Every step you take, every move you make is creating you. The food you eat, the air you breathe, the things you read, the actions you take are all playing a role in determining what you’ll be like tomorrow or ten years from now.
What are your influences? That’s what we talked about in Helping and Listening Skills this week. We came up with a great list and I liked it so much I took a picture of it.
I asked the students to tell me about the things that influence them. What do they value? Why do they do what they do; love what they love? This is the list they came up with:
Parents
Environment
-Friends
-Neighborhood
-Peers
-Religion
Culture
Schools
Food/Nutrition
Media
Mental Illness
Life Experience
-Observation
Socio-Economic Status ($$$)
Books
Music
Relationships
Friendships
Family
-Uncles
-Aunts
-Brothers
-Sisters
-etc.
Role Model
-Coach
-Minister
-Teacher
Law
Government
Health
Medication/Drugs
Language
Sleep
Fashion
Freedom
Travel
Pets
Sex
Arts
-Pictures
-Painting
-Dance
Entertainment
Perception
The point I want to make in this class is that you cannot know any of these things about yourself or anyone else unless you first learn how to listen.
A great Master Mind group is one that’s committed to honoring and respecting each other and that includes listening unconditionally and without judgment. It is honoring a person to trust that they know what’s best for their own life.
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When you think about it, every musical act you know of is using the Master Mind principle whether they realize it or not. They are joining together as a team with a combined vision. You can use the same principle and make some truly rockin’ things happen in your life.
Do you have a creative project you want to complete? Do you want to find a purpose for your life?
If so, I invite you to come over to my brand new page called Start a Master Mind Group.com. I’m offering 4 freebies to get you started so you can get a sense of what the Master Mind is all about.
Every small step you take contributes to where you end up next. I took a ride on the Metro to Los Angeles on Saturday and did my first Pecha Kucha presentation at the L.A. Beyond Cars exhibit Downtown. But that is not the beginning or the end of the story.
Pecha Kucha is a 20×20 presentation style that originated in Japan as a way for architects to share project ideas efficiently. Basically you have 20 images that stay on the projector for 20 seconds each and your presentation is centered around these images.
I found out about Pecha Kucha in the Toastmasters magazine. I was intrigued by the idea so I went to the Pecha Kucha website. That intrigued me further. I decided I must do a Pecha Kucha so I contacted the representatives from Los Angeles and Orange County and expressed my interest in presenting at an upcoming event.
Mind you, I had never done a Pecha Kucha and the only experience I had of it was seeing a video on the internet. But my Toastmasters involvement has helped build my confidence to the point that I was able to take the plunge and trust that I could do it.
Nevertheless, I was nervous. Sure, I can now present comfortably to my fellow Agape Toastmasters and the students at Long Beach City College but I had never presented in Los Angeles and I had never presented a Pecha Kucha and I had no idea who would be in attendance, I only knew that there would probably be some architects and urban planners.
For example, James Rojas is the RailLA station design workshop co-chair and he was there. He’s the artist who developed a system of urban play with models. His work brings big smiles to children’s faces in urban neighborhoods when he shows up with his portable play shop. You can see his city made of Legos and hair curlers if you watch the video on YouTube.
I’m proud to say I showed up in Los Angeles and did my presentation. Though I will admit, I almost wanted to bail on it. In fact, I e-mailed the coordinator of the event just two days prior and told him I wasn’t sure if my images were going to work and I didn’t have time to fix them all. He assured me my images were probably fine and even offered to check them out for me.
I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I would have stuck to my guns if it hadn’t been for the fact that I told all my Master Mind partners and everyone at Agape Toastmasters that I was going to do this. I couldn’t bear the thought of showing up to see Ty and the Savvy Soul Sisters on Monday night only to tell them I cancelled my Pecha Kucha. It’s true, my ego couldn’t take a blow like that right now. So, I garnered my husband’s moral support and we got on the train together and took the ride to Los Angeles and my first Pecha Kucha.
Not only did I get my husband’s moral support, but I also got him to document the events of the journey on my FlipVideo camera. So, above is a little video montage of the adventure. You’ll see our trip on the Metro from Long Beach to Los Angeles, a little bit of the L.A. Beyond Cars exhibit and a portion of my Pecha Kucha, which included highlights from Long Beach Funk Fest and some of my fun times as a skater and Fresh Meat member of the L.A. Derby Dolls. Once I got my skate legs back (thanks to the Derby Dolls), I was able to be more adventurous about skating in my own neighborhood and at public events such as the Doo Dah Parade and the Long Beach Pride Parade.
In the beginning of the video you’ll see me driving in my car to the Beyond Cars exhibition but I was only in my car long enough to get to the Metro station in Long Beach where I would park my car and get on the train to Los Angeles. I enjoyed the trip, I hope you enjoy the video.
Hong Joo Kim, a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Furthermore he is a has taught, lectured and critiqued at Harvard University, University of California at Irvine, University of Colorado at Denver, and Cal State San Luis Obispo.
Ron Milam works to transform Los Angeles into a sustainable city by facilitating effective meetings and raising needed funds for nonprofit organizations. Milam launched the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, growing the organization from an idea into a 1,000 member organization. Ron served on the Boards of Sustainable South Bronx and the Alliance for Biking and Walking, and currently serves as an LA Urban Ranger. He talked about the growing bike movement in LA and how it will help fuel an “LA Beyond Cars”, especially if its integrated into investments made into high speed and local rail transportation.
James Rojas, an urban planner who devotes a lot of his time to translating the impenetrable maps and language of land use planning into a activities that are visual, tactile, and playful — the language of how we actually experience the world. His goal is to create environments that elicit ordinary people’s ideas and solutions to urban problems.
Noemi Selisker, an official resident of New Zealand where she’s managed to change life paths, reduce her carbon footprint all by house sitting in other people’s home. It all started as a fluke but has now become a way of life.
Sheri Zampelli – (That’s me) College instructor at Long Beach City College, member of Agape Toastmasters, former therapist providing in-home counseling for foster youth living in Los Angeles County, coordinator for Choices, an after-school program for at-risk girls. Author of From Sabotage to Success and Donate Your Weight. I believe cooperative and community-oriented solutions are necessary when trying to effectively improve service to a diverse city like Los Angeles.
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When you think about it, every creative group you know of is using the Master Mind principle whether they realize it or not. They are joining together as a team with a combined vision. You can use the same principle and make some truly rockin’ things happen in your life.
Do you have a creative project you want to complete? Do you want to find a purpose for your life?
If so, I invite you to come over to my brand new page called Start a Master Mind Group.com. I’m offering 4 freebies to get you started so you can get a sense of what the Master Mind is all about.
I just watched the interview with Oprah and Sarah Ferguson. For those who don’t know, Sarah Ferguson, Dutchess of York was caught on film orchestrating a plan to compromise the privacy of Prince Andrew.
Sarah Ferguson admits, she was on a downward spiral for many years before she finally hit bottom. She attributes the downfall to a long struggle with perfectionism and self-hate.
Basically, Sarah Ferguson spent 25+ years of her life not feeling “good enough” and eventually the feeling took over her life and lead her on a path of self-destruction.
I have no words of criticism for Sarah Ferguson as I’m sure many do. In fact, her experience mirrors my own and I hope her public testimony serves as a wake up call for the millions of people who are stuck in a similar predicament.
It was approximately 2-3 years ago that I hit a similar bottom, and I had been spiraling “out of control” for many years prior. The cause was the same, constant self-criticism and fear of facing my demons.
Eventually, I had no choice. I faced the demons and began to reconnect with myself; the me I would be if I didn’t care so much about what other people think.
I can now appreciate hitting bottom and I love my re-created life! Everyday I break through more of my fears. Every day I become more “me” and life is filled with joy, creativity and happiness once again.
I am a person who grew up poor. I lived on financial assistance, wore hand-me-downs and got free lunch at school. But for some reason, I was expected to and tried to live up to the standards of a princess. I was drowning in a sea of unrealistic expectations and self-hate. There was always something I thought I could do or say to be “better.”
My interests were things like climbing trees, listening to music and roller skating. I loved to hula-hoop, dance and sing. I didn’t want to be a princess but I did want to be Nadia Komenich or Farrah Fawcett or a roller-derby girl on the L.A. Thunderbirds. My choices were constantly unsupported and I wasn’t strong enough to “do it anyway.”
But now, I am.
Today, hula-hooping, roller skating, roller derby, singing and dancing are a part of my daily life.
I applaud Sarah Ferguson for describing the depths of her self-hate while she is in it. That takes guts. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to see me on T.V. two years ago. It’s much safer to talk about the problem in retrospect but the real healing comes when you are ready to face what is, right now.
If you are in a sea of self-hate today, you don’t have to be ashamed and you don’t have to stay stuck or get worse. There are ways to break free. A few resources I would like to recommend are:
Today I submitted my audition video at Oprah.com. It was approximately 10 days ago that I learned she was having an open casting call and accepting video submissions from people who want their own T.V. Talk Show. The mental and emotional journey I’ve been on has been awe-inspiring and “worth the trip.”
I am so touched by some of the comments my students made about my classes on this video. They inspired me to want to spread my work to a larger audience (even though in some ways, this is scary). I can’t do it without your help. Please go to my Oprah.com page and vote for me today. Thank you.
I went on a road trip with my husband today. Being out in nature helped me to remember who I really am: Spirit in a body. I liked hearing this song We Fight, We Love by Q-Tip while driving the mountain roads because the best way for me to connect with my inner wisdom is when I’m out on the road, surrounded by Mother Nature and listening to music.
Enjoy the video, I hope it makes you feel like you’re on an escape from your worries for a minute. Maybe it’s time for you to go on your own getaway? We went to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. It is an easy day trip for anyone in Southern California to take. The fee to get in the Poppy Reserve is $8.00 per car.
I put some of the lyrics to We Fight We Love below if you’d like to sing along.
And it, and it begins, he’s off the ball
He left his friends, he ain’t home no more
He’s in a place, that’s far away
Where he can’t understand what they say
They say salaam, they carry bombs
Into crowded places, and cause alarm
You’re the infidel who’s uninvited
But really an American boy who’s slighted
It ain’t your fault, you want identity
So you join this big fraternity
You get to travel the world, its cheaper than college
And you get guns and you get knowledge
Lookin’ for your soul, and WMD’s
You can’t find nothing, cause its empty
You got your gun, and he’s your friend
And he’s your man, until the end
We fight, we love
Chorus: Raphael Saadiq
We fight and love so much
Sometimes I get confused of who we are
Maybe if we just stop and chat a
bit we’ll find out who we are
If you need help getting in touch with your true nature or if you have something that’s preventing you from being your True self, the book From Sabotage to Success can help you.
My husband, Michael Zampelli has been taking a series of close up photos lately. Today he captured this beautiful image of a hummingbird in still motion. Many people believe that seeing a hummingbird is a special treat and I agree. However, it’s even more of a treat for me to see it this close up. What a beautiful creature this is.
Below is another awe-inspiring close-up, this time of the moon. I’m grateful to live in a time when technology has made it possible to capture and share this image. Enjoy and let it inspire you to wonder about the many ways Life is expressed.
We had a great interview with Gabriel Morris on The Sheri and Erin Show. If you don’t see the player above, you can listen on Blog Talk Radio.
Gabriel Morris talked about his world travels and read from his book Kundalini and the Art of Being. He has many interesting stories to tell.
Gabriel’s motto is, “Explore the World, Without and Within”. To see some of his photos and keep up with his travels, visit his blog at http://gabrielmorris.bravehost.com
I am currently teaching a Helping and Listening Skills class at Long Beach City College. We are using a book on Motivational Interviewing. What we are learning more than anything is how important it is to listen to what we are saying and to what others are saying. We are constantly getting feedback from the world as to where we are or how we’re doing. But many times we want to blame others for our circumstances rather than listen to what’s really going on in our “Lives.”
This video will help you to understand the significance of relationships and connection in healing our lives:
I met my husband 14 years ago. I spent at least 10 of those years trying to please him and trying to change him. Once I got sick of that, I did something that worked and that made me happy. I accepted him for who he is and most importantly, I accepted me for who I am. Since then, it’s like our marriage has been re-born.
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I am available for public speaking at your organization. I am knowledgeable in the following topics: Helping and Listening Skills, Motivational Interviewing, Stress Management, Overcoming Self-Sabotage and more.
I also do presentations “my way”. I have created a Super-Hero character named Gal Vanized and she has a powerful message about the perils of people-pleasing and perfectionism. See more about my speaking style and experience on my speaker profile page at: http://sherizampelli.com/blog/public-speaking/
When you think about it, every musical act you know of is using the Master Mind principle whether they realize it or not. They are joining together as a team with a combined vision. You can use the same principle and make some truly rockin’ things happen in your life.
Today, hula-hooping, roller skating, roller derby, singing and dancing are a part of my daily life. 
