Freedom: What Are Your Rewards?

The Fear of Letting Go Is...

There was a point in my life where I began to realize that my co-dependence was a huge obstacle to my true, authentic self  being able to express. At that point I began to fear being co-dependent. I could see how it diminished me and put entirely too much pressure on others to be my source of happiness or pain.
So I began the journey of letting go of the desperate, dysfunctional need to have my existence affirmed by others, the need to mold and manipulate myself into the persona that I thought would please them. In the process, another fear began to show.

I soon found myself in the fear of Not being co-dependent, which is the reason I had resorted to co-dependence in the first place. In the absence of interacting in the favorable persona, I would have to look within and find authentic reactions, authentic opinions, authentic emotions  that I would actually express!

There had been rewards in being co-dependent, and now it was time to find the rewards in ending this practice.

• The reward is authenticity itself, discovering  the essence of who I really am.
• The reward is freedom.

The opportunity to change your focus begins with awareness, and then requires courage. It makes it much easier when you can find the rewards to a new way of being. Focus on the positive rewards, and you will find your authentic self with grace and ease.

20 Years of Making a Difference? Really?

20 Years of Making a Difference? Really?

"Are you an artist?"

The questions came to me from a forgotten history.

As I was enjoying an exhibit of abstract art yesterday, I found myself talking to one of the artists, who knew me "way back." She was describing the teaching abilities of my mother who had conducted workshops on abstract art that Kelly had attended a few months prior. This exhibit was the resulting work of her students. Kelly's new abstract pieces were quite good, and she had nothing but great things to say about Mom's workshop.

Kelly was telling me about a moment in the workshop, though, that brought history and the present together in unexpected ways.

As my Mom, Fran Watson, was talking to someone about her son, Larry, who is a  ceramic artist, Kelly made the decades-wide connection.

She announced to Fran, "I know Larry, he conducted a workshop 20 years ago called "The Business of Art." She went on, "The first thing he did was ask, 'How many of you call yourself an artist?' Out of about 30 people, only three raised their hands."

She continued, "Larry said that this was the first thing that would have to change in order to find any success. He said, 'You have to look in the mirror and say "I am an artist." And then you must be clear when you say it to others. Then you will be able to succeed.'"

Kelly went on; "And that's what I learned to do. The first 10 days I tried looking in the mirror and I couldn't say it. I just looked in the mirror and cried. But eventually I was able to say it in the mirror, and then say it out loud to other people. It changed my life."

Wow. So affirming to know that my path to now is not so recent, but a culmination of my life. Making a difference; it's what I live for.

How To Get Younger

Would you like to get younger? It's really quite simple. (But simple does not mean easy!) 

My dog keeps getting younger. But he doesn’t know it.

Last year I read a web site that listed causes and remedies for dog skin rashes and hair loss, which had been a serious, perennial problem for Rudy for several years. The vet was grasping at straws to find a solution. But it seems that the level of protein in a dog’s diet can have an effect on skin health, and in Rudy’s case, it was  a profound effect. Upon a simple change in protein intake, all skin problems were permanently eliminated. 

And there was an added bonus; a regression to a more youthful Rudy! For the first time in years, he began to run, not merely trot. He began searching  out his long-neglected toys, tossing them in the air to tempt me into play. He chased me in the yard, running back and forth, barking, then stopping in smiling content.

But he did not recognize his renewed mobility enough to see if it affected his ability to jump up on the furniture or into the car’s back seat. For the past few years, he would pause at the open car door  and wait for me to assist his caboose into the seat. One day on the way to a walk in the park, Rudy bounded into the seat without any help. Apparently his memory had slipped, and didn’t know that it wasn’t impossible anymore.

 What if you didn’[t know it was impossible? What if you re-calibrated your perception of limits? What if you checked in to see if maybe you were able to do more than you previously found possible, even feasible? 

What if your thoughts about limits were wrong all along? How many times have we found ourselves continuing a tradition without knowing it’s origin or meaning? Sometimes those traditions were habits of dysfunction; belief systems (B.S.) that create imaginary handicaps.

What if you could jump WAAAYY higher than you had previously thought? Sometimes, it takes an outside observer to help us take the leap. That’s one of  the best parts of my job. 

Take a leap into your future. Find out if the old rules just no longer apply. You can live Way Beyond Surviving. Live the Life you Love.

Are You Allowed To Dream?

The New Year is upon us!

Are you allowed to Dream?

Do you have permission to create a vision that is beautiful and amazing?

Is there any part of you that is feeling unworthy of creating a vision that Takes Your Breath Away?

Visioning is a major theme for me as I go into 2014. I've been asked to conduct visioning workshops and talks at 5 venues in January. I love my life! I can't wait to get into the room and get a bunch of people fired up and creative and building a life they love.

But there is a very important first step. Getting permission. If you want to create an awesome vision, you need permission.

You know what I'm talking about. You can feel it in your body right now; in your gut, your chest, or maybe your throat. Maybe your feet feel like lead weights.

Guess how I know?

Getting permission to dream of something better. You can hear some of the old voices:

• Who do you think you are?
• Don't get too full of yourself.
• Since when did you get better than anybody else?

 These are the voices from the past. Except, now they are spoken by yourself. No one has to chime in. You say it for them. You are the Judge, and you are the one keeping you in prison.

For how long? How much longer are you going to deny yourself the simple joy and pleasure of dreaming, of creating a vision that stretches you into your amazing potential? And then stepping into it.

"We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be briliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Who are you not to be?"
~Marianne Williamson

You know the part of you that is brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous. You know that part really, really well. To some degree, you've been holding that part down, like a little child in you who is told to be quiet.

Now it's time to let it all out, to bring the amazing person that is you out into the open, into the room, and ask what would make you sing? Say to yourself, "Now is the time. You have permission!"

As you go through your day, stop and give yourself permission to dream and vision what you can do and see and create.

The year 2014 is going to be different. Either by default and out of your control; or by your proactive and glorious intention. One way or the other - it WILL be different.

Give yourself permission to be fabulous. Who are you not to be?

__________________________________

January is shaping up to be a very busy month for me, with several empowered souls who have enrolled in my Transformation Coaching programs. I know you might be curious about these programs, and this week is the perfect time to schedule your (30 minute) complimentary Laser Discovery Session to find out more about the amazing results that others have experienced in this process, and to discover if you and I are a good fit. (If not now, when?) Reply and let me know day(s) time(s) that work for you. Give yourself permission.

The Finding Freedom Book Mastermind starts Jan. 16, and you can find out more at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/finding-freedom-book-mastermind-group-5-week-program-tickets-9701981889
Before you buy your ticket, write me for a discount code!

Knowing When To Take Action

Knowing When To Take Action

Aside from the actions that require consideration of timing, knowing when to take action can be a simple process. And yet, simple does not always mean easy.

Most of our decisions can be made with one or two priorities.

The first involves our core values. When we are clear about our core values, we can look at a decision and action from the point of how it serves our core values. This becomes a litmus test for our actions. And if it doesn't serve our goals, then we're just distracting ourselves.

After that, we have our intuition. Have you been listening to your intuition when making decisions? It can be so hard to set the mind aside and listen to that feeling that either drives us or leaves us apathetic.  It's the difference between "Yes, I think so" and "Hell yes!"

If we're stuck on Maybe, it's time to see why.

And so, when is the best time to take action?

Within 24 hours, preferably within the hour. If you can't commit in that time, when will you?

Taking action is the way success shows up. Are you ready to take action and add success to your vocabulary? Are you ready to take action and make your life show up in full color? 

Where's Your List, Santa?

No lump of coal this year!

I think maybe the thing that made me wonder if thier really IS a Santa Clause was hearing everyone say that Santa kept a list. He sees me when I'm sleeping (kinda creepy?) he sees me when I'm awake.

And exactly how does he do that? There's 7 billion of us, or does he only watch the kids? Does that mean the adults have graduated, or are they beyond hope?

OK, we can really dive into this in a metaphysical way, but I want to focus on that list.

I don't know about you, but as far as I remembered about the previous 12 months,  that list of naughty seemed longer than my Wish List.

And what happened at Christmas? It certainly didn't look like my naughty list had diminished the flow of abundance in my morning under the tree.

What happened to the list? Did Santa's math skills need a remedial class? Or was this just a big story, this whole Santa thing?

As I've gotten older, I've begun to believe that the metaphor of Santa as the unconditional love that the Universe shows me every day is the true story. There is no list. There is no scorecard.

So that means you can stop keeping your own scorecard. It means you can tear that list up, toss it to the wind, and forgive yourself. As long as you're judging yourself, you're the only one.

Love yourself!
Larry

P.S. Would you like more of what you see? Just click reply to schedule a time to talk and discover.

Who Do Ya Love?

It all starts here.

As I do more and more coaching work with others, it is clearer and clearer for me that it all starts right here.  Say that for yourself: "It all starts right here."  We can't start out there without enough right here to give.

Have you found it difficult at times to have kindness and compassion for others? Take a look at your "love-tank," and get a gauge on how full or empty it is.

Self love could be the secret to loving your life. Finding the kindness, compassion, and forgiveness for yourself is the first step to creating joy in our lives.

I like to adapt the sentence, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." With a few words added, it points at another element of that "equation." For me, it makes sense to say, "You can love your neighbor only as much as you love yourself."

And loving yourself makes it so much easier and fun! When we are loving ourselves, we fill the well of our kindness and compassion that we can then give to others, and we are confident and generous when we do.

Even though we know it's important to love thy neighbor, it all starts at home. How are you treating yourself? Just for today, can you really love yourself?

Pretend you're talking a to a five year old version of yourself and see how kind and loving you are. Even in the most challenging moments of your day, what would you say to the five year old self?

Self-love is not egotistical. It is the most important focus to fill you love tank. That's the tank from which we give to others. And it's the source of our greatest joy.

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