HungryForLife

You look great!

By LexnGer

What do you DO with a compliment? Yes, I realize now a response or action is required to complete the exchange. Have you considered that if you don’t DO anything with a compliment you’re rejecting a gift? I wondered that exact thought last week when two people paid me specific compliments and after I thanked the person I habitually brushed the compliment aside with a negative thought. I didn’t accept it, celebrate it, revel in it, or demonstrate it in any way. That would be selfish, right?

Yup, the old me definitely thought that. The ‘me’ who was overweight, unhappy, and inauthentic. That old me inside reared her unwanted head to blow off both compliments because it’s not okay to think too much of yourself or puff yourself up with importance. And that’s not what I wanted at all. I wanted to feel how good it felt to be complimented to bask in that glow and let it revitalize my batteries for a while. So what’s stopping me from basking but me? Aha. What others might think of me. But yanno I laid that burden down and it’s too darn heavy to pick up again.
 
#1: A Weight Watchers member read my name tag and my weight loss and said, “You’re so thin, you look great. I want to look just like you!”  I stuffed a sock in ‘old me’ and thanked the member authentically. I told her that it had been hard work to get here and it ‘takes a village’ and I was honored to inspire her and if there was ever anything I could do I really wanted to help her get to her ‘great’, too.

#2: My young, sweet, and amazingly fit coach at CrossFit always tells us what a great job we’ve done and how proud she is of us, and she said to me as Brin and I were leaving after a particularly tough session, “Laura, you’re my hero.” And I laughed and thanked her but gave that compliment a lot of thought.

She’s the one who’s fit and met her goals and yet I inspire her? Wow. I do? How empowering. And I get it. Because even though it’s hard for me I persevere. I’m committed to myself and I’m committed to my bootcamp buddies. Thank you Lindsay for opening my eyes to see that inspiration isn’t one-directional—it flows both ways. You inspire with your passion for what you do and the people you train which makes you wise beyond your years.

What do you DO with a compliment dear reader? My wish for you is to embrace a compliment with open arms, maybe even the person offering it. ;) Accept the gift.  Don’t hesitate to celebrate you and your accomplishment. Revel baby, revel.

Push

Every time I go to CrossFit I go with an open mind. I don’t read the board with our daily workout on it and say, “No way!” Actually if we say something is too hard OR too easy we have to do extra burpees—so I’m mum!

I show up, I do my best and then something happens inside of me that makes me push beyond what I thought of as possible for my body. I’ve been considering what causes that push. Positive competition? Sure, I don’t always want to be last. But it’s more than that; I’m drawing on a physical and mental reserve that I wasn’t aware was available to me. How did I access it? I think it’s similar to what happens to me in times of crisis—i.e. when a loved one breaks a bone. I’m calm and do what needs to be done even though before that moment I could never have imagined me doing anything like that. Especially not calmly.

When I think I’m at the end of my energy, strength, or rope (literally) Coach Lindsay will say, “Come on Laura you can do it, one more rep!” Or one of my boot-camp buddies will ask, “How many more?” and I’ll gasp out ten and they’ll count down with me. And I do ten more sit-ups faster than I was doing them! Recently I was struggling through my last 100meter jog and Dana, who was finished, came back out to jog in with me, “You can do it, I’ll come with you!” Or Brin and I will catch each other’s eye during a tough part of the workout and grin and give a thumbs-up. Knowing that we’re all doing it together and giving it our all is a huge motivator.

Their belief in me boosts my belief in myself. Their belief in me inspires me to dig deeper, reach farther, and last longer. Their belief in me is a tremendous gift. Their belief in me makes me believe in me, too. Their belief in me is what fuels that push—and makes anything possible.
I’ve experienced repeatedly that we are all connected—we’re all in this (life) together. And whether we unite for a common cause of fitness, play, or business when we support and believe in one another’s goals and dreams we inspire a push beyond what one person alone can generate or create. We co-create an opportunity for possibility! Isn’t that an ingenious design!?

Happy co-creating with your clients, partners, co-workers, and exercise buddies. Here’s to possibility!
And a big shout out to my CF boot-camp buddies—we ROCK girlfriends!

Learning 2011

Elliott Masie is the founder of The MASIE Center Learning Lab & ThinkTank and hosts an annual conference in Orlando, Florida called Learning 2011 to discuss the future of Learning.
 
His online bio states, “Elliott is acknowledged as the first analyst to use the term e-Learning and has advocated for a sane deployment of learning and collaboration technology as a means of supporting the effectiveness and profitability of enterprises.”

I only live a little over an hour from Orlando so my client asked if I would be interested in attending this all-expense paid weekend and reporting back on my knowledge and experience. Now there’s a ‘no-brainer’, heck yeah!
 
I am over the M-O-O-N about this invitation and opportunity! What an awesome client relationship, what an amazing resource for networking, what an awe inspiring learning adventure. Plus, I may get to meet Bill! <grin>

Concrete Dreamin'

My hubby has embarked on a new venture with good friends by supporting their business Concrete Dreamin’ (website coming soon!).  They create decorative concrete sinks, bathtubs, counter tops, even floors. The creativity and applications truly are limitless. They all participated in a four day class to make their own concrete piece at Surecrete in Dade City, FL.

Jeff’s counter top was created with a limestone Buddy Rhodes process

Donnie’s bathroom sink

Fay’s guest bath vanity sink

More cool Concrete Dreamin'...

Illusion of a Bridge

My dear friend Anastacia took me to Frederick, Maryland during my visit last month. I loved it, Anastacia—it was the perfect day! This is a small town with big character, quaint shops, and long shady sidewalks perfect for strolling and window shopping. One little known landmark to visiting Frederick is to see the Community Bridge, which has the most amazing art and stories. Here's the story of this illusion of a bridge. 

Anastacia took amazing photos but you simply have to see it in person so you can reach out to feel the grooves in the stonework that aren't there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Arch Angel appears distorted when viewing head on...

But when viewed from a specified angle she is crystal clear.

 

This angel mural appears on the side of one of the buildings downtown, created by the same local artist.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas in July

I joined Bonnie for a festive and fun card making class at Priceless on Sunday. We made

four cards in about three hours. And now have templates to get a head start on Christmas cards.

The card on the right is an adorable pouch for a packet of hot chocolate!

Stellar service

I must admit I have zero tolerance for less than stellar customer service.  If the bag person at the grocery store is not bagging my items with care I will step in and assist. However if the cashier is grumpy I don’t take it personally, I really get ‘if you walk a mile in her shoes’, and I send her some extra love and do my best to spread my inner joy outwardly and give her a big smile or kind word. Gandhi’s wise words reverberate in my head in these instances: “Be the change you want to see.”

When service people are uncaring or rude I am judgmental. Perhaps it’s my long employment as a public business manager that provokes me—I expect to be taken care of in a particular way. I had provided and made sure my staff provided eccellent customer service. Why would a company that I am supporting with my business hire a person who is uncaring, lazy, or rude? Unfortunately because I have this issue and am aware of it the Universe sees fit to send me many opportunities to grow beyond it. So when a customer service person goes above and beyond I simply have to share!

I opened an account with MailStreet so my Outlook email, calendar, and folders would all synch between my desktop and my laptop. The first step was easy and I was excited. One quick phone call and then I followed the directions to move my email from its current host 1&1 Internet to MailStreet which is now a division of Apptix.

When I called 1&1 with my request I was connected with a representative that spoke halting English and I had tremendous difficulty understanding him. He also gave me the incorrect information assuring me I only needed to change one thing on my account and did not need to host it with MailStreet. (Sigh) I made that change and emailed MailStreet to see what my next step was. MailStreet informed me I did need to make the hosting change and advised me to call 1&1 back. I did. My next representative spoke better English and was polite but explained only one change could be made to the account at a time. It would take 24-48 hours to update. (Double sigh)

I moved on to the rest of the MailStreet setup instructions which eluded me (I’m only so techy) which added to my frustration and finally gave up. I emailed MailStreet to give them an update and explained I was frustrated and had turned everything off. Sometimes ya gotta know when to walk away.

About an hour later I got a call from customer service at Apptix, she introduced herself as Lilly and said she’d received my email and was calling to see how I was doing. Would it help if she walked me through the process? OMG, yes! How refreshing.

Lilly was patient and engaging and we made it through set up successfully. Finally I only had to wait for 1&1 to update the unneeded change so I could make the correct change. Lilly walked me through that portion since I’d be doing it on my own. I expressed my gratitude and she sounded sweet and young and said it was no problem. 

Twenty-four hours later 1&1 still had not updated my account. I received an email from Lilly saying she would be off for a day but that my account was ready and waiting for the final step and she would check on it as soon as she returned to work. The next day when my account had finally updated, I made the correct changes and my new MailStreet account worked immediately, yay!

Lilly didn’t follow up with an email the next day she called me again! She chatted with me and said everything was perfect on their end I had done a great job.  She asked if I had any further questions and directed me on their website to a library of PDF tutorials that might be helpful. Probably, Lilly did not do anything outside of her job description but her actions showed she cared and she established a relationship with me and that made all the difference. Thanks Lilly!

MailStreet has been an excellent service and well worth the investment but why will I recommend it to others? Lilly. Stellar. Excellent. Extraordinary. You rock Lilly!

Lovin' feelin' loved

My dear friend Antonette called me the glue that stuck everyone together last week in Maryland when we met to celebrate the lovely Lee's birthday, earlier in the week, and mine which would be in a few days. I kinda like being thought of as gooey-pasty-sticky-stuff between friends; as odd as that might sound. 

The gift of the gathering was plenty of gift for me but the way that my friends celebrated me with representations of their love with things that I adore: books, journal, notepads, movie gift certificates (and later a book gift certificate from a friend not at this special dinner)? Oh, they may as well have given me the moon!

Is it possible to be overwhelmed (in a good way) by gottenness? Is that even a word (Dawn)?  The women (and men, Dom!) that were present at this celebration and in my life today celebrated the real me—my authentic loving unique self, and I was swept away. This buyount cloud carried me through my b'day when the next outpouring of love, shared on my Facebook wall, engulfed me...being loved and celebrated out loud is a big deal. And I want each of you to know I recognize that and love you immensely for loving me the way you do. And in the over-Karaoked-lyrics of REO Speedwagon: "I'm gonna keep on lovin' you cuz it's the only thing I wanna do..."

All my love my friends, ~your gooey-pasty-sticky-laura-laura.