Goodbye 2013!

Saying goodbye is never easy…but I’ll be back soon!

Wait a second — 2014 is only a little over a week away??? Wow. That means that the 29-Day Giving Challenge ends this Friday! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been loving this year’s challenge even more than the past years’. The experience seems to become richer and even more powerful the more I do it — or maybe it’s a cumulative experience, where I’m feeling the rewards of every giving challenge that I’ve done before. In any case, I hope that you’re enjoying giving just as much as I am. Now, before I wrap up the blog for the year and head out for the holidays, I want to take a moment to recap the challenge giveaway requirements, just so we’re all on the same page.

• If you haven’t already done so, make sure you share one of your gifts in the comments section of this blog by the end of the day on Friday, December 27th. You can do it at the bottom of any Challenge blog post (including this one), just make sure you get it in by the end of tomorrow evening.
• Email a list of all of your gifts to events@capesco.com by Friday, January 3rd. You don’t need to go into detail for this list — a brief summary of each gift will do just fine. If you have gifts of a very personal nature, just do your best to get the idea across.
• To remain eligible to win any of the career coaching prizes, you must also submit a short paragraph detailing why you think you would benefit from them. Simply include this at the bottom of your gift list email.

That’s it! Simple, right? So, during this last week, make sure the challenge doesn’t get lost amongst all of the holiday excitement. Keep it up and “give” it all you got!

Additionally, I hope you take the time to really enjoy yourself as the year comes to an end, and that you’re able to reflect on everything that 2013 has brought you. Taking in everything that you’ve accomplished, and learning from what’s still left to do, is such an invaluable part of getting ready for what’s to come. With that, I’m signing off for the year and I’ll see you in January. Until then, have a wonderful holiday and a very Happy New Year!!

Hello 2013!

The dawn of a new year.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and were able to take some time to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate. 2012 is now officially behind us, but that doesn’t mean that it will stop affecting us. The changing of the year is the perfect time, symbolically, to contemplate your life experiences over the past twelve months and I’m sure that there are things both good and bad that will have an impact on how you move forward in 2013.

For many of you, large-scale events left quite the impression — Hurricane Sandy, the shooting tragedies, and the presidential election, just to name a few. Maybe you had your own personal large-scale events: a wedding, a new home, a change of career. For me, it was the birth of my daughter, Zoe, which had an impact on so many areas of my life (some anticipated, and some a complete surprise). These are the obvious game-changers — the chapter-definers that will forever stand out as major plot points in our life stories.

But, there are also the intangible game-changers; the small things (perhaps even the briefest of moments) that impact us on the most intimate level. A shift of perception; a newfound sense of clarity; a personal enlightenment that is unquantifiable. Such things are often not recognized immediately, but slowly revealed over time, eventually bringing to light a profoundness that is soul-shaking…life-altering.

I don’t know about you, but for me the Giving Challenge is a gateway to those tiniest of game-changers. I learn so much about myself that I’m truly surprised when all is said and done. What happens is that, in the end, participating in the challenge becomes one large gift…to me. It’s such a wonderful experience, and I hope that those of you who participated (in whatever capacity you could) felt something similar.

Speaking of the Giving Challenge, it’s my pleasure to announce the winners of our Challenge Giveaway:

• Shannon T. is the recipient of a 6-session private-coaching package with me
• Margaret C. is the recipient of the Artists In Action complete downloadable coaching program
• Kat V., Katja M., and Louise F. are the recipients of one private-coaching session with me

Congratulations to all of them, and a big thank you to those of you who took part in this year’s challenge — your comments and emails were truly inspiring! Once again, just because the challenge is over doesn’t mean that the giving has to stop. I encourage you all to keep it up in any way that you can. Trust me — in doing so, you’ll be consistently surprised by yourself and the world around you. It’s one small way to make 2013 a year to remember!