The Birth of an Idea

If you throw enough things against a wall something will eventually stick... The Birth of an Idea

The Birth of an Idea

A Life Coach's Journey

Have you ever stopped to think of the meaning of life? Are you living your life, or are you coasting through it?

I've been sharing my life journey since 2007. Successes and failures, all of my life lessons. I hope through sharing my experiences, it has inspired and motivated you to pursue your passion and your dreams.

Back in 2008 I blogged about my childhood dream. A year later I blogged about living my Childhood Dream PII. I've come a long way since writing those blogs. I still have a long way to go before achieving my ultimate goal. So I hope you continue to follow me at my new home at A Life Coach's Journey.

A Life Coach's Journey

Need Your Help Choosing a Title For my Upcoming Book

Need your help choosing the title for my upcoming book. Here's a brief:

Not long ago I was like many other people: stuck, bored, without passion. On paper, I had it all—a great job, a decent paycheck, personal freedom—but inside I was struggling. I devoured all the classic self-help books on business, psychology, marketing, and spiritual enlightenment, searching for answers, convinced that by crunching together all those magic numbers (four-hour-workweeks, one-minute management, seven habits of highly effective people), I could make it all add up and find some inner contentment. I did, but I didn’t learn it from reading. I learned it by observing, and then by doing. Now I want to share what I’ve learned with you.

Pick your choice here : https://www.facebook.com/life.coach.toronto

Need Your Help Choosing a Title For my Upcoming Book

Toronto Life Coach Bruno LoGreco on Self Awareness

“When you lose touch with your inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose touch with the world.” –Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle explains that stillness is in fact a form of awareness. When you apply this concept with having self-awareness there can be no denying the truth in his words. Self-awareness is having a clear perception of your personality; this includes your strengths and weaknesses, your thoughts, your beliefs, your motivations and your emotions. Being in-tuned with self-awareness affords you a better understanding of other people and how they perceive you, as well as your attitude and your responses to them in the moment. Self-awareness is one of the attributes of Emotional Intelligence and is an important factor in achieving success. Developing your self-awareness will enable you to improve upon your thoughts and interpretations and ultimately pave the road to a healthier, more successful and pro-active YOU!

When you afford yourself some quite time to be ‘Still’ in your thoughts and emotions, you will have a stronger and clearer connectivity in recognizing your personality and behavioural pattern. View this as a road map taking you on an inner personal journey of success. The more in tuned you are with your own ‘Self’ the more enhanced your interpretations and responses will be with other people. Ergo, the ability to empathize facilitates stronger personal and professional relationships.

The time you spend on personal reflection aids in facilitating the empowerment of understanding one’s true essence. This includes attaining a deeper knowledge in recognizing triggers that may set off positive or negative interpretations. Being mindful of your thoughts, your words, and your overall behaviour can increase the government of your overall well-being, thus, reaching a higher level of success on your life’s journey.

It is of great benefit for you to catch any negative behavioural patterns early on so as not to get lost in a disarming personal roller-coaster of negativity and/or self-doubt. Developing self-awareness helps to make the necessary changes in your mind and behaviour. With continued practice, you will instinctively begin to make better choices in your thought process before an emotional reaction or destructive behaviour takes charge.

Try and take a few moments each day to reflect on the day’s events. Be honest and truthful with yourself and accept any regrets of the day by learning the lesson(s) of what may have caused your, perhaps negative reaction/response. Embrace your weaknesses and commend your strengths. Believe in yourself and in your ability to improve and connect deeper towards your true essence of your ‘Self’.

Being self-aware affords you a deeper connection within yourself and with the world!

Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto, author & speaker

Toronto Life Coach Bruno LoGreco on Self Awareness

What is Emotional intelligence?

Author: Pam Stanton

We hear the term “Emotional Intelligence” a lot in workplaces. We get told that great leaders have it. Our performance reviews tell us to increase it. But what is it?

Here it is plain and simple:

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to consciously align your behaviors to a desired outcome.
It may sound simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. That’s because behaviors are influenced by emotions, and emotions are influenced by a variety of things like personal needs, values, past experience, and instinct. The raw input of our environment passes through these filters, and our brain delivers a verdict in the form of an interpretation. And that, in turn, produces a behavior.

Basically, it’s “Channel and Choose.” Your brain receives stimulus, channels it through your own personal filters, and then chooses an action.

One of the wondrous and amazing things about the human brain is that it can operate at a meta level of consciousness, above these routine brain processes. We can become aware of our own filters, needs and values that trigger particular emotions. We can process those emotions and then evaluate potential responses. We can learn to recognize situations that create an “emotional-hijack” and produce ineffective (or even destructive) behaviors—and change that course.

Some think that “Emotional Intelligence” is all touchy-feely and requires you to act a certain way all the time. Nothing could be father from the truth. Emotional Intelligence is about being able to choose your behaviors, rather than having the behaviors choose you. It’s about recognizing patterns in yourself and others so that you can be in control of your actions.

Understanding oneself is the first level of Emotional Intelligence. With that insight, we can then move into understanding what drives other people’s behaviors. This is where the concept becomes extremely powerful.
How Does It Work?

Let’s say you’re trying to enlist colleagues to support a proposal. You know it’s a great idea, and you explain it in detail, and yet one of your associates blows up defensively and stalks out of the room. What happened? Well, that person’s brain filtered a strong negative emotion. Was it something you said? Was it how you said it? Could you have anticipated this reaction and changed your approach? This is where Emotional Intelligence gives us a rich toolkit.

People are all different, and yet there are predicable behavioral patterns that form personality styles. You may be familiar with some of these frameworks such as Myers-Briggs, Social Styles, or DiSC. These frameworks provide a structured way to understand behavioral tendencies, and develop an understanding of how your behavior affects others. These skills increase your effectiveness by improving your relationships with others. You can learn to tailor and adapt your communication style so that it meshes well with different styles, to produce a positive result. In avoiding other people’s emotional triggers and hijacks, the path remains open for collaboration.

How Do You Get Some?

Studies show that Emotional Intelligence is more important than IQ in determining the future success of a person. The good news about Emotional Intelligence is that it can be learned and refined over time.

1. Gain Insight to Yourself. There are many ways to do this. You can complete a standard assessment such as the DiSC Inventory or the Social Styles index. These assessments are available through a variety of sources online and deliver a detailed report of your overall tendencies.

Another means of insight is to ask people you trust. This requires courage and a thick skin, and your genuine desire to take in whatever they have to say, even if you disagree. Hearing something that seems totally inconsistent with your self-perception can be very painful, but it’s also the best way to see gaps between your intentions and your behaviors.

2. Learn About Emotional Intelligence and Personality Styles. Two of the principal works on Emotional Intelligence are Emotional Intelligence by Dr. Daniel Goleman, and Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Drs. Travis Bradbury and Jeanne Greaves. Books like People Styles at Work (Robert Bolton & Dorothy Grover Bolton) break down how each personality style filters information, communicates, and interacts with the other styles. There are numerous books and classes available on the DiSC framework, as well.

3. Work on One or Two Behaviors At a Time. Rather than trying to take on the whole world of personality differences, choose one or two areas that seem to cause you the most trouble. Maybe it’s having people listen to you? Perhaps it’s your short temper? Observe the situations where this happens, note the external stimulus or triggers, and think about how your brain may be unconsciously delivering a filtered response that is counter-productive. You’ll be amazed at how much calmer you can remain when you are aware of your own “hot buttons.”

4. Get a Coach or a Mentor. If you want a truly objective viewpoint, a coach or mentor can be invaluable. They will help you to recognize patterns in yourself and others, and build your ability to consciously choose your behaviors rather than being driven by pure emotion.

Once you understand how your emotions influence your behaviors, and the behaviors of others, you will look at interactions as opportunities to build rapport and enhance communication. The benefits are immense to decision-making, relationships, and even to your overall health. According to Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader, “Emotional Intelligence is much more powerful than IQ in determining who emerges as a leader. IQ is a threshold competence. You need it, but it doesn’t make you a star. Emotional Intelligence can.”

And who doesn’t want to be a star?

Get started on cultivating emotional intelligence this week with Pam Stanton and myself on #AskTheCoach Thursday 4pm

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach, Toronto Mentor, Author & Speaker

What is Emotional intelligence?

What is Confidence?

Author: Sandra Smilovits

Self-Confidence is extremely important in practically all aspects of our lives; however all too many of us have chosen to suffer in silence, masking the fact that we just don’t have it! This was the path I had been lost to, which lead me towards my personal awakening. I had just lost my job and was feeling quite low, berating myself in every way imaginable. Then one day, I decided to simply let it go…It was then, I met my life coach, who later evolved into my mentor and my whole world changed!

My name is Sandra Smilovits and I have spent more than half my life struggling with indomitable self-confidence issues. I come from a good family, full of wonderful childhood experiences and opportunities at my finger-tips; yet the jaws of fear, ever so ominously looming in the wayside, always gave way to my resistance in anything and everything I inevitably was ‘encouraged’ to do. I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was not worthy, not smart enough, savvy or pretty enough. I always felt as though people were judging me and I never fit the bill.

Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself as a person, your overall judgement of yourself. It boils down to the fact that you have self-respect, you also have self-love, as well as having self-worth. You value yourself! And why not, there is nobody else in this world like you. You are authentic and skilled and beautiful. The time had come for me to break down the barriers and truly live life as my Authentic Self. To stand tall and proud to follow my hearts dream and build on my own talents; to reclaim my self-confidence. I began to set small goals for myself and in achieving each goal I felt my self-esteem begin to flourish. Most importantly, I began to share my love for writing with the world!

Choosing to let go of all my failures and deceptions of my past, I was able to connect with my true inner being with the guided help of an extraordinarily talented life coach: Bruno LoGreco. With his guidance, I broke free of self-made obstacles and relinquished the chains of fear that used to consume my essence. Bruno’s gentle heart carefully navigated me through the forest of all my fears and ambiguities I had lead throughout my life, thus far. His careful tutelage and intuitiveness touched me, letting me know that I was indeed, not alone. Working openly and honestly with Bruno proved to be monumental for re-introducing my inner child to myself.

We all struggle with feelings of inadequacy from time to time. Bruno has taught me to be true to myself. In concentrating on the contributions you make to the betterment of the world, you will find that you will no longer have the inclination or the desire to fuss over your own inadequacies. This will surely increase your self-confidence and concede optimum efficiency in all your contributions. The more you contribute to the world the more you will be rewarded with personal success and recognition. Bruno has not only taught me this through his words but also through his actions. He is a guru in loving life to the fullest which starts with loving yourself first and foremost. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you Bruno. To any and all of you who may have resonated with anything at all I have written, I encourage you to take that leap of faith and re-connect with yourself. Believe in you!!!

To help you get your confidence under way Eva Lahman from Exel Bicosmetica is giving away Skincare products Thursday 4pm at #AskTheCoach

Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto, author & speaker

What is Confidence?

The Secrets of Self-Confidence

Guest Author: Ivana Pejakovic

The key to success, happiness, and overall life satisfaction is confidence. Those who lack confidence tend to miss out on opportunities that would bring them closer to what they desire.

While some people tend to lack confidence in multiple areas of their lives, others only lack it in one or two situations. We are most likely to lose our self-confidence when trying the new and unfamiliar (when we don’t have a clue as to how things will turn out) or in situations that bring up bad memories (e.g., presenting, meeting new people, etc.).

Self-confidence is not something we are born with; rather it is something we can build on throughout life. Unfortunately, confidence is not something that will automatically add up over time. Our level of confidence is influenced by our upbringing and it is dependent on how determined we are as adults to overcome our fears and build on our abilities.

Here are 6 steps you can take on a daily basis to help boost your confidence levels.



Self-awareness: Being aware of your thoughts, feelings, attitude, and behaviour is an important part of building self-confidence. Knowing what makes you nervous or uncomfortable is the first step to gaining the confidence to overcome the fear.

Self-acceptance: After you become aware of yourself and of the situations that bring you discomfort, it is important you accept yourself as you are. This doesn’t mean you’re accepting the situation for what it is and you aren’t willing to change it. It’s simply an acknowledgment that you aren’t perfect. Once you can accept this, you can free your mind from negativity and you are able to start working towards improving the areas you wish.

Eliminating False Beliefs: Chances are you hold beliefs about yourself that aren’t true. These beliefs hold you back from trying new things and as a result further deteriorate your confidence level. Challenge what you believe about your abilities and about what you deserve through everyday action. As you start showing yourself that you CAN accomplish things, you will start breaking down the false beliefs and building your confidence.

Positive Self-talk: Do you have a habit of putting yourself down? To build self-confidence, you absolutely must speak to yourself with respect and faith. Even when you’re not sure of how things will turn out, you need to speak to yourself in a positive, encouraging, and loyal manner.

Taking Responsibility: Everything that happens in your life is a result of how you thought and of what you did. At times, it is difficult to connect your role to an unfavourable or favourable outcome; however, with enough analysis you’ll be able to connect the dots. The purpose of taking responsibility of what happens in your life is not to blame yourself, but to gain a sense of control over yourself. Control means you have the power over how you behave and think. Knowing how much control you have over yourself in any situation automatically boosts self-confidence.

Keep Trying the New: There is no better way to build confidence than to try something new each day. You don’t have to start with major things, however if you try something new each day, over time you will notice you’ve become more daring. The trick of course is to be proactive in your life and search for new things you can experience.

Join me and our resident experts on Twitter for a live discussion of confidence and fear; Thursday, June 2nd at 4PM EST #AskTheCoach

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach, Author & Speaker

The Secrets of Self-Confidence

Conquering Fear

Are you afraid to try new things? Or do you make a few tentative steps then give up before you’ve had a chance to really begin? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? Is it to avoid failure or rejection? Do you feel the new task is too difficult, or you lack the required skill set? Is it a few steps too far out of your comfort zone? Are you concerned that others will point their fingers of judgment at your efforts?

If you answered yes to any of these responses, then shame on you. You’re justifying your fear with yet another Pyramid of Failure. They are not answers; they are excuses. There is only one correct response: you simply lack the confidence. You are accepting defeat and confirming the false belief that you are not good enough and reinforcing your negative self-defeating behaviours. When you lack self-confidence you allow fear to dominate your life and you miss out on many opportunities.

Fear feeds on itself, preventing you from completing many tasks. You begin to avoid situations where you will be forced to confront your fear, and experience a deceptive sense of relief. Sometimes new fears begin to emerge creating new restrictions and new situations to avoid. These behaviours further weaken your confidence, and strengthen your feelings of emptiness and regret. Accepting defeat without trying is one of the worst types of failure.

Don’t waste your energy giving strength to fear; focus it on rebuilding your self confidence and by trying things you have never tried before. It is always a challenge to do new things in life and just the act of accepting these challenges increases your conviction and lays the groundwork for renewed confidence and courage. Don't let fear stop you from enjoying life. Set a course to learn why you are afraid, and commit to learning the root cause of your fright so you can challenge and overcome it.

How to conquer fear before it conquers you:

1. Acknowledge the fear.

2. Recognize that the fear is irrational and poses no danger.

3. Ask yourself what would happen if you complete the task despite the fear.

4. Set a date for completion.

5. Visualize yourself completing the task.

6. On the date set make sure you complete the task.

7. In your journal, write down what you learned from the experience.

8. Read back what you wrote and refer to it often.

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach Toronto, Author & Speaker

Conquering Fear

If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first,
and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more,
and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting
and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch,
and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less,
and learn to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious,
and seriously play.
I would run through more fields
and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tagging.
I'd see the oak tree
in the acorn more often.
I would be firm less often
and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power,
and more about the power of love.

Author: Diane Lootmons

If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again

Giving life, reclaiming my own

Guest Author: Marci Warhaft-Nadler

I knew when I became pregnant with my son, that I would love him and do whatever it took to make sure that he would be safe and happy. What I didn’t expect, was how becoming his mother would also make me take care of myself for the first time in my life.

Growing up, I was a very confident, outgoing little girl. It wasn’t until I turned 17 that my life took a drastic turn. My brother Billy, who was just the coolest and most handsome big brother in the entire world, had become ill. His illness took him from me when he was just 21 years old. I was shattered. Feeling like I had lost complete control over what was going on around me, I turned my control inwards. I started starving myself.

It was easier to cope with the pain from an empty stomach than the pain of accepting my brother was gone. He had always found a way to make me feel special. With him, I felt pretty, funny and smart. Without him, I felt none of those things. Thinking I would never be good enough I tried instead to be THIN enough. As any anorexic can tell you, thin enough just doesn’t exist.

There were moments when I felt stronger and promised I’d take care of myself, but the strength never lasted.

When I met my husband I believed that marriage would solve everything, I had a man who loved me unconditionally, surely that would be enough. Unfortunately, his love and acceptance for me wasn’t enough to bring out my own. My battle with self-esteem and body image continued, until a couple of years later, when my child saved my life.

As soon as my husband and I started discussing having a baby, something changed in me. It was as if I knew what had to be done and was prepared to do it. I needed to get my body as healthy as I could, so my child would be okay. Amazingly, when my doctor told me that carrying a little extra weight would make conceiving easier, I slowed my workouts and upped my calories. It didn’t take long before I was pregnant with my son. For the first time in my life, I felt EMPOWERED. I was someone’s mom and he was depending on me to make intelligent, responsible choices for him and for myself.
I watched my belly grow and my hips widen and I felt beautiful, for the first time in a very long time; beautiful and strong.

Halfway through the pregnancy, life sucker punched me once again, with some news I was not expecting. My mom, who had battled and beaten Cancer throughout her life, had lost her last battle. I had never imagined becoming a mother without having my own to share the experience with. I was devastated. My family was worried. Their concern was that this incredible loss was going to send me right back into the madness of my eating disorder. But I knew differently.

I was a mom now. I owed it to my child, to my own mother and to myself, to continue on the path of self-acceptance I had started when my motherhood journey first began. The greatest tribute I could give my mother was to take everything I had learned from her and help it make me the most loving parent I could be.That love had to start with myself.

When I became my son’s mother, I also became a friend to myself. From a girl who never felt skinny enough, to a woman who loves her curves.

Motherhood changed me because I’ve stopped worrying about what I’m NOT and feel blessed for who I AM.

Interested in more information? Join Marci and me on Twitter for a live discussion on Body Image; Thursday 4PM EST #AskTheCoach

Bruno LoGreco life coach, author & speaker

Giving life, reclaiming my own

Body Image Dissatisfaction in Midlife Women

Body image can be defined as one’s evaluation of or feelings towards one’s body. Although body image and body dissatisfaction was long thought to be an ailment of teenage girls, body image issues are now becoming more apparent in midlife women (Lewis & Cachelin, 2001).

According to Lewis and Cachelin, the current social pressures and concerns with ageing, the belief that slim physiques result in youthful looks, and the unrealistic expectation for middle-aged women to retain their youthful appearance are significant contributors to the development of body image issues in older women. Even magazines aimed at midlife women typically show younger women on their covers and in the fashion and beauty sections. The magazines that do use older women show them to be 15 years younger, as signs of age are airbrushed (Nett, 1991). As such it is getting harder for ageing women to feel comfortable in their bodies.

The question that remains is why do middle-aged women use younger women as a reference point? Below are 3 explanations.

1. Social Comparison: Today’s beauty standard is based on the young women found in the media. Thus, women compare themselves to these standards to evaluate their level of attractiveness. Although, one would expect older women to be less likely to identify with females 30 or more years younger than them due to differences in lifestyle, maturity levels and inevitable body changes that occur with age, research shows that women of all ages compare themselves to the models portrayed in the media (Lin & Kulik, 2002; Tiggemann & McGill, 2004; Hawkins, Richards, Granley, & Stein; 2004).

2. Individual Thin Ideal Internalization: Thin ideal internalization happens when a person absorbs the attitude approved by those around them such as, the family, peers, and the media. McLaren, Kuh, Hardy and Gauvin (2004) looked at the effects of body-related comments that middle-aged women, 54 years of age, could recall throughout their life. They found that women absorb the opinions of family members and the impact of social feedback on body-esteem is not restricted to younger females. Negative comments received in adulthood by significant others, such as, life partners, have similar effects on body dissatisfaction.

3. Thin-Ideal as a Predictor of Success: Women experience a great deal of external pressures, to be thin, particularly, when other benefits of being thin are praised to her. Studies found that attractive people are perceived to possess more desirable traits and positive life outcomes than less attractive people (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991). According to Harrison (1997) this cultural belief that physical attractiveness is key to life success is why older women compare themselves to thin ideals and why they are dissatisfied with their less than perfect bodies. Because the majority of women in their midlife do not look like the successful looking models, they may feel they are also lacking in other areas of life which create negative feelings about the self.

Interested in more information? Join me on Twitter for a live discussion of body image issues; Thursday 4PM EST #AskTheCoach

This is YOUR time to choose to how you perceive and think about yourself! Life Choices - Yours to Make!

Bruno LoGreco, Life Coach Toronto

Reference:

Eagly, A. H., Ashmore, R. D., Makhijani, M. G., & Longo, L. C. (1991). What is beautiful is good, but…: a meta-analytic review of research on the physical attractiveness stereotype. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 109-128. Lewis, D. M., & Cachelin, F. M. (2001). Body image, body dissatisfaction, and eating attitudes in midlife and elderly women. Eating Disorders, 9, 29- 39. Nett, E. M. (1991). Is there life after fifty? Images of middle age for women in Chatelaine Magazine, 1984. Journal of Women and Aging, 3, 93-115. Lin, L. F., & Kulik, J. A. (2002). Social Comparison and women’s body dissatisfaction. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 24, 115-123. Hawkins, N., Richards, P. S., Granley, H. M., & Stein, D. M. (2004). The impact of exposure to the thin-ideal media image on women. Eating Disorders, 12, 35-50. Tiggemann, M., & McGill, B. (2004). The role of social comparison in the effect of magazine advertisements on women’s mood and body dissatisfaction. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 23-44. McLaren, L., Kuh, D., Hardy, R., Gauvin, L. (2004). Positive and negative body-related comments and their relationship with body dissatisfaction in middle-aged women. Psychology and Health, 19, 261-272.

Body Image Dissatisfaction in Midlife Women

Healing Power of Journaling

Journaling Improves Mind, Body and Soul

Life is not easy and there might be days that you wish you could hide under a rock to shield yourself from the world. But you know that won't get you anywhere so you soldier on.

What are your life challenges?

Your things to do lists are piling up, you can't let go of past problems or figure out recent challenges. You have a hard time concentrating on tasks and the drive to succeed is slowly dwindling because you are too overwhelmed. Maybe you just aren't happy and fulfilled.

If this has gone on for a while you might be starting to feel the physical effects of it. Always being tired and unable to get the energy you need to do all you want to get done in a day takes a toll. When productivity in life plummets, stress heightens. You need to do something to clear the clutter in your mind. You can find huge benefits from writing it all down in a journal. You might also consider hiring a life coach to help you.

Reducing Stress Through Journaling

Continued stress will take a toll on your body and your mind. Your body responds to stress as it does with viruses. It knows that there is something wrong and wants to attack it in order to protect you. While your immune system is busy taking care of your stress, it has a difficult time fighting other antibodies that your body meets which causes you illness. This makes problem solving difficult.

With all the work that your mind and body are doing, you might feel exhausted and this exhaustion often leads to lack of motivation and stops you from being productive. You may think that you need medication to help you overcome the stress you experience but the power of journaling can result in a natural problem solving method that could help you in ways that you never thought possible.

The Healing Power of Journaling

Journaling or the act of writing down everything that goes through mind at the time you sit down to write. You can write all of the thoughts, feelings, and frustrations you experience on paper. As you write, you will feel the stress slip away and you will start to have a new perspective on things. Journaling can be structured or non structured and a life coach can teach you many structured methods of journaling.

The power of keeping a personal journal can help you focus, solve problems, and lead you down the road of self-growth. When you express yourself on paper, you can take time to step away and look at your situations realistically. You can makes plans for yourself and create new ideas. Writing down goals you have for yourself will help you feel more confident and motivated to get the things you want to help you find happiness.

This practice helps to clear your mind and control of your once hectic life. The healing power of journaling can have amazing effects on your whole mind, body, and soul. You will find that you will be able to live life to its fullest and be a happier and more focused person.

You can journal when frustrated, when you need clarity or when you are experiencing happy moments in your life. Many people find that a daily online journal is the most effective and attainable way to get and feel connected resulting in attaining the maximum benefits of journaling.

Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto

Healing Power of Journaling

Proper Stress Management - Simple Ways to Bring Your Stress Levels Down

Stress is a normal physical reaction to everyday life activities and situations. For most people, life is filled with continuous duties, deadlines, irritations, and demands. As a result, stress and anxiety is a fact of life for many people. While a small amount of stress is good, heavy and frequent stress is dangerous to your mental and physical health.

Continual stress often leads to physical and mental health problems as it disrupt many systems in your body (e.g. suppress immune system, increase blood pressure, increase risk of heart attack, speeds up aging, etc.) Stress has also been shown to lead to depression and anxiety.

If you’re finding that you’ve been feeling stressed and anxious more frequently, it is time to take action and bring your life back into balance.

Where does it come from?

It is tempting to believe that stress comes from outside of you. This way you have things to blame and a reason to feel a victim. Stress, however, comes from your perception of your daily activities, your interpretation of your life, and your beliefs about yourself. It comes from your perception of your environment, your work, and your level of control in your life. Stress also comes from your reaction to external events.

What can you do about it?

It is possible to reduce the amount of stress in your life! The first step to stress management is knowing and believing that you are in control of your life. Once you’ve mastered this belief you gain control over your life and everything else becomes a breeze.

So once you understand that you are the master of your domain, what next? To help you manage with stress, you can pay attention to 3 areas to help minimize the strain in your life. These are: psychological factors, physical factors, and life skills.

1. Psychological factors. The stuff going on in your mind is one of the main contributors to how much stress you experience. A negative perception of yourself and of your life adds to your stress and anxiety levels. What can you do? Eliminate your self-limiting beliefs, build confidence and self-esteem, stop self-sabotage, be optimistic, create reachable goals, talk to a friend, count your blessings, choose to be happy, appreciate what you have, know your values, control your emotional reactions.

2. Physical factors. How you treat your body makes a huge difference on how you feel. That is why it is important to take care not only of your mental health but also your physical health. Be sure to respect your limitations to avoid burnout, eat healthy, exercise, get a good night’s rest, breathe deeply, learn to relax and meditate.

3. Life Skills: Life skills are those skills that can simplify your life. This includes learning how to: manage your time, prioritize, get organized, create time for you, communicate with others, and learning other skills to improve the quality your life.

Interested in more information? Join me on Twitter for a live discussion of Stress Management; Thursday 4PM EST #AskTheCoach

This is YOUR time to choose to manage your stress! Life Choices - Yours to Make!

Bruno LoGreco, Life Coach Toronto

Proper Stress Management - Simple Ways to Bring Your Stress Levels Down

Balancing Stress

The melodic truth gifted to us all by Eckhart Tolle, in the opening of his book: Practicing the Power of Now, recites stepping out of one’s self and simply observing. Whether it be a difficult situation, personal issue, struggle with inner-self conflict or simply loosing life to Father Time. By becoming the observer, you activate a higher level of consciousness. Thus, crystalizing all the things that truly matter – creativity, love, family, friendship and inner peace – take shape, forging beyond the mind. Calmness abounds.

These days, how many of us truly resonate with living seamless and fulfilling lives? We all chase the hands of time, barely winning the race. We run about our crazy days much like robots. Not quite realizing the magnitude of stress building and festering from deep within us all. Stress is a fact of life. The impact that stress carries can for some, be quite overwhelming and for others a charging force.

You could say there is “good” and “bad” stress. For stress to be considered good it must be well managed so that it may stimulate and serve as an aid for achieving balance in all aspects of your life. Good stress may work as a motivator to propel higher achievements within ourselves.



Bad stress unfortunately has an adverse effect on most people. It can cause you to break out in a cold sweat, your heart rate may accelerate, and you may even feel a surge of fear brewing from within thepit of your stomach. All this can make you feel ill both internally and externally, thereby harming your personal health, well-being and happiness.

Logon to Twitter.com and search #TipTuesday for hourly tips on how to reduce stress and anxiety by Bruno LoGreco master life coach, mentor & spokesperson

Join me and a team of experts this week as we discuss Stress & Anxiety on #AskTheCoach Thursday 4pm.

Balancing Stress

What Are You Ashamed About?

Humans are extremely intelligent Beings. Most of us are under our parent wings for almost two decades while we learn as much as we can before moving on and creating our own life. That’s 20 years of experience and wisdom to draw upon as we live out our lives. Do you know any other mammal that nurtures their offspring for almost 20 years? It also means 20 years worth of wrong messaging and false beliefs passed down to us from past generations if we don’t use wisdom to challenge those beliefs to create a set of new guiding principles that adhere to our own moral conduct.

Did you know that most of our emotional reactions are learned within the first 6 to 7 years of life? We learn moral conduct; knowing right from wrong by age 3, the birthplace of Shame:

“Humiliation or distress caused by the conscious of wrong or foolish behavior.”

That’s how old I was when knowing that I wouldn’t be accepted in our general society because according to them, whomever they are, who I am is “Wrong.” So for 31 years I struggled with a moral conflict - Right vs. Wrong.

For most of the two decades while under my parents wings I chose to do the “right” thing. I cooperated and lived my life according to socially acceptable norms. It wasn’t too difficult to do. I adapted to my environment and behaved exactly the way people “should.” I observed and watched very closely how my kind reacted to societies ignorance. And I made sure my response wasn’t the same. It’s another testament of human beings tenacity for survival.

Being consciously aware of every step you take. Every word you speak. And every lie you create eventually does take a toll on your psyche. It makes you sad, angry and bitter at the world. You feel like a prisoner trapped inside a small universe, yearning for freedom but fearing the consequences. “Is it really worth it – My freedom at their expense?”

Who is really suffering?

Who I am and who I was becoming because of a moral conflict, were at opposite ends. Imagine an elastic band being stretched. At one end is me – authentic me running away from society. And at the other end it was adaptable me, who I’d become, running towards society. How much further can the elastic band stretch before snapping?

Is who I am so “Wrong” or is what they believe “Wrong”? That was the question needing an answer. If they are right and who I am is “wrong” then I deserve to live inside a small universe. But if I am right and live according to my moral conduct and do no wrong. Then I should grow as a Human Being and my universe should grow by leaps and bounds.

Ask Yourself:

1. What is so wrong about me?
2. What is the worse case scenario should anyone learn the truth - Does anything change?
3. What is the worse comment someone can say?
4. If I continue to stretch the elastic who is going to get hurt?
5. Who is likely to judge me?

That’s when I realized the most important questions needing answers are:

1. Do they contribute to my overall growth?
2. Will they help my universe grow by leaps and bounds?

Join us Thursday at 4pm EST for #AskTheCoach as Ivana Pejakovic B.Sc., MA takes the helm and will lead a 1-hour discussion on:

 Shame: “A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the conscious of wrong or foolish behavior.”

Don’t miss it!

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach, Author & Speaker

What Are You Ashamed About?

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day

When Inspiration Knocks

The past several weeks have been incredible. I have learned a whole bunch of new skills, met some really incredible people, all of who share a common interest - To help one another to live a life of purpose and passion. All walks of life from around the world are doing it. How incredible is that?

I am inspired by what I see. When inspiration knock’s you don’t wait for the next one, you open the door and see what lies on the other side. Sometimes you find nothing but sometimes you find more than you ever imagined you could find. What I found on the other side was a vehicle to communicate and share my message with likeminded people, and with men and women from around the world who can benefit from my process: Challenge Your Beliefs. Take Back Control. Break Down The Box. That’s what I share in my new book plus my own personal experiences, which led to the development of my 10-Week Self-Awareness Program also known as U-Turn.

Fortunately, I am one of those people who see the big picture - visionaries, before seeing the details. In fact I don’t see details. I see a maze. I see a big black maze with a stunning picturesque image of my goal at the center of it. I haven’t a clue how to navigate through the maze to arrive to the centre. Without really knowing where to start I just start anywhere. I keep my eye on the goal, and if I don’t lose sight of it I find my way to it. You are better off getting lost along the way than trying to plan your route without ever being there. You learn so much more getting lost and trying to find your way than you would if you know how to get there. It took 5 years to get here. And there’s no way a planned route would have led me here. Live and learn is what I believe.

That also implies going easy on you for making mistakes. I make a ton of mistakes, if you want to call it that. I’m like an artist. I need to see what I am creating. If I don’t like what I see I create something different on top of it. I know if I throw enough paint onto the canvas eventually it will turn into something beautiful.

In an earlier post Achieving a Milestone and Celebrating Success, I blogged about getting a new website to celebrate a milestone. Am still getting a new website, only that the launch date for it is 6 weeks away, at the earliest. At least my new book is finished. It just needs a new Title. I’m not a fan of the original one. It’s not catchy. So we’re playing with a few different options. You should be able to buy a digital copy in the next couple of weeks, right here on my Blog.

All in all, the past several weeks have been invaluable. From the incredible people I’ve met to the level of knowledge I’ve gained, to creating a new TwitterChat #AskTheCoach. It’s a weekly discussion on various Health & Wellness topics, promoting healthy living for vitality. Next week Ivana Pejakovic B.Sc., MA takes the helm and will lead a 1-hour discussion on:

Shame: “A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the conscious of wrong or foolish behavior.” Hope you join #AskTheCoach Thursday 4pm EST.

Now I leave you with this. Everything happens for a reason. The reason may not be clear in that moment but give it some time and you will learn why it happened. Live and learn. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. And follow your heart.

I'm off next week. Getting some much needed R&R.

Bruno LoGreco life coach, author & speaker

When Inspiration Knocks

Exercising Your Brain

Brain Power is the key to success. Well one of the many keys. It's still very important to expand along your journey of life. Why you ask? Well if you are living in a world where you know everything, you would be bored out of your mind.

I believe you have to expand your brain power everyday. Living a life, where you are learning something each day is important. Maybe you just found out that you only use 10% of your brain, but others can exceed this 10% and go further. Would you want to be one of those people who exceed the 10%?

You don't have to be in school to learn. I learn from networking, internet, books and even television. They are great ways to learn and expand your intellect. They can be fun facts or actual current events in the news.

Personally, I like to learn about things am interested in, otherwise I won't remember something that I found dull. When I am surfing the net, I look up topics like psychology, social behaviour, etc.. Now let's say you are a stay-at-home mom, you may look up things that have to do with purpose and passion or ways to fulfill your need for something more.

I even learn about things that don't relate to me. So I can have information about various aspects of life. It is nice when a group of my friends are having a conversation about current events and I can participate confidently on the various topics. The greater your knowledge the more confident and engaged you will be with those around you.

Living and learning go hand in hand. Keep exercising your brain for longevity. Learn new things your interested in, things that will help you live a meaningful and purposeful life everyday. Your brain will reward you generously when you do.

#AskTheCoach

This week on #AskTheCoach Guest Expert Dr. Nick Campos discusses How To Keep Your Brain Healthy for Vitality - Thursday 4pm Est.

Bruno LoGreco life coach, author & speaker

Exercising Your Brain

Mental Health - The Key to Vitality

This week we’re talking mental health.

We want you to feel good about yourself and to enjoy life so you can be successful at whatever it is you set off to do. The best way for you to do that is through proper exercise, nutrition and mental stimulation. Similar to how your body functions optimally when you exercise and provide it with nutrients, the brain needs the same level of attention if not more; it needs the right food, oxygen and mental stimulation for it to function optimally.

The brain, albeit a small organ, it consumes 25% of your overall energy. A study in the May 2001 issue of Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, reported that the brain consume up to 30% of stored energy during the execution of tasks requiring critical thinking.

With proper nutrition and mental exercise you can reduce stress and anxiety and be better equipped to cope with day-to-day activities, and you will find yourself being less irritable with others while having greater reasoning skills.

Give the brain what it needs and in return it will give you vitality and the enjoyment of life.

Tuesday: #TipTuesday: Tips all day long on twitter to boost brain power and increase your vitality

Thursday: #AskTheCoach 4pm EST TwitterChat – Ask industry experts questions to help you sustain a healthy well-balanced lifestyle

Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto, author & speaker

Mental Health - The Key to Vitality

Achieving a Milestone and Celebrating Success

So after four-years of trying to write my book, I finally finished it. There was no way I could have written it four-years ago without the experience and the knowledge that life offers. One experience after another, each one led me to a piece of valuable information unbeknown to me at the beginning of my journey. Its what they call “Aha” moments – After almost every experience I remember saying to myself “there’s no way I would have known this until this moment. I don’t know how on earth I could have believed I had everything I needed to write a Best Seller, four-years ago - Naïve... Right?

One of those moments happened in the summer of 2010, four-years into the journey. Two colleagues and me were sitting on a patio, on a hot summer afternoon. We were having lunch and discussing an idea for a new television series. One of the guys who was there is a television Executive. His job is to put television shows together. He works with some of the big names in the industry. Just the person you want at one of those luncheons. I was very excited about meeting with him and after a few short minutes of introductions he asked me:

“So Bruno, tell me what do you do?”

I explain how I developed a 10-week program designed to help people break down self defeating negative behavior, overcome fear; literally breaking down the box, while boosting their confidence and self esteem and putting them on a path for success. My program reduces stress and anxiety, and wipes-out unneeded therapy.

“Sounds great! So how do you do it – tell me how you do it in 10 weeks?”

Easy… I do it in 3 Steps

Step 1: Undoing The Doing – In this step the client identifies their limiting and negative behavioral patterns along with the root cause. They then change their perception surrounding the event, which gives them the ability to create space for a new belief system and identity.

Step 2: Values and Strengths - Once they see who they aren’t they want to know who they are. In Step 2 they learn values, strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes – everything that makes them a unique individual.

Step 3: Purpose and Passion - They use what they learn in Step 2 to create a path that best works for them using their innate abilities – their strengths and values to create a life of dreams purpose and passion.

I thought I nailed it. I guess not because he then said, “That’s great Bruno, but how do you do it?” “What do you mean - How do I do it?” I asked. “Bruno, just because you know how to do it it doesn’t mean the rest of us do. What’s common sense to you isn’t obvious to your audience. You need show them how you are doing it.” Busted! He caught me with my pants down. Something fundamental I teach to my clients and yet I wasn't taking my own advice… “Why don’t you go away and come back with the how.”

Until that moment – I hadn’t had to try to explain it more than I did to anyone. Even though the process works it wasn’t documented the way he wanted to see and hear it. And that was one of the missing components to my book. So everything happens for a reason. And everything has it's time. That experience was the catalyst that led to the next experience, and so on. And now the book is ready. I have huge plans to get the book published and into book stores. Let's see if I can pull it off. In the meantime I am celebrating to mark this milestone. We’re about to launch a brand new website with lots of new features. You will be able to buy the book right here, too.

Something else I am totally excited for - #AskTheCoach. A live Twitter Chat Thursday 4pm EST. Meet Health & Wellness coaches who answer your question. Hope you join us and participate in the festivities.

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach, Author & Motivational Speaker

Achieving a Milestone and Celebrating Success

Life Coach Bruno Logreco Offers New Features On Twitter:

Ten years ago it certainly could not have been predicted that “Twitter” or “Tweet” would become such commonly used words in everyday conversation. Twitter has brought together people from all types of life. Celebrities, Business Owners, Sport Stars, your neighbor down the street, your cousin on the other side of the globe. Even the Queen of England! The 140 characters you are permitted are being used to discuss News Events, Business Marketing, Entertainment, Thoughts, Activities, Interesting New Links and so much more. Twitter has gained popularity worldwide and is estimated to have 200 million users, generating 65 million tweets a day and handling over 800,000 search queries per day joining the social media phenomenon along with Facebook and many others.

It is also used for direct communication among social groups and organizations, with the use of "hashtags." For instance, #lifecoach, used at the end of a tweet, means that the communication will be viewed by all users who follow the topic which refers to an ongoing chat about Life Coach's.

Twitter is about engaging in a meaningful community and forming mutually beneficial relationships. Through interaction on Twitter, you can build a unique, and dynamic list of followers all across the globe. Being connected to others on Twitter provides you with an ever-present and positive connection, even if you don’t connect personally every, single day. It truly is a simple platform that allows for really complex and positive self improvement.

This week is very exciting as Life Coach Bruno Logreco http://www.twitter.com/brunologreco starts two new features available exclusively on Twitter. First is #TipTuesday which will offer self improvement tips. Second is #AskTheCoach Talk Back Thursday where you the followers can ask questions relevant to the weeks topic. (Confidence & Selfesteem are this weeks topics).

Celebrity Life Coach, Author, Motivational Speaker and Healthy Choice Spokes Person. Bruno Logreco has helped men and women from all walks of life rediscover life on the path to success. http://www.brunologreco.com #lifecoach

Life Coach Bruno Logreco Offers New Features On Twitter:

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability

Afraid of showing your true colour's? What are you missing out on by pretending to be something you are not? What's the cost of suppressing the real you?



Bruno LoGreco life coach, author and spokesperson

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability

How Do You Make The Time To Creatively Express Yourself?

Author: Misty Shaw

How Do You Make The Time To Creatively Express Yourself?

Between work, family, and the many obligations of life, where's the time for YOU? How can you carve out the personal time to creatively express yourself? Do you have an inner artist that yearns to paint? Maybe you've enjoyed creating melodies with musical instruments. Is there a hobby you have enjoyed in the past, only to be shelved because of the obligations of everyday life? Your creative self can shine again, simply by making the time to get in touch with your inner creativity.

Your favorite activities may be sitting on a shelf, collecting dust. The items are there, waiting for you to pick them up again. Maybe you have an old sketchbook you can open up again--just draw a few simple doodles to get yourself into the "groove". Is that violin tucked deep in a closet, surrounded by its protective case? Maybe you can bring it out of hiding and play it for your children, allowing them to hear the beautiful sounds of a stringed instrument. If you're a writer, maybe you can maintain a weblog about a subject you're interested in, or creatively write fantastic stories in your journal. If you don't feel artistically talented, you could express yourself by updating aspects of your wardrobe. What colors and fabrics can you wear for those nice dinner outings? What can you change about about your everyday office attire that communicates success? What would you like to wear that would enhance your glowing personality?

Just by taking small steps towards your inner creativity, you will most likely "find" the time to express yourself. After those initial steps, a drummer may polish her percussive skills through hours of practice. The painter creates beautiful abstract images in acrylics to display around the home. The writer begins a process of penning a book to sell through the internet. About that wardrobe--maybe you have found the perfect ensemble for a nice evening at a jazz club. As you refine your creative skills in these areas, you feel great about yourself!

How can you keep these experiences of creativity going? You must be proactive in preserving the time for your creative self. The circumstances of your daily life may eventually crowd in on your creative time. You can schedule your creative time a few days a week, even if only for half hours at a time. When is the best time of day to indulge in your everyday activities? Early in the morning before everyone rises? How about sometime in the afternoon during a long break? Are the evening hours better for you? As you continue your modes of expression, you may experience increased amounts of time.

Now that you've found the joy in your creativity, it is up to you to protect your creative time.

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach, Toronto native

How Do You Make The Time To Creatively Express Yourself?

6 Ways to Quickly Increase Your Self Esteem

Self esteem is defined as a feeling or sense of pride in yourself. This feeling can come from doing a number of different things. Most times it happens when you achieve something you work for or you set a goal and you've accomplished it through commitment and persistence.

When you feel like everything is going wrong or you aren't achieving what you set out to do, this can cause your self esteem to tumble. Low self esteem can lead to depression, stress and anxiety, so it's not worth it in the long run. To get the boost you need so you can continue on and reach for your goals you will need to follow the six tips below.

1. Stop comparing yourself with other people. Everyone is unique and has different values and strengths. Comparing yourself to someone who is nothing like you is accepting defeat from the start.

2. Stop putting yourself down. Separate your thoughts from you. When you start down the path of negativity look at your thoughts and ask yourself if they are true.

3. Hangout with positive people. Positivity rubs off plus it isn't heavy unlike negativity which drags you down. The human brain is highly adaptable and can easily turn positive as long as the environment is right.

4. Make a list of your values. Review this list often and foster those values. Start focusing on your positive traits and you'll stand a much better chance of achieving what you wish to achieve.

5. Grab every opportunity that comes your way. Do not dither and wait for a better one that may never come.

6. Pump oxygen into your brain because it needs it. Incorporate 15 to 20 minutes of medium intensity cardio vascular into your daily routine. You boost your immune and lymphatic system and its a sure way to boost your self esteem.

Self confidence is the foundation for success. Everything you are and everything you do depends on your self esteem. Your sense of worth forms the basis of your inner stability, your outer personality; and fuels your performances.

With so many different things that can cause you to have low self esteem, can you find one reason to not learn new ways to prevent your self esteem from taking a nosedive? Don't let past memories and failures dictate your future. Replace every reason why you can't accomplish a task with a strong reason why you can and start today.

Want to learn more about boosting confidence and self esteem? Bruno LoGreco is a Celebrity Life Coach Toronto native, Mentor & Author. Visit http://www.brunologreco.com and find out how to boost your confidence and self esteem

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6127411

6 Ways to Quickly Increase Your Self Esteem

A Prisoner of Mind

Every day brings a new story and everyday is the end of a story. Breaking news from the world we live in: Mother Nature unleashes her fury on one nation. Global recession recovering, construction is climbing; Home one day and gone in the next. Uprisings and revolutions - Peace and war.

From one day to the next seasons change. Today there is snow tomorrow rain, a sign of an ending season. Trees blossom and flowers bloom changing the landscape from cold and grey to warm green and blue.

No one-day will ever be the same. From birth to 1 to adolescent years, young adulthood to the present time you learn and grow never knowing what tomorrow will bring. Guided by wisdom and experience much of life is an experience creating illusions of what will be or perhaps for a few, reality.

Stuck in a world that is forever changing too afraid of letting go for fear of what you don’t know. Look back; look at where you’ve come from now realize you couldn’t possibly have known – No, not until you were ready to know. Now move forward confidently liberating your mind to free.

Bruno LoGreco, life coach toronto, author & motivational speaker

A Prisoner of Mind

Z-o-o-o-m! Toronto Life Coach Auctions Art to Raise Money For Japan

Artist: Bruno LoGreco, Celebrity life coach, toronto native, author & motivation speaker

Size: 30x48

Title: Z-o-o-o-m

Opening Bid: $100

Why am I raising money for savethechildren.org?

Here’s how it will work:

1. Every few days, I will post a picture of one of my paintings, listing its size, title and any other relevant information.
2. Using a valid email account, readers are invited to post their bids in the comment field.
3. Bidding will close at 12 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 10th, 2011.
4. The highest bidders for each piece will be notified by email.
5. The winning bidders will be required to forward their donation via PayPal before their artwork is shipped on April 11th, 2011.
6. Once all money is collected from the successful bidders, I will forward the donation to Save the Children’s efforts in Japan.

Z-o-o-o-m! Toronto Life Coach Auctions Art to Raise Money For Japan

When You Are Too Busy To Feel It - 3 Steps to Creating 'Me' Time

If your days seem to be filled with endless tasks to complete without making time for moments to enjoy, perhaps it’s time to put some “me time” on your to-do list.

In my experience as a life coach, I have found that more and more people—women especially—find it incredibly difficult to take time for themselves. Combining the nurturing roles of spouse, parent, child, sibling and friend with the daily stresses of a career is not only exhausting but time-consuming and overwhelming. Fitting in time for yourself is often the easiest thing to cross off your to-do list. When we put ourselves last, however, we often end up losing sight of what is important to us and what we need to be our best.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a reporter who interviewed me months ago. Since each person’s experience with a life coach is different, I decided to ask her what she learned from our meeting. In our hour together, we talked how the various aspects of her life that made her happy and sad, and if she was able to find a balance.

“The one hour I spent with you was intense and an eye-opener…how I allowed myself to get THAT busy. The interesting thing about our meeting was that I spent an hour focusing on myself for the first time. I had heard many women speak about women’s intuition—a gut feeling they get when they fall off the beaten path…but not me. I never got that feeling so I didn’t believe I was off. But how could I if I was too busy to even notice it? What’s worse, is when I was too busy, I self-medicated…and my drug of choice was food. I used food to suppress the feeling.”

During our meeting, Susan* mentioned she often resorted to yelling as a method of communicating with her husband and children when her built-up anger became too overwhelming to contain.

“After speaking with you, I realized I was taking out my frustration with the kids and my husband. I’m not saying I am perfect, but I am more aware. Now, I get down to my kids’ eye level when I speak to them instead of yelling at them. This strategy has made me a better person already.”

Changing your behaviour for the long term can be difficult if you don’t truly understand why you behave that way in the first place. After some soul-searching, Susan was able to realize she was battling a lifetime of self-doubt and trying to compensate by taking on more than she could—or needed—to handle.

“I was taking on too much. I probably wasn’t communicating or setting boundaries with anyone because I believed I wasn’t contributing enough…I wasn’t doing enough. I always had a need to prove myself…most of my life I’ve felt as if I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough, smart enough. So I did everything I could to try to get some appreciation/validation to make up for it and when I didn’t get it, the message played in my head like a broken record: You’re Not Good Enough. When I realized where those messages originated from, it was clear who still had control over me—I simply took back my control.”

When we met, time was a major concern for Susan and she was struggling to find the perfect balance between her work and home life.

“I took a strong look at all the work I was doing and what I really wanted to do. I also noticed how much energy I spent fixating on stuff I didn’t want to do. I used that time to make self-serving plans and a strategy to move forward. Family was a the top of the list. Now, I spend more time with my family and work is at a place that feels good. Today, I would say I am a happy person.”

By taking time to reflect on what was really important and examine the reasons for her behaviour, Susan was able to make significant changes in her life.

“You need to take a moment to realize what feels good,” says Susan. “When you are too busy to feel it, you don’t realize what you’re missing.”

Give yourself permission to take a break and to follow 3 simple steps to create 'me' time

1. Schedule “me” time into the calendar. Even if it’s just 15 minutes a day, spend that time journaling about your thoughts, paying close attention to how you feel. If you make it the same time each day, your “me” time will become part of your daily routine.


2. Take up a hobby. Find something you enjoy that you get completely lost in. Having a clear mind can bring about many epiphanies, but the key lies in silencing the mind long enough to have them; hobbies have a way of doing just that.


3. Talk to a life coach. Take an hour and talk to a professional. Making it all about you is extremely soothing, and you may discover the underlying reasons for some of your previous actions and ongoing behaviour.

Bruno LoGreco, life coach toronto, author & spokesperson

When You Are Too Busy To Feel It - 3 Steps to Creating 'Me' Time

Extend Your Life by 10 Years - What Optimism Buys You

"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." Helen Keller

Occasionally described as "naive" or "idealistic," optimists often get a bad rap-but not from other optimists. No, the only people staring into their half-empty glasses and shaking their heads in disapproval are pessimists.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines optimism as having "hopefulness and confidence about the future; a tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view."

If you see hardships as learning experiences, believe the sun will come out tomorrow-and believe your glass is indeed half-full - you're in luck. More and more research suggests that having an optimistic view of the world has it's benefits.

Optimism = Happiness
Dr. Martin Seligman and his team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania discovered that optimistic people are happier than pessimists-and it all boils down to how each group explains their setbacks to themselves. When something bad happens to an optimist, they view the situation as temporary and not entirely their fault. When something bad happens to a pessimist, however, they blame themselves and consider the setback to be permanent. While these are extreme examples and most individuals fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, how we perceive and react to a situation appears to be a determining factor to our long-term happiness.

Optimism = Success
As a result of several large-scale experiments, Dr. Seligman also discovered that optimists are more successful than pessimists. Optimistic students get better grades; optimistic athletes train harder and perform better; optimistic politicians win more elections. And because optimists don't give up as easily as their pessimistic counterparts, they are more likely to enjoy successful careers. Today's companies actively seek out employees with optimistic outlooks in hopes that it will reflect in their work. It's simple: people who believe they can...do.

Optimism = Longevity
If you're constantly expecting good things to happen, researchers at the Mayo Clinic believe your optimistic viewpoint could extend your life by about a decade. In the late 1990s, the Mayo Clinic's research team examined personality tests performed in the mid 1960s and followed their subjects 30 years into the future to scientifically measure the relationship between attitude and longevity. What they were able to prove is something many of us have known all along: our mind and body work as a team. Dr. Toshihiko Maruta, the study's chief investigator explained, "The important thing is that we've proven the relationship scientifically, and made a correlation between how people see the world when they're young and how they turn out 30 years later." And while you can argue that optimism versus pessimism may depend on an individual's environment and circumstances, it has been proven that people, even under the worst conditions, have the inherent capacity to be positive and hopeful. And how we perceive and react to our environment-glass half-full or half-empty-has a direct impact on our health.

Bruno LoGreco, life coach toronto, author & motivational speaker

Extend Your Life by 10 Years - What Optimism Buys You

The Journey - Raising Money For The Children of Japan.

Artist: Bruno LoGreco Celebrity Master Life Coach, Toronto native

Size: 18x36

Opening Bid: $15

Monies raised from auction will be donated to www.savethechildren.org.

Why am I raising money for savethechildren.org?

Spring has sprung! This painting is based on summer color's: Grey, red, yellow and various tones of orange. I did not have a vision for this painting before starting it, the whole thing came together in the end. This one was more about the process - The Journey.

Here’s how it will work:

1. Every few days, I will post a picture of one of my paintings, listing its size, title and any other relevant information.
2. Using a valid email account, readers are invited to post their bids in the comment field.
3. Bidding will close at 12 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 10th, 2011.
4. The highest bidders for each piece will be notified by email.
5. The winning bidders will be required to forward their donation via PayPal before their artwork is shipped on April 11th, 2011.
6. Once all money is collected from the successful bidders, I will forward the donation to Save the Children’s efforts in Japan.

The Journey - Raising Money For The Children of Japan.

Big City - Auction to raise money for the children of Japan

Artist: Bruno LoGreco Celebrity Life Coach, Author & Motivational Speaker

Big City

Size: 11x16

Opening bid: $10

Here’s how it will work:

1. Every few days, I will post a picture of one of my paintings, listing its size, title and any other relevant information.
2. Using a valid email account, readers are invited to post their bids in the comment field.
3. Bidding will close at 12 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 10th, 2011.
4. The highest bidders for each piece will be notified by email.
5. The winning bidders will be required to forward their donation via PayPal before their artwork is shipped on April 11th, 2011.
6. Once all money is collected from the successful bidders, I will forward the donation to Save the Children’s efforts in Japan.

Why am I auctioning off my paintings?

Big City - Auction to raise money for the children of Japan

Fatherhood Involvement PSA

Fatherhood Involvement PSA

Tree of Hope - Art Auction Raising Money For Children of Japan

Artist: Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto, author & motivational speaker

Size: 11x16

Opening Bid: $10

Monies raised will be donated to www.savethechildren.org to help the children of Japan overcome the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

I created Tree of Hope a few weeks ago while learning to use acrylic paint. Trees represent grounding and stability. The roots of a tree go deep and wide giving it its stability, making it difficult, if not almost impossible to move. Unless of course a natural disaster occurs, then everything moves just as it did in Japan March 11.

Here’s how it will work:

1. Every few days, I will post a picture of one of my paintings, listing its size, title and any other relevant information.
2. Using a valid email account, readers are invited to post their bids in the comment field.
3. Bidding will close at 12 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 10th, 2011.
4. The highest bidders for each piece will be notified by email.
5. The winning bidders will be required to forward their donation via PayPal before their artwork is shipped on April 11th, 2011.
6. Once all money is collected from the successful bidders, I will forward the donation to Save the Children’s efforts in Japan.

Bid on other paintings:

SWIRL current bid: $110

Up's & Down's current bid: $50

Together current bid: $30

Lifeline current bid: $100

Why am I doing this?

Tree of Hope - Art Auction Raising Money For Children of Japan

Swirl - Art Auction to raise money for www.savethechildren.org

Artist: Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto, author & motivational Speaker

Size: 16x12

Opening Bid: $10

Proceeds go to: www.savethechildren.org

Why am I doing this?

Here’s how it will work:

Every few days, I will post a picture of one of my paintings, listing its size, title and any other relevant information.
Using a valid email account, readers are invited to post their bids in the comment field.
Bidding will close at 12 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 10th, 2011.
The highest bidders for each piece will be notified by email.
The winning bidders will be required to forward their donation via PayPal before their artwork is shipped on April 11th, 2011.
Once all money is collected from the successful bidders, I will forward the donation to Save the Children’s efforts in Japan.

Bid on other paintings:

Swirl - Art Auction to raise money for www.savethechildren.org

Up's and Down's - Art Auction for Save The Children Fund

Earthquake. Tsunami. Nuclear crisis art auction for www.savethechildren.org

Commitment is what kept me working on this painting. There were many times when I wanted to walk away and even throw it out. The last time I picked it up I believed there was nothing more I could do to revive it. I felt useless and believed it was ruined. Then, thoughts started playing in my head - it's art everyone sees something different - don't abandon it because of false judgment - success is starting and finishing what you set off to do.

Title: You name it

Artist: Bruno LoGreco master life coach, author & motivational speaker

Size: 30x48

Opening bid: $50

Place Your Bid:

1. Using a valid email account, readers are invited to post their bids in the comment field.
2. Bidding will close at 12 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 10th, 2011.
3. The highest bidders for each piece will be notified by email.
4. The winning bidders will be required to forward their donation via PayPal before their artwork is shipped on April 11th, 2011.
5. Once all money is collected from the successful bidders, I will forward the donation to Save the Children’s efforts in Japan.

Up's and Down's - Art Auction for Save The Children Fund

Together

Title: Together
Opening Bid: $10
Size: 11x23
Artist: Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto, author & motivational speaker

The people of Japan are strong and are coming together. No looting, no anarchy, just civil order as they help one another overcome the devastation. We're hearing stories on the news of groups of people sharing food, ensuring there's something for everyone. Stores are even lowering prices to help there fellow citizens cope with this crisis.

In a time of crisis humanity unites together to lend a helping hand. Together we can make a difference. By bidding on a painting you will help the Children of Japan overcome psychological issues this crisis may have on them later in life. All proceeds will go to http://www.savethechildren.org

Together

Art Auction to Raise Money for The Children of Japan

By: Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto, author & motivational speaker

My day is over. But not before working with some amazing people. All of whom struggle with emotional issues. Most suffered a trauma during childhood and now struggle emotionally and have a skewed perception of the world. Now imagine a triple disaster: Earthquake. Tsunami and a Nuclear crisis. What psychological impact could the disaster have on the children of Japan if they don't get help? We are their lifeline.



Lifeline
Created: March 11, 2011
size: 11x23
Opening bid: $10.00

Place Your Bid:

1. Using a valid email account, readers are invited to post their bids in the comment field.
2. Bidding will close at 12 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 10th, 2011.
3. The highest bidders for each piece will be notified by email.
4. The winning bidders will be required to forward their donation via PayPal before their artwork is shipped on April 11th, 2011.
5. Once all money is collected from the successful bidders, I will forward the donation to Save the Children’s efforts in Japan.

More about Save the Children (from www.savethechildren.org):

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. Recognized for our commitment to accountability, innovation and collaboration, our work takes us into the heart of communities, where we help children and families help themselves. We work with other organizations, governments, non-profits and a variety of local partners while maintaining our own independence without political agenda or religious orientation.

When disaster strikes around the world, Save the Children is there to save lives with food, medical care and education and remains to help communities rebuild through long-term recovery programs. As quickly and as effectively as Save the Children responds to tsunamis and civil conflict, it works to resolve the ongoing struggles children face every day — poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease — and replaces them with hope for the future.

Save the Children serves impoverished, marginalized and vulnerable children and families in more that 120 nations. Our programs reach both children and those working to save and improve their lives, including parents, caregivers, community members and members of our partner organizations. We help save children’s lives, protect them from exploitation and assist them in accessing education and health care.

Through disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, rapid humanitarian relief and long-term recovery programs, Save the Children also assists millions of girls and boys at risk of or affected by natural disasters, conflicts and ethnic violence.

Art Auction to Raise Money for The Children of Japan