urda’s article (Co-Founder of Powerful You!) in the current newsletter, highlighting the same subject. Talk about purpose! Was it a coincidence or truly intended to be in my mailbox when I got home? I guess Sue and I were on the same path when she drafted the second edition of the Powerful You! newsletter, see below!

Read Sue’s article:

Is Your Purpose as Strong as a Mosquito’s?

What is your life purpose?

What can you do today to design a space for self-reflection, add an opportunity to gain clarity, define a vision and create an action plan?

The sum of all these translates into the journey that leads to the discovery of what your life purpose is.

Happy travels…

“Many years ago, but not so long ago, there were those who said, Well, you have three strikes against you: You’re black, you’re blind and you’re poor”, But God said to me, “I will make you rich in the spirit of inspiration, to inspire others as well as create music to encourage the world to a place of oneness and hope, and positively. I believed Him and not them.” ~ Stevie Wonder

What is your life purpose?

What motivates, inspires, and energizes you?

Are you repeating the same routine over and over and never moving off the rock? Do you feel stuck? Do you have a vision of what you wish your life could be like?

Before a caterpillar becomes a butterfly it must shed the protective coat of the chrysalis so it could fly and reach its full potential. As humans desiring development, we too must go through a process of transformation.

Are you ready to live life completely on your own terms, with vision, purpose and passion? What’s holding you back from taking the first step?

Self-reflection can be an uncomfortable task for some. It’s not easy to confront your weaknesses, to look within and examine what makes you tick. Yet, in the process of this sometimes painful journey, you begin to tap into the strengths and power that lies within you. The good news is the “painful” experience is actually the transformation process at work, moving you forward and the first indication that you have begun your journey of transformation.

Sometimes life presents obstacles and challenges that get in the way of you taking the next step. You see the possibilities out there in the great blue sky, yet, you still find yourself stuck on the “rock”. At one time or another, we all find that we could use some support and more importantly, someone who can help us to identify the possibilities. Someone who is trained to be a better observer than we are, someone who can offer new interpretations and options. Someone who holds your best interest and sees your vision along with you. Perhaps me as your Coach?

The world around you is filled with endless possibilities. Look around you, you’re surrounded by incredibly beautiful and powerful people, places, and things. They are all within your reach. Have the courage to face yourself and look within. Make the commitment to overcome what has held you back and then partner with someone who can hold you accountable for your intentions and you will see, one day at a time, that the positive results will be life changing.

Are you ready to shed your coat
and reach your full potential?

Set yourself free and create the life you “wish” you could live.

Whenever I am in a deep reflection mode, I often look back in my journal to lean on my journey and prior experiences. I came across this entry and wanted to share this with you.

Too often we forget how simple life can really be. In making choices, and defining our intentions, we must take the time to reflect and focus on what it is we are fueling ourselves with.

The fuel we feed ourselves daily generates what we manifest in our every day, our lives and our relationships. Every once in a while, stop, breathe and ask yourself, what am I fueling myself with?

The special kind of fuel that brings me peace and the ability to be open and receptive to the messages around me is made up of:

G – Gratitude

  A – Awareness

S  - Serenity

What kind of “gas” are you fueling your tank with?

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
- Henry David Thoreau

Within this Chrysalis a Monarch
caterpillar will miraculously
transform into a butterfly.

In our darkest moments, you can’t even imagine that you will ever have another happy day. It’s that feeling that the walls are crashing in on you and all you can think of is how will I ever get past this, beyond this?

On such a day, my Coach, Fredi Baker said to me, “Elle, in the midst of all this, there is a gift.” I thought the woman lost her mind. I left the session feeling confused, angry, and very discouraged. How is it possible for me to see “a gift” in all this when I feel as though my heart has crashed, my life has lost its zeal…

What I know now, years later, is that in every moment, there is an opportunity. With every challenge we face, “fair” or not, there is a gift, for every “bad” situation we encounter, good will come of it. I know that when you’re in the hole and it feels and looks very dark, you can’t even phantom such thoughts.

What I offer, as cliché as it may be, “time does heal all wounds.”

A devastating divorcée could never imagine ever having “her life back”, never having that kind of love again, only to meet “the most incredible man I have ever loved”, years later. A loss of a loved one does “not heal”, we just learn to live with the idea that they are removed from our physical presence, yet, they are always in our hearts. Do you heal? In many ways, yes! Without realizing it, months, years later, you look back and realize, I did move on, I did smile again.

For me it took time, patience, faith, hope and perseverance. Overall, a whole lot of self-reflection. Spend every moment making the best of the most devastating situation. Live each day with purpose, gratitude, love and integrity. I know that all sounds difficult when you feel as though you can’t stop the tears, or you feel your whole life is falling apart, yet, it’s these same elements of understanding that will maintain your well being.

At times like this, as my very brilliant friend said, “your spirit has been broken”. Your spirit is in your smile, your eyes, your warmth, your love for others. When your spirit is broken, everything in your life seems to have lost its value, its excitement, its desire.

Only you can repair and restore your spirit. Only you can hold on, one day at a time, making the best of things as you heal your heart. I know it’s not easy, and most days it certainly isn’t fun. Nevertheless, I am here to tell you that if you look at the gifts, the possibilities, the opportunities and the choices you have been given, you will realize that you are making your way into the next chapter of your life.

Every step you take today sets the stage for your tomorrow.

There is beautiful light at the end of the tunnel waiting for you. Take one step at a time, remain positive and be ready to greet the next chapter of your life.

Wishing you a beautiful day filled with peace, joy and light!

“Personal leadership is the ongoing process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent
with those most important things.
~Stephen Covey

We are all familiar with the debate of whether “leaders are made, not born” or “leaders are born, not made.” What we do know is, great leadership, of any kind, begins with exceptional personal leadership.

Do you associate leadership with business, politics and authority figures? Or is it more personal than that? Is it in what we do on a daily basis to give our best and to help others do their best? Have you established your own sense of personal leadership in the quality of being able to lead others at home, at work, in business or in other areas of your life?

Personal Leadership is the ability to lead yourself from your current circumstances or situation to a better future. Personal Leadership as your foundation means taking charge of your own life or situation by making a specific plan to create change that is congruent with your goals and desires.

Leadership begins with and is built upon the structure and the integrity of your personal foundation. Typically, leadership is associated with what one does, rather than the far more important acknowledgment of the many core competencies required to be a leader. After all, how successful can one be in life and business if you are not solidly planted in the roots of your personal foundation? More importantly, as a leader, how sustainable will your success in life or business be without exceptional skills that are completely aligned with your inner vision and values?

Is it time for you to take the first step towards evaluating your personal foundation? Are you ready to create excellence in your life by developing your personal leadership and interpersonal skills?

Take the time to invest in you. Visit my site, utilize a Complimentary Coaching Consultation and take the first step towards realizing your full potential!

Isn’t it about time we stop talking about what we want to do and just do it?

Join me in my journey of Changing wishing into Doing!