by Erin Owen | Feb 26, 2013 | Ezine
We all want to feel good in our bodies,
Free of stress and full of energy.
With a positive outlook and the sense that all is well.
This is what it feels like to live a juicy, creative life.
A life where your passion for your work is irresistibly attractive to others,
And generates the creative flow and prosperity you deserve.
But what gets in the way of feeling this way every day?
And how can you cultivate your own juicy, creative life?
When you’re overwhelmed by your responsibilities and time commitments,
Running from one thing to another without awareness of the big picture,
You lose perspective.
And when you forget to take care of yourself,
Not eating enough healthy foods, or taking enough time to breathe and move your body,
Failing to connect with yourself and the important people in your life,
Then you feel disconnected from life and what’s most important.
When you are disconnected and stuck in this rut of modern busy living,
You lack vision and creativity, you lose focus & productivity, your health and relationships suffer, and you under-perform at work.
And if you own your own business or run your own organization, then you see your financial metrics and customer/client retention factors under-performing.
So, how do you turn things around?
It begins with a clear, inspired idea of who you are
And the positive impact you want to have on the world.
Then, using that clarity about what you want,
Align each feeling, each thought, each spoken and written word, each decision, to support the immediate and exciting creation of your ideal life.
But, if you haven’t paused to look ahead,
If you’re not sure exactly who you are,
Or what you really want out of life,
Then it’s time to examine what is muddying your waters.
Most likely what’s getting in the way of this clarity is the disease of “TOO MUCH”
How do you know if you have the “TOO MUCH” disease?
- If your mind is busy, full of thoughts without end, and waking you with anxiety in the wee hours, then you have TOO MUCH going on.
- If you are feeling sluggish, carrying extra weight, and wishing you felt better in your body, then your body is holding on to TOO MUCH.
- If your calendar is jam-packed, with meeting after meeting, and no room between commitments to pause and reflect, then there is TOO MUCH in your schedule.
- If your desk is full of disorganized, scattered papers; if your bedroom is full of piles of laundry and odds & ends that need to be put away; if your house is generally in dis-array, then you have TOO MUCH stuff
Your busy schedule, your go-getter lifestyle, the fast pace at which you’re living life, leaves you no room to treat the “TOO MUCH” disease.
That means it’s time to clean house at every level. And this is THE best time of year to do so. Why?
Less than a month remains until Spring officially begins,
And as the hibernating “yin” quality of energy comes to an abrupt end,
As the powerful, uprising “yang” energy of new Spring life begins,
This time of year is THE time to dust out the cobwebs,
Weed the garden of your mind,
And clear away the sluggish congestion in your body.
It begins with your mind, then extends to your eating habits and your time commitments, and even your relationships. Then, of course, your home, your office, your computer files and email in-box, and even your car.
But, where to begin? What to do first? How to build on initial successes? And how to stay on track?
With my new home study course for decluttering your life, you can follow my lead through the 6 primary lessons – or go at your own faster or slower pace.
You can listen to the audio recordings as I guide you with humor and practical tips to lighten your load mentally, physically, and in your home/work environment.
Or you can use the detailed workbook to read (or skim through) all the same written ideas that are shared in the audio recordings PLUS space for taking notes and setting goals and staying aware of priorities and keeping track of your successes.
EXTRA: If you’re the “let’s get to the point now” kind of guy or gal, you can skip straight to the quick guide to get the top 3 tips for each lesson and decide straight-away where you’re going to focus each week.
Any way you decide to make use of the rich resources of the Clutter-Clearing, Performance Boosting Home Study Guide, you’ll make immediate, tangible progress toward your goals of lightening your load, refueling your energy, getting back in control of your calendar, and more – all by following by simple, easy-to-follow steps for decluttering mind, body, and physical environment.
Click here to RESERVE your copy of the home study guide at my special PRE-RELEASE PRICE. More details here.
In the meantime, keep breathing, dreaming of what you want out of a juicy, creative life, and take note of what is getting in the way.
Here’s to your optimal performance and living an inspired, conscious life!
by Erin Owen | Jan 21, 2013 | Ezine
Most of us are holding off on making a change in life.
Why? We’re waiting.
Subconsciously, you too may have decided to wait until something happens.
What is it that you’re waiting for?
Are you waiting…
- To feel better?
- To retire?
- To get laid off?
- To get in better shape?
- For work to slow down?
- For your children to leave the nest?
- To come into money?
- To sleep better?
- For permission?
- To know “enough”?
- To have “the right” credentials or past experience?
- To have more energy?
I have a little secret to tell you…
That may not happen anytime soon.
And how does it feel to know that you might wake up in the exact same situation you’re in (or worse) a year from now, or five years from now, or decades from now?
Maybe it’s time to acknowledge that you’ve been waiting, and that it’s time to let that go.
Maybe it’s time to give yourself permission to not need someone else’s permission.
Maybe it’s time to take one small step toward something better… CARPE DIEM!
There is only full week left in January to schedule your New Year’s Resolution Strategy Session with me. More details here.
by Erin Owen | Dec 3, 2012 | Events, Ezine
Are you living your life more like an Incandescent light bulb?
You know, able to keep up your intense pace, running around the clock, for a month or more before you collapse or burn out and need to call-in sick for a mental health day – or worse, take a stretch of real sick days to recover from the latest bug that’s tackled you to the ground.
Or, are you operating more like a LED bulb?
Moving forward at a steady pace, taking breaks and vacations on a regular basis, nurturing your mind, body, and spirit at work and at home, with need for a longer sabbatical only once every five years or so.
A small group of students who attended The Sustainability Workshop last year designed a business plan to replace traditional incandescent bulbs in the homes of consumers with longer lasting LEDs, at no cost to the homeowner.
This was one of many sustainable/green projects intended to have a positive impact on the community and environment, as well as serve as phenomenal learning experiences for the students.
And in this case, the intended result was to save the homeowner lots of moolah in energy costs and bulb replacement expense, while using less energy and thereby lowering carbon emissions.
(Now, before you all blast me with emails asking for how you can sign up, here’s the update: they just completed a pilot program and are currently analyzing the data from their findings. If you want more details about the Bright Ideas project, click here.)
For the pilot, the students used a sensor on each floor of the homes that replaced old bulbs with the LEDs to assess how many hours a day, and at what times of day, the lights were on.
I have to admit something quite geeky. I’ve been fantasizing about how to create a similar (but slightly more complex) energy-monitoring device that I could wear around.
Ideally, it would measure when I expend energy and in what areas of my life it is used, as well as what gives me energy. Then, I could determine if there’s a balance between “output” and “input” overall, and allow me to determine if the areas of my “output” are in alignment with my vision for how I want to be living and working.
With my private clients, I use a different approach to assessing how their energy aligns with their vision. And I also guide them through a visualization to observe and alter the output of energy into relationships, activities, and more. This work can be quite empowering and I’m always amazed at how quickly my clients experience a positive shift in their energy output, back to a place of more balance.
But, if we had a personal energy-ometer to help with the process, it would be less biased and perhaps even more illuminating. (Pun intended!)
What if You Want to Switch from Incandescent to LED bulbs?
If you plan to actually switch out the lightbulbs in your home from Incandescent to LED, it honestly can be quite expensive. Even though the LED bulbs last up to 60 times longer than Incandescent bulbs and use less than 20% as much energy, the initial cost can be around $30 per bulb. But, combine the long-term cost savings and energy savings, and it’s an investment that makes sense.
What if You Want to Switch Your Lifestyle and Workstyle from Incandescent-like to LED-like?
The good news is making the switch to a LED way of working and living does not have to be so expensive.
In fact, learning how to slow down your body and mind to a more sustainable pace yields tremendous near-term AND long-term benefits in your health, happiness and productivity. And in most cases, the resulting boost in your outlook and performance translates directly into spiritual and financial prosperity.
Yes, there is usually some upfront investment of time, energy, and money, but the payoff begins immediately and builds over time.
If you’re ready to make the switch and know you’ll be more successful by working with me for accountability, knowledge, and guidance, please use the “BREAKTHROUGH” discount code when signing up for your initial phone coaching session with me. You can do the call from anywhere in the world so long as you can access a phone or a Skype connection.
Don’t hesitate if you’re seriously considering working with me: I currently have only 1 spot left for a day-long breakthrough retreat in 2012 and 3 private coaching slots left for my private coaching programs that begin in January– and these fill-up fast with folks starting to think about resolutions and starting off the New Year on the right foot.
Email me if you have any questions, need to schedule a special time to accommodate your schedule or time zone, OR… go ahead and sign-up now to receive my undivided attention in transitioning into the bright new world of LED living and working.
by Erin Owen | Nov 27, 2012 | Events, Ezine
Your Performance Breakthrough
Just when you thought you were being pushed past your limits, along come the winter holidays to add an extra layer of complexity.
You have more events to manage, more things to buy, more people to see. The extra strain on your time and your pocketbook from your longer “to do” list causes you more stress that you certainly do not need.
Rather than allowing yourself to enjoy the real reasons we celebrate the holidays, the last thing on your list is you or doing anything to make things easier on yourself.
With a tongue-in-cheek approach, a wink of my eye, and just for a little fun, I’m here to remind you of what doesn’t work. So, take a look through my Top 7 Ways How to Invite MORE Holiday Stress and enjoy a little laugh at yourself. You are human, after all!
(Or, if you’d rather be reminded of how to actually melt holiday stress—and be inspired by some of my Eastern-influenced ideas—then join me for one my upcoming events! Details below…)
Top 7 Ways to Invite MORE Holiday Stress
1. Keep piling on MORE. That’s right. Say YES to every request to bake more, donate more, take on the office holiday fund drive, and attend more parties (especially the ones hosted by people you don’t really know or like that much). Be sure to include all members of your family in every gathering—especially those individuals you complain about up until the minute they arrive, then curse the moment they walk out the door. And, whatever you do, don’t say NO.
2. RESIST nature’s call to slow down and go inward. IGNORE the fact that the days are getting shorter and the temperatures (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) are getting colder. Turn those lights on longer, heat the office and home more hours, and keep burning that midnight oil! Bless these modern inventions that allow us to do more and more and more.
3. Tell yourself “I CAN MAKE IT through New Year’s”. Just because you broke down last year with a horrible string of colds does not mean it will happen again. This year will be different—and you don’t need to do anything different. Just keep plugging along and promising yourself you’ll make it through midnight on New Year’s eve. You can do it!
4. Use Caffeine to STAY AWAKE and Sleep Aids to FALL ASLEEP. When your energy wanes or you struggle to get out of bed, add another shot of espresso in your coffee—and be sure to have more caffeine mid-morning and again after lunch when you begin to nod off. Then, about an hour before you realize you’d better get to bed so you can get at least 4 or 5 hours of sleep before your alarm goes off, enjoy a drink or two or take your latest sleeping medication of choice. And be sure you say a prayer before bed to thank god for inventing these sleep aids!
[Remember, I’m writing this tongue-in-cheek! Are you laughing at yourself yet?]
5. Keep it to yourself. The holidays are a time to follow tradition and to do exactly what your parents or spouse/partner or spouse/partner’s family did before you. For goodness sake, do NOT express your honest opinion about ANYTHING. The last thing anyone wants to hear is what you think should be done differently, and your agonizing and suffering is for the greater good. So, keep it to yourself!
6. Whatever you do: don’t give yourself a break! The sacrifices you make and the hardships you take on are an example to us all. You are a role model to your employees, your colleagues, your children. You must single handedly take on the burdens of the extra holiday activities, without even a thought to your own physical or mental well-being. In fact, don’t even think about scheduling a massage or taking off an afternoon, let alone sneaking in a nap on the weekend. You are super wo/man!
7. Wait until 2013 to start making improvements. Whatever it is that is bugging you, it can wait. That pain in your side, those extra pounds, the headaches, the leak in the roof, the nagging feeling you should make a change… Wait, wait, wait. It can’t possibly get worse before it gets better, and it can always wait. Just weave it into your New Year’s resolution and I’m sure you’ll make those positive changes in 2013.
I hope you found at least a few things to chuckle about. Even though I’ve made tremendously positive changes over the decades, I know I still see glimmers of myself in all of these ideas!
But, if you’re NOT actually interested in continuing to burn the candle at both ends or suffer silently through another aggravating winter season, I INVITE YOU to take a deep breath (ahhhh….) and step forward into a new way of being.
Top 3 Ways to MELT Holiday Stress
I’ll be sharing my simple, Eastern-inspired ways to MELT holiday stress and everyday stress at these upcoming events. Please join me to learn about a new way of living and working that is sustainable and enjoyable!
Tomorrow (Wednesday), November 28 at 7 pm
In-person at The Spiral Bookcase, a sweet independent bookstore in Manayunk.
Read more about the event here.
I’ll be reading from my new book, sharing ideas on how to melt stress so you can enjoy life more and perform better, and signing books.
Monday, December 3 at 7:45 pm
Melt Stress, Refocus Energy, and Refuel Spirit: Eastern Secrets for Getting More Done Without Doing More at Wake Up Yoga South
REGISTER NOW!
December 14, 9 AM to 10 AM
Erin will be the featured speaker at the December meeting of the National Association of Women Business Owners in Doylestown, PA. This networking event is open to women and men. No need to be a member, either! Join us at 2003 South Easton Road in the conference room inside the offices of M&T Bank on the 2nd floor. Any questions? Call event host Mary Ann Robinson of TransAct at 267-968-6232.
If you’re not located in the area or have a scheduling conflict, you can schedule a private initial coaching session with me by phone. Click here for more details.
Just as in yoga, when the hardest thing to do sometimes is to get to the mat… sometimes too in life the hardest thing to do is respond to a long internalized call to do the right thing for your own well-being.
I’m here for you, and I want to see you live a healthier, happier, more successful life. I promise to lend you some courage and be here for you in making the choice that supports what is in your best interest!
Until then, I hope to see you at one of these upcoming events and hear how your holidays were more enjoyable this year!
by Erin Owen | Oct 9, 2012 | Ezine
First, let me extend a warm welcome to everyone I met at Bracket a few weeks ago and at this past Saturday’s Collingswood Book Festival! So glad to know you and have you as part of my community!
I’ve been hearing from you. Lots of you.
If I had to sum it up, I would say that you are…
- Excited about your future, but anxious about how it will all unfold
- Feeling rich in spirit, but desiring more cash flow
- Exhausted and feeling heavy, and eager to re-kindle your spark and have more energy
- Desiring support to “make it all better”
I want you to be successful, so you can make a positive impact on the world even sooner and in an even bigger way. And I want you to be able to do this with a sense of ease, joy, and steady focus. (Because they lead to better results!)
So, here are some free, portable tips that helped me this past week, easing back into “normal life” after my friend Pat’s funeral and my trip back home. Call them the 3 C’s for Ease, Joy, and Focus!
CLARITY
Sit down and write out what is most important to you in the big picture.
Write on an envelope, the back of a napkin, in a notebook, or journal, anywhere.
This will help you have some perspective, and make it easier to let go of the small stuff.
COMMUNITY
Get thee some support! Don’t go it alone.
Reach out to friends, colleagues, healers, therapists, etc.
More often than not, they too are experiencing similar challenges and welcome the opportunity to connect more deeply with you and support you.
CONNECT
If you’re not spiritual or religious, you probably have your own version of quieting your mind to connect to what’s deep inside you—that place where peace and steady calm reside.
Maybe you run. Maybe you golf.
Maybe you journal, or walk in nature, or play with your dog or kids or grandkids.
If you are spiritual or religious, get back on track with the practices that support your connection to spirit, Source, God, Universe, the Divine. Maybe it’s prayer.
Maybe you practice yoga or meditate. Maybe you do something in service to others.
Cultivate and nourish your connection to the source of your divine spark of life and creativity. Daily, if possible.
SPECIAL OFFER for GROUP INSPIRATION AND SUPPORT
If you’d like to invite me to lead a workshop or talk at your place of work— or even spend an evening with a group of friends in your home (call in a “girls night in” sort of thing!), I’ll share Eastern-inspired practices guaranteed to melt stress, refocus energy, and refuel spirit.
We can even incorporate a book signing for my new book, Recharge, Refuel, and Re-energize: Your Guide to Taking Back Control of Your Time and Energy, or perhaps Reiki attunements for those interested.
I’ll customize the event just for you.
Contact me by email for more details.
NOTE: I leave on October 23 to lead this Fall’s Bali Retreat, and would love to hear from you before then so we can schedule something for the months of November through February. 😎
