I Bet You’ve Surprised Yourself Lately

This has been the year of doing things differently. 

Everyone has changed their lifestyle to adapt to a covid world. 

There are more unknowns than ever. 

We used to plan events, parties, celebrations and gatherings. 

We used to go to concerts, the Theater, get on trains and planes when we wanted to. 

We’re all wondering, “when will things get back to “normal,” or something remotely close. 

With all that uncertainty and change in the way we live, every single day, I bet you’ve done some pretty awesome shit! 

I bet you’ve surprised yourself. 

I’ve seen it on Facebook and Instagram. 

You’ve gotten creative with your kids - even when it comes to having to homeschool them! Now that’s something! 

You’ve gotten creative with how you run your business or do your job - probably from home, even if you’ve never done that before. 

You’ve gotten creative in relationships. How do I get along with my partner or spouse when suddenly we’re both home, working and dealing with the kids, 24/7, with no escape like going out to dinner or taking a spa day or weekend away? 

You’ve gotten creative with friendships and extended family to figure out how to stay connected when we can’t get together physically. 

You’ve improvised and innovated in dozens of ways. 

Perpetual, creative response. 

It’s a super-power skill in the unknown. 

And let’s face it, there is no sign that living in the unknown is ending anytime soon, so let’s get even better at it. 

Let’s keep surprising ourselves with what we’re capable of!  

In August I’m going to give you two opportunities to uplevel your perpetual, creative response skills. 

I’ll be having a fun, free, five-day Facebook Challenge. I’ll email you a morning pep-talk with a fun, fast assignment for the day. When you post your assignment in the FB Group you’ll qualify for a fun prize! Each day will inspire and motivate you to creatively respond to the unknown. 

I’ll be leading a virtual workshop, Own Your Brilliance. Because you know, you are… brilliant. Whether you see it or not. We all have our own secret-sauce of magic and brilliance. The Own Your Brilliance Workshop will teach you how to intentionally cultivate and curate the Brilliance that is already inside you. You don’t need to fix anything or change anything. You just need some badass tools to uncover and use it. 

More to come on these two events for August including getting signed up so you get all the goodies! 

For now, tell me, what’s at least one way you’ve surprised yourself lately? Don’t be afraid to say it. It’s not bragging. It’s telling the truth about yourself. There’s nothing more inspiring and powerful.

Two Things to Leave Behind in 2019

There are two things all of us need to leave behind in 2019.

No matter who you are.

No matter where you are.

Leave these two things.

Comparison and Failure.

Comparison is such an insidious beast. We compare ourselves to others and how their lives look on Facebook or Instagram, we compare how we dress, our bodies, our relationships, sex lives, businesses, professional lives, our kids, pets… everything. The smallest thing can trigger a comparison.

Failure is another wrecking ball in our lives. Something doesn’t go as planned; something is much harder than we anticipated, and we don’t reach a goal in the timeframe imagined. A business goes south, we file bankruptcy, we close the business, we get fired, we drown in a job we hate and are afraid to leave, we fail our kids, fail our relationships, fail, fail, fail. And our mind, through that ever-present mind-chatter, gives us all the evidence to convince us that we definitely failed.

There is a commonly held belief that comparison and identifying our failures is “helpful.” It is a tool to “protect us” from future failures or to learn something. Here’s what I have to say to that. Bullshit.

Bullshit. Labeling something as a failure isn’t what protects you or teaches you the life lesson involved. In fact, the shame spiral of failure can keep you from the lesson or distort the lesson.

Comparison doesn’t protect us or teach us anything either. It diminishes us. We come out of the comparison lacking in some way.

The best thing you can do to protect yourself and learn your lessons is to continually tune into your inner guidance. That still soft voice. That doesn’t mean nothing will ever go “wrong.” Life would be incredibly boring if there was no adventure. No sorrow to contrast the joy. No pain to contrasts the pleasure. I think you’re like me and you want to live life to the fullest! Not in some bubble of perfection, even though the only place that exists is in our own fantasies.

You and I have one, unique, beautiful, glorious life. No one else has the same life I do, or you do, so there’s really no one we can compare ourselves to. There’s no such thing as failure because everything we do that “doesn’t work” or is an apparent set-back, gives us something to help us move forward, in our own, unique way.

That’s it. It’s you.

There’s no one like you. No one has your gift to give to the world. No one compares to you. Nothing you do is a failure. Everything is for you, in order to grow you into the greatest expression of your unique self.

Let’s ring in the new year in boldness. Claiming our unique, beautiful expression.

Failure and comparison are so... 2019!

Make 2018 the year of knowing we are Enough Already!

Be bold and courageous! 

Let's set the intention right now to leave those "Not Enough" thoughts behind.

When you feel Enough Already, you feel like a million bucks. There's no better way to start a new year. 

I talk a lot about Owning Your Brilliance. Several months ago I created a guided meditation to help all of us Own our Brilliance. The meditation helps me access that inner wisdom that knows I am Enough Already! Once I find that wisdom I can create an amazing life.  If you don't have that meditation, you can get here.

Slaying those Not Enough thoughts is an awesome way to Own Your Brilliance and believe in infinite possibilities. It all starts with knowing we are Enough Already.

I'm a life coach and pragmatist, so I love it when people say, "sounds good, Brenda, but how do I do it?" I get that a lot, so I decided to create an online program to help us do it.  The program will be a great way to work with your Not Enough thoughts at your own pace, day or night, whenever the need arises. Over and over if necessary. Some of them are stubborn little buggers! 

I'll open registration in January for Enough Already, but for this minute, and I mean right now...signup to become an Enough Already Insider. It will only take a second to sign up and then magic will begin! You'll get immediate access to some cool bonus material I created with some talented friends and coaches. You'll get the bonuses delivered to your inbox right after you signup to be an Enough Already Insider. 

As an Insider, there's no obligation to register for the program. You get the bonuses now PLUS you'll get a special discount when registration opens in January! 

Start 2018 off with a bang with this juicy, some might say, magical, Enough Already Insider bonus material. There are four recorded videos, one for your Body, Mind, Spirit and Soul. That's my git to you. 

Let's make 2018 the year of knowing we are Enough Already! 

Own your brilliance

What does it mean to own your brilliance?

This is one of my favorite topics in the world right now.

For years, I’ve been telling my closest friends, “I need to own my brilliance.” What did I mean by that?

It’s about knowing who you are. What your unique gifts are. Your unique expression in the world.

It begins with knowing that it’s you. You’re the one.

Then you expand it. You do the thing you were meant to do. Say the things you were meant to say. Dream the dreams you were meant to dream. And you own it!

I didn’t truly “get this” until I went to Paris this summer. If you want to read about that liberating and transformative experience, I wrote all about it with Confessions of a traveler,  A Living Obituary and Your own Paris Transformation.

Today, we’ll talk about how you can own your brilliance. Check it out and do it! Own it! The world needs you.

And don’t forget to download your FREE copy of the Own Your Brilliance guided meditation. It’s a great tool to support you on your path to owning your brilliance.

It's You! You're the one.

It’s you! You’re the one.

There is no one just like you. Of all the people on this over-populated planet, there’s not one that is just like you. Or me, for that matter.

You are a unique expression of the Divine.

You have unique gifts and ideas that the world needs.

It’s so liberating to allow yourself to feel and act out of your uniqueness.

It’s not arrogant. It’s not egotistical.

I really 'got this' when I was in Paris this summer. I have my own unique gifts and I need to be the best me I can be. 

I love Marianne Williamanson’s quote on just that topic. I’ll tell you about it in the video.

Let’s talk about how to know that you’re it. You’re the one!

My Baby

She's here! I'm so happy to introduce you to my new website!

It's a labor of love to create a website. My focus was on what would serve and inspire those of you who engage in my work, whether it's for the first time or you've been with me since the beginning. 

I'll take you on a spin around the site and fill you in on a free offering I'll be releasing soon. 

I've got a lot of cool stuff coming your way in the next couple of months! I'm thrilled you're hear and look forward to engaging even more as we move through the holidays and into a new year. My desire for all of us it to to Live Lavishly.

xoxox

Brenda

The Living Obituary

Brenda Florida, loving mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend. Many viewed her as passionate, ambitious and determined.

They were right.

She loved life and the people in her life.

And, she was often ashamed of the money she spent, her body and her failed relationships with men. At times her shame was so deep she felt like she took up too much space, was unworthy, flawed and defective.

She was ashamed to feel proud of herself. As a child she was told, “pride cometh before a fall.” Confusing feeling proud with being arrogant, as many do, she wasn’t able to own her brilliance. The brilliance of living as the unique expression of the Divine that she was in the world. She limited herself in what she believed she was capable of. The lives she could touch. The change she could be in the world.

She died in Paris.

Thankfully, she was also reborn in Paris.

She heard the message, “It’s you. You’re the one.”

She cried. Something that in her previous life rarely happened.

She saw the beauty of Paris.

She experienced the beauty of the women who had joined her on a retreat.

Most importantly, she saw the beauty of her-Self. Her unique expression of the Divine. Who she truly is.

She owned her brilliance.

She does not know all the answers or what will happen next in this new life.

She does know that she will run towards the light of her own brilliance. Listen to what it says, go where it leads.

She knows that others will not always understand. That’s okay.

She knows she will fail, and will do so spectacularly! Knowing that what the world interprets as failure is the space where growth and beauty are born, where her brilliance will learn to shine brighter.

Her passion, love and determination are magnified because she owns her brilliance. She seeks her own answers from the Source of that brilliance. She doesn’t expect others to understand or approve. She follows the light.

Paris, the city of lights, beauty, fashion, architecture, history, art and it’s own brilliance was her birthplace. She knows who she is. Her worth. That she is the one.

She owns her brilliance.

She wants you to know, you have your own unique brilliance. That by owning your brilliance, you will be changed. And when we are changed, when we each own our brilliance, the world will be changed.