Watch Your Language!!!!

When someone tells me to watch my language I know that they are referring to my use of the "f" word.  Not the common "f" word used by women either.  I certainly do not use the word "fine" and spit it out like passive aggressive venom.  Instead I tend to use the other "less ladylike" "f" word.  I can pepper any sentence with it - sometimes multiple times. And I never mean to offend anyone with it.  That doesn't mean people aren't offended by it.  And allow me to throw this disclaimer in here...I wasn't raised with this being an acceptable word (you are off the hook Mom).  What I do know that language is a very powerful thing.  Especially, the language we use when talking to ourselves.  Yes, you reading this, you talk to yourself - all the time actually.  That's normal.  It's the answering back that pushes the limits of normal.


Recently I was able to spend some time talking to some Ladies about the power of language.  One lady shared with me that she needed to shift her language.  She was feeling worn out from all the "have to's" in her life.
Have to do the dishes
Have to go to work
Have to pay the mortgage
Have to get groceries
Have to help a friend

How exhausting does that list seem to you?  I'm tired just reading it let alone doing it.

Now what happens if you shift your language like she did to...I choose to...
I choose to do the dishes
I choose to go to work
I choose to pay the mortgage
I choose to get groceries
I choose to help a friend

How does that feel?  Better.  I know it does.  Because you have a choice.  You can leave the dishes.  Fuck 'em.  They will still be there tomorrow.  And if they aren't - even better!  WIN!
There is a little more power in the "I choose" statement.

Now since I am all about pushing boundaries I asked her to stretch a little.  I asked her say....I get to...
I get to do the dishes (many people in the world have no dishes, no food, no running water)
I get to go to work (many people wish for a job)
I get to pay the mortgage (many wish to have a roof over their head let alone own one)
I get to get groceries (many people rely on food banks if they even get food at all)
I get to help a friend (how blessed we are to give of ourselves to help lift others up)

When I make this shift in my thinking it fires me up.  It empowers AND energizes me.  I feel the freedom of choice and I want to get it done....because I can.

I don't know if you felt the same shift as I did.  Try it, and let me know how it goes for you.  I can only hope it helps you as much as it does me,

I have said this before, and I will say it again...
The most important person you can listen to in a day is you.  What you say in your every day conversations with yourself sets you up for either success or failure.  Speak kind words to yourself and to all that surround you.

Let me know other ways that you can shift your language.  Share your success stories with me.

Until then...

Have a Day just as Beautiful as You Are.

Much Love,

Lisa

*Lead Life Joyfully*

The First Big Game....

I realized that I have not yet posted my blog on the big game.  Then I quickly realized, I had not yet written the blog post.  LOL.  So here it goes.

Sunday May 26th was our first game against the Rockers.  I wish that I could clearly describe to you what the first game was actually like.

You see I had been in Montana the week leading up to the big game.  We had traveled from Whitefish, MT to Calgary, AB the day before.  On Sunday we piled into the car to drive the last leg of the journey home.  Now I realize that it is not a far journey.  It was simply a long one.  I get excited when I am going to do something new.  Some of you may call it anxiety or nervous energy. I like to call it excitement since it affects my body the same way.

During the car ride I tried to distract myself from pre game jitters by studying my route tree flash cards and reading a trashy fiction.  I was even remotely successful.  The closer it got to game time the more amped up that I got.  I packed and repacked my bag.  I was waiting in the car before my husband came to drive me to the field.

The closer we got the more I tried to block out the "what if" scenarios that were bombarding me.  As we arrived at the field 30 min prior to game time I noticed that all of my team mates were already there and dressed.  They were already on the field running routes and warming up.  I fought the panic that I was late.  That somehow I missed a memo about game time.  For those of you who know me...I don't handle late with grace.  I want to be on time.  On time for me means 15 minutes early.  If I show up at 8:00 when I am supposed to be there for 8:00 I still feel late.  And in the event I am there after the scheduled time...well...we just won't talk about that.

Such was the case for the first game.  At the final practice it was determined that we needed to be at the field 45 minutes early.  I was not.  I was only 30 minutes prior to kick off.  This meant I was..GASP.....LATE.  This was not a good start.  In fact it was far from good.  I scrambled to get my socks and cleats on and run out to the field.  We were running our tree - you know the one I wrote flash cards for and studying them like a good little nerd - that I had been able to recite from memory.  Well I promptly ran a four in rather than out towards the sideline.  I was a mess.  This jumble of nerves.  Sounds were muffled.  Everything sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher talking. All the other girls seemed to be in perfect flow of one another and I was this disconnected wreck.

In the blink of an eye the ref called for the captains and the game was ready to begin.  Now I can't tell you which side of the coin we flipped.  Whether Defense or Offense was on the field first.  It is all a blur.  What I can tell you is that I was terrible my first time on the field.

I couldn't tell you if they were "strong left" or "strong right".  I forgot to drop when my number was called.  It was all just a mess. I could feel the frustration from my team mates.  Fun was not what we were having out there on the field.  I was beginning to think that perhaps table tennis was more my sport.

By the end of the game the score was too high to count for the other team.  We never even made it on the board.  Final score...a mercy...50-0. For the other gals - the ones that played as a team.  Who supported and encouraged each other.

I think it is safe to say that no one from the Predators left the field that day feeling like a winner.

Some days you relive moments in your head and you think, well I should have done that...or I should have done this...oh man why didn't I do that....Gah!  I was the same way that night after football.  My sleep was restless.  I kept reliving every play.  Thinking of what I could have done better.

When I crawled out of bed in the morning I realized all the tossing and turning did nothing to impact what had happened in a game that was already played.  All I could do was go out and try my best during the next game.

The moral of this blog post is two fold.  One you are never great at something you do the first time.  You couldn't walk the first time you tried but you tried again anyway and you kept trying until you could walk.  Apply that mindset to all that you do.  And Two, no amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worry can change the future.  So direct your energy someplace else where it will actually be useful.

My challenge to you is to try something again for a second time. Something you weren't great at but you know would bring you joy if you could only just be kinder to yourself about how your first performance went.  Let me know how it turns out.

Have a Day as Beautiful as you are and remember to Lead your Life Joyfully.

Much Love,

Lisa

Football - Did It Anyway

Some of you may remember that I traveled to Panama in March with my Husband and Beautiful Friends - Niki and Andrew.  One day in the pool we decided to play ball to get a break from the heat.  My husband signed out a football of all things.  Now I will admit, I was totally annoyed that he got a football...how the hell was I supposed to play with that.  I hadn't laid hands on a football since I was eight.

I had a choice to make, I could pout and not play ball or I could try to throw a football.  As it turned out, I could throw the ball, and I had FUN.

When I got home, I immediately started looking for a women's team to join.  I started first with the tackle team and when they didn't jump at the chance to get me on their roster I found a touch team.  The Predators - a new team recruiting all shapes and sizes.  Now when I first committed to going to the team meeting it scared the hell out of me.  I mean, who the hell did I think I was...I am a lot of things, but I am not a football player.  Doubt and fear flooded my mind.

And do you know what I did....I went anyway.  I recruited a girlfriend and had her come with me but we went out and had fun.  Met a lot of great Ladies and signed up for the season.

The first practice was intimidating also.  But...I went anyway....and again...I had a blast.

Signed up for a mixer at the advice of my co-captain.  It was one of those fun tournaments to kick off the season.  You sign up, they put you on a team made up of guys and gals.  You play three games.  No one keeps score and you have fun!

The night before the tournament I was super excited.  My bag was packed with everything I could possibly need.  I was ready to meet great people, learn new things and have a blast.  That night, I went to bed early.  I wanted to be well rested and raring to go.

The morning of the tournament...different story.  I was terrified!  Fear flooded me.  I was thinking...there is absolutely no way that I can go.  I won't be any good.  The team is going to wish I stayed home. I don't know the rules.  I don't know anything about the game.  I am going to look stupid.  I let this thought go on for about 35 seconds.  Then I started to try and shift my thoughts.  I'm not scared...I'm excited.  I am a beginner, a person is never excellent in the beginning.  I couldn't walk or ride a bike the first time I tried.  Why would I think I should be Joe Montana?  Instead of being fearful I told myself I was curious.  I gave myself permission to just be a beginner.  To have fun.  To learn.  To experience something new.  And if I hated it I told myself I didn't need to pay my fees for the Predators.  So even though I was scared...I went anyway.

I can tell you this much...I loved every minute of it.  I met new people.  The guys on my team were fantastic.  They taught me a lot.  They supported and encouraged me.  I caught a few passes and even won a door prize.  Most importantly I pushed past the fear and I stretched and grew.  At the end of the day when the tournament was over I had this elated feeling.  I was proud of myself, I felt like I had accomplished something.  I basked in the joy of discovering a new love.

Now on Sunday we will play our first game...and the thought of it...seems a little scary right now.  But guess what....I'll do it anyway....

I wish you a Beautiful Day - One as Beautiful as You Are.  Spend it wisely, looking for ways to stretch and grow.  Dare to do something different.  You just may like it.

Much Love,

Lisa

Trying Something For The First Time

I am going to apologize right off the top.  This blog post may appear to be jumbled.  Many thoughts rushing together, each one racing to be the front runner.

Three weeks ago my Husband and I were in the audience when Dr. John C. Maxwell spoke of the rubber band.  A rubber band is only useful when it is being stretched...otherwise you miss out on its full potential.  In his talk he asked when the last time that we stretched ourselves.  When did we reach outside our comfort level, when did we last grow.  It the time that he was speaking I elbowed my husband in the side and asked him, "hey, when is the last time that I did something new..."

Now I am a woman truly blessed.  My life gives me the opportunity to try new  things often.  Perhaps this is because earlier in my life I was sheltered or scared...never wanting to explore.  Perhaps it is because I am blessed by the abundance of my husband's pay cheque, or perhaps it is because I have spent my life being eternally curious.  I don't ever want to miss anything. I can provide you with countless examples as to how I would spring from bed early afraid that an adventure would occur without me in it.

This morning is no different. You see we are vacationing in Montana, The In-Laws, My Husband, Daughter and I. At six am I awoke thinking it was too bright to be morning and realizing we had been blessed with 4 inches of snow.  I tried to go back to sleep but instead I needed to rise from my bed, make a coffee and read my book while taking in the beauty of the May snowfall.

See I warned you earlier I would stray from the point of my story.  Back to new things.  John C. Maxwell asks when the last time we tried something new.  At the time of that speech I asked my Husband, what on earth have I tried...He told me...just that very morning I had Dim Sum.  I played out my role in my "Amazing Race".  There was nothing I refused to try.  Many items from the carts making their way to my table.  I would be lying if I said I enjoyed them all, but I did try them all.

I think that may be a defining difference.  Often we seek out what we like.  We are safe with what it is that we like.  No growth is required.  But the moment when we force ourselves to stretch is when we find the moment that we grow.  We don't always need to enjoy the teaching opportunity but we do need to acknowledge the growth.  Find The Lesson, Learn The Lesson, Live The Lesson.

In the following posts I will share with you what I have done to stretch myself.  Ideally I will be able to account for the ways I have ventured out and tried something new each and every week.  I urge you to do the same.  Stretch and Grow.  Become something new.

I wish you a day as Beautiful as You!

Much Love,

Lisa

Lead Life Joyfully

Are You Listening???

Yesterday I was shopping in Kalispell, Montana.  I was browsing the makeup trying to determine if it were cheaper at home.  The sales lady said to me - I love your hair. To this I replied - Thank you, I shaved it in February in honor of a young boy who lost his fight with Cancer.

She looked at me and said "Thank you for raising money for Cancer research, I beat Cancer three years ago.  She went on to inquire about Cole & what type of Cancer he had & how old he as.  The conversation continued a few minutes and I wished her a day as beautiful as she was.

It was not until this morning when I realized that she was trying to tell her story and I interrupted. She had told me that she battled Cancer and that is all that I know.  I never let her finish.  I let that conversation be all about me.  She recognized the signs of a bald head growing out.  Perhaps because she had been through the same awkward stage.  She was lifting me up, boosting my confidence in case I needed to battle Cancer again.

People all around us want to share their story.  We all just want to be heard.  Heck, I want to be heard so badly I have a blog AND a website.  LOL.  Instead of listening to the story that others are trying to tell us we tend to be rushed, and focused on what we are going to say next.

The art of listening is a simple one.  We all just need to practice more.  To truly listen one just needs to pay attention to the person speaking.  Put your phone down, turn the television off, stop multitasking.  Hear what the person is saying rather than formulating your response while they are still talking.

There is a poem I read this morning that fits this topic.

A wise old owl lived in an oak,
The more he saw, the less he spoke.
The less he spoke, the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird? - Author Unknown


My lesson for today was - Remember to Listen - Truly Listen.  If you listen you will learn something.  When you are talking...you are not learning.

Each person we come across in life knows at least one thing we do not.  Try and learn what that one thing is.

Today I make it my mission to listen.  Will you make it yours?

I wish you a day as Beautiful as you are.  Do something brilliant with it.

Much Love,
Lisa

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Lead Life Joyfully

Average or Above Average????????

John C. Maxwell speaks about Average or Above Average in most of his World Class Leadership talks.  One thing that he says is that there is very little difference between average and above average but that little bit of difference makes a big difference.

He went on to outline two examples in his own life where companies provided above average service and won his patronage for a lifetime. Small things that an employee or company did that made them stand out in a really big way.



I, too have had an example of where a person went above and beyond what was expected of them.

Just last week I was listening to Hay House Radio hoping to pick up a new meditation technique. As I was listening Meggan Watterson was being interviewed.  She mentioned that she had an MP3 on sound cloud describing how to hear and connect with your soul voice.  I immediately found her recording and it touched me and rang true to my heart.  I decided to go to her website and contact her.  I just had to thank her for sharing her gift.  Lo and behold five days later I found an email from her in my inbox.  She took the time out of her day to personally respond to an email.  No auto  responder for Meggan.  Now I knew that I was going to be a long term fan of hers and buy her products when I listened to her speak on the radio and when I listened to her MP3 but when I received her email I knew that I would be a fan and I would promote her work to all that would listen to me.

All of this because she went above and beyond and personally answered my email.

When I was sharing this idea for my blog with my husband he mentioned that he had a fantastic customer service experience.  My husband and daughter were shopping for a  Mother's Day gift for me and they went to a jewelry store in the local mall.  The owner of the store was very attentive and helped them choose just the right gift for me.  Now the owner had to have been an incredible man because my three year old daughter gifted him with a hug once they chose the gift.  He immediately went to the back of the store and picked out a pink rhinestone bracelet and gave it to her.  He did not give this to her to add an item to our sales bill, he gave it to her as a gift - thanking her for the hug.  This small token will not be easily forgotten.  We will definitely use Carat Jewelers in Millwoods Town Centre for all of our Jewelry needs.  He went above and beyond.  That small act served to ensure we will be customers for life.

Hearing and seeing how this impacts people in a positive way made me want to apply this to my life and both of my businesses.  Moving forward I am going to look for ways to be above average.  I am going to look for ways to let the people I interact with know that they are important and valued.
After all...who wants to be the best of the worst or the worst of the best?

The average estimate themselves by what they do, the above average by what they are.
                                                                                    - Johann Friedrich Von Schiler



Please take the time to learn more about Meggan Watterson by stopping by her website at www.megganwatterson.com
Follow her on twitter @megganwatterson

Lead Life Joyfully!

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Much Love,
Lisa

Ego - Alive and Well

I am sitting here at my computer composing this blog post after a listless night with very little sleep. I was up late last night trying to find the perfect quote to close out a blog post - without success.  Even my husband (Saint that he is) took time away from his own work to help me search for the quote.  Little did he know that any quote he would've found would not have worked.  It would have been discarded like the many that I read and tossed aside.  This has nothing to do with the quality of his quote or his ability to find one.  It has to do with me.  Me, Me, Me, Me, Me, Me, Me.  Are you getting the picture of how yesterday was?

The night before was restless as well - filled with odd alien dreams that left me feeling off balance when I first woke up.  It improved with breakfast and then took a downward turn when I sat in the glorious sunshine on the patio to complete some work.  I went to use something that contained an error that I was not capable of correcting on my own.  Frustration boiled over and negativity spewed out of my mouth and mind much like lava from an angry volcano.

This simple mistake could have been corrected with a quick phone call but I was not actually seeking a solution.  I wanted to play victim.  Poor inconvenienced Lisa.  Can't do the one simple thing she wanted to do.  I built it up to be this HUGE offensive thing in my mind. Allow me to tell you that what I was working on was minor , did not need to happen right in that moment, still is not complete....and the WORLD DID NOT END!!!! But yesterday it seemed it might.

My ego was holding the reins and my mood was plummeting fast - much like a runaway wagon with horses racing and reins dragging in the dust - there seemed to be no stopping it.

Typically with me I am able to control how I feel and put a stop to this nonsense. Yesterday was no different except I had no little interest in stopping it.  I was having a pity party and enjoying every minute of it.

This dark mood lasted most of the day.  When it showed signs of lifting later in the afternoon I started to get bombarded with texts and emails from people who just wanted to dump all of their negative thoughts and emotions onto me.  I was like a toxic dumping ground.  This left me drained and feeling short with people.  My pity party was still in full swing because I was annoyed and irritated that people were actually seeking my advice.

Last night as I went to bed I reflected on the day.  What I learned from the day is that I got exactly what I wanted.  I wanted to be negative and surly and in return I attracted negative and surly.

Today is a new day.  And already it is bringing my much greater things than yesterday.  Despite having less than four hours sleep I have spent the last hour laughing at myself and truly appreciating the day.  I have had the pleasure of watching the sunrise and listened to the birds sing and I have been reminded that I control how I feel.

When you notice that your day has gotten entirely off track and the horses are racing and the reins are dragging in the dust - realize that you have the option of climbing down to get them.

For those of you who had the "pleasure" of dealing with me yesterday please accept my most heartfelt apologies if I were short with you in any fashion.  To my Dear Husband...you truly must be a Saint.

Lead Life Joyfully

Much Love,
Lisa