"Clear Directions" Newsletter
The monthly online publication dedicated to educating and encouraging the Family Woman in Business to successfully choose and achieve career and personal goals

October #1, 2007  |  Volume 2  |  Issue 14

"When I help you make sense of the things in your life, the things in my life makes sense"

You Inspire Me

I'm growing moss between my toes. Keeping you abreast of the news of our RV travels, we have been in the vicinity of Vancouver BC for the past several days in a relentless downpour. At the time of this writing, we are sitting in the line up for the BC Ferry to take us to Vancouver Island where, I am told, the weather is not an amusing continuation.

But we still have plenty of sunshine in our lives what with the visits with several family members and friends as we head south for the dry desert.

As my coaching business concerns helping people reach their goals, I am always super aware of observing just how goals are present in their lives. You know. Like when you buy a silver convertible car and suddenly you see hundreds of silver convertibles on the road. I always see goals. And I am so inspired by watching people go for the gusto goals.

I will share one quick story with you. My sister Debbie rescues homeless cats and volunteers at a shelter. "Katie's Place" is operated in a very tiny, very rundown barn with no heat and no air conditioning, no lavatory for people, no hot water, no laundry facility, and is overcrowded with more than 80 cats. Run entirely by volunteers and dependant on the generosity of contributions, these people are heroic.

A few days ago, while visiting Debbie in Pitt Meadows, BC I went to the shelter with Debbie while she did her cleaning, feeding and cuddling. It was cold, damp and eighty pairs of hopeful eyes followed her every move. I fell in love with "Socks" with his purr that sounds uniquely like a cooing dove, "O'Malley" who greets everyone with his friendly voice and little 'please pet me' dance, and "Geordie" who will curl in your arms and drink your love for hours.

For two years now this dogged group of volunteers has had the goal to build a new facility. They have campaigned, fund raised, advertised, talked to businesses, vets, pet food manufacturers, building material businesses, etc. etc. with the result that they are in the near final stages of completion.

Being that the construction is also dependant on volunteer workers, it has had to be slow going and its furry residents will not be housed before winter. BUT, once there they will have lots of rooms (no cages), access to outdoor runs, heat, air conditioning, less crowding, and there will be laundry and lavatory facilities for the volunteers.

All lined up waiting for a treat or a pat.
Geordie (standing centre), Socks to the right.

This month Katie's Place gets my Clear Goals Salute!

To meet all the resident's of Katie's Place (and hear Socks purr!) you can visit:
http://members.petfinder.org/~BC136/index.html

In this Issue:

       Welcoming words; Your goals inspire me

       Travels with My Coach: See What I Found!

       Your Coach

      Recommended

      Closing Comment

FEATURE ARTICLE

This month I have reprinted an article by Jack Canfield that seems very fitting in light of the above Katie's Place goal. It has been slow going in it's manifestation, but coming to fruition none the less.

When Success is Slow, What Can you Do?

By Jack Canfield

Pop Quiz: Can success be sped up? Is there an antidote to slow outcomes despite arduous planning and actions taken? What is the secret for seeing huge results right now?!

I get versions of these questions frequently from people who feel frustrated at sluggish progress in their success journey - despite all the know-how and principles they rigorously employ.

First, let's get one thing straight...

When we admire someone's success, or even our own, we often focus on the end result and not so much on the effort (and time) that it took to get there. This can cultivate unrealistic expectations, especially the idea that overnight success can happen through careful strategy and an execution of sound advice.

The truth be told, success typically follows a series of little events and achievements that can seem to take an eternity, that include a few disappointments along the way, and that challenge everything about you to the core - your stamina, courage, integrity, and even your willingness to keep going.

If you focus on what's not working, guess what: You're likely coming from a place of aggravation as your mind wraps around all that is wrong. You may even have negative thoughts like "I'm not good enough," "It will never work," or "Something must be wrong with me." What this mentally does is engender more of these counter-productive feelings. And given what we know about the Law of Attraction, you attract what you are feeling. So negative experiences, people, and results will beget more negative experience, people, and results. There's not much success in that.

The key, then, is to focus on what IS working. To do so, I recommend two simple practices: journaling and meditation.

Maintaining a journal (I call it an Evidence Log, Results Journal, or Gratitude Journal) is a great way to steer your attention to the positive and continually renew your vision for yourself.

Start each day with reflections on what you are grateful for in your life (list them out!) and end each day with notes on what went right (again, write them down), however small.

Meditation can be powerful tool for arriving at solutions to problems and shifting your attitude so you can attract success sooner rather than later. The magic of meditation is its ability to essentially shut down the outer layer of your judgmental, highly-critical brain and allow your unconscious mind to take over. This is where you enter a deeper state of inner peace and joy, tapping into a higher level of creativity that will help usher in the results you want.

Don't know how to meditate? Lots of books and materials are available to guide you this practice. It's easier than you think.

Okay, let's say you're doing ALL these things, but you still aren't happy with your results. I'll ask you, are you taking real ACTION?

You may be taking the actions you are used to taking. But therein lies the problem: if you keep doing what you've already done then you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. It's a matter of practicing some new behaviors. Shake things up a bit and see if you can take new actions or modify existing ones.

Remember the Rule of 5. Every day do five specific things that take you toward your goal. Change up the five actions regularly and be open to feedback so you know when you're off course.

Lastly, I want to remind you about patience. It's natural to underestimate how long a certain goal can take, especially a profound one. When I set a goal to become a millionaire the year was 1983. How long did it take? Eleven years. It took time for Chicken Soup for the Soul to hit the bestseller lists. You could say our tenure on the New York Times list was more than a decade in the making. That's a lot of patience for someone who initially wanted overnight success.

So, yes, patience is a virtue. But keep at it, and in no time, you'll be only one week, or one day away from your ultimate success.

Remember... be grateful, reflect on what IS working and continue to take ACTION!

Copyright 2007 Jack Canfield

Jack Canfield, America's Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

TRAVELS WITH MY COACH

Until I have the time to learn to Blog, I'll share in my newsletters a sweet morsel or two of the Travel Treasures found during our RV roving.

1. I am being soothed, massaged, invigorated, steamed, soaked, bathed, detoxed, remineralized, and healed by eight different exquisite water treatments in the sandstone sculpted caves and pools of the Pacific Mist Hydro path at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa near Courtenay, BC on Vancouver Island. There are no words! See for yourself right here www.kingfisherspa.com

2. In the quaint community of Qualicum Beach, BC, again on Vancouver Island, DB and I find a small place to lunch that attracted us just by its name, "The Cockney Pride". My heritage is Anglo-Saxon and although I have never visited England, I am somewhat familiar with traditions and foods handed down from ancestors.

Our lunch was the special-of-the-day "Toad in a Hole", consisting of Yorkshire Pudding (a savoury egg, flour, water, oil mixture that when baked at a high temperature puffs up into irregular mountains of toasty delish, usually drenched in rich gravy). Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding were common in my home as a kid, but the 'toad' part of this dish was new...sausages were baked right into the 'pudding'! Along with gravy, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots we felt we were right in the middle of 'Jolly Old'!

Now here's the capper. Sticky Pudding for dessert. An individual sponge cake, baked in a mould, all dark brown and moist with chopped dates, swimming in a decadently, buttery, hot, toffee sauce that has been pored over it and served up with a side of thick cream. Oh, oh, oh...It is so rich it needs to be part of the lottery! ('Scuse me I have to go wipe the memory drool off my chin).

I lamented that I did not have my camera with which to record this feast. Two days later I remembered that I have a new cell phone that takes pictures! Duh.

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FILL 'ER UP AT "THE GYM"

"I knew I needed to get some clarity with my goals and as fate would have it, I met Lynn. Even with just three introductory sessions with Lynn I am amazed at how great I feel! I am optimistic, I have focus, I'm revitalized and this whole experience has been a huge catalyst for me to move into a future I have wanted for some time. I'm sure I will be back for more!" - D. Foster 2007

Can't quite decide if you want to join 'The Gym'? Want to figure out if it will be of value to you? Let's have a get-acquainted f*r*e*e 30 minute phone chat. There is absolutely no expectancy for you to join the gym after our call, but if you decide to do so, there will be a special offer.

Email me lynn@cleargoalscoaching.com and let me know you are curious about it. Good decisions can only be made when you have good information!

If you really want to reach your goals, there is no better way than with the support, guidance and wisdom of your own personal coach.

And there is no easier, less costly way than with a membership in my "Business Woman's Coaching Gym". To clarify: 'Family does not necessarily mean 'children at home'. Whether you are 25 or 75 you still have 'family'.

Join me and other Family Women in Business at the

"Business Woman's Coaching Gym"

Keep "Career Fit" and "Family Fit" with the ability to communicate with your very own personal coach by phone and email up to 12 times every month

Monthly "Gifts" sent by email to assist you in attracting your goals

Touch-of-a-button assistance to keep you steady and focused on the "Balance Beam" between work and home life

"Appreciation Discounts" on coaching packages and products

All this for less than the price of a litre of gas per visit!

To learn more about the Business Woman's Coaching Gym Click here:

http://www.cleargoalscoaching.com/Business_Womans_Coaching_Gym.php

YOUR COACH

CGC RECOMMENDS

Today's Feature Article by Jack Canfield mentions Meditation. How would you like to meditate like a Zen Monk within One Minute? If you have tried the most common forms of meditation and have difficulty making it work, check out www.centerpointe.com. Bill Harris ("The Secret") teaches a system called "Holosync". I am using it and it is phenomenal!

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I have heard this many times from a parent, "If I had it to do over again, the one thing I would do better is to instill a healthier confidence and self esteem in my children". One of my early mentors, Brian Tracy, has developed s wonderful program to help parents of today to do just that. You and your kids deserve it. Read more...

 
http://www.briantracy.com/

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I have operated a Home Based Business for 30 years, long before it became the 'in' thing to do. Laurie Hayes is a Home Based Business Coach and her brand new Guide to starting or revamping a HBB is an absolute must! Learn everything you need to know about this Guide at the link below.

http://www.startahomebusinessguide.com

IN CLOSING

It's impossible to be grateful and unhappy.