My wife and I recently visited Paris. Here are pictures we took of and from the Eiffel Tower.  Stay tuned for other pictures of Paris.

Bonjour,

My wife, Olga, and I just got back from a trip to Paris – hence, the ‘Bonjour’ greeting. We were visiting our son who is doing a semester in college there.

We enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures, truly delicious comfort food, like hot chocolate, chocolate croissants, cheese, brioche, butter, more butter and more chocolate

We also experienced the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur (a beautiful church up on a hill), the contemporary
art museum and did lots and lots of leisurely walking. The city is just so beautiful!

Now that I am back home and have eased myself back to my life as it exists here, I am acutely aware of what my everyday habits were before Paris.

You see, being in Paris was a complete change of pace for me…

• I didn’t carry around my cell phone (didn’t want to pay international rates)
• Consequently, I didn’t check email from my phone (and I didn’t miss it)
• I was more physically active, walking all over town
• I spent most of the day outside (left our place of stay in the morning and returned in the evening)
• I didn’t watch any TV
• Every meal I had was with family and friends

Before Paris, I remember checking my email often throughout the day, watching TV during my meal times, playing games on my cell phone when I was waiting for someone, spending time at my desk in front of the computer or on the phone with clients and perhaps spending more time inside vs. outside.

Now that I am more conscious of my habits I get to pick and choose what works for me and what no longer works for me.  I highly recommend changing your pace every now and then just so you can gain a new perspective.

Sometimes we can get into a rut because we’re not aware of what we’re doing. We do it because we’ve always done it that way. Or we don’t do things because it appears to require too much effort.

Thus, changing your pace can create space for new experiences.

How can you change your pace?

Here are 10 different ways.

1. Take a vacation
2. Give yourself one day a week when youcan do anything you want
3. Exercise/Move and stretch your body
4. Try new things, i.e. go dancing on a Saturday night if you don’t normally
5. Drive a new way to work or school
6. Change your morning routine
7. Change your diet
8. Listen to a different radio station
9. Give up TV for a week or more
10. Check your email only once per day

How will you change your pace?

I would love to hear from you. Please comment below.

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Beyond the Overwhelm program.

By the way, how we respond to stress is yet another habit or routine we have.

Most people react to circumstances and create the same drama cycle every time. This only exacerbates your stress.

If you want to learn a proven process to

* relieve stress
* prevent people from pushing your buttons
* and enjoy more peace of mind,

Go right now to sign up for my coaching program that starts next week! Details at the link below.

http://www.ProsperityLighthouse.com/overwhelm

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There are so many different things that make us feel overwhelmed.  Most people blame the ‘outer’ stuff for their stress.

By outer stuff, I mean:

1) Your never ending To-Do list
2) Your different roles and responsibilities
3) Traffic, people, individual circumstances

Because many people blame others or their circumstances for their stress and overwhelm, they believe they need to just live with it. “That’s they way it has to be.”

But it’s not true.

Through the Law of Attraction, we’ve established that what we put out there is we get back. So, that ‘outer’ stuff is just stuff that we’ve created for ourselves. Our circumstances are just symptoms of the vibes (our ‘inner’ stuff) we’ve been putting out; these are the patterns we’ve established for ourselves up until now.

When we look at our ‘inner’ stuff, we can become aware of the belief systems that are creating your never ending to-do list? We see what belief systems make you choose to work all the time; that keep you feeling stuck and confused and afraid to take the next step.

These are the things that people don’t stop to feel or think. Most don’t even know to stop and think that this is what’s creating the stress and overwhelm.

Once we acknowledge what our patterns/habits are, we can then very easily change them. Changing our habits changes the energy we put out which then changes our circumstances.

So, then, the question we need to ask ourselves is,

“How do I create stress and overwhelm for myself?”

Let’s look at 3 different ways you might feel more stressed and overwhelmed:

#1 – You repeatedly say (and feel) that you don’t have time – “I’m too busy”

When you repeatedly say and feel like you don’t have time, you create more of the same. You will attract more things to do to fill up your time. You may even be really good at attracting unexpected situations that eat up your time, like long lines at the store, traffic, interruptions at work, people who just want to chat, etc.

If you notice that you’re repeatedly saying you don’t have time, know that this is really a cry for change.  What you’re actually saying is that you don’t have time for yourself. You’re too busy doing stuff that you think is more important.

This is a good opportunity to re-evaluate your priorities and see how you can fit “Me-time” into your schedule.  Find time to do nothing but take care of you – meditate, take a walk, exercise, sit outside and enjoy the sunshine, get a massage.

#2 – You keep thinking about what you have left to do, what you haven’t done yet, how much more you need to do and how little time you have to do it all

You can’t win with this one. You’re trying to fit a lot in a little.

By focusing on everything you think you need to do, you split your focus and become scattered.  By continuously checking how much time you have left, thinking you don’t have enough time, you waste even more time.

Your attention moves from one thing to the next, to the next, and so on, until your mind and emotions are spinning out of control.  In the end, you may or may not get it all completed but in either case, you felt terribly stressed.

There are a couple of beliefs/habits that often contribute this type of scenario.

o    You procrastinate and wait until the last minute to do things
o    You believe you need to do more to get the results you want
o    You believe you haven’t done enough
o    You make up stories in your head about what bad things will happen if you don’t do something

Thinking about the Law of Attraction, what do you create more of as a result of the above habits?

#3 – You have unreasonably high expectations of yourself; you are overly self-critical and hard on yourself.

As a result of this pattern, nothing you do is good enough. And yet you keep on trying, never really being satisfied. You believe that if you just did a little more, you would be happier. But that day never comes. You’re aiming for perfection but it never comes because you keep on moving the target.

Many things you do take a long time to do because you’re perfecting the process. Or you have projects you never complete because they’re not good enough or you’ve made it too hard to complete.

Because of your high expectations, you sabotage yourself by piling on more than any human could possibly do and then beat yourself up when you don’t follow through.

You may also put a lot pressure on yourself to get things done or do it right.

As a result, you will also attract people into your life who are overly self-critical of themselves and you. You may attract a boss who is never satisfied and continually asks you to revise your work. You may attract high-pressure situations that never really allow you to relax or breathe deeply. You find yourself always on the go.

To change this pattern, you need to appreciate yourself more. Be happy for what you have accomplished. Break down projects into baby steps that you can follow through on. Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to finish projects. Make it okay if you don’t finish something by your self-imposed due date.

For additional help in moving beyond your overwhelm, check out our upcoming Beyond the Overwhelm group coaching program.

I am here in Vancouver BC attending Stefanie Hartman’s Mastermind Circle. This is the first time I’ve been to Vancouver. And I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever experienced.  Click here to see a few pictures I took.

I have been a member of Stefanie’s Mastermind all year and have enjoyed it greatly. I’ve learned a lot from everyone and really have taken my business to the new levels. This event in Vancouver is the 2nd live event for the year but it’s the first one for me.

Last night Stefanie helped us break the ice by having us take 10 minutes to write down our business and personal accomplishments and then celebrate our accomplishments with each other. This was a great exercise because we so often forget all that we’ve done or have been acknowledged for. Taking time to acknowledge and celebrate ourselves is so important.

Stefanie then shared great information on how to get publicity for your business. And then lastly Scott Paton, an expert on podcasting, shared how we can gain more exposure, traffic and of course, profits, using podcasts.  The stats he shared blew my mind and I am looking forward to creating a new podcast soon!  By the way, Scott is teaching a clinic on how to get a podcast up and running in 60 minutes. You can sign up here.

Stay tuned for more…

I’m off to have breakfast

Many personal development enthusiasts spend their whole life trying to fix themselves and/or prove themselves.

I know because I was one of them.  I was never satisfied with who I was or where I was in life.  I would associate my self-worth with how much money I had, how well I performed, how I ranked in the class, how many goals I achieved, how much work I accomplished or what kind of job I had.  Often I would be motivated to do things just to prove to others that I could, which proved to me that I was somebody. When good things happened, I was happy. When things didn’t happen as desired, I almost always saw it as reflection of me and sought to change it.

I later became aware that this was not a healthy way to live. I realized that I was just ‘running on the hampster wheel’ chasing after something I wanted but getting nowhere. I needed to get off that track.  Valuing myself based on outside circumstances was not fair.  (But unfortunately this is what most people do.)

Since then, I’ve learned and am constantly reminded to love and value myself unconditionally.

So I ask you to consider –

What if…

The quality (or lack of quality) of your work was not a reflection of who you are

What if…

Not reaching your goal didn’t mean you were a failure

What if…

Not performing well didn’t mean you were not good enough

What if…

Being in debt,  not having a steady income, not having clients, not having a job, not being able to pay your bills, etc. etc. was nothing to be embarrassed or shameful about…

What if…

There was nothing wrong with you, nothing to fix?

WHAT IF…

No matter what happened, happens, or will happen in your life, you are and will always be an amazing, magnificent, valuable being.

Allow yourself to breathe this in. You are whole and perfect. There is nothing to fix within you, nothing wrong with you, nothing to hide.  You are already great!

Now, what if you were to take this on. Embody it. Would you live your life differently?

I would love to read your comments below.

Mary McManus

September 15, 2009, 1pm EST
Listen to live or archived shows here:

The Prosperity Lighthouse Show – Living Your Passion

Mary McManus is the owner/creator of New World Greeting Cards, original poetry for every occasion. Mary was an award winning social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs when life as she came to know it came to a screeching halt. She was diagnosed with post polio syndrome. Out of this crisis, Mary discovered the gift of poetry and decided to leave her full time work to heal her life and follow her passion writing poetry. Mary created New World Greeting Cards and is the author of “New World Greetings:Inspirational Poetry and Musings for a New World”. She donates 20% of book proceeds to Spaulding Rehab’s International Rehab Center for Polio. She is also a Boston Marathon finisher. She ran the 2009 Boston Marathon with her husband and daughter as a mobility impaired runner and raised $10,535 for Spaulding Rehab Hospital. Visit Mary’s website at www.newworldgreetings.com to enter the new world which Mary created after being diagnosed with a life changing illness.

Melanie Benson Strick

September 10, 2009, 1pm EST
Listen to live or archived shows here:

The Prosperity Lighthouse Show – Living Your Passion

Melanie Benson Strick, Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach, founded Success Connections in 2001 when she left behind a lucrative Corporate job to pursue her passion in life – transforming the lives of overwhelmed, burned out entrepreneurs. Having learned first hand the difference between a struggling solo-practice and a thriving six+ figure business, Melanie works exclusively with entrepreneurs who want to skyrocket their profits so they can experience more time off. http://www.successconnections.com

My good friend, Heather Novak, and I are creating a new coaching program to help people better cope with getting their ‘buttons pushed’ and even eliminate these ‘button’s altogether.

We are planning to launch the program the end of October. The program will end a couple of weeks after the new year. This will allow our clients to practice the tools we teach them when they are with family (our best button pushers!) during Thanksgiving and the winter holidays.

We’ve come up with a few titles and could use your feedback as to which you like the best.

Here is the survey. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Y … xudQ_3d_3d

Thanks so much.
Nat

Nancy Lynn Jarvis

Tuesday, September 8, 2009; 1pm EST
Listen to live or archived shows here:

The Prosperity Lighthouse Show – Living Your Passion

Nancy Lynn Jarvis is a realtor turned mystery book writer. The real estate market is a mess. What’s a Realtor to do? One twenty year veteran of the industry, Nancy Lynn Jarvis, is writing murder mysteries set in Santa Cruz County instead of selling houses. You can read the first chapter of “The Death Contingency” and “Backyard Bones” at http://www.GoodReadMysteries.com. “Real estate is an interesting business,” the author says. “The stress level involved in buying or selling a home ranks right after death and divorce. People reveal a lot about themselves during the process. The business attracts its share of colorful practitioners, too. Their stories and Nancy’s experiences provide the settings where her Realtor and part-time sleuth, Regan McHenry, works while she unravels mysteries. Contact information: Nancy Lynn Jarvis at: (831)-427-1320 or send email to: nancy@goodreadmysteries.com