When you are in the process of gathering your tribe, which eventually becomes your natural way of living, thoseamazing juicy moments occur quite frequently. Yesterday I wrote about Louise and her sister. That was later on in the evening. But it was how it began that was also profound.

This was the two Bev’s second annual Loveland holiday party. As we were sitted in a circle Bev read a poem that struck a chord in me and made me say to myself that I wanted a copy. The next day she faxed it to me. So here it is. It’s a reminder to slow down and get your priorities straight.

Take time to Think
It is the source of all power.

Take time to play
It is the source of perpetual youth.

Take time to Read
It is the fountain of wisdom

Take time to Pray
It is the greatest power on earth.

That time to love and be loved
It is a God given gift.

Take time to be Friendly
It is the road to happiness.

Take time to Laugh
It is the music of the soul.

Take time to Give
It is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to Work
It is the price of success.

Take time to do Charity
It is the key to heaven.

JOURNEY ON

MARK
eJOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational way. http://www.inspirepossibility.com

This month I thought I would blog about what most people are working on in our life coaching and executive coaching sessions.

We’re always working on ourselves and the relationships that we are in. Let’s just call her Suzanne. Her partner of three years is much different than she is. He is worldly, successful in business and a workaholic. She is a mother, seeker of the truth and says she wants more intimacy than she is experiencing.

She has been wanting her partner to be more available both physically and emotionally and working on changing him for these last three years.

In our coaching sessions, we have discussed why this hasn’t worked. We have looked at whether Suzanne really wants the intimacy that she says that she does. After all her previous relationship was very emotional and suffocating. This one is the opposite.

We know from our work with the Law of Attraction that we attract to us what our dominant beliefs and desires our. We’re like an energy transmitter. If we think of this as a perfect universe, then it is not surprising that Suzanne chose this relationship at this time in her life. It gives her the freedom she didn’t have in the last relationship since in this relationship her partner isn’t very demanding. If she wants more intimacy then when the time is right she’ll choose it.

The next time you notice that you are trying to change your partner take a second to notice what you are doing. Why do we have this tendency? Quite often it’s because we don’t want to look at our own stuff. More on this next time.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow,JD, is an Executive and Life Coach, who inspires others to believe in themselves. A former successful trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com

One thing that happens as a life coach is that you become curious about people. You become curious about their challenges as usually what they are up against is similar to your challenges.

This morning we met a couple at the coffee shop who felt that their time on Kauai, after seven years, was over. The reason they felt this way was that they weren’t meeting people who matched their ability to connect. In their mind the conversations seemed to be somewhat superficial.

I told them that I used to feel that way but over time I was able to get to that deeper level of connection. I find more and more people that I can connect with So what’s happened? Did I change or did the people change?

There is no question that I have become a connector. I have worked on it. I take the time to make the connection. Actually it doesn’t take much longer to make the connection. It’s perhaps slowing down a bit.

We have the ability to transcend what’s on the surface and find common ground with almost anyone. It takes commitment but is rewarding.

What most of us want is the ability to connect with others. That’s the good news. And sometimes they just don’t know how to do it. They are so excited about what they are into that they either want to share it with you or convert you. Either way they are not listening. Active listening is the key to connection. If someone feels a certain way, be curious as to what its like to feel that way. Put yourself in their shoes.

For the next week focus on being a better connector.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow,JD, is an Executive and Life Coach, who inspires others to believe in themselves. A former successful trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com

I just watched, Click, a film with Adam Sandler, which had an interesting premise. What if we had a universal remote that could speed up our life so that if we really wanted something we could get it much sooner, just by clicking on the fast forward button.

That’s what Adam Sandler did. He was up for partner in an architectural firm, but it would be a year from the present. So he used fast forward to the day he would be named partner. And from there he fast forwarded some more to the day he was Architect of the Year. But by this time he was an old man and suffered from debilitating health problems.

In the film you see all that he missed…his kids growing up…his wife falling in love with someone else. It makes you think. Are we living too much in the future or are we taking extra steps to avoid experiencing what’s happening right in front of us? Usually it’s a combination of the two. We do anything to avoid pain. We keep busy, take mind altering substances. Caffeine speeds us up and alcohol slows us down. And of course there are many other substances.

So the question is what are you not willing to look at? Perhaps a little truth searching would be helpful. I remember when I used to struggle with relationships. I was in a rocky relationship that I described as “off and on.” The truth was that it was usually off and dragged on for two years. I didn’t want to look at the truth because I didn’t want to say that I was alone. So I put up with the pain to avoid looking at something much deeper.

Then one day I realized that I was alone. Having a relationship didn’t change that. Once I realized that I was alone, I began experiencing solitude which brought me a sense of inner peace.

Don’t be afraid to look at the truth. As they say the truth sets you free.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

THERE’S NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW. There will always be something that holds you back; an excuse to put your life on hold. JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. Signup! http://www.inspirepossibility.com.

It was a lazy day. Annie’s last for a while on the island. We had no plans other than to go to the bakery and get a few things and have a cup of JAVA.

I always like to make new friends on the island. Since we come and go that takes a little effort on our part. Last summer there was Ken that I just met as my trip was ending. I thought about connecting with him but didn’t know how to get ahold of him. No biggie…when’s it the right time you meet who you are suppose to meet.I’m comfortable with it. It’s happening more frequently.

Back to the day. As we were leaving the bakery, Annie suggested we stop at Banana Joes and get some bananas for the house.

After this stop as we were getting into our car we noticed a sign for “Water Ponds.” We followed the sign and looked around for a while noticing some beautiful containers with water plants floating in them. Some of the plants blossomed out of the water. I thought about the healing environment that was created here. As we were about done with our browsing, I looked up and saw someone smiling at me.

It was Ken from last summer. The water ponds were the environment that he created. We talked and he invited us over to meet his wife. We visited the next day. That’s Kauai. It’s the magic of the island.

If you like this blog, you most likely will like my ezine, Letters on Life.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational and motivational way. http://www.inspirepossibility.co

We find out more about ourselves in the times of adversity. We have been getting more than our share of winter storms. Although there haven’t been major floods like two years ago, more than half the households have been without power for some amount of time.

And in some communities it’s been three or four days. So restaurants, coffee shops and bars have been really busy. In fact in one community, which didn’t lose any power, it was so busy that you couldn’t find a parking place. There were so many people looking for a place to eat and get warm.

So people came together and talked. Almost everyone you saw asked you if you lost power. And it was on this day that people sat and talked and got to know each other.

When you realize you share common concerns and problems, there is more room for common ground. So to speak we were all in the same boat.

And so it was that I felt a made a new friend. I was in no hurry…had no place to go and couldn’t get on the internet. Imagine that…couldn’t get online. I survived and connected in a different manner. As I said I made a new friend.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational and motivational way. http://www.inspirepossibility.com

We are in the season. Who says it has to be stressful? Yes there is a lot of hype about the stress of the holiday season, but it doesn’t have to be that way unless you buy into it.

You don’t have to say “yes” to everything that comes your way. You have an opportunity to say “yes” to yourself and “no” to the distractions that take you off course.

In fact this is a good practice to implement as a way of life. Whenever you say “yes” to working longer and harder you take time away from discovering what is really important to you.

Once you know what that is, you can live a life with purpose and meaning. Then you feel the passion. So make the gift of the holidays a gift to yourself; that gift being that you live an inspired life. Then you have more to give others. And isn’t that what its all about? Touching and giving to others. The holidays remind us to do that but we can do that in a more conscious way. I have a suggestion for you and perhaps I have mentioned it before. Pick up the phone and say hello to a few people with whom you haven’t spoken with in the last few years.

If you like this blog take the time to signup for my monthly newsletter, Letters on Life.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational and motivational way. http://www.inspirepossibility.com.em>

Last night I went to the big West Coast Swing dance which is held every three months…and this time the Jules Broussard band provided the music.
I had the most fun that I have ever had at these dances.

I am very conscious of what i can and what I can’t do….and I know that to get better I need to make a bigger commitment to learning the dance…once a week doesn’t do it…so it’s frustrating at times. I want to dance with the better dancers, rather than the ones who aren’t so good, but I find myself too shy to ask the better dancers to dance because I’m so aware of my limitations…

So it detracts of my experience. Not only does it detract, I feel like i’m in high school again-afraid that if I ask someone to dance I’ll be rejected. Can’t believe it because it’s never happened ever at any of these dances or at the classes…yet it’s a residual hangover from those feelings that I had way back when.

The bigger picture here ” is how my fear of rejection stops me from participating fully and enjoying myself more. And isn’t that what happens to all of us? Because of our fear, we sit on the sidelines and watch life go by. Rather than being a participant we find ourselves an observer.

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational and motivational way.http://www.inspirepossibility.com.em>

It was interesting last night when we arrived at the party. Everyone was engaged with someone else and no one greeted us. I felt awkward and went into my judgments about the hostess.

So Annie and I grabbed a chair and talked to each other. We could have stayed home I thought to myself. This went on for about ten or fifteen minutes and finally someone broke off their conversation and the subject of mountain biking came up…I felt like a made a connection and then it was time for the food. We all got up and stood around the table lighting candles and blessing the food. That felt good and we ate. I hadn’t done that for a while.

In the chair next to me, Art, who I had played music with six months before at this same house sat down. After a while our conversation extended to playing music.

As we were winding down our playing music, Janis one of the people of the party came over and began talking to us about perhaps having us play at a party she was having. And it went on and I continued talking with Janis who I felt a deep connection with about one thing after the other.

It was getting late and it was time to leave…I had a good time…yet earlier in the evening I was ready to pack it in. So next time I’ll hold my judgments,

JOURNEY ON

MARK

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational and motivational way.http://www.inspirepossibility.com.em>

I am listening to Richie Havens singing his song The Well about a wishing well near the hollow. The well is full of water and when you look into it you see your reflection. The well is your mirror for what you see in your life. If you’re feeling fear the mirror reflects fear and if you feel love that is what the well is going to reflect. Isn’t that the way it is, we see what we project. We see what we believe and want to believe.

The mystics and many of the modern day thinkers espouse we attract what we focus on. I believe it and it has been a practice of mine to focus on what can go right rather than what can go wrong. It’s more fun and the likelihood is that there is a greater chance that it will happen. So that brings me to this time of year. It’s spring…it’s time to plant our seeds for the upcoming year. Metaphorically our seeds are our ideas; our ideas that we want to grow and blossom.

What is it that you want to happen on a personal level, a community level and globally? I think that we would all like to see world peace. Have you seen those bumper stickers that say “Visualize World Peace”. Lets all look into our wishing well and see the world a better place.

Journey On

Mark

JOURNEY ON is a blog dedicated to personal and professional development. Mark Susnow, an executive and life coach, inspires others to experience more fulfillment and success in their life. A former trial attorney for 30 years and musician, he integrates what it takes to be successful in the world with the inner wisdom unfolded to him through years of yoga and meditation. He also publishes, Letters on Life, an inspirational ezine. His articles reflect this journey in an inspirational and motivational way. http://www.inspirepossibility.com