• Wednesday, June 09th, 2010
I just got off the phone with my Mom who is celebrating her 84th birthday. She is my hero, enjoying life to the fullest and kind-hearted to others. Mom was back from the gym, where she still works out five mornings a week, and preparing a hot lunch in-between phone calls from family and friends wishing her a happy birthday.
anthurium CC photo credit: delphaber
Mom told me how delighted she was to receive a beautiful exotic plant this morning from a Chinese lady at the gym. The plant, an anthurium with its dark green heavy leaves and red heart-shaped flowers, was a fitting match to the heart-centered woman who is my Mom. I asked her how she came to meet the Chinese lady.
Mom met her a few years ago when the lady came to the community fitness center where both my parents work out. Mom saw her walk over to the treadmill, push a few buttons, step off, wander around the exercise equipment with a perplexed look on her face and then head for the exit door. Mom bolted after her, stopped her at the door and continue reading “When Words Fail, Follow Your Heart”
• Monday, February 08th, 2010
The Winter Olympics Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay passed through Langley, BC today. This morning around 9:00am the Olympic Torch passed through my neighbourhood, on the 102nd day of its 106-day 45,000-kilometer journey. The relay began on October 30, 2009 in Victoria and will conclude on Friday, February 12 in Vancouver with the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
I joined my neighbours to take part in the Olympic excitement. Here are some pictures. continue here to see pictures
• Monday, January 18th, 2010
Happiness is not just a mood. It’s a decision to see life from a higher perspective. When you change the way you look at life, the life you look at changes.
Recently I discovered a short video that made my heart leap with joy. The movie is called “Celebrate What’s Right With the World.” It was created by Dewitt Jones, a professional photographer who spent 20 years with National Geographic taking pictures all over the globe.
Dewitt says continue reading “Celebrate What’s Right With the World”
• Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
If all you did was just look for things to appreciate
you would live a joyous, spectacular life.
- Abraham-Hicks
My Sunflower
I’m enjoying another day in paradise – blue sky, sunshine, gentle breezes. I especially love the feeling of the sun on the soles of my bare feet. Ahhhh…. happy feet. My toes are waving in glee.
I’m vacationing in my back yard, sitting in a lawn chair with a notepad, taking a little break from twittering on the computer. The nearest tweets are coming from real live birds. The wind is rustling through the trees and I’m sipping a cold glass of iced tea.
My summer is unfolding even better than I intended. I wanted to be in that vacation feeling all summer long and so far so good. I’m in the middle of a “work day” between coaching calls and just basking in the moment.
Finding things to appreciate is one of the fastest ways to get into a better feeling place. Want to try this yourself? continue reading Secret to a Joyous Spectacular Life
• Monday, June 08th, 2009
Christine Comaford & me
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending Christine Comaford’s Results Now Summit in San Francisco, courtesy of my client Gavin. [see prior post Renegades Meet]
Christina Comaford is a gutsy, outrageous renegade entrepreneur who transformed herself from high school dropout to monk to multimillionaire. At the Summit, I learned many business acceleration tips and fine tuned my 90 day joy inspired business attraction plan with a stronger focus on activities that grow my business. Of course, being the Joyous Renegade means that I take action from Joy First.
At the Summit, I was also mesmerized by the way special guest infotainer Joel Bauer could command the audience and I made some wonderful new friends. A definite highlight for me was meeting in person my super-smart super-entrepreneur client Gavin.
What a delicious way to spend the weekend!
~~~~~~~~~
Similar Posts:
Renegades Meet
Rules for the Joyous Renegade
Easiest Speech Ever (Part 2 of 2): The Power of Flow
Imagine a woman getting up at 4:30am every weekday morning to get ready to go to the gym. Driving in Edmonton, Alberta on even the coldest days, with snow on the ground and icy patches on the road. And while at the gym, working out on the treadmill for 30 minutes, the stair master for 15 minutes and lifting weights up to 10 pounds with each hand. Then a series of exercises on a balance ball. And after that perhaps a few laps in the pool. Can you imagine that?
Now imagine that this woman is 82 years old.
Well that describes my mother Margaret Evers. She made a commitment to get in shape when she retired at age 60 and continue reading My Mom, My Coach
• Friday, March 13th, 2009
Very early this morning Max, that “the sky is falling/disaster is imminent” voice in my head, almost had me by the throat before I came to my senses. I awoke with a start and realized that I had slept in on the morning I had to drive my daughter to the SeaTac airport. It was 4:20am and an hour past the time we had planned to leave our friend’s home in Bellingham. Eeyikes! I had even set 2 alarm clocks to be absolutely sure we wouldn’t sleep in.
And now Max was having a field day. “How could you sleep in like that? You will never make it to the airport on time. Lani is going to miss her flight. Even if she gets another flight, it’ll cost a lot more money and take precious days off of her already brief vacation. Her dream vacation is ruined…”
I knew that I had to stop Max in his tracks because I knew that worrying was just going to create what I didn’t want to happen. continue reading Relax Max
• Saturday, February 28th, 2009
I’m still having fun with the affirmation I told you about yesterday: “Thank you for everything. I have no complaints whatsoever.”
Here’s the latest:
I was driving around the crowded parking lot of the local mall when I saw an empty parking spot half way down the alley. I made a dash for it, arriving seconds before a blue Acura coming in the opposite direction. We both stopped. I saw that he had a better angle for getting into the spot than me. I waved at him letting him know the spot was his. He waved back the “go ahead” to me. We smiled at each other. I waved at him again. “No really, you go.”
He smiled again and did something I didn’t expect. He put his hand to his lips and blew me a kiss!
And pulled into the parking spot.
What a rush! I felt as giddy as a schoolgirl with a crush. Just like that. A kiss from a stranger. It made my day. I plan to do it myself to another stranger soon. Paying it forward. 
~~~~~~~~~
Similar Posts:
Thank You For Everything!
Secret to a Joyous Spectacular Life
Celebrate What’s Right With the World
• Friday, February 27th, 2009
Sometimes that negative voice in my head can be a tyrant, spewing out one discouraging thought after another. Today I discovered an affirmation in Alan Cohen’s book “A Deep Breath of Life” that could stop that tyrant dead in its tracks:
Thank you for everything.
I have no complaints whatsoever.
When I first said this affirmation, I said it slowly several times to let the meaning sink in. It felt good to remember what I was thankful for. So good that I decided to practice this statement all day. Throughout the day, if there was any hint of a complaint or negative judgment coming up, I’d repeat the affirmation.
Here’s what happened: continue reading Thank You for Everything!
• Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Water Lily
I’m thrilled how everything came together perfectly to create this blog and I want to give thanks to my awesome team.
Thank you Jessica Renner of StudioHatch for designing the beautiful header. And Peter James of PJPhotoart thank you for creating the photo art picture of me that’s in the header.
Thank you to my sister Lydia Ducharme for your enthusiastic support in creating this blog, and to Shira Moir-Smith for editing and inspirational support!
Thank you Brian L. of Templatelite Wordpress Themes for creating this beautiful maple leaf blog template. And thank you to the creators and wizards of WordPress who taught me how to personalize this blog template to my liking!
Thank you Kelly Athena Richards for letting me have the domain name “joyfirst.com.”
Thank you Abraham, Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks for teaching me the ultimate secret to creating the life of my dreams!
And many thanks to my wonderful parents, children, and husband Howard who help me remember Who I really am in this joyous journey through life.
