Hi friends,

As a child, I had no problem speaking up. It came naturally. If something didn’t make sense to my little 6-year-old mind, I asked questions until it did. Now as I got older, I started to get in trouble for asking questions, for questioning the status quo. Sent to my room or sent to a classroom corner or sent to the unemployment line.

I got the message loud and clear: the best way to get along was to go along. I bit my tongue for ten long years. But this left me feeling crazy and out of sorts with myself. I decided the best way for me to get along was to not go along. In a society that values obedience, the easiest way to do this is to forget the outcome. If I dwelled on the possible outcomes – none of which might even happen – I became paralyzed with fear.

Let go of the outcome and you’ll get go of the fear. Is there something you need to say?

Muse thx,

Giulietta

Already Wishcasting Wednesday again! This week Jamie asks us what we’d like to complete. My mind went in a million different directions! Honestly, I wake up every morning musing with ideas and while some people might say, “Giulietta, focus, focus” I see my cauldron of rich ideas as my greatness. It’s hard for me to be around people and not share the ideas that come to me in their presence.

Kinda like a greatness clairvoyant!

Whatever it is that you do that releases you from the “autopilot” so many of us find ourselves locked into day after day — that is your greatness.

I would like to complete my first info product on finding greatness. It’s been in the making for a medium time! I will offer the product and personal muse time with me. When I download products, I end up skimming through them once or twice, not getting too much out of the experience. My approach will be different. It will take into consideration that humans buy products but need human encouragement to move forward with the product’s content, especially something as personal and emotional as finding your greatness.

I’ve worked with lots of people in small groups or one and one, and it’s always a relief for them to find their greatness. Otherwise, we spend our lives searching, searching, searching … asking, “what am I here for?”

Do you know what your greatness is?

Muse thx,

Giulietta

Howdy,

I’ve noticed a lot of folks run around crying for change. Way fewer folks actually stand up and do something about it. That’s probably the number 1 reason life/governments/economies tend to stay the same – complete lack of action. I know it’s fear. Just wondering why we continue to reign each other in when that method clearly doesn’t work?

Maybe we should replace some of the holidays we have — the ones that seem to be shopping-oriented — with action days. People have the day off from work to take a chance and be the first person in line to do something. I used to need to know that someone was going to be in line behind me. 9 out of 10 times the person who said they’d support me lost his or her own nerve and I ended up at the front, alone, facing a not so happy authority figure. I got used to it. Now I have no problem being the first one to speak up, to write up, to walk up. Makes me feel powerful and alive.

If you’re serious about changing the world, you need to get comfortable being first in line … What’s something you’d be willing to be first in line for? (Besides gelati and new high tech products.)

Despite living in a consumeristic society that urges us to buy, buy, buy, I contend that most people don’t really want more things. They’ve got more than enough things. I believe most people want to feel appreciated, to feel like they matter.  Once I figured out I needed this for myself, I started going out of my way to give the gift of appreciation to others.

Do I sometimes miss opportunities to do it? Of course. But I try to be more aware of it.

The gift of appreciation goes beyond a quick “thank you.” I may start with a thank you, but keep going. I say why I appreciate them. Sometimes a friend, family member or colleague may not realize how great they are unless someone tells them. It helps to build up another person. Yes, we are all quite good at tearing each other down. Much of the time when I pass people walking together, I hear them complaining about some absent person. I understand the urge to do this because I’ve been guilty of it myself.

Instead of looking for what the other person did wrong, why not try and look for what the other person did right? Then it’s easy to appreciate them! And the double secret bonus? By appreciating others, you’ll learn to appreciate yourself more.

Thank you for reading my blog. I appreciate that you are interested in what I have to say! Enjoy your day.

Muse thx,

Giulietta

Hey wonderful Wednesday wishcasting friends!

The circle of wishers continues to grow. Jamie Ridler believed a big market existed for wishes! She was right.

Today I’d like to acknowledge one of my greatest traits: perseverance. I set a “Milky Way” big intention and continuously move toward my heavenly goal until I reach it. My journey may get dark or dangerous or detoured but I keep going, keep reaching for the Holy Grail of my desires. Take writing, for example. I wanted to get published & paid so I kept sending things out, kept tweaking things, kept taking writing classes. At first every essay I sent out got rejected with no explanation, then I started to get “we almost picked you” rejection letters with nice notes from the editors. Finally, I got the calls I longed for, “I loved your essay and want to publish it.”

I’ve been getting published ever since (and still rejected too.). The key to accomplishing your heavenly goal, whatever it may be, is to never give up. Most people give up. When the going gets tough, they get scared and retract into their “see, I’m a failure shell.” I get even tougher. And if someone says something “can’t be done,” I work at it even harder.

Most writers do not get published because they give up to soon. If you want to “fill-in-the-blank,” see yourself achieving it. As cliche as it may sound, “YOU CAN DO IT!”

Muse thx,

Giulietta

Hey rebellious ones!

I don’t know about other karaoke singers but I only sing songs where the words speak to me in some way. If I’m not connected to the words, to the emotion, I can’t learn the song. My singing teacher makes me act out the songs during lessons. It helps me sing with feeling. Being a mannequin with a mic doesn’t appeal to me.

One song I’m working on is Jewel’s, “Who will save your soul?” Love the emotion in her voice, the way it quivers, wails, sails every which way. But it’s the words that stop me in my tracks every time. “Who will save your soul if you won’t save your own?” It took me a long time to figure out that I had to reach out to myself and save my own soul because no one else could do this for me.

And I did through singing. I saved my own soul and my own life through song. Not sure where I’d be now if I hadn’t taken that first fearless step and signed up for singing. Writing this I started to wonder why Jewel wrote it. A Wikipedia entry says, “When I was about sixteen years old I took a train from Michigan to San Diego and then into Tijuana and hitchhiked around Mexico. It seemed like everybody else was looking for somebody to save them.”

Please tell me, how you have or how you can save your own soul?

Muse thx,

Giulietta

Up until 12 years ago, I wasn’t sure what the Bill of Rights was. Oh, I’d heard of it & knew it was part of the constitution, but couldn’t tell you anything about it. A colleague at my then corporate gig, mentioned how few Americans could tell you anything about it, so I went to the library and educated myself.

This quote by Frank I. Cobb summarizes it nicely,

“The Bill of Rights is a born rebel. It reeks with sedition. In every clause it shakes its fist in the face of constituted authority… it is the one guarantee of human freedom to the American people.”

If you’d like to know your constitutional rights, stop by this site and read the Bill of Rights. Speak up if you believe your rights have been trampled on. We will only have a democracy as long as people like you participate.

Muse thx,

Giulietta the Muse

It’s Wednesday again. Time for Jamie Ridler‘s weekly wish circle. Great way to meet other bloggers and visit new blogs. I highly recommend it! Today’s wish prompt: What do you wish to remember?

I wish to remember that my life belongs to me and I can fashion it any way I like. The conformist push and pull to live, be and act a certain way makes for an unfulfilled life. Giulietta the Muse, inspirational rebel, follows her own path through life!

I’m a big Twitter fan. It’s easy and fun to write 140 character snippets. But my favorite reason for being on Twitter? I get great writing ideas. Today @CrazyColumbian poised the following question, “How can we use anger constructively?” Great question and one I can answer since I used to feel way too angry (powerless) much of the time.

I figured out I got angry for two reasons.

#1 I needed to speak my truth. There was something bottled up inside of me that needed to come out.

#2 I didn’t feel like I could speak my truth, that the financial, social, political, familial ramifications would somehow be greater than the health ramifications of suppressing my truth.

Somewhere along my growing up line, I learned to ignore #1 out of fear of #2. Why generations of parents going back to the Cave Age would teach children not to speak their truths makes no sense to me as an adult. Society ends up with lots of depressed people turning their anger inward or outward, both destructive.

I either had to express my anger or spiral down into a life of very, very quiet desperation.

I chose to take my life back. I started with little baby “speaking my truth steps” like taking assertiveness training classes, returning things, telling off people into their answering machines, eventually progressing into saying things to people on the phone, then in person, then in public. I also became a writer. It’s a great way to get the “it” out, the horrible alien living inside that feeds off human organs.

How about you? Are you ready to stop feeding the insatiable anger alien living inside you?

Hello fellow rebels! (and not so sure you are rebels),

While opening a new business account at the bank yesterday, my nice customer service person plugged in all sorts of names and numbers. He printed everything out and asked me to check it. I noticed right away my company name had a typo. He tried to fix it but the system wouldn’t let him so he called a number for help. The person on the other end said he had to close out everything and start all over.

Arduous as it seemed for both of us, he began to do just that. Then he typed in the correct name and it still came up the wrong name, so he called help again. This time the person told him, you can easily change that. No need to dump everything and start over.

I leaned over and said, “Always get a second opinion.” It’s more usual than not for people to tell you, “oh that can’t be done.” What they may really be saying is they don’t want to do it. If you believe something can be done in a more direct manner, keep going with your gut by getting a second opinion. Chances are good your gut is right.

Muse thx,

G.