It's been a wild couple months, with loads of learnings and discoveries… so much so I haven't been as efficient to keeping you as updated as I normally would have. Stay tuned and I will be filling you in over the upcoming blog posts.  To get us started here are some of the highlights…

* I had the wonderful opportunity to spend Dec 28- Jan 3 at a yoga retreat outside of San Diego, called Liberty Advance.  What a powerful event for personal growth and what a great way to kick-off the new year. 

* Jan - mid-March at home in Saskatchewan was exceptionally cold outside but for me it was filled with lots of good activities for both the body and soul including Vibrational Exercise at Prairiewellness.ca.   

* Last week I was blessed with the opportunity to head back to California to attend a T Harv Eker event called Guerilla Business School in L.A.   His company is called Peak Potentials and each of the events that I have attended put on by them are always over the top — and this one was of no exception!

* This week I had the great opportunity to spend in Long Beach, California.   Here I was able to connect with friends, get some work done, enjoy the ocean vibe and attend some personal development events with the Liberty Advance people.  I also had the opportunity to have some somatic experience sesssions - wow were these powerful - I even said " wow - what a rush" in the middle of it… but more on that another day…

* Today I am leaving Long Beach to head back to Liberty Advance outside of San Diego for another yoga retreat.  This time I know how powerful of a location it is and how great the instructors are, that I can only imagine what this event will bring me.  I know significant personal shifts will occur, and that at times the shifts will feel like quite the rush.  I look forward to this opportunity, like this entire trip, with a "Bring It On" attitude.

I am honoured and in awe with these opportunities that have come my way and that I have had the ability to make them happen.  Together, each and every event are key pieces to my puzzle.

It's hard for me to phathom that it is already mid December — where did the fall go?  where did 2008 go?  Can you relate? If you are, it doesn't appear like we are alone…

But I must say that at least I have gotten over the concept of hearing Christmas carols in the stores.  I am not sure what it exactly was but a few things come to mind:

• Recently I held a planning session with my team at the legendary Hotel Saskatchewan here in Regina.  It is always so delightfully decked out and their award-winning chefs create a great gingerbread house display in their lobby with such intricate details.  It's hard not to get a bit of the Christmas spirit being around all that festivity.

• We got a bit more snow — to the point that my snow angel that I made (see prior post) is now covered over with a thick blanket of the sparkly stuff.

• And then recently the balmy temperatures we were experiencing finally dove down to the -30's and at times have been hitting -44 with the windchill.  

With these three things, it can't help but knock some reality into play here - but I think nothing said Christmas is coming than the colder temperatures!  I still have many preparations to do before the 24th but I know that whatever needs to be done will.

Love to hear how your Holiday Season preparations are going…

Well here is Saskatchewan, winter is definitely here. In light that in September I had some health issues and then I had my travels in October & November, I really didn't get the opportunity this year to really see the change of seasons as much as I usually do going from summer to fall to the start of winter. In light of the amount of time I have had the joy of spending in California recently, it was quite the shock to my system coming home and having blowing snow arrive within a couple days of arrival.

Now I reallly have nothing to complain about here - the temperatures have been absolutely balmy for this time of year, hovering around the freezing point and we've had very little snow to date - but its been a shock to date no less, especially compared to the delightful weather I was enjoying in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Luckily I was able to use this this change in environment to help me to recognize that to be our best, we simply can't get distracted by the conditions in our environment and simply simply stay positive.  I guess I have been very succesful in this area in light that recently after a great workout at the gym, I just couldn't resist a sparkly fresh patch of snow in my backyard and made this snow angel.  It's near where I usually have a stone buddha statue sitting under the tree in the warmer months of the year so I thought it would be the perfect spot!

My next challenge will be to get use to the concept that soon it will be Christmas and the New Year will be upon us. Truly, I feel I am in denial on that.  I am sure I will catch-up…but at this point, I'm not going to rush it as I know it will come and simply enjoy the glow of the sparkling magic of the snow crystals.

Traveling back from San Diego, I had a short wait in the Phoenix airport and got the opportunity to spend a few minutes in a lovely gift shop called Earth Spirit.  While I looked around I discovered these lovely message glass stones. Each were so very ornate with a lovely message on each of them.  I discovered some with messages that I thought were perfect for my management team to give each of them as a gift at our planning session the very next day.  We had fun as they selected the message for them and all the messages together were amazingly perfect to set the stage for the development of our 2009-2010 business plan.

As I looked through stones at the store for my team members, I also noticed a few that stood out for me in light of the lessons I had in San Diego at the Peaks Potentials All Your Relations Event.  The four glass rocks that gravitated to me were:

• Believe - It's the word that has been coming to me lately when I have meditated on decisions I have needed to make;
• Let go - I discovered in San Diego that letting go is something that I need to do more of and put conscious attention on it;
• Love - When I recognize that my mind is chatting more than I like and I feel less connected with myself, I am reminded of the phrase a friend of mine has shared with me "stay in the love" and it helps me to get back connected with my true self and joy of life; and
• Woo-hoo! - As I truly love to celebrate - and what word better communicates that than woo-hoo!

I now keep these four message stones in their little turquoise velvety bags on the left corner of my desk.  Then throughout the day when I feel I want an inspiration, I pick one of the little bags and discover my secret message. No matter what, the message seems so applicable in the moment — and provides me a quiet moment reminding me of a key message for me a this time.

Hi.  I just got back from San Diego and wow - what a rush.  I flew down there for another Peaks Potential event and it definitely over-exceeded my expectations.  And the San Diego warmth, (sunshine, blue skies, and warm ocean breezes, palm trees etc) was absolutely delightful to this Saskatchewan girl when snow could be here anytime.

The event I attended was called "All Your Relations" and had the CEO of Peaks Potentials, Harv Ecker as the host and 18 guest speakers talking on topics on relating to ourselves, our family, colleagues, pets, nature etc.  World-renowed speakers shared their tips and strategies including Barbara De Angelis, Marianne Williamson, Dr. Brian Alman, Eve Michaels and many many more. 

As Barbara De Angelis said, "you are all here at this event to be shifted" — and there is no doubt that I have gone through many many shifts there in outlook and approach.  I am excited about the transformation that I am currently underway.  I have noticed that even the pictures of me on my blogs and websites that were just taken this summer don't reflect the new re-energized, shifted me.  I'll need to plan for a new photoshoot in the new year…

One of the key things that I learnt there is that there is really only 1 relationship and that is of yourself, all other relationships are mirrors of it in some way.  I was able to connect with more of my true self and things that I love doing.  I also heard some songs like "Let's Get Loud" (recorded by Jennifer Lopez) from a totally different inspiring perspective — this one is indeed my new theme song.  I've added it to my iTouch and others for a quick-me-up in the middle of the day and for at the gym.

But I got to say one of the very best things for me during this event was the ability to reconnect so quickly with others of like minds who I connected up with a couple weeks ago in LA for Train the Trainer — there is no doubt in my mind that with this degree of intensive work and play together for these many days, bonds have been created and strengthened which will last for a long time.  I look forward to my continued connection with these individuals over the months to come through email, phone and reconnecting at future events.

I am indeed looking forward to my next Peaks events in 2009.  At this point I am focusing on enabling these shifts in me to stick and for my continued growth on my path.  I have many exciting goals and with my recent and continued development, I am excited to see my goals be realized with ease, speed and grace.  Stay tuned…

With all the traveling that I do and want to do in the future, I was excited to have stumbled-upon a great set of luggage to ease airport travel.  If you are like me, you want travel to and in airports to be as easy and flow-through as possible.   With all the needed steps involved with checking in, security and customs travelling in and out of country, great luggage is key to make that happen. 

Now I've had roller type luggage for years but I often found that the wheels would soon run into some problem and if I packed too much heavy stuff (books/papers/shoes) into my checked luggage, I could go over the weight limits of the single bag and would have been better to have checked in 2 and avoid extra weight fees — but if I did that then they were tough to maneuver around.  Can you relate?? 

Well, my newest travel companions are made by Burton - a snowboard company.  They make their bags designed with the snowboarder in mind - durable, functional, feature-loaded with style - what more could a girl ask for? 

• The wheels are skate wheels and are easily replaceable should the bag break down on the road which is super-cool. 
• There are stretch zones around the zippers which let's you to overpack easily - which is perfect when I'm bringing home more things that I left with through over-stimulating the local economy or at events!
• The largest piece not only opens like a book but each of the 2 main sections can be unzipped apart and be checked in as 2 pieces versus the 1 piece.  Then when I pick up my luggage at my destination, I can simply zip the two pieces together and wheel it off with ease.  And it connects up with the carryon wheeled bag as if it where 1 - making it super easy to get around airports quickly and with ease. 
• The carryon even includes a separate laptop bag - making it easy to take out to use during the flight.

Overall - I'm even more excited about my next trip knowing that I've just made my travel time even more easier than ever.

I just got back from LA where I attended Peaks Potentials "Train the Trainer" 5 day course. There I discovered how to host and deliver impactful events from the proven methods that Peak Potentials utilizes. I met some absolutely fabulous people from across North America and the globe. I am so looking forward to connecting up with them by email / phone and at future Peaks events. 

At this event, I had the great opportunity to learn from Blair Singer, he's the guy who taught Harv Ecker (CEO of Peaks Potentials) how to present and has been collaborating with Robert Kiosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) for over 25 years.   The other trainers included Kieron Sweeney and Johnnie (whom I didn't catch his last name.  They both were great trainers.

The week was action packed and full with lessons.  One key one was that the person with the highest energy wins.  It's so very true. I noticed so much how over the years I have limited myself in the expression that I love doing - even as simple as listening to motiviating, fast paced music with a great drum beat.  I now have a "party" playlist on my iTouch with Black Eyed Peas recording of "Let's Get This Party Started" and Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" - listening to these 2 songs are great pick-me-up during the day. 

To continue my commitment to my development,  I actually signed up for 2 upcoming courses while at this Peaks event.  One is coming up really quickly in mid-November  (yahoo!) and then Train the Trainer 2 which is scheduled for June 2009.  I am very much looking foward to both of these and suspect that I will no doubt be at least one other event between these 2 too - just haven't selected it yet.  I am escatic to be heading out to San Diego on the 12th for the next event that will no doubt be over the top and building on the progress I made this week in LA…  Stay tuned….

I am writing this post at the Calgary Airport awaiting the airplane I am on to start down the runway off to Los Angeles. There are many families on the flight with young children - who all seem to be excited about going off to see Mickey and all their favourite characters at Disneyland.

Why I am off to LA you ask?  Well - I'm actually going off to see my own type of Mickey and fun, great characters at my own type of "Disneyland" per se.  This great cast of characters and extraordinary event that I am heading to is the "Train the Trainer Certification" program hosted by T. Harv Ecker's company Peak Potentials.    I am so much looking forward to this event.    Stay tuned for an update when I return.

Donna

One of my business heroes and mentors is Rich Schefren. I'm part of his GPS Coaching Program since the beginnning of Oct, and it ROCKS!  I've been taking it to strengthen my critical business thinking and my plans for growth in my business. In these areas, my expectations have been more that exceeded.

But I must say that the most impactful part for me was the realization that to enable success, the entrepreneur must not be concerned with what others think. It holds you back from taking the important steps that you need to take to drive your business and life success.

From observing my coaching clients and other business people there is no doubt in my mind that your personal strength impacts your business success. 
As a people pleaser, I am excited about the steps I am taking to address this further.

As a result, anyone who says "it's not personal, it's business", must have this completely resolved or else have a huge opportunity to develop their people-sensitivity skill, whether it's about how they deal with their staff or approach their customers. They key for success is to have both in balance.

This morning I headed up to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to attend the Tony Robbins, The Power Within Event.  It was absolutely fabulous.  He is no doubt one of my legends for personal development.  Many discoveries occurred for me at this event — I would highly recommend it if it is coming to a location near you. 

One of the key lessons I heard at this event is "Focus on what you want, not what you are afraid of."  With much about the Law of Attraction covered lately, we can often hear the "focus on what you want" part but what I like about this quote is also the reminder of the behaviour that is counter to progress — ie putting attention on what we fear.  In reality, the only thing we create when we focus on what we are afraid of is some type of pain which can often show as worry and that effort is simply unproductive.

So with that, going forward I am definitely going to watching my mind chatter more than ever, and when it seems to be focused on what I fear, I will take action to change my thoughts as quickly as possible.

A few weeks ago, I became a whole less naive in terms of what others have been experiencing for years. Extreme pain and muscle spasms would shoot through the left side of my middle back/side when I would sit up or stand up.  I had no idea what others had been experiencing when they had similar experiences.

Unfortunately, it caused me to be out of commission for a bit and even when I could get some office work done, I most certainly was not as productive as I was before.  For awhile, I stood at my eating counter in my kitchen to work on my laptop that I had set up there temporarily.

How did I get there? Looks like an example of seeing myself as superwoman and carrying a heavy bag over my left shoulder on a daily basis - jam-packed with so-called necessities, such as my laptop, and accessories, files etc. Of course, when I travelled to another city, I would carry even more than normal.  The heavy load coupled with too many hours in front of my laptop without moving caused strain and resulted in 3 of my ribs being out of place.  Thank goodness for my wonderful chiropractor, Dr. Shyla Robertson who has been working with me to get things back to normal.

While at the time of writing, I am not yet 100% - I am much better than I was and things are improving everyday. 

It is through our challenges that we learn and grow. Looking back through this I have discovered:

• It's so very easy to take things for granted such as our health in our crazy-busy society;
• It's necessary to not take things for granted such as our health in our crazy-busy society;
• For me, it's necessary for me to ensure I get exercise,  8+ hours of sleep, healthy food / supplements and lots of water on a daily basis;
• How much it can make a difference to my productivity if I take my health for granted and push-off exercise, sleep etc;
• It's important for me to lighten what I carry with me at any point in time - and that is really an exercise of being more selective (and not just using a larger roller case!).

I look forward to applying these learnings in my quest of my goals.

Have you had some similar learnings - I'd love to receive your comments on it…

Hi Everyone! It's great getting back into blogging once again.

I have a ton of things happening at this time - so much I can't even really begin to get into it now, so stay tuned.  Here I plan on sharing some of my personal latest discoveries in life and business.

Wishing you a fabulous day
Donna