PERSPECTIVE




It's not always easy to resolve the issues that hold you back.  You  must first identify the problem that puts a hold on your life.  This week we peak at four essentials for growth and a gift that offers great opportunity for perspective.

Create an Environment of Enthusiasm:.  Enthusiasm, according to Webster's Dictionary, means to be inspired; to be possessed by God.  What (or whom) is your inspiration piece? Do you have a God-sized passion?

Evaluate the Best of Your Past:  Your vision statement speaks to where you want to go; not what you left behind.  Learn from your past;  take the good from it and move forward.  Depression and anger stops growth in its tracks.  Do you dwell the past?  Are you ready to bless it and kiss it goodbye?

Build a Personal Life Plan:    What's the point; where are you headed? What will it take for you to achieve your goals?  What are the principles and values you need to adopt to create balance and give you space to make choices, respond and change?. 

Take Responsibility for Your Own Success: Take the lead in how you live your life; no one knows better than you what it will take for you to get from here to there. 

A GIFT OF PERSPECTIVE

I don't know who wrote the following; it clearly bestows perspective.  Tell me which one speaks to you?

1. Maybe . . . we were supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that, when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

2. Maybe . . . when the door of happiness closes, another opens; but, often times, we look so long at the closed door that we don't even see the new one which has been opened for us.

3. Maybe . . . it is true that we don't know what we have until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives.

4. Maybe . . . the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

5. Maybe . . . the brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; after all, you can't go on successfully in life until you let go of your past mistakes, failures and heartaches.

6. Maybe . . . you should dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you dream of, and want to do.

7. Maybe . . . there are moments in life when you miss someone — a parent, a spouse, a friend, a child — so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real, so that once they are around you appreciate them more.

8. Maybe . . . the best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

9. Maybe . . . you should always try to put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that something could hurt you, it probably will hurt the other person, too.

10. Maybe . . . you should do something nice for someone every single day, even if it is simply to leave them alone.

11. Maybe . . .  giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back. Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart; but, if it doesn't, be content that it grew in yours.

12. Maybe . . . happiness waits for all those who cry, all those who hurt, all those who have searched, and all those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of all the people who have touched their lives.

13. Maybe . . . you shouldn't go for looks; they can deceive; don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.

14. Maybe . . . you should hope for enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy.

15. Maybe . . . you could send this message to those people who mean something to you, to those who have
touched your life, to those who can and do make you smile when you really need it, to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down, and to all those whom you want to know that you appreciate them and their friendship.

Suzy Graven is a Professional Speaker, Transformational Life and Business Coach.  Her unique experiences provided a door way to work and learn from amazing leaders, CEOs and entrepreneurs, to the sage and wisdom of those who work closest to nature.  This perspective serves as a catalyst for women wanting to grow their professional and personal lives.   It leads to a thinking (anchored in real possibility) that generates vision and translates into effective action.  You will gain power in dealing with every-day issues, and be free to live a major league life.  Go to http://g3coaching.com for more information.

        

CONFORMITY vs TRANSFORMATION

It is part of the human spirit to seek security, control, and affection (approval).   Your perspective of life revolves around four stages of growth:  1) Survival, 2) Stability, 3) Success, and 4) Significance.  Furthermore, you may confuse significance with privilege.  Privilege speaks to conformity, while significance is the product of transformation. 
 
Conformity often renders itself unreliable because it lacks predictability.  It draws from an outside authority that manipulates your thoughts; leaving you with a false sense of security, control, and affection.  Your reasons for conforming may stem from a high need for approval and desire to be liked. You may be avoiding scrutiny, criticism and judgment; or, you may just want to feel like you belong.  Conformity is a survival technique that inhibits personal growth. 

On the other hand, transformation is when your internal wisdom comes out.  It speaks from your core; offering you room to grow and develop high self esteem.  Achieving each level requires you to renew your mind.  Transformation creates a natural synergy of your thoughts, feelings and behavior.  You must continually replenish your thoughts to grow.  Progressing from survival to stability requires you to change your habits.  As you move from stability to success, your thinking shifts.  When your level of success causes you to experience a natural change in your priorities, you reach significance.

COACHING NOTES

Just as drift kills achievement, the great enemy of hope is a loss of perspective.  Starting from where you stand at this moment, identify which of the four stages of growth you see yourself as it relates to:

• Spiritual
• Family
• Business
• Financial
• Personal

Where do you have to change your thinking to get to the next level?  Join me next week as we continue The Factors for Success.  I want to hear from you, please put your comments on my blog.



Suzy Graven is a Professional Speaker, Women’s Transformational Life and Business Coach.  Her unique experiences provided a door way to work and learn from amazing leaders, CEOs and entrepreneurs, to the sage and wisdom of those who work closest to nature.  This perspective serves as a catalyst for women wanting to grow their professional and personal lives.   It leads to a thinking (anchored in real possibility) that generates vision and translates into effective action.  You will gain power in dealing with every-day issues, and be free to live a major league life.  Go to http://g3coaching.com for more information.

        

Is this a time of reckoning and revelation?    It happens more often than one thinks; mostly from disappointment, setbacks and losses that come with being and living human.  From breakdown, comes breakthrough.  It is a natural cleansing process that grants  you an opportunity to experience the art-of-a-fresh-start.  It offers you the chance to grow and ask the question, “Who am I… really”?

You cannot convey what you don't recognize.  When you connect with whom you choose to be (both  personally and professionally) and define your identity; you find meaning.  That meaning logically rolls into your business fundamentals and commitment to ...<< MORE >>

Many years ago, my husband's work took us from a densely populated area (between Houston and Austin) to a small village in the Nebraska Panhandle.  I remember a dear friend lamenting about not being able to live so remotely... "How would I adjust?"  

Without thinking, I responded... "It's not where you live, it's how you live."  Of course, having grown up on a ranch that was even more remote than that little village gave me a different perspective than my urban friend. Plus, it was about the 15th major move in 25 years.

I couldn't always change the moves, but I could change how I responded to them.  Rather than absorbing the downside of uprooting my family and replanting stakes, I decided to look at it as an adventure.  I learned to step out of my shyness and meet my community, no matter how long we were there.  The one constant was that I met wonderful people, interesting characters and learned about new cultures. When it was time to go, some places were harder to leave than others.  But, I carried with me new friendships and a piece of  people's lives from each community.

The sense of adventure helped my children adjust to leaving friends behind.  During his first semester of college, I asked our son how he was doing.  He responded, "it's weird... Everyone I meet, I've either lived there or I know someone from there!"

Adversity Reveals Character
Life can change in an instant; a ...Last Breath ...Phone Call ...Knock at the Door ...Divorce ...Career move ...Physical Move ...Promotion ...Demotion ...any Unplanned Consequence.   Adversity can shake you to the core; leaving you breathless, bruised and torn.  How you manage the change depends on how clearly you understand YOU. 

Life throws you all kinds of curves.  Some you create; others are thrust upon you.  Whatever the situation or circumstance,:

• You get to choose how you respond.
  
• You set the stage for how those around you act and react. 
  
• You can let it suck the air out of you, or you can strap yourself in for the ride.    

Sometimes it may feel like you are roping the wind.   Adversity leaves you humbled; and in its wake, you've shed your old skin to reveal a healing new growth surfacing from deep within.  It is the magic of TRANSFORMATION.

Coaching Notes:

1. What adversity are you going through right now?
   
• Where do your thoughts take you?
• How does that make you feel?
• How does that make you act?
  
2. What three things can you do in the next 90 days to change your perspective?
3. Who will you enroll to help you achieve your goals?
4. How will you know you've achieved your goal?
5. How will you celebrate your achievement?
   

        

Homecoming... What does fall bring for you; Football, festivals, harvest, turning of the leaves?

Last Friday night, my brother (and excited dad) called, during half-time to tell us his daughter was  their high school Homecoming Princess.  Wow, exactly 40 years after my high school football homecoming game in the same school.  No, I was not princess, but I did get one write-in vote.

I still feel that excitement from when I was 17.  The last homecoming game with my classmates. The crisp night air, parades, pep rallies and bonfires.  The game... the dance!!!!  After the dance we went to the lake, built  a fire on the ice, drank hot chocolate and skated... (oh, we were young, resilient and passionate).

Even raising boys, I found my sons to be a part of the magic of that Senior Year Homecoming.  We lived near Houston, so there was no ice skating.  Everything else was the same.  Resilient and passionate — without a doubt. 

I don't think there are greater bonding moments among classmates than their last homecoming.  Usually a rivalry game is played with great hope, anticipation and anxiety wrapped in deep traditions.

Do you remember your Homecoming? 

72 DAYS LEFT OF THE 100 DAY CHALLENGE

• DO YOU HAVE AN ACTION PLAN YET?

• END YOUR YEAR ON A HIGH NOTE!

• WHAT ONE THING CAN YOU DO RIGHT NOW TO POSITION YOURSELF FOR SUCESSESS?

• MAKE 2009 YOUR BEST YEAR EVER!

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Suzy Graven

Savvy Woman Coaching

suzy@suzygraven.com  E-mail

articles.secretsofthesavvywoman.com

        

The questions we ask reveal our level of knowledge and how hungry we are to learn and grow.  Feeding that hunger sets the fertile groundwork for harvesting great wisdom − Suzy Graven

My ranch life set the stage for understanding how everything is connected and that our actions have consequences.  We learn early that the answers we seek are directly related to the questions we ask.  It is from those questions our teachers, models and mentors discern what level we are and to what level we seek.

Many years ago, a young talented herdsman in the seed-stock industry met my brother-in-law and became fascinated with his depth and ability as a horse trainer.  Graven wanted to learn more from this quiet master horse trainer and his capacity to connect and build a relationship of trust with his horse.  Furthermore, his clear grasp of the horse’s own abilities. He makes it all look easy by doing a lot of little things well.

The young herdsman asked lots of questions.  The end of the first day, he came to me and said, “I'm not getting the right answers.” 
     

“Ah, there’s the catch,” I explained, “You almost need to know the answer to ask the question.” 

It took a few weeks of observing and asking awkward questions.  Then he started seeing patterns emerge.  That begged the question, “Why?”  The Whys became the building blocks that bonded teacher and pupil.  The young herdsman's  patience, tenacity, perception, natural ability and willingness to ask transformed his thinking.  This grew his gift as a horse trainer.

 

Today, my brother-in-law would be considered a horse whisperer.  Thirty-seven years ago, the whisper was not between the horse and rider, it was the wisdom quietly passed from master trainer to the hungry aspiring pupil.  Wisdom, perspective and experience passed down only when the pupil showed his worthiness.   The only way to gauge that was by the questions he asked. 

Become the Worthy Pupil:

• Do you really know what you want?
• Are you worthy of receiving it?
• Do you believe you can get it?
• Will you step through your fear?
• Are you willing to listen and learn?
• Are you persistent?

84 Days to the End of The Year Challenge.  Do you have your Action Plan yet?

• What do you have to do to make 2009 your best year ever?
• What answers are you seeking to make it happen?
• What would it take to be worthy of your best year ever?
• What fears are you willing to step through to answer the big questions?
• What is the Why you need to ask?

Suzy Graven

Savvy Woman Coaching

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suzy@suzygraven.com  E-mail

        

What can you accomplish between now and the end of the year? 

Today, September 22nd, marks 100 days to the end of the year.

Do you have a plan?  I always tell my clients, "What you invest today, you start seeing in 90 days."  Now is the perfect time to build momentum for 2009!

I'll be checking in every day for the next 100 days to report on my progress, accomplishments and connecting out to my fellow speakers, trainers, authors and coaches who want to join the 100 day blogathon challenge. 


ARE YOU READY?

What you give in the next 100 days, you will receive in the New Year!

1. Do you have an Action Plan as your blue print for the next 100 days?
   
2. What do you want by the end of the year?
• Increase sales
• Finish that a book
• Pay off Debt
• Create new revenue stream
  
• Give a speech
• Lose 25 lbs
• Learn a new language
• Take a vacation
  

Join me in the Daily Challenge and see what you can accomplish in the next 100 days!

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Suzy Graven

Savvy Woman Coaching

suzy@suzygraven.com  E-mail

articles.secretsofthesavvywoman.com

        

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I’ve talked about the qualities that create the magic ingredients to an abundant and fulfilling life.   Some of you are scratching your head and thinking… “What’s she talking about – Magic?”  It is true that you own all that you perceive.  However, just let go for a moment and follow along with me. 

When your thoughts connect to a feeling you spark the magic and power of energy.  When you take ownership of everything you distinguish, observe and sense in your world, little-by-little you become aware of a shift in your perspective and a significant change in how the universe responds to you.  You will become more aware of the treasures and abundance available to you. 

The best energy is from a relaxed state, because it allows you to distinguish between negative and positive.  It is from that standpoint that you delve deep inside your inner-self to reveal what drives you.  You begin to discover your natural tendencies and instincts.  When you take the reins and make decisions that compliment your innate abilities and interests, you find joy and passion.

You get to stand at the center of your world and design the flow that generates peace and harmony in your life.  You design your destiny.  Stand out from the crowd.  Shine from the inside out and wake up every morning knowing that each step you take is with clarity, purpose and passion. 

        

I know it may foreign to some; thinking that you can magically
create abundance in your life.  However,
the Savvy Woman has a way of turning something ordinary into
extraordinary.  She finds simple
solutions to complicated questions and artfully steps outside the box to design
pathways to whatever outcome she desires.

There are certain qualities and distinctions a Savvy Woman
present that give rise to her influence both personally and
professionally.  You may already live
some of the qualities, while others are buried somewhere beneath the clutter of
conflicting beliefs and experiences that set ...<< MORE >>