What 'Don't Die' Means

I have been contemplating submitting a proposal for a TEDx talk to be held in Las Vegas in December. I am not sure I will yet, but in doing some research I came across this TED talk I felt was worth sharing.

A good thought -- and I could see this as an inspirational project for downtown Las Vegas. Hope you will enjoy your day thinking about this too.

Thank you, Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
https://www.facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/drsuccesphd

Random Act of Kindle Kindness

As August, 2012 comes to a close with the light of a Blue Moon, I wanted to re-post this offer that expires this Monday.  Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day Weekend.  If your travels take you to Queens, NY Resorts World New York, Gary Russo will be performing free at the 360 Bar, Sunday and Monday 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.  You will have more fun that a person should outside of Las Vegas!

Growing up on the East Coast my Dad and Uncles had a fun habit.  When we were caravaning to some family outing, the lead car generally paid for the cars behind.  When I began to drive, I continued the practice with total strangers.  Well, maybe if truth be told, as a teenager if I spotted a car driven by a hot guy, I would pay his toll!  Never got a phone number, but did get lots of hot smiles.

Since smiling started the Don't Die with Your Song Unsung story, I decided to create a Random Act of Kindle Kindness.  First, I priced the Kindle edition of the book at a silly .99 cents for the month of August 2012.  Happy anniversary Gary Russo!  Then I started going through my address book and randomly sending a copy a day to someone in one of my many, many circles.  In the gift message box I put this message:

You have received this book as a random act of Kindle Kindness celebrating the anniversary of the events in the book.  If you can, please pay-it-forward by purchasing a Kindle edition for a silly .99 cents for someone.  If not, please remember to smile as you enjoy this gift.  Thank you.   

I just started yesterday...and it has been so much fun -- and cheaper than a toll costs today.  Disclaimer:  I developed this process to help drive the SEO on the book.  If you can, try it.  At a minimum you will see how little it takes to smile and elevate your mood. 

Here is the direct link to Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Your-Song-Unsung-ebook/dp/B006EJFM36/ref=tmm_kin_title_0 

I would love to know how this makes you feel.  Please drop me a note at DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com  Thank you, Andrea Goeglein

Good Multiplies Part 2

Nothing like instant gratification to inspire me to keep moving forward.  That is particularly true when it seems like I am investing more time walking into a wind storm than being lifted by a wind at my back.

Last night I received this message from the person who got her copy of Don't Die at The Shade hotel and then purchased and additional copy for a friend in transition:

Thanks for sharing Andrea. . .And btw, coincidentally just today my friend arranged to start working part time so she can focus on what's important to her.

I love the way universe works.

All I can say is to that is I do too!  Enjoy your day, Andrea Goeglein, PhD
http://www.youtube.com/user/ServingSuccess
https://www.facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD 
http://www.linkedin.com/in/drsuccessphd
https://twitter.com/DrSuccess
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com

Maureen’s Gourmet Pepper Jam

February, and especially Valentine’s day, is dedicated to honoring love. Usually showing love in February means getting or giving a gift to someone you love.  I was fortunate to receive many gifts of love this February – most of them were not tangible.  One, however, was edible, Maureen’s GourmetPepper Jam. 

The jam was a gift from Lorraine Smith – the woman who gifted us with her only son as our son-in-law, Kevin Courtney.  

Maureen’s Gourmet Pepper Jam was a gift at many levels.  The first was obvious as my Valentine gathering guests devoured the platters of organic cream cheese smothered in this prized pepper jam. 

The second gift was the story of the woman who created the pepper jam and the company that now sells it – Maureen.  Maureen has been making pepper jam since her Dad started experimenting with different recipes some 40 years ago.  Now in her 7^th decade, Maureen is courageous enough to create a company to sell the jam her friends and family have enjoyed all these years.

People always ask me, “What do you mean by living a Don’tDie spirit?”  What do I mean?  I mean people like Maureen!  She could have made excuses or she could have achieved her goals and she made a choice anyone would be proud to support.

I think everyone should buy at least one jar to support her incredible Don’t Die spirit!

Congratulations Maureen.  Thank you, Lorraine.

Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com
www.ServingSuccess.com
YouTube

Hope to Recession-Weary Workers

Gary Russo, a construction-worker-turned-singing-sensation, releases Don’t Die with Your Song Unsung, a small book that translates his remarkable story into inspiration for every worker who feels stuck in a job and unable to pursue personal dreams.

NEW YORK, New York – November 7, 2011: Blue-collar worker Gary Russo literally rose above the noise and heat of his subway-construction job in New York to pursue his dream of singing in public. In Don’t Die with Your Song Unsung (ServingSuccess Publishing, November 2011, $15.95), a new book co-authored with Dr. Andrea T. Goeglein, he inspires others to pursue their dreams.

Recession-weary workers nationwide could use this inspiration. A recent Gallup poll showed that roughly one-third of U.S. workers are dissatisfied by the amount of on-the-job stress and 26% cite dissatisfaction stemming from a lack of promotion opportunities.[i] Worn down by a perceived lack of opportunity in a stressful workplace, workers have most likely shelved their dreams.

Russo’s story and Goeglein’s personal development commentary in Don’t Die with Your Song Unsung tell readers that they don’t have to settle for where they are. “I worked for a great company, but I was just going through the motions,” reflects Russo. “My life changed completely in 31 days. Now my goal is to help others understand that they, too, can pursue their dreams while also holding down a job and paying the bills. My message is: If I could do it, you can, too.”

Russo transformed what could have been a flash of fame into a lifetime commitment to help others smile, dream, and know the power of love. He stepped onto the main stage of his life through the magic of an August 2, 2011 YouTube video. Known as the “2nd Avenue Subway Sinatra,” Gary has shared his song and live-your-dreams message through media outlets such as Good Morning America, World News Tonight with Brian Williams, and Inside Edition, and at premier venues including New York’s famous Blue Note Jazz Club, Rockefeller Center, and the ING New York City Marathon start line, where a television commentator hailed him as “a New York legend.”

Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD, aka Dr. Success^®, is founder, curator, and author of the Don’t Die, Small Book, Big Impact personal development series. As an expert in Positive Psychology, she translates true stories into actionable inspiration. Andrea frequently appears on KAZ-TV’s AM Arizona; she has also appeared on the Rachael Ray show and on major radio networks across the nation.

Don’t Die books make affordable, high-impact gifts that convey support and encouragement during these tough times. They are available for purchase at Amazon and at http://www.ServingSuccess.com/

---

[i] Survey conducted August 10 – 14, 2011. Full results can be found at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/149324/workers-unhappy-health-benefits-promotions.aspx

Don't Die Thank You

One door closes

And other door opens...and many times there are many years between the door closing and the door opening. 

Have you ever been told that part? 

Hope is maintaining the state of knowing -- not just believing -- but knowing -- the door will open. 

Don't die waiting for it to open.  Remember to live a don't die spirit.

IPPA, Love and Gary Russo

A year ago I was attempting to yet again clarify the message I bring to my work and my clients.  This is what I wrote in my journal on August 12, 2010:

Science has proven what we instinctively knew – love is the answer no matter what the question, forgiveness is the key difference to creating a successful life lived forward or a distressful life stuck in the past.  atg 081210

At the IPPA Second World Conference, Positive Psychology luminary, Barbara Fredrickson, clarified what the emotion 'love' is when referred to as an emotion that builds and broadens well-being or happiness in an individual's life.  Love is the experience of positive emotions which are noticed in the momentary increase in the well-being of another, causing a sychronistic response that builds over time.*

Defining love in this manner explains why an entertainer -- like Gary Russo -- can feel love when he performs on his lunch hour to a group of people he does not know. 

Now here is something incredibly cool.  The photo in this blog was taken a few weeks ago at Barbara Fredrickson's presentation at IPPA.  The shadow of the mic is part of the original photo.  It just so happened that where I was sitting all of my photos of the slides had the mic in the way.  I was originally disappointed. Now that I am writing Don't Die with Your Song Unsung with Gary Russo, and the theme of that book is love, it feels more like it was meant to be there all along. 

*This is my interpretation of the slide presented.  The actual research is yet to be released. 

Happy singing, Andrea
www.DontDieBooks.com
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess

The Wisdom of Platitudes

You have probably heard, “Do what you love and the money will come”, “No matter what your plan is, the right people show up at the right time”, and “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

And you have heard me say, “Blah, blah, blah….”

I am writing because I was proven wrong this past weekend.  I will get to that in a moment.

First, I want to share how I laughed when the August issue ofO arrived a week or two ago.  As is my custom, I read What I Know for Sure first.  It was a piece on how Oprah has always followed her gut on her biggest life decisions.  I knew as I was reading the piece Oprah was speaking in part about the current tenuous nature of her creation of the OWN network. Currently, it does not have the best ratings, press or a very complete offering.  I can say the same thing about my Don’t Die™ brand.

I created and began marketing the first Don’t Die With Your Book Inside You workshop on June 14.  I had a modest goal of 30 participants.  That goal was set for two main reasons:  1)I wanted enough diversity in the room to make the workshop stimulating for the attendees and 2) I wanted it to be economically beneficial for me.  I chose Stillpoint Center for Spiritual Development as the location as much for convenience as I did for any business reason. 

What happened was the following:

Ten participants signed up.  Their hair was blond, their skin was brown, they represented countries near and far, there was no central spiritual or religious denomination.  Yet there was one thing they all had in common:   they came in for individual reasons and left 10 hours later knowing they shared more in common than any of them could have ever anticipated. 

After the first night of working together, one of the participants arrived with a gift for me.  In the gift bag I found two things:  a beautiful Thank You note to me for arriving as her teacher and a little bowl with the message To Teach Is to Touch a Life Forever.
Sometimes the business of personal development makes no economic ‘cents’ and yet investing in my passion to share the Don’t Die Spirit continues to make all the sense in the world.  Go figure!

Thank you Rose Pinard for seeing that before I did!

Graduation

Niece Andie Terzano graduated from high school yesterday and she happily looking forward to her next educational adventure -- the University of Wisconsin at Madison. 

Her graduation made me realize that is what the personal development journey -- otherwise known as adulthood -- is missing.  Graduations.  A clear sign you have completed your course work and are ready for your next adventure. 

Yet here is what I know. Even without a clear sign of completion, even without a diploma, even without a formal graduation, embracing the journey keeps you in a constant state of possibility instead of stuck where you have already completed your learning.

Just because there is no formal graduations at the different levels of personal development during adulthood does not mean you can't create some  Maybe that should be a Don't Die book title:  Don't Die waiting to Graduate Life!  Happy creating!

If you want to experience transforming your life lessons into a Don't Die Do Live book join me for a 1 1/2 day journey July 15 and July 16. 

I AM The Movie

In the category of ‘there are no coincidences”, about a week ago I found myself watching one of the final episodes of Oprah. Although I am a devoted fan, student and teacher of her work, I have not seen a segment on the air date in literally years. I specifically tuned in because I had seen a commercial describing the episode and it caught my attention. (So commercials do still work by the way.)

The episode was number 26 in her 30 day countdown and the guest academy award winning filmmaker, Tom Shadyac. His newest movie – actually a documentary – will not win any academy awards, yet it will contribute one of the user-friendly pieces on the concept of evolving consciousness. The movie is entitled I AM.

A life altering illness caused Shadyac to question his established concepts about success. He got to the same place I did when I wrote in my book, “This book is my attempt to dispel a myth that has been perpetrated on the unsuspecting masses for many generation. The myth I refer to is the one that assures if you do your homework, earn good grades, and graduate from the right schools, you will land a job or create a business that will provide you riches, happiness, health, and love; you will achieve your “happily ever after.”

My book and the movie I AM focus on the myth part of that sentence.

Go see the movie. It is worth the ticket price and more.

Dr. Success Challenge: Make a list – as long as you would like – about what is RIGHT with the world.

Enjoy. Peace be with you and thank you Roxanne W. Isbey, Jr. for the wonderful photograph.
Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
www.YouTube.com/user/ServingSuccess
http://www.dontdiebooks.com/
http://www.servingsuccess.com/
www.Facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD

Awareness Part 1 Zillion

I ended my last post with the sentence…
Her guidance during that time did not give me any comfort. I did not grasp that a situation could be terrible but I was still suppose to be doing it.

Here is what I should have written: Her guidance during that time did not give me any comfort. I did not grasp that a situation could be terrible AND I was still suppose to be doing it.

It took several years before the first glimpse of why Richard was called to “build it anyway”. We were in the Las Vegas airport going who knows where and I was visiting the bookshop as I always do before a flight. I eye caught the words that had haunted me for over five years,

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

I froze in place and then regained my composure enough to buy the book. I had the book finished before I landed. It fit the category of books I really enjoy and after which I have designed my own book writing life: A small book with big impact. The book, of course, was Anyway by Kent Keith.

The following week Richard and I were driving to Cottonwood, Arizona to work at our little hotel. I read the book to him as he drove. Tears welded up in Richard eyes from the Keith’s account of how the book came to be, the disappointments he endured and the strength he gained from the experiences. It was as though someone finally understood what Richard had gone through.

The myth of  “do the right thing and everything with turn out okay and you will be rewarded” was being dismantled with every line in I read.  A belief was being dismantled and a new reality was being born.

You do not do good things to be rewarded. You do go things because doing good is all you are suppose to do. The reward is in the doing, not in the receiving some reward.

Think on that!  Peace,
Andrea Goeglein, PhD
www.Youtube.com/user/ServingSuccess
http://www.dontdiebooks.com/

Anyway

It is my intent to fill in a lot of the story behind the scenes of Don't Die.  Here is today's installment.

Truth be told I enjoyed my prep day enormously. The book I was reading ended with a passage entitled Do It Anyway. I knew that passage, and I knew it well. It had come into my life in the late 1990’s. My spiritual advisor, Vicki, had introduced one line from the poem to me as a comfort. During the many years of work with Vicki, I agonized to understand a destructive business relationship my husband was involved in. Vicki attributed the piece to Mother Teresa, as did the book galley I read that day. I found out a few years later the passage was often attributed to Mother Teresa. The real author is leadership visionary, Kent Keith. Keith wrote the piece when he was a 19 years old sophomore at Harvard as part of a booklet created to teach leadership skills to high school students. The correct title is The Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership.

The Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership

By Kent Keith[1]

People are illogical,

unreasonable, and self centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good,

People will accuse you of

selfish ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win

false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today

will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness

Make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest of men and women

with the biggest ideas can be

shot down by the smallest

men and women with

the smallest minds.

Think big anyway…

People favor underdogs

but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building

may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help

But may attack you

If you do help them.

Help them anyway.

Give the world the best

you have and you’ll get

kicked in the teeth.

give the world the best

you have anyway.

Reading the concluding passage in the book galley flashed me back to the years 1997 through 2000 when my husband of struggled to get a project built. Each time I lamented whether we should be involved with the project, Vicki would say, “I don’t know if you should be involved but I do know Richard was meant to build this project. As I sat there in June 2007 I could remember every time Vicki quoted the line, “What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.”

Her guidance during that time did not give me any comfort. I did not grasp that a situation could be terrible but I was still suppose to be doing it.
Guess I needed to remember to: Live the 'Don't Die' Spirit©
Andrea T. Goeglein, Ph.D.
http://www.dontdiebooks.com/
http://www.servingsuccess.com/
866 975 3777 Toll-Free
www.YouTube.com/user/ServingSuccess

[1] Anyway:  The Paradoxical Commandments.  Copyright 2001 by Kent M. Keith. Inner Ocean Publishing, Inc. Makawao, Hawaii.

Success Event Last Chance

Thank you, Andrea

www.Facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD

http://www.dontdiebooks.com/

http://www.lvccld.org/



Bad is Stronger Than Good

I may have written about this research before, yet I find it comes into my daily conversations. I wanted to reiterate an important message in self-help, positive psychology, personal development -- or whatever you choose to call the process of life transformation -- and that message is this:

No one, no process, no program can promise you that life will be eternally happy and without pain and sorrow.  Bad things happen and we humans seem to remember those things more than we remember the good.  There is a physiological reason for that -- get over it!  It is a fact. 


However, and this is a big HOWEVER, you (and I) can traverse the sorrow and pain AND be happy.  Part of the answer is that we adjust our current attitude of 'normal' to meet the new situations instead of continually measuring life happiness using our past 'normal' as the yardstick.  That is an internal adjustment, not a statement about external realities.
Love * Learn * Prosper
and Remember: Live the 'Don't Die' Spirit©
Andrea T. Goeglein, Ph.D.
Dr. Success™
http://www.dontdiebooks.com/
http://www.servingsuccess.com/
866 975 3777 Toll-Free

Thank You

You may notice that I use the words Thank You a lot.  I sign a lot of my correspondence using that salutation.  I do that because it causes me to pause and think before I sign off.  Do I always mean it when I use it?  No!  But there is never a time I am not striving to mean it.  For me part of the Don't Die spirit is never missing an opportunity to transform a relationship.  For me that means never miss an opportunity to make a good relationship better, or a not so good relationship better.  Watch this short clip from TED.com 

Thank you!
Andrea Goeglein, PhD
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com
http://www.dontdiebooks.com/
http://www.servingsuccess.com/
www.Facebook.com/DrSuccessPhD

Self-Help Hogwash

I do not believe the cliche "all things happen for a reason" as many use it...when something bad happens there is some 'reason' why it happened and your job is to find out what that reason is and learn from it.

Hogwash.

There is only one reason anything happens and that is because the purpose of life is the transformation of the spirit from one level of connection to our spirit to hopefully more complex levels of connection to our spirit and our spiritual source. That is the reason we live and take each breathe. What shows up in our lives are just opportunities to continue to transform -- the kickin and screaming down the road of transformation is just the noise we make!

So, how is your Monday starting out?  Peace,

Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD

DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com

www.ServingSuccess.com

www.DontDieBooks.com

1 866 975 3777

Do You Want to be a Lap Dancer?

What is the price you are willing to pay to have financial success?

During a business strategy call this morning I found myself using a personal example of a low water mark for financial success.  Lap dancers.

Let me explain.  In the community I live, lap dancers out earn me by about 10 to 1.  Some might success that at 55 year old becoming a lap dancer is really not an occupational choice.  However, if you live in my community you would soon learn that is not the case.  So go with me for the moment -- let's assume I could choose to become a lap dancer and earn 10x more than I earn today per hour.

Would I do it?  It's legal.  This is not a question of 'am I choosing to do something illegal to achieve financial success?'  This is a question of 'exactly what am I willing to do to achieve fiancial success.' 

We all have to answer that question at some point in our business careers.  I found myself answering it a lot lately.  A few weeks ago someone mentioned the names of two highly intelligent men who happen to host talk shows that I think represent the 'no water mark' meaning the quality of the material and topics presented is so low that it does not even raise to the point of being a low standard of acceptable.  Since hosting a show is one of my many objectives, I could see clearly what I was not willing to do for success -- financial or otherwise. 

Which brings me back to lap dancers.  There comes a point in striving to be successful that you must face your 'lapdancer' question.  Your 'lapdancer' maybe a rude boss, late paying clients, publicly demeaning co-workers -- whatever and whoever you are ignoring just to keep earning money -- and do what is right for your spirit regardless of how it effects your financial success. 

Just thoughts.  Please share yours with me.  Thank you. 
Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success (tm)
www.DontDieBooks.com

Long time no write

Have you ever noticed that sometimes life requires you to stop doing things that you actually enjoy in order to do something you do not enjoy nearly as much?  Well, that is what has happened to me.  I actually enjoy writing a blog each week, sharing the blog posts of some noted and content-rich contributors, and just plain staying connected in a virtual way. 

However...you notice I did not say "here is my excuse"...sometimes life requires you to forfeit in the short term to achieve a potentially greater long term goal.  Choices, choices, choices!  Just like my cats:  Where you put your attention is where you get your results.

Here was my choice:  Continue to write my weekly blog or lay the groundwork for my newest venture The Crooked Road of Success inspirational media company.  The new venture won out.  My first book in the Don't Die series is out, many events are on the calendar -- well booked but not yet up on my public event calendar -- and trademarks and copyrights are filed. 

I've missed you even if you have not missed me.  Forty-six days into 2011 and a book is out, a TV segment has been filmed, a website built, the first Amazon sales completed and one fundraiser and four events booked.  Tired, yes.  Happy, yes.  Want to make me happier?  Buy the book!  Thank you.