The blog has moved over to the Your Life, Unlimited website, please stop by and visit, comment, ask questions and share there! 

You will find excellent, life enriching videos and information that you can use TODAY to make your life even better! You  can also receive the complimentary guided journal as an E-Book.

While you are online, please  join our community of positive, like-minded, pro-active people on our Facebook page.

See you over there!

Stephanie Staples
Chief Enrichment Officer
www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca
204-255-5912

About the author:  Stephanie Staples is an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker and life coach, who shares her unique views on life regularly via radio, TV, columns and pretty much anywhere people will listen!  She has a special fondness for speaking with nurses & healthcare professionals.

Wow, that’s a loaded question and one worthy of an answer.

Success, whatever that is to you,  usually encompasses more than just financial elements.  Granted, money affords you many opportunities and it is the primary way our society measures success, but, my friends, we all know of people who are rich with money and poor in many other ways.

Success means different thing to different people!

Before you strive to measure success, consider answering the following question:

I will know I am successful when…

Here are some possible answers:

• I have a feeling of inner peace most of the time
• I live comfortably with my wants and needs met
• I have family that I am close to and friends whose company I enjoy
• I am healthy and happy
• I can share easily and effortlessly
• My work satisfies me

Certainly use the money in your bank account to be one measure, but I invite you to weave your answer to the success question by considering all the other aspects of your life,  like relationships, faith, health, personal growth, community development etc.

At the end of the day the person with the most toys  is not necessarily the most ‘successful,’ so let your legacy be one that lasts beyond the bank account.

Well, that’s just one coaches opinion!

Carry on living, Your Life, Unlimited!

Stephanie Staples
www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca

About the Author:  Stephanie Staples eats, sleeps and breaths personal development and still she is not personally developed herself- ahh, it is an ongoing beautiful journey!  She speaks internationally and is frequently featured on radio, television and in print sharing her unique and pro-active view of living life with full GUSTO!  Bring her to your next event to kick it up !  For a complimentary Quality of Life Assessment, email Stephanie at Stephanie@YourLifeUnlimited.ca.

Who hasn’t heard his name? Who hasn’t witnessed his story?  Who hasn’t known someone who’s been affected by the same devastating disease that took his life?

Terry Fox.  Terry’s story is one of an ordinary young man  (so described by his mother)  who had the courage to dream extraordinary things and in this quest made things happen that even he could not dream of. 

In 1977 at  age of 18,  while pursuing a degree in kinesiology, Terry’s world was rocked when knee pain revealed a form of bone cancer  and within only 3 days of this diagnosis, Terry’s right leg was amputated above the knee.

It might tell you something about his character if you knew that he was fitted with a new prosthetic and was out golfing only 6 weeks after the operation.  It might also tell you something about his character if you knew that the inspiration for Terry’s achievements was not his own situation but seeing the suffering of all the children in the cancer ward undergoing chemo and radiation treatment.  His legendary motto, “somewhere the hurting must stop”  was born here. 

Terry had an idea, but interestingly, he kept his idea a secret.  He began training.   Imagine learning to walk all over again and then learning to run.  I wonder how many times he fell and got up on that old track.  I wonder what was going through his head as he silently dreamt of running across the country hoping to raise 1 million dollars?

For a year he told his family he was training for the Vancouver marathon.  4800 km later Terry announced his plans to run 8000 km in 6 months in the hopes of raising 1 million dollars for cancer research.  Initially his family was not supportive and who could blame them? 

On Friday April 12, 1980 armed with his best friend & a donated Ford Van, Terry Fox age 22, dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean to St John’s NFLD and The Marathon of Hope began.  

Terry received very little coverage until he reached Ottawa where he met Trudeau (who knew nothing of his dream).  Now things started happening & Terry raised his goal to a brazen $24 million dollars (the approx pop. of Canada  at that time which was the approx equivalent of $1 from each Canadian for cancer research).

Terry was running the equivalent of a marathon a day.  Imagine… shoes ,socks, prosthetic, rain, pain, wind, hills.

On September 1, 1980 143 days after beginning his journey, more than ½ way across the country near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Terry was forced to stop his run when the cancer, which had spread to his lungs affected his breathing too much to go on.  Imagine… anguish, defeat

Terry died on June 28^th, 1981 but not before being the youngest person ever to be awarded the “Order of Canada” the highest Canadian Civilian award, not before becoming one of the greatest Canadian heroes of the 21^st century.

The most inspiring quote, one I think of many times when I want to give up is this…

 “I set a thousand goals a day, past this sign, past that tree…”

How can we apply this to our own lives.  It is doubtful that you want to run across the country, but there IS something you DO want.  What is it?

Whatever your dream, desire, wish, hope is-set a BIG goal, then break it down into a thousand ‘little’ goals and pass one ‘tree’ at a time.

Thanks Terry, for the inspiration.

Stephanie Staples
www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca

PS    To date over $400 million dollars has been raised in Terry’s name.  Visit www.terryfox.org  to find out how you can help honour his dream.

About the author: Stephanie Staples is an award-winning speaker, coach and author who sets the wheels in motion for folks to live their lives with full GUSTO!  You can find her sharing her expertise on personal growth & opportunities on radio, TV and in print.  To ask her a question, send a comment, get some free resources or if your group could use a lift and a shift, contact her at www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca. 

Winners, success drivers, movers and shakers, visionaries-those people have coaches!  YES! They are ALWAYS ready!

This weeks Your Life, Unlimited  radio show focused on the benefits of coaching for successful, joyful and productive living.  Joining me in the studio was a local colleague Deb Dawson-Dunn and with us, via technology, was Kathy Potts from Florida.

Some of the best insights that come from coaching come from the questions we, as coaches, ask you.

Kathy may ask you, “Deep down in your heart, what do you REALLY want to do?”  She calls it, ’your heart is knocking.’  What would your heart answer? 

I may never let you settle with an answer of , ‘I don’t know.’  I will ask, ‘But if you did know, what would the answer be?’  Clients always find an answer upon closer inspection.

Deb may ask you, “If you choose to focus on one word today, let’s use ’beautiful’ -how would your day be different?  Would you dress differently? Would you speak to people differently?  Would you notice more beautiful things?

She has a lovely set of ‘playing cards’ to encourage you to have a word of focus for each day,  check them out here.

Deb’s passion is joyful living and her are her Top Ten Tips for Living Joyfully!

1. Breathe
2. Treat Yourself Like a Most Valuable Person (MVP)
3. Focus Your Thoughts
4. Be Still
5. Laugh Daily
6. Listen to Your Heart
7. Take Baby Steps Towards Your Dreams
8. Move Your Body
9. Cultivate Your Creativity
10. Be Authentic
11. Bonus Tip:  Be Grateful  

Kathy works with clients to uncover 4 principles to performing at your best:

1. Choose the Game – Take accountability for the future, in spite of any situation
2. Use your Head – Get objective at any moment; look at situations from a reality based perspective
3. Use your Heart – Consider the connection & impact you create with others
4. Perform at your Best – Learn the knowledge & execute the skills needed to experience your future

The bottom line is your coach wants you to succeed. Your coach is your champion, your mentor, your partner, your accountability and so much more.

If you want to dream bigger, be happier, do more or even do less, consider bringing the power of coaching into your life.

Don’t just think about it, DO it!

To listen to the show in it’s entirty visit the audio vault at  www.cjob.com  and punch in June 18 @ 8 p.m.

Stephanie Staples
www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca

About the author:  Stephanie Staples speaks internationally to help re-energize, re-fresh and re- inspire even the toughest critic in the healthcare field and beyond.  The effects of her uplifting, motivational keynotes last long after the presentation is over.  To find out more about this award-winning messenger, visit www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca

I was inspired by this story, set in Nova Scotia, about a boy who wore a pink T-shirt to school and was harrassed by bullies.  After hearing what had happened, two grade 12 boys in the school decided to take a stand.  They went to a discount store and bought 50 pink shirts, so when the boy who was the target of the bullying came back to school, he saw this pink sea of support.

The Heros!

To take this story into our own world… how often to we hear ‘bullying’ in our workplace, perhaps it is disguised as gossip or something else, but we stand by and do nothing.

If these young kids have the courage to stand up for a schoolmate they barely know, then shouldn’t we, as adults, stand up and do the right thing too?

I’m just saying…

Read the story is to in more detail here…http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2007/09/18/pink-tshirts-students.html

Stephanie Staples
www.yourlifeunlimited.ca

About the author-Stephanie Staples helps individuals and groups live their lives with full gusto.  She speaks internationally to inspire, enrich and empower those in healthcare and beyond!  To get a regular shot of inspiration, join her on Facebook at Stephanie Staples presents….Your Life, Unlimited!

First time trying this, I hope it works!

Visit Stephanie’s happy place:  www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca

People often ask me how I got into this business (speaking, coaching, writing et al!).  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the question, I ask the same of other people with unique jobs.

If you are interested in knowing what makes coaching click and me tick, check out this audio link where I am being interviewed by Pierrette Raymond for ‘Successful Women Talk.’

Although that particular coaching program we mention in the interview is no longing being offered, stay tuned for new upcoming sessions.

About the Author:  Professional Speaker, Author and Coach Stephanie Staples, works with individuals and teams internationally who want to learn how to turn obstacles into opportunities and live their lives with full GUSTO! For a FREE  and fun Quality of Life Assessment you can do on your own, or to  bring Stephanie to add a spark to your next event, please visit www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca.

YOUR personal growth and development! 

Yes, folks working on ourselves is hard, but rewarding, work.  But fear not, allow me to

Are you ready to BLOSSOM!?

introduce you to this weeks guest on Your Life, Unlimited on Radio,  Helen Maupin.  Helen, along with co-author Benita Stafford-Smith, have put their life coaching skills to co-author a beautiful self-coaching  book called, From Now to WOW, Step by Step, An Invitation to Transformation.

Helen walked us through some tools for transformation and challenged us to ‘Become the Hero’ of our own lives by making decisions that will both inspire and lead us towards our vision of our future self. 

Becoming aware of things you really value can help make decision-making much easier by allowing you to put your decisions through a  ‘value filter’, of sorts.  For Helen, she values peace, love and joy.  If something she is asked to do doesn’t pass the ‘test’ (i.e.  Will this activity bring me peace, love and/or joy?), she gives it a thumbs down.

What do you value?  Adventure, wisdom, belonging, influence, service, fun….

If you are ready to put some time and effort into developing yourself, you can get Helen and Benita’s book here, I promise you, the energy you put into coaching will come back to you ten times over!

You can listen to the whole show at www.cjob.com, just go to the audio vault and punch in June 4, 2010 at 8 pm.

Happy developing!

Stephanie Staples
www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca

About the author:  Stephanie Staples has a knack for helping people turn obstacles into opportunities!  She speaks internationally to help engage, empower and enrich audiences in healthcare and beyond.  To find out how to bring the Your Life, Unlimited philosophy to your team or conference, visit www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca.  If you would like a free assessment to find out your True Values, email stephanie@yourlifeunlimited.ca with ‘values’ in the subject line.

Meet young Noah Palansky who upon hearing his Mom’s cancer diagnosis a few years ago decided he was going to be pro-active and be part of the solution.  Noah entered the Challenge for Life Fundraising walk and raised an impressive $1,000. But that is just the beginning of the story.

Meet Mark Evans, social entrepreneur and local businessman who

jumps on the bandwagon with his family  to mentor, support and encourage Noah to meet, exceed and aspire to an amazing fundraising goal.

$1,000,000 lifetime goal.  That’s where 12 year old Noah has set his sights.  Wild and wonderful n’est pas?!

The Evans have joined forces to double Noah’s fundraising efforts, that is for every dollar that he raises, the Evans will double it. Noah is speaking at schools to get others on board and letting everyone know (especially kids) that one person can make a difference.

I see inspiration in so many places with this story:

1. Youth -being aware that they can take a terrible situation and make an positive impact
2. Adults- taking a protegé under their wings, building a future leader
3. Community -stepping up to support
4. Setting B-HAGS- Big Hairy Audacious Goals! 

Thank you gentlemen for raising the bar for all of us.  I look forward to following this story further, I promise you boys another spot on our radio show when you hit that million dollar goal, I suspect it will be sooner than you think!

For more details about Noah’s fundraising or to donate, please visit his webpage . Mark also has some Sidney Crosby jerseys that some lucky donors will win-so get your name in the hat!

Meanwhile, when you see opportunities to make a difference, (hint…this is one) seize them!

Stephanie Staples
www.YourLifeUnlimted.ca

About the author:  Stephanie Staples seeks to engage, inspire and enrich lives  in the healthcare community and beyond.  She speaks internationally about turning obstacles into opportunities.  To find out how to bring the  Your Life, Unlimited philosophy to your team or event, visit www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca.

Enter Cheryl-Ann Webster, the creator of the Beautiful Women Project, this lady is on a mission to change the way women (and men, actually) see and feel about their bodies.

Cheryl-Ann cast in clay the torsos of 120 women from ages 19-91, complete with all their

This is the truth.

lumps, bumps, scars and goosebumps.  As you can imagine, each woman who volunteered to be cast,  had a unique story of her own life to share and a special reason why she wanted to be a part of the project.  Cheryl-Ann further used her creative juices to interpret their stories as the artwork on the sculptures.  Although I haven’t seen the sculpures in person, they wonderful to view on her website www.cawebster.com.

The whole point of the project is so that women, if women must compare themselves, at least compare themselves to reality.  Acknowledging we can’t change much about how the media portrays women, this was her way of taking control  of the issue and thus, the act & voice of self-acceptance was born.

Cheryl-Ann leaves us will an idea to consider.  The mirror-a reflection not only of our physical self but of our emotional self, as well. Consider the things you say to/about yourself when you look in your mirror, ask yourself if you would say those things to your friend, to a child, even to someone you don’t like.  Most of us, if honest, would never utter those words to others, perhaps we should consider not uttering those words to our most precious selves either.

What if today, we viewed our reflection with less judgement and more gratitude.  Gratitude for the parts that work, graitude for what your body allows you to do, gratitude for the parts that  are pain free, gratitude for the amazing functions it performs without a thought from you.  What if we focused on those things instead of being the critic we are so accustomed to being?  What if?

The Beautiful Woman Project will be coming to the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto from August  20 - Sept . 6, 2010-so if you are in the neighborhood, please do check it out-you will be impressed!

Stephanie Staples
www.yourlifeunlimited.ca

About the author: Stephanie Staples is a woman on a mission, to help people shift perspectives and live their lives with full gusto! She speaks internationally to healthcare professionals, and others, who have room for improvement and are willing to try something different!  Join ’Stephanie Staples presents…Your Life, Unlimited’ on Facebook  or visit www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca to find out how to bring her to uplift your group.