Moments That Take Your Breath Away

Befriended by a Beautiful Butterfly

When was the last time you experienced moments that took your breath away? Feel a rush of delight fill your heart as you remember those magical moments. Now you know how I felt during my 2011 December birthday trip to the 'Middle of the World' - Ecuador.

There I visited a butterfly farm in the Amazon rain forest. As soon as I walked into the enclosure, I was greeted by a beautiful butterfly landing on my arm. Not wanting to dislodge this friendly creature, I gingerly moved my arm each time I took a photo. Yet my butterfly friend never moved, remaining my steadfast companion as we explored the farm and experienced different species of butterflies in every stage of their life cycle.

When we were ready to leave the farm, our expert guide told me to just shake my arm and the butterfly would lift off my arm. I did as instructed, but the butterfly didn't move at all. When I shook my arm more vigorously (as directed by our guide), the butterfly moved from the top of my arm to the bottom of my arm. Clearly, this sweet creature was very comfortable.

Finally, our guide walked over to me and with his finger lightly flicked the butterfly off of my arm. As it flew away, my heart felt graced by its   presence. During my entire time at the butterfly farm, this beautiful butterfly effortlessly shared with me its gift of transformation.

Transformation 4.0

The complete life cycle of butterflies in the rain forest of Ecuador begins and ends in about 2 months. That's from egg to caterpillar to chrysallis to adult butterfly to laying eggs for the next generation and then death. The brevity of their existence and the alacrity of their multiple transformations offer us juicy insights.

• Transformation is who we are, not what we do.
  • Like the butterfly, transformation is our shared consciousness...the intelligence of our Being.
• Just like the caterpillar that gives up crawling to become a butterfly, transformation asks us to let go what we think we are so we can become who we are.
  • Expecting ourselves, our lives, or our businesses and circumstances to remain in some currently recognizable form so we feel safe keeps us from receiving the surprising gifts that emerge from our transformations.
• Transformation need not take a long time if we listen and surrender to the inner shifts that show us the way.

What inner shifts are you experiencing that are changing your external world?

Your changes may be subtle or bold and obvious. It doesn't matter which,  because either way (like a butterfly's transformation) they are significant.

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."  ~Rabindranath Tagoren.

Welcome to Butterfly Time!

After my up-close-and-personal butterfly encounter, I wondered about the unseen significance of this tranformational being landing on my arm to 'travel' with me as I explored the wonders of its incredibly short life cycle. When I returned home, I began to see that this experience was introducing me to a new context for life and business—'butterfly time'.

We're experiencing a quickening in the world around us. If you have any doubts about this, look around you. 

Changes that once took years now happen in months or weeks. As evidenced by global events like Arab Spring and Occupy America (regardless of our personal views), the speed at which metamorphosis is occurring now is unprecedented.

This is true for our own inner shifts. And, a transformation of our consciousness and collective evolution is evident in leadership, business and money-making.

Since the start of 2012, I've noticed that business activities which typically take days or weeks to complete now get done in hours or a day. Less time and less effort with unexpected grace and ease...that's my experience of butterfly time. What is yours?

Journey into the Wonder of You

Are you ready for these radically different times? If you're not, you are not alone.

 

After all, we like to know in advance where our decisions and actions are going to lead us, what outcomes they will produce, and when we can expect the results. Now, the certainty we thought we could depend on is ripe with unpredictability.

Not knowing makes us very uncomfortable. We think we are out of control. We do not feel safe.

Yet, what if something else is actually taking place? What if the uncertainties and unknowns we face actually are a clarion call—a mega-invitation—to become our own guru? To...

• Listen to our heart's deepest desire.
• Hear what our soul has been waiting patiently to tell us: "Liberate Your Inner Awesome!"

Be Your Own Guru

Explore and discover new possibilities available now.

• Step into 'butterfly time' and trust not knowing.
  • Lean into the fear.
  • Experience the magic.

• Live your transformations and share their gifts.
  • Dive into the rich depths of your unique essence.
  • Tap into your inner wealth.

• In community create something significantly different.
  • Sense the unseen.
  • Partner with the unknown.

Join me in a fireside-like chat where we'll talk about...

• Transitions you and others on the call are experiencing.
  • Begin to sense where you are.

• Unseen gifts in our individual and shared transformations.
  • Become aware of what might need shifting in you.

• Where to find the flow in what's happening now
  • Sync with your natural rhythms
  • Sense what wants to happen next

In this 1-hour FREE telecall (via the convenience of your phone) I'll share some 'playful practices' to help you embody and balance your gifts...so you see:

• What's possible for you now in 'butterfly time'.

• What's necessary for you to be resilient and thriving.

• How the gifts of your transformation empower you and others.

• How easily you can have help taking steps that reveal what's next.

Join Me for a FREE "Liberate Your Inner Awesome!" Telecall

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Why is it important for us to talk? BECAUSE...

• Butterfly time is not going to slow down and the quickening of transformation in our inner and outer worlds is only going to increase. This is the new context for our existence and experiences.
• Deeply meaningful connection and collaboration are not just the new way of business. They are the new way of LIFE.
• I care, and I care deeply...about you, whether you feel free to thrive, and how you want to use gifts of your transformation to make a significantly meaningful difference in the world. 
  • Essentially (at a soul level), I'm a traveler, a pathfinder and a wayfinder, a seer and a seeker—someone who senses what is not yet visible and translates what was once mystical into what is now wisely practical.
  • I want to use my transformational gifts to help you on your journey into what feels and looks like unknown territory.

Let's "Liberate Your Inner Awesome!" ...the naturally rich and effortlessly enriching aspects of your essential self that you have forgotten, haven't been able to find a place to express, or don't even know are still within you.

It's time to thrive by fully and boldly experiencing the wonder of you in business, leadership and life. The world needs now (more than ever) the gifts of your uniquely inspiring and significant transformations.

Experience your evolving awesomeness in butterfly transformations.

Join Me for a FREE "Liberate Your Inner Awesome!" Telecall

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Extremely good news!

"You will receive in 2012 exactly who you are." ~Dee Wallace

Be Your Own Guru

Join Me for a FREE "Liberate Your Inner Awesome!" Telecall

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Wild Woman Wisdom

Feel Free to THRIVE!

Start 2012 with a 5-minute transformational journey to the Jungle Temple in Angkor Wat. There you align with Mother Earth and experience the wonder of seeing in new ways. Return to your business, work or project, with unexpected insights, fresh perspectives, and a-ha breakthroughs. Let the new sense you feel about what's possible lead you to ripe opportunities that you didn't see in 2011. 

Instead of a music sound track, Lori Ference asks me a revealing question about my wild woman wisdom.

Leaders Suffer From a Case of Mistaken Identity

Let the Leader in You THRIVE!

Who you are as a person is who you are as leader. That's the good news, and that's the bad news. If your inner critic keeps insisting you're not good enough or haven't done enough, then feelings of not being enough color all your decisions in business, leadership and life. ...even if you think they don't.

Sound harsh? Well, after 10 years of coaching brilliant, talented and savvy business women who lead companies (global and their own), dynamic teams, and pioneering projects, I'm still stunned by how many phenomenal women believe their mis-directed inner critics. Enough!

You are enough. If you don't believe me, then at least honor your wild success. Because when you believe what your inner critic says, you succumb to a serious case of mistaken identity.

You are no longer need to be guided by an inner critic, who is trying to keep your little girl safe by being demanding and harsh - because maybe that will protect you.

I SEE YOU. So I know you are accomplished, smart, unique, and doing the best you can.

Yes, you're human, and imperfect, and have habits you want to change. The question is: Have you become self-identified with those habits and think they define you? Well, they don't! ...unless you decide they do.

Instead of listening to the words of your inner critic, I invite you to be touched by your inner richness. That's what clients grace me with when I coach them. Their magnificence shines - and yours does too.

So embrace your true identity. Let it color your decisions in business, leadership and life. You will love the difference it makes without so much effort on your part.

Honor Who You Are

Clients find these 3 playful practices exceedingly helpful in releasing them from the limitations of their inner critics. Test drive these practices, and see how they work for you. 

1. When your inner critic starts to comment, say to it: 'Thank you for sharing.'
   • Notice how expressing appreciation quiets your inner critic.
2. Then, to direct your brain's focus, say: 'Next!'
   • Notice how this clears your mind - readying it for what's next.
3. Take a second and feel what's right for you in this moment. Let that feeling of being and having enough carry you forward into your next priority.

That's how you can be touched by your own inner richness. Simply practice, practice, practice...

"Every step we take is a step toward greatness." ~Jo Dunning

Permission to Prosper

Beyond the Stress of Success

Feeling genuine enthusiasm . . . a satisfying sense of accomplishment . . . and engaging in work for fun and profit. That's what happens when you give yourself permission to prosper.

What frees you to do that? Simple! 3 playful practices prime you to receive good fortune. The challenge is to leverage them into doing more of what works and less of what doesn't. That's why practice, not perfection, is the answer.

3 Playful Practices

1. Pause To Refresh YOU
2. Think Thriving Thoughts
3. Re-charge in Energizing Environments

PAUSE TO REFRESH YOU

Given the relentless demands of our nonstop 24/7 lifestyles, it is easy to forget we are human beings - not human doings. Performance experts agree. Constant doing without real downtime impairs our ability to perform at our best. According to Wall St. Journal bestseller author Scott Belsky, the constant distractions of busyness keep us from effectively processing information, creatively coming up with new ideas, and making better decisions.

Need proven and manageable ways to incorporate regular pause-to-refresh intervals in your work day? Try one or more of these simple daily practices:

• Pause every 90 minutes for 3-5 minutes and allow your mind and body a brief rest from the physical, mental and emotional pressures of work.
• Get up from your desk for a 2-3 minutes.
• Take several deep slow breaths.
• Stretch.
• Walk around the office, or go for a short walk inside the building.
• Leave the building for 5 minutes to breath some fresh air. While outside, gaze at the sky. Staring off into space without any particular focus quiets the mind - refreshing the brain. That may be where the open-minded, creative idea of 'blue sky thinking' originated.

Peak performance research tells us that consistent winners in sports or business instinctively and consciously take regular intervals of time, no matter how short, to de-stress and refocus when they are engaged in intense competition or pressure-cooker assignments. So if you cannot control the demands of your work, control the moments you take to intentionally pause and renew your energy - freeing yourself to shift to the next pressing priority with more clarity and ease.

THINK THRIVING THOUGHTS

Negative thinking is unproductive. It burns up considerable bandwidth, slows forward momentum, and drains energy in the process. So why not focus on positive outcomes with optimistic realism?

Wildly successful people think thriving thoughts. You can too! 

• Envision what your success on a big incredibly challenging project will look like when key milestones are reached. Spend several moments feeling the sweet satisfaction of your success.
• For 5 minutes each morning think thriving thoughts on the way to work. This shift in thinking can change your behavior and entire day for the better.
• Notice how much better your thriving thoughts make you feel.
• Notice how much more you enjoy your work.

RE-CHARGE IN ENERGIZING ENVIRONMENTS

The right environments support you in being your professional and personal best. So it is important to know what environments - people, places, and activities - are right for you. Notice who and what gives you energy. Pay attention to who and what consumes your energy. Minimize your exposure to people, places and activities that drain your energy. Optimize your exposure to people, places and activities that give you energy.

Consciously re-charge in energizing environments.

• Spend time in natural environments where you feel calm, relaxed and grounded.
• Schedule time to be where energy is actively available to you. Walking in a pine forest, standing near a waterfall, or watching ocean waves as you drag your feet lazily through the sand clears your mind, refreshes your body, and lifts your spirit.
• Find time to be with family, friends, co-workers and colleagues who are fun.
• Engage in activities that make you smile, laugh, and feel more alive - like playing with your children or pet, watching hilariously movies, riding a bike, or learning to fly a kite.

In energizing environments you slip back into your center, reconnect with your internal rhythms, and experience a natural balance in perspective, action and rewarding results.

Free to Thrive

Pause to Refresh YOU

Think Thriving Thoughts

Re-charge in Energizing Environment

These three playful practices invite you to thrive - from the inside out. So try several of them on for size. See which ones work best for you. Then notice how your playful practices turn into healthy habits that give you permission to prosper . . .  in the freedom of who you are, and the soul-satisfying fullness of your work and life. 

Inspire to Thrive

The Success You Seek is Also Seeking You

Several weeks ago I shared with you that I was using my blog to write an ebook. The irony is when I searched my 1 year worth of blog posts, I already had a surprising amount of content. Naturally, this inspired me to complete what I thought would be a short ebook. 36 pages later, my ebook is now ready for prime time.

I was able to write Reclaim Your Love for Life & Work: 10 1-Minute Life Balance Practices in just two weeks. The writing was painless and effortless because the ebook I felt compelled to write already existed within me. Given that this is my first ebook, clearly it wanted to be written.

That is why this is only the third blog post about my ebook. It is also why you can read a preview of the introduction and first two chapters at: 1 Minute Life Balance.

Be sure to let me know what you think. And remember, the success you seek is also seeking you.