Ricky’s Got It Right.

There comes a time in the life of every blog to be controversial.

This may be that time for me. I have never received any hate comments (well, on this blog — my locavore life blog? Another story… who knew seasonal food could insight such outrage??) or harsh words. That may change today.

Did you see how today, Tuesday, March 30th, Ricky Martin (finally) came out of the closet? Some might call his post to his site “gushy” — I see it as modeling everything we talk about here.

(more…)

Just for the Lady Lawyers

Circle all that apply:

• Male / Female
• Doctor / Lawyer / Indian Chief

If you circled Female, and Lawyer, I have something special for you (though it will not remove the circles from your computer screen). It will make you happier, and it’s very, very cheap.

Curious? Click here to read more.

If you’re not female, and not a lawyer, I still like you and am happy to see you.

And to all, a glorrrrrrious weekend!

Last spot! And it’s going, going….

Just in case you’ve been debating about whether or not to take the Last Weight Loss Class You’ll ever need…

Rest easy knowing that TOMORROW, you’ll start the end your weight loss struggle and preoccupation with food.

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. (How dramatic.)

But, seriously, there is one spot left, and it will most likely get filled by the end of the work day. Snap it up now, and you’ll learn how to eat only when you’re hungry, enjoy food, and stop struggling with your weight for good.

The class is going to be awesome. It’s based on (1) what worked for me, (2) a clinically proven program and (3) the work of a couple other ridiculously cool and normal colleagues of mine.

(Later you feel like the class ends up not being your thing, you can get a full refund — because I know how it feels to buy something and it’s not really right for you.  It’s a win-win for you!)

It’s Tuesdays @ 7pm EST February 23 to March 30. You dial in from anywhere you are in the world. If you miss a class, it’s no biggie. Classes are recorded and emailed to you. Because — stuff comes up sometimes!

So read all about it. Then, sign up HERE! SOLD OUT!

Sign up here for the stellar waiting list for the next class (and you’ll also get SNEAKY, sneaky discounts on it)

Who knows when I’ll do this class again, and summer is coming! (I know, the summer thing is a cheap shot… but, brother, if you’re anything like me, summer coming matters.)

Come join me, and lose weight for the last time.

Friday. #13: Get SHUCKED UP edition.

It’s that time of the week! Our checking in ritual.

Check out the explanatory metaphor about why we do rituals here.

And also, the hard stuff is the raw material for the cool stuff that happens in our lives. It’s annoying, but true. So, here, we attempt to not ignore the hard stuff, because that would mean a lot less cool stuff coming through.

So, we talk about it. And, think about it. And sometimes we even do something about it (but, we never have to).

Hard stuff.

This week I had not that much hard stuff, which is weird because February is usually a walking-through-quicksand hard month (dark; cold; Hallmark holiday). How refreshing!

Sometimes, not really being in control of anything (ever) feels hard.

Because we, none of us, are really in control of our lives. Sometimes this feels like a scary thought, that you’re not really in control of your career or where you end up. In a sense you are in control, because you can choose what you want in your life, and if you reallllllly mean it, that will happen — but in a much bigger sense, anything could happen, and that’s something you don’t get a say in.

Like how everyone at Lehman Bros. thought they had very safe, boring jobs until they were all fired. Stuff like that.

It can be scary, UNTIL  you feel the relief of the fact that everything is not really up to you. There’s a flow to be gone with.

For instance: Doing what you love for a living is the ultimate “I’m not really in control” concession. Apparently, to succeed, you have to work really, really hard, but stay open to where the flow is.

It’s kind of like following a messy puppy that meanders around and doesn’t pay any attention to your itinerary for it.

You buy this soft, cozy dog bed for the puppy. But the puppy will not be sleeping there. Like when you plan for X to happen, and you try and try and try and it’s just not really happening! You throw up your hands! You shake your fist!

THEN, all of a sudden, angels come down from the heavens and something really cool happens that you never thought of.

It’s really cool to watch and that this is my life, but sometimes hard for me to stay loose with it and just allow it all to happen. You know what I mean?

I kind of need a place to live.

And I am not sure what this place will be like, where it will be located, or how I will find it (or how it will find me).

RED ALERT! New section.

Let’s peruse last week’s hard/cool stuff and see where we are at with some of it.

Creativity block. I had a major one last week about a program I thought I should do… but, somehow, another program happened from popular demand. So, that’s that! Works for me (for now).

Ultimate fighting! And, GOLF! Both waltzed into my life last week, both are awesome. Except, I somehow now have a GOLF COACH who wants me to go to the driving range 3 times a week. Officially, let’s make that 2 times, otherwise I’m not going to go at all.

Staying centered instead of REALLY EXCITED then. Withdrawn. I’m working on doing this, still. I think it might be the secret to the universe. I’ll let you know.

Cool stuff.

I am doing my oh-so-favorite class!!!

And, in just 2 days, it’s almost full!!! This class happened so organically.

Last summer, I noticed that people were telling me that I was “naturally thin” (soooooo not true). I thought,

I think my friends might like to hear how I worked through my food issues and preoccupations about weight and dropped down to my right size.

And, they did! And the info and interest has just grown from there. Read about it here.  You can be one of the last 3 to get in! I’d so love to have you.

• Because, I want you to be happy. That’s the whole point of my job, that I have learned how to work through stuff so that you’re on track, and happy.

Which means that you don’t need to obsess over losing weight to be thin (in fact, obsessing is what is keeping you from losing weight… SO ANNOYING, right?!)

I made a new friend!

She is awesome. I was kind of needing to make a no-nonsense friend like her.

She has three kids under the age of 4 and talks about how she doesn’t even like one of them (I love that!). She isn’t trying to pretend she has it all together.

And that reminds me…. I’ll tell you a little secret: NO ONE HAS IT ALL TOGETHER.

If they say they do, they are hiding something and lying to you.

Valentines Day is so much fun stupid.

I mean, I would NEVER like a dumb, made up holiday like that!*

*I’ve always secretly liked it. Something that I’m embarrassed to admit! I like getting flowers and jewelry and my favorite chocolate (it’s cote d’or). I want to be taken to dinner and be asked to be your Valentine.

I’m learning more about how to do the business side of this thing I do… very helpful.

I’ve felt kind of stuck on the, how, exactly, do I do things like regularly put out a Noosletter that is interesting and helpful for you?  I’m getting the hang of that more.

This is a real-life example of totally sucking at something, working on it for a year, and now being “mediocre”.

My goal for the next two months is to be “slightly above mediocre”. This is taking a lot of patience, which I wasn’t aware that I had. Also cool!

I’m going to the OysterFest, snow or shine.

Because their tag line is:

“are you read to get SHUCKED UP!”

(just like that, with ALL CAPS, and no question mark )

And that’s my cool stuff and hard stuff this week!

You are so welcome here anytime. I appreciate having you around (just been meaning to tell you).

In the comments:

• Tell me some hard things for you this week
• Tell me about the cool stuff, too.
• Throw out some awesomely terrible tag lines.

Have a great weekend! See you next week. Hugs and keeeeeses!

Guerilla Weight Loss Tactics (that work!)

Lose weight (even when nothing else is working).

You struggle with your weight. You’re conscious of calories and how you look…. but you haven’t lost weight without gaining it back.

Why can’t you go through each day without thinking about how much you’re eating or what you look like, and just BE a skinny person??

Guerilla what?

Guerilla weight loss! It’s a class on Tuesdays @ 7pm, from February 23 to March 30 (6 weeks) (keep reading to learn all about it, or go ahead and sign up here) SOLD OUT!

Sign up here for the stellar waiting list for the next class

(and you’ll also get SNEAKY, sneaky discounts on it)

It’s the perfect cure for any weight struggle: this class teaches you how to lose weight and drop the food and body obsessions.

This is how it works: you learn how to only eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full without thinking about calories or portions — at all.

The conventional wisdom about losing weight is to restrict food and increase your exercise. This will only keep you fat.

You know  this is true because you wouldn’t be interested in this class if conventional wisdom, a.k.a. the diet industry, actually worked for you.

I guess, theoretically, the “best” case scenario (if you can even call it that?) in following conventional wisdom is becoming fairly thin, but mentally obsessed with what you’re eating and how you look almost every waking moment… sure, you’re thin-ish, but living like that is as miserable as it is unnecessary. (It’s wholly unnecessary.)

Even the “best” case scenario doesn’t last (I know, depressing, but I’m just telling you the truth). Our bodies are biologically programed to survive. This means your body interprets a scarcity of food (even if self-imposed) and increased physical demands as a red alert to put on weight and keep it on.

Mother Nature will always win this battle of wills with you, eventually. She is relentless and tireless. It’s why you’re here: the generations of your family have survived hardships this way.

But, fear not! There’s a better way!

Why not be skinny and psychologically free, too?? Get the best of both worlds: Happy, worry-free and skinny thighs.  It’s the new triple threat!

What kind of weight loss class?

Guerilla weight loss, of course!  You know, “guerilla”…

As in: “Tactics that are precise, strategic and unexpected” (yeah, that’s my personal definition, but doesn’t it soundright?):

• Precise: Drop the useless diets that never worked anyway. You learn only the the precise tools you need to be at your natural weight, to eat only when you’re hungry, and to be free to enjoy the rest of your skinny-person life (yay!).
• Strategic: Use sneaky, sneaky tricks. You follow the right strategy to get your body on your side. When you and your body are on the same team, you work with it, not against it. In turn, it cooperates with you and does what you want (like, oh, lose weight).
• Unexpected: RELAX to lose weight. You do the exact opposite of what you’ve always done (restricted and monitored food, over-exercised) because, as anyone who is naturally thin knows, you only get thin (and stay thin) by NOT trying to be thin. So unexpected!

I will not tell you what or how much to eat, or how to exercise. What I will teach you is how to be naturally thin.

It looks something like this:

• Stage 1: Learn to reconnect to your body. This enables you to be able to actually hear it when it’s hungry and stop before you’re stuffed.
• Stage 2: Learn why you disconnected in the first place. As a baby, you were totally in tune with your body — you ate when you were hungry and stopped when you were full. Whether or not you realize it right now, there is a reason you disconnected, and working through this means learning better ways (than eating until you’re chubby) to deal with uncomfortable emotions and situations.
• Stage 3: Learn how to deal with common pitfalls. Late night eating, overeating when alone, eating too much without realizing it and more… it all gets covered so you successfully change your unhelpful eating patterns.

Side note: “guerilla” does NOT mean “war”.

This is guerilla tactics, NOT “guerilla warfare”.

Because declaring a war on yourself never works, and is basically what you’ve been doing all these years. It’s okay, we’ve all done it (because it’s essentially what every diet tells you to do).

You know the kind head-on assault I’m talking about: you attempt to beat yourself thin with boot camps, starvation and cleanses (so miserable; Also: only make you fatter).

Eventually, you surrender due to exhaustion, or total pie-eating freak out, and all you’ve lost is money, energy and all of the healthy bacteria in your colon.

Why guerilla weight loss changes everything.

Because, aside from never having to wear your fat pants again, re-learning how and when to eat reconnects you to yourself, and that gives you all of these useful things:

• tools to accomplish, for real, anything else your heart desires
• an introduction to your intuitive abilities

• ability to mentally focus on stuff, stress-free
• increased physical energy
• loads more self-confidence
• more dates (just sayin’)

• access to your sense of purpose on the planet
• “Aha!” moments of understanding yourself and your emotions

Honestly, losing weight is more like a side effect to all of that great stuff that comes to you when you learn to listen to your body.

And, why me?

I’ve worked with nice people like you before, and they have gotten excellent results, like losing 13 pounds in the first 3 weeks, losing weight and not gaining it back and and nipping tiny weight gain in the bud when it seems to be creeping up out of nowhere.

I’m trained and certified to do this kind of work. I’ve been coaching people through this since since 2008.

I use tactics that are clinically proven (and, annoyingly, not available to the public anywhere else yet).

• By “clinically proven” I mean that Emory University’s Department of Psychology conducted many, many trials of these tactics and exercises on real people, and most of those people lost weight as a result.
• And by “not available to the public” I mean that a friend of mine is one of the psychologists involved in developing these tactics and has given me permission to use it. Otherwise, their work is not (yet – it probably will be one day) available to the general public in any format.

I also utilize the work done by a very famous weight loss coach, Brooke Castillo, and her most cutting edge work introduced to a small group of people in January at a retreat in Phoenix.

Most importantly, I’ve been where you are, and successfully figured it out. I’ve lost weight and my worked through my food issues and my emotional issues around food. I just live my happy life without feeling bad about how I look or struggling with my weight.

And my students see awesome results from this work all of the time.

Get in this class!

Space is limited! There are only 7 spots left (at the time of this post 2/9/2010) there are 2 spots left, 2/15/09. sorry sorry sorry!

This class always sells out. I like to keep it small. That way, everyone gets my attention and has a good, quality, best-ever kind of experience.

And I’m not a pressure-er (I hate, hate, hate being pressured), I only tell you that it sells out quickly so that you know that you probably won’t be able to wait until the last minute to sign up — maybe that will work out, who knows, but in the past it’s sold out in just a few days.

So, if you’re interested, go ahead and sign up…

Because, if you hate it, you get your money back.

I know what it feels like to buy something and not end up liking it, so if you take this class and it does nothing for you, you get a full refund.

Seriously.

This is a no questions asked, and no hard feelings kind of refund. We’ll still be cool, you can hang out on the blogand be my friend on Facebook/Twitter.

Delicious details.

First, no matter where in the world you live, you can join the class. You dial in from wherever you have a telephone.

Second, it’s on Tuesdays @ 7pm, from February 23 to March 30 (6 weeks). If you miss a class, that’s ok, too — it’s all recorded.

You get:

• Six classes, 50-minutes, taught by me
• Open Q&A after every class
• Class recordings emailed to you within 24 hours to download to your iTunes/iPod
• Homework that gets you really good results
• Tidy, doable exercises that make what you need to do simple
• Worksheets and outlines to guide you through new concepts
• Group of people that is going through exactly what you are (hooray, your people have found you!)
• Weekly emails with an little extra oomph to keep you motivated between classes
• Email access to me, that is unlimited, for any questions or anytime you need extra support

That’s a lot, but if you or I think of more ways to help you along, you get those, too.

Six hours of my time, alone, would normally cost you at least $650. And that’s if I have time in my schedule for new clients, which (for February, at least) I don’t.

And, no one has ever gotten the super-cool clinically proven tips (that kind of makes them priceless). Plus, all of the support by me and others, and helpful feedback, and tried-and-true exercises that are all pretty crucial to succeed in changing your way of thinking and patterns so you will permanently lose weight.

Not to mention that all of the money you’ve spent on personal trainers, diet books, diet foods and nutritionists over the years totals much, much more than that, and the emotional pain, the mental anguish and disappointment you’ve endured. Weight struggles are brutal.

So, when it just costs you $199 to be naturally thin, it’s staggeringly affordable.

And it gets better — if you sign up by next Tuesday, February 16th, the class is just $169. (sorry, no longer available!)

Just $199!

That’s total — even including tax, materials and unlimited good will from me. (Another reason this class will fill up FAST).

Click HERE to grab your spot now! SOLD OUT!

Sign up here for the stellar waiting list for the next class

(and you’ll also get SNEAKY, sneaky discounts on it)

I fully believe in this work, it’s been true in my life and I’ve seen it work over and over again for my students and friends. Everything I offer is high quality and I only do work that I have done with myself, and seen work with others too.

I’m so excited to get started!

Talk to you oh-so-soon,

Laurie

P.S. — If you are thinking this class may be something you are interested in, it’s a good idea to sign up, it has always sold out, and if you end up not liking it, you can get your money back with no hard feelings (though, I admit that has never happened — people have been thrilled with the class, but it’s really okay if you end up not being as thrilled, it doesn’t make you weird).

P.P.S. — Final word (promise): If you sign up for this class now, you know that you’ll be on your way to losing weight in the month of February, and by March, who knows how far along you’ll be? And, again, if you hate it, you can always undo this whole transaction. That’s all! I’m done now!

Friday! #11: Ultimate Fighting Championship edition.

It’s that time of the week! Our checking in ritual is doing wonders for me.

I’m paying much more attention to what’s going on for me internally and externally. I’m seeing more changes happening on their own (like yesterday, when I was a happy person, for real, experiencing a negative situation… after freaking out first — but that’s progress!).

The hard stuff is the raw material for the cool stuff. We don’t ignore the hard stuff, because that would mean a lot less cool stuff coming through.

Instead, we talk about it. And think about it. And sometimes we even do something about it (but, we never have to).

Join me in the comments if you want to, but as always, no pressure. I like having you here, regardless.

Hard stuff.

Health scare.

I had a little one, and I think it’s all okay but I won’t know until next week.

The most universal and natural fear for humans, so I’m told, is death. Which means that it is abnormal that I’m not really scared of death. At all. I learned early on that death is part of this whole experience you and I are having on planet earth. It’s all of our destiny. So is aging. I’m cool with that.

Me and death? We’re buddies. But, me and the unknown?? We’re not even on speaking terms.

Dear The Unknown: You FREAK ME OUT.

So, when I may have a health issue that would require several steps to work out, OR I may be 100% fine, or I could be in a heap of trouble, I am shaken up! I’m truly scared because I don’t know what’s wrong with me!!! [runs screaming into the night]

Here’s my attempt at handling Health Scare:

I sat down with myself, as patiently as I could, and made a plan to figure out what is wrong with me. I actually, amazingly, accepted help from people that I love to engage this plan. I openly talked to a gorgeous and hi-LAR-ious friend over a comforting lunch.

I accepted that me knowing, or not knowing, what’s going on has zero effect on whatever’s going on and whatever needs to happen. I joined my body’s team and felt kinder towards my body, and less anger and disgust at it not being perfectly healthy all of the time.

And, you know what? I feel the best that I can ever remember feeling about my life, my Right People (that includes YOU!) and myself.

That means one thing: thank you, Health Scare. You are a most wise teacher.

Creativity block.

I’ve been working on the announcement of a program I’m doing for, like TWO WEEKS. Not the actual program — the program is done. But the announcement about the program is taking me WEEKS.

I have some serious writer’s block. I actually think it is because I have *issues* selling you things.

I hate, hate, hate (HATE!) being sales-ey. How gross is it when a slickster is emotionally manipulating you into thinking you HAVE TO HAVE something (and you never, ever have to have ANYTHING) and then you buy it, and then it’s worthless to you, and you feel kind of dirty?

SO GROSS. I really hate it.

This is my plan:

STEP ONE: Remind myself why I’m doing this class (to give people a way to know the work they are right for and a way to find out what that work is! and, do it!)

STEP TWO: Remind myself that it’s okay if my descriptions are imperfect and my jokes fall flat. As long as my head, heart and energy are in the right place, which is the intent of giving you something to make your life permanently better, that comes through.

STEP THREE: Release control over outcome. If a million people show up to class, great! If 3 people, great! If the content changes to meet the classes needs, great! There is no bad outcome — except for me trying to control it.

STEP FOUR: Give self permission to make mistakes. I’m allowed to totally screw up. In fact, they tell me much more about what you do and don’t want, and what I do and don’t like doing, than getting things perfectly ever could.

STEP FIVE: Pick a deadline to launch the class and stick to it no matter what (see Step 2).

STEP SIX: Girlie squeal! Followed by: Class Launch!

I feel better already. Nice.

Cool stuff.

I had a great lunch with a mentor this week.

It inspired me that someone who has been extremely successful in his very, very conventional career has the same view on life that I do.

I feel reassured and refreshed by the fact that the stuff I tell you, that can feel so revolutionary compared to your work environment or parents or idea of what is “normal” can also be, in fact, very normal.

Huh.

A *LIVE* Ultimate Fighting Championship… tonight!

I’m super excited, because that is where I am going! I’m also excited, because what in the WORLD is this going to be like???

It may be horrifyingly violent and awful, and, hey, maybe I like that!  It may be boring, like the cricket in South Africa.

Either way, I am already considering sponsoring a fighter. I’ve been looking to do a corporate sponsorship…

And here’s my only clue about tonight:

I was told not to dress to “fit in”.

This implies that my current type of dress does not “fit in”. Are there gang colors I should avoid wearing? Should I fire up the crimper? Do people wear body paint instead of clothing and Kleenex boxes in the place of shoes?

Seriously, if you know, fill me in so that I can NOT do that (per my instructions).

I’m feeling really, really good about my coaching business.

I have a strong sense of where it’s going, what I want for it and what’s working and what I want to do differently.

I’m going to try out some products, do a couple of classes, and think towards in person meetings with you. How do you feel about that?

I may go to SXSW to connect with cool people that will be good resources for you, too. FUN.

I had a great dinner with my family last night.

It was my sister’s birthday, and we all got together, and it’s been a while since we have. And you know what? It was just really nice conversation and nice company.

I told them about my health scare (more typically I pressure myself to feed various pieces of news that boil down to, “EVERYTHING IS GREAT” matched with plastered-on grin) and my meeting with my mentor. I think I heard what’s really going on for them, too.

Which means that, for real this time, everything really IS great.

Being consistently peaceful instead of ECSTATIC! Followed by a crash.

I’m experimenting with this new thing idea that what goes up must come down… in everything. I’m very high energy and I get so excited! But I’ve come to notice that these fits of activity and creativity and energy don’t come without an equal and opposite lull in activity. And creativity. And energy.

What if, when I felt myself getting allllll wound up, I gently let go of that surge, and instead took a deep breath and stayed in a more peaceful place, energetically?

That’s what I did last night when I was hanging with some friends. And, today? I don’t feel exhausted or inexplicably blue. Maybe I’m onto something.

GOLF. GOLF. GOLF.

I love it. (I think)

I used to play, then got very busy with work, and kind of abandoned it. But now that I have a flexible schedule (yay, creative entrepreneurship!), I decided to pick it back up.

And, guess what?! I’m terrible! And it’s so much fun.

Stop the beatings.

That’s my new motto for my gentleman friend.  I think I like it so much because I need to be told to stop mentally beating myself up for every little thing approximately 1000 times per minute.

What if we were nice to ourselves, and meant it? How good would that feel? SO GOOD.

I’m noticing whenever I beat myself and seeing what triggered it. I’m noticing that my triggers have, often, to do with what other people think…. interesting.

I’m finding this interesting instead of beating myself up for flipping out over what other people think. Progress.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

I hope you’ve got some good hard stuff you’re working on and some very cool stuff happening too. I want to hear!

Have a beautiful weekend!!!! Talk to you next week.

Friday! In review. #10: Warts and all edition.

Whoa! There is a LOT to review since our last review together.

(If you’re new here, we have rituals in place in our lives as reminders. This one is the time each week we reconnect with who we are, what we want, and how we’re doing with… everything.)

Today’s focus: Total (terrifying!) Honesty.

Hard Stuff.

I am learning how to be myself in relationships.

I kind of can’t believe I’m writing this on my blog, but you and I (and everyone we know) goes through the saaaaaame kind of stuff, so this may be one of those things that I’m embarrassed to admit, but you totally relate to it, too.

I’m learning that being the real me that my friends (mostly) know, and that I (mostly) know, in front of someone I’m … interested in, is terrifying.

It’s also the only way to have a real, live relationship.

For example: being who I really am on this blog has built a very real relationship between me and it. And, since you show up here, you’re in that very real relationship with me and the blog, too.

And, just generally, relationships? They are important.

It’s one. Day. At. A. Time.

Ahhhhhhhh! GO. FASTER.

I am not AT ALL amused at how slow this process of being myself in front of someone I’m… interested in actually is.

Being myself, and not the version of me that I think someone wants me to be, is not a BIG decision. It’s actually, this little, tiny decision. Like when I’m thinking of answering a question a certain way (“Nooooooo, I’d never wear clothes and then return them to the store”) that’s not really the truth…

… and, at that moment, I decide to say the truth (“Yes, I’ve worn stuff and returned it — in fact, I’m considering returning this thing I’m wearing, right now. Seriously.”)

Traveling for one month — and staying with other people for 3 weeks of it.

Being out of my routine means, apparently, that I kind of lose my bearings. It is harder for me to feel like myself when I’m traveling (sometimes — not always). When I don’t feel like me, I don’t exactly act like me, either. And that’s disturbing.

Also, when I stay with friends and don’t have a car in a city where you really need to have a car, I fell trapped and beholden to whatever they want to do.

This, of course, is in my head — who knows if my friends care if we do what I want, or what they want? But, I felt a little like I had to play nice and go with the flow. What’s worse than making yourself “play nice”?

Do I travel around the world? 

I’m thinking about it… traveling is just in my blood. Right now, with what I’m doing here, I can do it from anywhere. I’m nervous about leaving things behind that matter to me, and then they aren’t there when I come back, but I also REALLY want to travel around the world. 

Ah, worry and fear. I know thee well.

Creating 3 programs at one time… recipe for overwhelm and stuck.

This is not that hard, it’s more like: ok, so now I know that I should create one program at a time. Lesson learned! 

I get really excited about stuff I want to do for you, and then jump in without fully vetting the putting it all together. This, too, is good to know! 

The upshot is a bunch of cool stuff that you’ll love is in the pipeline for the next few weeks. That’s exciting! I’m excited.

Good Stuff.

I went to Africa! AFRICA! Africa changes people (it changed me).

The trip was NOTHING like I thought it would be, though. I thought I would be immersed in raw wilderness, with all of those natural forces reminding me how I’m part of nature, too, and we all fit in it in the most perfect way.

Instead, it was more like the south of France, but the people speak English as their first language. How unexpected.

I went on safari. I saw leopards and lions and giraffes. I went wine tasting. I went to the beach. I hiked and watched sunsets.

It was amazing. It expanded my views. I can’t fit it into a bullet point.

I am back on my blog! 

I really missed you, and now that I’m back, I realize that I realllllly missed you. 

I get to go to Yoga and Pilates and hip hop class!

I love, love, love exercise. Moving (in ways I like to move — sorry, running, you ain’t my cup of tea) makes me feel like… ME. It centers me and brings me joy. 

Guess what?? I get to like even the stuff I don’t really like about myself.

How liberating is that? I had a revelation this past weekend at a conference I went to….in fact, let me pass it on. Do this exercise.

SERIOUSLY. If you do ONE THING all day today, do this exercise:

• Make two columns on a piece of paper.
• In the column on the left, make a list of the qualities that a good version of you has, or that you wish you had. This is basically your ideal. Stay loose and write whatever comes to mind. This may be “successful” or “smart” or “respected” or “disciplined” etc. Write 5 to 10 or so. Do this before you keep reading.
• Now, in the column on the right, write the opposite of each of the ideal you qualities. If you wrote “successful”, the opposite is “unsuccessful”. If you wrote “not emotional” the opposite is “emotional”.

Look at both of these columns. You are already all of these qualities that you listed.

And, the more you mentally strive to embody the column on the left, the more your body dives into the column on the right. And, it’s all okay. I am wild about your right column qualities, and you should be, too.

Look at the column on the left — would you seriously want to be friends with a non-emotional, successful disciplinarian who never made mistakes? If your left column is anything like mine, that person is actually sociopathic. Scary. 

Look at the right column qualities again — if your friend came to you and showed that she was “weak”, wouldn’t you just love her so much more than if she always pretended to be “strong”? Think about it.

And here’s why you should care: Find a way to love the column on the right version of you, and magic will start to happen. Things like crazy-good career opportunities, the body you’ve always wanted, and the partner you’ve longed for … the best, best, best things begin falling from the sky and into your lap.

I’ve seen this craziness happen in my life and other people’s lives. I don’t know exactly what it’s about, I just know that it’s what happens when you accept yourself, and be yourself, and love yourself. 

Because I already know how wonderful you are, and know you’ve got loads of crappy parts, just like I do, and not only do I love you anyway, I love you because of all of it. (Hopefully, the fact that I just professed my love for you won’t make you wretch or run screaming… if it does, just pretend I didn’t go there. Poof! Didn’t happen!)

Anyway. It’s good to be back.

I hope you’re doing great.

In the comments, hit me with whatever is new for you in 2010. I dare you to say something so honest that it kind of scares you to actually say it, out loud.

Or, don’t. And just hang out here. You’re always welcome (warts and all).

Have a beautiful weekend! See you next week!

Get your UN-resolutions here.

It’s not too late for New Year’s resolutions! But, I wish it were.

New Year’s resolutions are so 200-and-late.

You’re not going to be able to convince me that MORE stuff on your phone book-length list of stuff in your life is going to add value or happiness or dollars or raise your metabolism.

Instead, if you want to have the best year ever, be a quitter.

(more…)

I’m back! ALSO: I’m in the WSJ Online!

My friend!!!

How I’ve missed you for the past few weeks (ehh, more like many weeks…) while I prepared for and went to Africa.

But, I’m back. And, my trip was amaaaaaaazing.

There’s a ton of stuff that happened and hit me that I need to tell you. Not want — NEED.

But while I get my schtick together here in the US of A where we freaking have internet*, check it out — I’m in the WSJ online!

*hellooooo, cable companies of South Africa, you are missing huge market share by making it such a pain royale for people to have internet at home. I checked my email THREE TIMES.  I miss you so much it hurts.

Have a good day!

And, seriously, babe, I’m back — come back often for turbo-blogging and massive cool programs and things that I’m throwing out there in a matter of hours.

Wahoooooooooooo.

Armageddon awaits you (and what to do about it)