A few years ago my meal arrived in our favorite gourmet burger place. I was tucking into a plate of delectable skinny fries (the shape, not the calorie content), and they were cold. I did the most effective thing I could think of:
Complain to my family.
So, here I was, complaining, and fretting about what to do (seriously?!) when my daughter, with all the truth-telling of a 6-year-old, looked me in the eye and landed Secret #1 on me:
“It’s okay to ask for what you want.”
Duh.
I told our server, hot fries were produced, and everyone was happy. The restaurant thanked me for giving them the chance to fix things, and my daughter felt smart.
Her words are for you, too: “It’s okay to ask for what you want.”
Pause right now, and ask yourself what you want that you haven’t asked for – perhaps because you’re afraid of inconveniencing other people, or looking silly, or for fear you’ll hear no.
Whatever it is. Ask for it. People can only help if they know what you want. Which brings us to Secret #2:
If you don’t ask, the answer is already no.
It’s always worth asking. People want to help and if they can’t, you can trust them to tell you. You’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain.
This week, notice when you don’t ask for what you want and practice asking.Take a deep breath and ask for free refills. Or if you’re feeling bold, ask for the BIG THING!
Then hit reply to this email and tell me all about it.
Get out there and thrive!
Christina
P.S. I’d love it if you’d share this newsletter with your friends, family and colleagues. Just forward this newsletter to them, and they can sign up here.
Inspiration is Everywhere - Even In Your Backyard!
A few weeks ago, my family returned after a week on a farm in Wisconsin. All we wanted to do was unpack, shower, and go to bed. And, outside, our cherry tree was bursting with ripe cherries that were ready to be picked RIGHT NOW. The last thing we wanted to do was deal with those cherries.
An hour later, we were in that tree, pulling down handfuls of cherries and staying up late pitting and freezing them.
This is where this story is about you.
There are amazing opportunities bursting right in front of you RIGHT NOW. And being tired and busy with other things is no excuse to miss them. Maybe you know that you’re ready for a promotion, a challenging new assignment, to go part-time, to change jobs, to strike out on your own, or to redirect your focus.
Or maybe you just have a sense that something wants to change and you’re not sure what it is.
Do these things:
- Pull your head up from all the day-to-day stuff that weighs you down. Even if it’s only 5 or 10 minutes of silence at your desk.
- Open your eyes. See what’s right in front of you.
- Allow yourself to dream, even for a minute. Remember how you spent your time when you were eight.
Life is too short to just get by and survive. You’ve got this one wonderful life. Get in your cherry tree and start pulling down the ripe handfuls that are waiting for you to grab them.
And this winter, when you’re munching on my signature cherry crisp recipe (get it here!) and enjoying your awesome new project or your newfound free time, you’ll be glad you did.
Get out there and dream!
Christina
P.S. After my first newsletter, many of you asked if you could share it with your friends and colleagues. HELL YES! Please forward this newsletter to your peeps. Your friends can click here to join the fun!
100% Strategy to Slow Your Runaway Train Today
I hear from people that the pace of their lives is killing them. They are busy, exhausted, and want to get things under control.
Does this sound like your life?
Here’s the bad news: Control is an illusion.
Here’s the good news: You get to choose (not control, choose).
Yes, you really get to choose. You get to let go of the pressure to control and instead, choose how you do your life.
With these three strategies, you can start to choose and change the pace of your life from exhausted to elated:
Tune in to your calendar – Which to-dos make you happy and excited and which things are there because you feel you should or someone else expectsyou to do them. Dump the shoulds and the expects and do more of the excited.
Give yourself buffer time and don’t compromise it for other people’s needs. Make sure you have space (even 10 minutes makes a huge difference) between appointments so you arrive fresh, on time, and ready to focus.
Create white space. In our hype- up and plugged in world, give yourself the gift of silence and space. Put your phone in the glove box when you drive. When you walk to your next meeting, just walk there – don’t check email and talk on the phone at the same time. You’ll be shocked how quickly great ideas start to flow in the white space.
The goal is your effectiveness and peace of mind. I’ll be sharing more strategies in upcoming newsletters so stay tuned!
I hope this helps.
Get out there and thrive!
Christina
P.S. If you’re struggling with a runaway train of a life, hit reply to this email and tell me about your biggest challenge. I’d love to share some strategies tailored for your situation.
P.P.S. Here is a present for being my first subscribers! Thank you! Click here to receive "The Corporate Rebel's Guide to Dealing with a Crappy Boss."