Subject: Celebrating the Journey: What Is Your Theme for 2003?
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Welcome to Celebrating the Journey!
Friday, January 3, 2003
Issue #101
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Welcome Notes
2. What Is Your Theme for 2003?
3. Coaching: Create the Intention
4. Quotes for the Journey
5. Celebrating Out Loud!
6. Resources for the Journey
7. Humor: You Know You’re in California When…
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1. Welcome Notes
Happy New Year! Welcome to this time of closure and fresh
beginnings. May 2003 be a year of peace and love, joy and
abundance, success and prosperity for us all.
We’re Back!! Yes we are: weekly, with renewed energy,
ideas, resources, stories, inspirations. You will once again
find Celebrating the Journey in your inbox each Friday. I
have been honored by the e-mails I’ve received from
readers who have missed CTJ. It is enormously gratifying to
know that our writing inspires and supports you in living
the life you really want and celebrating the journey of that
life.
I welcome all our new – and very patient – subscribers who
have been awaiting this first issue. We’re delighted to have
you with us and eager to hear what you think about CTJ.
Please send any thoughts, ideas, suggestions to us at
mailto:CTJ@tothesummit.com. I read all the e-mails we
receive and respond to as many as possible. It is a joy for me
to get to know our readers a bit better.
It’s been 5 months since I last published Celebrating the
Journey on a regular basis. They have been months of
learning and fun, growth and challenge, moving and
settling, goodbyes and hellos, and honoring the need to
keep my focus inward for a period of time. And I celebrate
being back with you, once again sharing tips and tools,
stories and humor, experiences and resources.
It is particularly appropriate to be returning at the beginning
of a new year. A time to Begin Again (see CTJ, July 12, 2002
at https://www.tothesummit.com/archive), to reevaluate,
set a new theme, new goals, new intentions, create new
visions. That will be our underlying theme for the next few
weeks: setting the tone for the year to come and creating the
base from which to create the best year of our lives.
Thank you for joining us on the journey and for your
support of my own journey. I invite you to share this issue
with your friends. Simply hit the Forward key to invite your
friends, family, associates to create their own theme for
2003. It will benefit you both! The connection created by
sharing a common journey with people around us inspires
all involved to reach for our dreams and live the life we
really want.
Once again, Happy New Year!
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2. What Is Your Theme for 2003?
Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Have you broken it
yet?
I ask the second question only half in jest. How many times
have we made that resolution on December 31: to lose
weight; to exercise; to spend more time with our families; to
meditate; to do yoga – you know the drill – and then totally
forgotten about it by January 3 or March 1 or July 4?
I hear the story over and over. I lived it over and over. And
several years ago I was given an idea that ended the familiar
cycle of tight-jawed resolution followed by yet another
failure. To you readers who are not familiar with this cycle –
Bravo! I salute you wholeheartedly. May your resolutions
continue to support the success and celebration of your
journey.
For all the rest of us, I have a suggestion. Rather than
making a resolution (I have an image here of a cartoon
character pounding fists on a table as (s)he loudly states that
resolution!), create a theme for the year. Design an intention
that will draw you in the direction of your dreams; invite
you to change your life in a wonderful way, one day at a
time; and allow you to be a winner at the end of each day.
Choosing a theme for the year gives us a clear focus for the
entire year. It is known that what we focus on, think about,
visualize, intend is what shows up in our lives. Having a
theme on which we’re focusing makes setting the goals and
taking the actions to support that theme simple (you’ll note I
didn’t say easy!). Creating a theme for the year does not
mean we neglect other aspects of our lives. It does set the
number one priority for the year. The theme gives us a map
to keep us on track.
My theme for this year is The Year of the Healthy Body. I
have it posted in my office right above my computer
screen. I have it on a 3 x 5 card that I carry in my wallet. I
write it in my journal each morning. It is the basis for each
choice I make this year. Will this support my body’s health?
is the question of the year. If the answer is no, it is an
opportunity to examine my actions and make different
choices.
A theme sets intention where a resolution demands
perfection. Demanding perfection is a setup to fail. It is my
goal to eat “absolutely” healthily, 80% of the time. That
supports my theme of optimal health without demanding
that I be perfect. It’s a win-win situation. And it invites me to
make healthy choices more and more of the time.
A theme invites change; a resolution demands it. A theme is
based on what we truly value; a resolution is too often based
on what we think we “should” do. A theme is a container in
which we remix our life; a resolution is a prison. A theme
offers guidelines we are motivated to follow; a resolution
requires rigid rules.
Lasting change happens from motivated choice rather than
from finger-shaking rules. Make the choice to choose a
theme for this year and change your life.
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3. Coaching: Create the Intention
What do you intend for yourself in the year to come? What
intention, acted on, will create this year as your best year
yet? What area of your life is most important to you this
year? How do you want your life to be different at the end
of the year?
These are the kinds of questions to ask yourself as you
create your theme. Take some time to yourself with a pen
and paper and ask and answer the questions that come to
you. This is a time to Trust Your Inkles (see the September
26, 2001 issue of CTJ at
https://www.tothesummit.com/archive) rather than trying
to “figure out” what your theme is. Your heart already
knows what it is. You need only listen.
If your theme appears with any kind of “should” attached to
it, pick another one!! Your theme is what you want for
yourself not what someone else or society says you should
want.
If you’d like some additional support in creating your
theme, take advantage of the “Create A Theme for the Year”
worksheet at http://www.365daysofcoaching.com/ctj.htm.
It’s a simple and effective tool to assist you in your theme
generating process. (See the Resources section for more
information.)
When you have your theme, write it down in a single
sentence, a sentence that says, “Yeah! That’s what I want for
this year!” Write it down in different colors, in
different sizes, in different places, where you’ll see it. Carry
it in your wallet. Make a poster and put it on the wall. Put it
in your daily planner. Write it in your journal every day. Get
creative about ways to remind yourself of your focus on a
regular basis.
Set up a support team. Share your theme with people who
can support you in living it: a close friend, a coach, a spouse,
our CTJ family (e-mail it to
mailto:themes@tothesummit.com. I’ll share some of them
with you next week.). Begin setting your goals based on the
theme. (I’ll write more about goals in the weeks to come as
we continue to build the infrastructure for having this year
be your best year yet.) Ask yourself the question, “Does this
support my theme?” on a regular basis.
Ask the questions, write your theme down, share it with a
support system, take the actions that support your theme.
You will have the best year of your life.
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4. Quotes
Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can
immediately command when we focus all of our resources
on mastering a single area of our lives.
Anthony Robbins
The successful man is the average man, focused.
Source Unknown
If you are clear about what you want, the world responds
with clarity.
Loretta Staples
Either you let your life slip away by not doing the things
you want to do, or you get up and do them.
Roger Von Oech
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5. Celebrating Out Loud
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more
there is in life to celebrate.
Oprah Winfrey
Now that CTJ is back on a regular basis, it’s the perfect time
for you to celebrate a win with us! Big or small, everyday or
unusual, each time a celebration is shared it ignites all
involved. Ignite the whole CTJ family with your celebration.
Just send an e-mail to mailto:celebrations@tothesummit.com
Christine Kudija has passed the California bar exam and
sends colorful YIPPEE’s out into the world. She sends thanks
to “all of you who have given me so much support,
coaching, instruction, prayers, attagirls, etc. – it feels
marvelous.” Kudos to Christine. This has been a long
journey for her with a marvelous result. Send your own
Yippee to Christine at mailto:cmkudija@earthlink.net.
At 60 years young Richard Baumann received his Bachelor
of Science degree from Excelsior College of the University of
the State of New York. Another wonderful piece of evidence
that it is never too late to go for your dreams. Bravo,
Richard! Send Richard your congratulations at
mailto:richardb1207@dslextreme.com.
3 years ago Bryan Cooley was overweight and out of shape,
unhealthy and unhappy. On August 8, 1999, he made the
choice to change his life and embarked on the journey to
health, happiness and celebrating the journey of his life. This
past August, in celebration of both the challenge and the joy
of the journey of living a healthy lifestyle, Bryan climbed Mt.
Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous 48 states.
Bryan calls himself “living proof of failure to success” and
issues an invitation to all of us to choose a healthy lifestyle.
Celebrate with Bryan at mailto:bcooley@ocsnet.net
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6. Resources for the Journey
The Create A Theme for the Year worksheet was developed
by one of my most favorite coaches, Rachelle Disbennett-
Lee, especially for the subscribers to her 365 Days of
Coaching ezine. She has generously made it available for
our CTJ family. I highly recommend Rachelle’s ezine. You
can read current issues on her site. The link to the worksheet
and Rachelle’s site is
http://www.365daysofcoaching.com/ctj.htm. Take a look!
TUT.com
This website is a wonderful source of imaginative ideas,
words, programs, ezines, teleclasses and more to enhance
this life adventure we are all on. TUT stands for Totally
Unique Thoughts…because thoughts become things. Their
stated purpose is to “use thoughts, and things, to touch
people and remind us all of life’s everyday magic.” And they
do it delightfully well. This is a lighthearted and unique
approach to what can too often be the serious business of
becoming the best we can be. Their adventures are
marvelous places in which to play and grow. Check it out!
(http://www.tut.com)
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7. Humor: You Know You’re in California When…
A friend of my friend and fellow coach Phil Humbert’s wife
moved to California and posted what he’d learned about his
new state on his website. Those of you who live in California
will nod your heads. The rest of you may shake them in
wonder – or dumbfoundment!. I hope you’ll all get a chuckle
from them. You can check out the original version at
http://www.fortisgraphix.com/california.html. (The home
page of the site has some fun stuff on it as well!) Enjoy.
You know you are in California when:
You make over $250,000 a year and still can’t afford a house.
It’s sprinkling outside, so you leave for work an hour early
to avoid all the weather-related accidents.
Your child’s third grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring,
and is named Breeze.
You can’t remember… is pot legal?
You’ve been to a baby shower for an infant who has two
mothers and a sperm donor.
You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee
beans are grown, and can taste the difference between
Sumatran and Ethiopian.
You can’t remember… is pot legal?
A really great parking space can move you to tears.
The guy in line at Starbucks, wearing the baseball cap,
sunglasses, and looking like George Clooney, really IS
George Clooney.
Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.
It’s sprinkling out, and there’s a report on every news
channel about “THE STORM!”
You can’t remember… is pot legal?
Two overcast days in a row drive you mad.
Everyone who lives here knows that hurricanes, tornadoes,
floods and snowstorms are way worse than earthquakes,
which are, after all, over almost as soon as you realize
what’s happening.
And you still can’t remember… is pot legal?
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Give yourself the gift of a theme for 2003 this week, and as
always, Celebrate Life!
Namaste, Margo
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Hiring a Life Coach is a great way to be supported in
making this year the best year of your life. Margo has a few
slots open for motivated clients who are committed to
taking the actions to create the life you dream of living. To
schedule a consultation, send an e-mail to
mailto:margo@tothesummit.com. Visit our website at
https://www.tothesummit.com for additional resources
and tools.
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My purpose in publishing Celebrating the Journey is to
provide you with resources, motivation, inspiration and
energy for YOUR journey of creating success and freedom
in all areas of your life. CTJ will use stories from my life
and others, coaching tips and resources, quotes and
humor to deliver a learning experience that can enhance
your life. I am always looking for comments, ideas and
ways to improve CTJ. I welcome your e-mails at
mailto:margo@tothesummit.com.
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Copyright © 2003, all rights reserved, by Margo
Chisholm
I invite you to share Celebrating the Journey with your
mailing list, friends, and associates. We ask only that the
entire e-mail with copyright and credits be included. The
author of this article is Margo Chisholm. You may contact
her at (831) 661-0776 or at mailto:margo@tothesummit.com.
—
“Until he extends his circle of compassion to include
all living things, man will not himself find peace.”
Albert Schweitzer
Margo Chisholm
Coach, Speaker, Author, Therapist
Partnering you in having success,
freedom and joy in all areas of your life
831-661-0776 fax 831-661-0264
margo@tothesummit.com
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