Why You Have No Integrity

You have no integrity. None. Nada. Zip.

Don't take it personally, 99% of our society has no integrity. I'm not saying you're in good company, I'm just saying it's a pretty ordinary way of being.

Now before you get all upset and defensive, you might want to read the rest of this post with an open mind.

As humans, we simply aren't built with integrity as part of the package. Slice any of us open, you won't find the "integrity chip." Integrity is not natural for us. It's a quality that must be developed...like a flabby, flacid muscle that must be flexed and worked out consistently to get strong.

By the way, I have no integrity either. When I first started this blog six months ago, I committed to writing every day. And if you've been paying attention, you know I clearly didn't keep my commitment there. So I'm not just pointin' fingers at you, I'm talking abuot you, me and everyone else who walks on two legs.

But here's the thing...and pay attention because this is profound.

When you can create integrity in your life...when you do what you say you will do, by when you say you will do it...your life becomes extraordinary.

When you live in integrity, your life goes the way you say it goes...because you said so.

Now that's powerful.

How would you like your life to go the way you say it goes? Would ya like that? Well, all you have to do is be conscious about what comes out of your mouth...and then act accordingly.

More about that in a later post.

For now, the simplest way to get in integrity is to make a list of all the things you've been saying you should do. You know what I'm talking about, the "I really should..." or "I've been meaning to..." or "I'll...when I get around to it" and "Yeah, I'm gonna...." Just write them all out in a list.

Next, just start tackling those things one by one.

Some of you just fainted. Or your eyes glazed over. Or you clicked away.

But seriously, that's all you gotta do to begin to have your life go the way YOU say it goes. MAke a list of all that crap you've been putting off, and get busy knocking it out.

And then watch what comes up as you're doing it. But more about that in a later post.

And here is your Question of the Day (QoD):

If you truly can create whatever you want, and have your life go the way you say it goes, what would you create?

P.S. Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras Mambo...

"Mardi Gras mambo, mambo, mambo, Mardi Gras mambo, mambo, mambo, MArdi Gras mamboooooo, down in New Orleans."

Today we treated teh folks at our church to a taste of MArdi Gras. Since I couldn't find king cakes here in Colorado, I made homemade king cakes, which I must say were quite tasty. We even included a little plastic baby in each cake...although one person didn't admit to getting it!

I also made a huge pot of jambalaya, which was absolutely scarfed down. That's what happens when people are introduced to "real food" ! ! ! These Colorado folks have never eaten so good, I'll bet!

Yes, New ORleans does truly know how to cook and eat. That's the only thing (besides seeing my family of course) that I really miss about living in New Orleans...the food! You just can't get food like that here. And trust me, I've been looking.

(If you know about a great place to eat in Colorado, let me know so we can check it out.)

In the meantime, I'll just keep cookin' my shrimp scampi and my jambalaya and eatin' my muffalettas. Yum yum yum.

Short and sweet today. Got food on teh brain.

But not without your question of the day:

When's the last time you tried a new food? Why not get adventurous and check out something new and delight you palate tonight?

Congratulations Are in Order

Yes folks, it's time to congratulate me once again.

We bought a house in Colorado.

OK, a more accurate statement would be that we bought dirt. But not just any dirt. We bought dirt with a stunning mountain view.

Now that we've happily sold our New ORleans home, I suppose we created a "home" vacuum that was just itchin' to get filled. So we sat down adn wrote out exactly what we wanted in a new home. And three days later, we found it.

Do you think that freaked me out? Heck yeah!

In fact, one of my goals is to get to teh point where my near-instant manifestation of my desires no longer surprises me. But I'm not there yet. When it happens that fast, I still can't help but be surprised. As though it came from somewhere else, and not from inside of me. Hmpf. Sometimes I admit, I feel so unevolved.

Anyway, the house is gonna be amazing. Now that we're browsing through colors, carpet, hardwood flooring and gourmet kitchen features, its' really starting to become real in my mind. I mean the idea of the ideal house was always real, but now I can imagine specific features of my new house. Even though right now, an "ordinary" person would just see dirt there. Haha.

No, wait - dirt with a VIEW!

Our new home will have nearly 180 degree unobstructed mountain views. Yep, we can pretty much see the entire front range. So the views will be from our walkout basement, from our living room, from our kitchen and breakfast nook, from our dining room, from Andy's office, from teh guest room (which will eventually become the nursery) and from Sally's room.

Holy Cannoli, it's impressive!

And it's exactly what I asked for. But I'm trying not to be surprised by that.

In the coming weeks, we'll be talking about hte power of your word. And if you think you've heard it all before, think again. I just "got" this in a totally differnt light. And I can't wait to share it with you.

So here's your QoD:
What do I want that I am unwilling to even speak of or write about or barely even think about? What is truly my deepest, darkest desire?

In the coming weeks, I'll attempt to help you understand that YOU CAN HAVE IT. Whatever it is. You CAN and you WILL !

Oops, I spoke too soon....

Thanks to TiVo, I am watching the Olympics, but not in real time.

Tonight we saw the cluster**** by Lindsey Jacobellis the other night. YIKES!

Just when I was starting to warm up to this new generation of Olympians, something like this happens, and now my view is completely changed. In case you either detest the Olympics or you've been living under a bridge for the past couple of days (hey, stranger things have happened), let me bring you up to speed.

Lindsey Jacobellis was the US hopeful for women's snowboard cross. It's a new sport added to teh Olympics this year - kind of a cross between motorcross and snowboarding. It's a gnarly track (to use the snowboarder's terminology) and 4 boarders race simultaneously. In a triple qualification, Lindsey Jacobellis made it to the finals.

The amazing part is that not only did she take the lead, but she ended up a good 50 yards ahead of the pack, which is practically unheard of in this kind of sport where the competitors are so tightly packed, their boards are sliding over each others and there are many collisions (or "carnage" as the announced liked to keep referring to it).

As she is entering the home stretch, virtually guaranteed the gold medal unless something unspeakable happens, Lindsey looks back to gauge how big of a lead she has over the other girls. (I say girls because I don't think a one of them is over age 22). Seeing that she has a massive lead on the others, she does a little showboat maneuver adn grabs her board as she passes over hte 2nd to last jump. Now, keep in mind that the object is to win with teh fastest speed, so "big air" is NOT what you want in this sport.

Unfortunately, her little stunt backfired, as she landed badly (on her heels, apparently a bad thing for boarders...what do I know? I ski, for pete's sake!) and fell, giving the 2nd place girl plenty of time to catch up.

So Lindsey lost her massive lead and was lucky to even score a silver medal at that point.

Or as the smarmy announcer put it, "That is not the face of someone who just won a silver medal. That is the face of someone who just lost the gold!"

As if that wasn't bad enough, in an interview immediately following the race, she backpeddles out of it, explaining it away. "oh, I have had trouble with that jump, so I tried to stabilize by grabbing my board, but it didn't work out. Hey, at least I won a silver!"

Shame, shame, shame Lindsey. Don't you know you are a role model for young women and young atheletes all across hte U.S.? Why not just have hte integrity to own up to what you did? You saw you had a big lead, you got excited and you showed off a little. And you cost your country a gold medal and tainted your Olympic memory for years to come. Oh, don't think for a second the media won't have the gall to throw it up in your face again and show instant replays 4 years from now in Vancouver. They'll just eat that stuff up. And Americans watching everywhere will shake their heads and continue generalizing about snowboarders and your generation.

Later, during another interview, Lindsey was asked point-blank whether or not she was showboating (we all saw the instant replay, so we know the answer...but we just wanted to see whether or not she would admit it). Her response was slightly better than earlier, but still pretty lame. "I don't know, maybe a little. But I was just so darn excited, I couldn't help it!" And thus teh problem with our society today.

Yes, I am on a rant today, folks. That was certainly NOT the Olympic spirit in action. Even two of the US men's team totally "dissed" her when she walked up to them just after the race. They turned their backs and walked away.

But poor Lindsey. If only she had admitted her weak moment, she could have been free from it forever. How much more would we admire her if she had said, "Yeah, that was really stupid. I can't beleive I did that. I could have had the gold in my hands, and now I am lucky to even have a medal at all." We would have admired her honesty, and forgiven her. And it would have been so much easier for her to forgive herself for that moment of weakness -- of humanness.

But no, that's not what happened. She tried to cover it up, and now she'll have to keep justifying her reasons in her own mind, adn to the press. Poor, poor lindsey. And too bad for those few snowboarders who really do work hard and take their sport seriously. I'd venture to say that credibility for boarding just slipped a few notches.

Yeah, I thikn I'll stick with skiing, and leave the competitions to the pros (and Olympians). I'm happy cruising my greens, adn the occasional blue, enjoying hte scenery and hanging with my hubby. Oh, and making sure my integrity stays intact.

The reason I'm on a rant about this today is because success chases integrity. If you are not having success, it's directly due to your total lack of integrity. But more about that tomorrow. I promised myself I'd do 100 situps every morning and night, and it's time to fulfill on that commitment yet again.

Integrity takes practice. Few people grow up with a true understanding of their word as their bond. Your word is all you have. Period. I get that now, and I am practicing being in integrity every day.

Here is your question du jour:
Where in your life are you "covering up" instead of "coming clean"? Getting into integrity starts by telling the truth about areas where you've been inauthentic. Clean it up and move on. Then practice keeping your word and doign what you say you will do. Success will naturally follow - it simpy must.

Lower Class Olympians?

I can't help but feel differently when I watch the snowboarders vs. the other Olympic athletes.

What is it about those boarders, exactly?

Somehow they just seem less, I don't know...serious. Liek they cruised on in to the medal spots without really trying, or putting forth the kind of effort the other athletes do.

I mean, there is no real reason why I shouldn't be inspired by the boarders. They don't show disrespect to the sport. They aren't breaking any Olympic rules. They don't smack gum during national anthems or shout obscenities when they lose.

So what is it that makes me smirk when snowboarding competitions are on?

Is is the way they all jam out to their iPods just before the big race? The victory dances and up-close faces made into the nearest camera when they complete their run? The way they act like a bunch of kids who are having the funnest day of their lives?

Hmmm....I would suppose that says something about me.

Perhaps it's just my past telling me that we have to work really, really hard adn be really, really serious to get results. Perhaps I have an old limiting belief that tells me I can't have fun and accomplish something great at hte same time. I do think I take myself too seriously sometimes....

As a matter of fact, I thikn this new generation may be on to something.

Let's have fun AND get it done! Imagine what the workplaces in America would be like if everyone adopted that kind of attitude?!? Productivity would probably soar as morale was lifted out of the dumps and dungeons.

Hmmmm...interesting point. I thikn I will watch tomorrow's activities with a new eye for the athletes.

But here is YOUR question of the day:

What do you believe about work and the work ethic? Is it possible and even probable that you could have fun while accomplishing tasks and goals? Are these youngsters on to something here? How could you include fun in your duties and responsibilities?

The Problem With You Is...

I'm sure many of you are thinking about my last post and saying to yourself "What is she talking about?!?!? I'll never be an Olympic athlete and I never wanted to be that! What does any of this have to do with MY life?"

You're probably REALLY thinking (whether you verbalize it mentally or not):

The problem with me is...I'm too old, too fat, too lazy, too spastic, too busy, too lighthearted, too tall, too short, too thin, too young, too...etc.

You thikn you can't achieve your greatest goals and dreams because there's something WRONG with you. Maybe you blame your health, or your size, or your age, or a million other factors.

I've got news for ya...

there's NOTHING wrong wtih you.

The only "problem" (as if there were such a thing) is that you don't have a goal that's big enough for you to risk it all! You are afraid to set really big goals, and so you set small, wimpy goals and it's no wonder you lose interest in them after a short time!

Who wouldn't???

So at some point in your past, you tried and failed. Maybe a million times. At some point you said "what's the use?" and you gave up. But you didn't just give up on your dreams, you gave up on your LIFE. Now you are merely existing, trying to convince yourself you're doing OK while your LIFE is passing you by!

So what's next? Will you continue to tiptoe quietly to your grave? Or will you take a stand for what's possible in your life? Will you take a stand for what you REALLY want to achieve? And will you go for it?

And the all-importnat question of the day is:

What do YOU see as a goal so big you would be willing to risk everything to achieve?

Olympic Spirit of Success

I think you'd have to have a heart of stone NOT to be inspired by the Olympic spirit. My husband is an Olympics fanatic -- every two years, he pretty much glues himself to the couch to watch the Olympics. He is also an Olympic pin collector and has a massive array of Olympic pins, dating as far back to Nagano. Winter sports are his favorite, to be sure.

Thank goodness for TiVo is all I have to say. I've skimmed through my "preferred" sports and I don't thkn I've spent more than 2 hours watching the sports (and that includes whatever ice skating competition preceded the Olympics).

But every twoyears as we begin this Olympic marathon-viewing stint, I find myself completely inspired by these athletes (well, not so much the snowboarders, but the rest of 'em for sure). What they put themselves through -- many of them for a decade or more -- just at a SHOT at the gold medal is truly inspiring.

There are days when I don't even feel like getting dressed, and I finally get around to putting some real clothing on around 3 or 4 in teh afternoon, usually only because I gotta go somewhere. To think about intensely practicing at a sport for longer than most people are "conscious" at work simply blows my mind. But the look on their face when the chips are down tells you it was all worth it to them. Every pain they pushed through, every fun time they passed up in lieu of practice, everything they sacrificed to get where they are is worth it when they stand atop that podium with the heavy weight of that medal around their neck adn their patriotic pride is evident as many are moved to tears to hear their own country's national anthem played for all to hear.

So what is it exactly that separates Olympic athletes from everyone else?

Is is their drive and relentless pursuit of the ultimate athletic achievement?
Is it their mindset?
Is it their desire?
Is it visualization?
Is it clarity of purpose and clarity of their goal or desired outcome?
Is it their upbringing?

What is it exactly?

The answer to that question isn't nearly as important as hte answer to this one:

What qualities do YOU possess that ensure you will achieve ANY goal you set and take action to get? What are your Olympic qualities (and I'm not talking about athletics here!)?

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Of course we'll talk about love today, since it is (after all) Valentine's Day.

You may be wondering what love has to do with success. The answer to that may surprise you...Love has EVERYTHING to do with success!

You cannot experience true success without love.

Sure, temporary success may result, but you cannot have lasting success without love. Consider hte following:

If you don't love what you're doing, how can you put your heart into it? You can't -- you will soon become bitter and cynical and look for another career.

If you don't love the products or services that you're offering, how can you sell them? You can't -- you can't offer anything genuinely from anyplace execept from love.

If you're not offering these products and services to assist people through love, how long do you think people will buy them for? Not long -- peopel can sense a fake, even if not right away.

If you don't love yourself, how can you continue to accept money, fame or accolades for your work? You can't -- you'll just end up sabotaging yourself and losing it all.

Love is at the heart of everything.

I'm not talking about poopy-schmoopy-kissy-wissy kind of love. Although that's nice to have, too. Nice to have, but not essential for lasting success.

I'm talking about love in the purest form -- seeing other peopel for who they really are, and making an offering to that.

Now THAT's at hte core of true success. Why do you think the most successful people are in industries that they are passionate about? Becasue they LOVE their work. Sure, it's a word we throw around a lot, but you gotta get my meaning here.

So your question of the day, Love, is this:

Who or what do I really love? I seem to love myself most when I am ______________. Now, can you see a way in which you could offer that to others?

Go for it!

How to Change Your Life (No, Seriously)

Did you know that there is no such thing as "new and improved" ?

Sure, you see that phrase or hear it 100 times a day on TV and radio commercials, on billboards and in the stores on new product packaging.

Think about it.

If something is new, it's never existed before. That's why it's "new."

If something is improved, it existed before, and now it's better. It's not new.

Therefore, there is no such thing as "new and improved."

And yet, you think New and Improved makes perfect sense. Why? Because you don't actually take the time to THINK about it. You just accept it as fact.

Which should make you wonder....what ELSE are you taking for granted? What else are you blindly accepting as truth instead of considering whether or not you believe it to be true?

If you want to know how to change your life, all you really need to do is slow down. Sure, I know that's completely contrary to what our society tells us to do, we want everything to be more, better, faster, different. But what is the sacrifice?

Slow down and you can begin to see instead of just zipping by. Slow down and you can begin to listen and truly hear. Slow down adn you can experience life instead of rushing off to...what, exactly?

Here's your question of the day:
What's missing from your life? What's missing, that the presence of, would make a difference?

Did You Miss Me?

Sorry, I've been pretty busy lately. We have a contract on our New Orleans home - we are scheduled to close on Feb 17th, so we've been busy with long-distance inspections and last-minute repairs and negotiations. Plus I was sick - and I mean sick as a DOG with some kind of intestinal virus - for hte past few days, so things are just starting to get back to normal here.

I wanted to share something with you (it feels good to tell teh truth):

I realized that I have been struggling with my weight for a while now. See, I've been pretending to do whatever it takes to get in shape. I've been pretending that I would do anythign, eat anything, refrain from eating anything, adn participate in any kind of rigorous workout schedule, just to get fit. My goal is to lose 30 pounds before getting pregnant again (yes, we want more children).

But in reality? The truth is that I want to eat what I want, when I want it, and I only want to exercise when it's fun or doesn't feel like exercise, when I feel like it.

The result is that I am NOT happy with my body the way it is.

Now, in the midst of all this, I realized that I can create the possibility of being in integrity. My personal fitness is an area of my life where in the past I have never been able to keep promises to myself. I have broken promises to myself and others who attempted to support my efforts to get in shape.

Now, in the face of this new possibility of being in integrity, I have hte opportunity to make new promises, and KEEP them.

I can't tell you how empowering this is.

On Thursday, I promised myself that I would do 100 situps every morning and 100 situps every evening, and that I would write down everything I ate.

I am thrilled to tell you that despite my violently ill stomach, I have kept that promise every day since Thursday.

Now before you dismiss this as "oh, she's only talking about 5 days so far" remember that we make progress one step - one TINY step - at a time.

So your QoD:

What tiny, baby step will you take today to move you closer toward your goals?

Wanna Be An American Idol?

You know what's interesting about American Idol?

The winners of that show use some of the same principles I detail in The Success Method.

See, the thing to remember is that Success leaves clues.

Yeah, short and sweet today...

and your question du jour:

Are you following hte right clues?
Are you taking advice from people who are where you WANT to be, or from people who are exactly where you are (or worse yet, not as far along as you)?