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I’ll often use up to 700 words in these life coaching newsletters to illustrate an important point.

But, isn’t it nice when we can capture a fundamental truth in just a handful of carefully chosen words that really resonate.

Life Coaching lessons show up all over the place. This month, I have one from a special book I’m reading, The Book of Joy, co-written by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. I highly recommend it.

They tell a story I’ll never forget.

A lot of people are anxious these days.

Look, I get it. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of uncertainty.

Uncertainty breeds apprehension … the fear of what might happen … which, in turn, breeds anxiety.

And, if you stay anxious all the time, it’ll make you miserable and sick, which, ironically, is what many people are anxious about … getting sick.

So … here’s my question for you.

As a life coach and speaker coach, I’m a big fan of using stories and examples to illuminate and inspire. They make the abstract more tangible and personal … more relatable and real.

In last month’s newsletter, I talked in philosophical terms about how coming to the place where you wouldn’t change a thing about your life’s story can set you free. No more regrets. No more woulda, coulda, shoulda.

And no story illustrates this point better or is more inspirational than that of the great tenor, Andrea Bocelli. It teaches you and me how to face the tough times with courage, grace, and a life’s purpose that carries you through.

The Jones sisters, BBQ Pitmasters of Kansas City, have to be some of the hardest working folks this business coach has ever seen! I LOVE these ladies.

They start work at 2 am, smoking meat and prepping for the day ahead. They’re on their feet for 12-14 solid hours a day, working hard to maintain rigorous standards of quality, as they uphold the legacy passed down from their father.

And they’ve been doing it for 39 years … since they were little girls just tall enough to stand on a milk crate!

People start lining up at Jones BBQ at 9 am, and the sisters typically sell out of food every single day as lunchtime winds down!

They’re great people with a great little business. So, why would they need a Netflix Queer Eye makeover in the spring of 2019? And, how will what they learned help you in your business?

Someone very wise once said, “Laughter is the best medicine.” As a life coach, I couldn’t agree more.

And when is laughter needed most?

When life turns tragic. When the world is in lockdown and people are getting sick, dying, losing their jobs, and going hungry.

Or when you’ve been told you have a terminal illness … let’s say, ankylosing spondylitis … a disease of the connective tissue … and there’s nothing they can do for you. You have maybe a 1 in 500 chance of surviving.

Said no one … ever!

Why? Because worrying doesn’t do any good.

That’s always crystal clear in hindsight.

If the things we were worried about ended up turning out okay, worrying clearly did no good. And if the worst happens, it’s not as if worrying helped change the outcome!

A client shared a quote by Keith Caserta recently, “Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe!” I love that.

But it’s human to worry, especially in the uncertain times we’re living in right now.

As a life coach, I rely pretty heavily on the wisdom and insights of those who are smarter and wiser than I.

In our October Life Lessons letter I invoked the wisdom of Albert Einstein, who said the most important question we can ask is … “Is the universe friendly or unfriendly?”

That question has stayed in my mind, and while we covered the obvious implications of the answer for your health, happiness, and peace of mind, I’ve had some further insights.

If someone were to ask me, as a life coach, to give them the secret to a happy existence in four words, they would be these.

Stay connected to Source.

Source … by whatever name you choose to call it – God, Spirit, Universe – is just what it sounds like … that from which a constant stream of well-being and all blessings flow.

Allow it to flow to you and through you and do your level best to never pinch off that flow. It created you. Allow it to nurture you.

Think of maintaining your connection with source as the prime directive … as your spiritual … biological … and psycho-emotional imperative.

To drop some Latin on ya, it’s the sine qua non of a happy and fulfilled life. Without which, it’s not gonna happen.

So how do you stay connected to Source? How does the prime directive translate into everyday behavior?

I’ve learned something pretty valuable both from living life and being a life coach to a lot of other folks.

I just got married in the Cayman Islands a couple of weeks ago! Here are the photos in case you missed them.

Most of you know I’m a planner. That’s what I used to do for a living. And that’s my winning formula. Be prepared. Plan carefully … and then wrangle the details.

Well, I did all the planning many months ahead. I had our beach picked out and I’d worked with my wedding planner in the Caymans to put all the arrangements in place.

But part of the wrangling of the details involves following up as we get closer to the date to make sure everything’s still on track and there are no surprises.

Surprise number one. When I called a week before, my wedding planner informed me she wouldn’t be there for our wedding! No solid reason … but supposedly unavoidable.