Now, as a Quality Improvement Coordinator for Felician Village, a senior living community, she encourages others to “take what you know and apply it in a new way.” By doing so, she states that a new world of opportunities will open up and your experience in life will expand.

For Brenda, there was a time she felt she was not considered for promotions because she lacked a college degree.  With her drive, she proved her abilities and was recognized as not only capable of doing the work, but was told by a mentor that she excelled in this area.  

So when the day came that she read a job ad requiring applicants to have a nursing degree and experience in quality systems, she didn’t hesitate to challenge it. With no healthcare experience or degree, she landed the job based on her proven results, vision of what was possible, and confidence.

She knew she had a gift for creating quality management systems and could transfer her knowledge from a product-driven manufacturing facility to a service-driven senior community. There were no ISO standards for such healthcare facilities, so she started from nothing and is in the process of creating something significant.

Now she delights in overhearing conversations where employees are talking about quality systems and referring to preventative actions and customer satisfaction.

The transition has indeed opened up new insights. “I’m more patient,” she says, and she treasures the trying times, stating, “the most challenging customers taught me the most.” Having daily contact with seniors, Brenda now states she appreciates the different stages in life and sees how precious everything is.

As she reflects on her journey, including being a grandmother and caring for her own mother, she offers these words of advice, “Make the most of what you’ve got with the time you have,” and suggests that we all believe in ourselves, challenge ourselves and do our part to make something successful.

Your challenge for the week:
1. Think of how you can take what you know and apply it in a new way to do your part to make something successful.
2. Be grateful for the trying times in your life and reflect on what you are learning as a result of the opportunity.

Pixel Yourself by the River – Kaleidoscope Fish was a performance art event designed to create an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to join together as a community, be part of something bigger than themselves, and create something fun and original. It was also meant to stretch people by encouraging them to step into their “Yellow Zone” (i.e. out of their comfort zone) and do something they have never done before.

The activity sought to leave the participants inspired to boldly express their own colors by sharing their unique gifts to create positive energy in the world and contribute to the beautiful, ever changing kaleidoscope of life. It reminded us that we indeed are all work of art ourselves, as well as a part of a larger picture that is beautiful and unique.

Check out our event photos and videos:

You Tube:
Kaleidoscope Fish – Pixel Yourself by the River.mov. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caZkBjFpuYo Produced by Tom Shimanek of Comcast.  Posted by YellowZoneIntl.

Facebook:
Photos, comments and videos: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pixel-Yourself-by-the-River-Kaleidoscope-Fish

Photos:
Event photos:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/7996842@N06/sets/72157624283109939/

Painting / Prep photos:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/7996842@N06/sets/72157624318653930/

Event details:
This was a first-time event and was done as part of the 2nd annual River Rendezvous Festival in Manitowoc WI at the point where the Manitowoc River flows into Lake Michigan on June 26, 2010. Approximately 115 people participated, from Girl Scouts to Red Hatters, families to individuals, and artists and  those who didn’t realize that they are artists. No one had ever participated in something like this before.

The week prior, local artists of all ages expressed their creativity by painting the cardboard fish during a music festival in a city park. It was great fun!

What happened:
As a narrator told an original story of “The Kaleidoscope Fish,” participants stepped onto the “canvas” and became a  “pixel” by holding up a brightly colored piece (fabric or a painted cardboard fish or smiley face). As the story unfolded, more and more pixels entered and mixed and mingled, creating a kaleidoscope-like image when viewed from above. Eventually, all of the pixels were in place and formed one huge image of a fish (approximately 3,000 square feet).

For more information: http://yellowzoneinternational.com/pixel-yourself-by-the-river-kaleidoscope-fish/

Yes, it was probably my inner critic getting the best of me. Telling me I wasn’t good enough or smart enough. And there was probably some fear of rejection. So what did this exercise prove to me? Making a commitment to do what I’m hesitant to do, and then taking consistent action, is the surest way to dissolve any fear. Now I have no excuses about writing. Yes, I am capable of it. Yes, I can call myself a writer. And when I do that, what new possibilities will open up to me? My green zone just got a little bit bigger.

Step 1. Think about something you would like to change, develop or improve. For this example, I’ll take my life.

Step 2. Think about something that has qualities you like. In this case, I was eating grapes and thinking, “Wow, these are really good.”

Step 3. Identify the best qualities of the item from step 2. Grapes are sweet, full of energy, beautiful, juicy, firm, and colorful. They thrive with sun, water and fresh air. They feed and nourish others, make me smile, have multiple parts that make up a whole, have a support system (the stems and roots), grow in bunches (not alone), and can be used in a variety of ways (raisins, wine). Each part, the seed to root to stem to fruit, has the essence of the whole and has great potential.

Step 4. Determine how you can incorporate the qualities from Step 3 into the item from Step 1.

To make others smile and nourish them, I would want to be full of energy myself. To keep myself full of energy, I need a good support system (my friends) and take care my mental, physical and spiritual needs (get enough sun, water, nourishment, exercise, positive visualizations).  I’ll want to stay connected to my passion and remember that I have great potential in all areas.

Step 5. Take action to begin living in a way that supports this new image. Today my focus will be on nourishing the spirit and mind of the individuals I interact with. I will do that through consciously telling them what I appreciate about them and help them see their greatness. And maybe I’ll do something strength training so I can feel firmness in my arms and abs and be like a juicy grape (and avoid becoming a raisin)!

The routines to discard are the ones that don’t add value, or worse, make you feel lousy mentally, spiritually or physically. A routine of eating fast food for lunch that results in you feeling guilty or bloated is probably one to discard. It doesn’t mean you have to give it up completely, just give it up as a regular routine.

Take a moment to reflect on the routines that make you feel great and vow to keep doing them or do them more often. For the ones that make you feel less than great, find a way to replace them or at least make them an every-once-in-a-while, special-occasion type of event.

One of my favorite routines is my nighttime routine. After I get into bed at night, I take a moment to list every positive about the day. My list could include things like, I exercised for an hour, ate healthy foods, had lunch with my mom, attended a new networking event and made some good contacts, got a great testimonial, spent time in the sun, laughed at my cat, chatted with my sister on the phone, etc. As I do this, I reflect on how grateful I am to have my health, my family and friends, etc. Then I open up my mind for the wonderful possibilities tomorrow will hold and I fall asleep with positive expectancy. I easily fall asleep with a sense of peace and I wake up with energy. Now that is a routine worth keeping!

The same is true with the mental work we do in coaching. Many people can readily accept the benefit of practicing a physical move, like a golf swing or a karate block, over and over and over. Yet they are reluctant to do the same with mental work, such as affirmations. Somehow, the idea of repeating positive statements about yourself to yourself seems awkward. People have a hard time believing that something so simple could possibly be effective.

Imagine that you keep hearing yourself or someone else say that you are incompetent, unreliable, and worthless. If you heard that multiple times a day, everyday, is it possible that you might start to doubt yourself and believe those statements? So wouldn’t it make sense that if you heard positive statements about yourself multiple times a day, everyday, that you might start to believe in yourself? Imagine that you keep hearing yourself or someone else say that you are extraordinary, unstoppable and energetic. How might you go about your day differently?  How might your life be different?

Similar to your muscles, your mind will get stronger with repetition. The more your mind hears positive statements, the more it will bring everything else into alignment to make it true. Eventually, like how the kicks, blocks and jabs will become second nature with my continued practice, it will be second nature for you to believe in yourself and what you are capable of doing. Make it a daily habit and remember, repetition, repetition, repetition.

What would you do if you won the $260 million Powerball? That was a great topic of conversation over the past few days as people bought tickets and daydreamed about new homes, vacations, gifts, and extravagant and simple luxuries. You can see and hear people’s energy shift when they are in this dreamlike state, thinking about the possibilities. There is a mix of excitement and harmony, joy and peace, confidence and passion.

Take moment to think about this for yourself. Talk out loud about what you would do with $260 million. Notice how you are feeling as you imagine yourself having this.

How did you get yourself to feel those feelings? Did you actually have the money in your possession? No, all you did was think about it. You didn’t actually need the money to truly feel those emotions. Perhaps, what you really want in life is not the actual money, but the feelings that you think money will give you.

And if you were able to get yourself to feel those feelings, whether it was excitement, harmony, confidence or passion, simply by thinking about someone once, what is stopping you from thinking those kinds of thoughts everyday, multiple times a day? Then you can have what you truly desire everyday, multiple times a day, instead of waiting for “someday.” Given the odds, your “someday” may never come for the Powerball, but everyday you can be living a joyful relaxed life just by choosing your thoughts.

It was perfect that I was talking to her in that moment so she could remind me that there are more miracles and magic that come from thinking big and coming from the heart. Listening to one’s mind, which may speak of logic and “reality” can be limiting and doesn’t create the same the kind of energy or excitement. Sure, I can create something good from logic, but to create something great, well that comes from a different place. Let your heart and passion create your vision. When you put it out there, others will be drawn to your energy and things will unfold to make it happen.

Think of something where you are hesitant, or playing small. Put aside logic and allow yourself to imagine what you would ideally like to attract and create. Let the energy of that grand vision pull you toward it and marvel at how things will align to make it happen.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, we’ll be offering a class for 4 Tuesdays starting June 29th at 7pm in Manitowoc. Stay tuned for more!

Yesterday I was drawn to my bookshelf and my hand went directly to Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). It is a classic self improvement book and in it he listed the quote above by Emerson. I decided to live that message this week to see what happens. For some reason, I’ve been having a block around blogging (as evidenced by my average of one blog entry per month). Is it fear that is blocking me? I decided to put aside the reasons and excuses and I committed to write a blog entry everyday this week. Committing to do it everyday for a month seemed overwhelming, so I’m taking it one step at a time. The simple act of typing this entry already makes me feel more confident. What in the world was I afraid of? What else can I do with this new-found confidence? Watch out world, a new Juliet is emerging!

Fast forward to a few months ago. I decided to venture out of my comfort zone so I went to my first theater audition.  I went alone, didn’t know anyone there, and had no idea about what to expect.

I was part of the first group and was told to read some lines from a script. “That’s not so bad,”  I thought. Then they said, “Okay, now you each need to sing.” Terrified, I thought, “But, I don’t want a singing part. I just want a little background role. I can’t sing.”

So there I was, in front of a room full of strangers and they want me to sing. I had never in my life done that before. When it was someone’s birthday, I would mostly just mouth the words so no one would hear my off key voice.

Take a guess what song they asked me sing. Yes, “Happy Birthday.” So what did I do? I decided to do the opposite of what I had been doing all of my life. I pretended that of course I could sing, and I sang the song by myself to a room full of people. Was it a bit painful for the listeners? Probably.

Their pain was my gain. It opened up a new way of being for me. By choosing to do the opposite, I created a space for new possibilities in my life. No, I’m not going to get booked singing the national anthem at a major league baseball game, but I am much more likely to discard a habit or pattern that isn’t serving me and try something new.

As it turned out, I got a great little dancing role (no singing required), which happened to be something on “My List of 100 Things I want to Do / Be / Have.” Isn’t it interesting how taking a little risk unexpectedly ended up leading me exactly where I wanted to go?

Your challenge for the week:
1. Think of something you would like to do, but you don’t do because you think, “I can’t,” or it just “isn’t who I am.” I give you permission to do the opposite of what you’d normally do. (It doesn’t have to be the actual opposite, just a pick a significantly different response.) View it as an assignment, so if anyone questions you, you can just say, “My coach gave me this as homework.”

For example,
·    If you normally stay quiet during your department meeting, be the first one to speak up.
·    If you normally ask about the budgetary impact for a decision, ask first about the impact to the staff and customers.
·    If you normally wait and see if the personnel conflict will resolve itself, meet directly with the people involved.  
·    If you normally go on the treadmill at the gym, try the zumba class.
·    If you normally order your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant, try a new restaurant and order a food you have never eaten.

If it helps, pretend you are an actor on stage and you are acting out a variety of alternative endings to see what produces the best audience response.

2. See what opens up for you as a result. Email me your outcome. I’d enjoy hearing your experiences!

3. If you don’t have your own list of “100 Things I want to Do / Be / Have,” start one! You just never know how one action can lead you straight to your goal!

In the meantime, I’ll be looking for someone interested in bartering with me. I’ll provide the coaching in exchange for singing lessons!