Heart Book Series

I AM CENTERED.
I let go of anything that has happened today which does support me to be my best NOW.
I put my ego aside and serve this audience to the best of my abilities.
I remain balanced and centered and am capable of handling anything.

I AM KNOWLEDGEABLE.
I have credibility in this topic and present this message in a way which is easily understood and by all.
I am professional and respected.

I AM CALM.
I gave thanks that my thoughts flow easily and effortlessly.
My words flow smoothly and in a logical manner.
I am safe. I am confident. I visualize success.
I am authentic, genuine and real.

I AM CONNECTED.
I easily establish and hold rapport with my audience.
I am connected with my audience and shift to respond with them.
I create ways to involve the audience.
I empower interaction among and with the audience participants.

I AM DYNAMIC.
I deliver a dynamic presentation.
I am amazing. I am courageous.
I am an outstanding speaker.

I AM PLAYFUL.
I take my material seriously and delivery lightly.
I use my talents.
I have fun, and they have fun.

I AM THANKFUL.
I am worthy to deliver this message.
I am grateful for the privilege to serve them.
I give thanks that I meet and exceed expectations of all present.
I give thanks that I reach each listener on their level.

Published in Heart of a Woman in Business.

When it comes to down to it, all any of us want in our lives, is just one, great, image to be remembered by… is it too much to ask? And our biggest fear is that we will be caught looking hideous and that is how we will be thought of… FOREVER!!!  

When we first start out in business, we are always trying to find that one thing we are good at, I was fortunate to find my "good at" thing when I was 20 and became a portrait photographer. When I first started, I asked myself, "What makes an image look great?"

At first I thought, good lighting (bought that), then a cool studio (got that), great equipment (check), then I became skilled at hair and make up and wardrobe… still, with all that, I noticed there were photos that had of none of these advantages but still looked great.

So I asked myself, "What is it that makes an image look great?" And the answer came "Capturing the real person." REAL, that’s what we love, no fake smiles, real ones, no trying to look confident, real confidence. How do you get that out of a person? How do you capture that which is secret and guarded? 

I’d spend an hour getting everything set up right, putting them together so they look perfect and then stick them out there and say. "Be Real!" My clients just stood there asking me what to do. And at first I really didn’t know, I just knew I wanted them to be comfortable and have a fun and successful experience at my studio. I would start telling them a funny story, maybe one that wasn’t funny when it happened to me… but one that was real. I put on their favorite music. I ask them about their lives, what they like, what they love, who they love. I devoted myself to them and who they really are, relinquishing and resonating with their individuality… creating special moments in my studio where people are truly and deeply connected, connected enough to show me their real self.

So how can YOU take a good picture of someone?
By first giving to them from your heart, then all you need to do is push the button!

In this day and age we know so much more about our relationship to food than our predecessors, and the way we eat and think about food has become almost unrecognizable to our grandparents‚ generation. One example of this is our awareness of food allergies, a condition that has recently entered the collective consciousness. Most of us know someone who is allergic to such commonplace foods as wheat and dairy, and we may even be prone to such an allergy. Understanding how our bodies react to food, and making the necessary adjustments in our diet, can have a profound effect on our whole energy system, and can be the key to shifting our mind into a state of greater clarity.

When we are continuously exposed to a food that gives us an allergic reaction, we feel lethargic, foggy-headed, or as if we always have a low-grade sinus infection. Other symptoms can include nausea, digestive difficulties, skin problems, and difficulty breathing. Many of us have been fighting these symptoms our whole lives without realizing that getting relief could be as simple as cutting a particular food out of our diet. When we do, we feel as if we are waking up out of a fog, and our whole system, cleared of substances that work against it, benefits. Many people see skin improvements, they sleep better, have more energy, and feel able to think more clearly. When we feel less than well, testing ourselves, or getting tested by someone else, for food allergies may be a good place to start.

To produce a different result, something will need to change. What you have done up until now has gotten you where you are. Doing the same thing going forward is going to keep you there.

Change can be frightening and uncomfortable. That’s why many people choose to continue repeating past behaviors rather than risking a change that will take them to their most cherished goal or dream.

The decision to leave the corporate world to start my own business a few years ago was a major change for me. I knew that in order to pursue my dream of helping people become more empowered, fulfilled and successful, I had to make a change. It required me stepping out of my comfort zone and taking risks with no guarantee of success. No doubt, it has been one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, but making this change has also led to success and opportunities I would have never imagined.

1.    Decide that you will make a change.
Hope is not a strategy. Rather than sitting around hoping things will change, decide that you will commit to doing something different in order to create different results in your life, your relationships or your career. 

2.    Get clear on your desired outcome.
It’s hard to hit a target you can’t see.  If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? Where do you see yourself once the change has become a reality? What is important about the goal?

3.    Create a plan.
Develop a plan to use as your roadmap and guide. It is easier to make progress when you have outlined the steps to take. A clear plan will act as a compass to keep you on course amidst the hundreds of distractions you will face along the way.

4.    Get into action.
Once you decide to make a change, it’s time to take action. Many people get stuck at this crucial step, letting their fear of the unknown stop them from moving forward. By taking action, you create momentum and positive energy to propel you forward.

A breakthrough came while a consultant was preparing me for a radio interview on parenting, the topic of which was to be a concept I call “The Trophy Child.” In our practice session, I kept saying the problem of using our children to gain status was systemic, and she kept saying the word systemic was inaccessible and preventing me from connecting with the audience. She was right and this “a-ha” lead to the development of a mental filter. A little bell began to go off when the wrong motive was behind a lavish word. Now I work to make impact without pomp. I have found simplicity and brevity are harder.

The tendency to be verbose can come from other roots. Many industry and business experts are so familiar with their own jargon, they cannot see how thick and impenetrable it is to the listener. Professorial trivia buffs have trouble with arcane references that create separation and leave folks behind (seen any Dennis Miller lately?).

Step three is eternal. As our presentation careers progress our word choice becomes more perfect and more natural. Eventually we move from Thermometer to Thermostat. A thermometer constantly checks to see what the room feels like. A thermostat hovers at the right mark by making constant adjustments automatically.
And after all of this reflection; Redesign! Here are a few tips to get you started…

12 Stops on the Road to Eloquence

Upgrade your Source: Don’t stop at your computer thesaurus. Purchase The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale and Nancy LaRoche. This juicy tome is the difference between the spatula aisle at Vons and William Sonoma.

Off your Offspring: Writers fall in love with their own words. But, when it comes to editing the common thought is, you must “kill your children.” Go through your presentations and edit listening for overkill, showing off, repetition and repeating.

WWMAD: What would Maya Angelou do? If I were one of the great masters of clarity blended with poetry, how would I say it?

Practice Makes Perfect: Don’t feel strange about rehearsing what you are going to say whether it is to an audience of 1, 3 or 1000. Nerves can hijack your eloquence in a heartbeat unless they are tamed by practice. Use this discipline especially when speaking in front of anyone that is particularly intimidating to you or who presses that Daddy/ Big Brother/ Hot-Guy-Who-Rejected-You button.

Go Low: Ladies, be aware of when you are chattering away in your high register. To empathize with the male perspective on this sound, try calling to mind the last time your children were whining. Use your low tones. Then give yourself positive and affirming self-talk to add the confidence to back them up.

Follow Through: You know how to follow through in sports. Do the same in speaking. Once the perfect eloquent words are in your speech infuse them with good full breaths. Let your weight drift forward to the balls of your feet. Linnnger slightly on the right consonants and exlooore your vowels.

Cut That Out: When striving for eloquence on paper try to cut out the word “that” whenever you can. It is unnecessary 90% of the time.

Write It- Edit It: You have 100 words to make a point to a man. Any more and you venture into the territory I like to call “The Avalanche;” pouring tons and tons of info into their very action-oriented minds. Try this- write out everything you want to say and then edit it down to 100 words. When you read it back you will get the felling of the brevity and directness that makes men listen.

Go Easy on Quotes: If you crave more splash in your words, don’t borrow them too liberally to meet this need. Too many quotes in a presentation smacks of amateurishness. They came to hear you.

Drop the Cookbook: I love to bake because it is an opportunity for instinct and nuance. A good recipe partway through is abandoned, like a guidebook that at some point is tossed to the tour-bus floor so one can run off and explore. The point is…Improvise a bit; even through content you have already written.

Identify your Recipe: One more baking analogy and then I am going to have to go whip up a lemon bundt cake so I can get back to concentrating. There are different flavors of eloquence. Ask yourself, what is your eloquence recipe? A spoon of wisdom? A pinch of sweetness or sarcasm? Just a dash of subtlety?

Warm Up: Why write it if your lips can’t say it? The most beautiful words need a warm and flexible vocal instrument to be heard. You can sing scales. You can hum a note, sliding up and down. Don’t forget the tongue twisters. My favorite; “She stood on the balcony inimitably mimicking him, hicupping and amicably welcoming him in.”

Welcome to today’s words. “Punked” is a verb and Paris Hilton a role model. We need every well-spoken syllable we can find. So don’t give up the fight. Carrying the torch of moving and relevant language is, as it always has been, up to you, to me and the occasional odd guy on a box in a public square.

-Juliet Funt, Speaker, Author

Although it really does feel like you are at the mercy of other people’s emotions, you can stay in an energy that serves you best. You don’t have to get on the emotional roller coaster with them. When you allow yourself to become more of an observer in any given situation you free yourself from believing you are being personally attacked or that you need to solve their stuff. It helps you remember they are speaking from their truth and it doesn’t necessarily represent your truth. When you know who you are, how you want to feel and that you really do want the highest good for all involved, you create an energetic vibration that can move from you to them, ultimately changing the outcome of any situation allowing you to walk away feeling good that you stayed connected to your energy.

The park has other activities not particularly related to goddess, though are a continuing celebration of life that is the Divine Feminine within nature.  There are opportunities to scuba dive, ride horses, see cultural performances and equestrian shows.  There is a museum which displays detailed models of all the archaeological sites on the Yucatan peninsula.  There are restaurants, locker rentals, a drug store and all the modern conveniences of home - including the opportunity to get a great massage or facial.  One is reminded of the words of the Popol Vuh, a sacred book of the Maya-Quiche, “Here is the story of the beginning, when there was not one bird, not one fish, not one mountain,” Xcarat feels like a paradise, an Eden, a place far from mundane life, a pristine place of nature, from which all life may have been born.

* Please be aware that pain can come from other ailments: tumors, kidney infections, etc. It’s important to go to your physician whenever you have pain to make sure it’s nothing that needs medical attention.