How do you act when you are your best self?

I waited until my birthday (today) to announce "brilliance inspires"!

It's a daily treat for you to play with in less than 2 minutes...and guide you to bringing forth your brilliance in a way you've not generated before.

The "system" is super easy...I've really done all the work for you.  After thousands of hours with clients over the years, I've simplified a formula for you to easily recognize your "best self", your brilliance, if you will, that is so radiant that you can't help but be dazzling.

Your only investment is to engage and have a couple of thoughts...which I will actually "prompt" for you!

It's "fall-off-a-stone-easy"...and could be life altering.  You never know what your brilliance will do once you tap into it, then let it shine!  Ooo...ahhh.

Watch for details next week.

Blessings-

Cindy

Mirrored Wallpaper, Madness and You

Remember the popular wallpaper from back in the 70’s or maybe early 80’s that had the reflective mirror-like backing with some gaudy design overlaid on top of the mirror effect?  Yes, by the early to mid-1980’s many people wanted that stuff gone and chose to update their décor.  I hung (and stripped) a lot of wallpaper in a lot of houses back then, having homeowners much happier when the “mirror effect” went away.

Fast forward to today.  A few weeks ago I moved.  A new beginning of sorts since I moved to a different suburb after living in Eden Prairie, raising my family, doing my businesses and volunteering there for almost 24 years.  I’m in a home older than I’ve been accustomed to and guess what adorns my foyer?  Yup…wallpaper from hell.

When one of my nephews, then one of my son’s friends, who helped with my move saw the walls in my entryway for the first time, they marveled, “Wow!  This is SO cool!  I wish I had this in MY place!”  Keep in mind, these guys are 19-23 years old and have never seen the mirrored wallpaper phenomenon since most of it was (thankfully) gone prior to their births.

What does that have to do with you?  Let me explain. 

Note:  For those of you outside the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, you can continue to read for an idea or two, yet the promotion might not be something you can take advantage of for logistical reasons....just sayin'.

As I was stripping wallpaper from what was the pretty Pepto-Bismol Pink bathroom this weekend (my adventure isn’t limited to the foyer walls), I had the best idea.

It occurred to me that there are 2 things that happen in early March that can help me expedite this house project dilemma.  Not high school sports tournaments.  Not Spring Breaks.  It’s that time of the year for both March Madness Sales and The Minneapolis Home and Garden Show. 

When I worked in someone else’s office years ago, I used to take a vacation day every year to go to the Mpls Convention Center on a weekday before the big weekend rush to visit the home improvement vendors and smell the flowers and dirt they brought in for displays.  A date I couldn’t deny myself when there were typically snowbanks everywhere on the way to all those blooms just waiting to show off downtown.  Loved it!  I like upgrading houses and I enjoy gardening, which is a bonus, since the place I moved to a couple of weeks ago has given me more than ample “opportunities” to do both.  Translate:  LOTS of work to do.  In EVERY room (literally).   Before gardening season starts.

As a gardener and artist, it’s one thing to be curious with anticipation and another thing to expect a major project.  I don’t know what’s under the 4’ of snow in my new backyard other than some evidence of a wire fence in the shape of a square doing its best to peek out for air.  “Grandma”, the lovely 90-year old lady that lived here for the past 35 years, promised there is a garden back there and listed a few surprises I may find if – I mean when – the snow melts.

Yesterday, as my best buddy, DIF, and I tackled layers of glue on the walls in anticipation of Spackle, Sandpaper and Blue Tape to do their duties next before the main event (paint!), the genius idea came to me:

Have a March “Stop-The-Madness” Sale!

I’m admittedly a bit creeped out about doing a sale this extreme, yet I really need to fund this house overhaul project this month – before I have my own madness AND before the fence in the backyard is uncovered.  If you feel inspired to get some clarity about your own “madness” (you know I’m not alone when it comes to that) and are willing to come into my “construction site” for the Deal of the Year, here are some things to consider if this Stop-The-Madness promotion is for you or someone you love and/or respect:

March indicates the end of the first quarter. 

• Are you on track with your goals and aspirations for 2011?
• Have you been one of the many to abandon the gym for the year (be honest) because your New Year’s Resolution was just SO long ago and that commitment has come and gone as quickly as a satellite in orbit?  You know what your "gym" is that you blew off already, so just fill that in the blank.
• Do you have a nagging sense that you are “up to something”… and are having a heck of a time defining what “it” is – or what action you might take to execute “it”? 

I can inspire some insight.

FROM NOW THROUGH MARCH 10:  Almost all of my services* are ½ price.  Gulp.

• 1-Hour Ideation/Effectiveness  Strategy sessions:  $75 (reg. $150)
• 1-hour hand analysis reading:  $60 (reg. $120)
• ½ hour hand analysis reading:  $35 (reg. $70)
• $300 off 6-month Executive Coaching Program

This sale applies only to services purchased and started on or before 3/10/11.   Note that although I've recorded the readings I've done for the last 15+ years that I've been reading hands, at this madness price, they won’t be recorded unless you bring something along to record for yourself.  However, if we do any Ideation work in person, you can take my notes with you.  

*This promo does not apply to gift certificates, corporate events or appointments scheduled beyond 3/10/11.  It also does not include copywriting services provided by WordQueens, although you may want to check out that fun site if you need some irreverent, effective content writing for your marketing materials, website, etc.  www.wordqueens.com

Now it’s up to you.  Call or email me to see whatever time you and I can match our calendars and I’m yours!  Since we both have several things already on our agendas for the next week and a half, it would be important set this up sooner than later, because on March 11, my madness is technically over.  Ok, as soon as the paper is gone, it’s officially over.

Thank you for your contribution to yourself, your well-being, your success and the ripple effect you cause when you contribute to your inspired self when you get a handle on your own madness this March! 

Oh, and HUGE GRATITUDE for beautifying our world (no more mirrored paper!) by supporting my project.  You’ll have to stop by for tea in the summer once the surprise in the back yard unfolds. 

I look forward to hearing from you.

BE the Inspiration YOU are!

Cindy

cindyinspires@gmail.com

612-965-6501



Just Do It

Just do it?    That sentence is incomplete.

Yes, those three short words are an effective marketing slogan for Nike, right along side of their internationally recognized swoosh symbol.  For practical purposes though, the sentence isn’t complete.  Before we get started, I’m disclosing that I have nothing against Nike, and own products of theirs.  That’s not the point of this commentary.

Here’s my point:  An ad may have an example of a decent athlete doing some activity, say jogging.  That must mean that if you buy a product with a swoosh, you would conceivably be able to “just do it” even though you haven’t put on a pair of running shoes in 10 years...or maybe ever, right? 

When it comes to a majority of us actually taking any action on whatever our “it” is that were supposedly able to “just do”, the fun little 3-word sentence really doesn’t work well or consistently . 

For years I’ve had a number of my clients finishing that sentence for themselves:  Just do it afraid.  Just do it alone.  Just do it because I can.  Just do it anyway.  Just do it because it’s the right thing to do, etc.

This website is a classic example.  This is the first post I’ve made in months.  I’ve owned my domain name for years.  If I would “Just Do It” and create a website by myself out of thin air, it’s reasonable to assume I wouldn’t have a crater-sized lapse in time since my last post and this one.  My problem was that I didn’t have MY correct ending to my “Just do it...” sentence. 

I fully grasp that I could be (and have been referred to) as a poster child for “technologically inept”, despite that I have interacted online quite a bit and also do website copywriting for WordQueens.  But html is a language I understand as well as Swahili and I didn’t find myself all that motivated to “just do it”.   

Once I was able to finally tell myself “just do it because it matters”, I had my inspired purpose and became interested and motivated to find solution to creating my website with a format that I didn’t break out from hives from doing AND would import all of my old WordPress blog postings.  Thank you squarespace!  Oh, and .... YAY!  I’m no longer “Under Construction”.

As the page turns to uncover YOUR very own 2011...the one involving you, your business, your friends and family, and our society at large, how are you proposing to accomplish your dreams, desires and goals for the upcoming 12 months?  What “purpose” will generate some inspired action?  First of all, think of something you would really, really like to DO.  Now write it down, because you’ll get further instructions in a minute.

(Side Note:  One way the sentence, “Just do it”, makes sense would be in response to a “should I ...” or “shouldn’t I....” scenario.   That’s not the thing you’ll be writing down as the thing you would really, really like to do (or it wouldn't be a "should" for you).  Your intuition already knows the correct response for you on any “should” question you could come up with...so that’s easy.  Do that another time if you’d like.)

Even more inspiring and motivating for both the initiation AND completion of your “thing to do” would require that you have a purpose.  Your purpose is a deep desire of yours for a compelling end result, even if that result means getting the monkey off your back. 

Now, look again at what you wrote down for the thing you would really, really like to DO and read it s-l-o-w-l-y out loud to yourself.  Ok, now keeping that thought in your mind, then answer this:   “How would I complete my ‘Just Do it________’ sentence in order to have that happen?”  Stop and close your eyes for about 20-30 seconds while you ponder that question.

See?  I bet your inner voice just whispered an answer to you, didn’t it?  Yes, the first thing that popped into your brain is a CLUE - a meaningful place to start your inspired action.  Congrats!  I’d love to hear your thoughts about what your inspired action is all about for your 2011!

Thank you for joining me here at cindydaniels.com.  I’ll be updating material, promos and more sources, you might find of value.  Love it if you would stop by again soon.

Keep inspiring!

Cindy