Marcia's Dream Notes

In this month's feature article, I discuss integrity and its importance in living the life of your dreams, and bringing your dreams to life. As you'll see, handling things that are undone, or incomplete, is a terrific way to get yourself to a place of living in integrity.

Some may think that living in integrity means being perfect, or never making a poor choice again. That's just not so. As long as we're human, we'll always make mistakes and do things we realize (in retrospect) we shouldn't have done. What's key is to be "at choice" -- to know that we can change our minds, and do something differently.

I recently experienced this myself.

When I launched My Dream Circle, the monthly fee was set in a place my entire team believed was fair, given the value offered. Over time, though, I came to realize that fair or not, it simply didn't allow me to do what I most wanted to do -- help as many people as I could to achieve their dreams.

Once I got clear on that, I realized that I wasn't in integrity with the pricing, and we quickly made a shift. My Dream Circle membership is now $24.95/month, allowing many more people to take advantage of membership, and it allows us, together, to create dynamic DreamTeams, build a wonderful one-of-a-kind community, and support one another in achieving our dreams.

Being in integrity wasn't about doing it perfectly to begin with. It was about not seeing a choice, about shifting once I understood that the integrity wasn't there for me.

My wish for you is that you too come to a place where your decisions, choices and shifts all center around living a life you love, centered in integrity!

The Essential Ingredient for Achieving Dreams

The more your life is in order, the faster and easier your ability to manifest a dream will be. When your home, your business and your relationships are solid and working, your integrity is fully intact. Integrity means whole and complete. If there is some area of life that is a mess, the ease and flow often gets caught up in the "gook." This is a great incentive to keep things honest and clean.

The richest commodity available is something you already possess. It is your word. What you say and what you do are two of the most powerful forces available. My golden rule is this: "Say what you mean and mean what you say." Be true to yourself. Learn to listen to your heart and soul and to speak up for yourself. Ask for what you want and need. Take a stand for what you believe in and what really matters to you and don't back down. Be willing to be a lone voice in a crowd and never sell out on yourself.

It often takes courage and practice to do this and the reward is far greater than getting what you want. You become a model to yourself and to others of someone who is true to themselves and true to their dreams. Declare your dreams with all the conviction you can muster. Speak powerfully about your dreams and notice how people respond and what happens. Then do what you said you would do. This is where credibility comes from and where many people fall short.

Two women I know just returned from Nairobi and shared this with me. Several months ago they wrote to a Zamburu tribeswoman and asked if she would meet them upon their arrival to her small village. She replied that she would rendezvous with them at a very specific place and she would wait for them all day. Once landed in Africa, they realized it would take seven hours by public transportation to reach their destination. They were sure that this woman would be long gone. Upon arrival, there she stood. True to her word, she literally waited at that spot all day long.

Keeping your word is how you show others that you are serious about your intentions. This is what defines integrity. You show yourself that you are accountable and that your dreams matter. This is where you demonstrate that your word is powerful because you honor what you say, you use it to create and it works.

Resources you can use:

Books: 
Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck
First Things First by Stephen Covey
The Right Questions by Debbie Ford
The Portable Coach: 28 Surefire Strategies for Business and Personal Success by Thomas J. Leonard

Links:
The Foundation for a Better Life

Big Dreamers Share

• Mary Jean has shared her dream of offering guided kayak paddling trips. She has already put her dream into motion and will begin offering kayak rentals in the San Luis Pass area outside of Galveston, TX.
  
  
• Kathleen's dream is to develop a special website for singles. She has come up with a name for the site and is on her way to making her dream a reality.
  
  
• Debbie has a dream to become a published author and to teach at the university level in Business and MBA programs.

My Dream Coach News

We love sharing your dreams and achievements, and we want to share ours with you, too! Here's what's happening in our world this month:

• Sneak Preview of Our New Look- As you can see by this newsletter, we are in the process of creating a new look. Stay tuned for an announcement of our newly re-designed website.
• You're Invited to a Special Event in Portland- The Great American Dream Challenge continues to draw big dreamers going on record as keeping their dreams alive! We had over 150 people in attendance at the San Francisco, CA event held on September 11. We still have space available at our upcoming event in Portland, OR on October 10th. For more details and a chance to register, visit www.mydreamcircle.com/1010.htm.
• Few Spots Remain for Dream Coach Certification in 2005- We've had a great response to the upcoming January 2005 Dream Coach® program, which Marcia will lead (this won’t always be the case). To learn more, visit our Web site at www.dreamcoachu.com.
• Special Offer for My Dream Circle Membership- Imagine entering a large room filled with talented people and resources, all personally gathered and designed to support you in your endeavors. My Dream Circle is just like that, only it’s on-line! We are now offering a special membership rate. Join now and receive four months of membership at the price of three. Click here to learn more.