BlissChick

"Expect the Unexpected"

I like surprises… not the kind where people pop out of cakes, or dark alleys but the kind where you know you are alive because something or someone has reached out and connected… touched your life or maybe you them.

Do you know what I mean?   You get the chills, goose bumps, butterflies or an exciting little rush.  It feels like a magical moment that really when you slice and dice it… is always sooo simple but seemingly elusive.

I remember being at a restaurant one time and our waitress was fantastic; I mean she really stood out.   I can’t put my finger on what she did that was so special but it was memorable and I think the tip we left her was too.  They don’t call Disneyland the happiest place on earth for nothing. The people there surprise you with their kindness and attention to detail.  My grandmother who worked there for 35 years might disagree but to visit they accomplish their goal and it feels a bit magical.  It’s like the rush I get when I pay for the person coffee behind me in the Starbucks drive-thru or turn up the nice with the most difficult of people.  It’s doing the unexpected... shaking things up a bit.  The only thing I am curious about is why it is unexpected… what is expected is often mediocre and quite frankly boring.

I realize this question applies to me too and here’s what happens in that moment where I can choose the unexpected or settle for mediocrity. Maybe you can relate to the tapes that play… “the appointments, meetings, don’t have the extra time, don’t have the extra money, what if they don’t like it or me, and today I am just sooo tired, what if I am embarrassed or a little over the top, or the classic nobody goes out of their way any more, they’ll think I’m a freak ????

By then the opportunity has passed you by or has been quickly squashed like a bug…. 

Then there is the issue of supply and demand… after all if you give all your love, laughter, compassion, creativity and genius away, what will you be left with? So many reasons and yet last time I checked the last few listed here like love and laughter come in an endless supply and are probably the most renewable resource on the planet and the others, the excuses, they don’t hold a candle to the goose bumps!

 

As elusive as they may be, everyday I wish and intend to be pleasantly surprised.  I want to witness something special, generous, bold, truthful, vulnerable and all out unexpected.  Life is just more fun and meaningful when people and days are not as we could predict them to be.  So while wishing and intending are a fabulous start… the real AHA for me and I hope for you, is the unexpected and the new starts with us. I choose to look at this desire to be surprised as an invitation to be the unexpected in each day and accept the challenge to risk enough everyday to feel truly alive. 

Here's to something pleasantly surprising ~

Wendi

Do What Matters ~ January 2007

I hope this newsletter finds you off to a good start in 2007. Who knew throwing out last years calendar and putting up a fresh clean one could inspire sooo much optimism. I don't know about you, but this year my calendar includes much more room for fun and the stuff that really matters most.

That is not only the direction for my personal life but for Everyday Bliss. In my previous newsletters I have been hinting to the fact that there are some new things cooking at Everyday Bliss and now I am ready to share. Although the website will not reflect all of these changes until sometime in February. I'll give you a taste of what were up to at Everyday Bliss and a very the special opportunity to experience our signature program at a one time crazy low price before it goes public. Check it out below.

All that being said, I send out a New Years challenge to all of you to get out your crisp new 2007 calendar or planner and make more room on it for what's most important to you!

So I have this theme running - can you tell what it is? I want to know what is most important to you? The reason why I want to know this is because until the last couple of years I wasn't even sure for myself. Sure, I want to make a great living and have health and happiness for me and my family, world peace and Everyday Bliss... right ;0). I mean I named a company after it. But what do you and I really want, what is it that is most important to us and where do we get more of it?

I realize looking back, this is the question that lead me to coaching. You see before coaching I only had a vague idea of what I wanted and even at that it wasn't what was really important to me and my life reflected that... for the most part my life was still good, but something always felt like it was missing.

Do you know what I mean? What I learned is that what is really most important to us rarely gets our attention and energy. Life gets in the way... I know, I have a husband, kids, a dog, cat, baseball & guitar practice and a business to run and so on. What made all the difference was I started to save some of my time and energy so I could focus on what really mattered to me. I started to talk about it, not only with the coaches I have hired over the years, but with anyone that would listen... in turn I also started listening to what was important to others, what really mattered to them.

Getting to know myself and others this way brought color to my world and new experiences, opportunities and friends I would otherwise never have known. Turning good into great, even extraordinary... and still I continue to learn because that is what keeps life interesting.

Can you squeeze more room in to your schedule for what's really important to you? How will this change your world?

Warmest Wishes for your 2007!

Wendi

P.S. Check out our new signature program below if your ready to give some attention to what matters most to you!

The State of BLISS ~ August 2006

The State of Bliss is celebration for more reasons than the obvious, it is the 1 year mark this month for Everyday Bliss and it kind of snuck up on me in a way that has brought a smile to my face and a deep feeling of gratitude in looking back over all that I have learned, the new people and friendships that have come into my life, the support and enthusiasm from friends and family and fellow coaches that have made this "work" a pleasure and an adventure.

It had me thinking back to where it all started. Do you know how some things begin just because you know? Whether its who you dare to be one day and never look back, the love of your life arriving at first sight, or an inspired venture that turns into the adventure of your life, it is the moment things come together in a place other than your mind and all thats left is to fasten your seat belt and enjoy the ride, wherever it takes you.

This last year has been an inspired venture turned adventure for me and just before Everyday Bliss came to be I had a feeling I was on the verge of something. I have had this feeling quite a few times before and I use to always eagerly anticipate some great news, invention or revelation arriving to surprise me and sweep me off my feet. Something always came but not always in the form I had expected. Some were timely lessons and challenges to overcome, then there were answers and AHA's, some were insights meant to help others and there were gifts like this venture turned adventure called Everyday Bliss.

I was sitting at lunch with a friend when it struck me to create this community for women, but even then I didn't know all that would be in store for me or all the details involved in what I was about to create. I just knew it was going to happen, the ball was rolling and I wasn't looking back. It was one of those moments that made me realize we all know far more than we think we know, and what I mean by that is all of us are on the verge of the adventure of our lives, in whatever form it takes, but many times the answers, inspiration and action don't come from thinking about it, it comes from trusting yourself and knowing the ride will be perfect no matter where it takes you even if there are some tough and timely lessons and challenges to overcome, because once we face those the answers and AHAs and even special gifts and adventures meant just for you show up a make life a juicy adventure!

What will you be celebrating a year from today? Why wait?

;0)
Wendi

The Truth Hurts ~ February 2006

There aren't that many TV shows that I love, but Greys Anatomy is my favorite. Each week there is a yummy little moral of the story - I will spare you the details of this one episode, but I'll share the thought provoking morsel (moral) "The Truth Hurts, and That's Why We Lie "

Each person might of heard this in a different way, but what I heard wasn't about the little white lies we tell others, or the omissions we leave out in order to keep peace, or avoid trouble. What struck me is the lies we tell ourselves, the ones that almost go unnoticed because each of us have carefully crafted a set of handy stories that keep us warm and safe every night. It is also these same stories that keep us awake each night, feeling restless and sometimes hopeless. We hold onto these stories because we fear the unknown, how we or our lives might be different or what people might think of us, or the changes we might have to make in order to live with complete truth, courage and authenticity.

One of my carefully crafted stories was revealed to me about the time I decided to become a professional coach. It was a big exciting moment for me, I had found what I was going to do when I grew up, this was it, everything I had been looking for, and in being so invested and enthused about having this coaching thing turn out - this not so pretty story showed up and sounded a little something like this "I really really want this - but if I attempt this and fail, I will be finished" "Then what will I do" Who will I be" having said this out loud, well it HURT to finally realize how many times this same story had stopped me in my tracks in the past. But this time I really, really wanted this to work so I had to ask myself???

Is this really true? Would I be finished? Would my life loose all purpose and meaning? Of course not it was just a lie to keep me "safe", it was the story that protected me from feeling vulnerable, embarrassed and weak, or what being a failure might actually mean about me, would I give up and surrender, or would I be resilient and find courage and trust in myself. It is these seemingly small stories, or you might say lies disguised as comforting stories that keep us from everything we want and need in order to experience an extraordinary life.

So what was the truth, the truth that allowed me to sit here and tell you about it today - as the coach I wanted to be so badly - the truth was that by not trying and by not allowing myself to be vulnerable, I was already failing. So here I am a few years later, with a few failures under my belt, but much more success and courage than I had ever found before. So the TRUTH may hurt when its revealed, but it holds the power to set you free.

;0) Wendi

P.S. For some reason this memory just popped into my mind of this beautiful, unique and what some might consider eccentric woman I ran into one day, quite literally, and when she turned around and bent over to pick up what she had dropped she revealed a timely message(quite a site as you can imagine) in the form of a tattoo, "To Thine Ownself Be True" and I'll leave it at that! We all get the message one way or another...

Becoming A Butterfly... January 2006

Have you decided you deserve something more this year? Maybe better health, more love & happiness, more peace and freedom or my favorite, more FUN! ....

Me too! Even though resolutions aren't really a part of my life anymore, there is and has always been a desire to feel truly alive. Usually this desire shows up as something that resembles a goal or some creative undertaking, and somewhere along the way I realized it is not the finishing that makes me feel truly alive but opportunities, experiences and challenges that show up along the way that require my patience, passion, persistence and courage. So maybe were not all just looking to get somewhere or to get something, but to experience a little more of who we really are along the way so we can feel truly alive in the most unexpected moments.

The following story was shared on our community call this month, people asked if we could print it- and this seems a fitting place to share.... so here it is...

A woman found a cocoon of a butterfly, One day a small opening appeared. She sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further. So the woman decided the help the butterfly, she took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The woman continued to watch the butterfly because she expected that, at any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the woman in her kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening was nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved freedom from its cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were allowed to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly. I asked for Strength..... and I was given difficulties to make me strong. I asked for Wisdom.... I was given problems to solve. I asked for Prosperity.... I was given brains and brawn to work. I asked for courage.... and I was given danger to overcome. I asked for love.... I was given troubled people to help. I asked for Favors.... and I was given opportunities. I received nothing I wanted and everything I needed. Author Unknown

When you look at your resolutions and goals for this year, look at the quality and feeling that it represents. Start living that quality and feeling today. It will fuel your passion and summon the persistence and courage you will need to get what you truly want.

If your not sure what quality or feeling is behind your desires and goals, I'd be happy to help! Give me a call! :0)

Wendi

Naughty or Nice? ~ November 2005

This month I thought I would share a memory from Christmas past, but the enjoyment of it never ends. My youngest son Kyle was only 3 at the time, but this was his first year of really anticipating Christmas and all its traditions. We were driving home from an afternoon of Christmas shopping and he was being quieter than usual, so I asked him what he was thinking about? It soon became apparent that out of all the tales and traditions he had taken in this season, the naughty or nice list had stuck with him and he seemed a bit worried. He wanted to see if he understood all this clearly and asked "If your naughty, Santa doesn't bring you presents right?" So I confirmed with a "yes", and he followed with "When your nice Santa brings you what you ask for right?" Again I said "yes" with a smile seeing the wheels turning in his head. He seemed satisfied and was again quiet for a minute or two, what he said next I will never forget , after a moment he asked "Is there a trying list? Because I really try, but sometimes its more fun to be naughty" Up until that moment I was voting for the nice list, makes my job as a mom a little easier, but he had a point and I had to laugh out loud and quietly agree.

It's true, being "good" can make things easier for those around us, we even feel good because we are recognized for our kindness and good deeds, and yet it is that mysterious naughty side where our daring sense of humor and adventure hide, stirring up our passion, creativity and determination to be extraordinary, and it just adds that extra spark of confidence and charm don't you think? In that spirit we compiled a

Sometimes its more fun to be Naughty List

• Spend the 12 days of Christmas at a Spa
• Go ahead shake your "BON BON" at the Company Christmas Party
• Don't just lick the SPOON, lick the BOWL
• What's a FEW extra pounds, that's what New Years Resolutions are for
• BUY, WRAP & OPEN a gift from: YOU to: YOU on Christmas morning
• Get promoted from the DYSFUNCTIONAL family table and sit at the KID table
• You could try FULL CONTACT shopping or opt for pajamas and the Internet
• __________________________________________

Helps us fill in some blanks and we'll post them next month just in time for Christmas and thanks to some creative and naughty friends and members who already helped out!

Naughty & Nice,

Wendi :0)