The Balancing Act

To be truly successful is to not only have ONE area of your life that is working...it’s about setting goals in to have ALL areas in your life in working. While you may have a thriving career… your health and personal life may be suffering. It’s mastering the art of balance that makes it all worth it! The Wheel of Life test is taken to see where you are in and out of balance. Begin by drawing a circle and the divide it like a pizza pie to fit the ten areas in your life inside of it. Then rate each area from 1-10 (10 being the best) on how well that area of your life is working. If everything is at an 8 or better your wheel of life will roll along beautifully. If there are areas that are below an 8 action needs to be taken.

WHEEL OF LIFE (1-10)
1. Health
2. Career
3. Financial
4. Family
5. Community
6. Adventure
7. Spiritual
8. Romance
9. Fun
10.Relationships

Set 3 goals in each area that below an 8. For example if your Romance is at a 3, set goals to create more passion and fun with your significant other, like a monthly special date night. If Health is at a 4, set goals like committing to work out 3x a week, changing your diet, and kicking a bad eating habit. Make 3x5 cards of these goals and read them aloud each day so that they stay fresh in your mind!

Please visit www.jennifergrace.com to learn more about Jennifer Grace.

Fearlessness:
It’s not something you can buy at Target


Amidst the current chaos of the world, we are all pretty much scared out of our minds. We stand like a herd of deer in the headlights, collectively chanting, “Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt.” Our blood courses with fear each time the news reports on our failing economy and recession, or how our precious earth is not only being destroyed by global warming but also by us, and the endless amount of suffering so many people experience do to war, violence, and crime. The “American Dream” has apparently come to a screeching halt, and we are all dumbstruck about to how to proceed.

President Obama, has become a beacon of hope for many of us, but is hope what we really need to overcome fear? To become fearless? Hope gives us something to hold onto. When we lose or fail it gives us motivation to brush ourselves off and try to succeed again. Hope gives us ground to stand and the courage to say, “Soon. It will get better soon.” Yet to cultivate true fearlessness, to learn how to walk though the fire and not run and hide from it, requires giving up hope. Sounds scary, huh? I know…but stay with me.

For the last year I have been avidly studying the Shambhala lineage of Buddhism and also co-authoring a book with my mentor and friend, Dr. Jessica Gurvit entitled: "The Art of Being Fearless." In my quest for uncovering what lies underneath all sources of fear I have discovered, through these teachings, that the common denominator, is uncertainty. We are all afraid of what we don’t know, and of what is out of our control. We fear the big black hole called the future. We lay awake at night with anxiety in our hearts and lumps in our throats as the endless questions with out answers spin around in our minds: Will I loose my job? Will my lover leave me for another? Will this world end up being destroyed by terrorism? Will my child get into a drunk driving accident? Is someone out to get/hurt me? Will I die before I have gotten the opportunity to live my dream?

Many times we walk around free of fear. Times when the money is rolling in, when our careers are at an all time high, when we are madly in love, or when our children are thriving and succeeding in life. We’ve clicked into a groove with the universe and everything is dancing to the very song we are conducting. We feel fearless, invincible, in control, and certain. But then something not so good occurs, and knocks the wind out of us. Castles we built begin to crumble; rugs get pulled out from under us. It feels like we are being tested. It’s certainly part of life and can be very frightening.

So what do we do when our certainty has been dismantled? We can keep busy is a myriad of creative ways; we work until the wee hours of the night- jumping each time our blackberries “ding”; call friends; go to the movies, drink wine or partake in other substances; do anything and everything possible to forget how paralyzed with fear we are.

Or we can deal with it; stay right in the present moment with the not so good thing that has happened to us. It is impossible to worry about the future or regret past actions, which have possibly brought us to this place of fear, when we are genuinely focused on the present moment. It’s a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.

People who have learned the art of fearlessness, of staying with the present moment, are not attached to the outcome of any situation. They trade in certainty for curiosity. They become scientists of their fear, asking themselves questions like: How does my fear make me feel physically? Where in my body is it located? Exactly what am I so afraid of? They’re willing to acknowledge that security is an illusion and so is being in control. They live with the freedom of never needing to be right; they just simply take right action. They live in the present moment with their fear, knowing that fearlessness is not the absence of fear, but it is to courageously wait it out. Rather than run, or hide, or distract, they sit in the center of their storm until it passes. The only thing for certain is that it will pass, as it always does. The famous American Nun Pema Choden, Author of, “When Things Fall Apart”, talks about its benefit perfectly, “A further sign of health is that we don't become undone by fear, but we take it as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us.”

I have experienced fear many times in my own personal life, and I try to no longer turn away from it. Instead, I do my best to stay. I’ve learned great lessons from my friend named fear and I invite you to shake its hand the next time it catches you off guard. It’s an incredible experience to breathe in its essence, to know that it has come to awaken you to something not yet understood. Our lives will never be free of fear; it’s part of being human. The trick is to somehow change the relationship we with have with it, so it no longer has a hold on us. If we can become more comfortable with our fear, we could all breathe a little easier, and learn to simply be with the moment we have found ourselves in.


Please visit www.jennifergrace.com for more about Jennifer Grace.

Mind Marketing™:
Blending modern day strategic marketing with the science of Quantum Physics

One of the most important components for a business to be successful is marketing, the marketing of yourself and of your services. I’ve seen individuals who do anything and everything to get themselves and their businesses seen and heard. Often they are driving and striving to get themselves out there in a way that becomes physically exhausting.

By working with an extraordinary teacher named Cristan Hummel (www.earthtransitions.com) I’ve found a way to turn that “driving and striving” into more “action with ease” by using the idea of setting an intention and manifesting it, based on the science of Quantum Physics. It is the impetus of the book I am writing. The working title is “Dancing in the Unknown: The Art of Having No Expectations.”

In Quantum Physics there is a principal called The Zero Point Field. This field is a giant quantum information field, and it is a vast field of information and light. The Zero Point Field is conceptually similar to “The Force” in Star Wars. It is the Field that holds everything, and the secret to tapping into this unlimited quantum field of possibilities… is to let go and allow. It’s that simple.

When we hold on to things, and are attached to outcomes, relationships, and events, we do not let the universe do its job. Our job is to set intentions by firing off powerful thoughts, to be in action in order to continue to propel ourselves forward, and then let go of any expectations we have about how its all going to turn out. This is what I refer to as, “Dancing in the Unknown.” Joyfully trusting that your hard work and good intentions will lead you to exactly where you need to be.

So how can you be in action and let go at the same time? It seems like an oxymoron. To truly soar and reach your highest potential you must put forth effort but simultaneously let go of rigid expectations and make room for something called Grace to show up. Grace is the synchronistic moment when you are suddenly in the right place at the right time and everything falls into place. But before those moments arrive, you have to have done your work and prepared yourself so that you are able to receive the gift of Grace.

As I began to use this concept of Effort meeting Grace for my own business, I watched my client base triple without increasing any extra efforting on my part. Instead of me going to numerous networking events to meet potential clients I began meeting them in the strangest of places, when I least expected it. One day I signed up three new clients standing in line at Starbucks wearing yoga workout clothes. It was in that moment I came up with the phrase, “Mind Marketing”.

I now coach my own clients to Mind Market themselves. I tell them, “You know you are doing it when you are no longer in fear, and in driving and striving mode, and instead you are in a flow of ease and enjoyment.” It’s when we can make one phone call instead of ten to get something done. It’s when we are open to the unexpected of how something will turn out, and we are no longer micro managing how we think our lives should look. The key is to simply do our work and let go of any attachments of the outcome. I remind them to do what they love, love what they do, and success will follow. When we are living on purpose, putting forth the appropriate amount of effort, and allowing room for grace to show up, the universe always knows how to perfectly reward us.

“When we walk to the edge of all the light we have
And take that first step into the darkness of the unknown,
We must believe that one of two things will happen:
There will be something solid for us to stand on,
Or we will be taught to fly!”
-Anonymous

Please visit www.jennifergrace.com for more about Jennifer Grace.