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.
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 was over at Claire Mysko’s blog reading about Oprah and Geneen Roth. It seems that Oprah has had a revelation about her body image and weight issues and she is aware that her overeating is tied to childhood abuse that she’s been trying to “push down” with food.
I enjoyed the article and I added the following comments over at her blog. I invite you to comment here about your experiences with weight and body image.
Here’s what I wrote on Claire Mysko’s blog:
Great article and interesting comments. I quit dieting many years ago and even still it took time to unravel all the body image issues.
What I’m noticing now is that since I spent so many years of my life dieting and buying food based on caloric and fat content , I am nearly inept when it comes to grocery shopping or meal planning.
Eating what I ‘wanted’ was originally things like Pizza, Mocha’s, bread, fast food etc. After a while, my body was not happy with those choices and though I loved the way fruits and vegetables felt in my body, I had to combat almost a lifetime of rebellion against vegetables and thinking of them as “diet” food and describing them as “gross” and “disgusting”.
I think I’m making progress. I just got back from Trader Joe’s and my basket was filled with things to satisfy my mind and my body. There were no snack items in my cart, no dessert items. Mainly it was things that taste good and that also feel good in my body.
******************************* Donate Your Weight is the Stress-Free Program to Stop Dieting, Get Slim and Help Others While Doing It. Check it out today if you’re ready to resolve your weight and body image issues.
I’ve just “cracked open” a digital galley of Louise Hay’s newest book Experience Your Good Now and I’m already getting inspired. Here’s a quote from the introduction:
“There is no time like the present for you to take control of your thoughts.”
- Louise Hay, Experience Your Good Now
I couldn’t agree more with what Louise Hay has written.
Find out about her book and CD plus become eligible to win a trip to the Caribbean by clicking on the banner below:
I will be Tweeting some of my favorite quotes from the book as I read. Follow me on Twitter and you won’t miss a thing.
Today I was reading The Daily Love and it contained this quote:
“The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might and force of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him-and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires.” – J. Paul Getty.
I thought that was so appropriate for a blog called iCreateHabits.
Many people are unaware that they can break their habits and create new ones. All it takes is a tiny change repeated consistently.
If you need help with creating new habits, I have two resources for you:
1. Free Create the Life You Want Hypnosis MP3 download. This MP3 literally takes you down a mental path so you can visualize leaving the past behind and moving forward to a new future.
2. My book, From Sabotage to Success is filled with worksheets and exercises to help you create new habits.
I believe that Louise Hay’s upcoming book, Experience Your Good Now will also be a fabulous tool for creating new habits. I have had an opportunity to read portions of it and will be receiving an advance copy soon. Click on the banner above to find out more about Louise Hay’s new book today .
I am the instructor of three college classes: Introduction to Addictive Behaviors, Stress Management for the Helping Professional and Helping and Listening Skills. On a personal level I follow the daily A Course in Miracles lessons and often read from The Bible, the Science of Mind textbook, Catherine Ponder books and Think and Grow Rich.
I am constantly surrounded by teachings about the mind.
This immersion has been beneficial in many ways. I have overcome many hardships and I’ve accomplished goals that I never dreamed possible. But there was one area I was not willing to touch. I tried desperately for most of my life to avoid the deepest emotional issues. I told myself it “didn’t matter” and it was “in the past.”
About 2 years ago, when I had my own personal business and financial crisis, it was obvious that I had no choice but to go deep if I wanted to reclaim my life.
Today I was sitting at a coffee shop and this is what I wrote. Perhaps you can relate:
“Somehow this feels like a big day even though technically “nothing” is happening. It’s 12:17 and the lunch crowd is gathering. I notice I’m afraid of dying rather than exhilarated to be alive. I begin to switch my course gracefully because it seems too drastic to do it suddenly. It seems I truly will die if I try – if only from the shock. My system is slowly adjusting to 2010, to being 44, to being responsible for my life. To growing up. I’m not sure where I was before. Sometimes 1967, other times 1986 or 1992. In the Hell of the past. Very rarely right here, right now.
I’m beginning to see the possibilities. This 2010 world has some pretty cool advantages.
An adventurer could truly seize these opportunities.
I could be an adventurer.
It is entirely up to me.
A few of the tools I’ve used in my journey to awakening include Holosynch, EFT and hypnosis. Did you get your free Create the Life You Want hypnosis MP3 yet? If not, click here.
Last Thursday we had an amazingly healing interview with Eileen Joyce on Blog Talk Radio. Her mission is “inspiring, motivating, and supporting people to uncover their brilliance, to fully communicate with those they love, and to participate in their world at a whole new level.”
Eileen is a speaker and a coach with extensive communications and grief recovery training who talks to others about grief and loss as the most avoided topic of conversation. She teaches others how coaching is a powerful tool in talking with a person going through a devastating loss and she can help you move from the pain of grief and loss to the joy of fully participating in life.
In her energetic talks, Eileen reveals the “secrets” that certified coaches use to listen effectively and ask questions that help others communicate what they feel. For the past fifteen years, Eileen has been coaching individuals in achieving personal and business goals. Her program, Speaking Through Your Heart,™ helps individuals and groups get to what matters most in making any significant change in their life or business. You can find out more about Eileen Joyce at www.eileenjoyce.com
The Sheri and Erin Show is live every Thursday from 11 to noon Pacific Standard Time, 2-3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. On the second Thursday of the month we talk about the powerful concept of Master Minding. You can listen to our library of archived shows at our Blog Talk Radio profile page.
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. 
