Dyana Valentine » motivation

Passion+Push=Profit

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:42:32 +0000

Chris Guillebeau and Pam Slim kick some serious butt. If you don’t know them already, you are missing out. Chris is the king of circumnavigation (with the miles to prove it) and non-conformity. Pam is your get out of cubicle jail free card. I’m doing their $100 Business Forum this month. The basic idea is to take 28 days, 150 cool people and a c-note and get expert help start a business, launch a product or just get your head in the (small biz) game. And if you are the type to do it at home without 150 witnesses, then you gotsta check out Danielle LaPorte’s new sizzlefest:

Alrighty, I’m on the $100BF the first two days, buzzing around pollinating and getting the lay of the land. It’s really energizing connecting with cool people, being nosy, and most of all, giving this time and focus to MY BUSINESS!! Yes, as much as I preach about it, this is rare for me and I’m NOT proud of this. I’m committed to doing more of this and sticking to it, dangit!

Okay, enough intro–here’s the good story. I’m connecting with this cool cat from Australia who is talking about all of the great work he’s doing. He has several projects, interests and directions he COULD pursue. While I am reading his introduction, I get a ZING! from one project he listed. BTW: I’m being vague because I didn’t get his permission to chat up HIS bid-ness, okay? So, I write to him and ask which idea is the most passionate for him; he names the Zinger. I start to get all butterfly-y and excited. THEN, he ups the game and says that not only is that the one he feels the most heat for, but it is scary and challenging, too. I start to prance in place a little. Here comes the money shot. He says, “it’s also financially the most likely to give a clear transition away from the day job.” We have a WINNER!! It’s the triple-threat of what’s possible:
PASSION+PUSH=PROFIT
It’s juicy because it’s true.

What comes to mind when you read the following ideas?

PASSION: something that drives you, wants doing, really rings YOUR bell (and yes, if it bugs other people, but still makes you giddy, then you are on the right topic)
PUSH: there’s an edge to it, maybe it’s a recurring dream or a project that moves from back burner to front and back again, but never really leaves your mind. There’s an element of thrill, challenge, and eek! to it.
PROFIT: this is not all about money. The profit is really about the deep benefits: satisfaction, peace, exhilaration, more time with family, less time with family, living in a van traipsing around the country.

What does your triple-whammy look like? What are the things in your life that turn you on, are a bit scary(good scary) and that are your ticket outta jail? Tell us in the comments.

Photo by Beija Flor, used under a Creative Commons license.

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Commit to yourself, today. (Day 39/40)

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:49:17 +0000

We, the questers (31 as of today) have taken commitments during the past months–to our organization, our bodies and our passions. Here are updates from others on their quests and an interview! Enjoy, support and add your own stories in the comments.

Interview with Julie Rorrer, who is training for the Austin Marathon in February 2010:

Portia Reddy made a commitment to do 40 days of yoga. Here she is in her yogic glory and an update on her challenge:

Hey Dy,

My challenge died. I lost my motivation and so I revamped the challenge and it has not taken off. At least not in the way I would like. I am still doing my yoga stretches in the morning and evenings but have not done a real 30 to 45 min. workout in weeks. But it was eye opening to see how much harder it became when it was something I had to do every day because I said I would as opposed to the sporadic nature of my practice before. Currently I am trying to work on re-incorporating 30 min. yoga sessions into my week 2 to 3 times a week.

Thanks for the check in, I really do appreciate it.

Tia

Norbert and Paula are in the middle of their 87 Days of Passion. Here’s a letter from them.

Dear Dyana,
We are entering our second month of PASSION. Living in the USA been quite an adjustment. My new schedule includes working on English with my husband, so I have been taking less time to write. Still, we’ve collected quite a few passions:

We love to work out! (joined the local YMCA, very helpful, professional people there)
We love to play outside! (sitting on the bank of the beautiful Wisconsin River while my husband fishes – a bit about meditation, visiting places in my hometown that I’ve never seen and finally seeing what’s been there the whole time)
My husband loves to invent solutions – part one! (he’s renovating my mother’s house bit by bit using odds and ends laying around in my father’s workshop – ties in to some feelings about my father’s death)
My husband loves to invent solutions – part two! (he’s building a device for loading our canoe onto our van – how to translate visions into reality)
We love our canoe (and the water)! (checking out a variety of central Wisconsin canoe spots)
We love surprise! (Story about dressing up for Halloween and trick or treating as an adult and the joy of feeling a little bit scared/apprehensive)
We love details! (the precision with which my husband works as a German-trained machinist and about enjoying the smallest details on a walk in the woods with my nephew)
We love the sun! (gloomy fall weather in northern Germany and sunny late summer in Wisconsin – seasonal depression and cultural differences)
We love music – part one! (my husband’s passion for music by German singer Udo Lindenberg, old German songs from the 20s and Dixieland)
We love music – part two! (a small town concert in a terrific venue built with donations gathered by a passionate teacher and a plea by the band leader to continue supporting the arts)
We love to cook (and eat)! (Norbert’s passion for cooking with great ingredients and good tools and my passion for eating – and sustainable local food production)
I love to find connections! (connections I’m seeing among the passions of my ancestors, my relatives and myself)

Maybe we’ll call the second month of this quest DIRECTION as we try to figure out how to transform these passions into a way of life. My husband will be looking for an internship and I’ll be trying to carve out some time to write and plan our future endeavors based on what we’ve learned in our first month.

Thanks for checking in.

Many friendly greetings from Wisconsin (a phrase directly translated from German that I find wonderful),
Paula

The 40 days of My Body (if you are new to this story, read the intro here) project, is a quest in service to my business, my body and my own path of finishing what I start. I am committed to exercising 6 days/week, keeping a food journal and being more aware of ways I use (and abuse) my body. Going public is extreme, yes, and it’s working! I’m working with a fantastic trainer, Sunny Riggs, to create a program I can sustain over time. She’s amazing. HIRE HER!

I am not alone on my quest. The roll call is at 31 people (including me)! Some are getting organized, others giving up fast food and some are simply breathing! Check out the updates and links below and show your support:

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care. Check out her ROCKING tell-all post!
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise: she found her yoga plan was NOT working and made these adjustments.
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness she’s DONE and kicking off another 30 days, this time of writing.
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages. Check out her guest post getting into the nitty gritty of her challenge progress.
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day. She says she’s back in action!
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her! She did a guest post, too!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it. She has GREAT ideas on staying inspired and gives an update on wrassling her bitchy soul and is rocking her challenge!
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth: She’s DONE, no honey or sugar for a MONTH, lost 4 lbs and has great new awarenesses around her body and her cravings. Way to go, Monica!
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise. Check out her guest post/video here.
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing congas while she works in her studio
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food. She’s got loads of fish to fry and is going to re-evaluate her commitment in 2010.
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their update videos here.

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week: gone AWOL–come back to us, John!
Sharon’s giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exercising 4 times a week, she’s doing great and being nice to herself:)
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day, Marcie is rocking along and DOING it!
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exercise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol: fell off the wagon. Gitty up back on, Lucero!
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week AND recently added no sugar to her challenge. Way to up the ante, Jenny!
WATCH this video of the SouperJenny team taking very good care of themselves and appreciating each other!

Ashley White-Stern: 40 days of meditation and she’s on day 26 of her challenge, fighting a cold, but staying true to being silent at least once a day. Feel better, Ashley!

M Arsenia Brown (aka: @donutdemon) joins with a commitment to 40 days of her body
Cat Sabonis-Chafee is in and says “I will move my ass” for 21 days of daily, considered exercise. She reminded me of a great tool: TAKE A DAY OFF every week and she added in an abs&stretch class today.
Emily-Sarah is joining with body awareness and daily movement. Welcome, Emily-Sarah.
Nicola Warwick kicks off 40 days of food journaling and diet hacking! TODAY! She’s using a super duper diet spreadsheet.

Are you a quester wanting to tell your story? Do it! E-mail me and put your own video or guest post up!

To Me, From Me (37/40)

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:49:06 +0000

When was the last time you did something, big or small, just for yourself? No one was watching, maybe no one else even knew? Tell me in the comments.

Some of the best gifts I’ve ever received were ones I gave myself–anyone else in this camp? As you plan for the holidays (travel, gifts, events, gatherings, mad rush of end-of-year work), plan some time for just yourself. Page down and look for the updates in bold of my fellow questers and find out what they are doing for themselves.

Here are a few ideas for those of you who can’t give yourself 40 days, but might consider 40 seconds of “to you, from you:”

Make anagrams from your name.
Fix something (even if that means disassembling something that works).
Break a plate.
Yell out loud in your car.
Sew yourself something.
Listen to your favorite song—you know the one I mean, the one that makes your best friend groan or would embarrass you if someone posted it on Facebook (Hungry Like The Wolf, anyone?).
Go to See’s Candy, a fancy nut&candy shop or a frozen yogurt place and get a sample.
Go to a park and just sit there. Heck, don’t even go anywhere, just sit there.
Hang up the phone. Push back from your technology. Stop.
Flirt with someone: a friend, an elder, a kid, play and be cute and lovey.
Make a wishlist. Write down everything you wish was just left, anonymously, at your doorstep.
Just leave the office. Now. No goodbyes or check ins, just leave and breathe.
Paint your toenails (this is for everyone: butch, femme, man, woman)
Make goofy faces in a mirror.
Skip school. (to my SMC students–but turn in your homework first:))
Order the fancy sheets you’ve always wanted.
Start a LifeList.

Body update: phase 2 of my flu has landed. I had terrific workouts Monday and Tuesday and took a very short walk yesterday. Am stretching and doing pre/post exercises today. Committing to healing includes: herbs, hot ginger tonic and pillows. Wish me luck.

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care. Check out her ROCKING tell-all post!
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise: she found her yoga plan was NOT working and made these adjustments.
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness she’s DONE and kicking off another 30 days, this time of writing.
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages. Check out her guest post getting into the nitty gritty of her challenge progress.
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day. She says, “micromovements are proving to be very effective! I’m beginning to look for excuses to get more exercise.”
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her! She did a guest post, too!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it. She has GREAT ideas on staying inspired and gives an update on wrassling her bitchy soul and is rocking her challenge!
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth: She’s DONE, no honey or sugar for a MONTH, lost 4 lbs and has great new awarenesses around her body and her cravings. Way to go, Monica!
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise. Check out her guest post/video here.
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing congas while she works in her studio
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food.)
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their update videos here.

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week: gone AWOL–come back to us, John!
Sharon’s giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exercising 4 times a week, she’s doing great and being nice to herself:)
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day, Marcie is rocking along and DOING it!
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exercise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol: fell off the wagon. Gitty up back on, Lucero!
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week AND recently added no sugar to her challenge. Way to up the ante, Jenny!
WATCH this video of the SouperJenny team taking very good care of themselves and appreciating each other!

Ashley White-Stern: 40 days of meditation and she’s on day 26 of her challenge, fighting a cold, but staying true to being silent at least once a day. Feel better, Ashley!

Are you a quester wanting to tell your story? Do it! E-mail me and put your own video or guest post up!

Flu Reason: (34/40)

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:33:50 +0000

What could be more about my body than being laid up with the flu? I planned for day 34 of 40 of my body challenge to be titled “back in action” because I assumed that all of the days of the challenge had to be in ACTION, thus taking days off and not posting on Sundays (and an occasional Sunday/Monday when my body was so worn out it sent flares).

Well, that thinking helped me:

stretch this 40 days out to an annoying, un-subscription inspiring, ridonkulously long time (total time elapsed since day one: 46 days);
practice valuing the days when I (over)worked as the only ones that “counted”; and
pushed my body past the point of health.

Where else do I do this in my life? More places than not. I push the envelope in ways that are sometimes brilliant, but truly most ways that simply make me tired. My busy-ddiction showing itself left and right.

Here’s what I learned (even though I don’t act on them):

slow and steady may not win the race, but it may get you there alive; and
you can’t unlearn how to rest, you may just get flabby rest muscles. Tone up those suckers and lay down–even for a minute.

As if her inspiration could be more on time and en pointe, Danielle LaPorte posted this Merton quote during my flu reasoning,

“Take more time, cover less ground.” – Thomas Merton.

I like the idea and the tone of his statement. But, what does it mean to me and how I might implement it. Ideas?
It really isn’t the end of the world to clear six days to rest and recover from the flu, just imagine what earth shattering reasoning I could do if I took that many days to frolic and create while healthy.

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care. Check out her ROCKING tell-all post!
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise: she found her yoga plan was NOT working and made these adjustments.
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness and shares a great Huffington Post article, 10 tips from a Personal Trainer today.
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages. Check out her guest post getting into the nitty gritty of her challenge progress.
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day. She says, “micromovements are proving to be very effective! I’m beginning to look for excuses to get more exercise.”
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her! She did a guest post, too!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it. She gives a GREAT tutorial on strategic rest!
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise. Check out her guest post/video here.
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing congas while she works in her studio
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food.)
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their update videos here.

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week
Sharon’s giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exercising 4 times a week
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exercise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week

Ashley White-Stern: 40 days of meditation and says, “a controlled person is a dead person. A controlled person is not necessarily a disciplined person; discipline is totally different. Discipline comes out of awareness; control comes out of fear.”

Are you a quester wanting to tell your story? Do it! E-mail me and put your own video or guest post up!

Photo by SuperFantastic and used under a Creative Commons license.

40 Days of My Body: Day 31, Just Show Up

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:00:43 +0000

I showed up today. I got up at 445a and walked (showed up for 40 day challenge); I made breakfast (showed up enough to eat, fyew); got to school early (showed up for my students); frightfully and at the exact moments showed for all of my client calls (for them and for me); optionally and with glee went to meet peers (showing up for my biz and theirs–and for connecting to new great humans); and the grande finale, showing up at a party with old friends and new, eating beautiful fresh-from-the-farmers’ market food AND enjoying a fig dessert (showing up for passion, community and indulgence). And now, I’m showing up for MYSELF and laying the frak down (without excessive self-flagellation that this post has no video, doesn’t make some deep point and has no bulleted or numbered list of great insights for you). Read on below to see how my fellow questers are showing up for themselves.

How are you showing up today?

I am not alone on my quest. The roll call is at 30 people (including me)! Some are getting organized, others giving up fast food and some are simply breathing! Check out the updates and links below and show your support:

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care. Check out her ROCKING tell-all post!
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise: she found her yoga plan was NOT working and made these adjustments.
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness and satisfied her veggie quota and exercised doing a mall walk while at a conference.
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages. Check out her guest post getting into the nitty gritty of her challenge progress.
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day. She says, “micromovements are proving to be very effective! I’m beginning to look for excuses to get more exercise.”
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her! She did a guest post, too!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing congas while she works in her studio
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food.)
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their daily update video here.

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week
Sharon’s giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exercising 4 times a week
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exercise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week

Ashley White-Stern: 40 days of meditation and is finding her center; Go Ashley!
M Arsenia Brown (aka: @donutdemon) joins with a commitment to 40 days of her body
Cat Sabonis-Chafee is in and says “I will move my ass” for 21 days of daily, considered exercise
Emily-Sarah is joining with body awareness and daily movement. Welcome, Emily-Sarah.

Are you a quester wanting to tell your story? Do it! E-mail me and put your own video or guest post up!

Photo of me and Mario Trujillo by Sharifa Candelaria.

40 Days of Our Bodies: Day 30, Leap of Faith

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:53:43 +0000

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting(for the first time and because of this 40 day challenge) Cindy Morefield, from North Carolina, who took a leap of faith and joined the challenge 21 days ago. She committed to more cardiovascular workouts to increase her energy. Cindy not only rocked her challenge (today is her last day), but she has some fantastic stories and tips for us. The Twyla Tharp book she mentions is The Creative Habit. The indoor exercise link she mentions is Real Age Check her out:

Cindy’s top three tips for starting your own challenge:

It’s better to start imperfectly than not to start;
It doesn’t have to be HARD to count; start with the easiest thing (and the thing that makes sense to you);
It helps to have people along for encouragement–not necessarily accountability, but be part of something bigger than you.

What are YOUR words of wisdom, leaps of faith or feelings about this challenge?

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care. Check out her ROCKING tell-all post!
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness. She’s traveling through Saturday and is posting great travel/workout/eating tips here.
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages. Check out her guest post getting into the nitty gritty of her challenge progress.
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her! She did a guest post, too!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it. Check out her intense post on beating excuses!
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions is in Wisconsin this week, loving the snow.
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing congas while she works in her studio
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food.)
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their daily update video here.

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week
Sharon’s giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exercising 4 times a week
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exercise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week

Here’s Team Souper Jenny’s latest video:

Ashley White-Stern: 40 days of meditation and is finding her center; Go Ashley!
M Arsenia Brown (aka: @donutdemon) joins with a commitment to 40 days of her body
Cat Sabonis-Chafee is in and says “I will move my ass” for 21 days of daily, considered exercise
Emily-Sarah is joining with body awareness and daily movement. Welcome, Emily-Sarah.

Are you a quester wanting to tell your story? Do it! E-mail me and put your own video or guest post up!

40 Days of OUR Bodies: Clean as a whistle! (29/40)

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:00:26 +0000

Joyce joined the challenge with a commitment to remove the toxins from her life. Here’s her story, in her own words (initially posted as a comment to Day 26: Feeling Blue). Guess what? There are 30 of us working this challenge. Check out the roll call under Joyce’s story.

Clean as a whistle!
By Joyce Black (emphasis is Dyana’s)

I made through a 21 day detox program. I worked not only on removing the food toxins in my life, but other toxins as well including cleaners, skin products, situations and people. I also made a point to go to the beach and inhale. I didn’t do this detox to lose weight, but to feel better and to make changes in my life. The program helped me push my own internal “restart” button. Today I feel propelled to move forward, something I haven’t felt in a very long time.

On preparation: plan your meals a week in advance. Do your shopping before you start, clean out the big temptations (like leftover chips or) I waited until I was out of almost everything. I work from home, which is a great advantage. If you don’t work from home–you really have to plan ahead and be sure to have extra food with you, in case you are hungry. Know what your weakness is. I love munching, so I took cut up carrots and grapes instead of sesame seed sticks or chips. If I didn’t have the good stuff, I WILL eat the bad stuff. I was out running errands one day and was out WAY longer than planned and was caught off guard by hunger. I stopped at a grocery store and searched–got some almonds.

The interesting thing about the program is that my creativity was sparked. I was experimenting with foods that I hadn’t tried before and coming up with alternate solutions to everyday dilemma’s such as “what do I snack on?” I tend to eat healthy anyway, but in doing this detox, it sparked my creativity in really thinking about what fit the criteria and sounded appealing. I found that my creativity was has also been sparked in my work and in other aspects of my life.

In trying foods, I tried to keep an open mind but I’ve decided that for me, millet should be used ONLY as bird food, I don’t care what great recipe you may have, and Quinoa should be renamed as Quin-why? I was also pleasantly surprised how much I like Kale baked in the oven with a little bit on olive oil and garlic. Who knew? I also learned that despite the availability of a vast amount of herbal teas, I want my morning coffee or even cocoa. Something about that heavy warm drink makes the morning feel good to me. I’m glad to not need it, but I appreciate my position with it more now.

On hunger: I noticed that on the detox I sort of slid into hunger. Normally, I’m working, working , working and hunger is sudden and I had to eat. When I was detoxing, it wasn’t as uncomfortable, I just got a little more hungry and a little more hungry. I think it was because I was eating more often and not eating until I felt heavy or really full. It was just an all around evened out kind of slight hunger, eat a little, hungry a little, eat again. This is another place where planning and preparing meals ahead really, really helped!

Now that the detox days are over, I am sitting here drinking my decaf coffee, yes I know there’s still caffeine in decaf, but I don’t care, I like it. I decided to embrace it (see above paragraph)and exchange it with cocoa from time to time to not develop the complete reliance on it. I hope I can stick to the regular eating and not wait until I’m dizzy and have a headache before I eat schedule I was on.I’m going back to the bad habit of not planning what I’m eating and doing a bit of a mad-grab. It’s not the best physically or economically, but I’m aware of it and will apply my learning to plan better ahead of time. I now cook twice a week (there’s no way I have time to cook every day) and that helps a lot.

Most of all, I want to do a mini-detox, for a day or two every couple of months, to remind myself to focus on me.

What story do you want to share about how you focus on YOU? Leave it in the comments or send me an e-mail.

I did my cardio today, which was really fun to do in the daytime. The 40 days of My Body (if you are new to this story, read the intro here) project, is a quest in service to my business, my body and my own path of finishing what I start. I am committed to exercising 6 days/week, keeping a food journal and being more aware of ways I use (and abuse) my body. Going public is extreme, yes, and it’s working! I’m working with a fantastic trainer, Sunny Riggs, to create a program I can sustain over time and she’s amazing. HIRE HER!

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness. She’s traveling through Saturday and is posting great travel/workout/eating tips here.
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it. Check out her intense post on beating excuses!
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions is in Wisconsin this week, loving the snow.
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing congas while she works in her studio–she added a strategy and is writing “D” in her calendar daily to keep her accountability solid.
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food.)
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their daily update video here. As of today, the WHOLE team is on target and rocking their challenge:

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week
Sharon from Souper Jenny giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exersising 4 times a week
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exersise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol!
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week

Ashley White-Stern: 40 days of meditation and is up to 20 mins of meditation; Go Ashley!
M Arsenia Brown (aka: @donutdemon) joins with a commitment to 40 days of her body
Cat Sabonis-Chafee is in and says “I will move my ass” for 21 days of daily, considered exercise
Emily-Sarah is joining with body awareness and daily movement. Welcome, Emily-Sarah.

Tell your story in the comments!

40 Days of OUR Bodies: Fast Food Junkie Kicks the Habit! (28/40)

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:06:52 +0000

Today’s 40 Day Challenge guest poster is Suzie Powanda, who is on day 28 of her challenge to drive BY fast food restaurants. Check out her story and be sure to read the updates on the other 28 of us below her post.

Fast food junkie seeks home cooked meals
By Suzie Powanda

The challenge was brought on by neighbor starting one as well as your challenge. It is something that I needed to do; but I just never had the humphf to do it or stick with it! This was a way to do it and get the support to stick with it!

My challenge is going, some days are easier than others. I don’t have new photos from the challenge, unless you want the cranky face as I drive by someplace when I am jonesing for a diet soda. Reflections as a result of the challenge. I am a good cook! Much better than any fast food drive thru short order cook! Cooking breakfast is much faster than driving out – it only seems faster to get drive thru. I had timed the drive thru before I started the challenge (yes, the anal side of me is showing). Cooking at home is not only healthier in so many ways, it’s also saved me a lot of money! Example one weeks drive thru breakfast is about $35; for $8 I can make breakfast at home! And this does not even factor in gas, wear and tear on the car, etc. And the savings go on. As a whole, I feel better.

The big take away from the challenge as of today, I can’t say I won’t go to the drive thru; however, I can guarantee it will not be daily and it will not be for 2 or 3 meals a day. It’s an interesting time for this challenge because the stress load at work is high. When I am stressed, I want easy, no fuss, no muss food. I can get that by cooking/prepping foods on Sunday afternoon/evening, and eat them for the week. I now have a large stash of plastic containers!

Thinking forward on bettering me, next challenge is adding exercise 5 days a week to the routine. I think that will be starting after this finishes on November 1st.

I love your posts, you are keeping me inspired and motivated.

WOW! How’s THAT for making and keeping commitments?
So, what are you doing for YOU today?

I ROCKED my workout with Sunny today. We were on the beach, doing strengthening/cardio work and ZOWEE, am I sore (happily) now. This is one of those days where 740pm feels like midnight and I’m definitely hitting the hay early. The 40 days of My Body (if you are new to this story, read the intro here) project, is a quest in service to my business, my body and my own path of finishing what I start. I am committed to exercising 6 days/week, keeping a food journal and being more aware of ways I use (and abuse) my body. Going public is extreme, yes, and it’s working! I’m working with a fantastic trainer, Sunny Riggs, to create a program I can sustain over time and she’s amazing. HIRE HER!

I am not alone on my quest. The roll call is at 29 people (including me)! Some are getting organized, others giving up fast food and some are simply breathing! Check out the updates and links below and show your support:

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness. BUMMER–had an injury today, show her some love.
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it. Check out her intense post on beating excuses!
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions is in Wisconsin this week, loving the snow.
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing congas while she works in her studio–she added a strategy and is writing “D” in her calendar daily to keep her accountability solid.
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar! Sheila finished her run in 39 mins and without stopping!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food.)
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their daily update video here. As of today, the WHOLE team is on target and rocking their challenge:

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week
Sharon from Souper Jenny giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exersising 4 times a week
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exersise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol!
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week

Ashley White-Stern: 40 days of meditation and is up to 20 mins of meditation; Go Ashley! She sat with her emotions yesterday and didn’t let them derail her–yes!
M Arsenia Brown (aka: @donutdemon) joins with a commitment to 40 days of her body
Cat Sabonis-Chafee is in and says “I will move my ass” for 21 days of daily, considered exercise

40 Days of My Body: Day 27, Ask for Help!

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:54:52 +0000

I was feeling like a sticky date under a camel’s hoof (are they hooves?) yesterday and reached out for support. The responses were incredible and came in the form of atta-girls, quit-yer-griping and awesome corny jokes. The love plus dinner and a deep night of sleep worked and I feel so much better.

Do you ask for help? Do you get it? Any tips or stories to share?

Colleen Wainwright talks about asking for help in her elegant, self-witnessing way in this post. If you aren’t reading, following, worshiping at her alter of growth, do it. Now.

Today was a physical day off from the 40 days of My Body (if you are new to this story, read the intro here) project, which is a quest in service to my business and my own path of finishing what I start. I am committed to exercising 6 days/week, keeping a food journal and being more aware of ways I use (and abuse) my body. Going public is extreme, yes, and it’s working! I’m working with a fantastic trainer, Sunny Riggs, to create a program I can sustain over time and she’s amazing. HIRE HER!

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness. She’s on the road this week, but keeping her challenge alive!
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages. She’s realizing it’s easier to cook for herself AND that she’s a great cook!
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it. She said a great thing in her blog: Frustrations are never single. . .she deals with it by regrouping, asking for help and doing a little planning.
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions is in Wisconsin this week, loving the snow.
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing congas while she works in her studio–she added a strategy and is writing “D” in her calendar daily to keep her accountability solid.
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar! Sheila finished her run in 39 mins and without stopping!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food.)
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their daily update video here. As of today, the WHOLE team is on target and rocking their challenge:

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week
Sharon from Souper Jenny giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exersising 4 times a week
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exersise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol!
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week

What else is going on in the world?

Alex Obed started the IGNITE Facebook Group, a 40-day challenge to do one thing every day to re-ignite your life. Some are writing poetry, some are waking up earlier and Alex is working on his website and writing. Join up with them, start your own or lurk in observation and enjoy the stories! I love that folks are keeping their commitments all over the place.

Check out this really cool 3-week, 6-call class called Relationship Cleanse. I joined today and am ready to get even more focused on my health, nutrition and get some awesome coaching on shifting your relationship with your body and with others. If you sign up today, you can sign up for the class for $73! Just email Randi and mention my name. It starts TOMORROW at 6pm, Pacific.

40 Days of My Body: Day 26, Feeling Blue

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:05:06 +0000

UGH! I am struggling today. Anyone have ideas for how I can keep my energy and mood up? Even though I’m in the doldrums at this moment, I am simultaneously inspired by all the amazing progress my fellow questers are making. Check out the updates in the roll call below.

Anyone feeling a bit down right now? How do you keep it going when you are feeling blue?

Tanya Geisler–40 days of hatha yoga and radical self-care
Petra Korn–30 days on her body (supported with love by hubby Nick)
Tia Reddy–yoga and exercise
Alisa Bonsignore–working out and food consciousness
Suzie Powanda–no fast food or beverages (and she joined me with her hula hoop last week!)
Julie Rorrer–training for the Austin marathon in Spring
Emma Alvarez Gibson–some bit of exercise, every day
Joyce Black–FINISHED her 21 days without caffeine and doing a general detox, congratulate her!
Carabunga is rocking 40 days of hardcore productivity and rocking a blog about it. She said a great thing in her blog: Frustrations are never single. . .she deals with it by regrouping, asking for help and doing a little planning.
Paula Trucks-Pape and her husband: 87 Days of exploring their passions is in Wisconsin this week, loving the snow.
Monica Kingsbury: 30 days of the Candida diet to deal with her sweet tooth
Jack and LisaMarie Rowell: 30 days of extreme health (alkaline diet)
Diane Sherry Case: 3 weeks of walking–she’s up to 20 minutes 4 days/week! (yoga if it rains)
Cindy Morefield: 21 Days of 30 mins/day of cardio exercise
Paula Estes: 30 Days of playing drums
Sheila Hart is IN: 21 Days of no sugar! Sheila is running a 5K this Saturday–give her a big GOOO, Sheila!
Amy Ahlers: 40 days limiting processed food.)
SouperJenny Team: 40 Day hits the ATL! So far, Meredith is giving up sweets and Jenny is giving up booze!! 7 folks have joined their group. Gooo, Team Body, Mind, Spirit! Watch their daily update video here. As of today, the WHOLE team is on target and rocking their challenge:

John from San Diego is giving up carbs and working out 3x/week
Sharon from Souper Jenny giving up all sugar except fruit
Merrideth giving up all sugar and exersising 4 times a week
Marcie will journal every day and cut down from 4 to 5 diet sodas a day to one per day
Tricia from Atlanta will drink a quart of her green juice concoction and exersise 5 to 7 times a week
Lucero Martinez a restaurant/bar owner will give up all alcohol!
Jenny giving up all alcohol and working out 5 times a week

Ashley White-Stern: 40 days of meditation and is up to 20 mins of meditation; Go Ashley!
M Arsenia Brown (aka: @donutdemon) joins with a commitment to 40 days of her body
Cat Sabonis-Chafee is in and will “move my ass” for 21 days of daily, considered exercise. She got her kids, The Littles, in the game today!