coachjoelle.com

Hi gang!

I just had to share. I am out on my patio writing for the upcoming Livloud! Newsletter and I am just tickled by the events at hand. This weekend there will be a big Air show in Cleveland and as they are warming up for the big event we are getting some entertainment in our little part of the world.

There is a beautiful breeze out today and the wind is rustling the leaves in the trees, the sky is blue and there are wispy clouds on the horizon. Suddenly,  I hear a plane in the distance, within a second the distance closes and it is not one plane but three, they are right over my head breaking the sound barrier and my eardrums.  The cats run for cover and I can feel my body shaken to the core by the piercing sound and the sheer velocity of the Blue Angels F18 planes flying overhead.  Whew.  I am talking powerful! The last three times they have gone by I have started giggling, impacted by the sheer force and power of them.  www.blueangels.navy.mil

I have never been one for air shows but a friend invited us to watch from his boat and the runway is right on the shores of lake Erie.  Should be fun!  Here’s to a little adrenaline rush and a brilliant long weekend!

Make yours an adventure!

Joelle

Warning: This entry contains acknowledgement and delight and celebration that could be interpreted as … dare I say… bragging.  This is my process, may it serve you in yours.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am writing you at the end of 3 hours of planning. I am writing you at the end of three hours of planning which I took on because I was feeling a little lost, a little tired, a little confused and unsure of myself.  Yes, I was dancing in the old, “Can I really do this?” story.  Sigh. 

I am writing you because I created and I planned and all along there was this underlying conversation, “something is wrong here”, “something isn’t ok” fear, concern, danger DANGER DANGER, better get this done and fast, time is slipping away, look out!  GROSS! Now really, imagine planning your future with that mess in the background?! Well, I imagine some of you can imagine…. actually I am sure most of you can imagine.  Anyway, as I was going through creating the new plan, feeling mediocre about my progress and my accomplishment, I figured I had better look at the old plan (the one I had created in May) and see what I had said I was going to do.  

As I looked at the old plan I saw things like this: "identify who I am and what I offer and be able to express it in a way that communicates, inspires and calls forth." In response to this I share an email I got just today from another coach who read my site  “I have to say that your site has been the most interesting, easy to use, knowledgeable and inspiring site I have yet read.”  Hmmmm. 

So I would have to say not only did I figure out exactly what I was here to serve but it seems to be inspiring and calling forth as well.  CHECK "Understand where a blog fits in and start on if appropriate." I was able to find a blog resource and started bloggin back in June.  I find it intriguing that I had this as a “BONUS” on a six month plan and I had  it done within the first month. CHECK "Gain clarity on how to write articles that speak to my audience/provide value. To have written 3 articles.  " This cracks me up! I totally get in reading this that when I wrote it I did not yet see myself as a writer ( yes folks that was 4 months ago)  and I was looking for someone else to validate that I could do it.  Well, if I look back over the pages in this blog I have written slightly more than 3 articles not to mention the 6 or 7 I have written for future Livloud  Newsletters. CHECK! "Newsletter launched so first one goes out before end of 6 months." This one particularly interests me because In my mind I have been berating myself that the first newsletter did not go out July 1st, all along I had it set up as a goal to have it send out by October 20th! And as it turns out I am all set up to send out the first livloud newsletter next week! CHECK! I will just add to this that in the past few months I have received communication from people in Dubai, Denmark, Australia and England and was invited to speak on a radio show in Atlanta, oh and I created the Make Your Life program and started playing with 5 new clients, and spoke at an event in Phoenix, and I got married…. twice (to the same man – it’s a great story) and completely renovated my home and built a website and incorporated my business and …. and … and… CHECK.. CHECK… CHECK! Honestly folks. Reading this almost has me in tears.

It is so clear to me how hard I am on myself and you know what, if I am doing it, I know that so many of you are doing it.  Setting unrealistic expectations based on nothing, driving to completion, never stopping to notice our accomplishments.  My friends, why would you do that?

Why would you put all of this hard work and energy into creating something and never take the time to notice it was created? Never take the time to notice that you hit a milestone or to celebrate or even just to look yourself in the mirror and say, "good job!"  

How can we hope to persevere, to create, to build, to empower and inspire and  make a difference in the world if we do not take the time to appreciate and acknowledge ourselves? Whew.

Ok, so here is what I am going to do.  I am going to take 15 minutes right now to list all of my accomplishments since I started this new phase of the adventure. I am going to acknowledge and celebrate them, and I mean CELEBRATE them! I am talking a big YAHOO, throw on some music, call my husband and GUSH, dance in the hallways kind of celebration. And then and only then, can I get back to building the future. Not from a position of disappointment or fear but from a place of acknowledgement and celebration and joy and accomplishment. I invite you to do the same.

Take a moment right now to write down everything you have accomplished in the last month, 2 months, year, whatever inspires you, whatever you want to acknowledge, take the time and notice what you have done! If you are looking for a place to record your brilliant accomplishments, I invite you to do it right here In this blog. Tell us what you have done and let us celebrate you! Really, do it now! Just look at what you have done!

I love you,

Joelle  

Hello my wonderful community, today, I am writing you from bed. 

But why Joelle, Why? Are you ill? 

No my friends, I am writing you from bed because I can!

That’s right! Ahhhh.  On this fine Friday afternoon when I asked myself how I wanted to spend the afternoon it was a tie between writing and napping.  On the one hand I really wanted to speak with you, I have had so many adventures that last two weeks that I have been tardy on my blog postings so it was important for me to share with you and at the same time, I had just had a walk along the Erie Canal with a coach friend of mine and we had stopped for lunch and I think the matzos-ball soup did me in.  So in this time of difficult and life-altering decisions, I went for a compromise.  Do my work and do it from bed! 

The idea of settling in on this rainy day, with a great cup of coffee, wrapped in our new duvet in our new bed, with a cat or 5 by my side, writing to you, sounded WAAAAYY more fun than a nap! And so I am writing you from bed.  I invite you to try it sometime! Oh, I know, from a Feng Shui perspective I am probably breaking a couple of cardinal rules.  The bedroom is supposed to be reserved for rests and recreation ( wink wink nudge nudge) and I am pretty sure electronics are a no-no but hopefully the Feng Shui police will let it go this once.

And so, today, I invite you to look at  your list of to-dos, and ask yourself, “how could I do this and make it fun?” Or relaxing? Or joyful?  How could I make cleaning the house a delight or how could writing that proposal be enjoyable instead of drudgery.?

One example of someone who really get’s this concept is Tony Robbins.  I remember hearing on one of his audio programs how he had once come back from traveling to find he had 100 phone calls that he alone could return.  At first he was a little resistant, just wanting to rest after all his travels, but then he found an idea of how to return the phone calls in a way that inspired him.  Next thing you know he was having a blast, calling through the list from his hot tub! Nice!

Another story that comes to mind is about friends of ours who shared a bit about the trials of registering for their wedding. (For those of you who have not been through the process, you may be thinking, what’s the problem, you shop for stuff you want and then other people buy it for you, sounds like a great deal! Take my word for it, my husband and I just went through the process and there were moments during the picking out of the china and facing-off on opposing sides of the “do we really need an ice-cream maker” discussion that I was wishing we could just drop the whole thing.)  So anyway, our friends told us their secret to maintaining a blissful relationship in the midst of the registration frenzy. 

It goes something like this:   a) Pick a location to register within 5 minutes of a martini bar b) Shop/register for 1 hour c) Hop over to the martini bar for a cosmopolitan d) Repeat b and c until you are done or until you need to call a cab home.

Oh wait! I have one more story to share with you for a little motivation to get you going! I remember I used to think my ex boyfriend was lazy.  He was a computer guy and he liked to sleep in indefinitely and he hated going into work on a schedule.  I remember thinking he was a “slacker” where as I was very proud of my on-time, work hard, reliable work ethic.  Well, he was so committed to having his schedule his way that he pointed out to his boss that he could do a lot of his work without being in the office and would they consider letting him work from home.  They said no to working from home but they said YES to working from home two days a week!!   So he got to work from home two days a week and on those days he would sleep in to his heart’s content and had the freedom to pretty much spend his day as he pleased.  At the time this really left me pondering the question “slacker” or one smart computer dude?!

So I invite you to ask yourself … how could you bring a little more delight to your to-do list? Clean the house while dancing and singing to your favorite cd.  Write the proposal on the dock at the lake.  Invite a friend to go with you on your jog (and buy an awesome outfit to wear so you feel cool and sexy while you do it!).  Ask your boss to work from home a couple days a week.  Get creative! Play with your chores, set the stage for delight, enjoyment and relaxation, no matter what the task. 

The world is a really fun place if you are willing to break out of your routines and open your mind to the possibilities! Better fluff up my pillows, throw on some Enya and get a new cup of tea, I have more work to do!

With Love,

Joelle

I laid in a field today. Ahhhh. I find that in the throes of developing the vision that is Coach Joelle Inc. I can often become so engrossed in the process that a whole day goes by before I realize that there is an outside world. A world outside of my clients, writing, and getting it done.  The thing is you see, I really like the outside world. I especially like the “outside” part.  When I grew up we had a cabin at Setting Lake, an hour from Thompson, Manitoba Canada.  We spent every weekend there from when I was 10 until I was old enough to stay in town and chase boys instead. The cabin had a lot of “outside”.

I have such fond memories of carrying wood that my dad chopped for the wood-burning stove. Imagine little 10 and 8 year old girls (me and my sister) loaded with armfuls of logs.  Me always showing my dad how much I could carry so I would take 3-4 logs at a time! I used to want to be just like my dad. I even remember willing my arm hair to grow thick and dark like his so that I could have big hairy arms just like his( thank goodness I was not such a powerful manifestor back then or I would be getting the full-body wax ala “40 Year Old Virgin”!).  I remember catching a baby rabbit with my bare hands once and windsurfing on the lake; taking on the wind and water, just me and my board. I remember sitting on my special rock, looking out across the lake while I made up songs about life and sung them with the loons as the sun set on the horizon.   I really like the “outside”.

I have come to find that the outside feeds me. It gives me energy and perspective and space and connection and peace. I need the outside to be all of me.  So, today at 5:40 pm, I walked outside, not sure where I would end up, not sure that is, until I remembered the patch of nature I found on my birthday walk one month ago.  That patch of nature I have been meaning to visit. So today, I went down to the patch and I laid on the grass.  Arms and legs sprawled, on my back, looking up at the trees and the blue sky.  The wind blew through the trees and rustled the leaves. I think that is one of my favorite sounds of all time. In the grass, looking at the sky, my mind was quiet.  The day disappeared and there was nothing but me and the grass and the sky and god. I like my patch of nature. I have to go there more often.

Someday soon, my patch of nature will be on my patio, looking out on a lake so I can work and share with you from the “outside” instead of outside being a place I go between other things. I look forward to that day.

The outside is there for a reason. Is it calling you? I offer that you take a moment today and go visit your patch of nature; there are treasures there for you.

In peace,

Joelle