Jo Anna Rothman

Choosing Enthusiasm

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:36:33 +0000

I know it is popular to encourage people to find their passion…to go after it. Live it. Be it. It’s a dreamy and fiery word. It’s sexy. It seems like the key to kingdom of success. If only we could find what we are passionate about…

And yet, I’m not interested in passion. I don’t cultivate or search for it. It is not a motivator in my life. I have no desire to work with passionate people. It is not what I am about.

I know that may seem downright blasphemous to some. To those who choose passion as the driving force in their life. To those seeking the thing that will make their heart go pitter pat. Passion can feel good. Wonderful. A dizzying drunkenness from the power of its energy. It’s combustable, which is great for liftoff. But, lacking for most everything else.

Passion, the word, is derived from the latin for suffering. Once upon a time that is what it meant…to suffer. When we stay in a passionate place, we are often in a place of suffering. Struggle. Trying hard to get the thing, the belief, the business, the love to stick. Stay. Work. We’ve all talked to those passionate folks, whose voices are raised. Hands flailing. Trying to get you to feel as they do. You give a curious look, and you get back, “What? I’m not angry. Just passionate.” Perhaps so. And still, that sensation is not one of pleasure.

Beyond the fire, is a darker side. A side that pushes. Burns. And leaves the beholder with an emptiness that is deeply unsatisfying. From the lack, action is taken to create. From the lack there can be a simmering rage with its sights set on fixing. Passion has a deep attachment to its outcome. It aches when things don’t turn out as planned. It hurts as people don’t quite get it. And it steals it’s own power as time goes on.

I know passion. I have felt it deeply. I was passionate at my last job. I worked as a therapist in a group home for teenage girls. I loved them. I rooted for them. And I wanted for them in a mighty way. I struggled to give them what they wanted. What I thought they deserved. I suffered at the perceived injustices. I suffered through the no’s that shoved themselves in my face. I suffered to help them. And for all that, nothing changed. They didn’t need me to suffer. They needed me to love. To be full of life. To see the possibilities and offer them a road map. They needed more than my fire. They needed me.

Nothing needs your suffering. Your commitment to suffering only adds to the sum total of it in the world. What is needed is your enthusiasm. Enthusiasm stems from the greek for to be inspired by god. It is an experience of being filled with your purpose. Your soul. You. Enthusiasm does not push and burn. It loves. It nourishes. It lasts.

So instead of searching for your passion, I invite you to find your enthusiasm. For yourself. For life. For that which you want to create. It feels light. Sweet. Magnificent. It feels right.

Move Through The Resistance

admin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:28:04 +0000

Photo by Neal

The resistance you experience will be in direct proportion to the degree of change that is offered to you. As soon as an opportunity to change, shift, and grow appears before you…resistance has a chance to do its little dance. It shows up in a myriad of ways. Often it is our mind that comes up with excuses. It’ll be too hard. Too expensive. Plain old just not right. Sometimes we let our schedule over take us, so that there is no room for the adventure that beckons. I have been known come down with sudden exhaustion leaving me unable to do much of anything but sit on the couch and watch television. Occasionally it shows up in the form of amnesia, where I simply forget about that life changing class, group or offer.

Here’s the the thing…resistance will resist. That is what it does. It tries to stop you from changing. Often from a place of protection and fear. There is a part of you that does not want you to get hurt…to be uncomfortable…to go out on a limb where you might just fall. This part wants to keep you relatively safe and sound, even if that means keeping you in a place that is totally not working. It’s a “devil you know vs. the one you don’t” sort of thing.

Back in the day, I used to give up when things got hard. I had this belief going on that anything that was meant to be, was going to be easy. I would not have struggle. There would be no major challenges. And if resistance occurred…then it must mean I should not be doing whatever it was that I was trying to do. And so I did not get very far at all. I didn’t see that the road blocks were a mirror to the fear I had going on inside of me.

I see this pattern play out in other people too. People will reach out to me about a complementary session or to talk about coaching. Then the resistance shows up. The times aren’t right. They forget about the appointment. Things get crazy busy all of a sudden. And they will say, it is obvious that the time isn’t right. It wasn’t meant to be.

The opportunity here is to stretch. Out your comfort zone. Past the resistance. Acknowledging that you have a choice. You don’t have to listen. You can know the resistance is happening. Watch it. Stumble over it. And move forward anyway. You can know that if things are not easy, it is because the resistance is throwing up blocks left and right. You can continuously recommit to yourself…to your dreams…to the creation of that which you REALLY want to experience.

Today, feel the resistance. Notice where it is in your life. Notice what steps your authentic self wants to take. And notice where the walls come up. Pay attention to how they come up.

Tomorrow, do it anyway. Make the time. Make the space. Keep the appointment. Rock the meeting. Speak up. Let yourself be heard. Write it down. Share it. Create it. Do whatever it takes to show your mind who is boss. Do whatever it takes to move past the resistance and into your life!

42 Ways to be of Service

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:31:30 +0000

Photo by Mr. Kris

Smile
Make someone else smile.
Say thank you.
Leave an encouraging note on a strangers car.
Donate some cash to a cause you care about.
Listen to a friend.
Participate in a prayer chain.
Heal an unresolved issue.
Walk a neighbor’s dog.
Bring a meal to someone in need.
Organize a canned food drive.
Read to a child.
Spend time with someone who needs it.
Volunteer.
Participate in a walk/run/dance-a-thon.
Hold the door for someone.
Give your leftovers to someone who may need food.
Buy a soldier a cup of coffee.
Share an uplifting quote.
Help a classroom get needed supplies.
Bring baked goods to your local police or fire station.
Let someone know they are doing a great job.
Make art as a gift to brighten someone’s day.
Forgive.
Let your pocket change make a difference.
Plant a tree.
Buy from a independently owned store in your community.
Clean out your closet and donate the clothes.
Offer to carry someones groceries or laundry.
Buy a cup of coffee for the person in line behind you.
Put a quarter in an expiring meter.
Drop a Love Bomb.
Keep non-perishable snacks in your car and give them to those who may be asking for food.
Babysit for a friend.
Leave a big tip.
Put inspirational phrases on sticky notes and leave them in surprising places.
Write a letter to someone’s boss, letting them know about the excellent service you have received.
Leave a book you love in a public place for someone to find.
Help fund a dream.
Donate your service or product to a silent auction.
Pick up litter
Ask someone how you can be of service to them. Then do it!

Using Your Gifts to Create Abundance!

admin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:44:55 +0000

Photo by Daniel Borman

Your gifts, the ones you were born with…they are for you. For you to have. To love. They are here to be of service to you. To support you. To share as you choose. We all have some gift that we came into this life with. Some folks have a propensity towards math or writing. They may work on their gifts. Hone then. And they may choose to use them in a career and no one thinks twice about it.

Other’s have gifts that seem more mysterious. Gifts of intuition. Of healing. Of knowing deep and powerful truths. They too may fine tune the gift and the beautiful instrument that it flows though. Yet, so many it seems, struggle with the notion of using these gifts in service to creating financial abundance. Some think that since these gifts were god given, should not be used to make money. Well, to that…I say hogwash!

Yep, hogwash! You were given a gift. We all were. Many, many gifts flow to us every day. Some we pick up and use. Others we appreciate and pass on by. Some we don’t even freaking notice. But these gifts are for us! Whatever ability you hold, is a gift FOR YOU! Why would you not use it to create something that you desire.

The arguments I hear are usually of this variety, “Well, I have this gift and others don’t. I should make it available.” “I have to share it with everyone who wants it, that is why I have it.” “It’s not like I worked for this, so I can’t make money from it.” “I can’t make money on something so sacred and spiritual.”

Yes, you have a gift. Some other people may not. They may not think that they can. They may not ask for it…or choose tho hone the amazing kernel that they were given. People who choose to become doctors are given a gift. One that consists of big time desire, drive and skills. They get paid because they chose to use what they were given in a certain way. As have you!

You have worked on your gift. You have made it stronger. Perhaps you studied with teachers to help you on your delivery methods. You have cleared a pathway in your consciousness. You have practiced. And you deserve the compensation and energetic exchange that money brings. You deserve to use your gifts in service to creating wealth!

I am intuitive. I am a healer. I am a coach. I help people fall in love with their lives. And I am not cheap. I don’t pretend to be. Money is a big form of commitment and I only work with people who are deeply committed to living a life on purpose…a life of love, joy and abundance. And yet, I don’t think anyone would accuse me of not sharing. There are many ways to do so. I offer my heart, my guidance, my gifts. Some of the ways are totally without financial cost. And some of the ways are not. I feel no guilt or discomfort about it. I don’t play into anyone’s money issues, least of all my own. I hold that everyone can create the wealth needed to experience what they really, truly want. I have seen that in my own lives and the lives of my clients.

I love the work I do. I love that I get to bring all of my skills, resources and gifts to the table. Some are things that I came in with. Some are things that I chose to learn in this life time. All are qualities I have nurtured. All are here in service to me…as my life is a gift for me. Just as your life is a gift for you. The bonus, is that we get to assist others…if we want. And from that, we can create prosperity using the gifts that were given to make our lives that much more amazing!

What Are You Going To Do?

admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:24:41 +0000

Photo by Mark Zimmerman

Facebook is awash with brilliant and powerful quotes by Steve Jobs. Reading each one is a jolt of inspiration. Read them all…soak in the goodness. Feel the electrical pulse of possibility meld in your everyday life. And then go do something!

Steve Jobs did. Lots. Over and over again. He made the world that much more magical. You don’t have to do what he did. I have no inclination to. I want to do what I want to do. Big and sparkly. Go do what you want to do. As big as you want. Bring your own special brand of magic out into your world.

Don’t let the moment pass by…the moment when the calling of your soul is loud and clear. You don’t know what to do? Try something kind. It seems to big? Start small. You don’t know how? Ask for help. You’re scared of failing? Embrace that fact that somewhere along the way you will.

What is your place in this amazing universe of ours? Are you willing to stake your claim on the part you are meant to rock? Then what are you waiting for! It’s time to do something magnificent. It doesn’t have to be giant. You don’t have to change the whole wild world with one swoop of your arms. You just have to feel out what would make a beautiful difference in the life you are living. Go for it!! The world is waiting!

(My plans are forming…the call to be of service in deeper ways in the world. I look forward to sharing them with you all in the coming weeks.)

Making Change Ok

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:58:55 +0000

Photo byPaul (Dex)

It’s ok when your plans change. There are times when your ways of being and moving and growing in the world need to shift. This will happen as you step forward in more masterful ways…as you live more and more on purpose. Your old ways of doing no longer serve you. It’s not that they didn’t serve you before. It’s just that you have upleveled your experience. You get to support the newness in new ways.

It’s easy to slide into a pit of judgments about what was and what choices you can make now. You can choose to think that you’ve been doing something wrong all along and now you are being punished. Or you can see the truth. You have changed. The effort you expend is different, perhaps greater, than ever before. Your purpose has evolved. Your heart has opened. And the manner in which you serve the world and yourself gets to shift.

I see if often…people suddenly hitting an odd little wall after months of rockstar performances. Almost without warning, they are tired. Stuck. Lacking that magnificent motivation that had been propelling them forward. They dive into a pit of self-inquiry that winds up with with them wondering what they did wrong.

Perhaps the question should be, “what have I done so well, that now I need a new infrastructure to make sure that I keep up with all of the awesomeness I have been creating?” It may not mean you need more. Or that you need to overhaul your whole world. But you do need to make the necessary adjustments so that you are super supported in all of your endeavors.

So check inside. Look around your life. What can adjusted inservice to supporting you in the best ways possible? Allow whatever choose to change be done from a place of loving…and know that even than will eventually need to be upgraded.

Feel Stuck? Dream Bigger!

admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:48:40 +0000

Photo by me!

“I don’t have to make that much money. I don’t need to be that successful. I don’t need things to get too good. I just want things to be good enough.” I hear this from a lot of folks in many different ways. They are all amazing people, who are stuck. With me, they wonder how come it is so damn hard to achieve a pretty damn modest goal. It should be easy to get to that spot…they are not asking for the whole shebang. They want a small piece and that would be enough. Why is it so freaking hard to get?

My answer: The dream is not big enough. Not grand enough. So the pull is not strong enough.

Usually the people I am talking already have enough…enough to survive on. They have home. A phone. Often some sort of employment. Yes, there is usually some sort of struggle going on, often finically. But they do have enough to get by, though not gracefully. They have enough to live on. Not enough, however, to thrive on.

In many ways, their desire for enough is already being met. They want things to be good enough, and it is. What they really want, however, is calling to them…yet they ignore in service to keeping things the way that they are. They refuse to dream of that little house in the mountains. The promotion. Sharing their art with world. The goals seem so out of reach when you are wondering where the next house payment is going to come from. I know that.

Yet, they are stuck. Most will admit that. Stuck in trying to create something that just doesn’t seem to be working. What could be the harm in opening ones mind up to even better possibilities.

The desire to thrive can be a scary one. It may seem like a whole lot of work. It may seem risky. It may even seem selfish. Yet stepping into the big, wild, abundant dream is magnetizing. Knowing you are working toward something that is so amazing for you, is motivating. I get the pleasure of seeing people, time after time, claim what it is they really want and see things flow to them in pretty damn miraculous ways.

When the dreams are important enough, we will do anything to make them happen. We will take leaps. We will be uncomfortable. We will see new possibilities around every corner. And we will allow greater abundance than we ever thought possible into our lives.

Admit to yourself what you really want…for what lies beyond good enough. Go for great. And you just may get it!

My Favorite Questions

admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:06:26 +0000

Photo by Dennis Hill

What do you want?
What do you really, really want?
What are the desires of your heart and soul?
How would you feel if you didn’t experience them?
What would you like your life to look like in 6 months? 12 months? 5 years? 10 years?
What are willing to do to make that happen?
What is standing in your way?
Are you willing to let it go?
Are you willing to ask for help?
What about your dream seems to hard to manifest?
Will you allow yourself to be uncomfortable?
What gifts are available for you to receive right now?
What gifts could you receive that would make a big difference in your life?
Do you believe in grace?
Do you believe in miracles?
Are you willing to consciously create your life?
What inspires you?
Who are your muses?
What do you love about yourself?
What in your life are you ready to change, heal, shift and grow?
What did you love to do as a child?
What actions feel really, really good?
How do you nurture yourself?
How do you romance yourself?
What creative activities you play in?
What makes your heart go pitter pat?
How would you like to spend your day?
How does fear stop you?
Are you willing to be seen?
Are you willing to be loved and adored?
What brings you pleasure?
How do you connect to all that is?
What do you want to share in the world?
What is the message you feel called to express?
How does The Universe speak to you?
What if you weren’t supposed to do anything?
Are you willing to love yourself through it all?
Are you ready to take action?
Will you commit to that?

How To Receive More Love

admin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:57:22 +0000

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt

Opening up and receiving love is a powerful experience…one that makes receiving such a foundational life skill. Love is a current that has the power to shift, change, transform in one simple touch. It is what all hurts and angry bits crave. And yet, receiving love is somethings so many struggle with. Judgments of worth and enoughness block our experience of receiving. Fears of the joyous overwhelm that has been know to happen when love touches our heart can keep the doors or receiving too tightly closed.

In service to living a more joyfilled life, I offer up a few ways to receive more love!

Set the intention to receive and experience greater love. Simply by declaring your desire to receive greater love can increase the flow of that precious energy right to you!
Ask for a hug.
Make connection by looking people in the eye. Bonus points if you add a smile. This is an opportunity for you to share you loving AND experience the love others are expressing.
Engage in a random act of kindness. Oh boy! Do this and the love will be welling up inside of you.
Meditate, pray or engage in a spiritual practice.
Say something kind to yourself.
Take 8-10 deep breaths while focusing on your heart
Laugh!
Do something loving for you body.
Connect with people who love you!

Mistakes Shmistakes

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:20:12 +0000

Photo By Rex Dingler

I messed up last night. I was so nervous/excited/thrilled beyond belief that my tele-class was finally happening…a tele-class that well over 100 folks signed up for…that I forgot to start the webcast. And that made it so that I didn’t record a nice chunk of the class. Bummer. Big time.

And there I was, speaking to a group of amazing folks about loving themselves and there lives…and I was suddenly presented with a real opportunity to demonstrate that love. In the past, I would have beaten up on myself hardcore. It would not have been a pretty scene at all! It wouldn’t have been loving, sweet, kind, romantic or anything particularly positive. I would have sucked.

But these days, I make different choices. I make choices that demonstrate just how in love with my life I am…how awesome I am to myself. So I took a deep breath, made an apology and giggled. I redid a beginning exercise at the end of the class for those who missed it. I reminded myself that no one got hurt. Nothing even remotely terrible happened. And it was all ok.

When I got off the phone was when I realized the recording did not happen. A moment of frustration welled up within me. I felt it and let it go. And then I let my mind do what it does best…think. I decided to redo the class so that I could share the awesomeness with everyone who wanted to hear the class. And that I what I am doing. I have received super feedback from those who heard the call and those who were really looking forward to the replay.

I kind of love that The Universe gave me an opportunity to really demonstrate the love I have for myself and for all of my creations. Pretty damn awesome!

So, if you want to listen in on the class…it will be Wednesday at 4pm Pacific time. I just sent out the details to everyone who signed up.