I have the great privilege of announcing the launch of a new book of which I am a co-author. The book is titled “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life: Volume 3,” and it is a compilation of 101 articles with practical, solid advice on how you can finally take action and improve your life.

My involvement has been in the works for months now and I’m thrilled to finally say “It’s HERE….”. I am extremely excited to be a part of this, and am equally excited to be a contributing author along with Ken Blanchard, Les Brown, Mark Victor Hansen, Byron Katie and many other leading Self Improvement experts.

To get more information, go to: this website.

This book was created by David Riklan, the president and founder of the #1 Self Improvement website in the world, SelfGrowth.com. He tapped into the minds of the greatest experts of our time and pulled together something that is the perfect addition to your library.

I personally find this book ideal when you need short bursts of inspiration. In just 5-10 minutes you can read an article or two that will leave you feeling inspired.

Here’s the link for you to go directly to his offer:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=1803359

I encourage you to check it out — it makes the perfect gift for friends and business associates too.

Today I gave the blog a new facelift. Well, actually I’ve been lifting its face for a while now, it is just that I released it for all the world to see today. The main components and look & feel are the same, I simply expanded the formatting so that I could bring you more resources and information in the sidebars without making you scroll for all of eternity or squishing the meat of the content (in the center). I always hate blog designs that put so much “stuff” on the screen that the heart of the matter — the actual articles — get lost in the chaos.

I hope to work out any glitches that pop up shortly, but so far I am not spotting any. As always… I appreciate any feedback you might have. Feel free to weigh in and leave your $.02 in the comments or send me an email.

Now…back to our regularly scheduled programming

This Saturday at a meditation gathering I was reminded of a beautiful image I first heard when I started practicing with the meditation tapes recommended in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book “Full Catastrophe Living”. Imagine a body of water. At the surface can be waves and ripples and churning water. In the case of the ocean there is continuous motion of wind and waves, tides coming in and going out. Yet, beneath the surface deep within the water is a place of complete stillness. No matter how wicked the surface may appear, even during a storm, deep within the water there is stillness and calm.

Now, imagine your mind is a body of water. Is your mind like the surface going every which way full of churning and waves and disturbance? Most likely if you’re living in the real world with demands, obligations, and multi-tasking, your mind is churning away. At least I know mine is often skimming the surface of a million to-dos, thoughts, judgments, and other chattering. Yet, it is in that place of stillness that real clarity, peace, and happiness lives. We chase this elusive beast, yet it is always with us just beneath the surface where the stillness lies. We can tap into it if only we take a moment to do so. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my regular reads is the Working Solo blog. Today Leah Maclean had a great post entitled “Where is the Space in Your Business?” The darn article is so well written and struck such a chord with me I started to tear up.

In her article, Leah talks about the space in between all the do-ing that we have going on. Her comparison to music hits the nail on the head:

But lately I have been focusing on equally on what I DO as well as what I DON’T do. The stuff I include as well as the stuff I leave out. Not just the time I spend with clients and on the business but also the spaces in between.

There are so many parallels with this approach but most of the ones that I can think of have an artistic influence. When it comes to music, and jazz comes to mind immediately, the difference between capable and talented is not in the notes but in the space in between the notes. The same for artists and for cooks (sometimes you just need to know what to leave out).

In the full article she poses some great questions for different occupations and gives examples of the artistic space that makes all the difference. Don’t think you need to be in a traditionally artistic field for this analogy to ring true. We are all artists as we create our lives each moment. So, there’s no hiding from this lesson.

What I love about this perspective is that it isn’t limited to business. We all need space in all areas of our lives to create the magic. We need that space to allow the air to flow and for us to breathe. Without it, our internal fire diminishes until it is extinguished. If you’re stressed and booked to the max you have no space to feed your internal flame. Without that flame, you are unable to contribute to the world in the way you were meant to. You are unable to enjoy your rich relationshps. And, without that flame the technicolor from life fades to dim shades of gray.

• How is your internal flame doing today?
• Where is the space in your life?
• Who do you need to be and what do you need to get rid of to allow for the space and silence between the notes to blossom into the beautiful music you’re meant to create?