As humans we are constantly observing what's around us -- we are hard wired to do so.

We notice the things that are immediately around us and the people we are with.  It is normal to see other people and subconsciously evaluate their physical and emotional states because again, subconsciously --  we are trying to figure out how their state is going to have an affect on us.

For example, we come into our work environment, or homes, and “test” the emotional temperament waters.

Once we complete our observation, we then evaluate what we see and come up with an interpretation of what it means to us and how we should behave in this environment.

It's the interpretation of what we observe that we act on, not really what others are truly doing.

In our examples, we make an internal judgment and decide if people are having a “good or bad” day.  We then treat others based on this assessment.

Again, this judgment phase is normal to engage in because we want to fit into what the others are expecting us to do to get their cooperation for what we need to be productive.  But --- there is an energetic cost to this system: it draws attention away from our top level To Do List.

What could we gain if we decided to use a different system to engage with others that took out this judgment phase?

What would it be like to stay calm, centered and focused even when others are having a bad day?

The practice of mindfulness addresses these very questions.

The practice of mindfulness allows YOU to control your emotions, and reactions, regardless of what the temperamental waters around you are doing so that you can stay clearly focused on what you need to get done to move toward completing your goals.

You can begin today with becoming more mindful just by committing to not getting caught up in other people’s drama and letting go of playing the judging game. 

How much further along would you be with your life goals if you focused your energy on being proactive rather than reactive?

Until the next post,

Give, Share, Connect, Create

Camille

The Take Action Guru

If a friend, coworker or family member came up to you and said “Today I conquered my fear!” you more than likely would say something along, “hey, that’s great!” and move on to the beckoning “To-Do” list calling your name.

If, however, that same person came up to you and said “I walked across a pit of fire today!” your response would range somewhere from “why?” to “That’s AWESOME, tell me more!” 

The fire walking act comes across as a much bigger accomplishment in scope than a plain jane “I conquered my fears!.”

Yet, if we truly look at these two activities side by side, aren’t they really the same accomplishment?

At the root of both actions was the ability to step over/into/through the irrational fear that was holding you back before. It is a choice to not be ruled by fear and go after the bigger prize, your heart’s desire, and no longer stay in the safety zone.

Take a look at where you are now and where you want to be in the next 3-6 months.

Where is fear stopping you now? What are you willing to do to move through it to get to your future goal?

Because on the other side of Fear is Success.  It only is one step away from right now. 

Are you going to take that mental step across your personal fire pit to get there?

If not now, when?

Until the next post,

Give, Share, Connect, Create

Camille Scielzi

The Take Action Guru

Well, most days I really do see the glass as half full, life is great, the birds are singing, and there is a silver lining to be had somewhere if I keep looking.  In the realm of numbers that seems to be about 90% of the time.  Then there are those 10% days. The ones with the black thunderstorm cloud floating above my head and all seems dim and dark and a waste of time.

Today is a 10% day.

You know, the days where “I Quit” or “I GIVE UP!” just want to pop out with every email, phone call, conversation or just mindless moment in our own heads.  These types of days may display differently for you, but mine are filled with mighty sighs, missions to conquer chocolate monsters and a general malaise rivaling Eeyore for head hung low and negative attitude on display.

It used to be that I would try to jolt myself out of these moods with stern lectures, motivational platitudes, gratitude lists or comparison to the Less Fortunate.  Several months ago, I embraced the concept of Surrendering to these days.  Yes, Surrender and go into the Darkness of Being.

Why would I want to do that?

How could Surrendering make a difference? Because if these moods run their natural course, there is always an A-HA moment nugget of truth unveiled at the end of the session if I stay mindful to being present to these less than pleasant emotions rather than creating a false state of being upbeat or happy.

By staying mindful, and letting go of resisting feeling all emotional states, the sessions themselves become shorter.  By holding onto accepting the mood, the subconscious is given permission to churn away at the problem that sustains the mood and eventually moves the limiting thought, or belief, into the light of day.

Mine hasn’t fully emerged today, but it has a few rays of Hope shining on it that are getting brighter.  So I continue to Surrender.

Until the next post,

Give, Share, Connect, Create

Camille

The Take Action Guru

ESH Creator, Moderator

Saturday, March 31, 2012.  The day had been going great! 

My husband and I were spending time together exploring the great outdoors of Cibola National Forest near Grants, New Mexico in our four wheel drive truck.

It was an activity we have engaged in for twenty years that always brought us joy as we took in the natural landscapes and found that inner peace within the embrace of nature. 

Within the blink of an eye, all of that changed as our vehicle tire caught on some mud and dived into a snow bank, burying the truck wheel well deep in snow and high centering us.

Having been in similar encounters before we weren’t worried, it seemed to be an inconvenience rather than a problem.  We began the attempt to gain enough traction to get back moving again.  We weren’t worried -- we had faith in our ability to right the situation and the belief that what we needed was immediately at hand.

After an hour of digging and trying to use stones, rocks and other local materials to gain traction and the truck hadn’t moved at all, that faith had dimmed significantly. We had exhausted the immediate resources, and knowledge, we had to get the truck out. 

Now what?

It was 5:45 PM, we knew the temperature was expected to go down into the 30’s, the wind was blowing creating a windchill factor, there weren’t any inhabitants for  twenty+ miles around, and we had no cell phone service.

It was time to decide what the next step had to be: stay with the truck or walk out until we could get into cell phone range and call for rescue.

In that decision we made could lay our fate to survive the night. A seemingly simple task turned into a real life question about life and death survival. Now the question became, how do we survive and what are willing to do to make that happen?

Not how we planned to spend our time together, gotta tell ya!

Rather than wait for daylight, we choose to walk out and started our journey with 8 oz of water, the clothes on our back, our cell phones and the will to live.

We also began with a sense of gratitude for the fact we had packed winter clothes, that we had on sneakers and not sandals, that there wasn’t snow everywhere, that there was a half moon to partially light our way, that we had a flashlight and we had maps to be able to know where we are and what junctions to take. 

We also were grateful that although we weren’t top physical specimens in the moment, we have both engaged in challenging sporting events previously and knew logically we had many more physical and emotional reserves that would be needed to be tapped into before the night was over.

And finally, we had each other: we wouldn’t have to go through the experience alone.

So we walked, and walked, and walked.  Through snow, mud, the deepening cold, dead silence, buffeting winds on the mesas, through the pain of the foot blisters, through the thirst of dehydration, past the signs indicating there were miles to go, through the dashed hopes of seeing any bars of service on our cell phones and through the nagging voice that said “Give Up”

We stopped, we held each other, we kissed and then we told each other keep going - this wasn’t going to the end for either of us.

And eventually we had enough cell signal to call 911 for rescue at 2:30 AM.  It took 7.5 hours of walking, approximately 15.8 miles of hiking dirt road terrain, but when we saw the lights of the Cibola County Sheriff’s rescue car crest a hill, it was an immense sense of relief that we had outside help again.

We made it!

Our journey is not a record breaker and hearing our story may not sound that impressive to you, but the moral of sharing the story isn’t about the physical conditions that were present that we overcame, but to share that it is your Will to Survive that only you can tap into when life brings you challenges.

The next time life presents one of these challenges, Take it On and Triumph! It’s your choice to either make the ending of your story one of hope or a tale of woe.

Until the next post,

Give, Share, Connect, Create

Camille

The Grateful to Be Alive, Take Action Guru

I am a new practioner to the philosophy of manifesting: the process of attracting abundance using thoughts.  To me, there is a lot more comfort in having a plan, work the plan, etc. than the concept of creating what we want through manifesting and attracting.

HOWEVER, having experienced the effects and benefits, of this alternate type of thinking, it is something I continue to pursue and desire to create a much higher level of mastery.  So, I have created a daily practice of mentally picturing what it is that I desire and then verbalize it out loud.

Go ahead, laugh if you need to! I still mutter to myself after this ritual some days.

Today was one of those days where it WORKED.  Two weeks ago I sent out into the Universe that I wanted my marketing efforts to include a public speaking component to reach a broader audience and widen my sphere of influence.  Magically in my inbox appeared a notice from Voice America indicating they were interested in interviewing me for a possible slot on their program line up.

BAM! Yay Baby! 

Now, I could choose to sit there and wonder how this email REALLY made it to my inbox or I could choose to just go with pursuing this avenue to my desire fulfillment.  Opportunity was knocking LOUDLY and you bet I will open this door quickly!

So, I guess here’s the uptake here: be open to trying new ways of thinking and being.  You will never know what COULD happen, if you don’t open the door for opportunity to wander in and say hi!

Until the next post,

Give, Share, Connect, Create

Camille

The Take Action Guru

One of the reasons I love being a coach is that it allows me to share BIG A-HA moments with clients.  I am always grateful for those moments of real connection where there is a tangible healing of old wounds.

I had one of those experiences today when I client asked me, “How do I know I’m Worthy?” It is a question anyone, who isn’t an egomanic, struggles with at times.

Some days it may be the only struggle we have and aren’t even aware there is this internal battle going on. (PS – those are the days when nothing goes well)

The struggle the client felt was in letting go of looking for the answer from outside herself. Someone else answering the question is seeking external validation. External validation can be taken away while knowing your true Self, is permanent.

What I realized today when the client asked the question “Am I Worthy?” is this question is a living, evolving question.  It is a diamond with many facets and characters.

It breathes, it shifts depending on the circumstance we are in, who we are with, and what skills we are using. There is no one answer at any given time, or situation. It must be asked independently, and frequently.

We need to take each moment as a separate snapshot to ask the question. In each moment we are constantly judging ourselves and comparing our performance to not only others around us, but the “perfect” version of who we think we should be or have been in the past.

True Power comes from asking “Am I Worthy?” and accepting whatever the answer is in that moment. Then choosing to be courageous, by exploring deeper, if the answer comes up “No.”  

When the answer is “yes” accept and trust that response from a place of  self love.

Until the next post,

Live for Today: Give, Share, Connect, Create

Camille

The Take Action Guru

At one point today I just got completely overwhelmed thinking about all the pieces currently being juggled in the air.  During those moments, the universe took time to just add to the sense of “what now?!”

Shopping for groceries the strawberries leaked onto my favorite workout shirt, then I had to drive home in 60 mile per hour wind gusts, at home the blueberries leapt out of their container making a mad prison break across the kitchen floor and my nose looks like Rudolph from using tissues for allergy control. 

In the end though, since I am a Pragmatist, who chooses to be an Optimist, in the overall balance of time, it is a great day.  I went to a yoga class and was welcomed by two great regular attendees, networked with a woman who has a patent on some neat coverings for crutches, thought I was paying $99.00 for a voice recorder that rang up at $75.00 instead at checkout and have a lead for the Wine Tasting my Rotary club is sponsoring this month.

I don’t know what you use to keep you Silver Lining polished, but mine definitely seems to be to stop, close my eyes and just Breathe.  Amazingly, five slow breaths can wipe out hours of perceived drama, and clear out space, to keep going ahead full steam and wrap myself once more, in my Silver Lining.

Until the next post,

Give, Share, Connect, Create

Camille

The Take Action Guru