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In York Region, which I live, there are 1 million people speaking 60 languages. Can you imagine? How can we learn to live together in peace and tolerance and love?

The York Regional Police and York Region School Board came together with the intiative of bringing schools together. This is the fourth year and it started with 6 schools (or something like that) and today there were 37 schools.

The intention of the Peace Tree Spirit mini-conference is to share ideas, learn new ways of how to bring peace to our homes, schools and community.

The kids watched a movie written and directed by Mitra Sen called The Peace Tree. It is about two little girls, one Muslim and one Christian, both dream of celebrating each other’s festivals Christmas and Eid. But when they share their dreams, they are met with resistance from their parents who express their concerns. Through their struggles, they create a unique symbol – The Peace Tree, a tree that highlights the symbols from all our cultures and faiths to reflect the beauty of ‘diversity in unity’.

You as the youth talk about PEACE now let’s see you live it.

How can you be a Peace Tree Ambassador to your community?

All my best,

Sandra

WHEN YOU SAY ‘BUT’ YOU DIMINISH THE WHOLE STATEMENT
I met with Manny Maciel, Principal at Connected2Inspire – www.connected2inspire.com, today and it was an incredible pleasure. We talked about our visions, our passion, our beliefs, and how we both desire to empower and be of service.

I was telling Manny about my Teleclass last night, Belief and Trust in Yourself: Achieving a new Level of Success and Personal Fulfillment”. I covered the first half an hour and shared my story, walked them through an exercise on how to determine whether a core belief and/or value is serving you or not. I also talked about how we hold limiting beliefs and we need to rid of them. I also touched on learning to unconditionally love and honour ourself, speak our truth, set boundaries and determine our worth. When we do this, the growth within, is manifested in our external relationships: self, family, children, health and wellness, finance, etc.

This Woman Is On The Call last night
This woman is on the call last night and she tells me that she has heard what I am saying and gets it. She goes on tell me a little about her new business venture, which is working with children outside of the school system. I hear in her voice and by her word choice that she does not fully understand what I have been saying. There is doubt and fear.

LIKE THIS WOMAN, WE THEORETICALLY GET THINGS — WE NEED TO FEEL IT AND EXPERIENCE IT! When Tom (the other speaker – Tom Martin Media) and I begin to question her and give her our feedback, I share with her that I hear limiting beliefs coming out of her mouth:
She says, “I know but…”
“I really want to start my business BUT I know that it is not a great market”
” I am following my passion BUT I do need to make money now”.

TAKE ‘BUT’ OUT OF THE VOCABULARY

This is true whether you are stating a firm intention or saying thank you for something.

I was just remarking that we have this bad habit of responding with a “BUT” statement.

If someone pays you a compliment, respond “thank you”.
If someone wants to take you for dinner and insist on paying, say “thank you”
If the news and everyone around you is negative – do not listen to it – focus, believe and trust and the unvierse will provide.

I have stricken BUT from my vocabulary – When I apologise I do not say “BUT”. I am working to make sure I provide a sincere apologyy. Initialy, I did replace it with HOWEVER , yet this also has a diminishing quality to it. It is baby steps as I say … I will do it! Be conscious of my word choice. YOU TOO!

Let’s see how you do this week. Another suggestion is to replace BUT and HOWEVER with AND.

All my love,

Sandra

WHAT CAN I SAY…
I know that I have much wisdom to offer. Today it was my turn to receive wisdom from Simon, the young man, who is helping me with my social network side of my business.

I learned about tweet deck. I learned how to re-tweet. I learned how to directly respond. I have to say I am a good student.

You have so much to offer. As I told my son today, “it is not the destination that is so important, rather it is the journey along the way”. Don’t be in a rush and enjoy the ride. Stay open to the possibilities of learning and teaching. There is a place for both.

You Rock!!

All my best,

Sandra

A GREAT DEBATE ON MENTORING
On the way down to dinner last week I got into a great debate about mentoring. I said that it is too bad that there is no mentoring anymore in businesses. I continued that because of the “old way of thinking – competition, greed, manipulation and what’s in it for me – has stopped people from sharing for the fear that if you teach someone and give them too much knowledge they will replace you”. He said that this thinking still exists and even he has trained so many people in his field, mortgages, and once they learn everything they seem to leave and search for more. He shared a story of a friend of his wanting to change careers and go into another area of business. He happened to have a women friend in this area so he asked if his friend can speak to this man as she has been in the line of business he is interested in for over 25 years.

When he followed up with his friend he asked how the information session went. His friend told him that this women really didn’t share much. When this guy called his women friend to talk he asked why she did not share more of her knowledge and she said, “if I give all of my secrets away then this person can take some of my business away from me”.

Rather than sharing, this person only gave a small piece of her knowledge. What is puzzling to me is that IS THIS NOT THE ESSENCE OF MENTORING? — sharing, guiding, teaching, expanding ones’ knowledge to the point that the “chick is ready to leave the nest and all she needs is a gentle push”. It is to create and expand vs. reduce and eliminate.

THIS, TO ME, IS THE OLD WAY OF THINKING!

WHAT “WAS” THE PUPPOSE OF MENTORING?
To me, mentoring was a way to shape the future of your company; Teach them all that you know so that when you leave you will have a strong foundation and continue practices and skill sets that are working. It was a way for the “new kid” to learn and fall down, like a baby learning to walk, and get up again. Also a way for the company to shape these people.

With the increase of fear in our business world, mentoring has completely gone by the way side — at least in the old school type of business.

THE NEW WAY OF THINKING – BUSINESSES THAT COLLABORATE, SHARE AND SUPPORT
Thank goodness there has been some paradigm shifts in our business commnunity. We see this in companies like Google and Zappos, 2 of many, where there is no separation – people come together and collaborate. I remember watching Oprah and the CEO of Zappos was on Skype talking about the business and you can see that his desk is a cubicle just like everyone elses amongst his workers. He was part of the team. This company is extremely successful.

LET’S BRING BACK MENTORING IN A NEW WAY
First and formost people need to know there is enough for everyone. Second, is that even if I did teach someone all that I know, the person taking everything in will take what resonates AND THEN MAKE IT THEIR OWN. It is so critical that you find YOUR WAY and DECIDE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.

I happened to be at a Tony Robbins Toronto Power Group two nights ago — I will not say it was an accident for I do not believe in this — it was meant to be even if I thought I was going to hear Loren Slocum (who was speaking) talk about her book Life Tuneups. Well to my surprise when I sat down all this cheering and dancing began, the Tony Robbins “thing” and I just decided to be in the moment and go with the flow.

In this learing session the idea of mentoring was brought up — knowing that MENTORING can come from many ways/sources – READING, LISTENING TO CDs, WATCHING DVDs, attending events and courses, a friend or even a stranger. All of these are important as tools and guidance systems to bring you along in your journey of awareness. WHAT I REALIZED FROM THIS EVENT, is that so many of these people are looking to “copy” Tony Robbins and do what he did. Even though Loren kept reiterating that YOU MUST MAKE THIS YOUR OWN, the message is a bit conflicting for there is much talk of Tony’s 3 points of this, and 7 points of that (I cannot remember all of them) so I wasn’t sure how you can completely make this your own when there is a system to follow.

MY IDEA OF MENTORING TODAY — first and formost there are no gurus as we are all equal and the answer lies within each of us. Where mentoring is important, is the guiding part, teaching, sharing knowlege and moving people along in their journey of awareness — empowering them so that they recognize their own amazing potential. A mentor may be a catalyst in another person’s growth. The mentor encourages a person to be true to who they are and to take things and make them their own.

I have an idea I am working on which includes this type of mentoring. It means reducing fear — thus the person teaching and guiding is supportive, encouraging and empowering. I want to reach into the population of people who have been forced to retire even though they are so valuable to our society and youth and share their knowledge, experiences and wisdom. I am sure that the learning will be two ways. I am excited about this endeavour and I put it out to the univers.

I cannot wait to unfold this idea. In the meantime, read and listen to others who you deem “successful” – take what resonates and PLEASE MAKE IT YOUR OWN for it is your life and you need to be the main actor in your own life not playing the role of someone else.

That’s it for today. Have a GREAT day.

All my love,

Sandra

WHAT IS A MENTOR
To me a mentor is someone who will guide you, teach you, inspire you and empower you to be your best.

There was a time when mentoring was a big part of our world, both personally and professionally. It has gone by the wayside mostly due to our current business culture: competition, fear, and no time. HOWEVER, you can find your mentors in different ways:

* READING AND LISTENING TO AUTHORS & SPEAKERS
* VOLUNTEERING AND INTERNING (FOR FREE!)
* ATTENDING MOTIVATIONAL AND INSPIRATIONAL GROUPS – Just went to the Tony Robins group for Toronto, Goal Achievers, Toastmasters, T. Harv Ecker, etc.
* BEING OPEN TO PEOPLE YOU MEET EVERY DAY IN YOUR LIFE — MESSAGES COME FROM ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE

I am looking to bring back mentoring for our youth!

Keep you posted.

All my best,

Sandra

EMPOWER YOU BY MAKING YOU AWARE
Maritza called me last week and told me how the Banks in the US are going to be increasing some of their fees. She saw a TV show explaining which questions to ask and what to look for to avoid these fees. She wanted to share this with you so that you can make good financial decisions.

When choosing a bank, you may want to find out how many branches they have and how accessible they are if you need to get cash from the ATM.

How to avoid Bank fees:
During these tough economic times consumers are becoming very diligent in spending. This week we decided to talk about some of the bank fees consumers can avoid.

· ATM Fees: If you use the ATM frequently make sure your bank has plenty convenient location near you. If you use other banks you might get charged $3.00 or more.
· How many checks you write a month: Some no-fee accounts limit the number of checks you may write a month and charge higher fees if you exceed that limit.
· How much funds you keep at the bank: The higher your average balance, the more likely you are to get “Free Checking with Interest”. According to a fall 2008 survey from Bank Rate.com found the average balance required for a no-fee interest bearing account was more than $3,460.00 if you want to avoid monthly fees.
· Overdraft: recently CNN Money mentioned that banks are limiting the amount you can have for overdraft:

THINGS ADD UP
I recently in the last year switched my bank and I did so based on a number of factors, one being their service charges. I have chosen specific types of accounts which allow me to write unlimited checks, go to the ATM and withdraw as many times as I want, look at my account as many times as I want, etc.

I LOOK AT ALL MY STATEMENTS:
There have been times when I looked at my different statements and I have been charged with a service charge. I call my account person up and ask her why I have been charged. She tells me this is an error and she will correct it. I ask her to credit me, even on the smallest amount, for it is my money and the banks make enought money off me and you!

IMAGINE BOOKING A SPA DAY WHEN THE COST IS ONE PRICE AND THE FINAL PRICE IS ANOTHER
So you see an add on tv or hear on the radio for a Spa Day, $100 and then you call up and then the person begins to tell you this is only for one treatment the second one is half price and this does not include the lunch, or towel service, … You get my drift. What seemed like the great deal is now going to cost you over $200. You discovered by asking questions and digging deeper.

As women we are good at uncovering the hidden costs when it comes finding those great sales and really getting to the real costs — especially finding out that your favourite stores has your favourite designer stuff on sale.

It is no different with your finances — do you want the money to stay in your pocket or theirs???

ME, I PREFER IT STAYS IN MY POCKET.

All our best,

Sandra & Maritza

STORY OF THE APPLE TREE
During the Jewish New Year I held a service at my house that deviated from the traditional service and captured more of the spiritual side. Myself and Karen Kofman, Co-Founder of SpirituellDivas.org, put together a lovely service. There was a component of letting go and releasing and then another part of creating and visualizing. It really was beautiful — it was mixed with chanting, and singing and meditation.

The Story of The Apple Tree…
One woman shared a story (I will repeat it to the best of my abilities) that she reads to her grandchildren each year and it is about a small apple tree that lies amongst all these larger, more beautiful trees. When the apple tree looks up all she can see is sparkles and glistening and stars on the leaves above her – how magnificent if only she can be bigger and have the same on her leaves.
She asks G-d, “when will I be bigger and shine like the stars on the leaves above me?”. G-d answers, “Patience little one you have the same beauty”.

The little apple tree did not feel this way and continues to look up and see all the glitter and beauty and stars on the leaves and branches above her coming from the other trees. She asks the same question again and again. This goes on for a while when finally G-d says, “little tree .. you ask about your beauty compared to the bigger trees above you and the shining stars that you see on the leaves of the bigger trees- it is now time that you understand” – an apple is drawn from her branches and cut in half. G-d turns to the apple tree and says, “little tree what do you see?”

The little tree is perplexed and says to G-d, “I see the picture of a star”. G-d replies, “Yes, little one, for in each one of us is a star waiting to shine — it starts within”.

This is a wonderful story to share with a child and visually show them the star. I suggest that you take an apple and cut it in half and then cut another slice off and you will see one star after the next.

Whether you are young or old this story reminds us that within each of us lies our shining star!

Go for your dreams and shine!

All my love,

Sandra

The Power of Gratitude

Posted Thursday, October 1st, 2009. Filed Under Voices of youth | Leave a Comment

I have talked about this before. I often hear the youth described as “entitled”, just wanting things now, not wanting to take the time to learn … In order to receive – money, gifts, things, love — you MUST be grateful for where you are at right now. The only thing you are entitled to is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and it begins with you.

This is a nice video to remind you….

Dance In the Rain Movie

All my best,

Sandra

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