Day 95 (2009-01-11): Indiana Jones and Pina Coladas

Two surprising synchronicities:

1. I chose to give up alcohol for all of 2009, and just a day or two ago I was thinking about taking a vacation to someplace warm and drinking virgin Pina Coladas on the beach. Today I was in the mall with my sister and nieces and we went to the food court because I wanted a drink from Orange Julius (I’d been past it dozens of times but never had one and was curious). What was their drink of the month? Pina Colada!
2. My theme for 2009 is adventure, and a day or two ago I was talking to a friend about it, and she suggested I get something visual that I can use as a kind of touchstone — a way to remind myself of the theme and get into a feeling of adventure. The first visual I thought of was Indiana Jones, so she suggested I get a poster for my wall. Last night I was thinking, where the heck am I going to find a poster, and I kind of gave up on the idea because I didn’t want to spend time calling stores or driving around. Today in the mall, we walked into a toy store that was closing and having a big clearance sale. What do you think was right out front? A bin with posters for $2…and there was one Indiana Jones poster left!

I acknowledge myself twofold — first for creating these experiences, and second for noticing and acknowledging the wonder of them.

They are a fun reminder of my power to attract into my life even bigger things like romantic relationships, clients, business alliances, and more.

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Day 49 (2008-04-23): The fear of eyes

Sources of inspiration: The Fear of Success by Leon Tec; Power of Now discussion group

Sounds pretty ominous, doesn’t it? The fear of EYES! Could be the name of the next Indiana Jones movie.

How about the fear of eyeballs…I love that word, “eyeballs.”

On Monday in our Power of Now discussion group, my friend Jim reminded me of a practice I used to do but stopped a while back: Making eye contact with and saying hello to everyone (yes, everyone) you pass on the street. I did this yesterday and identified it as a high-value action in my spiritual practice. So I will continue with it today.

Why is it such a powerful exercise?

Leon Tec has written about how we have a primal fear of eyes (in other words, a fear of being seen) because before we can be attacked, we must be seen. So, to a degree, we equate safety with not being seen and danger with being seen. This eye contact exercise shows us that it is, in fact, safe to be seen.

Second, when you look into someone’s eyes, you’re less likely to seem them as some label (white, black, liberal, conservative), and more likely to see them as human. There is a felt sense of commonality and kinship in the eyes, a oneness.

So this exercise helps one feel safe and connected. It is powerful, especially when you’re feeling unsafe and alone. I can say that from experience.

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Day 14 (2008-03-19): Adventure

Source of inspiration: Coaching session with Kayte Connelly

I had a coaching session this morning in which uncertainty showed up twice creating two entirely different reactions in me.

The first was when I was talking about my marketing strategy for my coaching business. I voiced a concern of mine that my marketing is almost wholly Internet based, and I was feeling like I should do more in person marketing locally (talks, networking, etc.).

Kayte asked me if there was a significant percentage of my target market (busy professionals and artists in their 30s and 40s) who I could not reach online. My answer was no. Not only are almost all of my target market online in some capacity, most are quite active online.

So there was an uncertainty around my marketing approach that was making me uneasy. It was showing up for me as doubt and judgment: Should I do this or that?

Once that question was answered and I gave myself permission to focus online, we started to talk about different ways to do that. And it felt exciting and adventurous.

So there was another kind of uncertainty around my marketing that was showing up for me as excitement and adventure.

What I’m taking away from this is a positive experience of uncertainty.

And here’s something funny: Months ago (maybe even as long as a year ago) I revised the form I use to plan my week each week. On the left side is a column that includes the top 7 roles or categories I use to keep my life balanced and in harmony. Things like Health, Relationship, Coaching, Friends & Family, etc.

I revised the names of those categories to make them more fun. Guess what I changed Marketing to? “Indiana Jones” — how cool is that? I guess I was just a little ahead of myself. Because now I am feeling exactly that sense of adventure.

My focus will be to cultivate and grow this feeling of adventure in my life, starting with my marketing for my coaching practice.

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