Category: Energize & Thrive

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Celebrate!

One of the things I preach to my clients is to CELEBRATE every small step on the path toward their goal.  Those steps add up to a journey of transformation, and deserve to be thought about as the BIG deal they are!  

If you’re trying to reduce your weight, and managed to pass up the candy aisle that was your usual haunt at the grocery store?  GO you!  That is an incredible accomplishment!  Celebrate it!  

If you want to increase your physical activity, and you parked farther from the door than usual so you’d get more steps – That’s AWESOME!  Other people TALK about wanting to make changes, but there you are taking action to make it happen!  Celebrate moving in the direction of your goals!!  Woo hoo!!

Celebrations can be anything as big or small as you desire.  Whatever is fun for you that you do to intentionally celebrate moving forward and honor your amazing accomplishment.

Treat yourself to a soothing bath, a pedicure, or an extra 5 minutes in bed in the morning.  Take yourself out to the movies.  Go for a walk!  Whatever feels like a treat to you to honor the accomplishment is perfect.  One of my fave celebrations is to put on some music I love, turn it up loud, and dance wildly for 3-5 minutes!  It’s an exuberant,
joy-filled celebration that imprints into the cells of my body, and also honors my intentions to move more, and add more joy to my life.

actual photo of my exuberance captured by Jeremy

Why celebrate?

One reason it’s important to celebrate our successful steps, no matter how small, is because they are literally the foundation that supports the transformation we desire.  They are what we build on to create the health, wealth, relationships, or career we want.  Another reason is because when people do not make a habit of celebrating small successes, they might forget to celebrate the big ones.

The most important reason to celebrate your successes along the path to your goal is to say to the universal Law of Attraction, “Yes please!  Bring me more of this!”  Energy attracts like energy.  

All that having been said, I am taking my own advice.

I have some BIG news and I want to celebrate!

Today I received an email from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.  I am thrilled, overjoyed, and delighted to announce that I am now an iPEC Certified Professional Coach!

I have successfully completed 90 hours of classroom training,
over 50 hours of peer coaching, and more than 150 hours of required classes, seminars, assignments and electives.  I have earned my
ELI-MP certificate, and my CPC certificate from one of the top coaching schools in the world, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.

I opened my coaching practice in November and got my first paying client in December.  Seven months later I have seven clients, every one of whom found enough value in their first round of coaching sessions to invest in more coaching sessions.  That validation is a celebration in and of itself!  My clients inspire me daily to do everything I can to continue growing as a coach, and as a human being.

Now I have completed my training and am fully certified! 

If I’m going to be honest here, part of me didn’t believe I could do it at first.  It seemed like SUCH a big goal.  But the most amazing journey unfolded when I simply focused on what I wanted, instead of what might hold me back.  The entire Universe stepped in to dance with me and open doors.

It is my passion, and my life’s purpose to help others discover the infinite possibilities within themselves, and to empower them to achieve whatever they desire.

Yes, there is more I want to accomplish, but I won’t focus on what’s next until I take the time to really savor this incredibly amazing achievement!  I went for it!  And I accomplished it despite my
self-doubts, and a pretty good dose of fear from those gremlin voices telling me that everyone in my coaching class was smarter and more capable than I was.

Now those voices work for ME, and tell me that I am a natural coach, doing a great job, and that my clients appreciate me, and value what I offer.

Go me.  Seriously.  I feel like a rockstar!

I feel amazing, successful, empowered, and unstoppable! That is the gift of coaching.

I plan to celebrate this major goal and life transformation in a really BIG way, by relaxing and enjoying eight FREE nights in Hawaii next month!  

Like seriously, GO me!  Woot!

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Schedule Some Time Off

Hi Everyone!

My apologies for the mini hiatus in my blog, or as I like to call it, my Empowerment Center. I hope you find inspiration here that reminds you that the tremendous power within you flows from the ultimate power in the Universe.

June began for me by attending the final weekend of in-person classes at iPEC, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching and I embarked on the final assignments to gain my two coaching certifications. I focused tirelessly on completing the work and earned my ELI-MP on Jun 15! Most people have no idea what that is, but that’s a blog for another day. By July 15, I expect to have my CPC and be a Certified Professional Coach.

I am thrilled and delighted to have a fulfilling new career that I am so passionate about. I still very much enjoy my massage practice, and am getting ready to participate in the Vallejo Open Studios in November.

Point Lobos

Bottom line?

I have to remind myself how important it is to take a day off!

Recently, my friend of 45 years came to visit me. We have been planning her trip for months, but when it landed last week, I actually almost felt guilty taking the time off! I have so MUCH on my to-do list, that it felt wrong to shift my focus to “fun.”

Dani & I went kayaking on Monterey Bay!

But life without balance is draining.

No matter how much I adore my careers, if that is ALL that I focus on, my life swings out of balance. We need work that feeds our souls, but we also need days off that feed our souls! I give myself bonus points if my time off includes spending some time outdoors connecting to nature, because I know that is one of the things that really engages my spirit and makes me feel at one with the Universe.

When was the last time you took a day off? Or, if you are ‘off’ every day, when was the last time you planned something fun just for the inspiration of it?

No matter what you do on the daily, give yourself a little break to enjoy a few hours doing something you LOVE, just for the fun of it!

I did drag myself away from all the details of my coaching practice and enjoy three days off last week. Dani & I spent time in Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Point Lobos. We had a gorgeous day to enjoy Point Lobos. Here are a few pics from our hike.

My battery is charged. My cup is overflowing!

I feel so alive and rejuvenated!

I think my hiatus is over, so watch for inspiring, energizing new blog posts coming soon!

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One Day I Just Got Off the Fucking Couch

What is it that motivates us?

As often as not it’s being so tired or bored with what we have been doing that desire for something new simply lifts us and moves us in a new direction.

Human beings get stuck in ruts.  We appreciate the familiar.  Sometimes it’s far more comfortable to just stay put than to find a new path.  Until we simply cannot stay put.

Recently I was speaking to some clients about their new health improvements.  

One client had waited a very long time to focus on her health, putting it off until her child went to college.  During our sessions she reported feeling bored and lonely.  She said she wanted to start getting fit, but didn’t want to go to a gym, because she was afraid others might judge her for the way she currently looked. 

I asked if she was a more critical judge of herself – or of others. She admitted that she judges herself more harshly than she does other people.  I simply pointed out that the same is true for most of us and that everyone at the gym is probably too busy judging themselves to have time to judge her.  I added that everyone at the gym would be focused on self-improvement and could judge her favorably for pursuing similar goals.  She quickly discovered that the feelings of loneliness and boredom decreased at the gym and can’t BELIEVE she waited so long to feel this powerful in her own skin again!

Another of my clients has begun walking 3 to 4 miles several times a week, and is changing some of her food choices.  I asked her what had finally motivated these changes for her and I LOVE her reply:

“One day I just got off the fucking couch and started walking.”

After I stopped laughing she told me it wasn’t much that first day.  “I only walked three or four blocks, but it felt GOOD to be outside instead of playing a video game, so I decided to take a walk again the next day.”

So whether it’s because you are wanting something new in your life, or you’re just tired of “what is” you CAN make changes!  We have to start somewhere.  Maybe all we need to do is get off the fucking couch!

Try it, and see where your feet lead you!

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Staying Motivated to Reach Our Goals

How do we stay motivated to reach our goals?

I hear a chorus of you singing, “We don’t!”

That’s one of the things people frequently hire a coach for: support in staying motivated.

If you are wanting to energize your life, you also have some changes in mind you are wanting to make to that end.  Maybe you want to get more active, maybe you want to enrich your menus with more veggies, or by reducing fats.

Whatever your particular goal is, the biggest key I can share with you is to shift your mindset so that you are focused on the outcome you desire!

Now, maybe you’re thinking, “I have been focused on losing 50 pounds for the last ten years, and it hasn’t happened yet!”

This is the ideal time to point out that every subject is really two subjects: the subject itself (the object you desire), and the absence of it.  Often times we think we are focused on what we want, when we are actually focussing on the fact that we do not yet have it.  Focussing on NOT having what we want slows motivation, so that what we desire is slow to arrive, or we block it completely and it never arrives.

Let’s use the example above.  If someone says they have been focussed on “losing weight,” chances are what they are really focussed on is the fact that they are “not losing weight” or how “hard it is to lose weight” or maybe, “I’ll NEVER lose all this weight!”

The first thing I would say to a client in this situation is that trying to “lose weight” is an uphill battle that few of us actually win.  Why? Because we resist “losing” anything!  We want to be winners and we don’t like it when we lose games, keys, or our minds.  If we do lose something the first thing we do is try to get it back.  That’s not helpful if the real goal is to reach a healthy weight we can maintain.  Your goal could be weight reduction, or body composition improvement, or as one of my delightful clients reframed it; to reveal your sexy inner beast!

All of those goals sound more desirable than “losing” anything, don’t they? So step one would be to reframe the goal in a way that motivates you.

Visualize your desire as a fully formed outcome.

What does your authentic body look like?  More importantly, how does it feel?  Sit with that feeling of loving the skin you’re in!  Let it soak in and inspire the cells of your body to give you what you truly desire!  Nothing has ever manifested that was not “thought” first.  Let your mind spend time on what your ideal body feels like, looks like, performs like.  Submerse the cells of your body in the vibration of what you want them to become.  They will respond by matching that vibration!

Usually we get distracted with “what is.”  We know what we want insomuch as it’s NOT what we currently have.  We want something ‘better,’ or healthier, or smaller or bigger, but we spend very little time defining what we actually WANT because we get caught up on looking at the “what we currently have” part. 

We’ve developed patterns of eating meant to soothe emotions more than to fill nutritional needs.  We’ve given up being active for the sake of getting the to-do lists accomplished.  And we look at our current state of “not being where I want to be” and can’t figure out how it’s possible to get from where we are to where we want to be.  Many lose faith that it’s even possible.

Don’t think about HOW you get there from here, just visualize BEING there already, and more importantly, how it FEELS to be standing there in your full power.  Engage all five senses to help make your vision REAL in your mind.

Be open to the possibility that it COULD happen for you. Even if you can’t see how that miracle arrives, leave the door open for it.  Don’t shut it out by deciding it is NOT possible, or will not come to you, or that you’re not worthy.

If you’re not willing to spend time just thinking about what you want, what are the chances you’ll actually take action to make it happen?

One of the best ways to stay motivated is to keep looking at what you want without trying to figure out how you get it.  That way you’re excited by feeling it in your vibration, without splitting your energy with thoughts like, “I want it but, I don’t know how to get it.”  Your energy is all moving toward what you DO want if that’s where you focus the energy.  “I know what I want,” is how you reframe that one.

See your ideal outcome fully formed in your mind and add the mantra, “I know what I want.”  

When something or someone introduces a question like “HOW do you plan get there from here?” You can answer, “By staying focussed on what I want, and not limiting the Universe by telling it HOW to deliver what I want.”

You’ve GOT this! I know you have what it takes to create the life you want.

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Engage Your Body!

Today I want to talk about the miracle of movement!  

Back when I was exhausted all the time, I found a million excuses to sit around.  Engrossing myself in a project in my computer was always a great one.  As an entrepreneur, I have a thousand things that need my attention from a seated position: bookkeeping, scheduling, advertising, newsletters. It goes on and on.

Now I realize that if I want to feel energized, I gotta get up and move!  I’m no Olympic athlete, and I am not training for a marathon. I just understand now that movement is KEY.

Movement helps:
  • flow chi
  • increase metabolism
  • boost happy-making chemicals in the brain
  • clear mental cobwebs
  • decrease stress 
  • promote digestion
  • improve sleep quality

For optimal health, doctors generally recommend 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week.  But for many, this can feel daunting, and trying to jump into a 5 day routine from zero days is never wise.

Start somewhere, start small. 

Build from there at your own pace.   It is better to move 5-10 minutes a day than to sit around waiting for the motivation to do 30 minutes all at once.  It’s even helpful to spend time thinking about being active!  If you can’t get up and move, or can’t motivate yourself to do so right now, visualize yourself being active and vibrant and moving your body!  Our mind is a powerful tool.  Using it to conjure images of ourselves involved in vibrant activities can build energy too!  To see what I mean, envision yourself at the very top of a roller coaster.  You feel yourself crest the hill, the momentum shifts, and suddenly you are plunging down the other side at breakneck speed.  You can physically feel that pull on your energy, right?

The same thing happens when you imagine yourself running, dancing, swimming, climbing, whatever physical activity appeals to your soul.  Picture yourself there, immersed in it, thriving at it.  The energy inside will rise.  Use that energy to motivate yourself into some action.  You can imagine yourself flying like a bird if that appeals to you, and use that rise in energy to walk to the end of the block and back!  Use the mind to create the energy that motivates the body up and into motion!  

Stop using the mind to trap the body into inertia!

You know all those self-defeating little thoughts that come up like, ‘I don’t want to work out,’ or ‘I don’t enjoy it,’or ‘I don’t have the energy’?  Well those thoughts deplete the energy right OUT of a body, and simply shifting them can give you the energy and motivation you need to get going!

‘I don’t want to work out,’ can become ‘I want to move my body
for 5-10 minutes because I deserve to energize myself!’  or ‘I want the energy boost that comes with moving my body!’ or even, ‘I want an energized life!’

Use ANY words that resonate for you.

‘I don’t have the energy,’ can become ‘To create energy, I simply move my body!’ or ‘My workout leaves me energized!’ or even ‘Movement connects me to Source energy and POWERS me up!’

‘I just don’t enjoy it’ can become, ‘I enjoy the way my body feels after I move it,’ or ‘I enjoy the powerful feeling of aligning with my own healthy intentions,’ or even, ‘I enjoy vibrant health and stay active to achieve that goal!’

Choose the thought that feels better when you think it, because the better you feel, the more energy you have!

When I did a nine-day cleanse designed to detox the liver, I was very low energy on a few days. The thing that made me feel better and more energized each time, was a nice easy walk around my block. When I felt like I just wanted to sit and do nothing because I was so tired, I got up and went for a walk and felt better!

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Tosha Silver

I am a GREAT believer in promoting all things vibe-raising, and Tosha Silver fills the role of vibe-raiser in such brilliant ways!

“Tosha graduated from Yale with a degree in English Literature but along the way fell madly in love with yogic philosophy. For the past 30 years she’s taught people around the world ways to align with Inner Love.” – from Tosha’s website.

I became aware of Tosha’s books less than a year ago when a dear friend recommended Outrageous Openness to me.  I instantly became a HUGE fan.  Now I read a few pages from one of her books each morning to inspire my day. 

Book Passage

I follow Tosha on Facebook, so Saturday when she posted that she was going to speak at Book Passage on Sunday, I was THRILLED!  I was even more thrilled to discover that my schedule actually allowed me to attend!  I took my fun money and drove across both the Carquinez, and Richmond bridges to one of the most amazing bookstores in the world. 

If you live in the Bay Area, you should plan a field trip to Book Passage, an independently owned bookstore with over 800 events a year!  They have so many classes they are practically a small university.  Book Passage is an amazing place with something for everyone.

It’s Not Your Money

Tosha spoke for half an hour, lighting the room with her energy.  She said her new book, It’s Not Your Money, is not about creating abundance, it’s about being abundance. 

When she took questions for half an hour, one woman who had already read the book, was in tears when she thanked Tosha for the transformation the book had brought to her life. 

Then Tosha signed books, and greeted each of us with that radiant smile. I asked her to sign two copies, one for me and one for a friend that has been between jobs for almost four years.  She looked up and said,”Oh she HAS to read this book!  Can I write that?”

“Yes, please,” I replied.  She inscribed it, ‘To Laura, Read this book! Love, Tosha’

She inscribed my book with love as well, and I was left with the feeling of deep connection to myself, my Soul and my creator.

The entire experience was Divine!

If you are not familiar with Tosha’s books, you are in for SUCH a treat!  Any of them are great resources to lift your vibration. Click this link for her author page on Amazon.

If you are familiar with her books, maybe you did not know that she offers many classes and events! Click this link for info on Tosha’s classes.

Either way, Tosha Silver is a treasure, and a valuable resource for anyone that wants to build a stronger connection with the Divine, and live a more inspired life.

Want help energizing your life? Schedule a free empowerment session with me. 707-515-8324

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Live in the Flow!

As a self-empowerment coach, my goal is to help you reach YOUR goals, whatever those may be.  I happen to believe that one of the BEST ways to start moving in the direction of those goals is to raise your vibration.

Volumes of works have been dedicated to the importance of a high vibration, so I won’t try to reinvent the wheel.  I simply want to SHARE with my delightful readers the things I have picked up along my path that truly improve the quality of my life.  

One of the most influential positive vibrations in my life (meaning a vibration that is so constantly positive that it acts like a gravitational pull when you are near it and have no choice but to feel joyful) is Jill Lebeau MS, MFT, spiritual psychotherapist, Living in the Flow Coach & author.  Jill is on a mission to reconnect her clients with their highest potential, setting them free to create the life of their dreams with ease and effortlessness.   

There are many things I love about Jill, and because she is such an influential vibe, I am sure you will see her name in future blogs!  Today, however, I want to focus on her upcoming Live in the Flow, mentored course.  Jill has partnered with Michelle Dwyer MS, CNC, holistic health coach and certified nutrition consultant to create an empowering course that will supercharge your life.  Michelle loves to guide people to personal transformation so they experience greater wellness, energy and vibrancy.  She empowers people to create optimal health in all aspects of their lives – which makes ma a HUGE fan!

Their Live in the Flow program was truly one of the turning points in learning to tune my vibration closer to love and joy.  I have long been a follower of high-vibe thinking, but as much as I wanted to implement strategies to raise my own vibe, I usually drifted back into lower energies of ego or indifference.  Through their fun, easy, uplifting program I reconnected with my own inner strengths and remembered the importance of connecting my mind, body and spirit.  Best of all, the course taught me how to implement that connection in my daily life.  It was when I discovered this course that I truly began keeping my vibe high on a more consistent basis!

What does that mean to you, to “live in the flow”?  Maybe it means enjoying optimal health and well-being!  Maybe it means feeling confident in your career.  Maybe it means feeling at peace in your own skin, or improving your relationships.  Maybe it simply means to move smoothly from one area of your day to the next without stress or anxiety!

The keys to live in the flow – whatever your definition of that may be – and create maximum success through minimal effort truly are here in this program.  Jill & Michelle offer a four-step process that applies the ancient technique of Feng Shui – which is really all about living in the flow of life – to the mind, body, and spirit.

I do not promote this program lightly.  It made a serious difference in my life!  I love the 12 recorded modules that I can listen to time and again.  If my vibe feels a little funky, I listen to one of the twelve modules and I am tuned up and ready to take on the world in just 15 minutes!  

One of my biggest struggles in life has been my relationship to food!  Michelle’s expertise in nutrition comes through in positive, uplifting ways that helps remove the guilt sometimes associated with food choices.  The course helped me reframe the way I think about food in ways that have greatly improved my health and well-being.

So please understand that when I recommend this program, it is because I know it can empower you to create the life that you want to live.  The twelve weeks of heart-centered mentoring is life-changing if you allow it to be, and FUN every step of the way!

The three-month program includes 12 weekly sessions with not just one, but two high-energy, fun-loving Live in the Flow Coaches, with decades of experience.  And the program includes so MUCH more than just the weekly sessions!

Follow this link to find out everything that’s included, and all the details about what makes this course AMAZING: Live in the Flow Link. They include some FREE recordings to give you a taste of what you will experience in the course. It’s fun!

This course is absolutely one of the reasons that I am an empowerment coach.  I want everyone to claim the confidence and power innate within them.  This course is a very reasonably priced tool to help anyone do just that.

The next session begins soon!

It’s fun.

It’s valuable.

It’s a great value!

If you’ve been feeling “stuck” or uninspired, I invite you to get fired up for a healthier, wealthier life with Jill & Michelle and a community of people like us, who will create a better world for our children.

I’ll see you there!