Lamisha Serf-Walls

Dream Changer-Featuring Applied Kinesiologist Felicia Giouzelis

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***This week I am so excited to present to you one of the co-creators and teachers of the Unleash Your Personal Power e-course (registration ends April 14th!!!), Felicia Giouzelis.  Felicia is not only a powerhouse of knowledge and experience in muscle-testing and Applied Kinesiology, but she is also a beautiful soul with a passion and spark that you can’t help but feel from her with every interaction.  You will see what I mean when you read her dream changer post below.  I hope you enjoy her story and check out her website for more information about how she changes lives on a daily basis. Take it away Felicia!***

My dream changing moment exploded onto the scene in August 2013. I had spent the past year in a high-profile position within the food service industry zoiresponsible for several departments in several locations for a company that was rapidly growing. I had revamped all processes and procedures within a year, launched a successful software redevelopment project from the ground up and altered the entire direction that this company was taken and yet, I felt empty inside.

That amount of success took approximately 90 hours per week from my life, it robbed me of my exercise routine, my healthy food choices and even my personal goals and aspirations. I watched myself deteriorate into a person that I no longer knew and I had seen this person before. The workaholic die-hard overachiever that got amazing amounts of work done but lost herself in the process. I try very hard to live without regrets, but if I were to regret any choice it would be the times that I had lost sight of myself.

Before I began that position, I was going through a terrible breakup. Looking back on it now, I realize that the job was an escape for me. I didn’t want to deal with any of the feelings associated with the breakup, so I buried myself in a position that was busy enough to help me escape. I used 90 hours a week as an excuse not to deal with any of the feelings associated with the breakup. By no means was I required to work 90 hours a week. My self-proclaimed undying determination was the reason for the extra hours, or so I thought at the time.

In August 2013, at the culmination of burnout… I lost it! I lost the need to continue working crazy hours, the need to put others before myself and the need to find fulfillment through my job. At the height of burnout, I resigned from my position. The day after my last day of employment, I simply collapsed on every level. My physical body finally had a chance to recover from the self-induced overwork of the past year and all I could do for two months was sleep about 16 hours a day – ironically, the same amount of time I was working each day!

Within a week of leaving, I started to think about what the next chapter of my life would entail. At that moment, I was invited to an advanced class in Applied Kinesiology at a school in New Mexico. The call was too loud for me to ignore it and it felt like I already belonged there. I flew out and was right, I felt instantly connected to the course and the people. It was at that moment that my entire life direction changed and I felt the shift very strongly.

I felt like I had come home.

These days a six-hour workday is about all I can muster and referring to it as a ‘workday’ is a comical statement to me. I have so much fun with applied kinesiology, it feels like I haven’t worked a single day. Being of service to others in healing is by far the most fulfilling part of my life.

Today I lovingly and gratefully reflect on my former position as a required step in my path. Without that intense pressure, I don’t think I would have left the position and found my true calling.

 

Headshot(1)Felicia is determined to live in a world where everyone is healthy, thriving and dis-ease free! As an applied kinesiologist, she’s been applauded by her peers and clients for her ability to explain how the body functions, the root cause of imbalances and how to bring it back into balance holistically – in easy to understand terms. When she’s not working with her amazing clients, you can find her pouring over articles and books about epigenetics at the local park.

Her latest e-course — Unleash your personal power — hits the internet on April 1, 2014 (registration ends April 14th!)

Find out how to bring your body into balance at www.zoiwellness.com or you can reach out to her on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

 

Dream Changer-Featuring Author Nicole Luongo

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***Nicole Luongo is sharing her dream changing moment this week and I am so honored to share her story with you.  With this being National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day, this post is coming to you a day early and once you read Nicole’s story you will understand why.  To tell you she is determined would be a gross understatement.  She is magnificent in so many ways and I am so happy she is a part of the Dream Changer series.  Nicole is such an inspiration to us all and I hope you enjoy her beautiful words as much as I did.***

I came into this world the size of a baby chicken! I was born two and a half months premature, weighing less than three pounds. My mom noticed that I could not rest my feet flat of the floor. Lacking balance, I rarely took a step without holding onto something. Nearly two years passed. I still wasn’t walking on my own. A neurological evaluation revealed I had spastic diplegia, the most common type of cerebral palsy (CP).

I could not do the one thing I wanted most: walk. At three years old, I slipped my hands through shoes – belonging to my parents or ten older siblings – and crawled throughout the house on my hands and knees. I did not give up. I paved my own path. This taught me an important lesson that shaped the rest of my life: anything is possible with determination and perseverance. In January 1978, an orthopedic surgeon lengthened my Achilles tendons. After walking in other people’s shoes for the first years of my life, I finally learned to walk on my own two feet.

As an adult, I began to experience problems associated with CP. I tired easily when walking. My back hurt if I walked too much. I could not step up curbs with my right leg – something I never had difficulty doing until age 35. This continued to be a such a problem that I asked my orthopedist for a cane. I couldn’t bring myself to use it. Instead, I avoided curbs and got a handicapped license plate. In October 2012, I received news that would change my life: I was a candidate for selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), the only surgical procedure that can permanently remove spasticity (abnormal muscle stiffness) caused by cerebral palsy.

My dream changing moment occurred on March 29, 2013. At nearly forty years old, I had SDR on March 29, 2013, with Dr. T.S. Park, the world-renowned nicole2neurosurgeon who is acclaimed for refining the procedure. Dr. Park predicted SDR would allow me to move with greater ease, walk with less effort and ride a two-wheel bike, the number one goal on my post-SDR bucket list! My four-month followup went well. The spasticity in my legs was gone, I walked much smoother and straighter, with heel-toe motion, no longer leaning to one side, and both legs were even (they weren’t before surgery), eliminating the need for ugly orthotics.

It’s been nearly a year since I had SDR surgery. The journey has truly been amazing! My passion for the surgery gave me a purpose. I am an advocate for people with cerebral palsy. I raise awareness about SDR on my blog and social media. Thanks to SDR, my gait has improved so much that it’s hard to tell I have CP. I can walk up and down stairs without holding on – something I would never attempt before SDR. I tried rock climbing for the first time. I went back to ballroom dancing. On my 41st birthday, I will attend an iCan Bike camp to learn how to ride a bike. I always thought (and was told, in one form or another) it was impossible. Contrary to popular belief, people with cerebral palsy who have not had SDR, can ride a two-wheel bike. My SDR journey is teaching me to stop believing in limits – those imposed by myself or others. All of us are capable of much more than we imagine.

 

NicoleNicole Luongo is the author of Naked Desires, a poignant book for everyone who is searching for love, delighting in love, or hoping to understand love. Her mission is to raise awareness for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR). Nicole believes information about the surgery should be provided to every person living with cerebral palsy. Please help spread the word by sharing this blog post.

You can connect with Nicole via her blog titled Bare Your Naked Truth.  You can also reach her on Facebook or Twitter.

Intention is Everything

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INTENTION

Can I tell you a secret that’s not so secret?

Intention is Everything!

At the beginning of the year I told you I was working on the lovely Leonie Dawson’s Create Your Amazing Year 2014 planner.  I completed most of the it for both business and personal life and one of the exercises included making a list of 100 things you want to do for the year.  To be honest the task seemed a bit difficult at first because I allowed my logical mind to get in the way, but once I got started I had lots of fun things added.  Things like getting a facial, hiking, reading 100 books, writing an e-book, and dancing in the rain.  I’m not even sure if I have made it quite to 100 yet as I am still adding to it, but you get the idea.

So, after really focusing on what I wanted to create for 2014 and allowing myself the flow as far as ‘how’ it would show up, I put the planner away and kept moving through every day life.  Every now and again I will pick it up and read through it to see if there are any exercises that I still need to complete that call to me.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, but one day in January I did this and took a look at my 100 things list.

I was astonished!!!

I realized that within the first month of the year without even trying, I had accomplished two things on my list.  They weren’t big things like going to Hawaii (which requires a bit of forethought and planning).  They were small things that simply happened.

What were they?

One was ice skating with my family and another was to have a game night with the neighbors.  Small, but super-fun things that I loved!

Now those two things might seem inconsequential as far as setting an intention, but I must tell you I haven’t been ice-skating in years! And the idea to have a game night with the neighbors came from left field considering we have never done that in the 3 years we have lived here.

All I did was think “hey that would be fun”, and I wrote it down.  I set the intention that these were things I wanted to do and by not planning, scheming or figuring out how it was going to happen, I did both of them within a month!

Even with all the evidence I have had over the years, I know better than to question the magical ways of the Universe.  But, there was a part of me that thought it was just a small occurrence.  That is, until a few weeks later.

I had been putting a lot of time and energy into my business.  I booked some new clients and was participating in an e-course and got the idea to create a group coaching model for my clients.  This would provide tons of information and insight for people interested in coaching at a much cheaper rate overall in a group setting.  Full of inspiration, I reached out to a lovely group of women I met online and asked for volunteers to test my model.  The Your Flying Leap test group has been going great and you guessed it the next time I checked in with my planner, I had an entry that read ‘create a group coaching offer’.

Now you could argue that as a business woman I would know all of the things I wanted to do and you would be right to some degree.  But, the sheer ease with which it came together based entirely on my inspired thoughts is amazing.  I didn’t think about it.  I didn’t create the program for 2-3 months before trying it with a test group for free.  Nope, I just asked who would be interested and I jumped in.  Since then, the pieces have been coming together quite easily.  (Note: I will be sharing more information on how you can join this program that begins again in May.  Join my VIP list to get the scoop first if you are interested.)

And you know the amazing program I am taking part of called Unleash Your Personal Power?  That happened as easily and effortlessly as the others and it too was on my list of 100 things to do.  The kicker is I didn’t even reach out to these amazing professionals.  I was asked to join this venture seemingly out of the blue and I can’t tell you how much fun it has been to create and what a great time we are having. If you haven’t checked it out, please do!  This program is valued at $1000 and we are offering it at a mere $85.  And while you can’t really put a price on the life changing tips, tools and information you will learn, this is an incredible offer.  unleashvaluepic

The takeaway from all of this is that when you sent your intention to do something and you just ride the wave of allowing, amazing things happen for you.  If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to whip out a piece of paper and write your own list of 100 things you want to do this year.  Big, small, or medium it doesn’t matter, I assure you that by writing it down and letting it go, the pieces will fall into place in seemingly miraculous ways.

Try it! What do you have to lose?

I hope you have a bit of fun this weekend and find some time to just relax.  Self-care is such an important part of life and many of us don’t do it enough!  Until next week, thank you for reading and have a lovely weekend.

P.S. If you haven’t signed up for the Creative Chaos call on 3/26 at 12pm EST there is still time to do so.  I will be sending out the materials with the call info next week so don’t miss out!  It’s totally free. 🙂

Dream Changer-Featuring Jeanette MacDonald

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 ***This week’s Dream Changer post comes from a very creative and gifted artist named Jeanette MacDonald.  Her story will inspire you and remind you of the gifts you may have lying dormant that are just waiting for you to invite them to come out and play.  It’s never too late to do what you love. Enjoy!***

Twelve years ago, I had reached the end of my tether. I was thirty-nine years old and had all but given up on life itself. I actually prayed to God to help me find my way.

I was a single mom and I had a 14-year-old daughter still at home with me. I feel like when you put a desire out to the Universe it is always

One of Jeanette's amazing pieces titled: Create Your Beautiful Life
One of Jeanette’s amazing pieces titled: Create Your Beautiful Life

answered and meeting my husband was the answer to that prayer. He was this really loving person who had the ability to reflect back to me the beauty that lay within. I remember him saying, “If only you could see yourself through my eyes you would see how beautiful you are.” No one had ever said that to me before then! No one had ever loved me like that.

It has been within the safety of that love that I have been able to test the waters of my true self for the first time. Once again I am becoming familiar with my inner-child – my inner creative. My relationship in this love has given me a second chance at growing up, but this time with a great role-model – my husband.

 I have learned through starting to love myself again that I have something so wonderful to offer the world. And for the first time I see how you have so many wonderful things to offer the world and me as well! And I am able to see how your offerings do not make me less in comparison to your gifts! But instead, I feel proud of the ability to be part of something bigger!

From this place within my tribe, I have felt free to write, paint and create.  I feel like I have been given permission to create a life where I can truly be of service to others. I have found my tribe of women where I belong. I have created a family that supports me in doing great things. Together with these women I feel like we are changing the world. We see the possibilities where before I only saw the limitations. Together we have proven that we can overcome great challenges and cross the finish line banded together as a group of winners!

So this is my dream changer.

This is the thing that has woken me up to be able to experience more of this beautiful life. The love of people I have been blessed to come to know, my husband, my family and my tribe have given me the ability to learn to risk getting past my fears to see the gifts that have always been available to me. I have learned through love to be brave. Because of this great gift I have been given, I have so much gratitude towards my fellows.  I want to spend the rest of my life being of service to you!

Giving is no longer tiring, it is revitalizing.

jen Profile bio picJeanette McDonald is an amazing artist and can be found at www.jeanettemacdonaldart.com and on Facebook.  Check out her Etsy shop for more gorgeous pieces that are available for purchase.

Updates, News, & Exciting Opportunities!

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What's newHEALTHHappy Friday lovely dreamers!

It has been one heck of an amazing week!  I wanted to take a moment to not only thank you for being here, but also give you a bit of a heads up about some of the new things that are brewing in the Life Once Dreamt world.

You may have noticed my posting schedule is a little abnormal as I am not posting nearly as much I have been in months past.  The reason behind this choice is because I am working on some really exciting projects and my focus has been on those things a bit more as well as getting more wonderful dreamers for the Dream Changer series.  I hope you are enjoying reading these amazing posts and will take some time to check out the personal pages that are included because these women are talented!  Check out Lisa Sharp and Jennifer Seitzer if you missed them and go see what they are all about.  Two amazing women with great stories full of inspiration for you 🙂

Some of the awesomeness I am working on:

I will be hosting a Free Creative Chaos call on Wed. March 26th for anyone interested that will help you untangle your web of creative ideas so you can begin taking inspired steps to creating again.  This is for entrepreneurs, artists of all sorts, dreamers, and anyone else who simply finds themselves stuck due to the many ideas they have floating around in their head.  Don’t miss this call on 3/26 at 12pm EST.  If you can’t make it live, sign up anyway and you will be sent a link to the recorded call along with a worksheet of exercises and a copy of my tip sheet 20 Ways to Keep Your Dreams Alive.  It’s a win-win!

I am also currently working with a group of five lovely dreamers in a group coaching program that is not only going to include 4 weeks of awesome material to help you take the leap into your wildest dreams, but also one individual session with myself and lots of learning from others in your group at a very affordable price.  If you are interested in getting more info on that when it launches, please join my VIP list so you don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity.  I will be limiting the group to about 15 people so I can provide the absolute best service to everyone in the group, so make sure you don’t miss the launch!

Last but not least, I have teamed up with a group of amazing women to bring you an e-course that will help you Recover from Overwhelm and Burnout beginning April 1st.  There are some specials scheduled for the first 20 people who sign up so to stay up to date on all that amazingness and to get a peek at who is involved, hop on over to my Facebook page and check it out.  I will be posting the link for sign-up very soon. 🙂

So that is it for the updates for this week.  I hope you will check out some of the great things that are going on and sign up for my VIP list so you don’t miss out on the many opportunities to help you create and live the life you once dreamt.

Have a great weekend and as always, thanks for reading!