Winning Strategies

Living a Good Story

I recently read a great book titled ' A Million Miles in a Thousand Years'. The story leads the reader through his life story- teaching each of us to live a good story in our lives.

I love it when I discover people doing just that- working to live a good story and ultimately a fulfilling life. I recently came across a lady who is about to turn 50. She decided to spend her 49th year doing 49 'firsts'. I commend the travel Mom and blogger that is on a journey of discovery to celebrate her 50th year. Way to go! Enjoy the journey. I challenge each of you to discover a few firsts of your own.

Check out her journey at: www.49before50.com

The Things We Forget to Appreciate

Today I am pondering the pieces of life that we forget to appreciate. I am thinking of little moments that together form the fabric of our lives:

1) The Sunrise: on vacations, it seems, we suddenly remember the splendor of a sunrise or sunset- but what about the rest of the year? Why do forget the beauty? We sit on our couches or work right through this daily wonder of nature. Consider spending one day a month watching a sunset or sunrise in its vivid colors, slowing peaking across the horizon.

2) The Senses: how often do we celebrate our other senses? Touch-Taste- Hearing- Smell. Not often enough. Celebrate your hearing by playing a CD of a favorite musical piece or listening to the sound of waves crashing to the shore on an Ocean Sounds CD. Celebrate touch by hugging a child or spouse with a long loving hug- the kind that says, "I never want to let you go."

Celebrate taste and smell by baking a cake or maybe some brownies. Savor both the taste and smell as you enjoy big delicious bites of goodness.

3) The Art of the Letter: it has certainly fallen by the wayside, but there is great joy to be had in the writing of a simple hand written letter. Write to a child away at college, a loved one that lives far away, your grandmother or a spouse or lover. There is something magical about a handwritten note.

4). A Slow Dance: standing in the livingroom, slowly swaying to the music. There is nothing like it. Take a moment to live in an intimate, quiet moment and savor life at this moment.

5). Bath or Jacuzzi: settle into a bubble bath or hot tub to let the bubbles melt away your stress and frustrations. I dare say that we have forgotten how to relax and renew. Try to remember how.

Appreciate life in all its wonder. Take a moment to re- discover something old- as if through the eyes of a child in childish wonder.

Staycation at Great Wolf Lodge

I checked into the Great Wolf Lodge with the family and 3 extra teenage boys (am I crazy?) today to spend a little of the holiday weekend at this enormous indoor water park located in Grapevine Texas. Even at 13, my son still enjoys hanging out here with his buddies, so they get high points for appealing to kids ages 2-70 (smile). This is our third trip to the park. Caleb was only 8 the first time we came. He loved it then also.

The timeless appeal is in the varied activities, locations to sit, and varied food choices. It is filled with people and full of voices and activity. Our check in time was fast, we only waited about 5 minutes. The boys immediately split for the water slides and wave pool. They are so active at this age. Wish I had that much energy.

More to come

Refresh and Renew

I hike to the lake tonight to clear my mind. There seems to be so much clouding up my mind and spirit.

I sit by the edge of the water and listen as the waves softly splash onto the shore. I breathe a deep sigh, glad that the weekend is upon me.

A snake swiggles by and I'm caught by surprise of his presence. It reminds me of the little surprises that life sends us unexpectedly.

Aerosmith played on Idol the other night and I was swept back to a different time and place, almost taken as if by time machine to an alternate reality. I thought of my prom and reminisced about falling in love in high school with Heather's dad. I thought back to being two young kids madly in love. Nothing in your adult life ever feels quite that strong, passionate, or vivid.

The water moves and splashes and I am relaxed. For the moment I'm not worried about the kids, my job, the bills, how I will pay for the kid's colleges or any of life's earthly worries. I focus on the silence and tranquillity of the moment.

I hope you find peace and tranquillity this weekend.

 

For Those That Have Lost a Loved One

I write this post in memory of the loved ones we've lost.  I think of the critical members of our lives that have left us.  I  feel a sharp pain in my heart as I think of those in my life, and struggle with feelings that I will never really have what I had when they were alive.

This song by Dolly Parton is an amazing one.  I hope that today, it helps you to reminensce about loved ones that have gone before, and helps you to remember all that they were to you in your life.

 

How Full Is Your Bucket?

I once read a book named 'How Full is Your Bucket?' by Donald Clifton.    It talks about your need to fill your bucket in order to give away a part of yourself (your time, your energy, your love) to the ones in your family and in your influence.

It made so much sense to me, as a working mother, that as our bucket 'empties' we are unable to love our families and our children the way that we need to.  It is a matter of priorities.  We take the love that others have shown us to fill the bucket of our lives so that we can love others.  Sometimes we are giving away love and receiving none back in the process. 

It is a constant struggle as a parent, how do you keep the bucket full when it seems that we continually give away more than we receive.  I think the definition of motherhood is 'give away more love than you can ever possibly receive in return'.

The bucket can be filled by friends, family, or God, and needs to be replentished often.  There are phases of our life where replentishing the bucket is much harder than others.  It is at those times that we must fortify ourselves for the long marathon of parenthood and marriage. 

Figure out a way to fill your bucket.  Find a way to fill the bucket that will enable you to spread love on all those around you.  Sometimes I fail at this miserably.  Here's hoping that you do a better job of this than I often do.

A Life Intervention

Seated next to me on a recent flight was  a man, let's call him Joe (to protect his identity).  He was a consultant, flying off to 'rescue a client ' in distress.

He was anxious and hurried, frustrated that his life had, well, become a big ball of all work and no play.  His work life had overtaken his life, leaving him little time left to enjoy the life before him.

Joe's current state could describe you or I or any of us on any given day.  We begin to work on a project, work on advancing at the office and before we know it, work has consumed our days, our evenings, and all the spaces inbetween.

We have allowed work to consume us.  It has taken over, taken us hostage, and we are none the wiser.  We let it hold us as gunpoint, and we longingly wonder how to make it different.

There is a Way Out
The good news is that there is a way out and YOU are in complete control.  If you have found yourself in the same boat as Joe, then take note.  Working yourself to death and missing out on life's pleasures (time with your spouse, family, kids, or friends) is no way to go about living.  YOU are in control.  YOU manage your calendar.   YOU accept the assignments.  YOU set the timelines (or are not moving the timelines to a more realistic achievement date).

What Are You Afraid Of?
I hear often that you are afraid of losing your jobs.  Many of you are creating unhealthy situations that will proliferate into worse situations that, if not resolved, will create your demise at work.  Examples include ignoring your spouse until he/she leave you (that would create a problem for you); ignoring your health until you are hospitalized, and the list goes on and on.

It comes down to the fact that living a balanced life is not only BETTER for YOU, but it is BETTER for your employer!  I recently took a vacation for 2 weeks.  Many at my office (if they were truthful) would tell you that I was becoming a complete pain in the ###.  I needed a few days off, and my work relationships, work outputs, and work results will be better off because I did.  Not only that, but my marriage will benefit, and since I left the kids as home- they are probably happier as well.  Smile.  Fear is a motivator that only keeps you from doing what you should do.

GO Ahead and Try It
Go ahead and try it.  Schedule some workout time into your calendar.  Schedule a much needed vacation.  If you hate your job and are working yourself to death, schedule time to interview for another position.  Schedule a dinner date with your spouse or friends.  Take some time to equalize the amazing amount of work that you do.

I dare you.

Count Your Many Blessings- Mother's Day 2012

I have so many things to be thankful for.  I am still blessed to have my mother in my life.  She is 80 years old and blessed with an independent life and is still spending her days with my dad.  It is a beautiful story.

I have three amazing children, each of which have taught me some of life's greatest lessons.  I love them dearly.  This last year I was blessed with a grandchild, and am having fun watching her grow.

I get calls and emails from around the globe through my mentoring website, Winning Strategies (www.bethanyawilliams.com) and this week I've heard from several struggling with life.  One single mom wasn't sure where she'd get the money for groceries this week, and another was dealing with a sick child and another loss of a job.  Today, I am asking each of you to Count Your Many Blessings.  Make a list of the things in your life that you are thankful for. 

Build an Altar of Thanksgiving

In the Bible, God regularly had people stop and build an altar.  That altar was to remind God's people of all the many blessings in their life.  I think we need that as people.  I think we need to stop, pause, and thank God for the many blessings in our life.  That reminder, that pause, gives us a moment to truly remember, and give thanks for all the Blessings in our life.  It gives us a chance to re-focus and re-direct our lives towards the positives, and let the not-so-greats go.

Today i celebrate my children, my amazing husband, my mom and dad, my brother Bert, my neice Shana, Jeff's mother Lucille, Jeff's brothers' Mike and Don, Bert's kids Anne and Danny, and all the amazing friends that I have in my life: Vicki, Nancy, Regina, and Pam.

Today I build an altar to God, thanking him for his many blessings and to Him, I am greatful beyond belief.

Have yourself a very fabulous Mother's Day.

Snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands

The boat drops us off in the water, and hangs not far off from us in case we tire. The water is cool, yet not super cold. We immediately spot a seal with large eyes swimming around playfully. I have never seen a seal with eyes like his.

He swam around us, circling us, and jumping in and out of the water.  He springs up and dives down, circling the snorkeling group and playfully swimming around as if he is laughing and playing with us.

We continue to snorkel around the rocks and are amazed by the number of fish that we see.  They surround us.  They swim past us and through us.  They encircle us. 

We move our fins in a back and forth motion- swimming fluidly through the water, exploring the undersea area.  We see a shark dive out from behind the rocks.  He circles and dives back under the shallow cave, hiding from our view.  The fish are colorful, full of varied colors and shapes. 

When you are under the water, you forget the world above the water.  The world is silent and peaceful.  There are no phones, no beeps, no voices, no music, only the sound of water moving around you and the silence of the undersea world.  It is peace unbenownst to most. 

It is a peaceful tranquility that the world has forgotten in its busy rushing to and fro.  The silence comforts the soul.  The fish swim by and you realize that undersea there is an entire world unto itself.  Here, a world consists of plants, animals, and creatures that make up life undersea.  Most days we go through life, unaware of this undersea world.  We survive in our own world, our loud world that keeps us busy and surrounded by sounds.

I enjoy the escape.  I love the peacefulness of the sea.  I love the sound of the moving water around me.  I love the muted noises of the ocean.  I love the chance to listen to my thoughts and hear the world around me speaking to me.

Here is peace, tranquility, and silence.  Here is a world of discovery.  Here is a new chance to find something of old, and rediscover it today as if it has never been discovered before.  Welcome to the undersea area of Galapagos.

Galapagos Land Tour

We board a bus and ride an hour north to the northern most tip of Santa Cruz Island.  We board a small boat that takes us out to a yacht.   The yacht cruises to an island where we will walk around the island to see some of the anaimals that call the Galapagos Islands home. 

We are in a group of people from the Finch Bay Resort.  We walk in a group, following the tour guide along a path marked by wooden posts on either side.  Our first view of the wildlife of the Galapagos are the seals.  The are sitting ont he rocks along the edge of the water.  Since it is hunting time, most of the seals are out at sea, finding their next meal.  Left behind are only the baby seals and a few of the momma seals, there to watch over the babies while the adults are out at sea.

Ass we walk down the path, we are amazed by the animals at every turn.  We see brightly colored iguanas.  These are the land iguanas.  We pass black iguanas.  These are the marine iguanas that spend much of their time in the water.    Many of the iguanas are resting in the shade of the shade trees, eager to escape the hot equator sun glaring down on them.                                                            

 

We continue our tour around the small island.  The edge of the island is rocky and covered with birds and seals.  The rocks are black in most places, and white where the seals spend most of their time.  The seals waste turns the rocks white and makes them extremely slippery.  They almost look like marble after the seals have spend a significant amount of time on the rocks.

The water is a baby blue close by the cliff and turns a dark blue as the water fades into the distance.  The color contrasts of the white rocks, black rocks, shades of blue of the waters, and the sky makes for a beautiful view.  
 
We begin to tire as the hot sun beats down on us, and we stop for a rest, watching a bird hover over  her egg.  Everywhere we look, we are amazed by the surprises awaiting us.  It is a delight to the senses.  It is almost as if we've been granted a pass to work for National Geographic for a day.  We are walking and living in the path of an adventurer.  We are discoverers.  We are pilgrims on a journey, eagerly searching for animals and discovering amazing views along the way.

                  

The land tour lasted a little over an hour.  We scoured the island, eagerly visiting with the animals that roamed the small island.  They seemed to be posing for our pictures, and playfully entertaining us.  They were not skiddish or afraid of our presence.  They allowed us to walk right up to them, take pictures, and move forward on the trail.

We found the land tour enjoyable.  We were delighted to get a sneak peak at the animals that live on the islands.