An Invitation to Be Kind

I was watching Jamie Ridler TV today, and saw this video – and just adored it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did…and that you accept the invitation this weekend.

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – Let’s See What You’re Doing Wrong

Thanks to my hard work and brain fry, the updated version of my ebook, which is now called “Banish Money Misery” is now available on smashwords. Smashwords have a summer sale on til the end of July, so if you’re quick, you can buy the ebook half price! You may also be interested in another find I had this week – the FREE Adobe Digital Editions, which allows you to read your downloaded ebooks on your computer or mac if you don’t have an ipad, kindle or other e-reader. It is FABULOUS! I love it – it’s what I’ve been waiting for since ebooks first arrived! You can bookmark pages in your ebooks, making it much easier to read them and come back to them without forgetting where you’d got to. To find out more, go to www.adobe.com

This week’s article is for you if your way to motivate yourself is to notice all your mistakes and where you’re going wrong…enjoy!

- Let’s See What You’re Doing Wrong -

So, what did you do wrong today? What did you do wrong this week? Where are you busy cocking up life left, right and centre? Well, if I were to answer these questions, I would say: My office is a mess again, and I know I work better when it’s tidy. I didn’t do my morning meditation this morning. And I’ve left this too late today (it’s already after 5, I should have done it hours ago. I could easily go on.

Ok, no I’m not serious about this. I’m just demonstrating something. If you start to look for what you’re doing wrong, you’ll find it. Even I, who am utterly magnificent and a wonderful person, can find things I am doing wrong. Easily. And boy, does it make me feel GREAT?! No. No, it doesn’t. It feels horrible. So why would we focus so much on what we’re doing wrong?

First of all, I think it’s a largely unconscious thing – we don’t wake up in the morning and say ‘hey, I’m going to find all the things I’m doing wrong today and make myself feel like crap’. Well, at least I hope you don’t! But unconsciously we are our own worst critic – take all the people who’ve ever pointed out the error of your ways, multiply them by 10 and you have your inner critic. An expert in telling you why you are useless.

Every part of every body has a positive intention – the intention of your inner critic is usually to motivate you to do better. After all, that’s why people have criticised us all our lives – parents, teachers, partners…so that we can do better. Unfortunately it is not particularly motivating to be told what you are doing wrong all the time! So it’s a great intention, just a lousy method of achieving the desired aim!

Here’s the thing though – most of us are brilliant at finding our weakest points, superb at pointing out our shortcomings, fabulous at making ourselves feel bad. Imagine if we focused on finding our strengths; pointing out our brilliance; and making ourselves feel good? The tools are the same, it’s just a slightly different perspective! This new perspective might feel like new shoes for a while – a little odd and not quite comfortable – but soon, you will wake up every morning to the thought “hey, I’m going to find all the things I’m doing right today and make myself feel WONDERFUL!”

- Something to Play With -

Go on, I know you are dying to exercise that inner critic. Come up with 10 things you are doing wrong at the moment. See how easy that was?? Now come up with 20 things you are doing RIGHT (reading this newsletter counts as it is a very wise and caring thing to do for yourself). Every time you notice your inner critic at work, ask him/her to use that razor sharp observation to be your inner cheerleader – pom-poms and all. Ready “Gooooooooooo ME!” Leave a comment below to let me know what you are doing RIGHT!

Love

Donna.x

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What Do You Wish To Nourish?

It’s Wishcasting Wednesday. There is power in wishing – putting your wishes out there sets mighty forces into action…

What Do You Wish To Nourish?

After the week I’ve had so far, the answer to this one is EASY! Me. I wish to nourish me. Over the last couple of days I have been working late into the night and realised last night I had brain fry! I had already decided that today would be a much ‘ease-ier’ day work-wise, but this prompt just reinforces my wish to nourish myself. I wish to nourish my body and feed it foods that give me energy (not the empty caloried sweeties I am currently chomping my way through!). I wish to nourish my creativity – Jamie has been a godsend in this regard, reminding me to exercise said creativity and giving lots of tools, tips and ideas that I now use regularly. I wish to nourish my love life. I wish to nourish me – body, mind, heart and soul.

I also wish to nourish my business, and give it the very best chance I can that we together will serve hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of people, maybe even millions (!) helping them to live with purpose, passion and joy. I wish to nourish all the ideas, articles, products and opportunities that come my way and do them justice so that through me these ideas can change someone’s life. And to do all this, I need to nourish me! It all comes back to that, it starts with nourishing me. I can do that!

Get involved on Jamie’s blog, or leave a comment here. As you wish for yourself, I wish for you also.

Love

Donna.x

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Oblivious to Criticism

“All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to Criticism.”

I absolutely love this quote…and ain’t it the truth?! We brits love to discuss (moan) about the weather…but it takes absolutely no notice. Just carries on doing it’s own thing. Being cold in summertime, raining all the blasted time, being way too hot in the states.

But imagine having the weather’s attitude. You are oblivious to what ‘other people’ might say or think, you just carry on doing your own thing… How might you have lived your life differently? How could you live life differently now? It’s your life, are you the one living it? Or are you allowing criticism (whether real or imagined) to change your mind about how you live your life?

Love

Donna.x

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A New Way to Look at Jealousy

I found this video through a friend of mine yesterday about jealousy. It’s a great way to reframe jealousy into a GOOD THING! Thanks to Marie Forleo for this new way to look at jealousy!

Love

Donna.x

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Guest post: Stuck in a Rut? A Simple Solution

My friend Sam shared this on her blog last week and I loved it so much I asked if I could share it with you guys – enjoy!

“I am an avid watcher of TED talks. I love the people they draw, the ideas they have, the inspiration they bring to my life.

Today I wanted to share a very short (3 min 27 sec) talk from a TED conference held in February of this year. The speaker’s idea for getting out of a rut and creating change in your life is incredibly simple and therefore easy to implement.

The Dakini Grace philosophy is one of creating sustainable change in people’s lives. It’s not about waiting and hoping for a different lifestyle. It’s not about putting off life changes until you’ve had the next baby, bought the next house or retired from your job.

It’s about starting now by starting simply.

We don’t need to know how we’re going to deal with every turn in the road before we take the first step. We simply need to be willing to actually take that step. And then to step again. And again.

As we build momentum, personal growth comes from taking the time to notice the joy, the satisfaction that is always available when you choose to be fully present in your life. As we step into that, the goal becomes less significant and the journey everything. For it’s the journey which teaches us; which changes us. Read more

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Gratitude and Generosity

This month, my ebook distributor smashwords is having a 50% off sale – and my ebook “110 Ways to Heal Your Money” is part of that summer sale – you can get it this month only for $4.99 (approximately £3). Half price! To buy it click here. And to help you decide if this purchase is for you, here is an excerpt from the ebook about gratitude and generosity. For more excerpts, click here.

- Banish Money Misery Excerpt – Gratitude and Generosity -

Most teachers of abundance advocate the use of gratitude and generosity to bring more money into your life. The energies of gratitude and generosity are attractive and magnetic to money. But here’s the thing…if you are being generous or grateful on the condition that you get something back, it is not going to help your financial life. Don’t think that this is some easy magical thing that you give away £2 and get £2 million back, or that because you pay lip service to gratitude you will get lots of stuff in return.

And I have seen both attitudes – both in the mirror in myself and in other people who are working to improve their financial lives. Both unconditional generosity and unconditional gratefulness will make you feel more abundant, which will ultimately help to bring more to you. But if you do it from the perspective that you give in order to get, that is not unconditional, and is more likely to bring you more stress.

So let’s forget for a minute the idea that gratitude and generosity will bring something to you sometime in the future and concentrate on the immediate benefit. Feeling truly grateful is a beautiful feeling – remember the last time someone did something really lovely for you, and how good it felt to appreciate that? That is the feeling you are reaching for – that heart-expanding beautiful feeling of thanks-giving.

Generosity is similarly a beautiful feeling – when you give with a generous, open heart, not with a sense of obligation. You will know the difference between giving begrudgingly and giving with an open heart. Being generous (whether with your time, your money, your expertise, your friendship) feels wonderful, whereas giving begrudgingly feels like a chore, like you are being forced into it. To be able to treat your friends and family is a lovely place to be in. To be able to give to a charity is a wonderful thing. And to be able to treat yourself with generosity is the most beautiful of all.

- Something to Play With -

For the next month, every day find 5 things to be truly grateful for. Remember to get the feeling of gratitude – don’t just go through the motions. If you want to intensify the experience, add a ‘because’ – e.g. I am grateful for my lovely car because it is reliable, comfortable and allows me a freedom I would not otherwise enjoy. As this ebook is about money, find at least one thing to be grateful for in your financial life. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Leave a comment below. Or pop over to my facebook page and leave a comment there.

Buy the ebook here.

Love

Donna.x

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What Do You Wish To Ask For?

It’s Wishcasting Wednesday. There is power in wishing – putting your wishes out there sets mighty forces into action…

What Do You Wish To Ask For?

My immediate answer to this was help. I wish to ask for help. Even when I marinated in the question for a few hours, the answer came back: help. I wish to ask for help. Help to build the business I strongly desire. Help to get my work out to a wider audience so I can help significantly bigger numbers of people. Help to keep me moving forward and soaring to greater and greater heights. After 7 years of working mostly alone on my business (with much help, support, encouragement, ass-kicking and techie genius from friends), I realise I need help! I can’t do this alone.

A few months ago I had a reading and one of my questions was how to reach a wider audience. The answer came back “Call on the ‘big guns’ – ask for help from your spiritual team”. Which of course I forget to do much of the time. After 7 years of being responsible for 99% of my business day, it’s quite hard for me to ask for help, I just get on with stuff. It’s quicker (notice my control-freakery?!). So, in the manner of the Scarecrow and the Tin man from The Wizard of Oz: “HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP!” I hope Glenda the good witch is listening!

Get involved on Jamie’s blog, or leave a comment here. As you wish for yourself, I wish for you also.

Love

Donna.x

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Here on Earth to Fart Around

Today as I was browsing through the blog archives, searching for inspiration, I found this quote.

“I tell you, we are here on earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” Kurt Vonnegut

I had completely forgotten this piece of wonderful wisdom! Bizarrely, farting around is seen as less important than being serious and sensible and working hard. When was the last time you farted around? Actually I’ve been doing a marvellous job of farting around today, but as a means of avoiding work rather than as a purpose of itself. Well, people, I think it’s time to reclaim our purpose in life. Fart around. As much as possible, as often as possible, and enjoy it!

Love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – Confront Obstacles as They Appear

I have been re-reading “Kingdom of the Golden Dragon” by Isabel Allende, and the quote below leapt out at me again. Perhaps it’s something you also need to hear this week?

By the way, there are only 2 places left for my Summer Coaching special offer so if it’s something you’ve been thinking about doing, do it NOW!

- Confront Obstacles As They Appear -

“Confront obstacles as they appear, don’t waste energy fearing what you may meet in the future.”

This quote leapt out at me the first time I read this book, and again this week it jumped out and did a little dance in front of me (metaphorically speaking) to ensure I had noticed it. I am a recovering worry-holic, and there are times when I forget not to worry about something that hasn’t happened yet and just wait and see what happens. I’ve been doing that a little bit lately.

I know it’s a complete waste of time, as most of the things I worry about never happen. In fact, it’s worse than a complete waste of time because it worrying makes life worse. Worrying opens the door to fearfulness which can lead to bad decision making which gives you more to worry about. Worrying is using your imagination to create things you don’t want – horror stories for your life. Who wants that?

If you, like me, have a good, active, creative imagination, worrying is not a good use of all that creative energy because we can just take it too far! That’s why I like this quote so much. It reminds you to stay in the present moment, and trust yourself to deal with whatever comes up in your life. So far, I have been dealing with whatever came up in life – including deaths, job losses, travelling the world alone, illness, accidents, unexpected expenses – for over 38 years.

And most of the time I did a pretty good job too! Occasionally I have cocked up (who hasn’t?), but mostly I dealt with obstacles as they came up. Some took me a while to figure out how to get under, over, round or through…but all have been overcome so far. And I have no reason to doubt that I will continue to do so.

As I’ve got older, I have become more confident, more skilful, wiser, stronger, more optimistic, more positive, have more of a ‘can-do’ attitude, I’ve learned to ask for help, and I take myself even less seriously than I did before. Taking all that into account, I could conclude that not only will I continue to overcome all obstacles I might meet in the future, I shall do it with wit, grace and flair!

Which sounds much more fun than being a worry wort. Do you worry about things that have not yet happened and may never happen? Or do you confront obstacles as they appear? Take a moment now to appreciate that you too are older, wiser, better prepared, more able than you have ever been and that you can handle any obstacle you might meet…when it appears and not a moment sooner!

- Something to Play With -

If you are a bit of a worrier, whenever you find yourself mithering over something that hasn’t happened yet, remind yourself to “Confront obstacles as they appear, don’t waste energy fearing what you may meet in the future.” Leave me a comment below.

Love

Donna.x

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