As a long time pianist, I’ve played Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy… and the list could go on and on. Today, I play “me”. I spend little bits of time throughout the day improvising in different modes and playing around with different rhythms and patterns until I hit something that resonates with me. Then, I play it over and over again until I feel the need to move on to exploring different sounds, rhythms and patterns.  Sometimes, I discover beautiful music coming through me and other times it’s raw and unpleasant, yet right. There is no wrong when I’m playing “me”.

If I discover an uncomfortable inner feeling, I may begin to slowly shift it through my improvisation, until I’m feeling light, free and more focused. My mind has become clear and open to seeing new ideas. The crazy thoughts that occasionally float around in my head have disappeared and a free flowing, sense of ease has taken its place.
In the music, I’m able to visit all of me…the feelings without thoughts…the inner stories that cycle…the fears and anxiety…new ideas…the joy and excitement of living. But most importantly I get to find me! For me,  that’s like the ocean… powerful, ever flowing and connected to all that is.

It’s interesting that as we create musically, it shifts how we think and feel. It’s like the letting go of negative thoughts through the flow of musical sound. Any self-destructive dialogues are heard and then are swept away as the music moves through.

Give it a try…and if you’ve never played a musical instrument, you have been given the most precious instrument of all..your voice. So sing! Drumming can also be a powerful way to enter your inner world.

Let me know if you would be interested in a workshop discovering how to use musical improvisation for Self Discovery.

Don’t know what to do? Don’t know what step to take first or which option to choose in your life? Do you feel like you have no options? You’ve tried everything and nothing worked? Yep, been there!

You know how it’s possible to decide you want to do something, teach school for example. So, you go to school, graduate, apply for a job, and find yourself teaching school. Simple. Although at one point I did that very thing, I always seem to find myself looking for something new, fresh and exciting. And, I must say, I’ve found many exciting adventures along my path and don’t regret a one of them.

Yet, right now I seem to find myself with so many exciting, juicy options on my plate that I just don’t know which direction to go. And, at other times in my life, I’ve felt as if I had no options. Have you ever found yourself unable to make a decision, frustrated with not knowing what will be the best direction for you? Overwhelming pressure to decide on something, followed by paralysis, can lead to doing nothing. So, what do you do when you don’t know what to do?

The best course of action under these circumstances is to pause. For me, that means taking a bath, or going for a hike. Then, letting your heart be your guide, just do something. This is totally contrary to the advice any serious business consultant will give you. And, as you consult with your own inner wisdom, you may decide to reach out and call that business consultant. In this case it’s absolutely the right move, even if it’s wrong. Sometimes we make decisions, discover it was the wrong one, and we learn some important lessons that more than likely we needed to know. And, this sets us up for finding the right path. So, it was totally the right decision in a weird way. All decisions are the right decisions because they led to growth, knowledge and personal understanding, unless of course you’ve decided to embrace a life of crime or bad habits…that would be a NO!

If however, when checking within… you get absolutely no answer, don’t panic. “No answer” is the answer. In this case, I believe, the underling message of the answer is…”Let go, let go, let go you don’t have to know.” You trust! I have checked in with my inner knowing, that part of myself that guides me, and indeed I’m getting nothing other than… total silence. So instead of fighting it, I’m enjoying the silence. Now, I’m not sitting home eating chocolates, ok maybe a few. Really, every day I’m enjoying my life and pouring my heart and soul into the many cool projects I’m involved in. I’m trusting the Universe to guide me… and really, I don’t have to know. Actually, I don’t think any of us really know what will be the next twist in our life anyway. Kind of cool and exciting I’d say.

I do know for me, every time I’ve pushed myself in a direction before I was ready, the outcome wasn’t what I thought it would be. This time for me, I’m going with:  Let go, let go, let go, I don’t have to know.

Let me know what works for you. And, if you decide to go with my mantra, let me know how it’s working out for you.

Positiveinnerchange for Life!

Who hasn’t felt stuck at times? You know what you want to do, but just don’t do it! Day after day you know what you need to do to move forward, to overcome bad habits, to find success in your business… yet… NOPE!   You’re stuck doing the “same ol’ same ol’”….It can be depressing and exhausting.

How about a change… How about trying a simple “Five Step Process” to positive change and then let me know how it works for you…

1) Focus on the one thing, that if it was changed, would make you feel great. See this positive change as if it has already happened. Feel the happiness flowing through your body knowing you did it. You’re going to use the energy of this success thought to make more and more positive changes in your life. Feel the joy in your body, the freedom in your mind. Picture more and more wonderful things coming into your life everyday.

2) Find a friend, or a group that would support and encourage you to stay on the path to making this positive change come to fruition in your life. Talk every day and build up more and more absolute knowing that this change is happening now. Giggle, dance, and invite more joy into your life as you play with ideas and stay the course toward positive change.

3) Take action every day toward your positive change. Ask yourself this question, “ What is the one thing that I could do today that would help me move forward? ” Now, do it!   It doesn’t have to be big, it just has to create that little movement forward and make you feel you’re getting a little traction… getting unstuck.

4) At the end of every day review what you accomplished and pat yourself on the back and say, “Good job”. Take a minute to celebrate this shift… this forward movement. Treat yourself to a little walk, a warm bath or some chatting time with a close, supportive friend.

5) As you go to bed, picture your life as if you’re already unstuck. Notice how great you feel. Feel it, see it… let this positive energy radiate through your body. Now, imagine taking that next step forward. See how happy you’ll be… see the positive changes becoming a reality. That’s it!

Repeat steps 1-5 throughout your life . I see you growing, blossoming and free to be the most wonderful “YOU”!

What’s your  action step?  Share your progress here…I’d like to hear all about it!

To contact Sally go to www.positiveinnerchange.com

Step One… So, yesterday I spent the day setting up AgileZen on my computer. Ok, so it wasn’t really me, but my husband. AgileZen is a software program, in the Cloud, that allows me to input my tasks and track them until they are complete. My husband says it follows Kanban, what ever that is… anyway, I’m enjoying seeing all the mini details from my head finding a home in the iCloud. I feel myself enjoying a certain relief at not having to carry so many thoughts and details in my brain.

The more outpouring of every little detail finding its way into the cloud, the lighter I feel. Zen it is!

Yet, I imagine what a mess it must be with everyone’s piles of mini details sharing the cloud space too. No wonder it’s snowing in April and the weather is crazy all over the world. Maybe we should rethink this “cloud” thing. Now I’m not sure its feeling to “Zen”!

Step Two… In getting organized, having a calendar that keeps me on task when it comes to appointments. I’ve always loved calendars! The best part of the new year has always been to open up my beautiful, new, clean calendar and to begin making plans for a fabulous new year. Oh, the joy!

But guess what? This year, you know where my calendar is? Yes, you got it, it’s in the Cloud, right next to my AgileZen (I hope). So, I can always find my calendar… on my computer, my iPhone and my iPad…it’s everywhere, all synched up and I can’t lose it, even if I want to…or so my husband says.

You may be wondering what promoted this move to the iCloud and my rededication to organization. Well, it’s because I could honestly be one of the most disorganized people on the planet. And, even with all the many “systems” I’ve tried over the years, I must admit I can never find a thing. My move to the iCloud is the answer to serenity now…or so my husband says.

Step Three… So, I’m thinking besides going Zen with my “to-dos” and calendar…. why not go paperless too. My friend, Kari is inspiring me to let go of my files and piles of paper …and what? Yes, you guessed it, move it all to the Cloud.

Never again will I have to spend hours in my “very creatively labeled” file system to find a simple handout for an upcoming presentation. Nope, I can relax because it’s in the Cloud.

Oh my, that cloud is looking dark and worried…I hope it can hold it all. I’ve been noticing a lot more con trails forming in the sky lately…maybe its heard rumblings that I’m moving my stuff up. Now, I’d like to invite you all to join me in the iCloud, but you might consider waiting just to make sure I don’t lose the darn cloud.

I talk a lot about making positive inner changes, but some times it takes making positive outer changes to help shift the chaos that may be going on within. So, let’s not rule the iCloud out and keep an open mind to new technologies and how they can really help us in finding that Zen within.

Are you using the cloud? What suggestions do you have for us beginners on the journey up?

If this is you, read on. If this doesn’t sound like you at all…do pass this post onto someone that is a jumper. Thank you. Now then, you may be asking, “How can I be laser focused and reach my goal(s)?”

When I was a kid, I hated going to school. I’d sit at my desk, trying to stop myself from wiggling and not listening. I really wanted to be good and do what the teacher told me. But I just couldn’t force myself to focus and stay in “lock down” mode. I would stare out the window lost in my imagination.

During the summer, my family would move to our cabin on Belle Lake. Great, no school…I felt free! What a relief it was for me from those days in the classroom, confined and unable to move. In the summer, I could get up at the crack of dawn to fish, do the reporting and writing for the Belle Lake Newspaper, swim all day, play music, create a play for an afternoon show or take a nap out on the dock soaking up some rays. Life was great! Belle Lake style learning was perfect for me. Creativity was the norm and each new day was an opportunity to create and explore at my own pace and in my own way. I never wanted summer to end, and once again be confined to the classroom.

Even though I knew I had this need to be free with plenty of time and space to create, for some reason I keep coming back to education, classrooms and little offices….maybe hoping that some day I’d fit in. And, it’s true that I got a lot of value from my years in school. Now however, I can say, “Enough of that! I’m breaking loose”. Today it’s “Belle Lake Baby” for me every day.

As a professional speaker and author I’m free to write, create and play on a daily basis. I’ve finally found the “job” where I can be laser focused. It fits me and there will be no more going back to the straight jacket of office life. This isn’t for everyone, but if you happen to be like me, I say “Embrace your strengths and follow your passion, even if it seems straying a bit from the norm.”

Here’s the formula:

1) If you can relate to this post, I know you’re highly creative. Congratulations! Honor the wonderful skills you have and create a focus where you can use your creative, crazy brain. Find or create a living where creativity is valued.
2) Feel free to use a business/marketing plan, and at the same time feel free to abandon it and go with the flow…embracing the spirit of play. After all, this is where creativity flourishes.
3) Let go of the need to be like everyone else. You don’t need to explain yourself. You know what works for you…just do this. Don’t be hard on yourself and try to push through. Allow yourself to go with your flow. This may mean being up all night or finding a little cabin in the woods to work from, or just working from the bath tub. My guess is that for some of you working in your pajamas is best. Not everyone does great work sitting at a beautifully organized desk.
4) Find friends that support you in being you! Create groups of friends that love to brainstorm and come up with new ideas and possibilities…that ignite your creative inner spirit.
5) Wake up every morning loving life and take action steps to move your project, or business forward. Be responsible AND honor your need to be in the creative flow.

If you think I’m crazy after reading this post, pass it on to a friend that may need an alternative method to finding focus and productivity.

So, you may be asking, “How do I conger up that passion day in and day out?” Well, first you have to bring awareness to your thoughts, and second you have to bring awareness to your body.

What are you thinking? Does your thinking spiral into positive or more negative thoughts? Are you really present with every task you under take or are you running on auto pilot? Is your body relaxed and open, or tense, heavy and closed? Are you aware of what you’re thinking? Are you aware of how you’re feeling? With awareness comes the ability to make changes.

So now that you’re aware, how do you make changes so that you can get on with the task of living fully and being the master of your trade? It’s almost to simple. Just, embrace the philosophy of PollyAnna. Find the good in every minute of every day. If you’re driving to work… you have a choice. You can focus on the price of gas and the negative talk show host telling you the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, or you can focus on the sun coming up, the beautiful clouds, a favorite memory, a plan for the future or how you’re going to make a difference in your job today. The list is endless and really all you need to do is be present with what’s happening right now. Instead of being in your thoughts at all, be with what is in the moment and you will discover precious gems. Keep me posted on your discoveries.

If you let our mind focus on negative thoughts, the energy in your body becomes heavy, tense, closed, and you begin to feel down and sink further into only seeing what isn’t working for you right now. Anger at yourself and then at the world usually follows. People will then avoid you like the plague. No one wants to have anything to do with folks that are “downers” and Life will tend to bring you more and more bad news (Law of Attraction). You now have a choice to shift your thoughts, relax and open to seeing differently. You can choose being in the present with life.

The more you stay in the vibration of positive energy, living life, the better you are going to be at being the Master of Your Trade and attracting people to you. You will experience being excited to get out of bed and get into life. Why? Because life is juicy! You get to play! Remember when you played for hours in the sandbox, or your parents had trouble getting you to come in from outside because you were to busy playing ball. This is what I’m talking about… these are the feelings you need right now to be the Master of Your Trade.

Plus, everyone wants what you have, which is? You guessed it! Light, positive, happy feelings and seeing the future of unlimited possibilities. This is what brings more and more people to you. This is what leads you to success.

To be the Master of your Trade… invite the passion back into your life. Live fully every day.

Next Week: What to do when bad things happen…

So, here’s the thing. When you feel called to attend a training, hire a coach or read my blog, that’s great. If it’s right for you, go for it. However, do it through the filter of where you are and what feels right for you in your present circumstances. Take in only what fits for you. No training, event or newsletter comes in a “one size fits all” format. Cherry pick what works and fits for you, then let of the rest go. Embrace the new ideas that are right for you, implement, take action…make things happen. Just attending an event or having a coach will never make you successful. Don’t count on anyone else to do it for you. And, only you really knows what will work for you.

Sometimes, I’ve attended trainings and hired coaches that launched their great ideas onto me, without a clue as to who I was or what I needed, and it felt like I was being covered over with wall paper. I was thinking, “Don’t they see me, don’t they hear me?” The key to a great coach, presenter, or trainer is they are super listeners…they pay attention to you and easily come up with new ideas and plans that fit who you are and/or fit the group they are training. I repeat, “There is no one-size fits all!” Search out coaches and trainers that know how to listen, are creative, intuitive and can help you find the “size” that’s right for you. They also never repeat a training in exactly the same way, because they are always open to the needs of the group in front of them. Look for open, compassionate leaders that see and respond to your needs.

Now, if you’ve understood what I’ve said, you can either embrace these ideas or create your own.
Go within and listen. Voice and follow what’s true for you.
Only you know the way! TRUST…

It works like this: Record a shot from a specific position, at a particular angle and perspective, then move to another position, and shoot the action from an obviously different angle and different perspective. This technique made for a lot of work while shooting, but it made for easier work later on when it came time to edit all of these different shots together. Plus, it made the video much more interesting than if the camera were in only one or two positions.

Interestingly, this same principle can help us in our business and speaking presentations. Here’s how:

By examining situations from various perspectives and points of view, a better understanding of the situation is gained. Thus, you can identify better approaches to dealing with them. And you can identify better ways of relating to your audience.

Viewing situations only as long as necessary to get the point before moving on ensures that we truly get the picture.

Once we’ve dealt with a situation or done the work required, move immediately to the next thing. This holds our interest, keeps us motivated, prevents boredom, and moves us constantly toward our goals.

While occasionally requiring more time up front, we will generally save a lot of time by using this method because we are better prepared, make fewer mistakes, and have more options.

Strategy: If you’re interested in creating a big, bold, wide-screen, CINEMASCOPE life, apply the shoot and move method in your speaking and your business. Identify new angles to your activities and stories. Be the star in the movie of your life! And remember to smile for the camera. Most of all, have fun.

Tactic: Often it is easy to get stuck on implementing the same ideas over and over getting the same results. Implement your best, results-oriented plans.

Carol Naff, the Marketing Coach, is the author of several articles including Toot Your Own Horn Without Blowing It and The Referral Project, Building a Referral-Based Business. A practical, down-to-earth speaker and unconditionally supportive coach, Carol helps businesses implement their best strategies to get more clients. She also works with people to come in #1 in a job search. Carol’s website, marinerco.com, is a comprehensive resource with free articles and valuable marketing tools for business professionals.

This morning as I try to recall the gems from an evening of tossing and turning, I find myself clinging to the few little notes I had taken. I’m thinking, “ But there was so much more, where did it go?” Where did it go? Can I get it back? Then, I begin to feel a bit of sadness over my need to control, to have it my way. I’m questioning, “Why didn’t I get up? What was so important about sleep?”

As I look for the lesson in this, I go back to my experience of being swept away and tumbled in the ocean. The message was clear, “Let go.” So, when the nighttime messages are present…. write! No matter when this happens, when creativity appears never discount it. Let go of needing to control…be present with what needs to happen now. My need for lists and “time” control are huge! I’m not discounting the importance of this, yet it’s clear to me, I need to practice letting go of control.

In the practice of living in flow, sleep is overrated. As I begin my creative journey of speaking and writing (OK, that just makes me smile and a little giddy), I committed to daily writing, but did not specify the timing of this. When inspiration comes I never turn my back on it…instead I embrace it. I’ll get up in the middle of the night with a smile, make a cup or tea and love every minute of the creative process. I will trust that tomorrow will take care of itself.

If I go back to my experiences writing my first book, “Conscious Performing, from fear to freedom.” I “practiced” PJ party days. PJ party days were days where I never got out of my pajamas. I dumped the idea of time and embraced flow. I ate what I wanted and whatever I wanted, and lounged in the bathtub to generate ideas. I found myself hiking and spending time sitting in coffee shops…. and then ideas would come flowing out in bursts of creative energy. I’m writing once again, and am so excited.

Whatever you’re doing: writing, singing, playing the piano, cooking, doing your business… embrace the day and the night! Flow…

I was fortunate to have recently attend a seminar with Tony Quinn (to learn more go to educoworld.com) in the Bahamas. It was at this seminar that I discovered the secret to living in flow. I learned and practiced the skills to let go of negative thought, to focus on my goals and be in the flow of living. It’s amazing that when you’re not weighted down with negative thinking, and you’re not replaying your negative experiences from your past, you feel free. It’s like you let go of time, and an easy rhythmic flow happens without trying.

When I find my rhythm getting out of control, I return to living in the present. I stop cycling into negative thoughts. Instead, I imagine my goals coming to fruition and feel happiness and joy. There is incredible power in how we think. Take control of your thoughts…feel, see, hear and imagine positive change and it will become your reality.