I’m coming back from a Mastermind Group meeting and I’m energized!  I’ve been with the majority of the members of this group for a year and a half and since the beginning there has been a good synergy.

Why did we choose to get together in the first place?  We started to know one another in a book study Mastermind group I was offering around the classic “Think and Grow Rich”  by Napoleon Hill.  And many of the members of the group had the same reasons for being part of it, namely being surrounded by like-minded people in a positive and supportive environment, learning new ways of thinking, and becoming aware of what sets apart people that grow rich from the rest of us.

Once this book study was done we started another one, then a group coaching on “Goal Achiever” by Bob Proctor, and a few more book studies, until I suggested to stop theorizing and to be in action.  We have decided to work on a web presence for each of us to share with the world our unique gifts.

And tonight as we were sharing our latest advancement on our journey, I noted how we were firing away suggestions and encouragement to one another, building up an idea brought forth by a member to something bigger, exciting and almost tangible .  In “Think and Grow Rich” Napoleon Hill says that there is something magical that happens when 2 or more people are gathered with a common goal in mind in that ideas start flowing in a way that would never have been possible if each individual had decided to work alone.  It’s like if a separate mind was created from the presence of all in attendance. Many people are familiar with that concept in brainstorming sessions.  Now imagine being in a brainstorming session each week with group of people working passionately on a project and sharing their findings, hurdles, resources, successes with the others.  It’s amazing!

To set your own group I suggest that you check out the book “Meet and Grow Rich – How to Easily Create and Operate Your Own Mastermind Group for Health, Wealth, and More” by Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler.  They give you an overview of what a Mastermind is, how to get it started, how to run a meeting etc…  I used it to set the ground rules for this group’s latest purpose.  It was reassuring to everyone to know that certain rules were layed regarding intellectual property, accountability, behaviours that could lead to exclusion, for example.  Although we are all coming to this group in a mindset of creation and not competition it’s still comforting to know there are boundaries.

If they wouldn’t be on this journey with me, I know for sure that it would be a much slower ride.  It’s great to be empowered and supported by a Mastermind Group!

Following a link on Facebook I landed on Steve Siebold’s page FreeSpeakingCourse.com, and it has been a treat!  He has decided to share his knowledge and experience of the professional speaking industry over the course of 10 days.  Answering the questions everyday  has allowed me to clarify a few things about where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going.

If you didn’t know yet, one of my dreams is to be a world-class professional speaker, to inspire women to reconnect with their inner power through knowledge and understanding of their mind and universal laws.

In 2008 when I went for my LifeSuccess training the Gove-Siebold training to become a professional public speaker was mentioned.  And I promised myself that I would attend it eventually.  Notice, no specific date was set… so it didn’t happen yet!  After taking that 10 days course I have set a date: I will have attended the course by August 2012.  I knew there were incredible knowledge and experience to be gained from it and now I’m convinced of it!

I really liked that Steve Siebold was there to share his experience and to deliver a message of hope each day.

Check it out!  FreeSpeakingCourse.com

I’ve been asked for my opinion about something a friend of mine is going through and I know enough now to not go into this.  So I gently answered that my opinion didn’t really matter because I was an observer of her game and not a player involved.

Just like when you’re watching a hockey game and you’re yelling at the players because they are not doing what you think would be a better play. Really, your opinion doesn’t matter because you’re not involved. You’re not even on the ice!  What can you do about it?  You could be speculating forever and seeing the better options, and it still wouldn’t change a thing because you’re an outsider and you are not in the action.

There are always a minimum of 2 options for any given situation and more often then not, millions of possibilities.  How you think, feel, act or react can change the outcome in so many variations… Just like any game.  So really, what would my opinion change?  Nothing. I wasn’t a player and I wasn’t even present at the game!  What can I do to support the person now is a better question to ask.

I’ve adopted that line of thought for a few years now that life is a game and that I can decide to play it whatever way I choose, knowing that I have to be ready to assume the repercussions of my decisions. And I like it.  I like to play and have fun so this philosophy fits me.  For now at least.

Here is a video published on Paul Martinelli’s blog about the power of vision. He is letting his friend Mary Morrissey share her knowledge on this, and it is good!  She puts a new perspective on the quote by Henry David Thoreau that says “If a person will advance confidently in the direction of their dream and endeavor to live the life they have imagined, they will meet with success unexpected in common hours.”

Here is the link to Paul Martinelli’s page to view the video and get the document mentionned in the video.

Enjoy!

I’ve been reflecting on the impact of love lately.  It seems that a lot of what I read as something about this.  And since there is no such thing as luck or coincidence, it’s prompting me to consider how to open up and see the difference love will make in my life.

I can say  happiness has been my lifelong quest.  As far as I can remember I have been saying that happiness was my main goal in life.  And it took a long time to get there.  Writing these words, something comes up saying Love has been a leading force.  And is that ever true!  Every time I’ve felt love I’ve followed the path love was on.  Be it an experience, a job, a relationship.  It seems that love and happiness have always been connected in my mind, almost in an exclusive way.  Nothing else could bring as much happiness as love.

And last year I became aware of the “I Love You” concept listening to a book by Joe Vitale and I. Hew Len, Zero Limits, where they explain the power of loving everyone and every situation around us.  I had to experiment with it!

If I agree to the concept that I am vibration, that I emit and receive vibrations, it makes sense that when I consciously choose to emit a love vibration toward someone or a situation that I am changing what is outside of me and what is inside of me.  So I tried it. When I was confronted to people who were unhappy or angry, I was thinking “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you” as long as I wasn’t noticing a shift in their emotion and it rarely took more than 2 minutes before it happened.  How wonderful!

And that’s because when we feel loved, we feel accepted for who we are. Accepting who we are, accepting the other person, with our qualities and weaknesses, accepting the situation as it is, is love in action.

Love isn’t just a concept and an emotion, it also an action.

Lately, I had pushed aside the action part of love and things were getting tough and bizarre in many areas of my life. I was resisting, refusing to accept me, my situation and the people around me. I was stuck. And then I found a book with a reminder of the importance of love.  I’ve put it back into action and things are better!  It’s magical!  The book? The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino.

Now it’s clear that happiness, love and acceptance are all interconnected, in my mind.

How about you?

Someone sent me this prayer today, and it touched me.

Life has ways to reach to me when I’m going through grey times that continuously amaze me.  I’m so grateful!

Here it is:

The Knots Prayer

Dear God :

Please untie the knots

that are in my mind,

my heart and my life,

remove the have nots,

the can nots and the do nots

that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots,

may nots,

might nots that may find

a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots,

would nots and

should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all,

Dear God,

I ask that you remove from my mind,

my heart and my life all of the ‘am nots’

that I have allowed to hold me back,

especially the thought

that I am not good enough.

Amen

Author Known to God

This past weekend I went to TreeGo with my family and some of my kids’ friends.  I was really enthused and looking forward to the experience.  I like trying new things. We’ve seen people crossing the water on a zip line over water next to our sailboat and it looked pretty exciting.  Plus my son had gone with the cadets last year and he was talking about it since.  We called, reserved and were told to have sneakers on.  That’s it!  Pretty easy!

We were 7 and we had a range of reactions by the end of it that went from “I didn’t really like it” to “I want to do it again”. It wasn’t a consensus. Just like real life and the challenges we face as groups. The four hours it took us to do the 4 courses where an open door to view how people face challenges and new adventures.  I observed caution, being pushed, being ridiculed, bragging, concentration, pushing the limits, trying to see the best, seeing the impossibility, being excited, being discouraged, taking one step at a time, wanting to be at the end of the next challenge before starting it.

As I was observing the others, I was also observing me.  And I saw once more that I like to take my time, I hate feeling rushed, I’d rather do it without being observed, I want to figure it out by myself most of the time, but when I’m faced with a challenge that seems too big for me I’m willing to listen and take in another person’s experience especially if I see this person as someone with a lot of experience in this field, I like to be encouraged when I’m discouraged, I can focus and trust my abilities.

At the end of it, I felt like if I had been pushing my limits, both physical and mental for half of the time.  I was exhausted and I still pushed myself to continue because I had been told that the last part was the best part.  Well the best part was very short in my mind’s eye, just like when you focus on the prize and forget to enjoy the journey. I’m the one who said “I didn’t really like it” and that’s probably because I was dehydrated and hungry, pushing my body too much for something I didn’t really perceive like a real achievement, and had not check out what kind of adventure I was embarking on.

The outcome for me: I’ve been confirmed again in my strength and my ability to push my limits.  Now I have to remember to enjoy the ride all the way there.

Life is good!

Today I received an email from Simple Truths with an excerpt of The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale and it prompted me to think of the first time I heard the recording of The Strangest Secret.  I was still very new to the personal development field, I had been to my first seminar and met an amazing man, Lee A. Haskin, that shared with me the link to the audio.  I’ve listened to it soooo many times, I trust you will like it too.  Here is the link on Mark Victor Hansen’s website where you need to give your name and email to receive the download link for free.  Enjoy!

I was just reading a blog post on BizLaunch and it inspired me to write this post on Success.  It’s a subject that I coach people on and it’s always surprising to hear the answers.  Usually, we first start by giving a definition of what we think success should be according to how we have been raised.

• Having enough money
• Having a successful business
• Having an expensive car and house in the most prestigious neighbourhood of your city
• Being a CEO or top executive in the company you work for
• Being the best mom or dad you can be to your children
• Being a World Champion in your sport
• Winning a Nobel Prize
• Being a world leader in your field of expertise
• Being a community leader
• Having a business and having fun while sharing your passion

When I looked in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, success has 3 meaning:  degree or measure of succeeding; the attainment of wealth, favor or eminence; favorable or desired outcome.  I like when I can to find the root of the word to see what the original meaning was, and in this case success comes from the Latin word successus which means an outcome.

As many people my definition of success was related to money, until I started my journey in the personal development world.  I now know that we evolve in many areas at the same time: personal, professional, relationships, spiritual, physical (body), and financial.  If I privilege only one of these areas, can I say that I am really successful?  For example I can have a very successful business, make very good money with it, but I have been divorced 3 times, I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a stiff back.  To what extent am I successful?  I have privileged 2 areas out of six and as a result I really don’t feel that successful, I feel my life is empty.  How can this be? I fit in the criterias I thought represented success in my world!

Let’s come back to the definition of success:  an outcome.  What is your preferred outcome, your ideal?  What if you started shaping your life according to that ideal or outcome?  Remember to have as many of the 6 areas as possible in your vision, and you will have a feeling of overall satisfaction when you look at your life.

I have learned this definition of success in Success Puzzle a program created by Bob Proctor: “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal”.  It has changed my whole perspective on what is success to ME, the most important person in my life.

Start your own reflection on what YOUR definition of success is, and share it by leaving a comment!

The past few weeks I have been on the lookout for signs on the Law of Receiving.  In a previous post I gave a bit of background on this Law, information that I learned in The 11 forgotten Laws and Raymond Holliwell’s book Working with the Law.

When you start being aware of something, it’s like if it jumps in your face all the time. In the case of the Law of Receiving, I am becoming more and more aware that people’s ability to receive is weak.

-  You offer a compliment and it’s rejected or diminished: “Oh, this old thing…” or  “I’m not that good” or “That’s not what my life partner says…”

-  You want to pay the check at the restaurant and you have to get into a fight with the other person to finally get to pay.

-  You are offering to help your host when you are invited for supper and it’s not accepted, even something as easy as washing the dishes after we are finished eating:  “No!  You’re not touching anything!  I will take care of that in the morning!”  Yet when you invite them they are the first at the sink doing the dishes…

-  You are offering to share your knowledge for a specific problem and they answer:  “We don’t want to bother you with this.  You are so busy…”

-  You are being offered a present and you answer in the case of a tangible gift “You shouldn’t have, I don’t deserve this.” or, in the case of an intangible gift, you simply refuse it by answering “No.”

I want to take all the underlying reasons that could be at the origin of these actions.  I want to look at the result which is refusing the good that is offered to us.  We are willing to give but unwilling to receive.  We are simply stopping the flow because giving precedes receiving they say in the book and the program and they are the two sides of the same coin.  We are accepting to give and give and give but we are refusing to receive even the smallest token of appreciation for what we have given.

We become better receiver when we become aware and understand that the two go hand in hand.  Many of us have been raised with the idea that it is better to give than to receive.  We are making a mistake in the understanding of this sentence.  We hear “than” when it’s really written “then”.  Let’s look at this sentence again with the correct word:  It is better to give then to receive.  What do you now understand?  Quite a shift, isn’t it?

Please strengthen your receiving muscle and stop to think of your answer when you are offered something.  You will then be on your way to receive more and more from life.  Remember though, it takes time and practice…

Have fun receiving!