October 13, 2009
In This Issue
Featured Article: Just Be You
Announcements
Speaking Schedule
Daddy's Little Girls
Welcome to this week’s issue of Appreciation (and Authenticity) in Action.
I hope your life is filled with ideas, visions, and possibilities that excite you, challenge you, and call you forth in a way that inspires you. And, whatever is going on in your reality, may you be at peace with yourself, with those around you, and with life.
If you live in the Phoenix, AZ area, I’ll be there later this week for a few events – including two public events on Friday, 10/16 at 6:30 PM at Changing Hands Books in Tempe and on Sunday, 10/18 at 2:30 PM at the Mustang Library in Scottsdale. Feel free to come out to one or both of these events – and let others know about them! For more info and details about these and other events, check out my public events page.
Have a great rest of your week. Thank you for being on my email list.
With Gratitude,
Just Be You
(For this week’s audio message, click here.)
I had a conversation with a dear friend of mine recently that had a profound impact on me. She had just come home from a two week trip to Israel, where she stayed on the same kibbutz she’d visited many times throughout her life. When I asked her how her trip was, she said, “Mike, it’s a magical place where I truly feel like I can be myself.”
“Why is that?” I asked. She said, “The people there don’t care what I do, about the big clients I work with, or so many of the other things we care so much about here. My only currency when I’m there is who I am.”
As she and I talked further and then got off the phone, it really hit me how much of my time and energy I spend and waste trying to accumulate “currency” in the form of money, accomplishments, appearances, status, connections, and other external things – all in an attempt to have people like and respect me, gain access to the things I think are important, and to somehow erroneously think that by doing all of this, someday I’ll “make it,” (whatever the heck that means anyway). Can you relate?
What if we lived more of our lives focused on who we are, and not so much on what we do, what we’ve accomplished, what we look like, who we know, what we’re striving for, and more? What if, as my friend realized in Israel, the most important thing in life is actually who we are?
Who would we be without our accomplishments (or failures), our degrees (or lack thereof), our bank accounts, our experiences, our titles, our homes, our statuses, and more? As simple of a concept as this is for us to think about and discuss, at least on the surface, it’s actually quite difficult for most of us, myself included, to genuinely separate who we are from what we do (or have done or not done) on a regular basis in our lives.
The deeper question for us to ponder here is really one of the big philosophical questions of life, “What makes me a valuable person?” While this is something we have all thought about to some degree, most of us don’t really engage in this question in an authentic way or on a regular basis. And, when we do, we often think that if we just got more done, lost some weight, made more money, took a vacation, accomplished a goal, had more meaningful work, made it to retirement, or whatever, then we’d be “happier” or feel more “valuable.” Sadly, as we’ve all experienced, this is not usually the case.
What if we could expand our capacity for appreciating ourselves in a genuine way, and have it have nothing to do with anything external? What if just being ourselves, the way we are right now was good enough? Think of the freedom and peace we could experience in our lives (and have at times) by just being who we are – not trying to be what we think we’re supposed to be, in order to get the things we think we’re supposed to want.
Being ourselves fully, takes courage, commitment, and faith. It’s a process of letting go of many false beliefs we’ve been taught and trained to reinforce (that we have to look good, be smart, know the right people, say the right things, have the proper experience, etc. in order to be happy and successful in life). Being ourselves can be scary and counter intuitive, difficult and even off putting, and, at times, lonely.
However, being our authentic self is liberating, exciting, and fulfilling. When we have the courage just being who we are, without apology or pretence, so much of our suffering, stress, and worry in life simply goes away.
Here are a few things to consider and practice as you deepen your awareness of and capacity for being who you truly are:
1) Tell the truth to yourself. Think about and own how much of your self-worth is based on what you do, how you look, who you know, what you’ve accomplished, etc. (i.e. the external stuff)? The more we let go of being defined by the external, the more freedom, peace, and power we can experience.
2) Appreciate who you are. What do you appreciate about yourself that has nothing to do with anything external? In other words, what personal qualities (of being, not doing) do you value about yourself? The more we’re able to tap into what we appreciate about who we are (not what we do), the more capacity we have for real confidence, peace, and self love.
3) Practice just being you. As silly as it may sound, we all need to “practice” being ourselves. We have a great deal of experience being phony or being how we think we’re supposed to be, it actually takes conscious practice for us to be able to just show up and be who we are. We can practice alone, with people we know, and with total strangers. This is all about awareness – paying attention to how we feel, what we’re thinking, what we say, and how we show up. It’s not about getting it right or doing anything specific, it’s about letting go of our erroneous notions of how we think we’re supposed to be, and just allowing ourselves to be who and how we are in the moment.
Have fun with this, talk to others about it, and have a lot of compassion with yourself as you practice – this is big stuff for most of us. And, when we remember that it truly is who we are, not what we do, that gives us real value in life – we are liberated and empowered to be ourselves, which is what we all want anyway.
Where in your life can you (or do you) practice just being who you are? Share your thoughts, action ideas, insights, and more on my blog here.
For this week’s audio message (including additional tips and suggestions) – click here.
Healing with the Masters – Free Teleseminar Series
You are invited to "Healing with the Masters" a free teleseminar series hosted by acclaimed author, healer and speaker, Jennifer McLean. This 13-week series provides you exclusive access to 24 of the world's leading experts in spirituality, wellness and healing (I am also one of the featured speakers!). Renowned leaders such as Neale Donald Walsch, Marci Shimoff, Gregg Braden, Gay Hendricks, plus 19 more, are providing an intimate portrait of how they achieved success in their respective fields as well as giving you personal insights on how you can easily accelerate your own consciousness and evolution. The series has already started (on 9/29), but you can still join. My session takes place on 12/1. For more info and to sign up for this free teleseminar series today, click here.
Great New Book – Defy Gravity, by Caroline Myss
New York Times best-selling author Caroline Myss draws from her years as a medical intuitive to show that healing is not only physical; it is also a mystical phenomenon that transcends reason. In Defy Gravity: Healing Beyond the Bounds of Reason, Caroline introduces a model of healing that explores the relationship between our seven shadow passions and our seven inner graces. This knowledge holds the key to understanding what it means to defy gravity and break through the boundaries of ordinary thought where you can heal any illness, channel grace, and live fearlessly. Also, when you purchase Defy Gravity today, you will receive a free 2-hour exclusive Seminar download by Caroline Myss and more. For info and details, click on this link.
Join me for a FREE teleseminar on 10/20 at 6:30 PM PT
I’m excited to once again be offering a free teleseminar through MaestroConfernce. My teleseminar is one of more than 80 trainings during MaestroMonth – a truly amazing offering in October from world-class leaders such as Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Michael Bernard Beckwith, T. Harv Eker, and John Gray. The trainings in health, personal growth, business, spirituality and societal change feature more than a dozen NY Times bestselling authors, all helping you to unleash your full potential. I'm excited to be part of this group. My teleseminar, “Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken,” happens on October 20th at 6:30 PM PT. For more information and to register, click here.
My New Radio Show is On The Air!
As you may already know, my new radio show, “Let’s Get Real with Mike Robbins,” is now live on Energy Talk Radio! It airs daily online at 5:00 PM PT (as well as each Friday at noon PT) via the live stream. You can also listen to any of my previously aired shows on-demand, at any time by clicking here. Feel free to listen live or on-demand, and let others know about it. I’ve recently had some great guests on my show like Gay Hendricks, Fred Luskin, and SARK. In the coming weeks I’ll be interviewing Marci Shimoff, Jon Gordon, Debbie Ford, Dr. John Demartini, Arielle Ford, Laura Fortgang, and others. I’m loving this! I hope you enjoy the show and email in questions or ideas for future shows. www.energytalkradio.com
Come See Michael Beckwith in Marin – TONIGHT -
10/13 @ 7pm!
If you live here in the Bay Area, there is a great opportunity to see one of the most amazing speakers and thought leaders of our time live and in person. My friend, Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith, founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles and featured teacher in The Secret is speaking TONIGHT (10/13) at 7pm, at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael, CA. For information about this wonderful event and to purchase tickets, click on this link.
Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter
If you’d like to connect with me on Facebook or Twitter, click one or both of these links:
Where I’m Speaking:
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 bold, however, are public events. I hope to see you at one of these!
For all my upcoming public events, check out this link. And, if you live in any of the cities where I’ll be traveling and want to contact me about setting up a speaking engagement for your group or company while I’m in town, feel free to contact me.
10/15/09 – Scottsdale, AZ
10/16/09 – Tempe, AZ (Changing Hands Bookstore)
10/18/09 – Scottsdale, AZ (IONS)
10/28/09 – San Jose, CA
10/29/09 – Hollywood, FL
11/10/09 – Dominican Republic
11/16/09 – San Francisco, CA
11/17/09 – San Francisco, CA
11/18/09 – San Francisco, CA
11/19/09 – San Jose, CA
12/10/09 – Redwood City, CA
12/13/09 – Santa Rosa, CA (CSLSR)
12/15/09 – San Ramon, CA
Again, for a full list of my upcoming public events, check out: http://www.beyourselfbook.com/events.htm.
“We don’t care about what people do, just who they are.”
- Samantha and Annarose Robbins
To see more photos of us and
our mommy and daddy, click here.
