I have had to draw on what I teach to get me through this very stressful time.  Mind body practices have kept me sane and moving forward.

I will hopefully get back into blogging soon.  Thank you for hanging in there with me.

Do I smell like garlic?  Probably, I eat enough for a family of 10!  Yes, I am Italian, but that is only part of my decision to load up on this healthy food.

As I expand my knowledge base in the health and wellness arena, I have become increasingly aware of the critical role the food we eat, not only how much but our choices, plays in our health and well-being.  Both our physical and mental well-being depends on the fuel we feed our bodies, this vehicle that carries us through life.

Most of you have followed me on this blog as I successfully dealt with an extremely high cholesterol level with changing my food choices, a paradigm shift for me that was not that difficult.  I would like to now share with you a short video from Ted.com, which features William Li, President and Medical Director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, the title “Can We Eat to Prevent Cancer”. It is a 24 minute video and I highly recommend you watch it, whether you are concerned with getting cancer or just interested in learning more about staying healthy.  It is worth your time.

Dr. Li talks about angiogenesis, something I know a little about after having researched antiangio-
genesis for possible treatment for my niece, who had breast cancer, and my friend, who had lung cancer.  Angiogenesis is the body’s process of developing new blood vessels.  Abnormal angiogenesis can feed cancerous tumors.  Antiangiogenesis is the process of starving tumors by cutting back their blood supply.  We can do this with drugs, but we can also address this with the foods we eat.

Dr. Li explains how much of the food we eat has naturally occuring inhibitors of angiogenesis.  Something we should pay attention to since our diets account for 30-35% of the environmentally caused cancers.

Angiogenesis may also apply to obesity since fat tissue is highly dependent on angiogenesis.

Can we be proactive in our approach to cancer, obesity, and other diseases by the food choices we make?  Are you willing to add tomatoes, red grapes, green tea and strawberries to your diet for your health and well-being?  Please let me know your thoughts after you watch this very worthwhile video.
Here again is the link http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html.  To your health!

Fear and Quantum Physics

For years I lived with a 13” TV that was never plugged in.  Those were the days.  Really focused on my interests, my home, my work, friends, exercise, cooking, the beach.  Now I am sorry to tell you that I have 3 TV’s, all plugged in.  I watch entirely too many programs focused on devastating hurricanes, missing children, the Iraq war, the financial bailout, the housing disaster, and on and on and on.

It is very difficult to feel good about life and the world when we are constantly being inundated with such negativity.  So what’s the answer?  Pull the plugs?

I believe on a grand scale there is a huge amount of negativity in this country and in the world and we have the opportunity individually and collectively to make a difference.  How do we do that??  Quantum physics!

Quantum physics teaches that nothing is fixed; there is no end to one thing and beginning of another; everything is vibrating energy, including us.  We are in a constant state of potential.  What we focus on we attract, which is the definition of the law of attraction.  Whatever you focus on and give your attention to, whether positive or negative, you attract into your life;  Universal energy that obeys the laws of physics.

Not only do movies like “The Secret” and “What the Bleep Do We Know” talk about “like attracting like”, but Proverbs 4:23 states, “Be careful how you think:  your life is shaped by your thoughts.”  In our hearts, we know this message.  What we think about, we manifest into our lives.

Much of our energy, focus, and attention is being taken up by this negative vortex that has swept across the country.  It is time to accept the responsibility and understand the power we have to make positive changes in our lives and also in our country.  It is time to stop the negative energy frenzy, feeding and bringing about more of the same.

Please accept this challenge.    Instead of focusing on all the negatives that are out there waiting for our attention, change your pattern.  It may take a little effort to start firing a new neuron pathway, but it is worth it.  We are worth it.  We have the power to bring about change.  We don’t have to depend on politicians.

When you find yourself thinking about how bad things are, remember, you are a magnet!  You will attract to you what you think about!  One person makes a difference.  100 people make a big difference.  If all of you on this email list accept this challenge and send this message to your friends, WOW! We are changing the world!

For the last month I have been in Ohio taking care of my very ill 92 year old mother.  I am peaceful about my decision to be with her, to be her advocate, and make sure she has the best care.  I believe everyone needs a patient advocate when dealing with critical medical issues and because of my 16 years in the medical arena, I am very qualified for that position.   This blog post is about the attitude of not only the medical personnel dealing with my mom, but also almost everyone else, including my friends, concerning her age and what to expect because “She is 92“!

My mom is a happy 92 year old who sits in her livingroom, watching TV and eating pretty much whatever she wants.  On May 15th she became very ill and ended up in the ER.  I was visiting so I was the one who took her to the hospital.  I was immediately struck by the attitude of everyone who consulted on her case and took care of her.  ”Well, she is 92!  Her body is shutting down and she will be at a different level because of her illness.   How can she possibly live alone at 92?  It is just the beginning of other ailments to follow.”  These are some of the comments I heard that really “pissed me off”!  Excuse me, but I need to let you know my feelings at these comments and this attitude.  Thank goodness I was there to “reset” these people and to keep their negative energy away from my mother.

Because of my profession, I know how important attitude, thoughts and energy are in manifesting your life and your health.  My mother’s attitude is very positive.  She wants to get back to her home and see her tomato plants and flowers.  She is hoping that the house across the street, which is for sale, will bring nice new neighbors for her to know.  She doesn’t think about failing health and doesn’t even think she is old!!!!!  That is why my mom is still around and very sharp at 92!

It has been a month of hospitalization and tests, but she is now in a great rehab facility and doing really well.  I took her hand weights for her to have at her bedside and use often.  I trained her in deep breathing and relaxation exercises, which she does religiously.  She is a star in PT and OT.  She has a wonderful attitude and is worried about how she will get back into her house because she doesn’t have the key with her.  Her focus is on getting back to Piccadilly St. and her neighbors and friends.  Yes, she is 92, but to my mother, it is just a number.

This is a lesson for all of us.  Do not let a number dictate how you will live your life!  Make up your mind to live to the fullest no matter what age.  Remember, attitude, your thoughts and your energy play a huge role in what you will manifest into your life.  If you think you are old, you are old, even if you are 35!

How can this story of my mom help you to “reset”?

I recently read an article about the book “The Dip, A little book that teaches you when to quit.”  It was written by Seth Godin of “Tribes” and “Linchpin” fame.  I believe he primarily works with companies to get their employees motivated and moving forward.  He is also a marketing guru.  But, like with all things, you can take the message and apply it to your personal life as well as professional.  The book was released in 2007, but I had never heard of it.  It was intriguing for someone like me who does not know how to quit to read about a book that tells you that quitting the right things is the road to great success, and “winners quit fast, quit often and without guilt.” 

The gist of the article, and I assume the book, is that you need to focus on a few important issues and learn to avoid the “dead ends”.  The “dip” is the wall we hit when we lose some of our enthusiasm on our journey to succeed.   If you have too many things that you are trying to succeed in, you spread yourself too thin and your chances of success become diluted.  So, decide “the right dip for the right reasons” and stay focused and concentrate your energy.

In my practice, I administer an assessment called the Print Survey.  The assessment is a DNA of your personality.  Everyone says the same about it.  It is amazing how your true self is idenified by this 25 minute quiz.  One of my strong characteristics, which was revealed in this assessment, is ”relentless determination”.  As is pointed out in the results of the assessment, your strong characteristics can also be your shadow or “needs work” characteristics.  Relentless determination, what does that really mean?  It means I do not know how to quit and am pretty much driven to succeed.

Is that a good thing?  I always thought it was.  Because I was a manager for many years and am also a motivational speaker, I know all the inspirational quotes and phrases by all the greats, Vince Lombardi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Einstein, Buddha, etc.  “Quitters never win and winners never quit”, “Never, never, never give up”.  No, no says Seth Godin, ”winners do quit and quitters do win”.  The secret is to learn quickly when you need to quit and go on to something else that you can be successful at.   As I go through life and look back on some of the “determination” I have displayed, I now wonder if I should have learned the fine art of quitting.

Well, I was so interested in this idea of quitting, it is so counter to everything I have ever studied, that I went out and bought the book.  I will continue this blog when I finish reading it.

What are your thoughts on quitting?  How do you make decisions to tackle a challenge or quit?  Have you read the book?  I would love to hear from you.

This week while waiting to see my dentist, I saw a small blurb from Melissa Etheridge and I felt it was so profound, I ripped it out with the intention of writing about it in this blog.

Those of you who know Melissa Etheridge know that she recently had and overcame breast cancer.  In her little paragraph called “Turning Point”, she talks about how she realizes now that her cancer was a really good thing.  It gave her a new perspective on life.  After winning her battle with cancer, she wasn’t afraid anymore.  “I realized there are only two things in our reality, love and fear.  I try to make my choices out of love.”  The last sentence was the one that really resonated with me.  Make your choices out of love not fear.  A very important message for us to live by.

It is not unusual for us to travel through life and have our reality  determined by fear.  Where we go, who we meet, what we choose as a career.  Fear makes many of our choices.  It is our confidente and it keeps us in line and when we think we can step out of our comfort level, fear reminds us who is in charge.  What if and ‘ ya but are close companions of fear and often play a huge role in our decisions.

How would it feel to live a life without fear?  How would you feel if love was your first consideration and helped you make choices and direct your life?  What would be different?  Who would you be with?  Where would you live?  What would you be doing?

How do you move from a fear based life to a love based life?  Where would you even start?  Geez, fear has been with you for so long, how could you give it up?  Where would you find the strength to leave fear behind?

The next time you realize you are being motivated by fear, stop and think how differently your choice might be if motivated by love.    Start to trust that the decisions you make from your heart with love are the right decisions for you.

Case in point, Ford Motor Company has been forced through tremendous changes in the last few years along with other US car manufacturers.  At times we thought Detroit and the American auto companies were going to be a thing of the past.  Many recently had to be bailed out by the government.  They were about as low as they could go.  They were forced to change to survive.

Fast forward a few months, according to Fast Company, one of the auto makers, Ford, has just announced earnings of $2.1 billion dollars!  They have new technology and they are not only black but “going green”!  They are partnering with Microsoft, changing SUV plants into small car plants and tightening up operations.  According to the Ford CEO, Alan Mulally, “they are fighting for the soul of manufacturing in the United States.”

Sometimes we are thrown into change kicking and screaming.  We want things to stay the way they are or were, or, we want someone else to change so we don’t have to.  Sound familiar?  Sometimes we wait so long to change that we find ourselves in crisis, health, career, relationships, etc.   Many times it takes us getting to the place where the fear of change is less than the pain of staying where we are, before we make our move.

The question is, “Are you going to make the changes that need to be made and “fight” for the life, business or health you desire?”  Are you going to wait and hope for someone or something else to change or are you going to take control of your life and make changes before you get into a crisis?  It is always easier to make little adjustments along the way.  What adjustments need your attention today, this week, this month?  Start to “see” the change in your mind’s eye.  It is a good starting point!

Holistic means the whole unit, which includes the body, mind and spirit.  As Aristotle pointed out, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”  Working on the body without also considering the mind and spirit will give you incomplete results that are difficult to maintain.  Addressing the mind without also including the body and spirit in the equation will not likely give you the complete package you would hope for.  And the spirit needs the body and mind in fine working order to connect to all the opportunity around you.  When working toward success in any area of our lives we need to consider “the whole”, mind, body and spirit.

“in case”!!  Is that poverty thinking or what!

I moved to Davidson 13 years ago.  I moved into a house that already had a washer and dryer so I put my duo into the garage “in case” I would need them.  I have thought many times that I should call and donate them, but the little voice in the back of my head kept saying, “what if the washer and dryer you are using break down”.  Those of you who are students of the “Law of Attraction” know what I have been doing.  The vibration that I have around this is one of “lack or need”.  That is the energy I am putting out into the Universe, energy that is insecure about my ability to replace things, if need be.  Well, two years ago I bought a new washer and dryer, but the two in the garage remain, “just in case.”

I know where this comes from and I am sure many of you had similar experiences growing up.  My mother would never give away a washer/dryer, curtains, furniture, dishes, etc.  Never, ever!!  If she didn’t hold on to them, she would pass them on to someone in the family.  If it works, why would you give it away??  Hold on to it into perpetuity!  She still asks me about curtains I had 25 years ago, which is quite a feat since my mom is 92 years old!!  She still remembers and is keeping track of my stuff!

These are limiting beliefs that I am dealing with here.  In my coaching practice, recognizing and reprograming limiting beliefs is a huge area that my clients and I work on.  Because of our environment, our upbringing, our parents and the “messages”, spoken and unspoken, that we received throughout our lives, we are conditioned to think and act a certain way.  I was taught to hang on to things, “just in case”.  I am sure my mother’s limiting beliefs came from growing up during the depression and she has unknowingly passed these limitations on.  Obviously, I am still dealing with that message or limiting belief.  But, good news!  The curtains are long gone and the washing machine is going!!

Identifying limiting beliefs and then understanding from where they came, is the first step in getting them resolved and moving on into the success and abundance that is available to all of us.  Limiting beliefs come in all shapes and sizes.  What are some of the limiting beliefs you are dealing with?  Are you ready to face them, get them resolved and move on in your life without them holding you back??  Peel away the limitations and reveal the spirit waiting to soar!!  Join me in flight!

In my coaching practice there are two things that I see as markers for success, commitment and courage.  Those of you on this list who have worked with me know that I always ask for a commitment to do what you say you will do to bring about change in your life, business or health.  You are all probably smiling right now!  Oh yes, I remember that talk!

It is sometimes easy to say we want to grow and change our lives, businesses, or become healthier, but when the going gets rough and we are challenged to step outside our comfort zone, many of us will fold.  Our commitment is not as strong as it needs to be to bring about the change we say we desire.  I believe it was Ken Blanchard who said, “there is a difference between interest and commitment.  When you are committed there are no excuses.” 

It is the ‘ol comfort zone that keeps us doing what we have always done and keeps us from developing a new pattern of success.  Even though we say, “this is it, I am going to go back to school and be able to advance my career, or yes, this time I will stick to my diet”, the pattern that we have lived by since our early years looks us right in the face and says, “what do you think you are doing?”  This is how we always do this and change is difficult so keep on doing things the way you always did.”  Sound familiar?  Of course it does.  Most of us deal with the same comfort issues even though there is nothing comfortable about it, it is what we know.

So, what does it take to step out of the pack and be courageous and commited to change?  I am reminded of the cowardly lion in the ”Wizard of Oz” who desperately wanted courage.  Your courage is there, you just have to exercise it.  Yes, that is right, you have it.  You may not have used it recently, but it is there.  You will be amazed at how good you will get at being courageous when you start with small steps to recognize your pattern and “choose” to do things differently for the good of YOU.

I think the word courage is exciting!  To be able to say I lived a courageous life and went after my dreams!  Wow!  The results you get when you choose to have courage and commitment will “rock your world”!  Are you ready for that?  Is that a commitment??  All of you ready to commit to go after your dreams, send me an email.  I will keep you accountable!