So many people tell me how difficult it is to stay focused during the Summer. It is a challenge when the weather is calling us outside and there are so many tempting and fun activities to do.

The key here is it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Balance is the key. Make time for the fun summer activities, even scheduling fun into your calendar. This way you will have fun planned in along with the other things you have to do and the fun won’t get lost.

Don’t over commit. You can do it all but you don’t have to do it all at once. Make sure that you manage your time so that you can fit in what you need to do and what you want to do along with some open time. You don’t want to have so much to do that the fun becomes just another task on the to-do list.

Use your vacation time. You don’t have to take a whole week off to have fun. Schedule in a few long weekends or even a day off during the week. You also don’t have to get out of town to have fun. There is plenty to do right where you are. Visit the local zoo, museum or the amusement park. Pick up a guide for things to do in your area and try something new.

Dine out, outside that is. Take advantage of the great weather, the fresh air and the great light food available during the summer. Fire up the grill and have grilled vegetables. For dessert cut several peaches in half, lay the cut side down on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes. Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream. Yummy.

Enjoy the summer and take in all the pleasures it has to offer.

Leave a comment on the blog and let me know how you fit in fun during the summer.

Here’s to taking action

Rachelle

Greetings:

I love the quote by Erma Bombeck, “Guilt – the gift that keeps on giving.” I recently wrote a day for 365 Days of Coaching entitled “Guilt – leave home without it.” So often guilt is carried around. When you are at work you feel guilty about being away from your family and when you are with the family you feel guilty for not working. It is a vicious cycle that needs to be broke.

Guilt serves no purpose but to keep you stuck right where you are. Guilt is an unreal emotion that is made up in your mind. It is actually a learned emotion. You might have been made to feel guilty as a child and that learned behavior has carried over.

I was reading an article in the most recent issue of The Sedona Method ezine and there was a great line “guilt is an IOU for punishment.” Doesn’t that just sum up the entire concept of guilt. It is an IOU you are giving yourself to punish yourself, make yourself feel bad and beat yourself up. It is time to rip up the IOU and let go of guilt forever. It just doesn’t have a place in your life.

Here’s to taking action

Rachelle

new button from the talented Katie Taft

Greetings:

My friend and art lover friend Julie Byerlein has developed great artistic buttons with local Denver artist for the upcoming Democratic Convention in Denver at the end of the month. Check out her website at DemsdoDenver.com

Check out Julie’s blog, you won’t believe who is wearing the buttons!

Julie decided this was a great idea and is passionate about the arts so she took action. She didn’t worry about the “How” she simply took the next step.

Here’s to taking action,

Rachelle

Daily Action Power Process
DAPP Success Camp starts tomorrow, Tuesday, August 5th!

Greetings,

If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the DAPP Success Camp Preview call you are in luck. The FREE recording is still up for your listening pleasure. Tune in and discover how you can tap into the Power of Daily Action, how doing a little will get you a lot, when the best time to take action is and the secret weapon to success. If you want to have a strong finish for the end of the year you will want to listen to this call.

http://www.365daysofcoaching.com/dapp_sneak_preview_1.htm

If you want to create a strong finish for the year and make it the most productive year ever you don’t want to miss this opportunity to participate in the DAPP Success Camp. Campers from the first camp are telling me they are amazed at the results they have obtained and how much further along they are on their goals. What I know for sure is action is the only way to achieve what you want, and daily action will help you get there faster with less stress and less struggle.

Anything worth doing is worth doing with someone. Don’t go it alone. It is easier and just more fun when you work with others to achieve your goals. You will have a team supporting you along the way and a Coach that will keep you on track to your goals.

http://www.365daysofcoaching.com/dapp.htm

In the 90-Day Success Camp (August 5th through Nov. 3rd) you will learn how to:

* Set Value Based Goals – Go for what you really want
* How to tweak – not retreat
* Create Powerful Focus
* How to do a little and gain a lot
* The power of Accountability
* The Secret Weapon of Success
* The power of keeping track
* How to keep the momentum going
* Why rewards are essential to the process

In addition to the weekly group calls, I will have monthly open Coaching times when you can call me directly and receive fifteen minutes of focused coaching. This time will be spent focused on you and helping you move forward and achieve your goals. (This will be done on a first come first served basis.)

You will also have access to me through e-mail. I know things will come up between coaching calls that will cause you to need extra support. Because I want you to get the most out of this Success Camp as possible, I want you to have the support when you need it.

In addition, you will receive two 20-minute scheduled coaching sessions that will allow you private time with me as your coach helping you create the best strategy to achieving your goals.

And you will receive a Campers Manual (a workbook on the Daily Action Power Process) that will assist you with staying on track and accountable.

http://www.365daysofcoaching.com/dapp.htm

I have made the investment affordable. You even have the choice to make three easy payments, so there is simply no excuse not to attend.

I truly hope I hear you in success camp. I want you to finish the year with a lot to celebrate!

Here’s to taking action

Rachelle

PS – If, after the first week of Success Camp, you don’t feel like it is for you, I will refund your money and you will get to keep the Camp Manual as my gift to you. Now you really don’t have a reason not to sign up right now!

http://www.365daysofcoaching.com/dapp.htm

Sunday August 3 was International Friendship Day.

Many people have mentioned to me that this is the year they are going to focus on friendships. Some intend to create new ones while others want to work on the ones they have. Friendship is vital to our well being and, unfortunately in this hurry up and do more world, creating and maintaining friends can be challenging. If you are serious about having more and better friendships then the key is to make your friendships a priority.

If you want to make new friends, one thing for certain is you can’t do that by sitting at home in front of the television. You need to get out and mingle. Join a book club, a fitness club, or volunteer for a charity. Doing things that interest you will connect you will people that have common interest.

If you want to work on the friendships that you have, begin by contacting your friend(s) and setting up a time to get together. You might create a regular time to meet, or commit to talking on the telephone at least once a week, or e-mailing each other regularly. It takes time, energy and commitment to be a friend and have healthy friendships. If that is your intention prepare to work at being the kind of friend you want to have.

There is a lot of research coming out that backs up the need for friends. Not only does friendship help to reduce stress and lower risks for other aliments, friendship can help you lose or maintain a healthy weight. Now that is a great reason to make and keep friends. But even if weight isn’t a concern, friendship is a good bet to increase the overall enjoyment of life.

The challenge is friendships don’t just happen. They need to be nurtured and managed. If you want to increase the number of friends you have or increase the depth of your current friendships, the key is to focus on your friends. You have to make a commitment to make friendship a priority and create opportunities for your friendships to prosper.

Here’s to taking action

Rachelle

Greetings:

I am all about taking action. However until you can conceive it you can’t do anything about it. If you can’t even think something is possible taking the action wouldn’t be anything in your realm of reality. It just couldn’t happen.

I just listened to a great recorded telegathering hosted by Cheryl Richardson. Her guest was Louise Hay, one of the founders of the Personal Growth movement. I would encourage you to listen to the interview as Louise has amazing insight to share. Just go to Cheryl Richardson’s website and you can listen to it from there or download it onto your IPod.

In the interview Louise talks about the power of affirmations and how much they can support a person in making changes in their life. Recently I have been told that affirmations don’t work because they conflict with your logical mind and actually can cause just the opposite of what you want to happen. First with affirmations you are not talking to your logical mind, which in my opinion will get you in more trouble than you can imagine, you are talking to your subconscious. That is the part of your mind that takes whatever you tell it and works to make it true. Maybe you can’t tell yourself far out things like “I am going to build a set of wings and fly to the moon” however some people think telling themselves “I am capable of taking care of myself” is just as far out. The idea here is to feed yourself positive thoughts so that eventually you can believe them.

I went through a period of time when I was being stalked. I found myself being frightened even when I couldn’t see any danger around me. I could simply feel it. I started saying the affirmation, “I am safe wherever I am and whoever I am with.” I used this affirmation for years and it worked to calm me down and allowed me not to live in fear. Although I no longer feel a sense of fear every once in a while I have a sense of not feeling safe and I use that affirmation. For me it is better than any drug I could take. It works like a charm.

Affirmations are the prelude to taking action. They will support you in getting into action. You first have to be able to conceive a concept, to think it in your mind. Once you are able to do that you can create an affirmation that will support you in believing what you are thinking. When you create an affirmation and begin to repeat it you are planting seeds and drawing what you want to you. This is The Law of Attraction at it’s best. However once you draw what you want to you it is time for action. I call this inspired action and it is the key to The Law of Action, the Law that makes the Law of Attraction work. You might get an intuitive hit to call a friend or go a certain way home from work or read a certain book. Then what happens is your friend gives you a piece of information your were looking for, or you come across something you needed to see on your way home or the book is just the resource you needed.

According to Louise Hay “Everything you think and say is an affirmation.” I so believe that. My mother lived in fear of dying of cancer and she thought about it and talked about it for years. I bet you can guess what my Mother died from.

If you want to tap into the power of your mind and use it to create what you want in your life and not just accept what you create by default, begin using the power of affirmations. If your not sure how to create an affirmation visit Louise Hay’s website, she provides a new affirmation every day.

Here’s to taking action

Rachelle

Me at the Continental Divide

Greetings:

I have to admit I love my job and I most likely spend more time doing it than some of the guru’s would suggest. Because I love my job so much it is difficult to tell sometimes when I am working and when I’m not. Which I think is a great sign.

On Thursday one of my dear friends Jill and I, co-book club member and long time subscriber to 365 Days of Coaching, went up to the mountains to visit another long time subscriber to 365 Days of Coaching, Mary Ann. Mary Ann happens to be Jill’s sister-in-law. I have met Mary Ann one time before. Mary Ann has been wanting Jill and I to come up to her place in the mountains and snow shoe. Something I haven’t done yet. So we decided not to wait for winter and simply go up on a nice summer day.

Jill and I at the Continental Divide

Although I had a great time there were moments where I found myself thinking about work. I had to remind myself that I can work anytime, which I often do, and it is all about being in the present moment.

How often do you miss the moment by being mentally somewhere else? For me I had to let go of the guilt thinking I “should” be doing something else and enjoy what I was doing.

Jill and I picking fresh Spinach out of Mary Ann’s garden – a first for me!

I am reminded of the quote, “The work will rise to meet you.” There will always be work to do. The moments that you can spend with friends connecting and enjoying their company isn’t always going to be there. I have learned this the hard way. Give yourself a break and enjoy the moments you are gifted with.

Jill, Mary Ann and I in Mary Ann’s Talk Shop

Here’s to taking action

Rachelle