How To Stay Slim During the Holidays

It’s never too soon to start thinking about your health. As you embark on your holiday season, consider the following.
 
Raise your glass to recognize your self and others.
Here’s to us!
Here’s to our health!
Here’s to being our best!
 
Join a gym prior to new year’s day!
Start a new routine.
Sign up for a winter sport.
Enroll in a mindfulness and/or yoga class.
 
Eat mindfully
Choose healthy meals.
Skip dessert or only select one serving.
Make lunch your biggest meal of the day.
Don’t eat past dinner.
 
Drink wisely
In addition to cheering to your health …
Drink a glass of water before and after each alcoholic beverage.
Remember that liquids have calories. Count them.
Be sober enough to drive.
Don’t dance on the table wearing a lampshade - unless you’re with very close friends!

READ MORE HERE  at page 206
​

The power of the mind is an amazing thing. What we think creates our reality. Think about it. Wouldn't you prefer to create a happy, harmonious existence? Of course you would! Here's how.

Trust
Begin with a sense of trust. Believing that you may actually have that innate power to shape your life. Why not? Trust me and go with it!

When we are empowered, we make things happen. For example, if it is expected of you on the job to make sure that project A is completed on a certain deadline, you make darned sure that it happens. 

What if this same expectation is placed on you for your health? What if I said to you, “It is your responsibility to maintain a healthy heart.”  How would you respond? 

I suppose if you're just reading this you may ignore it, but if it's your job, to take care of your health, let’s say you get paid to do this, and the better job you do at it the more money you make, you might say yes! Sign me up for this. I can do this! It's easy.

And there's the thing. It is easy!  But your mind doesn't seem to see the importance of the matter until it's too late. And you end up in the doctor’s office or worse.

Remove blame
It's not your fault. Western medicine in all of it's incredibly amazing discoveries to prolong life, save life, and support life, has a major flaw. It has forgotten the value of preventive medicine.

READ MORE Here at page 288

Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought you couldn’t take it any longer? Where you’ve just had enough? Received devastating news or suffered a debilitating injury? Most of us have. We’ve survived. Sometimes only by a heart string.
 
Imagine, then the 12 boys and their 25 year old coach visiting a tourist spot in a cave in Thailand when suddenly, the rain became so intense that they couldn’t leave. In fact they were forced to move further and further into the depths of the cold dark cave. The rains didn’t stop. The waters rose.
 
For 18 days they were stranded. With no food or water.
 
Here’s what they did have. A young coach who knew how to quiet the mind.  He taught the boys how to meditate. 

READ MORE HERE. page 360

Savor Every Moment
 
Ahh! At last. It’s summer. And it looks like it will be a nice long one for us. I love the sun, and to me there’s nothing better than soaking up its rays while enjoying a good meal and being entertained. It nurtures the soul. So here’s the question. Where’s a great spot to eat outdoors? 
 
I got together with Hollis Hewins the other day and asked her.  I also asked my FB friends. Here’s what we’ve come up with.
 
Travel & Leisure with Hollis Hewins
 
Holly is about to have a whole lotta freedom on her hands. After spending 30 years in the banking industry (currently as Underwriting Team Leader for Investment Real Estate at Key Bank), she’s ready to take off and explore what else is out there. Travel & Leisure may sound like a magazine but it’s about to be her new reality. That includes dining!

READ MORE HERE

The new Leadership Roundtable
 
I love leading groups in discussion. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I was raised in an Italian family and you had to raise your voice to be heard. And I’m not one to raise my voice over the crowd unless I’m singing. Or maybe because I think before I talk, and by the time I’m ready, the topic has changed. Consequently, I’ve become an expert listener and quite the facilitator. I spot quiet ones and give them a platform to talk on; identify a talker and help them get to the point; and see possible collaborations and make the connection. 
 
So when my client, Kim Browne told me about her Lean-In group, I listened. Then I read about it in a recent NYT Business article, ‘Lean In’: Five Years Later. I guess I’m a little late. But the concept is familiar. The creation of ‘Lean In’ circles offers the platform for groups of women to meet on a regular basis to discuss and share leadership tips.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/16/business/lean-in-five-years-later.html
 
Kim Browne is a phenomenal business woman who leads with grace, intellect and experience.

READ MORE HERE

Breaking through all barriers to Create!
 
 
Women inspire. They lead with grace, dignity and courage. These fine women channeled their life experience through art. No limitation was large enough. Open your mind, read, and be inspired to create!
 
 
Marian Anderson 
African-American Opera Singer (1902 -1993)
 
Beautiful. Magnetic. This is, after all, the opera!  Marian broke all barriers with her contralto voice, singing in a low range filled with sincerity and drama. Many female opera singers are soprano, with the beautiful high pitched siren of a gifted angel. Hers was that of a soulful spirit, soaring beneath the clouds.
 
Regardless of her talent, many doors were closed to Ms Anderson until her voice broke through the very doors of The Metropolitan Opera. In 1955, she was the first African-American to perform on its prominent stage.
 
Racial prejudice in the 30’s became an obstacle too difficult to maneuver in the US, however. She found a home in Europe where her voice was revered, touring to enthusiastic crowds wherever she went. 

Read more HERE

A Meditation on Love

We all want it. We all need it. No. It’s not chocolate. It is L.O.V.E. love. But sometimes it just doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel accessible.  So here’s an exercise you can do to activate love in your heart.
 
 
Step 1
The Breath
 
Get into a comfortable position and close your eyes. Take a nice deep breath in and a long exhale out. Bring your awareness to your chest. As you inhale, feel the sensation of your chest expanding in all directions. The sides, the back, and the front. Upon your next inhale, open the front of your chest, rolling your shoulders back and dropping them upon your exhale. Now allow your breath to come back to normal, and focus on the very center of your chest. Breathe into this space as your chest naturally rises and falls.
 
Your heart chakra is beginning to be activated. It is located in the very center of your chest. It is the center of loving compassion. This is where we hold all of our loving memories and all of our heartaches. When we fall in love, we may feel butterflies in our stomach, but we also feel an ease in our breath and an inner peace within our heart.
 
By healing the pain you may be holding in your heart and focusing on the love that is stored there, you will be able to not only feel love within you, but attract love to you.

To read more please follow this link to the full article and go to page 156 to complete the exercise

Get ready to kiss 2017 good-bye and welcome 2018 with open arms! The trick to this questionnaire is to answer it quickly and honestly.  What first comes to mind is often the best.
 
As you reflect on the past year, you’ll gain wisdom to guide you in the new year. Are you ready? Here goes!
 
 
The Year in Review
 
1. What is your fondest memory?
Breathe into your heart center & close your eyes as you allow these memories to flood your mind. Most likely there are more than one. Then choose the memory that brings the broadest smile to your face.
 
2. What was your greatest achievement?
This may have been a goal that was on your list. It may have to do with your career, your family and friends, or yourself. You may have run your first 5K race, graduated from school, made it to the team, or signed on a new client. Or, you may have finally taken those braces off, or gotten engaged, or watched your child walk across a stage.
 
3. What was your most difficult challenge?
Whether at work, at home or school something stands out. What was this challenge and how did you manage it? How did it affect your life?

To read more click on this link and go to page 52. Make your new year stand out!