Friday, January 18, 2008

The Red Hot Mama's Guide to "Communicating with VaVoom!"

Lynn Ward, on the right, invited me to partner with her on the "Red Hot Mama!" articles (below), a podcast interview and teleclasses. We met during the October CEO Space trade show (http://www.ceospace.net/) and Lynn is a fabulous life coach who makes the interview and teleclass process easy, gentle and fun, like dancing, which is what she compares her coaching to. Lynn asks the kinds of questions her clients would ask, many of whom are individuals in transition, and has me apply what I teach to different kinds of situations, and not just to business communications. Since teaching is my passion, I love dancing with Lynn, appreciate her invitation and the opportunity to touch more of you! Learn more about Lynn at http://www.theredhotmama.com/ and http://www.thrivingafter50.com/.

Listen to our introductory teleclass, "Communicating with VaVoom!" at http://starship.audioacrobat.com/download/31262c08-c6bc-f663-9ad3-bab97bbc1071.mp3


I discovered my passion for teaching (which hasn't diminished in over 20 years!) when, as a New York stage actress, I flew to Los Angeles on vacation, took one look at the Hollywood Hills and re-located. Through a miraculous moment of serendipity, a teaching job seemed to drop out of the heavens into my lap. From my first day in front of a voice and speech class at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts West, I have been passionately in love with teaching... like zillions of souls before me... (Imagine how Socrates and his student, Plato, inspired each other; or Aristotle and his pupil, Alexander the Great? Picture the delight young Shakespeare's teacher would have taken in his little Bard)... and zillions of souls after me. Teaching may not be the oldest profession, but it has to be the most satisfying!

I'd love to hear from you: When you think of your favorite teachers, what is it about them that makes them your favorite?

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Part 3: Express Your Inner Red Hot Mama and Papa!

Previously, we’ve looked at 4 steps to expressing your inner Red Hot Mama and Papa: Clarify your desires, take action on them, identify limiting beliefs and replace them with inspiring assertions.

5 - Find Your Big Purpose and Devote Yourself to It

The final piece in the process of expressing your inner Red Hot Mama and Papa is to discover your big, important mission in life and, like Joan of Arc, to devote yourself to it. Having a big purpose allows you to shift the focus off yourself and onto something that inspires you. A purpose larger than yourself calls forth your greatness and puts any fear, sadness or anger into perspective. In “Speak with Passion, Speak with Power!”, I present “big purpose” as one of the tools for overcoming the fear of public speaking.

Erin Brockovich demonstrates the power of the big purpose. Most of us have seen the movie about this real-life character, so vividly brought to life by Julia Roberts. At first, Erin was just trying to survive, shunning her bills to buy food for her children. But then her Inner Red Hot Mama guided her into a situation that brought out her greatness and revealed her life’s mission – to restore justice. From inside this bigger context, Erin’s flamboyance and street smarts became focused, courageous and powerful; her family’s survival got handled and her bills were paid.

  • Then there’s movie star, Katherine Hepburn, who was devoted to Spencer Tracy for many years, until his death. Because of his religious beliefs, he chose not to divorce his wife in order to marry Hepburn. Did Katy struggle and suffer about this? Perhaps, but listen to how she describes the big purpose of their relationship:

    Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only what you are expecting to give — which is everything. What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving.
  • To assist you in finding your big purpose, write down everything you want to be, do and have in each of these areas –
    Your personal life
    Your professional life
    Your friends and family
    Your organization
    Your community
    Your nation
    Your planet

  • Now look for an underlying theme. Perhaps it has to do with continually growing and being more, with challenging yourself and doing more, stretching yourself and having more.

  • Put your theme into words that inspire you, write them down, speak them out loud and remind yourself often that this is what you’re up to.

    6 - Laugh

In love, Hepburn held nothing back. Gazing at life from the pinnacle of her higher purpose gave her a sense of perspective - and a sense of humor too. In a situation where others might feel sorry for themselves, this Red Hot Mama quipped, “If you obey all the rules, you’ll miss all the fun!”

Red Hot Mamas and Papas have a sense of humor and laugh easily and heartily. In addition to having more endorphins and a stronger immune system, this is part of their irrefutable magnetism – a gusto for life, which comes from living the life of their dreams and fully expressing the fire within - which is why they’re red hot!
  • Cultivate your sense of humor by paying attention to it, set a goal to grow it, adopt a playful attitude, study humor. Years ago, I used to recommend “What Mona Lisa Knew” by Dr. Barbara Mackoff and “The Healing Power of Humor” by Allen Klein.


  • The next time you’re suffering, imagine yourself in an episode of "I Love Lucy." How would Lucy respond?

By taking these 6 steps, you’re well on your way. If Oprah, Joan of Arc, Erin Brockovich, Katherine Hepburn, your neighbor down the street and Lucille Ball can express their inner Red Hot Mamas and Papas, so can you!

Tune into my interview with Red Hot Life Coach, Lynn Ward, on http://www.lifestyleyak.com/ and claim your fame when you join us for our free teleclass on Jan 9, "Communicating with Va'Voom!"