Day 49 - Today I am Grateful For.....

Farewell is not something we do well. Without the intention I started to say farewell to a friend who is on an adventure to leave her current life and travel around the world.

I went to dinner. I laughed - and it started to hit me - this would be the first 'last time for......." Have you ever had the chance to say adios to someone you love who has had an impact on your life? Did you tell them what they mean to you? Why do we wait too long or until it's too late.

I have been blessed to have a handful of deep friends in my life. The first arrived when I was 4 - she wore purple pajamas and wondered why I was having cinnamon toast with her mom. The second was with a delightful girl named Valley - who helped me navigate my adolescence. Then there was Jocelyn and Wendy - whose gentle wisdom I still draw from each day. Melanie was my first adult friend - these are wonderful thoughts of friendship and waiting for news results on babies....Taylor and Kylie - I hope you still like the yellow room. And then there is Betsy.

This is a friendship that is an absolute blessing and I am inspired and challenged and am accepted in every moment I share with her. Thank you for all the lessons you keep sharing with me.

Today I grateful for........

• Friends who have flexibility.
• A husband who is his own advocate.
• Egg Lemon soup at a Greek Restaurant.
• Resolution.
• Amazing friendships.

...my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 48 - Today I am Grateful For.....

One of my favorite quotes from Anthony Robbins is, "When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears."

Until very recently these were simply words or a nice quote - I am now here to tell you it's mighty true.

These past 48 days are certainly a test and will continue to be an exercise in patience for me and while I am not exactly 'anxious' for the learning opportunities. I am definitely trusting the mystery.

Today I am grateful for....

• A quiet early morning on Alki on a beautiful day where a seal joined Harley and I for a walk for at least 1/2 a mile.
• A client who tells me, "how much I care" is why she loves working with me.
• An amazing interview with a wonderful entrepreneur committed to sharing her knowledge and resources with others....thanks Amber.
• Having a clear vision for our future.
• The amazing review with a family who have been clients for 12 years....their oldest child now has a 4 year old of their own. We all laughed at how young we were when we met! It will always be my passion to make sure they will get where they need to go with their investments.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 47 - Today I am Grateful For.....

I have been working on myself for more than two years now. It started as 'working on my business'...thanks Bill. Out of that came the realization that the Tony Robins, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy library was trying to send me a message.

In 2006 I intentionally chose to focus on what is working in my life and not what wasn't working. In 2007 I chose to release intensity and live in love. In 2008 I released the need to know (or control) and trust the mystery. And this year in 2009 I acknowledged and let go of my need for perfection and am now ready to step into excellence.

I did not know consciously of these decisions - tactically - it was only tonight after a very wonderful conversation with my spiritual teacher that I recognized and acknowledged how far I have come and how much work I have done to get me here.

...geeze...is this what blogging is about...whew....this is big - I think I'll just hop to gratitude and re-visit this later.

Today I am grateful for.....

• Setting an intention to be ready to step into my excellence.
• Having a great conversation with a client.
• Being a connector.
• A good learning opportunity.
• The thoughtfulness of the wise women in my life.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 46 - Today I am Grateful For.....

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie

I certainly didn't imagine when I started this adventure 46 days ago, that in my quest to have a bookend for the day I would be finding such clarity. What a gift.

Today I am grateful for.....

• The unexpected gifts that come to me each day.
• Wonderful email from a former employee who shares how grateful they are at the impact I've had on their life.
• Integrity in my personal and professional life.
• Sharing the love I feel for the people in my life - they will always know how much they are loved.
• People who support me.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 45 - Today I am Grateful For.....

This weekend I heard someone say essentially that many people only pray when it desperation or dire straits - and it reminded me of a quote from my childhood and one of the greatest baseball players EVER...Satchel Paige who said, "Don't pray if it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines."

Gratitude is something that is particularly easy to identify if you are not dealing with challenges and much harder when adversity is prowling around your life. I do know for myself these past 45 days have been an exercise and a true wonder in the journey between 'saying' I am grateful and 'being grateful'.

Today I acknowledged I having been living a life of gratitude for a long, long time. It is no longer necessary for me to search for what this gratitude lifestyle looks like. For me it is in every morning when I get up with my husband and say good morning, it is in the emails my dad and I share every day where he tells me I am the smartest girl....it is in the phone call to my mom at the end of her day - and the conversations I have with good friends who remind me that my life is truly a blessing - I am grateful for so many things.

Today I am grateful for.....

• The rain that comes into my life it gives me time to rest and rejuvenate.
• The sunshine that comes into my life and gives me warmth and hope for the future.
• Monday morning emails from my dad with messages such as, "Go for it."
• Beautiful meetings with genuine and kind women.
• The courage to speak my mind and help resolve conflict within an organization.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 44 - Today I am Grateful For.....

Albert Schweitzer said, "At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."

Over the course of the course of the last couple of months I have eluded to some trying times - I commit that after the first of the year I will fully share what is happening - I am just not ready at this moment to share with everyone.

I had the most extraordinary weekend on a retreat with other business owner women - and it just stuck with me driving home that - Schweitzer's quote above really is the example of how life helps me. Each time I feel that someone has hit my 'dimmer switch' - good people come to my life and fan the flame.

How has your flame been kindled?

Today I am grateful for...

• Finding myself coming out of the tunnel of darkness and into the light.
• People who support my dreams and fan the flame.
• A good road trip to give you time to think.
• A shower that lasts for longer than 4 minutes.
• A date afternoon with Pat.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.

Day 43 - Today I am Grateful For.....

What a weekend in many ways I have been validated -and in more ways I have grown. I really want to share what I have experienced - and yet tonight I need to process what I have experienced and shared.

...today I am grateful for...

• early morning breakfast with friends.
• a safe place to work and develop my ideas for myself and the business in 2010.
• the support of women who want to see me succeed.
• being in a place to allow the wisdom of my life to come to me.
• a gentle soul who looked me in the eye.

.....my wish for you and all you know is prosperity and the good fortune you deserve.