Your Commitment to You – Now and in the New Year

I encourage you to tweak your thoughts—the way you’ve been thinking—so that you move through the holidays and approach 2012 with as much vision and commitment to follow your path of personal accomplishment and fulfillment as you can have at this time, as well as be willing to move to the next level or phase, instead of focusing as much as you might have been on what you believe needs to be changed, fixed, or improved about you or your life—or, stated another way, focused so much on what’s “wrong.”

I ask you to really feel inside your intuitive self what author Lynn Serafinn says about abundance: “Abundance isn’t about what you have; it’s about what you feel.” Many people feel discontent right now and have felt that way for a long time when it comes to abundance, as well as about other areas of their lives.

I think our biggest reason for the discontentment so many of us feel right this moment is that we feel disconnected, and is not actually about any temporary or perceived scarcity. How can real connection ever breed scarcity? I ask you to tune in to the following questions and your own self-awareness to see if they have any relevance for you…

How connected or disconnected do you feel with Source?
How connected or disconnected do you feel with your authentic self?
How connected or disconnected do you feel with the work you do or the service you provide, and who you provide this for or to?
How connected or disconnected do you feel with your personal values and what would really feel fulfilling for you or does feel that way?
Ask this question about anything in your life and see what comes up for you.

In an audio I recently listened to, someone said that all the interruptions in our lives and the fast-food mentality that’s everywhere are causing us to feel as though we have A.D.D., if we don’t already have it. I don’t know about you, but I feel the truth of this at a deep level. Think of all the ways we’re interrupted when we work and when we relax. Is it any wonder people feel like hamsters on a wheel, or exhausted, or lack clarity or serenity? This may be an aspect of your life you want to look at. You may say you’re connected through technology, but the fact may be you feel disconnected to genuine connection.

People look for formulas as solutions—because of these reasons (and, yes, I’ve used the word “formula” myself and find I don’t like that “buzzword” any more, which I’ll have to shift in my materials and vocabulary over time):

You want a formula because you feel disconnected from or distrustful of your own unique, natural magnetic attraction and ability to connect genuinely with others. This applies to many areas of your life, if not all of them.

Certain issues have been with you so long or have you so frustrated, you want a quick-fix. A quick-fix seldom happens. Maybe a temporary fix, but not a long-lasting one. I think you know this, as well as I do. Yet, it’s so tempting to believe a quick-fix formula promise about anything you perceive as a scarcity in your life.

Maybe you’ve been trying to fit into a mold when you really need to stand out in your interesting, distinctive, authentic way. Put a sparrow inside a box and it can’t fly.

A formula is about mixing specific “ingredients” in a specific way to get specific results, and to get the same results each and every time you use it. That works for cake baking, but no way does that fits you—or me—as individuals; and that’s why formulas don’t always work for us, if they work at all, and why you can feel “off” when you use them. This is why deliberately going for your authenticity can’t use a formula to get there. Getting “there” will be as unique and ever-changing as you are.

I encourage you to give what you’ve read here some thought, as well as to get out of your thinking and into your feelings about this. What do you want for yourself and your life? If what you’ve been doing hasn’t created results, it’s time to re-assess this.

I sincerely appreciate that you let me visit you at home or work each week through State of Appreciation. I sincerely appreciate how publishing SOA lets me BE and play in ways that feel good for me. I appreciate when you let me know that something I did or said let you feel heard or inspired.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and New Year, and holidays and a New Year filled with wonders,

Joyce Shafer
You Are More! Empowerment Coach & Author
Publisher, State of Appreciation
http://stateofappreciation.webs.com

P.S. ~ Here is information about my $1 e-book special I’m leaving open until Dec. 30, so you don’t feel rushed about considering this or making a decision, unless you know right off, that is. I’ve put my offerings into categories, with brief but I hope enough description, so you don’t have to figure out which area of your life they belong to. Also—if you get one or more of these offerings, please choose another one as my gift to you.
If you don’t feel my offerings might support you as you’d like, I encourage you to find another author or coach whose work will. You deserve to feel, be, and live strong. And, none of us do this completely alone.

MIND/ENERGY

I Don't Want to be Your Guru, but I Have Something to Say (New Edition): It’s a one-hour read that invites you to give new consideration to everyday matters we all deal with, as well as invite the bigger picture of life into the mix. This is done through a fictional story about a conversation held between two individuals. Feedback from readers has included they read it more than once and write heavily in the margins, because the messages speak to them. I will share that the Universe guided my hand in this one.

Reinvent Yourself: Refuse to Settle for Less in Life & Business--The eCourse: This includes information I received and worked with when I did additional training with Coaching From Spirit. It provides methods that do work to help you manage your energy, plan your day from a more spirit/intuitive-centered approach, give voice to what you want and don’t want in life, tap into your creativity—and it does offer ways to intuitively, energetically connect with people in life or business—but if you’re looking for a business-related offering, I recommend you check out that category. Some information found here and there is repeated, though expanded in the business offerings. This one can help you manage yourself and emotions through the holidays. The reason “eCourse” is in the title is because I originally created the content for a coaching course I did.

Law of Attraction Alchemy: Change Lead Thoughts into Gold: If you are on my special list to receive uplifting messages Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, you’ll recognize that those messages (though tweaked at times) come from here. However, the e-book has an introduction that explains a bit about Law of Attraction (enough info for newbies and a good reminder for others) and my own experience of using the statements in a specific meditative way.

Amp Up Your Awareness: Reflections on the Go: This is a collection of some of my articles that deal specifically with areas of life that concern us emotionally and energetically. Inkstone approached me to create this collection, but I arranged it to serve you in a way like angel cards: pick one and let it speak to you for the day or the moment.

BODY

How I Dropped 35 Lbs. in 2 Months the Healthy Way!: Weight gain is something that is on many people’s minds during and after the holidays. I really did do what I include in this e-book, and I really did shed 35 pounds in 2 months, and I really did feel and look healthier as a result. I included a tummy flattening exercise that, in this case, really is quick and easy and seriously effective.

BUSINESS

How To Get Your Spirituality-Based and Practical "Ducks" in a Row Before and After You Become a SoloEntrepreneur: This one’s foundation is from Reinvent Yourself, but expanded. This is why you don’t need both, just the one that better fits what you’re looking for or feels like a better fit right now. What’s true for both e-books is that they offer you methods that do allow you to discover how to be you in your business and in your connection with potential and existing clients or customers.

Spiritual Entrepreneurs: Design, Plan, & Live Your Ideal Life and Business: I got inspired to tweak and expand the information, but this is, at its foundation, what you find in the e-book listed above, just slanted towards people starting a business and struggling to keep spirituality in the mix. Again, feel the title that speaks to you, if this is something you feel drawn to explore and expand in the New Year.

How to Create a Basic Business Plan (Probably the Simplest, Most Straightforward Format You’ll Ever Use): Back when God made dirt, I kept trying to learn how to do a business plan. I went to several classes given by professionals. I heard a lot of info, but never learned how to actually create a plan. When I decided to create a print newsletter way back when, I was determined to put a plan together so I knew what I was doing—at least, as much as I could. A year or so later, my before and after plans (before I experienced the reality of publishing, and after publishing the first issue taught me some things), Gale Research published my before and after versions in their handbook. This is the standard format plus a bit.

OTHER

Write, Get Published, and Promote: An Easy e-Guide for New and Aspiring Writers: I put this one together because I kept being asked some of the same questions by aspiring writers, plus, there were questions they didn’t ask and needed to. The publishing industry changes each week, it seems, but this was designed to help anyone who wants to write but hasn’t, or is new to writing, including articles. It’s a “foot in the door” level of information, based on experience.

PIPPI'S AND PIPER'S OUTDOOR ADVENTURE: If you want to encourage a child, grandchild, or students ages 4-8 to read, improve reading skills, and enhance their thinking processes, this e-book inspires these skills with a tale of 7-year-old twins (brother and sister) who have interesting conversations with a beetle, a lizard, and a grasshopper on the first day of summer vacation. Includes fun clip art images to support the story and connect images and words. If you’re an educator, you have my permission to print copies to share with your class as they read it or follow along as you or someone reads it aloud to them.

If you wish to order from my e-book selection for the $1 special, here are the instructions:
*Go to http://www.paypal.com
*Go to Send Payment
*Type in my email address – jls1422@yahoo.com
*Copy and paste the title(s) you want – remember to include which title you’d like as a gift.
*$1 for each title (except the gift, of course)
*Include the email address where you want them sent
*Once I see the notice, I’ll email your selection to you. That’s right, this isn’t automated. This may change in 2012, but for now I’m okay about being like “the little shop around the corner” where you engage with the proprietor, when I offer specials like this one.
**If you believe immediate download will make a difference, you can get your selection(s) at the link I provide here, though, they’ll be full price. If this is your choice, please forward your emailed order confirmation/receipt to me and list the e-book you choose as your gift. The link is
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/jls1422?cid=cms_email_author_spotlight_confirmation

I have just one more thing to do before I wrap this up, and that’s to share four other ways I may be able to assist you:

1. Do It Yourself: Get the easy-to-follow Order Form and Activation Letter format to the Universe for $17. You find the Order Form, but not the letter, included in Reinvent Yourself and the similar e-books in the business category—because it’s effective. But if you just want the process and not all the other information, you can get that and the letter here. Order today at http://stateofappreciation.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/2827231
2. Coaching to Create and Activate Your Order Form with the Universe: Get the form, the letter, and me as your life coach to assist you with either a 30-minute coaching call or up to 3 comprehensive emails to discuss your form and letter. $97 ~ Details are at http://stateofappreciation.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/2805595
3. Fulfillment Is an Inside Job! ~ This is especially beneficial if you’re at a crossroads point in your life, which is a precarious time. When frustrated or desperate for change, you may jump—or be tempted to—onto the “Flashy Things” wagon and be taken for a ride that uses up time, money, and energy without leading to desired results, plus ignore your intuition… because you want to end whichever fear or frustration has a grip on you. This coaching course lets you take a journey through discovery about who you are, what you find fulfilling, what your strengths and talents are, and deepen your connection to yourself and your life. Details about this 8-week online course are available at http://stateofappreciation.webs.com/myservicesbooks.htm
4. Standard Life Coaching: The “rules” say I’m supposed to remind you about your pain (as though you need reminding) then tell you the benefits you’ll get, and never ever tell you what coaching is about—yet, how very many people tell me they don’t have a clue about it. So, I’m going to tell you about coaching, and what I will tell you is from my own experience. When I want to vent, I contact my friends. When I want to go deeper and/or move something forward I’m stuck on or perceive as an obstacle, I talk with my coach. I save these conversations for my coach because we went through the same training. We know how to listen with a coach’s “ears” and intuition, how to not believe each others’ stories, how to ask better questions so we help each other do the work, because we choose to get out of that mental/emotional space and into a better one. People want to not just be heard, but feel heard… want to feel they aren’t being judged by someone as they commit to moving through what has them feeling stuck. If this sounds like something you want to do for yourself, you can see more at http://stateofappreciation.webs.com/myservicesbooks.htm

If you made it all the way to this point, WOW! And, thank you.

Create Your Order Form for 2010

This is THE time to get clear about what you want so you know what to aim at. Here’s a simple technique that helps you do this AND expand your magnetic energy.

Whatever you desire does not have to be important to others, only to you.

You know what you want in the areas of work, finance, family, personal development, spiritual development, social and intimate relationships, fun, and health. Or, maybe you sort of know what you want.

One way to amp up your energy and enthusiasm about a dream, goal, or desired outcome is to look at it more thoroughly than you may have. If you do what’s suggested below, you’ll get clearer and create an order form that inspires and guides you as you move forward, and makes your energy magnetic.

Get a sheet of paper and a pen or create columns in a document on your computer. Pick something about your life or business you want to see happen, or take each life area listed above and give them their turn.

First column: Write what you don’t want (don’t list feelings here—they have their own column).You’d write something like I don’t want less than ten new clients a month; I don’t want clients who don’t pay, don’t have a sense of humor, etc. Or, I don’t want a relationship with someone who doesn’t share my core values; is emotionally or otherwise unavailable, etc. If you really want to amp this up, write down everything you don’t want in every area of your life. Really purge here. Vent like crazy.

If you believe that positive thinking means you shouldn’t focus on what you don’t want, this is called denial. What you don’t want is rambling around in your subconscious anyway. You might as well give it an opportunity to be heard. Self-sabotage usually happens when our conscious and subconscious thoughts conflict. Get the Don’t Wants out instead of trying to suppress them.

Second column: Write what you don’t want to feel (afraid, unsuccessful, taken for granted, overworked, confused, afraid of failure—or success, unloved if you’re prosperous, etc.). Go ahead and give voice to any and every such feeling.

Third column: Write what you do want (ten or more new clients a month; meet and get to know one or more new people also interested in a relationship, etc.). If you’re inclined, amp this one up as recommended for the Don’t Wants. No limits—if you want it, write it down—anything, everything. If you’ve been holding back, now is your time to let loose.

Fourth column: Write what you do want to feel. List everything until nothing else comes up (valued, appreciated, respected, confident, on purpose, fulfilled, prosperous, safe and accepted and loved if you have more, etc.).

Fifth column: Write why you want it. Really let loose with this one. Whatever your why is, let it talk to you. When you find your why and it’s compelling, you amaze yourself with the inspired ideas and actions that come to you. If your why isn’t compelling, check to see if it’s a case of “It would be nice . . .” rather than “I passionately intend it” (wish vs. commitment).

Sixth column: Write how you will feel once you have this (fulfilled, validated, free, on purpose, etc.).

Seventh column: Write how others will feel once you have this. How will your new clients feel when they work with you as a confident, fulfilled person? How will your staff and/or family feel when they see you feeling so good? How will the person you move towards or into a relationship with feel about being around you, especially if you feel happy with yourself and your life?

Eighth column: Create a statement that helps you amp up your energy about this. You want a statement you can really buy into. If, at this time, you feel unsure about getting ten new clients a month or finding someone who wants to be in a relationship with you, writing that you have something as a given won’t work, because you’re not on board with it yet. And, that’s fine. What about this: I want to believe that I can find a way to get ten new clients a month; or meet someone I eventually share a relationship with; or feel safe about having more of everything in my life, including money. See how this is a true statement but it doesn’t put pressure on you?

Ninth column: Next actions. Maybe one or more next actions (inner or outer) come to you now or came to you as you wrote your responses. If not, not a problem. Write that you ask to be shown one or more next actions and know that because your focus is on receiving them, you will.

Before you go to sleep each night, write your statement. What you’ll notice is that your statement will change as you open to next actions and/or take them. You’ll move from “I want to believe” to “I believe” to “I can” to “I have” or “I am.”