Who are the real fabulous women in your life?
In honor of International Women’s Day, we’re inviting you to celebrate the real fabulous women you know and share with us what makes them special.
Here’s how:
Post a comment telling us about a real fabulous woman you know – first names only are just fine. Let us know what makes this woman special. It might be her attitude to life, her unique personality, her accomplishments, her contributions or something else.
Please keep your comment to 100 words or less.
You can post as many times as you like – but only one real fabulous woman per comment please.
On March 31st , we’ll draw from all of the posted comments. If you are the lucky winner, both you and the woman you celebrated will win a one year subscription to the new online community RealFabulousWomen.com
Let the celebration begin!
I was saddened to hear of the passing last Saturday of modern philosopher Jim Rohn. I have often shared his quote: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” It’s a thought that tends to stop people in their tracks as they reflect on the qualities of the people they surround themselves with.
Jim makes this challenge to us:
You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay?*
Very good advice from a wise man.
Fortunately for all of us, the legacy of his thoughts and inspiration will carry us forward as we stretch ourselves to live our very best lives.
*This quote is by Jim Rohn, America’s Foremost Business Philosopher. To subscribe to the Free Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine, go to www.jimrohn.com Excerpted from The Treasury of Quotes by Jim Rohn. Copyright © 1994-2008 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide.
Today is World Teachers’ Day - a day dedicated to celebrating teachers and the role they play in guiding children, youths and adults through the life-long learning process.
One of the teachers who had the greatest impact on me was Mr. Pilutti, my high school English teacher. In the book I co-athored called Create a Ripple, I shared the impact he had on me. Here’s part of the story in an excerpt from the book:
It was my great fortune to have had John Pilutti for an Enlgish teacher more than once in high school. He was the kind of teacher whose love for the subject he taught was evident and who held the bar high for his students. Being in his class made literature come alive – written assignments were not simply exercises but opportunities to explore ideas and opinions – and discussions in his class challenged you to stretch your mind. English was always a comfortable place during what seemed like a turbulent year.
Who was your favourite teacher and why?
Looking for some cool and best of all – FREE – resources?
Check out this list of free personal development ebooks compiled by Peter at thechangeblog.
As he says… ”many of these ebooks require you to subscribe to regular updates or a newsletter to receive the ebook (you can always unsubscribe, right?”
Take some time to browse. The tidbit of info you’ve been looking for might just be a click away.
Today people around the world are gathering in front of their TVs or connecting on the internet to witness Barack Obama’s innauguration. Obama has struck a chord in the hearts and minds of people hungry for hope and change.
Everything seems possible.
As a coach I am thrilled and delighted to see this spirit of change infuse the energy and conversation of the world. And I also know that inspiration, no matter how profound, is not enough.
Have you ever been to a great workshop or seminar and became all excited about making a change?
Or heard a motivational speaker who revved the crowd up?
Or have been deeply moved by a tragic or uplifting news event?
You felt inspired, vowed to start making changes and then…
nothing happened.
Inspiration must be followed by action.
Everything that the world imagines is possible with Obama IS possible. This new found excitement and energy creates fabulous momentum to create the seemingly impossible. But it requires each of us to make changes in our lives.
Now is the time to begin to do something different.
What change have you been talking about making in your life?
What do you need to do to live your best life?
How can you make a difference in the world?
So celebrate today. Immerse yourself in the possibilities. Be excited.
And then….
tomorrow take action to begin to make those possibilities a reality.
Leave a comment and share…
What’s possible for you?
Your vision only becomes clear when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
Carl Jung
What is your heart’s vision for your life?
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
Edith Lovejoy Pierce
What are you going to write on your blank page?
This is day 27 of the 30 day challenge.
Thanks to Deb for sharing her role model, an 88 year old woman named Gwendolyn who made a commitment to healthly living in her 50’s. Read Gwendolyn’s inspiring story and see that she’s a leader we can all follow.
Today’s tip:
We’ve almost come to the end of the 30 day challenge. Now is a good time to evaluate your progress.
How successful were you in meeting your goal?
What worked well?
Where did you get stuck or distracted?
What was the key to your success?
Is your new habit beginning to feel like part of your routine?
Take a few minutes to think about how far you’ve come in the past month. Check in with your buddy for some objective feedback.
Be honest with yourself. Did you stick with it or did you let yourself off the hook? Remember evaluation is just a place to pause before you take the next step.
Tune in tomorrow when we plan for what’s next.
Are you further ahead than you were 27 dys ago?
There’s an old saying that you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. I’m a big believer in surrounding yourself with what I call “hot people” – individuals who inspire, challenge and support you.
It’s easy to set the bar low for yourself. Mediocrity is a cultural norm.
I figure you have two choices in life:
half assed or kick ass
Which life you live depends a lot on who you hang out with. Hot people create a playground of rich conversation and joyful abundance where tackling fears and stretching yourself is encouraged and living your dreams is required.
I’m blessed to have lots of hot people in my life. Here’s what some of them are up to:
There’s Nancy, a woman of a certain age and not your typical athlete, who just participated in the Victoria Dragon Boat races to raise money for cancer.
There’s Virginia who has been known to spontaneously hop on a plane and land on my doorstep who is heading off to France for a couple of weeks of whatever adventure awaits her.
There’s Catherine who will be rappelling down the side of a 27 story building in Edmonton on September 8th to raise money for Easter Seals. Go girl.
There’s Gail who is facing a challenging illness with grace and optimism.
There’s Neela, a single parent of two daughters and closet writer, who delights me with thought provoking conversations about moments of revelation and deeper learning.
Pretty good company.
If you want to learn more about how hot people and ideas can set your life on fire, check out my new book Spontaneous Combustion.
What company do you keep?
Post a comment about your hot people.
Become a shameless idealist.
That was the call to action I received this year from Craig Kielburger. Craig and his brother Marc founded Free the Children, an organization dedicated to helping young people become socially conscious global citizens.
While Craig’s passion is directed at children helping children, his impact is not reserved for today’s youth. Inspiration is about putting an idea in people’s heads and having them act on it. There have been lots of times in the last few months when I have stopped and asked myself, “What would a shameless idealist do in this situation?” It’s been a great catalyst for moving past inevitable roadblocks and obstacles.
You never know how one thing will lead to another.
I became aware of Craig and Marc’s work when I stumbled upon their book Me to We one day while killing time in an airport in 2004. You never know how one thing will lead to another. I read the book and that led to an exchange of letters and a tour of the Free the Children headquarters in Toronto.
Impressed by the work that Free the Children was doing, I shared their story and website with my oldest daughter who was in her last year of high school at the time. Before I knew it she had begun the application process to participate in a Leaders Today volunteer project. Leaders Today is the youth leadership organization that extends the mission of Free the Children to empowering young people to create positive sustainable changes in the world.
In 2006 my daughter traveled with Leaders Today to Kenya to help build a school in a small village. It was a trip that had a powerful impact on her. Now a university student studying anthropology, she is currently in Tanzania for three months participating in a community health project that addresses malaria and HIV/AIDS.
Helping me set you on fire
Craig Kielburger is certainly a poster boy for making the seemingly impossible happen. He definitely doesn’t settle for mediocre. So it was a simple choice to ask him to write the foreword to my new book Spontaneous Combustion: Setting Your Life on Fire. He recounts how he set his life on fire and in his usual charming way he invites my readers to do the same.
Go ahead.
Spontaneously combust your life.
You never know where it might lead you.
What are YOU waiting for?
