Archive for the Life Purpose

Psssst….!!! It’s my birthday the week of  November 1st.

So What? Right?

Well the week is so full of great things that you just have to know about them!  I’m one of those people who believes that you should always celebrate your birthday and that if you want to have a good party…throw one for yourself.  However, this year, three great folks are having terrific events during my birthday week.  And you know what?  They really have almost nothing to do with me and absolutely everything to do with you guys.  Both of the following events are so good that you won’t want to miss them!

Six Figure Moms, What are you REALLY grateful for?  As I’ve read other blogs and articles, I’ve been thinking about this question all week.  I decided I wanted my post to be narrow so I’ve asked myself this question:

“If you only get to give one answer, what ONE thing are you most grateful for?” 

My answer is STRUGGLE.  I’m so thankful for the struggle I have in my life and for so many reasons.

• Struggle makes me continue to grow and think about things from a multitude of perspectives.
• Struggle reminds me that I’m alive.

I just returned from an 18 day trip last night. My last stop was Blog World Expo ‘08 in Las Vegas. I went to the conference to enhance my understanding of the New Media industry and to learn how to better serve you, my readers, as a writer/blogger. Little did I know of the almost limitless benefits that this little four day trip would bring me. I’m still digesting everything I learned over the past few days and I know I will be for quite some time. However, the one gem of the conference is this:

Have you ever seriously thought about what you would do with your life if you won the lottery? If your answer is no, then I must ask you, WHY NOT? My prescription for you is to devote some quality time to this question and write a press release about yourself as if you won enough money to live the life of your dreams. I know some of you naysayers are shaking your heads and saying, “Why would I ever waste time working on something I know is unachievable? I’ll do that if and when I actually win”. Well, with that kind of attitude. It likely IS unachievable. But, if you can change you paradigm a bit and work with me here a little, we can have a little fun and develop a plan. Your mission is to visualize your dream life and then work backwords. You just might get closer than you think to your dream life. For example, my highlevel dream if financial resources were unconstrained consists of the following:

Because there is hurricane remains blowing into upstate New York where I’m vacationing, there is a constant breeze.  It’s a fabulously beautiful morning.  I got straight out of bed and went outside and went for a walk around my mother-in-law’s property.  (Even before coffee…I must be delirious).  She lives on top of a hill so you can see green, rolling hillsides everywhere you look.  It’s like looking at a 360 degree postcard.  Again, the trees are there whispering with their branches.  Just walking around this property is better than being at the Four Seasons Spa.  You just don’t get this stuff in the city.  But maybe that’s just me because I’m a small town girl who grew up in southern Ohio.  I don’t think so though.  As an executive coach, I see so many of my clients in overwhelm because they just can’t seem to make themselves take a break and slow down a bit.  If they could, they’d be better off.  In fact, if I could bring them here, to my mother-in-law’s house, they likely wouldn’t need me anymore (hmmm…reengineering myself out of a job again…I have a reputation for that.  Here we go again.).  But I digress.  There is so much research on the link between taking a break and improved creativity and the things that have been invented, created, written, all kinds of greatness due to sabbaticals, career changes, vacations that I’m always amazed at how many people don’t take advantage of them.  If you are feeling stuck, then you must think seriously about this.  The power of the personal reboot is magnificent.  I think I’ve recommended this book before but it’s so good I’m going to mention it again.  It’s older but still worth a look.  Check out Six Months Off:  The Sabbatical Book for some ideas about a Reboot.  Just read it ok?  There’s no harm in reading.  It might even spark your creativity about how you can affect a reboot while still working.

Do you have a personal barometer that gives you a sign when you’re off kilter? If yes, are you able to call on it in time to actually affect a change in your behavior? So, you ask, what do you mean, Angie? Let me explain. For years, in times of extreme stress or unhappiness, my personal barometers have been working perfectly. I just wasn’t paying attention. I often didn’t notice until the difficult time had passed. Now, I’m quite a bit more mindful and if I pay attention, I can catch myself and affect a change before I go down a negative path. Ok, Ok, I know. What in the world am I talking about?

I was talking with a friend today who posed an interesting question. She said, “Ah, Labor Day, just like New Years.” I must have had a puzzled tone in my voice so she explained. “Don’t you remember that Labor Day was really like New Year’s Day when you were a kid and going back to school? Didn’t it signify the end of summer and the beginning of something new?”. Excellent point. She’s right. Labor Day is the start of a new era. The end of care free summer and the beginning of school days, responsibility, joyous holidays and family celebrations. In fact, I was swimming with a friend’s nine year old son the other day and he kept asking me if I wanted to hear what he had sent to Santa on his Christmas list. “Pierce!”, I said, “Your killing me, we’re swimming in the pool and all you can think about is Christmas and school hasn’t even started?”. I guess for him, Labor Day is certainly the start of a new era…the count down to St. Nick.

Last night, I had the great pleasure to visit with my friend, Kim Crumpler, award winning Style Coach and Owner of Uniquely Savvy based in Seattle. Kim runs her business with one of my favorite life flavors, she uses authenticity in people to help them build confidence in themselves through wardrobe selection. Kim is here in San Diego to attend a Buffini and Company seminar. That’s another thing I love about her. She consistently works on herself and personal development reaching further to know herself on a deeper level and to push herself.

If you’re in the coaching business like me, you hear people talking about life purpose all the time. Whether it’s other coaches or clients looking for a more meaningful life, seems like I’m talking about this topic at least once every day. As for me, I’m at a great place with life purpose. I feel like every single thing I’ve done in my career specifically served to lead me to this very moment. Yes, that’s a “whoa that’s big” statement. (For those of you who don’t know, I’m a recovering Telecom Professional, MBA, CPA type turned Executive Coach, Blogger, Writer, Speaker). Actually, I’m so happy with my career that I think my friends are getting a little sick of me and sometimes frightened by my delight. They are looking at me and going. “Ok, Missy. It’s great to be in your fabulous euphoria, but come back down here to Earth with the rest of us and tell us how to get from where we are to our next step”. Fair enough.

This week, I’ve had about six really meaningful conversations with folks about passionate life work versus working for money.  It really is too bad that we even need money.  It’s such a BIG distraction. People want to go in one direction but they end up going in the other because of money.  Or, they go down the path they feel most passionate about and then have to switch gears because they run out of money.  I met a lady this week in that exact position.  She clearly needed Seth Godin’s book, The Dip, which I’ve mentioned here before.  What would we do if we didn’t have to think about money at all?  I often ask my clients to write a press release about themself as if they had won the lottery.  Why? Because I think it’s a freeing exercise that helps facilitate clarity about what we’re really proud of and what we really want.  Equally important is that you can then tailor your life to go in that direction even though you haven’t hit the jackpot.  You may be able to implement some small changes in your everyday life that impact a big change for you.  I’ve been thinking about all this everyday and then I read Seth Godin’s blog this morning.