I woke up this morning and smiled…FRIDAY. My girls come home from their dad’s on Friday. I rolled over and drifted back to sleep.
The next time I woke up, I wasn’t smiling. I felt tired and not as excited to be awake. Once I sat up, I thought about how I never want to start another day without my Daily Self Care Routine. I knew relief was on the way, so I got my coffee, and got right to it.
The last couple of mornings of quiet time have been especially rewarding. Yesterday, after reading a chapter from Fearless, by Steve Chandler, I was inspired to BE SOMEONE WHO COULD.
Often, when I sit down to write, I feel blocked. Completely blocked. So…I decided to BE LOUISA MAY ALCOTT, MAYA ANGELOU, MARIE FORLEO, GLENNON DOYLE, or ELIZABETH GILBERT.
If my story is that I can’t do something…anything from home organization to parachuting from a plane, I can set that story aside and be someone who can.
By the way, I can say with 100% certainty that I’ll NEVER want to jump out of a plane. Ever.
Update–March 21, 2021
Today I was Seth Godin (who cranks out motivational content daily) and Tom Hopkins (a well known real estate agent turned motivational speaker, known for selling 365 houses in one year!) I’m still 100% certain I’ll NEVER want to jump out of a plane.
What story are you telling yourself that keeps you stuck? Who would you be WHO CAN? Let me know.
A great starting place on the journey to dropping your story is www.whateverypersoncando.org The online course is very affordable. If you’d like to discuss going through the program one on one with me instead of the online course, message me through Facebook Messenger.
What started out as sheer annoyance with a family member last night has turned into this mushy desire to get involved.
Have you ever known somebody that has an answer for everything, even if it’s the wrong answer? That’s my cuz.
Last night, he was being pretty nasty to his wife and kids and I’d had all I could stand.
He snapped at his daughter, “Stop being an idiot and don’t cry if you wreck. Crying’s for sissies.”
She walked by me with her tear streaked face and I couldn’t sit in silence.
Too often I sit in silence when people are being borderline ugly to each other, so I spoke up. “You’re NOT an idiot and it’s PERFECTLY okay to cry if you get hurt.”
Later on, he and I were talking about parenting and I urged him, “Don’t call your kids idiots. You’ve got to build them up. You’ve got to tell them they’re strong. They’re going to grow up having such low self esteems and then they’ll turn to mean men for validation.”
He sputtered some nonsense back at me. I asked him, not out of meanness but out of curiosity, “Did your parents call you an idiot?” His eyes seemed to soften as he shared with me the list of worse names he was called.
The thing is, all names are bad names and I would argue that being called idiot your whole life is just as hurtful as being called a mother fucker. (I’m not slamming his parents. I’m sure if I asked them, they’d have similar stories to share about their childhood. We ALL make mistakes as parents and my kids will happily list off every single time I’ve been hateful and completely lost it…but, I digress.)
I was SO frustrated with him last night that I wanted to hit him with Lorraine (his belt) but this morning, I really want the opportunity to sit down and tell him there’s a better way than all of that stress and anger that he’s currently carrying around. I want to say, “Trust me. This works. You can be happier. I WANT you to be happy. I love you all. Please give me a chance to share.” (This side of the family isn’t mushy at all and this would totally freak them out. I’d probably get shunned.)
I don’t know that I’ll ever get the chance to share with him but for some reason (and thank you for doing so) YOU are reading this and I CAN share it with YOU.
The What One Person Can Do conversation is a life changer. I know this because it changed mine. It not only helped me see that I’m capable of doing tasks that I once found hard or overwhelming, but it helped me through one of the hardest times in my life, being separated from my husband; and it’s been extremely useful in reconciling. I use what I learned on a DAILY basis to help my day go more smoothly and to love on the people around me.
If I could give you one gift, it would be this conversation/program. Give it a chance. If you’re struggling with anger, overwhelm, depression, stress or you’re worried about someone you love who’s struggling, GO THROUGH THE PROGRAM. You’ll feel more peace in dealing with your own set of rough circumstances or in being there for your friends and family.
It’s a conversation for ALL people because it’s about the basics of being a person. It’s not rocket science. It’s not information that’s not also being shared in other places, but it’s been put together in such a way that you’re not just learning about it, you’re experiencing it and it’s useful all day every day.
This program needs more exposure. Look at it. Go through it but don’t stop there. Figure out how to share it with people you care about: your immediate family, your church, your schools, your prisons, your community. Get in touch with Bill Cumming, the program’s founder and ask him to come speak at one of those places. Ask him to work with your family. Ask me to. I tend to defer to Bill because he’s been at this for 30 years and I’m new at it, but if he’s busy, ask me 😉
The more people that understand their own value, the less damage we’ll all do to each other and the less damage we’ll all have to deal with in the form of road rage, broken homes, drugs, rape, murder, corrupt corporations and governments. No, we can’t fix all the world’s problems or all the broken people, but we can do our part to make our little corner a nicer place to be.
“Sometimes you need to believe in people, even if the cost seems too high. Because the real cost of not believing in people is huge.” -Chris Morris
What One Person Can Do is available as an online course here or it’s available one on one, via phone or skype. Contact information for Bill Cumming and I can be found here.
Don’t put this off. Your world needs a joyful, peace filled YOU!
Love,
Sarah
I’ve included Bill’s Tedx Talk below so you can “meet” him.
Hey there! Thanks for clicking and reading this post 🙂
I haven’t been making time to write and the rare moments I sit down to do so, my brain feels all clogged up. I even put off writing by cleaning. That feels bizarre but I also like the results I’m getting.
There are a few reasons that I can see that I’m not writing consistently.
1. Lack of confidence/fear- What if it’s not clever enough, like Marc and Angel who hack everything there is in life to hack? What if it doesn’t provide any value?
2. Perfectionism- I put so much pressure on myself to make sure everything I write is the right combination of words. It takes way too long to compose what should be a quick Facebook post, email, or Birthday card. What takes the average person 2 minutes to write, takes me 10. No joke.
3. Lack of discipline/time management- I can squeeze in 15 or 30 minutes into my now super duper busy schedule. I’m working a full time job now and have about four hours a day to get done what needs to get done. That’s housework, a side job, family time, and writing projects. That’s a pretty tall order, but not impossible. There’s also about an hour in the middle of the night, when I get home from work, that I’m wide awake and have been spending watching Netflix as I get sleepy.
Steve Chandler, the man I credit for flipping the switch on my thinking with his book 100 Ways To Motivate Yourself, sent out this recent email. At first I didn’t connect with it at all, but as I was procrastinating, by doing housework and filling up my four hours with everything but writing, it came back to me and STUCK.
Robert Kegan quotes William Perry, a favorite
teacher of psychology of his at Harvard, “Whenever
someone comes to me for help, I listen very hard and
ask myself, ‘What does this person really want–
and what will they do to keep from getting it?'”
This is a question worth asking ourselves (and our
clients when they come to us for help.)
What do I really want, and what will I do to keep from getting it?
My first night at work, my trainer asked me what I did before coming to this job. I told him that I’d mostly been a stay at home mom and worked a few part time jobs over the years. I hesitated and then decided to share about the last four years of personal development and my desire to share what’s worked for me with others. He was very curious about the What One Person Can Do program. Each break, he’d ask me to tell him more. As we talked, I knew this program could support him in his situation.
All of that to say, THAT’s one of the things I want to be doing! I want to be spreading the news about THAT program that had a SIGNIFICANT impact on the way I live my life, a life that used to be riddled with worry and stress and is now positive and more often than not, worry free.
There’s still a ton of circumstances I could be freaking out about on a daily basis, but I’ve learned to do what I can and go on to have a VERY enjoyable day, EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A CRISIS. I WANT THAT FOR EVERYBODY!
Here are the things I have control over, keeping me from having what I want.
1. Lack of confidence–Telling myself I’m not qualified to share. You know, I need some letters behind my name or something. (Side note–I mentioned to my trainer that I know I’m holding myself back because I’ve been “just a mom” for all these years to which he replied, “That probably makes you MORE qualified.” THANKS MISTER!)
2. Perfectionism–If I can’t do this well, because of the lack of letters behind my name, then I might as well not do it at all.
3. Lack of discipline–not writing and sharing daily.
And here are my 3 responses to myself where all of the negativity and holding myself back is concerned.
1. Everybody has something to contribute. We’ve all learned valuable lessons from our experiences. I’ve experienced peace in the middle of times of trouble and that’s not something you learn in college. Someone else can experience stress free times too if I’ll just open my mouth.
2. I need to get started and let GOOD ENOUGH be enough, because I am NEVER going to be perfect and really I don’t want to be. I’ll do my best and have a great time doing so.
3. Make contact daily, even if it’s one small task or a 15 minute writing session.
There are many things that I want and I need to get good and clear on how it all looks, but for now I’m starting with writing more and sharing What One Person Can Do as well as the online version What Every Person Can Do. Wish me luck!
What about you? What do you do to keep yourself from having what you REALLY want? Leave a comment below if you feel like sharing. I’d love to hear from you 🙂
Sarah Boucher happily encourages women to grow in their power daily at I Am A Powerful Woman. Come join the conversation there. If you have questions about What One Person Can Do or the online version, email sarahboucher@iamapowerfulwoman.net or bill@oneperson.net with What One Person Can Do in the subject line.
I am looking for 5 women who are fed up with feelings of overwhelm, fear, worry, and low self esteem and are ready to kick all of that negativity to the curb. It’s hard to imagine life without all of that inner turmoil, but I have experienced life both ways, and know that it is possible to struggle less even when outward circumstances are rough.
I will spend 2 hours a week for 12 weeks with five of you, starting July 22nd having one of the most powerful conversations you will ever have. You will leave this 12 week program KNOWING that you are loved, valued, and capable of creating a meaningful, joyous life for yourself and also that you are able to create an environment where those around you experience their own ability to produce the same result in their lives.
The cost of this 12 week program, plus daily access to me Monday through Friday, via a private fb support group, is $740.
In addition, I have asked Bill Cumming, the creator of this powerful conversation, if he would kick off our 12 weeks together in a group call, as well as a call at the end of the 12 weeks, to make sure I delivered the goods. When Bill works with clients in corporations, he charges $800 for an hour of his time so this is an incredible bonus for all of us!
If you are fed up, ready to break out of the daily struggle you have been experiencing, and commit to a more peaceful future of your creating, then send me your five paragraph application…Your who, what, what, why, and when.
Who are you? — tell me a little bit about yourself.
What is it you struggle with most?
What do you REALLY want your life to look like?
WHY should you be one of the first five women to go through this 12 week conversation with me?
And…
When is the best fit for you…Monday, Wednesday, or Friday between 9:30-3:30 pm ET, for your weekly appointment? It is super important that you are free of all distraction during these calls. If I can manage it with five…
Send your letter to sarahboucher@iamapowerfulwoman.net
I will review the applications and contact you to set up an introductory call before our July 22nd kick off call with Bill. If 30 people submit applications, I can put you on a waiting list for the next 12 weeks, or if you are READY to have this conversation with another convener before then, let me know that in your letter as well. I will do my best to get you connected with someone.
As a busy mother of five children, I simply do not have time for a full client load. My space is very limited and I want to give the BEST support possible to those who sign on to go through this conversation with me.
I ABSOLUTELY love supporting other women in seeing possibilities. I’m THRILLED to be starting this journey with those of you who are ready to invest in yourself and serious about changing your experience of life.
