Create the Self-Love You Deserve!

Gabrielle and I were models. Along with about a dozen other fabulous women. We instantly hit it off. She’s got a magnetic personality.

Having your picture taken together in your underwear creates a special bond!

That’s how I met this week’s Cocktails and Coaching co-host, Gabrielle Garofalo. We were in a photo shoot for a book, and a movement, frankly, called, BARE. BARE was conceived by Susan Hyatt and is disrupting the diet culture. BARE teaches women how to love the bodies exactly as they are, as a strategy get to their ideal weight.

I’ve been thinking a lot about self-love lately.

It’s so hard to do yet may be the single most powerful tool we have to improve our lives.

If only we really understood the power of loving ourselves.

When I’m loving myself, I make better choices, professionally, in the food I eat, the movement by body gets, my relationships are healthier, I choose better men to date and I feel infinitely more powerful in my life. 

Gabrielle and I are excited to spend time with you Wednesday, at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern in my private FB Group, Live Lavishly: The Art of Sustainable Transformation.

It’s going to be a powerful evening. In addition to modeling with me, Gabrielle is a multi-passionate entrepreneur. She doesn't like to define herself by one role or passion rather the complicated and wonderful sum of her parts. An entrepreneur, marketing consultant, food & drink blogger, coach and mom of three she often finds herself either traveling into NYC to consult with clients or hopping on her paddle board to commune in nature while working up a sweat. You can find her on IG as Gabrielle.Garofalo and on Facebook here.

Gabrielle also teaches women the BARE(TM) process and how to channel passion to purpose at home, in career and in the mirror. I’ll have her tell us more about that on Wednesday!

We love getting questions ahead of time from you! You can ask us any question on any subject here, and join the FB Group, here, if you aren’t a member.

Can’t wait to see you Wednesday at 5 Pacific/8 Eastern for another fabulous episode of Cocktails and Coaching!

Fear May Be Your Best Clue

Everything you want, that you don't have, will scare the shit out of you, if you take steps to bring it into your life. 

It doesn't seem fair, but it's true. 

The "safe" choices, won't scare you. Staying in the corporate job that sucks you dry, the marriage you are unhappy in, deciding not to trust anyone again, never getting back into the dating scene, not to starting your own business... need I go on? 

When we "don't rock the boat" we stay safe. 

You know what's scary? 

Following your deepest desires. I like to call them yearnings. 

Something you want soooo bad, you can taste it! 

And, that's scary as hell!  

You know, if you do it, if you follow it, things will happen that you can't predict. 

You'll be smack dab in the center of "the unknown." 

[Cue screaming]

What do you do? 

How do you deal with the fear and follow your deepest desires? 

Join me and my amazing co-host, Enolia Foti, for Cocktails and Coaching on Wednesday, August 28, at 5 pm Pacific and 8 pm Eastern. You'll hear how this New York City girl ended up being taught by the elders and grandmothers of indigenous cultures, and how she went from corporate America to healer. Her story is inspiring, and together, we'll unlock how fear can hold you back, or empower you!

Ask your question about fear, how the hell to actually follow your deepest desires, what it means to be a healer or anything else that's on your mind! Click here to submit your question.

We'll be live for Cocktails and Coaching in my private Facebook Group. If you aren't already a member, join Live Lavishly; The Art of Sustainable Transformation by clicking here.

Enolia and I can't wait to see you on Wednesday, August 28, at 5 pm Pacific and 8 pm Eastern. 

Tired of overwhelm and ready for a positive vibe?

With the number of tasks that are on the list to do, EVERYDAY, in each of our lives, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. 

Overwhelm is a natural reaction to either too many things to do and/or feeling like you don’t have all the resources you need to get something done.  

The lack of resources could be time, or something a little less tangible, like, you simply don’t know WHAT to do to solve the problem. Or there are so many problems, it feels insurmountable. 

I know what that’s like and so does my co-host for this week’s Cocktails and Coaching! 

Join me and my amazing co-host Alex Ellis of AE Wellness (IG@hollaformala) on Wednesday, August 19 at 5:00 pm Pacific and 8:00 pm Eastern for a positive vibe and great conversation! 

Alex is a self-proclaimed “body-nerd,” entrepreneur and a “put your money where your mouth is” when it comes to living from a positive vibe instead of overwhelm or pain. Her super-power is helping women get out of pain. She’ll tell you more about it on Wednesday. 

You can ask Alex and me a question on the form on my website, BrendaFlorida.com, grab your drink and let’s get real! 

Everyone experiences overwhelm and everyone wants to live in a positive vibe. 

We’ll give you tips on getting out of overwhelm and we’ll definitely create a positive vibe! You’ll be so glad you came! 

Oh! And don’t forget, it all happens in my private FB Group, Live Lavishly: The Art of Sustainable Transformation. If you aren’t a member, click here and join this cool group of super positive and supportive folks! 

On the Road to Enlightenment... I'll Take a Martini!

The road to enlightenment isn’t for the faint of heart. 

And, we’re all on the road. Unless we’ve decided to never grow. Never learn. Never change. 

You may not think about yourself as being on the road to enlightenment, but I bet you want to grow. You don’t want to be exactly the same next year, as you are today. So.. You’re on the road.

Me, I’m going to take a martini with me! As 100% committed to enlightenment as I am, I love pleasure. I love being irreverent. I love saying “Fuck!” as a fun exclamation point! I love having sex, drinking wine, having a glass of Champagne and having a martini (although, in truth, I’ll more likely have a cosmopolitan, which isn’t exactly a martini, but it’s close!)

I don’t think all that is counter to enlightenment, it’s just now how we typically imagine enlightenment. We typically imagine it as quiet, proper, probably a vegetarian and celibate or at least not openly enthusiastic about steak and sex, like I am!  

I’m here to break the mold of what it looks like to pursue enlightenment. All of us, in every shape, style and personality type is pursuing enlightenment in our own way. 

I started Cocktails and Coachingbecause of this seeming dichotomy. Accessing our inner wisdom, seeking truth, seeking to know ourselves and the Divine on a deeper level and… having a cocktail in the process! 

Join me Wednesday, August 14that 5 pm Pacific/8 Eastern, and my super-unconventional co-host, Kai Shanti. Kai has many amazing gifts and a colorful background (think, “married to a rock-star’ colorful.) Kai has an amazing YouTube channelyou can go to and hear her amazing wisdom. She channels higher consciousness and she shares my passion for discussing sex, sexuality and personal power within our sexuality. It’s going to be a powerful gathering! 

Ask your question, on any topic, right here. We gather in my private Facebook Group, Live Lavishly: The Art of Sustainable Transformation. If you aren’t a member, click here to join.

See you Wednesday as we pursue our enlightenment along with a glass of wine, martini, Kombucha, tea or whatever suits your beautiful, authentic self! 

Cocktails and Coaching is Baaaaack!!

Cocktails and Coaching is back!! Wednesday, August 7th, 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern.

I’m so excited to tell you about my co-host for our next Cocktails and Coaching!

Claudia Devyani is a registered nurse of 20 years, a yogini trained by Yogi Amrit Desai at Amrit Yoga Institute, a shaman trained at the Four Winds Society by Dr. Alberto Villoldo, and a Functional Medicine Coach trained at the Institute of Functional Medicine. She was born in São Paulo-Brazil, and left Brazil when she was very young to study and work, over 28 years ago. She is also an American Citizen.

This woman has an amazing story of the physical cost of stress and the innate power we have to heal our bodies. I’ll let her give you the scoop on Wednesday.

Trust me when I say, you will NOT want to miss this episode!

As always, Claudia and I welcome all your questions, on any topic! We will be gathering together through a Facebook Live in my private FB Group, Live Lavishly: The Art of Sustainable Transformation.

If you aren’t a member, join the FB Group here.

Ask us your questions here.

Grab your cocktail and headphones, you know me, I tend to drop an f-bomb here and there, and Claudia and I will see you on Wednesday night!!

What do depression, kindness and cocktails have in common?

Mark your calendar!!

Wednesday, July 3, at 5 pm Pacific and 8 pm Eastern join me and my special co-host, Alyssa Crawford for Cocktails and Coaching!

Alyssa has a beautiful story of how she went from postpartum depression into becoming a functional fitness trainer who specializes in prenatal and postpartum fitness and is certified in Applied Functional Science.

If you're like me and you're way past the age of postpartum depression, don't walk away!

Alyssa's gift reaches way beyond her specialty of working with moms. This quote from her, says it all, "my number one message to my clients, and anyone who will listen, is that in order to be successful... whether that is losing weight, toning up, eating better, working out for better heart function... in order to be successful, you must be kind to yourself."

BAM. Mic drop.

And, that's why I love her and her work! Kindness.

You can follow Alyssa on Instagram @healthy_4_mamas.

Join Alyssa and me on Wednesday. Whatever pre-Fourth of July plans you may have can wait. You can give yourself the gift of this hour with us to get your questions answered and discover how kindness can take you places you never dreamed of!

Submit your questions, on any topic, here. Alyssa and I look forward to sharing sacred, kind space with you on Wednesday.

Remember, it all takes place in the private Facebook Group, Live Lavishly, The Art of Sustainable Transformation. If you aren't a member, click here to join.

We’re jamming on Cocktails and Coaching!

I didn’t think it was possible, but each week gets better and better!

 What is Cocktails and Coaching?

It’s an informal, online gathering of cool people on my private Facebook Group, Live Lavishly: The Art of Sustainable Transformation. If you aren’t a member, join now, right here.

Each week I have a different co-host. This week is the amazing “Bridge Coach” Sue Lundquist, or Super-Sue as she is known! Sue has an awesome new program she’s launching at a special price this week called, Craziness to Clarity. Check it out here. Like me, Sue is practical and all about making change in your real-world! I love her work!

Sue and I will be on a FB Live in the private FB Group at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern. It’s the perfect time to grab a cocktail, or some tea or anything else you want… and join us for an engaging conversation around the questions YOU SUBMIT! That’s the fun part. We answer the questions that the audience submits through a form on my website. Here’s the form!

I can’t wait to see your question and answer it on Wednesday! Don’t miss the fun!

A Cocktail and Some Coaching: A Perfect Pair!

Grab your favorite drink, even if it’s club soda, that’s cool too, and join me for the first every, Cocktails and Coaching!

And guys, you’re invited! In fact, welcomed! I’m excited about men and women gathering together to talk about important topics!

It’s all happening in my private Facebook Group, Live Lavishly: The Art of Sustainable Transformation. If you aren’t a member, click here and request to join now….

Tonight, my amazing co-host is intuitive coach, Jess Bubbico. Jess a genius and will bring her own special magic to the conversation! Check out her website here and connect with her on Facebook here.

We’ve got a number of excellent questions that have been submitted through the form on my website.Submit yours here.

This evening we’ll be discussing relationships, staying positive after a dramatic health diagnosis, how to open doors in the job market and more.

Jess and I will take comments and questions from those of you with us live and virtually coach those that submitted questions.

It promises to be fun and enlightening!

Grab your drink and join us in the Facebook Group at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern!

xoxo,

Brenda

Grab a Cocktail and Let's Get REAL Together!

I love to eat and drink with people.

There’s something about gathering around a good drink and some great food that allows for a certain intimacy and openness that isn’t always easy to find.

That’s why I always have my favorite hangouts in any city I visit often or live in.

Because I’m currently living a “location independent” lifestyle, I decided to create such a space myself!

In a perfect world, I’d make your drink for you, even fix some great appetizers or dinner, but alas…that also creates a lot of logistic limitations.  

I’m creating Cocktails and Coaching as a virtual answer to my logistic limitations!

While I can’t make your drink, I’ll count on your for that, I can create an open, safe and fun environment where we can hang out, have a few laughs and open up to the things that puzzle us, bother us, that we’re stuck on, pissed off by, surprised by and delighted by!

Nothing is off-limits in Cocktails and Coaching. You bring it. We’ll talk about it. I’ll give coaching tips and tricks, life-hacks and other bits of wisdom. (The more you drink the wiser I get!)

I’m also inviting a cool co-host each week. I’m stoked about that!

Our first Cocktails and Coaching will be on Wednesday, May 15, 5:00 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern.

We’ll gather in my private Facebook Group, Live Lavishly: The Art of Sustainable Transformation. If you aren’t a member, use this link to join.

This is an “all guys, all gals” welcome sort of party! The FB Group is now open to men and women. I love coaching men and have always felt it unnatural to exclude them so... welcome guys!

To submit a question or topic you want us to discuss and coach around, just fill out the form on my website at www.BrendaFlorida.com/Cocktails-Coaching

My first co-host is the intuitive, gorgeous and incomparable, Jess Bubbico! Jess has a weekly radio show, Method Meets Magic and she is a genius, intuitive coach. You can find out more about Jess and her free Facebook Challenge here.

Let’s do it! Invite your friends. Submit your questions and topics. Grab your cocktail and join me, every Wednesday at 5 Pacific/8 Eastern in the Facebook Group, for Cocktails and Coaching!

I can't wait to see you at the first gathering of Cocktails and Coaching in the private FB Group, Live Lavishly, on Wednesday, May 13, 5 pm Pacific, 8 pm Eastern! 

From a Dark Night to a Balcony on the Beach?

Today I'm sitting on the balcony of a lovely hotel room overlooking the ocean, in my favorite place, La Jolla, CA. 

I've been very open this week about my own dark night of the soul, several of them actually. 

So, how did I get from a dark night of the soul to this balcony? 

Work. 

Yep. That's not sexy or even terribly intriguing. But, it's true. 

I worked every day to make my internal environment more important than my external circumstances. 

What does that look like? 

It looks like this: I launch a program and get nothing but crickets, I "need" the money to pay bills, nothing else good is happening professionally or financially, and I spend as much time as I need to shift my mindset and how I feel to abundance, instead of the scarcity and fear my circumstances could easily trigger. 

How did I do it? I use a lot of tools. One day one works, the next day it doesn't help at all and I need something else out of my bag of tricks! But between all the tools and the several online communities I get support from...I've gotten through each day. 

Is my struggle over? The gorgeous scene from my balcony is a bit deceiving. This moment, this weekend while I'm here I am totally enjoying all the abundance of it. That's one of my tools. Even when parts of my life are in crisis, I can find another part that isn't, and enjoy the hell out of that! I don't have to let the crisis define me. 

I'll bask in the abundance and glory of this balcony and weekend in my favorite place and know that the only thing that exists, is this present moment. 

And then, there will be a moment when I know what my next step is. For me these days, it's usually one step. I don't know the next 5 steps, just the next one. As Brene Brown says, "courage is the ability to be comfortable with discomfort." She didn't say, "courage is the ability to make discomfort go away. 

That's why I created both, From Darkness into Light and Cocktails and Coaching. Because Cocktails and Coaching is just plain old, good fun. And we all need that. Especially when we need tools to take us From Darkness to Light. They can both exist at the same time. 

Join me for Cocktails and Coaching on Wednesday's at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern in my private Facebook Group. You can join the group here. You can ask a question or tell me about a situation you want help with, here, and I'll address it live. 

If you're in crisis. If you're in anxiety, fear, confusion, self-doubt and spinning in negative self-talk, you need From Darkness to Light. I'm only allowing 10 people in the group to keep things intimate. Get all the details and register here. We start May 21 at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern​, but I'll close registration as soon as it's full. 

If you have any questions, hit reply and let me know. Your email will be private and I'm the only one who will see it.