About Me

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Kennebunkport, Maine, United States
I’ve had to learn to live life on the positive side. If I can do it, I know anyone can. My goal here is to share my experiences, have others share their's and together we can help and encourage each other to be better people. As we all know, success in life takes effort, a change in behavior and the realization that you have to do both to succeed. Maybe you are one of the millions of people who begin every year saying, “This year is going to be different. This year I’m going to make my dreams come true”. If you do not prepare and change your actions from your current path for the upcoming year, do you really believe you will end up at a different destination than last year? What if we did it together, supporting each other on a daily basis. I hope you'll join the journey of finding positive light in an ever negative world.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Weathering the storm

Are you uncertain of what the future holds for you or whether you can weather the storm? I hope you will enjoy the following which I recently wrote:

There is a small tree standing in a meadow with withered leaves from long days of scorching heat and little water. As the wind gently blows through its branches each day it loses its leaves one at a time until it looks sparse and ready to perish. As the cold approaches and its leaves are gone, it is an uncertainty if the tree will be able to withstand another harsh season or will die trying to survive the barren cold covered in a blanket of icy white. As it sleeps through the winter its will for survival is renewed and a new hope for tomorrow rises. Will this season be better? Will I bear fruit this year? Will the harsh elements kill my hope for a better tomorrow? On a beautiful spring morning it awakes to the warm sunlight melting the snow cover which is now providing live giving support and assurance of a better tomorrow. It now beams brightly with the hope of a new season and the expectations of a better tomorrow.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Don't be afriad to move forward

Growing up I always thought my life would be different than what it is. I was certain that I would be a sophisticated, talented, attractive, graceful, and fabulous woman who was president of a top Fortune 500 Company and had the world at my fingertips. As my life unfolded, I felt as far away from that and all I had imagined for myself as I could possible get. Until now. I’ve finally come to realize that I am that woman in so many ways, just in a different setting than I had imagined and so many things that I had imagined were out of my control, really aren’t.

Take 5-15 minutes everyday and plan your day. Include everything you can think of that you must accomplish today and at least one task that will bring you closer to your dreams and goals.

That one thing should be something that you don’t usually do. Something that puts you outside your comfort zone and moves you in a positive direction. It is uncomfortable at first, but being fearful and taking the action despite your fear is a courageous step on your journey to success. If your action results in a negative response, be persistent and don’t let the rejection define who and what you will be. Only you can decide to who and what you become.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Are you ready to face your fear?

It occurred to me last night that over the past few days I’ve experienced the same strange occurrence. Spiders. Everywhere I go, I’ve seen spiders, which in itself isn’t a strange occurrence, but for me - I’m afraid of spiders. On my way home the other night I was driving and from the glow of the street light, there on the inside of the windshield was a GIANT spider (okay, so it was a medium sized spider). I reached for something the kill it while trying to maintain my cool and drive the car. I knew if I didn’t kill this spider, I would have to sell my car. The next occurrence happened as I was watching TV in bed the same night. Spiraling down in front of the TV’s glow, and straight onto my bed, was a big spider (not a medium one). I’m sorry to say that spider is no longer with us either (my apologies to my sixth grade teacher - who informed me I may have killed Charlotte - sorry, Mr. H). Over the last couple of days, I’ve seen tiny spiders, small spiders, medium spiders, large spiders and even a giant spider who told me it was time to face my fears - if you keep telling yourself you’re afraid of spiders, you’ll never go in your house again.

Well that spider was right! I do tell myself, and everyone else for that matter, that I don’t like spiders. So guess what? I don’t like spiders. As you probably already know, my point has nothing to do with spiders and everything to do with facing your fears in life. What is it that makes you fearful?

A few steps you can take to start facing your fears are:

1) Identify what it is that makes you afraid. Make a list if you need to (I did);
2) Write beside each fear why you fear it;
3) Stop telling yourself you are fearful and start telling yourself you can handle it.

Why do people fear? The majority of time your fears never come into reality. So why do people spend extensive amounts of time in fear and worry over events and situations that in the end usually turn out fine?

Worry is an intense drain on human emotions. Your purpose on this planet was not to worry about events you have no control over, or even the ones you do. By constant worry, you stop your life dead in its tracks. It is impossible to live your life to the fullest when you are consumed by fear and anxiety. Life was meant to be experienced on a daily basis, not worrying about what is going to happen next week, next month or next year. Work towards letting go and trust that this Universe, God, your higher power, or whichever you prefer, will give you everything you need in life.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

What are your expectations?

Isn’t it a great feeling to wake up in the morning feeling happy and excited about life? The feeling of expectation and hope and peace. One of my favorite songs is “Feels Like Today” by Rascal Flatts…

“I woke up this morning, with this feeling inside me that I can’t explain, like a weight that I’ve carried has been carried away. I know something is coming, I don’t know what it is but I know its amazing, can save me, my time is coming I’ll find my way out, of this longest drought, and it feels like today….”

I often hear people say, “that’s just my luck” or “I knew it was too good to be true” or better yet “why them and not me”. Well the difference between you and “them” is you expect different things. The wealthy don’t expect to be broke and the healthy don’t expect to get sick. Your state of mind is so important in the way you live your life. Something that also plays a big part is what you believe to be truth. Very often people will say “You can’t do that, you don’t have enough money (or enough ______)”. If you are listening to other people tell you what you can and can’t do, stop now! The only difference between you and “them” is they believe they can and they look for a way to accomplish it and not wait for the way to come to them.

Your expectations, beliefs and action create your day and become your tomorrows. Plan well and expect good things.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Choices and Circumstances

It’s funny how we don’t really stop to consider how the choices that you make today might impact your future. When it comes down to it, who you are today isn’t necessarily the same person you were when you made certain choices that got you to this point. With that being said, you might not see the person you really are today until the results of the choices you make now come to light tomorrow. That is a pretty fine balancing act if you ask me. No wonder we get frustrated with our current circumstances; it is the result of where you’ve been in the past.

Our perception of our current situation in life frequently limits our ability to focus on what it is we want the most in life. There is a whole world out there and if we limit our thinking to only ourselves and the small piece of real estate we inhabit, we are selling ourselves short. By doing that we trap ourselves in unwanted circumstances and we begin to feel like we have no hope of achieving better things. If you can take a few minutes every day and look beyond your current circumstances, review the list of what it is you want the most, and remember that you deserve good things, you are capable and you are not alone, you can control the daily ups and downs in your life and become what you’ve always wanted. It is not an easy process that will happen at the snap of your fingers. It is difficult to pull yourself out of a situation and imagine yourself in another. Consistently practice this everyday by conscious changing your thought patterns when you feel that sense of hopelessness, imagining favorable circumstances instead of hopeless ones and being thankful for what you already have. Little by little you will change your belief in your ability to achieve your goals and the ability to be more focused on the things you want and not focused on the things you don’t want.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Begin Again Everyday

View each day as a new beginning. There are two things you need to remember in beginning again every day. The first being that yesterday is your history and there is nothing you can do or say to change the events of the day or produce a different outcome from where you are right now. The second is that it doesn’t matter what others think of you. You can’t really let it all go and begin new while letting someone else’s opinion of you shape who you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re happy, sad, abused, trapped or confined, remember there is a part of you deep down inside that is only yours and nobody can touch it.