Time = The True Currency of Life

Would all of your troubles disappear if only you had more money? 

Maybe you focus on optimizing your health.  After all, if we don't have our health, what do we have?  

What about enough love?  Of course, feeling loved and appreciated is vital. If we don’t feel love in our life, something significant is certainly missing.  

Where does faith, or your beliefs and values, rank in your list of priorities?  

The truth of the matter is that each of these elements is critically important for us to feel fulfilled and satisfied with our lives. 

Faced with the possibility of running out of it a while back, I came to understand TIME as the most important element - our most valuable commodity. 

Time is the canvas upon which our entire
masterpiece of life is painted.  

We all battle time.  We strive to get just a little bit more of it and aim to manage it more efficiently.

Without having enough time we feel harried, hurried, stressed, and flustered.
  
If you'd like to elevate the quality of your life, here are a few proven strategies to help you make the most of your time.

1.  Do What You Love

Your life is yours to create.  

Each day, you make choices about how to spend your time. We do our best work when we're centered, focused, and when we feel connected and supported.

You can design your life so that, for the most part, you’re doing things you enjoy.  Choose a career or business that ignites your passions and lights you up, and you’ll never “work” another day in your life.  

2.  Associate with Positive People 

What more can you do to make the most of your time?

You can choose to spend time with people who encourage and inspire you.  Dedicate your time to those you love and those you love spending time with.  

When it comes to family and colleagues, you may not always have complete freedom of choice.  You probably don't love spending time with your negative uncle or your nit-picky boss.  

Simply limit the amount of time spent with those who don't lift you up or share your values.

3.  Be Aware.  How are you showing up? 

Stop trying to multitask.

Yes...I said that.  

I'm talking to the moms I see chattering away with the cell in one hand, and juggling groceries, the car keys and the baby carrier in the other while trying to get the van open.  

I'm also talking to the busy business owner mindlessly eating lunch at their desk and reviewing month-end accounts while clearing out the email and making a sales call.  Stop.

Instead, focus on one thing and be present.  

To increase your ability to focus, turn the phone off and step away from the laptop or tablet.  Not all the time, of course, but during specific focus times for 45 to 90 minutes intervals each day.

Practice devoting your time and attention to the actions you’re engaged in or the people you’re engaging with, even when you could easily be focused on the running 'To Do' list.  

When you're at home, focus on your family, making dinner, the household repair, or the task at hand. 

When you're at work, pick one project and focus on completing it.   

Your productivity will soar and you'll be amazed at how much pressure is eased by managing your time this way. 

4. Check Your Attitude

Of course, we all have responsibilities and can't always engage in activities we love.  Every now and then there are things we must do that we don’t absolutely love. 

You can transform the quality of how you feel about those activities by simply adjusting your attitude about them. 

Here are some examples to illustrate:

Who loves to clean toilets?

I absolutely DESPISE cleaning them. (3 boys. 'Nuff said)

Who loves a clean bathroom?

I love a pristine, sparkly loo just like everyone else does. 

Who loves doing laundry?

Laundry ranks with toilet cleaning and pulling weeds on the domestic chore list. 

I do like that my kids wear clean clothes to school every day.  I LOVE the luxurious spring breeze fresh scent of a clean bed, especially after a long, busy day!  

See how you can adjust your mindset so you'll feel good about almost everything that must get done...even if it's something you don't enjoy doing?

You can even become completely present at this moment so that you enjoy reading this post by saying to yourself:  "I'm going to get everything I possibly can from this article and apply it to improve my life." 

By focusing on how you use your time as a resource, all the other areas of your life will be impacted in a positive way. 

Until next time, Make Every Second Count. 

Now, it's your turn...  

If you'd like to do some focus work on time management, I'd love to help.

Schedule a Complimentary 'Slay Your Time Dragon' Strat Chat with me?By the end of the call, you'll be more focused, have an action guide, and a plan to get the absolute most out of every minute so you can design and create the life you love

About the Author: 

Andrea Raco, is a Certified Success and Life Enrichment Coach, Founder of Coach for Life, Creator of 'Your Masterpiece Life' ~ a program designed to help you build the life you love, curator of Gold Key Club and Coach For Life Connections, Wife, Mom of 4, Breast Cancer Survivor and lover of LIFE. 

Contact her today to help you design and create Your Masterpiece Life.
andrea@coachforlife.ca

Top 10 Fail-Safe Goal-Setting Tips to Guarantee YOUR Success

Staying motivated to see the realization of your goals and dreams is a process that requires practice.

It can be especially challenging when you’re not looking forward to doing what it takes to achieve them.  Maybe you’re even like me and inclined to procrastinate a bit here and there.  After all, there are so many distractions in the summer.

Here are some keys to success that will help you stay on track and achieve the goals you've set out for yourself:  

1. Visualize the end result.  Creating a visual of what you ultimately want is a success key to understanding how to motivate yourself so that when you do achieve your goal, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment.   

Action Step: Visualize how you’ll feel once you’ve accomplished each goal.  List on a piece of paper how you’ll celebrate each step as a win once you get the tasks out of the way.  Maybe a weekend away with your partner or a trip to the spa or a round of golf is in order?  Find something that motivates you.  Create a vision board (Pinterest/Hard Copy with pictures) and hang it or place the list where it will remind you daily of the desired result and the celebration of success. 

2. Determine what drives you.  

• Are you driven by your own needs?
• Are you more motivated by the needs of your family or loved ones?
• Maybe you’re driven by the needs of your clients?
• What are you willing to do to achieve your goal?
• How badly do you want it? 

Maybe your drive comes from wanting to pay off your debt and provide more stability for your family.  Maybe it comes from wanting to fit into all those beautiful clothes you have in your closet.   

Action Step:  Once you understand WHY you want to accomplish your goal, you can exploit your drive to stay motivated and focused.  Write down your WHY and post it at your work station, on your refrigerator or somewhere you will see it frequently throughout the day.  To stay focused on your goals, be sure to look at it often.

3.  Reward yourself.  Rewards are the very best motivators.  Every time you accomplish something on your goal list, motivate yourself with a tiny prize.  Set up small rewards for each goal you achieve or for accomplishing a step toward a bigger goal.

Action Step:  Staying motivated is infinitely easier when you have something exciting in the immediate future to strive for or something to anticipate:  a cup of specialty coffee or tea, a break to read one of your favourite books, or watch a movie with your partner, or maybe some time to take a mini getaway.

4.  Work Your Plan.    Creating a realistic schedule is an essential success key when you’re trying to stay motivated to accomplish your goals. 

Action Step: Review the timeline you had in mind for accomplishing your goal.  Is it realistic?  Give yourself a set amount of time each day to do something that moves you toward completing your goal.  If you’re not finished when the time’s up, save the task for the end of the day add it to your to-do list for the next day and reprioritize. 

5.  Change your setting.  Variety is the spice of life, right?  Sometimes, it’s difficult to get motivated when you’re endlessly looking at the same view.  Just changing the scenery may be all you need to get the ball rolling. 

Action Step:  If it’s nice outside, take your work to the porch or poolside.  Move your laptop to a window for some natural light.  Live in the city?  No problem.  Take advantage of the free wifi at nearby coffee shop, grab a latte and get to work.

6.  Divide Responsibility/Schedule/ Automate. Many of us are juggling a tonne of stuff – a career, the demands of our children, the household, long-term plans, and extra-curricular activities that also take our time and attention.  

If you have a spouse or children, consider delegating some responsibilities to them.  Kids who have responsibilities in the house grow up to be more self-sufficient and independent.  They can pull weeds, sweep, vacuum, take out the garbage, set and clear dishes, fold and put away laundry, walk the dog and clean out kitty litter.  

Maybe your spouse can pick up the groceries on the way home instead of you using your break to run all those errands.  Plan your grocery shopping so it happens once a week instead of five times a week – you’ll save money this way too.  Bills can be paid online to avoid a trip to the post office or to the bank.    

Action Step: Hold a family, or team, meeting to divide responsibilities throughout your household or office so you can free up some valuable time to devote to achieving your goals.

7.  Review Your Reason – Your WHY.  So massively vital to your success, I’m mentioning it again.  Think about your values, what you’re passionate about and how those are tied into what you’re trying to achieve. 

Action Step: Take a look at your goals and align your action steps with them each day, each week and at the end of the month with an understanding of WHY you want what you want.  Knowing why you want to achieve your goals, and understanding what you have to do to accomplish them, will draw you, or pull you, toward your desired results.

8.  Utilize PUSH power.  This may seem like a dirty little trick; however, sometimes it’s a necessary evil to stay motivated.  Try looking at what you want to achieve from a different angle.  Consider what would happen if you didn’t reach those goals.  Ultimately, people do things for two reasons – fear and desire.  Desire to achieve an outcome.  Fear to avoid one.   

Action Step: Think of what you could lose if you don’t achieve your goal.  What will happen?  How will it make you feel?  Analyze what’s at stake and let the fear of THAT outcome motivate you into action.

9.  Raise the Bar.  Striving for excellence is key to self-improvement and personal accomplishment.  Raising the bar each time you achieve a goal forces you to advance your skills, develop personally, become more efficient, become a strategic planner and sets you up for living a life by design, as opposed to by default. 

Action Step:  Raise the bar every month or even every week.  If you have a goal in mind, ask yourself what it would take to step it up one or two more notches.  I’ll bet you’ll start to see your motivation increase as you stay focused on achieving your goals.

10.  Make Sweat Your Friend.  Regular, daily exercise has been proven to boost confidence levels, increase motivation and elevate people from a state of depression (myself included). Get active and clear your thoughts by incorporating a brisk walk into your daily routine.  Up-level your routine by adding in some hills or a hike in the forest.  

Walking or jogging not your thing?  Try swimming a lap or two in the pool before work or after dinner.  Any kind of physical activity will help you get motivated and get those endorphins popping. 

Action Step: Commit to 30-minutes per day of any type of exercise that raises your heart-rate.  Your heart will thank you for it and you’ll see your productivity, and disposition, improve.   Use your peak energy to the best advantage by listening to your body – when is the best time for you to work it out? 

Follow these tips and action steps to help you maintain your motivation so you can turn this New Year into YOUR year of success and joy.  

Remember, action is magic.  Stay focused on your goals by reviewing them daily, and disciplined by taking positive steps forward, evaluate what’s working and do more of that.  Avoid what’s not working.  Do these things daily, weekly and monthly and you’ll move from where you are to where you want to be.

Bonus tip:  Ask for help!!  It’s what coaches are for.  We help you stay motivated and on track to achieve your goals and turn your dreams into reality.  

If you'd like some help breaking your big life goals down into action steps and creating a plan to achieve them, I'd love to chat.

Contact me today to schedule your ZERO COST Rapid Results Strategy Call.  andrea@coachforlife.ca.

About the Author:

Andrea Raco, is a Certified Success and Life Enrichment Coach, Founder of Coach for Life, and Curator of Gold Key Club ~ a private community for Ladypreneurs, Supermoms, and Sisters making a difference in the world.

For more information about her programs and services, visit www.coachforlife.ca.

Faith-Filled & Fearless in the Face of Death - Priscilla's Story of Love, Hope & Courage

As most of you know, cancer landed on our front porch for the first time in 2011, kicked down the door and smashed it's way into our home - destroying everything in its path.  Just when we thought we'd beaten it back, we found his sneaky little sister hiding in the closet.
  
These days, it seems that everyone you meet has been affected by the thief and murderer that is cancer. 

Cancer absolutely doesn't discriminate. 

It doesn't care whether you're a man or woman, young or advanced in age, whether you have children to feed or a corporation to run. There's no escaping once Cancer storms in the front door of your home.  

I was deeply saddened to learn that my drummer friend from high school was struggling to overcome her own diagnosis simultaneous to mine.  

For Bridget's family, like ours, the monster didn't stop with just one member. Unfortunately, Bridget's step-daughter Priscilla lost her battle to Synovial Sarcoma.  

I trust Priscilla's story of hope, love, and courage will travel straight to your heart, as it did to mine.

Priscilla Nichole Halfyard was a unique, beautiful and talented young woman. She was born on May 5, 1992 and accepted her angel's wings on May 12, 2015.  

In the words of her loving father, Stephen Halfyard and her step-mom, Bridget Bates Halfyard, this is Priscilla's heroic story of courage:

On March 22, 2014, tragedy struck the Bates-Halfyard family.   Our daughter was involved in a serious automobile accident resulting in the death of her adopted step-brother.  

Spenser was only six years old.  He was an active, cheerful little boy who loved hockey, animals and shared an amazing bond with his siblings. 

Understandably, Priscilla, and the rest of us, were absolutely devastated by this loss.  

When Priscilla was taken to the hospital with her broken arm and smashed foot, a shadow was discovered on her lung and she was booked for a follow-up.  

Words can't express how crushed we were when Priscilla was diagnosed a short time later with Synovial Sarcoma, one of the rarest forms of soft tissue cancer that targets adolescents and young adults.

For Priscilla, this was an incurable illness that would eventually take her life and another devastating blow.

Cancer, however, was just getting started with the devastation it had lined up for our family.

It's said that we're not given more than we can handle, but our faith was truly being tested when Bridget, who had been feeling unwell for a number of years was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia a few months before Priscilla was diagnosed. 

Bridget's Hairy Cell Leukemia treatment started the same week that Priscilla and Spenser had their car accident.

Cancer still wasn't done with us.  

Our sister (sister-in-law to Bridget), Loretta, was living with us when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, this one - not so rare. 

Today breast cancer strikes a staggering one in seven women. Loretta's treatments began at the time Bridget was diagnosed.

As you can image, it's been a challenging few years for the Bates-Halfyard families.
 
Priscilla began chemotherapy and radiation treatment on her lung. They had planned to remove the lung tumor in November 2014.  On October 31, Priscilla was admitted to the hospital for emergency brain surgery instead. 

Three tumors were successfully removed. The fourth was deeper and more critically situated.

The surgeon simply could not remove it.  They proceeded with radiation surgery to try and blast the brain tumor out.

Despite every heroic effort by her team of doctors, Priscilla's cancer spread rapidly.  She had a large tumor the size of a football in her arm, there was cancer in her lung, brain, hips, back, and spleen. We were dealt another devastating blow:  this was a death sentence for our daughter and she didn't have much time left. 

On April 13, 2015, Priscilla was admitted to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto for a Splenic Embolism and it was determined by her doctors that it didn't make sense to administer any further treatment.

We met with the Palliative Care team who discussed the idea of Compiling a Life List - things Priscilla wanted to do, to see, to accomplish with the little time she had left.

Key Life List items included:

• A trip to Las Vegas
• To marry the love of her life
• A trip to Niagara Falls
• To have a Living Funeral.

Priscilla's Living Funeral occurred on April 25, 2015.  Although this was difficult emotionally, what came together as Priscilla's "Healing and Humour Hour" was nothing short of amazing.

We learned so much about "Fearless Priscilla" that evening and how she'd had such a significant impact on the lives of so many people, of all ages, through her generosity, philanthropic spirit and positive, winning attitude.

Several friends and family members shared stories about Priscilla, her faith and her unending quest for hugs.

That occasion meant so much to us, and we know it meant a tonne to Priscilla.




Click to view more images and video from Priscilla's Healing and Humour Hour.

Priscilla, along with her fiancé, Nick, her sister, Mom, and several friends booked a trip to Las Vegas for the beginning of May.  Unfortunately, the departure date came and went. Priscilla's rapidly deteriorating health just wouldn't allow her to travel.  She never did see the lights of Las Vegas, nor the Jeff Dunham show she was eagerly anticipating.  

We did manage to take Priscilla to Niagara Falls with Nick and the two of us...gorgeous, panoramic views included.  

The highlight of the trip, aside from the stunning falls themselves, came on the second evening when we all dared the Niagara SkyWheel. Bridget's terror and Nick's fear aside, the event was unforgettable for so many reasons.

Along with Priscilla's tenacious attitude towards life and death, she was very creative. She loved scrapbooking, photography, she enjoyed writing poetry and stories, as well as sewing and quilting.

We are so thankful for the beautiful treasures she created.  Each item, a piece of her, remains close to our hearts.

Priscilla also liked to share about her faith.  She was interviewed on The Drew Marshall Show on May 2, 2015, and was excited to share her story with the world before she passed away.  Click to listen to the interview.

Priscilla was admitted to Bethell Hospice in Inglewood on May 7, 2015.  She was so brave. It was an honour for us to be by her side as the medic-van transported her to her home for the final few days of her life.  

We are thankful that Priscilla was at peace and we were so proud of her for the strength, and even the humour, she shared during this time.  She continually gave us the strength we needed to be able to walk through this with her even though our hearts were breaking knowing this was where our Priscilla would take her final breath. 

On Friday, May 8, Nick and Priscilla decided they'd fulfill their dream of getting married. 

It was amazing to see everyone pull together to make this Life List wish come true for Priscilla, and for Nick.  What an incredible day it was.  Our family and friends witnessed what true, unconditional, unending love looks like - even in the face of death.

Click to watch the video of Nick and Priscilla's Union.  (Tissue recommended.)

The final week of Priscilla's life spent at Bethell Hospice was filled with peace. 

The incredible staff deserves commendation for the amazing care they provided - not only for Priscilla but for all of us who knew that time was running out.
Our Priscilla slipped away peacefully on May 12, 2015.

She was surrounded by her family and we believe she was welcomed into Heaven by her adopted step-brother, Spenser.

To honour her wishes, more than four hundred people attending Priscilla's funeral were greeted with her beautiful wedding video. 

Everyone was given a white limestone rock and asked to do something with it in memory of our beloved daughter - take it on vacation, wear it as jewelry, place it somewhere special - anything to remind people of Priscilla's generous, loving spirit and how she affected those around her.

Upon our return to Alberta, we, along with Nick, took some limestone rocks to Jasper. To honour Priscilla and how her infectious spirit brightened the lives of so many who loved her, we each threw a rock in the water at Spirit Island.  

Just as the rocks were tossed, it started to rain lightly...creating even more ripples in the water...reminding us of the positive effect we all have on others with our words, and with the attitude we choose. 

In the anniversary month of Priscilla's passing, these bands were sent to friends and family to honour her memory and raise awareness for Synovial Sarcoma. We are so grateful for the continued love and support extended to our family.

Despite the pain of losing her, Priscilla gave us all hope.  Hope and belief that through our faith, we will meet again in heaven.

Please visit her website:  www.fearlesspriscilla.com for more images of love and hope, to read more of her story and how it has affected others.  

It is our hope that Priscilla's indomitable spirit, along with the sharing her story, will increase awareness about the disease that took her and will inspire others to be faith-filled and fearless in the face of life-threatening illness.  Like raindrops on the water, Priscilla's story continues to spread ripples into eternity.

Written & Compiled By:
Andrea Raco, Certified Professional Coach, Founder of Coach for Life, Curator of Gold Key Club and Creator of 'Cancer is a Word, Not a Sentence' ~ a program designed to support people overcoming cancer or those with loved ones going through it.  She is also the wife of a Lymphoma Survivor, a Breast Cancer Survivor herself, a dedicated Mom of 4 and lover of LIFE.  

Cancer takes lives.  Cancer destroys relationships.  Contact her for your Complimentary 'Cancer Is Just A Word' Support Session if you, or your partner, is battling this demon.