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My mother has often expounded the joys of walking. 

I hear daily of her early morning power walks and more casual strolls with dear friends.

I have recently come to appreciate a good walk and this summer, have even found a few kindred spirits to participate in my outdoor adventures. 

Few things have proven more satisfying than to debrief at the end of the day over a brisk walk with Nikki around Shaker Lakes (I say brisk because she times the whole event and sets the pace and she is about a foot taller than me.) My husband Jeff will indulge me with a heart-to-heart as we walk around our well-treed block or head down the street for gelato.  

Sometimes I “wance”, walk-dance, to Alanis or Zen out to a little Wayne Dyer or walk with the angels with the help of Doreen Virtue and my trusty iPod.

Sometimes I walk for exercise, sometimes to get out pent-up stress and sometimes just to be in nature after long day at the desk.

But recently…. I tried something new. 

I decided to try a walk without purpose.  I decided to leave the iPod at home and not call a friend.  I decided to leave the running shoes in the closet, throw on my flip flops and take a walk to nowhere and everywhere as I let God lead the way.

Now you can call it whatever you want to, but for me, when I just step out into the world and see where my feet take me, that is inviting God to lead the way.  When I start walking with no purpose or destination and find myself having countless adventures, this is the magic of the universe at work.

In my walks with everything with nothing in mind, I have found a new world revealed.  I wander down streets that I never noticed before.  I hear things that would have gone unheard over the pounding music, the chatting voices or the ceaseless chatter of my own restless mind. 

Activity is everywhere as I experience the chirping round of the Cicadas passing their song from the tree tops as they do a sort of vocal wave up one side of the street and down the other. 

I stumble upon a squirrel no more than 2 feet away on the sidewalk.  He sees me, but does not run.  I hunch down beside him to take it all in as he spots a round green nut which he promptly grabs and takes up the tree.  Just out of my reach he begins to chew chew chew away at the green outer shell to reveal the nut beneath.  I watch in awe.  I look down at the ground and see that I am standing in a pile of green shell remnants, a testament to his work ethic and then realize my squirrel has a friend as a newly shorn shell drops from the tree on my head.

Smells everywhere - beautiful, fragrant – and I notice that certain trees have already begun to lose their leaves BIG TIME.  I had been previously unaware that entire lawns have already been given a sprinkling of fallen leaves. Autumn is here.

I spot a bright red leaf on a green hedge and beside it, a huge white flower with a pink center that has always been closed and sleeping when I walked by at the end of the day.  What a wonder.

As I round the corner and approach a busy street, I realize that even the early morning traffic has a warmth to it.  I welcome the line of cars waiting for the light and those whizzing by, not a detraction or annoyance in my day but one more thing to notice and appreciate.

In this world of doing, productivity, activity and functionality I invite you to consider the next time you are looking for something to do, perhaps you could just go for a walk.  A walk without purpose or direction; a walk without accompaniment or distraction; a walk with just you and your creator and the wonders of this world.

With Love,

Coach Joelle

 P.S. We are less than 2 weeks away from our next Make Your Life Program.  If you are ready to take action, suround yourself with joy, beauty and happiness and take way more walks, you may just want to check it out!

The Make Your Life Program™

September 17th – November 12th

Experience the Magic of a Life Lived on Purpose

The Make Your Life Program™ is a one-of-a-kind tele-program which combines practical coaching skills, and professional support with creativity and play, allowing you to consciously create a life you love and experience the magic of a life lived on purpose.

READ MORE about the Make Your Life Program!

My father was a civil engineer, an adventurer and a renaissance man.  He was a loving father and husband and it was such a delight to watch him mellow and grow into a quiet appreciation of himself in his 40’s before his abrupt departure from our world.

Growing up, my father was my ideal, his strength and bravado an inspiration to me, to the point that I would often compare the hair on my arms to his.  I kept willing my little blond hairs to grow dark and bushy in hopes that I would someday overtake him in the arm hair growth department (good thing I was not quite as skilled at manifesting then as I am now )

Among my favorite childhood memories I count hours upon hours of hauling wood for the fireplace, loading up my arms 2, 3, 4 logs high in an attempt to do my dad proud. I remember water skiing and fishing, sailing, canoeing (in a sailboat and canoe that my dad hand made) and, my favorite,  windsurfing, showing my skill along side the men as we raced across the waves at Setting Lake.

This Friday night, my husband and I went to Pennsylvania along lake Erie and as always, my brush with nature, the dirt under my nails and the smell of lake-water and camp smoke on the wind, reminded me of my dad.

Upon arrival Jeff and I scope out the site for the perfect spot for our shelter. We coordinate the raising like some “cooperation skit” off of Sesame Street.  We stomp in the pegs and make up our little home for the weekend; air mattress….check, sleeping bags…..check, pillows……check, stuffed bear…..check! 

I am always in awe of how at home we think we need all this furniture and all these accoutrements, while at the campsite I am perfectly content with a canvas roof, a campfire, a folding chair, a book and my husband.   Truly amazing.

As Jeff blew up the air mattress, I took it upon myself to build a rain shelter out of a piece of rope, several bungee cords and a large tarp.  There is something zen-like about using my hands and my mind to fashion this most essential of shelters under a perfectly clear, starry sky.  There is such joy and freedom in using my hands and mind for geometry, construction and avoiding the myriad of creepy crawlies on the trees, versus my normal daily focus on creating the latest marketing plan or dreaming up some future-based life vision.  This is living now, with nothing in existence but the rope that keeps tying itself in unhelpful knots, the unruly tarp and the daddy long legs crawling up my arm.

My husband acknowledges me, his “fuzzy Canadian, engineer’s daughter”, as the expert in many things woodsy and he defers to my fire making skills as I demonstrate how to place the paper and then the kindling and then the logs all with vertical element to allow the heat and the flames to rise and work its magic.  (Jeff was a masterful student and built many large, hot and very manly fires through out the rest of the weekend. )

I found green willow and whittled sticks for marshmallows before we halted our homesteading and headed down to the lake to watch the unexpected storm flashing and rolling in from Canada.

Fire flies in the foreground.
The waves lap gently on the shore.
It’s twilight and the sky is dark but for the waning pink light in the west.
Flashes on the horizon.
Distant islands revealed, illuminated by the approaching storm.
Teenagers testing boundaries on the dock, electricity in the sky and excitement in the air.
The night is alive.
 

The water perfectly still but for a gentle lapping at the shore, we sat and watched the beauty of the world, and in that moment I knew that I wanted, no, needed my un-conceived children to know this experience.  I want them to know the lake, and to build things and to get dirty and to know that despite all the wonders of the modern world, all they need is a chair and a stick, a campfire and a bag of marshmallows to have the makings of a great evening.

In that moment, I knew that I was my father’s daughter and that in many ways his legacy will live on through my children and theirs.  And I am glad.

Ray’s girl,

Joelle

The Make Your Life Program™

Experience the Magic of a Life Lived on Purpose

The Make Your Life Program™ is a one-of-a-kind tele-program which combines practical coaching skills, and professional support with creativity and play, allowing you to consciously create a life you love and experience the magic of a life lived on purpose.

READ MORE about the Make Your Life Program!

Hi gang! 

Summer has been an adventure and i have been doing much more living than I have been writing.  To make up for it, this, my very special end of month free week (every 5th week in the month is a week just for creating with no schedule and no obligations) will be used to make a writing plan for the next few months and get some blog posts all ready to go.  I have written about 20 posts but they all are sitting in my journal and need to make it here to the page so, coming very soon!

Tomorrow is the very last day of the Make Your Life Program and it is hard to believe that two months have passed already.  What an amazing group of people I have been working with.  They seriously leave me inspired every time we come to the call and I cannot wait to hear what they bring to the table to celebrate as we go out with a bang!

I wrote the blog below a couple of weeks ago as part of my personal Life-Making process.  Creativity, friends, health, and happiness have abounded.  It is my pleasure to share.

With Love,

Joelle

As I am in the process of consciously making my life I am constantly on the lookout for something to add depth and new experiences to my world.  Who knew that this latest adventure would be just outside my door?

Roses.  We have lots of them.  Normally they bloom and add color to the yard and then they die and we cut them off and new little buds start the cycle over.  It is funny to think that in 2.5 years I have never thought of bringing a little of the outdoors indoors. 

Well, that is exactly what I did.  It was a sunny Sunday and I found myself feeling creative and desirous of a Martha Stewart moment.  So I picked up the kitchen sheers and headed out to the yard.  There I found two types of roses and great big white peonies ready for pruning, so I cut the best and brought them up for a flower arranging workshop. 

After a trip back out for some greens I pulled together, by florist standards, 100’s of dollars worth of bouquets and all for the price of a sunny afternoon.

I was quite pleased with my creations and I learned a few things on the way. 

For instance….

Peonies are home to many of our smaller creepier woodland companions.  After 3 large catch and release spider operations, followed by the recognition that those little red dots all over the flowers were moving! I decided that peonies belong on bushes and on the patio and not on my dining room table.

I then found out that peonies belong on bushes period as the petals became a white blanket on my floor as a final act of revenge for taking them from their place in the wild.

I also found out that cats like to eat roses.  Who wudda thunk!
  
 

 And that you are always better to throw out the flowers before they start decomposing in the vase.

Live and learn. Live and learn.

I liked my flower project and will likely do it again. Perhaps for a special occasion or perhaps just because.

Stopping to smell the roses.

Joelle
 

Wanna, know what I think about the youth of America?

Personally, I think they rock.

And no, not like the guitar-wailing, classic rock of their parents’ generation. I mean, they R.O.C. K. (They are Refreshingly Organized Conscientious Kids!(Ok, technically they are “young adults” but then it would spell ROCYA – which kinda works too )

It all started several months ago when I got clear on something, and that was that I was tired of trying to be a one-woman show—a coach, marketing expert,  graphic designer,  editor, and web designer. I had big dreams and a big vision but I was worn-out from wearing all the hats. I wanted to just be me and bring my own skills, talents and passions to the table while surrounding myself with energetic people, each working in their own area of excellence.  Basically, I just wanted to coach and not be bogged down with all the technical details.

Now this all sounded great in theory, but I was not in a financial position to hire $250,000 worth of skilled professionals. Then, much to my delight, a friend shared with me a little website called ClevelandIntern.net, a website created for the purpose of matching employers with local college students.  I said to myself, “What the heck, Joelle?” and I signed up.  I began thinking about who I would want supporting me, if I could have anyone on my team, what skills would they bring?  So I wrote out my wish list of the characteristics and abilities I wanted my team to possess.

Within days, much to my delight, the resumes started pouring in.

Less than two months later, my business is thriving thanks to the incredible support of five amazing student interns.

May I Introduce…:

• Megan and Jessica – both graphic design interns who are currently making PowerPoint presentations for various speaking events and designing logos for programs I’m developing.

• LaShawn and Theresa – both digital video interns who advised me on equipment needed to produce in-house videos and created opportunity and motivation for me to get both a brand new computer and a video camera. We are currently in production on the “Things That I’ve Learned from My Cats” coaching video (watch for it!)

• Monica – my writer/editor intern supporting the ever long-winded, spelling challenged Coach Joelle, cleaning up my writing and paying close attention to detail. She will be assisting me in writing my first book this summer and with a little direction, wrote the article you are reading right now ( so cool! .)

READ MORE: Article continued - hear more about my fabulous intern experience!

HOLA!!

As some of you may know we are a couple weeks into the Make Your Life program and part of my life-making mission is to develop more relationships here in Ohio and spend more time outside having adventures.

Well, as we were just barely out of the gates, my brave new life had already begun taking shape as we grabbed our new couple friends Deborah and Peter and headed out for a daytrip to Ohio Wine country! Yes you heard me correctly

It all started a month previous when I was precariously draped across the table of my favorite Applied Kinesiology chiropractor while she made wonderful popping sounds out of my back and neck, when somehow the topic turned to one of her favorite outings when company visits – a trip out to Ohio wine country.  Excuse me?  I thought. Ohio What?  Who Knew?!

So I called up our friends, did a little online research and even printed out a AAA trip tic detailing our entire tour.   I packed some snackage, the requisite apples, cheese and crackers and we headed out for Saturday adventure.

It was no more than an hour out of town that we began to see the telltale vines scattered across the countryside and next thing we knew we were sitting in a tasting room trying a batch of new vintages.

Now I must admit, with the 80’s band blaring in the courtyard, our first stop did feel a bit more like the beer gardens back at the King Miner festival in my hometown than the pristine, quiet wineries tucked into hillsides which I had become accustomed to in Napa.  And at the second place we visited, we all agreed that they had at least a couple varieties that seemed to have a slight aftertaste of motor oil (don’t ask me how I would know what that would taste like but that is what it reminded me of).  But all in all we did taste some lovely wines and we had a happy, outdoors, on-vacation kind of day and it was definitely something I would repeat.

My Friend Karen has shared with me the concept of the “hometown vacation principle”.  The idea is that if you approached your own city the way you approach the places you vacation to, you would be much more present to the beauty and adventure of the city in a way we tend to miss on our daily commute.  This was definitely one of those experiences, a “world away” vacation right in our own neighborhood.

This was just one tiny way to make my life, just one lovely day, but it is all those tiny moments that add up to make a rich and fulfilling life.

Hugs to you and wishing you hometown adventures!

Joelle

It was Two years ago that my husband Jeff took me on a sailing adventure on a tall ship (imagine pirates of the Caribbean and you can get a feel for our boat) and it was everything I could every want in a vacation.

Sailing on the open seas, close to nature, community, simplicity, visiting tiny out of the way bays and islands that sported nothing but a sand beach and a bar.  It was the perfect combination of fun and total relaxation, all with the most beautiful backdrop imaginable.

 Our perfect vacation found, we were all set to do another for our anniversary this year but we were dismayed to find that the owners were mismanaging their money and fighting between themselves and the company was suffering.  Instead of sending our money to head out on a ship this winter we found ourselves sending money to have abandoned crew members transported back to their home countries after the company had left the ships and their crews in foreign waters.

The community around this particular type of vacationing is almost cult like, full of die-hard fans of the tall ship experience.  They have shared news and stories and pictures of their sailing adventures, discussed the demise of the afore mentioned company and coordinated rescue efforts for the crew through an online forum, which my husband has been hooked on since he started doing the research for our first trip two years ago.

With the loss of our tall ship experience, there was suddenly a void for all of these people and as life goes, where there is a void, it started pulling us all in to fill it.

On the scene arrives Captain Neil, a brash and bawdy former tall-ship captain and his trusty assistant Liz (the amazing operating room nurse who coordinated the raising of tens of thousands of dollars to get the abandoned crew home to their families.) A core group rallying around the vision of future tall-ship adventures began a campaign to raise money to buy a ship, start a company and continue the tradition.   My husband has marched us into that core group and this weekend…. We went to meet our ship mates and look at a ship!

We met up with the other investors at the Barking Crab on Boston Harbor and finally put faces to names and icons (imagine our surprise when the infamous Liz looked nothing like the banana riding a llama that she uses as her onscreen icon.)

We came from all walks of life, a variety of ages, with little in common other than our love for the tall-ship experience, but that was all we needed.

 I think my husband put it perfectly when he wrote:

"this ship is sweet. Our short time on her filled me with the energy we want in a ship. During our sail I quickly lost track of time and my life. I was completely present in the moment, hanging out with my new best friends, without any awarenss that I had only met them an hour earlier. "

The ship … was beautiful. 

With wooden decks, simple rooms and ample sails I really could not have asked for anything more.  We helped the crew hoist the sails, as we had on our sailing vacations of the past.  To feel the mighty pull of the wind blowing us across the harbor is truly one of the most pure and beautiful experiences.  As I took it all in, I knew my dad was there.  The man who loved the sea, he was the first to expose me to such things as raw oysters and smoked salmon and windsurfing.  He actually built the sail boat that we sailed on at our cabin in Canada and I know he would have been so pleased that we were doing this and were he alive, he would have joined us on the adventure, I am sure of it.

The tour and sailing of the ship and our fellow tall-ship enthusiasts were major contributors to a weekend that, as a whole was on of my favorite experiences so far in 2008 by far.

What happens next? We are not sure, offers, negotiation, raising money etc.  but one thing I know for sure, this crew will sail together again and if I have any say in the matter, it will be on our own ship as we create a special vacationing experience for those who are hungry for adventure and the simple beauty of a tall ship.

Coach Joelle

P.S.  A special thank you to my husband for creating this adventure.  My dad would be so happy to see I am with such an adventurer and lover of the sea.  Smooch!

Ok! Who knew Boston was such an amazing city?!

I had no clue and no idea what to expect.  But whatever I would have imagined would not have come close to what we found.

About two weeks ago, Jeff made the executive decision that we would be heading to Boston this weekend.  The why of our Boston trip will be shared in another post but I must pause and share my appreciation for this amazing city.

 We arrived early Friday evening, dropped off our bags at our downtown hotel and then decided to head out on a walk-about.

The moment we turned the corner we realized we were in an uncommon downtown.  Little parks everywhere populated by people just hanging out, connecting, having a coffee and enjoying a moment in this historic city.

You can almost feel the history inherent in its narrow streets, old churches and cobblestoned markets.

People are everywhere!

What? A downtown, on a weekend, full of people?! Will wonders never cease?!

I can tell this city has done something right because everyone, local and visitor, is sitting outside in bars, cafes and restaurants.  People are out, enjoying the weather and the scene.  Street performers are gathering crowds of eager onlookers just wanting to be a part of the magic act or to get a picture with the man who seems to create an entire band out of a bunch of plastic containers and a couple sticks.

With map in hand we easily follow the crowd down to the harbor, the pathway to which is unobstructed by any sort of significant traffic due to something they call the “big dig” where they put all the major freeways underground.   Whatever it cost, in my opinion, it was a great idea. 

The harbor is rockin’!  Outdoor bars right on the dock are crowded with young people.  Happy hours abound and Jeff and I reminisce, ah, this would have been one heck of a town to be in when we were 10 years younger and single!

Across the harbor we see the reason for the trip in the first place – a tall sailing ship that has roused a motley crew of sailors to come together from all over the country to see what she is made of (but I will save that story for another post).

After hours of walking, exploring and taking it all in, dinner is outside in the center of the action with home-made sangria, Jeff’s very first experience of slurping fresh raw oysters (YUM!) and of course, fresh lobster. 

In the morning, it was a quick walk to the aquarium for the Imax show, “Dolphins and Whales, Tribes of the Ocean”, showing these amazing creatures up close and larger than life on the IMAX screen.  Narrated by Daryl Hanna we not only get to feel the sometimes haunting, sometimes joyful essence of these huge mammals, but we also get to hear about how human activity, whaling, pollution and development is putting many of them on the verge of extinction.  As the music started I began tearing-up. At some point I was sobbing and at the end Jeff and I just sat there, red eyed, sad and a not just a little bit upset by the state of things (to hear about one of the fascinating examples of how money and progress seems to win out over everything else, check out this article to read about the fate of the last three hundred Right Whales (the movie points out they are called that because they are the “Right Whales” to hunt and it seems those characteristics that made them so right has been very wrong for their survival.))

After the show it was on to a day of dining and playing, sailing and community, Irish pubs and fresh seafood and hearing the wonder of how Boston seems to have lost their “R”s (ask a Bostonian to say “Heart” or “Bar” or “Starbucks” and you will see what I mean.)

After two days of perfect weather, we awoke Sunday morning to a rainy day, an easy trip to the airport and a perfect departure from a perfect trip.

There was so much left undone from our trip to Boston and it truly was the kind of place that you could go for no reason, knowing no one, and have a blast!

I see many impromptu weekends to Boston in our future just because.

What a city!

Coach Joelle

That’s right, around 1773 a group of American colonists protested against the British government by throwing a bunch of tea into the Boston harbor, which is said to have sparked the American Revolution and this weekend I got to participate in its re-enactment (A.K.A. the Boston Tea Party) aboard a tall sailing ship in Boston!

As it turns out our leader was a energized young woman in colonial wear, pretending to be Samuel Adams (as her male counter part was on his first day of the job.)

Shortly after we set sail the fun began as she walked us through the details leading up to the historic event (which is all very helpful since I will likely have to know all this stuff when I am eligible for my US citizenship sometime in 2010.)  Of course my husband Jeff and I were well versed in the evils of the East India Trading company (we watch Pirates of the Caribbean – we know all about it!) and as we went through the democratic process of proposing action and then voting with a “Hear Hear” for yes and an angry “FIE” for no, the clear choice was to throw the tea into the harbor (though I do think that my solution of brewing it and adding rum was quite innovative.)

Other than feeling the wind in the sails and enjoying the perfect day on the water, I think my favorite part of the event was watching our Sam Adams do her thing.  She reminded me a lot of myself back when I was growing up, singing and acting.  I loved her energy, her fearless capacity to be utterly silly, giving everything she had to her role and her duty of entertaining our motley crew.

The delights of Boston were far beyond anything I had imagined but the revolting part was a definite highlight!

Lovin’ Liberty!

Coach Joelle
 

Good morning,

Life has been such an adventure recently.  It is as though I woke up with the spring.

The past 6 weeks have been perhaps the most fascinating 6 weeks of business I have ever experienced.  I know I should not be surprised but I am always intrigued by the magic of the world.

I woke up one day in April and decided it was time to go. It was time to get on it. It was like I told the universe “ok, Coach Joelle is open for business.” I took action, action found me and 6 weeks later I look back and marvel at the adventure.

I reemerged on the speaking circuit and perhaps for the first time felt like a grown-up, not a kid with a passion, but an expert with a message. The distinction creates something new both on my insides and to the outside world.

I have also reinitiated the “Introduction to Passionate Powerful Living” event and held a tele-class as well as a live class here in Cleveland.

As I prepared for the events, I had to laugh at myself, I had every word and every idea written down from over 18 months ago, but for some reason I had decided to leave it be until now.  (I often have that experience of getting an idea, doing a search on my computer and finding out that I pretty much had the entire thing fleshed out 3 years ago and it was just waiting for the right time to be revealed.)

Needless to say, my little events, well, like I said, now I get that they have a message to bring, a message that leaves people in tears and has people laughing and puts the sparkle in their eyes.  The last tele-class was followed by a flood of emails that left me smiling – life really is quite remarkable.

“Wow!  I’m pretty sure that life shifted forever for me during our call last night.  Is that possible in one hour??  (yes it is) I don’t mean to sound overly dramatic, but something really changed for me.

I stated my intention… "I want to create an abundant life" during the call, and then I just felt it to the core.  I could see it and feel it for the first time in my life.  I felt it so deeply that I could hardly articulate my thoughts.  And guess what happened??….

Well…. it was literally raining abundance all over my life last night and today! “ (Love it!)

So I am doing what I have always done but it is as though there is a new me doing it. A me that can own the breadth and depth of what I get to do here with my life. A me that understands that it is not about me, that everything I have become has come together to serve this message and as I grow in it, sharing the message is like breathing.

Another part of the adventure has been an adventure is sales.  6 weeks ago I said it was time to get new business. Today, I watch it happening like someone turned on the tap.  New clients come to me every day, being referred through the community, finding me on the internet and seeing something exciting for themselves through my speaking. I have actually had the thought that I might need to start hiring coaches.  So interesting.

I started 5 interns in my business over the past 3 weeks.  I hope to write an article on it ( or specifically, Monica, my writing editing intern will likely write the article) but let’s just say that all the old joys and fears of having a team have come sweeping over me as I have gotten to know these lovely young people, intent on making their summer one that deeply enriches their personal and professional experience.

The Make Your Life Program starts Monday and I have been diligently preparing for it over the last 3 months.  I feel as thought the beginning of the program will be the start of a great exhale after months of anticipation and activity.

So here I am, and it is a good place. Many of the things I have done in the past 6 weeks have scared me, some even terrified me but I knew that courage and the capacity to find a new point of view was the answer to success and deep peace in the process.

As it turns out, it appears that I am not the only one who has been pushing the boundaries this spring.  I had a conversation with a client last night who has also been stepping out and being brave.  He asked when it would get easier, as he had done 7 brave things in a month and it still felt hard!  I smiled and asked him how easy/hard it would have been to do it 6 months ago. His response, he would never have dreamed of doing these things 6 months ago.  His homework is to do 5 “out there” things this week – just imagine what he will be creating by fall!

Ahhhhhh.

Monday was the first day the felt like summer. It was even warm in the shadows. And today I feel rested and peaceful as I enter into the quiet days of the week when I write, and organize and sit under trees.

Thank you for being a space for me to share. Sending hugs to you and wishing you all the joy that a warming spring can bring.

Love,

Joelle
 

Hello everyone,

As I mentioned in my newsletter, one of the best things about going on vacation is coming home. It is great to be home from my 10 day Caribbean vacation and I cannot imagine this winter if we had not had it.

When I vacation, or travel or do just about anything I am usually out to improve myself, to grow to develop, to gain insight, but on this vacation I was determined to do nothing of the sort. This vacation I was just going to CHILL, not answer emails or check my voicemail and I was very clear that I had no intention of doing anything that even resembled thinking at all.

This was no small task and despite my best efforts I did have a couple of epiphanies but for the most part I would say my mission was accomplished.

One of my greatest vacation satisfactions was finding a book to read for my adventures.  “Eat Pray Love” kept jumping out at me, in the airport, at the Walgreens in San Juan, but to read that would go against all of my new vacation principles. I WILL NOT DEVELOP MYSELF! And so it was the tantalizing cover of “The Other Boleyn Girl” and its stunning portrait of some beautiful man (Henry the 8th apparently) with his arms draped around Natalie Portman and Charlotte Johansson, that grabbed me and asked me to take it cruising.

They had me at page 3 when the 13 year old Mary narrates a beheading while referencing her marriage which had occurred the year previous. Combine 12 year old brides, the politics and grandeur of the English court, the role of women as pawns in their families’ quest for status and power and my new found awareness that the church of England was founded so that a king could get rid of his wife of 20+ years and marry some girl who might give him a male heir and I had 700 pages of guilty pleasure that lasted all the way to the president’s club lounge on the trip back to Ohio.

Many of my favorite moments from the trip included coming back to the cabin after a full day of activity (we were in a balcony suite on a princess cruise) opening the sliding doors to our deck and the ocean, climbing into bed with the sun streaming in and the sound of the waves in the background and reading or napping until dinner. YUM!

This was our first full fledged vacation with another couple and it was the perfect arrangement.  Our dear friends Scott and Natalie joined us for 2 days of chill-time on the beach in San Juan and a 7 day cruise of Antigua, St Thomas, St Lucia, Barbados and Tortola. We had adjoining balconies that we could open to each other which kinda made it like a sleep over.

One of the many perks of cruising is the 24 hour complimentary room service, so we started each morning with fruit and coffee delivered to the balcony for a little early morning lounging before we hit shore or went for a full fledged breakfast.  Eating was WAY too big of a past time on the ship but for one week a year it was very fun – between the room service and the pizza stand and the 5 course nightly dinners that are all part of your package it was pretty much 7 days of overeating, feeling uncomfortable, swearing it will be different tomorrow and then doing it all over again.

Our first island was Barbados and it was one of those experiences where you get you are not in Kansas any more. I found the whole thing a little unsettling as we were driven through town and witnessed poverty along with the types of scenes you might see in big-city slums. Even at the beach my husband was solicited 3 times to buy drugs, right among the little tiki bars at 11:00 in the morning.  The water was that gorgeous aqua blue and we had a blast playing in the waves, but all in all, my gut feeling was that I was not safe and I will probably not return.

All of the islands were beautiful, and all of them left you with that subtle reminder that much of the rest of the world lives quite differently than the average North American. At one point I did the math to realize that the cost of our trip was several year’s wages for many of the people we witnessed on our travels.

We went Zip lining in the rain forest at Antigua – for those who are unfamiliar, zip lining involves a hefty harness, cable stretched across substantial gorges and platforms situated on either side of the gorge from which to launch.  It was way-fun, one of those things that you know if something goes wrong then you are totally toast but barring that it is nothing but pure exhilaration.

We went dolphin watching in St Lucia which was fabulous. To see what these animals can do, the way they launch themselves feet out of the water, they way they would race the boat and use our wake as an amusement park.  It was stunning. Not to mention I got to see flying fish -  And I am not talking jumping fish that look like they are flying, I am talking FLYING FISH. They would launch themselves away from the boat and go for 100’s of feet, looking like a dragon fly or humming bird, skipping across the waves.  It was like watching evolution at work, leaving me to question, are those really flying fish or swimming birds? Very cool!

Another highlight was a day we spent on a virtually deserted beach that Jeff and his family used to frequent when he was a child. It is so fun to watch him return to his youth, he has such an affinity for the place.  We all loved the quiet, calm bay, the white sand, the snack gal and drink guy. It was like owning an island for the day.

Other highlights – Jeff loved hanging by the pool on the ship, we watched a movie on the deck at night in lounge chairs, Natalie and both got massages in cabanas on the deck, and after our nightly dinner that usually had us closing down the dining room at 11:30, it would be off to bed to rest up for another day of play.

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the trip – other than finishing my 700 pages of delight -was for Jeff and I to identify our vacation preferences.  Jeff was our travel guide, planning most of the excursions, making sure we caught ferry’s, waking us up at 7 am to make sure we did not miss a moment of the action.  As it turns out, while he was very good at this, it was a bit more responsibility that he really needs on a vacation, and as for me, “7 am” and “vacation” should never be uttered in the same sentence.  And so next time, we will likely find a quieter spot, with less to do, less activity, less food, and less things to see.  All I really need is the sunshine, a drink, a good book and great company and I’m set.

When I get a chance I will share about the unexpected epiphanies, one which was delivered when I swallowed about half of the ocean while wave jumping and the other from a quiet moment resting at the spa pool while a lovely woman brought me drinks and cool towels. 

But for now, I just wanted to share the basics since so many wanted to know.  It is not so much to tell but I am grateful that we have the opportunity to take the time and the resources to fund a little sun just in the nick of time.

I love you.  Enjoy the coming of spring and the lengthening of the days.

Joelle

P.S.  While this blog entry does not do it justice, I had to mention that Jeff took amazing pictures and found great joy with his new camera.  The picture of the bed at the top was a cabana at our hotel in San Juan and I think this image is the most beautiful creation.  Hobbies and art a very good thing. I look forward to sharing more of his creations with you.  HUGS!

Announcing: The Make Your Life Program™

Experience the Magic of a Life Lived on Purpose

The Make Your Life Program™ is a one-of-a-kind tele-program which combines practical coaching skills, and professional support with creativity and play, allowing you to consciously create a life you love and experience the magic of a life lived on purpose.

READ MORE about the Make Your Life Program!

Hey gang!  I wanted to share about the exciting program I have launching June 2nd . 

It is called the Make Your Life Program™ and it is designed to guide you in becoming someone that powerfully brings your dreams into reality, someone that deeply loves your life and someone that is having a great time while you are doing it!  It is my very special gift to those of you who are ready to start making your life by design and who are ready to enter into the world where bursts of inspiration, delight and magic become a regular part of your life experience.

Announcing the Make Your Life Program™June-July 2008

The Make Your Life Program™ is a one-of-a-kind tele-program which combines practical coaching skills and professional support with creativity and play, allowing you to consciously create a life you love and experience the magic of a life lived on purpose.

June 2- July 28, 2008
Mondays 11:00AM – 12:00PM Eastern
Two convenient formats:
8-week Live tele-program (Live on the phone)
8-week audio program (Anytime at your convenience)

To read all the details click here and see if the Make Your Life Program calls your name.

I would love to have you join us.

Hugs on a Wednesday,

Coach Joelle

Read more about the Make Your Life Program™! 
 

Hi guys!

 It’s time for a new edition of the Livloud! Newsletter!

Today’s article "A Life With No Regrets" is based on a true series of events that lead me to ponder death and how to live a life without regrets. It will get you thinking and more importantly, it will get you moving towards your regret-free life!

Enjoy the article!

Read the article: A Life With No Regrets

Coach Joelle

Hi guys!

I started writing this blog about Seasonal Affective Disorder in January.  I just pulled it up now to finish it and realized that I have some new stuff to add to the article.  At the same time – I still wanted to share this information so I will post the article as it stands and add a few caveats.

Enjoy!

Joelle

Hi guys!  I am delighted to tell you that this, my second full winter in Cleveland, is decidedly better than winters of the past.  My darling husband gave me a “go light” for Christmas and if I may be so bold to say, it has totally rocked my world!

Around this time last year and even just a few months ago, I was experiencing this feeling of NEEDING TO GET OUT! I was desperate for a trip to the south to get away from what I was experiencing as the cold and oppressive cloud. 

Now being a coach, I was using every coachy technique to stay positive, to stay focused and see the beauty of life, but I am grateful to say that these days the effort is negligible since my new daily indulgence.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the phenomena I am speaking of, there is a condition on the books called Seasonal Effective Disorder or SAD.

SAD is something that is experienced by many people in the winter months when there is less sunlight available.  Read the SAD Wiki.

I am not someone who is quick to take on a diagnosis but I can tell you two things:

1) my mom said that I was a happier person when I moved from Central Canada to the sunny sunny desert of Arizona ( I would agree)

2) there is just no denying that despite my best efforts the darkness of Cleveland winters has done a number on my mood.  While there is a huge power in mind over matter I have to admit that PMS and SAD have both warranted some extra attention to keep their effects to a minimum.

There are several theories regarding the exact cause of treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder.   The Mayo Clinic Website sites the following as the most likely culprits:

Your circadian rhythm. This clock called the circadian rhythm lets you know when to sleep or wake. Disruption of your body’s internal clock by lack of sunlight may cause depression.

Melatonin. Melatonin is a sleep-related hormone that, in turn, has been linked to depression. The body’s production of melatonin usually increases during the long nights of winter.

Serotonin. Reduced sunlight can cause a drop in serotonin (a natural brain chemical that affects mood) which may lead to depression.

Read more at mayoclinic.com

While I would not say that I was experiencing “depression”, I can definitely say that I was not exuding the levels of Joelle-ness that I am used to.  Thank goodness I have a husband who is sensitive to the level of Joelle-ness in our household!

Prince Jeff to the rescue! 

As I said, my husband made a major contribution to my life with the Blue wave Go Lite..  This little, light weight apparatus comes out for 15 minutes every day and from 10:30 -10:45. I settle in at my desk and do a little sunbathing (the light is actually blue – apparently the best part of the spectrum for the job.  It is also void of the skin cancer threats that come with some other sun lamps.)

My experience has been two fold:

1) I enjoy adding the ritual of enjoying my light on a daily basis.  It is a nice addition to my conscious self care to take this 15 minute am break and bask in my light.

2) The craving for warmer destinations, the desperation for a vacation, that longing for the sun…. is non existent.  Life is good and other than the scenery (and the temperature) life this winter is really no different than the spring or summer. 

So that is what I wrote in January.

By February I was desperate for an emergency vacation to the sunshine so I did a five day jaunt to my happy place and spent sun up ‘til sun down by the pool.

And Thursday we head on a Caribbean cruise.  Ahhhhh.  The sunshine, sand and water are calling me. And I cannot wait!

The light works…. AND…. I was born to be in the sunshine. 

This is good information to get clear about. 

With spring just around the corner, the days are getting longer and things are starting to melt.  Soon everything will be in bloom and we can all ease into the beauty of fresh green things and warm ourselves in the light.  In the meantime be sure to get outside when the sun is shining, go to an indoor atrium to be around plants , get yourself a “go light” or if all else fails my dear friends…..

 get your butt to the beach!

 Hanging with Captain Stubing!

 Joelle

P.S. sing with me! “Love….exciting and new…. Come aboard… were expecting you….  it’s love!”  I’m coming Julie!

Dear friends,

I am writing you in tears, sobbing from a dark room.

I am at a friends place and they happened to have a book I had heard of called Skinny Bitch

. As I read the chapters chronicling the atrocities our food source is subjected to, carcinogenic chemicals, antibiotics, and general junk that you would never knowingly put in your body, I was happy to see they were getting the word out, even if some of the language was at times superfluously coarse (rather turretts-like) – which should be no surprise if the name is any indication.

It was an enjoyable read and served in helping me to clarify the food choices I am currently grappling with…

… yep organic is the way to go,
… fresh fruits and veggies rock,
… cut out dairy ( Need calcium? Eat some broccoli.)

I knew this, but the message was being especially well supported in this book.

And then I got to the chapter on factory farming and slaughter, and my soul was rocked to its core.

For 99.99 percent of us in North America, meat is just something that shows up in little perfectly cut packages waiting for us on our store shelves.  I have had several friends who are vegetarians on principle, who just couldn’t bring themselves to eat another living being. I never begrudged them for their point of view but I never really got their point.

Today I read about animal slaughter practices in the chapter titled “You are What You Eat”. 

The atrocities in the treatment of these animals are beyond comprehension.

And In case you are saying “ya, yah”

I say emphatically no! NO! 

I am not even sure I can recreate what I read, all I can tell you is that in significant portions of the places where our society is manufacturing and slaughtering animals for our consumption there is great suffering, pain, and unspeakable travesties committed against the creatures we are sharing the planet with.

If you are unclear what I am speaking of, buy the book Skinny Bitch

or read Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry by Gail Eisnitz (a chief investigator for the Humane Farming Association) or search google or YouTube for “slaughterhouse videos”.

One that recently made its way into the news was this undercover video by the Humane Society of America –

watch humane society video

When I see the images and read the stories of these horrific transgressions they are not a surprise considering the trend I have been witnessing in our society for sacrificing all things (compassion, humanity, the planet) for profit and greed.   I am not surprised, but I am completely horrified.  I feel painfully present to the darkness I have been a part of by eating animals that have come from these uncaring, cruel and inhumane facilities.

Please do not misunderstand me. At this point in time I am not against eating meat.

It would be one thing (for me anyway) to eat an animal that was raised happy and healthy, in an all natural way and then was gently appreciated and humanely killed to support my life.  I understand that many animal lovers and vegetarians may condemn me for being ok with this, but at this point that idea still feels ok.

What is happening today, in many cases, is nothing remotely close to this idyllic picture. Today, it seems that animal production is treated as industry, no different than steel production or manufacturing toilet paper, the only thing is that the product is living creatures.  Being large scale, for-profit organizations, the kind of thinking that runs these companies is often the same that creates Enron catastrophes, the same that carelessly pollutes the planet and the same that will feed a population on sugary, fatty and nutrient-void food and promote it to children because it makes great business.  It is all about more, more, more, profit and productivity and the result is a soulless, cruel, abomination.

I hurt.

Right now I am completely unclear as to what to do. I am not sold on soy and I have been a very comfortable meat eater to this point.  As I look to the months ahead as I plan to start a family I have extra concern about eating fully vegetarian as I take on this new phase.  With that being said, I do not know how I could reconcile eating Factory farm slaughterhouse meat from our regular suppliers knowing I would be a part of this corrupt cycle of greed and inhumanity.

If you are a compassionate person with a desire to do good in the world I believe this is something you should know.

I liken what I am experiencing to the feeling my husband experienced last year.

He and I participated in a dolphin swim in the Caribbean.  Less than a month later Jeff found out about the dolphin hunts in Japan (a major supplier of dolphins for these leisure companies  – graphic video’s of this practice can be found on BlueVoice.org)  and the high mortality rate of Dolphins in captivity.  He was a broken man for weeks after realizing what our money had contributed to.  I now have an idea of how he felt. The guilt and sadness for being an unknowing supporter of something like this brings a heavy weight.

For those of you who know me, I am not an alarmist and I am not an activist (at least I have not been in the past – now, who knows?). I am someone who looks on the bright side and who sees the good in the world.

With that being said, I cannot express enough how sad this is to me, and how I want nothing to do with any industry that would practice or allow and this sort of cruelty to animals.

I am starting today to actively explore how I can live as a vegetarian and I will also be exploring the availability of a local meat supply where I can personally witness their practices; one that is organic, healthy and run with love and compassion.

I am uncomfortable with the task at hand – we are talking significant life changes. But I must.

And as far as feeling like I might miss something.  That I might feel deprived somehow for not being able to grab a steak at our favorite restaurant or have milk in my latte, to this I say-

No piece of steak, no spicy chicken breast is worth compromising my integrity on this issue.  Not a chance.

I have shared this with you out of the emotion of the moment and because I simply could not – not share it.

As a final note I want to reiterate I do not begrudge anyone who carefully and humanely keeps or kills animals for consumption.  If you happen to know a facility that fits this bill, I seem to have come into the market.

You have your choices as I have mine.  I wanted you to know what I am learning.

In love,

Joelle
 

Hi guys!  Welcome to the lovely new Coach Joelle blog! 

It’s easier to read and less squishy and I just love the bright colors!

I want to thank a couple people for making this new blog possible:

Thank you George Nemeth, blogger extraordinaire for enlightening me on the finer points of RSS, Wordpress and the “how to” of migrating my blog here to the coach Joelle site.

Thank you Leslie Currothers, my very ownSearch Guru for sharing the Search Engine Optimization information that inspired this blog move from Wordpress to the coach Joelle site.

Thank you Kristen Kaleal – the style diva for finding this beautiful template and delivering it to my awareness just when I needed it!

And Finally, thank you Pete and Jeff at Webtego for saving me hours of messing around with technical stuff that no self respecting life coach should have to know anything about.

Smooch!

For everyone who is visiting the new site for the first time please be sure to change your RSS settings so we can continue our corrospondence.

I look forward to sharing many more stories and inspiration here in our new space.

Joelle
 

Love is in the air so how about a little love for yourself!

In the latest issue of the LIVLOUD! Newsletter you are invited to take The Mental Health Day Challenge – a day off, off, off, just for you!

Should you choose to take the challenge, then there is a day waiting out in your future, a day when everyone else is working and you are totally and completely taking care of yourself.

Sounds YUMMY doesn’t it?!

Read the article and when you are done, come back and share in the comments below what your perfect day off,off,off would look like.  We would love to hear from you.

Read Article: A day for you – Take The Mental Health Day Challenge 

Love yourself and share the love.

Joelle

Ok, now we are in trouble!I have figured out (once again) how to use my webcam.  While this attempt may have been thwarted  by the devious duo Xanadu and Bandeeto, Coach Joelle will not be stopped in her mission to bring joy insight and silliness to the world!  Stay tuned!

Hi guys!

It’s winter time and the chilly weather makes a trip to the gym or going for a brisk walk outside (brisk being the operative word) seem really unappealing.   Add to this the knowledge that I am happiest when I am moving and energizing my body and I got clear that I needed to start moving despite the weather if I am going to keep up my usual level of coach joelleness.

For those that read my Livloud! Newsletter you already know that dancing in my living room is nothing new, I have been doing it since I was 8 years old.  The thing is that Dancing has always been about joyful self expression, I had never considered doing it as a form of exercise.

And so, this week, I have taken dancing in the living room to new levels!

I have instigated the 11:00 am dance break. 

What this entails is that at 11:00 I leave the office, head into the living room, and totally freak out my cats!  Ipod in hand, blaring my favorite tunes, I participate in a ½ hour all-out one woman dance party!  Anyone watching from the outside would see me jumping up and down, spinning, acting out the words and singing at the top of my lungs to the soundtrack that only my ears can hear (it is no wonder the cats see me coming and head for the closet).   

The 11:00 am dance break is in many ways a dancing/singing meditation.  When I am belting it out and the world melts away, the clearing created is a birthing ground for new ideas and brilliant insights in addition to the overall experience of wellbeing. I am finding that I need to have a pen and paper close on hand so I can quick jump over and  scribble my latest epiphany before continuing to get my groove on (I know my husband is reading this and realizing anew what a total dork he married .)

The result is a ½ hour combo of sweaty, heart pounding, inspiration, exercise and joy (and the afore mentioned freaked out cats.) The combination of movement, inspired lyrics and the aerobic experience of singing is a powerful tool for shifting the mood, clearing the head and creating momentum for the day.

If you find yourself resisting the gym but still wanting to take care of your body you may want to join me for the 11:00 am dance break.   All you need is some music and a strong capacity to be a total geek .

Dance on darling… DANCE!

With Love,

Joelle 

 P.S.  I am totally jazzed to tell you that within the next week I will be announcing a new program for those of you who are interested in having a great life!  The Make Your Life Program for those of you who are interested in having a great life!  The Make Your Life Program is something that I have been working on for about 5 years, I have been honing it and filling it with everything you need to know to be able to joyfully create a life you live.

It is Sunday.

I have been thinking.

I have a purring cat in my lap and I have been called to write.

At different times in my life I have questioned “what am I here to do?”

Actually at certain times, asking “what am I hear to do?” was not even a blip on the radar, it was more… “What am I going to do?”  In early parts of my life there has been a quest for knowing myself, to understand where I can find happiness and peace.  It was not about how to serve. Service was a natural result of my action in the world but I was not asking the question “How can I serve the world?” I was asking “How can I make it in this world?”

Also along the path I noticed that certain things that were clouding the bigger picture have fallen away.  For instance I have let go of the idea that I need to be someone important or special.  I now know that my importance and special-ness is equal to the rest of us, it is inherent and not something that needs to be sought.

As the years have passed and I have found my path, found my own way to peace and joy and deepened my understanding of this world, I have found my way to a faith in things and a knowing that all is well and always will be.  From this place I can really see the opportunity to let go of protecting myself and let go of my concerns and my needs and truly release my will and allow myself to be taken to a new calling, one that does not have a concern for my welfare, one that is truly rooted in service.

From this fresh place I can ask the question “What am I here to serve?”

The answer is clear… it is love.

It is for the world to know love, for its people to live in peace and for people to have access to daily joy.

I am here to share the magic in the world and the beauty of life. 

I have known this for some time but there were a couple of things that have softened the impact and have gotten in the way of fully declaring it.

1) Who do you think you are to show people the magic in the world?
 

2) How do you build a business plan around that?

To the first, I can say that I know who I am.  I am just a person, like anyone else, who has a calling and to leave it unanswered would be a disservice to myself and the world.

As for the business plan, today I can see that it is unnecessary.   I know that I will be provided for on this path so what there is to do is move forward and watch and listen and all will be revealed.

This is a dawning of a new era for Joelle.

I know what the next step is but I am not sure what comes after that and that is ok.

Let’s dance my friends! Life is such a brilliant mystery. Let us revel in it and celebrate it!

Thank you for listening. May these writing support you on your own path to knowing the magic and walking your path.

HUGS to you!

Joelle