So, on most weeks I send out bits of encouragement and advice in my newsletter on how you can accomplish more with peace and confidence.
But… today is a bit different.
Today I want to share something a bit more personal with you. (Deep breath.)
Here it goes…
As is fitting for a time coach, I’m very aware of times and seasons. Back in November, I was feeling all these strong, conflicting sad emotions that really confused me, and then I realized that my heart was reliving the emotional equivalent of open heart surgery that had happened a year earlier that had long departed from my conscious thoughts.
But my strong connection to time not only leads me to remember and release the past but also brings me to dream and hope about the future, and I have rituals connected with significant yearly milestones… one of those being the New Year.
Part of my yearly ritual is attuning myself to my “theme” for the year. In 2011, that theme was the Year of the “Impossible” which played out in many ways including:
- Featured on WomansDay.com, Mashable.com, Forbes.com, TIME.com and became a regular contributor to the99percent.com
- My first trip to Asia where I spent time with one of my friends who is the world’s largest distributor of yo-yos online or offline (I’m serious!) and the CEO of Groupon Philippines, and went to the top of the Taal Volcano (a volcano within a lake with a lake inside of it.)
- Signing up time coaching clients or doing time coaching training on six continents and seeing dramatic positive change in people’s lives due to our time together.
- And most importantly witnessing healing in all different ways in so many people’s lives, including miraculous recoveries from cancer, from depression, from fear and from doubt…
And as I was praying and meditating on the theme for 2012, this one word came through loud and clear, again and again: Breakthrough.
Breakthrough.
And the underlying mission for my business came through with a clarity I have never experienced before (almost like when you’re at the eye doctor and the images go from a blurry muddle to crisp and sharp):
The purpose of Real Life E is to create the greatest healing in the greatest number of people possible.
So you may be asking yourself, “Why are you sharing all of these things Elizabeth?”
Well… it’s because I’ve realized that in order for this breakthrough to happen and to really have the world-changing impact that it needs to make, I need to have a breakthrough of my own.
I need your help.
I’m serious.
Yes—I’m the expert who has been featured on more press than I can count. Yes—I’ve transformed the lives of thousands of people through my writing, coaching and training. Yes—I’m probably one of the few people in the world who gets giddy with excitement talking about schedules!
But to take this to the next level and to give you what you said that you REALLY wanted, it can’t be just me sending off words of wisdom and encouragement. I need you actively engaged and involved in this process.
It makes me feel a bit vulnerable to “let go” in this way, but I trust that if this is really meant to be, just the right people will raise their hands to come on this journey with me by being part of a very select group of game changers joining me on the mission to create a world full of peaceful, confident and accomplished people.
Anyway, this journey will take us… (to a place I’ll describe in my Friday newsletter—stay tuned!)
-Elizabeth Grace Saunders, Your Time Coach
P.S.—I’ll be back with more details in a couple of days. But until then, tell me in the comments what you’re hoping to experience this year. What is your personal “theme” for 2012?
I’ve decided that this year I am going to focus on this simple statement, “I listen without judgement”
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing that with us! It’s so wonderful to hear how much you really want to heal people. Wishing you all the best on this mission – and keen to be involved in helping you figure out how to help us 🙂
My personal “theme” for the year would have to be Simplicity…more specifically, Cal Newport’s Zen Valedictorian philosophy. I’m starting university and after years of overloading myself with school activities and all that (even though I managed well), this is finally a chance to “start fresh”.
I’ve been finding it difficult to resist the temptation to fill my schedule up (possibly a fear of boredom/emptiness or an addiction to pushing my limits, I mean all my smart study/time-management tricks should free up more hours right??), but I think by deciding not to do an extra diploma concurrently with my degree, I’ve managed to avoid a slightly more stressful fate. So my motto has been…”Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should.”
Sure, I could manage an extra 7 hours of work a week, but the opportunity costs are pretty high to me…having a sense of time affluence, rather than feeling like an over-scheduled robot, would be so much more beneficial to my mental health, and if I do have “extra” time, it would be great to be able to chill, guilt-free, with my new college friends, and exercise more often…I guess it just feels like, if I haven’t filled up most hours of my day, then I’m not “fulfilling my potential”, even though I know that’s rubbish 😛
So. Simplicity = 1 BA course load (15-16 contact hours), 1 major extracurricular (an awesome choir, 6-7 hours!!) and hopefully 1 minor part-time job. I hope I’ll be able to embrace this new lifestyle and avoid the temptation of over-scheduling 🙂
I expect form this year to grow in Big Scale, I want to see my projects and my own ideas realized, learn knew skills, benefit from the ones that I already have, learn steps to have a process to follow, gather more people acting on my projects and ideas and those ot their own, being more trustworthy, shortly: Grow in every way possible make a career, money, reputation, more human relationships to make very positive changes.
Dearest Elizabeth- thank you for sharing, and no matter what you have planned someone here is cheering you on and willing to help!
As far as this year goes- it is a big one for me! Left my ‘safety-net’ job to pursue my design business full time, all in the effort to follow my dreams! The theme for this year would be then Authenticity!
Being authentic in who I am and listening, hearing, and then trusting that inner voice! Being authentic with those around me- and supporting those being authentic. Also being authentic in my professional life and with my clients! My gift is being me- and I am going to embrace that.
Scares the heck out of me at times, but by listening and truly honoring myself I will grow personally and professionally.
So here is to the year of being authentic!
Kelly~
Beautiful! I love the idea of being open to what is being said instead of deciding whether to accept or reject it. That truly gives people the freedom to express themselves honestly and openly.
Jessie~
I love your theme of simplicity. It sounds like you’ve already taken action steps to make that happen but it is difficult! I encourage you to think of what “non-work” activities you want to put in place of the productive activities. For example, maybe it’s planning time to meet with a friend, exercise, sleep, read, or simply stare at the ceiling and listen to music. Having restful activities to fill the void makes it easier to avoid the temptation to over commit.
Eleazar~
Fantastic theme of growing and expanding. What “food” will you need to give the soil of your life to help make this growth happen?
Mary-Christine~
Authenticity is a brilliant theme. That is also something that I’m really desiring to grow in because I don’t want to hold back the gifts I can give to the world for fear that some people might not appreciate them.
To your brilliance!
Elizabeth Grace Saunders
Thanks for this opportunity, Elizabeth.
I used to do yearly themes and have fallen away from that commitment. So for 2012 my theme will be “focus.” I have so much going on … one full-time job, one part-time job, and one coaching business waiting to be launched.
Excellent theme Cheri!
It sounds like you have some wonderful opportunities in front of you but it will require intentional focus to maintain what you’re working on and move forward what you would like to see come to pass in your life.
I believe in you!
Elizabeth
My theme is to live fully with purpose and passion!
Hi there Elizabeth,
My focus for this year is on ‘getting my mind right’ – Last year I lost 10 kg that were holding me back physically, and I am maintaining this without too much effort, but I am becoming more and more aware that my moods and self confidence fluctuate much more than I would like. I would like to be more consistently calm, confident, grateful and kind. This is a mindset I need more than ever as a school teacher and mother of two. I need to be able to focus on what matters without getting stressed and defensive.
Do you have kids?
I feel awful when exhaustion and worry about work or money makes me short and mean to my kids.
Hope you achieve the breakthrough you are looking for.
Anthea
Elizabeth, your goals are just SO wonderful. Helping others is a great intention and in so doing, we help ourselves, as I have been learning since giving up being so anal-retentive. 🙂 A terrible term but so accurate.
Now, of course, I am more open to others’ opinions and to their needs. NOW, instead of being a doormat, I can hear and sense the true objectives in front of me, whilst rejecting what I don’t need. Therefore my intention this year is LETTING GO.
I’ve let go thinking about what I don’t want in my life and in work options. Instead I’ve concentrated on what I’d love to do, how I’d like to feel at the end of each day, knowing that I have achieved something wonderful. Just like the caterpillar, I’ve done the hard yards – the struggle to break free – and now I’m spreading my wings and taking in all that is offered to me via the Universe. And already the work offer (albeit unpaid) in my chosen field, has come along. My heart is singing!