Welcome to the magical world of transformation…

Hi there! Coach Cassandra Rae here.  Do you have a few minutes to chat?

Oh good. Hasn’t this been such an amazing process to face 1 fear a day? Don’t you feel courageous, bold, and empowered?

What? Oh…you feel bad because you haven’t kept up with it.  Yeah, I know what you mean.  I didn’t keep up with it either.  In fact, that’s why I’m calling you today.  Can you believe that I didn’t update my list for almost the entire month of October?!  It’s just that there was so much going on in my life.  I didn’t have the time or the energy to keep up with it.  In fact, it was probably good for my health to let it go.

Oh yeah…I know what you mean.  When things in my personal life get whacked so does everything else and it doesn’t matter how much I want to do stuff.  I simply have to rearrange to accommodate my priorities.  Speaking of which, that brings me back to why I’m calling.  I wanted to share with you that I’m thinking about switching it up and I would really love to receive your feedback.  You see, I found that the first 17 days of the challenge were the most powerful.  It was on the forefront of my mind.  I learned so much about fear and how it works.  I made some incredible strides.  And it didn’t turn into a burden because I kept up with it.

So you found it easier in the beginning too, eh?

It also occurred to me that habits are built in 21 days.  In fact, I tend to do a lot of my groups and programs in multiples of 21 because of that.  So what would you think about switching up the 100 Things I Fear commitment to a 21 day commitment instead of a 100 day one?

No!  We wouldn’t face 100 fears in 21 days!  That would be even crazier, right? No, I was thinking that we could all make a commitment to face 21 fears in 21 days instead of 100 fears in 100 days.

Yeah, I’ll keep going with my initial 100 Things I Fear challenge through the end of 2009.  But, I wanted to provide an alternative for people because it’s such an awesome idea and the last thing I want to happen is for it to turn into something people beat themselves up over.  That’s like the opposite of the intention of the whole thing!

I know, right? Plus, a few of my fabulous FEMpreneur friends encouraged me to buy the 100ThingsIfear domain and so I did.  Yay!  And I’m thinking about setting up a whole blog dedicated to this process.  What do you think about that?

Oh you have to get going now?  No problem.  Will you please do me a favor and post your thoughts on my blog?

Thank you so much! And I look forward to reading your comments…

Tags: 100 Things I Fear, advice, blogging, courage, fear, goals, success, support

Today’s fear was the classic “they’re going to think I’m stupid” fear.

I was in a meeting  and I came up with a suggestion for the facilitator.  After the idea came up, I was waiting for a break in the convo to share it and that’s when the fear crept in:

The more I thought about it, the less I liked it.

Then I started to think that people wouldn’t like the idea.

And then I imagined them looking at me like I was an idiot.

Oy! I was getting all wound up and it had only been like 30 seconds.  Literally.

The co-facilitator noticed my hand half-up and gave me the floor to speak before I had a chance to back down.

Gulp!

So I put the fear aside and shared my idea.

And guess what?

Not only did the facilitator say that she was going to take the idea to her boss, but the other people in the meeting loved it!

Really? You mean, you don’t think I’m stupid?! Whew!

Has this ever happened to you? If so, please leave me a supportive comment.  If not, then you aren’t sharing enough of your brilliant ideas & you need to join the 100 Things I Fear challenge!

{note: I know the above photo has nothing to do with this post directly, but I took this picture & I like it so I’m posting it. I’ve decided that that’s a good enough reason to include it :~}

Tags: 100 Things I Fear, communication, courage, fear, goals, Relationships, success

Today has been so full of good stuff that I’m just now sitting down to blog & I had all these neat ideas to write about and share.

Then life happened.

Another fear popped up to face.

And now I am wiped out.

Whew!

So before I log off to go watch Gossip Girl I am sharing one of my super Aha! moments from the 100 Things I Fear challenge:

When you face your little every day fears on a consistent basis, then the big fears become smaller paving the way for your dreams to come true!

How cool is that?!

So if your big fears are stopping you from moving forward, then just let them be and begin with a little itty bitty fear.  Before you know it you’ll be breaking down all kinds of old barriers and building new avenues of opportunity in your life.

Woohoo!

Tags: 100 Things I Fear, courage, fear, goals, success

In this video {3:46} I share some surprising lessons from the 100 Things I Fear challenge. Like how I thought I would be facing the biggies {like picking a niche for my coaching practice!} and how beneficial it is to tune in to fear. What?! I know, it’s crazy right? Well, watch the video and please post your thoughts, experiences, and questions. I am loving connecting with you through this process.

Tags: courage, fear, goals, happiness, success, VLOG {Videos of me!}

Can you believe I forgot about my own challenge on Saturday? Part of me feels like such a loser and another part of me knows that it is Simply Fearless to just come clean, tell you that I forgot, and move on.  So that’s what I’m doing!

I didn’t forget on Sunday and the fear I faced was asking my cast mates to run lines with me {I’m performing as Dorothy in the Wizard of SOM this Wednesday}.  I had sent out an email late Saturday night asking to rehearse after church on Sunday and when I showed up for church the next day the voice of fear said, “No one wants to rehearse with you.  Just forget about it.  Don’t make eye contact and slip away quickly.”  Again, I asked myself, “Am I going to allow fear to lead the way?”

Oh heck no!

I walked right up to cast mates, looked them square in the eyes, and asked if they were available to run lines.  4 of the 6 weren’t available, but 2 were and said yes.  Woohoo!  I received some serious help from fantastic actors all while walking through my own fear.  How cool is that? I am seriously loving this challenge.  I feel more and more courageous every day.  Wait.  Allow me to reframe:

I am more and more courageous every day!

The Hubs continues to be an awesome source of strength

Tags: 100 Things I Fear, courage, fear, goals, success

“What worries you?”

Yesterday I launched the 100 Things I Fear challenge.  I’m super excited because so many people are taking it on with me!  This is my very first meme and when I put it all together I didn’t even realize that’s what I was doing.  It wasn’t until people started commenting and linking to it that I realized, “Oh…I just founded a meme!”  How cool is that?

Anyhow, some of the feedback I’ve received is, “I’m not afraid of 100 things.” And I really want to address that because you don’t have to be afraid of 100 things in order to join the fun.  The whole purpose of 100 Things I Fear is to stretch your comfort zone a little bit every day. It could be that you are afraid of one thing (like cold calling for your business) and so you do that one thing every day for 100 days.  You see, it doesn’t have to be 100 separate things.  In fact, I don’t even know if I’m afraid of 100 things – although as the Simply Fearless Coach I’m probably afraid of thousands of things - it takes a lot of fear to have a lot of courage – wrap your mind around that one!

Anyhow, here’s what I’m doing…
Every day I think about one thing I could do that I’m afraid of – one thing that forces me to step right outside my comfort zone – and then I go and do it.  I’m really committed to the “little bit every day” piece of the challenge.  Yes, I have already thought about doing 2 things in one day to cover a day that I might not feel like doing it – and if you’re taking the challenge I totally don’t mind if you do that – but, for me the real value is in making it a daily practice because long lasting transformation happens in small, consistent steps.

Yeah, I might not update my list every day, but I will definitely do my 1 thing and post when I’m back on-line – sometimes it’s important not to turn my computer on for a whole day.  Oh!  That could totally be part of someones 100 Things List!  We get so attached to our computers.  Can you imagine not turning it on for an entire 24 hours without telling people ahead of time?

Okay Peeps, go ahead and jump off the 2 inch cliff of fear that can feel a thousand feet high!  You can join the 100 Things I Fear challenge at any time.

Tags: 100 Things I Fear, courage, fear, goals, success

In this video {2:50} I laugh, I cry, I coach myself on the spot, and I share about 100 Things I Fear. Here’s the link that explains it all: http://www.cassandrarae.com/100-things-i-fear/

Tags: 100 Things I Fear, action, courage, fear, goals, Life Coaching, success

This photo is my Weekly Winner today because it’s the only photo I took this week!  I went to the park with my camera and when I turned it on I realized the battery was out of juice.  Bummer. But, it’s still a winner!

“The Next Step is Only One Step”

Even when you can’t see clearly…the next step is still only one step. Of course, you probably wouldn’t want to be walking on the backrest of a park bench unless you were an ant, a ladybug, or a butterfly….but, I still like the perspective that the next step is only one step :~)

So often it’s hard to see directly in front of you. But, if you keep your eye on your greatest vision (why would you hold a vision that was less than the greatest?!), then even if you aren’t exactly sure what to do next – the vision can still come true. In fact, lots of times when you hold fast the reality ends up BETTER than the original idea.

And so it is.

Tags: decisions, goals, photography, success, vision, Weekly Winners

I had the pleasure and honor of guest leading the Natural Healers Networking meeting today because the founder Tina Deane is on holiday.  We had so much fun!  I gave the Ditch Your Resolutions presentation and we all created 2009 themes together.  We also shared how we were going to put them into practice. Some of the themes were: harmony (mine!), juicy, freedom, space, receive, community, laughter, and allow. Everyone was so willing to share their ideas. In fact, at one point we did a “Puppy Pile” which was when we laid down on the floor head to stomach and then laughed together. It was crazy fun! It wasn’t planned as part of the meeting, but it came up as an idea so whoever was willing just jumped on in and participated. We seriously laughed for at least a full minute – probably longer.

Anyhow, I put this outline together to guide me through the presentation and I thought ya’ll might appreciate it as it puts together what I’ve been blogging about for the past week:

Ditch Your Resolutions: Your 2009 Theme

If you knew how to accomplish your New Year’s Resolutions, then you would have already.  If you had the deep desire to accomplish them, then you would have.  Resolutions tend to be things we use to beat ourselves up with and evidence we use to prove how unworthy we are.

And at the same time, they do have value, right? There are areas in our lives for us to develop and there are things we want to accomplish.  So how do we make 2009 a year of transformation for ourselves and our businesses while ditching our resolutions? Here’s how:

Pick a 2009 theme instead.

A theme is:

• an intention
• an energy that drives our words and actions
• a unifying and dominant idea
• the most common element
• what brings together all parts of our lives

Think of your theme like the hub of a wheel.  It is the point where all aspects of your life come together and it is the origin

Activity
Take an index card and write your one-word theme on one side of it.  Think about all aspects of your life and make sure it is something that:

1. inspires you into positive action
2. only you are responsible for it – it can involve other people, but it cannot depend upon them
3. in alignment with your values – not your family of origin’s values, not your husband or wife’s values, YOUR values.

Now embody your theme.  Finish the following sentence:

I am {insert your theme}.

For example, I am harmony.

Okay, now turn the index card over and write down 5 simple ways to practice your theme.

Here are 5 simple ways to practice for my theme harmony:

1. kiss my husband for 10 seconds
2. turn my computer off for 24 hours
3. let go of judging others
4. pet my cat
5. pray, listen, and follow divine inspiration

Make sure your simple ways to practice are practical, measurable, and doable.  Of course, making them fun makes them easier too!

Homework
Every day take some time to consider your theme.  Write down one way it is showing up in your life or one way you are going to practice it.  This will only take a few minutes of your time and at the end of the year you will have an abundance of your theme in your life!

Tags: goals, harmony, Life Coaching, success

“Focus”

Choosing a 2009 theme is an awesome idea. And it’s worthless…unless you put it into practice. So here are a couple of questions (along with my own unique answers for my 2009 theme) to get you moving:

What does {insert your theme} mean to you?

My theme is harmony and it is putting all aspects of me and my life to work for the same cause. This doesn’t mean that we always get along, but it does mean that I am willing to do the work to resolve conflicts and make powerful decisions about moving forward {to be continued…}

How are you going to use {insert your theme} in your daily life?

One way that I am going to put harmony into practice is to use it to evaluate and guide my words and actions. Will this bring me closer or farther away from harmony? Did that bring me closer or farther away from harmony? What can I do going forward that will bring me into a deeper alignment with harmony?

I invite you to post your unique answers to today’s questions and keep coming back because I’ve got some more cool stuff coming your way on this topic.

Read {part 1} here

Tags: goals, success