FALL into new habits...

Me and Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

 

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a Summer Woman!  I live for the Summer, the sun, the sand, the waves, the lake, the pool... I am a true Pisces.  Fall always brings a sense of change.  The change of weather, the impending Winter, living here on the East Coast.  I can handle Fall but I feel Winter is dreadful.  This year, I want to change my thinking and make all the seasons a positive and wonderful experience.  Will you join me and encourage each other to use positive reinforcements to get through the storms, the cold, the uncertainty?  Can we encourage each other to be proactive, yet kind to ourselves throughout these months?  Can we meet despite the cold and the rain and the snowflakes?  I believe we will need each other more and will be happier supporting each other and doing things we may not ordinarily do.  I want to ski and go snow tubing, jacuz and live it up.  Who's with me? Let's make this a memorable and fun Winter.  I'm willing and I want some company.  I'm willing to change my thinking and live fully 12 months a year.  Join me.  We will help each other!  Rock on fabulous friends.  I love you.

Blue Skies in September
Jordan

                                                     My Inspiration: Catherine at 6 years!

Are you really grateful?

I love everything about Social Media and feel connected to so many of you via the internet.  I read what all of you have to say and I think, time and time again, how many of us are really grateful.  Not the, "wow, I'm glad I got this parking space grateful" but truly, in our hearts, understanding of all that is around us.  If you come home miserable and tired from work, it's no one's problem but yours.  See your front door as a cleansing agent... take off your shoes, your worries, your bad day.  Leave it there.  Be grateful for your home, your apartment, your shelter, your room.  Be grateful someone smiled at you today.  Smile back.  If you have ONE friend on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, be grateful.  It only takes ONE. 

Some days I meet with the most remarkable people.  Some days I worry where the human race is heading...No matter how tramautic or sad the day is, I feel grateful.  I can come home to a loving family.  I have amazing friends.  I have myself.  I know so many of you struggle and you put on a great big smile despite your heartaches... I know for sure when we open our hearts, our minds and feel the gratitude all around us, amazing things happen.  I guarantee it.  Try it for tomorrow!

Shine, glow, radiate and be awesome... You know YOU are!!!  Be yourself... everyone else is taken!

Blue Skies,
Jordan

How's Your Life?

You don’t get to choose how you are going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you are going to live. Now.
--Joan Baez

How do you feel about your life today? Do you love what you’re doing? Are you excited at least once a day, maybe twice? Are you looking forward to your day? Your answers are important to YOU. Your life experience is up to you to create. Why settle for anything less than what you can get? You deserve nothing but the best. In 2007, I started Full Circle Counseling and I’ve been living my days to the fullest, filled with joy, passion and of course obstacles. It has been an amazing experience and I want you to experience that too.

Think about this:

Live every day on a fresh new start. Don’t be held back by what happened yesterday, the day before, the week before, the year before, and so on...we are powerless over the past.

Be true to who YOU are! Stop trying to please other people or be someone else. It’s better to be an original version of yourself than an exact duplicate of someone else. Be yourself, everyone else is taken...

Create your own opportunities. You can wait for opportunities to drop in your lap, or you can go out there and create them. Creating your own is far more empowering and satisfying.

Tell your family and friends how much they mean to you...and show them if you can which is even better.

Do the things you love, because life is too precious to spend it doing anything else. If you don’t enjoy something, then don’t do it. Spend your time and energy on things that bring you fulfillment and happiness.

Be positive. Is the glass half empty or half full? How about neither? It’s actually all full, the bottom half is water, the top half is air. It’s all a matter of perception. Take on empowering perceptions, not those that bind you. If you can see the positive sides of every thing, you’ll be able to live a much richer life than others. Eliminate all unnecessary negativity from your life. It really is possible.

Let go of your unhappy past (I know it's not easy but it is necessary). This means past grievances, heartbreaks, sadness, and disappointments. Forgive those who may have done you wrong in the past. Forgive doesn't mean forgetting... forgiveness is for your peace. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and realize it was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes

Let go of attachments. Don’t fixate yourself with a certain status, fame, wealth or material possessions. These are unimportant and will ultimately disappear one day when you die. Focus on growing and living life to the fullest instead.

Let go of relationships that do not serve you. That means negative people, dishonest people, people who do not respect you, people who are overly critical and relationships that do not make you feel good. Trust your intuition. It will never fail you.

Spend time with people you feel good around. Hang out with people who you are compatible with... like-minded people, people who are positive, successful, strong achievers and positive for your growth. You are after all, the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Raise the bar!

I believe in you... You deserve your best life... Think it, feel it, know it.

Blue Skies Always,

Jordan

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
– Steve Jobs

Are you Deserving?

I love what I do because I am able to experience something new everyday. I work with the most diverse population and I learn something from someone on every level... Who doesn't want peace, to be happy and feel loved? As human beings, we need all of these things but many, unfortunately keep chasing the idea they can't have what they want, instead of the fact, they can have what they want.

Do you believe you can be happy, in a loving relationship and all will be fine? Ask yourself this!

Why don't you deserve all these "truly" fundamental things? Many of us received many messages as children about our worth. Think about the following:

• What do you want that you do not have now? Be clear and specific about your desires.
• What were the rules in your home about deserving?
• Did you have to earn to be deserving?
• Do you feel that you do deserve?
• Are you good enough? Will you ever be good enough?
• What is the purpose of your life?
• Whom do you need to forgive in order to deserve?
• What do you deserve?

Our personal power is affected by the way we perceive our deservability. Think about the questions and think about your life. YOU deserve to be happy. You are entitled to be happy. Know it, live it, see it. Rock on!!!

But officer, it isn't mine...

It's always an adventure traveling with my daughter for her numerous competitions and it's a wonderful way to see new places and meet new people.  This weekend was no exception. It started with the flight.  Anxious, excited and leaving on time, we began our slow crawl to the runway when the pilot announced we were turning around due to "mechanical" issues.  Not exactly a great way to start a trip.  The nervous energy filled the cabin and Catherine gave me those big eyes, I'm scared look.  I laughed and said, "nothing to worry about" as my heart raced and a panic attack began to build.  45 minutes later and some extra fuel, they basically said they had to reboot the plane. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  I chose laughter and off we went. 

The hotel was nice, the girls were happy to be together and off the Moms went for a much needed lunch and get together.  I decided to put my wallet and passports in the safe in the room.  After all, that's what the safe is for.  When I returned to retrieve my wallet the safe wouldn't open.  I called for help, no one showed.  I had some cash so off I went again.  6 hours later, Front Desk, Security, no one showed.  9 hours later, I was pissed.  While the team meeting for Catherine's competition was taking place, four men entered my room and with power tools in hand, basically drilled the door off the safe.  Left a mess, a vacuum and apparently a drill bit.  My wallet was saved! 

My new friend Adrienne and I had a great laugh and we were optimistic about our flying home together.  Once at the airport, we casually strolled through security when I was stopped by a very serious Screen Checker.  He asked if he could go through my purse.  "Of course" I said, praying I didn't throw some nail clippers in there.  Sternly he pulled out a 6 inch drill bit and stated, "Ma'am, does this belong to you?" I said, "I have no idea what the hell that is."  He said, "It's a drill bit Ma'am and you are not allowed to fly with a drill bit."  "A drill bit...ohhhhhh, well you see they had to break into my safe and it must have fallen into my bag." Mr. Serious no sense of humor, stated, "this conversation is getting worse and worse.  Does this belong to you Ma'am and do I have permission to discard it."  I didn't care what he did as long as the words, you are under arrest weren't said.  Another officer who witnessed the entire event and was laughing, asked if we were traveling to another airport so he could call ahead to warn them of our arrival.  Ha, ha... I'm thinking SLAMMER and he's joking. 

Flight was fast and easy and it is so great to be home.  It's great to be able to share this too because you can't make this crap up.  Most importantly, it's another lesson in patience, optimism, and knowing, all will work out. 

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia."~Charles Schulz

Yippie,
Jordan

For ALL You have done...

It was a fast and relatively warm November... Thanksgiving was wonderful but I wasn't really feeling the Holidays.  I don't want my kids or myself, getting caught up in the consumerism and I wanted to go away and forget the week.  Instead, something amazing happened.  Truly amazing!

3 weeks before Christmas, I was informed there were over 25 kids who weren't going to have Christmas.  Their parents had no money and not a single gift was going to be opened.  As I stated earlier, I never enjoy the craziness of buying so much stuff but I love the idea of giving.  Especially giving to those in need.  I received the list and sprang into action. Owning Full Circle Counseling and working with over 65 families in need throughout New Jersey has its own set of sadness so I knew there wasn't much time.  I decided to think like Santa and do the next best thing... EMAIL!  I emailed my normal list of friends, colleagues, women's groups and in less than 4 hours, the most amazing thing happened.  Emails were forwarded and forwarded and by midnight that night, 68 emails were in asking for the list.  I couldn't sleep, I couldn't stop typing.  Kristen Totaro, a friend and colleague, spread the word as if it was the NY Times Headline... Within 3 weeks, the car loads kept dropping off and my home was bursting at the seams... Kristen texted me, "Jordan, the Marines want to help".  WHAT?  Annemarie Acquaviva from town was one of the first to respond.  She emailed a few days later and said, my sophomore boys from Don Bosco have started a facebook fan page and 60 people signed up.  My heart was overwhelmed.

Bill Lockwood (from the Padded Wagon Moving Company), whom I met once at a wonderful networking lunch, donated a huge moving truck to pick up the gifts.  985 gifts were collected and distributed to children in three counties.  Since we directly work with many of these families, it was so amazing to see the expression of children seeing wrapped gifts being delivered.  Christmas Eve was the busiest and happiest day of my life.  The
response from people wanting and willing to help was overwhelming.  The gifts were amazing. The thoughtfulness beyond my wildest dreams.  This was the greatest holiday season of my life. 

I know times are hard and many people are struggling.  I have never, ever seen such generosity. Such love. Such genuine concern for kids completely anonymous.  This was the hardest 3 weeks and the most memorable and enjoyable 3 weeks.  I am completely addicted to happiness.  Won't you join me.  I guarantee you will never be the same!!!  Join the Happiness Project NJ!!!!

HAPPY New Year
I love you
Jordan
http://www.happinessproject.nj.com/

When Love Hurts...

I am a lover of life. I love so many things my head spins. I am compassionate about people and animals and I accept I am a sensitive, yet strong person put on this earth to help and heal. I knew this at an early age and I know it more and more every day. I spend my days working with the most amazing people. People who hurt, people who have lost, people who have nothing, people who have everything. I love what I do. I am energized and I know this is what I am meant to do.

So when does love hurt?

A recent experience rocked me emotionally and physically and where my love was so intense, the heartache matched it. After a wonderful night out with friends, I was driving home with my husband and best friend. In the corner of my eye was movement in the leaves at the side of the road. I told my husband to stop the car and I got out. To my dismay, a precious fawn was hit by a car and was thrashing about, scared and dying. I called the police crying for someone to come and put this angel out of its misery. No one showed. My husband knew I couldn't leave. I knew I could not either. Kneeling down and using a calm and loving voice, I kept saying, it's okay sweet baby, you are not alone. The baby was so scared and her eyes focused on me staying with her. I was heartbroken. I began to cry quietly and was able to hold her head in my hands until she took her last breath.

I felt tremendous love and was so grateful I could be there for this baby but the effect on me was so profound. I cried so hard my body hurt. I walked in my home with my 3 babies looking at my swollen eyes and I told them, Mommy loves big. Seeing them, made me happy. Seeing them smile, made me know, love is so grand and mostly it's amazing but sometimes, love hurts...and that's okay.

I am willing to love everyday despite the risks. Think about it. It's so worth it!

I love you!

Jordan