As the CEO (Chief Energizing Officer) at Hartful Living including GaiaHart.com and BizBuilderCards.com; I’m a Messenger and Mentor for women entrepreneurs, connecting them to their capacity to energize their work and their lives in the art of living Hartfully. At BizBuilderCards.com, you can make a living through giving with greeting cards and gifts to build your network net worth as an additive to your current business or an easy way to send gratitude and kindness to the world.
What Can You Edit in Your Life?
June 18, 2007 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
I was at a trade show recently when my coach walked by my booth and told me I needed to edit my banner and my business card. She said it was too busy. That’s pretty much how I’ve gone through life with as much activity, information, and stuff crammed into time and space that I could muster. I’m realizing that I need to edit some things out of my life, edit the noise and distractions, edit the things that don’t bring me joy any more.
To that end, I’m editing out my monthly ezine, Live Wire, which I’ve been writing and publishing for 10 years. It’s time to move everything to the blog…and by the way I’m working on a new website/blog combination to make things easier for everybody. I will publish just one more Live Wire announcing the big change, then there will only be archives of some of them on my website. I’ve noticed that it didn’t bring me joy to sit down and write it any more, it became more of an obligation and once it doesn’t make me happy, it’s outta here.
I’m working on my new banner and biz cards as we speak and I’ve jettisoned even more stuff from my garage. I’ve decided to take on new business strategies that will allow me more time for the things that matter and allow me to have more control and balance on my timeline vs. somebody else’s timeline. New strategies and ways of moving through the world that are streamlined and purposeful to who I am today, not who I was years ago when I first created them.
What can you edit from your life to make room for more energy. When you get rid of old, tired energy, you make room for more energy. Freeing up time, energy, space and emotional room, creates space for new things to come into your life. Pick a lane and go with the flow of your intentions. If you feel overwhelm, you haven’t yet made a decision. If you are dancing between ambivelance and action, move towards action and watch what happens. Go ahead and actively edit some of the things that don’t fit your lifestyle any more. Change things up and see what good comes of it and see what newfound energy arrives at your feet.
Flipping the Switch: Fast Gear vs. Nepali Time
June 16, 2007 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Bouncing back and forth between high-octane conferences in fast-paced cities and then returning to my home in an “active adult community” – read retirement resort; it strikes me that there must be a balance between living life in 6th gear and going in reverse.My ‘hood is not nearly active, or young enough for me – hence my move to the mountains with vital, active, outdoor adventurous types, but I’m feeling I don’t fit in with the uber pace of those I left in Washington DC. It reminds me of trekking through Nepal with my buddies and our pack of Sherpas carrying our load. We had just flown in from our home in Germany – still a slower pace than the US, and we were on European time on the hiking trail. Our Sherpas would fix us lunch and then we would lounge for an hour or two and then quit hiking around 2 or 3 to lounge some more.
At first we were a little aggitated that we were burning daylight and we wanted to hike further down the trail and not waste time sitting around. That thinking lasted only a couple days until we settled in to their rhythm of life and began to relax and bask in the lounging amidst the Himalayan peaks surrounding us. We played campfire games, showed our Sherpas skits from our camp days and taught them how to do shadow puppets on the tent walls by firelight. We had time to create, laugh, lounge and just be.
Now I’m feeling that schleping suitcases through airports umpteen times a month and chasing airplanes isn’t the pace I want or need any more. Security lines aren’t as fun as they used to be and so I’m making major changes to my life to support more of the Nepali Time and allow more free time. I’m setting up business systems, hiring Virtual Assistants and other life support to free up my time for more play with the people that matter. I’m feeling more energized by the mere thought of not continuing the pace I’ve lead for a decade and anticipate with eagerness the slower pace of the mountains…although not so slow as my retirement community. Maybe I’ll gear down to 3rd or 4th….I don’t want to hit reverse just yet.
On our recent cruise, my mom (who has never napped in her 80 years) decided to take the slower pace and nap twice a day and bypass the poolside festivities. It was a respite from the drunken masses and the sweet escape felt sinfully delicious.What is your pace? Is it serving you well? Is your pace energizing you, boring you, or irritating you? How does it settle with you and does a slower pace invite relaxing or aggitation? Take a high-level look at your pace and your life and see what you can see. And see what you can change for the better. Take stock of your pace – maybe it’s time to switch gears to something that suits your better for this time of your life. Now I’m going to go play squeakie with my dog, Madison….
Clearing Internal & External Clutter
May 31, 2007 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Have you ever noticed how much your clutter can weigh you down? There’s a physical negative energy dragging you down with your clutter. It weighs on your mind and it fills up your life space so that new energy cannot enter into your life. I’ve been in major purge mode lately, from the physical clutter in my life to the mental clutter and other noise and distractions. It’s such a freeing feeling to let go of things and stuff that are just not working for you any more. Get clear on what to do and what do drop, then take action and move forward to get things moving in your life.
If you’re feeling stuck, then change something in your life to get things moving. Having moved at least 15 times in the past 25 years, I’m getting good at letting go of what’s not bringing me joy in more and what I don’t absolutely need. I also don’t want to pay to move stuff. Just think about how much money your stuff is costing you in larger homes, storage fees, moving fees etc. Is your stuff really worth all the financial or emotional cost?
I’ve found that once you make a decision to take action, the rest falls in to place, it’s the hemming and hawing and miring yourself in the decision making that takes time. It’s the DECISION that’s the turning point. Once you DECIDE that something is no longer offering personal or professional growth, it may be time to move on. What is weighing you down in your life? What can you purge to get your energy unstuck? What isn’t serving you any more? What is your internal or external clutter costing you? External clutter is the stuff you can trip over, give to charity, or give to the dumpster and internal clutter is the stuff in your mind, your old belief systems, old ways of doing things or other behaviors that don’t serve you any more. What else can you clear out of your life that is holding you back to unclear the bad energy? Decide to take action and see what happens!
Are You Crazy or Lucky – How’s Your Energy?
May 8, 2007 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
I just returned from an amazing week in Cabo – among some of the finest minds I’ve ever witnessed. The energy in the conference room of 250 entrepreneurs, wealth builders and investors was palpable. Most of our guest speakers commented on the energy in the room. Being a professional speaker, I could relate to what they were saying about feeling the energy of the room. It’s electric in some crowds and void in others. The reason why this crowd was vibrating on a higher fequency was that we all knew that we are in charge of creating our own future and we have a plan to get there.
Unlike so many other audiences who are joined together because of an employer, this group was there by choice and they were in tune because they have the wealth road map. It’s amazing how much more energy you have when you are on the path to wealth and life’s riches – not just money riches, but prosperity in all forms.
One of our speakers was a developer in Los Cabos – on the Baja Penninsula – owning a reported huge percentage of the land down there. He said when you do things against the norm of the masses, you are considered crazy. When it begins to see that things are working out for you, then you are called a visionary. One of our other speakers was Steadman Graham. You may have heard of his significant other, Oprah. He also spoke on the belief in yourself and your vision. See photo of me showing him my vision board I created on a card to carry with me at all times at www.BizBuilderCards.com.
When all is said and done and your pathway has lead to success, you are considered lucky. So are people calling you crazy? Are they calling you a visionary? Or are they telling you that you’re lucky? That may just be the evidence you need to show just how far you’ve come.
When you’re on your right path, your energy will soar. My hair stylist today said now that she has her own shop, she bounds out of bed and comes to work early. She said her old co-workers would never believe it because she was always late when she worked with them. It’s amazing the energy you find when you work for yourself and are in charge of creating your own future.
Energize Employees Through Appreciation with a Twist
April 30, 2007 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
When supervisors dole out praise, it’s often very vague and focused on the entire group such as “You’re doing a great job, keep it up.” Sometimes managers just don’t know what to say or how to say it. After all, you don’t want to say the exact same thing to each person – it can sound contrived. Take a clue from the flight attendants who have mastered the many ways to say hello and goodbye to hundreds of passengers a day. Put a twist on how you praise. These sentence stems should get your brain jump started:
I’m impressed with…
What I particularly liked was…
Our team is better because of your…
You’re on the mark with your… (or the British would say, “You’re spot on with your…”)
You can be proud of yourself for…
I’ve noticed the quality of your work, specifically…
Your contribution of……on that last project was amazing
One of the things your customers rave to me about you is….
Your colleagues have sung your praises about…..
I’ve been noticing your attention to detail and in particular….
How awesome are you to do…..
You rock! Would you like to share some of your trade secrets with our managers….
You really made a difference by….
Our top management has been noticing your work and have commented on….
Take the rest of the day off for your fantastic effort with the…..
One of the things our team enjoys most about working with you is…..
I appreciate your….
You make my day by….
You’re quite a role model because of your….
I’d like to acknowledge your specific role in doing…
This place would not run as effectively if it weren’t for you and your…
That should get your started – go ahead and print this out for your cheat sheet and then write down each of your team member’s names on a day of the week in your calendar and use one of these sentences with each person on their day. Make it a habit.
Now goodbye, see ya, bye now, bye bye, so long, thanks for flying with us, tootles, adios, ciao, auf wiedersehen, see you soon, see you on your next flight….
Beat Boredom at Work
April 23, 2007 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Have you ever been bored at work? I can’t remember being bored for the past decade since I became psychologically unemployable and started my own company. But I do remember those days in my W-2 job where I would be chomping at the bit to do something meaningful, take action, talk to customers or just have some forward motion. I’m thrilled to be interviewed for a recent article in Vitality Magazine – www.Vitality.com on the topic of how to beat workplace boredom.
My article isn’t shown on their website, so if you want a copy send me an email with the subject of Vitality and I will send you a copy of the article to help you energize your workplace environment. I would also suggest my card deck 51 Winning Ways to Have Fun at Work. It’s a real card deck that has a fun tip on each card, so you can play Go Fish and select an idea to improve workplace morale. And if that falls through, then you can always win some cash by playing a rousing round of poker with the cards.
Here’s a tip to beat boredom – find work that is in alignment with your authentic self, your values, your beliefs and the big picture you envision for your world. What is your big picture and how do you fit your knowledge, skills, abilities and talents into that big picture? Where is that delicious intersection of what the world needs and wants and your special gifts? Find that intersection and you will never be bored, in fact, there won’t be enough time in the day to do everything you want to do to move your vision forward. You may even find it hard to sleep because your mind is racing with new ideas of expanding and growing your dreams and desires.
Check out my other articles on fun in the workplace and improving motivation, morale and meaning at work at: http://www.funcilitators.com/resources.htm. Let me know what else you are doing to beat boredom at your workplace. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Laughter, Levity & Longevity
April 20, 2007 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
As a Certified Laughter Leader (Yes, that’s an authentic credential!), I’ve been researching the benefits of laughter for over 10 years and using it with success with my clients. The field of laughter and fun are eeking their way into the mainstream of industry and society. Today is a milestone, as we make headlines with a 2-minute video as well as 3 articles on the benefits of laughter on the popular website WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/video/laughter-heals.
Laughter connects us, and that alone has health benefits. Victor Borge said that shortest distance between two people is laughter. Average adults laugh around 15 times per day, while studies suggest that children laugh around 350-450 times per day. Laughter energizes us and no wonder children have so much energy. When you see that laughter is draining from your daily routine -take stock of what is going on in your life and plug those drains. Laughter builds resiliance to stress and will help us cope with our challenges. Not that we are laughing at our stressful situations, we are laughing through them – it’s a coping mechanism.
What have you laughed about today? What are you doing in your life to bring on more laughter and bring on better health? Laughing helps boost our immune system, decrease the stress hormones of adrenaline and cortisol and stimulates the blood flow and heart and decreases pain. It’s like internal jogging and easier to do. Check out my card deck – 52 Ways to Have Fun at Work for one tip per week on putting more laughter and fun into your workday. I also have Zip Kits: Fun Aid Kits for Stress Rescue and Recognition on the ParaFUNalia page at http://www.Funcilitators.com.
Laugh Long & Prosper!
Energize Your Life Through Job Satisfaction
April 18, 2007 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
How happy are you in your job? What is your job satisfaction? Duke University’s study found that job satisfaction was listed as the #1 factor in living a long life. Job satisfaction beat out 788 other factors as the key to longevity – beating out good health habits and good genes. Now there’s more evidence. The 2006 General Social Survey (GSS) at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago cites the most satisfying jobs are mostly professions, especially those involving caring for, teaching and protecting others and creative pursuits after interviewing over 27,000 workers.
Top 10 most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job:
Clergy—87 percent percent
Firefighters—80 percent percent
Physical therapists—78 percent percent
Authors—74 percent
Special education teachers—70 percent
Teachers—69 percent
Education administrators—68 percent
Painters and sculptors—67 percent
Psychologists—67 percent
Security and financial services salespersons—65 percent
Operating engineers—64 percent
Office supervisors—61 percent
10 least gratifying jobs, where few participants reported being very satisfied:
Laborers, except construction—21 percent
Apparel clothing salespersons—24 percent
Handpackers and packagers—24 percent
Food preparers—24 percent
Roofers—25 percent
Cashiers—25 percent
Furniture and home-furnishing salespersons—25 percent
Bartenders—26 percent
Freight, stock and material handlers—26 percent
Waiters and servers—27 percent
How satisfied are you with your job? What can you change if your current position if it’s not the most satisfying? What do you love to do and how can you incorporate that (appropriately) into your work? How about not having a job at all? How about making a living without a job? More on that topic later…..