Category Archives: Abundance

Posted on

Creating Cheerio Castles From a Mom’s Heart

Every Business Owner Has a Personal Story

As an Executive Consultant there are several questions all clients ask. The first being, “how do you know”. My response, “I am an observer of others, experiences, and learn something from all of it.” Our knowledge, experiences, and actions within and beyond those give us an extraordinary gift of intuitive education.

As stated by Colin Powel once said as Secretary of State (United States) you have to make decisions quickly and at times you may only have 80% of the information the rest you go from what you know.

I decided to share this story with all of you as last week was a particular tough one. Some dear friends of mine sent a care package with Cheerios. Below is one of my stories and from working with executives to raising a kiddo from hard places just as I do; you too have the ability to build Cheerio Castles.

Creating Cheerio Castles From a Mom’s Heart

What does a mom’s heart have to do with Cheerios and creating a castle? Cheerio castles are those little round bits of cereal you find on the floor, car, and craft projects. My imagination builds beautiful castles with cheerios. I am sharing one of my stories of being careful what you pray for and second, finding God’s answer daily.

I do believe God answers prayer in His timing and not our own. As humans we make prayer and answered prayer more complicated than God intended. Many years ago someone told me: “God’s ‘no’ or unanswered prayer is not a rejection but is for our protection.”  There are many variables to unanswered and answered prayer; when we are present, allowing God to lead the way, we find our prayers are heard and answered daily. This is one of my go-to scriptures for prayer: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven… He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.- Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11

This past year my husband I opened our hearts and home to a beautiful 12 year old boy. We became parents for the first time by becoming Foster Parents. Becoming a parent found daily there is a learning opportunity about myself and heart. 

Unanswered Prayer | God did not answer our prayer through creating our own family.

Answered Prayer | God brought a beautiful boy to us. This boy is made for us and fits in so many ways we would never pray for; God knows.

Our morning routine settled in to my husband and son waking and getting ready. I tend to stay out of the way. My husband is better equipped to keep our son on track, getting him out the door on time, dressed, brushed, and in a joyful mood.

When the guys are busy I stay in our bedroom and use this time to pray, meditate, and wire my brain for what is on the schedule for the day. One morning during prayer I found myself grieving experiences we as parents would not have, bringing an older kiddo into our home and hearts.

 Prayer: Give all you have to God for he knows what burdens our hearts.

 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. – Romans 8:28

My prayer this particular morning went to my mind making a list of those things we will never experience such as:  quirky toddler moments, elementary school art projects on the refrigerator, mommy and toddler groups, little guy soccer, peanut butter and jelly faces, to our car would never have the cheerio chaos on the floor and seats, macaroni art, our dogs would not experience food on the floor or from a hand of a little one. My imagination spent more time creating cheerio castles, macaroni jewelry, what containers would store these amazing nutritious rounds of awesomeness, and so forth.

This prayer and meditation continued for about an hour and my logical brain hit me hard; almost an audible slap across the face. I said out loud to myself, “I do not have patience to clean up Cheerios out of the car.” My prayer took me from building Cheerio castles to the reality of patience.  I wrapped up this grief prayer session, not hanging onto what we will miss but considering the joy of messes a pre-teen and teenager brings without pretense.

The guys left for the day so I headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. As soon as I entered the kitchen my eye caught the dining room table. There were three Cheerios on our son’s placemat.  This has never happened before and my heart went directly to thanking God for answering prayer. My logical mind and temperament has no patience for such things as cleaning up Cheerios. God knows my heart yearns for Cheerio castles and that left me blessed with an answered prayer.  

God continues to leave me reminders of answered prayer as I continue to find Cheerios in unusual places. Sometimes I am not too keen on our beautiful boy and his shenanigans. God delights in my heart’s desire by leaving remnants of a Cheerio castle built in grief. God truly delights in our heart’s desires and I pray you too find God delighting in yours.

Be careful what you pray for: God knows what is on our hearts and delights in our joy.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37-4

Look UP & OUT!

Tracy Worley

 

Posted on

Gratitude is Everything

Gratitude is Riches, Complaint is Poverty ~ Doris Day

In America we have our annual feast of food, family, friends, and now commercial gluttony.

Last Holiday season everyone in our family received a journal to write what we are grateful. Each night at dinner we would share those grateful thoughts written down. Some days it was a rinse and repeat from the day or weeks before. What I found is we let the daily grind and outside influences take place of our daily journal. Today we will start anew!

Are you in the hustle of to-do lists, deadlines, and forgetting details of the day where there are gifts and miracles surrounding us minute by minute? Most of us have more than we need, from running water, warm beds, clean clothes, shoes purchased just for our feet, to the freedom of choice in entertainment, to freely walking to our local park to shoot hoops without fear.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein

My wish and prayer for you is to find the miracles in your day.

I am grateful for all of you, your gifts, and everything you share with your global communities.

Look Up & Out,
Tracy Worley

 

Posted on

Spark of Success

A life full of joy, clarity, focus, and determined success

I am often asked why I do what I do. This is a valid question and one I ask myself often.  From coaching, consulting, to public speaking the one thing that keeps me coming back is the “spark”.  Yes, all individuals, teams, and groups have an energy all their own and I see this as a “spark”. There is a raised energy when people see or rise to the next level of success.

Think about the spark of excitement in your face when holding a sparkler; even as adults we giggle and have childlike wonder when holding a sparkler in our hand. Working with men and women; they all hold a spark of excitement when entering the next level of success!

Throughout a golfers career whether for pleasure or competition there are times the swing is not recalling. It could be from mind block, muscle memory, fatigue, and so many other factors. At times it is a bad game or bad season where the player is unable to hit the ball well. What keeps players coming back is the “spark”. What keeps players coming back is the one great shot, chip, or putt; the “spark” of confident excitement and rush of accomplishment.

Identify Your Spark

  • Who or what makes your heart jump for joy?
  • Where would you love to spend more time serving?
  • What projects when complete sends your heart racing and calling others to share in the excitement?

The above is a short list of questions to dive into what you love to do and why you do it. If you are finding current space and circumstances keep you from doing what you love to do; perhaps it is time to make a change. Your unique talents are what the world needs. The world is in need for you to “spark” others with what you have to offer.  The “spark” is similar to a golfer, one well hit ball or “spark” builds your heart to do more of what you were built to do.

Personally, my “spark” to keep doing what I do is filled with clients accomplishments, ideas, and  transition to next levels of success. My clients build solid foundations while holding childlike wonder creating their own sparkler experience.  You can say I am a “spark” maker by sparking individuals, teams, and groups into new success they could not see or do before.

The spark leads to a well lived life full of joy, clarity, focus, and determined success.

Share, I would love to know what “sparks” you to do what you do!

Look Up & Out,

Tracy Worley

 

 

Posted on

Are You Killing Your Legacy?

Create your legacy before others create it for you.

One of my greatest mentors and teachers John C. Maxwell taught me, “people remember how you made them feel.” As I traverse from coaching executives to corporate teams the common denominators are “feelings” and “communication”.

Have you heard “this is business, there is no room for feelings in business“, or some other derivative of it? Well, there is room; people remember how you made them feel over all else. Yes, they remember how they feel over you making them millions, cured their cancer, helped them solve a large issue.

Register Here

Join me and others to build your legacy model with the 5 L’s. Legacy is building your sustainable growth model of how you show up in community, connections, and collaboration.

Legacy: Love, Lift, Link, Lead

Few Things To Consider:

  • Can you listen without bias or judgment?
  • When did you lift some one else to promotion?
  • Can you identify the last time you invited someone to an event; introduced them to people they need to know to grow?
  • Are you leading from behind the curtain or in front of the curtain?

Hope to see you there!

Posted on

Fire It Up Friday | 2

Summer 2017 Series Episode 2

How did you do last week implementing a few words, keeping the main thing the main thing, and creating measurable goals?

Here are a few things to consider to create a circle of sustainable referral sources:

  1. Connect & Serve
    • By phone, coffee, lunch, golf; whatever or wherever you are connecting with people ask them deeper questions about them.
    • Where ever you show up, show up to serve.
      • What are they most passionate about in their career?
      • What are they most passionate about at home?
      • What are they most passionate about in their community?
        • Listen to case study on video.
  2. Add Value
    • Now you have gleaned a few nuggets of passion from those you are connecting with, follow up with some of these ideas.
      • Send an article of interest (mail, email, or drop off in person).
      • Tag them in social media on something they are passionate about.
      • Special event, surgery, or milestone; send a card, call or text.
      • Invite them to an event to introduce them to people they need to know.
  3. Law of Reciprocation (Circle Of)
    • Connection and adding value ALWAYS brings something of equal or greater value to you.
    • Timing of reciprocation is unknown and it is measurable.
      • Referrals are reciprocation.
      • People sharing your name and/or brand.
      • Opportunities to serve is reciprocation.
        • Tight Circle: I call this the quick turn around reciprocation.
        • Wave Circle: Longer to accumulate but higher dividends. I imagine a wave going out to sea grabbing more volume, lifting opportunities. into the air and gently bringing them to your shore of success.

Remember, what you are passionate about is a calling. Challenge this week is to connect, add value, look for the Law of Reciprocation and give praise.

Thank you for joining me on our Summer Fire It Up Friday Series.

Look Up & Out, 
Tracy Worley
Posted on

The Summit of Success:  There is a Higher Peak

All success comes from an individual perspective in measurable increments. For organizations it comes from their perspective initiatives and the perspective of gain or loss.

One of the top reasons I adore about living in Montana, USA is the rugged back country is close and tangible. I find myself in a National Forest several times a week and if possible daily. No matter what trail my administrative staff and I hike; there is always an elevation gain or loss.

                                                                   Administrative Staff On Trail

Success also has a measure of gain or loss dependent on your initiatives and goals. I recently read, “The only person who needs to move forward little by little is you. Engineer your own evolution” ~ E. Burger, M. Starbird.

When I read evolution my reaction was, “Yes, success is creating your own revolution from the norms of how others have accomplished success.”

As you create goals there are meaningful ways to ensure a gain:

  • Move little by little toward the goal.
  • Reiterate and refine past and current knowledge to create progress.
  • The more you learn; the easier the pieces fall into place toward success.
  • Ask someone to walk along side of you; a team member, partner, or business coach.

Moving little by little is like climbing a trail. It takes step by step, bit by bit to make it to your destination and crest the top. Once you are at the crest you will see a higher peak (next goal) to strive toward. There are times you may need to lose elevation to glean new knowledge, understand the depth of measurable increments, and evaluate timing.

Refining knowledge is where most entrepreneurs and organizations lose traction. The tendency is to gobble up all information, processes, and best practices. This tendency hinders progress of little by little; often creating a stale environment of growth and innovation. To keep on track, define your objective clearly then adopt, adapt, or delete best practices and move forward.

Each goal has its own trail of learned knowledge.  Success can happen time after time hiking the same trail. However, conditions can change and new knowledge is gleaned from season to season. Business perspective; who is on your team creating a stale mate, are clients engaging, is it time to adopt, adapt, or change trails to new success?

The hard truth is not one person or organization creates success on their own. There is always someone supporting them in one manner or another. There are teams who sustain forward momentum to success and community who purchases services and or products. The basic truth not often seen are those who blazed the trail ahead of us.  A back country hiking trail is often not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of elevation gain, loss, gain, loss and keeps going until final destination. A back country trail is not managed and if it is there is a group of volunteers who hike in with band-saws and other gear to keep the trail clear (chain saws are not permitted due to fire danger, there are no motor vehicles allowed). From back country hiking to entrepreneurial paths cleared there is always someone who blazed the trail or idea ahead of us. It is your responsibility to create synergy and innovation from what is already forged.

“If I have seen farther than others it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants” ~ Isaac Newton. Bring someone on board to create and sustain your momentum toward your goals bit by bit. No matter what or who you bring on board it is important to be open-minded about possibilities not seen at the beginning of the trail.

Success is worth the journey bit by bit, little by little! Would love to hear about your journeys and where you have gleaned success and what your goals are today!

Look Up and Out,

Tracy Worley

 

 

 

Posted on

Are You Living The Life of Your Dreams?

The world is full of wonder and beauty.

The world is full of wonder and beauty. Look at your life as an abundant ADVENTURE; live the life of your dreams! Tracy Worley

Success in our society relies on the premise of position, possessions, and posturing. These three area’s keep us in average. Do, look, and see the world as everyone else does. To live the life of your dreams is to actually allow yourself to dream! We are brought up to no longer dreamAdventure and Tracy Worley as we are told it is silly and a waste of time.

WARNING: Not dreaming is a waste of your life!

When given a gift of leaving corporate and starting my own company, I found there were no tools available to dream, vision, and set values in what you do every day. So the last few years I have set out to create the tools. What I have found working with clients, is once they are given permission to dream the dream their success soars to the next level!

Here are a few steps to start:

  • Position: Look at this differently of not position in your job, community, or social status. Create a new position in who you are and where you want to be. Start positioning your heart, dream, and vision here. Once set a new position; shifts will start to emerge to living the life of your dreams.
  • Possessions: Instead of what you physically have or don’t have. Look at possessions of what values, dreams, people, truth(s), and time you have now. Create a checklist of what is working and what no longer holds value of who you are and where you want to be. I give you permission to let go of what is not working; yes, this may mean you “fire” a few people from your life. Dump truths that no longer hold value. Dream your dream.
  • Posturing: Shed the pretense of false boundaries of holding on too tightly of what no longer holds value in your life. Create an authentic life of poise and stop asking for permission, state your purpose and move forward.

Life is full of beauty if you are willing to evaluate mindset vs. dream. It is not easy to start, as you will be breaking through the set paradigm of society and people thinking you are crazy to dream. I guarantee, if you take the first few steps the shift will start and the dam of average will break!

Challenge Question: Where will you start in breaking the dam of average?

You deserve the life of your dreams!

Look UP & OUT!

Tracy Worley

Posted on

Are You Creating Success With Courage?

Courage is Earned and Learned

Yes, I am asking you! Are you creating success with courage? Courage is learned, earned, and an added value to your success.

Definition of courage is the ability to do something that is uncomfortable. Strength in the face of pain, risk, or grief.

Recently  I have traveled over 600 miles driving across Montana, USA. In this travel I met entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and government officials. There was a consistent theme with their successes and it comes down to three simple things: faith, passion, and failure.

All three of these simple things take courage to stand up to your success, passion, and ability to create something no one else can. Think about the following as all of them were an idea which took courage and has changed lives across the world and generations: tires, light bulb, flight, internet, space travel, and so many more. . .

Faith: Continue to believe in what you are building.

Passion: Create an inner circle of advisers to keep you on the rails of faith and your why.

Failure: Risk is part of success, it will happen. Take note of what you learned and keep moving.

Courage encompasses all three simple things to create the success you desire and deserve. A few questions to ask yourself:

Blessed,met and learned from so many great leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators today! Lt. Governor and Governor took time for Red Shoe Courage!

Blessed,met and learned from so many great leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators today! Lt. Governor and Governor took time for Red Shoe Courage!

  • Do I believe in myself and the project more than anything else?
  • Am I willing to let other activities pass while I create?
  • Do I have faith in myself to take risk and willing to keep moving forward when there is a fail?

Challenge: like, share, and comment one thing you learned from taking a risk! You have something to teach the world.

Look UP & OUT!

Tracy Worley

 

Posted on

Pride vs. Perseverance = Red Shoe Leadership

Have you been around someone, in their minds whatever they do “is NEVER good enough?”  TracyWorley.Com

The great outdoors is my favorite place to be! Those of you, who have followed me for a whole, know this and love the pictures of our American back-country I share.

Recently my husband and I hiked a trail that brought forth beautiful wild flowers, mid-summer snow fields, and several clear alpine lakes.

As a “leader” in hiking and the dos and don’ts I fell into a rookie move, and literally “fell”! I had a CHOICE here to let pride or perseverance lead the rest of my experience.  We can learn from failure (falling) or let it hold us back.

In embracing life I want to ask you; “do you let experiences choose your attitude”? I know by falling, scraping, bruising my knee and ego; I could have chosen pride and not enjoyed and appreciated the beauty around me. Or, choose perseverance and keep on keeping on enjoying the view, experience, and letting those around me enjoy their experience.

I choose perseverance and use the first aid kit to soften my ego into the next level of leadership.

Challenge: What rookie move will you shift into perseverance?

Look UP & Out,

Tracy Worley

#RedShoeCourage, #RedShoeLLC, www.tracyworley.com

redshoecourage.com