Interview with Cookie Tuminello

Join my guest, Cookie Tuminello and me, as we discuss how to take your Power Back. Cookie has helped thousands of people claim their personal power and become more productive, prosperous and self-assured. Cookie will discuss how to ask for what you want, say what you mean and mean it, and handle any difficult situation. If you are ready to step into your own power and own it, you won't want to miss this show. Tune in on Monday, February 16 at 3:00 p.m. MT on Blog Talk Radio. Please call in on (646)-929-2440.

Don't stop celebrating the love

Greetings:

Although it is nice to have a special day to celebrate love, it doesn't have to last just one day. Everyday can be a day of love, and the first person to show how much you care for is you. Now, before anyone thinks I am talking about being narcissistic, don't worry. What I am talking about is simply taking excellent care of yourself so that you have the energy and the desire to share your gifts, love, time and other resources with others.

When we give from an overflowing cup, we give with joy and love. When we give from an empty cup, we give from a place of lack and hardship, maybe even martyrdom. Filling our cup to overflowing helps us to be generous with others. It is so much easier to give joyfully when that giving comes from a place of feeling nurtured.

There are many ways to take care of yourself and show how much you care. Here are just a few suggestions:

- Give yourself the gift of a flower of the month club, or week, and have fresh flowers delivered to your office or home

- Indulge yourself in a delicious meal at your favorite restaurant

- Set aside one night a week to do something just for you

- Create a space in your home that is your space. Fill it up with things that you love and that support and comfort you

- Designate one of your desk drawers as you comfort drawer. Keep special treats, aromatherapy items, and any kind of de-stresser you might enjoy.

There are many ways to take care of yourself. What you do isn't as important as just taking care of yourself and filling up your cup. Self-care is actually the nicest thing you can do not only for yourself, but also for the loved ones in your life. The better you take care of yourself, the better you will be able to take care of them.

We all do so much for others and truly I wouldn't change that. One of my top five values is generosity. I love giving to others, but that doesn't mean that I can't be generous with myself too. I deserve to be treated just as wonderfully as I treat others. And so do you.

The reason for self-care is to take care of yourself so you can be your best in everything you do.


This week write in your journal what you can do for yourself and what you should do for yourself this week.


Quotes

"Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting." William Shakespeare

"Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better." Emile Coue

"I am the greatest!" Muhammad Ali

Be Your Own Best Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is the day of lovers and one very important type of love is self-love. I am not talking about being selfish and self-absorbed. I am talking about self-respect, self care and loving yourself enough to be your own best Valentine. When you love yourself, you are able to love others and allow others to love you back. Today is a great day to show how much you appreciate you.

If you would like to receive flowers, candy or a gift, then send yourself flowers, buy yourself a gift or buy some delicious candy. If someone else buys you a gift, that will just be icing on the cake. Treat yourself to a special coffee in the morning or go to your favorite restaurant for lunch or dinner. Perhaps schedule a special spa treatment for later in the week or leave work early and indulge in a special treat. Whatever makes you feel special and loved is what you should do today. In addition, be open to the love and appreciation you receive from others. Loving yourself allows you to receive the love and affection others have to offer.

Don't wait for someone to make your day. Make your own day by showering yourself with love and appreciation. Whatever will make this day special for you is what you should do. I have been known to send myself flowers, buy myself a box of Godiva chocolate or spend time at the spa. It isn't about being selfish; it is about self-love and care. The more you love and care for yourself, the more you can love and care for others.

How will you show yourself how much you are loved?



Quotes

"You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy." Anonymous

"I don't like myself, I'm crazy about myself." Mae West

"If you aren't good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you'll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren't even giving to yourself." Barbara De Angelis

Take Care of the Golden Goose

Greetings:

In the children's fable, "The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg," there was a goose that produced a golden egg each day. In an attempt to get all the golden eggs, the goose was killed. Unfortunately, a dead goose does not produce any eggs, so killing the goose was the end of the good fortune.

I was thinking about this fable and how it relates to the way we treat ourselves. We are our own golden goose. We are the ones that create the golden eggs in our lives. Unfortunately, we do not always recognize how important we are and how important our self-care is. We fail to see that if we do not take care of ourselves, we will end up like the goose, unable to produce golden eggs. We will be stressed, sick and depleted.

When I suggest self-care to some of my clients, they shun the idea at first because they think it is selfish. And they are right, it is. But not selfish in the way that we ignore others or step over others to get what we want. Self-care is about taking care of ourselves so that we can take care of others and give from a place of abundance and love. It is difficult to take care of anyone else if we are exhausted and spent. We end up giving from a place of lack and resentment and that does not benefit anyone.

Taking care of the golden goose in your life (you) is an important first step in creating a more abundant and happy life. When we take care of ourselves, we have more energy, enthusiasm and compassion for others. We can give from a place of abundance and not lack. Giving becomes something we do because we want to not because we have to. Taking care of ourselves is really the first step in being more generous and loving to others.

Are you taking care of the golden goose?

Quotes

"Kill not the goose that lays the golden egg." Traditional Proverb

Understanding and Applying the Enneagram

Greetings:

If you would like an opportunity to learn about the Enneagram you have a chance. My colleague Elizabeth Carrington-House is doing a workshop in Colorado Springs in April. It will be an excellent time to explore the concepts of the Enneagram and how to use it in your life.

Rachelle

Understanding and Applying the Enneagram

Wondering what “more alive” feels like?
Want a deeper experience of Presence?
The Enneagram provides a way of seeing where we “go to sleep on ourselves”
and reveals a transformative path for realizing our enormous gifts and True Nature.
Through this 2 day exploratory workshop:
* Understand the gifts, troublesome patterns, and challenges of Nine Personality Types.
* Deepen your experience of Presence and understand what gets in your way.
* Learn about the hidden beliefs and motivations that have shaped your life.

Saturday and Sunday, April 4-5, 2009
9:30-5:30
Cheyenne Canon Inn
Colorado Springs, CO
$325.00
Email Diana at Diana.redmond@gmail.com or call 415-640-0805
For participating coaches, we are authorized
to provide 16 CCEUs through ICF.

Facilitators:
Elizabeth Carrington-House, Master Certified Coach, is co-founder of Dolphin Leadership, Inc. an executive coaching/training company and founder of the North Bay Coaches Alliance. She is passionate about sharing the Enneagram with others as a map for heightening one’s personal awareness and experience of fulfillment.

Diana Redmond has been a student and teacher of numerous disciplines including meditation and Kashmir Shaivism. For her the beauty of this ancient system lies in its ability to reveal our illusions,bring infinite compassion to ourselves and others, and connect us to a deeper Wisdom.

You Cannot Give Away what You don't have

Greetings:

People often ask me why self-care is so important. Taking care of ourselves and putting our priorities first often feels selfish. The best way to shift that perspective and look at self-care in a different light is to think about what self-care does for you and what it enables you to do for others. If we do not take care of ourselves and put our own well being first, what will we have left to give others? If we are burnt out and stressed and overloaded, what will be left of us to share? We cannot give away what we don't have. If we don't have energy, or time, or even enough love for ourselves, we cannot give energy, or time, or love to others.

Self-care is not a selfish; it actually is the most loving thing we can do for others. By taking care of ourselves, we build up reserves of time, energy, love and other positive things that we can share with others. When we give from an empty cup, we soon will become completely depleted, resentful and perhaps even sick.

This week, do three things just for yourself such as taking a relaxing bath, treating yourself to your favorite meal or spending time doing nothing. Make an appointment with yourself for self-care, write it down, and don't be late!

Quotes

"A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools." Spanish proverb

Time for the Monthly Review

Greetings:

When you track your success it helps keep you on track. Something I have started this year is doing a monthly review. In the past I have always done a yearly review of the successes for that year. When my husband and I sat down this year to look at how 2008 went we had a challenging time remembering WAY back to the first of the year. We came up with a list of things but I am sure there were more. So this year I decided to do the review at the end of the month.

I don't know about you but I can't remember what I did yesterday let alone 12 months ago. By keeping track of the success as I go I am able to see what is working, what I might need to change and what I might need to stop altogether. It gives me more of a real picture in real time. After all 12 months from now there isn't much I can do to change the results, but right now I can.

Before you go any further into February sit down and write your accomplishments for January. Make a list of everything you are proud of, completed or even started. My list included:

Launched 2 DAPP Success Camps
Kept up with Daily Action
Designed Course for University
Spent time with friends
Celebrated Birthday

I had several others and a few that were projects that I simply got a start on. Looking at that list made me feel really great! I am encouraged to keep on going and create more success for February!

So get started and make your list! Do it now before you forget.

Here's to taking action,

Rachelle