I’ve been doing some work with my coach Jane Deuber – as part of the Business Mastery Program. We’ve been honing in on our Mission. What am I put on this planet to contribute?

Working on my Mission Statement – something that explains my core…I’m amazed at once I have created the clarity around this I can’t ignore it. Opportunity is knocking all the time for me to LIVE this!

Creating Orange Slice Training and doing the work I do with students and staff in the areas of leadership development are defined by this Core. My Mission is – To shift the belief in others, that they too, can have the audacity to live a life filled with joy and purpose. A life where Possibility exists!

The Mission I have is rooted – and built upon the notion we have CHOICE in our life. Being able to uncover CHOICE with others is my work. Shifting your belief that you can have that CHOICE is what makes my heart sing.

And the Mission can’t be squelched. This week alone, I worked with two different groups where some of the conversation started to shift toward feelings of no CHOICE , no control, being stuck. It’s during those times we might believe – or try really hard to convince ourselves – we simply don’t have a choice. When in fact, sometimes acknowledging the CHOICE is hard. Like choosing to stay in a job that sucks the life out of you daily. CHOICE . Put up with It or Leave it Behind.

The economy hasn’t boosted back to employee’s having the pick of jobs – in some, maybe most markets, there aren’t jobs to be had. Still there is a CHOICE of Putting Up with It or Leave it Behind. If you consciously choose Put up with It – just acknowledge that CHOICE . There is no shame or blame. There is just a CHOICE that has been made. Today that may work. Tomorrow you might have to choose again. And no matter what you decide – YOU get to decide. I’m not debating leaving your current job and not being to find work is the best option – but it is an option whether you decide to take it or not is up to you.

If I can shift people to seeing OPTIONS – then it’s in that space we can BELIEVE in ourselves – have the AUDACITY!

I’ve become very clear in my Mission – and I love when it keeps showing up. It reinforces this is the work I need to be doing.

That’s what I’m up for – what are you up for?

Have you ever given any thought to what you absolutely control in life?
Really, absolutely – no influence from someone else making you, pushing you, thrusting you to do or own something. The only thing that I have come up with is my Attitude. Yep. That’s it. Attitude. The only thing. Sure, you might be thinking, but….people make me have the attitude I have. Well between whatever Action they have done – or not done (i.e. called you back when they said they would) and your Attitude is this delicious space called Choice. So, what do you do in this space? Get Mad. Upset. Tickled. What happens for you in this space called Choice?

This space is wide open with possibilities. In the midst of nothing, there is something for you to create. A true, honest and authentic Choice. Here in lies the key to creating your Juicy Life – the real you gets to show up here. This isn’t customer service 101 where you have to have a 3 ¼ inch smile and where the phrase “fake it ‘til you make it!” lives. (See the last Action Guide if you need a jolt on this one.) This is where the real you gets to glow and be big. Real. Authentic. Choice. It’s in that space where we have options. Options to create anything we want.

It’s where you get to be in control of how you want to show your cards. Smiley. Stoic. Grumpy. Sleepy. Sneezy….you get the picture. It’s up to you what you want as a Choice. When we have choices, we feel empowered. We have power. The power to really be ourselves and express from the inside out. At times, people feel trapped, stuck as if there aren’t any choices available to them. This is when Attitude is a winner for you. You DO get to choose this one. Each and every time. When this notion penetrates your brain – you get to create the Attitude – you start to live a more connected, powerful life. It’s a new life of endless choice and opportunity. You may be wired to start from a place of seeing the glass half full; recognizing this and making a Choice with your Attitude is key in you creating your Juicy Life. Why? Because when you pause long enough to make a conscious, deliberate and intent-filled choice – you win! You’ll get to see what you want to see.

Tune into this Choice-making life you are creating. Set your SmartPhone, iGadget, or old school alarm clock to go off at 8:27, 1:23 and 4:11. At these moments make the Choice. Ask yourself, “what is the Attitude that is influencing my moment?” If you don’t like your answer, make another Choice! This is where you start to create a habit. Of Noticing. Of Choice-making. Of being You. Powerful You.

Today I facilitated a workshop for a group of directors.  I seem to be challenged at times when people don’t want to recognize the choices available.  At times, some really feel comfort and, can I say joy, in being helpless.  When this shows up in a workshop – I can’t just let it go.  I need to bring it out and really just throw it on the table – so we can talk about it.  And I really get where this is uncomfortable to talk about, because misery loves company which is about talking about the other choices – beyond misery – we might have.  It’s not the type of company I care to keep, let alone enable. 

Today’s session provided for a really great opportunity to think about work and the choices one makes – or chooses not to make.  If we can talk about the difficult choices – like simply doing nothing, or choosing another job – doesn’t that empower us?  Empower us because we have choices?  

I hope that it does, because what I can’t hear, is “i have no choice, no matter what I do things won’t change.”  I don’t know about you, but this stops us in our tracks and puts us right back into that default future.   And then, yes, you get to be right – nothing will change.

Is that what you want? Not me, I choose to play a different game. One where there are options – all of them, even the ones I don’t want to say out loud exist.  That’s the game I play.  How about you?

Ever wish you could create a life worth living?  A life that is full of joy?

A life that is best described:  Juicy?

Create Your Juicy Life is a practical, hands-on approach to creating just that – a life that is full, ripe and delicious!

For a limited time, I am offering the first section of this new book online to you FREE.  Simply complete the contact form with your name and email and I’ll gladly send it your way.  I can’t wait for you to start designing YOUR juicy life.

In this book, you will be provided with exercises to create your juicy life.  Take stock of your current reality – and then CHOOSE.  Notice. and Act.

This book is great if you are feeling stuck, need a nudge, or just want to experience more joy in your life.

If you could get more JOY in your life – what might that be like?  Well, now you have some practical tools to use to answer the question – and EXPERIENCE the answer.

Much has been written about goal setting and success.  From all that I have read I’ve come up with a simple form to help each of us achieve the success we desire.  There are 3 elements critical to goal setting and success:

1. Clarity. Being able to set you aim and focus on something specific helps you to achieve your result.  The more specific, the more likely you are to be successful with achieving your result.  First, What do you want? Get yourself really clear on what this is.  A deeper question that might be helpful to explore is Why do I want it?
2. Chunk it down. Now, I don’t need any study to show me that being able to take bite sized bites of something is easier to swallow than taking one large bite.  When a project is too big, too hairy, to scary – I don’t do anything.  Chunk your goal down into bite sized pieces.  What are you doing every day that gets you closer to your goal?
3. Action. To achieve your results, there needs to be action not just thoughts, not just “try’s”  (i.e. I’m going to try to do it) – but deliberate actions.  What are you doing?

Use the 2Day 2Achieve Worksheet to move you closer to your goal.  Action by action, day by day you will start to see what you are doing to create your own success. You can use this form at the beginning of each day to plan out what actions you will take.  Or, you can use the form at the end of the day and reflect on what two actions did you take today?  Either way you can’t go wrong when you are using this tool.

Just 2 a day.  What do you choose?

More importantly, what are you getting from the actions you’ve taken?

This morning I saw an interview with Scott Hamilton talking about the women’s figure skating event last night.  He mentioned the phrase, 

“Be Olympic.” And then I quickly sipped my coffee and rushed out the door.

As I proceeded to be in the hum-drum of my drive, I thought, what does it mean to Be Olympic?

These 3 things will allow us to show up in a way where we can Be Olympic in the competition of our daily lives:

• Find your courage - Look to the home town gal, Joannie Rochette, who’s mother past just two days before her time on the ice.  She didn’t just “show up” she is sitting in 3rd place after the short program.  How do you find your courage? If you were to be able to stand in your Courage what results might you ahceive?
• Prepare for your moment – If you were like Aussie skater, Cheltzie Lee, you might not even have thought the 2010 Olympics would be your moment.  She got the call two weeks ago informing her she could compete after the skater from Israel was not going to be at the games.  Cheltzie skated the best short program of her life in the brightest spot light for her world. What daily habits do you have that are preparing you for your moment?  What do you still need to be doing so that when the spot light hits, it’s shining on you?
• Get out of your own way – The Korean women in first place, Yu-Na Kim, took a nasty spill in practice the day of the short program.  A fall on her left side, from which I understand is not common and can be quite jarring – to the body and the ego. Going into her jump during the competition she let it happen – and landed it perfectly.  Where do you find yourself getting in your own way?  What landings might you stick if you could simply move yourself out of the way?

Everyday we make choices about how we show up – some conscious and some completely on autopilot and so far from our own awareness to detect that it was even a choice. How might you Be Olympic today?

Better yet, what might you get as a result?

Today I was coaching a client and asked the question, “What’s the story you are telling yourself about that relationship?”

The Story.  Yep, the story.

I’ve been to a number of different personal development sessions where this concept comes out – Landmark Education, Coaching Certification, and the book Language and the pursuit of happiness.  This concept of story is something very powerful when you can just stand with it.  Live with it. Own it.  And then get to choose – how is it serving me?

Think about that relationship in your life where you might benefit from a deeper connection.  Maybe it’s your brother, you boss or barista at your favorite coffee shop.  What’s the story you have about that relationship?

Once you’ve become aware of the story that you have – get yourself clear about what it truly is. What if the story was written a different way?  (your brain might shift to autopilot and convince yourself it’s can’t possibly be another way than it currently is today, or it’s not possible to change – because they aren’t going to change!)  As a coach, I’m not really interesting in spending the time and energy around why it can’t change – I’m interested in “if you want the story to change, what can you do to rewrite it?”  Here’s how:

1. Create the story you want to live in.  What is the story that would make you jump for joy, throw your hands up, pee your pants because – holy crap, I never knew it could be that good.  Describe that story.  Write it down.  What is the story you want to create?
2. If you got to live in that story – what would be different for you? What does this story sound like? look like? smell like?  What does this story evoke in your heart, head and soul? (write down a few notes about this)
3. And if you had that, what would you have? It might be a fuller relationships, a sense of letting go, peace, harmony…what else might it be for you?
4. Move to action to live in this story.  Identify 25 things YOU will do to show up in a way that lives this new story. (BTW this list is about you, not the other person)

Doing this simple exercise to repair, renew, revive a relationship in your life might have a profound impact.  I don’t know if it ends happily ever after.  I just know today might be uniquely different from days in the story of the past.

What’s it worth to you to see how you can rewrite the stories of your life  - or better yet, what are you risking if you don’t?

Spend a winter in Minnesota.

It was in the elevator at work today that I heard a colleague say “Isn’t it a great day out today?”  I’ve spent the last number of years in MN so I eagerly nodded and said, “Yes, it’s amazing what the bright sun and crisp glare of fresh snow can have on a day.”  That, and we both loved that it was 35 degrees today.  Yes, 35 degrees (F)!

Why is it, if you are reading this in sunny SoCal, you must think we have lost our minds.

Or, if this was June, and all things being the same:   35 degrees, sunny with fresh dusting of snow – I’d sound like a loon.

It’s all a matter of perspective – we simply got too comfortable in the deep freeze. And it wasn’t until we could thaw out that we could shift our perspective and see something from a different point of view.

Want to add some new ideas, new way of looking at things – shift your perspective.

Ask yourself these questions to glimpse into a new perspective:

• What would someone from Minnesota say about that?
• How might Olympic Gold Medalist Lindsey Vohn approach it? (also from MN)
• What might the courageous you say to this?
• How might (insert anyone other than yourself) do in this situation?

and let their perspective shape yours.  Who’s perspective would you like to learn from?

Do you ever pay attention to how you are listening?  More importantly, what are you listening for?

I typically start my workshops off with some sort of goal setting by the participants.  I’ll ask individuals to set a goal they have for themselves as a result of attending the session.  My intention is to have them answer the dreaded what’s in it for me question.

I have the participants write this down on a 3×5 card or a giant post-it. Something they can keep in front of them during our time together.  After they have completed this, I then follow it up with these simple instructions:

“Now, listen for this as the content of the workshop starts to unfold.”

This simple instruction can create a filter, a perspective, a point of view in which to hear everything from.  It’s the easiest – and quickest – way for me to get learning to stick for individuals and tie back into the goal they have created for themselves.

When we start to LISTEN FOR something, we start to make connections.  We also start to be engaged as learners.  As learners we start creating meaning for the content that is being shared.  It’s when learners can create context and relationship where real change in performance can occur.

So, what are you listening for today?

I was recently facilitating a FISH! for Schools session for 100 staff and educators and one person said, “this is great, but it just won’t work because we don’t have the support.” Legitimate concern from someone experiencing a change.  An obstacle. A roadblock.  You might even say resistance.

My response was, “You know what, you get to be right.”

That’s the funny thing with attitude.  We DO get to be right – each and every time.  If you believe it “won’t work” and “we don’t have support” you will undoubtedly find 59 ways between now and tomorrow to reinforce your point of view. And then, yep, you get to be right.

The same thing works if you said, “This is really easy, I can see how this fits.”  And yep, you too get to be right.  You will also find 59 ways to reinforce your belief.  That’s the crazy thing about our beliefs we will work really hard to prove ourselves right.

I’m not asking you to be pollyanna.  Just be USEFUL.  Is what you have chosen useful?  If yes – keep it.  If no, choose again.

Whichever attitude we choose to wear, there is going to be great comfort in that.  It’s like your favorite sweatshirt, it feels so good. The best thing about attitudes, is we can change it – just like that sweatshirt.

Try it out.  Today, choose to believe your day is going to really hard, rough and tough.  Just for the next couple hours, see how many times that can be reinforced.  Then just before your breaking point, CHOOSE to believe that the rest of your day is going to an absolute piece of cake, everything is going your way, and it’s really effortless.  And then, just be aware.  (a good clue is going to be watching all the traffic lights greet you with the bright glow of green!).

What will you choose?

ps…you’ll get to be right!