My friend Becky found out a close family friend received the news that she only has 2 weeks to live. She asked me if I was able to know when I would die, would I want to know? I said no. She said she wouldn’t want to know as well. So what would you do if you had only 2 weeks to live. Becky is hoping that she won’t just curl up in a ball and hide. I thought about it and wondered if I found out that I had a limited time left, what would I do? I know I would be shocked and disappointed. I would think about the things I could have done and people I would miss.Then it reminded me, we do only have a limited time here. We feel we will be here forever but we were all born with an expiration date. Hopefully it will be later than sooner but who knows when. Everyone knows I believe you need to live your life but how do you do that?You take the time to plan goals and create a life list. You show gratitude for everything you have including the people in your life. You laugh as loud as you want and love deeply. Make sure to spend all your time on things and people who enlighten and inspire you.Life is too short to wonder what if. You need to make the most of the time you have.What is one thing you could start doing today to start better living your life? Leave me a comment and let me know!

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This song always motivates me so much! I want to empower you before your weekend. Please take the time to listen to this powerful song…

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My mom saw this concept on TV and thought it was a great idea so she shared it with me and I am sharing it with you. We spend a lot of time creating To Do Lists about our goals and tasks. I always tell clients and friends to create life lists to get the most out of life, but when do we make a list of the things we don’t need in our lives?That is where the Don’t Do List comes into play. With this list, you are able to remind yourself of the things you commit to not do anymore. You can think of all those bad habits you want to change and when you are ready, you place them on the list and commit to stopping them. Unlike a To Do List, we do not list tons of items and cross them off as we do them. On the Don’t Do List, we place the item on the list when we are truly committed to stopping the habit. Once we feel we have a good handle on stopping it, we go ahead and add the next item we are committed to stop doing.What are some examples of items to add to the list? Stop smoking, stop self doubting, quit judging others, stop neglecting your friends, etc.This list is not meant to be negative but a healthy reminder of the bad habits we commit to change and finally are putting them to rest.

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“When you’re young, your whole life is about the pursuit of fun. Then, you grow up and learn to be cautious. You could break a bone or a heart. You look before you leap and sometimes you don’t leap at all because there’s not always someone there to catch you. And in life, there’s no safety net. When did it stop being fun and start being scary?”

 ~ Sex and the City

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Have you been able to watch this new show yet? Yes I told you to free yourself from television addiction but as you can see, I am still watching.

 The show is about woman struggling with self image issues. They do not like their bodies and Carson (the host) helps them through the process of creating a move positive prospective.

It starts out with a discussion about their personal views on their body. Carson then shows them a video of people on the street giving feedback on a giant image of woman’s body shown on a building. Of course, the people give a more positive image of their bodies.

The woman are then shown a line up of woman and asked to place themselves in line base on where they fit. (They may line up in order of thigh size) This is always amazes the woman because they tend to place themselves at the end of the line when they truly are smaller than they think.

They are then taking for a day of tips and hints to improve their self image based on buying clothing that truly fits. They are then challgened to move out of their comfort zone by an activity. One was wearing a bathing suit in front of others at a pool.

At the end of the show, they are made over and take a professional photo shoot naked to feel more comfortable with their bodies.

This is a great example of how to improve self image through steps:

Step 1 - Learning what you currently think of yourself

Step 2 - Getting feedback on that self image to find a “true” self image

Step 3 - Working on ways to improve your current self image

Step 4 - Push yourself outside your comfort zone to grow and build confidence

Step 5 - Celebrate where you are and make the event with an achievement

So what can you do to Look Better Naked?

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Sometimes we need to free ourselves from our daily stress, work, television, Internet, emails, cell phones and obligations. Where can you go to reconnect with yourself and give yourself freedom from the everyday?

Some people like to go camping to good away or just a small hike in the woods. Some people like to go to the park and read or fly a kite. I personal enjoy going to the beach.

I have always loved the beach and whenever I need break I love t drive over t the coast just to enjoy the beach. I love listening to the waves crash a long the shore, the strong ocean breeze whistling in your ears and playing with sun warmed sand with my feet.

Taking a time out to reconnect helps you better handle stress, your job, your relationships and yourself. Where do you go to reconnect?

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Fridays are the best day of the week. Most people are in a a great mood and excited to come to work because they know the weekend is coming. It just sucks that Fridays are only one day a week.

How could we make Fridays everyday? Well you can, you just need to figure out the most effective way to celebrate each day. We love Fridays because the weekend is here and we get time for ourselves. What could you plan each day that would give you something to celebrate the day?

Could you plan to do lunch with a friend once a week, so that day becomes special? Could you plan one night after work to be your spa day where you get one hour to relax in a hot tub alone? What if one day a week you take your parents out to dinner just to catch up with them and enjoy their company? What if one night is your special date night when you take your partner out or stay in for a romantic evening? Maybe you could take an art class or a knitting class you always wanted?

There are TONS of ideas you can do to make each day special instead of just going home and watching TV. It is a good excuse to say you are too tired but is it a good enough excuse to waste your life away? Are you tired because work is hard or because you are bored and need a pick me up?

Think about how you can make at least one other day special in your week so you can get more out of life.

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A friend of mine was talking to me about her current work situation where her new leader is requesting her to use the old Six Sigma process to evaluate their business processes. Regardless, if the plan works or not it is frustrating because the it is being forced upon her as the only solution to her department problems.

Instead of the leader working with her to develop the best effective approach, the leader decided this was it and doesn’t care if the results are not effective or the learning curve that it takes to learn this process.

Leaders sometimes forget that they do not know all the answers. They need to work their teams to figure out what is the most effective way to get the results required. Just because a system works for you or with another job doesn’t mean it will work with the new department.

Leadership is about people. It is about helping people achieve the greatest results not about dictating to them what your wishes are. That is the difference between a Boss and a leader.

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This past weekend I spent a lot of time watching, like I do most weekends. I can honestly say there was nothing on. I had seen at least once and sometimes twice all the movies and shows on the lineup for the weekend. But did I do something productive with my day? No I re-watched which ever show was on.

I need to free myself from the television. I did so well with this when I was in grad school but in the last few years I have allowed it to creep back in. Do not get me wrong, I do have my favorite shows but I do not need to keep adding new ones and watching shows I do not even like just to fill in the time.

On an average, a person spends 4 hours and 35 minutes per day watching TV. That is a lot of time to be doing more productive things. So I decided it was time to reduce the amount of television I watch.

Can I do it, I do not know but I am committed to see the results. I know I always wish there was more time in the day, well I am about to get it. I also know I will not look back on my life and wished I watched more reality shows.

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My friend Nick and I have always talked about how we want to go Starbucks with our MACS and sit drinking coffee and look like we are working on something very important like the strangers we see there all the time. Of course we can not think of anything important to be doing but we just want to pretend and why shouldn’t we?

Sometimes we need a break from reality. Our lives are full of stress, deadlines and pressure. We sometimes feel pulled in to many directions. Why not take a break and have some fun?

Now I am not suggesting you live in fantasyland. That is best left in the Magic Kingdom. I letting you know it is OK to plan a fun adventure where you can escape for a day or few hours from your current life situations and just have fun.

What if you for a day you pretend that you and your partner are dating again. Play out the whole role play. Have one of you plan out a date and act as if it is really a first date all over again. Dress up, make plans, get picked up for the date, maybe bring flowers, etc.

Why not play tourist for the day in your hometown. Plan to visit places you have been to or not in town, and act like you are form out of town experiencing your city for the first time. Why not even book a local bed and breakfast to complete the experience.

Why not pretend you are back in college with a group of friends and plan a day like you are on spring break. You can go to the beach, ride on waverunners, get temporary (or real) tattoos and dance away to a beach side band.

There are tons of little escapes you can plan. Let your mind go wild. You can do this all by yourself or add some friends or a loved one to the mix. It is all about a planned escape to allow you to leave from you are and come back with a new outlook. Sometimes a simple break is all we need to help us see everything in a new perspective.

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