Inspiration
"I haven't failed. I've identified 10,000 ways this doesn’t work."
~ Thomas Edison
For more quotes like
this,
click here.
Speaking Schedule
Below is a list of where and when I'm speaking for the next few months. Most of these events are for my corporate or organizational clients (i.e. not open to the public). The ones in blue, however, are public events. I hope to see you at one of these!
12/2: San Francisco, CA
12/3: Palo Alto, CA
12/11: Danville, CA
12/14: San Jose, CA
12/15: Mountain View, CA
12/16: Las Vegas, NV
12/17: San Francisco, CA
1/6: Alameda, CA
1/19: Mountain View, CA
1/25: Mountain View, CA
1/27: San Francisco, CA
1/28:American Canyon, CA
2/1: San Jose, CA
2/18: San Francisco, CA
2/21: San Francisco, CA
2/22: San Francisco, CA
For more public event details, click here.
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December 2, 2010
In This Issue
Featured Article: When You Fall Down, Get Back Up
Announcements
Daddy's Little Girls
Happy Holidays! I hope you and those around you are doing well and enjoying the holiday season so far.
Last week's article, "How to Have a Great Thanksgiving," got some nice feedback. I hope you and yours did have a great Thanksgiving! :)
If you'd like to re-read that piece, feel free to check it out on my blog. You can also read it on Oprah.com or the Huffington Post. And, if you'd like to listen to the audio podcast from last week, click here.
Have a great day and rest of your week. Thanks for being on my list!
With Appreciation,
When You Fall Down, Get Back Up
(For this week's audio podcast, click here.)
Have you ever seen a small child learn how to walk? If you have, you know what a remarkable experience it is. I'd heard about this, but had never witnessed it first hand until Samantha, our (almost) five year old, took her first real steps when she was just over a year. She and I were playing in our family room one night and although she'd taken a step or two here and there, and could get around okay while holding onto an adult or a piece of furniture, she hadn't really "walked" yet.
That night I was holding her hands and pulling her across the room with me, as she took some steps. I decided to let go to see what would happen. I did and she took a step or two and then fell down, face first, on the soft carpet. She was fine. She looked up at me and although she couldn't speak, she made it very clear that she wanted me to pick her up so she could try again. I did and this time when I let go she took about four or five real steps and then fell down. I screamed, "You did it!", started clapping wildly, and yelling for my wife Michelle to come into the room.
Michelle came running in. Samantha and I went to the far end of our family room. I held her hands to steady her, started walking with her across the floor, let go, and then it happened - she really walked - all the way across the room, by herself. When she fell down, Michelle and I were so elated and moved, we both burst into tears and joyous laughter at the same time. Samantha, so proud of herself, began to shriek with excitement and to clap her hands as she was lying there on the floor. And, of course, she wanted to get back up and go again.
We all know how to do this - fall down and get back up. Assuming we know how to walk, which most of us are fortunate enough to be able to do, we went through this specific and miraculous experience ourselves when we were very small. We've also gone through it in a figurative sense many other times as we move through the ups and downs of life. The question isn't whether or not we'll fall down; the question is will we be bold enough to get back up again? Too often, sadly, we fall down and then decide we can't get back up. Boldness is about having the courage, willingness, and commitment to get back up when we fall down - even if we're scared or don't think we can.
Resisting, complaining about, or even feeling sorry for ourselves about the "bad" things that happen is totally normal and what we're often encouraged to do by people around us and our culture in general - whether we do it out loud with others or just in our heads. However, these things, while understandable, don't address the real issues, the emotions we're experiencing, or make things better for us. Facing difficulties in our life can actually be an incredibly rewarding and positive experience for us - if we choose to allow our challenges to be opportunities for growth.
Below is a list of some things to appreciate when we "fall down" in life. Obstacles, failures, and challenges can:
- Give us important feedback about where and who we are
- Provide an opportunity for us to be courageous
- Allow us to wake up and notice all the good things that are happening that we hadn't been paying attention to
- Give us a great opportunity for learning, growth, and improvement
- Allow us to learn to appreciate ourselves, even when things don't turn out exactly as we want them to
- Give us an opportunity to get in touch with, take responsibility for, and express our real emotions in an authentic way
- Challenge us to play bigger, make adjustments, or re-think our approach
By learning to see our challenges as opportunities, we take our power back from the situations, circumstances, and outcomes of our lives. Our ability to appreciate difficulties, learn from them, and use them to our advantage, gives us an important insight into who we really are and how to create success and fulfillment in a conscious, deliberate, and authentic way.
Being bold, going for what we want, and living with authenticity doesn't in any way mean we won't fail, struggle, or fall short. In fact, if we aren't failing or facing any challenges at all, it's probably a good indication that we aren't playing all that big in our lives. It's important for us to make peace with the fact that we will fall down many times throughout our journey. However, when we make a commitment to ourselves to get back up, dust ourselves off, be real about how we feel and what happened, and not let it stop us from being who we are and going for what we want -we tap into what true power, boldness, and authenticity are all about.
As Mark Twain reminds us in one of his many famous quotes, "Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth."
Where in your life have you recently fallen down? Have you gotten back up yet? If so, great - acknowledge yourself. If not, what will it take for you to get back up, learn from the experience, and appreciate yourself in the process? Share your thoughts, ideas, insights, actions, and more on my blog here.
To listen to this week's audio podcast, including additional thoughts, ideas, and tips, click here.
Unstoppable Foundation - Empower Lives Through Education
 I recently became aware of an organization called the Unstoppable Foundation, founded by author and education-advocate Cynthia Kersey. This organization is committed to providing education for children in some of the most poverty-stricken parts of the world. Cynthia has partnered with some of the biggest names in the personal development world like Michael Beckwith, Debbie Ford, Jack Canfield, and many others to create an online event that will raise money, impact young people around the world, and inspire all of us in the process. To find out more about this online event and the great work Cynthia is doing, click here.
Money in 2011: Designing a Business that is Profitable & Peaceful - Free Teleclass, 12/9 at 1 PM PT
 Making more money is usually at the top of any business owner's list. But most people have beliefs about money that cause them to never quite have the amount they desire. My friend and colleague, Jeanna Gabellini, is a Master Business Coach who assists high achieving entrepreneurs, corporate leaders & their teams to leverage fun, systems, and intentionality for high-octane results. Join her for a complimentary teleclass on Thursday, December 9th at 1 PM PT called Money in 2011: Designing a Business that is Profitable & Peaceful. This teleclass will show you how to start redesigning your money and success relationship. For more information and to register to join live on 12/9 or have access to the replay, click here.
Stop Your Inner Mean Girl Grinch This Holiday Season - Free Call, 12/8 at 5 PM PT
 My friends and coaching colleagues Amy Ahlers and Christine Arylo are on a mission to STOP "Inner Mean Girls" (that critical voice/monster in your head) everywhere from robbing women of the love and peace this holiday season is supposed to bring! Amy and Christine are hosting a free call next Wednesday, December 8 at 5 PM PT, that will help busy women stop their Inner Mean Girl "Grinch" from creating stress and squashing the joy of this holiday season. On the free call, they will give you tools to ensure that you start 2011 free of guilt-laden resolutions, empowered to live from your Inner Wisdom instead. In addition to giving fun and powerful tips on the call, Amy and Christine will be unveiling their upcoming program that includes their powerful "2011 Inner Mean Girl Reform Home-Schooling Adventure." They created this new expanded kit to give women the power to start and live 2011 first from their Inner Wisdom, not their inner critics. Click here for more information and to register for the free call on 12/8.
oneperson (you) can make a huge difference in the world through gratitude. Project GratOtude started with one person (you) can make a huge difference in the world through gratitude. Project GratOtude started with one person - my friend and fellow author Janae Bower - with the "big dream" of inspiring one million people to join the FREE Project GratOtude Challenge. This project is dedicated to honor Oprah and launched at the beginning of her farewell season this year. Are you up for the challenge to BE MORE GRATEFUL over the next year? For more info, to join the challenge, and to bring more gratitude into your life, click here.
"We fall down quite a bit.
And, we always get right back up!"
- Samantha and Rosie
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