9/3/07

Seven Steps of De-Stressing

Natalie Goldberg suggests that stress is an ignorant state because it assumes everything is an emergency. Though many demands are made on your time do not compound stress by giving it more importance than it rightly deserves.

State it. Name it and claim it. Name it and calm it. Make a list of all your to-dos from the major to the minor. Naming them is what is important. Whatever is named can be tamed. Once you see it in black and white, the paper recalls it for you and your energy is devoted to accomplishing the task, not to remembering all the things you would be stressed over if you forgot!

Sort it. After making your list, sort it into segments. Determine what is immediate and long-term. Decide which things can be done quickly and marked off and which ones need additional steps. Establish what needs extra resources or to be outsourced. Give up multi-tasking and concentrate on the job at hand.

Start it. You begin by beginning. Overcome the law of inertia by putting yourself into action. Stop procrastinating and get busy! Pick up the phone. File the folder. Do not rationalize, justify or excusify. Just do it!

Heaven never helps the person who will not act. Sophocles

Split it. What can be started now and followed up later. What can be eliminated? What is busy work rather than business? How can you simplify? Q: How do you eat an elephant? A: One bite at a time spaced over days with intervals for digestion and elimination. Go back to your to-dos and determine short and long term deadlines as needed.

Staff it. What can be delegated? Whose job are you micro-managing? A mark of a leader - whether CEO, MOM or DAD - is to share responsibilities with other members of the team. Caution: Delegating does not mean dumping. Delegating involves training and accountability. Trying to be the solution, strength and savior compounds stress.

Stop it. Stop procrastinating. Stop exaggerating – you do not have a million things to do!
Stop devaluing co-workers. Stop the perfection; go for excellence and learn and grow. Stop the madness; rush less and rest more. Stop saying, “Yes” to more than you can easily handle.

Savor it. Looked at things accomplished and appreciate your efforts.

DON’T COPE, OVERCOME Soften it with a smile. I am not sure if the delay of this e-letter is from busy-ness or procrastination, but I am considering this your August issue even if it is September 10th. Your attitude determines your behavior. By handling life in a serious, yet lighthearted manner, stress is relegated to its proper place of reserve for responding to real emergencies

CREATING VALUE: True success involves mutual gain. Mona’s book, Creating Value, an intangible in a tangible world, deals with developing a dual bottom line of being cost-effective and people effective by balancing a three-legged stool of being, doing and having. It explores Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and applies the physics principles to human relationships. Buy it today. http://www.monadunkin.com/

NEED A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: One of America's most interesting speakers can be enjoyed in person in a presentation tailored to your specific need. Whether organizational, business or civic, you will be entertained with her humor, challenged with her gift of uncommon insights, and motivated by her thought provoking poems. Mona has developed a dramatic series of life changing, solution principles that address the universal needs of people.

9/1/07

Recognizing Patterns


An acquaintance of mine made me think with her business card that proclaimed:

“If you always do what you’ve always done,
you’ll always get what you’ve always got.
IS IT ENOUGH?
If you want more, call…”


A familiar definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Her question, “Is it enough”, got me to thinking. My conclusion was, “No, it is not enough. I want more sales. I want more peace. I want improved relationships.” I did not call my friend, but I did look into the insanity of some of my repeated unproductive patterns. You can too.

Do not dismiss it as fate. There are some things over which you have no control but a lot of things which you did not even try to control; or tried in a negative way. Look back and challenge the outcome if you had acted differently. This is not to wallow in “what ifs,” but to become proactive in future like situations.

If it’s not working, it needs fixing. You know when life is not working and it is time to look into overcoming options. With whom do you need to counsel? What books would be helpful to read? Who do you need to emulate as a good role model? What organizations would contribute? What education do you need? What training would prove invaluable?

Balance, don’t juggle. Juggling has a note of deception, as in “Enron juggled the books.” Plus juggling takes so much strained attention. What do you need to eliminate in order to gain equilibrium? Use your creativity to determine ways that routine tasks can be simplified? With whom do you need to share the work load?

Immediate gratification or delayed fulfillment. Look into the future and get the big picture. Maxing out the credit cards today delays the freedom of debt free living. Porking on chocolate chips today postpones the exuberance of a lean healthy body. Immoral sexual encounters greatly deter the development of a meaningful relationship.

Be open to feedback. Family and friends can be faithful to point out character flaws. But how do you respond? Denial is that ever widening gap between what you do and what you say you do, which leads to deception and believing the lie you have told yourself. As much as you do not want to hear their complaints, honestly give it some consideration. Do you have an edge to your voice? Are you lazy? Are you irresponsible? Do you leave the toothpaste uncapped? They are trying to help you. Graciously receive it.

Seek outside insights. Everyone has blind spots. Except maybe the blind spots aren’t so blind as much as a “willful ignorance”. Ask a trusted friend to observe triggers for your anger, moodiness, over-eating, etc. Attend seminars that define assertive behavior. Read articles that outline co-dependent mannerisms. Study self-help books. Become a part of a support group.
Playing the blame game. Blaming is a game but it is certainly no fun. Rather than placing the blame on another, take an honest look at your contribution to the problem. Rather than blaming yourself, honestly evaluate the situation for the locus of control. The only person you can control is you. The more effective control you have over your attitudes, words and behaviors the greater your influence with other.

It takes courage to evaluate non-productive patterns. It takes maturity to address them. May these suggestions be beneficial to your growth.

DON’T COPE, OVERCOME. A help in breaking non-productive patterns is positive affirmations. The key is to state it in present tense as thought it is already happening. Examples: "I manage my time and achieve my goals." "I plan my day around high pay-off activities." "I make my decisions based on my pre-determined goals." "I faithfully evaluate and follow-through."

NEED A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: One of America's most interesting motivational speakers can be enjoyed in person in a presentation tailored to your specific need. Whether organizational, business or civic, you will be entertained with her humor, challenged with her gift of uncommon insights, and motivated by her thought provoking poems. Mona has developed a dramatic series of life changing, solution principles that address the universal needs of people.

6/15/07

Let’s Get Organized, Part 2

A major stress reducing strategy is good organization. Here are more thoughts on the subject.

1. Prune and Prioritize. Organize around your whole life. We are a complicated whole and cannot separate ourselves from ourselves and everything you do effects everything you do. Prune those things that do not contribute to life goals and essential relationships. Prioritize things that do contribute to human connections, efficiency and effectiveness. Effective is the ability to bring about a desired result and efficient is to do so without wasted energy or undue stress. Your vehicle may be effective in that it gets you from point A to point B, but may not be efficient if it is a gas guzzler. By using the tools of planning (what to do) and scheduling (when to do it), prune and prioritize to be both effective and efficient.

2. What is scheduled gets done. Schedules give you freedom "to" as well as freedom "not to". Schedules give peace of getting over the "someday I’ll" by putting a date to it. When talking with a client, have calendar in hand and directly set the appointment. When you receive an invitation, decide if you want to go, check your agenda and write it in. Be considerate by immediately RSVPing ("yes" or "no"), note on your on-going "to do list" if a gift is in order, place the invite in your "events" folder and forget about it until reviewing your upcoming weekly schedule on Sunday evening. Plan personal as well as professional. Being at your daughter’s recital is a priority and having it displayed in your date-book gives you the freedom to say "No" to anything that tries to encroach.

3. Plan backward and execute forward. Get the big picture and then break it down into digestible bites. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time and with space allocated for digestion. To read The Complete Works of Shakespeare in a year, divide 261 days into the 1450 pages that gives you 5 and 1/2 pages daily – an easily accomplished goal with two days off per week. Many people think they work best under looming deadlines. I suggest we work best when focused and many do not focus until the deadline is looming.

4. Learn real time vs. think time. This is a two way street: sometimes thinking about something much longer than the real time to do it, and sometimes discounting the real amount of time a project will take. Both are self-sabotaging. Few things are as de-motivating as dread or ineffective thinking. How much time to you spend worrying about a project before putting pencil to paper to make concrete plans. You erroneously think you are doing something when you are only thinking about doing something. On the other hand, how often do you think an assignment will take a short time when in actuality it takes hours. The answer comes by diving in immediately with hands on planning and, if needed, scheduling in procrastination or catch up time. Do not overrate your abilities and do not be afraid to ask for help.

5. Handle it once. Make it a priority to take care of it while it is in your hand rather or put it in the appropriate place for later. Do not lay things down to contribute to confusion and clutter. Use the two minute rule. If the phone call will take less than two minutes, do it immediately. If you have ten two-minute phone calls, schedule them in for later. With snail mail, immediately sort correspondence from bills and toss junk into the recycle bin. Place bills in a pre-designated place to be paid once or twice a month and always well in advance of due dates. With e-mails, do not waste your time opening non-essentials and make ready use of the delete key. Make one reply late in the day to a colleague who sends you ten letters. Write down phone messages then delete. When given a report or project to do, rather than tossing it aside to accumulate dread time, sit down immediately and brainstorm, making notes of ideas, dates, people to be involved, materials required, resources needed, etc. Stay focused. Going from one project to another wastes times and energy and is nonproductive.

6. Challenge your excuses. We are creative people, only many times this creativity is used negatively rather than positively. It takes creativity to come up with excuses. There is a difference in an excuse and a reason. A legitimate reason gives peace, whereas excuses engenders stress and conflict. What are your excuses and how much truth is in them? I don’t know? I’m too busy? It’s too costly? My boss (co-workers, family) will not cooperate. What is the root of your excuses? Fear? Intimidation? Perfectionism? Lack of commitment? Laziness? Inadequate?

7. Choose your attitude. Many times the actions taken are the same for work and for play. What makes one a chore and one a joy is attitude. And attitude is a choice. Choose to
Compete only with yourself and continually improve performance.

8. Learn to say "No". It is so empowering. And do so without guilt or explanation. Never say "Yes" just to be liked; it doesn’t work.

DON’T COPE, OVERCOME. Compete only with yourself and cooperate with others. Challenge yourself to see humor and fun in everything. Play games to keep you on track; lightly keep score and give yourself praise and rewards. Be your own best friend.

TESTIMONIALS: What others say about Mona’s teaching

Mona has truly been an inspirational figure to me. I have a problem trying to please too many people and Mona gave me permission to say “No” when it is in my own best interest. I now use this advice every single day and it has had a huge positive impact on my life. Mona is a very dedicated and wise person. She is driven to succeed for all the right reasons. The thing that impresses me most about her is that she does not judge people. Matt Levin, Baylor University

CREATING VALUE: True success involves mutual gain. Mona’s new book, Creating Value, an intangible in a tangible world, deals with developing a dual bottom line of being cost-effective and people effective by balancing a three-legged stool of being, doing and having. It explores Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and applies the physics principles to human relationships. Buy it today. http://www.monadunkin.com

NEED A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: One of America's most interesting speakers can be enjoyed in person in a presentation tailored to your specific need. Whether organizational, business or civic, you will be entertained with her humor, challenged with her gift of uncommon insights, and motivated by her thought provoking poems. Mona has developed a dramatic series of life changing, solution principles that address the universal needs of people.

6/13/07

The Power of Planning

Planning is what you are going to do. Scheduling is when you are going to do it. Goals are plans that have not yet been brought into realization, or maybe not yet dreamed or determined. Dreaming, planning, scheduling and setting goals are powerful motivators that will make your life more productive. Planning causes you to be both effective and efficient.

1. Goal setting allows you to think outside the box. To not be conformed to the way things always have been, but to see the way things can be. Planning allows you to bring these goals into being.

2. Good planning helps you to see the end product before it happens. Planning gives you a compass to guide you toward the completion.

3. Planning harnesses your energies and forces you to concentrate., It gives you passion and focus. When you know what you are going to do, and where you are going, you do not waste energy wondering what to do or what steps to take to get there.

4. Planning give freedom. Looking for time causes bondage, guilt and frustration. Having goals is a powerful tool in decision making.

5. Goals keep you excited and enthusiastic; staying power even during the mundane. The step you take today may not be real fun, but it keeps the momentum up by letting you focus on the big picture.

“The peaks themselves are awesome – majestic and wild barrenness on a grand scale. And I am
always amazed at the progress made simply by putting one foot in front of another. A distant
summit can appear to be unattainable, then all of a sudden, it’s reached.” Leslie Trent Conger

6. Planning builds confidence As Zig Ziglar says, goals “helps you act like its so, even when it is not so, so it will be so.”

7. Planning frees you from the past by empowering you to break from the tyranny of yesterday and chart a new course for today and for tomorrow.

8. Planning is making a roadmap, helping you to recognize opportunities and see possibilities instead of problems.

“Opportunity is not what may come tomorrow, but what we make of today.” - Paul J. Meyer

9. Planning and tracking sets a basis for evaluating progress; helps you overcome defeats and roadblocks. Lets you see where you have been, where you are, and where you are going. Acts as a guide to readjust behaviors and attitudes.

Mona Dunkin, owner of Solution Principles, is a professional speaker, trainer, and personal success coach. She can be reached at 254-749-6594, or visit www.monadunkin.com.

6/1/07

Let’s Get Organized, Part 1

One of my most frequently requested topics is Effective Time Management and Organizational Skills. Managing time and managing stuff goes hand-in-hand and both contribute to accomplishment. Here are seven thoughts with more to follow in later e-letters. Enjoy.

1. You cannot organize clutter. Clutter is postponed decisions or action. Italian Vilfredo Pareto is credited with discovering the "80/20 principle of imbalance" when he calculated that 80% of the land was owned by 20% of the people. How does that apply to organization? For example, take a simple concept like your clothes closet: 80% of what you own is worn 20% of the time. So what is the other 80%? It is clutter. Expand this analogy to overflowing file cabinets, teeming storage closets, piles of notes kept, phone calls postponed, electronic gadgets accumulated, swarms of out-of-date magazines/newspapers, projects started, have-to-haves impulsively bought and the stacks of unidentified stuff in nooks and crannies. If you get rid of only 20% you have created space for emotional energy to flourish. Messy desks effects how others view your performance. Less clutter may aid in a move up the corporate ladder.

2. Sort and Store. Decide which area of clutter is most important then set aside fifteen minutes to begin sorting. Make three stacks: "things to do", "things to keep", "things to recycle". Every item you pick up represents a decision. If it requires action – regardless of the time frame needed – place it in the "things to do" stack. If it is something you need/want to keep, put it in the "things to keep" section. Things that need to be done away with, place in recycle.

3. Do it or dump it. Take the "things to do" stack and sort it by projects and time constraints. Place all phone calls together, put items to be read in one place, reports to finish in one segment, etc. Be brutal in deciding what you really will do and what you will never get around to doing. Give yourself a moratorium such as follow ups will be within ten days or unread articles will be kept for only three months. Then keep to it. The time limit will motivate you to action. Do not hold on to stale leads, outdated articles or incomplete projects. Get rid of unfinished tasks; either complete or discard. Make a fair assessment of "What I don’t intend to do", then eliminate it from your energy field.

4. A place for everything and everything in its place. Take the "things to keep" stack and decide where its home will be. Assign it a place and do not allow other things to fill in the gap. At home I have a pickle keeper that lives in my refrigerator whether it is filled with pickles or freshly washed awaiting the next trip to the grocery store. Not only does this keep things neat but it is time efficient in that you do not have to search to find the item. Why? Because it is in its home.

5. Continually evaluate need. Let this thought help with the get rid of/recycle stack. Everything has three price tags. One is the original dollars paid, two is the emotional attachment and three is cost of maintenance. What are you holding on to simply because of the funds invested or the sentimental connection. Time is money. How much time are you investing in moving, storing, dusting, repairing items that have become clutter.

6. Keep on-going lists. Accumulated trivials can become overwhelming. Planning is what you need to do or want to do to make your life more meaningful. Scheduling is when you are going to do it. As you consistently keep a list of pending needs you are at liberty to schedule them in before crunch time. In your day-timer, on your computer or a yellow legal pad, keep a running list of the following things: Monthly Goals, Yearly Goals, Errands to Run, Items to Purchase, Jobs to Do, Phone Calls to Make, Things to Remember, Encouragement to Me, Other and anything else you need to keep a handle on. Feel the exhilaration of accomplishment when marking off a completed task and the bask in the sense of accountability for staying on top of the game for upcoming negligible tasks. The on-going reminder of monthly and yearly goals are essential to keep you on track and frequent notes of encouragement to yourself keep you energized. Continually self-evaluate productivity and revise your lists and planning.

7. Review, Revise, and Reinvigorate. Before retiring each night review your day to feel the satisfaction of things accomplished and to feel the sting of things avoided. Did you really not have time or were you ill-prepared? Do not confuse busy-ness with business or activity with accomplishment. Rethink your commitments and priorities to make sure they match. Readjust your schedule as needed for satisfaction and productivity and encourage yourself to learn, to grow and to get organized. At the end of each day, schedule the next day’s timed events and then fill in your top value priorities. At the end of each week, schedule the next week’s known events and plan your priorities. Be sure to include personal and family time. Time is currency; spend it wisely.

These organizational thoughts are guidelines, not a recipe. For individualized assistance, invite me to your business or organization. 254-749-6594 or mdunkin@flash.net

DON’T COPE, OVERCOME: Live for what is important, not just to get things done.
Coach John Wooden says, “Hurry, but don’t rush.” Rest is a vital factor in organization and productivity. When you think you do not have time for a break is when you need it most. Stop rushing by frequently putting the urgent on hold to breath deeply and clear your mind, returning to the activity with renewed energy and focus. Rushing is stress producing whereas restful hurrying is energizing.

TESTIMONIALS: What others say about Mona’s training.

“Mona Dunkin has the unique ability as well as drive to reach out and help others with her gift of coaching and mentoring. Mona taught me the importance of separating my actions from my words. Many times if I do something that is not wise, I will attack my self-esteem instead of calling the action unwise. She also taught me how to resolve a specific conflict with a friend.” Darnel Kimble, Baylor University

CREATING VALUE: True success involves mutual gain. Mona’s new book, Creating Value, an intangible in a tangible world, deals with developing a dual bottom line of being cost-effective and people effective by balancing a three-legged stool of being, doing and having. It explores Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and applies the physics principles to human relationships. Buy it today. http://www.monadunkin.com/

NEED A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: One of America's most interesting speakers can be enjoyed in person in a presentation tailored to your specific need. Whether organizational, business or civic, you will be entertained with her humor, challenged with her gift of uncommon insights, and motivated by her thought provoking poems. Mona has developed a dramatic series of life changing, solution principles that address the universal needs of people.

4/15/07

It's All About Relationship

From the cradle to the grave, one of the most basic universal human needs is love and belonging. Or, in non “touchy-feely“ words, it’s all about relationship. Relationship is being accepted for who we are, feeling like we “fit in”, and that we matter. It is the mutual exchange of genuine caring and flow of ideas. Relationship is being esteemed as valuable and that your input counts. Relationship is akin to relate, meaning to connect, to understand, to be a part of.

No matter what the venue, from home life, to the workforce, salesmanship, community involvement, government, law enforcement, or to breakthrough science like Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, it is all about the state or quality of relating.

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity applied to physics, and the same principles apply to human relationships. 1) the laws of love and belonging are the same in any system regardless of its velocity. 2) light (conscience) is a constant, independent source of the system. 3) an entity flowing in successful relationships, to a passive observer, appears to have happened with little or no effort. Relationship is about people skills. People skills is about healthy tension.

Choose to respect others, while earning respect from them. It’s more about you than them.

The only person you can control is you. But do you? Things over which you have control includes your words, your attitudes, your facial expressions, your actions, your thoughts, your choices, your feelings, your schedule, what you spend, where you go, with whom you associate. If you do not set the tone and pace of your life, then someone else will set it for you.

Feelings?! Did I say you can control your feelings? Yes, you can control your feelings, but it starts with controlling your thoughts and actions. It is easier to think and act yourself into feeling differently, than it is to feel yourself into thinking or acting differently.

You are always influencing others, either positively or negatively. Once words are harshly uttered - even if true - enormous damage has occurred in the relationship. Choose to be a positive influence by remaining pleasant, even in a difficult situation. Hold the person in high regard as a human being with infinite worth and value, even if you disagree with his/her ideas or politics. Find something good in each person and in every situation. See problems as solvable and as a challenge to build godly character in you.

Discover the door-way to communication. Your attitudes and behaviors create a door-way to you as well as away from you. If someone behaves according to your specifications, it equals an open door. If the person interacts (intentionally or unintentionally) against your specifications, your door closes – partially, all the way or locked and bolted. Set the pace as the relationship builder by choosing to adjust your style so the result is open communication, win/win relationships, and lessening or removal of tension.

Provide an inclusive, accepting environment that gives room to grow. The tension here is that acceptance does not mean approval. Many relationships are harmed by failure to accept the person as he is because of disapproval of how he thinks or behaves. Trying to make this person change results in resistance. As relationship is built, the other person is in a greater position to receive your vast wisdom.

You do not have to attend every argument to which you are invited. You do not have to acknowledge or try to correct every comment, behavior or attitude. Ignore as much bad behavior as possible and commend acceptable behavior. Accentuating the positive sets the environment to empower eliminating the negative. As Ann Landers says, “Just because a donkey brays, does not mean you have to acknowledge him.” But you do need to be kind to him.

DON’T COPE, OVERCOME: Power is the know-how to make things happen. Authority is the license to make things happen. Relationship is the ability to influence to make things happen. Influence supercedes power and authority in effective relationships to make things happen.

TESTIMONIALS: What others say about Mona’s training.

“Mona Dunkin has ben a consultant, coach and friend in helping me to accomplish goals I sometimes wasn’t certain I’d be able to meet. Mona doesn’t muddy the waters with whip cracking, ‘ata-girling’ or patronizing; she simply provides insight, guidance and true regard.”
Gloria M. Gonzales, Parents for Public Schools

“The information shared can easily be used in every area of life - the business world, relationship with family and others.” Seminar attendee

NEED A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: One of America's most interesting speakers can be enjoyed in person in a presentation tailored to your specific need. Whether organizational, business or civic, you will be entertained with her humor, challenged with her gift of uncommon insights, and motivated by her thought provoking poems. Mona has developed a dramatic series of life changing, solution principles that address the universal needs of people.

1/15/07

Risking Success

The story is told of war, crime, punishment and prisoners-of-war scheduled for the firing squad.
The prisoners were given a choice of facing the volley of guns or an unknown fate that lay beyond the ominous “black door”. One by one, each man chose known death rather than the unknown horrors of “the black door”.

Few people are brave enough to explore the unknown; they stay in the rut, surviving but not thriving. Life is a risk even though the devil you know may seem better than the devil you don’t know. God left poetry unwritten, cities unbuilt, innovations unfounded and space unexplored that we might participate in the act of creation. Scary though it may be, decisions await that takes us from the mundane known to the blissful unknown.

Oh, and what was beyond the “black door”? Freedom. To take risk is to live by faith.

Get in touch with your inner child. What did you want to be when you were a child? You know, the innocent confidence before someone said you could not be or do that. The more we are in touch with our natural gifts the greater our success and fulfillment. Go ahead, get in touch with your creativity, live by your own rules, march to your own drum and make beautiful music.

Picture it. We think in pictures and the more vivid your life-dreams the easier they are to be developed. Use imaginings to keep you motivated to live up to your God-given potential. Caution: Do not deceive yourself into thinking you can do something if you really put your mind to it. Action must follow the dream or it is a mere fantasy.

Give yourself room to grow. Often we will give grace to others but not to ourselves. Remember learning to ride a bicycle? It was so much fun you did not mind skinned knees and the training wheels were a part of learning. Crutches are okay when needed to promote healing. Know that a delay is not denial; learn to differentiate between a set back and failure. Do not cling to false beliefs that impede your growth.

Act in spite of your fears. Sometimes fear is a good place to start as it makes you more cautious. But don’t be too cautious or you will stay stuck in preparation. Be like Anna in The King and I: “Whenever I feel afraid, I strike a careless pose, and whistle a happy tune, and no one ever knows: I’m afraid.” After whistling and dancing, she goes on to sing, “The result of this deception is very strange to tell…. For when I fool the people I fear, I fool myself as well.”
Action is the distraction. It will work for you too.

Answer the hard questions. Part of the pain of mediocrity is realizing you have not been honest with yourself.

  • What do I have to gain from taking this risk?
  • Am I holding on to the familiar because of a supposed vague undefined loss?
  • What false beliefs stand between me and success?
  • When am I going to begin?

The threat of losing false security undermines risking success. Freedom lies behind your “black door”. Open it. Receive it. Embrace it.

DON’T COPE, OVERCOME: To risk is to exceed one’s self-imposed limits. Admit you are not where you want to be and lose your pretense. In every risk there is a potential loss so give it conscious thought, develop an action plan and take the plunge.

UPCOMING SEMINAR: Journey to Healing of Spirit, Soul and Body.

This seminar embraces principles to keep your total being in balance and healthy. During our time together we will discuss the question of nature or nurture, is it inborn, acquired or developed? And how much control do we have over either? We will explore the reality of pain; its purpose and meaning. You will enjoy centering exercises for the body, soul and spirit connection. Perhaps the most prevailing element will be learning the power of self-evaluation, a primer on how to and the benefits thereof.
Date: Sunday, February 18, 2007
Time: 9AM until 2:00 PM
Cost: $45.00 per person (includes workbook)
Location: Dutczak Retreat Center on Lampasas River, Killeen, TX (directions will be sent)
Contact: Sally Dutczak, Phone 254-547-8004

TESTIMONIALS: What others say about Mona’s teaching

“If every business would adopt some of these points and philosophies, there would not be so many disgruntled employees and businesses would stay in business longer.” NAFE

“The session was thoroughly and thoughtfully prepared. The speakers delivery was convincing, natural and spontaneous. She communicated with integrity. It made me want to hear more of this speaker’s presentations.” Small Business Development Center

NEED A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: One of America's most interesting speakers can be enjoyed in person in a presentation tailored to your specific need. Whether organizational, business or civic, you will be entertained with her humor, challenged with her gift of uncommon insights, and motivated by her thought provoking poems. Mona has developed a dramatic series of life changing, solution principles that address the universal needs of people.