Candi Wingate, expert on all-things-nanny, shares her wisdom and passioneering journey with us today, live, Wednesday, 2/17, 3pm PST, !  Dial in at 347-205-9038 or steaming audio:

More on Candi: 

Candi’s been a nanny, owned a nanny agency, started Nannies4hire.com, Babysitters4hire.com and Care4hire.com, authored “100 Tips for Nannies & Families,” plus is a wife and mother of 2. Her nanny experience actually goes way back. She was a nanny for a family with 5 children, which included newborn twins. After becoming a nanny and working in a nanny agency for several years, I purchased the successful Nation-Wide Nanny Placement Agency. After finding that she needed to expand, Nannies4hire.com, Babysitter4hire.com and Care4hire.com was born. Call in with questions about becoming a nanny or following another passion!  You can reach her at www.nannies4hire.com.

Jordan Mallah of Steadfast Freedom Yoga is a native New Yorker who has studied and taught yoga since 1996 both in the US and internationally. As a Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher, his uplifting and inspiring teaching style inspires students of all ages and levels of experience to live fully from their heart and celebrate life each day. Jordan specializes in helping people heal their minds and bodies by freeing themselves from the limitations of pain, drawing upon precise postural alignment and therapeutic biomechanics. Jordan’s myriad life experiences range from working as a corporate consultant with the global management consulting firm Accenture, to volunteering with the Peace Corps in Peru, where his primary focus was on helping indigenous Andean villagers curb their rate of malnutrition by creating sustainable, community.

Below is our recent interview with him on Blog Talk Radio, The Passions and Possibilities Project:

Thank you Jordan and Happy Passioneering!

The first thing that I ask a client who wants to create an extraordinary life is “What’s your purpose? That is, why are you here on this planet?”   Some of them will tell me that they’re here to make a difference, to love, to be a healing force, or to help others.  Most of them simply don’t know.  Here’s the thing – if you aren’t sure why you’re here and where you’re going, you’re never going to create an amazing life….plain and simple.   Without a vision for your life, it’s like driving with your eyes closed:  you’re never sure if and when you’ll arrive at your destination and you’re certainly going to get banged up along the way. 

Nobody’s got the key to why you are here, except you.  Sure, some of your loved ones may think that they know where you should be heading and what’s best for you.   You’ll get plenty of feedback on what you should be, especially from mass media.   You’re probably already getting way too many messages from TV, the movies, radio, internet, magazines, etc.  AHHHH – thanks, but no thanks!

If you really want to tap into your life’s purpose, it’s very very simple, if not easy: think about what you love to do most.  Your passions point to your purpose and are its rocket fuel.   Ask yourself, “What do I love to do so much that I lose track of time…literally lose myself?”  Most people can come up with at least one or two areas.   If you’re stuck, try a technique that Ellen Whitehurst, founder of The Empowered Lifestyle, suggests:  remember what you loved to do as a child.  Me?  I loved reading, writing, and listening to my friends.  These passions underlay my purpose of being an inspirational coach.

Your purpose is the key to a fulfilling life.  So it’s worth your investing at least one hour a week to reflect upon and clarify it.  Try journaling about it, using the visioning tool that I learned from Rev. Michael Beckwith:  Ask yourself these kinds of questions:  “What’s the highest and best for my life?  What does it look like, feel like, sound like, smell like, even taste like?”  Take time to allow the answers to come forth, freely and uncensored.   Consider forming a visioning team that conducts this inquiry as a group.  This is powerful stuff!

One of my clients confidently told me that she certainly did have a vision for her life, thank you very much!   “Can you describe it?” I asked.   She actually could not, except to say that it involves her having more time and money.  I suggested that she purchase a journal and spend at least one hour each week describing her higher purpose.   Vision boards and treasure mapping are other tools to help clarify your purpose. 

These resources, coupled with the many many excellent books, videos, movies, and articles, leave you with absolutely….no valid excuses to not clarify what you want to create in your life.  It’s been said that the people perish without a vision (Proverbs).  You may not die without a vision, but here’s what I do know – your life will be much fuller and satisfying when you get clear on your purpose and when you keep it front and center.

Here are some of my favorite books on the subject:

Marsha Sinetar’s Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow:  Discovering Your Right Livelihood

Bob Griffith’s Do What You Love for the Rest of Your Life

Barbara Sher’s Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Love

Henriette Anne Klauser’s Write It Down, Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It

Your 3-part challenge for this month: 

• Create a 1-2 sentence summary of your life’s vision. 
• Spend 1 hour each week creatively expressing this vision (e.g., journaling, painting, singing, etc.).
• Share your vision with at least 3 people whom you trust.

If you or someone you know would like weekly passioneering inspirations, based upon the wisdom of hundreds of Passioneers™ around the world, please let us know at passioneers@yahoo.com.  No cost. No spams. Below is our first Passioneering Tip for 2010, and we’ll be sharing these every week to subscribers on Tuesday mornings.  Happy Passioneering!

Weekly Passioneering Tips for Those in Vibrant Service

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Passioneering Tip #1

If you want to serve even more vibrantly and prosperously in the world, then dream a bigger dream. Passioneers dwell in the world of infinite possibilities!

 Quote

“The starting point of great success and achievement has always been the same. It is for you to dream big dreams. There is nothing more important, and nothing that works faster than to cast off your own limitations and to begin dreaming and fantasizing about the wonderful things that you can become, have, and do.” (Brian Tracy)

Affirmation

Today I boldly unleash a bigger life in service to others, easily and gracefully, without worrying about the “how”. My courage and willingness are more than enough.

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Thank you for being in service and for sharing the message of infinite possibilities.  

Happy Passioneering,

Sue Oliver, The Passions and Possibilities Project

Beverly Flaxington is an accomplished sales and marketing business consultant, hypnotherapist, personal and career coach, author of “Understanding Other People: The Five Secrets to Human Behavior”, college professor, corporate trainer, facilitator, behavioral expert, entrepreneur and mom to 3 children and 8 rescued animals.  Below is her interview with us in December 2009.  You can reach her at www.understandingotherpeople.com.

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

Doing something that you love, and loving what you’re doing when you’re doing it!

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

I love my role as consultant, coach, hypnotherapist and trainer because it allows me to see people make personal progress, i.e. get better at something be it self-improvement, having an “ah-hah” or figuring out how to improve.  I love teaching – when the students say they want to take all of my classes because they enjoy learning with me, it’s a thrill. I love to rescue and care for animals – volunteering at the rescue group, walking my own 4 rescue dogs and taking care of my cats. I love finding an activity that my children love and thrive in and seeing their smiles and excitement. I love volunteering at their school and being involved in their learning environment.

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

My only challenge is too many things that I love to do and not enough time to do them all! I’ve addressed this by becoming exceptional at managing my personal goals, time and priorities and being very clear about what I want (my passions) and what I can say “no” to.

SO: What qualities/characteristics/talents did you bring to your passion, and which ones did you hone during your journey?

The qualities I was naturally gifted with, and brought to my passions included curiosity, a willingness to admit “I don’t know” and a genuine interest in other people. They also included the ability to listen well and focus on others. The ones I honed through the journey include presenting well and speaking with confidence, understanding other people especially with regard to behavioral and communication style and using persuasive skills effectively to explain my position on something.  And, I am still learning as the journey continues!

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

Having enough to happily and willingly give to those less fortunate. Prosperity is meeting all of my own needs and taking care of my family, but having ample money left over to give away to needy people and animals.

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

I can do anything I set my mind to and life is filled with lots of opportunities to learn and grow. There’s no reason to be stuck doing something you don’t love!

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

Internal calm and confidence (my relationship with God), fabulous and supportive friends, a wonderful mom and dad who are always willing to pitch in and help and my spouse.

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

The worst thing that can happen is that you don’t get what you are hoping for – but SO many times that means there is something better waiting around the corner. Stay focused, but stay open!

SO: What’s your next big milestone?

I just published two books this year – which had been a dream of mine. Next I want to create a series of training programs and books with my sales expertise.

Thanks So Much for Sharing Your Gifts, and Happy Passioneering!

During this year, we have interviewed over 200 bold, talented individuals who have leaped fully into what they love, as they serve others in the world – we call them Passioneers ™.  Our intention is to inspire those who are feeling scared or discouraged about their own leap into service.  Based upon our inteviews so far, we have synthesized the following passioneering tips, and will be blogging on them, and many others, each week in 2010.   If you  have any tips or know of any Passioneers who would like to share their story in our blog, please send us their contact information.

Be A Visionary.

• Dream big.  To create a bigger life, you must have bigger dreams.  Without a vision, the people perish.  (Proverbs 29:18)
• Cordon off at least one focused, quiet hour, each month, for the visioning process.  If you Google “life visioning tools,” you’ll see lots of great visioning tools.   We highly recommend using Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith’s approach. 
• Share your life’s vision with those you trust, and watch how much faster that it grows!
• Keep your vision front and center, where it can inspire you everyday.  A vision journal or vision board is a great tool for this purpose. Check out vision journaling workshops by Robbi Firestone. 

If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail.

• Create a business plan, even if it’s on the back of a napkin.  Richard Gabel’s tips on this: http://bit.ly/2102E
• What gets written down gets done.  Plain, simple, if not easy.  Journaling is a great tool for this.  Or try writing down the top three things you must get done each day  on an index card; let that be your day’s focus.
• As with your vision, share your business plan with others for input, ideas, and support.
• Try our complimentary PowerLeaps LLC Express Business Plan.

If You Believe, You’re Halfway There.

• Napoleon Hill said “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” (more quotes from Napoleon Hill).
• If you don’t believe in your vision, very few others will.
• Even on those days when you really don’t believe in your vision,  try faking it until you make it.  It’s amazing how contagious “acting as if” can be!
• Faith grows over time, one demonstration at a time – kind of like a stairway that you climb, with each step being a small success.  Rome was certainly not built in one day.

Just Do It!

• My good friend Pete DiSantis says, “Do is half of done.“  Talk is cheap, and analysis can cause paralysis!  The boldest, most successful Passioneers move forward regardless of their circumstances.
• Take baby steps, no matter how small they are.  In the midst of feeling overwhelmed and stuck, your taking even ONE small step forward will jump start your inspiration and momentum.  A great article on this approach.
• There is no right or wrong way to express your passions, so avoid comparing yourself to others, especially Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, celebrities, your next door neighbor, etc., etc.  You get the point…
• Explore and experiment.  Take some risks and try on different approaches.  Most importantly, have FUN!!

 Happy Passioneering!