The following blog post is an excerpt from my book, Circuit Train Your Brain, in honor of National Chocolate Day. Fernando Pessoa was on to something. Scientifically proven to elevate your mood, chocolate is a fantastic treat that boosts your brain power and may protect your heart health. I am not talking about milk chocolate or white chocolate (which, as any pedant—like me—can tell you, technically isn’t chocolate). While I will have a square of milk chocolate occasionally, the true…..
Clarity about money attracts wealth. One of the central skills essential to having an abundant life is financial literacy. There are many practical reasons for this: investing, budgeting and managing a household or business rely on understanding how to allocate money for different costs. However, wealth is at once beyond and related to everyday expenses. I include this post because it’s common for many creators (artists, writers, consultants or other expertise-based types) to under-represent their skills and to ask too…..
Do you believe in luck? According to Joyce Carol Oates, “The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.” Lots of folks who haven’t achieved the success they say they hope to achieve blame their situation on luck. They ascribe their circumstances to “bad luck” and dismiss the success of others as “good luck.” This attitude keeps them from reaching their full potential. As long as you are in any way guilty of blaming someone else for a situation in your own…..
“How much longer will you go on letting your energy sleep? How much longer are you going to stay oblivious of the immensity of yourself?” — Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh The significance of this quote and its meaning really hit me between the eyes when I first read it. There are a couple of societal programming factors that contribute to my specific reaction: First of all, I was raised to feel as if “tooting my own horn” was boastful. Delivering results,…..
How do you express love? Emotions about love and partnerships (or absence of them) occupy the thought clouds of most people for much of our time. After most of us have spent over an entire year spent either alone or in a pandemic bubble limited to very few people, those thoughts can bounce around your head to the point of distortion. It can be difficult to sift out what’s real and which thoughts are skewed through the lens of a…..
Today, while walking around my neighborhood, I overheard a child’s voice call out, “Excuse me!” My mom instinct kicking in, I paused and looked over my shoulder, looking for the source of the voice. It was a little girl, about seven years old. She wasn’t trying to get my attention. Instead, I saw her untangle herself from her bicycle and step toward a young woman who was standing next to her dog — a full-grown Golden Labrador Retriever. “Excuse me!”…..
“People who speak ‘victim’ can’t understand the language of accountability.” This thought filtered to the top of my awareness one day while I took a walk around the neighborhood. It can get pretty dicey when using the word victim. It tends to activate the defensiveness-factor of others (usually among those who are still healing from physical or mental wounds). When I talk about victim mentality, I sometimes get accused of victim blaming. I can see where some may interpret it…..
Hi everyone, I wanted to share this with you as a general backgrounder, since you may have only “met” me through social media. This member spotlight of me in the Ellevate Network gives a bit of history of who I am, what I think and how it relates to this blog, and why I am so committed to helping others. For the greatest accuracy, I cut and pasted the profile, including the actual link below: 1. Introduce yourself to our…..
So you’ve decided to change your life. Whoo hoo! Let’s begin by taking a few minutes to chart your course — bearing in mind that the trip we take isn’t always the trip we plan(ned). That said, intention is a powerful tool in helping you get where you want to go. Consider your journal to be a map of your inner workings. And as with any journey, preparation will help you to be more efficient, more effective and ultimately, more…..
Periodically on this blog, I’ll share a journaling prompt designed to help you dig through the mental matter bouncing around your head. Not all of these exercises may seem applicable, but chances are good they will. I’ll repeat the following introduction before each exercise, because there may be people joining the process at different points of the process. INTRO: Journaling is a way to engage the subconscious mind and to allow your inner wisdom to float to the surface of your…..