Yes, I saw Avatar like everyone else did in the US.

Justin wanted to see it, and I wasn’t so excited but I can’t say no to a 3D movie. It surprised me to the extent that Justin and I saw it for a second time when we went with my friend Robert during this week.

One of my favorite parts of the movie is the phrase, “I see you.” The Na’vi believe, we as humans, do not see the world. We only really see ourselves. Isn’t it true?

We are all so much in a hurry and multi-tasking our lives that we neglect ourselves as well as the people in our lives. We do not take the time, as the saying says, to smell the roses. We do not notice our surroundings or nature. The only thing we really notice is our iPhone screens when they need to be wiped clean.

A friend went to see a hockey game with other friends. I knew this because of his tweet. I then received tweet after tweet about the game, what was going on, pictures, good things, bad things, etc. I wonder was he really “seeing” the game if he was spending most of it on his phone tweeting about it? What were his friend’s thinking about their time together or have they not noticed because they were tweeting as well?

Oprah this week just annouced her, “No Phone Zone” pledge. Where people are going to be less distracted driving and promising to no longer make calls, check email or text while driving. People on the show were sharing their stories about withdraw from not being able to use their phones.

My mom and I have been going to lunch each Friday for years. She has a huge problem with me using my phone as well. She says it is rude and would rather not eat together if I am not really going to be there. If I am not going to “see” her. I have had to learn to break the habit I am so use to so our lunches can continue, interruption free.

When Justin came home from work yesterday, he walked in the house and put his stuff away. He sat on the couch and asked me what we should do for dinner. I was talking to him when I noticed he was on his iPhone doing something. 20 minutes passed before he looked up again and said something to me.

Trust me, I know I have done this to him many times as well but it was the first I was about to “see” my own actions. Is this the life I want to live? One where I am distracted so much by technology I missed out on the people I love?

I am not going to give up my iPhone. Of course not! But, I am going to learn to build healthy boundries around how I use it.

I want to see you.

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As we go through life, I believe there are moments that change us forever. Moments when what we felt was true ends up not being the case.

We all have views, perspectives, on life and that is how we shape our worlds. Then one day we learn the real truth about a person, situation, story, etc and our worlds are shattered. Literally, at these moments, our whole world is thrown into a whirlwind because what we always felt was true, isn’t and now we are faced with a whole new truth.

We always want to know what will happen next, or what it is life on the other side but once we know there is no going back…

That is how I feel when real truths happen. Sometimes you just want to it to go away. You wish you didn’t know and could go back to a life of ignorant bliss. You were comfortable there. You were safe there.

But in reality, it wasn’t real. You just felt it was and now that you know the truth, it might be scary but you have to move on. You have to deal with this new reality and find your new comfort zone.

I think we would all like avoid these moments because of what they do to us but in the end, they help us to grow. They help us find ourselves.

What do you do when something is shattered in your life. You pick up the pieces and begin anew. You let go of what was and now you face what is.

You can do it…I can do it…

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I have wanted to write a book for quite sometime. I just keep putting it off for many different reasons.

I know people expect me to write a self help book (not that I won’t one day) but I really want to write my story.

I have told clients for a long time the importance of knowing your story and sharing it with others. That you have the opportunity to create the story you want and this is the time to do it.

Of course I find myself facing the same problems as everyone else…

Who will care about this? Who wants to read it? What is the use? I do not have the time…

Those are all excuses I love telling myself so I keep from doing it. There is always tomorrow when I will do it but as we know, the time is now.

If I was my own client, I would work on allowing myself to see this is for me and doing something just for yourself is enough. I would work to help my client see that telling your story not only allows you to enjoy your life more but allows you to heal and let go. It opens you up to even more adventures and stories to tell.

If I was my own client, I would say, “How many more excuses are you going to tell yourself that are not true until you finally just do it.”

I have always felt one of my strengths is story telling. So, today I pick up where I left off and I begin to write again. I am writing to make myself laugh. I am writing to remind myself of my story. I am writing to complete something I have always wanted to do. I am doing it for me.

My dream is it will make you laugh, make you smile, make you have a good time and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much I will enjoy telling it.

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A weekend ago I had friends in town to run the Disney Marathon. The marathon happened to take place on one of the coldest mornings Orlando has seen in a long time.

As my friends were running, I was driving to meet them at the half way point to cheer them on. Traffic is a nightmare so I had to leave early and make my way through all the closed roads and detours. I was planning to meet them in front of a resort but the road was closed this year so I was forced to park elsewhere and I had to hope I would catch them further down.

I parked my car and darted through other parked cars to make my way to them. I turned and started to slip but caught myself. It felt like I stepped where someone had thrown up (You all know I do not like throwing up) so I did not look down and just kept running. As I zig and zag through more cars, I slip again through what feels like throw up or dropped food and I keep running.

Finally I am making my way towards the course when I run through a puddle and slip again. It is at this moment I realize I am slipping on ICE.

These puddles have a little ice on them which causes me to slip and then break them into a slush. I can do nothing but laugh at myself for not knowing this and almost falling 3 times in my hurry.

Living in Florida for my whole life, I have zero experience with snow or ice as it is not often we even get cold enough for either. This was a new experience which I have never had.

I have heard stories about falling and slipping on ice but it wasn’t until I experienced it for myself did I really know what it was like.

It is so easy to say we have learned everything or know as much as we need but it is moments like this that remind me, there is so much more for me to learn and experience.

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I do not like roller coasters, thrill rides or anything that goes fast. That is just not me and something I do not find to be fun.

Everyone told me I needed to skydive at least once in my life. I knew the only way this was ever going to happen would be if I needed to jump from a plane which was on fire.

My friend Nick asked me about Sky Venture in Orlando. He had seen it on TV and was interested in doing it. It is a indoor skydiving adventure. They warn you all over the site it is a extreme sport and professional sky divers train there all the time. Nick wanted to do it! I was willing to go along…

We arrived early to check in and found out we were the only 2 in the time slot. It would be a VIP experience for just us. This was exciting. I love VIP!

We headed up to the building and I was nervous walking up the stairs to get in. This was not a good sign.

We were able to sit and watch a group doing it before us and then Peter, our trainer, greeted us and had us suit up and practice. Nick and I mastered the moves quickly. In the class I said right away that my goal was to stay low to the ground and be boring while Nick wanted to fly all over the place like Peter Pan.

Our trainer was very calming and said not to worry. What was funny was I wasn’t worried. I was OK. Yes I was scared and nervous but I was worried. I knew Nick was there and I would be fine. Plus Peter was very professional and I knew I would be in safe hands.

We headed down for our turn… You can watch the whole experience here:

One of the most important parts of Sky Venture is to relax. You can see Nick was able to relax a lot more than I was. I was a mess all over the place but I DID IT!! That was my GOAL! Just do it no matter what!!

I faced the fear and did it. I had so much fun and I am so glad I enjoyed it. Sometimes you have to face your fear to push yourself out of your comfort zone. This was my opportunity and I jumped, LITERALLY

If you also noticed I smiled the whole time no matter how scared I was. (Thank you Tyra and America’s Next Top Model!)

Well I might not have skydived but this is as close as you can get. It counts for me and now it is crossed off my Life List.

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Did you ever notice that there is always a person in your life who wants to bring you down? There is this one person who always seems to the first to stay something negative about what you are planning to do. They love to tell you it won’t happen and they love to tell you are too silly, not smart enough or do not have the strength to do something.

This is the same person who always second guesses your choices. Wondering if you are right or if you just made a major mistake. This is the same person who will tell you “I told you so” when things do not go right. Even if everything works out, they will be the first to say, “Maybe this time but there is still time for it to fall apart.”

This person also loves to point our your past mistakes. Reminding you that what happened in the past and how this will only happen again. They love to play with your insecurities and remind you about them at the least favorable moment in your life.

The same person also loves to make you doubt yourself. Make you think twice about what other’s say, do, and mean. This person makes you wonder what are people’s intentions, why are they out to get me and what will they do next to cause me pain.

This person is you.

You are your worse enemy. How are you going to stop yourself from bringing you down?

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After the great call on Thursday, I wanted to follow up with a few resources.

(If you were unable to make the call, you can still register to receive the recording.)

I talked about this great site to visit which can inspire your life list. It is called 43things

I also gave you a few prompts to get you started on your own life list. You can find them all on the recording BUT here is another resource I created to help you jump start your list.

The Life Life Guided Journal

There are TONS of prompts through out this book you can use to help you add even more to your list and get your mind pumping!! This is my gift to you all to start off the New Year!

If you ever need support on starting or moving forward with your life list, drop me a message.  I am here.

On my blog I share tons of tips and tools but also my own life list achievements. Take a look at these 4:

Aura Picture

Gator

Word in Dictionary

Childhood Dream Come True

There are many more all through the blog.

Again, thank you all to those on the call, those listening to the recording and those who just want to be living your life out loud!

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The New Year is here and we are all trying to be better than we were last year. (Some might even be trying to be naughtier) I always make it my resolution to just work to make this year better than the last. Simple, easy and allows me to focus on growing without being overwhelmed.

In the area of health, I believe we can always be doing more. Something that can help us retain the good health we have or even improve our health. Here is 10 healthy new habits I am trying on for the new year.

1. Breathing – I know we all do it without thinking so why would I focus on this? Well, apparently we are not breathing enough. Or should I say deep enough. There is tons of research out there showing the importance of deep breathing. 10 deep breathes a day can make a world of difference, but of course, more is even better. I am really working on taking the time to deep breathe. It may not be huge change in my life but I can already feel a difference.

2. Frankenstein Walk - I know you so want to see this! My hamstrings are tight. This comes from sitting way too much. I am now adding this simple exercise where I take breaks and stretch my hamstrings. I have been having lower back pain and found out this can come from tight hamstrings! So Frankenstein walk it is!

3. Active Nights – It might sound dirty but I promise it is not. What I find is during my evenings I lay on the couch and watch TV. Reruns of shows I have seen a hundred times. This leads to myself getting bored and when I am bored, I eat. I now make an effort to be active in the evening. Cleaning, dancing, playing wii, going for a walk, etc. As long as I do something and not just veg out. It doesn’t have to be a HUGE workout, just something more than laying around.

4. Relationship Time – Again, not dirty. Having friends, family and love are quite important to your health. It is so easy to get caught up with life to forget about the ones you love. I am making an active effort to keep connected with the important people in my life and making the time to connect with them. It is also a lot of fun!

5. Bigger Breakfast – I love breakfast but I always rush to eat it and try to make it short on busy days. I have made changes so breakfast is the biggest meal. It keeps me going longer in the day and I noticed I feel more awake and I am not dying to eat at lunch or dinner as much as I used to be.

6.  One Day/No Connection – This will rock people’s worlds but I have selected one day a week I will not be connected to email, Facebook, Twitter, cell phone, etc. It is my day to just be. It can all wait until the next day…

7. Trident Cinnamon Gum – This is a fun one. I am now chewing Trident gum after meals to help my teeth. This is supposed to help reduce plaque and it also is to help you eat less calories throughout the day. Plus my breathe is extra clean!

8. Adventure – I told you I eat when I am bored. I always do. (It is important to learn your eating habits. This amazed me when I took the time to noticed when I was eating the most. When I am busy and having fun, I forget all about food.) I have already set up plans to keep Justin and I busy for the year. This not only helps with connections but it helps with my overall health. Less time on the couch. Trust me, it is all not money being spent on activities either…you have to be resourceful! (You know there will be tons of blogs about this activities throughout the year…)

9. Budget – Yes I am using the B word. I have placed Justin and I on a budget. How does this help with health? Well it limits how many times we can eat out. Now we are set up to have to food shop more and make better choices. We are working on making dinners together and saving money. Now if I can just master a wok…

10. Love – I know, here comes the Life Coach Michael talking all about love. I really believe it helps your health when you learn to lead with love. What I mean is use love to determine how you feel about life. I do things I love. I am around people I love. I laugh a lot because I LOVE it. And guess what, I love you a little too. Remember to react with love, respond with love and see the world as a place that loves you back. The more love you give, the more you receive. Yes it sounds silly but give it a go.

I am.

And I am LOVING IT!

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Everybody hates a New Year’s Resolution that goes nowhere.
It’s painful.

And yet how many of us are looking at last year’s dreams
and goals and wondering what happened to them.

Join me for a fun FREE call this Thursday!

Life Lists: Starting to Create Your Life
————————————————————–
7th January @ 2pm  NY EST

Facilitated by Michael Moniz

Many of us lose our voices to the noise of life. We think
we are clear on what we want in life but are influence on
what society wants, our family wants, our friends want, our
boss wants, and the list can go on and on. In this
teleseminar, we will work together on a great activity to
start your year off right, by creating life lists to help us
achieve what we want. This is list is for you and only you
to help you enjoy life more and begin taking back your life,
your dreams and your goals.

–> http://tinyurl.com/Spotlight-Coaching

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