Laughter IS the best medicine!

We all know that laughter is the best medicine but I think we forget to take our daily dose! I know I have been guilty of this from time to time... forgetting to partake in my daily laughter! We all get bogged down sometimes by stress, work, distress, family, running around, you name it but there is a cure for all this; laughter! So today, put on a funny video, a comedy routine, talk to your funny friend, dress the kids up in mismatched clothes, or tease the cat with a laser light. Whatever it takes, make sure to take your daily dose of laughter and Live Inspired Now!

Laughter does all this:
Boosts your immune system, lowers stress, decreases pain, good exercise, relaxes your muscles, eases anxiety, stress reliever, makes you happy, makes others want to be around us, defuses conflict, creates bonds, releases endorphins and just makes you feel really good!

Decide to be authentically YOU!

Have you ever left an amusement park and thought to yourself "Gee I really wish I had not been too scared to go on that ride" or left a store and thought "Why didn't I buy that thing, I really liked it" and then you go back and it's sold.
That is how our life is.... don't give yourself the chance to say at the end of it "Why didn't I love, live, give, smile, call, jump, leap, move, stay, talk, scream, laugh, visit or take the risk?" Don't create yourself based on what others think or want you to be. Don't give up on things you want for fear of judgement from others. YOU create your life, you have to live with yourself, you are the ultimate creator or designer of YOU! So today, DECIDE who you are, where you want to be, what you want to do and be YOU and Live Inspired Now!!!

Paintball target practice!

On Friday, I took the kids to paintball target practice! It was so much fun! You get to fire paintball guns but not at each other, rather at targets. There were giant sharks, skeletons, pirates and tigers, and lots of pie plates hanging so when the paintballs hit them it made a loud splat sound! The kids really enjoyed splattering paint all over the targets and I have to say... I am a pretty darn good shot with a paintball gun! I think this might have been my stepping stone to real paintball where you shoot at one another. That sounds like a fun date night for just Thad and I some time! So today, see if there is a paintball target practice in your area, have some fun with the family and Live Inspired Now!

You have no control over me... thanks anyway!

I am in control. I control my own emotions, feelings, thoughts and behaviors. Everyone in the world is off the hook, you can't be blamed for my actions or reactions to anything. This is true detachment... knowing that I am in control of me and nobody else has that power. It can be scary because you hold only you accountable. So many people want to blame their parents, their kids, their upbringing, the job, the mean neighbor, the cruel teacher, the abuser or even the dog but guess what, we are the ONLY one responsible for how we feel. Each and every moment we are blessed with "choice." We have the opportunity to look beyond our physical circumstances and choose to be happy. When our inside is happy, our outside environment follows. So today, take control, choose happiness and Live Inspired Now!

*The Power of Detachment teleconference can help you learn this.... see the right side of this page for registration info!*

I got an original!!!

You all know how much I love art and I am so happy to show you this picture! Yesterday I got an original Michelle Cady painting! Her paintings are so fun and colorful and just make you feel good! I hung this is my dining room where I usually sit to work and write. I love it! It just makes me feel at peace while I sit here. I love to support artists, in fact today, I am off to send out a portrait that Harry did of a famous youtube kid! So today, consider supporting an artist by purchasing some of their work and Live Inspired Now!

View or purchase Michelle's work here: Michelle Cady

Hunkering down!

Today, we are supposed to have thunder storms on and off all day and even possible tornadoes! (Apparently we had some pretty good storms this morning but I slept through them.) So we are hunkering down for the day. A relaxing day at home is just what I need too! I plan to spend the entire day hanging with the kids, editing my book and watching whatever storms may come. FUN! So today, hunker down and spend a quiet day at home and Live Inspired Now!

Good in, Good out...

What you focus on is what you feel, what you feel is what you attract to your life. Good in, good out. Bad in, bad out. Let go of attachments, it is our attachments to things we can't control that cause us misery. You only control yourself, your thoughts, feelings, emotions and your beliefs about things. As much as we might like to believe, we don't control our children either. Learn to trust the Universe to care for you and your family, have faith that things will work out. Detachment is the gift of freedom and with that freedom comes peace and clarity. So today, learn to detach and Live Inspired Now.

Want to learn more about detachment, attracting good things to your life and detached parenting??? Register for The Power of Detachment Teleconference! You can register right here on this page... in the right column! Thank you!!

Get super duper excited!!!

Get excited... use awesomely explosive words to get yourself unbelievably stoked and passionate about something spectacular! I hope you all have an extremely, mega, ridiculously excellent, exceptionally brilliant, absolutely mind blowing, immensely perfect day!!! Get fired up with fun and fantastic words and Live Inspired Now!!!

I heart money!!!

That's right... I do, I LOVE money! Money is not evil, it is awesome! It allows you to do so many things that you cannot do without it! I would encourage you all to adopt a different attitude about money if you think you don't like it or think it's evil.
Money is just a tool, one that allows us to get what we really want... more time with loved ones, fun toys to share, quiet time with our lover on the water or even a home to share with family. When we see money as bad or we see ourselves as unworthy to have it, we set a block against it coming into our lives. I love money and I want to open myself up to receiving lots of it. I can then do what I love to do most: GIVE! Thad and I love to give and help people as much as we can and the more money we get, the more we can do!
Are you pushing money from your life because you are living in lack, or have a negative attitude towards money? If so, rethink your attitude on money, decide to live in abundance and understand that money is just a tool that will allow you to do great things and Live Inspired Now!

Build Something....

Yesterday, with the help of our kids Harry and Mattie, Thad built a loft bed for Carrie. It is really cool! Carrie has the smallest room and her bed took up much of the entire floor space so Thad built her the loft bed and now she has all the room under her bed to play and work. Carrie loves the bed and Harry and Mattie enjoyed helping Thad and I think they learned alot too. Building things with your own hands can be empowering and fulfilling. So today, whether a bed, a birdhouse, a rock sculpture or even a model plane, build something by hand and Live Inspired Now!
PS... encouraging and allowing kids to build things and do things on their own can really set their passion on fire!
PPS... keep the band-aides handy! :)

Break a WHAT on your neck?

Last night I went to a firewalking seminar, I am hosting one in August and wanted to make sure I knew what to expect! It was really awesome. I had no worries about walking over the hot coals, or breaking wood boards, or even the trust fall, I have done those things before but snapping an arrow in half with my NECK? WTH? I did it though and in true Inspired Heather fashion, I just went forward and made it happen. Some people learn they are afraid but can still do things, some people learn that they can do it but not until everyone else does, some people learn that they will do it simply because everyone else does. When we try things like this, we learn alot about ourselves and we learn to push through the fear or pain to get what we want. It is very empowering!
If you are local to Upstate NY, I would encourage you to sign up for the August Empowerment seminar in Willseyville, NY. If you live elsewhere, find a seminar in your area! You will be so proud of yourself when you are able to push through fear and you will walk away feeling so empowered and capable of accomplishing anything! Don't just sign up to walk on fire, sign up to LIVE the rest of your life INSPIRED NOW!!!

*Sign up on this page in the right hand column!*

Express yourself!

Last night I took Carrie Sue and her friends to see the Katy Perry movie for Carrie's birthday celebration. I must admit, I wasn't really looking forward to the movie but I kept an open mind and I ended up really enjoying it! The movie was all about self expression and Katy's journey to stardom.
How do YOU express yourself? Do you take the time to know what you TRULY like or are you liking what you were raised to like? We often just continue what our parents did and never really look at what we like or who we are or what WE believe in. How do you define yourself? What fun ways can you let your personality shine through? Don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd and do what you love. You only get one shot so take it!!! Today, whether it is pink hair, a crazy outfit or just speaking your mind, find a way to express your individuality and Live Inspired Now!

Grace...

Remember Mrs Cosby, the character played by Felicia Rashad back in the 80's on The Cosby Show? Her character is how I define "grace." An intelligent and successful woman with poise and femininity. I think that we have forgotten grace in this day and age, we have forgotten how to be elegant and charming. Sometimes, women are so busy being strong and independent that they forget they have an effortless beauty that they can let shine through when they get in touch with the feminine side. We as women sometimes take on masculine characteristics to fit into the workplace, to feel more powerful or to keep people from getting too close but when this happens we are not living in alignment with our true selves as beautiful, loving, caring beings. Being vulnerable is a strength not a weakness. It takes far more strength to allow yourself to be vulnerable and then you open yourself up to accepting help or making change.
Ladies, take down the protective walls, allow your natural beauty and grace to shine through, allow yourself to be girly girls and Live Inspired Now!

What's Good?

Ok, so "what's good" has been around for a while but I am whole heartedly jumping on the "what's good" bandwagon! In an effort to fully promote all that is good and attempt to always focus on the positive, I am not going to ask people "how are you?" I am going to ask them "what's good?" I am MORE than willing to listen to someone vent and get their frustrations out, but in passing if I only have a moment to greet you, it will be the greeting that asks about your positive things rather than leaving me open to hear about the bad knee, the daughter drama, the husbands crappy job or whatever else you think of when someone innocently asks "How are you?" So for me, I am all about "WHAT'S GOOD??" Today, try asking "what's good" and see if you get a better response than "how are you" and Live Inspired Now!

Routine Maintenance

Just a reminder that every single day you need to connect with your partner. You must make time to talk, connect, share intimacy, be romantic and silly and spend quality time alone without the kids, friends, work or other distractions. Daily connections and maybe a weekly date night or a monthly overnight getaway, whatever works for your relationship but make time for one another. It is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life but remember to put your relationship FIRST always and keep up the routine maintenance that will keep your relationship healthy! So today, take time out for some routine maintenance or at least schedule it soon and Live Inspired Now!

Adopt the phrase....

"...it will all work out!" Things always work out the way they are supposed to and if we continue to tell ourselves that, we can adopt a positive mind set that will help us get through tough times. When things are challenging, we need to remember that things always work out, never once has a problem been so big that the entire world ended. People live and people die, people get hurt and heartbroken but we can always move forward from things and learn from them. If we have faith that it will work out, if we remind ourselves that everything has worked out so far, if we tell ourselves "this is challenging but I can handle it," we will be more able to accept those things we have no control of. So today, adopt the phrase "it will all work out," say it during challenges and Live Inspired Now!

Re-arrange!

I have spent the past 2 days re-arranging our furniture and re-organizing my kitchen and dining room and it looks great! I love to re-arrange, it gives a fresh new look without any expense and it gives you a chance to clean those spots that don't get much attention like behind and under things! So today, re-arrange some furniture, get a fresh new look for free and Live Inspired Now!

WAIT!!!!!

Anticipation is defined as "expectation or hope" by Dictionary.com. I remember being a kid on Christmas morning, it was so exciting and thrilling. My parents always made Christmas so huge in our house but as I got older I realized that for ME, the anticipation was even better than the actual event because once the event happened, it was over. Nowadays, the only thing people actually WAIT for is the page to load and if that little wheels spins for more than 10 seconds, things are going to get ugly! I think we have lost patience and our current generation has never known the excitement of anticipating and hoping for things. Our world is instant, we no longer have to wait for a letter or stay home because we are expecting an important phone call. I love all of our modern conveniences, but I would love it if people would learn to wait for things too. If you don't get something right away, just wait for it! Try teaching the kids patience too. When my kids were little, we started a "puffy jar." Every time the kids did something great, like an act of kindness or good grades or extra chores, they would get a cotton ball to add to the jar. Once the jar was full of cotton balls (the kids called them puffies) then we would go to the toy store and pick out something fun! We did this with a change jar too, we added change to it and when it was full, we cashed it in and went out for dinner. It taught the kids to get excited about working towards something and I think that learning patience and anticipation is a wonderful lesson! So today, just wait for something, think about how long you might have had to wait 20 years ago before cell phones and computers and Live Inspired Now!

Make Room!

When you want something in life, you need to take a look at what you are doing and determine whether or not you are actually making room for what you want. I have a friend that says she wants to find "Mr Right" yet pushes men away and says she wants to be independent. She is saying one thing but acting in an entirely different way. You have to be able to make room for what you want, make some accommodations to allow what or who you want to have room in your life. Another example is our garage, my husband Thad has wanted a new garage for some time but the spot where the garage was to go had bushes and a tree and a large amount of tools, saws and debris. So he cleared the entire spot where the garage was to go, staked off the area, chopped down the tree, removed the bushes and cleared the spot completely. It was so much easier to envision a real garage with the spot cleared and marked off and now we are actually getting the garage built! We all say that we want things but if we truly want them, we have to make room for them in our life and allow/trust the Universe to provide for us. Living in abundance, being pro active and believing that our needs will always be met is the best way to manifest what you really want. So today, make room in your life and Life Inspired Now!

YOLO my ass!

YOLO is the new catch phrase these days and it has become an excuse for young people to participate in stupid and risky behavior. Every time I see YOLO on facebook it is followed by an image of an under dressed young person or the absurd tale of inappropriate behavior which usually involved sex, drugs, alcohol or some other sort of dangerous behavior.
Guess what? YOLO is a concept meant to empower people, not give them an excuse for stupidity! You only live once doesn't mean take risks with your health or safety, it means live life to the fullest with passion and purpose. It means do something good, help someone in need, take a risk that could enhance your life not stop it. So today, don't use YOLO as an excuse for bad behavior, rather step up and be a person who will be respected for making the MOST of their life, be remembered someday for living well and loving lots and Live Inspired Now!

Positive is better!

Being positive takes practice; do in order to become! You can always see things in a positive way or a negative way so why not choose positive? It does take practice though. You have to do it daily and make an effort. Every time you are inclined to see the bad in a situation, resist and find the good! Even if the good is "I am not sure how this will play out, but I trust it WILL work out for the best!" There is always a silver lining, so today focus on the positive and Live Inspired Now!

Sleep In!!!

I am not a huge fan of sleeping in, I like to get up and get going each day... there are just so many awesome things to do! (I know Mom & Dad, this was NOT the case when I was younger, I liked to sleep in when I was a teen!) BUT... sometimes you need to let your body rest. This was today for me! After a wedding, 10 days of adventure in Montana, a torn back muscle, a week in California, writing an entire book, the flu, a ruptured ear drum, a packed red eye flight, a missed flight, lost bags and lack of sleep.... I needed to sleep in today! (Poor Thad had to work today) Every once in a while you need to take a break and rest up! So if not today... maybe tomorrow, or at some point... take time to rest your body, sleep in and Live Inspired Now!

PS: I will be sharing pictures and inspirations from the past few weeks in future blog posts. Thad and I have had an amazing few weeks! My book is about 90% done and I can't wait to get it published! Thank you all so much for you support and encouragement and for your well wishes!

I'll be backkkk....

Hi everyone! I am currently in Southern California working on my book! I am going to take a few days off from blogging so I can focus and recover from a flu bug that I picked up on my way out here... yuck! I will be back on Tuesday, July 10th! In the meantime, hope all is well and I appreciate all your well wishes! Thank you all so much!!! Feel free to browse through older INSPIRED posts... there are well over 400 to choose from! Love you all!

What's that smell???

Go fragrance free! In this day and age with asthma, allergies, respiratory problems, toxic chemicals and all the other environmental irritants, I think fragrance free is the way to go! I have a huge pet peeve about being stuck in another persons "pew." We have all experienced it, you just sit down on the plane or in a restaurant and someone with very overpowering cologne or perfume sits near you. It can cause headaches, watering eyes, breathing troubles and just overall frustration. Personally, I never wear perfumes or body sprays, but if you must, here is a better way to spray. Stand in the center of the room, spray your scent into the air and walk under the falling mist... ONLY once, that's right, just once. A good fragrance is reserved for people who get close to you anyway, not for the entire office to smell when you walk in. I know I know... "it's the most expensive perfume out there and there isn't anyone who wouldn't like the smell" but just to be safe, follow my tips! So today, go fragrance free or at the very least, spray with discretion and Live Inspired Now!

Metaphors and Meaning by Skip Corbin

Metaphors and meaning are the key to understanding the world around and how others react to you and the world. As an example, there is a symbol of Christianity known as the "ichthys." It is the little fish-like symbol commonly seen on bumpers across the USA. Have you thought how many people would still have them on their cars if they knew that it had been used as a symbol of a vagina long before it was thought to be a fish? (Read more about that here).
The words we use and more importantly the meaning we attribute to them is KEY to understanding ourselves and others. "Who do you think you are?" Ask yourself that question. Then pay VERY close attention to your answer, the words you use and the meaning you attach to those words. In fact, if you write down what you are thinking in response to the question, you can reflect upon... is this the person you want to be? Or perhaps can you be so much more? For yourself, for your loved ones, for your community, for your society, for your planet? What beliefs about yourself do you cling to that may not be serving you well? There is no judgement here, the exercise is to identify that which is in you and if it is congruent with whom you wish to be. From there you may choose the changes that will make you happier. Until you are happy with yourself, being happy all the time with the others around you is not maintainable. What meanings do you use? Can you decide to associate a new meaning to ideas you have about yourself or others? I know you will never see an "ichthys" on a bumper the same way EVER again.

Skip Corbin
Life Coach in the Mohawk Valley
coach@corbins.org
http://www.facebook.com/gcorbin

Liberate yourself from BS.........

Liberate yourself from all the bullshit that keeps you from being free! People hold on to limiting beliefs and rules that they set for life and it holds them back from so many experiences. Life is about being free and trying new things. I can't stress it enough folks, you ONLY LIVE ONCE! Do not set limiting guidelines for yourself and use them as excuses to under achieve or live without passion. Do that thing you have always dreamed about, tell that certain someone that you LOVE them, take that vacation, take the leap of faith! Cut the bullshit and Live Inspired Now!!!

Mom, Mom, Mom, Mommy, Mommy....

When you take the kids to the park or to their sports practices or gymnastics lessons or wherever you go, watch them! Kids LOVE to be watched! Ever been at the park with your little one and every 3 seconds they say “Mom watch this, Mom watch this, Mom watch this!” They are just going down the slide on their back but every single time... “Mom are you watching, Mom did you see me, Mom it’s going to be so cool, Mom watch me this time, Mom this time I’m going to close my eyes... watch me!” lol. Kids love to have the audience and get the same smile and nod over and over and when they are teenagers and live in their teen cave and only emerge for food, you will wish for these days back.... trust me! So today, no matter how many thousands of times you have seen the awkward cartwheel or the shoe tie, or the amazing slide down, watch the kids do it, get excited and Live Inspired Now!

Surprise!!

So what that it’s nobody's birthday or anniversary! Throw a surprise party for someone! Maybe your friends been going through a tough time, surprise her with a small party with friends and a cake. Or how about your husbands 1/2 year birthday? Or even for one of the kids just for the heck of it! So today, plan a surprise party for someone and Live Inspired Now!