“God can dream a bigger dream for me…
for you…then you can ever dream for yourself.”
~ Oprah Winfrey

In the months that followed my decision I’ve been searching for what’s next and I’ve made a lot of surprising progress.  I’ve also learned that it feels different when I am trying to control my future versus discover it.

“When you have done all that you can do
and there’s nothing left for you to do…give it up.
Give it up to that thing that is greater than yourself
and let it then become a part of the flow.”
~ Oprah Winfrey

I’ve also learned that when I’m not trusting in the magic and grace of the Universe that there is always something to stress over, to doubt, and to fear.  I’m tired of being in that controlling space.  It’s small.  Restrictive.  I can’t breathe.  My soul can’t breathe.

“The wanting of it and the surrendering of it
taught me how to live in the space of letting go.”
~ Oprah Winfrey

So today I let go.  I recognize the power in the wanting of it and the power in surrendering of it.  I can still want it and let it go at the same time.  I can allow myself to be in the space of trusting God and making choices for myself.

“What should I do? Should I do this?
The bigger question is…
What would you, God the Universe, have me do?”
~ Oprah Winfrey

And so today I stand, with Oprah at my back, and  I ask, “God what would you have me do?” and I open my heart to receive the answers that are on their way to me…that are here now.

Is there something in your life you’ve been holding onto?  Do you feel the weight of it?  Are you ready to surrender?

This is my happy, funny face after launching my new website & blog!

Not really.  It is a happy, funny face, but it’s one I captured whilst on a trip to Phoenix to attend an Abraham-Hicks workshop.  I shared all about it on my new blog.

Yup, I’ve moved.  Sigh.  I’ll miss CassandraRae.com, but I’m stoked about my new blog over at SimplyFearless.com.  Yay!  *does funny dance that teenage daughter rolls eyes at*

So yeah.  This is your official invitation to join me at the new digs on the interwebs cause in a few short days {or weeks depending on how soon I circle back} this site will be forwarded to SimplyFearless.com.

I do plan on using this site again, but it is way down the road when I turn it into my professional speaking portal.  Yup, that’s right.  I plan on touring the country & world speaking, inspiring, and sharing my message all about connecting with your Calling and receiving your success.  Wahoo!

But, for now, let’s stay connected via the new blog or on Facebook or on Twitter or on YouTube or on LinkedIn if that’s your thang!

Have you ever wanted something so much you were afraid to go after it? Yeah, that’s me right now.  I’m in the process of redesigning my coaching website & blog and I really want it to reflect my true heart’s desire.  But, I feel so vulnerable with it all. You see, I want to explore the topics of:

• Connecting with your Soul
• Receiving your Calling
• Creating your Success

But, I’m afraid I’ll fail. Oh my gosh.  It just hit me that I’m making myself a failure before my site has even been published.  Ouch.  Why am I torturing myself?  I guess the torture feels safer than actually opening my internet doors {read: heart} to the world.  It reminds me of this quote:

“Known hells are safer than unknown heavens.” ~ unknown

I wonder…what am I really afraid of? That people won’t like it?  That people won’t hire me?  But, those are all external factors.  If I were working with a client on this challenge I would ask her to focus on the internal factors: her desires, her message, and her heart.  I would ask her to trust her Soul, her Calling, and herself.

Another aspect to my stuck-ness is that I feel like I have to choose between business or spiritual coaching.  Over the last year I’ve worked mainly with women business owners.  In fact, people refer to me as a business coach.  I do have one foot in the business realm and one foot in the spiritual realm.  The business realm feels so easy in that I know the language and where to go to meet people.  It feels so tangible.

The spiritual realm feels so out of reach. I don’t know exactly how it will work or where to go to meet people.  Wait a minute.  That’s so not true!  I mean, it is how a part of me feels.  But, it isn’t true.  The truth is…I’m a part of a national spirtual community that has totally transformed my life.  I’m taking classes in preparation to enter the Licensed Practitioner program.  In fact…

I am an aspiring spiritual leader!

Whoa.  I “said” it out loud.  Yowza.  It wasn’t even that hard or scary.  You know what?  This is one of those times when thinking about it is worse than actually doing it.  I just need to go claim my Calling, write my web copy, and put it out there.  Wahoo!  I’m outta here…

{fyi ~ my blog is moving to SimplyFearless.com ~ more news to follow when I launch}

“People aren’t getting enough out of their brainstorming sessions.”

“I should have given my 30 second introduction.”

“I should have allowed everyone to introduce themselves.”

“Why didn’t I do a centering exercise at the beginning?”

Basically, all of these thoughts were fear telling me I’m not good enough.  But, the truth is…the event was a smashing success!  In fact, I received so many emails afterwards telling me how empowering and awesome it was.  So I choose to focus on the success and make any necessary adjustments for the next one.

Oh my god. Today I discovered that I’m one of those insecure business women devaluing herself and her services. Now I hate myself for it.  What do I do?

“Well first of all.  There’s no need to panic.  You’re okay.  This new information is going to help you. It’s here to help you.”

Oh okay. But, she’s so weak.  I hate her for it.

“Yes there is a part of you that despises weakness.  That’s why weakness is showing up for you: so that you can embrace that too.  There is no other way around this but straight through it.”

Okay. My gut tells me I can no longer offer free stuff [in my coaching practice business].

“There’s some truth in there.  And it’s not black and white.  There’s no need to rush into action just yet.  First, process the emotion and then move into motion.”

Oh okay. That makes sense.  I can move into action when I have reconnected with my confidence and I’m not freaking out.

“Yes, it is wise not to move forward when you are freaking out.”

It also just occurred to me that believing in myself creates confidence.

“Yes, it does.  This week is all about believing in you and discovering your beliefs. You are doing an excellent job.”

Thank you.  It all just feels a bit overwhelming.

“Yes, it does. And you are strong enough to move through it with grace and dignity.”

Oh thank you.  Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.

“Yes, I know. I’m here to remind you.”

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…

Now that you’ve watched it, what do you think? I’d love to hear about your insights and struggles.

So many of my friends & family members tell me how cool they think the 100 Things I Fear challenge is {of course it is!}  They love to read about my fears {that’s kind of sadistic if you ask me, but that’s okay!} and they admire the courage {my sister even called me brave!}

At the same time, so many of them are like, “I don’t have a 100 fears,” {and you can read my response to that here} or “It’s too big of a commitment. “

It’s true: it is a big commitment.  In fact, I am a week behind in updating my list.  Oy!  But, that’s beside the point.  The point is…I thought it would be fun to provide an opportunity for people to play & contribute without committing to 100 days.  So here’s your chance.  Blog or comment your answer to this question:

What do you do to get yourself moving again when you feel like giving up?

We all lose steam every once in awhile – it happened to me this week!  In fact, there is almost always a break-down right before a big break-through.  So wouldn’t it be great to have a place to go to be reminded to keep going and take that leap of faith even when you feel like giving up? Please post your answer {or the link to your answer if you posted it on your own blog} so that we can all learn from your wisdom!

Thanks!  And now I am off to Champagne Friday :~)

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 :~}