When today is not going well, it is tempting to focus on tomorrow as a blank slate with all the possibilities that newness provides. It is true that tomorrow will be a brand-new day, but we do not have to wait until tomorrow to start fresh. We can start fresh at any moment, clearing our energy of any negativity that has accumulated, and call this very moment the beginning of our brand-new day.

Many of you know my nickname is Molly Sunshine.  I have to admit there is something about the sunrise and the first few hours of the morning that makes me and many others feel cleansed and rejuvenated, ready to move forward enthusiastically.  As the day wears on, we often lose some of this dynamic energy and the inspiration it provides. This may be why we look forward to tomorrow as providing the possibility of renewal. Many traditions consider the light of the rising sun to be particularly divine in its origins; this is why so many people in the world face east when performing rituals. We too can cultivate that rising sun energy inside ourselves, carrying it with us to light our way through any time of day or night, drawing on its power to awaken and renew ourselves.

One simple way to do this is to carry an image or a photograph of the rising sun with us in our wallet or purse. We can also post this image on our wall at work or at home, or have it as our screensaver on our computer. When we feel the need to start fresh, we can take a moment to gaze at the image, allowing its light to enter into our hearts. As we do this, we might say out loud or quietly to ourselves, I am ready to let go of the past and start anew. We might visualize anything we want to release leaving us as we exhale, and as we inhale, we can take in the fresh energy of the sun, allowing it to light the way to a brand-new day.  Try it and let me know how the sun strengthens you from the inside out! E-mail me at molly@legacyproducers.com.

Shine on!
Molly

I receive an e-mail from Daily OM every day. I highly recommend that you subscribe. Here is one from today that was right up my alley. Experience what happens when you send yourself sunshine!

"When things go wrong, it is easy to get into a bad mood, and that bad mood has a way of spiraling out and affecting our life for days to come. In the same way, when we feel badly about ourselves, we tend to act in ways that have repercussions, again creating a negative vibe that can negatively influence the next several days. While it is important that we allow ourselves to feel what we feel, and to be genuine, we do not have to completely surrender to a dark mood or feelings of self-doubt. In fact, the more we simply allow and accept our darkness as one part of the picture, the more easily we can also allow and accept our light. In this vein, we can temper our grey moods with an injection of sunshine in the form of sending good wishes to ourselves for the next 24 hours.

If you feel a bad mood coming on or find yourself plagued with negative feelings, take a moment to acknowledge that. At the same time, recognize that things can and will change, and that you can still have a good day, or a good week, especially if you take the time to visualize that for yourself. This is a great way to support yourself when you are working through tough times and hard feelings. When you visualize good things for yourself, you are sending yourself love and warmth, as well as encouraging yourself to keep going.

Before you even get out of bed in the morning, you can take the time to send good wishes to yourself all the way through to the next morning. As you picture your day, take the time to fill in the details—where you are going, who you will see, what you will do—and send love and good wishes ahead to yourself, as well as everyone you encounter. It will be like arriving in a new place and finding that an old friend has sent a bouquet of flowers from back home to welcome you and remind you that you are loved."

Adapted from Daily OM  (September 1, 2010)

Think about what wealthy people do or have that makes them accomplish more than the average person.  They all have "leverage!" What does this mean? They become an expert in their field, develop their skills, and save their money.

 
Personally, money is not in my top five values system; however, I do view money as the more I make, the more I can give away and help others and their good work.  Having said this, choose to become an expert in your field.  Read all the books, take all the courses, listen to audio programs, and surround yourself by others who have been in the field longer than you.  Next, I want you to specialize in those areas that are of greatest importance and value to your company or customers. 

Lastly, know your product and services inside out.  Remember, the person who has the expertise has a far greater contribution to make than the person who just knows enough to get by.  For those people who don't like their job but don't know where to go next, get out and explore.  I'm not saying quit your job.  However, I am saying gain valuable knowledge from others.  Ask people about their journey, what they do, how they got there, and what they like about their job.
 

Next, develop your skills--the transferable skills! There are some skills that cannot be trained.  Choose to be positive.  In one of my trainings I have a "Positivity to the Power of Three Gameshow."  It's amazing how the younger generation is able to positive reframe faster than those who have been out in the workplace longer.  Why is that? Also, choose to go the extra mile.  Choose to help others.  Make the decision to be the best. Engage in continuous improvement.  Never allow yourself to become satisfied or complacent at your current level of skill.  Lastly, strive to exceed the expectations of your customer, your supervisor, and always do more and better than you're paid for.

The final leverage is saving your money.  This is something my father always taught me. My husband never really had "the money talk," and as a result, made poor decisions.  Now he's very "need" vs "want" aware! In addition, as you develop your knowledge and skill, money typically follows. Believe in yourself, work towards your dreams every day, and stash come cash out of every pay.  It adds up, and when you are ready to launch your dream, you will have the money, knowledge, skill, and passion to make it happen.  

 
Go out there and live your legacy to the nth degree.  Don't assume that a little fairy with a magic wand is going to come and tap you on the shoulder... and poof... you're rich!  Decide what is wealth to you. It doesn't have to be money necessarily.  Whatever it is... go after it! Find ways to love life...  and it will love you back!  

…and boy what a tidal wave it was!  After “A Tale of Miss Molly Sunshine” Audio Book was released to the masses for all to hear, Tyler, our five year old boy, said I want my own book Mom.  Needless to say he wanted to be the star and not play a “supporting role.”  Can’t blame him! Wonder where he gets his confidence from?  That night I gave some serious thought as to what Tyler’s book would entail. He loves the water.  He loves the Camden Aquarium.  He loves visiting the Treasure Coast of Florida to see his Mom Mom and Pop Pop…and of course he loves adventure like his mother!  Low and behold I woke up the next morning and the story came to me like a tidal wave had hit me.  Ah ha!  Tyler’s Tidal Wave Adventure (LISTEN).  The adventure didn’t stop there...

Rich Miller, a senior vocal and music education major at West Chester University, e-mailed me the week before wanting to reconnect.  I had helped him once before by listening to where he is and helping him discover where he would like to be.  We definitely shared synergy.  It’s a journey and anyone successful continues to search, and even when they find where they think they ought to be, it is smart to keep growing, exploring new adventures, and dreaming BIG!  Rich got it and continued to explore his options.  Rich was also in one of my “How to Become a Dynamic Trainer” classes and he was a NATURAL! 

When he and I met that day, I knew sparks were going to fly.  I asked him if he was interested in joining the Molly Sunshine Tour and also become a voice actor for “Tyler’s Tidal Wave Adventure.”  He not only said yes, he said I know of someone who can record it, someone who can play Molly and Tyler’s voice.  Molly was his girlfriend Corinne and Dan was Tyler and  the one who was going to use Garage Band on his Mac to record it.  Being someone who likes to give opportunity to others, I jumped on his idea and so did they.  They recorded it in 2 ½ hours and I had it in my hands within 48 hours.  Go team!

Meanwhile, Jamie Holland Cummins was illustrating the CD and the other voice actor from “Molly Sunshine,” Audra Supplee, asked her husband to remix the track and get it ready for duplication.  Brian, who is currently looking for work, graciously said he’d do it!  48 hours later I received the wav file and mp3! I have a funny feeling that there is something great lurking around the corner for him too.  Just not sure what yet!  However, it’s the Law of Cause and Effect!

At this point, Jamie had finished the beautiful illustration, and Mike was ready to burn the audio book for Tyler’s Tidal Wave Adventure.  Within 12 hours it was finished!  It gets better…I knew Jamie was going to have her hands full illustrating “A Tale of Miss Molly Sunshine,” and if we were going to have a July release, this just might be a near impossible task.  One night after tucking Tyler into bed, I looked up at a colored pencil drawing above his bed from a talented friend of mine, Patty Cunningham.  WOW! Patty is supposed to be “Tyler’s Tidal Wave Adventure” illustrator. 

I e-mailed Patty the next day to see if she would be interested.  She called me the next day, and understandably, she was hesitant at first because her 2010 goals didn’t include illustrating a book. She asked me to send her the story, and that she would think about it.  The very next day she e-mailed me. After having read the story, she said she’d do it.  In her words, “What fun!”  I told her about Jamie, and she had just seen her art the day before at Yellow Springs.  “She’s very talented” were her exact words.   

Not knowing how she would feel about bringing in another illustrator into the mix, the tough part was how to approach Jamie with the idea.  I told Patty it would depend if Jamie would welcome the idea.  Jamie, being a person that lives the Law of Abundance, said “Sure!”  All of these wonderful people coming together for a fabulous cause—“make a difference, be the difference.” Pinch me!

When Rich dropped off the finished CD that day, he spoke of his girlfriend’s—Corinne (Molly’s voice)—aspirations.  Corinne is an elementary education major, wants to coach cheerleading in schools, and is great at seeing how pieces fit together.  Another Law of Attraction!  Because of all my outside adventures, I was having trouble seeing how I can fit curriculum development (AKA a teacher guide for Pre K, K, 1^st, 2^nd grade) for the books into my schedule. 

I reached out to Corinne via e-mail to see if she would have an interest.  I was delighted to see that she used the same, if not more, “!” than I did.  My intuition told me that she would be the perfect match!  I met with her today and explained how the curriculum development needs to fit within the PA Academic Standards and across subjects and that I would be there to guide her along the way.  I also suggested that she tries to get college credit for this Molly Sunshine summer project.  To my delight, she said she has a meeting with her advisor tomorrow to talk about it!  How great would it be if I just gave her an opportunity to get a teacher’s curriculum guide published! 

This morning while looking up the Academic Standards, I also went online to MacGraw Hill’s website.  One of their products won an award for aligning with the Illinois Academic Standards. I also met WCU’s Dean of Students’ wife last week at a women’s leadership event who I discovered just happens to work in sales for MacGraw. Fabulous resource!  I took it as a sign we were headed in the right direction in PA!

Lastly, two days from now, my husband and I are going to meet Jack Canfield, on Monday I am meeting with Emilia of Beholder Productions and Fran McGowen at a Chester County National Day of Prayer event, where he is speaking.  One never knows how exactly everything is going to turn out, but you better believe that I am going to “make a difference, be the difference” and spread the sunshine!  Stay tuned, Legacy Fans!

Any Legacy Seeker aspiring to greatness must do one thing and do it well, not just on occasion, but all the time. Of course there are many other things a Legacy Seeker must do, but this skill is what matters most: to listen. Listening carefully is a rare trait to be found these days, but it does happen!

For this week's blog, I'll focus on two of our past presidents. George Washington listened all his life because he loved to learn and because he had no overwhelming desire to speak. Washington liked the sound of his own silence. As a Legacy Seeker, we live out the Law of Cause and Effect daily. We say and do things to make things happen. As a result, it is sometimes challenging for us to be silent, yet we know that silence can cause others to help solve their challenge or give others a voice who might not have had a chance otherwise.

The second president who I admire for his listening skills is Abraham Lincoln. He lived out daily the Law of Persistence. Despite all of the failures he encountered, he was able to overcome them. Considering all he had to do and say, Lincoln spoke amazingly little. On August 6, 1962, he stated, "I am very little inclined on any occasion to say anything unless I hope to produce something good by it." His Gettysburg Address is another classic instance where he used as few of words as possible to convey a powerful message.

THIS WEEK’S LEGACY ACTION!


I want you to seek opportunities to listen.
We all know the journey to success can be a challenging one. See what you can do this week to help spark the light in others and focus less on the attributes they possess that can drive us batty at times. 

Next, I want you to ask questions of others to help you further understand their stance on an issue or even spark a new idea from your own Legacy team.
You don't always have to have the answers. Help others grow around you. Ask them the questions that lead to their "aha” moments. Inspire them to action with your silence!

REPEAT DAILY!  10% of life is what happens to me. 90% is how I react to it. 
I will reflect and take Legacy Action daily!

In my “Chasing Stars” keynote I talk about leaving my six figure salary at age 24 to come to work for West Chester University.  It brings home the importance of aligning your "5 P’s to chasing stars" (Principles, Passions, People, Persistence, and Peace).  I also talk about how thankful I was that I DIDN’T run out and buy a BMW as soon as I got that six figure job… although the thought passed my mind (a few times).

Now 10 years later, I am going on tour!   How great would it be to not necessarily tour around in a BMW, but in a stylish yellow mini cooper!  It sends the message that “good deeds” are rewarded when you stay true to your five P’s!  You just never know when that reward will come and that you can’t expect to always be rewarded.  More importantly, if it does appear, show your gratitude!

The first place I thought of for the Mini was Otto’s BMW. I sent them an e-mail, but my intuition was saying that it wasn’t going to be them.  Then who?!?  After Mitch and I finished remixing “A Tale of Miss Molly Sunshine” on March 20, I got in my car and it came to me, “I got it…  Car Sense… it makes TOTAL sense!”

I immediately called my husband because I knew I only had a window of 20 minutes until my son’s friend’s birthday party.   I was up against the clock, but the feeling was too strong NOT to go to Car Sense in Exton PA that day.  I walked in and I was immediately drawn to this gentleman by the name of Andre.  He greeted me with a huge pearly white smile and asked me, “How can I help you?”  As soon as our eyes locked, I knew immediately he was a “give, love, serve” type of guy.  When I told him what I was up to, he said he would definitely look into it and wrote down the Molly Sunshine Tour website.

I followed up with him on the 23^rd to not only see if he was able to find a yellow mini cooper, but also if he had some advice as to how I should go about asking Car Sense for a sponsorship for the Molly Sunshine Tour.  He was extremely helpful and even inquired about how he could keep up to date about the tour.  Needless to say, he was one of the “special” people who got both my DVD Chasing Stars keynote and Miss Molly Sunshine CD before I left for Key West the next day.  I told him that I would follow up with the person he suggested when I got back from vacation.  It has been 10 days since I've returned from vacation, but something has been telling me to wait, so as I always do, I followed my intuition.  

Yesterday, I realized why I was supposed to wait to follow up with the contact Andre suggested.  I received an e-mail from one of our 6,000 loyal Rhino Living fans.  She wanted a recording of Wednesday’s Rhino Living Teleseminar.  At the bottom of Nadine’s e-mail, her signature read:

Chester County Leadership Prayer Breakfast

Fran McGowen Speaker

www.chescoprayer.com

Could it be?  The Mr. Fran McGowen... owner of Car Sense!  He’s going to be speaking on May 6^th at the Desmond Hotel—his topic is “Prayer for Such a Time as This!”  But wait… it gets better! On the website his bio states that he has a daughter named Molly (still in college) and a son named Daniel (my husband’s name).  Their website is also taken from the same Go Daddy template that I use for The Last Sermon Project.  In addition, the Molly Sunshine Tour is not only going to go to Elementary schools (A Tale of Miss Molly Sunshine), but also high schools, colleges and universities (Chasing Stars while Living in the Sunshine).  Also, his daughter, Molly, is still in college!  Perhaps she wants to get involved somehow?  I already have two other college students involved in the production of the tour.  Why not one more?!

Listen to your intuition and look for signs, Legacy fans!  I am grateful I waited to reach back out to Car Sense!  The good Lord works in amazing ways!  We just have to be open to the signs and listen to our heart.  I have a feeling that what began as an inquiry to ask Mr. McGowen to sponsor The Molly Sunshine Tour yellow Mini Cooper is just the beginning! Who knows where it will go, but follow your dreams, share your passions, and open your eyes to the possibilities!  Don’t focus on the closed doors.  Look for the ones that are propped open just waiting for you to walk through!

Boy do I have a “Not by Accident” story for you today!  I just realized that I never told how “A Tale of Miss Molly Sunshine” was born. Even though the story continues to unfold, I had to give you an update as to what a miraculous world this is when you make the commitment to live your legacy.  Many of my readers know that I always wanted to publish a children’s book.  After co-writing and publishing my first book in 15 days, and after receiving rave reviews, my raving fans demanded that I write my own book.  It just so happened I decided to write two!  In this blog I am going to concentrate on the amazing tale that is unraveling with “A Tale of Miss Molly Sunshine.”  LISTEN to the 8 minute story told by voice actor Audra Supplee.

In addition to Legacy Producers and MyInternshipGopher.com, many of you know that I am also President of Rhino Living Speaking and Training Group with Dave Magrogan, who is a very successful entrepreneur.  About six months ago a woman on our Rhino Living list serve e-mailed me a picture of a rhino from the Philadelphia Zoo.  I just so happened to be there that very day with my family.  I encouraged her to write a short story about the picture so I could send out to our 6,000 people on our list serve.  She never did anything like this before--she decided to take a risk and did it! 

One day in January, my 5 year old son and I took a trip to the West Chester Public Library.  We passed the DVD section and there was a DVD on the shelf that called my name.  It was called “The Blue Butterfly.”  Not knowing why I was being drawn to it, I knew my track record of going with my intuition. I decided to borrow it from the library.  That afternoon I watched it and “A Tale of Miss Molly Sunshine” was born.  Yes, I wrote this one in two hours!  The movie touched my heart and the story came to me like wild fire.  

Remember the lady who sent me the rhino photo?  The next day after writing the Miss Molly Sunshine, she e-mailed me a picture she drew.  It was vibrant and full of life!  Needless to say, it spoke to me and screamed loud and clear that she is supposed to illustrate “A Tale of Miss Molly Sunshine.”  She and I both not knowing each other “from Adam” said “let’s meet and make this happen!”  Our synergy was amazing and I come to find out that her husband owns an Irish pub in Phoenixville called Molly Maguires.  Can it get any better?  Absolutely!

That same day Jamie Cummins was looking through her son’s backpack and found a flyer of a children’s author and illustrator who was scheduled to come to her son’s elementary school in February.  His name was Peter Catalanotto.  Since this is the first time she is illustrating a book, I suggested that she follow up with him to see if he would be willing to meet with her.  Out of the graciousness of his heart, he did!  After reading the story, he said it has the potential to be an awesome series!  He also gave her great advice as an illustrator and suggestions regarding publishing.  She asked me if a series was in the plans—I said, “Absolutely, if you are willing to continue in the adventure!”  I told her that “this was just the beginning for Molly Sunshine!”