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A Few Notes From Cheryl
Greetings
to all of our InSights
subscribers, near and far. We now have readers in 14 countries
across the world, so we are truly a global and diverse community.
This
month's article:
Most of our articles focus on
helping you be your best at work and sometimes on being your
best at home, too. This month's article is a tribute to a
very dear friend and will be focused on living your life to
the fullest in ALL ways. You are welcome to forward this
newsletter to your friends and colleagues who would benefit from the
reminder to make the most of your life. If you received this
newsletter from a friend and want to start receiving your own, you can
sign up at www.goalsinsight.com/newsletters/index.html
.
Background: We
lost a member of our family on May 30, very suddenly and completely
unexpectedly. Bree Myer, 42 years old, went to work at a client's
office that day, expecting to have a typical work day and return home
to her life partner Colleen that evening. Instead, Bree passed
out at the end of the day and never regained consciousness, which we
learned afterward was due to a
bleeding aneurysm. She went quickly and painlessly,
which was a blessing for Bree. For all of us who knew and loved
her, it was a tremendous shock and an even greater loss. For me
personally, the loss has been indescribable, as Bree has been an
integral part of my life and family for 20 years - most recently as
a very close friend and neighbor, and many years ago, as my former
domestic
partner of eight years.
We are honoring Bree's life and her spirit in this newsletter so
that all of us in this global community will be reminded of just how
precious life is,
and how we can all ensure that we live our lives to the fullest.
Remember to make the most of each day,
Cheryl
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Feature Article: Live Your Life to its
Fullest
In some ways, this is the hardest article I've written since I started
this publication three years ago. In other ways, it is easy
because it is such an honor to share the lessons that I've learned from
Bree's life with all of you.
First, I want to share with you the greatest gifts and lessons that I
received from Bree and then we'll talk about some specific areas to
look at that tie back to these lessons.
1. Live life
to its fullest
2. If you're
not doing work that you love, then do something to change it
3. Make this
world a better place for those around you
4. Live your
life without fear
Let's take a look at each of these lessons, one by one.
1. Live life
to its fullest
One of Bree's greatest gifts to all of us with that she lived her life
in the way that she wanted. She surrounded herself with loving
friends, she lived a life of service to others by using her skills and
talents to help others,
she was a caring friend and she spent her time doing activities that
were fun for her.
How are YOU living your life to its fullest? How are you making
the
most of
each day that you have here in this lifetime? Here are a couple
of places to look:
- What do you need to do in order to live
your life to its fullest, so that if you died tomorrow you would have
no regrets?
- What do you need to say to people
in your life so that you are
living life to the fullest and that if you died tomorrow you (and they)
would have no regrets? If there is something you need to
say to
someone, say it NOW -- otherwise, if you wait, either they or you may
not be here.
As you walked out the door this morning and started your day, what were
you thinking about? Were you excited to start your day? Who
will you be spending time
with today? What about the rest of this week - what's on your
calendar, and who will you be spending your time with? What about
the rest of this month?
As you look at all of the activities on your calendar and all of the
people that you have chosen to spend time with, ask yourself
these questions:
- People:
Are these the people who you are choosing to spend your life
with, or are these people that you feel you should spend time with that
are not as meaningful to you as others?
-
Activities: Are these activities that you are choosing to spend time on,
or are they "shoulds"?
- What's
missing? Of all of the people and activities that you are
making a priority this month, who are the people and activities that
are meaningful to you that are not yet on your calendar? What
will you do to make sure that they're on your list for this month?
2. If you're
not doing work that you love, then do something to change it
If there's something about your work that is causing you excessive
stress or angst, either change the situation or change your response to
it. Yes, I am being rather blunt here, but as we know, life can
be short. So often we stay in situations that make us miserable
because
we think we have plenty of time to make changes "later." There
are many things you can do to change your work environment - here are
just a few ideas:
- Bring a positive attitude to work and share it with others (Bree knew
that this was contagious so she brought fun toys and a playful attitude
into her work
- Rally your friends and colleagues to start a fun committee or go out
to lunch together at least once a week
- Remember that this is just work and don't take it so seriously
- If you truly are unhappy with your work environment and it's time for
a change (different role in your current company or different company
altogether), then make the change you need so you can be fulfilled with
your work
3. Make this
world a better place for those around you
Be of service to others in whatever way you can. See the above
ideas for how to do that at work, and you can use the same concepts in
your personal life as well. Remember to enjoy life and not sweat
the small stuff (and yes, as the saying goes, it usually is all small
stuff).
Bree knew this - her license plate read "JUSPLAY" and her Jeep tire
cover said "Life is Good." In her unique way, Bree spread these
messages to everyone around her, just by driving around
town. Years ago, Bree and Colleen gave me a "Life is Good"
t-shirt with a picture of Balance on the front, which I still wear
frequently - yet another example of Bree spreading the word about
enjoying life. And, for those of us who knew her well, Bree
definitely went
out of her way to enrich our lives with humor, witty sarcasm and love.
Make the world a better place by nurturing your relationships and
"cleaning up" anything left unsaid.
So many times we say to ourselves that we'll take care of "cleaning up"
past relationship issues later, down the road some time. If you
knew
your life was ending tomorrow, is there anyone that you need to have
closure with on a particular issue? What is it that you need to
say to
be complete with that person so that you can both have a life of no
regrets?
Where in your life will you make this world an even better place for
you and those around you?
When will you do that?
4. Live your
life without fear
Bree taught us to be unique - to be ourselves and not worry about what
other
people think. She was not afraid of what others thought of her -
she was unique and that was what people loved about her. She also
taught us to live without fear health wise, as she was a breast cancer
survivor of 15 years and she lived her life having fun instead of
worrying about whether the cancer would come back (which it did not).
Where in your life will you start living without fear? When will
you do that?
There's a lot for all of us to think about this month regarding living
a life that is fulfilling for ourselves and our loved ones. What
will you commit to - what are the specific things you will do as a
result of this discussion?
By what date will
you do these things
(remember: it's critical to have a specific
deadline for each commitment to ensure your success)?
What
support and accountability do you need to ensure that you stay
committed to these intentions? Who will you ask to hold you
accountable?
Thanks for being a part of this online community, where we can all
learn and share together life's lessons. Bree, thanks for sharing
your life and helping us along the way.
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Upcoming
Workshops and Teleclasses
Join us for a
f-r-e-e teleclass on Thursday, July 20 to learn the "6 Steps
to Setting & Achieving Your Most Meaningful Goals"! For this
class, we'll include a discussion about the effects of "gremlins" and
negative self talk as these are some of the biggest obstacles to
achieving goals that are truly meaningful.
Date:
Thursday, July 20 at 12:00 pm pacific (3:00 eastern) for one hour
Details and registration: www.goalsinsight.com/free/index.html
or you can CLICK
HERE TO REGISTER. This class is our gift to you -- there is
no tuition charge for this class. Depending on your phone
carrier, long-distance phone charges may apply.
Public
Workshops
We're in the process of scheduling more public seminars, so feel free
to check back on our web site, as updates are made once workshops are
booked.
June 8 7:15 to 8:15
pm - Create Your Desired Team
Project Management Institute - Sacramento, CA
Details: www.goalsinsight.com/speaking.html
August 8 4:00 to
6:39 pm - Create the Balanced Life You Desire
eWomen Network - Sacramento, CA
Details: www.goalsinsight.com/speaking.html
September 28 6:45 to
8:15 pm - Create the Balanced Life You Desire
John Muir Women's Health Center - Walnut Creek, CA. No charge.
Details: www.goalsinsight.com/speaking.html
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Team
Building Events and Off-Site Meetings:
Could your team use some help to be more cohesive?
Is it time to enhance your team's relationships and
productivity?
Many organizations are holding team building
seminars and offsite employee retreats to enhance their teams
productivity and relationship. If you
haven't already contacted us to discuss your needs, be sure to do so
soon to see if we have a good fit while space is available, as our
calendar fills up quickly.
We offer a variety of programs to enhance the performance of your teams
as well as improve the ways in which your teams interact, so we invite
you to visit www.goalsinsight.com/programs/index.html
.
This is a great
way to
show appreciation for your team and enhance their productivity,
thereby improving the bottom line for your organization!
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About Goals InSight Coaching, Inc.
Goals InSight
Coaching, Inc. helps organizations and individuals achieve your desired
goals in the following ways - click on any of the links for details:
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June
2006