Archive for the ‘Useful Random Information’ Category

The new year is already 8 days old and I was looking at my calendar of networking activities for January amazed that I didn’t have more in my date book.  So I got to wondering if it was the threat of bad weather or the fact that January feels like one of the longest months of the year as to why their wasn’t more networking opportunities available in January.

Now I keep track of three different Chamber’s list of events, the Friends of Kevin Networking group, several women’s organizations and some others and I can’t even think of right now.

I will admit that I hate to travel into Boston to network.  It is always such a hassle to find a parking space or if you have to take the train walk in the snow and ice.  I much prefer networking locally and I know that I am not alone in my thinking on this one.

Anyway, the point of this rambling is to ask my readers if they feel there is less networking opportunities available in January or if I am mistaken.  Let me know if you know of any great networking meetings coming up over the month.  I would love to hear about them and possibly venture out and attend.

Those who know me well know that I don’t buy a lot of Christmas gifts.  Instead I prefer to have friends and family to my home and to spend an evening laughing, sharing, and honoring the people that mean the most to me. Gift giving is wonderful and I certainly love to receive, but gifts from the heart are the ones that matter the most to me.  Here is my favorite list of gifts that you can give this Christmas that won’t cost a dime but will certainly fill your soul!

The Gift of Listening ~ When you engage in the task of listening… truly listening, you are connecting with that other person in a way that lets them know how much they matter to you. While you sit there intently listening; not daydreaming, planning or interrupting, you are connecting at a deep place where two souls join together for the betterment of each other. As the listener you gain something too; the deep fulfillment of lending yourself to another in friendship and love.

The Gift of Laughter ~ “Laughter is the best medicine” is how the quote is known and I couldn’t agree more. Nothing makes me feel better than to share a good laugh with a friend. It lifts my spirits and the other person’s too. Share a joke, funny story, or a cartoon and share the gift of laughter with others.

The Gift of Kindness ~ I realized the other day that it is just as easy to be kind to someone as it is to be nasty…almost easier because one leaves you feeling good about yourself while the other leaves you feeling empty. Be kind to others by sharing simple gestures of yourself. This could be opening a door for someone, being a good driver on the road ways, sharing a kind word or a simple smile. Watch how these gestures of kindness fill you up and help you be a better person.

The Gift of Affection ~ Nothing feels better than a hug! I love to give hugs and I love to get them. And I love to pair it with a kiss on the cheek too! Maybe it’s the Italian in me, I’m not quite sure. But what I am sure about is how much those little gestures of affection let me express to my family and friends how much they mean to me.

The Gift of Service ~ I believe that we are on this earth to be of service to others. Giving of your time and talents to the benefit of someone else is the most wonderful gift you can ever give. Service comes in many forms but can include giving blood to help save a life, feeding the hungry, volunteering for a local charity, helping an elderly neighbor with household chores. The list is endless.  But one thing is certain, helping others fills the heart and soul in ways that nothing else can.

The Gift of Solitude ~ Sometimes we need to be alone. Maybe we need time to sort through a problem or time to reenergize ourselves. Others need this time as well. This Christmas learn to respect other people’s need and give the gift of solitude by leaving them the time they need to be alone.

The Gift of Courage ~ This gift allows you to be courageous, to speak your truth always and to stand in your power as a person. Give this gift to yourself. Be honest with yourself about what you want and don’t want in your life. Take good care of yourself…this is not about being selfish. It’s about taking time to care for you!

The Gift of Appreciation ~  Mother Theresa said “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.” Take a moment to think about your family and friends. Make a list of all the things that you appreciate about them.  Keep this list in a safe place, maybe in your journal or with your will. Just imagine what this gift of appreciation will mean to people after you’ve gone. Your last words to them will be a heartfelt treasure they will never forget. You will show clearly how you recognized, admired and valued their unique qualities. You will acknowledge with gratitude what they meant to you.

This gift of appreciation will be the memory of your heart and will live on. This Christmas don’t delay in giving the Gift of Appreciation. Share your feelings this holiday with the ones you love.

May this Christmas Season fill your home with Joy, your heart with Love, and your life with Peace.

Wishing all of you a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving Day.  May you put away your troubles and savor this day, a day to reflect all that you have and are grateful for in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I read a story recently written by Dr. Alan Morinis about Itzhak Perlman and I would like to share it with you.  The story highlights how gratitude can be found in any situation; it all depends on how you look at things.

There is a story — maybe an urban legend, but full of truth nonetheless — concerning the famous violinist Itzhak Perlman. One evening, Perlman was in New York to give a concert. As a child he had been stricken with polio and getting on stage is no small feat for him. He wears braces on both legs and walks with two crutches. Perlman crossed the stage painfully slowly, until he reached the chair in which he seated himself to play.

As soon as he appeared on stage that night, the audience applauded and then waited respectfully as he made his way slowly across the stage. He took his seat, signaled to the conductor, and began to play.

No sooner had he finished the first few bars than one of the strings on his violin snapped with a report like gunshot. At that point Perlman was close enough to the beginning of the piece that it would have been reasonable to bring the concert to a halt while he replaced the string to begin again. But that’s not what he did. He waited a moment and then signaled the conductor to pick up just where they had left off.

Perlman now had only three strings with which to play his soloist part. He was able to find some of the missing notes on adjoining strings, but where that wasn’t possible, he had to rearrange the music on the spot in his head so that it all still held together.

He played with passion and artistry, spontaneously rearranging the symphony right through to the end. When he finally rested his bow, the audience sat for a moment in stunned silence. And then they rose to their feet and cheered wildly. They knew they had been witness to an extraordinary display of human skill and ingenuity.

Perlman raised his bow to signal for quiet. “You know,” he said, “sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much beautiful music you can still make with what you have left.”

We have to wonder, was he speaking of his violin strings or his crippled body? And is it true only for artists? We are all lacking something, and so we are all challenged to answer the question: Do we have the attitude of making something of beauty out of what we do have, incomplete as it may be?

When you are open to gratitude you see clearly and perfectly how much good there is in your life.  Gratitude affirms that very fact.

We will always be faced with challenges in our lives.  Life provides the ebb and the flow no matter how much we try to resist it.  There is no limit to what we don’t have and if we focus on the lack in our lives we will inevitably be filled with an abundant amount of pain and dissatisfaction.  But when we can look at our lives, businesses, family situations with a focus on what is right we experience gratitude.

Like other attitudes, gratitude can be cultivated.  We don’t have to wait for our fairy godmother to shower us with presents to feel thankful.  We can develop gratitude by reflecting on the gifts that we already have.  Gratitude is the memory of our own heart I once heard someone say.  It is therefore an expression of love and abiding friendship which transforms itself into deed.

I try to cultivate gratitude every day and when I feel it – when I am grateful for my body and mind, for the world in which I live, for my family and friends – I know that my spiritual path is in order.  When I don’t feel it, I understand that I am off and I try to right myself.

Gratitude is profound – it takes us to the edge and beyond.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, the Success Minded Women’s Business Network reached a new milestone when the 300th member joined the organization!

This group was formed in March and we had our first event in April.  Since that time the group has grown consistently over the 7 months at an average rate of 1.4 members joining each day.

If you live in the Greater Boston, Southern New Hampshire area and want to be part of an inspiring group of women dedicated to supporting each other grow their business and have a phenomenal life then I would love for you to join us!

Do you remember where you were eight years ago when you heard the news that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center?  I do.  I remember as if it were yesterday.  Sitting at my desk back in the days when I was working in corporate America my administrative assistant came running in to tell me the news.

At first I thought she was mistaken; heard the news report incorrectly.  So I went on the Internet to find out what was happening.  As I was surfing the web she ran in to tell me another plane had hit another tower.  I was in shock.  I didn’t know what was happening but I did know nothing would ever be the same

As the days passed and people began to grapple with what had occurred I noticed so many people flying their flags.  Patriotism was alive and well in this country.  Now today, eight years later, hardly a flag is flown.

I have NEVER taken my flag down (even in the rain, even though I know I am not supposed to leave it out in inclement weather) since September 11, 2001.  I can’t bring myself to take it down and quite honestly I don’t want to; I don’t want to forget.

Today let us honor the memory of all the victims of that day and wish peace to their families members who must endure each day with out them.  Let us be grateful to all the men and women who serve our country with honor and for the sacrifices they endure for you and me to be free.  Let us remember the families who who wait patiently for their loved ones to return home. Let us never forget.

I am starting another 30 day blogging challenge!  The last challenge that I did was great but some days I will admit it was hard to think of things to write about.  And the person promoting the challenge never put my name up on her site as promised!  I was proud of myself for completing the challenge but disappointed that I didn’t get the recognition promised.  This time I don’t care about the recognition so much.  It really is about being as creative as I can be when I blog.  To look for  new and interesting stuff to write about that you, my readers will enjoy.

So off I go…see you at the end!

Last week I wrote a post called “Happiness Starts Here”. This post was devoted to discussing tolerations in our lives and by how ridding ourselves of these tolerations we open ourselves up to a better, happier quality of life.

Tolerations are not the only thing that sucks our positive energy right out the front window.  Unresolved matters are also an energy drain and the sooner you handle the situations of your past the sooner you can focus your energy on the things that will bring you happiness and joy.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What situations in your life cause you to have unresolved matters?
• What would it be like if had no unresolved matters to address?
• How much of what you struggle with in your life is a result of unresolved matters?
• What needs to happen to get rid of all of the unresolved matters in your life and be clear of your past?

Typically when working with clients I see a pattern of unresolved matters in one of four key areas:

• Physical Environment
• Personal Well Being
• Money and Finances and
• Relationships

Are they any issues that have gone unresolved that you can think of from this list?  If so, what are they?  How are they getting in the way of your happiness?

By addressing and resolving issues from the past you gain more confidence, more time, less problems and more opportunities.

Now doesn’t that sound good?

The other day I was with a group of really phenomenal women. While sitting there  I realized they needed a coaching intervention and fast!  Why?  Because they were tolerating things in their life that was sucking the happiness from them and surrounding them with negative energy.

I shouted “STOP” and  asked them to take out a piece of paper and start writing down all the things they were tolerating in their lives.  Some of these great gals sighed a big, long sigh recognizing immediately just how much they tolerated; they didn’t have to write it out.  Others were in denial claiming that they tolerated nothing and still others were not sure they should put those items down on paper fearful someone might see the list other than themselves.  But with some coaxing they all obliged me and started writing.

Ten minutes later these women had a list that collectively could have stretched out for miles.  Some of the women didn’t want to stop they had identified so many intolerables.  Most were in shock at what they put up with everyday.

When I first was asked to this exercise  I didn’t think I had much to put on my list.  But after a mere 15 minutes I had over 100 tolerations down on paper.

Now none of them were earth shattering — but all together they were just the type of annoyances that bogged me down and stopped my creative energy from flowing.

Just to give you an idea of what was on my list, here is some of what I wrote:

~need to have bedroom painted ~new blinds need to be hung in both upstairs bedrooms ~catch up with old friends from coaching school ~ get hair cut ~order new furniture for office~schedule mammogram~make appointment for ma with dermatologist ~finish copy for mastermind program ~finish testimonial page so it can be posted on site ~add information for networking group on site ~schedule events on calendar

Individually these items were pretty simple matters to take care of and for the most part I wasn’t even aware that they were bothering me.  But as a group, they represented a great amount of negative energy that was launching a daily attack on my well being.

I was completely unaware the impact that all these nagging things had on my subconscious.  But once I became aware of them they landed on the “To Do List” and once on the list it meant they had to be taken care of.

Some of them I did myself others I hired others to do for me.  But as I was able to cross them off “the list” my well being, happiness and creativity rose exponentially.  And, as my happiness and creativity began to increase so did my bank account!

My Challenge To You

I want you to get out a piece of paper and start writing down all the things that you tolerate in your life.  Keep adding to the list as issues come up. If you don’t think that you have any just walk around your house and jot down what you see that bothers you.  Apply this concept to all areas of your life including your home, work and relationships.   It doesn’t matter if you know right now how to resolve the matter; the solution will come.

EVERYTHING and I do mean everything that does not bring you joy needs to go on this list.  Now don’t worry you don’t need to tackle everything on the list immediately, but at least you will have a list from which to start from when you are ready.  Some of the items on your list will take 10 minutes and zero dollars to fix while others will take a bit more time, energy and money.  Either way you now have a starting point from which to move yourself into living a life free of tolerations.

Embrace this concept, eliminate tolerations and claim the life and business you dream of!

Tonight is the last night for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge!  Thank goodness its over!  I had to blog three times today just to make up for all the blogs that I missed and for some reason I thought I had until tomorrow to make my 30 blogs.  Thanks goodness I read Sandra Martini’s blog tonight and realized this was the end of the road!

This has been a different experience.  But I am thankful for Connie Ragen Green for putting forth this challenge and helping all us newbie bloggers out there gain some exposure.  I am off to let her know I did it!

I can tell you for sure, I won’t be blogging tomorrow!