Your Very Best Life

Dear Friend,

I hope that you had a fantastic 4th of July week ~and this finds you refreshed and recharged.  For many of us, we celebrated our country’s Independence with festivities that included people we love ~ friends & family, young & old, near & far.  Maybe your holiday was steeped in tradition ~ a parade, Great Grandma’s famous potato salad, a water balloon fight at dusk before the night sky was illuminated with brilliant bursts of glittering light.  Perhaps this year marked a new chapter and your celebration was a spontaneous one, or the beginning of new traditions to carry on in the years to come.    No matter where or how you spent your Independence Day, I would bet that you heard the sounds of laughter, voices  of loved ones catching up and visiting.  It’s likely that at least one person told you they loved you, and if you were anywhere in these United States of America, you heard the telltale BOOMs as fireworks erupted in every direction as the last light faded from the sky.

I’d like you to do something for me.  Close your eyes for a moment, and replay your day, all that you did, with all those around you, however, imagine that you couldn’t hear the laughter, couldn’t hear the conversations taking place around you, couldn’t hear the voice of someone expressing their love for you.

Now….. Imagine………. being able to give someone the GIFT of hearing.

I would like to invite you to join me in declaring the month of July as Independence Month, and together, playing a big game with one common goal…..SO THE WORLD MAY HEAR!
The Starkey Hearing Foundation is a remarkable organization dedicated to making a difference in the world.  As Bill Austin says, “Alone we can’t do much, but together we can change the world”, and you can see from their videos they are in fact changing the world each and every day.  I am certain that once you see what I have seen….your heart will be just as touched, just as moved, just as inspired.

Here is a link to view some of the viagra that the Starkey Hearing Foundation did ~ One of my personal favorites, if you click on “Africa”, and then “Nairobi 2010”.  To experience witnessing the exact moment that these children hear for the first time – it takes your breath away.
Please take a moment right now, and click here:

http://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/hearing-missions.php?video=12

This is my request…. I know, that together, by opening our hearts, and giving what we can, whether that is $1, $5, $10, $100…. and by sharing this email with your networks, friends, colleagues, etc…and asking them to do the same, we can raise at least $10,000 in the next 3 weeks…. and, by leveraging the matching gift that has been granted to us, each dollar will actually turn into $5. So, by our raising $10,000, that becomes $50,000, and THAT my friends changes the lives of 200 children forever……
So, please join me, let’s rally, and together, make a difference….. SO THE WORLD MAY  HEAR.
Here is what to do next:

You can make a check out to:
Starkey Hearing Foundation

Please include your full  name & address along with

donation, and mail to me at the following address:

Riana M. Bennerotte
11346 Eagle View Terrace
Woodbury, Mn 55129

You can donate online by visiting:
http://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/individual-gift.php

When you get to the follow sections, please use these instructions:

Under “Gift Selection” and “I would like to donate for” -

SELECT : Million Dollar Club

Then, at the bottom, you will see a heading called “Tribute Information”
In the drop down box, SELECT:  Honorarium

In the box to the right where it says NAME: type:  Riana M. Bennerotte

Thank you for BEING Extraordinary…..

Thank You for Giving from your Heart

…so the world may hear!

So…..Now What?

We’ve all been there….you put something together, from idea to execution, feel like all bases are covered, details completed, stars are aligned ~ and then…. Along  comes a 30 foot wave of disappointment, which then crashes down so hard, you aren’t sure which way is up.  Now What?

It is said that success isn’t determined by what happens to you in this life, it’s how you respond to what happens….  It is my belief that in that moment, is where our future lives.

Give In. Give Up. Move On. You Tried.

That is one option. One that I would say largely dominates because it gives us permission to comfortably, justifiably, lick our wounds and move in the direction of what some may describe as “safe.”  I invite you to consider that moving in that direction, is most likely  opposite of moving in the direction of your dreams.

In the same sense that allowing ourselves to believe that life “is what it is” (i literally cringe when I hear people say this, as it is such powerless statement, drenched in “victim”, and topped with a sprinkle of cynicism), there is another equally powerful “trap”….. the one of staying stuck and doing nothing because the fear of being “wrong” or “failing” is greater than your current ability to see beyond that fear.

Here’s is what I know….. Success, most always, comes only after there have been some considerable “failures” ~ or, as I prefer to call them, “Rehearsals.” How do you get better? How do you get beyond what isn’t working?  You tweak, you alter, you fine tune….and you do it again.  and again. and again.

Keep your eyes and your heart focused on the impact that pursuing and achieving this goal / dream will have on your life, your family, your community, your world.

Do not allow negativity and doubt to steal your passion and vision.

Do acknowledge what is true and present for you in this moment…be sad, angry, deflated, anxious, frustrated, embarrassed, whatever it may be, give yourself a specific and limited amount of time to process and then be done.  Pick yourself up, grab a pen and something to write on and reaffirm what it is that you are creating and what this accomplishment will give you.  Get clear and definite about your purpose.  Create your reality with your thoughts and your language…the two most powerful tools we have.

Surround yourself with people who are better, smarter, more spiritual, wealthier, more successful, more focused, more loving than you are….as we are all the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with…limit your time with those who try to keep you thinking, speaking, living in the realm of what is “common”, rather than supporting and encouraging you to shift your thinking, speaking, and living into the realm of what is possible.

Imagine if Thomas Edison had listened to all those folks who kept rallying for him to “Give Up. Give In. Move On.” after 10,000 “rehearsals”, he created the light bulb.

What will be your light bulb?

Shine.
Live, Love, Give…….

~R