Continue reading »]]> Where’s the beef? I’m lovin’ it. Finger licking good. Dude, you gotta get a Dell? Choice of a new generation. Everybody needs a little KFC. Every kiss begins with Kay. Napa know how.

The above are all examples of short sweet statements that companies use to get you to buy their products. They work because they are short and sweet. Plus they display them anywhere they can to get it stuck in your head.

It is very effective marketing and it is time to use that marketing to your advantage. When it comes to your 2012, create a theme. The theme of your 2012 should be a short and simple statement. One of my most successful clients used, “Woman of action.” Simple and too the point. She used that slogan over and over again and became that woman of action she wanted to be.

When choosing a theme, decide on what you want to work on and how it excites you. The exciting part is very important. The theme should at least be as exciting as getting a Big Mac. You want to be energized every time you think, say or read your theme. If you are making a 2012 scrapbook or vision board, put the theme on top. Use it to keep you inspired and motivated.

My theme is “Back to the Basics.” I am picking three areas of my life that I am focusing on in 2012. Three basic areas. My health, finances and home are going to be energized in 2012. Last year it was “Ripples to Tidal Waves.” I made big changes with that theme and made big leaps in my life and business. Now it is time to get the basics down to create a bigger base so that I can create a bigger structure! 2012 is an amazing year. Ride the Wave! (That would be a good theme, you can have it, free of charge.)

What is your theme for 2012?

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Continue reading »]]> The beauty of December is the fact it rhymes with remember better than any other month. December falls at the end of the year and it is the best time to remember the following year and reevaluate your goals and celebrate your accomplishments.

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Look back at your year and look at what you have done. Have you reached your goals? What have you learned from the past year?

What did you fall short on? How can you take what you learned from that and take it to the next level?

Since we use a 12 month calendar, December is the month to look back and start to plan. So today, take time out and look at what you have done.  That is the first step to planning a wonderful 2012.

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Last weekend I watched an amazingly fun movie named Limitless. Limitless is a movie that stars Bradley Cooper as an aspiring author whose life is transformed when he is introduced to the drug NZT. NZT is a drug that unleashes the mass potential of the brain causing him to be a intelligent super human.

It is impossible to watch the movie and not want to try NZT. Unfortunately in the real world there isn’t a magic drug that will allow us to be super smart. However there are many things we can do in our real life to help unleash the power of our brains so we can get close to super human as we can without a button looking pill.

5 Ways to get the NTZ Experience in Real Life

1. Exercise: Exercise increases your bloodflow and releases chemicals in the brain that help function. There have been studies that students do better on tests if they exercise in the morning.
2. Meditation: Studies have shown that meditation allows people to consciously have more control of their brain, handle stress better and also have improve test scores.
3. Diet: Having a good diet and feeding your brain allows your brain to be more efficient. Omega-3s, like found in fish oil and flax seeds are very good for your brain.
4. Continual learning: The human body is a machine that gets better with use. That also includes your brain. The more you use your brain, the more your brain will continue to get better and function. The old saying, “You cannot teach an old dog new tricks,” is proving more and more wrong as you should be able to have no problems learning new things all the way into your 70s and maybe beyond with a healthy brain.
5. Positive Thinking: Positive thinking releases joy chemicals in the brain and allows you to use your frontal cortex. Your frontal cortex allows you to be more human than animal and think through situations.

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Continue reading »]]> I have to share a video with you that I listened to this weekend. The video is from Brene Brown in the Ted Talks Houston. The talks about her studies on shame and what it means.

One of the greatest points is talk about how to be kind to yourself before you are kind to others. Because you cannot be kind to others and if you are not kind to yourself. Plus the beauty of vulnerability. One of the things I have worked on for many years is being more vulnerable. Sometimes it has been a struggle to break down the walls, however every time I am more vulnerable I celebrate. One of the benefits is each time I get hurt and angry, I get to celebrate me being more vulnerable because before I wouldn’t be vulnerable enough to be hurt or angry. That allows me to go to on to next step and go beyond.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Qm9cGRub0

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Joy Increasing Action Tip #2:

Take time each day to remember happy thoughts.

You have plenty of times in your past when you have been happy or joyful. There have been times in your life that you have laughed so hard that you almost thought you would never stop. Those times are times to cherish and remember.

When I was in college over 10 years ago, (man has it been that long?), I read a study that stated that there is more long term happiness spending money on going out to dinner with friends than using that same amount of money to purchase an item. That study really surprised me because I thought there would be more long term happiness on the item. Especially if the item was a video game system. Now that I have done some research I understand why that is. When you hang out with friends in a setting that is fun, there are a lot of chemicals that are produced in your brain that create the happy feelings. Every time you remember that dinner with friends, the same chemicals are released in your brain.

That means that when you remember a happy memory, you are giving yourself a shot of happy drugs. For now, these drugs are completely legal and free. All you have to do is remember a happy memory. Spending a few minutes, each day and remembering the happy times will increase your joy with no side effects. Well there might be the side effect of wanting to have more fun with your friends. If you are like me, that has the possible side effect of a hangover.

What is one of your happiest memories?

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During the political season with the voting and the what not, it is hard to not notice how everyone loves to find someone to blame for today’s problem. It could be with the Republicans putting Hitler mustaches on Obama and blaming him for the economy. You can also look at the Occupy Wall Street movement that is going on right now and notice how some of them blame the 1% for all of life’s problem, while the 1% blame the 99%’s problem on blaming the 1%.

Myself, I am not too interested in who to blame for life’s problem. When looking at my life and figuring out whose fault it was for any of my predicaments, can only get me so far. Finding who is at fault doesn’t change it and it doesn’t get anything accomplish. Unless the guy hit my car and has good insurance.

Living a life of blame is living a life where you allow people to dictate your life and your moods. It is time to stop the blame and start the creating the life you want to live. You can do it! I believe in you. Blame is a very low vibrational energy. Spending too much time in blame will cause you to be weak and even feel weak. Raise your vibration. You have the power to change your life. (See what I did there? If you didn’t, look to the right of the page.)

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Continue reading »]]> Spiritual Life Coach Tip: Improve with Improv

Taking Improv classes through Jet City Improv is very beneficial. I am very thankful that I have taken improv classes. I recommend that everyone takes them. You can gain so much from taking improv classes. Before improv classes I was the type of person who the most embarrassing thing that could happen to me is to have someone wave in my direction and I wave back. Then find out that the wave was not meant for me. SO EMBARRASSING!! Improv has allowed me to break out of my shell and let go of embarrassment. Being a fool in front of people was a huge fear of mine. Improv classes is being a fool in front of people for over an hour.

When searching the web I came across a blog, 20 Life Lessons You Can Learn from Improv. I am going to pick out the top five that I really agree with, plus add on that I believe they missed.

Bravery: Public speaking and other events involving standing up in front of a crowd is a common pants-wettingly terrifying experience for many people. Enrolling in a low-key improv class makes for an excellent way to start alleviating some of the anxiety. Considering most involve comedy, the presence laughter also serves as a calming agent. Overcoming a comparatively minor fear such as audiences makes for a nice stepping stone to conquering more serious ones.

Taking improv classes increases bravery. To be in front of a crowd and acting like a fool is scary. Especially when having people think you are a fool is one of your biggest fears. Improv definitely helps with bravery.

Self-expression: Spending enough time in the performing or visual arts not only challenges creativity and imagination, but fosters a heightened ability to express one’s emotions and ideas. Whether making a career in the theatre or clinching a client over drinks, the ability to process (and subsequently convey) what’s going on upstairs is an undeniably essential life skill. One does not have to actually perform improv in front of an audience to reap its personal and interpersonal rewards.

You want to learn how to get your voice heard, improv. Improv is amazing at learning to express yourself. You will allow yourself to be the life of a party if you wish. Better yet, you will be able to speak up during a meeting.

Cooperation: At some point in everyone’s life, they will have to work with other people. Even ones they just plain don’t like. Most improv involves collaborative efforts to get to a desired destination. The ability to work well with a wide variety of individuals is a necessity in all professional and personal spheres, so even those just taking a weekly class at the learning annex will still get something worthwhile out of the experiences.

You learn that the scene is funnier if everyone works together. There can be chances to take control and go for the big laugh. However, if you cooperate you can create a scene that is so amazing that people will swear that you scripted the scene.

Communication: Communication takes long walks along the beach at sunset with self-expression. They have so much in common; it makes sense that the both of them receive similar bolstering from improv performances and classes. Self-expression allows participants to find an outlet for their feelings. Communication makes sure they get to the intended audience clearly. Awww. Don’t they just make the best couple?

Improv helps you learn how to communicate what is on your mind.

Humility: Ditching the ego remains key to getting along well and working successfully with others. For more serious improv artists, they have to face the reality that some audiences just won’t dig their performances. Still others need to make sure everyone on stage (or “stage,” as it were) enjoys their chance to showcase their own talents and ideas. All situations force participants to learn the valuable life lesson of humility and the understanding that sometimes one just needs to sit back and have things not always be about him or her.

Humility is very important in improv as a scene is best when you take what is given to you and use the suggestion in the scene. Learning that your idea isn’t always the best idea can help you go far in life.
Their are 15 more things they learned from improv, however I have two more that I learned.

1. Trust. In improv you have to trust yourself that you are going to come up with the right thing to say. Without that trust your performance will come off very jilted. The important thing to do is to trust the first thing that comes to your mind that will fit the scene. The more you trust yourself in your life the farther you will go. This is the basis of living an inspired life. Trusting the little voice in your head to go for it. The voice of inspiration!

2. Yes and… The basis of improv is, “yes and.” No matter what your partners give you, you accept the suggestion and then build on the suggestion. Imagine living a life where you “yes and” your entire life. You will be free of most of the suffering because you will accept it and build off of the occurrences in your life. “Yes and” is a great representation of self improvement and zen all wrapped into one. In fact it is very enlightening to watch an amazing improv performance. It is like being taken to an amazing world. The high is amazing.

Take an improv class. I dare you! Just kidding. About the dare, not about taking an improv class. You will not regret it. Your life will be better because of taking an improv class. If you live in the Seattle Area, I highly recommend Jet City Improv. The two teachers I had there Douglas Willott and Ian Schempp are two of the most talented people I have met. They should be in movies or at least TV commercials.

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