Tips for Having a Blessed and RICH Holiday Season and 2012

Tuesday, everybody. This is Bernadette Boas and this is Shedding the Bitch Radio. And I can't tell you how excited I am that it is the Tuesday before Christmas, and I'm getting very, very, very pumped up for just the whole holiday and the whole season between now and New Year's. And I hope you are too, wherever you are. We're gonna have some fun today, just casual conversation. And, but I'd love to have you join me on the chat within BlogTalkRadio.com/SheddingTheBitch, or you can call in at 1-818-572-2910 at any time, or you can even just go out to SheddingTheBitch.com and reach out to me at any point in time, as well as Facebook and Twitter. Because today I just want to kind of find out from you, or it'll just be me maybe until you listen to this or watch the video. After the broadcast. But really, just, uh, I want to think about for myself and for you just what the holiday season means and what it brings up within us. And then what do we really do to ensure that it's a memorable one? But memorable as far as it doesn't go by like a flash and then we just kind of lose sight as to what it was really about and what it was that we really were able to put to it, put into it, and then also receive from it. So I'm jamming again, once again, on with Christmas music behind me, but I will kind of put that down just a little bit because it's actually distracting, distracting me a little bit. Although I mentioned last week, and for those who follow me on a regular basis, I listen to Christmas music from the morning of Thanksgiving to the pretty much to New Year's, but I'll kind of take a break right at like December 26th because I'm sure for you too it gets a little bit old, especially when you listen to it 24/7. You might hear— I'll just tell you that you might hear or see Charlie come into view or into voice. He's for some reason today just very, very anxious. Maybe my excitement has gotten him all pumped up and excited. But so you might hear from my four-legged best friend Charlie. Are you gonna say something? No? Okay, why don't you— he's staring at me right now with this unbelievable little puppy face. Although he's 5 and a half, I still call him a puppy. Why don't you just lay down, dude? Go lay down. Anyway, back to the show. So it's the holidays, it's the Tuesday before. Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends. For those of you celebrating as of today is the first day of Hanukkah, happy and blessed holiday to you. And then those of you who are gearing up and are at the malls and are killing yourselves trying to finish up your shopping. Someone— I walked into a GNC yesterday and I was singing to Christmas music and he He just kind of looked up and he said, "Oh, you must have your Christmas shopping done," which I kind of continued to laugh hysterically because I didn't start. And I have a tradition that I don't typically until Christmas Eve because I also, when it comes to like friends and business colleagues and associates, I also use New Year's as kind of the celebration as opposed to the holiday. Not that I don't want to recognize Hanukkah or Christmas for anyone in any way, shape, or form. That's not the case. However, I would prefer that once they've gotten through all the cards or small little gifts around Christmas, that they also, you know, are— have something and are geared up for the new year. And maybe it's the coach and consultant in me that I want them really thinking about the future, not as much as the craziness of even the present. So I tend to kind of wait, and my Christmas Eve shopping, that of which I do little, quite honestly, nowadays— there's Charlie. Hey, Charlie! With my family up north, we do very little other than for the kids. And yet some of my brothers and sisters will bring— and many of you who listen to me know I have 11— so many of them will bring like a case of champagne or a case of wine and that's what they'll distribute out to the family, to their siblings. Hey Charlie, you want to come join us? Come here, bud. Come here. It's okay. Come on. So that's what they'll do to kind of be their gift for the holiday season. And yet many of us recognize that 22 nieces and nephews and 11 siblings and parents it can get a little bit difficult and trying. And as everybody, you know, we're not, we're not different from anybody else that is suffering the Christmas and yearly financial squeeze as a result of just everything that had been going on the last few years. So we've all kind of settled in on the fact that we'll take care of the kids, or our own kids, and that would be Charlie. So even though I don't spoil him too much around Christmas because I do enough of that throughout the year, but we're grateful that we can just kind of be together because all 14 of us— well, my father is no longer with us, but all of us are together during the holiday season. So that's a beautiful thing. I get to go home on Friday and Charlie will be in good hands here with some friends that will be taking care of him. But yes, I'm looking forward to the holiday season, and you can look forward to kind of just a celebration between now and the beginning of the year. And at the same time, I would challenge you to carry it through to end of the year after all the chaos is over with. But that is one thing that I've been spending a lot of time the last 7 days 8 days now. I started counting down a week ago Monday and doing a 21-day countdown to January 1st. And what I've been doing, and I've been posting it on our blog at sheddingthebitch.com and Facebooking it and talking about it here, I've been really giving you tips and advice as to how you can kind of gear yourself up and get prepared and planned out for 2012. And so we've talked about everything from kind of setting goals and having goals laid out. But more importantly, before you can even set up goals, which is to me the vernacular of goal is get on with accelerating success. So ignore the— or I'm sorry, getting on— get on with accelerating life's success. So drop the, the with and you've got goals. So getting on with life's Getting on Accelerating Life Success. So very appropriate because that's what a goal does, it accelerates your success in whatever area of business, life, relationships, your spirituality, whatever it is that you want to, you want to really improve on or, or enhance. And so we've spent the last 8 or 9 days now counting down, so you might want to take a look at ChettingThePitch.com on our blog and take the tips and advice because we, we not only talk about goals, I mean, every Everyone talks about how to set goals, but what I really like to look at is what makes up a goal, not just how to define a goal, but what really makes up a goal. And then we address the why spot. And so if you, you know, if you don't know where your why spot is, I help you to find it. And once you do, you'll— it's unbelievable how excited and energetic and passionate you'll all of a sudden yourself toward that goal or dream that you've defined. So we talk about the Y-Spot, we talk about belief systems, we talk about what sabotages you and excuses that we— that are often kind of brought up into the head or heart as to what prevents people from achieving or even acting on their goals. And then we talk about taking action because, you know, a goal is just a dream until you take action on it. Very common, common phrase out there. So we do all, you know, we just take it bits and pieces of what really does it take for someone to achieve success in their life, in any aspect of it. And at the same time, how do they really, really understand who they are and what they want and be aware of what kind of, you know, might slip them up. Every once in a while. Because that brings me to a little venture I went on this week. My dear friend Wayne, he has Charlie's best friend Henry, or one of Charlie's best friends, and we meet at the dog park a lot. I mean, we're friends, so we do a lot, but we'll meet at the dog park and I'll often talk about going on a new fitness program or no-carb diet or something, and he pointed out to me a few weeks ago that I basically say that and then I don't follow through. I mean, you know, we all kind of fall victim to that. And so I thought to myself, okay, I don't want that reputation, you know, for— to someone I, you know, have a high regard for and respect. And, you know, he's a great guy, and I don't want him thinking that I don't follow through on kind of commitments I even make to myself, because it's not a commitment to him or anybody else. So I kind of sat, came back and sat down and thought about it and I thought, what's preventing me from pursuing this goal? And I'll call it the shedding the weight bitch goal. So I had to kind of really think about where my why spot is. Why was this goal important to me? Because in the past obviously it hasn't been important enough, this past year at least, to where I've been focused on it. So have you ever come across that situation? I'm sure you have, because many people listen in or write in or reach out to me in many ways to kind of talk about how they're struggling to push through a fear or get over a rejection, or how to kind of just stop the voices in their head so they can pursue the goal or objective that they have for themselves. So I thought to myself, well, I have to practice what I preach, and I do that actually. I talk a lot about my My own business coach, Joan Curtis, here in Atlanta, but actually she's up in Athens, Georgia, but, and she has a business, totalcommunicationscoach.com, if you wanna look her up. But Joan, on a weekly basis, we get together for a half hour, 45 minutes, she's generous to me, and we talk through, you know, what is it that I laid out to do in a given week, and did I accomplish it, and if not, why? But she really digs into the why, and she really helps me to understand for myself kind of what's preventing me from moving forward. And, you know, I can hear my excuses coming out of my mouth, and she calls me out on it, or I just hear what I think is a good reason of what she calls me out on. So anyway, so of course I practice a lot what I preach, but I also see it. And I hate preaching. So I also see it in myself and other people around me. So I just thought 21 days is a good time frame to focus. And they say, a lot of people like Brian Tracy and Mark Victor Hansen, Bob Proctor, a number of the big personal development speakers and educators will say that it takes any individual about 21 days to really learn a new habit or break an old one, I guess, but learn a new habit. So I thought to myself, okay, it happened to be a week ago Monday that I was kind of struggling with this fitness program commitment I was making to myself. So I said, okay, I'm gonna do this for all of you as much as I'm gonna do it for me, but I'm gonna blog daily about what it takes to not only define a goal but really commit to it and be dedicated to it and then act on it. And then also throughout acting on it, because we're all gonna have our highs and lows, what does it take to really become consciously aware and present in what our bitches are? What are those fears and insecurities and negative mindsets and belief systems that are causing us to sabotage our own success toward the goals and the dreams that we want? So I set out— I don't know what you want, Charlie. Oh, you want this ball. Sorry, guys. I'm going to quickly grab this so he doesn't sit on top of me. There you go. And so I set out— lovely casual radio show, isn't it? I set out to lay out on sheddingthebitch.com. If you were to go out there now, and you'll see a series of 21 to 20, 19, 18, counting down. And it's a series of tips and advice and experience as to, you know, what it takes to really be successful in achieving and pursuing your goals. And so we've talked, like I said, we've talked about everything from defining them to understanding your why, to understanding who you are, your belief systems, your sabotagers, your, you know, and then we got into tactically how do you define a goal and then how do you define the tactics and activities you need to pursue and act on in order to accomplish that goal. So, it's been fun because what it did for me is a week ago Monday I set out on this Shedding the Weight, Bitch program and found myself by Tuesday and then Wednesday sabotaging myself again. So then I kind of raised my hands up and I said, okay, you know what, I, I'm not sticking to this program. And I got to spend a lot of time on the why, and then in some cases the what. What and why am I not making this commitment to myself? And Joan and I will talk a lot about the fact that, granted, today if you're watching this on on my video on my YouTube channel, Shedding the Bitch, you might find that I look very casual today. I'm in like a turtleneck and my hair's pulled back because I just, I've been going at it since early this morning and ran out of time to get properly presented for doing a video. But you don't care as long as this dialogue is educational and entertaining. That's the way I view it and the way that you have given me feedback. But anyway, so I set out and I spent a lot of time last Wednesday and Thursday, going into Friday, really thinking about my why spot. Why was this goal important to me, but why am I sabotaging myself? And it's something that you— you know, the why spot is a good— it creates a good imagery. Now be careful because, you know, some people might take it the wrong way, but it does create a good imagery to to kind of say, okay, so, you know, the words why spot, and it's W-H-Y, by the way, but that creates a big question mark in your head, or at least in mine. And then that way I can kind of focus on that image and then just dissect what's going on kind of in my head, in my heart, what's going on throughout my body. What am I feeling? What am I smelling? What am I— what's getting conjured up inside me when I think about a goal I have and the, the pros of it, the reasons why I really want to go after it, those whys. And at the same time, you know, why am I potentially sabotaging myself? And I would say by Saturday I was so focused and energized on finally pursuing that goal and objective that I was able to— because I tend to set start like new projects on Mondays. So I psyched myself up and prepared myself mentally and physically, and my cupboards were full and my fitness, you know, apparel was laid out. And come yesterday, I was able to jump into it very, very successfully. And granted, I'm only day 2, but I'm very focused, very motivated, very excited about pursuing this program. Of which then I want to shout out to a program if you're not aware of it. And I want to shout out to the women that developed the program as well as the women that are involved with it. And it's called the Pink Method or Pink Method. And if you go to pinkmethod.com, you'll find it. And the creator's name is Cynthia Pasquale. And there's a number of female trainers and nutritionists that she has on her team as well. And I found it on Dr. Phil, quite honestly. And Dr. Phil, uh, wanted, you know, he addresses all the life issues, and one of this was childhood obesity or even adult obesity. So I happened to be checking it out while I was sitting on my couch working, and I actually had it on silent. I didn't even, wasn't even listening to the words, but I looked up and I saw the program, like the actual collateral of the program, and I was, it really was catchy. And in the way they have designed it and pulled their branding together. And if you were on our Designing a Powerful Woman Telesummit, you would have heard that we talk a lot about branding, not only Cynthia branding herself, but then her branding her Pink Method. So anyway, so I got very intrigued by it simply for the packaging and the branding that was done, because, you know, as you all know, Shedding the Bitch is a very provocative brand. And even all the visualization of it is very bold. So I was very intrigued as to her product packaging. So I went ahead and ordered the program, and then I received the program anxiously awaiting it, not to start a fitness or diet program, but more so I wanted to see her packaging. And I got— the minute I opened up the package, she drew me right into really wanting to understand the program. And the next thing you know, over the weekend I'm kind of collaborating on the forums they have out there. Actually, through last week I was, because once you bought the program, you have access to their kind of community. And you, you know, you can't go beyond like a home page unless you are a member, which is very cool. So once I bought it, I was— I had access. So I started, you know, using the forums and using them to help me with identifying this Y spot of mine. And, you know, I credit that collaborative forum community that they've established, which is very active, extremely active, to the point where I look at my email because they'll send you kind of all the postings to the forum into your emails. That's your choosing, and I chose to do that. And, you know, I'm not regretting it, but it is a bit overwhelming because they have a large, large community of women that are chatting and talking and asking questions and gaining advice and giving advice and kind of venting and just, you know, reaching out for support. Everything that we do here at Shedding the Bitch, which is a beautiful thing. So shout out to all the women and Anne Marie who I've been speaking to and Betsy and Kathy, and there's, you know, obviously Cynthia and her team. Good luck, everybody. Keep each other motivated. Keep me motivated. I'll keep you motivated. But getting back to all of you and kind of what you could be thinking about between now and the new year is enjoy yourself through the holidays. Those starting Hanukkah today, those who started Christmas eating and drinking already. I got some eggnog this morning. Wayne gave me a kind of a jar of eggnog, homemade. He'd been curing it forever and a day. I can't wait to be able to dip into that, but can't do it during the day. According to him, it's like 70% alcohol, so— but eggnog is sitting waiting for me. So as you are delving into your holiday, take some time to really think about what it is that you want to do in 2012 and what would you like to accomplish, whether it's the first month or the 12th month. How would you like to end up the year? Because the one thing I do have my friends, colleagues, clients, and customers when I have them, um, have them thinking about and when I have them spending some time on, not a great deal of time, because I'm not one to think about the past. I'm one to think about not even today. I kind of get myself caught up in thinking about, you know, tomorrow and next month and next year. Some people would think that's great, and sometimes it gets you into trouble. However, I'm a great visionary and a great planner and forecaster— not forecaster, but planner of the future. So, but I have them spend time thinking about what did they accomplish this past year. I don't have them think about what they did not accomplish, and I wouldn't have you think about what you did not accomplish, but more so, what did you accomplish this past year? Because none of us want to show up on Judgment Day, if you know, if you believe in that, or, you know, you don't want to end your life, you know, all of a sudden realizing that you didn't do what you wanted to do and didn't accomplish what you wanted and didn't go to the places you wanted to be. And, and, you know, nobody wants to even wake up in the morning and not really have a good kind of appreciation for what they're going to be able to accomplish in that given day and kind of contribute to the world, to their community, to themselves. So I have my folks, my posse, I have them spend some time kind of just reflecting on, you know, their accomplishments and achievements in the previous year. And I do that because then what I want them to do is think about the future. I want them to think about what it is that they want in the next 12 months. Because again, you don't want to land up on, you know, December 31st, 2012, going into 2013 saying, "I didn't do anything this year. I didn't accomplish anything. This year went by so fast." Which, you know, all of you who are beyond the age of maybe like 19 realize that things go way too fast. Things, you know, time just moves faster and faster and faster with each passing year. So, you know, just, you know, through this 21-day countdown, again, you can go to sheddingthebitch.com to check it out and to follow it and to do the exercises and the tips. And, you know, if you have a journal or notebook of any kind, I mean, I'm sitting here with a legal pad, you know, with all of my notes. Whatever it takes for you to get it out of your head. We talk a lot about that here at Shedding the Bitch. But you need to get your ideas and your thoughts and your dreams and your wishes and your regrets and your bitches, those things that are really holding you back, you need to get them out of your head. Stop dwelling on them, which is what people do when they keep them inside, and get them on a piece of paper. Because again, once you get them in black and white, it's amazing how ridiculous they might look to you, or it's amazing how um, easily preventable, that particular sabotage or that particular incident, that particular maybe misstep or failure, how, you know, kind of preventable it was. And therefore now you know what to do going forward to prevent it as you go forward. So, you know, spend some time doing that because once you can kind of look at and assess and be aware of what worked and what didn't work this past year, just a little bit, just a little bit, especially the accomplishments. I want you focusing on the accomplishments. Then you can get really geared up and excited and passionate and, you know, about what's coming on in 2012. And then your goal, which is what? It's getting on with Accelerating Life Success. And those goals will be achieved a lot more easily and even maybe faster. Some of them aren't fast, some of them take a lot of time, but at the same time you'll be focused and determined to accomplish them no matter how long they're going to take. So this holiday season, because I won't talk to you again until next Tuesday, which will be after Christmas, and I will be broadcasting to you from Philadelphia with my family, so you might find some bozos running around behind me. But at the same time, you know, just really leverage the next— what do we have about? Well, I'm on day 13 of my— so we have about 13 days until January 1st, at which time you can kind of gear yourself up for a wonderful, wonderful new year. But in the meantime, Enjoy and be blessed and grateful for this holiday season. And be sure to come back. 2012 is going to be great and unbelievable when it comes to shedding the bitch. We not only have these radio programs continuing and our webinars continuing, we'll continue with some tele-summits like we did with Designing a Powerful Woman tele-summit done last month. But I should announce we do now have that available for you on our website sheddingthebitch.com in our store. And you can, you know, get one of the programs, or you can purchase all 4 hours of that program. And again, it was a great program around how to really design a powerful you through getting to know your body and mind from the neck up, to personally branding yourself, promoting yourself truthfully, being the CEO of your life. And of course, I peppered in some shedding the bitch advice and tips to really kind of put aside those sabotagers that are holding your heart and head hostage and preventing you from moving forward and achieving life's riches. 90 seconds. And then from there, we're gonna be planning retreats, and we're gonna have some virtual chats where you're gonna be able to reach out to me and to my— and to the community, your community, and really collaborate with them online. And we're going to be doing cruises. I'm looking to plan a Shedding the Bitch cruise, so stay tuned for details on that. And then the bitch parties are gearing up. I go out to Houston on January 19th and we'll be kind of launching our Shedding the Bitch party program out in the Houston, Texas area. And you can find more information about having bitch parties yourself around the country, wherever you might be, by going to sheddingthebitch.com. So until next Tuesday at noon Eastern time, or whenever you do plan to listen or watch these archives of Shedding the Bitch Radio, I want to wish you a very, very happy holiday. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and all the other celebrations that go on between now and the new year. I know the Chinese New Year starts soon, so Happy holidays and blessings to everyone, to your families, and safe, safe travels no matter where you're going throughout the world. From Shining the Bitch Radio, have a fabulous, fabulous holiday, everybody. Thank you for using