I have to confess. I am probably one of the few people familiar with personal development who never read one thing that Jim Rohn wrote, I never listened to one of his talks or even searched out his website. Yes, I had heard his name but I never felt compelled to learn more about one of the founders of the personal development industry. Looking back, it´s a bit strange - kind of like wanting to become a minister and never reading a Bible. But that is the truth. Maybe you´ve never done any of Jim´s work either.

Ironically, it wasn’t until after his death in early December that I was sent a manuscript of a conversation with him. I decided it was time to get to know Jim Rohn. And am I ever glad I did.

He said several things that resonated with me but the one that changed my plans for 2010 was: “Set a goal to become a millionaire for what it makes of you to achieve it. All that you will have learned and all that you will have become to reach the status of millionaire is what´s valuable, not the million dollars.”

I thought about that and realized that it was a goal I wanted to achieve. Yes, I´ve talked about financial freedom and I´ve achieved a certain amount of that over the last few years but the goal of millionaire has felt somewhat elusive. Perhaps it´s because I haven´t hung around a lot of millionaires growing up nor is it something most of my friends aspire to. It hasn´t been a part of my daily conversation, that´s for sure.

However, in the pit of my stomach, I have always wondered if I could create a million dollar income. That niggling question has been there for a long time, buried under all the reasons why the timing isn´t right, it´s too much work and my most favorite, “I live the life of a millionaire in many ways without having the responsibility of being one.” That one has got me off the hook lots over the past couple of years as I have lived a most amazing life in some very beautiful places.

However, what Jim said intrigued me from a personal development point of view. What needs to change in my beliefs, personality, strategies, and thoughts to become a millionaire? What do I need to learn to become the millionaire that will forever change my life and my impact on the world? As easy as it is to become a millionaire today, there are obviously some things about it that make it sufficiently elusive that most people never achieve it. It is those things that intrigues me, scares me a little, but is brewing in the pit of my tummy.

Coincidentally, the same week that I read this manuscript of a conversation with Jim, I was sitting for the first time at what has become one of my most favorite restaurants here in Guatemala. Zoolas is a very cool Israeli restaurant that has a very neat atmosphere and downright amazing food at ridiculously low prices. As I was relishing the place for the first time, my heart felt sad that Greg wasn´t with me. Here I was creating memories that will forever make me smile, and the man that I love more than anything wasn´t there with me. For the first time, I felt the pang in my heart of not wanting to create such amazing memories without him at my side.

Become a millionaire and be with Greg. Wow – quite a shift from my gypsy lifestyle of living out of two suitcases, spending more time playing than making money and spending months away from Greg each year.

As I had just written my vision for 2010, it now needed some serious reworking. However, I have decided to stay in Guatemala until the end of April. I get that there is some amazing healing work that I need to continue to avail myself of during these four months. And my trip to Bali and Thailand this summer still feels very right and important for reasons that I don´t understand. It´s another case of I don´t even know the questions to ask, never mind the answers so I am trusting my intuition on this one. However, come this fall I will be giving up the suitcases to focus on my business once again and my amazing relationship with Greg.

What that will look like I don´t know. I´m sure there will be some definite guidance in that area. The instructions seem to show up when I need them.

However, as we begin 2010, I am going to ask that you ask yourself the same questions I asked myself. These aren´t necessarily easy questions but I believe they are important ones. And please don´t brush them off because you think that you don´t need all that money. Jim Rohn said, “Become the millionaire so you become the person that goal will make of you and then if you want, give the money away.” This is NOT about the money, this is about the personal growth you will need to do to reach that goal. Isn´t that an intriguing thought? It literally gives me goosebumps.

So here are the questions:

* What kind of person would you become if you were a millionaire?
* What projects would you be able to afford to accomplish if money was no longer an issue in your life?
* What dreams would you dare to dream if you knew you could afford to just do it?
* What is stopping you from creating that million dollar income?
* Are you willing to commit to become the person who can create the million dollar income?

Please let me know what comes up for you when you ask yourself these questions. I´d love to hear from you on this one. I think it´s that important for you and for this planet. If you´re following my blog this week, you´ll understand why.

It was a still night last night with hardly a breeze. I had the window wide open, nothing on and the fan on low. And I was hot! After an uncomfortable hour or two of tossing and turning trying to fall asleep I realized that I simply needed to turn the fan on higher. There needed to be more movement!

One little notch on the switch and I now had a marvelous breeze. Up came the sheet and comforter and I was asleep in moments. Such a simple solution to the problem.

Life is a lot like that. People often book a personal healing session with me because they´re stuck. There´s no movement in their life and they are frustrated, tossing and turning, hot and bothered with no resolution in sight.

Movement in life is an interesting thing. Sometimes it can feel painfully slow, pathetically inadequate and even in the wrong direction.

However, something I heard at the workshop I attended in San Diego was that the Universe cannot course correct if we aren´t moving. A plane that stays on the runway goes nowhere. It is actually said that a plane is rarely on course but it still lands where it needs to.

So if you aren´t moving because you don´t know the exact destination, what the weather is going to be like along the way or every detail of the trip, then the Universe cannot support the journey. You have to get off the ground and start moving.

Why don´t we move? Some are control freaks. Yes, some of you need to know everything before you will take action. If I´m talking about you, say yes. Others don´t know what to do, so doing nothing seems like the best course. Consequently, you are the ones stuck on the ground. Maybe you´re afraid that you´ll make a wrong decision or take a wrong turn.

Something else I learned this year is that the Universe loves speed. The entire Universe is one of action. And if we want to be part of the movement, we need to move.

I still vividly remember last December. I had just resigned as president of the network marketing company. I was exhausted and confused as to what to do next. So after a reasonable amount of rest, I just started to take some courses, to dip my toes in the water and to test the waters in a variety of fields. Interestingly as the year progressed, it was a fabulous time of tremendous movement that didn’t always look like I thought it would.

What I have discovered is that movement is a series of small steps. Sometimes there are the large leaps of faith but mostly it´s about little things we do in our lives, one day at a time, one week at a time, one month at a time. Is it always exciting or glamorous? No! Do we always have something to “show” for the effort? No! But it is movement. And movement is what creates our amazing lives.

Last night I simply turned the fan up a notch and found immediate relief. Can you turn your life up a notch? I bet you can. And with that movement, constant, steady and even uncertain at times, 2010 will be your most amazing year.

Happy holidays to all of you and the best of the new year!

One of the processes that we did at the Invitation workshop was to see how we are limited by fears that are ridiculous, untrue and even downright silly.

One of our participants who had some limiting beliefs around her dream volunteered to help me demonstrate this fact. As she stood in front of the room, we started to look at the beliefs that were holding her back.

Within a few minutes she was laughing at the absurdity of the fears. As we looked at what she has already accomplished in her career and life, it became more and more obvious that the fears she had around her next big dream were completely ungrounded. They were great big boogie men fears - that once pulled out from under the bed, had no merit or place in her life any longer. Everybody was laughing, most of all her.

We weren´t laughing at her. Not at all. She´s simply representative of every one of us who allows fears to impede the fulfillment of our dreams. We were truly laughing at how anyone of us could have been in that place. We also realized how simple it was to let go of the fears once we saw how they were based on ridiculous lies we had concocted about ourselves or others.

What I have discovered over the years of coaching and doing healing work with thousands of people is that we all have some common fears when it comes to living the life of our dreams.

Here are a few you might recognize:

• People won´t like me if I do what I really want to do.
• I don´t how to do everything I need to do to create my dream.
• If I do what I really want to do, what will I have to look forward to in the future?
• I don´t know where to get the support I need to do what I want.
• I don´t have the money to live my dream.
• I don´t have the time.

You may have some that are unique to you but if you were to get these six fears out of the way, you´d be well on your way to greater success.

Some people are not going to like you no matter what you do. There are people who don´t like Oprah Winfrey, Mother Theresa or Princess Diana. Yet they have all done amazing things in the world. People will have their opinion of you, whatever you choose to do, good or bad, positive or negative. Therefore, the saying that “what people think of me is none of my business” is the perfect belief to embrace so you can let go of the belief that people´s opinions should dictate the direction of your life.

You´re absolutely right that you don´t know how to do everything to create your dream. If you´re a parent, did you know everything you needed to become a parent? I doubt it. That would probably be true for most things in your life. Yet you did it. Trust that all you need to know is the “next step”.

The fear that you have only one thing to do and then you´re done is nonsense. You can have faith that you can complete a dream and another will show up. Keep writing down your dreams in a journal and that will inspire you to get things done so you can move on to the next magnificent dream.

Support will come from many different places, sometimes the most unexpected. There are people who just love supporting other people´s dreams. By living your dream, you give others the opportunity to use their gifts, time and talents in support of you as your dream will undoubtedly support others. We´re all inter-woven whether you realize that or not.

We often assume that we need money to live our dream. We decide that we can´t do something and we don´t even know what it would cost. I highly recommend that you start the process and then watch how it all unfolds. Do what you can with the funds you have or start something that doesn´t cost money such as sharing your dream with others. Commit to the dream, with or without the money, and then see what shows up for you.

We can never manage time. We can only manage ourselves. So you do have the time to create your dream. You just haven´t made it a priority in your life. Make it more important in your life today and see how greatly it energizes you to get everything else done!

See if these six fears are playing a role in your life and then go through these suggestions and literally watch them vanish!

Peggy is 3 foot 8 inches tall.  As she got on stage at the RISE conference, I just knew that this woman was going to inspire me and I wasn´t disappointed.  Her oldest sibling had also been a dwarf but her parents were reassured by the doctors that it wouldn´t happen again.  The next two children were of normal stature and then along came Peggy.  The doctors had been wrong. 

Peggy´s interview was funny and insightful, provocative and inspiring.  Later as I spoke with Peggy on a couple of occasions, I fell in love with her spunk and determination to make her impact on the world. 

She wasn´t going to let her size, the stigmatism of her stature and ignorance of others stop her in any way, shape or form.  Today as an internationally renowned motivational speaker, Peggy has a positive influence on everyone she meets.  Every woman I spoke with at the conference had been deeply touched by Peggy.

Peggy shook me up as I realized that as much as I am “out there” living my dream, I am still holding part of me back.  I bet you are too.  I realized there was a safety buffer I had established psychologically that was in place to protect me and keep me safe.  After struggling financially, emotionally and in my career years ago, I was now making sure that any challenges were averted and carefully avoided.  I have to say, it didn´t feel particularly good as I realized what I had been doing but it was a great wake-up call. 

Anybody I spoke to at length that weekend felt my turmoil as I experienced my own version of what I call Divine Discontent.   At the same time, I knew that my life would never be the same.  A barrier had been exposed and was in the process of crumbling.  A belief I had set up to keep me safe was now outdated and actually limiting. 

Are you too staying safe to a fault, protecting yourself from the challenges, issues, and risks of playing life full on?   You see, it´s easy to find all the reasons why you can´t live your dream.  It´s easy to be complacent, apathetic and distracted.  It´s easy to talk about a dream with a sense of longing and at the same time, with a detachment that doesn´t allow it to really get into the fibre of your life and cause change.  And these days, it´s certainly easy to let the everyday issues of life push dreams into the deepest recesses of our souls.

But I know that isn´t where my readers want to be.  I´ve heard from enough of you over the years to know that the vast majority of you yearn for a life that is contributing, that is more than average, and that is meaningful, passionate and on purpose.  You´re not ordinary folks and that is a good thing.  The world needs extra-ordinary people who are willing to step up to the plate, look at the challenges and then still move ahead fearlessly. 

How can you do that?  If you didn´t listen to the teleclass I did last month on Creating Your Amazing Life:  5 simple ways to have more money, less stress and more fun in your life, then register to get it now. Listen to it, take notes and apply the suggestions.  I am getting excellent reviews in from people who took action after that teleclass.   

Bring your dream up to the front burner of your life and turn it on high.  Do something to fuel that dream by talking about it, writing about it, reading about it and getting attached to the dream emotionally.  I asked the question in the teleclass:  On your deathbed, what will you regret not doing that you can do now? 

There are lots of inspirational people like Peggy around the world.  Find one or two that inspires you and allow yourself to be inspired.  Remove the safety latch, take down the barriers in your mind to living your dream and let´s follow the path of the leaders who are living their dream.  There´s plenty of room for us all.

Our Conscious Mind is a fabulous drama queen. Seriously, it could win an Academy Award for it’s performances most days! What do I mean? Just listen to the thoughts you think and what you say out loud in a day and notice how exaggerated many statements are.

For example, you may find yourself saying things like, “I never have any money.” “I just look at food and I get fat.” “There are NO good men (or women) available!” “Life is always so hard.” Can you think of a few statements that you regularly say that are actually gross exaggerations of the truth? I bet you have at least a couple that you use frequently.

Is there any harm in saying things like this? There actually is. Let me explain.

When you make a statement such as: “I never have any money”, energetically you put yourself in a very low vibration of hopelessness and despair. There is no easy answer or quick resolution to NEVER having any money. You feel very much disempowered and a victim of either the economy, the government, your clients or your boss. None of these vibrations are conducive to creating an amazing life for yourself.

Besides it is simply untrue. If you have received so much as a penny, you have had money. It is a lie to say that you never have money, that you just look at food and get fat, that there are no good men or women in the world or that life is always hard.

Notice this with any of your “drama queen statements” throughout the day and see how much you are lying to yourself. It’s really a fascinating exercise!

So what do you do to stop the lies? A very effective way is to ask the question, Really, is that the truth? I put a lot of inflection on the word really so it literally stops my Conscious Mind in it’s tracks, so to speak. This may be the first time you are questioning the statements your Conscious Mind has been feeding you.

Your Conscious Mind has set itself up in the position of an overbearing, overly protective mother that is a control freak! What fun, hey? Now you understand better why you feel like you are constantly being nagged and stopped from moving ahead. So let’s stop the stories, the hyperboles and lies that your Conscious Mind is telling you.

The question is: REALLY? IS THAT THE TRUTH?

I suggest you do this out loud. So it might sound something like this: LIE: “I just look at food and get fat.” REBUTTAL: “Really, is that the truth? You look at a cow in the field and you gain weight?” ANSWER: Mmmm, no. QUESTION: “What is the truth?” TRUTH: “I eat 3 bowls of ice cream before bed.” CONFIRMATION: “So the truth is that you eat the wrong foods at the wrong times in the wrong quantities?” TRUTH: “Yes”. Now this dialogue could go on for a few minutes but it is fascinating when you get down to the actual truth of the matter and I guarantee you it will not be your first statement you told yourself or others.

How does this completely change your life from victimhood to amazing? You cannot deal with just looking at food and getting fat. Unless you are blind, you have an impossible to solve problem. However, you can deal with the three bowls of ice cream before bed.

You cannot deal with never having any money. You can resolve the situation of not earning enough money to pay the bills. Do you see the difference? One puts you in a place of hopelessness and victimhood. The second one gives you the actual problem and you are now empowered to resolve it.

Some people call it “mind frick”. The Buddhists call it “monkey mind”. What I have noticed is that since doing this exercise over the last few years, my Conscious Mind does not play the drama queen with me anymore. I don’t hear the lies, the stories and the gross exaggerations any longer. It’s amazingly peaceful in my head.

If you would like to have that same quiet and peace in your head, I highly recommend you try this the next time your Conscious Mind pulls it’s usual tactic to stop you, scare you or overwhelm you. It’s remarkable how effective it is and how empowered you can feel when you move into the truth and out of the stories and drama.

How do you know when to forge ahead with a decision and when to retreat? Daily we are faced with situations in our lives that demand an answer to that question.

For example: Do we move ahead in the relationship and trust that it´s all perfect or do we end it? Do we believe that the client situation will work out or do we call it quits? Do we declare bankruptcy or do we hope and pray something comes along? Those are decisions that many of us have faced in our lives and they aren´t always easy decisions to make.

While my dear friend Brenda was here with me in Sedona for a week this past month, we had three situations come up that demanded a decision. This was more than just deciding whether or not we were eating Mexican or Indian, going shopping or heading to the pool typical holiday decisions. These decisions were in our face, you need to decide now, important at the time, decisions.

While doing what was called a “strenuous hike” but resembled more of a rock climb up Cathedral Rock, I got stuck about half-way up the mountain. I was tired from hiking every day that week in 100 degree weather and was feeling emotionally fatigued.

As I looked up at the challenging footholds I would need for the next level and looked down at my legs that were several inches shorter than Brenda´s, the tears started to flow. I retreated and Brenda continued the hike with two other women we had met on the trail. An hour later, she came back to where I had planted myself on a secure ledge and said, “Jan, you have to do this. You´re through the worst and the scenery from the top is amazing. You can do this.” I looked at her and had to make the decision. Did I forge ahead and listen to her encouragement or did I say, “no, I´ve had enough.” I checked in and knew that I had needed to rest, to clear some emotions that had come up for me and I would regret not doing this with her.

I climbed to the top and as we celebrated at the top of the mountain, it was an amazing feeling!

The next morning, on another hike, we hit smoke. There was obviously a forest fire somewhere in the area and the air was acrid. The problem was that we had driven 30 minutes to get to this hike, there was a swimming hole at the end of the hike and we both really wanted to do it. We walked for about 30 minutes and came to the conclusion that we needed to turn back. But we decided to have a swim in the creek beside the trail and while we were swimming, the wind shifted and the air miraculously cleared. We completed the hike. When we got to the swimming hole, we were delighted that we had taken a pause and allowed the miracle to occur because it turned out to be a fabulous hike.

Tuesday morning was Brenda´s last morning and we planned a hike to Secret Canyon. As we turned down the dirt road, we very quickly realized that the road was far more suited to a 4-wheel drive. We bounced along, Brenda carefully maneuvering through the potholes. Buoyed up by our previous two successful wins on our hikes, we firmly believed that we would make it.

However, when we hit bottom on the rental car and hit branches on one side of it, we realized we had bit off more than the little Hyundai Accent could handle. The problem was that now we were more than 30 minutes into the drive and although the hike was only 4 miles off the main road, it may as well have been 50! We were close and we knew it, but we opted to turn back. The trip back was equally harrowing with me walking in front of the car, trying to guide Brenda, moving rocks and literally cringing every inch of the road as she narrowly missed scraping over rocks.

Three days in a row in three totally different situations, Brenda and I faced the decision of whether or not to forge ahead or retreat. Interestingly, we made the right decision in two cases, and not in the third. And isn´t that true of life? We will make right decisions and we will sometimes err.

But as we talked about it, we realized that there isn´t a set formula to always know. However, we did come up with a few ideas that I wanted to share with you.

1. Check into that gut feeling and see what you come up with.
2. Decide if it is really worth it to you to take the risk of getting what you really want or losing what you really want.
3. Talk it through with someone as just talking about it can help you get clarity.
4. Sometimes you need to pause and let the Universe step in instead of pushing through and doing it all yourself.

For example, I knew that going up Cathedral Rock with Brenda may be my only chance to do so. It´s not a hike I can get to without a car so this was my opportunity – perhaps my only one. Was I willing to let that chance slip by? I decided that the answer was no. It was important enough to me personally to push through the fatigue and fear to reach the top.

On the other hand, putting in jeopardy the well-being of a rental car wasn´t worth the risk and so we retreated – just a little later than would have been prudent.

Honestly, there are no right or wrong decisions. There is simply the journey with all of it´s joys and experiences. And we certainly had our share of those together!

I was beating egg whites this morning for French pancakes.  I realized the other day that this is the first place I have rented in 19 months that has an electric  hand mixer, so I decided to make some recipes that I haven´t been able to make while traveling. 

As I watched the clear jelly like blobs form this beautiful white mound of fluff in the bowl I wondered who discovered this phenomena.  Who had the creative spark in them to experiment with what would happen if you separated a yolk from the white and then beat it for five minutes? 

Similarly, my partner Greg and I were discussing the creation of blue cheese as we were eating it in our scrambled eggs one morning.  I mean if you saw blue mold growing on your food, would you eat it, decide it was delicious and then go and replicate the same bacteria?  Hardly!  I´d throw it in the garbage. 

But as I was thinking that I would never have thought to beat egg whites into fluffy meringue or create a delicacy called Roquefort Cheese, I realized that I had my own inventory of accomplishments. 

Back in September 2004, I attended a pole dancing party and started the first home pole dancing company for everyday women that became a huge success.  I pole danced live in front of millions on Breakfast Television in

Toronto.  Who´d have thought, especially as that was the year I was ordained as a minister? I went to South Africa on my own and volunteered in a primary school in a rural village for 8 weeks.  That took a lot of faith, trust and courage! 

I was a missionary in Ecuador, South America for four years and was mobbed by 100 very angry people, robbed 7 times and survived a serious bout of Dengue Fever.  Yet I learned the language, impacted hundreds of people in my ministry and helped build a beautifully functional meeting place in a very rural village with very limited resources. 

I sold Ford dealerships in western Canada almost ¾ of a million dollars of products for people with disabilities until Ford (mostly because of me) shut down the program because it was costing them too much.

I´ve written two books in less than 6 weeks each and self-published very professional looking books that get rave reviews. 

I´ve now lived “on the road” for 19 months and had a blast living, working and traveling in some amazing places. I just rented an incredible home for the winter on Lake Atitlan in

Guatemala, a place I had never even heard of until 6 weeks ago.  As I laid by the pool this morning and thought about some of these interesting accomplishments, meringue and blue cheese didn´t seem like such a big deal.  Taking an inventory of our accomplishments once in a while is probably a very good idea because it´s easy to forget what we have done, where we have been and what we have created. 

Greg often talks about becoming the lead singer in a rock and roll band and the “hottest guy” in town when the previous year he was wearing braces, had a crew cut, dorky clothes and a face full of acne.  He was also told by his music teacher in grade six that he could not sing.  But he went on to lead a band to such success that he was offered a very promising music career which he ultimately turned down.  

He also didn´t have the grades to get into medical school because he had been so busy with the band.  His counselor laughed at his idea of becoming a doctor.  But Greg got into medical school and became the most successful podiatrist in the county, curing diseases that other doctors said were incurable. 

As we sat on the patio talking this past week, he had tears running down his face as he recalled a wrestling incident where despite being injured, he cried to go back into the ring and finish the fight.  The coach said no but because of his tenacity and determination, his team went on to beat the number one team in the competition.  As the new guy in the ring, he had inspired an entire team to victory.  He weighed a whopping 105 pounds when he did this. 

Greg talks about these things with passion and fervor because it reminds him that he has already accomplished what others said were impossible.  It fuels the fire for him to go on with his dreams despite the looming odds.   

What about you?  I suggest that you take your inventory of what you have accomplished to date.  Get out a piece of paper or sit down at the computer and start writing.   

You see it´s easy to think that everybody else but us has accomplishments and miracles.  I´m being mentored by some very powerful female entrepreneurs right now and I can sometimes catch myself thinking that I don´t have anything to offer that´s amazing like they do.   And then I realize that I am underestimating myself and allowing limiting beliefs to stop me from moving forward.  I bet you are too. 

It´s when I go back and read the testimonials of how my books have changed somebody´s life or a teleclass shifted a huge belief system or a healing call got rid of someone´s chronic pain.  It´s then I remember that I too have something to contribute.  I have own my meringue discovery and blue cheese miracle. 

I know you do too.   Take your inventory.  Play with this one as you remember the amazing, wonderful, fun things you have done in your lifetime.  Did you star in a musical as a child?  Were you ever the one to score the winning goal?  Did you overcome a physical challenge or a learning disability?  When did you persevere despite the odds?  Have you birthed or fathered a baby and brought new life into this world?  Has anyone ever sent you a thank you note or a testimonial of how you impacted their life?   Did you help change a policy at work or in your community that made life better for everyone?  Start thinking.  

There´s so many things you´ve already done.  It´s time to remember those accomplishments, those victories and those discoveries.   

You´re worth a lot more than you think you are.  Your contribution is far more valuable than you believe.  You´re staying smaller than the world deserves of you.  By taking an inventory of your life to date, I know you´ll walk taller, think bigger and dare to dream even grander dreams.  And that is a very good thing. 

To Your Outrageous Success!

Jan

This summer has been designated as a knowledge building time for my business. I´m up to my eyeballs in courses and homework assignments from my coaches and it´s a bit overwhelming. I´ve always been one to resist some of the conventional ways of doing business and these exercises are pushing lots of my buttons.

More questions are being asked than I thought possible. However, I keep reminding myself that thinking and questioning ourselves is precisely what coaches push us to do.  And that´s probably a very good thing, although my head and heart aren´t necessarily agreeing with that logic today.  I particularly hate the questions that tie me down to doing or being “one thing”.

I have some clients and friends that are absolutely clear about what they want to do. My partner Greg is so definite it´s like he has a written assignment from the Universe with what he needs to do during his journey to Earth. Surely God must have stamped nutrionist, actress, scientist or teacher on these people´s foreheads because it´s like they´ve been branded for life.

Me…well, I waffle between about a dozen descriptions of what I do depending on the day and the mood. Sometimes I am a minister, sometimes a coach, frequently a healer, (especially here in Sedona) usually an author and once in a while a workshop facilitator. I am almost always an entrepreneur.  I can change what I call myself as frequently as I brush my teeth. It´s a good thing nobody is keeping track.

I admire those who just know. Sometimes it´s downright envy like it was today as I was trying to complete a homework assignment on my specific target market. It´s when I know I need to practice my own medicine and get away from it all for a bit. I went for a hike, did some journaling, played Scrabble and worked on my birthday present for my favorite puppy in Mexico, Precious. It´s her first birthday today and I prepared a video of the last six months for her. 

That all took my mind off of the questions at hand but it still means that tomorrow morning I have to be up and at the assignment. I laugh to think that I am paying for this mental persecution but I know that it´s good…at least I think it is.

I know from my conversations with other entrepreneurs that some just know what they´re here to do and others can drift like the wind. I call people like me serial entrepreneurs. My gypsy spirit for travelling and living around the world definitely carries over to my business.  My dear friend Monique says I follow Spirit.  That´s feels better than being considered unfocused or having ADD which most entrepreneurs claim to have.

Today one of my most frequently asked questions before I commit is: Do I really, really, really want to do this? I find myself saying “no” more than “yes”. That´s a good thing because the definition of what I want my life to look like is becoming very concise. 

What I am clear on is that I need to continue to ask for guidance and lots of it. I was called to Sedona. I know that. I know that the information that I need to get for the next chapter of life is here, amidst the red rocks, the vortexes and the blue sky.   Maya, my shaman friend stopped in this morning for a visit and reminded me to stay quiet and listen to the answers.

However, it isn´t the bird chirping in the tree right beside me, the occasional voices of people, traffic in the background but my own very curious mind, that makes quiet sometimes difficult to achieve. It´s much more comfortable when life is busy and there is lots to do. 

We can avoid the answers as much as we ask the questions. We want to know… but then again, do we really? Will those answers bring responsibility, change, new friends, leaving of the old and familiar and many other unknown factors that are precisely that - unknown? 

My wonderful friend Tama Kieves wrote words in her book, This Time I Dance that I have never forgotten although I last read it many years ago. She said, “the heart knows the way”. So I listen to my heart, my soul, my core, as Maya called it today and know that there is truth there and all the answers that I need. I don´t think I ask the questions so much as to know the answers but to distract myself from actually going inside and listening to the answers that are already there.

Many of my clients will squirm when I tell them that they do know, of course they do. And of course you do too. You do know at some level what you´re really supposed to be doing. When Monique and I facilitate a Sacred Gifts workshop, we watch people share their passion, their dream, their longing and then close up that portal as if it could never happen.

It´s simply not true. It can happen, but we need to be open to those passions, dreams, and longings. We need to nurture them and feed them rather than push them into the back of the closet and hope they die in the dark. Bring them out in the open, talk about them and believe in them. They will flourish with some love and attention.

I can already see that spending this summer in Sedona will be revealing in many ways. Maya has invited me to her place to do some ceremonies on her sacred land next week. Greg is coming for 5 days next month and we will do more ceremonies with her while he is here.   She came into my life last year on my birthday for a reason and I am excited that I get to tap into her ancient wisdom and deep connection with Source. It is a wonderful transition from the practical aspects of my life  to the spiritual.

Monique laughed at me as she watched me pack for Sedona a few weeks ago in her living room. She said, “you´ve left behind all of your worldly goods, you don´t even own a couch or a bed and you travel around the world with your 2 kitchen knifes, a vegetable peeler and a chopping board.” And as I unpack in every new home, I too laugh at what is important to me right now. I peel and cut a lot of vegetables every day and the right tools are critical to making life easy.

Maybe by the time I leave Sedona, I will be happy to part with them and trust more in the practical aspects of the journey, but in the meantime, I´m glad they´re here with me. I´ve been making lots of soups and salads over the last 10 days already!

You can read my daily blog at www.janjanzendaily.com and keep up with pictures and daily insights as the summer unfolds.   And go check out the video of Precious.  It´s posted there.  It will definitely make you smile.

Make this month a magical month as the wonders of summer unfold and please take time to bring your dreams and visions out in the open. The world really needs you to make them come true.

To Your Outrageous Success!

Jan

Parasailing high above Puerta Vallarta on Thursday. Ziplining over 700 foot canyons yesterday.  As I prepare to leave Mexico in just a couple of days, it has certainly been an exciting end to an interesting seven months. 

On one hand, I still vividly remember the property manager picking me up at the airport in Puerto Vallarta and taking me to the grocery store. Conversely, I feel like I have lived several lifetimes over the same time.   In just the last two days I have had experiences that were incredible as I flew several hundred feet above the ground with just a few harnesses holding me.

As the changes have occurred in my life during this time in Bucerias and continue to occur, I know that I am ready to take my life to the next level. As I wrote in my book, Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round: How to Create the Life You Want Without the Fear, Doubt and Guilt, blue sky and sunshine are critically important to me as to where I live. I have certainly enjoyed an abundance of blue sky and sunshine over the last 18 months! And I still don´t miss the cold, rain and gray skies of Vancouver.  So that has definitely not changed in my priorities!

What I have noticed is that as I manifest and create what I think I want in my life, some things work and others don´t. So, as I move on to the next segment of the journey, it´s a great time to evaluate what I love, what I like, and what isn´t working. I think it´s something we all need to do regularly.  It´s easy to do when you move every few months as I chose to do these days.  But what about you?  Are you open to evaluating your life?

I often work with clients who are feeling stagnant or stuck. As one woman at a workshop recently said to me, “I need to get unstucked.” As English wasn´t her first language, I smiled when she told about getting un-stuck-ed. 

Part of the reason people feel stuck or stagnant is because they have a belief that you don´t create your life, you´re a victim of circumstances.  Of course someone with that belief would have a hard time getting unstucked. Some also may believe that you ride the waves, roll with the punches and have a “whatever” attitude. I used to say “whatever” a lot. Today I rarely use that term and although I am working on my flexibility, I am not interested in riding waves or rolling with the punches that I didn´t create. I leave the drama and chaos to others as much as possible.

Even when you are feeling happy with what you´ve created and are coasting, I have found that you rarely coast for long without starting to feel like you are missing something or needing to expand. It´s the very essence of who we are - divine human beings with an inborn need to create and manifest, grow and stretch.

So if you´re feeling stagnant or stuck, here´s a few suggestions that I am currently implementing in my life.

Write (or rewrite if you have done this exercise in the past) what the perfect life looks like to you. I know that I am working with this one as I balance my strong desire for travel, quiet and solitude with being in a relationship, growing a business and giving back to the world. Take some time with this one if you choose to do this exercise. 

I have discovered that what I really focused on I got. What I was kind of unsure of, wishy-washy about, I didn´t. That´s a great observation, so get clear.   Even if you are sure of only two or three things - that´s better than a whole page of what you want that´s vague, lacking any emotion. Don´t rush through this exercise as it is far more important than you think. 

To help me with this exercise, I actually write down: What´s working in my personal life? What´s working in my business? What´s working in my intimate relationship? What´s NOT working in my personal life? What´s NOT working in my business? What´s NOT working in my relationship? You can do this with health, finances, career, family, etc. I find that by asking these questions and making the list, it´s easier to come up with what I really want in life as I take it to the next level. 

Next talk about what you have written with friends who will support you. See how it feels as you mention various things. Notice what gets you excited and what feels like “I should do this” or “I should want that”. For example, you may not want to create a million dollar business. You may feel like you should because that´s important to someone you care about. Notice that. Get really up close and personal with this one. It can be a bit eery to be so intimate with oneself but seriously…you need to be. 

I personally find that when I try and do things because other people think I should or I have been programmed by Tribal Mentality to think I should want something, it´s hard to get excited and accomplish anything of substance. It feels like there is no juice or it comes in a short spurt at the beginning and then fades very quickly. So rather than start projects now and quit which has been my habit, I now think more than twice before starting something and get really clear if this is what I want to spend my most valuable asset, my time, doing.  The more you can let go of what other people think you should be doing, the more amazing of a life you will create.

I am very clear that I love my gypsy lifestyle and have given myself the nickname, The Sunshine Gypsy. As Greg, Jeanette and I wrap up life in Bucerias, Mexico, it is hard to say good-bye to the dear friends and my adorable puppy friend, Precious. However, I know that this is a choice to move on and I´m comfortably sad about it this weekend.   

Sedona is next after a brief visit and workshop in Vancouver. I´m excited about getting to spend 3 ½ months in one of the most spiritual places on the planet.  And if you want to see a few cool pictures from the parasailing and ziplining, check out the blog at www.janjanzendaily.com  

In the meantime, are you coasting or flying?  What do you want to be doing in your life?  Your choice. 

To Your Outrageous Success!

Jan

Sometimes we don´t get what we want or ask for.  It´s why I love my saying:  “It may not be what I prefer, but I trust it´s perfect”.  I have just experienced once again the trueness of this statement.

Greg and his 97 year old mother were supposed to arrive with me on November 2nd, 2009.  They didn´t get here until March 9^th. I complained several times to Greg that he wasn´t with me as he had intended.  I whined a few times to my friends and neighbors here, especially when I was alone on a Saturday night in one of the most fun cities in Mexico.

However, reality is another story. I haven´t lived with anyone for seven years. I certainly haven´t lived with a 97 year old before. I´ve been on my own for much of the last nine years and absolutely loved it. Even when I was married, I used to say to my husband that if anything happened to him, I wouldn´t remarry again. I love having my own home, setting my own schedule,  and having the undivided focus to get a lot of work done. I even love sleeping in my own bed…alone…without anyone snoring (I don´t hear myself snoring at night thank goodness) or a restless partner.

So it´s been an interesting time since Greg and Jeanette landed in what I now realize I thought of as “my space”. I´ve learned how regimented and inflexible I can be. I´ve seen how picky I can be about inconsequential matters and I´ve had reinforced the Sacred Gifts I have and those I don´t. 

One of the gifts that I haven´t given a whole lot of thought to is the sacred gift of singleness. It can appear to be a paradox being in an intimate relationship and having this gift. Yet Oprah is probably one of the best examples of the sacred gift of singleness. When she was in South Africa opening up her girl´s school, she said, “I now understand why I have never been married or had children of my own.” 

This gift is always given in conjunction with other gifts that lend themselves to the freedom of singleness. For example, Oprah has a massive Sacred Gift of Giving. Her lack of marital and family responsibilities allows her to do amazing work around the world. She is still in an intimate relationship while having this gift. So having the gift of singleness doesn´t mean no intimacy. It simply means that the responsibilities of marriage and family  are undesirable.  Feeling energized being single is one of the characteristics of this gift.

I´ve never paid much attention to this gift as I have other gifts, such as the gift of writing and healing which I use daily and are called from me regularly.  However, living with Jeanette and Greg has brought this gift of singleness to the fore.  I know that many people actually feel guilty or think that something is wrong with them because they don´t want to live with someone, get married or have children.  Many cultures still frown on single woman and in the past, women with this gift would have been expected to join a monastery or a man would have become a priest.  

It´s why I love what I have learned about Sacred Gifts.  I could be beating myself up a thousand times a day as I watch myself react to various situations.  I could think I was a real “witch” because I don´t particularly enjoy living with an older person.  I never felt called to take care of my mother in her last years and am grateful that my two sisters are watching over my dad who is 86 years old. I could feel like I don´t love Greg enough because I don´t want to marry him or even live with him on a regular basis. Thank God I don´t feel any of that unworthiness.  

I know that I am more available to be used in a large way which may not be the case so easily when someone has huge family responsibilities.  It´s a blessing that I truly value and appreciate. I would love to be able to make major contributions to this world as Oprah does.  I am open to be used for projects that require traveling or the freedom to be away from home for long periods of time.  I ask God to use my gifts every single day in the greatest capacity for the healing of this planet. 

Today I am glad that Greg and Jeanette didn´t arrive until they did.  I wasn´t feeling 100% well until recently and my nerves were definitely frazzled after last year´s business venture. I needed the quiet, peace and tranquility I got to enjoy being here alone for several months.  Looking back - how perfect. 

Right now, I have had to put some larger projects on the back burner as my time is more divided.  Greg´s love language is “quality time” and I really notice that when I get buried in my work and don´t make enough time for him, our relationship suffers. So “Greg and Jan time” is a priority in my day, along with making  soup more often as Jeanette loves it and there´s just a lot more laundry and tidying up to do every week.  Thank God for having a maid come in every Tuesday to do all of the heavy cleaning, including changing the beds.

Looking back at how disappointed I was when I was alone at Christmas, Valentine´s Day and our anniversary of getting together two years ago, I now see that my statement that it may not be what I prefer but it is perfect rings true once again.  We have a fabulous six weeks left and I plan on getting every bit of fun from our time together.  

I am ignoring the candy wrappers Jeanette leaves everywhere, (she lives on my soup and sugar).  I can shut my eyes to the over-crowded fridge that frustrates me and I won´t cringe when clothes aren´t hung up immediately.  What´s the point? These are not important in the big scheme of things…even though I may believe at times they are. What a fabulous opportunity to work on my perfectionist personality and be further pruned and groomed by the Universe. Getting to work on myself in the sun, a Margarita in hand having fun with the man I love, is hardly punishment!

I´m back in Vancouver for the first two weeks of June as Monique and I are doing another special two day Sacred Gifts workshop and then I have rented a fabulous condo in Sedona until the end of September. And yes, I will be alone. 

Have an amazing month.

To Your Outrageous Success!