This video is such a great illustration of how much we operate by habit!  I started to comment on it, but I really think you should just watch for yourself.    

As I sit at my desk watching the rain pouring outside, I realize that summer is truly over.  I love summer.  I love the sunshine, and having lots of flowers on my deck, and the hummingbirds that keep me busy refilling the feeders once a day.  I love the fresh fruits and vegetables and grilling dinner and sitting outside in the evening with my husband and some friends and a good glass of red wine.   But while I am sad that summer has ended, I also love the changing of the seasons.  It reminds me that there is always another fresh start, another new day, another chance to have an impact or do something differently.  I can be sad that I must cover up the deck furniture, that the flowers have faded, that most of the hummingbirds have headed south.  Or I can decide what I'm going to accomplish during the last quarter of the year.  I can look forward to the fun holidays coming up, to my favorite stews, soups, and casseroles, and sitting inside by the fire in the evening with my husband and some friends and a good glass of red wine.  (Some things don't change!)  I can think about what was great this past summer, and start planning things I want to do next year.  Wouldn't it be silly to spend my time mourning the loss of summer, and lose out on the great things fall has to offer?

How often do we miss out on what's happening right now, because in our heads, we are still in what happened yesterday?  What will you do with this new season?  How will you move forward?  What kind of a fresh start can you make this fall?

Today I wanted to share a great video by Brendan Burchard.  It goes along with what has become the theme for my year:  raising your standards enough to challenge you, but not so much that you become frustrated and quit.  Enjoy!

Would you cheat on your spouse?  Would you abuse a baby?  Would you beat a puppy?   Hopefully you answered no to each of those questions!  What prevents you from doing those things?  Is it a standard that you adhere to, or do you have to write it down and force yourself to comply?  Is it a battle of will and discipline, or is it simply a matter of the identity you hold for yourself that doesn't allow you to engage in such behavior?

What is a "standard?"  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a standard is "a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable."  The standards that we hold for ourselves are like our own internal thermostat.  We all know how a thermostat works.  It's designed to keep the temperature at our chosen level of comfort.  If our thermostat is set at 70 degrees and the temperature drops to 65, the thermostat turns the heat on to get it back up to 70.  On the flip side, if the temperature goes up to 75, the thermostat will kick in to cool things down.

Our standards are our thermostat.  They keep us in our comfort zone, and they can help us or hinder us in reaching our goals.  They speak to our very identity.  Trying to achieve a goal without looking at who we need to become in order to achieve it is like trying to suddenly adjust our thermostat from 70 to 100.  In a very short time, we are extremely uncomfortable and will do whatever it takes to cool things back down!

However, what happens if instead you focus on consistently adjusting the thermostat two or three degrees?  After a while, you're fine in 90 to 105 degrees, and suddenly 70 is cold.
Looking at each area of your life, how do you determine what your standards are?  Take a look at the results you've been getting.  A person who holds a high standard of optimum health will usually look very different from the person whose walk from the dinner table to the couch to watch TV is their exercise for the day.

Take an honest look and ask yourself what standards you have been holding.  Then identify what it is that you really want.  What will your new standard be in that area?  How will you turn up your thermostat a few degrees?  What will you no longer tolerate less than?  What new rituals do you need to put in place to set that standard? 

Happy new year!  Today is the first day of the first 90 Day Challenge for 2014.  Have you decided what you are going to accomplish in your life by the end of March?  If you haven't , I suggest you watch this video and then get busy!  It's going to be March before you know it.  Make this year the best one of your life!

How many of you started with me on our 90 day challenge at the beginning of the year?  How are you doing?  We are just a little past the halfway mark.  Are you on target for reaching your goals?  If not, where do you need to adjust in order to make sure you finish strong?  It's not too late!  Get going!

It's hard to believe we are already almost a month into the new year!  It's been a very busy time for me.  In addition to moving into a new home, Thanksgiving and Christmas (both at my house), out of town guests three times already, being sick, and working, we have added a new family member.  My new little grandson, Ezekiel, made his entrance into the world on January 19 at 3:03 a.m., weighing in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and 19 inches long.

I am sure life has been keeping you very busy as well.  It always does.  That's what makes it so easy to get "caught up" and lose sight of our goals.  Are you still on track with yours?  Are you even clear as to what they are?  If so, congratulations!  And keep up the good work!

If not, what better time than now to get back on track?  Decide right now how you want your life to look at the end of 2013, and get busy!  Share your goals with me on our next coaching call.  Join our 90 day challenge.  No, it's not too late!  Don't forget to celebrate every little accomplishment along the way.  It keeps you focused and it's just more fun. 

Let's all make this the best year EVER!  Isn't it time?

Six thousand people attended the Unleash the Power Within event in San Jose this past weekend.  Six thousand people.  I believe that's a record for the United States.  Six thousand people looking to change their lives in a positive way.  Six thousand people stepping up, taking action, saying "I want my life to be different."  Six thousand people looking for hope, inspiration, leadership.  Six thousand people wanting to make their lives, their communities, their world, better.

Six thousand people did a firewalk.  Twenty-one of those people sought medical attention afterward.  Of that twenty-one, most had only minor blisters.  Three had real burns.  Three. Out of six thousand.  That's .0005%.  And what does our media choose to focus on?  Do they focus on six thousand people wanting to do something positive with their lives?  Certainly not.  Do they focus on the five thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine people who walked the coals without getting hurt?  Obviously not.  Do they focus on the many thousands of people who have walked the coals with Tony over the years without incident?  That would definitely be out of the question.  Instead, let's talk to a person who wasn't even at the event and really had no idea what was happening.  Let's show video of people celebrating at the end of the firewalk and portray it as "screams of agony."

Where is the outrage over the increase of type 2 diabetes in children, something rarely seen before the 1990's?  Where is the outcry about obesity in children being nearly TRIPLE what it was in the 1970's?  Or the fact that deaths from prescription drugs now outnumber traffic fatalities?

What really matters is, does this in any way, shape or form have anything to do with you and your goals?  My guess would be no.  So let's get on with living a life of fulfillment and purpose and let the sensationalists who pass for journalists in our society get back to the Kardashians and Lindsay Lohan.