book of success tips – Page 6

Good Bathroom Graffiti

Now, I am not one to condone writing on the walls in bathrooms. That is not what this is about. We have all been in a stall where someone has defaced the walls with whatever they have on their person; pens, markers, pencils or just something sharp they can use to scratch it in. Often, the things written are either cruel or mean, or it is someone professing their love for someone else. (T.O. + R.O. 4-Ever). I hate to generalize on this, but I would say that most of the graffiti is done by younger adults.

Today, I was inspired by some high quality graffiti in my stall. It read:

Love yourself for who you are

I absolutely adored this wall message and it made me think fondly of the new generation of young adults. Yeah, they’re writing on the walls, but at least they are writing about truly important things!

And it’s true. You need to love yourself for who you are. When you love yourself, you will start treating yourself better. You will find it easier to provide your body with healthy things and avoid things that are not good for you. When you love yourself, you will talk nicely to yourself and it will be easier for you to succeed at whatever you want.

So embrace the inspiration to love yourself! Small, inspiring quotes can be everywhere…. even in your bathroom stall. Be ready! Namaste.

Home again.

At the end of any vacation, you may feel sad about your return to “real life”. If this is the case, you need to rethink your “real life”!

It’s time to get excited about your everyday by making sure you are doing things you love. Follow your passion every day in everything you do, and let go of the things that bring you stress but do not give you results.

Don’t know what your passions are anymore? Time to think about it for real. in my book, Be That Girl, I walk you through writing a 5 year plan based on what you really want out of life. Can’t wait for your copy of the book? Sign up for my e-newsletter at and receive a free video on changing your life today.

Chase your dreams everyday and soon your dreams will be reality. Namaste.

Arrrr Matey!

Did you know that Roatan, Honduras used to be inhabited by Pirates, including Henry Morgan? The British Government made piracy illegal and then they proceeded to hire the “pirates” to ransack Spanish ships. The pirates became known as privateers, and they lived on Roatan at Port Royal (which is also the name of one of the local beers… yummy). Any loot that the privateers took became property of the British Government, and the privateers received a decent salary for their work. They were allowed to keep one gold chain in their possession, so they got creative and made the chains really long and heavy! They were also allowed to keep one gold earring. Getting a proper burial was very important to the privateers, and upon giving a fellow pirate their burial, the earring was taken as payment.

Today I am dreaming about finding a pirate map with a huge red X on it marking the spot where some of that British loot was hidden (they didn’t give it all to the British… they are pirates!). Oh, the adventure I am going to have searching for that treasure! Once I find it, you can bet that I will share it!

There’s a little history lesson for you today, and also a reminder to have a dream! Dream big or dream small, just make sure that your dreams seem crazy, illogical, amazing and personal. The more you can allow yourself to think about the impossible, the closer you will be to achieving those dreams.

Enjoy your search for hidden treasures, whatever that means to you. Namaste.

Get Connected.

The other day I stopped at the corner grocery store to get some deli meat and cheese. While I was waiting for them to prepare my sandwich fare, I grabbed a cold beer and put it on the counter. A gentleman came up to buy his items and my beer sort of got mixed in with his stuff. I quickly grabbed the beer and said
“oh, the beer is mine”. This sweet man says “Oh, I’ll buy that beer for you, don’t worry about it!”

How kind is that? He was from London, Ontario and we ended up having a good ‘ole chat about what we do with ourselves when we are not on vacation. Turns out he owns nursing homes in Ontario, and he had valuable information for me on a little project that I have been mulling around in my head. And he is so excited to read “Be That Girl!”. I am taking a copy to him today. In less than 5 minutes, we shared a tonne of information with each other and I thoroughly enjoyed waiting for my lunchmeat.

Every person you meet has information for you, or you have information for them. You have got to be daring enough to talk to strangers, in spite of what our parents taught us as children. It still amazes me how quickly my children make connections with other children. Kids are like magnets to each other and it is as if they know innately that if they hang out together the fun will be multiplied. Yesterday, we met a family with 3 girls also at the beach. The connection between those girls and my girls was instantaneous, and meeting them ended up being a highlight of my girls day. I have included a picture of the little darlings.

Us adults could really learn from this. We need to get out there and start talking to new people. Get connected, get information, share information, and reap the rewards that your network will give you.

Today, I am on a mission to pay my free beer forward to someone new. I wonder who I will meet, and what I will learn. How exciting!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Inspiration is Everywhere!

This morning when I went to make coffee, I noticed a little saying on the tray where the coffee was stored. It said “Enjoy your life”. Funny, I have made coffee everyday for 5 days, and yet today is the first day that I actually noticed this little message. I guess I needed a little inspiration today.

My 3 beautiful children were up at 5:30 this morning (and we are on vacation!), and the sun had not even peaked up out of the ocean. Good thing I went to bed early last night. But really Tina, come on. You are on vacation, you have 3 lovely, healthy girls, and you got to watch the sun rise over the ocean blue this morning. Enjoy your life! Because it is truly amazing, and everyone needs a little reminder of that sometimes.

Inspiration is everywhere in your life, but you have to be looking for it and you need to be perceptive enough to see it and understand it! Enjoy every moment of every day, no matter what gets thrown at you. Smile and breathe. Relax and don’t worry. Keep your eyes open… the Universe is waiting to inspire you!

Roatan Recycling Update.

When I was in Roatan a year ago, there were no recycling facilities that I could see. The people living here even told me that there was no where to recycle cans and bottles. If you’ve read my book, I talk about how cans are simply burned or just thrown into the ocean here! My husband and I did discover by asking around that the stores would take the bottles and cans and return them, so we started dropping them off there. One year later, I am so pleased to report that there are now bottle and can containers located all over the island. Woo Hoo! What a difference a year can make. Someone here was thinking, and wanted to help make a change for this island, and for the world. A small thought followed by a small action by one person created a huge change in how things are handled on this island.

You may think that the little things you do don’t add up to much. But, if the little things you do stimulate others to change their thinking, and then they start doing little things also, eventually we can all change the world just by doing something small. And that is the way to make change, and save the planet that has been so good to us. Small actions and small changes in thinking create huge results. So get out there and do something small today! Namaste.

Roatan Time.

Our luggage managed to get to Roatan a day after we did, and we were told that the luggage would be delivered at 2:30pm. 2:30 came and went, and at 5 we decided we should do something. A quick drive to the airport, and there was our luggage sitting in the office. They had intended to deliver it the next morning at 10:30! I guess Roatan time is different than what we are used to. Everything here can happen, manana (tomorrow, or the next day…) The point is, there is no rushing on this island. Where we are from, time is money and there is always a rush to get things done. We rely on things being on time so that we can get everything we need to done. Rush, rush. Stay on time!

It is interesting to have the pace of your life slowed down to the crawl of a hermit crab. Certainly not what we are used to, but it is a change that I could get used to.

Ryan and I are trading off sleep in days on our vacation, and this morning was my turn. I had the best sleep, and I woke up feeling refreshed. The sun was shining when I got up, and the kids were already in the pool. It felt like it was at least 11 am. To my surprise, when I looked at the clock it was 8:00 am! Poor Ryan… the girls were up at 6 am with the sun! But time is all relative, and it is a matter of perspective. It really didn’t matter what time it was, I felt great.

And waking up on a Monday morning without the rush of my usual busy lifestyle feels amazing.

Take some time, even if it is 5 minutes, to refresh yourself and your body. Stop the hustle bustle in your own body by savoring 5 minutes of calm and peace. Rushing all the time in your life causing an increase in adrenaline, which is a fight or flight response. This can make you feel more stressed all the time, even when you’re not! Take a break, breathe, relax and refresh. Namaste!

Bathing Suits

I have a new bathing suit, and now that our luggage is here (woo hoo!) I get to sport this new suit every day. I just loooove it. The colors are great and it makes me feel like a million bucks. I mentioned out loud the idea that “a new bathing suit can make you feel like a million bucks”. We are vacationing with my dad, and his response was interesting. He made the comment that no matter what body type you have, and no matter what your bathing suit looks like, if you walk with confidence when you have it on, everyone will take notice. Keep your head up, shoulders back, suck your tummy in, look around with interest at everything, keep your arms by your side, and smile. It is all about how you handle yourself that gets you noticed, not what you are wearing or how your body looks. But you will be more willing to walk with that confidence if what you are wearing something that makes you feel good.

It’s not what you wear, but how you wear it. Feel confident about your body and yourself, and then let the world know that you are amazing. Have a wonderful day!

Adventures in Roatan, Day 1.

Today marks the first day of our well-deserved family holiday in Roatan, Honduras. Yesterday, my 4 year old, Payton and I practiced running around the house with her backpack on, pretending that we were going to miss our flight. I wanted to make sure that she could handle carrying that bag by herself, and she did great!

Our vacation this morning started with a 3 am alarm, which one never minds when it means that you are off to somewhere special. The morning in Calgary was spectacular, and watching the sunrise as we took off into the air for Houston was spectacular. Interestingly, a freak lightning storm delayed our arrival, and we landed in Houston with mere minutes to spare to catch our flight to Roatan. Good thing Payton and I had practiced! We had to run like we have never run before to make that flight… but we ended up making it. Our luggage, however, did not make that flight! We are all praying that our swim suits and clothes show up tomorrow.

The swarm of bats dining at the hummingbird feeder and the sound of the waves crashing made me somewhat forget that I may be wearing the same set of clothes for a couple of days. And hey, I may just get a chance to buy another new bathing suit… (and one for Ryan, and Trinity and Kayley and Payton…) Who needs clothes anyway?

It’s all in the perspective. Enjoy every moment of every day. Most events that seem stressful are really laughable afterwards. Laugh at them while they are happening, and it will remove a lot of the stress. Cheers from Roatan!

Reward Yourself

You work hard everyday, so make sure you reward yourself often with small things, and occasionally with larger things. Give yourself small rewards on a weekly basis at minimum. Daily would be a interesting goal. Reward yourself in BIG ways at least once per year.

Small rewards can be things like:

a bath with some aroma therapy and a locked door
a dark chocolate bar, a bottle of wine and your favorite book for an hour (or more…)
a yoga class
a sporting event
coffee with a friend
buying yourself a new plant, or some flowers
5 minutes of meditation

Big Rewards are things like:

Trips or Vacations
Shopping for Shoes, Clothes, Purses
An item you’ve been wanting for a while… hot tub, lamborghini, motorbike, house
Spa Weekend

You put in effort everyday in your life, and you deserve to be rewarded for those efforts. If you take responsibility for rewarding yourself when you have done good things, you will build confidence in yourself and you will not need to look externally for rewards. This will improve your outlook on everything, and when you have something to look forward to, you will be more motivated to put the effort in. And the more effort you put in, the more you will be able to reward yourself. Cool, huh?

Have a wonderful day. Namaste.