^: Reach for Your Peak
September 19, 2016 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Set high standards for yourself and stretch your limits. Set short term and easy peaks as well as long term and higher peaks to build on your successes, build your self confidence and build your energy to gain momentum for the big stuff. Reach for the outer limits and rejoice when you accomplish what you formerly thought impossible.
Author and artist Susan Kennedy, a.k.a. SARK, says “impossible” means “I’m possible!”. Peak performers take care of themselves through body, mind, and spirit to ensure they can meet their challenges. Acquire solid, healthy habits to help you attain your peak: restful sleep, nutritionally balanced eating, exercise, emotionally stable relationships, and following your passion.
If you do not have a healthy balance in your personal life, there is no way to be a peak performer in your professional life. Get organized, get your act together, get goals, get support, and get going to reach your peak.
@: Move Forward From Where You are @
June 23, 2015 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
No excuses for where you have been. Start from where you are right now and make positive changes toward increased energy. Select a few strategies that seem most workable for your lifestyle and make adjustments from there. It’s never too late to make a difference in somebody’s life – even your own. You don’t have to wait for that proverbial wake-up call such as a heart attack, cancer, a stroke, termination, divorce, children going off to college, or death of a loved one; you can decide to change now.
We either take what we get or ask for what we want and have some influence over what we want. Waiting around for fate to make our decisions doesn’t give us much of a back-up plan or wiggle room to move towards what we want. So what are you waiting for?
Where do you want to go? What steps do you have to take to move forward in the direction and the end state that was mentioned earlier? Each day is the dawn of a new beginning and a chance for each of us to start fresh and use our past experience as feedback and not an excuse.
Start today to create what you need to energize yourself and your life. Don’t drown yourself in the negative energy of what happened to you in your past or the energy drain of feeling like a victim from your past experiences.
Quit the bad habits that are draining the life out of you, or may have been holding you back, or may have lead you to a negative place in the past. No excuses. Just do it because you know what these habits are and you know it’s the right thing to do. I know it’s hard; but the benefits of long-term satisfaction will far outweigh the short-term gratification.
Get yourself together, get your partner, get a friend, or get professional assistance to help you quit the bad stuff for the long haul. Just do it. While you’re at it, quit procrastinating and move on to newer and better things. Getting the inertia moving in the right direction towards more positive things helps bring energy into our lives.
Take a fresh look at what you have today and where or who you want to be tomorrow and focus on what you need to do right now to start down that new path. Just do it.
End: Begin with the End in Mind
April 23, 2015 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
In making out your life plan as with planning a trip – know first where you are going, plot the best route to get there, then figure out what you will need along the way to make your journey successful. Take the time to figure out how you will know when you have “arrived” at your goal and celebrate your achievement. Avoid the syndrome of always striving and never arriving. Take time to bask in your arrival.
Think of how your energy rises as your draw nearer to a trip. Just imagine what will happen if you have your whole life to look forward to. When we set milestones for ourselves, we are much more likely to meet and surpass them than if we never had any point of focus. When you know your destination, you arrive sooner and are less distracted by obstacles and detours. If you do come across a detour, when you know where you want to end up, it’s much easier to stay on track and get back to your pathway to the end state.
It’s less stressful when we have our directions to safely guide us. Try scheduling something enjoyable on weekends to raise your energy for the week and plan something equally as fun on Mondays to start your week out on an upbeat note. Start making your plan now for how you want to live in the next year, five years, 10 years, and into retirement. What do you have to do now to ensure your end you have in mind is the end that you’re aiming for by your actions today?
By making a life plan and being open to changing our route, we gain clarity and personal energy in our abilities to help shape our future and bounce back when life sends us on an unplanned pathway.
Be in the small percentage who has written goals as their road map. Buck the percentages and be one of the elite few who write down their long-term and short-term goals, and review them regularly. List-makers know the thrill of crossing items off their lists.
Written goals keep you focused and remind you of the big picture. FOCUS = Follow One Course Until Successful. Maintain bursts of energy while working on different goals by savoring the rewards and feeling successful while mixing long and short-term goals. When you prioritize your goals, remember people first, then things. . . people first, then things.
Making Conscious Choices to Manifest More
January 28, 2014 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
Studying the art of manifesting over the years; I’ve learned the more my choices of what I want to manifest are in true alignment with my purpose and my choices are purposeful and made consciously and not frivolously; that I’m able to manifest more. When I’m making choices out of faith and fearlessness and not out of lack or fear; then the things I need come much more effortlessly. When I’m very clear on what I want and WHY, the way is easier to manifest more of what I need to move me forward on my true path.
When we’re clear on the WHY and clear that it is in alignment with our life’s calling and it can move us forward in that effort and it is helping us make a difference on the planet and in the lives of others, then it unfolds more quickly so that we may move forward and expand the positive in the world. Your WHY is your road map to get where you’re going. We can’t get there from here if we don’t know our WHY. When we want stuff out of selfish reasons, or we’re unclear or ambivalent about what we want and why we want it. We muddle our order and the Universe muddles what comes to us or our order gets mixed up in the back kitchen and we get something entirely different than what we wanted. We may get what we needed, but not what we thought we wanted.
Knowing your big WHY is crucial in placing your orders so that you are sure you’re moving forward in the right direction and placing your orders to move you forward along your true path. Making choices in faith that you’re saying “heck yes” or “heck no” to opportunities that come before you and not saying “I guess it will do” or “It sounds OK, I’ll give it a try”. If it’s not a “heck yes!”, then it really is a “heck no!”
CONSCIOUS choices made with integrity is the formula for increasing the speed of your manifestation. Take some time to think about what you want and why you want it. Most people spend more time on their holiday shopping list than on their life purpose list. Take some time out at the beginning of this year to take stock and visualize what you want and why you want it.
Here are some tips to help you manifest more that matters:
- Find your WHY that makes you cry. That statement comes from one of my mentors and leaders Kody B. who founded his company on appreciation and getting in touch with your WHY. Dig deep for this one. I was recently speaking with an audience member coaching her on developing her WHY as she didn’t seem too clear on it. As we were talking about her WHY, it made ME cry. That’s powerful stuff. She had a breakthrough and I had a breakdown. 🙂 Get your WHY and you’ve got your roadmap to success – it’s your big picture.
- It’s already stated above – know your WHY. Your Why is more important than the HOW…I’ve written about this in earlier posts. Once you know your WHY, then the how’s will figure themselves out. Don’t let the how’s stop you. Ensure what you want is in alignment with your WHY.
- Be present, be here now and be in touch with your highest level of consciousness – give this some of your concentrated, committed thoughtfulness.
- Operate above the line out of absolute integrity and believe in IT and yourself and the process, then take action. Do something or lots of things to make it happen, start the momentum rolling.
- As mentioned above – your goal must be worthy. Worthy of your time and attention, worthy of others and worth the effort to more than just you. Your intention matters here….bringing us back to your WHY. If your intentions are thinly veiled to help others and in reality you’re the only one really profiting; then what you get may not stay for long.
Stay tuned for more manifesting matters in the next post. I hope you get what you’re looking for this year.
Creating Hartful Time to Renew & Recharge on an Energy Escape
November 15, 2013 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully, Wealthy Woman | By Gaia Hart
It seems we’re being pulled in many directions by our personal and professional responsibilities. Leaders at work are answering to the front office and to their teams. Leaders at home are answering to friends, kids, spouses, faith, school, volunteer and sports groups. It’s a difficult challenge to honor free time spontaneously any more, so need to schedule some time for re-assessing our choices, reaffirming our paths, reconnecting with others who are like-minded, or not who have your best interest at heart.
I suggest planning a weekend getaway, or Energy Escape, to connect with close confidantes for brainstorming, master-minding and recharging your batteries. We tend to be in high gear producing and implementing and reacting to life at work and at home. Leaders sometimes have nobody to turn to at work to bounce ideas off of and discuss vulerabilities, possibilities and question their choices. Creating time and creating space with supportive friends and colleagues can help catapult you in the right direction and affirm what you are thinking is your direction, or help guide you down another path.
These gatherings can be weekly Success Teams or Mastermind Circles or quarterly gatherings or even larger annual affairs in person with emails and calls in between the weekend soiree. Hiring a coach to bounce things off of is another option. I find my clients and myself included tend to talk our way through situations better than if we just think it through in our heads on our own. The synergy of the group and the energy it brings to the issue results in a much better and clearer outcome. We tend to question ourselves and when we have the confirmation of a group of knowledgeable and respected professionals and friends; we get it faster and it sticks. There’s something about accountability and knowing others are believing in you and counting on you to do what you say that helps propel us forward in the right direction.
I’ve experienced a few of those weekend gatherings recently which I call Energy Escapes, and have another planned in the near future. They are uplifting, energizing, refreshing and rejuvenating. There’s something about being together in a different setting without distractions to sit and be and talk and set imaginations free for coming up with solutions to professional and personal issues. A nice number is 5-7 attendees coming together with their ideas for others and asking for what support and resources from the group they want as well. Being focused on each person at a time and coming together to pool resources generates incredible outcomes in these synergy sessions. It also helps each participant live and lead more Hartfully, staying closer to their truth, their heart, their centered way of moving through the world. It keeps us focused on the right path and gives us the courage to choose that path.
Why not plan for a solo getaway to get refocused on your personal goals and then plan several more with your pals to help each other achieve their goals as well. I generally use the holidays and the new year change-over to reassess what I’ve accomplished the past year and what lies ahead – calling it my year in review and year in preview. See earlier blog posts about that and the Hot 100 List. I see these gatherings as my 10,000 mile check-up and continual tune-ups for a life well lived in a very Hartful way. Try it yourself and see how much further along the right path you go with the help of others (pals, coaches, colleagues, other professionals) who are conspiring in your favor vs. doing it on your own. I bet you’ll see a vast difference. Facilitating Energy Escapes is something you do for yourself so you can do more for others. It’s a way of giving back to the world your best self with your highest goals in mind.
Being Unreasonable May be Your Answer to Success
March 1, 2013 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
Practice the mindset and manifesting secrets of the masters for unreasonable success.
If you keep doing what other people want you to do, and thinking about what other people want you to think, what do you suppose is likely to happen?
Repeating the successes of the past, preserving tradition, doing things as they are “supposed” to be done, will- at best – produce results like those had before. Except that in this new future – our present – those results can’t possibly be as good, as productive, or as powerful as they once were. And probably not
as much fun, either.
Unreasonable success requires unreasonable approaches to the future. Breakthroughs needn’t happen by chance. You can create them at will. Breakthroughs are great leaps forward, and while they can happen by accident, they can also happen by design.
Here are principles of Being Unreasonable
1. Don’t base your life on what’s likely. Base it on what you dream about
Take the possible further. Chart the course of your life not on what you think probable, not on what you think possible, but on that about which you think fantastic. The biggest breakthroughs and biggest successes come from dreamers. (Caveatfanaticus {dreamer beware}: It will still you take all the same work to get there – dreams just don’t yield results without action.)
2. Expect the best
Expect the best from those around you. Expect them to be successful. Count on it. Plan for it. Budget for it. Expecting the best gives you the highest likelihood of getting whatever IT is. Start with the best case scenario and figure out how insure it. By the way, expecting the worst has a similar, but opposite, effect.
3. Don’t think, “Can I accomplish it?” Think, “How can I get this done?”
If it is worth doing, and you have strong reasons for doing it; you’ll find a way. Stop worrying if it is possible. Trust me, it is. Focus your deepest mind on how to make it happen. Remember the best answer to “How…?” is “Yes.”
4. Back yourself into a corner, so the only place you can go is forward.
Warrior-sage Sun Tzu wrote that nothing is as dangerous as an enemy backed into a corner. They will fight to the death for the have nowhere else to run. Don’t think about “enemies,” use this strategy on yourself.
5. Cut your timelines in half. You’ll do better work.
Not only does work expand to fill the time available, so do our schedules, creating a viscous and every-expanding circle. We need pressure to accomplish great things. Shorten your timeframes, cut them in half. Then tell your friends. Your work may not be any better, but you’ll get it done in less time.
6. Ask people for a lot. They just may give you what you need.
Shrinking violets rarely accomplish anything, and asking for what you want will often get it for you. People like to serve. People like to accomplish. People like to win against great odds. Why not ask them for everything.
7. You don’t have to when someone says you should
People say, “you should” when what they really mean is, “In the past, most people I have known have done thus-and-so.” Ask, “Why should I?” whenever the conversation turns to shoulds and shouldn’ts. Should is the road to mediocrity. “Why should I” is the first step towards majesty.
8. If you’re not scared, you’re not doing anything worthy.
All great ventures things in life contain elements of profound risk, and the promise of failure as well as success. Courage isn’t acting without fear, it is being afraid, and acting anyway. If you are not at least a little afraid, you are probably not doing anything worthy of the name great. Unreasonable people are
often afraid. So what, just be sure you are afraid of the right thing.
9. Don’t worry about getting it just right.
Perfection prevents progress. New ideas must be tested against human beings. If you wait until you get it perfect, it may be too late. It may be never. Think functionality and workability. Experiment in the chaos of the real world, and fix the problems that arise later.
10. Freedom comes from responsibility
Be fully responsible for your actions and the effects they produce. Most people look for outside causes. Unreasonably lay claim to every miracle and debacle within your sphere of influence, which includes, by the way, everything. Make it all yours, for that’s the only way to exert dominion over your world
and gain freedom.
A Little Means a Lot: Small Holiday & ThanksGIVING Ideas with BIG Impact
November 23, 2011 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
I’m a card-carrying member of the “non-commercialized holiday traditions” club. For most of my adult years I’ve not been a believer in the usual nostalgic American tradition of shop ’till you drop, unfettered consumerism type of holiday madness. I call it practicing safe stress over the holidays and quite frankly, every day. That’s why I loved living in Europe for 10 years with all those wonderful outdoor markets and much less commercialism at that time. Of course as a kid, I reveled in my parent’s consumerism as I opened present after present for Christmas. As the wise poet, Maya Angelou says, “When we know better, we do better”. Now it’s just embarassing to imagine how much value I put on that stuff as a kid. Ah yes, adulthood does have its advantages.
If you’re a fan of Oprah, you may have seen the following info in her magazine and if you didn’t catch it; I’m bringing it to you right here. Yes, I’m copying the info from her magazine word for word on page190 written by Lauren Murrow and Rachel Mount. I commend them on their research into what a few bills can do in somebody’s life. So, in honor of all Americans who may not have as much to give this season as well as those of you, like me, who take a vow to avoid all malls and shopping venues from mid-November until mid-January; I give you 17 ways under $20 to give this ThanksGIVING, your particular holiday or any day you feel like it. Starting at a buck, you can make a contribution to make changes in the world without adding to the pile of stuff for somebody.
- $1 for 2 books shipped to a classroom in Africa. In many African school rooms, 20 students share 1 textbook: www.booksforafrica.org
- $2 for a set of drumsticks for a low-income public school student learning to play the drums: www.littlekidsrock.org
- $3 for a field trip to a museum, concert or theatre production for a high-risk youth: www.createnow.org
- $4 for 2 hours of prepaid phone time for a soldier stationed overseas – calling cards for our troops: www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com
- $5 for a one-burner kerosene stove for a family that would typically rely on an open fire: www.foodforthepoor.org
- $6 for measles vaccinations for 15 children in a developing country: www.doctorswithoutborders.org
- $7 for a week’s worth of food for an abandoned dog or cat at a shelter run by the American Soiciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: www.aspca.org
- $8 for a medical teaching doll to be used in educating a child about his or her cancer treatment: www.stjude.org
- $10 for a box of nails uded to adapt a disabled veteran’s house from Homes for Our Troops: www.homesforourtroops.org
- $10 for a day’s worth of fresh fruites and veggies for feed 2 chimps, most of which have been orphaned by poachers at the Jane Goodall Institute’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehab Center in the Republic of Congo: www.janegoodall.org/oprah
- $10 for 2 specialized bottles for babies born with a cleft palate, who otherwise might suffer from malnutrition before receiving corrective surgery: www.operationsmile.org
- $10 for cloth and tools so an Afghan woman can become self-sufficient by taking a 6-month tailoring course through Creating Hope International and the Afghan institute for Learning: www.globalgiving.org
- $11 for 11 trees to be planted in Alabama communities devastated by the April tornadoes: www.arborday.org
- $12 for 20 pounds of multipurpose soap to help keep families germ-free around the world through Oxfam: www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com
- $14 for 2 nutitious meals delivered by volunteers from Meals on Wheels to a housebound senior citizen: www.mowaa.org
- $15 for a backpack and school supplies for one homeless or low-income urban child: www.cradlestocrayons.org
- This item was not in the Oprah mag, but I wanted to offer it to you and your friends as a way to connect with loved ones over the holidays and every day. For $9.80 you can send 10 custom greeting cards or postcards to anywhere in the world with your own photos and personal message at www.BizBuilderCards.com and select the Pay-as-You-Go option to send some cards. You can send a couple more on me – my treat as an added bonus. The video will walk you through sending a card and the company prints it, stuffs the envelope, stamps it and mails it for you. If you have questions – send me an email Gail@GailHahn.com.
On a final note – for a little more money, you can donate to your local food bank or give some small business owners some work by giving the gift of their services to loved ones such as: house cleaning services, yard services, home improvement services, a massage, a mani/pedi or spa treatments, a home chef, or any number of personal services that include experiences rather than stuff to help support the small business community.
I hope this list is helpful. Big thanks once again to Oprah and her team for brining us enlightened ideas. (BTW – have you seen her Life Class show – awesome!) If you have more ideas of making a BIG impact on a small budget, let me know and I’ll share ideas. Cheers!
The Happiness Factor at Work
October 17, 2011 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By Gaia Hart
There’s a lot of talk these days about happiness. Are you happy, are your kids or partner happy? Do you work in a happy environment, even the folks who are employed at the happiest place on Earth are not immune to the question of “Am I happy here?” And “here” can mean here in your life, here in your job, here in your business, here in your marriage, here in a geographic location or here in any specific situation.
Lots and lots of studies, books and blogs about happiness have cropped up over the years. It’s a sign that we’ve moved up the food chain on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Once a need is met, it’s no longer a need and we go out seeking something else. Our motivations come from needs, so once a need is met, we no longer have tha motivation. So I’m guessing that most of us have our food, clothing and shelter taken care of and now we’re in search of the self actualization and happiness penthouse level.
One of the aspects of happiness is to find something you love to do, make it your life’s work and focus your energy and attention towards it. It gives you meaning, gives you joy and gives you something you do well to serve the world and create a better place. Having that type of purposeful project fans the flames of your inner potential. When our work is a natural express of who we are and what we do well, that intersection of our talents and the world’s needs is ripe for success. Ultimately, our work on Earth is to shine our light joyfully and give our greatest strengths to the world and if we combine that with our vocation, it’s brilliantly blissful. Need help figuring out your gifts, talents and purpose? We can point you in the right direction at YourRealPurpose.com.
Happiness is a decision of the mind. Deciding you are going to take action to make changes towards what makes you happy is the first step. Of course EVERYTHING starts with the mindset, deciding, then doing. Our thoughts, ideas and desires are what drives us forward and helps our soul to evolve and happiness is a pleasant side affect. So many of us seem to be in the busy-ness of being too busy to do X, Y or Z. I’d say being too busy to slow down and figure out what makes you happy is like being too busy driving to stap for gas. Slowing down to figure out what feeds your soul in how your serve and how you move through the world is refilling your tank. Once you know what feeds you, then you can put it on your t0-do list and fit it into your busy schedule.
Research shows that life’s most gratifying experiences and happy moments come from really living and being present at what you’re doing, who you’re being and where you are and NOT in all the trappings of the usual suspects of success. Studies show that the little things add up to a happier life such as walking to the store from home instead of driving, great neighbors, friendship, sharing conversation, socializing, notice daily joys, music, smells, dogs/cats, tending your garden, fresh flowers, home-baked treats, spending time with family disconnected from technology.
So many of us are experiencing a life deficit disorder in our rush to the bus/metro/carpool, the rush through lunch, the rush home and rushing to get everything done. Your challenge this week is to slow down, make time to make your list of your happiness factors that affect you personally. What’s on your list? Once you make your happiness factor list, do a gap analysis to discover where you can close the gaps and just how far out of whack you may be, or celebrate how on track you are and rejoice in your alignment with life/work/happiness. Make it a priority to create happiness at home, in your workplace, in your life. Once you have your list, challenge yourself to put more of those things from your list into your daily life and into the workplace.
Here are some ideas to get you started for a happy workplace:
- SAS corporation supplies M&M’s and coffee in the break areas, they have on-site childcare so employees can visit their kids at lunch, dry cleaner drop-off service, on-site doctors, lovely landscaped grounds.
- Northwestern Mutual offers boxed dinners from the cafeteria so dinner is easy to fix after a long day, music groups/bands so employees can enjoy their hobby with others and give concerts to colleagues.
- Car detailing or seated massages while at work, bosses serve breakfast to workers, Office Olympics or friendly competition – chili cookoff or bake-off.
- Colors affect our mood – paint the walls what makes you happy, fresh flowers, music, flextime, ability to express how you work through your work, listening, respect, caring for others.
- Disney entertains you while you wait in looooong lines, Vail and Copper Mountain ski resorts through out candy to skiers in lift lines and ask trivia questions to make the time in lines go faster.
- My dentist recently replaced their waiting room furnishings with very comfy, luxurious yet whimsical furnishings, a new plasma TV, fireplace and fountain and a fresh supply of current magazines.
What is your workplace doing or what can you contribute to your business/workplace to up the ante for happiness for yourself, your colleagues and your customers? It will go a long way in improving the happiness factor in your life since you spend about a third of your life at work.