Wende Sanders, MS, CC

How Will You Finish This Year?

This week, I returned from attending Unleash the Power Within, a Tony Robbins event!  This was a major thrill for me because I have been a fan of his for almost two decades.  I was first introduced to Tony when my dad ordered one of his audio programs, back in the day.  The event was powerful and so much fun; I even got to walk on fiery coals!  I’m very grateful for the insights and breakthroughs I was able to achieve and I look forward to using what I learned to help you to do the same.

There are over 60 days left in 2009.  That is still enough time to make significant progress in your life, career or relationships.  The next several weeks will pass, and God willing you will be here to see them.  Whether you are in the exact same position at the end of this year that you are in today will be dependent on how you approach the last few months of this year.  Hopefully, you have set forth various goals for yourself in the areas that are the most important to you.  Most likely, you have goals that relate to your health, finances and relationships.  How are you progressing in those goals?  Are you on track to attaining them?  Have you achieved them already?  Or have you fallen off track and need to revive them and recommit to them?

Please, don’t be like the majority of the population.  Most people have already given up on themselves for this year, and they’re telling themselves, “I’ll try it again in January.”  You don’t have to say that, because you know that with more than 60 days you still have plenty of time to make a difference for yourself in 2009.  Research shows that it takes 21-30 days to form a new habit.  That means you can establish two new positive habits and still have time left over to tackle some of the other things on your list.  My challenge for you is to maximize the priceless gift you’ve been given, your time.  If you’ve almost achieved your goal, great job!  Keep up the momentum.  If you’re off track and are disappointed with your progress, start again.  You get to decide if you finish 2009 in the same position you were in when you started it.  If you know you need some help, encouragement, or guidance, I encourage you to contact me for your free coaching call.  See below for the details.

Leave a Comment November 30, 2009

From Auto-Pilot to Aha Moment

This week I have had two different experiences that have taught me the same lesson.  I’m always grateful to have an “aha” moment, especially if I can laugh about it.  These experiences moved me from the auto-pilot mode of routine tasks to a valuable aha moment.   I know that this lesson will be as beneficial to you as it has been to me.

First, I went to the Post Office and got stuck in the parking lot by a delivery truck that blocked the entrance.  While I was there I was amazed at what you can see if you just sit still and pay attention.  I saw an off-duty police officer assist a man having difficulty backing out of his parking space. (Sweet!)  I saw what can happen when a man leans over to get something out of his car and he insists on wearing the waist of his pants all the way down to his hips. (Gross!)  That man created a total eclipse this afternoon; if you missed it, thank The Lord!  But the icing on the cake was when a lady parked beside me cursed at a child in the back seat for putting his feet on the chair while the song “The God in Me” (a Gospel song) by Mary Mary played loudly in their car! (Poor child!)  It was truly too ironic.

Later, I went by the Central branch of the Public Library.  While I was there I saw many of the changes that had been recently made to their layout.  I go to the library regularly, sometimes several times a month.  However, there are several areas that I never gave a second thought, until today.  The North Carolina room is now housed in the area that formally held the periodicals.  (Hang in there with me; I am going to make a point with this story.)  When, I saw it in its new location, I decided to peek in just to see what the new space looked like.  Well, when I walked into the room I was greeted by an extremely helpful and friendly Librarian.  She explained all of the info that I could find in the room; the one that stuck out for me the most was genealogy.  I have a few relatives that I’d love to learn about, and this will be a wonderful resource to assist me.  While re-familiarizing myself with the Library I also decided to go into the Teen Central Section.   I’ve passed this section countless times and never bothered to go in to check it out.  Well, when I walked in I saw that there was another room straight to the back.  It looked like a funky lounge/internet café type of space.  It was painted in a cool color and had chalkboard paint on the back wall that had been decorated with a beautiful abstract chalk design.  The Librarian in this section said I was the second person today to come by and tell her they didn’t realize this room exists.  I didn’t get to check out the whole library today because I had other obligations.  But, I certainly intend to look at more of it when I return the items I’ve borrowed.   So, what’s the point of the story?  Have you figured it out yet?

My point here is that it is truly amazing what you can see and learn when you let yourself stop long enough and just pay attention.  I was able to see the best and the worst in human behavior while just sitting in my car.  And, I discovered new and interesting things in a place that I frequently visit.  What can you discover about your children, your colleagues, your spouse and yourself if you just pause long enough to pay attention and be open to exploring the possibilities?  My challenge to you is to take yourself off of auto-pilot and start benefiting from what is happening around you every day.  You have an “Aha Moment” waiting for you.

Leave a Comment November 30, 2009

Think Twice

One night there was a woman at the airport who had to wait for several hours before catching her next flight. While she waited she bought a book and a pack of biscuits to spend the time. She looked for a place to sit and waited.

She was deep into her book, when suddenly she realized that there was a young man sitting next to her who was stretching his hand, with no concern whatsoever, and grabbing the pack of cookies lying between them. He started to eat them one by one.

Not wanting to make a fuss about it she decided to ignore him. The woman, slightly bothered, ate the cookies and watched the clock, while the young and shameless thief of biscuits was also finishing them. The woman started to get really angry at this point and thought “If I wasn’t such a good and educated person, I would have given this daring man a black eye by now.”

Every time she ate a biscuit, he had one too. The dialogue between their eyes continued and when only one biscuit was left, she wondered what was he going to do. Softly and with a nervous smile, the young man grabbed the last biscuit and broke it in two. He offered one half to the woman while he ate the other half.

Briskly she took the biscuit and thought, “What an insolent man! How uneducated! He didn’t even thank me!” She had never met anybody so fresh and sighed relieved to hear her flight announced. She grabbed her bags and went towards the boarding gate refusing to look back to where that insolent thief was seated.

After boarding the plane and nicely seated, she looked for her book which was nearly finished by now. While looking into her bag she was totally surprised to find her pack of biscuits nearly intact. “If my biscuits are here”, she thought feeling terribly, “those others were his and he tried to share them with me.” Too late to apologize to the young man, she realized with pain, that it was her who had been insolent, uneducated and a thief, and not him.

How many times in our lives, had we known with certainty that something happened in a certain way, only to discover later that it wasn’t true?

How many times has our lack of trust within us made us judge other people unfairly with our conceited ideas, often far away from reality?

Author Unknown

Leave a Comment November 30, 2009