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Guest Post: Passioneer® Elisabeth Manning, Founder of Conscious Conception

July 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

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Passion and Perseverance

By Elisabeth Manning

I am a poster child for perseverance from the day I was born. Perseverance itself was the beginning of my own dawn to pursue human potential, which led  to discovering my passion in work.

Persevere, according to Webster means to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement.

I persevere now at a whole new level today, because I have passion for my life, my work, my self, my future, and the service I offer to planetary evolution. But I had a few hoops to jump through first to understand the value and source of passion and of human potential, and looking back I built a very big perseverance muscle which I learned comes easy when you have passion. Early on however, it was about survival.

How it all began you ask? Being raised in an alcoholic single parent home in a small town, living on welfare. My grandparents were millionaires, go figure.

Perseverance then was about showing up for a wounded mother.  Most of my family says I raised her. She checked herself into a mental institution when I was three but they threw her out and said she wasn’t crazy enough.

It was about survival and doing what had to be done. I was opening cans of soup by climbing on a chair at the kitchen counter when I was 5. I was allowed to miss school because my mom always got me out of bed at 2 am to listen to her cry to Barry Manilow records about how she was never approved of by her own father, and then she’d fall asleep drunk with a cigarette in her hand.  I would routinely transfer my pillow to her crooked neck, put out her cigarette, and crawl gratefully back into bed.

Perseverance then to me was about getting to school, my source of hope out of this cycle. Once I missed 21 days in a row because my mom liked the company. One day the principal came and we played possum and my mom squeezed lemon juice through the mailbox slot when he tried to peek in. Perseverance then was about having enough school supplies, so I stole them. Got escorted home by a nice policeman and had to go visit a probation officer who felt I had to have been wrongly accused, I was “too good”. So we had nice visits for the next 6 months while he scratched his head. Then I was taken away when I was 13 when mom was deemed “unfit.” But arguably in her defense, there was love. I just didn’t ever see her love herself.

Then came the day in psychology class at age 16 where we were introduced to Maslow’s Heirarchy of Self Actualization. I heard a voice and “it” took my pencil tip to the tippy top and said, “you are going HERE.” It was like an angel had given me a road map to life.

Fast forward 20 years of struggle, self loathing, self discovery, and finally consciously coming into my life’s work. It is no wonder I am passionate about sparing the children by helping parents see infertility as an opportunity to awaken to their potential to heal, and to consciously conceive, which leads to conscious parenting and broken destructive family patterns.

Today, I cannot NOT include my story in my current passion for my work. My life and work is ALL about stepping into our highest human potential to become worthy of the children coming into the world. And I wouldn’t change a thing, except maybe my definition of perseverance today: passion in action.

I couldn’t have had a better road map.

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Elisabeth Manning is a Certified Spirit Coach and is a teacher in training at the Foundation for Spiritual Development in San Rafael California. Unlike traditional coaching Elisabeth works at the spirit and energetic levels to get to the root of the issues blocking her clients from achieving their soul purpose and unlimited nature. At this level sustainable healing and growth is achieve whereby the clients become their own guru and healer. She has a practice called Conscious Conception empowering women and couples to co-create fertility in all areas of their lives to regain health and wealth of spirit mind and body, and to prepare to live a mindful parenting path.  You can reach her at www.consciousconception.net, and please click here for her radio show interview.[/private][/private]

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Creating a Powerful Support Network: Guest Expert Post by Deborah Osgood

June 7, 2010 By 1 Comment

[private][private]This month’s Passioneering theme is “Creating a Powerful Support Network” – that is, how you build a cheerleading team to support you in thriving at what you love and making a difference in the world.

Deborah Osgood is Cofounder/CKO of Knowledge Institute, experts in small business development,  education and entrepreneurial communities including www.BUZGate.org. Recognized for Excellence in Business Services, Enterprising Woman of the Year, and SBA Women in Business Champion, Deborah has successfully launched of over 57 entrepreneurial resource communities, developed and published several training programs, written numerous articles, and volunteered countless hours consulting, presenting, and personally mentoring thousands of business professionals and young adults around the globe on issues dealing with how to start, grow and succeed in their professional endeavors. You can reach her at: www.BUZGate.org Click here to hear here June 2009 Blog Talk Radio interview with her.

Below is Deborah’s guest blog.  Thanks Deborah and Happy Passioneering

Building Support Networks

By Deborah Osgood

Into this world we arrive on our own and we depart on our own. While here, however, we don’t have to go it alone.

In fact, most anything worth experiencing in life happens while working with and through others. This includes parent-child, employer-employee and entrepreneur-customer relationships. In each case, taking the time to step back, expand your consciousness and identify your objectives will provide a great foundation for making connections that support a meaningful, purposeful and joyful life.

Family Support Networks

Family is one of the most common support networks since the dawning of mankind. At the same time, it can be the most complex. In yesteryears, family support networks came from local community where the butcher, the baker and candlestick maker represented a network of give and take relationships. Today, these same give and take exchanges remain important, yet how we develop them is a lot more complex.

Support is available through local face-to-face exchanges, or through social media and other global networks. This includes support for most any interest or need, such as physical, mental, spiritual or just plain fun. Simply use a search engine, enter the key words specific to your interests, and then “reach out and touch someone.” A site like MeetUp, for example, helps people with shared interests connect by meeting or forming online clubs in communities around the world.

Career Networks

We can spend 40 hours a week working, plus travel, plus time getting ready and winding down. In total, this might mean 10 to 12 hours a day, 5 days a week working. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to “do what you love, and love what you do!” While easily said, figuring this out and finding a way to do it, can be challenging. One place to start is using a no-cost career self-assessment and planning tool. In 4 easy steps, you’ll have a better idea about what you want and where to go to get it. LinkedIn can also be a useful no-cost option, particularly for professionals seeking to network about business or finding a job.

Entrepreneurial Networks

As a result of current economic conditions, many individuals are looking into starting their own business. Just like family and career, building support networks in this area is important to progress. Fortunately, there are thousands of no-cost governments and nonprofit business assistance programs across the country to help you start, grow and succeed in business. This includes help with business planning, counseling, marketing, franchising, funding, import/export and most any business question you can think of. A good place to begin is BUZGate.org, which is a free state-by-state directory of business assistance agencies, information and resources.

In summary, a meaningful life is all about “think it, learn it, do it well.” Be sure to take the time to know what you like to do and then build and nurture your support networks so that you don’t have to do it alone.[/private][/private]

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Passioneer® Terry Kohl, Guest Blogger, Walking Your Talk

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

[private][private]Special thanks to Terry Kohl for sharing this week’s guest blog on the theme of Courage.  If you or someone you know would like to be a guest blogger, email us at info@passionsandpossibilities.com.  Thank you and Happy Passioneering!


Walking Your Talk

by:  Terry Kohl

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to advise others on what to do? I don’t know about you but I excel at this. In my Live Like You Mean It Playshops™ I am expected to teach, however, the teacher in me often takes over in my day-to-day life, and sometimes without being asked. Ooops.

Recently, I observed myself advising a friend on a subject that was challenging to me as well. When I realized that I could easily be advising myself, an epiphany occurred. I was “thunked” on the head with the awareness that I was not walking my talk.

Most of us have been guilty of the “all talk and no action” syndrome at one time or another. However, studies show that people pay more attention to what others do than what they say. This includes kids, big time!

As a child, one of my mother’s favorite admonitions was, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say.” The injustice of that infuriated me well into my early 20’s. Then I realized that she wanted to instill in me a better framework for action and decision-making than she was able to carry out herself. (Thank you mom!)

So what holds us back from practicing what we preach, or walking our talk? As I began to drill down into the real issue, I realized I was afraid. In reality, we are all afraid of something. The key is to recognize it and take action to overcome it.

My fear, and the one I so effectively help others to overcome, is the fear of being misjudged. But, as I explain to others, you can line up 20 people and get 20 different reactions to whatever it is you are asking for. Relying on the approval of anyone other than you is a one-way ticket to feelings of rejection and judgment.

Making the decision to walk my talk was the first—and frankly—the most difficult step in overcoming my fear. Many of us do not pay attention to what we are thinking. Thoughts are habit forming and become habit-forming actions. Where your thoughts go, your experience follows. Your talk is where you walk.

Being mindful of what I am thinking, and consciously choosing whether to speak those thoughts, has caused me to never miss a good chance to shut up. The real power is in our actions, not our words.

Where are your thoughts taking you? Are you on a journey of joy, discovery and self-love, or are you so intent on telling others what to do that you lose track of your own course. Make it a priority to decide to uncover your true beliefs and motives. It only takes a little courage to squeeze out the little fears one by one.

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Successful author and coach, Terry Kohl is our guest blogger for the next few months.   You can reach her at either www.LostYourJobNowWhat.com or www.TerryKohl.com.


Thank you Terry and Happy Passioneering!
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Guest Blogger and Passioneer™ Terry Kohl on Taking Action

April 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

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Sometimes Taking Action Means Being Still

By Guest Blogger, Terry Kohl

With this month’s topic, Taking Action rolling around in my head looking for a “hook,” I was reminded of a quote; “We are human beings, not human doings.”

I don’t know about you but many would describe me as a take action kind of gal. As the owner of a Public Relations firm, I’d quickly be out of work if “action” took a back seat. But in reviewing the past year of my life—a year of profound change for me—I realized that in many cases, I chose being still as my action.

To clarify, my definition of taking action used to imply that if I believed in something, I acted on it. I would take a look at all the possibilities in front of me and choose those that propelled me forward towards my intended goal. Those possibilities did not include doing nothing as an action.

Example: Nearly 2 years ago, the “old me” contacted the editor of a major publication with the intention of having them review my book, Lost Your Job? Now What! With over 8 million subscribers, I was thrilled that they were open to the idea. Following their suggestion I sent them a copy of my book. Time passed. I made several follow up calls and sent a few e-mail over a 1-year period, all to no avail. Finally, I connected with the editor who said that my book was still in a pile on his office floor and that these things often take awhile. He was still very interested and asked me to keep “bugging” him.

Well, the new me had emerged by this time, the me that didn’t always take action by doing something and certainly not by “bugging” people. I decided that if reviewing my book was in my highest good, so be it. I would no longer be “in charge” of trying to make it happen.

The new me also initiated the practice of inviting miracles and possibilities into each day. You can read about that practice at The Powerful Act of Inviting. On the very first day of that powerful invitation the editor of the above publication called. He offered me the opportunity to become a guest contributor for an upcoming issue.

In deciding not to take action by my normal methods, (continued calling and e-mailing, and I admit, obsessing over the idea) I was offered an even better opportunity. Being able to promote my own books ideas was a far better position to be in than having someone else review the book.

There are times when taking action is the proper procedure for me but blessedly, I have come to discern that at other times being a human being, not a human doing is in my best interest.

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Successful author and coach, Terry Kohl is our guest blogger for the next few months.   You can reach her at either www.LostYourJobNowWhat.com or www.TerryKohl.com.


Thank you Terry and Happy Passioneering!
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Passioneer™ Terry Kohl, Author, Visionary and Our Guest Blogger: The Powerful Act of Inviting

April 12, 2010 By 2 Comments

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The Powerful Act of Inviting

by Terry Kohl

A year ago I began noticing something. Upon awakening I would feel a lightness of being. For a few brief seconds there was nothing on my mind; the day had not yet mentally “dawned.” I felt the warmth of my down comforter, heard the soft purr of my kitty patiently waiting for breakfast, and lazily watched the movie dreams of the night before, evaporate.

As my mind engaged, and until I went to sleep again that night, a never-ending stream of thoughts would flow. Before I would even get out of bed, I was off and running, trying to keep up with my to-do list, that feeling of lightness far behind me.

Shortly after that revelation, I decided to begin practicing mindfulness; the art of living only in the moment. It was something that had appealed to me for some time. This was when I created my Act of Inviting, which has turned into a delicious practice for me, and one that I wish to share with you today.

Prior to my beginning my mindfulness practice, I allowed those thoughts that began filling up my mind in the morning to have their way with me. They would dictate my day and I, the obedient servant, would try to keep up with all the demands.

What we think about is what we see. I began thinking about “now” and how to stay in it!

I decided that my first step was to take advantage of those powerful moments just after I woke up each morning and before my conscious mind took over. On a piece of paper I wrote, “I invite miracles and possibilities into my day.” I tacked it up on the ceiling above my bed so that I would see it the moment I opened my eyes. I chose miracles and possibilities because I didn’t want to place any specifics on what might show up for me that day. I liked the feeling of the open-endedness of those two words.

The very first day as I opened my eyes and saw my invitation overhead I felt an immense relief. It was as if someone had miraculously showed up to help me. Throughout the days and weeks to come, those few words would pop into my mind throughout the day and eventually they formed a habit.

Also, that very first day something that I had been working on for over a year with no movement whatsoever, suddenly fell into place although not what I had wanted. It was an even better possibility!

Now, miracles and possibilities show up for me all the time. I still have my piece of paper stuck to the ceiling above my bed and smile as I look at it each morning. It reminds me to invite whatever I desire into my life. You can, too!

We recently interviewed Terry about her Passions and Possibilities journey  – Click here to read her profile and story.    Thanks Terry, and Happy Passioneering!

If you would like to be a guest blogger or share a story or article, please contact us at info(at)passioneers.com or by  submitting your information via our contact form.[/private][/private]

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