I have a vision. I desire to make a difference in the world. For the greater good of us all, I want to hijack the capitalist system and turn it on its head! I want to publicly and purposefully embrace and share how we can all thrive through living a practice of simple abundance. I want us to experience and know that there is enough, that we have enough and that we can give enough to make a difference in what matters most to us. I want us to make a difference every time we work together. Our work will benefit your leadership and at the same time we will be supporting worthy fundraising efforts and charities that will further women’s equality and women’s leadership. Together we will make a difference for other women who will then be able to join us in helping to make a difference for everyone. FULL STORY...

This question can be the most difficult to answer, but consider these points. A vision not lived remains only a dream. When we are living our vision, it is part of our daily practice. We are reminded every day what we are working towards. Sometimes our efforts become disconnected from our vision. We lose our direction. We get distracted. Then we lose the vision itself, and over time we are left with unfulfilled dreams. Many people have bitter regrets over lost dreams and missed opportunities. They feel they have failed - often saying “if only I had….” This is sad! Though all our dreams will not be fulfilled, I have discovered that there are three basic steps to ensure we are living our vision.    ...... Full Story

A vision by definition is likely to appear and may actually be beyond our reach in this lifetime.  Nurturing, refining and feeding our persistent efforts to reach that vision will require the ability to observe significant points of transition as we complete one aspect and move forward to the next. The art of celebrating can be described as the art of successful transition. In anthropology, the liminal state is where the core experiences of transition take place. It is the state of being neither here nor there. We (or the situation) are not as before yet we may not have reached where we are going.

In our lives, liminality is often a right of passage. Celebrating is a way of easing the transition when we are neither here nor there.

In relation to your vision, ask yourself “when will I next be neither here nor there and how am I going to celebrate?”

Often the between time or twilight zones we experience as we practice and move towards our visions are not particularly comfortable. We want the transition to be over. The exact point when the transition is complete is frequently only identifiable after the fact. The perfect moment to celebrate is difficult to predict. We sometimes try to create points of reference such as the exact time the sun sets. In From Beginning to End: the Rituals of Our Lives, Robert Fulghum notes “rituals are timed by beats of the heart, not ticks of the clock.”

Resist turning on the lights before the day has become night. Celebrate neither here nor there – often.

One misconception about living our vision is a belief that if we carefully set out our direction, and follow through with precise predetermined action; we will end up exactly where we planned to be. However, we do not know what tomorrow, the next week or the next twenty years will bring. This reminds me of an old joke “Do you want to hear God laugh?” The answer is “Just tell her/him you have a plan.” That is why it is important to do our vision work from a place of intention. We need to have the capacity for flexibility and resiliency when something unexpected presents itself.

Intentions are a compass setting to determine the direction we must take for our vision. Intentions are a tool to assist us as we navigate towards our visions. Day-to-day circumstances are the topography we must travel. As in land travel, the topography may not always let us go from place to place “as the crow flies.” Figuratively, in living our visions we might need to cross deep ravines, mountains, rivers without bridges, or deserts without an oasis. Our intentions will ensure that we stay on course.  Our greatest resiliency and strength can come from our ability to be open, curious and delighted by the unexpected. Surprises “out of the blue” sometimes challenge us to revise, redefine and question our beliefs, convictions, and the world view supporting our vision. If we take the time to set our intention with purpose and clarity, then we are better able to appreciate that we are part of an interconnected universe of experience moving through time and space.