Debi Waldeck joined us April 28th to share her Passioneering journey about wellness and her fabulous book trilogy.

My three biggest takeaways from Debi’s journey:

• Love of self is the most important success factor in thriving at what you love.  Debi invites us to look in the mirror and really love who and what we see!  Try it and notice how difficult it might be for you.
• The biggest barrier between you and your Passioneering success?  Not forgiving something or something.  Let it go guys!
• Stay focused on your vision and take ACTION to move forward.  You won’t create success by sitting at home and waiting for the phone to ring.   That is, to quote Debi:  “God does not need credit, God needs to be demonstrated.”

Thanks Debi and Happy Passioneering!

About Debi:

Debi Waldeck’s new trilogy, In the Beginning…There Was Wellness, details her account from despair to discovery to destiny! Defying the odds, Debi was told to abort her son due to complications from a medication but a still, small, sweet voice inside said different. Her son was born with numerous complications lasting eight years, fueling her desire to identify the why’s to the fourfold increase in chronic childhood illness and autoimmune disease. Her first book, Saving ‘Generation Next’ unveil the common denominator behind many disease states. Applying Debi’s discoveries finds her son now whole and serving at the United States Military Academy. Lessons in faith and health initiated her second book, Forever Young and Vibrant, which is a body manual that will cause you to never again be afraid that the boogey man will come like a thief in the night. Her last book, The Currency of Thought, identifies how our internal dialogue affects all relationships, including our relationship with money. Health, wealth and peace of mind… it’s all the same. You can reach her at www.DebiWaldeck.com.  A BIG invitation to read her books and attend her telecasts – Highly Recomended!

Passion Q&A with Debi:

SO: Your definition of “passion” – your “WHY” for being on the planet?

Many people pursue an end goal with fire or passion.  Often I have seen that fire come from a burning ember of for instance, an unpleasant experience that one wishes to change.  Therefore, anger turned inward is self-destructive or depression, anger turned outwards is violence or vandalism and anger turned upwards is passion-driving us to fulfill our destiny.   Through the process of directing that energy we can move through many steps; from despair to depression to anger to guilt to complacency to action to contentment to hope and ultimately to joy and love.

SO: Your biggest passions for serving others, and how you’re expressing them (include hobbies, volunteering, if you wish)?

My biggest passion is self-empowerment and creating hope, inspiration and action.  I personally moved from despair, to discoveries to destiny by learning through that process that we participate in creating our experience based on how we respond to situations and that we can actively participate in creating our future by controlling our thoughts and actions today.  We do not have to succumb to a life of prescription drugs or to the maxed out credit cards.  We do not have to succumb to a life of mediocrity.  More important, many are looking for a one word answer, a 140 character tweet or fixes in a pill… yet, many are getting sicker, fatter and poorer…. The answer is knowledge.  Knowledge is the true gold.  Therefore, my passion is transformation and in that, I have a coaching series called 52 weeks to a renewed you. that teaches for instance, how body systems work together, why there is a fourfold increase in chronic childhood illness, how the immune system is developed based on the quality of the development of the intestinal area, and how our thoughts affect all relationships including our relationship with money.

SO: Your biggest challenge(s) in expressing your passions for serving others and how you’ve addressed them?

• FOCUS- any of us who wish to make a difference must absolutely ignore those who say it can’t be done, or no one will listen. Brian Tracy-the most successful author of all time (chicken soup for the soul).. spends 8-10 minutes per day visualizing his desired outcome.
• PERCEPTION-I had to decide and accept that commercially marketing my message does not detract from my message, academia or professionalism.  In order to make a difference, my message must get out and that requires marketing or selling me.  That was very hard at first.  I had to balance the female and male part of this project (my books and message) the female is the creation of the product, of the book and message.  I birthed my baby, but the male or masculine energy is that which provides for and takes care of this project.  If you had a cure for cancer-would you keep it to yourself or would you be unable to sleep each day unless you shared your message…promote yourself!-don’t hide your light under a bushel.
• DISCIPLINE-craft our day so that we do what needs to be done first before we do what we want to do.  Over time, what needs to be done will become what we want to do.
• NETWORK-why do some attract the right person who helps launch their dream?  2 things-they visualize the breakthrough and they get out so that the opportunity may present itself.  Many stay stuck behind the computer or in their home praying for the breakthrough.

SO: What have been the key factors in your success?

• DECISION-the decision to make a difference and take action
• EXPECTATIONS-Expecting to make a difference-setting ambitious goals
• VISUALIZE-I have Debi Waldeck-New York Times best seller posters in many places in my home, I have a dreamboard and intentions that I focus on daily.
• ALLIANCES-I am and have created alliances with like minded people who agree to focus together on our desired outcome of making a difference and significantly decreasing the numbers of children with asthma, ADHD, allergies, autoimmune disease and more.  This is a power group which is different from a master mind group.  A mastermind group brainstorms the best idea…. A powergroup utilizes what is known as the MAHARISHI EFFECT which was studied in 160+ social science journals where a small percentage of a population could focus on a desired outcome and what was seen was a predicted outcome of change.
• BE A GIVER-identify a charity and give a % of your proceeds to them-speak to like minded groups for free…
• NETWORKING:  Join as many associations as you can, meet people.
• ACTION-DO IT AFRAID….JUST DO IT…. we will never be perfect before we take action. GOD CANNOT DIRECT YOUR STEPS IF YOU ARE NOT STEPPING.. it was about putting out my message, book, web-site, webinar series… knowing it was not perfect yet, but accepting feedback and constantly improving.   JUST GET STARTED

SO:  What one word/quality best describes your journey?

INTROSPECTIVE- for me, due to many factors, I found myself alone in many ways.  Therefore, I relied on the ‘still, small, sweet’ voice inside, on prayer and meditation, on observations and interpretations.  I think all of that caused me to be able to think outside the box.  Look, most people whose kid has asthma puts them on an inhaler and it is done, or if the child has ADHD, they put them on medicine and it is done…they are diagnosed with fibromyalgia and that becomes their reality.   I always asked the world and God WHY?   I looked for the root cause and rather than addressing the symptom-I addressed the cause… whether this was in illness, finances or a very disruptive teenager…. By addressing the cause, we altered the course forever.

SO:   What has been your experience of prosperity, as you define it?

For me, Prosperity is being 100% connected to God or what some called source.   When we remove ego from all situations and judge situations as neither good or bad, when we live in the now, when we choose to be happy regardless the experience, then we are connected and in that, all good things will come.  We were meant to have abundance and to have health, wealth and peace of mind.

SO:  What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learned in making the leap?

When it is done in the spirit… it is done.   It just takes time for the physical to catch up.  A wave crashes on the shore but the energy that created that wave happened long before the physical manifestation of the crash on the shore….

SO: What’s your support system look like; how did you create it?

Took me a long time to even realize how important that was.  My family is in Virginia….  So I never had family around for our children and family.  When it came to business, it seemed the same (honestly…. I seemed to find women who wanted to compete rather than be friends.. or men that wanted something other than business…)… therefore, my support system primarily has been God or source or whatever you want to call it, my husband and children.  I take very good care of them and they do the same for me.  I have been a coach, mentor or leader for a long time.  I kept praying, when the student is ready the teacher will come, right??  But I realized that we attract what we need to learn.  I listened to the speech,

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.  There’s nothing enlightening about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you…as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
–Nelson Mandela

SO: What wisdom do you have for someone who’s scared/discouraged about their own leap? It’s trust, love, wisdom triangle…

Why do we resist change?

As Marianne Williamson said, “We are afraid of our own power.”

Why?

Because change gives you an opportunity to know yourself, and people are afraid to truly ‘see’ themselves.

Why?

Because people see themselves through the eyes of all who have come

before them.

Sadly, people do not look at themselves through the eyes of God because if they did, they would stare all day long.

Why?

Because many people do not know God

Why?

You start to know God when you

learn to love yourself. To know God means you choose to love yourself

exactly the way you are now – male,

female, black, white, yellow, red, fat, skinny, ugly, pretty. The problem is

that people seek man’s approval before

and above God’s approval.

Why?

Because people have no faith. Faith is the opposite of fear. People are in fear and the cycle begins again.

Okay, everyone knows that faith is not fear. We know what it isn’t, but what is faith?

Faith is to know that when you step into the unknown, you will not fall.  You will either find your way or you

will be carried. Faith is Trust.

What is Trust?

Trust is to know that you are loved.

But what if you have never been

shown love?

It’s the Man versus God thing again. Man must demonstrate love. To learn to trust, you must learn to love yourself. Only then will you come to know God.

Does self-love remove God?

Don’t worry that self-love takes God out of the equation.

God does not need credit,

God needs to be demonstrated.

We recently interviewed The Veggie Queen, Jill Nussinow, for our program.

Jill Nussinow, aka The Veggie Queen™, is a cookbook author, culinary educator, Registered Dietitian, and freelance writer whose goal is to inspire people to eat more plant foods, especially vegetables. She is the author of The Veggie Queen:  Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment cookbook and stars in the DVD Pressure Cooking:  A Fresh Look, Delicious Dishes in Minutes.  You can read more about her at her website http://www.theveggiequeen.com or on her blog at http://www.theveggiequeen.blogspot.com.

When asked who she is, she replies “I wear many hats but they’re all related to great food that includes vegetables and other plant based cuisine. I’m a vegetable and plant-food cooking expert, in vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free eating. Don’t worry about me turning you into a vegetarian; you have to do that on your own time. I just want to help you get more vegetables and plant foods into your diet, no matter what other foods you choose to eat.”

SO: What’s your definition of “passion”?

I am passionate about teaching people about vegetables, vegetarian, plant foods and pressure cooking, and why eating this way allows you to feel better, look better and gives you more energy.

SO: What are your biggest passions for serving others, and how are you expressing them (also include hobbies and volunteering)?

I pride myself on being a role model for others. I shop at the farmer’s market, I share recipes on the spot (in person), I blog, I volunteer for the Vegetarian Nutrition Practice group of The American Dietetic Association and for SOMA Mushrooms (Sonoma County Mycological Association) and do yoga on a regular basis, which keeps me grounded. I also support local farmers in a variety of ways. I find teaching moments outside of the classroom whenever possible. My goal is to teach people individually or in groups who will pass that knowledge on, in the “teach a man to fish” model.

SO: Your biggest challenge(s) in leaping into your passions for serving others, and how you have addressed them?

I want to do “it all” and often that is too much for me to do.  I have learned to say no more often, especially if someone else can do what I don’t feel that I can. It’s like pruning a rose bush – the more I get into it, the clearer it becomes what I need to cut away or say no to.

SO: Your experience of “prosperity,” as you define it, in making the leap?

I believe that doing what you love attracts people to you but if you don’t have business skills you aren’t always able to attract the money to go with it. You have to also realize that what you do is valuable and that charging for your skills and experience is what business people do. There’s nothing wrong with that. So, I have built my abundance-ness counsciousness over time.

SO: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in making the leap?

Clearly define your goals. One of mine is that what I do must be fun for me or feed me in some way. If it doesn’t, then the money isn’t usually worth doing the task. And the more that I’ve said no to the things that don’t work for me allows the more joyous and often lucrative events into my life. And also, you must persevere (and not burn bridges) because events don’t always happen on the timeline that you have in mind.

SO: What’s your support system look like; how did you create it?

I have an assistant who helps me at my classes and she is invaluable. I didn’t create it – she asked if she could help me and I gladly said yes. I could have more support but have not yet found the ideal virtual assistant.

SO:  What are your biggest keys to your success?

The ability to be resilient along with talent, experience, skills and probably most of all humor. I love having fun and the enthusiasm to share it with others. I am also grateful for everything that I have in my life and encourage others to find their passion and become inspiring people.

SO: What wisdom do you have for someone who’s scared/discouraged about their own leap?

Think about the worst that could happen if you don’t move ahead, and what’s the best thing that could happen if you do move ahead. What feels better? Hopefully it’s the best thing and if not, then you need to figure out why you don’t want to be more successful. Just do it, keep your eyes open for learning opportunities and get others who can encourage and support you.

SO: What’s your next big milestone?

I am having my website redesigned and working on my next book. I am also developing my speaking platform in a more serious way and hope to reach more people with my message about how eating affects your life.

Thanks and Happy Passioneering!

SO: What’s your definition of “passion”?  

That which you believe in to your toes whose pursuit gives your life purpose, meaning and fulfillment; something, that once you find it, to live without it, would be to not live at all.

SO: What are your biggest passions for serving others, and how are you expressing them (also include hobbies and volunteering)?  

I love inspiring others into believing in themselves and in their own abilities to affect change in their lives. For me, it was about informing others and inspiring them to make changes in their health and the health of their families. Allowing them to accept that “good” is great! And to not make “the perfect” the enemy of “the good”. To embrace an 80/20 rule, where you do an awesome job 80% of the time, and allow yourself the grace of the everyday world the other 20% of the time. In a world that very much feels like it has been thrown into a cuisinart, there are so many opportunities to be part of the solution. And it is so important to believe in our ability to inspire change.

SO: Your biggest challenge(s) in leaping into your passions for serving others, and how you have addressed them?  

The biggest challenge was believing in my own ability to overcome challenges and to affect remarkable change – in a world that constantly messages otherwise. It is a challenge to silence the noise and the headlines that are constantly pushing the status quo and to hear the internal dialogue in your heart. It therefore requires tremendous discipline, strength, courage and tenacity to silence the cultural “noise” in order that you may hear the message that is inspiring you from within. As a result, I try to take time to exercise everyday as it gives me clarity and focus – and the ability to process the everyday “noise” so that I may better hear the internal dialogue. I also had to “de-friend” those around me with negative messages, the “naysayers” and choose to surround myself with positive people and positive energy, as it helped provide positive “fuel” for & to nourish my passion!

SO: Your experience of “prosperity,” as you define it, in making the leap? 

The complete fulfillment that comes in knowing that you are doing what you are here to do. Realizing that your life and every stage in it has prepared you for this work – every accomplishment and every setback, a lesson to be learned, making you a better “passioneer” as you evolve in your role of advocating your passion and message.

SO: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in making the leap?

That it will scare people that are close to you which can pose perhaps the biggest risk of all. Those around you may feel threatened by the energy and emotion that you feel towards your life’s work, having not found that same energy themselves. They may feel threatened or displaced by your newfound “love affair”, as jealous as if you’d betrayed them with a newfound love. The risk then becomes that rather than risk alienating those that are close, you choose to forgo your passion and risk alienating your heart’s work. As a result, I have found that it is very important to share with others that your passion makes you more complete, more of a person, more “whole” – which in turn gives you more to share with those you care about. There is nothing special about me, I simply found something that I was so passionate about, that I cared for so deeply that to live without it would have been to cease living, and then I had to shelter myself from a world that told me that I couldn’t make a difference, that my work wouldn’t matter, and take active steps to shield my passion and my heart’s work from those with condescending and destructive words and messages.

SO: What’s your support system look like; how did you create it?

I had to distance myself from the ‘naysayers’ (which was incredibly difficult at times, as it sometimes included close family members) and surround myself with positive energy in order to have the strength, endurance and courage to pursue work that can be so consuming. As a result, I spend less time with those that are negative (including family) and have also learned to avoid the topic with these people, and I spend more time with those who share passionate work. I find absolutely joy in being with other ‘passioneers’ as there is an energy and life to the work that provides constant nourishment. I also take time to nourish myself, not only through good relationships, but also with nourishing, healthy food and nourishing exercise, which gives me the fuel for my passionate journey!

SO: What wisdom do you have for someone who’s scared/discouraged about their own leap?

Hope is the knowledge that change is possible, even when it seems hard to imagine. And while the world favors the status quo and conformity, there is so much fun to be had in the experience of living what you are here to do. It won’t be without challenges and growing pains, but it is those very challenges and your ability to overcome them that will give you such a tremendous sense of LIFE. As you weigh the pros and cons of whether or not to take this leap, ask yourself “What do I have to lose?” Perhaps you’d lose “face”. Then ask yourself “What do I have to gain?” A sense of purpose, of being, of fulfillment, of energy….that will inspire your life and the lives of those around you in such a way that you have made the mark on the world that you are truly here to make! And it’s so important when taking the ‘leap’ to not make “the perfect” the enemy of “the good”. To embrace an 80/20 rule, where you do an awesome job 80% of the time, and allow yourself the grace of the everyday world the other 20% of the time.

SO: What’s your next big milestone?

I continue to learn from my readers and invite them to be part of the journey to change our country’s health!  While we can’t change the beginning, we have an incredible ability to change the end.  So I am engaging many with whom I work in new projects going forward: we are working on films, online forums and other tools that “we the people” can use to help create a healthier home, and I am so humbled and constantly inspired by the remarkable stories that readers have shared and look forward to highlighting them in my future work!

 Thanks Robyn and Happy Passioneering!