Thursday Thoughts: Come Alive

There is nothing more compelling than someone who is passionate about what they're doing. The kindergarten teacher who seems to effortlessly manage the children and spark their learning, the restaurant owner who greets each guest and ensures they have a marvelous dining experience, the writer whose work transports you to another time and place.

What makes you come alive? Really, truly come alive? When do you lose track of time, get totally immersed in your project, and find that balance between being challenged and begin qualified to do what you need to do? It's called a sense of flow, and it's one of the times that you are working at your highest level. It's going to be different for everyone, and that's the great thing about it. We all come alive from different things and we all offer the world different things. And the world needs what you have to offer.

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Tuesday Travel Tip: A Place to Hang Your Hat

Today's Tuesday Travel Tip is somewhat more useful for hosts of house guests than the travelers themselves: Put a hook on the back of the door of the guest room (or whatever room becomes a guest room). A hook is mega-useful for things such as wet towels or hanging out clothing that may have gotten crinkled in transit. Such a tiny, simple thing makes all the difference.

Tip for the traveler: don't forget what you hung on the hook! Be sure nothing gets left behind!

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Tuesday Travel Tip: Guard Your Time

(Gathering of friends in Christchurch, New Zealand)

It's so exciting to revisit a place where you know a lot of people. It can become an endless series of coffees, lunches and walks in the park. What I have found is that if I do too much of that, I end up with shallow relationships with lots of people instead of meaningful relationships with a few people. Thus, when I go to a place where I know a lot of people, I don't always advertise that I am coming. Before I arrive, I set up large blocks of time with a few people so that we share real experiences, not just a quick meal where we each give a hurried overview of our lives. Once I am there, I may set up a gathering for the group of people I am not seeing one-on-one. The list of people I see may change from one trip to the next, but I find that over the years I'd rather have deep, sustaining relationships with a few people, so I make time for them and guard that time.

If it's a short trip, I may never even tell large groups of people that I was there, but instead spend more time with a few close friends. Of course there is always the possibility when you "sneak" into town and that you may be spotted. On one recent trip to Minnesota, friends of friends that I'd stayed with on a trip to New Zealand spotted me at the The Mall of America. They texted the mutual friend, who texted me, and the jig was up. We all laughed about  how I thought I'd covered all my bases but never considered that friends from New Zealand might be at the Mall of America.

Apparently my international fame has reached new heights. Until yours does, guard your time on your trips so that you have time for the people that you came to visit.

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Thursday Thoughts: Please Take Responsbility

(Source: etsy.com via Holly on Pinterest)

Since the Tuesday Travel Tips have been going so well (thank you for your supportive feedback!), I decided that it would be fun to add another weekly series: Thursday Thoughts.

I was reminded of this quote when a coaching client of mine mentioned that Oprah used it on her last episode:

"Please Take Responsibility for the energy you bring into this space."
- Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

I love it.


Are you often aware of the energy you bring into a room?

In what situations could you take more responsibility for the energy you bring into the room?




What difference would it make?

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Take responsibility: know yourself better, understand how your thoughts influence the world around you, and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts July 12 and runs for four weeks. Can't wait? Find out more about one-on-one coaching by email or phone.

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Tuesday Travel Tip: Bring Empty Plastic Bags

As much as I'd like to save the world, I always travel with a 2-3 empty plastic bags of various sizes: an extra quart ziplock, gallon ziplock and larger plastic bag from a store. They come in handy when

• it's time to pack and something is wet 
• your bag is overpacked and something needs to come out for it to fit in the overhead compartment
• a zipper breaks on another bag and things come spilling out 
• a previously packed liquid suddenly becomes a potential spill or develops a leak
• you want to organize things within a larger bag
• you opened a bag of something (pretzels, bobby pins, etc.) and you want to prevent the contents from spilling all over your larger bag or vehicle
• you find a treasure that is slightly dirty and you don't want to get the sand or dirt on everything else
• your MacGyver-esque friend can fashion something interesting out of the bag to save the day

 All of these scenarios have happened to me. Plastic bags are infinitely useful.

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Learn proven, scientific methods to know yourself better, understand how your thoughts influence the world around you, and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts July 12 and runs for four weeks. Can't wait? Find out more about one-on-one coaching by email or phone.

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Tuesday Travel Tip: Drink More Water

For eight years I had a job that involved taking groups of teenagers on cross country trips to do service projects. (And you think you have a lot of variables in your travel plans .... )  I found that many problems could be solved by drinking more water.

"I'm thirsty."
"Drink more water."

"I'm tired."
"Drink more water."

"I have a headache."
"Drink more water."

"I have a cramp in my side."
"Drink more water."

"I'm hot."
"Drink more water."

It got to a point in which a junior high girl came to me and said, "Suzy is driving me crazy. [Long pause. Short sigh.] I know, drink more water."

You never know what will happen on the road. Be prepared for it. Drink more water.

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Learn proven, scientific methods to know yourself better, understand how your thoughts influence the world around you, and reach your lifelong goals. The next round of $59 Online Interactive e-courses starts July 12 and runs for four weeks. Can't wait? Find out more about one-on-one coaching by email or phone.

Did you miss last Tuesday's travel tip? It was in this newsletter.

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Anticipate their Needs

Last Monday was Memorial Day here in the United States. It's the unofficial start of summer. Many people, including the people in my house, celebrate by having outdoor parties that often include grilling.

Our local grocery store ran out of buns. Every shape and size was sold out. Yes, sold out on Memorial Day, second only to 4th of July as a Major Grilling Holiday.

Having never run a grocery store myself, I don't know all of the intricacies of buying extra supplies of traditional foods for certain holidays. However, I know that a lack of buns made us do all of our shopping at a store across town. This grocery store didn't just lose the profit on the buns, they lost the opportunity to sell us all of the supplies for our large gathering. One important missing link, and the whole sale was lost.

You may not own a grocery store, but you provide something to someone sometime or somewhere. Anticipate the needs of the people you serve, and the rewards will be great.

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