Manage Your Focus

When faced with sudden opportunities, unexpected decisions, or unclear next steps, do you consider how your response could feed the deeper aspects of who you are?

You can do this in a lot of effortless ways. Pause for a few moments... Breathe slowly and deeply. Stretch. Stare with soft focus at the sky. Listen to soothing sounds. Walk in nature. Then, when you feel more spaciousness inside and around you, consider less explored and surprisingly useful questions.

 Question Your Questions

1. What assumptions am I making?

2. What am I not seeing―obvious or subtle?

3. What else might be possible here?

4. What deeper needs would be nourished?

Allow your unconscious to explore these questions and give you answers in unexpected ways. Let the clarity you receive turn your decisiveness into very rewarding results.

Happy New Year!!!

In Business, Leadership & Life...

The holiday season brings with it substantial increases in demands on your time, energy and money. During these hectic final weeks of the year, distractions blur your focus. There doesn't seem to be any breathing space for the clarity you need to see how far you've traveled on your professional and personal path in 2014.

Decide to Let Go of Overwhelm

Slow your pace. Quiet your mind. Catch up with yourself and your accomplishments.

Here's an easy place to start. Ask yourself these questions without expected an answer to come to you right away or trying to answer them immediately. Instead live with the questions.

Allow them to reveal their answers to you...while waiting at a stop light or shopping for groceries, or in your dreams.

Notice what emerges from your curious and gentle inquiry. Jot down your responses when they're ready to be captured.

5 Energizing & Fun Questions to Ponder

1. What expected and unexpected wins have you experienced in 2014?
2. What surprised you about these wins/accomplishments?
3. What do you find illuminating about your experience?
4. What shifts do you feel within yourself?
5. What is deeply significant to you about these achievements?

 Refresh...Mind, Body & Spirit

Pause to appreciate and fully embody your achievements in business, leadership and life during 2014. For as global visionary and "Soul of Money" author Lynne Twist reminds us, "What we appreciate, appreciates."

And, as quantum physicists have proven scientifically, what we focus on expands. So use the power of attention to see and savor your accomplishments. Bring into conscious view the path and distance you've traveled to arrive at new milestones on your life-enriching journey to soulful mastery.

Congratulations!

Obviously, Google does a lot of things right in business. No exception is CEO Eric Schmidt's commitment to have a business coaching. Listen to why he's convinced that peak performance in business, leadership and life happens best with a coach.

"Remain Calm!" A Simple Practice for Making Great Decisions

Tired of agonizing over tough choices? Ready to unplug from confusion and worry that keep you stuck in a mental logjam?

Yes, there really is an easier way to make smart decisions. And, thre's a simple practice that helps you calm down and move from doubt and indecision to confident decisive action.

Sign up to receive this useful exercise

Presence...Balance...Flow

When I began the Tai Chi class conveniently taught at my neighborhood park, it had been years since I had practiced this 'slow motion' martial art. The time lapse didn't matter because this Tai Chi form was different than the other 3 I learned (and had forgotten) so long ago.

Now I'm a Tai Chi newbie again. As I deal with how long it takes my body to grasp the presence, balance and flow of each movement, I realize that Tai Chi is also teaching me 3 valuable 'body wisdom' business lessons.

1. Patience is a practice.
   • Trying to control our progress keeps us from seeing small steps we can take.
   • Relaxing our expectations frees us to learn from our practice.
2. Transitions energize our next steps.
   • Shifting back a little gives us momentum for moving forward in a new direction.
   • Slowing down lets us balance the way we take the next step.
3. Economy of motion leads to results.
   • Paying attention to one change at a time, we begin to sense a way to flow into our next move.
   • Making small shifts, minor adjustments, and little course corrections, we move into a natural rhythm of the steps we're learning to take.

Practice...Practice...Practice

Now it's time for me to take a short break from sitting in front of my computer at work and practice what I'm learning in Tai Chi. Where in business, leadership and life are you practicing presence, balance and flow?

A bright start has left us. With Robin Williams' tragic death we've lost a brilliant funny man, actor and blazing spirit. If only the laughter he brought to so many and the love felt for him in return could have been more a comfort to him in his dark days. May he now rest in peace.

His creative genius gave us hilarious alien views of ourselves, each other, life and world events. His lightening fast wit and intelligence dazzled us with his fascination of unusual connections between seemingly unrelated thoughts, ideas, human perspectives and behavior.

Reflecting on his legacy makes me wonder about our fascinations.

Power of Our Fascinations

What fascinates you most in business and life?

Whatever your greatest fascination is, it runs like a river through your work and life.

For me, it's journeying into the unknown to discover and experience the wonders living there. That's why I love helping clients deal with troublesome and complex leadership, professional and business challenges―their uncharted territory.

While the landscape and terrain of what's not working for them is known to me, clients' inner adventures reveal their unique courage, confidence, and way of creating desired results. Their transformational journeys―the practical steps, simple elegant solutions, and inner peace clients experience―fascinate me!

Factor in Your Fascination

Your greatest fascination may be invisible to you, or hidden in plain sight. It can lurk inside big problems that push you outside your comfort zone.

Funny thing is, your difficult decisions and stubborn challenges provoke less anxiety when you know and understand what fascinates you.

That's because you see whether it's busy creating the problem or finding a solution.

When you know its value and understand the role it's playing, you can turn what fascinates you most into a powerful ally. 

Quiet Your Fear with Fascination

I'm curious. Maybe you are too.

• What deeply fascinates you?

• Where does your natural fascination show up in your work/business, leadership, and life?

• On a simple scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the highest) what score would you give your strongest fascination?

Knowing and understanding your fascination shifts your experience of it. You connect to rich inner wisdom. This truer sense of your natural gifts fortifies you to step through new doors and into expansive opportunities.

Play to Discover

Playfully explore the possibilities. One client spent years dealing with extremely stressful complex changes at work only to find herself struggling to navigate a different set of difficult worrisome changes in her own business.

When she realized her greatest fascination was her love of learning, she understood that this deep natural desire was at play in all the stressful attempts to navigate big challenging changes. So she began to focus on what she learns from complex change that fascinates her the most.

This expanded awareness shifted her out of overwhelm—freeing her to engage differently in her growing business. Now she feels a dynamic sense of balance and inner peace. And, she is putting her natural fascination to greater use in accepting client projects and navigating with less worry the predictable and unpredictable changes in business and her life as a mother and wife. 

Your Journey and Your Fascination Are One

Discover more about the power of your own natural fascination. Learn how it can work wonders for you in business and life.

Experience an easy, fun and uniquely personal way to let what fascinates you most conquer your doubts, clarify your options, and free you to choose boldly and wisely so you enjoy what you're creating in business and life.

Schedule a complimentary 30-minute Discover Your Powerful Fascination Session.

See how Wild Woman Wisdom Journeys take you out of struggle and into a virtual adventure where what fascinates you most is revealed. Find out how your natural fascination can lead you with less effort to great decisions and advanced problem solving―transforming your challenges into simple elegant solutions.

Schedule a complimentary 30-minute Discover Your Powerful Fascination Session

Joi Ito doesn't like the word 'Futurist'. He thinks that in business, leadership and life innovation has become the domain of "Now-ists.''

His TED Talk shows how "Now-ists" focus on being connected, always learning, fully aware and super present. The result... "Now-ists" create in the moment.

See for yourself. And, share what you think.

Easy & Enlightening

When was the last time you paused to catch up with yourself and your progress in business, leadership and life? It's a simple practice I use with my clients, who are smart women leaders and entrepreneurs focused on improving their businesses, their teams, and their own personal performance.

Take a few moments to clarify the changes you have and want to experience. Jot down your responses to 3 simple questions. 

Where Are You Now?

That's the first question you want to answer candidly and without reservation. Ask it about your business, leadership or life. One area at a time works best to single out what you're assessing and identify what works well and what doesn't work.

Where Do You Want to Be?

Describe the future state you actually want to experience in business, leadership or life. Be as clear as possible about how you want to feel in the desired future. Quantum physicists tells us that our feeling states carry a powerful vibration, which can attract or repel (similar to skunks and their strong scents).

How Do You See Yourself Getting There?

Sometimes this question is difficult to answer. If you're unsure, admit it without judging or "should-ing" yourself. Instead brainstorm what could be possible, even if you have no actual idea how it would happen.

Now, on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 = extremely urgent) how urgent is your desire to have the experience you seek? Be truthful. Your decision to take the next step in the direction you want to go really depends on how much you feel compelled to change.

Given your self-assessment of where you are now and where you want to be in 3-6 months, what next step(s) are you ready to take?

Singapore Botanical Gardens Waterfall

Got Attitude, Awareness & Authenticity?

What if your business felt like a vacation? A place where you feel so alive, fully engaged, and curious about what is possible that you consistently take inspired action to create your desired results. When you're on vacation, you feel carefree, optimistic, and enthusiastically greet each day with a sense of adventure.

But you don't see how your business can be like that. It involves critical priorities and serious responsibilities that demand your time, energy and attention. In your mind there is no way you can afford to be on vacation in your business.

What if you could though? What if the vacation vitality you experience — when you're notworried, harried, or focused on so many things that your mind feels like it's spinning out of control — lives in the attitude, awareness and authenticity you bring to work every day?

Attitude Adjusted

Experience a state of calm, clear and confident focus by deciding to feel that way now. Easier said than done, you say. Not if you shift your mindset and view your work day as a series of predictable and unpredictable adventures. While you may not be able to control what happens, only you can control your response to what happens.

Awareness Aligned

Adjusting your attitude allows you to see clearly what you can and cannot control. With this discerning awareness you can choose how you will respond — rather than react — to difficult people, challenging situations, and chronic problems that consume time, energy and attention.

Authenticity Activated

The result is you get to feel and BE more authentic — calmer, more confident and decisive in your thinking and actions.

These significant shifts in attitude, awareness and authenticity free you to feel more alive and fully engaged in your business activities. Increased optimism and enthusiasm make you more curious about what solutions and innovations are possible. When you approach each work day with this keen sense of adventure, your business feels like an exciting and refreshing vacation.

Typically, in business and leadership fear is considered foe, not friend.

So as a Conscious Change Catalyst, who helps smart women entrepreneurs and leaders make difficult decisions without anxiety and struggle, I was thrilled by a client's transformation of her contant companion FEAR from Foe to Friend.

This significant shift occurred as a result of her participation an Easy, Fun and Unique experience of 'Breakthrough to YES!' decision-making.

What if, like her, you could welcome the presence of fear and use your fear as a resource to clarify your decision and identify your next steps?

When stunned by unexpected challenges or confronted by uncertain outcomes, what could or would you do differently if fear was your friend?

Ready for Your Breakthrough?

If you're curious what fear as your friend would look like, my client has given me permission to share her experience in my free 'Breakthrough to YES!' teleclass. This is what she has to say that is possible for you too.

"I experienced a powerful breakthrough in my business. I know it's because I embarked upon one of the most significant journeys ever! I feel confident disclosing that Fear is now my friend.

Don't misunderstand. I know that we all experience some level of fear in our lives through varied experiences. I also understand how paralyzing fear can be. And, yes, I have firsthand knowledge of how overwhelming Fear can be in life and business.

When I say Fear is my friend, I'm acknowledging the pervasive presence of Fear in my life and business. It permeates my thoughts and experiences and relationships and choices. (That's why it's a proper noun in this care.)

BUT...

Today, I welcome the presence of Fear as a motivator, driving force, and (even) encourager. Today, I am no longer afraid of the uncertain, unknown, or the road less traveled. With Fear beside me, I find myself moving forward to face new and equally welcome challenges because I know I have all the resources necessary to overcome anything with boldness and courage. Yeeeessss!

My breakthrough came from my participation in a truly life-changing adventure. Initially, I thought it was a teleclass with a compelling focus: 'Make decisions that conquer doubt, clarify options, and free you to boldly get on with business and life'.

I expected to hear great content while experiencing Sylvia Warren's unique brand of warmth, humor and brilliance. What I didn't expect was the POW! of a breakthrough I got from being there.

I love Sylvia's unconventional approach with smart women entrepreneurs and leaders. The calm confidence I experience while making better decisions suggests this innovative approach is almost magical. Yet I know it's Sylvia's unassuming way of connecting people to higher levels of consciousness that leads to effortless shifts. I know because that's exactly when my breakthrough happened.

So I'm thrilled that Sylvia is creating a space for this powerful adventure in decision making again.

Join Sylvia LIVE in the experience. It's way too delicious for you NOT to be there!

Like me and others, you'll leave the UNIQUE journey with conviction and confidence about your essential clear choice and bold next step."

Breakthrough to YES!

Make Decisions that Conquer Doubt, Clarify Options, and Free You to Boldly Get on with Business & Life

Sign Up for this Free 90-Minute Experiential Teleclass

May 22, 2014 | 1pm PT | 4pm ET | 9pm GMT

Breakthrough to YES!

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Do I let myself fail enough? This is a question I'm asking myself because my progress has been so slow in bringing a phenomenal new service I've created to market.

Now I know perfection is not a virtue. After all, I've coached high achievers and leaders for years to use missteps to skyrocket results.

Self-Awareness lights the way to ease of effort and course corrections.

My snail-like progress might be a sign that I'm chasing perfection in marketing my new service offering—Wild Woman Wisdom Journeys. If so, I'm not letting myself fail enough.

Clearly, it's time for me to practice failing. As I let go of my need to get it right the first time, my shoulders relax and more oxygen comes into my lungs.

Failure Isn't Fatal

I read recently that failure was never meant to describe human beings. In the early 19th century failure shifted from describing the "dead end, point of no return" of bankruptcy to describing people. Yet our human spirits are too resilient and dynamic for this initially static definition.

Failure only has validity for us if we don't take it personally. Research tells us that seeing mistakes as stepping stones, rather than feeling mistakes are failure, is a major distinguishing characteristerics between genuises and the rest of us.

Get a 'Genius Attitude'

As a friend of mine says, "You can't learn less." So why not learn more from failure? Instead of worrying about failing, let's use what doesn't work as stepping stones to what can/will work.

This new attitude shifts our focus. It frees our energy and efforts to routinely pay attention to possibilities and opportunities for productive course correction. After all, the space shuttles navigated via a series of course corrections to reach cosmic destinations.

I've decided to let go of the expectation that I have to immediately 'get it right' when working on something new. Instead, I'm practicing the 'genius' attitude' of exploration and discovery.

What missteps are leading to your mastery?

Do you get stuck in decision limbo? You know, that place where you're trying to evaluate your options and are really struggling to figure out what to decide.

If you're not careful, doubt quickly spirals you down into feelings of inadequacy. It starts with second guessing yourself, which only leads to less and less clarity.

Before you can stop yourself, you are seriously questioning your ability to make a good decision. Too much self-doubt and too little clarity leave you trapped in confusion, emotional overwhelm, and indecision.

Your Way Out

Break free from doubt, confusion and overwhelm with clarity about your options.

For instance, look at what is actually possible by a asking different question. Instead of trying to figure out "whether or not" to do "X" or choose "Y", ask "What would have to be true for each option to be the best option?"

This question shifts your focus, bringing into view what you are not considering. Yet only a clear understanding of your options leads to solution-based decisions. So...

✔ Stop fighting exhausting mental battles with yourself and instead make better decisions.

✔ Quit second-guessing yourself and banish doubts that make you feel inadequate.

✔ Leave the frustrating fog of confusion and clearly see your best option.

These changes may seem very unlikely to you in this moment. Yet there is a surprisingly struggle-free way for you to experience them.

YES, there really is an EASY and FUN way to make difficult decisions.

See for yourself. Join me for your...

Breakthrough to YES!

In the next free 90-minute interactive and experiential teleclass you'll...

❖ Name and banish doubts that keep you trapped in your private prison of indecision

❖ Clarify valid and viable options, discovering what's important that you have not been considering, seeing or sensing

❖ Make a clear choice that leads to your next steps

Sylvia Warren, MBA | Conscious Change Catalyst

Innovative women entrepreneurs and leaders, join Conscious Change Catalyst/MBA Sylvia Warren for this UNIQUE interactive experience where...

Fresh perspectives enable you to discover new possibilities. Surprisingly, struggle-free solutions emerge and take shape.

Experience this for yourself in the next teleclass.

Sign up NOW!

Breakthrough to YES!

Decisions that Conquer Doubt, Clarity Options, and Free You To Boldly Get on with Business & Life.

May 22, 2014 | 1pm PT | 4pm ET | 9pm GMT

Are you enjoying the fast-paced lift in momentum that this year of Yang Wood Horse brings? The great news is that it's accompanied by the sweetness of love.

While the energy of Valentine Day—LOVE—is universal in cultures around the world, the Year of the Horse in Chinese culture isn't as globally familiar. Yet it offers us, individually and collectively, very appealing possibilities.

"The Horse energy inspires powerful INTUITION and an indomitable surge towards freedom in every aspect of life. This is a year to follow your inner voice like never before, for it will have a universal cosmic ch'i within it. Higher guidance is with us every step of the way. Reach for the sky, call up your vision, fuel your plans with vision boards and creativity, find a fresh path and pace yourself well. This yang Horse has the potential to channel the powerful new upthrust of Wood's Ch'i through the Horse's Heart energy of Fire and into every project you start, every desire you reach for. It will keep your eager plans from being dominated by too much 'head' and not enough 'heart'." ~Western School of Feng Shui

To take advantage of the right opportunities during the fast paced energy of this Horse year it is essential that you clarify and decide what you say "YES!" to. To do that you need to say "NO!" to make space for your heart-centered meaningful "YES!".

Why You Don't Just Say "NO!"

3 Reasons You Don't Say NO!

1. Accommodation

• You want to say "No!"
• Instead you say "yes" to please or gain approval from the person or people asking.
• You also don't know how to say "No!" to the request.

2. Avoidance

• You don't return phone calls, respond to emails, or put off getting back to the person or people making the request.
• You're very uncomfortable or afraid to say "No!" because you do not want to upset, hurt or offend the person or people asking.
• You don't know how to say "No!" nicely.

3. Anger/Attack

• You really do not want to say "Yes".
• You're angry at yourself for feeling like you can't say "No!" 
• You begrudgingly say "yes" but with very negative agreement.

Power Up with a "No!" Sandwich

Start with your genuine "Yes!" (top slice of bread)

• Know the value on which you stand, what saying "No" actually allows you to say "Yes!" to—your big, most authentic "YES!"
• Based on what you really value, ask yourself what saying "No!" allows you to say "Yes!" to that keeps you true to yourself.

State your positive "No!" (meat in the middle)

• Prepare the person asking to receive your positive "No!"
• Stand firmly in a commitment to your value-rooted, genuine "Yes!" and say your positive "No!" from that place within yourself.

Consider ending with Yes? (bottom slice of bread)

• Start with youe decision to say a Positive "No!"
• Then, if appropriate, choose what you are willing to do that is different from what is being requested of you.
• "I am willing to ____________________________________________ (fill in the blank).

Using this "No!" sandwich empowers you to say a Positive "NO!" It also takes you out of the unproductive loop of trying to please people or gain their approval. Instead it's possible for you to please and approve of yourself without being selfish or egotistical.

Of course, if you would like help learning and embodying this critical leadership skill, contact me. I would be happy to assist you in communicating your Positive "No!" in difficult and challenging conversations.

Photo by Saffron Blaze