The Final Word… A Personal Note And A Poem From Hafiz
It’s been a tumultuous first six months of 2009 for me, in many ways, so I’ve decided to take June 1 as a reset button… a new start to 2009. What have I learned?
- Recognize karma when it is staring me in the face. (Dance with who persists in showing up in your life. There might be something in it.)
- Learning is what happens when I really, really, really don’t know what to do. (It might be interesting to stay with not knowing more often, instead of trying to get unstuck all the time.)
- A formerly nerdy, plays-piano, goes-to-Chinese-school-on-the-weekend, favorite hobby is ‘books’ Asian girl can become (joyfully) athletic. PR for squats = 100 pounds, for benchpress = 80. (Sorry, no photos. Maybe later this summer.)
I turn 39 today. Yes, it’s my birthday and as you read this I’m off, probably being spoiled by my hubby Mike. 40 is right around the corner, and maybe I’m feeling just a little grown up these days.
May I punctuate the end of this newsletter with a bit of poem with questions I’m asking myself, at the end? Perhaps there’s something here for you, too.
From ‘Then
Winks’ by Hafiz
Everything is clapping today,
Light,
Sound,
Motion,
All Movement.
A rabbit I pass pulls a cymbal
From a hidden pocket
Then winks.
This causes a few planets and I
To go nuts
And start grabbing each other.
Someone sees this,
Calls a
Shrink,
Tries to get me
Committed
For
Being too Happy.
Listen: this world is the lunatic’s sphere,
Don’t always agree it’s real…
Possible Questions…
What box am I playing in? What box would others have me play in? What
box do I choose to leave in order to construct what other box?
How can I dial down the ambient noise of sameness, all around? How
can I break free into a quiet pocket of space to hear myself think?
Happy Birthdaying Andrea.
By the way Thomas and I were born on the same day and year. We both ended up coaching. I am going through some rough patches but getting a new web together (not easy finding people who really deliver their promises:
Anyway … Happy Birthdaying with your hubby.
In richness
Colli
Happy Birthday!
It’s never too late to start something new! Heck… Granda Moses didn’t start painting until she was in her 70′s and only because she had to give up crochet due to arthritis! In her obituary in the N.Y. Times, it said she painted over 1000 pictures, 25 of them after her 100th birthday. She lived to be 101.
Dear, dear Andrea,
Happy, happy birthday to you. I feel that it is your birthday, and I have received all the presents (from this newsletter). Thank you so much for your BEing, your spirit of generosity, your constant authentic walking of your talk.
You are a blessing and may you be blessed!
With gratitude, Shirley
Dear Andrea,
You are GOOD !! Believe it….you are one talented and energetic lady – oh and a Very Happy Birthday to you ! I hope you are having a wonderful celebration with your loved ones.
Your newsletters and emails keep me from totally giving up on being a coach – I am still looking for my first paying client, yet I have been coaching for 3 years ! How is that for ridiculous !! and it is disheartening to believe I have a good program, but am not able to “get it out there”…..What is wrong with me anyway ?
I am not like everyone else, and as you point out above – everyone’s website and newsletter and blog and so forth – they all look alike and I don’t fit into this….stuff !
Anyway – do please keep sharing the wonderful Thomas Leonard genius, and bless you for all your work.
Happy Birthday once again – (I have 20 years on you, but look forward to staying “in the game” and being a success – somehow !)
Melissa C Williams
Boise, Idaho
From one poetry loving coach who totally appreciates your literary taste and quest to see the truly new or the same stuff from a new paradigm – Happy Happy Birthday. I hope you are being spoiled by your husband and by the universe. You make the world a better place. With love, Anne (Coach Paradise)
Happy Birthday! Thanks for sharing.
Happy Birthday Mamacita!
When I hear about running from boxes, I get all excited.
Not to mention running from sameness and conformity.
BIG huge leaps a-coming for you, that I can feel.
I am so glad that you are here to make it totally safe to be a rocking hot businessperson with a poet soul and, now, an athlete’s body.
Mucho love,
-Pam
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA. In your generosity of spirit and intellect, you give presents constantly. I send you presents of Light, Love and Gratitude. I am totally excited about being in your Strategies for Success program. Though I have coached people for 30+ years, I am on fire like never before. Thank you for helping this 66 year old woman get on board with the new paradigms of today. I am totally excited and trying to figure it all out – with my son’s help (smile). Trust me — life gets better with age. All you have to do is stay in the game. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Sarah
Happy birthday, Andrea and thank you for sharing your personal reflections in this article. I have a feeling that something very important is happening in your life and in the lives of others as well. I like to see it as the opening of boxes of each kind (professional titles, self-images, elevator pitches…)and getting to the core of oneself which is greater and more than a box could contain. You are somebody who is aware of this kind of transformation and able to express it in such a wonderful words. That does not necessarily make it easier to go through it. But you will go through it. And that is very important not just for yourself but also for other coaches and their clients who are benefiting from your experiences and your being. I am very happy to know you and send you my best wishes for your journey.
Happy Birthday fellow Junebug! Mine’s next week and with each one I get better and better at just being me as opposed to who everyone else thinks I should be.
I’m part of your Thomas Leonard Success Strategies program and it’s one of the best investments I’ve made in a long time. I thank you, and Thomas, for your words of wisdom and incredible insights.
Patricia M.
First and foremost – HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! ENJOY your celebration! Thank you for your hard work and being such a great coach! I am so delighted you are helping get Thomas’ work out in a whole new way! I really appreciate you and the work you do. You make a difference. Thank you.
Happy Healthy Huggable Birthday! Embrace this one fully!
I recieved “Full Practice” yesterday!…Today I realize the synchronicity of the gifts… both given and recieved on the day of celebrating both your birthdays’. I’m dancing with you today…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA!!!This is a Delicious Growth filled time in your life. As you open your gifts your 39th year brings, don’t forget to pause and reflect and express Gratitude for all of the wonderous Ebbs and Flow of your life. For all of the Starts and Irritating Stops, all of the Mountain Top Highs, and Gut wrenching Lows, for the Tears and Smiles, take them all in Stride. Through all of these, you gain new persective. I just celebrated my 55th on May 27th, and I am excited to begin my Second Chapter of Life! I am playing in a totally New Box (Possible Question) that has been constructed by ME! I am a writer and your Heart Felt writing inspires me.
Such great company to be in this week! My birthday (48) is tomorrow.
I enjoy watching you grow in spurts and bounds over the years.I’m trying to keep up, but happy bunny” keeps zig-zagging. Hop it up, and have fun all week.
As for “sameness,”it’s rampant. Thanks for highlighting the issue and challenging us to be our unique selves.
happy day! Andrea