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Passion Fruit Living E-seminar

Passion Fruit Living: The E-Seminar

Hello there, this is Laura.

The picture is of my sis and me – when she got married last June!

I developed Passion Fruit Living: The E-seminar with one purpose in mind: to get you living a  happier, more relaxed and authentic (meaning it reflects YOU) life – your way! You want to know clearly what you want, what you don’t want, and the kick-butt confidence to implement those intentions. In other words, I’m sharing the process that helped me get my life back on track after a devastating separation in 2005 that led to an unwanted divorce. I’m now living the life I thought would be impossible, in my fantasy location: near the beach, active culture and surrounded by beauty, warmth and good shopping!

I know you’re super busy so I’m keeping this short…

This is what you get with Passion Fruit Living: The E-seminar.

• An interactive e-mail workshop March 22 through May 7, 2010.
• Do it on your schedule, from your home or office.
• 7 weeks of insights arriving Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in an attractive and easy-to-follow format.
• Step out of the paradigm of not feeling appreciated.
• Move forward on your most valued projects.
• Flexible assignments for personalized compassionate and objective feedback.
• Guidelines for making tiny changes that cause huge impact.
• A chance to focus and reflect on what’s really going on in your life.
• Opportunity to sift through priorities to determine what’s really important to you right now.
• Support in identifying and letting go of energy drains.
• Communicate more clearly and confidently.
• 100% money-back guarantee for first 2 weeks of the course – no questions.
• AND I’m offering 3 options for 3 different prices!

It’s also a ton of fun….in a stringing beads kind of way. Productive and rewarding.

How to register: It’s easy. Normally this course would cost at least $250, well, actually far more than that! However, I know a lot of you are in a tight spot so I’m offering it right now for much less!

Choose from these 3 PASSION FRUIT LIVING: The E-seminar options:

FRUGALISTA: I almost didn’t offer this one – it’s like showing you a huge fruit salad and only serving you a tiny bit. BUT…for years I struggled with investing in myself and this program is for those of you who tend to feel guilty when you take care of yourself. For only $90 you get 3 weeks of the 7-week program. It’s a great start and I know you’ll see how fast investing in yourself pays off.

BELLISIMA: the full 7-week program. Essentially it’s an intro to coaching – you get personalized feedback and help for your specific situation and goals. Normal price is $220 – get if now for only $170. Space is limited – because I work with a few people to give them my full attention.

PRECIOSA: Hold my hand! This is my kind of program – one with close personal contact. It  includes on top of the 7-week email program, 2 private 20-minute coaching calls. Coaching is the most powerful tool to transform your life fast! The email component of the program enables you to LEVERAGE those coaching calls because you’ve already done the preparation! My coach told me to charge $500 for this, but you know me – I’m offering it for $320. This time only 😉

If you want to pay by check, email me at mixonian@gmail.com and I will send you the mailing address. Otherwise, use PayPal on Mixonian blog — it’s on the right column.

I can’t overemphasize that the number of participants is limited to a handful. I prefer to work with fewer people at a time in order to really connect with them. Family is my top priority so I limit the number of hours I work each week. Once you register, I’ll let you know what materials you’ll need.

If your check arrives after the course fills, fear not, I will return it to you right away!

New Web Site for Mixonian Ready on Saturday!

My wonderful Web Guy, Bob of Fuelblue, asked me not to post any more until the new super blog is ready on Saturday. Please come back then!

See you soon!

Learn New Stuff About Wealth Creation

Working with Christine Kane who turned my finances around. She helped me see that even a divorced, home-schooling, academic like me could make serious income without jumping through other people’s hoops. (Been there…)

If you’re in business, have a side business, or are thinking about making money, sign up for my mentor Christine Kane’s upcoming FREE teleseminar, called “Uplevel Your Business: 5 Simple Ways to Create Your Wealthiest Year Yet.” I’ll be there. Here’s the link to register. http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=998092 (It’s free even though it says “shopping cart.’) I will definitely be on this call.

It’s January 20!

Change the World through Cool Capitalism at Kiva.org

If you’re spent any time in the so-called developing world, you know that what happens to international aid is not what is supposed to happen. Probably we have the same thing going on with our government programs to help people.

Jaqueline Novogratz highlights this problem in her book, The Blue Sweater, (highly recommended) and presents the solution: microloans.

So, early this morning, I made a loan to an entrepreneur (see photo above) in El Salvador using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

I love making a contribution and this one really excites me.

You can go to Kiva’s website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business – like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks.  Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent – and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back – and Kiva’s loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

I just made a loan to a woman near my age named María Transito Mejía Medrano in El Salvador.  She still needs another $375.00 to complete her loan request of $1,100.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!).  Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to María Transito Mejía Medrano too:

Just click here.

It’s finally easy to actually do something about poverty – using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they’re using it for.  And most of all, I know that I’m helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world – one loan at a time.

Thanks!

What others are saying about http://www.Kiva.org:

‘Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.’
— BBC

‘If you’ve got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you’ve now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.’
— CNN Money

‘Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.’
— The Wall Street Journal

‘An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity…All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.’
— Entrepreneur Magazine

10 Tactics for a Bodacious 2010

1. Write down 10 goals for the year (or more.) Put a star by one of these as your 1 most bodacious 2010 home run. Look at these goals everyday. When you plan your week, make sure you’re including steps to make that goal a reality.

2. Write down 2 ways to nurture yourself better. Eating better, less texting, going to bed early one night a week, writing in your journal, listening to your heart. You decide.

3. Write down 3 things to drop. Could be a committee meeting, 3 boxes of clothes, eating brownies for breakfast (except on special occasions) or checking email in the evenings. You decide.

4. Write down 4 super foods you’re going to eat more of in 2010. My latest fave is edamame falafel from Caviar & Bananas. YUM!

5. Write down the names of 5 people with whom you want to build your relationship.

6. Write down 6 new habits to adopt and start only one at a time, every other month. Suggestions: listening to audio books on the way to work, signing up for a workshop (like Real Life Clarity 101,) a Pilates class, 15 minutes of daily silence, drinking soy milk, writing notes of appreciation. You decide.

7. Make 7 appointments for next year. Get ahead of the game and make appointments for hair, nails, massage, dentist, eye doctor.

8. Write down 8 affirmations about your ideal self. Two of my personal favorites: People love to give me money (from Chellie Campbell) and I’m always in the right place at the right time with the right information (from Stuart Wilde). I have a wild story on that second affirmation from this past Sunday….will tell you about it later.

9. Get recommendations of 9 books to read next year. I’ll probably post some suggestions later this week but if you have some to recommend, please share with Mixonians! Listening to audio books counts.

10. What are your 10 achievements from 2009 that make you smile? Write them down.

Paradox and the Holiday Whirlwind

I think you should know that successful blog post titles are straightforward; titles like the one above are supposedly confusing to the gods of Google and we blog writers are well advised to avoid them. But as you know, some of us are slow learners and I like to play with words.

I’m thinking you probably had a pretty hectic Thanksgiving holiday. It is such a blessing to share with family, and such a delight to sleep in your own bed again. Or if you played hostess, you’re probably enjoying some peace in your house today.

On our drive to Atlanta, my teenage son played some CDs he made for the occasion. On one of them he had recorded a song, The Rhythm of Life, by Sammy Davis, Jr. It’s a catchy tune, and the lyrics remind me of how our lives hang on the rhythms of holidays, school beginnings, birthdays, and music recitals.

 

A life well lived certainly has a rhythm to it, and it’s full of paradoxes. Think about these:

Time for family and time for yourself.

Money to save and money to have fun with.

Playing with children and hanging out with adults.

Exercise and rest.

Thinking and not thinking. (And like Einstein, getting your best ideas in the shower.)

Being fashionable and wearing whatever’s clean.

Getting things done and leaving space in your life for getting nothing done.

Making plans and allowing serendipity.

Eating healthy foods and eating chocolate candy.

Connecting with others, connecting with yourself.

Speaking and listening.

I read this by T.S. Eliot, the incredibly cool English poet, Teach us to care, and not to care; teach us to sit still.

In the holiday madness that is both fun and exhausting, I wish for you time to enjoy it all.

 

You Don’t Have to Gain Weight at Thanksgiving

Well, the truth is, you probably will eat more than you usually do on Thursdays, but it doesn’t have to be a gorge fest.

For a long time, my annual fall weight gain plan was to start on Halloween, gain a few pounds eating my kids’ candy. By Thanksgiving, I would “know for sure” that I couldn’t take off weight at this time of the year. Because of this fact, the only logical and obvious thing to do would be add a few more pounds, then stabilize until Christmas. Celebrating the birth of the Christ was surely meant to be time to add a few more pounds. Then January, start a strict diet. That diet would last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, and then I’d back to normal, feeling defeated and frustrated.

Those are now only slightly painful memories.

I don’t think fall and winter is the best time to lose weight, but I know for sure you don’t have to gain weight. Or, in other words, the possible 2 pounds extra from Thanksgiving will be gone in one week. For sure. That’s the way I live.

The thing is, you can decide how you’re going to handle the feast.

Some people I know are bringing super-healthy vegetable dishes to Thanksgiving.

My sister and one of my daughters are running a 5 K that morning.

(This painting reflects my feelings about running a 5 K Thursday morning.)

At my house we’re eating lots of soup and salad this week. I’ll only swim once this week, but I’ll get back to twice a week after Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a great time to share, and enjoy delicious food. Enjoy every bite with awareness of the gift that we have to be with family and friends on this occasion.

It’s a great opportunity to practice gaining clarity in your life.

A More Fruitful Way to Look At Things

Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.

–Wayne Dyer

I read that quote from Dr. Dyer at least a year ago and I’m just now getting its meaning….some people are slow learners!

I’m understanding this message better these days because I’m seeing the results of my focus on looking for more things and situations to appreciate in my life. You know the saying, The more you appreciate, the more you have to appreciate. Appreciating things usually involves looking at things in your life differently.

Example: Instead of seeing myself at the low end of the academic food chain, I see myself as among the top earners per/hour in academia. Why? Not researching, not doing many committees. I like it this way. This change affects the way I feel at work, and affects the way I am perceived.

Example: Instead of letting my daughters’ bickering get on my nerves, I see it as an indication they are happy and healthy. While there are still limits on my bickering tolerance, I’m usually happy to allow freedom of expression and to allow them to work things out. And when I do interfere, then they both turn on me for “taking things too seriously.” Seeing their interaction as a sign of normality, not the desire to annoy me, enables me to feel much  more relaxed, to the benefit of the whole family.

Example: This happens with a lot of my clients who work with me to overcome speaking anxiety. They usually see their audience members as Gestapo-officers-in-disguise, examining every breath they take and desconstructing each sentence. When I remind them that most people have so much on their minds anyway, they aren’t paying THAT close attention to any speaker. This shift in the way my clients see their audience has an instant impact on the confidence level. With one change in perspective, a person becomes a relaxed, far more effective communicator. I love to watch that process.

If you’d like to see a change in your life, look at the situation with a fresh perspective. Happy Friday!

How to See Hidden Opportunity

You’ve probably heard about how some clever people find these incredible opportunities amidst financial chaos to make fortunes. If you’re like me, you look around, and you’re not so sure.

I’ve learned that many times it’s a matter of asking different questions. And still, sometimes I don’t know the right question to ask, either.

But….I know some people see things that I can’t see.

My dentist can see a cavity in my own mouth before I know it’s there.

My cousin Michael can tell from looking at a blueprint if the building can survive a hurricane or not. All I see are blue lines.

An artist, like my sister, can see undertones in a color that I don’t see, until they’re pointed out to me.

A gem expert can see flaws in my diamond ring that I don’t notice.

My friend Ruben can hear things in a concert that I can’t hear. I’ve heard him and other professional musicians talk about “phrasing” and I still do not hear that.

A financial expert can see problems and opportunities from a company’s financial statements that I can’t see (my last-century MBA notwithstanding.)

A plastic surgeon can make changes of 1 millimeter in a person’s face that make that person look more like the ideal.

So, you can think of so many examples yourself. What’s the point?

Just because you don’t see a golden opportunity, or ten or a hundred, does not mean there are not plenty of opportunities out there in front of your nose.

Maybe you’re not asking the right questions. A new perspective can really help shed light on a situation.

Try talking to an expert, or even becoming one.

You have under-utilized resources and opportunities at hand that you can leverage, but you have to detect their existence first.