New Blog

For the sake of keeping everything organized, I've moved my blog to http://www.irisbenrubi.com/blog. See you there!

The Zahir

I picked up my first Paolo Coehlo book at the airport in Paris on my way home from Israel last month. My daughter had bought two of his books to take on our trip to Israel and loved them.

The Zahir, Paolo explains, means "'visible' present; incapable of going unnotice.' it can refer to an object or a person, and that object or person gradually takes over our every thought until we are unable to think of anything else. this could be considered a state of holiness or a state of madness."

This also means that the focus on 'something that gradually takes over our every thought' can cause us a lot of grief and suffering. For some people it may be income, others it may be the elusive romantic relationship of their dreams, fear for the safety of loved ones, looking for inner peace or may be avoiding all the people in their lives that are difficult.

For me my zahir can be my weight loss goal. You may want to notice where you are so focussed on an outcome or a wish that it is negatively impacting your quality of life.

Happiness Teleseminar

I am developing a teleseminar on how to be happy. I have included my four pillars of happines which are Peace, Passion, Play and Perspective. The date for the teleseminar has not been set yet, but will be this month.

I have had many responses to my survey on what the greatest obstacles and biggest questions are around having happiness in your life. If you haven't had a chance to do the survey, I'd really appreciate it if you could click on:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Vwyh_2fpDIaS3otPAkLYoqEA_3d_3d

and take 5 minutes to answer the 10 questions. ALso, the answer I like the best to #10, will get a $25 gift certificate to Amazon. Good luck and I look forward to your answers so that I know how I can best serve you. Keep checking this blog, I will soon have the dates and the winner of the gift certificate.

Clouds

I am up north this weekend at my country home with my boyfriend. In the afternoon I decided to go out to the dock, lie down on my back and look up at the clouds. I realized that I have never 'really' looked at clouds.

I always thought that clouds move in puffs or bunches across the sky. When I looked today, it was like cotton candy being pulled apart or cotton padding that was being pulled and torn. It was awesome. Something so simple, when I paid attention was awe inspiring and truly fulfilling.

The more I slow down and be in the moment, the more I enjoy and feel a sense of calm and inner peace!

Transformation

Yesterday, I went to see the movie "Transformation". It is a documentary about Werner Erhard. Werner Erhard is the founder of the EST movement which eventually became Landmark Education. I have been involved in education at Landmark for about 5 years. I have found their education, strategies invaluable and have truly transformed who I am and how much I enjoy life.

The movie talked about Werner's life. He dropped out of high school at 18 and didn't continue any formal education. Much of his knowledge came from different disciplines including Zen and the church of scientology. Werner was able to take all of the information that he learned and was able to create an educational platform that helped people look at their lives and transform it.

I am very impressed by what Werner Erhard was able to create and his impact on the world. As my mom would say "Chapeau bas" - "Hats Off". He has impacted my life and 100's of thousands of others' lives. Wishing him continued success and the acknowledgment he deserves for making this world a better place.

Tai Chi and Inner Peace

Yesterday I attended the Richmond Hill Chinese Community Church Family Event. My Tai Chi instructor invited me to participate in the many activities and festivities. Besides the many foods and games available at no cost, my favorite activity was the Line Dancing Activity and the Tai Chi/Chi Kung.

I am a novice at Tai Chi. I started participating and learning about it at my gym about 3 months ago. In the '48 forms' there is a specific move that really grounds me. You watch your hand move from one side of your body, across your body to the other side and then watch the other hand move in the same pattern. You do this 4 times. In the space of the 10 seconds it takes to perform those moves, I am totally present. I am focussed, relaxed, at peace and calm. Everytime I perform those moves, I feel a sense of Inner Peace.

The Queen

A few months ago, my coach dubbed me the 'Queen of not Leaving myself enough Time'. She was right. I was always finding myself rushing from one thing to the next. Trying to get one more thing done on my to do list before leaving for the next activity or appointment.

Since coming back from my vacation in Israel, I have really been relaxed. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have been waking up at 5:30 - 6:00 am and that has left me lots of time to get my work done in the morning before starting with clients. I find that I am relaxed, have enough time to get everything done that I intend to and am really enjoying this easy-going time. I am committed to making this a full-time experience!

Raising Money for Charity

Yesterday I rode my motorcycle in B.A.D. Ride - Bikers Against Despair. This is the 11th year the ride has been run. It is a 160 km ride to raise money for the Distress Centre which provides free counseling and phone support to people who are in crisis.

There were over 1300 bikers participating and we raised over $200,000. One of the best things at this ride is the sense of community. If anyone has a problem or runs off the road, the next 10 people behind pull over and help. I was one of those yesterday. I bee got into my helmet. After desperately trying to ignore the bee I pulled over quickly on some gravel and fell over. Luckily I wear full gear and a full face helmet. Had I not been fully geared, I am clear that I would have broken my nose and maybe some teeth because I landed prone on the ground after the motorcycle slid from under me. The worse injury was my pride :-) and besides that was the bruised tendon in my hand.

At the end they raffled off a Harley Davidson Motorcycle. I put off going home or going to have it x-rayed just to see if I won the motorcycle. I didn't win in - and my hand ended up being only bruised or sprained........all for a good cause!

Perspective

When I was in Israel, I was surprised that when they referred to the year something happened in history, they used 'Before the Counting' to refer to 'Before Christ' and 'After the Counting' to refer to 'After Death'.

Up until this moment, I assumed that the entire world was using B.C and A.D.. When I spent a moment and thought about it, I realized that it all has to do with perspective. In Judaism, Christ is neither the son of God, nor is the 'immaculate conception' a concept that they accept. He is considered a man and is therefore not a pivotal figure in their history. Therefore to use a term that revolves around Christ's life (A.D) would be incongurent with their beliefs.

The Israelis have a different perspective than most of the rest of the world that uses AD and B.C. I assumed that everyone has the same perspective that I do.
Which one is right? 'Before the Counting' or 'Before Christ'? Actually, they're both right. Each perspective is right for the person using the expression.

This is a great example and reminder for us all that when we meet someone with a different and often opposing perspective, that we are both right. We are right for ourselves and there is no one right answer.

The Value of Money

Yesterday I gave my son 8 Israeli coins to go buy himself a snack. Not being familiar with the coins here in Israel, they seemed to me like 8 canadian nickels. After giving him the coins, I began to figure out in my head the value of what I had just given him. I realized then that I had not given him 40 cents but had just given him $8!!!!!.

It was really interesting to me to see that when I didn't realize the value of the coins, I had no emotional reaction to giving him the money. But when I made money 'mean' something, I right away felt a tension inside of me that reflected the thought: "That wasn't 40 cents he's going to spend, but rather $8....and that's a lot of money!!!"

This further validates what Ekhart Tolle said in his book "The New Earth", on the Oprah show, about the impact of labelling things in our lives. When I didn't label the value of the coins, I felt relaxed and peaceful, yet once I labeled the value of the coins I felt tense. The coins never changed nor did it's value....only my perception of the coins changed.

Spring in Paris

On May 6th, I left Toronto with my two kids aged 19 and 23 to Israel. Im turning 50 this year and thought that I should celebrate this year and return to the country I was born in and haven't been back to for over 29 years. As an added bonus, I decided to add a stop over in Paris France to reconnect to the city I grew up in when I was betweenthe ages of 8-12.

On the way to Israel, we had a stop over in Paris of just over 5 hours. Wanting to take advantage of this opportunity, I decided to jump on the train for the 45 minute ride into Paris. When we found out that the cost was 49 Euros return ($75), my children questioned whether it was really worth it. I said, sure - we only live once and that's what money is for.

It was 12 am Toronto time. We jumped on the train and stopped at the Arc de Triomphe. We walked around and decided to walk over to the Eiffel Tower where we came across an open air market. My kids each bought a crepe made fresh and continued on to the Eiffel Tower. They were smiling from ear to ear. They were besides themselves with joy about being in Francing, tasting delicacies and taking advantage of every moment. We were exhausted by the time we had to hop on the train to return home (3:00 am) but that wasn't going to stop us from the satisifaction and inner joy of eating a crepe at the Eiffel Tower.

I am so glad I decided to take advantage of this stopover, teach my kids to enjoy each moment and experience the glow and satisfaction of the moment.

Effortless Prosperity

This weekend I took a course with Bijan, 3 times Mr. Universe, author and motivational speaker. In his course, Clear to Create, I learned a lot of what we are attached to in our lives.

When we are 'attached' we are in a 'do or die' mode. Things must work out the way we plan them. We try to control the situation or person and along the way suffer as we try to manipulate, control or walk on eggshells.

Bijan suggests that it is our purpose in life to be in joy. When we can let go of how situations need to be, then we can be happy, connected and excited about our life.

I was able to identify some areas in my life where I too am attached to an outcome. In this course I was able to release that belief and experienced joy that evening.

Where are you attached in your life?
What issues must turn out just the way you want them to?
Where can you let go of control?

Spring in Toronto

It is finally spring in Toronto. That means it's 'Motorcycle Time!'.

I took the motorcycle out of storage on Monday and rode it home from my cottage up north, down to my city home. The trip is about 2 1/2 hours and I loved it. I kept the face guard up, the vents open and my leather jacket partially open. I could feel the wind in my face and caught inside my jacket.

Turning those corners, feeling as one with the bike really made me connect with nature. As I rode, the sun was shining full on, I could smell the smokey smell of fire or the earthy smell of new plants and flowers growing. I felt totally free.

This is life!

Ekhart Tolle and Oprah

Ekhart, in his new book, The New Earth, talks about the benefit of not labeling items. He says that being open minded about people and things that you see allow you to be curious and to truly explore it without reverting to beliefs you have from the past.

In listening to Sonia Ricotti's interview of Denise Marek on 'Inner Peace and Happiness", Sonia talks about how being in nature gives her a sense of inner peace.

This week, when a client of mine came to the office to see me, she complained of feeling very high anxiety and couldn't find a way to reduce the level of anxiety. Spontaneously, I decided to take her outside. At first we looked at an evergreen bush and I asked to tell me what she sees. Then I asked her to notice the warmth of the sun on her back and the feel of the wind on her face. Next, I decided to go to a flower shop next door and spent about 2 minutes asking her to describe the beauty of the flowers, white on top, verigated purple on the back, yellow centres with brown dots.

This excercise took less than 10 minutes and my client reported her anxiety diminished by 50% and now at a manageable level. Her anxiety put her in a state of resistance - I shouldn't be here, and trying to get to somplace else - in the future. Simply being in nature, allowed her to be in the present moment and allowed her to shift her focus and her anxiety.

Are you ready to let go of limiting beliefs?

Today I interviewed Fredric Lehrman who is a business consultant and teacher in the field of business psychology for over 30 years, and also leads workshops on education, relationship dynamics, global change, philosophy, psychology, and the arts.

In his teleseminar, 'Receptivity to Success', he shares with us the three components to success. They include: our beliefs about ourselves, our beliefs about the world and our beliefs about money. He goes on to explain that if you carry beliefs like: I don't deserve money, money is difficult to get or money makes people controlling, then, when money does show up, you will do something to make sure it doesn't stay around.

It has even been documented that lottery winners, within 18 months, are back in the same financial situation they were in before the winnings - or worse. If you don't shift your beliefs, your level of success, abundance and prosperity will remain what it is today.

If you are interested in a replay of Fredric's eye-opening seminar and other dynamic, professional speakers sharing with you how to create a 6 figure income, visit the webpage at: http://www.6figuremarketingsecrets.com

More Great Interview for the 6 Figure Marketing Secrets Teleseminar

Today, to have a successful business, you have to be able and be willing to wade through the many online tools and strategies. Ever wonder where to start? From Blogs, Shopping Carts, Autoresponders, Teleseminars to Social Media including Facebook, Stumble Upon, Twitter, Podcasts and many other tools, it can be a little overwhelming.

This is where the 6 Figure Marketing Secrets Teleseminar comes into play. For seven days, over a two week period, this teleseminar is filled with 7 professional speakers who are going to share with you their best strategies to make more money in less time all the while enjoying your business.

- Isn’t that what you got into your own business in the first place?

- To make money and have all the freedom you want.

- Time to spend with your family and enjoy the activities you love all the while doing what you love?

If you’ve been wondering where to start or simply where you’ll get the best return for your time and money, the 6 Figure Marketing Secrets Teleseminar is the place to be. Whether you are an experienced service professional or are just starting, this powerful teleseminar will give you the guidance, the tools and the expertise you need to skyrocket your business with ease and joy!

Each guest expert will share with you their tried and true marketing strategies and tools that REALLY work. I will be hosting the calls and presenting on Tuesday April 22nd on day 4 of the teleseminar.

The Marketing Secrets teleseminar series is normally $197 and it's fully expected to sell out. However, as a special guest mine, I am offering you a VIP coupon that will give you $100 off the price of the seminar - that's over 50% discount!

Remember to put in 'MS422' in the discount box.

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the free bonuses worth over $328, at absolutely no cost to you. That's a $525 value for only $97. Take a look to see all value we have in store for you and sign up, go to:

www.6figuremarketingsecrets.com/iris

If you’re ready to jump start your business, this is the place to be.

I've also included audio links to 5 minute introductory interviews with three more of the speakers who share with you what you can expect from their teleseminar:

Andy O’Bryan
“Now What”
http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WRjC6gfs

Laura West
"Creating Your Business Attraction Plan"
http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WH6RjYxs

Jan Janzen
"How to have an Outrageously Successful Business Without the Guilt!" http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/W4sQ7kLs

Give us just 60 minutes a day for 7 days and we'll give you the strategies that will help you make more money, have more free time to do what you love and create the business you dream of. It's so easy to join and learn all the marketing secrets from these professionals; all you need is to know how to make a phone call.

Find out more information and sign up for this practical and hands-on teleseminar at : www.6figuremarketingsecrets.com/iris

The content is brilliant and the price is excellent. You really don’t want to miss this!

I'm excited to announce the 6 Figure Marketing Secrets Teleseminar

I'm really excited about this...

I'm writing to tell you about a unique event that I think you're going to want to attend. I am both hosting and am a featured speaker at the upcoming 6 Figure Marketing Secrets, a teleseminar event featuring top experts giving highly focused, no-nonsense information about marketing your business. Please join me there, if any of these sound like you:

· an experienced coach, consultant, trainer, author or other service professional with a business that you are passionate about but is not as successful as you want it to be?

· Fairly new in your business - full of enthusiasm but short on business-building know-how?

· Overwhelmed with all the tools and online strategies and trying to make sense of where to put your money and energy?

· All over the map with your marketing and seeking a coherent strategy?

This 7 day teleseminar series is packed with guest experts who will share with you their tried and true marketing strategies and tools that REALLY work. I will be presenting on “The Happy Entrepreneur – How to Have a Thriving Business and Joy Too!” on day 4 of the teleseminar.
The 6 Figure Marketing Secrets teleseminar series is normally $197 and it's fully expected to sell out.

However, as a special guest of mine, I am offering you a VIP coupon that will give you $100 off the price of the seminar - that's a discount of over 50% off! Wait….there’s more……..

Remember to put in 'MS422' in the discount box.

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the free bonuses worth over $328, at absolutely no cost to you. Also, if you're ready to take advantage of this offer in the next 48 hours, we've added another valuable bonus valued at $37! That's a $562 value for only $97. Take a look to see all value we have in store for you and sign up Click Here

If you’re ready to jump start your business, this is the place to be!

I've also included audio links to 5 minute introductory interviews with two of the speakers who share with you what you can expect from their teleseminar:

Fredric Lehrman"Receptivity to Success
Listen Here for Fredric's Interview

Leesa Barnes"How to Double your Database in 90 days using Social Media and Podcasting" Listen Here for Leesa's Interview

Give us just 60 minutes a day for 7 days and we'll give you the strategies that will help you make more money, have more free time to do what you love and create the business you dream of! It's so easy to join and learn all the marketing secrets from these professionals; all you need is to know how to make a phone call.

Find out more information and to sign up for this practical and hands-on teleseminar.

Click Here to Reserve Your Spot!

The content is brilliant and the price is excellent. You really don’t want to miss this!

Last week, I was in the Dominican Republic getting some well deserved R&R with my boyfriend Glenn. I had also recently watched Oprah’s webcast with Ekhart Tolle about his book “A new Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose”. In this webcast, Ekhart (we’re on a first name basisJ), talked about not labeling things or people. He said that when we label things, we limit our ability to see beyond that label and doesn't allow us to see it with an open mind.

The label can take the form of an adjective like “stupid, slow, selfish...” Labels can also take the form of a race, a culture or simply the name for the object like “rose, car, man, woman, officer, army…”. When we label people and things, we can only see them within the constraints of what we believe belong to that object. Notice your own reactions to the word “clergyman” or “prostitute” or “baby”. Each word brings up for us the beliefs about that word like “all men are….” “all babies are….”. You get to fill in the blank, because each of us has a different belief about what men are like, babies are like and all objects in our world. These beliefs limit us from truly seeing who or what is in front of our eyes.

Next to my room in the Dominican, I saw some magnificent orchids. In as much as I remembered not to label the orchid as “an orchid”, I automatically did label it. Since I do not have a visual in my head of what an orchid should be, I could look at the flower with wonder and curiosity. It allowed me to be in the moment, truly marveling at what I was looking it. I was able to look at the orchid with a beginner’s mind. This lead to feeling peaceful yet alive at the same time. Something so simple, yet so connecting.

I am taking on doing more of the ‘not labeling’ and looking at something as though it was the first time I was seeing it and truly exploring it with my eyes, my mind and my being. What are you willing to explore with a beginner’s mind?

Creating Inner Peace

On a recent teleseminar, I spoke about Inner Peace. There are many aspects to creating and maintaing Inner Peace. However, if you are going to only focus on one characteristic, I would suggest that you look at resistance. Resistance is being in the mindset of:

- 'Something is wrong here' or
- 'something shouldn't be this way'.

This mindset undermines Inner Peace and creates stress, frustration, anger and disappointment. The problem with this mindset is that if we wait till all our circumstances line up so that we can have Inner Peace, we are at the mercy of our circumstances - which honestly never line up perfectly the way we imagine we want it to be.

So, if you are looking for 'Inner Peace in the face of your circumstances', you are going to want to become aware of all the places you resist. Here I have listed the four forms of resistance and an example of each:

1) Gossip
i) "Did you hear what she said?"
2) Complaints
i) "I cant' believe it's snowing again!"
3) Forcing an outcome
i) Using the cold shoulder to force someone to apologize to you
4) Wishing that something would change
i) Your spouse's clothes on the floor

Spend a few minutes each day and begin to list all the places you resist. Once you begin to notice these areas, then you can begin to change them.

Oprah's 'The New Earth Webcast Seminar

As many of you know by now, Oprah has launched the largest webacast seminar ever produced. She has created a seminar based on Ekhart Tolle's new book 'The New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose'. By the time I signed up for this seminar, there were already 360,000 people who had signed up .....and there was still a few days to go.

What struck me the most in the seminar is something Ekhart said. Many of us search for our life purpose and once we've discovered it feel that we need to follow through on what we believe we're supposed to do.

Ekhart suggests we ask ourselves: "What does my life purpose ask of me". This is a much bigger question and allows us to tap into the universal energy to find out what is it I can use my gifts for in this world.

To access this information, you need to be still. You need to find a space and a time where you can sit quietly, slow your breathing down and become very present. Allow your mind to quieten and turn off. Then simply allow any universal messages to present themselves to you. This may seem fairly simply, but actually takes something. It is about letting go of control and letting our minds and our ego take a break to allow the greater message show up. Go ahead.....enjoy!

I'll be on Slice TV today!

Back in the summer, I was invited to be a guest therapist on Slice TV. The program is 'Doctor in the House'. Here, I was interviewed about how to deal with a child who is terminally ill. It's playing at 11:30 am and 3:00 pm EST.

I can't wait to see what I look like on tv! I'm finally a star! Maybe I'll get my own star in Hollywood!

Finding Inner Peace!

Many of my clients complain about not enjoying their life. They do what they are supposed to. They fulfill their obligations in their jobs, with their spouse, their parents, their children and their friends. Once they have completed that, they have no energy left to fulfill themselves.

What if one of your obligations while on this earth is to enjoy yourself? How would you be doing things differently?

Your mission, if you wish to accept it, is to find peace and joy every single day. This isn’t an everyday mission where you ‘do’ things, to get your closer to the goal. This mission is a special mission where you are going to ‘notice’ experiences to get closer to your goal. Begin by noticing:

**What you did today that made you laugh!
**What you did today that had you experience happiness and joy!
**The experiences that gave you pleasure!
**What you are grateful for!

You might even want to go to www.oprah.com and sign up for her seminar on Ekhart Tolle's Book the New Earth and learn through his guidance how to let go of all that creates suffering in your life and find your Inner Peace!

Send me a comment about what you noticed and learned. Can’t wait to hear from you.

Attention Women:

The ‘Living a Life of Passion Teleseminar Event’ starts in less than a week!

What: Living a Life of Passion – 5 Experts share their Secrets for Inner Peace & being Guilt-Free

When: 5 days, beginning March 3rd, 1 p.m. Eastern Time
Who: Women who are tired of just doing what they are supposed to and want to create life of Joy and Peace

What will you learn:

Conscious Choices for Change!
How to get rid of Guilt & Make Room For Passion in a S.E.C.!
Passionate Commitment!
Leverage Your Time, Save Your Sanity!
Journey to Inner Peace

Now there’s an option. If you want to sit in on the calls, you can attend for free, but I still recommend that you invest in the recordings of the 5 events and the $194 in bonuses. So go ahead, and reserve your seat to learn how to create more love, more passion and greater inner peace while having more time off to do the things you love!
If you want the free option click the link below and enter your VIP discount code ‘VIP307’. Use it now and get a 100% scholarship courtesy of me Iris.

That gives you:
- access to all the live teleseminars
- a replay for 24 hours after each call
Remember to put your special discount code ‘VIP307’

http://www.simplysuccess.ca/passion/iris

If you want all the goodies, click the link below. To get over 50% off, put in your discount code ‘0317’ in the discount box. That will give you:
- an downloadable audio that you can listen to at your own leisure and let all the nuggets and secrets really sink in
- $194 in bonuses emailed to you once you register.

http://www.simplysuccess.ca/passion/iris

********************
I also wanted to give you an opportunity to find out what you will learn in the “Passionate Commitment” so I’ve included a clip for you here.

http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WhdxK9ts
*********************
Here’s a sneak preview of Jennifer Britton’s teleseminar “Leverage Your Time, Save you Sanity” and what you can expect to learn from her event! To listen, click here http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WRGStsNs

Remember, the event starts this Monday so register today.

Looking forward to having you on the call!
Iris

Marketing Secrets to a 6-Figure Income Teleseminar

Especially For Women Entrepreneurs...

Marketing Secrets to a 6-Figure Income

Starting Date: Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
Content: Six Dynamic Teleseminar Training Sessions In Two Short Weeks Registration: See here for registration details.

If you are a solo woman entrepreneur having a hard time getting your business going, not connecting with people, frustrated that it's taking so much time in the administrative details, keep reading...

I'm privileged to host a great new tele-seminar series especially for you: "Marketing Secrets to a 6-Figure Income".

I’ve rounded up 6 professional speaker-entrepreneurs all committed to sharing their tried and true techniques for creating more income and more free time.

If you are ready to take your business to the next level, you can’t afford to miss this tele-seminar!

I am personally offering you a VIP discount of over 50% off the registration fee, plus you'll get over $235 of bonuses with your registration – that’s a $434 value for only $97. (Just put “iris" in the Discount Code field of the registration form and click the button to "enter the discount code").

Here are a links to interviews with two of the upcoming speakers:

Jan Marie Dore
“Breaking through the ‘trading-time-for-money’ Income Ceiling
Listen here

Sandra De Freitas
Work Less Make More Money –
Listen Here


We expect this event to be at capacity, so please take a minute now to get more details and register here:

http://SimplySuccess.ca/marketingsecrets/iris

(Remember to put in 'iris' in the discount box to get over 50% off the registration tuition.)
See you there!

Iris

10 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Celebrate Valentine's Day!

Sometimes we just take life too seriously. If you are interested in having a laugh, keep reading. Here goes..... The 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Celebrate Valentine's Day

For Women

1. He’ll say something wrong
2. He’ll buy you something that will make you fat
3. He’ll buy you something two sizes too small
4. He’ll buy you something in the wrong color
5. The wrong style
6. The wrong season
7. The wrong shape
8. You’ll have to tell him you like it
9. He’ll expect you to wear it in public
10. Then you know what that means …..he’s expecting some tonight!

For Men

There is only one reason why you shouldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.

1. Whatever you buy, it will be ‘wrong’, and you know what that means….. you’re not getting any tonight!


If you’re tired of taking life too seriously and want to have more fun, call me for a complimentary coaching session at 905-709-8185 or send an email to iris@simplysuccess.ca

Guatemalan Adventure

I recently returned from an adventure in Guatemala. I spent 12 days relaxing and enjoying the culture of the Mayan People. The interesting piece is that often my girlfriend and I were the tourist attraction because we were the visual minority in many of the towns. It is quite an interesting experience when you are not used to being in the minority. In one town, my girlfriend and I were the only 'white' people for more than 24 hours. It actually felt that maybe we were in a 'Twilight Zone' episode and that were transported here by mistake where the Mayan Race was so predominant. Great learning experience!

Normally when I vacation, I try to see as much as possible because I know that there is little chance of me returning to country - since there are so many countries I want to visit before I die. This time, however, I found that although my girlfriend who was travelling with me wanted to go on a trek with a heavy backpack climbing up a volcano to freezing weather, I chose to return to lake Attitlan where I spend my days at an outdoor cafe, with the lake lapping at the shore, my coffee and breakfast brought to me at my table, while I sat under a grass hut enjoying the warmth of the sun and read my book and diarized. I came back to Toronto feeling re-energized and at peace.

The biggest challenge we had in Guatemala is trying not to get 'ripped off'. Although I am lucky and have fairly dark skin, my girlfriend is as white as can be and we automatically got identified as 'gringos' who can afford to pay sometimes 5 times the price of what the locals pay.

At one point we took a boat across the lake. Normally, we had paid 20 quetzales. This time, we had missed the boat and after much negotiation, the head honcho agreed to take us across privately for 30 quetzales each. Knowin that this would save us an hour wait, we decided to go. As we pulled away from the dock, the boat returned to the dock and picked up 8 more people. When I aksed the local how much he was paying, he said it's 6 quetzales - 80% less than what they were charging us.

When we got to our destination, I argued with the head honcho for over 10 minutes. He insisted that we pay our agreed upon 30 each and when I said that the locals were paying 6 he insisted that they paid 20. I called one of the locals to back up what I said and the navigator tried to get the local to pay the extra that we were supposed to pay. After much haggling, he took 10 quetzales each but neither of us were happy. I felt I needed to make a point after knowingly being cheated over and over while in the country.

The truth is that the difference between what he wanted and what I paid was only $3.50. Was it really worth it? In retrospect maybe not, however, as we walked away, one of the workers on the boat yelled at my girlfriend 'What's wrong with you, you gringo's can afford to pay for our gasoline!'

Alas, that is often the reality of traveling in third world countries and the perception of the locals of what people in first world countries can afford. The truth is that we can afford it, and we should be willing to pay.

The point is that I should be 'choosing' to pay rather than being tricked into paying. Funnily enough, that was the highlight of the trip and one of my 'fondest' memories.

A time to look forward, a time to look back

Happy New Year!

This is a common time for entrepreneurs to make New Year's resolutions and create new business plans and goals for the upcoming year. I am going to ask you to do something different today. Today I want you to look back on 2007 and complete the following 4 steps:

1) Write down all that you have achieved over the last 12 months
2) Compare your lists of accomplishments with the list of goals you created in January 2007
3) Write down the obstacles or blind spots that got in your way of achieving every goal
4) Make a plan of what will you do differently this year to make sure that you achieve all your
goals this year.

A successful business is not about achieving all your goals. If you achieved all your goals you proably played it safe when you set your goals. A successful business is about vision and planning. When bumps and obstacles get in your way, you need to find solutions to overcome those problems so that they don't interfere with you achieving your goals for the next year. There is nothing wrong with running into obstacles. I want you to run into obstacles and problems because that means you are playing a big game!

The bigger your goals, the bigger your problems!

Go all out this year!

Learn about the obstacles that get in your way!

Plan how to overcome those obstacles!

Set even bigger goals!

Have an awesome 2008!