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!