Good morning everyone! Well, this is one l-o-n-g post (it took me all day yesterday to write it) so settle yourself in.
First, I have to send out a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to Kristen from Total She. After reading about Isabella's peanut challenge she thought immediately of the peanut charm for the expandable charm bracelets she carries. She sent Isabella one of these bracelets with an entire assortment of beautiful charms and Isabella was absolutely beside herself with excitement! She hasn't taken the bracelet off and its become a symbol of her strength and courage and I can't even type this without getting teary eyed. Thank you again, Kristen! Your thoughtfulness has really given Isabella a gift much bigger than a bracelet!!!
Ok, now that I've composed myself again, on to Wednesday. As Michelle mentioned, a bunch of us went to see THE POWER WITHIN, featuring Anthony Robbins. It was SO much more than what I had expected. There were 7 different speakers and one incredibly funny MC, and while each presented their material in their own unique way, the message throughout was the same. We all hold the power to create our lives the way we want it to be. We have the power. These speakers didn't teach me anything I didn't already know (except maybe Phil Town and his talk about the stock markets - that got me REALLY excited!) but they all, in their own way, served to remind me that my happiness lies with me. My choices, my responses, my beliefs are my power and I can choose to use them whichever way I want.
I could go on and on about this but I think, in the interest of time and space, I'll just jot down a few of the nuggets I got from each speaker.
Mike Lipkin - you can find him here and he was probably one of the best speakers of the day. He talked to us about ourselves and each of us making ourselves be the best us we can be. He said "Be yourself, because everyone else is taken." He also talked alot about Preeminence - and this is what really hit home for me. Mike asked ALOT of questions. In fact, he said he's the question guy, not the answer guy. WE are the ones who have to answer the questions! When he was talking about preeminence, what he was saying was "What is your genius? What is the best of you?"
Mitch Joelwas the next speaker and he talked to us about personal branding. In other words, what do people think of when they think of you. What do YOU represent to the world? He talked alot about our values, beliefs and goals and how well (or not) we communicate them to everyone around us. He ended his talk with this video, which I had seen before but still brought me to tears. He gave such an interesting talk about personal branding and alot of great great information. Every business owner should check out his blog!
Phil Town was up next and I was absolutely blown away by the information he shared with us. It was all about investing in the stock market, of which I know absolutely nothing but am interested in. He made so much sense, I signed up for his workshop on this weekend. If anyone is interested in learning more about how to make money on the stock market, especially at a time like this, check out his site.
Richard Dolanwas next and he talked alot about our purpose and given that purpose, are we ON purpose. He told us his life story and how he got to where he is today. It was a very interesting story that turned, on a dime, because of a crucible event that happened to him. He defines this as a traumatic experience that forces leaders into deep reflection of themselves, their values and consequently, shifts their world view and frame of reference. He also said that most great leaders have a few crucible events in their lives. And given that I strive to be a leader and representative of Tiber River, I started thinking about my crucible events......
Loretta LaRoche also spoke to us. Mostly, she made us all laugh hysterically and I would absolutely recommend listening to her speak if you ever get a chance. She talked about life and feeling good about yourself but did it with so much humor, that you almost forgot there was a message there. She talked about wearing different hats, not metaphorically, actually wearing them. She said she's considered a 'know-it-all' by her friends and family, so she wears a wizard hat and just says "I know. I know. I knew that before you even thought it." She said those of us who are diva's should go out a buy a boa and fling it around all day. Her message was that it's pretty hard to take yourself too seriously when your wearing a dorky hat or boa!
James Smith, who wasn't scheduled to talk but was there anyway, talked to us about real estate and financial self defense. These were his suggestions: use the tax code; start a business; improve your credit; start a retirement account; invest correctly; purchase tax liens and deeds; purchase real estate; protect your assets.
And last, but certainly not least, was Anthony Robbins. I have read many of his books and have followed him for years and I felt so privileged to be able to see him in person. That being said, I think all the yelling, screaming and jumping we did yesterday was a little too much for the pregnant ones in the crowd (ok, probably just me, but jumping just doesn't agree with all things pregnant!). There were SO many nuggets he gave us yesterday that it's really hard to put just a few in here, but I'll try to give you a good sampling.
He talked alot about our blueprints - what makes us us. Our blueprints are a reflection of how we expect things to be and its one of two determining factors in showing how we will react to any situation. The second of these factors is our state - how we are conditioned to be. By changing either of these factors, we can chance our responses and therefore, our emotions.
He said there are 3 Mandates of Leadership and these are things to remember at all points in our life:
1)See things as they are.
2) See it better than it is.
3) MAKE it better than it is.
Perhaps one of the most poignant things he said was when he was explaining the difference between fear and faith. He said fear is the mind undirected while faith is imagination consciously directed. (Take a few minutes to contemplate that because its really quite profound.)
He also talked alot about our feelings and emotions. He said emotion is created by motion and then had us go through many interesting, if awkward, exercises. They ended up telling us alot about ourselves, our body language and our responses. He followed that by saying that our feelings are a direct result of 3 key decisions we make (and he made sure to emphasis that these are decisions, choices!) By changing the decisions that we make, we can change how we feel and react in any given situation. These decisions are:
1) What are you focused on? (Many people focus on things they cannot control - for example, the past or the future - when what you should be focused on are the things they can control, the present, for instance.)
2) What does this mean to you? (Do you think God is punishing you or do you believe he is giving you a gift? How you choose to interpret the situation greatly affects the resulting emotion.)
3) What are you going to do about it? (Are you going to stew, take action, forget about it? If its something you can control, act on it. If not, let it go.)
He mentioned reading "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor that lost his entire family to the ovens but still came away grateful for what he had. He found a way to be grateful when there was nothing to be grateful for. Powerful, powerful stuff!!
He ended off the day by talking about relationships and giving. He asked us to reflect on our actions and responses when we are at the beginning of a relationship. You know what he means, right? How you would just do anything for that other person. How you wanted to please them, give to them, love them. Then he had us reflect on that same relationship 5 years down the line and now, responses are more "Do it yourself, you lazy sack of bones" than "Sure, honey! is there anything else I can get you while I'm up?" He said if you do in the end, what you did in the beginning, there wouldn't be an end. Wise, wise words!!! The secret to life is giving, says Anthony Robbins, and if you can find what you can give in each situation, you will be a happier person.
So, that was our day in a nutshell. Like I said, nothing earth shattering but, for me, it reinforced that I'm making the right decisions and choosing to live my life in such a way as to bring both myself and my family happiness. Michelle laughs alot when she hears me talking to Tom - "You're always so nice to him.", she says. And I have to admit, I'm always happy to talk to him. We've been together since I was 17 (more than half my life) and I love him more now than I did then. Yes, he can be a typical husband and be frustrating in more ways than one but I wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the world - and I want him to know it!
Most importantly, what I got from this seminar was to take action - TO DO THINGS! We at Tiber River are going to incorporate some of the things we heard and make them part of our daily routine. We are going to make sure that what we learned and know becomes practiced. We don't want to just give it lip service. We want to make it part of our business. These won't be things directly visible on the outside, but we're hoping that by doing them, we'll make our business that much nicer of a place to be.
I hope everyone enjoys the weekend and takes some time to reflect on these points and find ways to actually DO them, instead of just thinking about them.
Enjoy!!
