Wednesday, May 19, 2010

How To Reinvent Yourself

Today's post is from Christine Kane's eZine and used with her permission. She is one of my favorite singer songwriters and life coach. She is wise beyond her years. I love what she has to say here in this short post about reinventing yourself and living authentically. Click HERE to see her speak about it in video form. And do sign up for her free teleseminar!

How to Reinvent Yourself

by Christine Kane

There's change in the air.

More than ever, people are being called to stop living superficially, to let go of a life of "shoulds," and to create authentic purpose-driven days full of happiness, wealth, and spirit. Everyday and everywhere, women are reinventing themselves. It's almost as if it's impossible to stop this amazing flow!

And of course, there are many who might know this truth - but they hold back because they don't believe it's possible for them. (If this is you, then read on!)

I've been through two major reinventions. And I'm telling you from personal experience, it's not only possible - it's imperative to your happiness!

Reinventions are not just external. They often require huge paradigm shifts. In fact, true reinvention happens on the inside more than on the outside. (It just that by the time people start to notice you've reinvented yourself, they can only see the external changes!)

But it doesn't have to be dramatic or painful. In fact, my friends, it's quite a hoot! You'll thank yourself for it, I promise!

So, from Christine's "Been-There-Done-That" files, here are five tips for How to Reinvent Yourself.

1 - Use the Power of Intention

Usually, reinvention starts when someone looks around at her life and says, "Wow. This is NOT working. I am not happy."

The next step after that?

Intention. I LOVE and LIVE BY the power of intention. It's why the Uplevel Your Life Mastery Program begins with intention – and uses intention throughout the transformation process. Intention starts the ball rolling.

Ask yourself: What do I want to create more of in my life? Who do I want to BE? Use these answers to begin crafting an intention.

2 - Don't Wait for the HOW

Don't worry about HOW it's all going to happen. This will only stop you in your tracks. When we try to make the HOW happen, we aren't allowing the Universe (and our soul!) do its work. We're so busy opening up the oven to see how things are going, that nothing really gets cooking!

The true lesson of reinventing yourself is trust. You have to trust the power of your intention, and the power of this process. It's easier said than done, but it never stops being the ultimate lesson!

3 - Slow Down to Speed Up

After you set your intention, there might be a slow down period. That's because you have to let go of some of the old in order for the new to arrive. During this time period, most of the people in your life will think you've lost your mind. :-)

One of my self-reinventions was the transformation of my music career into an on-line model that included coaching and mentoring women. When I began this transition, I experienced one whole year of questions from my musician and songwriting friends: "Ohmigod, what's going on? You're NEVER on the road anymore!" They were downright worried for me.

I had to clear out the old. I had to slow down to speed up. The "slow down" period is why so few people want to reinvent themselves. It can be very uncomfortable to keep your focus on your intention, while everyone wants you to justify your choices.

(Trust me on one thing, okay? When things pick up again, everyone will want to know your secret! It will suddenly seem like you did it effortlessly!)

4 - Take Action

Slowing down to speed up doesn't mean you sit back and watch television. You must take action. You might feel, at first, like you're stumbling and fumbling - but a steady movement forward helps the process.

People who believe it's ALL about positive thinking are forgetting that human beings are meant to take action and use their bodies, too. Our bodies are a huge part of our powerful creative system! Use yours and take action!

5 - Get Support!

There aren't a lot of places in the mainstream world to find encouragement and wisdom when it comes to reinventing yourself. So, you need to seek out support! Coaches, mentors, books, audios – they are all terrific resources!

Don't try to do this on your own, okay?

In fact, here's a video I just created to speak about this very deep level of transformation! Click the link below to watch it – and then join me for a free coaching call!

Click this link



WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 12,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a
F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Keeping that ego at bay


Today's post is inspired once again by Christine Kane and her post on being true to your authentic self despite what the pesky old ego is trying to whisper in your ear.

I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the 100 authors featured at this weekend’s Hudson Children’s Book Festival with my “White Dog Haiku.” It was overwhelming to be surrounded by so many established authors and poets – and when I walked in to set up my ego said “Who do you think you are trying to pass off this little self-published book of haiku as a real children’s book?”

My table was located between two celebrity, award winning authors, Hudson Talbott and Alexandra Siy. OMG. Their tables were filled with award winning titles and kids, teachers, parents were flocking to them. It would have been easy to feel embarassed about my table with a single self-published paperback title. But I stayed in the moment and talked to every person who came by. They were attracted by Islay Bear’s cute picture.

I sold and signed 8 books, talked to kids about their dogs and the haiku they are writing in school, and had some of the most inspiring conversations with Hudson and Alexandra. They encouraged me to keep going and build on my White Dog Haiku. Kids love poetry and schools are always looking for speakers to come teach a module – this was evidenced by the fact that 30 kids came to my haiku reading session and the steady stream of them coming to my table. At one point my neighbors came in holding big signs up "I LOVE WHITE DOG" and "White Dog Haiku" (the picture above) making a big commotion and attracting lots of attention to my table.

Hudson and Alexandra pointed me to resources and offered their own help as mentors on my writing journey. Instead of being deflated trying to compare myself to others, I am even more energized at what I am putting out in the world.

I just submitted my haiku to a soon to be published online haiku magazine and in the next few months to some Children’s Book publishing houses. My first rejection came in very quickly from the haiku magazine editors the other day. My ego tried to say “See, you have no business submitting anything to anyone, you have no idea what you are doing!” But instead of closing my notebook and hanging up the pen, I researched what they were looking for in haiku. I read articles on writing haiku and trolled haiku websites and wrote and wrote. I submitted some more that I feel really good about. No rejection on those yet – I will let you know when I get officially published. It’s coming any day now. Despite what my ego says.....I am an author!!