SOLD! – DoWoo #193/365

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Yes! Yes! Yes! We. Are. SOLD. OMG that felt good to type.  One 1/2 of the partnership team we worked with came by this evening with the final paperwork for us to sign off on. What a roller coaster we have been on!

I asked myself this evening…what did I observe about this process of being the seller of a house? With 14 days = only 2 weeks = we are done.  It actually took us longer to prep the house for listing than it did to market, attract, contract, negotiate, agree, sell. #MACNAS

Now that is funny – where does this stuff come from?

CaptureOK – so back to what did I observe?  I realized: A little bit of knowledge is most definitely a dangerous space to be in.

I’ve been working in relocation for 25 years.  What I have learned is based upon other people’s expertise – shared, applied and either embraced or discarded as I felt applicable in whatever role I was working in.  After taking a big breath this evening – a sigh to realign my psyche after we stood back and looked at the “SOLD” sing in the snow – I realize that all of this “experience” was not true. Experiencing real estate in either portions of the whole, or through someone else’s direct participation does not fully qualify as ‘experience’ which would assist me with what we just went through.

WOW! Did you follow all that?

20150312_220720In short – I realized that what I knew meant absolutely nothing at the end of the day.  I don’t eat, sleep, breathe actual real estate.  I have ate, slept and breathed relocation.  And even though my specialty was in the real estate department, and I got my license at one point, I am not on the ground.

I have learned a lot about this industry and have more respect for what my mother did for over 30 years! AND she did that while she was raising me!

So, in closing…I give a huge shout out to our agents who brought us back to the basics, provided detailed assistance, gave me what I needed whether I wanted it or not, and ultimately delivered on what they promised us they would do.

Say it with me….Thank God We Are Done!

LOL! – DoWoo #192/365

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Laughter truly is the best medicine…is it not?? 

downloadThroughout today this was the running theme: whether it was us helping others find laughter in the moment, others sharing moments which made us laugh or Walter helping me to laugh – it all felt so good! 

I remember when I worked in a corporate environment, the more stressed I was the more I laughed.  I even let my team know the amount of laughter was in direct correlation to my level of stress.  So if I appeared rather jovial, it may be best to tread carefully.  Somehow finding  something to laugh about – well it turned the craziness around. 

In thinking about this tonight…I now realize I was using the Law of Substitution.  Hey, what do you know?  

I just realized I do not do this with laughter anymore. Stress and laughter are not connected anymore. I laugh because it feels good to laugh. I live (for the most part) in laughter. It’s a really nice space to reside. Rest assured this does not mean it looks like a comedy routine – more like happiness bubbling up – some small, some medium, some overflowing – Loud Smiles!  I look forward, since I am now cognizant of it, I will continue to increase this space until it encompasses my entire being. Allowing any less desirable spaces to implode. 

Today is going to be  a short DoWoo.  I admit life has caught up with me and I choose to get off this lovely electronic tool, curl up with a good book, relax, reconnect with myself during my evening sit, and sleep with dreams of warm water, sand, sunshine and a hammock. 

20150311_225118aFor those who have blessed us during our journey thus far – thank you!  We are grateful for all the support, the encouragement, the warmth and love you have shared.  May you all have laughter infused within your journey.  God bless! 

But before you go….would it be OK if I leave you with what was one of my truly loud smiles today – courtesy of Walter.  Last night he gashed his head.  

Throughout today he would bow his head and say “I’ve got my eye on you.”  

Translation – DoWoo#191/365

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The 3 of us are in the process of learning Spanish – using translation dictionaries, language books and online apps to help us.  Putting together phrases or sentences we use regularly.   The other day Walter showed me an app which allows you to take a picture or scan something with your smart phone and voila! Instant translation!  Holy Sugar – this is so totally going to help rock our transition. 

This morning Walter sends me this cartoon saying it reminds him of our son Gregory and his dog Mya. 

boy and dog

Rather than type the verbiage into Google translate – I sent it to myself as a JPEG as the app I downloaded yesterday supposedly allows you to use pictures and it will translate for you. But then my phone converted the JPEG to winmail.dat file – which I could not open on my phone. Being the digital diva that I am…I decided to take a screen shot! 

digital diva

Walter, watching me do this with a big smile on his face, asked “Newfie Screen Shot?”  I admit my blond does come out of a bottle so I’ll have to embrace my Newfoundland heritage for this case – my dad always encouraged me to laugh “with” rather than “at” the joke.  

After not getting yesterdays downloaded app to work on this cartoon, I downloaded the Google Translation app, printed the cartoon so I could scan it with my phone – and voila! for the most part it worked.  Way cool!  So for those of you who don’t speak / read Spanish:

boy and dog english

The 4th box kept giving me different translations so I typed it online to translate. I learned that in Spanish the use of punctuation has a significant impact on the verbiage. 

Without any ! at the beginning or a capital on the first word – it translated to: “will never die”. Add in the ! at the beginning OR a capital on the first word and now it translates to: “Do not ever die.”  However, as soon as you add in the second ! at the end of the sentence – the full translation is now: “Do not die ever!”    A few weeks ago when someone asked me which Spanish I was learning – I answered “Google Spanish”.  

I realized there is even more to Spanish than I had imagined. Once we get to Costa Rica, I’m sure there will be local adjusting required.   I choose to totally embrace this learning experience and look forward to where it will take us all. 

Accept, Courage, Wisdom – DoWoo #190/365

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O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed,
The courage to change what can be changed,
and the wisdom to know the one from the other. 

Peace-And-Serenity

Although slightly different from the common version, most of us may recognize the above verse as the prayer adopted by AA and other twelve-step programs.  As per Wiki – The Serenity Prayer is the common name for a prayer authored by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). 

While I am grateful for AA and how it has impacted those I care for, when Walter reminded me of it this evening – I had to stop and think…

OMG!
I should be reciting this about everything every single day!

peac and serenity

Then I found the following on Wiki – a longer version which I had not heard before: 

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.

1522459-bigthumbnail

Was getting ready to leave the home this afternoon – to allow the buyer a few hours to conduct their home inspection. During preparation I needed to grab a bin from the basement crawl space. When I went down I found water coming in! The home inspector and buyer were due to arrive in 2 hours.   The only time this spot had ever leaked was shortly after having moved in – 13 years ago – and the down spout had disconnected – so no longer draining water away from the house.  I repaired it and then later we updated the eves-troughs and downspouts – not experiencing any further water infiltration. That is…until today! 

I immediately ran outside – to find the down spout covered in snow, the snow on the roof melting rapidly into the drain – but no where for it to go.   I dug down to find the end of the extension which takes it away from the house to be buried under 2″ of ice. I applied salt and Walter dug a trench. No further water came in the house.  

images (30)I cannot change that this happened.  I accepted.  I had courage and the reflexes to do what I could to address the challenge. The wisdom to know the difference came into play when we chose to call the agent and inform the buyers team what had transpired before they arrived.  We were upfront and honest.  What the buyer chooses to do with this information remains to be advised. If this day could be considered a hardship, I accept it as a pathway to peace.  I can sleep this evening knowing we did what was right.    I leave the rest in God’s (very capable) hands!

Uh oh! I Did NOT Master My Emotions – DoWoo #189/365

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Yesterday I wrote about mastering my emotions – using all the tools taught within the Master Key Experience. This was about my moms funeral and working with my siblings through the event.  

This morning…not so much! 

I was catching up with a friend on the phone this morning and decided to go sit in our living room on the leather couch. Since we “de-cluttered”, in order to present the optimum version of our house for real estate selling purposes, I have only sat in this room maybe twice. Both times I was just sitting – and not lounging across it the way I used to when it was positioned differently in the room.  Now it sits facing the 9′ wide picture window whereas previously it faced inward. In order to look out the window before de-cluttering – you needed to sit across it – lounging.  Now if I were to lounge, I face a plain red wall.  

During this phone visit I decided to stretch out, moving the big ass pillows which were there to decorate the couch.  This lounging position put me facing the side arm of the couch (it’s more like a booth as the sides are almost as high as the back).  

This is what I saw!

someone carved letters intot the arm  someone carved letters into the arm  other side - scratched all the way down  more of the discolouration marks  full scratch all over the entire arm

Other than a poltergeist situation I can only conclude this happened when someone viewed the home.   One of the people who viewed our house must have allowed their child(ren) – as I simply cannot imagine an adult doing this – to use our $4,500 leather couch as a climbing gym and drawing tablet. 

Who would allow their children to remain alone in someone else’s home – with breakables in the room – let alone a leather couch? AND who would have moved the pillows back to their original position in order to cover up their children’s activity?  

Needless to say…my reaction was not calm.  I was royally pissed!  While I immediately notified our agents – the response asking us to consider whether someone else may have done this SINCE the showings last weekend was not well received.   We are 100% comfortable this is not our son as he knows what the “cause and effect” is with doing anything on this couch.  He already experienced it a few years ago.  AND we’ve had no one else in the house – we’ve been preparing and dealing with a funeral! 

The next response – explaining it was not being something they could go back on any one agent was totally understood – I get it.  How can you call 40 agents and narrow it down to one visitor from a week ago? Unfortunately the way the response was worded (in my humble, 30+ year of customer service, opinion – I know, I know I had an opinion) was nowhere near close to being appropriate – nor helpful in anyway.

So, I remained…royally pissed!
A bit more so, if that was even possible. 

Our son asked “Why would someone do this?”  That really is the question here is it not?  Walter had to explain that not everyone is as careful, cautious or considerate of other peoples belongings as we are.  

I have to ponder the question…What is the point of Walter and I working so hard to instill these aspects in our son’s reality only to have to then deal with the results of others who do not abide by the same guidelines as we ask him to live by?  

I am reminded of Walter’s explanation to Gregory:  A coin has 2 sides – you cannot have one without the other.  In the same manner, all aspects of life have 2 sides.  Good/Bad; Positive/Negative; Easy/Challenging.  

While I get this (logically) I admit having to work VERY hard in order to master the negative feelings brewing within me this morning. Talking myself through all sorts of permutations and re-framing, using all the tools at hand, in order to finally embrace a semblance of calm.  How we proceed regarding the couch?  Well, the jury is out.  The good news is….today ends at midnight! 

 

 

 

Mastered My Emotions – DoWoo #188/365

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This past week we commenced reading scroll VI (Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman in the World) WOW! It’s all about thoughts on how we are to ‘master’ our emotions.  Notice this is not being in ‘control’ but being the ‘master’ of. Significant difference.

download (10)download (11)Being in control of something means there is resistance.  

Being master of something should be effortless.

To take it even further, the Master Key Experience was timed (perfectly of course) to include techniques on how to turn thoughts of fear, guilt, anger, unworthiness and hurt feelings into tools meant to enhance our experience during this lifetime, to help us accomplish our dharma – all in the manner we were intended to do so (before the outside world and it’s BS – beef stroganoff – got a hold of us).

I have spent my entire life trying to ‘control’ my emotions – keep them in check – but they were always there! Now I find out that if we turn each of these draining emotion into a positive tool, or to take these feelings and attach a positive spin to it, not only are we able to master the feelings, we master the experience – allowing it to be what we want it to be.

My mother’s advise when I was a teen was to “please….please…find some kind of balance” since I was either really “high” (happy) or really “low” (sad, hurt, depressed, etc.). What did I do?  I blocked the emotions. I surppressed them.  Stomping them down into my core.

Was I able to control them? Yes.

Had I mastered them? Heck no!

Many, many years later = I reflect!  Today I did my mother proud – it was the “celebration of life” – her funeral service.  2 of my sisters and 1 brother chose to speak. I asked to speak last.  I had everyone close their eyes and imagine their life as a line between the year of their birth and their estimated death. I asked them to put an x where they were now, decide how many ‘seasons’ they had left – then asked “When is the best time to plant a tree?” 20…maybe 30 years ago? “When is the next best time?” Now!  Mom was like this – she did not wait to embrace whatever she wanted to do.  

I spoke clear. I spoke with conviction and belief.  I spoke from my heart.  I shared the Poem by Linda Ellis: The Dash.  I shared Walter’s observation – my mom did not plant a family tree…she planted a family forest.   Her ‘dash’ was filled with a plethora of love and support. 

The person who I was able to “be” today is due to having embraced the teachings from Mark J, Charles Haanel and Og Mandino.  Please allow me to share my perspective on a snippet from this months’ scroll (Courtesy of Og’s scroll IV): 

22a22b22c22d

To everyone else who has ever struggled…remember it IS possible to master your emotions. Do not allow anyone (including yourself) to take the highlights away from you. Experience your life today.  Plant another tree today!   

Hop on and enjoy the ride for all that it is worth.  We only get to be here, at this moment in time, as ourselves, once!  

Thank you for allowing me to share!
Please drop by again.
Carolynn Sokil

Good Grief! – DoWoo #187/365

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kubler_rossHad a bit of an epiphany today.  One of my siblings shared a link to the 7 stages of grief.  I ran through each of the 7 with Walter and realized, other than one aspect of stage 4 (Reflection), I had either already experienced each or they did not apply.   I’ve also reviewed the common Kübler Ross Grief Cycle – very similar overall. 

images (29)Why grief labeled in this manner? The same way “they” say each woman experiences pregnancy and labour differently – I can only imagine we would all experience the death of a loved one differently. So having labeled grief as being something one must work through – does this actually help us to grieve or does it create a directive for our brain to focus on and encourage it to manifest itself within us? 

in reviewing the stages of grief, Walter and I agreed that if someone died suddenly, unexpectedly – then we may need to work our way through the shock, pain, anger, depression… BUT what about when you know someone is “winding down” as my mom’s doctor described it? My mom was told about a year ago that her cancer was no longer in remission and shortly thereafter found out it could not be operated on and she was not strong enough to withstand the rigors of chemotherapy.  This is when my grief started.  This is when I started to realize my mom may not be with us for much longer. 

laughterPersonally I watched my mom fight through her own stages…including denial.  What I observed was very similar to what was noted for the griever. I personally had to remain true to who I was – hence I lent emotional and physical support where I could and lighthearted banter whenever I saw her. I made her laugh! 

Today we had a 3 hour window between the afternoon and evening visitation sessions for my mom.  During this time at home I turned to Walter and asked whether it was OK for me to not feel like I had to grieve – I felt good – I loved my mom and I will miss her…but I do not feel bad. He said he had experienced something very similar shortly after his mom’d death.  

We knew they were unwell. We knew they had a limited time with us. We knew they were in pain and were relieved when they no longer had to endure the pain.  We knew they would not want us to wallow – but to celebrate who they were here in this life.   This must be a good type of grief.  

With everything we have learned over the last few years, especially since having embraced the teachings of Mark J and the Master Key System by Charles Haanel, we know we have the ability to choose the emotions we wish to embrace and our subsequent actions.  

I choose good grief!  

Incoming & Outgoing – DoWoo #186/365

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I’ve been going to a particular hairdresser locally the last few times. However, even after I show her a picture and describe what I want, she does her own thing.  I’ve attempted to help by re-explaining – showing her where it is too “poofy” for my liking but I still end up with a style different than what I ask for.  This time I was determined to find an alternative hair dresser.

hairdresser-salons-65I went into a shop today and asked the only person working whether she could assist – I explained ‘point cut’ and ‘spiky’. She asked to see a picture so I showed her. She said she was unable to do this type of cut and suggested the owner who would be in tomorrow. I required a cut today and asked if anyone else would be able to assist.  She suggested another woman would be in within a 1/2 hour – maybe she could help. I agreed to come back.  

Sonal reviewed my requirements and agreed to assist.  We chatted about how long she has been a hairdresser – 3 years in Canada and 5 years back home in India.  I mentioned I was leaving Canada and she asked why. I explained that I wanted to embrace life and staying here with the cost of living required me to work for my life rather than enjoy my life. She agreed wholeheartedly.  

Upon further conversation she admitted to having come to Canada with the idea this was a place to prosper. They had left their own business back home in India and struggled here in Canada.  I asked her whether she would choose differently knowing what she knows now. She said yes; She would have stayed in India.  But they sold their business and have nothing in the bank. They worked for 5 years to pay to go home and visit last year – now there are no savings.  

I found this fascinating.  So many people immigrate to Canada from other countries.  I wonder how many feel similarly to Sonal.  We have another friend who has been here for 5 years and has just purchased a motel in the US and is moving there now. He admitted to having worked hard at multiple jobs since he arrived in Canada and even though he rented, he just could not get ahead financially. 

This makes me take pause and wonder what it is that puts us in this space. I’ve heard statistics quoting 95% of the population are in debt.  Why?  

POST_IT_Incoming_Outgoing_2_by_luthien27I have some ideas. However, I’ve chosen not to include them – they are all opinions. While I do not believe the grass is greener – I do believe there are other locations which offer a different type of lifestyle which is not available here.  Hence why I am embracing our decision to move to Costa Rica.  At the end of our conversation, Sonal paused, looking at me with a serious expression. She stated she believed we had made the right choice to move. An incoming and outgoing perspective.  

Numerous Observations – DoWoo #185/365

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images (2)Had a number of observations today. First – never…and I mean never…look at your phone for emails before getting out of bed. It is NOT the way to start the day!  

Next – I observed taking a daunting task and breaking it down into bite sized pieces to handle.  I used logic and process with a touch of heart – sorting through over 120 pictures and choosing only 50 for the funeral service.  I struggled until I broke it down into about 10 categories, sorted based upon the new criteria and then I chose.  It felt good to contribute.  

hunt_clipartI then observed that we truly do all deal with this differently – watching and listening to one of my brothers and one of my sisters when we met with the Reverend. All 3 of us had different ways of communicating our thoughts on mom.   

The next observation came when i was standing in the kitchen, looking outside – without really seeing anything.  I realized this world does not have the same energy signal – with my mom’s body no longer being infused.  It felt like a shift look place. 

wn_logo_verrekijker_squareI then stepped back and took a good long look at how I was dealing with things.  I was speaking with a friend who shared her husband had a similar experience with his family as I have with mine.  When his mother died he declared “My contract was with Mom. My contract is not with my siblings. Now that she’s gone, the contract is no longer in place.”  I truly love this.  It puts it into a different perspective for me.   

I recognized I was able to release feelings of disappointment and frustration within a shorter period of time.  My observation here was realizing I can make this less – it just takes time. And if I work on it – the time between feeling it and allowing it to be released from me – well, that will get shorter and shorter! 

observationI then recognized I am pleased my mom had my sister – who stayed by her side and held her as she died.  From what I can ascertain of who I am, the ability to do what she did for mom does not appear to be a part of me.  Or by having her available, I did not need to be this person. We may never know which it is.  

I experienced many emotions today:  anger at my siblings for being remiss to include all of us on one of the major planning sessions for moms service; recognition that they have their own individual coping capabilities;  negative emotion of any kind does me absolutely no good and additionally the person I have these feelings about – well, they have no clue – so what’s the point?; I am who I am and I do what feels right for me. As Walter stated this morning “Be kind to yourself; Seek only your own approval.” 

I am blessed to have such an understanding, wise and supportive husband – one who respects who I am, encourages me to shine with all that I am within, and who would willingly slay any dragon in my way – even if it was related!  He is my reality check, my filter and my reminder for what is important.  

Last & Master – DoWoo #184/365

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50With my mom’s passing yesterday…it just did not feel right to do the happy dance about my DoWoo accomplishment…so here goes!!

I have successfully written and posted 183 DoWoos in the same amount of days – and reached the 1/2 way mark of my stated intention: 365 blogs in 365 days!  Woo hoo!

So what have you accomplished in the last 183 days?

I only ask this question to encourage you to consider how you are spending your time.  I chose to concentrate my efforts on becoming a better observer and to lessen the amount of opinions I had – which were not doing me or anyone else any good.  I took on a task which seemed a bit daunting but I reminded myself about eating an elephant (one bite/blog at a time). 

I sent a link to my siblings today with the poem by Linda Ellis – The Dash.  This made me recall reading Scroll V and the first time I was reading it through for the month. Mom had just been told her cancer was no longer in remission.  I thought by reading “I will live this day as if it is my last.” would encourage her to embrace each day as the miracle it is.  Unfortunately this is not what her reaction was – she asked me how long I’d belonged to the cult?  LOL! 

We just finished re-reading Scroll V during the month of February.  Started shortly after Walter’s mom died and during my mom’s last weeks.   Who said the universe arranges things for us?

il_340x270.660157367_o5ocWe are now into Scroll VI “Today I will be the master of my emotions.” How true is that!?  I am totally embracing that message today and doing my best – remaining calm – recognizing that everyone is doing the best they can with what they know. 

With the realization I am technically now an orphan – I found myself looking at our son a bit differently today.  He has only us.  Walter and I need to make this count.  And I can wholeheartedly state, we totally are! 

 

 

Available Knowledge – DoWoo #183/365

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Received a phone call early this morning, just as we were getting Greg off to school; My mom had passed away, peacefully in my sisters arms, moments prior. While I had imagined how I would feel, I realized it was not until I was in the middle of this reality did I know how I felt.  

My initial reaction was relief she was no longer in pain. Walter shared he had had a similar reaction when his mom passed only 39 days ago. The next thought was mom and I had had our special moments – no regrets.  I found myself crying as there is now a piece of me that I will not be able to touch again (on this physical plane) but I recognize she now is able to look in on us from wherever she is (at least that is the philosophy I have chosen to embrace). 

scanmom

Given that there was sadness but comfort in my beliefs, I chose to treat my day with as much normalcy as possible. We had showings on the house scheduled – we tidied up and left. I had a therapeutic massage appointment – when I arrived I told Don “I needed this”. AND I did – I felt more grounded when I left.  I went to the hospice and the family said our farewells. I worked on a report and sent it off. Reviewed a few websites for my part of the Master Key digital call. Went to a restaurant and ate appies and drank wine – while Walter and Greg picked up Mya from the kennel. Took time to think of mom. Hopped on the Digital Call with my fellow divas – these ladies were there for me! And lastly Walter and I reviewed 2 offers on the house, negotiated and then accepted one. 

Hmmm…   Is that what normal looks like? 

We waited till Gregory came home from school to let him know about his Nana. He pouted for a few moments (translation – sad face). He then asked “Does this mean we have to go to another funeral?” Yes.  I thought it may help – so I reminded him this time he would not have to look at a body as Nana chose to be cremated. He looked up at us and said “Like squished or burnt?” Squished?? “Yes (making a hand movement as if he were running his hand back and forth across a smooth surface) cream.”  Ah! He as thinking “cream” cheese you spread!   You gotta love how kid’s brains work out the results based upon their available knowledge. 

mom first in real estate

Mom – beginning her 30 year career in real estate

Come to think of it, is this not what we all do? No matter what age we are? We make conclusions, after we interpret what is going on, based upon the knowledge we have at our disposal.   This may be why we all grieve in our own unique way. We make decisions about death based upon our interpretation of our place in the universe as it relates to death.  

I conclude that mom looked over us today, creating the perfect bidding situation between 2 buyers to allow us to sell our house this evening – for what we are all in agreement is a reasonable value. We are happy. The agents tell us the buyers are happy.  This home will see more family happiness within it’s walls.

Thanks mom!  Love you!  
(Notice…the “Realtor” logo on her jacket!)

Be Sociable – DoWoo #182/365

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il_340x270.182345903This weekend I observed an amazing group of women who bonded, for what could be life long friendships, within only a short few days.  I wonder…would a small group of men have had the same results as we did?   My curiosity typically gets the best of me…I will look into further and see what I find.

We had a variety of speakers – energy healers, intuitives, motivational speakers, life coaches, digital and branding gurus (just to name a few).   There were 8 sessions per day for 2 full days.  Absolutely AMAZING!

Upon reflection this evening, what I found interesting were the 3 speakers who came in without having been there for the entire session…They appeared to have varying degrees of impact on the group. 

1 speaker came in moments before her presentation and left immediately afterwards.  While her presentation was good, and there was audience participation, the energy in the room needed to be shifted before we could continue with the next speaker – the intuitive.

Another speaker came in for a small part of the sessions, spoke, stayed for a bit afterwards and then left.  This appeared to be more readily appreciated.  She chatted with a few of the people in the room before and after her presentation.

The 3rd speaker, arrived just before her session but was able to have a few minutes to chat with people during the short break between presentations.  Her interaction was a bit different as she knew a number of the participants from other events or on a personal / business level.   At the commencement of her talk she explained her son was ill and she had stayed home to care for him – hence why she was unable to be her in person for the 2 days. She also added having watched remotely from home. This person then proceeded to weave a few points from some of the previous speakers into her presentation.

While this appeared to be the most readily accepted version of the 3 ladies I’m referencing, I cannot say whether the others participants had the same observations – these are strictly from my perspective.  I am commenting based upon the energy level and shifts I felt during and after each presentation.

be sociableMy takeaway?  If you wish to truly connect and impact your audience – as the Social Media Strategist, Stacy Maynard commented about her field of expertise – you must “be sociable“.  

The less social interaction with the group the less impact the speaker appeared to have had on the group.  

Fun Filled – DoWoo #181/365

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Had a fun filled day. The morning was mostly spent listening to the other speakers and gleaning aspects from their presentations to align mine in a way which complimented.  Must be honest, I still get nervous about speaking but I know this is normal and will only make me the best I can be.  

I had fun with it and the audience appeared engaged throughout.  The accolades afterwards were just what I needed to hear to set my mind at rest.  I had knocked it out of the ballpark infusing my delivery with enthusiasm, knowledge and fun! 

We enjoyed lunch and dinner together. It was refreshing to be among a group of like minded individuals who speak a similar language.  The energy fluctuated, for the most part, from good to exceptional. What a way to spend the day. I am blessed.

Was speaking with Courtney at dinner this evening about the difference between back when I was in corporate to now – she asked me if I was better off then or now?  

Interestingly, I immediately went to the financial part of being better off. However, upon considering this Courtney asked whether this would be financial or otherwise. I realized that although I may have had more money when working in corporate, I was in a much better space now – happier and more fulfilled.  

An amazing day overall. I look forward to nurturing the relationships planted this weekend.  

Embrace Change – DoWoo #180/365

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Am in Niagara Falls this evening with Walter and Gregory.  All things do happen for a reason. 

Back in November I had offered to speak at a 2 day conference this weekend for Answers For Women – a local group of amazing women.  I did not book the room through the organizer as I was able to book it online for a larger room with a fireplace for less.  I did not know what I was planning to do with the king size bed but I was enthused by the fireplace it offered. 

We ended up not listing last weekend but this weekend.  We therefore all needed to be away from the house for the weekend. Voila! A king size bed suitable for a family of 3. 

I do love how the universe works.  

I must remember…When something does not go exactly as I ‘planned’ there is a higher power overseeing it all for me…rearranging the world to get me to where I need to be at any given moment.  

Embrace it.   

The group I’ve met thus far has been amazing.  Blessed people with vision and purpose, wanting to help others with desires and visions working to find their purpose. It’s been mini-mastermind sessions around every curve.  We are going to rock these sessions and help these women! a4w

 

Puzzled – DoWoo #179/365

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Had an interesting flutter of heat pass through my upper body today.  Not sure what emotion exactly but recognized it was not a nice one.  Based upon what was going on at the time, I did my best to identify it. Then I release it and moved on.

Allow me to share. For those following my recent posts, our house listing went live today. Now…after 25 years of being in the real estate portion of relocation , added to my mom’s 30 years transferred by osmosis…you can imagine I know a few agents.

When Walter and I decided to sell our house I had a decent sized list of people I could tap into locally. I seriously considered all our options before I even picked up the phone.

There was one particular agent who was on the “known” list.  She and I had met about maybe 4 years ago and became somewhat friendly on a personal level.  About 3 years ago, Walter and I had asked her to look at what we had to offer her – to see if we could help with her bottom line.  She explained that she was happy with what she had and did not wish to consider changing providers.  She did not even look.  We brought it up in passing maybe 3 times over the course of a year but stopped asking (I don’t want to be one of ‘those’ people either). We have not connected for well over a year now – although I still receive her mailings on a monthly basis.

I share all this because I chose not to even consider contacting her about listing our home. Within a few hours of our listing going live on MLS, I received an email from this particular agent saying she was “shocked to discover” we had listed our home and did not call her. “Why?”  My response was that I was shocked she needed to ask.  This is where I felt the heat.  I recognized I was not being my best self – I was allowing the old me (my old blue print) to respond.  My body recognized it and told me off.

This evening as I sat to review my day, considering what observations from today I wanted to share…this came back to me.  I totally do not understand how anyone in sales can treat another person with a “I gave at the office” type of customer attitude and then expect to remain a contender for when there is an opportunity to garner that person as a customer?

Does anyone understand this?

While we cannot ALL obtain business from everyone we do business with, it does seem reasonably fair to believe we work as professionals at all times. Unfortunately I did not see that today with this particular real estate agent.

I have chosen to surmise the Universe was taking care of my best interests and pointed me in the direction of the agent who would do the best possible job for selling my house.  If he and we do other business together…well, that has not even been discussed. All I know is I trust him with my home sale transaction. All business relationships must start somewhere.

bob burgBob Burg is famous for his quote (from the book “Endless Referrals”):

“All things being equal, people do business with, and refer business to people they know, like and trust.”

Someone’s Eyes – DoWoo #178/365

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frontexteriorview2_1200The first thing I notice as we pull up to the house is that it’s cute…and the front door is red. It looks like a bungalow. Ooh, I kind of like the hedge. I can imagine it green and straight cut. 

As we walk up the path, I’m looking at the massive picture window which is in the front room – it’s beautiful.

livingroomview1_1200The great room is the first thing we see as we walk into the foyer. It’s red with white trim. Not much furniture and only 1 couch…but boy, what a couch.  That’s huge. Our sectional would work nicely in here. Maybe the TV up there. Or, as I walk farther into the room, I turn around and can see it on that wall too.  We’ve got choices. Could not imagine painting a room red but I like this.  Its warm and yet modern. 

frontentranceview2_1200Walking out I notice the front closet – double louvered doors with a light inside. The floors are kind of a light moss green.

kitchenview1_1200Ooo – the kitchen is a really good size.  Wow a table and a hutch in this space? Good layout. Open. 2 decent sized windows. Again, lots of light.

Which way does this face? South east. So we’ll get morning light.  NICE! 

kitchenview2_1200Door to outside. Let’s see the rest of the house first. Stone wall. That’s kind of different. I run my hand over it. The texture is warm.

Bathroom. Check. Jacuzzi tub. Now THAT will be inviting after a long day. I can see candles up on the window ledge at night…the tub going.

bedroom2_1200This is a good size bedroom – enough for a chair.  You can see the back yard from here. There’s a shed. It’s fenced. Next bedroom…it’s a really good size for an office. 2 desks fit in here. 

masterbedroom_1200Master. Closet. Drapes and sheers. Pretty. Oh, there is a slide. And a swing with awning in the back yard. I wonder if they have pictures of the yard in the summer. Wow. There is a lot of room on either side of this bed! And that’s a queen.  That means a king size bed will fit in here! 

Linen closet. They must have cleaned this up…no one’s linen closet looks like this. Interesting door.  Basement door has glass panels. Pulling open. That means we can easily open it coming or going.

finishedbasementview2_1200This is bright! Hey, bar stools…and a bar. Is that paneling? Cool. Retro!  Fireplace. Obviously wood with that stack over there. This stone wall is huge. And the granite! It’s pretty thick. I can see myself chilling down here. 

The “for sale” sign went up on the house. The virtual tour photographer was here this morning. This whole thing became real. Maybe “more” real than it has been. When I started thinking about the house and how we are all concentrating our thoughts on someone loving this house enough to make it their home – this weekend – I started to imagine what they would say as they walk through the house.  I can feel their vision. I see it. 

I am confident someone is going to come through the door and feel the love and happiness we have infused into each corner of this brick house. Gregory explained he figures they have a son his age so when we leave, his best friend Anil will have a replacement friend at the same house. Love his imagination!  No limits. We look forward to coming home on Sunday.

If you change how you look at things – the things you look at change!
When you choose what you see – it becomes real. 

Would you like to see something different than what you are currently seeing? If so, please opt in below. When the scholarships for the next class are available, you will be on the list to received the details before the masses. No obligation but so so much to potentially gain if you end up being rewarded a scholarship.

the master key experience

The choice is TOTALLY up to you!

Black Thumb Blues – DoWoo #177/365

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pothosToday it hit me how much I like our house plants.  Now…that may seem a bit strange for some but you have to understand the back story.  I have never been a person with a green thumb.  Every time I had a plant…somehow it died. I even tried devils ivy which I was told was “easy to grow”.  A plant hearty enough no one could kill.

I did!

images (24)The longest relationship I ever had with a plant was when I had my first apartment by myself – no more roommates!   I splurged and purchased a different plant. I believe it was a rubber plant; Something considered to “need only basic care to look good”.   I liked it because I only had to water it once a week.  I had a cat. If I could water the cat, I could water a plant – right?  And the bonus? If I forgot to water it, the leaves drooped a bit which would REMIND me to water it. 

The relationship was good. I was pretty faithful about the once a week thing and the droop reminder was a only needed occasionally. However, after a while, old habits prevailed and it started to get to the point that every time the plant needed to droop before it got watered.  It was this glaring sign “WATER ME!” when it got all slumped over.  But miraculously within a day it was looking good again. 

That is UNTIL….

black thumbI looked at the plant one day. It said “WATER ME!” and I said to myself “Oh, I must remember to water the plant.”  The next day the plant said “WATER ME!” and I replied “Oh, yes! I need to water the plant.” After a week of this conversation, the plant gave up on me. It died.

After that I invested in plastic. It was a great relationship, just not one with activity on both sides.  That is…until Walter. 

Walter has 2 green thumbs! He has a knack with plants. As did his mom. She had a property filled with rose bushes. When Water was about 5 years old, he brought her home a tiny Forget Me Not flower with a teeny root, and his mom filled a space in her garden. That single flower parented flowers our son played hide and seek with his Bunia 55 years later.  His gift brought life back into our home. 

plantsToday, when our task was to put all the finishing touches on the house prior to the virtual tour company coming tomorrow morning to take pictures, I moved all our plants downstairs onto his work bench. When the agent was here on Monday, he again specified we needed to remove the plants from all the rooms.  Supposedly not everyone likes plants. So again, in order to appeal to the maximum number of potential buyers…we neutralized.   

Once the plants were gone it felt so much more not ours. The life Walter had breathed into our home no longer adorned each room. I missed our plants!

My black thumb is now playing the blues!

Truth – DoWoo #176/365

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Am sitting here…exhausted. Ever have one of those days? It seems like I’m experiencing quite a number of these lately. I wonder why?  

Please keep in mind…I don’t drink coffee!    Could it be the:

thpacking
moving furniture
sorting
cleaning
working
coaching
guiding
webinars
calls
sourcing
my mom and her health
family meetings
accounting
our son
woman-pulling-hair-out_-Cartoon_shoveling ice and snow
connecting
blogging
tweeting
facebooking
contracts
reading
teaching
speaking
painting
designing
shopping
cooking
learning!!!!

Hmmm…I’m seeing a pattern here.  Maybe I should go read my post where Walter reminded me I need to learn how to say no.  I thought I had been saying no more recently but it just does not seem like there is any way around what I’ve currently got going on. It appears

I am committed!

straight-jacketNow…don’t take that in the sense I need a special jacket or room…but in the way that once I agree to do something, I follow through.  This is where I need to be careful as to how many things I say yes to, so that I have balance on what I can follow through on and maintain a semblance of personal sanity. 

Our exercise this week is to concentrate on Truth. “Try to realize that the Truth shall make you free, that is, nothing can permanently stand in the way of your perfect success when you learn to apply the scientifically correct thought, methods and principles.”

My “truth” at this moment is I must embrace more within from accessing more silence. I know this is an area I have allowed to slide.  I also recognize that without it, the above list can lead me to feeling overwhelmed and out of control.  

Have you ever felt that way?? 

I solemnly make a commitment to myself to embrace my silence in a more consistent manner. I know in doing so, I am the master of my fate, and have access to infinite strength to work with. 

Disappearing Labels – DoWoo #175/365

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images (1)48% – so close! so close!  I’m almost 1/2 way to reaching my goal. And since my lucky number is 8…well, then 4 is 1/2 of 8…did you follow all that?  Just doing my happy dance again!  

Met a new person today and sure enough he had just got back from – you guessed it – Costa Rica. By the time we are down there, we should have a good number of connections here and there. It’s a wonderful space to be in. 

I had a day filled with observing and participating in kind gestures. A lady in the aisle beside me chose to let the person behind her go in front.  I was buying de-icer salt at the hardware store and they only had one of the two 20kg bags I wanted to purchase – so they gave me two two 10kg bags for the same price as the 20kg bag.  I drove into 3 parking lots and each time I found a spot reasonably close to where I was going. I made Walter is coffee this morning and allowed him to sleep in.  I did the dishes before I made another mess cooking dinner. Walter finishes the floors. A scout dad drove Greg home from camp today. All in all a productive day filled with smiles and kindness. 

Imagine living each day like this…observing kindness and not having opinions about them? Now, that’s an interesting switch….observing something while not having an opinion…how does one recognize seeing kindness unless you’ve labeled it as kindness = but then, is that not an opinion unto itself?  

images (23)If I removed all opinions about an act which takes place between one person and another, then I would not have the ability to label it as anything…it would just be the act taking place. 

So if my objective here is to remove opinions and allow observations to rule, then all labels of actions would disappear – would they not? 

What do you think? 

 

Reconnect – DoWoo #174/365

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28767714Walter and I were driving to dinner tonight – date night without a babysitter as Gregory is at camp! Woo Hoo!  Anyway, I commented on the traffic, and Walter did not listen to me.    I commented it was a good thing he had not listened to me as my observation was incorrect.  His response: 

“I do listen to you, I just make my own decisions.”

imagesWhoa! I like that!  It makes so much sense.  People DO listen and then they make the choice whether they wish to do anything with the information you shared, let it drift out like it was never there or possibly choose to comment on it for discussion. 

download (10)So…Walter and I had a great time chatting during dinner, we even asked Josh to slow down the service as it was timed so we did not have time to chill while eating, great fast hot food but we were in the zone to just be relaxed. He did a great job of readjusting the food schedule.  We talked philosophically liked we used to.  It was a glorious evening of reconnecting. 

it-was-my-pleasure-thumb you-are-welcomeWe had a great discussion at the end of our dinner with our server – Josh. We shared the philosophy of choosing to respond to the phrase “thank you” with either “you’re welcome” or “it is my pleasure” rather than “no problem” which gives the person who just thanked you two negatives words (even if they were not meant in that context – remember, words are the highest form of architecture). 

Josh listened and made his own decision. He chose to embrace the information we offered to share and he agreed to receive.  What I loved was his reaction to our interchange…he said he would love to pull up a chair and sit down and chat with us.  How kind! What a compliment.