Greetings! March 2007 Spring has sprung and the birds are chirping! Hope you are able to enjoy it today! This month's workout, Moving at the Speed of Life, explores the speed and direction with which we move. If you are local to New England, I invite you to the New England International Coaches Federation Conference on Saturday, May 12th. I will be running a breakout session on Introduction to Workshop Design. The conference highlights Cheryl Richardson, Laura Berman-Fortgang and many others to learn from. Early Bird Registration ends today. To find out more, go to http://www.icfne.org/index.php?page=conference_051207 If, at any time, you would like to unsubscribe, simply go to the end of the newsletter. Cheers, Jean M. DiGiovanna, President, ThinkPeople Monthly Theme Monthly Workout Monthly Poem Upcoming Workshops/ Events Moving at the Speed of Life Wouldn’t it be nice if we could control the speed of our lives? Ahh…but where would the excitement be? Sometimes life comes at us like a tidal wave, and other times, it’s just not moving fast enough for us. And, then, when we finally experience a steady calm, we start to get bored. The story of being human!! The important question really is, “What speed works best for me?” It’s so easy to look around and compare ourselves to others. “Look what they are doing. Why aren’t I there yet? Look what they’ve accomplished. How come I’m still where I am?" And, the list goes on downward spiraling until we get ourselves in a tizzy. We start to compare the speed of our life with those of others. Our lives have ebbs and flows, some might say, divinely. At other times, our life feels out of control. The power we do have, though, is to choose the direction we want to take. We don’t always have control of the speed. Sometimes, we take on too much, we say “yes, yes, yes”, or abundance flows in in the form of business, invitations, work and we’re not sure how to handle it all. We commit to things, we give our word, and then may realize it’s not all going to work. Sometimes, the timing and the speed just isn’t right for everything we want. I experienced this first hand this month when I was so excited to rollout the TLC Series, and, after announcing it, abundance flowed in the form of other work and I realized I physically could not do it all. Superwoman really does not exist :-) As difficult as it was to postpone it, I knew in my heart of hearts based on the priorities I had at the time, that what I needed to do was slow down. It all comes down to what is most important to you right now in this moment. What direction and speed do you want to move in? The definition of speed is, “the rate at which something moves, happens or functions, irrespective of direction”. You may be “moving” in your life, but is the direction you are moving aligned with your most important priorities? I ask you, this month, to take a hard look at what you are up to, what you have committed to and check to see that they align with what you deem as truly important in your life right now. When you align your choices, your actions and your energy around what is most important to you, the speed of life will move right along with you. You get to choose the direction, so, get on that race track of life! Cheers, Jean M. DiGiovanna Monthly Workout: Overcoming Overwhelm Take on the following questions and process below for this month’s workout: Think about the various areas of your life (Work, Relationship, Home, Fun, Family, Health, Money, Self-Development, Friends...) and force rank the top 3 areas that are most important for you to focus on right NOW in your life. It doesn’t mean that if an area is not in the top 3, it’s not important; it just means it’s not an area right now to focus on. Now, take inventory of the activities you are up to in your life. How are you spending your time? In what areas are you spending more time? In what areas are you spending more energy? Look to see if the activities you are spending time in and the energy you are expending are in one of the top 3 areas of your life you identified as critical to focus on right now. If the activities and energy are not in one of the top 3 areas, then how can you begin to shift that? What do you need to say “no” to or let go of to be able to shift your time and energy so that you can be doing what is most important to you. Continue to ask yourself in any given moment, “Am I spending my time and energy in the areas that are most important to me?” and before making choices or saying “yes” to invitations or requests, ask yourself “Is this something that furthers my fulfillment in the top 3 areas I deem important in my life?”. If it does not, I challenge you to turn it down, let it go or postpone it for now. I look forward to hearing what you experience! (please e-mail me at jdigi@thinkpeople.com) Poem of the Month: The Speed of Life There are those who love to go fast, and those who take their time. In the end, it really doesn’t matter, In the end, does it really have to rhyme? We each have the ability to live our own lives, we each can control the speed and the dials. As you get clear on your focus, and stay true to your heart, Know that you are moving in the right direction, trust it is the perfect start.                          ~ by Jean M. DiGiovanna Upcoming Workshops, Events, Announcements PUBLIC APPEARANCES Introduction to Workshop Design: Package Your Expertise and Increase Your Revenue Saturday, May 12, 2007 8am - 5:45pm Waltham, MA ICF New England Conference In this highly interactive workshop, you will leave with a 7-step model for creating high impact workshops, the most common pitfalls to avoid and techniques that create experiential learning. Bring a specific workshop idea in and leave with a solid foundation to work from. You will feel inspired and in action to get your message out into the world and make a profound impact on your participants. For more info, go to http://www.icfne.org/index.php?page=conference_051207 EVENTS & OTHER WORKSHOPS Horse Speak Workshop: Harnessing Your Energy With Grace Facilitated by Johanna Lyman and Karyn Redwolf on April 29th 10am - 5pm rain or shine. Ever wondered what kind of energy you put out when you're communicating? Have you ever wished an interaction with someone had gone differently? In this workshop, you will uncover and explore the energy you're sending out during communications, using a horse as your guide. Learn how to consciously create a different kind of energy, and work with a horse again to tell you how well you've created a shift. You will leave with a better understanding of how to manage your energy, and a creative expression piece to remind you of the experience. Lunch is included, an no prior experience with horses is necessary. Early bird price is $75 if you register before 4/21. After 4/21, the price is $99.00. For more information, click here: http://www.birchviewstables.com/workshops.htm Curious about ThinkPeople's other services beyond Coaching? Check out Corporate Facilitation/Training/ Consulting I hope you've enjoyed ThinkPeople's Monthly Workout and found it valuable! Feel free to forward to your friends, family and colleagues. To read past editions of ThinkPeople's Newsletters and to learn more about our services and products, visit us at http://www.thinkpeople.com/resources.html If you wish to unsubscribe, please e-mail unsubscribe@thinkpeople.com Copyright Info: ThinkPeople's Monthly Workout for the mind, heart and soul is ©2007 Jean M. DiGiovanna. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced without express written permission from the publisher. Jean M. DiGiovanna, Publisher Amy Rewakowski, Editor ThinkPeople ~ Bringing Individuals and Organizations Alive! jdigi@thinkpeople.com http://www.thinkpeople.com/ 617.489.7494