I’m curious how you deal with fear and challenge?

Do you step away from it- or as in my story below; run for your life- or do you take a stand and meet it head on?

Here’s my story of running for my life-

It was a beautiful summer afternoon in 1978.

I was 13 years old and I was setting out to do my paper route. Somehow I had managed to convince a bunch of the kids in my neighborhood to come with me. There were 8 of us laughing and screaming and having a grand old time.

At the beginning of my route, there was one long stretch of road that we considered to be the danger zone.

There was a scary house up a long driveway with a crazy old man living in it. He had a bunch of mean attack dogs penned up in the yard. They would bark and howl whenever I would walk by.

It was scary!! Our parents warned us to stay away from that house because there were all kinds of stories about the dogs attacking people!

As the gang of us approached the house, we quieted down our laughing and shouting and tried to sneak by unnoticed, but it didn’t work! The dogs started barking and howling, and next thing you know they were running down the long driveway after us!!

“Holy Shit!!!!”

We all looked at each other in panic and someone yelled RUN!!!!

All 8 of us took off in different directions.

I was running for my life!!

I sprinted down the road  faster than I’d ever run before.  I glanced back and saw a big German Shepard coming after me; barking and gaining fast! I was petrified! I knew that if that dog caught me I would be dead meat.

I was getting panicky; the vicious beast was right behind me! He was nipping at my heals.

Then something switched over inside of me. I was still scared but I knew that running was not the answer.

I need to take a stand!

I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around and screamed right in the dogs face- “Get away from me!!”

I remember the dog looking me right in the eye, with a surprised look on his face. I prepared to be attacked, but the dog turned tail and ran away!

WOW!!! I was still alive and not bleeding! Whoot-hoot!!

Can I tell you how powerful I felt!!

Within the next minute or so the owner of the dogs drove up and called them all home. The ordeal was over!

The rest of the kids emerged from their hiding paces one by one in awe of my bravery and power! I was the hero for the rest of that summer.

From then on I stood up to my fear and any challenges that came along. I learned take a stand and meet it head on.

This came in handy later on in life when I was a bouncer at a cool Boston nightclub, but that is a different story( ask me and I’ll tell you about it sometime).

Here’s the video-bet you can’t make it through without tearing up!

Did you get through without crying?

I’d love to hear YOUR  stories of dealing with challenge and fear in the comments below.

Hell Yhea!!!

I decided to do something new on my podcast- 30 minute freak flag profiles where I interview people who aren’t afraid to fly their freak flag in their biz—-and they have a pile of money to show for it.

I hope you enjoy this tasty little morsel……

Freak Flag Profile- Erika Lyremark-Daily Whip

Erika  is a fine example of someone who flies her freak flag high and proud while she rakes in the cash.

Erika started her own entrepreneurial track while working as an exotic dancer. After the pole, she went on to co-create a multi-million dollar commercial real estate company and launch Daily Whip, her coaching consultancy.
She’s been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes.com. Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Business Magazine, Metro Magazine, KSTP Channel 5 News, Twin Cities Live, The Michelle Tafoya show on WCCO radio and she even cracked the whip on a promotional video for Oprah’s Have Your Own Show!
Erika’s also author of the action guide “Revenue, Results & Red Carpet Dreams.” And forthcoming book “Think Like A Stripper: How To Hustle Your Business Like You Mean It!”

Listen to our conversation here-

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/my-kick-ass-dream-life-/2011/11/15/freak-flag-profile-erika-lyremark-the-daily-whip

Have you even tried to ‘dumb down’ or ‘quash’ some of the very qualities and characteristics that would make you more marketable and more memorable…….playing it safe and all so you can ‘fit in’  and seem like a real business person?

Or maybe you have had to ‘settle’ for working in a way that  isn’t you or feels awkward because some coach or marketer told you that you should go down a certain path to be successful?

If you are doing and feeling these things I have two words for you–

STOP IT!

You owe it to yourself and those you are supposed to serve to get your big, bold, shiny- freaky-self out there in a way that serves you, attracts the cool people  you are destined to work with, and makes for a business you love.

You Can’t Afford to Stay Invisible!

And that’s why I decided to interviewed my biz coach – Therese Skelly- for my podcast. I wanted Therese to bust some myths and shake things up with her “Inner Marketing” concepts.

I’ve been working with Therese for the last 5 months and have gotten clear on the places where I get hung up and step out of my power. I firmly believe that the inner marketing piece is even more important that what you do to market yourself. Because if your not really resonating with what you’re putting out there, and your not speaking in your own voice and being ‘Real’ people won’t buy….hell……they won’t even know your alive.

That’s why I want you to hear what she says because trust me…she’s quite an evangelist for getting rid of that pre-packaged life and helping you really bring it to your biz.

If I do say so myself- this interview kicked-ass!

 Therese is so fun and we covered so many aspects of the inner marketing game. Ok…I admit that we got a bit gross talking about meat hooks and sides of beef….but it was really a good way to illustrate  her message- You have to be able to differentiate yourself and give people a reason to hire you over everyone else doing similar work. ( Yes it’s true- this is what flying your freak flag in your biz is all about!)

Give the interview  a listen here on my podcast-

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/my-kick-ass-dream-life-/2011/10/31/you-cant-afford-to-stay-invisible

You’ll discover the mindset you need to shift in to fully own your unique brand, and what will prevent you from having the courage to weave that through your marketing. (Because when you have it woven throughout…all your writing gets more clear, people resonate with it, and you become known as a sought after expert.)

And mostly, you’ll be inspired, get permission, and know the next steps to take.

Hanging with the Ladies

Can you blame me?  It’s Summer time and I’ve been taking advantage of the freedom and flexibility that I’ve built into my life. This freedom is important to me. I like to be in charge of my own schedule and choose when I want to work and when I want to play. Being able to make choices like this is a big part of what makes my life Kick-Ass.

For me, a Kick-Ass Life is all about freedom; the freedom to choose what I want in my life and the freedom to be 100% ME in my full freaky glory.

What does freedom mean to you in your life?

Focusing on Freedom

When I am focusing on work, I’m focusing on freedom.

I’ve been engaging in a deep conversation about freedom and what prevents you from having it with all the awesome subscribers to my Kick-Ass List.

It’s pretty clear to me that the only thing standing between any of us and the Kick-Ass Life of our dreams is the stories we tell ourselves that say we can’t have it. The problem is that these stories are so imbedded into our subconscious we don’t question them. We  end up believing that they are true even thought they make us feel bad about ourselves and limit what is possible in our lives.

It’s my mission to help you uncover these stories and question them so you can set yourself free and start living your Kick-Ass Life. I love witnessing the shift that happens in my client’s lives once they identify the stories that have been holding them back, and how quickly things change once they stop believing them. It’s a beautiful thing to see!

If you feel like you can benefit from some of this work let me know. I”d love the opportunity to help you set yourself free so that you can begin choosing what you want in your Kick-Ass Life.

I feel like it’s time to dive in and put together a series of cool free classes and some new ways to work together.  Due to popular demand, I’ll be kicking things off by talking about how to connect to your version of a Kick-Ass Life sometime in August.

I’m also working on putting together a few resources for you to help you create a Kick-Ass Life of your own.

My Kick-Ass Dream Life

I can’t forget to mention the awesome new episode of the podcast-My Kick-Ass Dream Life -that we recently did. It’s called Weird, Spiritual and Totally Booked: 3 Simple and Time Effective Facebook Strategies to Attract More Clients to Your Out of the Box Business

My new friend Paul Zelizer is my guest and he shows you how to talk about your out of the box spiritual business in a way that easily attracts your right people to you. We had a wonderful conversation about owning your talents and flying your freak flag so that your right people can easily find you. Paul’s ideas are in perfect alignment with the stuff that I talk about with my coaching clients when it comes to creating a Kick-Ass Life. Paul applies these same ideas to filling your Kick-Ass business. I encourage you to click on over to the podcast page and give Weird, Spiritual and Totally Booked a listen. There’s lots of juicy bits to pick up on.

Her Unfolding Journey

While I’m talking about podcasts I want to mention that I was a guest on Mark Semple’s podcast/show called Her Unfolding Journey. I shared a bit about my unfolding journey and we had a great conversation about living a Kick-Ass Life and flying your freak flag. It was a blast to share space with Mark like this! You can listen to the recording here.

That’s it for now!

I hope you have a Kick-Ass day!

Rather than go through a big detailed description about what Amplification Friday is every time Friday comes around, I’ve decided to use this space to amplify the energy of what I’m appreciating in my life in the hopes that you will join me and do the same!

This week I’m appreciating the deep relaxation that I was able to enjoy over the weekend. It’s awesome to be surrounded by nature, with nothing much to do, sitting on a rocking chair on Kim & Jer’s front porch reading a book and hanging out with my sweetie. I totally enjoyed going to bed early and sleeping in late. Grilling steaks, eating locally raised sausage, homemade waffles, and the cupcake comparisons that we did. It was fun to play with Kim & Jer’s son Alerick in the front yard and going to see fireworks on the 4th of July. The warm clean air felt wonderful on my skin and everything was so green and lush! It smelled so good……just like I imagine the color green would smell.

I’m also appreciating my sexy sexy iphone. It lets me roam far an wide and still be tapped into my coaching biz when I feel like checking in. I can easily stay in touch with people and amuse myself playing Pocket God and Bejeweled. The camera and video makes it so easy to take pictures and document where I’ve been. I’m now a picture taking fool! Being able to go online and find out the closest piercing place comes in handy too! I feel like it greatly adds to my freedom and my Kick-Ass Life.

I appreciate my freedom! My life is custom designed to fit me perfectly and I’m thankful for it everyday. I get to do all the stuff I love while surround by some totally amazing cool people. My clients are truly inspirational. They are so ready and willing to be vulnerable and open up and expand into their brilliance. I am constantly in awe of the growth and expansion that I witness. I’m thrilled to be able to be a mirror for them as they uncover the self-defeating stories and limiting beliefs that are holding them back. The most awesome part is that this is the perfect enviornment for me to use my superpowers to help them identify those stories and beliefs. It’s all so perfect!

Here are some fireworks from the 4th shared via my sexy sexy iphone-

Your turn! What are you appreciating from your week?