What are you messaging?

Was reminded today about the importance of effective messaging.  Not just with each other;  way more importantly, with All That Is & with the Universe.  

That might sound like some new agey mumbo-jumbo, but at 63 am perfectly okay to be thought new age.  Especially since it WORKS.  When we cut out things that hold us back from getting what we really & truly want, when we consistently take what steps we can - however small - to reaching our goal, the Universe gets in lock step with us, providing support & encouragement.  

When we settle for less, for what we don't want, the Universe realizes we're not serious & responses in kind, with less support.  Why would it take us seriously if we don't?

My life started going in seriously different directions in Summer 2014, after attending the 2014 NCCA Leadership Exchange & Conference.  I went because something in a blurb I saw somewhere spoke to me, in spite of doubts I'd be a good fit.  Wrote to them, expressing my doubts, and received an enthusiastic, "COME!  You would add so much!"  Loved what I experienced, especially the moment my jaw practically dropped realizing the National Center for Creative Aging was inspired by Gene Cohen's revolutionary approach to aging, which inspired ME after reading his book, The Creative Age.  

That weekend was a direction-changing moment for me, because for the very first time in my life, I had a direction that felt familiar & right to the point of feeling pre-ordained.  And I pursued it.  My messaging & my actions were one & the same.  When people asked what I did, the reply was always, "You've heard of in-home care?  Well, I do out-of-home care!"  Always.  

The Universe felt what I wanted to do, could see me doing & pursuing it as I followed up the NCCA Conference with my first Omega workshop, Get to Know the Real You.  2015 saw me attending my first Leading to Well-Being Conference, where experts in the field actually sought ME out to talk (!)  & the second NCCA Conference, where I found myself making meaningful contributions to the event.  

Trite, but true - I've been walking my talk.  In two days, am headed up to my first writing workshop, at Rowe Conference Center.  Nancy Slonim Aronie's Jump Start Your Memoir goes to the heart of what speaks clearest & loudest to me in working with my older friends.  This weekend will be filled with more steps at becoming the change I hope to see in how our culture works with older loved ones, friends, pleasant acquaintances & - yes - clients.

Next up will be mid-April's Leading to Well-Being Cultivating Resilience Conference, including an optional pre-conference intensive from Dr. David L. Cooperrider, the "granddaddy" of Appreciative Inquiry, on The New 8 Stage P.O.S.I.T.I.V.E. Change Platform ~ hope to come away with a clearer idea of how AI can be effectively rolled out & implemented (my own experience was disappointing, but have heard folks from Orton Foundation RAVE about its impact).   

The end of May will find me back in northern Virginia, this time for the Mindful Life gathering.  

 

July will find me heading MUCH further south - to the Festival of Positive Education in Dallas - my first trip to Texas!  Oh, calm, my beating heart!!  Google it & you discover the primary link takes you - drum roll, please - right to our own glorious backyard, to whit the University of Pennsylvania's Authentic Happiness department!!  Even now, my breath goes shallow, my heartbeat zooms, thinking about being part of an event featuring  Martin Seligman & Angela Duckworth! - happiness rock stars!  

What makes it even better (if possible) is having found out soon enough (thanks Live Happy magazine!) to get in on the very early bird special $495 rate (almost half off the full price)!  

Will have August to get my feet back on the ground, then back down to metro-D.C. in September for the 2016 NCCA Leadership Exchange & Conference ~ Global Perspectives on Creativity & Aging.  Right back to zooming heart beat!  To think that I was THERE for the first NCCA conference that was open to all comers.  We went from a fairly small space to a much larger one last year to who knows what this September.

That that doesn't take into account the Omega & Rowe workshops (waiting on their 2016-17 schedules) that will beckon!

This is my VERY long way of saying that what we message makes a difference.  Do I believe that these awesome events would not be happening if I wasn't consistently walking the talk that my true north purpose is doing all I can to make as many lives - particularly older friends' - as expansive as they can be at any given moment, helping them connect to their most fabulous self whatever their particular challenges?  Well, no.  But...   

On the other hand, I believe that hearing about them before the fact, getting info early enough to take advantage of mega savings (means mucho to our still-getting stabilized finances), having enough funds to get to at least this weekend's workshop & take the plunge of faith by booking the very early bird rate for July's Dallas event - yes, I believe information about these incredible opportunities keeps flowing into my life at optimum times because the Universe knows I'm steadfast in my goal & rock-solid in my determination to become the person who can make a difference, not just for the handful of people it's my privilege & pleasure to work with directly, but to countless others & their families & loved ones.

Does the Universe know what you really want, are working to bring into your life?  When we settle for less, it sends the devastating message that's what we're okay with receiving.  What are YOU messaging?