Two weeks after being back in North America, the jeans are finally clean. Other than the first time I had my clothes washed in a real machine in San Marcos in Guatemala, I chose to do the “handwashing” thing. Most everything fared well but the jeans just didn’t come clean. By the time I got home, I wondered if they ever would. Finally after 3 washings, they are looking good!

It has been a fascinating two weeks settling back into a North American routine. I love my new computer and the sheer joy of having a printer has been beyond ecstacy. The simple things of life for an entrepreneur.

It’s wonderful to have hot showers with some ooomph and to sleep in a super comfortable bed with a pillowtop. The luxuries of life I definitely enjoy.

On the other hand, I miss terribly the social connections of traveling. As a solopreneur, it can be easy to spend a day hardly talking to anybody. Hours can pass before you move away from your desk. I feel the isolation and lack of emotional stimulation at a level that is surprising even me. Never mind, missing the great food enjoyed eating out at super low prices, the constant sunshine and the wonderful people who were always so gracious.

Thankfully, today is the first day since my return that the weather has been cloudy and rainy. I arrived back to daffodils, cherry blossoms out in their full glory and even the rhododendrums starting to bloom. Spring is very early here on the west coast of Canada and I am relishing it!

The research for the new book is coming along well. The team is being lined up for a very busy summer and a late September/early October release. I am beyond excited which thankfully makes all sacrifices worthwhile.

There are pros and cons to every situation and as I describe in my book, Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round, we can make every situation a positive. So I am focusing on the blessings of life here in North America and enjoying it fully. I will be on Vancouver Island until the end of May. I’ll keep you posted!

Some of my most favorite chapters in my latest book Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round are about our families. As I work with clients from all over the world, a recurring theme is good ´ole Mom and Dad.

I know that I just about fell off the couch this spring when I got an email letting me know that my 86-year-old Dad had subscribed to the appetizer of my first book Devil with A Briefcase. I think I stopped breathing for several seconds!

Dad, who hasn´t been in my life for about 18 months now, would have received copies of a few chapters from a book all about a religion he still believes is The Truth, “the only right religion” and the religion that his youngest daughter has completely disowned! Yikes. It took me a bit to recuperate from that bit of information. And then I realized that he choose to ask for it, I wrote my perspective of what I gleaned from 38 years in that religion and his reaction was “none of my business”.

So Mom and Dad play interesting roles in our lives – even 20, 30, 40 or more years down the road.

How can we maximize the good and minimize the negative?

In Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round, I mention that Mom and Dad did their best. I know that for some of you, that may be hard to accept. I deal with clients on a weekly basis that were tortured, sexually abused or treated worse than a dog by their parents. However, in working with these clients, I always note that Mom and Dad didn´t have an easy time either as they were growing up. It´s not an excuse for absolutely inappropriate behavior but it is an explanation for why they reacted the way they did as they raised you.

Accepting that they did their best, no matter how awful their best was, helps you to let go and release some of that anger that can percolate better than a pot of coffee. It´s really not worth the anger, to ruin your life, because of what happened decades ago.

Secondly, acknowledge that it wasn´t right and nobody is saying it was. But it did happen and Mom and Dad probably made tons of mistakes raising you. Get over it because your life is worth so much more today, and right now you can only change the present and the future. You can´t do anything about the past – except forgive it.

Thirdly, know that it was perfect. I am truly grateful for how I was raised because it has helped to make me the woman I am today. Good times and bad times have an influence on us and help to mold us into who we become. So even those awful times were a blessing in how you see life, treat others or raised your own children.

I´ve worked with plenty of clients whose parents have long passed over. However, they can still wreak havoc in your lives if you let them. Seriously, whether they are still with us or gone, let them go, forgive them, do whatever is necessary to release the anger and resentment towards them. You will be really glad you did.

How do you overcome the fear of making mistakes? One of the basic principles in my life is that I am human. That means I need to eat, sleep, drink, and I make mistakes. It´s not optional. It is part of the “human package”. It´s just the way it is. Once you accept that mistakes are normal and natural, rather than the end of the world or the greatest sin, you can relax.

You are going to make mistakes and probably lots of them. Now, I try to make less serious mistakes and I definitely try not to make the same mistake over and over again but mistakes are an integral part of your life.

Why not adopt the attitude that you make mistakes as part of your discovery process? Every time I make a mistake, I learn something and often choose to do things differently the next time around. One of my business mentors says that it´s important to make mistakes fast so you can learn what you need to learn and get it right quicker.

In my book, Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round, I say that I am “perfectly imperfect” and isn´t that true? We are not perfect. No one is. Again, it´s part of the human package. So relax around your mistakes and decide that mistakes are a part of life, learning and growing. That shift in attitude will enable you to move ahead in creating the life you want much easier without a huge worry about failing or making a mistake.

Relax. You´re human and that is not going to change. So enjoy it.

One of the most frequent questions I get from people who either do a healing session with me or have read my book, Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round is: How do I handle the feeling that I want everyone to like me?

Perhaps you have had that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when someone unsubscribes from your email, cancels your service or stops buying your product.

It´s a normal feeling to want to be liked. It´s actually encoded in our very DNA as part of the safety mechanism that people need to like us. Once upon a time, when people lived in small villages, tribes or communities, we needed to have the support of others to bring in a harvest, help birth babies and assist us when we were sick.

Although we still need support, most people today live in larger communities where everyone does NOT know each other and where our network of support is much smaller. That reality has also eliminated the need that everyone needs to like you or support you. As a matter of fact, it is an impossibility that everyone will.

Are there people that you don´t particularly like? Do you have some negative impressions about certain people? If you don´t, I´d be very surprised. We all have opinions, some good and some not so favorable about everyone. So why would you think that everyone should like you? They´re not!

I heard a quote today from Dr. Seus, the well-loved creator of the Cat in the Hat book. He said, “Be who you are and say what you feel. Those who mind don´t matter. Those who matter don´t mind.”

The key to true peace and happiness, success and joy is to be who you are. Express the true you. Some people will like it. Others won´t. So what. You´ll never please everybody all the time. That´s a merry-go-round that never ends. So be true to yourself and you will attract those who like what you stand for. Life will be easier, more peaceful and fun. Let go of the worry about those who don´t agree with you or who mind who you are.

Seriously, I feel sorry for those who have the time and the energy to spend their days criticizing, pulling apart and hating others. All that precious energy wasted in something that doesn´t make them feel good. How pained they must be inside to feel the need to judge others so harshly.

So let go of the belief that everyone needs to like you. And know in every cell of your body that you are fabulous just the way you are. Know that you are loved and supported by an entire Universe that appreciate your gifts, your desire to grow and to be everything you are here to be. Stay in that place and everything else becomes much easier.

This post is the newsletter that was sent out to those who subscribe to my Amazing Life Now newsletter. You can learn by going to www.anamazinglifenow.com

Mother´s Day Dinner

The only thing constant about life is change. Every moment is new, never to be repeated, never before seen. Mother´s Day always reminds me so poignantly of that fact. It was Labor Day weekend, 2005 that my mother passed on. My life forever changed. Yesterday, I celebrated Mother´s Day with Greg and his 97-year-old mother.

Mother´s Day can bring a tremendous amount of emotions to the forefront. For those of you who have a mother you are close to, it can remind you that she won´t always be with you. Many have an estranged relationship with Mom and so Mother´s Day can bring the emotions of anger, sadness or guilt.

Many women today have chosen to not become a mother and so Mother´s Day can bring a feeling of regret or doubt about whether or not you made the right choice.

And there are mothers who are alone, having lost a child, given up a child for adoption, or have children living in other parts of the world. That can bring up a strong emotion of loneliness.

Of course, for someone at 97, one wonders whether or not, there will be another Mother´s Day to celebrate. We made the most of it. We spent the day at the beach with friends and then took Jeanette out for a wonderful dinner at the best restaurant in town.

All of us have had strong negative emotions show up in our life because of an experience, a decision we made or a circumstance that showed up unexpectedly. It´s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of those emotions. I watch myself when I constantly need to retell the same sordid story.

Move on with your life and focus on what you desire to create the life you want. Focus on the positive emotions, the joys, the happinesses, the peace, and the goodness that you want as the centerpoint in your life.

One of the easiest ways to move out of the negative and into the positive is to release and let go of the negative. Easier said than done? Not necessarily. My book, Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round: How to Create the Life You Want Without the Fear, Doubt and Guilt explains in detail how to do that.

However, in a nutshell, you can let go of the negative by stating clearly: I release at a DNA and cellular level…and then let the thoughts, emotions and words flow that come when you think about a certain person, circumstance or event.

You will be amazed at how freeing this easy exercise really is. Moving on with your life is a daily commitment. Staying in the positive and out of the negative is a choice…again a daily one. This exercise will help you make that choice.

As Monique and I prepare for the Discover Your Sacred Gifts workshop starting tomorrow, we are thrilled to have a sold-out workshop! Yesterday, I closed my blog with the statement that I do what I love and delegate the rest. This is a big clue to creating the life you want. For many people, that feels like an impossibility. How can you JUST do what you want?

It´s actually easier than you think. We have been programmed that we have to “do whatever it takes”, to “suck it up princess”, that “life is hard so get used to it”. That is programming from a generation that went through a Depression and World Wars. It is not programming that needs to be accepted or adopted by people living in developed countries in 2009. Yes, if I was a peasant living in rural India, there are things that I need to accept, but anyone reading this blog is not in that category.

So let´s release that belief at a DNA and cellular level that your life needs to be hard, difficult, and challenging because that´s a lie. It is simply not true.

One of the easiest ways that I have manifested a life that is fun, easy and abundant is to do my Sacred Gifts. These are divinely appointed gifts in all of us that were given to us at birth. You may have a supernatural gift of teaching, writing, craftsmanship, writing, wisdom or healing for example. When you are doing what energizes you, produces extraordinary results and is of benefit to others, have you noticed how fabulous you feel, how easy things are and how you don´t feel tired?

Then go do something that you just hate and doesn´t time drag by, aren´t you exhausted and don´t you feel disempowered? For me that is doing something like formatting an order form or doing accounting. Ask me to write a newsletter, teach a teleclass, be on an interview and I am as excited as a kid in a candy store. You know there are similar things in your life.

So why do you do what you hate, makes you feel awful and produces mediocre results? Stop it! Seriously, find other people to do those jobs for you. I just picked up copies of my new Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round CDs and they look fabulous. Chris, my illustrator did an amazing job. Gabriel, my recording whiz, is incredible. Troy, my duplicator has an attention to detail and the gift of service that makes working with him a pleasure. Ask me to draw the illustrations, figure out the technology for editing or produce the actual CD and I would be unhappier and depressed than a bear in a cage! They would never get done!

However, ask me to do the recording, plan the recording and faciliate the group healing session and I am beyond energized. I am over the top happy, fulfilled, joyful and empowered.

What about you? Start to notice where you are energized or not. See what you do that people comment on favorably. Watch when the time flies by. Then start to do more of those things and watch your life transform. Of course, the best thing you could do is join Monique MacDonald, one of the world´s leading experts on Sacred Gifts in a teleclass that she is doing next month on Sacred Gifts.

If you want to create a magical, mystical, amazing life, letting go of the idea that you HAVE to do the things you don´t like is imperative. Stepping into your Sacred Gifts will revolutionize your life. I know…I did it!

I am on a coach between Seattle and Vancouver and amazingly enough, I have internet access while speeding down the highway. Technology never ceases to amaze me.

I left Puerto Vallarta yesterday in temperatures that were close to 90 degrees F. That´s about 26 degrees celcius. I arrived in Seattle last night and it was 42 degrees F. That´s stinking cold celcius! At least it isn´t raining. Although it has been almost five months since I have seen rain, I don´t miss it.

Right now I am feeling a tremendous amount of gratitude in my heart for the ability to travel like I do, to have the amazing support of friends who are so kind and generous and to be able to do the work I so love.

My dear friends Arturo, Marisol and Precious took me to the airport yesterday along with Greg and saw me off with lots of hugs and kisses. Today, my dear friend Monique will pick me up in a few minutes and take me to storage so I can get some warm clothes and my products for our Sacred Gifts workshop this weekend. I could never live the life I do without the incredible support I have.

My webmaster guru Krista is busy working on my new website while my wordpress -experts are working on improving the blog. Today as I released my two new CDs, Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round: Money and Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round: Why Weight, my friends Adrian and Brenda are making sure they are shipped out promptly. The CDs themselves are a compilation of so many people´s efforts.

Pulling together a team to work with you is a critical part of your success in life and in business. I could never do it alone. Neither can you. Look at the team that surrounds you and see where there are some holes that need to be fixed.

My question always is: Does what I am doing energize and bring me joy? If the answer to that question is no, then I find somebody to do that job and I focus on doing what makes me happy. This a big clue in creating the life you want.

Yesterday as we were heading out the door to join some friends for brunch at a beachfront restaurant, Jeanette started complaining that she didn´t want to go. She was tired. She had a list of complaints that were long and heartfelt. At 97 years of age, she can come up with a number of reasons why she doesn´t want to do something! We convinced her to come with us and as she sat at the table, her eyes sparkling, it was obvious she was glad she had made the effort.

How many times do we moan and groan, bitch and complain about something and then when we finally do it, we realize that it wasn´t so bad after all, it wasn´t as difficult or challenging as we had thought, or it maybe was even much better than we expected? I know it´s happened to me!

Complaining can become a habit. I´ll never forget the day that I simply asked a client: What would change in your life if you just stopped complaining? She stared at me for a moment, speechless and realized how much of her life was focused on complaining. It´s a great question for all of us.

Living in another country like I do, provides me with ample reason to complain. After five months, I still can´t get the shower right. It´s either too hot or it goes cold half-way through my shower. Right now the dishwasher doesn´t work, the kitchen plumbing continues to be a source of obnoxious odors and the air conditioner in one of the bedrooms isn´t working. And this is in a condo that sells for over $600,000 US dollars! I am very glad I am not the owner, needless to say.

As I mention in my book, Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round, living in developing countries brings its share of areas for adjustment. I ask the thought-provoking question in one chapter: If something not working, a slow waitress or road construction drives you crazy where you currently live, what is going to change when you deal with challenges, obstacles and difficulties in another country and possibly in another language?

It´s why getting out of the habit of complaining is a good thing, period. No one really wants to hear you whining, groaning or bitching anyways. Even your own mood would vastly improve if you stopped complaining and focused on the good things that happen in your life. It will make creating the life you want even easier.

Ask your friends to bring to your attention when you start on the bandwagon of complaining. Sometimes we aren´t even aware that we complain – we´ve got so accustomed to doing it, it feels natural.

Let me know what you find it easy to complain about in the comments below. I cut Jeanette some slack as at 97, I hope someone does the same for me. But for the rest of us…here´s to a complaint-free day!

I just finished listening to an audio by Bob Proctor and he said something that got my attention big time. He said, “the opposite of courage is not cowardice. It´s conformity.”

In my book, Getting Off the Merry-Go-Round: How to Create the Life You Want Without the Fear, Doubt and Guilt, I talk alot about Tribal Mentality. It´s in our very DNA and cells to conform. It takes alot to step out of the Tribe and not follow it. We have been programmed to be part of the Tribe for our very survival. Getting out of it is a major step in courage and non-conformity. It´s why I do the DNA and cellular healing work that I do.

Today, March 1, 2009, I am celebrating 33 years of stepping out of the Tribe in an arena that way back in 1976 was radical! That was the day I stopped eating meat and poultry. Let me tell you, at 14 years of age, living under the roof of a fanatical father when it came to food, it was a courageous step. However, I had hated meat since I was a toddler and still remember gagging on the hot dog, throwing up the liver my mother loved and crying over the animal that lay dead on my plate. Eating for the first 14 years of my life was a trial and tribulation that had me hiding the hated bread crusts under the bed, washing down chunks of food with milk, and lots and lots of yelling and spankings.

My dad finally relented and we agreed that I didn´t have to eat meat for one month as long as I was in the kitchen every single day to prepare my food. I was jubilant although back in 1976, vegetarianism was not what it is today. There were virtually no cookbooks, no restaurants serving vegetarian food and without the internet, I was pretty much without resources. I didn´t care!

In the summer of 1976, just a few months after my now extended reprieve from eating meat, my parents took me on an Alaskan cruise. Princess Cruise lines was the Love Boat and it was expensive, exclusive and incredibly upscale. However, to this day, I laugh that 33 years ago, Princess Cruise lines served me marzipan (a mixture of ground almonds and sugar) as the closest thing they knew to vegetarian cooking!

No kidding…marzipan was on my plate every day as part of a vegetarian´s diet! Dad just about died. Here he was paying a fortune to have me on this trip and I wasn´t eating the succulent meats and seafood he was paying for. Well, we got through that ordeal and a few years later, I added seafood to my diet which I continue to eat to this day. I still haven´t touched a piece of meat or poultry, much to Dad´s chagrin.

Think about Bob´s quote in your life. Where are you conforming because you don´t have the courage to do what you really want? I bet you there´s a place or two in your life. Creating a Life means getting out of the Tribe. It means not conforming. To have what you want means you will need courage.