Groovin Leap Frog
“Be your self – everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
Happy Monday,
Groovin Gecko, Chameleon or Frog?
Unlike a reptile that periodically sheds its skin, the skin we have and what lies under it is usually what we’ve got – for the moment anyway. Don’t ask me why thoughts of that come up for me this Monday morning but right out of the gate here that is what is filtering through my brain.
Last night for some reason I had the craziest of dreams. Not the most positive of dreams to be sure. In fact I think every negative person I have come across in the last few years was in this dream – tryin’ with all their might to bring me down. And they were succeeding – even though like the Energizer bunny I kept getting up every time they knocked me down! In fact when I woke up this morning I opened my eyes very slowly afraid they might be still there in the room with me.
Good news is that they weren’t! Allowing me to shed their negativity and squish it right out of my head – as I create the day and week ahead that I want. So there it is . . . the reason I am thinking of shedding I suppose 
).
Last week on our radio show I interviewed Jason Womack who shared from his new book – Your Best Just got Better, the idea of envisioning your perfect day. I loved the idea of it and still do…and would love to have us visualize as we get rolling here this morning about our perfect day today leading right in to the week and what it might look like.
(you can listen to the recording here.)
Now figuring we get an extra day this week with Leap Day coming on Wednesday – what creative and imaginative way could you spend that day we only get once every four years? Leap Day always makes me think of my fourth grade teacher, Sister Josepha. She had a Leap Day birthday and we used to always say that since she was in her 60′s back in the days she was teaching us – we were sure she was really 90 something. Her mid sentence naps were one of the real giveaways!
But Sister Josepha aside – I hope that you can join me on Labor Day for a special leap day radio show that I am hosting with my friend and fellow Coach, Carolyn Herfurth with The Biz Truth. I heard Carolyn give a talk a few weeks back called “Get your Groove On” and her words shot out to me like a rocket. She beautifully dips into the whole idea about asking yourself if you are in fact holding your self back from getting done what you know you must do.
Get more info on the show here. Plan on spending 90-minutes on this extra day this week/year giving yourself some extra energy towards shedding some unneeded skin that will assist you towards that leap forward.
So what if your day and week today started with the Red Carpet like we watched last night on the Academy Awards. You know you are looking your best, all your fans are cheering you on towards acknowledging all your accomplishments. Imagine the possibilities.
No, it doesn’t mean you have to be wearing Versace – in fact I love today’s picture of this cool Gecko – looking totally comfortable in his/her own skin. It inspires me to be my best, as I kick those negative thinkers to the curb! How about you? What are you going to do this week that you have been saying you were going to do for some time? How will you keep the negative items coming your way (and they will) from bringing you down? I challenge and support you in doing what you yearn to do – especially if it makes your world, our world – all the better for it.
Here is to embracing what lies before us! As I wrap up this week’s letter, the words Groovin Leap Frog come to mind . . . after all, they look similar the gecko, the best skin changer of them all – the chameleon, and the frog. Each though very different – just like you and me!
Happy detaching and happy Leap Day/Week!
To Your Successes and Victories,
Cheri
Honor Guard
“Self Confidence in the vision frees you to take action.” – Toni Randall
This Monday morning, Presidents Day, has me contemplating my vision and all that I must do in the week ahead to bring the things I want to have happen to life.
Cool sailing pic - getting away from problems along the shore
How about you? How is your vision looking for your week ahead? Do you have the confidence to pull yourself towards that vision of what you want to have happen in the short and long run?
Isn’t the ability to have a strong vision one of the biggest assets of a truly great leader?
Just as my friend Toni Randall, our guest last week on the radio show shared (you can hear the recording here), even more important than having confidence in ourselves we must have confidence in our vision. Without it – all kinds of crazy stuff gets smack dab in the middle of our way – most of it floating around in our head and holding us back.
Moving towards what we want to see most in our life can be a scary task to be sure! Especially when we are reaching towards lofty goals and dreams. Last night Ed and I watched another Tony – this one with a “y” at the end of his name as Oprah interviewed Tony Robbins. It was a powerful show – one that had Oprah participating in Tony’s Unleash the Power Within – fire walk seminar. They talked about the whole idea behind walking on fire and how it makes you face your fears so that you can conquer anything.
One thing Tony Robbins said that I found so true is this – “Make a problem big enough it helps you to avoid your fears.” I had a huge aha moment or two around that thought. How many times do we ourselves, or people we know, continue to have problem after problem – when in fact the problem is easier to deal with then the underlying fear it is covering. You know the old “I can’t do what I really want because . . .(fill in the blank) ”
We can begin to swell up our problems subconsciously so that we don’t have to face a fear – the thought of that in itself is scary – right? It really has me thinking here this morning how I can eliminate the perceived problems I might have before me in the week ahead. So come Friday I can look back on my week with joy in doing my best.
Think about for yourself – and what if you removed a few problems from the forefront of your life – what fears would they help you to face? What vision, goal or dream for your life might you be staring directly at in the process of removing the obstacles? It’s a very interesting perspective. One that requires bunches of confidence to be gathered up to get the problems pushed out of the way.
Every day we face the unknown – the clearer and more confident we are as we head into it, the better we can chart our course and keep ourselves afloat into tomorrow! Moment-by-moment – or as Russell Crowe said in the movie, Master and Commander (in which they encountered “boat loads” of problems – constantly), “We must survive this day!” Of course in doing so he always was keeping the vision to where their ship was headed while other ships were firing away at them.
On Saturday our baby girl, Bailey, turned 20. This officially made us no longer the parents of teens! Funny thing is that I woke up Saturday morning thinking about the words “Honor Guard”. I think it dwarfed from dreams during the night of guarding my daughter and honoring her on her special day as she would be thousands of miles from me. Interestingly enough this morning as I am writing to you I looked up what it is that an honor guard does …
Part of it read, “Only those persons who are highly motivated andmaintain exceptionally high standards of appearance and conduct and show aptitude for ceremonial duty are likely to be considered.” This morning as these words flow for the Victory Letter I can’t help but think – shouldn’t we each be our own Honor Guard as well as for those we hold most precious to us?
Peace Pic Honoring Bailey's B-Day
A tradition we have had for a number of years now is to keep on element of our Christmas lights burning until Bailey’s birthday, our peace sign (see pic). She asked us to do so many years back – and it is a tradition we have come to love. As we turned on the Peace sign for the last time on Saturday night we honored her and all she means to us in our life. Again the honor guard scenario as we act as the guards to honor her in her life.
One final thought before we set off onto the journey of our mutual week’s ahead – another one also shared by Tony Robbins last night – the notion that you can’t be fearful and grateful at the same time. The two emotions discount each other. I invite you as I am doing – to take a deep breath – look past the problems (and the fear they may be covering) – surround yourself with the thoughts of your blessings in your life right now, today. Let the good outweigh the bad as you make your vision for what you want in this world ready to have happen!
Join us Wednesday for the Victory Circles Radio hour. Our guest is Jason Womack author of the new book, Your Best Just Got Better – Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More. Surely this will add only more fuel to this topic of discussion. More Info here.
Wishing you a week of clear sailing ahead! Think undoubtedly about what you will guard while honoring your vision(s).
To Your Successes and Victories!
Cheri
Love Equations
“Confidence is the single most beautiful thing that a woman can wear every day.” – Sher Canada
Another heart painting by Travis this one is a beautiful copper!
Happy Monday!
With the temperatures here in Colorado a balmy 19 degrees this morning it’s time to get warmed up and get this week under way. First – some sips of delicious coffee and words written about Victory to really get the week off and running.
Over the weekend with Ed off in San Francisco to take care of some things with the kids – I had some juicy time to write and write and write some more. One would think I might be tired of writing by this point – not so much – in fact it makes me want to write even more!
So it goes with those activities and things in life that we love to do. I suppose the thing to write to you about this morning – as the morning rays start to break over the horizon – is how doing the things we love is probably one of the best self confidence boosters there is for us on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Basically it equates to love plus love equals love. Sure some crappy stuff may flow in between – got to say though when you are spending the majority of your time doing what you love – it comes out that the good stuff wins in the end – if we let it!
As we come into this week of love . . . There are the people we love and then there are the activities we love to do. How about you? What is it that you love to do that makes time just fly by? Or as Sir Paul McCartney sang at the end of the Grammy’s last night, “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love . . . you make.”
Perhaps if we think of love as a balancing act between what we give and what we get – we could make it something that makes our heart feel good most all the time. And yeah I get it – there are matters of the heart that hurt like hell from time to time – the key is it’s up to us when our heart is hurting to do something to move past the hurt. Sometimes it is a minor fine-tuning adjustment and sometimes . . . it’s a major overhaul. I think you know what I mean – we have all been there at some time or another!
The cool thing is when we get it right – as I talked about last week we end up with a life we love. And you know it doesn’t have to be perfect I have come to find over the years – just enjoyable – like this first cup of coffee in the morning. Something that warms you up and lights you up inside.
Last week I shared that I was having Dr. Lara and Johnny Valdez on the Victory Circles Radio Hour discussing how confidence in love can equal confidence in business. It was a great show and if you missed it – there are two things I have for you this morning. One is a replay for the show, which is over on our radio page. You can access it here – Victory Circles Radio Hour.
The second is that Dr. Lara and Johnny have a series of videos called Quality Men Do Exist (this might come as a relief for both my female and male readers!) You can sign up for the no obligation video series here.
This week I am delighted to have on the show a dear friend of mine, Toni Randall. Toni is going to be a part of our Race to Greatness Series for 2012. What I admire most about her is that she has seen past many obstacles in her road to create her company, Whimsy and Grace where she has sat at the helm for the past 12 years.
A wonderful mentor to me in my early days as a entrepreneur I am delighted to have this opportunity to interview Toni and share her story with you. Her persistence in creating a company that is becoming quite a force in her industry is remarkable. I hope you can join us on Wednesday morning. Again you can click over to the Radio Show page on our site for more details.
As we each head off into our week I have hope that your confidence finds its way to the surface and that you have an amazing week ahead. Wishing you lots of to do’s that help in bringing love to your daily equation! Happy Valentines week!
To Your Successes and Victories,
Cheri
Open-Heart Confidence
“Be as you wish to seem.” – Socrates
Happy Monday,
This morning as the words for this week’s letter are formulating in my head I am filled with a sense of what is possible in each and every one of us (as I usually am). There are two words that keeps coming to mind – the L word for love and it’s power source – the heart.
Heart by Travis (my son)
Okay and before some of you start groaning asking yourself what is she up to this morning . . . I ask that you take the few minutes it will take to read today’s letter to focus on that body part that pumps in our chest and is best known for how much it fills up our head. After all how often do you talk or think about matters of the kidney or the liver . . . hopefully not often.
I am speaking of that one and only body part that has us feeling more than probably any other – our heart. That key ingredient within us as humans that keeps us moving forward during the ever-changing days of our lives both giving us joy and pain. And let’s face it we have all had those moments – somewhere along our way when our heart becomes unsure it can endure what is before us and we can feel so incredibly lost.
We have each had those times (unless you are living in emotion free vacuum) when our hearts have sent a pain so hard to our head (and no I am not talking about an actual heart attack) that it left us unsure of our path and where in the world our life was headed. The pain, known as heartache, could have transpired from the coming and/or going of a person or persons from our lives. It can also come from losing a freedom, hope or a dream, that in a moment all can seem lost.
Last night during a most excellent super bowl game (Go Giants! – just sayin’), and the millions of dollars that were spent on the TV commercials – the one commercial that spoke of our “heart” was the one, for me (and according to the press many others) that really hit home. Why – because it sold a message more than a product. A message to keep our heart on track no matter the distractions along our way.
Clint Eastwood – an American icon (and I got to say still nice on the eyes at 81!) was the perfect choice for Chrysler and his message was so on point. Take a listen if you missed it through the link at the bottom of today’s letter.
A week from tomorrow is Valentine’s Day – the day we celebrate love, the heart of what drives us forward. While some (my husband in the mix) think it’s a commercially induced day – if we remember to take the time to honor those things in our life that keep our heart from hurting – it’s worth the commercialism. Don’t you think?
Veggie Juice
They say you are what you eat. And as someone who has been paying close attention to the food that goes in my body since the first of the year (minus a little set back of chips and such during the game yesterday) I believe it to be true. My daughter, Bailey, got me juicing when she was here over the holidays and not only have I come to love the process of juicing (see pics of the amazing colors juices provide) – it makes me feel so much better over all. I get energy with every glass of both the fruit and veggie juices.
Shouldn’t we then be engaged in activities that make our heart feel better as well? Sure there is physical exercise that keeps our heart pumping in healthy rhythms – but what else are you doing each day to insure your heart brings those healthy connections up to your head? What are the elements in your life as the title for today’s Victory Letter suggests that can give you open-heart confidence?
I love this morning’s quote from Socrates – I take his words as, the more we believe in ourselves in what we want to be – the more we will simply be it! Yes, we become who and what we love. Our love can build a foundation around us that is like no other. The powers of the heart are no small matter to be sure.
So confidence in love – yes – can in fact equate to confidence in business and beyond! With that in mind I am really excited to share with you the guests on this weeks Victory Circles Radio Hour, Dr Lara and Johnny Fernandez, an inspiring couple from the San Francisco Bay area who walk their talk in love and in business. The topic for the show is – Confidence in Love translates to Confidence in Business. Get More Info here
As entrepreneurs (or those who dream of it) we should perhaps quit trying to do it all on our own – there is a whole big world out there to love and get love back from – all while being you! So get out there and exercise your heart!
And – as promised – here is the link to Clint Eastwood half-time commercial
Make it a heartfelt week ahead!
To Your Successes and Victories
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