Gift of Honor: Win $50 American Express Gift Card!

 

Insightful Voice announces the return of the “Gift of Honor” promotion and will award $50 American Express gift cards to THREE Facebook fans. Winners will be asked to donate the $50 American Express gift card received through this promotion to an individual or an organization. Three fans with the best response to the question, “Who will you honor with this gift and why?” will be awarded the gift cards.

If you win, who will you honor? Maybe a non-profit in your community, a family member/friend in need or an individual who inspires you?

Here is how it will work:

1) Like the “Insightful Voice” Facebook page and become a fan to become eligible. (If you're already a fan, you're already eligible!)

2) Post your response to the question “Who will you honor with this gift and why?" with Gift of Honor as the header on Insightful Voice’s wall. For Example:

Gift of Honor: I will honor Rosie’s Place, a homeless women’s shelter, by donating the $50 gift card I receive to supply food for their pantry.

3) Finally, share that you have participated in this promotion by posting the following statement on YOUR wall to encourage others to get in on the giving:

Have you heard about the ‘Gift of Honor’ sponsored by Insightful Voice? You could win a $50 American Express gift card. Click here to find out more:
http://myinsightfulvoice.blogspot.com/

Easy as 1, 2, 3. All responses must be posted on Insightful Voice’s fan page and steps must be completed by Midnight, Sunday, December 9. A select committee will choose THREE winners and they will be announced and sent $50 American Express gift cards Monday, December 17.

This holiday season, move forward in life by giving back to others! Click here and post your response: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Insightful-Voice-LLC/182093855190091

Insightful Voice Launches "Your IV" Video Series & YouTube Channel

Watch a preview of Insightful Voice’s NEW YouTube Channel! Featuring the video series: “Your IV.” Launching this Sunday - March 18th! Stay Tuned…

Who Is The Boss?

Shortly after I moved to Boston, I was hired as the worship leader for a small Baptist church in northern Massachusetts.  The job provided extra income while I worked full-time as communications director for a leading legal rights organization in charge of a number of initiatives and cases affecting the GLBT community.  Knowing that the belief for equal rights marriage was not completely aligned with the church I was working for – I decided to hide the truth of what I did and who I was.

It wasn’t until the pastor of the church, my boss, heard something on the radio that piqued his curiosity about my full-time job.  This caused him to call a very private meeting between him, me and the elders of the church.  On that night, they asked me various questions about what I did, why I was affiliated with an organization that fought for gay marriage and how I was able to reconcile this with leading the church in worship every Sunday.   They questioned my faith and my allegiance to the congregation.  My identity was in crisis and it was brought on by their judgment.

What I learned is that in crisis you can decide to do one of two things:  Live in a lie and deny that the crisis exists OR show the crisis who you really are and move forward in truth.  As I sat there in judgment, I knew my intention was not to deceive, but my decision not to be truthful was a result of fear.  What I know now is that the fear of telling the truth doesn’t have as much power as the freedom that comes with being honest to yourself and others.  No matter the outcome.

While the crisis of their judgment loomed over the room, I knew that it wouldn’t last forever.   I was fired and was asked to leave immediately after the meeting.   I cried every mile of the way home.

Spiritual teacher and author Gary Zukav says, “If you do not bring forth the truth of your heart, how can you give the gifts that you were born to give?  Potential that cannot break through encrusted fear becomes frustration, resentment, hopelessness, anger and rage.  Self-hatred is self-destruction.”

I knew that those tears were not a result of self-hatred…they were tears of self-evolution and a pure sign of breakthrough.  By telling the truth, I had finally shown the crisis who was boss.

www.insightfulvoice.com

If Not Now, Then When?

I was having dinner with my friend Ralph, when I took out my phone and saw missed text messages announcing the death of Whitney Houston.  After I shared this news with Ralph, we talked about the songs that came immediately to our minds in honor of Whitney…all for different reasons that were connected to various occasions at any given time of our lives.

But overall, no matter the song, we agreed on the momentous impact that her talent and voice had and the gift her existence gave to this world.  After I watched the media broadcast aspects of her life from her first introduction on Merv Griffin singing “Home” to her last video “I Look To You,“ the shortness of life became palpable.  It left me asking, “What is the difference between being alive and truly living?”

What I have learned, in times of loss and grief, is that it is my responsibility to move forward in honoring those whose lives have ended, but in the same breath recognize the overall gift of life.   For a moment, I will sit in reflection and mourn.   It has been said that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.  However, what’s most important is deciding what I will do when the mourning ends and the morning comes that will help me fulfill the life I most want to live.  If not now, then when?

www.insightfulvoice.com

Me and My Shadow

As I wrapped up another blog entry for “My IV”, I received a call from a friend that couldn’t understand why I put my personal past for everyone to read and analyze on this site.  She went on to say that my dark, shadowed past life lessons could be seen as weak, flawed situations that I have yet to resolve.  She wondered would that help or hurt my recently launched life coaching practice.

The question and critique took me by surprise and I had to step back and look at the big picture of life to understand why I was really doing this.

What I learned is that I am becoming a life coach that can no longer be scared by his shadowy past no matter how much light shines on my life.  I’ve learned not to allow my shadowy past to haunt me or pull me down.  My shadow is there to hold me up and push me forward.  It is only when I’ve learned to embrace who I am, that I can fully honor who I am becoming.

www.insightfulvoice.com

He's Just Not That Into Black

As I reflect on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and all that it means for all races of human beings, I can’t help but think of a very hard lesson that I learned from believing what someone else thought of me.

It was my first year in Boston and I was at a bar with one of my white friends.  After we ordered cocktails, we started a conversation with a random stranger sitting next to us.  Thirty minutes into a very fun and light conversation, my friend went to the bathroom and the random stranger began to tell me how much he liked my friend.  He ended this long gushing review by saying, “Yeah, he’s totally my type.  Blond, blue eyes, tall.  Don’t take this the wrong way – I’m just not into black guys.”

Someone had the audacity to say that to me?  He was ruling this decision by perceptions of what he thought of me based on my race.   Unfortunately, his thinking and views seeped into my consciousness and planted a seed that I was not good enough to be considered.  It made me think that a majority of people would rule me out of a romantic relationship just because of the color of my skin.  And I swam in this lie and allowed it to dictate how I felt about myself and how I moved about life.  For a moment, I allowed it to jeopardize my ability to succeed personally and professionally.

What I learned is that this would eventually give me the opportunity to feel what it means to be free of someone else’s perception of me.  To base who I am on what others think of me is dismissing my journey of who I have come to be.  In fact, it’s not who we are, it’s who we are becoming that’s most important.  I allowed this one small moment in my huge life to knock me off my life course.

Spiritual activist and life coach Marianne Williamson says, “The miracle of our existence is a cause for celebration” – just the fact that we are here on this earth makes us worthy of all that is good and the freedom to be who we are.   And the person who judges based on perceptions has no idea of your amazing future and potential.  This life lesson has allowed me to remove myself from what others think and now I can truly live with intention, purpose, and in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “Free at last!”

www.insightfulvoice.com

My Interview with Carol Burnett

I was 19, an aspiring TV journalist and my parents had gotten me tickets to see a Q&A with the one and only Carol Burnett.  The performance would be similar to the “Bump Up the Lights” segment she does with the audience during her popular TV show.   After the Q&A, I would be invited to join Ms. Burnett and 100 of her closest fans for a special reception.  Since I was a reporter for my college TV news show, this would be the perfect opportunity to get a one-on-one interview with this comedic legend.  My plan was to ask her for the interview during the Q&A then conduct it at the special reception.

There I was in the theatre. I was nauseous, nervous and short of breath.  I knew if I didn’t ask for the interview during the Q&A session – it wouldn’t happen.  My dream would die because of not trying, and would lead to me not understanding the courage I had to ask for what I wanted. 

Before I knew it, she walked on the stage to deafening applause.  Then she said, “Let’s bump up the lights…who has a question?”  And my anxiousness and desire to make this dream a reality came over me.  I stood to my feet on shaking legs and asked through the lump in my throat for what I wanted:

“Ms. Burnett (gulp) I’m in college - I’ve loved you for years and I’m attending the reception afterwards.  Can I get an interview with you?”

The audience laughed.  I felt stupid.

She replied, “Why don’t you ask me a question now?”

Who the hell knows what I said next because all I could think was – I was just turned down for that one-on-one.  Then I sat down….defeated. 

After the Q&A, I was so embarrassed and sat in my car outside of the reception hall debating if I should go in.   But I did anyway and melted into the large crowd of people waiting for her at the entrance of the hall.  Then – she walked in, flanked by two security guards.  Everyone wanted a piece of her, but I was too deflated and decided to hide in the crowd.  But somehow she saw me…she pointed to me and yelled, “You were the one who wanted the interview…where shall we go to do this?”

I was shocked speechless. She took my hand and we both participated in my dream.  I learned, “Ask and you shall receive” is not just a saying, it’s truly a way to live.  When the possible seems impossible, I talk myself into making my dreams come true.   I’ve stopped pursuing opportunities saying, “What do I have to LOSE?” Instead I ask, “What do I have to GAIN?”  Because I asked for what I wanted and made it known to others, I was able to step back and be encouraged by my courage.  This year – make a plan, step out on faith, ask for what you want and the opportunity will follow.

www.insightfulvoice.com