It takes two.

This morning when my alarm went off, I was inspired by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s song, “It Takes Two”.

It takes two to make a thing go right…

It takes two to make it outta sight!

Every successful relationship requires all persons involved to put in effort .  One person alone cannot make the world go around, nor should they try to!

When you are a team, and both parties are excited, motivated, and putting the effort in, you can make it “outta sight!”

It is very noticeable when any relationship is one sided. Expectations are placed on one party, while the other party chooses to put their efforts elsewhere.

You can only be responsible for your behavior and your efforts.  And you cannot expect to change others.  If there is a relationship in your life that is not reaching the heights that you expect, you cannot take that all on! Take on your 50% of the responsibility that you have in the relationship, and be sure to communicate with the other party about your feelings.

If you want all of your relationships to soar, it will take two.  Nurture the relationships that fuel you and that create positive results.  Think carefully about relationships that don’t.

And above all, smile and remind yourself that you are amazing.  Namaste!

Why I love Sundays.

Oh Sunday! How do I love you? Let me count the ways.

Once we had children, “sleeping in” or reading a book on the weekend seemed to disappear. But we were missing it!  Thankfully, my cousin Julie taught me the value of sharing the weekend days with your spouse in order to garner some time to yourself.

Essentially, you take turns having a “sleep in” day.  When it is your sleep in day, you are allowed to stay in your bedroom until 10:30 or 11 without any interruptions to do as you please (sleep, read, do yoga).  The following day, it would be your responsibility to get up and take care of your home life.  Saturday is now Ryan’s sleep in day, and Sunday is mine.

Find more time for you.  You’re worth it.

Together we are strong.

Last week, my oldest daughter Trinity came home from school with an interesting story.  It was cold outside, around -5 degrees celcius (23 degrees farenheit) and the fire alarm went off.  This was not a planned fired drill, so  everyone in the school was evacuated, from grade 1 to grade 8!

No one had jackets on, and some kids didn’t even have their shoes on! Trinity told me that they all had to share socks with a boy in their class who had no shoes on when the fire alarm went off.  Trinity is in grade 2, and she told me that lots of kids in her class were crying and were really scared.

So, what did this group do to survive and stay calm and warm? They huddled.  The grade 1’s class was the first to gather in the center, and then the grade 2’s surrounded them.  The grade 8’s were on the outside of the huddle, giving their strength and experience to the group.  Just the thought of this reminds me of how penguins survive the winter!

Imagining this group of students huddling together warmed my heart, and reminded me that together we can overcome anything.

As it turned out, the fire alarm was pulled by a grade 1 boy who will forever be remembered for it.  And Trinity was excited because she got to see the firemen (that’s my girl!), and her classmate got to give one of the fireman a high five.  There’s always a bright side if you keep things in perspective.  Namaste.

Have Goals.

On Sunday, our oldest 2 daughters had music recitals for piano and violin.  In the morning, when I reminded Kayley (who is almost 6) about her piano recital, she said “Yeah! I’ve been waiting for this day my whole life!”

Ah, perspective.  No matter how old you are, you need to set goals.  And you need to get excited about achieving those goals.  Always strive to reach your goals, no matter what those goals are.  Remember, your goals are personal.  Stay excited about your life, and your dreams.  And when you reach your goals, reward yourself and then set bigger ones.  Conquer the world one small goal at a time.  Namaste.

Inspire yourself.

My inspiration program includes inspiring yourself.

It is easy to look to others for inspiration and motivation. Others can help to get you back on track, or help convince you that you are on the right path, or make you realize that you need to choose a new path. But you can become so reliant on that external motivation, that when it is removed, there is no longer anything pushing you to keep going. You have got to be able to inspire yourself. Here’s how.

Visualize yourself grabbing onto the little pilot light inside of you. See yourself lighting that pilot light, and see it burning brightly and warmly. Keep adding fuel to that fire so that it never goes out! There are a lot of different ways to add fuel to your fire. Here are a few of my favorites.

Talk nicely to yourself. You are capable of anything.
Reward yourself when you accomplish anything.
Don’t worry about what other people think. What you think about yourself, and the path you are on, is all that matters.
Take positive actions in your life. And avoid negative situations and negative people.
Get active. Do Yoga. Smile.

Inspire yourself everyday and you will start reaping the rewards. Namaste.

Success Law: Think Big, Focus Small

Success Law:Think Big, Focus Small.

In order to be successful, you need to start getting results in all areas of your life. The results do not have to be big, they just have to be there consistently. Break down your large goals into smaller chunks or pieces. They will need to be small enough to be accomplished in a day, or in a week. Then take action everyday towards accomplishing those small goals. If you are consistent, and you are taking the right actions, you will start seeing results. Reward yourself when you accomplish something small, because all of the little results will add together to get to the big goal. Think big and then focus small. You CAN do anything. Namaste.

Go Team!

Success Law: Form Teams Everywhere!

You were never meant to be alone in what you do. Life is much more fun and more rewarding when you have someone to share it with, professionally and personally. You will get farther much faster if you have amazing teams in place in all areas of your life.

Seek out people to share your life with who inspire you, and who complement your strengths and weaknesses. You do not have to be good at everything, so find people to partner with who have the qualities that are required.

Having a good partner, good friends, amazing support systems, close family, cohesive, smart work colleagues, as well as a great network of contacts is essential to a successful and happy life.

Think about forming teams in your life…from your family to your work colleagues. Think Big and think Together. Work toward similar goals with your teams and you will start achieving success sooner than you could ever have imagined.

Go Team O’Connor! Go Team On the Rocks! Go Team Tina and Ryan! Go Team Be That Girl!

What teams are you rooting for in your life? Start cheering them on today. Namaste.

Success Law: Get out of your Comfort Zone

Last night I attended my first “Hot” Yoga Class at a new studio. I have been wanting to try it for a long time, but it was not offered at the studio that I usually go to. And I was comfortable at the studio I went to all the time!

Deciding to try out a new studio last night, I could feel my own apprehension. “What will the studio be like”, “will I find it easily”, “who will the instructor be”, “how will it be different”?!

I was nervously excited about this new venture! As it turned out, I found the studio very easily, parking was a breeze, and there were only 4 people in my class! And the heat in that room made me sweat, and relax immediately!

Driving home afterwards in my sweat soaked clothes, I felt powerful and calm and excited. Having pushed myself out of my comfort zone to try something new, I gained access to a cool new yoga studio that I can see fast becoming my favorite.

Get out of your comfort zone and try something new today. Opportunities are waiting for you. Namaste.

Don’t Back Down!

Tom Petty Sang it Best…

“Well I know what’s right, I got just one life
in a world that keeps on pushin me around
but I’ll stand my ground
…and I won’t back down”

This is your life, and you have control over it. When things stand in your way, don’t back down! Stand your ground! Keep trying, keep doing, keep moving! There is always a way around every obstacle… around it, through it, over it, or taking a detour away from it. Don’t get discouraged. Things may not always go the way you thought they would, but if you keep focused on the end goal, you’ll get there no matter what route you take. Namaste.