Welcome to Michele’s Daily Dash!

Words to Inspire, Support and Motivate the Creation of Your Empowered & Dynamic Life Design


    Humanity's misfortune is when we don't realize the very gifts we are! We don't serve the rest of the world or ourselves by playing small. Live your life big! Own your truth! We must embrace the knowing that we deserve to live a life we love, one that supports who and what we are. We need to be willing to say, 'Yes! I choose me!'


  • We are more than ordinary

    Posted Apr 13th, 2010 By in Bring it on!, Life Purpose, Small Business, Starting Over With | 1 Comment

    Courage. Excitement. Passion. These are just a few of the words that come to mind as I relive the first day of New York Entrepreneur Week. Although others have rarely, if ever, used the words shy and unassuming to define me, I do know on occasion I’ve exhibited traits similar to that of an introvert. Especially, when there’s been an opportunity to share my story or accomplishments for fear it looked like I was bragging or believed I was exceptional and more than ordinary. But having the confidence to express ourselves and honor the unique gifts and talents we possess is extraordinary. We are living in a world where authenticity, honesty and sincerity are not foreign concepts, but rather ideals for establishing relationships ranging from personal to professional. There’s courageousness to standing up and being proud of our endeavors, and the chance to participate in a venue where ideas and experiences are shared with others is inspiring to witness.

    The people I met yesterday during the conference and at the evening event, Wok+Wine, are movers and shakers. Regardless of if they were guest speakers or attendees, their stories were magnificent and full of energy. They believed in themselves, their companies, products and the message they wanted to get out to the public. These talented and giving people weren’t kicking back in the “waiting room” for inspiration. They refuse to sit and think how nice it would be if one day their dreams, goals and ideas came true, but rather allowed themselves to be open to possibilities and receptive to the good that is coming their way. They are empowered to step out on faith and risk the unknown and when they spoke about their ideas or journey they did so with excitement, passion and ridiculous exuberance. Many of the speakers also shared the importance of giving back and providing value without being asked and without an agenda on what they will receive. They understood the Universal Law ~ we get back triple the good we put out into this world.

    Peter Shankman, yesterday’s keynote, spoke about the exciting world we live in and how now is the perfect time for entrepreneurship, collaboration and cooperation. His words energized the auditorium and I thought for a moment he was going to levitate on stage. I heard stories were people refused to wait for the economy to change to provide more jobs in their areas of expertise, and instead developed their own company as a solopreneur or collaborated and began an organization with one or two partners. Creativity was expressed and they wore the love of what they are accomplishing. When asked if it was hard being an entrepreneur and to start something from scratch, all answered “yes” but with huge smiles. There’s a difference between working hard and doing what you love while the day flies by and working hard, spinning your wheels, resenting your career and it seems like forever until you can go home.

    Here’s what I know to be true ~ everything we need we already have. We have what it takes to nurture the seed of an idea and watch it grow into a prosperous and abundant career, life and love. When I was in college, I had to withdraw from a computer-programming course or I would have failed. Yet I was able to create a successful technology-consulting firm in Manhattan specializing on the Macintosh platform that I owned for close to 12 years. I didn’t major or minor in business, yet I now own a second successful company with multiple streams of revenue. This isn’t to say that if you’re drawn to business school you shouldn’t go because you don’t need it. But at some point, we need to shut out the naysayers, especially when it’s our own ego, and trust the gifts we be given. We are exceptional. We are more than ordinary. We are beautiful and unique spirits and it’s time for all of us to shine.

  • Are you willing?

    Posted Apr 12th, 2010 By in Change, Life, Shifting Consciousness With | 3 Comments

    A couple of years ago, I attended a workshop and although I do not remember what the workshop was called, I do remember the first exercise. We each received a business card sized piece of paper with about 20 words, and at the top of the paper it read, “I am willing to be”. Before the workshop even started, we were charged with selecting five of the words reflecting who we were willing to be during out time together. These were words like present, giving, thankful, open, receptive, and grateful. One by one we were asked to stand up, say our names and state our five intentions. It was one thing to look at these group of words, several which by definition would ask many to step outside of their respective comfort zones, and courageously select five, but quite another to stand up in front of large group of people and claim your willingness. What an empowering exercise! The energy within the room not only shifted to a much higher level within minutes, but a connection amongst everyone was formed.

    If my participation in a willingness exercise for a two-hour workshop was able to open my consciousness toward what is possible and increased what I received and learned, I knew that performing this exercise on a daily basis would generate a positive shift in what was coming into my life. I determine my “willingness to be” before the start of the workday, business meetings, visiting family, etc. One of the amazing concepts behind the power of will is the conscious choice we have to make a difference. We can choose to be a part of a solution, a part of change or we can choose to sit back and complain. How we are willing to think and act is similar to coming to a fork in the road. Are we willing to stay on the same path which we know is not working for us, but it is familiar and comforting; or are we willing to go forward with a change in thinking and a focus on good for everyone and everything even when we aren’t sure where this new road is leading?

    Often I use this exercise in my own workshops or even with one-on-one clients. It takes courage to shut out old ways and ideas. When we are willing to change our thinking from negativity to positivity, we transform our lives and stagnation becomes manifestation. For example, ask yourself “Am I willing to forgive?” You many answer “yes”; however, if you’re still holding ill will toward others and hoping for retribution, then you’re blocking the flow of good coming into your life. Are you willing to be open and receptive to receiving good things in your life? Again, you can answer “yes”; however if you believe it’s selfish to ask for your dreams to become my reality, then those divine ideas you’ve been given will only wait around so long before the Universe passes them onto someone else.

    This week I’m attending New York Entrepreneur Week in NYC, which is a non-profit movement, formed around the single belief: entrepreneurs change the world. The founders of NYEW were willing to make a difference by establishing an organization and conference that supports the knowing that entrepreneurs are activists and promoters of change. Yet without the willingness to be a proponent for change, this week would not be possible. As with most conferences there are evening events that allow for additional networking and relationship building. Are you willing to be the first person to say hello? Are you willing to stand up and state who you are and what you have been put on this planet to do?

    Every day we receive numerous opportunities and if we are willing to be open and aware to their arrival then we continue to be active participants in the unfolding of our dreams, goals and ideas. Choose who you are willing to be today during your commute, at a conference or meeting, toward your family and friends, as well as yourself. Write the words down, state them with energy and enthusiasm, and carry them with you. Find five-minute windows throughout the day where you can center yourself and remain empowered by your conscious willingness. Oh and be ready for what is coming because it will be huge!

  • Effortless and Energized vs. Despair and Discouragement (You get to choose!)

    Posted Apr 9th, 2010 By in Life, Shifting Consciousness With | No Comments

    Raise your hand if you still have the occasional, or maybe even frequent, dream of being back in high school. During the dream any number of things occur: you can’t find your locker, you found your locker but can’t remember the combination to said locker, you can’t find your classroom, showing up to class in your underwear, and/or it’s graduation day but you forgot to take your last exam or turn in your final paper. You wake up in a panic, breathe a huge sigh of relief that it was only a dream, and then spend the remainder of the day figuring out the meaning.

    After waking up before there was even a glimpse of crimson in the sky, I convinced my brain to go back to sleep only to wind up in a 20-minute dream. It was back in high school ~ my first day of senior year. Osceola High School looked identical to the last time I was there, all of my friends looked the same, and I showed up feeling confident and self-assured because after all, I was a senior and I had my year mapped out. However, the minute I walked into the corridor friends showed up asking if I had been to the auditorium to pick up the Fall catalog and four-page questionnaire to be completed before classes began at 9 am. Apparently, the school had decided to do away with the curriculum and wanted their seniors to be prepared for the unexpected. All courses you had picked over the summer had been removed and you know had a 30-minute window to decide on new classes and to see how much you knew or didn’t know based on 50 questions. I freaked out! (Of course, the “me” at 17 would have freaked out as well. I was very similar to Reese Witherspoon’s character, Tracy Flick, in the movie, Election ~ sans the sleeping with one teacher, while framing another.) After picking up the catalog and questionnaire, I tried to find a quiet place where I could review everything, but no one would give me space. Friends, teachers and guidance counselors crowded me trying to tell me what I should be doing, the classes I should be taking, and how the direction I wanted isn’t the right one and to trust in their wisdom.

    I woke up ever grateful it was a dream scare, but also remembered events and feelings from the day before which had unnerved and made me feel uncomfortable and out of balance. Yesterday brought with it a lot of free time for me ~ something I’m not used to having. By free time, I mean appointments not scheduled back-to-back, fires not needing to be put out and my phone not ringing off the hook. Most people would be thrilled by this kind of workday. Although I was busy yesterday, it wasn’t the kind of busy I believed moved me forward. Why? If I’m not moving a million miles a minute that where’s the progress and my brain believes I work best under pressure. Imagine having the time to put heart and feeling into your daily tasks and to make deliberate choices based on what you know is right versus what will do for now because of the false belief that everyone in your world needs a piece of you and can’t survive unless you are taking care of them.

    It takes great strength to follow what our heart is telling us because the heart doesn’t shout it out. It’s calm and peaceful and most often heard when we allow ourselves moments of silence. It’s the brain and ego that won’t tone it down, and we have every right to tell it to shut up. My belief that I didn’t move forward due to lack of tangible evidence was an ego idea. The TRUTH was I ended up connecting with friends in Cleveland and heart stormed a project and began to brainstorm for a chapter I’m writing and a future lecture I’ll be delivering. The frustration with myself because I didn’t actually put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard I now realize is because I still needed to imagine and visualize without my brain trying to control the outcome.

    It’s hard to ignore outside influences, but if we trust in the feeling we receive as we make choices (effortless and energized vs. despair and discouragement) it’s easier to determine who is speaking to us ego or spirit.

  • Turn off the TV & Tune Into You

    Posted Apr 8th, 2010 By in Bring it on!, Change, Life, Life Purpose, Shifting Consciousness, Time, Turn off TV & Tune Into You Week With | No Comments

    Yesterday’s daily challenge, “Remove the Buds”, asked of everyone to allow a 24-hour experience of an ear bud free world. Instead of walking around with your ears stuffed with music and eyes focused down, allow yourself to really see where you’re walking, appreciate the architecture, witness movement, and be open to receive inspiration and signs. Since I walk my talk, and believe it would be a malpractice of the daily challenge movement for me not to participate, I stepped up to the plate. It wasn’t easy because I do love listening to music while walking the streets of Manhattan. Yet, when my day was coming to an end, I had an Aha! moment. It wasn’t that I loved music so much that I couldn’t imagine living without it while I commuted. The main reason for my buds is to escape and block out my world and not think about thoughts. It’s one of the very reasons many of us don’t allow silence to enter our lives. By giving ourselves even 5 minutes of silence, we would have to run the risk of holding ourselves accountable for action or non-action. With 5 minutes, we’d have a thimble of insight, a divine idea, and a creative course to take. But what happens next? Now that we’ve received the inspiration or sign we feel obligated to act and doesn’t that just mean more work? Yet if we look at what yesterday’s challenge blessed us with and shifted our consciousness to one of GETTING TO be an active participant in the manifestation of our desires instead of having to, we might feel more energized about the process.

    Now during my ear bud free day, I overheard some Mom’s talking while I stood in line at Starbucks. They were both excited and a little panicked by an event taking place the week of April 19 – 25, 2010. It involved careful planning, multiple schedules, creative thinking and emergency contingency plans. What these moms and many parents are planning for “Turn off your TV week”. Our children are growing up in a world of PlayStations, Xboxes and Wiis as well as mornings and evenings being babysat or numbed by TV programming. They aren’t getting outside or participating in activities that stimulate their brains or inner artists. Moreover, this challenge was geared toward families to support quality time together. As I stood glued to their conversation, I thought about how many times I hear from clients on how they don’t have “time”: time to exercise, time to plan and/or eat a healthy meal, time to meditate, time to contemplate, time to research their divine dreams, time to figure out what their divine dreams are, time to learn a new language, time to travel, time to discover where they’d like to travel, time to meet someone, and on and on and on. My first response is always did you have time to watch TV?

    I couldn’t get “Turn off your TV week” out of my head yesterday, and while I met with a group of friends to talk about our goals and roads to emergence, I realized that my feelings of lethargy and suspension of enthusiasm for certain projects had to do with my lack of movement. I realized that in the last month I have watched more TV than the whole of 2010. I thought about what I wasn’t doing during the times that the TV became my pacifier, partner in procrastination, and silence blocker. It’s not just about those projects for my profession, but what of my personal life. Instead of watching a TV show on Ancient Egypt, how about date night at the Metropolitan Museum where I can experience Ancient Egypt?

    By this point, you all know where I’m going with this. I am challenging you, and myself, to the first Dash Weekly Challenge: Turn off the TV and Tune Into You. To keep in alignment with “Turn off your TV week”, as I know many of you are parents, we’ll keep the same dates: April 19 – 25. This gives you plenty of time to plan and prepare and build your support teams ~ people who will take the challenge with you or are a phone call away when you think you’re going to lose your mind without the 11 pm news.

    “Turn off the TV and Tune Into You” isn’t a challenge to test your resilience, but to give you an opportunity to expand and grow. You’ll have a unique opportunity to take stock of how your time had been spent and, by limiting distractions, find that there is much you can do and accomplish. A week in the TV free zone provides you experiences to research and test hobbies and develop a personal life! Spring is here, the weather is fabulous and haven’t you always wanted to learn how to rollerblade in Central Park? And aren’t you also wondering how you’re going to find the love of your life? He/she just might be outdoors, in a coffee shop, at a museum or perusing a bookstore. The possibilities for self-discovery and self-exploration will be limitless. Are you ready to tune into you?

  • Signs.. Signs.. Everywhere, Signs!

    Posted Apr 7th, 2010 By in Bring it on!, Life With | 1 Comment

    Have you ever opened a book, or had a book fall open, to the page you needed to read or the page you were meant to fine? Have you ever entered a subway car and all of the ads are not only related to each other, but connect to you in some way? Have you ever been sitting in a Starbucks and folks near you begin to discuss a topic that you’ve been pondering? Signs. Signs. Everywhere Signs.

    Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of analytical psychology, is known for, among other things, the concept of synchronicity. Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events, which are grouped together by cause or their meaning and are unlikely to occur together by chance. For example, I’ve had an opportunity to write a lot during the last month and it’s been a blessing. I love the creative energy! I always believed my writing was supposed to make a difference either by healing or awakening an idea. The challenge with dreams about earning a living with artistic pursuits is the false belief that it can’t be done or if you are able to earn some level of income it won’t be enough to sustain you. How many of you were discouraged or attempts were made to discourage you in studying theater, painting, writing or photography? I don’t believe our loved ones did this with the intention to destroy a dream, but more out of their own fears and ideas of survival.

    Last night, I dreamt I was in a bookstore. The kind of bookstore you’d find tucked away in an Irish village with worn, wood floors, books stacked on top of books, tall bookshelves, and a ladder that could be moved to any section in order to reach the top. When I walked in the bookstore, the owner knew me and directed me toward a leather chair, etched with love, and sitting to the right was a table of books. The book covers were leather and on the spine was my name as the author. Of course, then I woke up. It wasn’t even light out in the world so I went into the living room and grabbed a magazine and just flipped through the pages. (My whole life I start in the back of the magazine and have no idea why.) The magazine had nothing to do with writing or publishing; however, I kept flipping in chunks and landing on pages that had the word “Writing” in large type font. And because I love how this is going, I’ll share that prior to beginning to write this morning’s Daily Dash I checked my email to find a request to write for publication from a friend and colleague of mine. I’ll take that synchronicity!

    It’s important to keep your eyes and heart open to the signs in your life because they appear everyday, but we don’t slow down enough to notice. We are in a hurry to get to somewhere else. I’m of the opinion that while we want signs to guide us, we also fear them because then it means we can’t just talk about it as a dream because now it’s a possibility. We have to either act on it or watch the gift go to someone else.

    In NYC, it’s all about fast pace, head down, ear buds and iPods. We block out the discovery of signs! I’m a huge fan of music, and one of the folks you’ll see on the subway listening to her iPhone, but in my defense, I’m at least looking around! Okay, I need to make some change as well. Today is unplug the bud day. Embrace the world you are walking around in today and notice what others don’t; notice what was meant for you to see.

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