February 23, 2010

In This Issue

Featured Article: The Magic of the Olympics

Announcements

Daddy's Little Girls

Welcome to this week’s issue of Appreciation (and Authenticity) in Action.

I hope you’re doing well!  Last week’s article about Avatar got lots of great feedback – both on my blog and on Oprah.com.  I appreciated everyone who read it and took the time to make a comment or reply! This week’s article is all about the Magic of the Olympics!

I’m super excited about the brand-new, four-week authenticity tele-course I’ve just put together that will be starting in a few weeks (on March 8th).  Scroll down for more info below in the announcements section, or click on this link.

Have a wonderful day and week.  I’m grateful to have you on my email list.

With Appreciation,





The Magic of the Olympics

(For this week’s audio message, click here.)

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver have captured the attention of the world.  As a former college and professional baseball player (and a lifelong sports fan), I’ve always loved the Olympics and appreciated the incredible athleticism, competition, and passion of the athletes and teams, from a pure sports perspective.  However, having been a live spectator at both the Atlanta and Sydney Summer Games, I’ve experienced first-hand the true spirit of the Olympics – which has been on display these past two weeks in Vancouver in a beautiful way.

There’s something truly magical that happens during the Olympics.  While many of us are enjoying rooting for our country and we’ve seen some remarkable performances in Vancouver from people like Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, Evan Lysacek, Bode Miller, and many others – the real magic of the Olympics is way bigger than any individual athlete or even any country.  And, if we look deeper, there are so many aspects of the Olympics that can teach us, remind us, and inspire us on our own personal journey.

Here are some of the most important elements and lessons of the Olympics:

1) Ceremony.  The Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver were breathtaking and spectacular (as was also true with the Summer Olympics in China in 2008 and with most of the Olympic opening ceremonies of the past few decades).  Beyond the amazing technology, creativity, and spectacle of these ceremonies, there is a deeper commitment to beauty, ritual, and reverence.  The Olympics are also filled with ceremonies throughout – medal ceremonies, the Closing Ceremonies, and more.  For us to live lives of meaning, purpose, and spirit – it’s essential that we honor ourselves, others, and life in a ceremonious way.

2) Excellence.  The Olympics, as much as any other sporting event, are all about excellence.  The intense training, incredible competition, and extraordinary pressure of having to focus a lifetime’s worth of experience into one single performance, create an authentic sense of drama that is unique and exciting, albeit nerve-wracking.  However, when we think of “excellence” in regards to the Olympics or other things in life, we often think about “winning.”  While there’s nothing wrong with winning and our culture puts a high value on it (just look at the attention and adulation given to the gold medal winners in Vancouver), there is much more to real excellence than simply winning.  Every athlete in Vancouver has made a commitment to excellence – even though the vast majority of them will not win medals and we’ll never even know their names.  On our own path, it’s important for us to make a commitment to excellence – to go for it, dig down deep, and give it our best shot – whether or not we end up “winning.”

3)  Passion.  The Olympics are filled with passion – from the athletes, the host city, and the fans – in person and around the world.  The emotions experienced and expressed during the Olympics, as we’ve seen these past two weeks, are intense and passionate.  We’ve seen the “thrill of victory” and the “agony of defeat” on display each and every day.  It’s this passion that makes the Olympics so intriguing, exciting, and fun to experience.  In our own lives and on our own journeys, passion is a key component to growth, success, and fulfillment.  So often we hold back our passion – waiting to see how things will turn out.  However, to live life with depth, purpose, and aliveness, we have to tap into our passion in an authentic way and use it as inspiration, regardless of the outcome.

4)  Play.  One of the greatest things about the Olympics is that they are called “games.”  This is a wonderful metaphor which reminds us that while sports (and life) can be intense and pressure-filled, they are really just games we are playing.  The games played at the Olympics, not un-like in many aspects of our own lives, are played at a pretty high level and are done so with fairly high stakes.  But, at the end of the day, they are all just games.  Each athlete in Vancouver started in their sport as a child because it was fun, not because they wanted to win a gold medal, be on TV, or get big endorsement deals. This is a great reminder for all of us. We often get so serious and caught up in results, we forget to play. Play is essential.  Scientific studies have shown that the same brain waves are generated in a high state of play as in a high state of meditation.

5)  Unity.  The athletes at the Olympics come together to represent their countries and to compete for something bigger than themselves.  I had the privilege of playing for the USA baseball team in the World Championships when I was 18 years old.  It was one of the greatest honors of my life and such a profound experience.  And although in the Olympics there is a big focus, especially by the media, on individual performances as well as country competition (i.e. medal count), at the deepest level, the Olympics are about a greater sense of unity amongst all nations.  There is a sense of mutual respect, admiration, and appreciation that exists at the Olympics – both with athletes and fans.  I felt it on the streets of Atlanta and Sydney when I was there and see it on TV whenever I watch the Olympics now.  The Olympics provide a stage for the world to engage, compete, and interact with one another in a beautiful way.  One of the most important elements of our personal journey is to recognize that we are more alike than we are different.  Those whom we compete against, have conflict with, and want to “beat,” are just people, like us, who have similar hopes, fears, and dreams.  At the most basic and yet profound level, we are all one.  Anything and everything we can do to see, remember, and remind ourselves and others of this innate unity – gives us access to deeper connection and truth.

I love the Olympics!  Not only do we get to watch extraordinary athletes complete at the highest level – but we get to tap into something profound and magical that can remind us of our true power, passion, and oneness.

Have you been following the Winter Olympics in Vancouver?  What have you noticed about them that inspires you and can help remind you about important aspects of your own life and growth? Share your thoughts, action ideas, insights, and more on my blog here.

Brand New Tele-Course with Me – March 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th

I’m excited to announce that I am offering a brand-new, four-week teleclass – Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken: Transform Your Life and Work with the Power of Authenticity! This tele-class is an interactive, inspiring, and practical course on how to move beyond fear and limitation, and step into who you truly are in an authentic way. The ideas, principles, and exercises laid out in this powerful teleclass will allow you to:

• Express yourself fully and with confidence
• Confront and transform fear
• Take risks and go for what you truly want
• Have more freedom and confidence in your work, your relationships, and your life

We will be using the MaestroConference tele-seminar technology, which will allow you to have an interactive experience and participate fully in all of the exercises and activities.  You will also be able to get some personal and valuable coaching and feedback from me throughout the course.  For more information and to register for this four-week course, click here.

New Book – What Does That Mean? – by Eldon Taylor

Bestselling author, Eldon Taylor’s new book, What Does That Mean?: Exploring Mind, Meaning and Mysteries, has just come out.  Enlightenment is not something that can just be handed to you. The closest thing to it that you can receive are thoughts and questions that can lead you inward in the search for meaning. What Does That Mean? is full of thoughts and questions that do just that. Some insights you may have thought of and then forgotten, and others you may have experienced but simply haven't appreciated. For more information about, to order copies of this new book today, and to learn about the free bonuses you’ll get from people like Michael Beckwith, Marci Shimoff, Harv Eker, me, and many others, click here.

Hay Houses’ Movers and Shakers Event: March 12th – 14th, San Francisco

If you’re an author or speaker (or an aspiring author and speaker) there is a great event taking place in San Francisco the weekend of March 12th.  Hay House, the top self-help/personal development publishing house in the world is hosting an event called “Movers and Shakers,” designed to help authors and speakers expand their platforms and reach people through various forms of media, marketing, and outreach.  Bestselling author and well-known life coach Cheryl Richardson and Reid Tracy, President and CEO of Hay House, will be leading this event.  I will be attending the entire thing myself and am so excited about it.  If you want to take your message and your impact to the next level, this event is perfect for you.  For more info and to register, click on this link.

Sister Giant Conference, Feb. 26–28, Los Angeles, CA

Bestselling author and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson is hosting a weekend gathering called SISTER GIANT: Rousing the Sleeping Giant of American Womanhood, this coming weekend in Los Angeles, CA (2/26 – 2/28). This seminar/conference speaks to the role of women at this pivotal moment in history. It's a critically important time to transition from disastrous probabilities to fantastic possibilities, and women can lead the way.  If you are a woman who feels a prompting in your heart that goes something like this: "Okay, it's time. I might not be perfect, but I'm good enough. And I'm ready," then this invitation is for you.  During SISTER GIANT, Marianne will review the historic forces that quelled the voice of the Western woman, as well as those that both challenge and invite us to speak our truth now.  To listen to the interview I did with Marianne on my radio show about this event last week, click on this link. For more info and to register for this event, click here.

“While we haven’t been watching the Olympics ourselves, we know all about magic!”
- Samantha and Annarose Robbins

To see more photos of us and
our mommy and daddy, click here

For some new and very special photos of us, click here.