It takes mud for a seed to grow.
Grow toward the light.
It takes mud for a seed to grow.
It takes mud and darkness for a seed to grow.

This morning, I was doing my daily spiritual readings and I stumbled upon something I needed to be reminded of. Seeds need dirt and water (mud) to grow. Mud is messy. It’s not pretty, it gets all over you and, if you let it dry, it can be hard to chip off. But its absolutely necessary for growth. When the seed is in the dark, it’s still getting nurtured by heat, water, soil, minerals, and nutrients. It’s not a pretty place to be, but soon the seed uses those tools to sprout. Soon, the plant is reaching up toward the sunlight. It’s fruitful, with flowers or food. It is fulfilling it’s life’s purpose.

Do you ever feel like the seed under the mud? It’s difficult to see the benefits and pre-growth you are experiencing when you are shrouded in darkness. But it’s there, nourishing you, fortifying you, and helping you sprout to your next challenge.

I’m reminded of when I moved to Carson City. Most people plan a move based on job opportunities, schools, family, or other supportive factors. I moved here under none of those conditions. I was thrown here by the universe, thrust underground compared to my fast-paced lifestyle in Dallas or Los Angeles, to recover, learn, germinate, and sprout. Do I know what’s next? No. Am I grateful for the shift? Absolutely!

I encourage my clients to plan, but I also encourage them to leave space for opportunity to enter. Our finite minds cannot imagine what is possible when we allow room for the infinite to come in and use our right action to create magic in our lives. It’s amazing!

If you are stuck in the dark, I encourage you to try a few exercises in my free workbook. Or, just read something positive to shift you. Understand that the muddy mindset or situation is only a temporary state and you can learn from it to grow toward the light.

Carson City Festival of Earthly Treasures

The first time I went to the Carson City Festival of Earthly Treasures, I was recovering from a break up. It was a bad one and I needed some time to center, find myself, and see what the world of metaphysics had to offer. I stopped at a booth where people were making necklaces with real stones and sat down. Together, we made a lovely necklace made of Red Aventurine, Green Aventurine, Agate, and Unakite. Each stone had a unique healing purpose and I was thrilled to be making my own power necklace.

Red and Green Adventurine Necklace with Urakite and Agate

Aventurine is said to benefit one in all areas of creativity, and imagination, as well as intellect and mental clarity. Lore says that it enhances prosperity and brings career success. It is a gentle stone energetically that gives a sense of calm and balance and enhances happiness. It also helps one to see alternatives and potentials in all situations, giving a positive outlook, courage and inner strength. It is also said to bring luck, especially in games of chance. Green aventurine is also a mystical stone of prosperity. Aventurine brings friendship to one’s life. It is also a stone of protection energies. Folklore and metaphysical lore say that physically it is beneficial for blood, circulatory system, balancing blood pressure, sinus problems, nausea, headaches, general health, allergies, eczema, fever, and sleep disorders.

Aventurine is associated with the heart chakra. Different colors of Aventurine such as blue, peach or red, have additional properties and relate to various chakras according to color.

Red Aventurine is stone of manifestation through action. It draws upon the elements of Earth and Fire to increase the flow of prana, or life force, in re-vitalizing the physical body and focusing its energy to get things done. It boosts vitality and mental alertness, and amplifies the desire to take on life’s challenges with determination and perseverance. It inspires creativity and sexuality, and renews excitement and confidence in bringing one’s projects, goals and desires into reality.

Red Aventurine is a remarkable crystal for helping one choose their highest path, offering discernment and the ability to perceive which plans and ideas are best to follow, and which are less than ideal. It allows one to see the Self and overcome ego when it prevents better judgment, and lends assurance to those who fear commitment to choose a path and follow it through. It encourages self-forgiveness and the ability to laugh at one’s own mistakes.

Unakite is a made up of a combination of three minerals: Green Epidote, Pink Fieldspar and Quartz. It is a balancing stone helping to balance all aspects of the self; emotional, spiritual and mental, and allowing you to feel more centred. Unakite is also believed to help release energy blockages, that may be inhibiting your growth, and to encourage you to live in the present rather than in the past.

Finally, Agate (the center stone of the necklace) has a lower intensity and vibrates to a slower frequency than other stones, but is highly regarded as a stabilizing and strengthening influence. The layered bands of microscopic quartz in Agate may appear delicate, they are actually very strong. Agate is excellent for balancing emotional, physical and intellectual energy, and in harmonizing yin and yang, the positive and negative forces of the universe.

Learn more about stones and their meanings at Crystal Vaults.

Today’s Exercise: What stones would be in your ultimate power necklace? What do you need to bring into your life, business, career or mindset? Do you need mental clarity, creativity, imagination, prosperity, strength, or balance?

In the spirit of bringing you all the good things the festival brought me, I will be there this Sunday, May 18 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., offering $1 a minute life, business, career and mindset coaching as well as a few other fun festival specials. Come see me at the Carson City Community Center!

Are you sabotaging your relationships?

Yesterday, I watched a very compelling video about cell phone use and how it can make a partner feel alienated, alone, and unimportant. If you missed it, watch it right here.

o-ANGRY-COUPLE-facebook

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of little things we do to test our relationships. Those relationships can be business, romantic, sexual, or just plain friendly. These tests are designed to set up boundaries, test boundaries, and protect ourselves. Sometimes, though, the tests go too far. This results in missed opportunities as you push away potentially great relationships, business partners, friends, and lovers. If you have people cycling in and out of your life at a frequent pace, you might be doing this to yourself. It can result in job loss, heart break, and unfulfilled goals and dreams. If you haven’t caught the jist yet, it’s not a good thing.

TODAY’S EXERCISE

Ask yourself:

1) Do I distrust immediately or do I wait for trust to be broken?

2) Do I ask myself, where is this going to fail?

3) Do you start trying to fix problems before problems occur?

4) Do you test business partners by coming up too close to or missing deadlines, unintentionally not delivering or breaking promises, rescheduling meetings on a short time frame?

5) Do you have a set of standards in mind that, if not strictly upheld, that person is out of your circle?

6) Are you as hard on others as you are on yourself?

7) Do you challenge others often and end up in heated discussions?

8) Does life/work feel like a game of “Survivor” where either you compete or you are voted off the island?

9) Do you isolate yourself from individuals or groups by directing your attention to your cell phone, the television, or something that takes you away from the present moment?

10) Do you voice your concerns or do you “stuff” them and build resentment?

Answer these questions openly and honestly with yourself. You don’t have to tell anyone your answers. However, if you answered YES to three or more of these questions, you may be sabotaging your relationships.  Reframing your mindset is key to keeping an open mind. If you need assistance in doing this, feel free to contact us.

It’s time to be stupidly happy.

Today, I was working on a project and minimized everything on my screen. There he was, a little bit of happy. It was a rabbit yawning. It was so cute I had to call the others in the office over to look at it. “There, I said… I had to share that little bit of happy with you.” The smile faded and I went on with my day. Then, I found a quote.

Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve. – Erich Fromm

As I go about my day, I see people lament their situation. People will rant about what pissed them off. People will cry “why me” when faced with life situations. People will question every little aspect of their lives and what’s going on with it.

What do I say to that? Be the rabbit. Yawn in the morning and don’t care what you look like or how your breath smells.

Sometimes that little voice in our heads which analyzes every aspect of our day actually holds us back from embracing that little bit of happy.

Todays Exercise: Be unabashedly enthusiastic about something that makes you smile or makes you happy. Share it on Facebook. Show the people you work with. Allow yourself to laugh a loud appreciative laugh and bear a big stupid grin.

It’s these little moments of happy that help you live in a mindset of happiness, no matter what is going on.

Now, enjoy this picture of an adorable yawning rabbit.

 

 

Have you made up your mind to be happy?

happyas

Abraham Lincoln once said, “most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” Those words ring as true today as they were when he said it. Mindset is an integral part of success. Whether you believe in Law of Attraction or not, your attitude makes all the difference in the world when it comes to the outcome of any human relationship (business, romantic, platonic or otherwise). When you drag yourself down with negative self-talk, second guessing yourself or continuously compromising – you chip away at that happiness. Try this instead, reframe the situation! You may be going into a negotiation. Make up your mind that the outcome will be happy, a win-win. By framing the negotiation as a collaborative versus combative affair, you can disarm a potentially contentious discussion.

Today’s Exercise: Do you have something important to bring up? Make up your mind to be happy and have a happy outcome before the discussion starts. Maybe you have to bring something up to a business partner or even your spouse. Take a moment. Take a breath. Visualize the outcome you want.

How did it go? Did you walk into the situation calmer? Did calming yourself down beforehand and resetting your mind toward a happy outcome produce different results than if you would have walked in with anxiety?

Get some free coaching on it by commenting below.

Need more help? Contact us!

Is your little voice a genius?

journalkudrow

What Works clients are often found scribbling madly in their Genius Books. That’s what we call that little journal you keep by your bed. You never know when that little voice will deliver inspiration. In the case of my dad, Wayne, his genius time hit in restaurants. He would be sitting there having a meal and BOOM… IDEA! As a result, his pockets, the center console of his truck, crammed into books, were hundreds of ideas about what could be built and how he would build it.

That little voice resulted in a motel, some apartments, more than a few city contracts and a lot of toys bought as a result of the material rewards they brought. But writing it down isn’t enough – you have to take action. Stare at those little notes all you want, checks won’t show up in your mailbox unless you do something to make them show up.

Today’s Exercise: Locate your scribbling, your great ideas. If you don’t write them down, START! It doesn’t have to look pretty. Scribble every time that little voice speaks, on whatever you can grab at the time. Collect them over a week’s time and next Friday, look at them. REALLY look at them. What can you take action on? What would make a good short, mid-term and long-term goal? Pick ONE thing and start taking action.

That little voice can work for or against you, friend. It can also talk you down. It can tell you that the government shutdown makes it impossible. It can tell you that you don’t have enough capital, you aren’t smart enough, you don’t have enough education or experience. As much as those ideas pop and give you that adrenaline rush we all crave so much, it can stop you before you start.

Need some help prioritizing those scribbles or want more ideas on how to make that little voice work for you instead of against you?

Reach out to us! We’re here to help.