When I speak about how raising your vibrations can support your success at work and in life, I often begin with a simple demonstration. I ask for a volunteer from the audience to join me up front and request for that person to smile. Then, I invite the audience to smile, too. “A big bright smile. Stretch those lips. Show those teeth. Don’t forget to breathe!” That always prompts a giggle. “Let’s hold this smile for about 20 seconds.” I encourage them to look around at all those smiling faces. There’s more giggling and laughter. Then, after the allotted time, I tell them they can stop smiling–if they want to.

“What happened? How did you feel?” I ask. The answers are always the same. They felt happier. Simply by faking a smile, you tell your body you are happy and your body responds by releasing feel-good endorphins into your system.

So, smile when you wake up in the morning, as you take your shower, when you’re in rush hour traffic and when you’re on the phone. As you walk into a networking meeting, greet everyone with a big, bright smile and you will attract people to you like a magnet.

Smiling is one of the best ways to raise your joy factor.

This scenic message on how to raise your Joy Factor is brought to you by Wendy and the beautiful Smoky Mountains. Take a few minutes to savor the beauty and be reminded of how to create a life that you love!

Lucky for them (and you), I have a secret: a writing practice requires time, but not a whole lot.

Set a timer for 15 minutes for a great jump-start to your writing practice (which is the ultimate jump-starter if you want to write short stories, songs, screenplays, books, articles for your business, or if you just want to go wider and deeper with your personal journaling). By setting aside a specific amount of time, you’ll remove the pressure for brilliance at the beginning, and you’ll have a built in mechanism to get you focused.

The rules of writing practice are few:
1. Write.
2. Keep writing.
3. Go with the first thing that you think of … jump on the train of thought and ride.
4. Don’t stop to think, judge, analyze, critique, ponder or check your spelling.
5. Tell the truth. Or not. Make stuff up that feels true.
6. Detach. Let go of expected outcomes. Accept perfect imperfection.
7. Stay with what matters. If you don’t care, you won’t care.
8. There are no rules.

As Woody Allen said: 80% of success is showing up. So grab a timer, set it for 15 minutes and show up for these starters:

- If I wasn’t afraid…
- Things that made me smile today …
- What do I need to show up for in my life?
- Marsha or Jan, and why?

Whoo hoo, look at that: you’re a writer!

Lucky for them (and you), I have a secret: a writing practice requires time, but not a whole lot.

Set a timer for 15 minutes for a great jump-start to your writing practice (which is the ultimate jump-starter if you want to write short stories, songs, screenplays, books, articles for your business, or if you just want to go wider and deeper with your personal journaling). By setting aside a specific amount of time, you’ll remove the pressure for brilliance at the beginning, and you’ll have a built in mechanism to get you focused.

The rules of writing practice are few:
1. Write.
2. Keep writing.
3. Go with the first thing that you think of … jump on the train of thought and ride.
4. Don’t stop to think, judge, analyze, critique, ponder or check your spelling.
5. Tell the truth. Or not. Make stuff up that feels true.
6. Detach. Let go of expected outcomes. Accept perfect imperfection.
7. Stay with what matters. If you don’t care, you won’t care.
8. There are no rules.

As Woody Allen said: 80% of success is showing up. So grab a timer, set it for 15 minutes and show up for these starters:

- If I wasn’t afraid…
- Things that made me smile today …
- What do I need to show up for in my life?
- Marsha or Jan, and why?

Whoo hoo, look at that: you’re a writer!

Even though I have had all of these teachings and experiences, I must say I don’t know if I have ever had as moving of an experience as a video I watched this morning put together by Sivan Garr.

Watching the video this morning was pure pleasure.   It was a truly remarkable experience.  It was something that was so “simple”, but at the same time was such a profoundly JOYOUS experience that I have to share it with you too.   It is the Joy Factor personified!!!

There is no doubt in my mind about our Universal Connection to one another after watching this video.   And I firmly believe that the deepest of wounds in our society and in our world could be actually and truly be healed with these three little words.  My  fellow brothers and sisters, “I Love You!”

Watch and enjoy!

I became rather attached to my party favor, and so blew bubbles out the window of my car on the way home when I was stopped at a red light. I did it kind of absently … I just blew and watched as bubbles floated on the breeze. I followed one sparkly bubble over the roof of the car next to me and caught the eye of the man inside. He was grinning from ear to ear … laughing as bubbles swirled around his car.

It was so much fun that I did it the next day.  And again and again.  I began looking forward to the back-up I’d usually encounter at the tolls I went through en-route to work (back in the olden days before ez-pass, etc.). I loved how people responded to the bubbles. Kids waved. A guy on a Harley honked. Teenaged girls in a Beetle cheered and waved. A man pulled up beside me and called out: “Will you marry me?” (how I responded is another story entirely … perhaps I’ll tell that another time, joy factor peeps …)

One day I arrived at the toll booth and the woman inside waved me on … “He paid for you,” she said, indicating the car that sped on ahead of me. “He said thanks.”

Fast forward 10 years, and I’m still blowing bubbles out my car’s window. I’ve seen cranky faces stuck in 5 mile back-ups turn to smiles; I’ve watched notoriously merge-adverse New York and New Jersey drivers open up and give way with ease; and now I even keep small bottles of bubbles in my car to pass out to the happiest responders when I’m in particularly slow traffic.

Blowing bubbles out of the window of my car has an almost (forgive the pun) effervescent effect on the world. And what an easy and delightful way to make a difference … spreading a little fun and adding my bit to the cosmic joy-factor.

Give it a try; I highly recommend it. 

I love food! When I am not eating, I am thinking about eating. If I did not exercise, I could easily weigh twice the amount I do now. Eating brings me joy.  I am a lucky girl - my husband Matt does most of the cooking for us. We are a perfect match, because cooking brings him joy.  When I do cook something, I use a recipe so I am assured to get the results I am looking for.

Strategic Optimism is the next ingredient to raise your Joy Factor. It is a strategy; a plan that will make sure that if you want to be optimistic, you will be. Being optimistic is easier said than done. With all of the negativity out there, you have to be confident in your belief that things will turn out well.  Are you seeing the world through rose colored glasses or really dark sunglasses?

It begins with choosing to be optimistic. Each day you wake up with a clean slate. You determine what kind of day you are going to have. Life will give you rotten tomatoes at times, yet when you have a plan for your optimism, you have something to fall back on.

Kahlil Gibran says, “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens to you.”

Choosing joy is a practice. The first time you make a soufflé, it may fall. The second time it will get a little easier. As you continue to practice being optimistic, it will get easier and you will start to reap the benefits of putting your attention on something positive. Which is more appealing to you, thinking about the best thing that can happen or the worst thing that can happen? Try both ways and see which leaves a better taste in your mouth. You can then decide which you want seconds of. Let the tasting begin……

If passions a

Passion can be expressed as a feeling of unusual excitement, enthusiasm, or compelling emotion towards a subject, idea, person, or object. When you have a passion for something you have a strong positive affinity for it. It is amazing what happens when you put your attention to the things that are most important in your life.

As a certified facilitator of The Passion Test, I have watched magic happen again and again. One of my clients here in Atlanta took the test in October of 2009. I saw him at a meeting on Tuesday and he told me that since he took the Passion Test his income has doubled. That made my heart sing. Did I mention that The Passion Test is a test that you will never fail?

Imagine what your life will be like when you are clear about what your best life is. As Janet Bray Attwood, co-author of the New York Times bestselling book The Passion Test states, “Clarity is power.” Once you gain clarity on your passions, you can use them as a compass, moving you in the direction that brings you the most fulfillment.   Doesn’t that sound delightful?

Tomorrow’s ingredient du jour: Authentic Expression

Just as there are a variety of shoes that people like to wear to parties, there are a variety of ways to take care of  yourself during the holiday season. Here is my top 10 list of ways to take care of yourself and raise your Joy Factor:

1. Be comfortable-not just in what you wear, also in who you are being. Be authentic and real.

2. Everything in moderation! You all know how much I love to eat. If I had to deny myself of anything, I would not be happy. My rule of thumb is the sweets that I eat this time of year have to be home made-yum!

3. Take time for you-even if it is 30 minutes a day, find the time to take a walk, go to the gym, meditate or stretch-you are so worth it!

4. Acknowledge yourself for all that you have done today, rather than all that you need to do–what a concept!

5. Remember your gratitude attitude!

6. Choose joy–get that scarf out!

7. Do a random act of kindness. My favorite is to pay the toll on GA 400 for the car behind me.

8. Let go of your emotional baggage. If you are upset, scream in the car for a few minutes.  If you are sad, go watch Seven Pounds with Will Smith. Move through the emotion-you will feel much better.

9. Do something that you have been procrastinating about. Call and make that dentist appointment or better yet, call your mother.

10. Wear comfortable shoes
If there is one thing that I know for sure about raising your Joy Factor,  it’s that it is easier to do in comfortable shoes.

Take care of you this time of  year.  It will make you feel better than finding the best pair of comfortable shoes–on sale!

That kid inspired me and reminded me that there are times in our lives that we are going to “crash”.  At that point, we have a choice. Do we get up, dust our knees off and keep going? Or, do we stop a minute, access the damage and make choices accordingly?

The key to raising your Joy Factor, so that you are  living a life that you are madly in love with, is to be conscious about your choices.  There is no right or wrong-only what is. If you can bounce back up like one of those weebles, remember them?  Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down. Take what you can from the experience and move on.

Everytime we are stopped on our paths, it is for a reason. Opportunities to make sure we are going in the right direction are presented to us again and again.  When these choices arise, I invite you to use the components of the Joy Factor to support you in deciding what your next steps are. Is it in alignment with your Passions and Purpose, your Authentic Self? Does it support your commitment to Self Care and Strategic Optimism? Look there and then choose what your next steps are.  In the meantime, look out for fences and remember to use your brakes-sometimes slowing down will prevent that crash! That is a another conversation for another day.

With conscious joyful awareness,

Wendy