The good news is that The Healing Code does exactly that.  It provides an alternative to doctor visits, prescription drugs, and living with the fear factor.  The process works by eliminating stinking thinking and negative emotions.

Looking back over the landscape of your life, what have been some hallmark “stress” points?  Those stress producers are the key issues The Healing Code hones in on.

You say that you’re not sure what your “issues” are?  I often feel that way, too.  It isn’t necessary to define your issues.  The Healing Code system will work anyway.

If you are willing to devote six minutes per day to implementing the system’s exercises, you can see remarkable results flow throughout your life.  Your body’s neuro-immune system can begin the healing process immediately.

As an avid reader, this is one of the most valuable books I’ve ever studied!  I’ll admit that I don’t fully comprehend how it works, but the results speak for themselves.  Each day as I repeat the mantra, I visualize a vibrant, healthy body.

With a copy of your own book in hand, register with thehealingcodebook.com to access your bonus Heart Issue Finder.  It is a free, personalized test that can help you identify sources of issues in your life.

Also included in The Healing Code goldmine is a 10-second Instant Impact Technique that will help you diffuse daily stress.  Believe me, it works—I’m employing it often!  This morning as I started to make my bed, I discovered that a horde of ants wanted to share it with me.  10 seconds of “Power Breathing” lowered my stress while forcing their exit.  This technique can work with issues from the mundane (as in ants in your bed) to powerful constraining physical issues you might be dealing with.

In Health & Happiness,

Follow her initial honorees here.  This is an award she honored ten bloggers with, who offered value to the community.  These ten then selected ten other bloggers who are amongst their favorites.

The idea is to link back to the person who nominated you, and then select ten of your inspirational bloggers to receive the award.    Contact them, then write a post honoring them.

Thank you, Belinda, for including my blog amongst your ten.  It’s special to receive an award from you—a true inspirational leader to all of us.

While it would have been easy to select many more than ten (and I struggled with whittling down my list), I’m paying it forward to ten bloggers who have had an enormous impact on me.  They are not listed in any particular order.  Given the opportunity, I would rate each one of them as Number One!

Kat Hudson:  http://womenswebmarketing.com/ Making it EASY for Empowered Women to get online

Deborah Stevens: http://www.1lynnallen.com/ Our Cyber CPA

Nancy Burke Barr: http://ishouldhavelistenedtomymother.com/ The ultimate economic and spiritual unit of any civilization is still the family.  Clare Booth Luce

Andrea Goodsaid:  http://www.amsherpa.com/ Gently de-teching Online Marketing Step-By-Step So YOU Can Move Forward

Jennifer Akers: http://jenniferakers.com/ Professional Freelance Writer Sharing Resources For Your Writing Career, Online Business, and Family Life

Adam Sheck:  http://passion101.com/blog/ Bring The Passion Back To Your Relationship!

Dr. Erica Goodstone:  http://createhealingandlovenow.com/blog/ Healing Through Love Mentor

Wendy Hewlett: http://www.wendy-hewlett.com/ The MIND Is The Portal To Success

Monika Genehr:   http://myblog.monikagenehr.com for LONE MARKETING RANGERS – featuring ONLINE SYSTEMATIC MARKETING THAT WORKS NOW – be inspired – master your mind – be inspired today – train with the best to reach your goals – be free to be you – help others – HAVE FUN

Holly Fulford Jeffries: http://hollyfulfordjef.com/ Our Exercise Guru

It was an honor to pass the Mastery Blog Award on to some of the great bloggers I have had the privilege of getting to know and treasure.   You hold a special place in my heart!

Warmest regards,

“I ain’t what I ought to be,

and I ain’t what I’m going to be.

But I ain’t what I was!”

Sign in a Western Town

Grab a really dear friend and share this book together: Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, by William Bridges.

It can open doors for you that you didn’t know existed.  Bridges explains how “change is situational.  Transition, on the other hand, is psychological.  It is not those events, but rather the inner reorientation and self-redefinition that you have to go through in order to incorporate any of those changes into your life. “

If you fail to process the transitions in your life, you could easily continue to repeat the same behavior patterns.

Reading this book together with a lifelong friend of mine has been an amazing journey.  We have learned a lot about ourselves and each other.  I highly recommend this powerful book.
You’ll learn a lot about how you’ve processed transitions in your life.

To an Ever-Expanding Journey,

“The benefits of branding build upon each other, creating an exponential wheel of possibilities and revenue.  Each one relies upon the other to propel your business forward.”  Liz Goodgold

In our fast-paced world, one of the single most important aspects of online success is standing out in a crowd.  How do you do that?  How do you become a true leader?  Here’s a branding tool that will help you chart your course.

Liz Goodgold’s book, Red Fire Branding: Creating a Hot Personal Brand so that Customers Choose You!, is akin to having a personal consult with her.  She has traveled the world with her firecracker speaking style.   Liz is also a marketer who has worked with Quaker Oats and Macmillan Publishing, to name just a few of her contacts.

Do you know the psychology of color?  How about spicing up your business cards?  Or using email to further promote your brand.   Her book is chucked full of examples that will open doors for you in developing and promoting You, Inc.

Here are snippets of advice from a talk she gave recently.

If you don’t yet have your brand established, send a quick email to confidants, friends, and customers you feel comfortable with.  Ask them for three or four adjectives that describe you.  How do others perceive you?    You are looking for unique words.  Do several people use the same word to describe you?  If so, that’s called an overlap, and it can be powerful.
When establishing your brand, here are a few nuggets to incorporate.

1.    Proprietary vocabulary.  Use language that’s consistent with who you are and what you represent.   If you can be imitated, you are a brand.  Draft your model like this:  “I will promote, harness and repeat all the things that make me different.”   Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer use their vocabulary to promote themselves.  Mentors like Jodie Thompson and Kylie Doak are  stellar examples of carefully styling their words.  I thoroughly enjoy their Australian accents and have had many conversations with Kylie about the meaning of one of her expressions.

2.    Be authentic.  Your sincerity shines through.  Michael Moore, Gene Simmons and Sandra Boyle are people who I’ve connected with merely because they are true to themselves.  In my circle of friends, Andrea Goodsaid and Linda Grace Cox are two sources of inspiration who I take at face value.  They are so real!  The knowledge, inspiration and friendship I’ve enjoyed from these two dear friends is a gift that doesn’t stop giving.

3.    Have a unique name. When you think of Beyonce, Cher, Oprah and Celine, they need no introduction.  You conjure a mental image of them with just one name.  Friends I’ve met on the Internet like “Mentor Mama” (Nancy Burke Barr), “Cyber CPA” (Debbie Stephens) and “Goddess Jacqueline” (Jacqueline Gates) have carved their own niches with their signatures.  Remember,  nicknames are a sign of endearment!

4.    This is the ADD generation. You have to be quicker, faster, better than before 140 characters.  We have moved from “okay” to “k”.  The 30-second commercial is gone.  A 7-second hook is what you need, not the book.  When someone asks you, “What do you do?”  You have but a sentence or two to capture their interest.   “Invite and start the dialogue of dance. “  You want them to say, “Tell me more.”

5.    Dress for your brand in 100 different ways. Use R&D  (rip off and duplicate).  Who do you think of when suspenders (correctly called braces) are mentioned?  Larry King, of course.  What about poofy blond wigs?  Dolly Parton.  The guy with one glove?  Michael Jackson.  Have you noticed lately that Jonathan Budd is sporting hats in many of his videos?  Sue Price is another excellent example of dressing for success.  She looks beautiful and professional.  Her appearance makes you want to do business with her.

6.    Always give your prospect an opportunity to touch, feel, or read more. This might include a 10-minute consultation, viewing a movie or reading an ebook.   Reduce their fear so you can incentivize the program.  Reduce their barriers to purchase.

7.    Out of sight, out of mind, out of business. Marketing is a never-ending process.  Find your best method of communication and stick with it.   If that is newsletters, emails, videos, whatever mode is most comfortable for you, use it to the max!  Be willing to do some ruthless self-promotion.  Remember, there is a difference between branding and boasting.  The more you show your personality, the better engaging it will be.

8.    Remember the “F” word. The fortune is in the follow-up.

This list is a scant appetizer for “Red Fire Branding.”  It is a resource book that you will refer to often.  Truth be told, I purchased it on my Kindle.  Now I’ve ordered a hard copy to keep on my night stand.  Every chapter contains priceless information that’s an ongoing reference guide.

Is branding part of your business-building activities?  I’d love to hear what is working for you.

To Our Massive Success,

Dar

Caveat:  As an affiliate with Amazon, if you purchase this book through my site, I’ll receive a commission.  Thanks:)

Review with me a few snippets of history, through the eyes of Mr. Ellis, which make this timeframe come alive.  These events also altered the course of our Nation’s history:

The Silence. No direct mention of slavery was permitted into the Constitution.  Congress gradually moved slavery off of its political agenda.  Slavery would become a defining problem for the next 70 years.  Ben Franklin spirited anti-slavery causes.  In fact, this was the final project of his life.

The Farewell. George Washington assumed the presidency in 1789.  As the popular toast of the day put it, “He was the man who united all hearts.”  He was the “finest horseman in Virginia,” a brilliant general and a revered President.  When he chose to step down, the political wrangling that transpired was nasty, cutthroat, and paralleled many of our modern day political scenes.

The Dinner. The night is set for one of the most meaningful dinners in American history.  It is June, 1790.  Thomas Jefferson brings James Madison and Alexander Hamilton together for dinner wherein a deal is brokered.  Hamilton agreed to use his influence to assure that the nation’s capital would be on the Potomac River in exchange for Madison’s agreement to many provisions of Hamilton’s fiscal program.  Thanks to Jefferson, a political logjam is broken.

The Collaborators. As our first Vice President, John Adams was muzzled in the Senate.  He spoke out too loudly, so they silenced him.  While he had assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence, it seems that history has given him a back seat to Jefferson.  With the advantages of hindsight, Jefferson’s “strategic assessment of 1796 appears more and more prescient:  Whoever followed Washington was probably doomed to failure.”  Adams had the additional woe of not choosing his vice president.  Before the passage of the 12th Amendment, electors voted for two candidates, rather than one ticket.

Adams left office a bitter man, with Hamilton’s diatribe ringing in his ears.  He also left town before Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration, which only added fuel to the fire of their broken friendship.

The Duel. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were two opposites.  Hamilton was an illegitimate son who “became a dying man to the cause of Federalism.”  Aaron Burr was a Princeton-educated aristocrat and long time political rival of Hamilton.  (Okay, you say, we already studied this in history.)

Ellis brings the lives of these two giants to life.  You can readily identify with Hamilton and the scoundrel Burr in the events leading up to the duel, and picture the day at the Heights of Weehawken, New Jersey where the duel took place on July 11, 1804.  The stage is set and two shots are fired.  As you read, you can almost smell the gun powder from that fatal shot.

The Friendship. Jefferson was the first President to campaign for political office, much to Adams dismay.  They did not speak again for 12 years.  158 impassioned letters would flow from Adams’ quill pen to Jefferson.  He would respond with half that many in return.

On the 50th anniversary of Independence Day, the remaining three signers of the Declaration of Independence were Adams, Jefferson and Charles Carroll of Maryland.  With quivering hand, Jefferson “summed up the energy for one final spasm of eloquence.”

“May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government—  All eyes are opened or opening to the rights of man.  The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few, booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God.  These are grounds of hope for others; for ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollection of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”  (emphasis added)

Thanks for sharing this brief glimpse of our national history with me.   To do proper justice to Founding Brothers, you’ll just have to read it!  It is one of those books where the ending comes too soon.  The characters come to life through his writing.

I’d love to hear which book graces the top of your history must reads.  What does the 4th of July mean to you?

To Our Celebration of Freedom,

Dar

How do I honor these brave men and women?  I never knew even one of them.  They could have been some distant relatives or some friends of friends, but they weren’t anyone I knew or grieved about.  How do I honor them?

Having listened to some Veterans who spent time in the service defending our Country, I was struck by their selflessness.  They gave without thought of money, time or personal safety.  They just gave as long as they needed to.  Their passion united them.  This was a cause they were willing to die for.  It didn’t matter what their social standing was, their financial standing, race, color or creed.  They were committed to giving their all.  This was a cause for which they became nameless, “personless,” cogs in a wheel.  Yes, some received medals of honor, but what is the value of a metal without your loved one?  They became as one, filling whatever spot was necessary to get the job done, to make our Country a safe place to live.

Their commitment:  the job wasn’t done until it was done.  Many times they were wounded, came home and got better and then returned to the battlefield.  Why?  Because their job was not done and they were committed to seeing it through to the finish.

What was in the minds and hearts of those who gave their lives for our Country?  How did they cope with loneliness, days and nights of sleeplessness, missing and needing those they loved:  sweethearts, wives, children, parents.  They lived without the comforts of life we appreciate on a daily basis, not knowing, but fearing that their lives would end without ever seeing their loved ones again.  That’s loneliness!

What of their deprivation?  Going days on end without the ability to take a shower, sleep in a comfortable bed, be warm, dry, clean and have one’s hunger satisfied.  Even the smallest of creature comforts were often denied until the battle was over (and for some of them, eternally so).

What about fear—that icy gripping feeling that motivates one to superhuman feats in some instances and paralyzes to a scale of total incapacitation in others.  Fear that those, our fallen brothers and sisters, knew every waking moment to the day of their death.  That fear was a frequent if not constant companion, and yet one which they tolerated and oftentimes used to do what needed to be done.

This Memorial Day is a tiny payback to them.  Today will be truly special because I hold in my heart a deep and abiding sense of gratitude to these brave men and women, along with the families they left behind, who provided us with the comfort and safety and freedom to allow us to live unfettered lives.  I treasure your memory, your sacrifice, and I honor and thank you this Memorial Day!

With Gratitude for Your Sacrifice,

Dar

“People make a mistake who think that my art has come easily to me.  Nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not studied over and over.”  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Welcome to the world of the creative genius!

We feasted on a musical Jeopardy at the Creativity and Genius—The Fire Within Concert.  Jacquelyne Silver opened her wealthy storybook of knowledge and performed music that lingers in my mind (and yes, some ring tones on my cell phone as well).

In her own words, “There is an anagram in the word ‘listen’.  It has inside of it the word ‘silent’.  In order to listen you have to let things come into you in a new way.”   Here is the essence of creativity and what the creative process was that burned the fire that gave us music.

Check out a skeleton peek into the lives of just a few of the creative geniuses Jacqui reviewed in story and song.  Play their music in your mind and envision them sitting at their desks composing.   Appreciate the genius that goes into their works.  Remember that composers of music have only seven notes to work with.

1.    How did Beethoven write his 9th Symphony with seven notes, or his 5th Symphony where he was shaking his hand at the world because he was a young man soon to lose his hearing?  Listen for the silence.   It speaks volumes.  Beethoven was the man who held our hands as we walked from the classical period to the romantic one.  He “lived a lot in the minor key … a little bit smaller contraction of the heart,” as Jacqui sees it.  The Sonata Pathetique is his autobiography.

2.    Mozart composed music from the tender age of 4.  He actually held a grudge for 11 years against a less known composer, Muzio Clementi, and then plagiarized his work in The Marriage of Figaro. He died at the tender age of 35.

3.   Chopin spent an entire day looking for a “blue” note.  He was a different kind of drummer.  Chopin said there were 12 notes in the scale—you are making the other 5 orphans.  He was a sickly man his entire 39 years.  He tells his life story in the Prelude, Op. 28, #4.

4.    Ragtime has two components:  the left hand and the right hand.  “The left hand is the man who wears the [drab] gray suit.”  He is the foundation that gives the right hand all the leeway to play and have personality.  The right hand comes in offbeat and does whatever she wants to.  “She is the raindrops between the window sills.”    Scott Joplin, the king of ragtime, was lucky to be born after the Civil War.  He was free, but he was still considered chattel.  He picked cotton in the fields for 18 hours a day.  Slaves didn’t know what else to do.  When you are in the field picking cotton, you sing to each other.  “Brother, are you okay? “ Let’s sing it all together, but softly so as not to bother the foreman.  Listen to The Entertainer as the slaves ask each other in the fields picking cotton, “Are you there?”

5.    Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera was written in D major—Chopin’s favorite key to compose in.  While Webber may not fit in the genius category as a composer, he mastered the use of the stage.  He knows Broadway shows—the lighting, the dynamics of stage production, and how to captivate an audience.

Jacqueline Silver’s passion for music has no boundaries; however, in the last several years she has focused on the younger generation’s lack of our Nation’s history and its music.  Are The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Yankee Doodle Dandy, or I’ve Been Working On The Railroad, lost songs (and history) to our children?

Jacqui created Silver Pathways to Music, a nonprofit organization with the devoted Mission Statement:

• To inspire children and the public-at-large to appreciate the depth, magnificence, and power of music and its endless varieties

• To connect young people to themselves, each other, and their historical roots through music, history and the arts

• To bring the healing powers of music to children, particularly those at-risk, and the public-at-large

• To encourage and nurture the natural creativity that lies in every child through music and the arts.

Towards that end, Jacqui produced a 4-part series DVD using a diverse cast of brilliant child actors who recreate 50 years of American history and its music.  This is a rich, emotional experience that transcends time.  It feels like you become a part of our beloved American history.

Each time I watch this movie I see new aspects of our history … my Grandmother arriving at Ellis Island … the connection of the transcontinental railroad … Gettysburg … the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  Combining music and history cements those events in your mind and heart.

I challenge you to listen to the type of music YOU enjoy with new insight and passion. Share with me how the appreciation and love for music has changed for you!

Yours With Passion,

Dar

~Ludwig van Beethoven

Can you fathom life without music?  How long has it been since you fed your passion for music at a concert that left you yearning for more?

Jacquelyne Silver’s concerts touch my soul.  She makes me laugh, cry, sing, and engage with her.  She will teach and entertain you.  You will leave her performance with joy in your heart, a firmer appreciation for music and an unbridled love for her music.  She is witty, erudite, versatile and oh so entertaining.

Jacqui was three years old when her ragtime-player father brought a piano home.  They both sat on the piano bench and he taught her two chords in the bass clef.  As she played a chord, he improvised the melody in the treble clef.  He would say “change” when she needed to switch to the other chord.

When the exercise was finished, she said, “Okay daddy, let’s change places now.”  She played back the melody he had just rendered, and told him to “change” at the appropriate time.  Thus began the brilliant career of a child prodigy.

From Juilliard (on a full scholarship at the age of 15) to Broadway, her repertoire has no limits.  She has worked in close collaboration with Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, Leonard Bernstein, Andre Kostelanetz, and Barry Tuckwell, to name a few of the greats.

Jacqui pulls you into the lives of the composers whose works she performs.  You leave her concerts hungering and thirsting for more knowledge about whatever form of music you appreciate the most.

In one of her performances entitled “Happy Bedfellows:  The Law and Music,” she explores the connection between music and the law.  “There are many famous composers who studied the law and indeed were active composers,” she shares.  Tchaikovsky, Robert Schumann, Gilbert & Sullivan and Cole Porter were but a few of the attorneys whose first love was music.

Jacqui brings them to life in her lecture and music.  For example, she told the story of how Robert Schumann’s parents sent him to law school.  He was an intellectual and a journalist, who came to music late in life.  He began writing about the law and connecting it with music.  Robert fell in love with his teacher’s daughter, Clara,  and after she turned 18 they were married.  This remains one of the great love stories in all of musical history.    He wrote a beautiful piece for children.  The music represents the imagination of a child dreaming.  As you hear Jacqui play Traumeria, new meaning flows into this comfortable, well-known melody.

As a very young child I was privileged to attend concerts given by Arthur Rubenstein, Myra Hess and Van Cliburn.  What sets Jacquelyne Silver apart from these world-renowned artists is her breadth of knowledge and how she can jump from fascinating details and music of Frederic Chopin to Scott Joplin’s ragtime, or Emmanuel Chabrier’s Habanera.  She imbues you with her passion for music—even if you don’t know the difference between a quarter and a half note!

Frederick Nietzschie states, “In music the passions enjoy themselves.”  My hope is that this few minutes of sharing a creative genius with you, will spark your originality.  Jaquelyne Silver  has certainly touched my life and given me “wings” to soar.

To Your Creative Passion,

Dar

P.S.  This Sunday, March 21, 2010,  Jacqui will be performing at the Athenaeum in La Jolla, California.  The  Concert title is the “Creativity and Genius–the Fire Within!”  She will be exploring where creative genius comes from through works by Beethoven, Chopin, and Duke Ellington, to name a few.  For ticket information call 858-454-5872.