Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose....

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose... is what a leader in the Landmark Education seminar said to me...this idea...radical and profound...play with me here a bit...I invite you to open your eyes and your heart....




Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...she says
I say Chocolate...she says why? Because I like Chocolate.

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...she says again
I say Chocolate...she says why? Because I like Chocolate (did you not hear me the first time...lol). She says those are reasons.
Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...but this time she is only holding Chocolate...I say Chocolate...she says why? Because its the only one...(where is this going) She says reasons....again.  Are you trackin' with me here?

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...she says again
hmmmmm.....I say.... Chocolate...she says why? Because I want Chocolate...she says...OK now we are getting somewhere...

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...
I say Chocolate...she says why? Because I CHOOSE Chocolate...BAM!!  There it is!!

Here is the  BIG IDEA.  We as humans...are taught to make well informed decisions yes?...think about it...you go for your first job interview and at that time you actually had a couple to pick from...so you get out your pen and piece of paper and write down all the pros on one side of the paper and all the cons down the other side of the paper on of each job offer and you MAKE A DECISION based on all your REASONS why you should take that job, right? ...big difference from choice...but we will get back to that in a moment.

So you start your job...the one you decided on because you like the people, they seemed friendly, the work schedule seemed flexible and the pay seemed competitive.  Three months into this gig...you realize these people are not who they seemed, you're working 60 hours a week and at this point it doesn't matter how much you make...you are less than enthusiastic about your DECISION!!  How many of you can relate?


Here is the big idea...CHOOSE YOUR JOB.  Like take it...own it.


New example...2-2 1/2 years ago we just got the Nintendo Wii...and our Wii came with this balance board.  So we get all excited and set up our Miis...I am sure you know what I am talking about here... you pick out a shirt, hair, gender...tell it your height and then go step on this balance board to weigh in...and based on your specifications the game creates this image of you in seconds and declares your current state of health...I will never forget that day...I step on this thing and before my eyes was this 4 inches tall by 4 inches WIDE mini (or should I say not so mini) me right before my eyes...and this thing deems me OBESE!!  I gasped...

I was like wow...I didn't really realize that...like I never considered myself with that label...but right there before my eyes in full blown HD TV...OBESE. 

In that moment I CHOSE OBESE.  I am sure you are like you what?!! Think about it...I did not sit down with a piece of paper and jot down the pros and cons of obesity...and said yeah...I'll take that...HELL NO!!!  But the sum of my CHOICES got me there.

So here is the beauty in this chocolate or vanilla choose thing...in THAT moment that obese was blasting across my tv...I CHOSE OBESE...(chocolate, right??).what begins to open up...in that EXACT moment I can CHOOSE HEALTH (vanilla, cool huh??)..WHY? because I can!!! But if you don't OWN it...like take responsibility for it...CLAIM IT you will NEVER do anything about it...you will never do anything that is not consistent with your thinking.

This is YOUR LIFE folks...you get to CHOOSE how its going to go...Get it? Choose it...

So let's take it up a notch...this leader asking me to choose chocolate or vanilla shares with us...SHE CHOOSES CANCER.  I was like what??!! Why would you do that?  


Here is the big idea...they just found out her husband has leukemia...this is marathon runner, athlete, powerhouse, got it....and she is choosing cancer??!!  


Help me out here...so they didn't have a choice in this matter right? Like it...cancer...got handed to them....this is so profound...when they CHOOSE cancer...the power resides in their hands....they get to say how its going to go...they NOW TAKE CANCER ON!  Like kick the stinking pants off cancer and get back to normal now, yes??!!


What's the alternative...well they flap around in the wind of uncertainty...they get sucked into the world of I don't know how its going to go...they get depressed, helpless, and hopeless, yes?...and they pull everyone around them into that world...can you see that?  Choose it!!


Final example...This concept is so simple yet so profound...so we had my daughter's friend over this weekend...but right before I got to her house to pick her up...another friend of hers told her dad she wanted to play.  Well my daughter's friend's dad didn't know we had already made plans to come get her that morning.  So if you can imagine...dad walks in the door saying hey your friend down the street wants to play with you but low and behold we pull in the driveway about the same time, give the horn a honk and her parents send  her out. 

So my daughter's little friend gets in the car and I can tell she's like crabby...this is a little person...5 years old...they really don't know what crabby is yet but I could tell she was confronted.  So she informs us I have to get home early so I can go to so and so's house...and I said really? Do you just want to stay here and play with her...and she says no...I want to go with you guys. 


Well once we get home the mood really doesn't change...and trust me this behavior really wasn't normal....so I say to this little person....honey do you want to be HERE (chocolate) or go home and play with your other friend (vanilla)..it is totally cool with us what you want to do, right? We love you and want you here but if your mind is somewhere else...we can take you there...right??!!  She is like no...I choose here (chocolate)...I say cool..then that means you play joyfully, with love and friendship from now on...like choose HERE and really your actions all stem from that choice....AND SHE DID!! 


Now the rest of the day these girls had a blast!! But this little person was torn...where she was and where she thought she might like to be...but when she CHOSE...a whole new realm of joy and fun and playfulness rose to the surface!! It was amazingly powerful awesome great afternoon for these best little friends!!!


How many times have you been torn between where you were and where you wanted to be or thought you wanted to be?  How was your behavior? What was the impact you left others with?  Would you like the outcome to be different next time? Now you can...CHOOSE!!

So others in class began to share...
I choose my credit score
I choose my boss
I choose being single
I choose my marriage
I choose a child with Asperger's


Truly profound!


What area of your life is important to you?  Take a look...CHOSE IT & change your predictable future to one of extraordinary results!!!!

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If this moved you to action today...SHARE BELOW...your story may inspire someone else and change their life!!

Join the movement...Donate today to Living Water International, because THIS community right here...that you are a part of... is out to make a measurable difference in 2012!!

B the Light!

Project B the Light...you going to join the movement?

How is B the Light going to make a measureable difference in the world for 2012? 

check out the foundation for this project HERE

WATER THE FOUNDATION OF ALL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Click HERE to learn more

What can you do about this? 
Take a STAND with the B the Light community in 2012. 
Donate NOW.

Help the B the Light Community shine like never before!! Be remembered, make a mark, and really...take that leap from where you are today to where you want to be at the end of 2012!

Join my sexy readers club and LIKE ME on Facebook or TWEET ME on Twitter so you are continually plugged into a community committed to GREATNESS!!

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B the Light!!

LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL KEY FACTS:

• 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one in eight of the world’s population. (WHO-UNICEF)

• 1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day. (UNDP)

• LWI projects providing safe water and hygiene education at an average cost of twenty dollars per person, for a generation. (LWI)

• The simple act of washing hands with soap and clean water can reduce diarrheal diseases by over 40%. (UNICEF)

• Providing water and hygiene education reduces the number of deaths caused by diarrhoeal diseases by an average of 65%. (WHO)

• Water-related disease is the second biggest killer of children worldwide, after acute respiratory infections like tuberculosis. (UNDP)

• The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads is commonly 40 pounds, the same as the average airport luggage allowance. (UNDP)
• Water and sanitation infrastructure helps people take the first essential step out of the cycle of poverty and disease.

WATER-RELATED DISEASES
• At any given time, half the population of the developing world is suffering from one or more of the main diseases associated with inadequate provision of water and sanitation. (UNDP)
• At any one time, half of the developing world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-related diseases. (UN)
• Around 90% of incidences of water-related diseases are due to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene and is mostly concentrated on children in developing countries. (WHO)
• Intestinal worms infect about 10% of the population of the developing world. Intestinal parasitic infections can lead to malnutrition, anaemia and stunted growth. (WHO)

WATER USE
• The average North American uses 400 liters a day. European uses 200 liters. (UNDP)
• The average person in the developing world uses 10 liters of water every day for their drinking, washing and cooking. (Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC))
• On current trends over the next 20 years humans will use 40% more water than they do now. (UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Agriculture accounts for over 80% of the world’s water consumption. (UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

EDUCATION AND ECONOMY
• 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. (UNDP)
• 11% more girls attend school when sanitation is available. (DFID)
• 40 billion working hours are spent carrying water each year in Africa. (Cosgrove and Rijsberman 1998)
• Households in rural Africa spend an average of 26% of their time fetching water, and it is generally women who are burdened with the task. (DFID)

What are you going to leave behind when you are GONE?

First of all I have to acknowledge you and humbly thank you for reading, sharing, liking and tweeting about this blog.  WE are creating a COMMUNITY, committed to GREATNESS... right here and right now!  And who you have been being...truly is extraordinary!!

You say really??!!  YES!!  We are just a little over a month in the making with only 9 posts and you have helped over 600 visitors and 3 countries being impacted by what we are creating here. Lives are touched, moved and inspired because you took action, and shared, the quality of lives ARE being impacted!!  Thank you for Being the Light! 

It truly is the greatness in you that has you B the EXTRAORDINARY-U!!

So what I am present to is the amazing Grace of the universe.  Why?  There was a calling on my heart to create this blog and share inspiring messages for a long time.  6 weeks ago I enrolled myself in a seminar with Landmark Education and out of that this blog was born!! So this weeks' focus in the seminar was to distinguish Making a Difference...can you say WOW??!!

So what defines Making a Difference anyway?

Landmark defines Making a Difference as this:

1.  Start with a Commitment.
What are you committed to? What STAND are you WILLING to take IN SUCH A WAY that has others take a stand in their own life??!!  Powerful yes?

We talked a bit about commitments in the last post around the area of work.  I truly believe we have different commitments in different areas of our lives.  Our commitments are the foundation of our thinking.  You will never do anything that is not in alignment with your thinking. 

Change your thinking... alters your behavior... which transforms your future!! 

So I have created a global view.... I am committed to being the light in every area of my life.  I really stand for YOUR PAST DOES NOT DEFINE YOU OR YOUR FUTURE!  Like today... in this moment... you can create new... It is your daily choices that can create a NEW future for you to live into.  Who doesn't want that??!! 

2.  Create Possibility.

What does this mean?  Creating possibility is when you share with others what you are committed to and really...people around you CANNOT be resigned!!  Like they get off sitting on their hands, raise their hands and say YES!!

So the possibility I created for this community is you are touched, moved, and inspired in an area of your life that matters to you.

So what shows up? My coworker is like...hey...I have never ran or worked out before but I have seen your transformation over the last 2 years...and if you can do it...I wanna do it...will you help me??!! How honored was I in that moment??!! 

So I said what are you committed to?  She says getting to the gym 3 times a week and I want to do it before work.  I said ok...what would your life begin to look like if you did that? How would you begin to feel? Who would you get to be that you NEVER get to be?  She shared with me she would have more energy, and feel accomplished.  She would be excited to do something for herself to start her day off then the rest of her day can be devoted to family and work.  And who does she never get to be...SEXY!! I don't think this 31 year old ever thought of herself as sexy...NOW SHE CAN!!  We ordered her a bikini for summer and she is already planning a vacation where she can show it off!!!  What is the obvious action she takes after creating this possibility of being sexy??!! She gets up and gets to the gym 3 times a week AND she really reports to me what is so...so she gets to be held accountable!  EXTRAORDINARY!! 

3. Take Action

So you have identified what you are committed to, you created possibility by sharing with others and now you got to TAKE ACTION around your commitments.

What does my coworker do?  She gets her butt out of bed and gets to the gym!! 

What did I do? Using my global commitment of Being the Light as the example...I created this blog and just my everyday WAY OF BEING is one of hope, motivation, inspiration & direction for anyone and everyone I meet. 

Yeah!!  For example, I'm out running today with my dog and the postman, which I have had a few short conversations with before, stops me...we chat. I ask him about his running...I am in action... about what he said he was committed to  that I learned about in earlier conversations...and that was his health and running. He was creating the possibility of VITALITY.  So I get to hold a space open for him and pull him forward into his future of health and vitality just by asking him...hey how is your running going??!! Are you trackin' with me??!!  Like we get to see people with a new set of goggles on!!  Cool, huh?

4. Impacting the Quality of Life

Impacting the quality of other peoples lives is the forth and essential ingredient to truly Making a Difference.  Are you leaving people better than you found them? Are you leaving this world better than you found it?

So when we were going through these elements that really define Making a Difference....I was like yes check, yes check, yes check...but when we got to this one I was like...pause yeah I think so....  I truly believe I am impacting the quality of people's lives here...but we need measurable results.  I want to RAISE THE BAR!

So I challenge you...what are you going to leave behind when you are gone?  What is your footprint on this great nation?  What difference are you making in the world and in the lives of others? How many will be at your funeral to celebrate your life because you impacted theirs?

If you are already up to great things...extraordinary...SHARE WITH US BELOW! 

If you are not...Join US!!  I am launching a project THIS weekend where WE as COMMUNITY... COMMITTED to GREATNESS can create POSSIBILITY, take ACTION, and IMPACT THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS with measurable results!! 

Let's be ROCK STARS in Making a Difference!!  Share this with everyone you know as they will want to join us too!!  We cannot do it alone...its gonna take something....and I know THIS is the community to MAKE IT HAPPEN!! 

Get back here next week and help the B the Light Community shine like never before!!  Be remembered, make a mark, and really...take that leap from where you are today to where you want to be at the end of 2012!

Join my sexy readers club and LIKE ME on Facebook or TWEET ME on Twitter so you are continually plugged into a community committed to GREATNESS!!

If this moved you to action today...SHARE BELOW...your story may inspire someone else and change their life!!

B the Light!!

Can you REALLY have it ALL?

Can you REALLY have it ALL? Can you have work life balance?  Can you take on a 5k, spend more quality time with your family and get promoted?  This is a great question posed by one of my readers and I think it is one that plagues so many of us.  I will respectfully propose to you... ABSOLUTELY!! 

What is "work life balance" anyway? 

Work Life Balance is really a balance between PERFORMANCE and PLEASURE. 

I go to work on this DAILY. It really is daily choices over time and practice to get it right....but once you do...you have this AHA moment (thank you Oprah)...it feels SO good and you are like...I did it!  I rocked this day! I have it ALL and I figure out the DANCE between performance and pleasure. WOOT WOOT!!

SMALL DAILY CHANGES OVER TIME...

 LEAD TO EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS!! 

4 simple and essential steps to get EXTRAORDINARY-U to work life balance:

1.  TAKE ON YOUR HEALTH.

How do I know this?  I have experienced this in my own life!  2 years ago, I couldn't run a city block, rapidly approaching 200 pounds, my job in jeopardy, my marriage on the rocks, my mothering...well what example was I REALLY setting? 

Now I am running marathons, lost almost 50 pounds, getting raises, reconciling relationships,..I am doing things I have never done before, really don't know how to do technically but I am pushing myself bigger than I ever knew possible.

HOW??!! Because I took on my health!! Robin Sharma will say, "You can't do good unless you feel good."   Your PERFORMANCE at work is ENHANCED.  You are more EFFICIENT and JOYFUL.  And then at the end of the day you still have the ENERGY to play with your kids or go visit your parents, cook a healthy meal, or take on a new adventure.  My husband lost 25 pounds just because I was cooking differently and we were making different choices. 

So TAKE ON YOUR HEALTH!  Be Sexy! 

2.  JOIN THE 5 O'CLOCK CLUB

What is this?  So many of us are like...well I wanna take on my health and I wanna lose 15 pounds but I just don't have the time!! (as we stop our foot) 

You want work life balance? SET YOUR ALARM FOR 5AM!! It may be the most powerful thing you do all year.  What is the big idea here? You get up just 1 hour before the rest of the household and take that hour for YOU. 

Do you realize if you get up just 1 hour earlier each day at the end of the week you would have 7 extra hours...that's almost a full work day!  At the end of the month you would have almost 30 extra hours!! At the end of the year you would actually have gained 365 hours or 15.2 DAYS...that's over 2 weeks!!  In 10 years...3,610 hours or 150 days!! DO YOU GET THAT??!! You have the knowledge and power to gain almost a HALF A YEAR to your life!! WOW that's a BIG IDEA!! What are you going to do with it??!!

Take this hour as your POWER HOUR!! Go to the gym, yoga, meditate, journal, blog, or just sit and BE, envision your dreams, plan your day, and drink your coffee. When you take this hour for you...you begin to know yourself...and when you begin to know yourself...you can begin to make better choices....with better choices you will get better results.

How do I know this? My alarm goes off at 4:30 am, I lace up my shoes and bust a run in.  I come back and meditate (something new I am taking on), hit the showers and rock out my day!  I FOUND me...in this hour....like IT TAKES SOMETHING to have this commitment...you take this on...it will open up new possibilities in your life you NEVER thought possible!!


3.  IDENTIFY YOUR COMMITMENTS & COMMUNICATE THEM

So we all have things we are committed to in different areas of our lives...like this blog...I am committed to being the light, inspiring and motivating with posts a minimum of 2 times a week...right?  So I just told you that and you can hold me to that :)

Let's take that to the work life balance dance floor....  What are you really committed to in that area of your life?

Well, what I did was literally took out a piece of paper and around the area of work life balance (with really work in mind) I answered the question.  Here was the list I came up with:

I am committed to:

• My word...like if I say I going to do something...I do it
• Quality work
• Our shareholders
• Deadlines
• Being a team player...like you need me...I am there
• Respect and honoring my leaders
• Having a LIFE that works

I took my list and had a meeting with my manager...(btw...your list is no good if you don't let others in on what you are up to and what you are creating) and I said...look I am committed to these things, like this is who I AM.  Now my manager KNOWS what I am committed to and really can hold me accountable for these commitments. POWERFUL, yes??!! 

This is where the balance comes in...so INSIDE my commitments... I am committed to having A LIFE THAT WORKS....and a life that works for me means being there at special moments of my daughter's life (this is just one example so you get the point). So I ask for an adjustment to my schedule to be able to attend my daughter's holiday parties at school. She has 3 a year, they are 1 hour long, 1:30pm - 2:30pm and it is IMPORTANT to me that I attend these. I want to know my daughter's world, ya know??!!

So when these holiday parties came up...my managers and I created a plan around my schedule that works! Each time maybe alittle different depending on the timing of the year and the flow of work. But we got it...a beautiful dance to the melody of work life balance....my work gets a POWERFUL, COMMITTED, DEDICATED ME and I get this amazing moment in my daughter's life where I can meet her friends and really see who she is in her world...all in the same day!

So what are you committed to? Communicate that and begin to unlock that area of your life that is important to you!

4.  SCHEDULE EVERYTHING

Schedule everything!!! What gets scheduled gets done...that's a big idea! 

You have a meeting at work...you get an invite...you accept the invite...and you show up at the meeting right? Easy. Same thing...you make a doctor or hair appointment...you put it on your calender...you arrive on site on the day of your appointment at the appropriate time. No brainer...yes?

Back on the work life balance dance floor....So now you take on this new adventure of your health...schedule it! 5k training runs...schedule it!! Church...schedule it! Sexy adventures...schedule it! The power hour...schedule it!! Sleep...sometimes I have to schedule it!!!  What gets scheduled gets done!!

I am sure you are like really??!! YES REALLY!! Your calendar is the perfect picture (its proof) of what you are committed too...whoa!  What do I mean here?  Ok...I live and breathe by Google Calender...if you are not familiar with it...it is an amazingly powerful tool...I have a calender set up for my daughter (blue), husband (red), family (orange) work(purple), me (green), personal development (dark green), my business (bright green), birthdays, etc etc....and each one is assigned  a different color.  I can view my calenders layered on each other or alone.  You can access via the web or my phone, set alarms, pop ups etc.  At one glance, in vivid color...I can see my day...

SMALL DAILY CHANGES OVER TIME...

LEAD TO EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS!!

So if you are striving for work life balance...your calender should look like a rainbow...filled with a BALANCE between PERFORMANCE & PLEASURE!!

Join my sexy readers club and LIKE ME on Facebook or TWEET ME on Twitter so you are continually plugged into a community committed to GREATNESS!! 

If this moved you to action today...SHARE BELOW...your story may inspire someone else and change thier life!!

B the Light!!

How can you be UNREASONABLE today?

What do I mean by that...well we all have these reasons to DO or NOT DO something in an area of our life that is important to us.  I mean they are all valid good reasons of course....they just don't serve us :)

For instance Wednesday I had all these reasons not to run that morning...it's like 30 degrees, it's snowing, I went to bed way too late, my pjs are warm...get it?  Reasons...

But if you can set those reasons aside just for a moment...be UNREASONABLE...you can have access to something truely extraordinary...things begin to open up for you.  So I went running anyway and I got access to a whole new view on my day!! I get to be energetic, fulfilled, and grateful!!

So then what happens on Thursday?  I had all these reasons not to have this "really need to have" conversation with my husband...like what if he doesn't listen, what if I blow up, what if he chooses that instead of me...get it? Reasons...

So I set them aside...I was totally UNREASONABLE...and had a conversation with my husband that had NEVER been had before in 10 years of marriage, especially in this way!! I got to be ME!!  Full of love and respect with authenticity...."hey this doesn't work for me...this isn't what we said we were committed to."  WOW...talk about having access to something truly extraordinary!! Now my husband and I have the freedom of discussion around our word and what we are committed to!! How extraordinary is that??!!

SO ...I CHALLENGE YOU...How can you be Unreasonable today?

Maybe you start your New Year's resolution today, or turn off the tv and play a game with your kids, or have a sexy adventure with the love of your life or have THAT conversation with a family member/friend that has been on your mind holding you back...BE UNREASONABLE TODAY!!

And then come back and share with others so they can be inspired! B the light!

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Why Extraordinary-U?

The reality is this...I am no different than you...and...if I can do it...YOU TOTALLY CAN!!  I applaud you for being HERE in this moment.  The mere fact you are still reading this, tells me something about you.  You have an eager want for something totally radical in your life!!  YOU HAVE COURAGE!! 

This is me 2009... I was on the fast path of debt, divorce & self destruction. The bills were piling up, I was living my marriage with one foot out the door and maxing out at 183 pounds. 

In 2 years I have lost almost 50 pounds, became a marathon runner, transformed my relationship with my AMAZING man and set a path to financial freedom and now leading others to do the same.

I am committed to encouraging & inspiring you to take action in an area of your life that is important to YOU.   

We were all born with these amazing gifts of talent. But along the way, life took its tole on us...and we forgot who we are. We buried our talent.  And how does that show up for you? 

Think about it...how does that show up for you in your life? Maybe its an extra 50 pounds, careless spending, working a job you hate, sick & tired all the time, no sex, kids running a muck, no love, no respect, no hope and no joy. 

And can you get that if you keep doing what you been doing... you are going to get what you been getting and that would be FINE?  Like ...you are fine right where you are..."oh that's just the way it is" kind of thinking....but if you are still reading...you desire the Extraordinary-U!! 

Join the Sexy Readers club.  Get powerful, practical, tools to transform your life to unleash the ROCKSTAR in you!!