by cstrauss | Dec 21, 2023 | Life
The Pause:
“The Winter Solstice, a moment in time
When the Earth and the Sun work together to find
A moment of stopping to shift from it’s track
And roll into a new phase moving forward not back
So today as we experience a collective global shift
Take a moment to stop and send love into the rift
Where we all share this planet and contribute our light
I wish you peace, love and calm on this longest of nights.”
written by Carolyn Strauss to celebrate Winter Solstice at 10:57 pm 12/21/23
by cstrauss | Apr 6, 2023 | How to, Life
Everyone is talking about AI. Some people are incredibly excited about it while others have dread. I was kind of mixed about it until I realized all of the things that AI can’t do.
*AI cannot replace any of the things that make us unique, human or valuable to other people.
*AI is not creative. It is just compiling information that other people have already put out there.
*AI is not compassionate,. It cannot tell how you’re feeling and give you a hug to make you feel better. It can’t tell how your family member is feeling when they just want to be with you in the silence until they feel better.
*AI is not designed to create connection. It does not facilitate humans connecting with other humans in a way that they feel the physical emotional and spiritual energies that each human carries with them whereever they go.
As human beings we are designed to create a tribe. To surround ourselves with people who love, appreciate and acknowledge us for our strengths our weaknesses, our geniuses and our faults.
So with all of this “Artificial Intelligence”, I invite you to dig even deeper into your “Actual Human-ness”. Lean into your desire to be creative, to form teams, tribes, groups, families, friends, and organizations that lift each other up. AI can’t do that.
by cstrauss | Dec 30, 2022 | Business, Current Events, Life
To Complete: Definition: 1. To bring to a finish or an end:
2. To make whole, with all necessary elements or parts
It’s the end of 2022. For some of us, 2022 was a great year filled with growth, excitement and forward movement. For others of us, it was a year of challenges, obstacles and we are looking forward to putting it behind us.
Whichever of these you relate to, here are some strategies for powerful completion and for intentionally creating and attracting that which will make your 2023 your best year yet!
1. Review your year and assess what you learned. There is never nothing going on, and you are always learning. What did you learn and how can you use it to make your next year smooth and easy?
2. Look at the people in your world. Review whom you spent the most time with. How did that work for you? Are these people who bring you inspiration and energy? Or do they drain you? Choose where to put your time in the upcoming year. Be kind to others, but more kind to yourself. There is only so much time in a year, who do you want to spend it with?
3. Finances, did you meet your financial obligations? Is there some rearranging you need to do to make money more manageable? If it was all managed successfully, did your allocate your resources to make your world better?
4. Your environment, are your home and your work environment supporting you? Look around. Is there unfinished business taking up space in your environment? Those “unclosed loops” are taking up space and energy in your brain. Spend some time cleaning out unfinished business, or at least filing it away so it is not in view and put it where you can get it done later. Put a tickler in your calendar to get it done. Also, this is the time of year where retailers have sales on storage solutions. Get what you need to start your year free of physical/ mental clutter.
5. How are you? A simple question with a complicated answer. Take stock of your health, and make what ever appointments or arrangements you need to get to “as good as you can”, as 2023 begins. Nothing affects our experience as drastically as our physical well being.
And finally, what do you want to manifest for yourself in 2023? Take a moment to pause as we collectively step into this new year and get clear as to what your 2023 will be for you. You get one chance to live in 2023. Enjoy the moments as they happen! Wishing you a Happy, Healthy New Year!!
by cstrauss | Dec 21, 2022 | Life
Remember being on the swings as a kid, and there is that moment when you get to the peak, and you are weightless and as light as a feather. Think of today as that moment. Where anything is possible and the momentum you create will bring you into your next chapter. I invite you to take time today to set a clear intention for what comes next in your world. You’ll be amazed what can happen!
And as we celebrate this “shortest daylight day” here in the Northern Hemisphere, and as nightime comes so early, I encourage us all to bring our own light with us into the world. Bring your whole, beautiful, bright shining self into each moment. Your friends, family, community and the world will thank you for it. They may not consciously know what you are doing, but they will leave your presence feeling lighter, and that’s a holiday gift that costs nothing and is worth everything.
Wishing you a bright, happy, healthy and magical Holiday Season and a blessed 2023! Namaste – Carolyn
by cstrauss | Sep 6, 2022 | Life
Remember the first day of school? “What did you do on your Summer Vacation?” was the question we all got when we went back to school after summer vacation.
When I grew up, school started the day after Labor Day. That’s today. And the first question the teacher would ask is, “what did you do over your summer vacation?”, sometimes we had to write an essay. The challenge was to pick the one stand out experience that would help influence who we would become moving forward.
Thinking about that now is not a bad exercise. Can you think of one thing you did during this past 3 months- summer time that will have an influence on you moving forward? Was it a place you went, a person you met, or was it something you learned or did that changes the way you look at the world?
For me this was my summer of bucket list moments. I got to zipline over a waterfall in Alaska and try hang gliding in California. The results of both are mixed and I’ll touch on that later…. But I can say, I don’t regret it, any of it.
As my birthday approaches later this month… I now look forward to what I will do on my next summer vacation. How about you? What did you do this Summer that will make a difference in your life? I’d love to hear all about it!
by cstrauss | Jul 15, 2022 | Business, How to, Life
What if competition was all in your head? What if it was only about you? Instead of comparing yourself against someone else’s current state of being, what if you only looked at yourself and where you are in comparison to where YOU’VE been. That is the Pursuit of Better.
I just spent a week in my professional association (
NSAspeaker.org) learning from, and networking with some of the people who are the best professional speakers, consultants, thought leaders and influencers in the country.
Here are a few of the prime take-aways, that apply to any business.
1. There is nothing more important than staying relevant. One of the best ways to stay relevant is to continue in the pursuit of better. We can all get better. We can update our knowledge, our training and learn what is applicable NOW, in 2022. We can see how the past informs the present, but learn from others as to how the present will inform the future.
2. Your personal and professional image need an update as everything has changed over the past few years. Is your image, personal and corporate as up to date as it could be? While at the convention in Nashville, TN, my friend,
Dr. Mary Kelly and I hired a professional photographer to update our headshots and generate some brand new images to use on social media and correspondence with our clients. What are you doing to update your image and to stay relevant? (See the above image as an example of updated as of this week!)
3. Set goals for the future. Are there people in your industry with distinctions, accolades and credentials that you admire? Is it time to aspire to achieving those for yourself? My dad always said, if you are going to do something, do it to the best of your ability. That’s all you can do. Is there somewhere you would like to be by this time next year? Take care of yourself, and for your own well being, work into the pursuit of better. – Carolyn
