Doing Mornings Mindfully

Talk about an honor to be included in a Huffington Post article with some of my favorite Spiritual Shero’s, Oprah & Gabby Bernstein. 

 

The article entitled The 7 Things Mindful People Do Before 9:00 AM showcases simple ways to be more mindful and spiritual before you even leave the house in the morning.

 


Photo Credit:  Heaven Mcarthur
 

Life is a bit like a cocktail – you never know if it’s going to be shaken or stirred, but if you choose what you will infuse your day with, you really can be at choice around how you experience it.

 

We are all super busy and who needs or wants to add anything new to our list, but what if you could just shake up what you are already doing to get a different result?

Just as every cocktail uses different ingredients to change its flavor – you can throw in different mindfulness practices to change the flavor of your life. You already have to “do mornings” so why not do them in a way that brings you joy and allows you to Shine throughout the day.



The Price of Authenticity... What is Your Soul Worth?

Has there ever been a time in your career where you were asked to compromise an important part of yourself?  A time where you were asked to be someone that wasn't authentically you?  A time you have been asked to "tone down" a certain part of your essential self?  My guess is yes but my question is how did you handle it?   

I recently signed a contract to do some training for an organization that I was really excited about.  We were getting ready to go live and they asked if they could edit my bio.  One of the phrases that has always been in my bio was actually given to me by a client.  It says, “Cassi’s success in the business world coupled with her deep spiritual connection and intuition is a rare combination of intellect and heart".  I have actually always loved that statement as I believe it captures the essence of my work.   When I asked why they wanted to take this out, the CEO said she was afraid I might offend some of their clients with the word "Spiritual".

At first I said, "sure, take it out".  But then the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became.  My head said, it’s just a word, no big deal, take it out.  But my soul said otherwise.  My soul said, the reason you are good at what you do is because you know what makes you strong.  You know what makes you stand-out.  You know what allows you to connect to others in a deep way.  And that is captured in that statement. 

One of the first things I do when I work with clients is to help them discover their unique leadership style;  the brand of their Spirit. You can’t lead powerfully if you don’t know who you are and more importantly, you won’t enjoy it.  I believe leadership is a calling – a yearning of the soul to step up and serve.  And serve in a way that only you can. 

So as hard as it was, I voided the contract and walked away.  I left a lot of money on the table, but I got to leave with my soul. 

• What do you feel so strongly about that would cause you to walk away from doing the work you love? 

• What part of your leadership brand makes you so powerful and unique that you wouldn’t alter it for anyone?   

• As a leader, what part of yourself are you willing to amplify so that you may become more of who you are – ultimately allowing you to serve others in a bigger way?    

And lastly, does your soul have a price and if so, what is it?  Every time I’ve walked away from a job that no longer aligned with my soul, I’ve been rewarded.  It’s scary as hell and yet it’s never felt so good. 

May you be inspired to live and lead authentically, powerfully & soulfully...

A Happy Soul is a Trusted Soul

 

Photo Credit by heaven mcarthur

L is for LOVE

So, what’s Love got to do with it?  Well, if you are a Luminary Leader, then it’s got everything to do with it.  I love the Ziggy Marley song, “Love is my Religion”, not because being a Luminary Leader has anything to do with being a certain religion, but it does mean adopting a certain way of being… and that being starts with LOVE! 

LOVE for YOURSELF:   This one goes without saying, but if you don’t love yourself, you are incapable of fully loving others.  It’s just the way it works…  So, if you are finding yourself struggling with loving others, or leading from a place of Love, begin here.  If you’re not feelin’ the love for yourself, dig deep and see what’s going on (or work with a therapist or coach to support you).  But in the meantime, start treating yourself with love.  Stop the negative self-talk.  Do something nice for yourself.  Treat your body as the temple it is.   And if all else fails, ask.  Ask yourself what it needs to feel loved.  Then stop and listen.  It will tell you.  

LOVE for OTHERS:  Ok, this is a biggie.  Think of all the great leaders you admire most.  My guess is you can you feel their love. You can feel it for the people they are leading.  You can feel it for the cause they are leading.  You can just feel it.  It’s one of the things that set great leaders apart.  They aren’t afraid of love; they embrace it and they use it.  I recently worked with a team of people.  And as you can imagine, some of them were really easy to love, and some… well, not so much.   This was a group that I had to be a part of, so I had two choices, I could be bitchy and non-loving, or I could find one thing about each of them that I could love.  Since you get what you focus on, I could have either focused on what I didn’t like about them (and I would have gotten more of it), or I could choose to find one thing to love.  One little thing.  And focus on that.  The funny thing is, when you focus on what you love about someone, you actually find more things about them that you do love.  Now this doesn’t mean I wanted to be best friends with these people, but it did allow me to work with them in a productive vs. painful way.  And since I don’t like pain, it was much easier to go with love!  Plus, if people can feel your love for them, they will go to the moon for you. 

LOVE SHARING YOUR LIGHT:    However you choose to share your light, love doing it.  It could be in your career, being a parent, a volunteer, etc.  If you don’t love it, ask yourself why and then take action to change it.  Or, what would it take to love it even more?  Luminary Leaders don’t play small, so an easy way to play bigger is to turn up the volume on the things you love – plus, it’s way more fun. 

Love is the highest vibration we can transmit, so use it powerfully and know that our world will be that much brighter when you choose to SHINE!   

And if you're in the mood for a little Ziggy - Love on! 

Welcome to ulumination!

We are so excited to launch on Valentines Day, because at our core, our work is all about Love. 

Loving the Life You Live.  Living the Life you Love.  And then sharing it with others...

As you can see, we are just getting started, but we'd love for you to sign up and we'll be adding new and exciting things very soon.  Until then, thanks for stopping by and Happy Valentines Day! 

With Love & Gratitude,
Cassi

Taking the Leap...

This blog was originally written for
Laura Berman Fortgang's
Now What Coaching Blog &
picked up by BlogHer in August 2011.

If you are thinking of taking a LEAP, keep reading... 

Question:
I wonder about folks who have transitioned and followed their passion out of a ‘safe’ position into something others may deem risky. How did they go about this? How much preparation can one do? How do they manage doubts? How do they know they will succeed?

Answer:
Thanks so much for your question and it’s one that every person I have ever worked with around igniting their purpose and following their dream has asked. How do you take the leap from the safety of the known to the risky edges of the unknown? I wish I could tell you it was easy peasy and no fear involved, but I would be lying. It is scary. And it is not easy. Since you are asking the question, my guess is you’ve got at least one foot in the known and at least a few toes in the unknown and you are wondering how to make the leap, right?

Leaping is really quite simple – notice I didn’t say easy….


Let Go: Now What has an entire chapter on letting go because it’s such a huge part of the journey. Think how much harder the leap will be if you are hanging onto things that no longer serve or fit you. Things to think about letting go of: Old identities, other people’s ideas of what you should do/be, your own limiting beliefs, etc. If you’re going to leap, remember the lighter you are, the easier it will be, so start letting go now.

Evaluate: This is the practical side of leaping. What do you need to be successful in your new venture? Do you have the training, the information, the support, the financial reserves you need? If not, make a plan to get it and don’t leap before you do. Think of this as your safety net and who would want to leap without one?

Acknowledge: Acknowledge your fears, your limiting beliefs, all of the things that are currently getting in your way. And then begin to work on them. No one says you have to leap tomorrow. Some leaps will take time. I knew for 2 years I wanted to leave my old corporate life, but it took me 2 years to work through my “stuff” and gain the courage to do so. Acknowledge where you are now and work towards where you want to be. It’s a journey.

Pray: The logical side of me wants to use Plan as my p-word here, because who leaps without a plan. But what I know to be true is that this journey is a spiritual journey. A journey to where your heart wants to take you and a journey to why you have been placed on this earth, so prayer feels as important as a plan!

Pray for guidance. Pray for knowing the right time to leap. Pray for attracting what you need. Pray for others on the journey. Pray for acceptance to know that you are exactly where you need to be and pray for signs to know when you are ready to take the next steps. Pray that if you stumble (and you will) that you have the courage to get back up. Pray to enjoy the journey. And lastly, say a prayer of gratitude for who you are and the gifts you are meant to share. What would our world be missing out on if you chose not to leap?

And my prayer for you is that you see that success is in the leaping, even if you have no idea where/how you may land. Happy Leaping!