Think about the people in your life that you trust? Think about the businesses that you spend your money with? Which of them make you feel the most comfortable?

I bet they all have 1 thing in common. And that’s Integrity. Walking their talk. Living their values.

This lack is what has us still feel uncomfortable about eating Macca’s. Thanks for the salad range, but we all know the true nutritional value of the “food”. (and I do have 1 occasionally. I’ve never said I was an Angel 100% of the time) It’s the reason that we are starting to see an explosion of the personality based businesses: Ashy Bines, Michelle Bridges 12WBT as examples. We’re relying on the integrity of the person to be carried through to the product. We trust in them.

I used to be a big fan of Biggest Loser. Inspirational seeing people supported to change their lives. Until tonight.

Last season wasn’t brilliant with the obvious diet yoghurt endorsement. A yoghurt which is by the way packed with a proven carcinogen Aspartame. Tonight it was taken to another level. We all know that to truly change ourselves forever we need to change our habits forever. That means killing off the sugar addiction forever. Eating clean, nothing processed. Finding, identifying and avoiding the hidden sugars. Breaking the crave binge cycle.

At dinner on the program tonight they were all drinking Coke Zero. This is disgusting sweetness replacement, which only serves to continue the addiction to the sweet flavour AND is proven to be damaging to weight loss long term AND has a carcinogenic ingredient Aspartame (I personally know how damaging the stuff is. I maxed out at 2.5 litres/day at one stage)

And the trainers know it. I bet you don’t see them sucking it down.

Let’s hope they have stronger morals in the product they sell with their own name attached.

Remember your integrity every day. It’s truly the new currency in the world, I hope.

My darling older cat Saskia Hates the kitten Ziggy. She is so clear in her feelings, unwavering in her dismissal and disapproval.  If he sniffs at her, she hisses.  If he lunges at her, she yowls.  If he touches her, then it’s Watch Out time and he’ll get cuffed. He has the scars on his nose to show how often!

Her favourite position is sitting on top of my desk.  If he comes into my office, a warning growl is shot across the room, just to make sure he knows she’s seen him.

I admire her honesty. She has not hidden this disapproval, or covered it with fake politeness. She never starts a fight, never provokes an incident. Is just clear in her boundaries.

This is where cats have it over humans. Clear in feeling and self confidence in truly owning the truth of the emotion.  No pretense.

This week be feline in your love giving. Give it only to those for whom your truly feel it.  Be polite, just keep your heart for your true loves.

I love what I do, I love teaching, I love sharing and most of all I love the lessons I get exposed to daily. What I am incredibly clear on is that I am NOT the inventor, creator or Owner of anything that I teach. I’m just a channel, a conduit, a speaker.

I’ve put it together in my way, with my personality and tone, that is all. And I use my experience to wrap around to maybe aid understanding and integration. Because until we use something we’re taught, it’s just noise.

The most powerful teachers in our history all shared the same trait : humility. An understanding of the relationship between self and teaching.

I know some amazing teachers, and some people who think they’re teachers because they talk at people a lot. There is a big difference between the 2.

So the next time a “teacher” of yours starts to own their information, or as I saw one person say recently on Facebook : “To all the imitators out there, thanks for the compliment but you’ll only be an imitation” , I suggest you run for the hills so that there’s time for their ego to expand without crushing you.

Teach today, don’t Speech.

There’s some gaps in my life, 2 huge holes that frankly hurt. I’m single and childless (at the moment, soon to change… hurry up Universe!)

I love my Mum, I love my Step Mum, I love my Aussie Mum (S,D,J… you know who you are) and I celebrate for the Mum’s today who get to enjoy the love of their children today; celebrating all the socks picked off the floor, tears wiped, bums wiped!

But…. it hurts. Another year passes that I am not experiencing that. Which got me to thinking. How do we celebrate for others when we’re in pain ourselves over that exact celebration?

What of the Mum’s who have lost their children? Or the children who have lost their Mum’s? How do we honour them, include them, not hide from the hole.

The options are : grin and bear it, weep uncontrollably and refuse to leave the house, or ignore it.

Research shows the link between repressed emotion and cancer, mental illness, obesity, ulcers… the list goes on. So Ignore it seems like a self damaging option to me.

So today I’m going to blend the options. Honour myself, honour my gaps, maybe even cry a bit (just a bit) then I’m going to meet a dear friend and celebrate her 1st Mothers Day. And above all remain open to the options and choices that will get presented to me today.

So go forth my spinster friends: celebrate all the children in the world, all the Mums, just make sure you honour yourself above all others. Remember you are the Mother of your soul.

We’ve all heard the phrase ” we don’t stop playing because we are old, we get old because we stop playing”. It’s on thousands of Hallmark schmaltzy crap cards, which we will spend millions on this weekend to celebrate the women who gave birth to us (ps Love you Mum)

Well when did you last look at the world like a child? When did you last truly look through child like eyes?

A 4 year old ran past me yesterday enthralled with a duck (not sure the duck was as happy). His wonder encouraged me to stop and I noticed, for the first time ever, that those boring brown coloured ducks are actually stunning. Purple green irridescent feathers covered by the worker brown ones.

Had the child not lent me his eyes, I’d have missed a beauty in the world.

Take time today, see the beauty covered by practicality

How often do you blame the provider or implement for not getting you your results? “My business profit hasn’t changed”  “I haven’t lost any weight”
Often followed up by, in my profession, “Coaching doesn’t work”
Really? I beg to differ. I know I have created the life I live following 1 simple rule : Follow The Instructions. Simple.

In coaching that is Do What Your Coach Tells You. In Gymnastics : Do what your Gym Coach tells you. In learning guitar : Do what your Teacher tells you.

The constant search for the quick fix and finding the answer outside robs us of the chance to reach our true potential.
We hit the moment of discomfort and pull back. “I might upset someone”  I’ll have to work hard”
No shit. And by following through you also may just learn something, and grow through the process.
So just for today, from those whom you respect: Do what you’re told, respect the relationship you started.
You may just get what you want. I did.

I’ve only spent 3 weeks at my new pad since I moved in.

When I got here it was mid summer, very hot and very sweaty. BIG cockroaches BIG spiders and BIG change from Melbourne! It was not very comfortable. And despite it being somewhere that others come for holiday, I was looking forward to getting away from it.

Then I went travelling for 5 weeks. After 4 days home I was off again.

And Then I got back. It’s beautifully sunny, gorgeously warm and fresh. Tonight it’s relaxingly warm after a magic day with friends. Wrapped in marshmallow heat.

I fell in love again with my new home. All it took was some time away to get some perspective. A step back and it became clear.

Do you need to step back to see clearly?

I decided a year ago I had had enough of not being where I want and doing what I want.

The frustration moved me to just shift my shit. To get on with it. To make the clear picture of what I wanted.
Then it fell in a pile of crap. It could have disappeared from me recently.

Faith trust and commitment to the vision.

Yesterday I had the best day ever. I spent the day doing and being exactly who I decided I would be 5 years ago.

Trust yourself. Tell yourself who you are. Be who you are.