There Are Simple Success Strategies That are Universal in Life and Business Believe That You Create Your Own Luck - Simple Success Strategies You're so lucky! Luck is where preparation meets opportunity and you're approaching the intersection throughout each day. This is the first of the simple success strategies I'll be sharing with you here. Your timing is perfect and you're in the right place at the right time We create our own luck. We do this by understanding that luck occurs when … [Read more...]
Breaking Off the Four Walled Affair
Four Walled No More... The Affair Comes to an End It was bound to come to an end, sooner rather than later. Relationships born of greed and contempt are better left for fictional characters in stories meant to entertain more than nurture. Forewarned, I had become lackadaisical in my teaching efforts. Often, I would wonder who was actually inhabiting my mind and body, as it couldn't be the real me. Breaking out of the four walled affair became my only option. I had taken more psychological … [Read more...]
“Broken Compass” Stories We Tell Ourselves
The day I stopped telling my "broken compass" stories... If you aren't familiar with the phrase, the "broken compass" story is the one we tell ourselves over and over again, based on distorted memories and perceptions that simply aren't true. It's the misguided path we sometimes follow along our spiritual life journey. Mine began to form when I was just a little girl. My parents split up when I was three years old and I took it hard. In retrospect, this paved the way for years of low … [Read more...]
You’re the Hero of Your Life Story
You're the Hero of Your Life Story Today, let's talk about heroes, in relation to habits and routines. You are the hero of your own life story! Have you ever thought about yourself in this way? As a hero, you will have defined primary and secondary goals, unavoidable and seemingly impossible obstacles to overcome, and the stakes will be high if you do not achieve your goals. What About Superheroes? My favorite character is Batman. He always knows the right thing to say in any given … [Read more...]
The Little Voice in My Head
"Everything we do in life is preparing us for something we will choose or be called to do or will encounter in the future." ~ Connie Ragen Green, responding to the little voice in my head... It's the middle of the night and I hesitate before stepping onto the moving sidewalk at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Then I hear the female voice and I'm soothed into submission. "Mind the gap" she advises as my boot gingerly touches the rubbery surface. The little voice in my head is once again stirring … [Read more...]
Life Lessons From the Avocado Grove
My life experience continues to be fabulous and recently a lesson was in store for me as well. I visited a local honey farm not far from where I live. Joined by a dozen friends and colleagues, this was a way for us to spend time together while safely outdoors. The motto of this farm is "from flower, to bee, to hive, to jar" and I like the simplicity of this, don't you? This business is family-owned and operated and the couple met while they were working for NASA forty years ago! Little did I … [Read more...]
Perceptions Make the Difference
How Others Perceive Us Determines Our Bottom Line This week I’ve been thinking about the perceptions we all have... about other people, a specific book, a course or product, and about ourselves. While I was working as a classroom teacher and in real estate, my perception of myself was mostly negative. I believed everything I wanted in my life was difficult to achieve and out of reach for me. Others picked up on this and formed their own perceptions about me by reflecting what I gave out in my … [Read more...]
Humble Beginnings Lead to Success
My Humble Beginnings Helped Me Later On It took three people to teach me to drive. Three brave people. It was 1971 and I'd turned 16 that summer. I was so ready to trade in my blue Schwinn Stingray for something more befitting a mature, sophisticated young lady I could talk of nothing else. Little did I know that humble beginnings lead to success. My mom didn't drive, but my uncle offered to teach me in his '67 Ford Fairlane 500GT. Do you remember that model? Saturday finally arrived and … [Read more...]
New Year… New You in 2022
New Year... New You in 2022 The past two years, beginning in March of 2020 have been challenging for all of us. My first name, Connie, is taken from the Latin and means constant; never changing. For years I said that this was the reason I did not care for change and took my time adapting to almost anything new in my life. But over the years I reframed that in a way that better served me: I welcome change into my life and acknowledge that I have control over most of the changes that occur. If … [Read more...]
Believe in Yourself to Live the Life You Love
Throughout my years as a human in training, I can recall and count on one hand the times I've been asked my opinion that led with "and what do you believe?" from the person in authority at that moment. This includes my two decades as a classroom teacher, even longer than that as a real estate broker and residential appraiser, and all of the interactions in my professional and private lives over the past half century or so. When you believe in yourself, everything shifts focus and you create … [Read more...]