Tag: transition

Another Milestone, or One Step, Then Another Step, and Another Step…

This is what has be reverberating in my psyche these past months, “Begin again, again, & again.” It seems to me that the dance I’ve been assigned to in this life is that when I get to a certain level of achievement, I am challenged to risk it all. I see this in businesses, relationships, and levels of mastery of all kinds – in order to constantly move to and towards my/our greater becoming ( which is a part of my purpose statement). One must be willing to let go of the wooden structure to gain a stone one, to let go of the lovely iron structure to gain a silver and then a gold one.

Jack Canfield, Train the Trainer, TTT Advanced, TTT Live San Diego 2022
Photo Credit Jason Leitner

As I have heard many, including my mentor Jack Canfield say, “We must let go of the good to make room for the great.”

Connecting here within my sixth decade to a new/old desire to teach the tools of practical transformation I notice my desire to do it this time smarter, with more support instead of reinventing the wheel as I have done so many times in my life as a serial entrepreneur.

I was reminded today in a LinkedIn post, just how long it has been since I was involved with TreebranchDESIGN. a ’boutique marketing company I helped build and ‘left’ in the Fall of 2018, I believe. WOW! has my life changed & had all that disruption not occurred it is unlikely I would be here. The wheels continue to turn and now a new iteration of myself is emerging. With the sale of our home in MD my mind and heart have begun to seek new roots. The long hibernation from caregiving (which is ongoing, and much more manageable), and maintaining far away connections and duties, has moved enough to both complete and begin again -again šŸ˜‰

First after joining the Canfield, Train the Trainer community a year or so ago I immersed myself in the online program and was thoroughly inspired by the content and working with the materials in such an in depth way. I did realize upon completion. that though I have led multiple trainings and workshops in many of my entrepreneurial experiences,

Train the Trainer San Diego, TTT Advanced Training
Photo Credit Jason Leitner

I felt the need for additional support and guidance teaching these tools.Ā  I signed up for the second and third levels of the training. I felt very blessed to have the COVID window open just long enough for an in person training to be announced in January, a calculated risk as the attendance was sure to be less than at past live experiences. So off to San Diego I went. I am so very glad that I did! The intimacy of 30-40 people vs 1-200 or more, was an amazing opportunity!

 

We each had a training that we presented and were critiqued on by Jack Canfield, Patty Aubrey, and Kathleen Seely.One in a million, certified Canfield Trainer, TTT advanced, Jack Canfield, Canfield Training There were also numerous breakout session trainings on a multiplicity of Canfield Methodology subjects directly applicable to running a live (or online) training. It was very well organized, and they made every effort to be as safe as possible. I came away inspired, encouraged, and connected to a wonderful community of all levels of experience. Each person there having the motivation to make a difference in the world.

As with every high energy, immersive experience, the reentry to the “Real” world can be a bit of a bumpy ride. The high I felt was a bit battered by my own mild case of COVID (triple vaxed likely helped out there) upon arriving home. I choose to believe that after all that incredible input I needed some integration time, which my body obliged me with. This experience is one I likely would never have had without all of the changes involved in our exit from MD and I am so very grateful that I was able to have it.

Circling around and back to the theme of beginning again, what I notice is because this is something I care deeply for, in fact have always cared deeply for and been pulled toward, the commensurate fears are of course making themselves known; “Who would listen to you,” “What do you know about teaching success and transformation,” “There are too many others that do this so much better than you,” and on and on. Sound familiar?

What I have determined. as I did when I started my Bodywork career, is that there is only one me, and there are folks out there who need to hear my stories, my voice, in order to take their own steps forward. If I had received this information earlier in my wanderings, who might I be now? What might I have accomplished and given to this world? If just one (well hopefully more than one) has this open a window into their purpose and vision it will be worth it. Even more, the old adage,” You teach what you need to learn,” reverberates.

So, here I go, palms sweaty, holding tight to the talismans of my vision and journey. One step, another step…hands reaching for support and embracing this new future, beginning again, again.

Graduation, Train the Trainer, Advanced Train the Trainer, TTT Live, TTT advanced, One in a Million, Canfield Methodology, Jack Canfield, Kathleen Seeley, Patty Aubrey
Photo Credit: Jason Leitner

 

Tiny New Shoots of Green

AffirmationArt, AffirmationsArt, Art & Spirit, Affirmations, Art as Spiritual PracticeSeptember and October have always felt most appropriate to me as a NEW Year. Perhaps because of all the years of “Back To School,” indoctrination, perhaps because my entry to this existence was in the Fall, and perhaps there is some cell deep connection to Judaism whose New Year celebration of Rosh Hashanah taking place in this vicinity. In any case it has always been true for me. I have been feeling the faint glimmerings, the tiny disturbances in the Earth that portend new growth. I can almost feel/see the new, tiny shoots of green of a new iteration of my life beginning to sprout and reach up towards the light.

I welcome it, am tenderly protective, and somewhat in trepidation. Who knows where this turn of the wheel will lead me (& mine).

I’ve been reaching back, digging in again to the Jack Canfield book & process, “The Success Principles.” I have been reviewing the art I have been producing for the past two years through new eyes, and I have been doing quite a bit of culling & sorting our possessions from our “Old Life,” in MD. Sixty officially as of midnight, I am truly beginning to let go of some of the old baggage of the past 10 years while allowing myself to connect to the various learning that I have been assimilating.

To those ends I have set before myself several tasks (to be worked into a rather tight caretaking schedule). One is to complete, appreciate, assimilate, and share the Train The Trainer program skills (through the Jack Canfield folks). Two, to expose myself and my art to the public marketplace in a local craft show. Three, is to start the practice of Public Speaking again through my Toastmasters Club, and Four, to start practicing, out loud, the French language with like minded individuals.

Tiny shoots, and, rich, juicy, potential blooms for sure. So here is to SIXTY years on this planet and hopefully many more, exploring, dreaming, growing, and of course having a great time too!AffirmationArt, AffirmationsArt, Art & Spirit, Affirmations, Art as Spiritual Practice

 

An Obituary for TBD

AHA Moments, One door closes another opens, aha moments, Inner Voices Outer Vision, treebranchDESIGN, TreebranchDesign, Treebranch Group

Not All AHA Moments Feel Good

They say a business partnership is much like a marriage, and in certain aspects they are right. First and foremost, both parties must desire the relationship to continue. There is the necessity that all parties maintain respect (at least most of the time) for one another. A willingness to be truthful, ethical, and to negotiate and compromise is also needed. While I am taking the risk of sharing this potentially “Sour Grapes” moment here, my desire is to have said , be done, and move on.

I recently discovered that my now ex-business partner decided to close the business that we shared for the past 5 years. All references to my name, or contributionsĀ  made towards the success of what we built together have been eliminated.Ā  As with any “Divorce” both parties will have a list of grievances that will support their own view of events; while it was ultimately my choice to leave (based on the above), I was thoroughly blind-sided by the lengths to which my contributions were to be discounted.

Though the name is moderately changed, the company has basically regrouped with the people that we brought together and the business relationships that I was directly involved with developing. While not the only one involved in the successful growth of the company, I am proud to say that I was instrumental in the 400% growth during the time I was involved. I helped to connect with and developed involvements with larger scale businesses and non profits, new revenue streams, trained my replacements, & helped create and implement many new ideas.

There are some days that I have the feeling of being bounced off the “Sit & Spin'” with my butt in the dust, a quivering lower lip signalling my distress. Other days I feel such freedom and joy at being able to at last move in the directions of my own next steps, my own becoming. There is grief though over the loss of what was once a treasured relationship, the company (& brand) I helped build, and a bit of faith & trust in my own judgement.

The past 5 years have taught me quite a bit, some productive- how to build a WordPress site, how to create and manage a Google Adwords campaign, how to negotiate with someone with a very different opinion than you… Being married to the same man for over 28 years taught me quite a bit about that as well. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, knowing when to let go of an unsupportive relationship. When unconscious and unrecognized, behaviors, communications, and actions are in service to a myopic desired outcome, manipulation, dishonesty, distrust, and the desire to control direction of all outcomes becomes a constant obstacle to growth, both professionally and personally, it’s time to go. Having expressed that disappointment, and yes some resentment, I do ultimately believe that we are always where we need to be from the larger view.

This time moving forward is somewhat of a challenge. Normally I would take some time to gestate a new idea or direction, form a plan and move in to the new incarnation with cautious steps forward. With this, I am experiencing something a bit different. It’s like walking through a thick fog, each step into the unknown reveals the next. The in-between is and has been a journey of it’s own.Ā  Radical faith is what is being asked of me. In the depths of this transition I find I am deep diving. I am reconnecting to those themes and threads that have ever guided my journey; Faith, Trust, Spiritual Exploration, Art & Soul, Healing, Authenticity, Truth, and Teaching.

While my way is not entirely clear I am grateful to honor the pull of these tidal forces of my life. My AHA Moments continue to unfold. I hope to share this journey of discovery, and perhaps we can explore & mine together this transitional, in-between space.

So here’s to the next chapter, and practicing #RadicalFaith #AHA Moments