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A salon for change, challenge, and empowered living.
Mindfulness: It’s not just what you do, it’s who you are.
I had the privilege of sharing some of my Every Day Mindfulness tips with the readers of D.I. magazine. It’s sometimes a challenge to explain how to be mindful in 500 works or less because Mindfulness is not just what you do in the moment it is also who you are.
In a state of mindfulness I am:
- Without Judgment
- Curious
- Compassionate
- Relaxed
- Hyper Aware
Can you be all those things at once? Yes, yes you can….
Learn more about how to be Mindful Every Day at our upcoming Pause Power retreat. December 5-7, 2014. Clearwater Beach, Florida, and register and reserve your spot now!
How to Speak So That People Will Want To Listen
Julian Treasure’s brilliant TED Talk on communicating effectively is not just for aspiring Distinguished Toastmasters!
It’s the most empowering and informative video on how to speak powerfully and how to create sound consciously.
Watch, learn, and speak–mindfully and beautifully!
Are you Cirquing it?
Click to see the Amazing video!
I always marvel when I see top performers. They bring something that sets them apart from the rest. Beyond experience, knowledge, and conditioning, they express what it means to be in the flow.
Flow is a state that can only be experienced when you stay in the moment and are fully present. The masterful gymnasts and acrobats featured in this video aren’t thinking about their to-do lists, judging the fashion sense of the attendees, or worrying about their tax bill. If they were they couldn’t do what they do.
What is occupying your mind right now that is blocking your ability to flow?
Just asking….
Are you Living Life in the Default Zone?
Last week, Belinda Brown interviewed me on her Empowered Women series. The intent of the interview was to talk about my research and book on voluntary childlessness but we ended up taking most of the hour talking about the link between mindful, conscious, decision making and success.
Over the course of our lives we develop habitual patterns of behavior which become the default. It’s feels like we are on auto pilot and our brains are not fully engaged moment to moment. You have experienced this I am sure–the times when you pull into your driveway and have no recollection of how you got there, or the time when you catch only the last sentence of what your child or spouse just said. Don’t worry, you are not losing your mind! You are just not being mindful, or engaging your brain in a conscious way.
The severe expression of this default zone is a zombie-like existence: when you sleep walk through life utilizing only habitual patterns of behavior. The Zombie doesn’t get to make a choice, but you do. In every moment and in every day.
Take a moment to watch the video of this interview. The juicy bits are after the intro, at about 8 minutes in when I talk about mindfulness and the default. Enjoy!
Laura’s Playlist
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINbI5CMt3I]
Pharrel Williams’ song HAPPY is my theme song this year. I can not help but jump up and dance when I hear this tune. Apparently people around the world feel the same way! Check out this video and you will be dancing along…
Making the Most of the Moment
I have been a mindfulness practitioner for some time so I don’t recall the moment when I began to more consciously live in the moment but when I started making the most of the moment I began to live a better and happier life.
I also became more productive, more focused, more loving, and more grateful. I also became a more effective coach.
How did I do this? I stopped worrying about the future. I stopped thinking about the past and second-guessing. I just asked myself “Okay what are we going to do NOW?” or “Who do I want to be NOW?
When you live in the moment you become more creative about what you can do in the moment. The moment is where we have choices. The moment is where we create the future.
One of my favorite quotes about mindfulness is from Ellen Langer, a mindfulness researcher, who says: “Life consists only of moments, nothing more than that. So if you make the moment matter, it all matters.”
So take a few moments today to focus on the now and express who you want to be in those moments. The world is your oyster…
Photo credit: Sharon Marino
A Holiday for Gratitude
This Peanuts Youtube clip reminded me that the original intent for establishing a national holiday called Thanksgiving was to–yes–give thanks! Sometimes that intention is lost in the rush and crush of dinner preparation, travel, and black Friday shopping.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Even if you only spend a minute this week thinking of three or four things you are grateful for then you will have honored the tradition of Thanksgiving. Better yet, invite your friends and family to share what they are grateful for as you pass the turkey and fixings around the table.
Enjoy! And thank you for being my friend and blog buddy!
with blessings and gratitude,
Laura Scott
Got Success?
So thrilled to be a presenting my 20 min “TED-like” talk on Mindful Leadership at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13, at the inaugural 4 For Success event in Tampa. Come join us for 4 stimulating presentations by 4 business and success coaches and networking at the PourHouse afterwards with discounted beverages for all with a 4 for Success program in hand. Like us on facebook for more information
Discounted tickets can be had by clicking here. Or you can pay $10 at the door at Stageworks Theatre, Channelside, Tampa
Think You are Too Old to Do It?!
I was Googling “Fashion Week” and I came across this amazing article on 81-year-old fashion model Carmen Dell’Orefice.
She started modeling in her teens and was recently featured in an HBO documentary on supermodels. At first it was a pragmatic career move made to help her single mother pay some bills, but then the camera loved her and she graced the covers of the top fashion magazines and succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.
When Dell’Orefice lost much of her wealth to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, she did what she needed to do and went back out on the runway. It was a move that that was motivated not just by money but by her awareness of her legacy, her passion, and who she is as a woman:
“I think America may be growing up and accepting the fact that the bulk of life exists beyond 50. Because demographically … the vast population is over 50,” she said. “This is not to negate the young people coming up. But what kind of an example are we giving young people?”
“I don’t know if it’s good or silly,” she told TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager of her current modeling career. “It’s what I enjoy doing, and I’m able to do it.”
Silly? No. Good? Yes, oh yes!
The Seven Deadly Sins of Management
Forbes Magazine published this terrific list and as an Energy Leadership Master Practitioner I agree with this list whole-heartedly.
Read this and I am sure you be reminded of a former boss or colleague who poisoned the work environment, demotivated their teams, failed to reach realistic goals as a result of these seven deadly sins.
These are behaviors that can be changed and most managers and leaders are motivated to change them when they realize the real “cost” of continuing these behaviors. The only blocks to change is to recognize the unconscious default behaviors and craft alternate responses. This is mindful leadership. As this article states, real positive change can be as simple as: hire great people; take responsibility; be kind; be generous; listen; and rule by hope and clarity.