Hi [fname] —

Belated St. Patty's Day wishes to you! I'm a tad Irish AND we have Irish Wolfhounds, so we enjoy the fun. That's me with Eva (left) and Jada, our "4-legged kids". They are enjoying the warmer weather as are the rest of us here in the Midwest. Anticipation for the start of spring tomorrow is high!

Did you get Gift #2 yet this month? You know, it's my business anniversary celebration and that means gifts for YOU! This month I'm excited to share with you a great e-book on how to Reset Your Mindset in 7 Days, written by my friend and colleague Tammy Cook. It's a great tool and easy to use with bite sized pieces for busy parents like me! Look below for more details on how to get yours!

This month's Guilt-Free article

I recently saw the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. It’s rare that I agree with “The Academy”, but this was a really terrific movie with such a moving story. Below I'd like to share with you what I got out of the movie and just one of the many messages you can take away from this gem of a film. I also have 5 keys for taming YOUR inner Slumdog!

To your continued success!

Victoria Cook, ACC
Your Guilt-Free Coach

PS: A great big "Welcome!" to all the new readers who joined my guilt-free community! You're going to love the resources you'll find here to help you create more time and focus to get done what's most important...Guilt-Free! Enjoy!

It´s my 5 year business anniversary and I´m celebrating, but YOU get the gifts!! For the next 5 months, I will be offering you a different gift each month. To see what gifts you might have missed, go to www.TheGuiltFreeCoach.com/anniversary.

Gift #2 - Reset Your Mindset in 7 Days complimentary e-book (retail value $10). This e-book is a simple 7-day program to help you develop a more positive, empowering mindset. Shift from limited thinking to possibility thinking in just 7 days.
GET YOURS NOW!

Our next Best Year Ever Coaching Call is MONDAY, April 6th, 12 pm CST

"Where does the time go?"

Time management is a HUGE challenge for most busy working parents. That's why our BYE topic for April is Time Management. We will kick off the month and:

1. talk about the time crunch
2. learn how to identify time leaks and how to stop them
3. review a strategy for prioritizing time

Then get personalized coaching on anything holding YOU back!

This call is ONLY for Best Year Ever Group Coaching members. Not a member?
Join now to access this call with Victoria's special FREE 1-month Membership trial
(plus a small $5 shipping/handling fee).

One of the biggest challenges in achieving goals is sticking to the necessary action steps with focus and consistency. If that´s been a challenge for YOU and you´re tired of your plans fizzling out before year end, then you've got to check out my Best Year Ever Group Coaching program.

The purpose of the Best Year Ever Coaching Program? For you to make SIGNIFICANT improvements in your life and business, and to ensure that 2009 is your best, most successful year— EVER! Each biweekly call includes a brief lesson on a relevant topic and expert coaching to keep you focused on creating your Best Year and give you the specifics to get going with momentum. The calls will also provide accountability, support, and the resources to implement strategies that will keep your business and your life continually getting better and better.

I am so sure that you´ll get incredible value from this program that I´d love to give you the opportunity to try it out —for F.R.E.E.! When you sign up for the group program, you will receive your first month for free* along with an audio CD including introductory information and detailed notes to get you started before your first call.

Join now to access my special FREE month membership trial

*$5 for shipping and handling of the CD

5 Keys for taming your inner Slumdog

I recently saw the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. It’s rare that I agree with “The Academy”, but this was a really terrific movie with such a moving story. As you likely have heard, it’s about a young boy, Jamal, from the slums of Mumbai, India who overcomes some incredible odds in his life and ends up winning the grand prize on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. That we know from the trailers. What the movie is most about, though, is the journey this boy and his brother, Salim, take that leads them to where they are.

I won’t give away too much so as to spoil it for you, but suffice it to say, they’ve had a large amount of hardship starting at a very young age. The young brothers, considered “slumdogs”, lived in great poverty, were ignored, discarded, and even abused.

We see the two brothers each shaped differently by their experiences. Salim becomes hardened, jaded, and at times, cruel: focused only on money and trying to survive. He turns his back on love in all its forms.

Jamal goes through the same journey yet holds fast to his dreams for something better. It was love (and not just love for his girl) that made Jamal fully reveal his humanity to others...it is what made him so different from his brother.

There are so many messages one can get from this gem of a film. The thought that stayed with ME after seeing it was how different each of these young men becomes. They start at the same point, yet end up in such different places, having walked the same path. This is not an unfamiliar story. Many autobiographies share stories of overcoming poverty, abuse, disabilities, and insurmountable odds to surpass what was believed possible for them. Some examples are the likes of Oprah and Abraham Lincoln—to name but a few.

What can we learn from the similar themes of each of these stories? Just like Jamal, these people didn’t let their circumstances shape their lives. They rose above their “handicaps” and worked to create a greater outcome.

As I further reflected on this theme, I discovered that the “slumdog” to me represents our “dark side”: our fears, disbeliefs, jaded attitudes, self doubt, and external obstacles. Feeling invisible and discarded can make a person fearful and live their life in that “darker side” as was exemplified in Salim.

Here are five keys to taming YOUR inner Slumdog:

1. Hold fast to your vision and do not let go of it, despite what may seem like insurmountable odds. Victory may be right around the corner but you won’t know it if you quit.

2. When you succeed, recognize that there will be doubters! There will be those that want to bring you down in order to make themselves feel better. They may mistakenly believe that just because THEY couldn’t do what you’ve done YOU can’t either.

3. Know that you CAN choose your path despite circumstances. Be conscious about your choices so you don’t feel like a victim of your circumstances. Remember, when you say “Yes” to one thing you are automatically saying “No” to something else. Follow your gut instinct, it’s usually right.

4. Love conquers all!

5. Keep your mindset positive and empowering. Working in the IT world for so many years, I often heard the expression “Garbage in, garbage out” as it relates to the quality of computer programming. Well, our mind is the ultimate computer program and this too applies. So put GOOD STUFF IN!

Your Guilt-Free Assignment (should you wish to accept it)

Are you curious to find out just how supportive your mindset is to helping you achieve your goals and increasing your self-confidence? You can take my complimentary Mindset Mastery assessment when you go to www.SteppingStoneCourses.com and click on the red pencil. There are only 20 short questions to answer and tally up for your score. If you’re not happy with your score, my 12-week course on Mindset Mastery may be just what you need to overcome your obstacles and clear away your MENTAL Clutter. You can also take advantage of Gift #2 and get your complimentary copy of Reset Your Mindset in 7 Days (a $10 retail value)! Visit www.TheGuiltFreeCoach.com/anniversary to get yours.

The Stepping Stone Courses are a life-changing series of mini courses specifically designed for today’s busy lifestyle. These mini courses are conducted by phone and created so you can make the significant changes necessary to reach your goals in just 12 weeks. This is done by providing concentrated, manageable, step-by-step learning PLUS the coaching and accountability to get them done! Visit www.SteppingStoneCourses.com for details or to take my complimentary assessments!

© 2009 Victoria Cook. All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article on your website or your own e-zine? No problem! But here's what you MUST include:

Victoria Cook, The Guilt-Free Coach, helps ambitious working Moms create more time and focus to accomplish their goals, grow their business, and live guilt-free! To get YOUR F.R.E.E. resources for increasing YOUR time and reducing stress, visit www.TheGuiltFreeCoach.com/gift.

Victoria Cook is the founder of The Guilt-Free Coach, a company devoted to helping working Moms grow their business or career in alignment with their priorities at home.

Through her workshops, courses, and coaching programs, Victoria assists her clients in creating the time and energy to get done what's most important so they can live Guilt-Free.

To begin experiencing Victoria's coaching, you can enjoy one month of her Best Year Ever group coaching program at no charge, beginning right now (plus a small $5 shipping/handling fee).

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© 2009 Victoria Cook. All Rights Reserved.