by Patricia | Apr 9, 2014 | Blog, Creativity, Empowerment, Featured, Joy
To get clear on what it is that you desire for your life, you often have to act and engage your desire to get the clarity you seek. Start before you’re ready, as it’s often put. I got into the business of coaching to help others live their best lives. For quite some time I didn’t know EXACTLY what that meant, but I decided to start Shine! by Patricia Gene anyway, completely unclear as to how I’d benefit the lives of others through this business. I figured, hoped, and prayed that what I needed to do became clear as I went along, assuming that starting before I was ready was sound advice. Starting before you’re ready is sound advice. It may sound counterintuitive, or illogical, but you have to know that if you wait until you feel “ready” to do anything, you will get very little done! I got clarity about the work of Shine! during a conversation with a few attorneys I work with (in my 9-5 gig) about what we’d do if we won the lottery. I responded that I’d still be an attorney (I love being an attorney!). A colleague remarked, if she won the lottery she’d leave the law and do something creative. In response, I said: But, you don’t have to wait to win the lottery to do something creative! She said, “Nope, I do! I need money to do something creative.” I can’t speak to what my colleague really meant by doing something “creative.” But in my response to her lottery musings, I found the inspiration for the More Creativity More Joy program....
by Patricia | Oct 28, 2013 | Blog, Empowerment, Featured, Wellness
When you’re pursuing a BIG goal, it seems that feelings of giving up are a part of the process. I have only anecdotal evidence to support this idea, nothing hard or scientific (yet!) but it would seem that, if you’re walking towards the life of your dreams, it is natural to think about giving up. And why not? Staying put in whatever shitty/mediocre/bland experience you’re having feels “safe” and comfortable. There are those of you who will say that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be safe and comfortable – I know this because I hear it all the time. And while safety and comfort are not bad things, they can be “wrong” when they stand in the way of living your dream life. If you’re looking at this site, I hope you were not thinking this was just going to be some feel-good new-age take-it-easy kind of place. Nope. Shine! by Patricia Gene, Rise Your Shine ™ and everything else associated with this business are all about stepping into and living the life of your dreams. And it will take work to get “there.” And it’s not always going to feel good to get “there.” To get something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done. And once you start doing that something, you might have to keep on with it, over and over, even when it’s not the most comfortable choice. And it might take awhile for you to really LIVE the life you’re dreaming of, but you will get there if you keep going. Quitting, however, will make the process SO much...
by Patricia | Oct 20, 2013 | Blog, Empowerment, Featured
Reality isn’t “real.” Reality ain’t nothing but whatever you say it is. I call this post “filters” because I feel like writing about how we all sense the world (see/hear/taste/smell/touch/other) through a “filter” shaped by our prior experiences, labels we give to ourselves and others, our beliefs, morals and values. Another way I could say it – we all have a unique perspective on the world. But it’s not unique to have your own perspective. We all have it. From the baby just born a minute ago to the 120 year old – we all experience the world through our own perspective. This notion has been on my mind TOUGH for like a week or two. It’s come to mind before – I remember having thoughts about having other people’s “views” being different from mine as early as three years old (in the playground! Was always gifted and prolific in thought). But lately it’s been strong in my mind. Started a lil over a week ago at my friend’s birthday dinner, who thanked us all for celebrating her/taking her out for a few reasons, one of them being “money is scarce.” I don’t knock her for viewing the world through this filter and I’m familiar with how she developed this filter. But when she said it, my inner wisdom/guidance (who I have named Grace) spoke up in me and was just like “NO!” LOL. I don’t knock my girl for the “money is scarce” perspective, but it’s just not mine. Money is abundant, plentiful, and flowing my way and sticking to me. Money is everywhere and I get more...
by Patricia | Oct 4, 2013 | Blog, Empowerment, Featured
This goes out to those of you who walk around saying you’re not happy with this or that in your life. What you have and what you want and/or need are not in alignment. You want change. What would it be like if you got the change what you wanted? Do you even have an idea? What does fulfilled look like for you? (You are wasting precious time if you don’t even have a clue as to what you really are looking for.) What does fulfilled feel like? Smell like? Taste like? Sound like? Life is a sensory experience. When determining what “fulfilled” is like, you need to explore it and define it on every sensory level. It was said, I believe by Stephen Covey, that highly effective people begin with the “end” in mind. Others, like Oprah for example, do a lot of talking about “intention” setting, i.e., setting the idea in your mind of what you intend to get from an experience. Intention setting…beginning with the end in mind…it’s effective. And it definitely feels better than floating around unhappy and unsatisfied without a clue as to what you want. Figuring out what fulfilled will be like for you is just step 1 in living that “dream” life. It’s important to have an idea, because this informs all the other steps. So start! Write some ideas down, create a vision board, save images that look like fulfilled – whatever you can do to get inspired and connected to the fulfilled experience. And if you need help, of course, you can call on...
by Patricia | Aug 20, 2013 | Blog, Empowerment, Featured
Preferences versus priorities. Of these, which should take precedence? Preference: the power or opportunity of choosing Priority: something given or meriting attention before competing alternatives Should you plan and act according to that which you value as a choice…or should you plan and act according to what you value as an absolute MUST? The answer might be different for you than it is for me. I’m not going to make any assumptions about what is best for you. But I ask because many people name a goal as super important to their lives(weight loss, for example), but when it’s time to plan and act, they choose the couch over the workout. What I know is that the things I value as musts > the things I value as my options. And I plan, act, pursue, and accomplish accordingly. If it’s between my favorite Reality TV and getting my workout on, I’m getting my workout on. Fitness over foolishness on TV! If it’s between helping my clients and painting my nails, I’m helping my clients! Furthering my business, building my career, helping others live their best lives way over pretty fingertips (and I do enjoy pretty fingertips)! Regardless of my values, once I make a choice to act, the act ultimately determines my priority and eliminates the competing alternatives. Life works better and feels better when your actions match your values. The state of your life reflects the way you’ve been prioritizing. Consider...
by Patricia | Aug 12, 2013 | Blog, Empowerment, Featured
If you want to be a strong runner, you can’t just go for one run. You have to go for runs over and over. If you want to be the best chess player you can be, you have to keep playing chess. If you want to be a great public speaker, you have to speak publicly, and then speak publicly again, and again. If you want to get stronger in any thing, act, or being, you have to repeatedly engage yourself in it. I was thinking about this concept recently in regards to my former and current fitness goals. My former fitness goal was to workout at least 5 days a week for 25-30 minutes a day at moderately-high to high intensity. With this goal in mind I started the Focus T25 10 week challenge three weeks ago. Today, at the beginning of week 4, I saw that I needed to change my goal, because the day or two I’d take off during the week lead to a loss in momentum. In the past, this kind of momentum loss has lead to me falling off completely when on other workout regimens. Learning from those past experiences I see that I need to focus on working out daily to keep my momentum going. Momentum, in this sense of the word, is “strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events.” For me, just that day or two off decreased a kind of strength I gained by repeatedly engaging in these workouts. Sure, my body might not have become noticeably weaker…but my mental tenacity decreased! And if my...
by Patricia | May 21, 2013 | Blog, Featured, Self Love of The Day, Wellness
I came home from work and I was TIRED. I woke up too early, and I’m still sore from yesterday’s Insanity workout (Plyometic Cardio Circuit don’t play!) Also, I stayed at work an hour longer than my body would have liked. And then there’s the humidity in NYC today….ugh! The LAST thing I felt like doing when I walked in the house was cooking. THE LAST. Standing over a stove? Even assembling a salad? Just not into it. I could have gotten my boo to run out and buy some chicken or something nearby. But instead, I put my feelings to the side and went in: I cooked and assembled my salad and now that I’m post meal, I’m so glad I did! I made something that not only nourished my body nutrient-wise but also nourished my taste buds! While making it, I reminded myself that crafting a nourishing meal IS an act of love even when I don’t feel like crafting. Putting my momentary (but real) feelings of fatigue aside lead to a great meal experience AND an energy boost, telling me that I probably needed to eat some hydrating foods to feel better (arugula, zucchini and tomatoes made most of the meal and they’re all pretty high in water content). Tonight’s dinner reminded me why #selflove is so important, all day, every day, even when it’s not the most comfortable choice. P.S. If you haven’t tried Saba yet, you really should! So yummy and versatile! I’ve tried it on meat but it could work on a salad and maybe on dessert. P.P.S. Check out my Instagram...
by Patricia | May 15, 2013 | Blog, Empowerment, Featured, Self Love of The Day
There is no higher form of self-love than allowing yourself to live your dreams. Not wishing, wanting, hoping, or planning, but stretching your mental, physical, spiritual limitations to allow the dream to be. Today was Day 1 of my second attempt at the Insanity 60 Day Challenge. Two months of potential pain, definite soreness, and extreme change. Two months of stretching my physical and mental limitations to allow my dream body and fitness level in my life. I’m SO in!!! I was sitting here, recovering from the fit test, and my friend sent me this link from Garnier Fructis’ facebook page that felt SO appropriate – completely aligns with what I feel. Every step is a new adventure, allowing my dream life to be my reality....
by Patricia | May 10, 2013 | Blog, Empowerment, Featured, Self Love of The Day
I’m currently reading this book – a popular one amongst those who concern themselves with personal development. Hill focuses on growing in financial abundance in the book, but the principles he discusses can be applied to growing in abundance in any area of your life. Taking the time to develop the mindset needed for success is showering love on your life! One of my favorite nuggets of wisdom from the book: Riches begin in the form of thought! The amount is limited only by the person whose mind the thought is put into motion. Faith moves limitations! Remember this when you are ready to bargain with life for whatever it is that you ask as your price for having passed this way. He talks about your mindset being like a fertile garden, and you’re the gardener that determines the kind of seeds grow in abundance. I don’t know about you, but I am working towards growing fortuitous, nourishing vegetation in my mind’s...
by Patricia | May 6, 2013 | Beauty, Blog, Empowerment, Featured, Self Love of The Day, Wellness
As important as my hands are, I don’t show them enough love. So my self-love of the day was pampering them with a nail buff and trim, a coconut oil massage (that’s the oily results at the top), and then painting my nails in a pretty purple shade with a little gold glitter accent. A tip: coconut oil is great for moisturizing every part of your body (as long as you don’t have an allergy), and helps maintain the strength of your nails and hair. My motto: if you love it, you have to show it. And I love me some...
