It is wet and windy here today although a few days ago when the sun was shining it felt like spring had arrived. Wacky weather – and what about that blizzard that just hit the Atlantic states? If you are on the U.S. East coast I hope you stayed snug and warm!
I am happy to report that tomorrow I head out for warmer parts and deep into the heart of *voodoo country! (see note below)
Yep, I am off to Savannah, Georgia for a coaching conference with Martha Beck Master Coach Susan Hyatt and I can’t wait!. I must admit I am equal parts excited and nervous as I think there are going to be some kick butt lady bosses in attendance, some of whom have been running coaching practices for awhile and are doing very well, and me, well my baby biz is a mere 18 months old (but 18 mo. old and growing that is! :))
So as I was discussing my slight anxiety with my BFF today I recited a line to her that I had heard recently that states;
‘If you are the smartest person in the room then you are in the wrong room’,
…and then we chatted about how despite being scared or nervous etc. it is important to step out of our comfort zones and connect with people who inspire us to grow- so butterflies in stomach be damned – I am going!
In preparation for my trip south I did a wee bit of shopping so I have some new items to wear to the Chatham Club (a private club in downtown Savannah where the coaching conference is being held).
As a Mom who works from home in comfy yoga pants most of the time (the perks of a job where on some days you only need to be seen in a head shot on Skype or not at all via phone coaching), getting an email re: the conference indicating that the dress code for the Chatham club is ‘business casual’ (so no yoga pants, no jeans) sent me into shopping mode and I am now feeling good about my ‘refreshed’ wardrobe (perfect timing too with all the January sales).
new socks (yes I did get a few more items not just socks lol)
Note re: voodoo country – (*That is according to Kevin Spacey’s character in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) which is set in Savannah and which I re-watched this past weekend with my husband in anticipation for the trip).
POWER POSSE-UPDATE
While we are on the subject of stepping outside our comfort zones, connecting with others in our ‘tribe’ and playing bigger, I want to tell you about an inspiring group of women I had the pleasure of getting together with a couple of weeks ago. Of course I am talking about the Power Posse!!! lovely ladies who, instead of staying home on the couch watching Netflix made the effort to come out one dark winters night to eat, drink and make merry at the The Vault restaurant in Cloverdale.
In case you missed the details the Power Posse is a group of women who are supporting and learning from each other, rejecting the ho hum, having fun and making a positive impact in the world, and the gals that came out were fabulous – friendly, caring, and purpose driven.
We got the private room (a table inside the actual old bank vault), shared our ‘words of the year’ (one word chosen to represent our overall intention for 2016), had a martini or two, did some coaching exercises (with crayons!), had a lot of laughs and were the last table to leave. (This is shocking for someone who is usually in bed by 10:30pm!).
The Power Posse will meet again in February and March and at our recent event we not only shared our goals for the New Year but we also set up some short terms objectives which we will check in on when we meet again next month.
Getting a support system, writing down goals, and sharing them with someone else or a group – these are all ways to ensure that we don’t just dream big but that we actually make our dreams a reality.
The rocks in the pic below all represent various ‘word of the years’ for the Power Posse members.
FYI- The Power Posse group is now full but stay tuned as I might have something equally good coming down the pipe later this Spring!
Some of My Favourite Books of 2015
My thoughts are now turning to packing for Savannah and just today I came upon the book I will be bringing along – Life After Life by Kate Atkinson which my British father in law left for me after his last visit. It has gotten spectacular reviews so I think I am in for a real treat. For the plane I always like to buy Vanity Fair magazine too as it’s ads to articles ratio is one of the best.
Looking through my bookshelves inspired me to put together a list of the books that were some of my favourite reads of 2015.
Big Magic Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
With chapters titled Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust and Divinity you know it is going to be a sweeping read and it was. This is good for anyone who is (or has) come up against the challenges that come with putting your art, whatever that may be, out into the world and why it is so important to continue to do so.
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (a mostly true memoir) by Jenny Lawson
The first few chapters of this book was so funny I had to read huge tracts of it aloud to my husband as we lay in bed one night and we laughed so hard we cried. This book has it ALL complete with pictures, like photos of a pet racoon wearing ‘jams’ (baggy pants that were popular in the 80’s) and one of the author as a young girl with her pet duck and the caption on the back (written by the authors’ mother) reads-
“Jenny and Daffodil. Later he was eaten by homeless people”.
OMG so funny….I hope you get the humour because when I was describing it at a family dinner no one else (except my husband) seemed to find that line about the duck funny????? How can you not????
Funny, funny, funny and fyi Jenny Lawson has an extremely popular blog too (thebloggess.com)
The Art of Asking or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer
I raved about this book on FaceBook after I had read it was it was SO inspiring. Amanda Palmer started off performing as a living statue in a wedding dress and made a decent living doing so. Later she became a singer, songwriter and musician with The Dresden Dolls and thanks to her millions of fans went on to become the all time biggest fundraiser on Kickstarter (after she left her record label and wanted to produce her own album). Her TED Talk “The Art of Asking” has been viewed over 8 million times. Everything about this gal spells COURAGE. If you want a shot in the arm read this.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling, triple threat. Writer, actress, comedian. I found this book to be a bit like chatting with a great girlfriend while at the same time getting behind the scenes info about what it is like to make it as a comedian and be an actress in Hollywood. Spoiler: This gal has natural talent and works HARD. An alternate title for Mindy’s book? ‘When Your Boyfriend Fits into Your Jeans and Other Atrocities‘ and Chapter 1 starts off with ‘Chubby for Life’.
How could you not like it?
Thrive -The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Arianna Huffington
Post- it notes are sticking out all over the place in my copy of this book and I have scribbled all over the inside and back covers. Arianna Huffington co-creator of The Huffington Post talks about the challenges she had raising her two daughters while running a business and how after one harrowing moment she knew she had to slow down. She speaks about the ways she cut through the overwhelm by cultivating a gratitude practice, meditating and being mindful, unplugging from technology, and stresses the importance of getting enough sleep. An interesting read from an influential and wise woman.
Daring Greatly – How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
by Brene Brown Ph.D., LMSW
This will be my last recommendation as there are so many good books I read last year that this list could go on and on.
I wrote about Daring Greatly in this Full Flight newsletter previously when my friend TJ and I travelled to Seattle last September to hear Brene Brown speak about her work and her new book Rising Strong (which I just realized I have not even read although I bought an autographed copy when I was there… I am one of those people who has about ten books on the go at one time and Rising Strong got lost in stacks-oops).
Anyhow Daring Greatly published in 2012 discusses big themes like the importance of failing and being vulnerable, understanding and combating shame and wholehearted parenting. She talks about the ‘scarcity’ mentality – when someone thinks thoughts like ‘I’m never good enough’, I’m not thin enough’, I’m not smart enough, rich enough, perfect enough etc. and how to deal with those types of limiting beliefs (that is just what we do in life coaching fyi!).
I think my favourite part of the book is the following quote by Theodore Roosevelt that I have carried around in my journals for years before seeing it again in Daring Greatly and indeed, it is from this quote that Brene found the title for her book.
‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the area, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly‘.
-Theodore Roosevelt
Love it!
So I will end things here my friend as I need to pack my suitcase!
If you have any comments / questions you can leave them in the comment box below or send me an email.
Thanks for allowing me space in your in – box and enjoy the rest of January!
xo
Elizabeth
PS- Just a reminder that I offer a free 30 minute strategy session if you want to see if coaching with me is a good next step for you so if you are feeling inclined send me an email to book your free session at elizjturner@gmail.com