Birthdays and Valentine's Day

Welcome to the fabulous month of February! Romance and love are in the air as we celebrate Valentine’s Day and it is also my birthday month! So, did you every ask how did this celebration get started and who really was Saint Valentine? If you would like to discover the history of this day, please go to http://www.history.com/content/valentine/history-of-valentine-s-day.

Did you know that your energy shifts every year around your birth date? This is my big 50th young birthday bash and I feel more energized and inspired to co-create many great events with some amazing people and make a difference in the world.

Here is a gem! When we were in St. Thomas US Virgin Islands, we found a wonderful family run store, Artistic-Jewelers www.artistic-jewelers.com. We met Max Daswani and Seresh Dadlani who asked us if they could help us. My son was looking for a new watch and I wanted to purchase a special necklace, called the 'Circle of Life" for my birthday. They shared their knowledge and introduced us to the story behind "The Journey" necklace. The journey is the continuation of the circle and marks the paths and directions we all take in life. It is the celebration of Life and a time to reflect on where you have been, where you are presently (the present = the gift) and where you are going. My hubby bought me the beautiful necklace called "the journey."

Remember the song The Age of Aquarius? Well the time is now and this year is going to be a powerful year as we move into the Age of Aquarius! On February 14th, 2009 an astrological concentration that will bring together a number of planets along with the North Node denoting higher purpose in Aquarius that will energize and inspire the possibility for transcendental breakthrough in some perhaps seemingly intransigent situations", Jude Currivan, PhD author, cosmologist, scientist and healer. Please go to http://www.judecurrivan.com/media-articles/articles/the-aquarian-alignment-14th-february-2009/ and join in on this powerful event.



I would like to think of Valentine’s Day as a year long celebration of the joy, love and passion in our lives. Of course, the tradition is to give chocolates, flowers and celebrate the day with loved ones. I will be having a romantic dinner with my hubby and spending time with my family and celebrating the love we have for each other.

I would like to present a challenge to you and ask you to email me at msutton@successbreakthrough.com or write on this blog your comments and how you celebrated this holiday. What would you do differently and how would you share your passions, your love, joy and happiness with others. How would this impact your life and the people you interact with each day? What if everyone made a point to tell others in their lives, how special they are and thank them, hug them and yes, kiss your partner more and say I love you! If we took more time to tell our friends, our parents, our children how special they are and stop and smell the roses! Yes Valentine roses!

So, ask yourself how would your life be if you celebrated love, joy, passion, each and every day in your life? In our family, we share our feelings and say every day, ‘I love you’ and celebrate the special time we share together. We might take long walks; share our ideas and our passions we have; spend time watching a show we all love; playing games and so much more.

This weekend we celebrated love and the joy we felt, as we put up a bird feeder on our deck. I was excited about this small event, as if it were like a diamond in the rough! We celebrate nature by enjoying the birds that are already coming to the feeder. We feel blessed that we can experience the love we have for animals and nature. I also had the opportunity to interview Harvey McKinnon, who co-authored with Azim Jama, the amazing book called “The Power of Giving: How GIving Back Enriches Us All. Jack Canfield says “The Power of Giving is a must read. Profit from reading it. Give it to everyone you love.”
Go to www.harveymckinnon.com to discover more about how you can give back in life. By reading this book and interviewing Harvey, it has inspired my family and myself to explore more ways that we can give back and ‘passion it on!’ http://thepowerofgiving.org/

I was also inspired to find out more about sponsoring a child which is something I have wanted to do for many years. So I took action and I will now be sponsoring a child. This is the group I am working with: sponsor a child.. There are so many ways to give back and wonderful groups. You can google "fundraising" and "non-profit groups" and find out which group you are passionate about giving back.

I would love to give back to many groups and this is the reason I am founding The Passion Challenge Dance. Sign up for my V.I.P. Club and stay tuned for the social network community we are launching in April 2009 and plan to launch this event 'LIVE' next year globally! We are looking for team players who want to be a part of something BIG! Let us know your expertise and how you would like to contribute to this event. Please go to production@successbreakthrough.com.

Again, there are so many charities and non-profit great organizations to donate to, either time volunteering, money, or sponsoring a child. It is a way to celebrate the love we have of people world wide.

So, ask yourself if you want to do something different this year or add to what you do each year to celebrate LOVE. Share your stories with us and we will add your story to our web site. Take videos and send pictures - we want to share with you.




This is a picture of my lovely family, my son Andrew and my husband Cliff and yes, that's me in the middle!

SAMANA, DOMINICAN - THE JOURNEY

My family and I booked an Eastern Caribbean Cruise in December '08 and discovered the natural beauty of the Samana Island in the Domican Republic. Samana is a destination for nature lovers and adventurers. The island attracts many people, among these are eco-tourists (scuba divers, rock climbers, horseback riders and whale-watchers.) For many generations every winter, the humpback whales from the North Atlantic migrate to these protected and warm waters of the Bay of Samana. My family and I are planning to return to this island and continue to experience it's natural wonders.

This was our first visit to the port of Samana, Dominican Republic and it is definitely a gem in the Eastern Caribbean. We decided to book the ship's excursion "Waterfall Hike & Swim" and we were all excited about traveling into a hidden oasis which opened up to a beautiful cascade of water! The adventure began by boarding and traveling in an open air bus into the interior of the Samana Peninsula to reach the walking trail. Our knowledgeable and experienced guide shared his passion and love for the island, the people, the vegetation, culture and history.

I imagined that we would see many species of birds and be in a jungle atmosphere and being one with nature. After traveling throughout the countryside and experiencing the natural beauty of the island, (a school house on your left), we arrived at a ranch house. At this point, we were excited about continuing on our journey and adventure. Before the hike we exchanged our runners for rain boots (or wellies in British terms!) It was wonderful to meet so many other local, young experienced guides who helped us walk through the muddy and slippery paths before reaching the hidden and beautiful water falls. I instantly connected with my young 16 year old guide Lisa. Her husband was also a guide who offered a ride to individuals who did not want to walk along the path. I thoroughly enjoyed the time Lisa and I spent together. Not understanding each other's language we communicated verbally and non-verbally through gestures, smiles, laughing, pointing and just sharing our bond. We held hands on and off throughout the path and helped each other balance through the mud and rocks and at times we shared quiet moments. I wish I was fluent in the Spanish language as I could have communicated in more depth with Lisa to discover her passions, more about her family, friends and dreams. It was amazing to watch Lisa and her friends climbing trees for grapefruit and coconut and dropping these below. I was amazed at their agility and skill. The grapefruits were huge and juicy and not the ones we find back home in our grocery stores. The coconut juice was fresh and eating the coconut brought me to wonderful past memories of living on our sail boat in the Bahamas many years ago.

About 1/2 hour into our hike, we heard the powerful rushing of the water at the falls. The area was hidden from view by the path and then opened to a beautiful cascade of water, which fell into a clear, natural pool. I could not wait to get into the cool, fresh, mountain water and experience the thrill of being in the water surrounded by the mist. Two of the island people scaled the cliffs to dive into the water below. This was a special and spectacular event! They were immensely skilled and knew how to be extra careful to navigate themselves around the jagged rocks below. All an adventure I am grateful for and enjoyed every moment immensely.

People may talk about the poverty of the island. I choose to look at the people, who smiled and waved to us, as our bus went by. Children were laughing and playing and the island people were going about their day. I feel they also understand the simplicity of what is special in life and I truly felt connected to them.

I look forward to returning to this island and getting to know more about the island people. The joy and love I felt in my heart for them is strong and connects me to them. I am booked on a cruise in August to speak on a cruise line and one of the ports of call is Samana, so my wish comes true. My hope for you is that you create the your own opportunity to travel to this island, meet the people and experience the Waterfall Hike & Swim. Remember to give a hug and say a big hello to Lisa! I know I will when I return to the island in August 2009!






Bon Voyage! See you in Samana!
Moira

Comfort Zones and Expanding

Happy New Year 2009!

Wow! This year is going to be outstanding! Are you ready - soar? Patricia Diane, New Age Study of Humanity's Purpose http://eraofpeace.org states "2009 numerically is an 11 year. Eleven is the master number that reflects the transformation of the physical into the Divine. The archetypes for the patterns of perfection for the New Earth were securely anchored into the physical plane in August 2008. In 2009, through our creative faculties of thought and feeling, we will expand these patterns into our daily experiences. 2009 is going to be whatever we co-create together. " (c) 2008 Patricia Diane Cota-Robles

I'm extremely excited about 2009 and know that people are coming together world wide to create something bigger than themselves. The Power of Unity and celebrating diversity. This is why I'm founding and co-creating the Passion Challenge Dance in April 2009. The event represents the universal language that we all speak of joy, love, compassion, mother earth, passion and brings people together to make a difference and give back to community. Very Powerful! I invite you to join our V.I.P. Club (Vision, Integrity and Passion/Purpose) at www.successbreakthrough.com and be a part of this event.

Ask yourself what is it that you want to create, be and do in 2009? What will be different and how are you going to challenge yourself to work outside of your comfort zones and expand? I love to challenge myself when I move into the 'fear' factor which is really an illusion (false evidence appearing real). Our family was on a mini trip north of Ontario this summer and my husband and son went off to the event, Paint Ball. I was not interested in this at the time (contrast is awesome) and choose to move out of a false 'fear' I had of parasailing. I used to love heights and in the past I have sky dived and also parasailed many years ago in Mexico. So, I decided to book right there and then, to parasail today! Well you know, I was a little nervous, but here I go!



The website for this awesome team is www.bigkahunaparasailing.com and this was at the Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville, Muskoka www.deerhurstresort.com. As I quickly moved up into the air, I was swinging back and forth and was starting to focus on the little hook that hooks me on! Well, that hook got my attention and dialogue for a short period of time and then I said "these guys (Mike and Jay), know what they are doing and I'm not ready to die at this time, so move into trust and focus on the great views and 'be' in the moment! That decision to shift my attention to enjoy the whole experience was the 'key' to moving into a better feeling e-motion. Remember energy plus motion attracts the same vibe into your life experience. The guys even took me down and dipped me in the water. I did ask myself what were they doing for a moment and then down I went and rose quickly again up into the sky! These guys are an amazing team, so check them out if you want to experience this adventure.

So, you might want to ask, what does this have to do with challenging ourselves? We are beings of expansion and it is important to move out of your comfort zones (safely) every day. Challenge yourself to commit to doing something different that moves you into this zone. Experience a yoga class, read a new book, make a cold call, take a music lesson or book a speaking gig. I'm challenging myself right now to learn how to blog and how Facebook, Dig, Twitter, Plaxo and Linkedin, play into the world of communication on the internet .



You know what is cool? You get to make the decision on how you are going to expand, grow and live your life today to the fullest potential! Write to us and share your story and leave your comments on the blog. Remember life is a journey and not a destination and you will continue to grow each day!

Live the Passion!

Moira

Accountability and Responsibility

Well, I was talking with a friend and associate today in regards to individuals being accountable and responsible (how you respond) in their business and personal lives. When you are accountable you follow through with what you say you are going to do. You also move into empowerment, by taking back your power and thus have more energy to create what you want in your life. Also choose to be pro-active versus re-active, you decide how you will respond to every day events.

You are the director and producer of your life and wow - you get to choose the roles you play, the people you want to hang out with and the background, lighting, location and the theme. I love this reframe (how you look at your life - your perception) and you can play many roles. For instance, I play a Mum, a daughter, a wife and soul mate, a sister, a friend, a motivational speaker, lifestyle & success coach and television host and producer of productions and projects that make a difference. Inspiration, creativity and the wow factor - wowing in life and having fun.

So, what is your next role? Check it out and have fun!

Unlocking your Passions

What are you passionate about?

I produced a CD "8 Keys to Unlocking your Infinite Passion" this year, with the goal to get the message out that everyone can live their passionate life every day.  A lot of people are just going through the motions in life without feeling the e-motion of love, joy, abundance, gratitude, happiness and so much more!

Some people also put their passions on hold, imagine putting your passions on a book shelf, hoping, that some day they can live their passions.  They are either too busy; feel that they do not have the monies to live their passions; busy as a parent, children first, or many other reasons.  The waiting for some day is not a part of the week's calendar.  Some day is reframed to TODAY.  What are you waiting for?

So, start exploring the dreams you had in your childhood, teens and now?  Ask, what are your interests and hobbies?  What books and/or magazines do you love to read?  

If you want to find out more about discovering your passions, go to www.successbreakthrough.com and check out products for the Audio Book and CD.  Have fun!

Wishing you a 'Passionate" week!