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 42 - Today I am Grateful For.....

It is rare that I have had moments in my life where I have the opportunity to share my experiences personally and professionally with other people outside my immediate circle. Today was one of those days - I spent today revisiting some of my great work with Coach Bill and being grateful that the work I started two years ago still resonates with me today.

I have made new friends and I believe helped some of these friends work on and stretch some 'muscles' they haven't focused on much.

Today I am grateful for...

• New friends and the space we honor for one another.
• The willingness to share very personal thoughts.
• A good walk on the beach with friends to get the morning started.
• Learning a new game.
• Good old fashioned belly laughter.

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

Day 25 - Today I am Grateful For.....

Twenty-five days ago I wondered if I could go from saying I was grateful to having gratitude become a state of being. I don't know if I am there yet - and perhaps I come to conclusion in 75 day that there is no destination and it is the journey of gratitude that will become a lifelong commitment.

I will say though this exercise each night becomes a bit more comfortable - I thought a few days ago that it was easier and that doesn't accurately describe my progression. I am finding now that investing in myself with this activity is likely going to be one of my best accomplishments this year.

Today I am grateful for .....

• Having been able to attend a Publici-Tea Express workship with Nancy Juetten where I met some fabulous business people desiring to have more success with greater ease.
• Lunch with my good friend Betsy Talbot who I talk with frequently but I don't get to see one on one as much as I would like - thank you for the conversation and friendship.
• The nice server/bartender at McCormich and Schmick's Harborside who paid for our parking.
• My first flu shot - ever - being a bit more sensitive this year as it seems like so many peeps are getting the flu already - and I don't want to end up sick and have to skip time with family as we near the holidays.
• My right as a citizen of this country and as a woman to vote in this election.

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

Day 24 - Today I am Grateful For.....

So today my good friend Jeni Dahn spoke at an eWomen meeting about the choices we make in life and how we face our day - with fear or faith?

She started by asking how many of us close our day with Gratitude - journaling or statements out loud (yes, I raised my hand - along with about 1/3 of the room) - then she asked, "what if you started your day with gratitude for the unknown.....for what the day will bring? Hmmm - well now - here's a twist - in some ways to me it sounds like setting an intention.....yes? I am grateful for the friendships that will blossom - setting the intention for good encounters for the day, yes?

Now this has gotten me to think - is this something I can incorporate into the future - not yet - but after my hundred days - is this the next exercise I can incorporate into my life and routine.

What about you? Could you start your day journaling about gratitude you are ready to give - for meals you will eat, the people you will meet, the opportunities that will present themselves.....

So tonight's gratitude will be about what I am grateful for tomorrow.....

Tomorrow I am grateful for.....

• The contacts I will make at my workshop tomorrow that will be appreciated by my clients.
• The generosity of a good friend.
• A long walk on the beach with my husband and best friend.
• My mom saying she can be here in two weeks to sit for a family portrait that is too long over due!
• A yummy pork roast in the slow cooker.

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

Day 23 - Today I am Grateful For.....

After a tremendously wonderful and long day I am going to talk about the easy stuff....

.....so today I am grateful for.....

• The unexpected generosity of a friend.
• The family atmosphere at Chace's Pancake Corral love the Vic's special
• The beautiful and dynamic changes in the weather today
• A fantastic meeting with a young couple who really has it all working together!
• Elvis

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

Day 22 - Today I am Grateful For.....

So one fifth of the way into our adventure - and I am finding this quite interesting - how I feel about the book-ends of my day as I call this process.

I have fallen a bit with my early routine - I think perhaps because I know I have this such public commitment to fulfill at night.

So my question for you tonight is if you don't act angry does that mean you never are?

Sometime ago I made the decision to not swing with my emotions from one extreme to the other and I find myself living in a much healthier place for me and my family. There was definitely a time that you would know all emotions all the time! So does that mean I don't get upset, angry or frustrated - not all - I just consciously decide how I will be with those feelings. It is definitely a stretch some days - and I don't want to sound too 'zen' - but it sure is amazing how I am in my life.

When I think of all the hours I have lost in my life being in a negative place I am so thrilled I heard this message and have recaptured so many hours in my life going forward.

.....so today I am grateful for......

1. Making conscious choices in how I appear in my own life and the lives of others every day.
2. The growth that has allowed me to have a stronger presence in my own life.
3. The people in my life who shared some of their journey to allow me to learn how to be a better me.
4. The great ability to appreciate the quality of time in my life and with those I love.
5. A sleepless night that allowed me to dream.

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

Day 20 - Today I am Grateful For.....

Twenty days.....I can't remember ever having kept a 'new' commitment like this one - 20 days in a row - in many ways it seems to have flown by - in many ways I look forward to it each day. What have you recently committed to and stuck with? Did it go by quickly or not?

I find it interesting that something I have dreaded and fought so long - go back to the beginning posts - I am now finding great peace and comfort. How much easier would many things be if I did not fight them - and just went along and did them and appreciated the lessons they provide.

Today I am grateful for.....

• Acceptance - this is a big one for me - and there is a tremendous difference between acceptance and resignation.
• Warm big dogs who come and hop into bed around 3 am because they are a little chilly themselves - no one needs an electric blanket if they have one of these four footed friends.
• Good conversations with mom - one of my favorite Sunday routines since I moved out and went to college - coffee and mom on a Sunday morning.
• Roasted and braised meat - nothing tastes much better in the fall.
• A big freezer full of food - when so many have so little I am grateful to have been blessed with so much.

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

Day 19 - Today I am Grateful For.....

So yesterday my friend Betsy Talbot made a post on her blog http://www.marriedwithluggage.com/2009/10/09/i-like-who-i-am about an exercise she learned from Chris Haddad called the I Like Who I Am Game.


The game has you taking a big ol' sheet of clean paper or a big ol' blank computer screen and write until it becomes uncomfortable all the things you like about yourself.....written in the third person. Betsy has all the details on her blog - you should check it out - and Chris has a video as well.


It got me to thinking about somethings people might say about me in their gratitude journal- so while I only have 5 things a day I speak of being grateful for - I thought this might be interesting - let's see how it turns out.


Today I am grateful Debbie.....

• Always greets me with a smile.
• Listens when I talk and hears what I am saying - listening and hearing are two very different actions.
• Looks to offer solutions to sticking points in my life when I ask for them.
• Will take time out of her day to help me if I ask for assistance.
• Takes anything I share in confidence and keeps it to herself.

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

Day 15 - Today I am Grateful For.....

Mmmm what a good day. You never know where a day will take you. There have been many times where I wanted to try and control the direction of the day.....and yet over the last several months I have learned that the day will go where you need to be taken and it is much more pleasant to ride the wave than try to fight it.

How much of your day do you fight and how much of it do you let take where you need to go?

So today I am grateful for.....

• A peaceful morning to do what I needed to do - on my terms - not someone else's.
• Spacial reasoning.....it is always good to know your surroundings..i.e. bed posts.....sometimes my spacial reasoning not so good.....like today!
• Opportunities that present themselves.....when I don't know why.....I have learned to say thank you and work out the details later.
• For attending and event a year ago and hearing the message about my personal time and saying no which really means saying yes to me.
• Karen Rosenzweig - who knows so much of what happens in the business community here in the PNW and works every day to connect and display people as experts and people who are 'gettin' it done.' She gave me the greatest compliment today about this little 15 day blogging adventure.....and she has two blogs Life Is A Buffet, and Seattle Women Business Examiner and gets paid for it! Thanks Incrediblehttp://www.incrediblechef.com/

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

Day 13 - Today I am Grateful For.....

"...you'll have bad times....but they'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to." Good Will Hunting (Can you tell I've been catching up on some of my favorite movies.

Today I am grateful for....

• Dog parks to take Harley to for a run and a swim and more swimming.
• My freakishly tall rose bush (it's over 5 feet tall) that isn't ready for summer to end.....still sending out buds.
• Lazy Sundays with Pat.....football and long walks.
• Friends calling and leaving messages about how much they appreciated some time with you from several months ago.....and something about today reminded them about that experience.
• 61st birthdays of really fun guys.....Happy Birthday Ken.

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

Day 12 - Today I am Grateful For.....

My favorite line from one of my favorite movies, Pretty Woman (remember I am a chick), is when Richard Gere says to Julia Roberts "it's just that uh people rarely surprise me." And she replies, "Yeah, well you're lucky. Most of 'em shock the hell out of me." (Thanks Laurie for reminding me it's the scene about flossing!)

For years I lived as a bit of a cynic, which is defined as someone who believes all people are motivated by selfishness, or a person whose outlook is scornfully and often habitually negative. And in truth - it's not how I felt on the inside - but somehow in that time in my life it was 'en vogue'. The next phase was pragmatist which is a practical, matter of fact way of approaching or assessing situations or of solving problems. Which as I worked through that phase was still relatively colored with cynicism - but I felt like I was on a better path.

So where am I now? I have found my tribe. I know that pragmatism if executed correctly is actually practical optimism - and if I reflect on the Pretty Woman line where it is obvious she is setting the expectation that people will never live up to her expectation. I am reminded of something my good friend and coach Bill Pavelich said, "People will be exactly as you expect them to be."

What if we could condition ourselves to live every day exactly as we expected it to be, instead of dreading the pieces we didn't desire. How would our lives be different?

So, today I am grateful for.....

• Homemade lasagna by my friend Darlin Gray....if I wasn't married.....I'd marry you just for the food...I really am a simple creature.
• Lazy fall Saturdays.....boy I do love college football.
• Family....because at the end of the day.....it's the most important thing we have .... remember family can include the one you've made for yourself.
• The gentle wisdom of my mom who reminded me that not everyone has a filter on their 'care-o-meter" - my interpretation is that sometimes care can appear as turrets syndrome.....inappropriate exclamations of worry that come out as condemnation. Thank you mom for making sure I have a filter.
• People who deal with great loss and stand proudly in the space that is who they were and are in the same breath.

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

Day 11 - Today I am Grateful For.....

How do you mark time? Is it behind or ahead of you? Is it something you go through? Or move toward?


I am very intentional in the words I use in most of my daily life. I make a conscious decision to fill my mind and the space around me with the specific intent for the desired outcome. It is certainly not easy and sometimes like a tape recorder .... you remember what that is right? I have to rewind and put the words in place that work better and are true to the inention I am setting.


So as I have been chronicling that past 11 days of Gratitude I have been puzzling over time and how I feel about it. I've tried to examine it from several angles in different situations - does someone in prison mark the time they've served or the time until they will be released or eligible for parole? Do expectant parents mark time by how far along they are in the pregnancy or by the due date?


Am I looking at this as 89 more days until I reach my 100th day? Or am I looking at this as I have successfully completed this exercise for 11 consecutive days? And how does each of those perceptions of time leave me feeling? One of them has me expectantly waiting to post the next day; the other leaves me feeling like I am serving a sentence.


How do you view time?


Today I am grateful for:

• My fun friends at book club and the laughter and joy they bring into my life and my home - oh and the food, the wine and the beer aren't bad either!
• The quiet waking of the day - the gentle trill of the birds outside my window, the brightening light in the sky as the morning begins.
• The happy lab greeting of Harley every morning with his downward dog stretch towards me (I like to think he believes I am royalty and is bowing his greeting)....sure :)
• The appreciation I am developing for the difference between meditation and silence - when I meditate it feels like I am on a journey in my mind - there are times when I just want to sit and let me and my mind just be in silence.
• The unexpected generosity of friends - today you took our breath away.

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

Day 7 - Today I am Grateful For.....

So it's been 7 days - frankly I've had some moments where I have sat here at night and thought...."if I don't do this tonight no one will notice." Accountability - verbalizing to others is significant. I believe in keeping most things private, however I have often wondered what it would look like if I was brave and in essence asked for help by making a statement an intention if you will - and prepared myself for the assistance that would be offered...interesting...very interesting.
So, today I am grateful for:

1. A sleepless night that had me awake for a most beautiful sunrise.
2. The commitment of women I know to address adversity by identifying opportunity and bring others along.
3. The willingness of a young woman to seek counsel in developing her businessand building her board of direction. I am looking forward to watching your success Sara Shelton of Seattle Aging Solutions
4. The return of my kitty cat to his place on the back of my chair on his blanky now that it is below 50 degress.
5. To learn I am an inspiration to others.

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

Day 3 - I Am Grateful For.......

So have you ever looked at your journal....I mean really looked at it?


When do you write? Is it a daily part of your routine or do you only turn to your old friend when you are excited and want to celebrate - or sad and frustrated?


I think what I have come to appreciate is that the journal is the place for it all - it's the friend you can share the darkest thoughts you could never imagine verbalizing - and the one place you want to make sure chronicles your best successes.


In all my journals I've started I notice that it has always been at a time of 'crossroads' - personally or professionally - and yet once I cross the intersection I put it on the shelf and move on down the road. I now realize I have an entire Encyclopedia set of crossroads - there in and of itself is a story...I need to process and come back to this later.


So today I am grateful for:

1. People who have a passion for what they do and the ability they have to share their work and help others find their joy - thank you Lesley Hobbs - you are a delight.


2. Appreciating my life is a glorious buffet of choices


3. My 6 year old nephew Trever who can't wait to teach me to hula hoop.....I know shocking I can't do it at 39 - when I told him the only time I have been able to hoola hoop has been with the Wii...he says with all the authority of a 1st grader. "aunt Debbie that's because it's a video game!"


4. Safeway crediting 10% of all purchases to the school of your choices - until 10/15/09 - nice to see companies giving back.


5. The late sunshine of fall.

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

Day 2 - I am Grateful For....

So I wonder sometimes if 'red car syndrome' happens when you set intentions? I notice more of what I have and more of what I desire....today - still pretty comfortable with identifying what I am grateful for today.

1. My network of friends who have taught me that showing my vulnerability is a way to become stronger.
2. Technology that allowed me to watch Tony Robbins give an amazing keynote address at a Twitter conference in LA - such gems I took away.
3. My friend Betsy Talbot who is teaching me how being 'authentic' (the only person I know who really IS authentic) - is something you can be not just say...Betsy knows her voice.
4. To be the kind of business owner who can address a potential customer's frustration in their dealing with 'the competition' - and have them laughing and earn the opportunity for an initial meeting.
5. That our friend - not yet 40 is home recovering from a double masectomy and recontstructive surgery in the same procedure.....when I need strength I have always thought of you.

Tomorrow I want to spend some time talking about how we all use our journals.

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

Day 1 - Today I am Grateful For.....

So again a good emberassment of riches - my niece said as a little girl "mom, there are too many fun things to do....." tonight I feel like there is SO much to be grateful for...how do I choose? (Remind me of this in two nights when I'll be grateful I don't have a cold!)

1. Hummingbirds who remind me to pause and hover over the beautiful moments in my life.


2. The longest friendship of my life which began over cinnamon toast in 1974.


3. The gentle purring of my 15 year old cat.


4. Egg frittata at world wide headquarters during the week.


5. Dinner plate wrapped and warming for me when I get home from a workshop at 10 o'clock tonight.

Now, what have I been so worried about... this is going to work out just great!

What are you grateful for today?