Hospitality Means...

"Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take them. " -Henri Nouwen

I ran across this quote in a coffee shop last week and it quickly permeated my heart and called me to take a renewed look at the world around me. After a few days of reflection I realized that I DO see the world as a hospitable place, and that is a sweet victory. I remember a time when I focused only on the obstacles that were in my path, and all the reasons why I couldn't accomplish my goals.

As you work your follow-up plan today I invite you to pause and look around you. Where is hospitality showing up in your life? Who is reaching out to connect and support you? You may be surprised to find that you have more support than you need to accomplish your goals but you just haven't taken time to notice. Take time to notice the hospitality that life has to offer and celebrate your sweet victories.

Bring Your Music to Life

“A few can touch the magic string, and noisy fame is proud to win them: Alas for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them!” -Oliver Wendell Holmes

How will you bring your music to life this week?

Life is a Game Worth Playing

You’ve just completed another week of your life, congratulations! Review your week for any standout moments. What are you particularly happy or proud of? Where did you succeed? What did you celebrate? I call these sweet victories and they make life worthwhile.

Sweet Victories don’t have to be big and expensive, and they are often supported by our core values. An example of a sweet victory might be witnessing a child’s first step, getting that coveted promotion at work or finally getting that bedroom closet cleaned out. They are personal and we each must define them for ourselves.

What challenges or obstacles did you face this week? Make no mistake, these are part of pursing any worthwhile endeavor and you get to decide whether or not to allow them to stop you. If you persevered through another obstacle then you have another sweet victory to celebrate.

We are into season one of the Sweet Victories Game, which means you have just over six weeks to cross the finish line. I’ve heard from many players this season and am inspired by what you are working on. Whether you are working on strengthening your personal relationships or improving your performance at work, you are working towards something important to you and I want to help you win. I invite you to e-mail me and let me know what you are working on. Or connect with me on the Compass Personal Development Network at www.mylifecompass.com/coachvickiz and let’s connect, empower and inspire each other. Life is a team sport and you aren’t meant to play alone – and you don’t have to!

Would you like some personal coaching to play your game better? I am currently looking for two individuals who would like to coach with me for the next six weeks at a big discount. For six weeks I will be your personal coach as you turn a current challenge or goal into a winnable game worth playing. I will spend 30 to 45 minutes on the phone with you each week and you will practice, practice, practice playing your big game. The total cost to you is $79.00 and a commitment to play full out. I have two spots available and you can claim yours by e-mailing me at vicki@sweetvictories.com.

Wishing You Sweet Victories,
Coach Vicki Z

Put Your Dreams on the Starting Line

"There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say, "Yes, I've got dreams, of course I've got dreams." Then they put the box away and bring it out once in awhile to look in it, and yep, they're still there. These are great dreams, but they never even get out of the box. It takes an uncommon amount of guts to put your dreams on the line, to hold them up and say, "How good or how bad am I?" That's where courage comes in."
— Erma Bombeck

Don't put your dreams in a box....put them on the starting line and start playing.

Follow-up and Be Amazed

Another week marches by. Was it just another week? Are you satisfied with how you spent your time and energy?

Time is finite but our choices about how to spend it are infinite. Are you satisfied with your choices?

I’m celebrating a personal sweet victory this week. I spent 5 hours exercising this week. I am a bit sore but very satisfied.

Interestingly, one week ago I believed I was too busy to spend 2 ½ hours a week exercising. Honoring my commitment to exercise is a victory but what makes it sweet for me is that I dispelled a limiting belief by stepping beyond what I thought was possible.

This victory required me to accept support from others while staying connected to my own purpose. How satisfied are you with how you spent your week? Would you like some support or do you have your own sweet victory to share? Join the Compass Personal Development Network at www.mylifecompass.com/coachvickiz and then send me a friend request.

The Compass Personal Development Network is a free social network with a purpose – to help you step into your greatness. I hope to see some new faces on my friends list this week. Be sure and add your goals to my Victory Board by e-mailing me at vicki@sweetvictories.com or connecting with me at www.mylifecompass.com/coachvickiz. Let me know what you are up to so I can support you. One thing I know to be true is that you have the power to amaze yourself but you’ll never know if you don’t try.
It’s Follow-up Friday so follow-up and be amazed.

Do What You Can Do This Week and Enjoy The Magic

"The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence and educational advantages; the question is what he will do with the things he has. The moment a young man ceases to dream or to bemoan his lack of opportunities and resolutely looks his conditions in the face, and resolves to change them, he lays the corner-stone of a solid and honorable success." Hamilton Wright Mabie

So often we become overwhelmed by all there is to do. Remember to simply do what you can do today and you'll be on your way to another sweet victory.

It Takes Courage and Support to Stretch Beyond Our Comfort Zone

There is a truth I have experienced so many times in my life that I don’t doubt it: When we set a powerful intention for our life, the Universe responds. Suddenly opportunities open up, people come into our life and we start moving towards our goal, or we don’t. For many reasons, we don’t always participate in this beautifully collaborate process. There are many reasons why we don’t but I am going to focus on one reason today, and that is that we do not want to ask for help.
I’ve spent the past year working on my wellness goals…by myself. As a life coach I know the power of support but when it came to my own wellness goals, I thought I could do it in my spare time when it was convenient.
After reviewing my wellness goals for this season I realized that they were designed with my comfort and convenience in mind. I also realized that I was making no investment or personal sacrifice in order to accomplish these goals. Was I really committed? And why?
As I often ask my coaching clients to do, I took an inventory of the people in my life who could support me, and I made arrangements to work with a fitness coach. When I asked her if she could support me, she asked me one question, “Are you serious about getting fit or are you just going through the motions?” I was committed, and I realized that this person was willing to invest a great deal of her own time and energy into my success, and although it was one of the most difficult workouts I’ve had in many years, she was at my side as I went from “I can’t do this” to “I can do this”, to “I did it!”.
As you review your goals for the season, ask yourself if this is what you really want. If you are just going through the motions, it is time to make a change. What is it you are truly willing to invest in. What are you willing to make a sacrifice for? What I have found is that it is often the goal that is most meaningful to us that we hesitate to share with the world. When you step up and courageously declare what it is that you really want to achieve, the Universe will respond. Pay attention to who is showing up in your life or who has been there all along. Join in the collaborative creative process of achieving your goals by allowing others to support you.
Remember, life is a team sport. Send an e-mail to vicki@sweetvictories.com and share your goals, EVEN if you aren’t sure you have the courage to act on them. I’ll post it to my Victory Board. I won't tell anyone it's your goal but you and I will know, and so will the Universe.

Delicious Ambiguity

"I always wanted a happy ending... Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity." -Gilda Radner

We are at the beginning of another glorious week - I wonder what will happen? :)