Sports Center can sometimes become the wedge between my spouse and I.  As I’ve quipped many times “It’s not TV, it’s Sports Center” in defense to why I was not doing my share of weekend chores on any Sunday between April and October.

Football is something that only gets me when the playoffs begin.

This weekend sitting on my couch amongst the hoop and hollering of the Super Bowl something really magical occurred. The famed commercials took on new meaning and messaging than years before.  While there were, of course, the traditional Coke Polar Bears, various car commercials espousing super human feats such as making it through the end of days, a re-enactment of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,  there were also commercials that stirred the heart.  Inspired the masses. And issued an all important message;

Hope

We are not done.

Even though economic times may have been harsh.  We still have a spirit of persistence and determination that patriotically are part of our character.  But most of all we value, if not relish, being counted out before we rise from the ashes like a phoenix.

My favorite commercial by Chrysler featuring Clint Eastwood: Its Half Time in America

So where are you now

?

In your career? Your entrepreneurial endeavor

? Or your dreams of either?

Where are you now in your ability to rise in the face of adversity?

Are you ready to pick yourself up and start the drive again?

(Football analogy intended)

What’s true for all of us today is that we need to reach down deep, despite all adversity, and find our confidence again to be leaders, contributors to society, to utilize our talents, education, experience and life lessons to create new security for ourselves and those around us. The future of business and our freedoms depend upon it.

Keep Believing!

Remember: Everything IS possible with Faith.

And for all of you entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs (the internal corporate person who really is a visionary and entrepreneur within) I am cheering extra hard for you.  I’ll meet you in the end zone with a high five and a fanny slap!

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e=”ezine3″ src=”http://mariagamb.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ezine3.jpg” alt=”" width=”200″ height=”290″ />Public speaking and/or giving presentations can be one of the most nerve-racking experiences in any professionals’ life.  Some people are naturals at it. Others loose sleep over the very thought that they may need to stand in front of a room and speak. Being able to convey your message, your vision or great idea is a critical leadership skill.  Without this skill you could be dead in the water.

Often times all it takes is a little structure and organization, along with a little insight to make preparing for a presentation so much easier.

One of the most common mistakes is cramming too much information into your presentation.

The result is you’re out of breath trying to get it all in, the audience is glazed over and no one walks away any better off for the time they spent listening.

Here’s a quick and simple rule to remember; the Rule of THREE. Neurologically human beings are wired to only be able to digest 3-4 bites of information at a time.  Therefore if you’re planning on covering a dozen or so in a 60-minute period chances are that your audience won’t be able to hear you.  The solution is to keep it to 3 or 4 key points.

This laser like focus makes it far easier for people to concentrate on what’s important and leave out all the fluff that could confuse them or clutter the message.

More is NOT better.  Here are some of the possible reasons people load up a presentation;

• The presenter has a fear of looking they don’t know what they’re doing or offer enough value. So they over compensate.
• Possibly their ego needs to prove they’re exceptional and so they talk over the audiences head.
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• They simply don’t realize that using the Rule of Three will give them a better result.

Usually it’ s the la

st one.

Here’s a simple example of The Rule of Three from a current icon in the business world – Apple.  When Steve Job’s launched the iPad this was the formula he used.

To break it down even further, notice the brilliance of the sequence he uses to convey his message;

• Product and/or service
• Identify the competition
• Biggest problems outlined
• Avenues of, or access to, the resolution
• Solution to the problem

Keep it as simple as possible. Don’t overload your presentation with a million slides, moving images, props or visuals. It becomes confusing.  Stay focused. Show your audience that what your proposing is logical and easy to accept by emanating a quiet confidence that you’ll achieve by using the Rule of Three.

Being able to convey your message, your vision or great idea is one of your best leadership skills that can easily set you apart from others.

People want to be lead by those who have vision.
Convey that vision effectively and you’ll have an avalanche of supporters and advocates.

but this might be of interest to you.” As I put on my glasses to gaze at the cover my eyes lit up. “This book is about 365 days of expressing gratitude in the form of thank you notes… handwritten” She smiled at me. I smiled back and marveled at this concept – handwritten notes?! Why handwritten I wondered. “Get this,” she said, “by doing this it transformed the authors life! Imagine what this practice can do for someone who is already grateful?!” Her eyes sparkled with excitement. We gave each other a knowing smile. Game on.

One of the things I’ve learned is that success in business ALWAYS comes from my relationships and associations.

It’s not about hierarchy. It’s about quality, appreciation and acknowledging others help on your journey. Once you fully realize this, your journey will be much easier.

It was true – I had learned to make a point of saying thank you to friends, family and associates. It has been a practice that has healed personal and professional relationships over the years. A simple “thank you for all you do, really” to my sister ended years of unspoken resentment.

Making a point of telling members of my team who went above and beyond the call of duty “thank you” ended the belief that they were not truly being appreciated or seen for what they do.

And picking up the phone to tell an old mentor that they ch

anged my life by 1 simple piece of advice they gave me evoked an air of humility and appreciation.

However, a few months ago I received an email from someone who worked with me on my team in Australia thanking me for the opportunity I gave them and how it changed the trajectory of their lives. I smiled. It made me warm inside and I welled up with emotion that was nothing short of pride at her accomplishments.

I was proud of this young woman and truly appreciated her kind words.

I don’t think I would have considered the 365 days of writing thank you notes if that email hadn’t come. But in that moment I remembered how wonderful and touching it was to have someone say thank you. That this was indeed a gift first and foremost to the person receiving it. And it reminded me that the act of gratitude is part of relationship building. When another person is appreciative and grateful towards you, as human beings we instinctively want to give more and do more for that person. Not for the praise, but for the mere fact that they embody gratitude. Think about it.

To achieve more of what you want, you must be grateful for what you have now.

Then express this gratitude to others.

In doing so you recognize your blessings.

No matter what it is.

Handwriting the note is the surprise to the receiver and it shows that you cared enough to take the time, make it personal and meaningful. Also by handwriting it, you are more connected to the act. It doesn’t have to be long or formal at all. A couple sentences will suffice.

Fancy stationary isn’t necessary but if you’re like me, COLORFUL is the preference.

Check out my neighbors, David and Melinda, who supply fantastic stationary at LION IN THE SUN http://lioninthesunps.com/ They’ve helped me find some gorgeous, simple, expressive note cards and envelops for this project.

Also read John Kralik’s book “A Simple Act of Gratitude. How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life” which has inspired my new thank you note writing. Hopefully you’ll want to participate too!

If you do, please be sure to let me know how it goes.

I’m off to the mailbox to mail then next 21 notes I’ve written this afternoon – I’m done with my quota for January!

Helpful hint: write a number of notes at once to make it easier for yourself.

Daniel Lubetsky, founder of KIND

Lesson from Daniel Lubetsky, founder of KIND

Daniel Lubetsky, founder of KIND Foods, could be your neighbor.

He’s the guy down the street who helps you when you need a hand.

The one who every

one knows is reliable and trustworthy.

He wears a huge smile and possesses a comfort and ease making him completely approachable. Daniel is however, more than just your neighbor, he’s a pioneer who has built the KIND Food Movement (http://www.kindsnacks.com/). It’s not just a company that makes those healthy snacks you may have noticed at Starbucks.  It’s a business with

a m ission

and a great product.

KIND was founded in 2003 by Lubetsky, a social entrepreneur whom TIME Magazine recognized in 2009 among “25 Responsibility Pioneers” and BusinessWeek named among “America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs.”??In 1994, Daniel first founded PeaceWorks Foods, a “not-only-for-profit”® company that promotes economic cooperation among neighbors striving to co-exist in conflict regions worldwide; a passion that was the subject of his Masters thesis.

PeaceWorks® launched several award-winning healthy food products and its joint ventures continue to bring people together.

Daniel continued his quest to provide the most convenient snack he could offer the market that is tasty and healthy at the same time. The KIND Bar was born.

Tonight, Lubetsky is speaking to a gathering of 20 or so people to discussing the delicate balance between a companies social mission and profitability.   His lessons are applicable to both entrepreneurs looking to start their own venture and to business owners wishing to incorporate a social mission into the business vision.

1) You have to do what you understand – Meaning, don’t start a baby diaper business if you know nothing about baby diapers.  In Daniels case he learned this lesson when he started a business selling Dead Sea salts prior to PeaceWorks® and KIND.  Quickly he realized he knew nothing about marketing this type of product.

Unfortunately his inexperienced caused him to ending up housing thousands of products in his NYC studio apartment.  He jokes that his neighbors thought he set up an aromatherapy business because the scent of Jojoba permeated the stairwells.

Food is something he knew about, something he understood and something he loved.  Hence the natural progression was to build a new kind of food provider.

2) Customers will buy products that serve them

and fit their lifestyle.  Often times it’s best to keep your social mission subservient to the product – This may be difficult to hear for many entrepreneurs or business leaders.  However, in order to engage the customer you must tell them how you will improve their lives, serve them where they are now and fit into a lifestyle they have or aspire to.  This is more important to them then the social mission. The momentum for the mission often comes as a byproduct of providing them with a specific solution.

3) Tell your story with passion and conviction.

– As he was building KIND he learned a tremendous amount about the food business from insiders, specifically, “the counter guys” at Zabars.  They were eager to explain how the business worked and the nuisances of price, market and set up restocking strategies.  Why? He shared his passion and desire to set up a cooperative business model.

His story is a personal one that goes back to his father being a holocaust survivor. When people heard his passion, they went out of their way to help him succeed. In this case they helped him reach his clients.

4) It’s important to root yourself in your values – “If you don’t get rooted in your values you can be consumed by the need to make more (money). If that is your only challenge you will never feel fulfilled,” said Lubetsky.

5) Always remember your social mission – It will keep you motivated and remind you why you are doing what you’re doing.  But remember you must marry your social mission and your bottom line.  This is not an either or decision but a necessary function of creating a sustainable business.  Your social mission is only sustainable if your business is structured to be sustainable.

6) Persistence will always be a necessary ingredient to achieving your goals - Being constant and persistent helps placed you in the “right place at the right time” scenario.  Daniel spent 5 years trying to break KIND Snacks into Starbucks. His staff thought he was crazy because he continued to prepare presentations and proposals for this retail outlet even though they had been rejected many times over the years. It wasn’t until Starbucks decided to bring more nutritious and healthy options into their stores that there was an opportunity.  He chalks it up to speaking to the right person at the moment.  What had taken 5 years to open now only took 2 months to realize.  KIND Bars have been consistently the only outside vendor of snacks in Starbucks to date. Others have come and gone.

7) Celebrate your failures – If you don’t celebrate your failures you will never learn from them. “Without failure you don’t understand the consequences. Consequences help you to make adjustments so the next time you’ll be better” he offered. Without failure you won’t know what needs to be changed.

Lubetsky continues his social mission to bring resolution

to highly conflicted regions. Sometimes it’s via his KIND Movement: “Do the Kind Thing” campaigns (http://www.kindsnacks.com/world/).  Or by empowering KIND Ambassadors to develop young leaders.  His mission is ever evolving, always relevant and applicable across many mediums and experiences.  His desire is to teach people to find the humanity in one another: one snack bar and random act of kindness at a time. The world IS our neighborhood.

Daniel helps everyone realize we ARE the neighbors down the street who should always be willing to extend kindness to one another.

See you in the movement!

very holiday. That is, until I got too busy with my job, career and all the th ings that distracted me from enjoy

ing the simple th

ings in life.

  Balance is key in ones life.

 Which is why this year we’re ramping up the traditional again.

 My 13 year old niece will be helping us and hopefully this tradition is passed onto her.

You Can Dip ANY Biscotti Into Chocolate! YUM!

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Biscotti

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend.

Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, zest,

and salt in a large bowl to blend.

Be at in the eggs 1

at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the chips and nuts.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes.

Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board.

Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes.

Tr ansfer the biscotti to

a rack and cool completely.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup UNSALTED pistachios, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time.

Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the cranberries and nuts.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes.

Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

a watering can I rounded the corner and would smile at the site of my 5 babies. They were my special project for the summer; heirloom tomatoes that I dreamed about all winter and went all the way to Connecticut to procure.

The process began innocently enough.

I’ d water them while sipping coffee.

Smile and marvel at their progress reporting it back to my social media community, along with photos, and discussing it on my radio show segments often.  At dinner I’d share even more about “the children” as they became known.  “Um Maria, don’t you think you’re getting a little too attached to those plants” said my boyfriend.

I waved my hands and laughed “Nope!”

Then the obsession began.

Where are the buds

? What happened to the lush crops of gorgeous yellow cherry tomatoes I was promised? It was July and not much had shown up.  And what about these other 4 plants? Will they ever bloom

? My taste buds felt so deprived.

While my boyfriend slept I crept up to the roof earlier than usual on more than one occasion and began talking to them. “Come on grow”. And even at one point I found myself a few inches from the plants and channeling some crazy screen star siren “Grow damn it, grow! What’s wrong with you?!”  No sooner had I heard the words that I gasped and covered my mouth.  “What the heck am I doing?”

Have you ever felt this way about any of your special projects

? Business ventures? Networking attempts? Perhaps in an area of your life where you had expectations of a specific result

? How about your own ability to succeed?

Just about every professional I know, male or female, has had this experience at one point or another. When you do everything “right”, you’re consistent in your actions and persistent in your pursuit but the result is, well, less than stellar.  What do you do?  Are you standing over your seedlings, all that hard work, and screaming like a crazy person “grow, damn it grow”?

Come on. Be honest!

I will raise my hand and say I have.

There are 2 key principles in actions;

#1    Too much focus, expectation and strangle-holding the process can and most likely will cause performance anxiety of your desired result.  After all, no one, no thing can fully blossom when you micro-manage it and watch it like hawk.

#2    The Law of Gestation.  Gestation is a natural principle in which the natural order of things is that it takes time for whatever your seedlings are, to root, grow and blossom.  Sometimes this takes longer than we think.  Your job is to nurture those seeds but not

to become obsessive.

Just let go and let it happen naturally.

When you find yourself become overly anxious about the success that you’d really like to experience take a breath, step back and allow your seeds to mature.  Stop digging up those seeds before they’re ready. If you don’t, your success is going to have the same performance anxiety as my plants.

It happens every time!

A final note about the tomatoes: After the hurricane we had at the end of the summer the reward came: the most delicious Purple Cherokee, Stupice and Cherry Tomatoes I’ve ever had.  Unfortunately the San Marzano and Brandywine didn’t make it.  I will accept the responsibility for their inability to blossom under my constant pressure. I didn’t ease up on those babies early enough.

“Besides, who am I to tell people what to value anyway?  I don’t want everyone running around in the workplace or our networking circuit re ally

telling the truth” she became visibly annoyed at the thought.

“Do you really want people telling everyone what they think of each other?”

I smiled at her and waited patiently for her to hear what she was saying out loud.

“Maria, are you seriously telling me that you want me to use honesty as one of my values and principles?”

I shrugged my shoulders and said “Time to get back to basics” I reminded her.

“Isn’t this something you value?”

“Yes I value it but you’re joking right!? I can’t police gossip and back biting all day long!

Is this really THAT important?”

This is actually a common concern many people have; they don’t understand its critical value in today’s business environment.  Additionally they do not know how to make the distinction between a “value” as a noun, which is a belief and that same “value” as a verb, which is the behavior.  Especially when the behaviors you’ve witnessed in the past don’t agree with you.

I’m going to go back to a very basic principle I teach every single client, student and workshop participant.  A value is a belief.  It is something you have embodied in your subconscious from your foundational years, usually, and additionally from the environment, experiences and meaning you assign those situations.  I will say it again: it’ s your interpretation and the meaning you a

ssign.

Your belief and that meaning will determine how you will behave.  The real truth of how much you value that belief of honesty, integrity and transparency in whatever capacity you are working with it will govern the behaviors you demonstrate. Those are your actions.

The equation goes like this: the belief + the action = a specific result.

• So how do you manage a group of people will a variety of different foundational beliefs?
• How do you lead them?
• How do you market and sell to your target audience and desired customers
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  ?

In essence we are always marketing, selling and targeting an ideal “customer”–never forget that!

1) Identify the value (the noun) – honestly, integrity, transparency etc.  This is the competency value you wish expressed.

2) Identify the value (the verb) – how will the competency be demonstrated as an accountability.

This is the means value

This is a clear way to express what you mean by a specific value. Quantify it by providing a deliverable you can measure and others can follow more easily.  This gives a very specific direction which communicates the behavioral expectations to all.

In Margaret’s case, her competency value is honesty. Rather than allowing her original belief system to deploy some sort of strange juvenile demonstration of honesty not unlike something one would experience at a high school dance of “he said, she said”.  She can redefine her value meaning for herself and others by articulating it this way:

I will be honest in my dealing with my staff, suppliers and the people I market
and sell to by never deploying scare tactics to get my way.

Another way of stating this, if you’re creating this for your own business would be:

We conduct business in an honest straight-forward manner,
holding each individual staff member, supplier and client in the highest regard, treating each with the utmost respect.

If you’re someone who is marketing specialist it could be in your mission statement and in all your copy as;

We promise to always be straightforward, honest and direct.

What is true about the world today is people want to work for and with

people who have shared values. They crave the connection to others on this basic level.  They want to be part of a tribe that embodies the highest potential of what they value and believe to be true.

Why?

In essence, values are the foundation for trust.  Trust builds communities, followings, loyal customers, staffers and colleagues.

Bio Box:
Maria Gamb (http://www.MariaGamb.com ) is an author, speaker and mentor to emerging leaders in business. Her first book ever “Healing the Corporate World” (http://www.HealingTheCorporateWorld.com) was launched on Amazon in 2010 broke into the Top10 Bestsellers in Business/Leadership joining the ranks of the highly influential all boys club

of authors such as Jim Collins, Daniel Pink and Carmine Gallo.

http://amzn.to/998R9p

honor the commitments you make

?

Often times we forget making a commitment is the act of agreement to do one thing or another.  It is an activity that is sometimes negated and when it does a breakdown in trust occurs on many levels.

• Do you honor commitments you make to your team-to show up for them–even in tough or uncomfortable situations?
• Do you honor commitments you make to those you network with?  Or are the leads, connections and resources you offer others a non-even
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  t?

• Do you honor the commitments you make to your family and friends
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  ? Are you where you say you’re going to be when you’ve told them you’d be?

• But most importantly do you honor commitments you make to yourself
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  ?

The most important commitment you make is to yourself.  When you promise that you will do X, Y or Z -say go to the gym, but then you don’t go. You’ve reneged on the commitment you’ ve made to yourself.

When you do this, in essence,  you have lied to yourself.  Which means when you make other commitments to yourself down the line, chances are you won’ t believe

them.

You’ll take those commitments with a grain of salt.  Why? Because that’s how you’ve performed in the past. You’ ve cemented the behavior.

If this is your internal set up, do you honor the other commitments in your life and work?  Remember, how we do one thing, is usually how we do everything.

When you do not honor the commitments you make to your team, peers, friends and family it sets up the same cycle of mistrust.  They will not take you seriously.

Nor will your word

be taken seriously.

Because you haven’t taken the commitment you’ve made seriously.

They know this about you.

A person who does not convey trust to those they are working with will never be truly successful.  You’ve got to be a trusted leader in order for others to follow you.

Which means, in this case, you must be someone who says what they’re going to do and then does it.  Hopefully you do it

without pageantry.

Keep ing your word is so important

in building your reput ations

and following as a person in business. It shows you are a person of quality and integrity because;

• You keep your word.
• When you say you’ ll help someone else you do it.
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• And you actually care about the success of others.

People are loyal to those they trust.
People will follow the direction of the people they trust because

they have shown them that they are worth that investment.

Bio Box:
Maria Gamb (http://www.MariaGamb.com ) is an author, speaker and mentor to emerging leaders in business. Her first book ever “Healing the Corporate World” (http://www.HealingTheCorporateWorld.com) was launched on Amazon in 2010 broke into the Top10 Bestsellers in Business/Leadership joining the ranks of the highly influential all boys club of authors such as Jim Collins, Daniel Pink and Carmine Gallo. http://amzn.to/998R9p

It’s a very important part of the process of building a presence and reputation.  Not just amongst your peers but as an example to those who are coming up the ranks.

My friend, author Greg.

S. Reid, once told me: It’ s important to alway

s be networking with the people who are just starting out or the people who have achieved what you want to achieve.

I thought it was a bit elitist at first. Clearly he saw that written all over my face.

The people just starting out and the ones who have achieved are the people who are most excited, pumped up and willing share how they achieved with excitement.

I nodded.

This makes sense.

He added, But those in the middle are often complacent and well, sometimes whiney.

I laughed.  And much to my chagrin I had to agree.

Who is your network?

Are they Excited or Complacent? Proactive or Whine

y?

Who they are, will tell you a lot about who and where you are in your own growth, perception of what you have to offer and willingness to step forward.

We are only as good as the people we are connected to. Positive and powerful relationships that are nurtured always yield returns.

It builds and reinforces your own reputation when done with a willingness to communicate openly about what you’re doing, asking for help when you need it and be willing to help others too.

A leaders role is to better the life of others. Your network should be a filled with proactive, excited, energetic, get-it-done and how can I help you people!  Because that’s what you can then bring to others.

Bio Box:
Maria Gamb (http://www.MariaGamb.com ) is an author, speaker and men tor

to emerging leaders in business.

Her first book ever “Healing the Corporate World” (http://www.HealingTheCorporateWorld.com) was launched on Amazon in 2010 broke into the Top10 Bestsellers in Business/Leadership joining the ranks of the highly influential all boys club of authors such as Jim Collins, Daniel Pink and Carmine Gallo. http://amzn.to/998R9p

As an adult, having the mirror of truth cast in front of you is a bit different.

We look for the truth but sometimes are not comfortable with it. Often times when we’re struggling with someone else’s behavior or actions it’s a signal  we may actually be exhibiting the same or similar behavi

ors.

“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who is the most insecure of all?”

“Well” the mirror responds hesitantly “You Are My Dear”

“Me?” you respond in shock, clutching your pearls in dramatic fashion

“But I’m just sensitive, I’m not like Sally who is just so high maintenance & needy! Lord only knows why anyone would want to work with her!”

The mirror laughs “ Are you sure about that

? You might want to look a little bit deeper.”

You could replace “insecure” with just about anything: stingy with money, withholding, manipulative, scared, ruthless, unfeeling, selfish etc.  However the premise is the same. When you find yourself in a situation where someone or something is just twisting you into knots it usually means a mirror is being held up for you to look at your own behavior patterns.

Most often they are sabotaging patterns you use

yourself.

Do you have trouble with flakey clients/staff/vendors or even friends?  Well that could mean that you’ re being flakey as well.

I can hear your jaw dropping in utter denial.  So I ask you: Do you make those follow up phone calls to other clients when you said you would?  Do you show up on time to events or other appointments?  Do you ditch plans with friends or family at the last moment…often?  Are you reliabl

e? Really, truly…. are you reliable

?

The importance of understanding the MIRROR MIRROR SYNDROME is 3-fold.

a) Double Minded Drama - The conflict or agitation arises from a double minded dynamic that’s occurring inside:  Ego on one side – the source of much negativity, fear, loss, perception of scarcity etc.  On the other side is your true spirit self – kind, loving, patient & compassionate.  Clearly, they are diametrically opposed in nature.  This clash is what produces unnecessary drama; feelings of resentment, anger or annoyance with another person that can play out in a variety of ways.

b) Listening to Your Guidance - The degree or intensity of what you’re feeling about the person in question has only to do with your internal guidance system, your intuition, nudging you.

Usually the bigger

the issue the harder the nudge.

c) Opportunity for Growth – The Power of Reflection is your intuition knocking at the door saying “hello wake up, you need to correct this and get back on track.”  The mirror is being held up and you can then address the situation.

In learning to evaluate these reflections you have to opportunity to learn about the things that may be limiting your success & sabotaging your own efforts. The intention of the Universe is for you to have a peaceful existence. Contrary to machinations of others who can spin conflict to their own benefit, a peaceful life is always the better gift.

As Dr. Wayne Dyer says “Conflict cannot survive without your participation”.  If you like the drama and conflict, keep it.  That’s fine. If not, then it’s time to recognize changes you might need to make and take action.

Remember, you have the power to decide how this will play out.  It’s all about CHOICE!

Bio Box:
Maria Gamb (http://www.MariaGamb.com ) is an author, speaker and men tor

to emerg ing leaders

in business.

Her first book ever “Healing the Corporate World” (http://www.HealingTheCorporateWorld.com) was launched on Amazon in 2010 broke into the Top10 Bestsellers in Business/Leadership joining the ranks of the highly influential all boys club of authors such as Jim Collins, Daniel Pink and Carmine Gallo.

http://amzn.to/998R9p