The Power of Sharing a Thought!

I received this e-mail from a woman recently and thought is was pretty cool. Never, ever underestimate the power of sharing some inspiration or a new perspective with someone!

Dear Lynn,
I wanted to share my experience with you. In January of 2009 I was in a Women's Addiction Treatment Center. Every morning before everyone else got up I would put a Thought Spot on the bathroom mirror...words of encouragement.

It was amazing the impact it had on the women in the center! It got to the point that other women from the other floors would come up to see what was on the mirror. Everyone actually look forward to seeing them and we always ended up talking about them at breakfast. It was extremely therapeutic and reminded us all about the choices we can make each and every day.

I continue to have them on my mirror at home and I also do vision boards which I have used them on also. What an amazing idea, I love my Thought Spots!!

Sincerely,
A.R.

A.R. inspired other women with messages from the Motivation! Thought Pack and Inspiration Thought Pack.
A.R. - Thank you for sharing your story and inspiring women who needed it! Here what I have to say to that...
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The JOY Project

I'm really excited about formally launching The JOY Project.
What is it? It's all about sharing joy with other women to brighten their day or inspire them to be their best.
How does it work? I am giving away Thought Packs and Big Thoughts to spark some sharing and moments of joy. There are two ways this is happening: 1) Every time someone orders Thought Spots, I will give them 3 free Big Thoughts. Their job is to share them with other women who could use a kind or motivating thought to bring joy to their day. 2) I will seek out community groups and organizations who would benefit from a JOY Project donation and make sure they get to the right people - kids and women alike.
When did it start? I launched The JOY Project at the Children's Trunk Show on May 12, 2010 and gave away over 70 Big Thoughts that will be shared! So cool! And, even though this was the formal launch of the The JOY Project, there was already some sharing going on last year when I gave Halton Women's Place over 100 Thought Packs to share with the women at the shelter who could really use an inspiring thought and a new perspective.
Why The JOY Project? Because the world can always use a little more joy! And, truth is, like a lot of women, I love to give. It's a bit selfish I admit, because giving and feeling like I can help inspire or motivate someone gives me - in return - a rush of excitement and joy! So, The JOY Project ends up being a win-win: joy to the recipients and joy to me!
How can you get involved? Tell me about a group of women or kids who could really benefit from a JOY Project donation by emailing me at joyproject@thoughtspots.ca . Join me at other community events where I'll be handing out FREE Big Thoughts to share. Order Thought Spots on-line and participate in the sharing. Or simply, write a note to a woman you know and share some joy!

It's all about paying it forward. Never underestimate the power of sharing a thought with someone!

SPOTTED

I met Emma at a Fundraising event in November...she just couldn't get enough Thought Spots!! Her mom, Linda tells me she loves using them around the house. Here's to being a great thinker Emma!

...and the WINNER is!

ANDY EVANS - you are the winner of the Thought Spots Care Package Contest! I hope you enjoy taking someone special out for a Starbucks treat with your $25 Gift Card, maybe dancing with them after you download some music with your $15 iTunes Gift Card...and of course, putting a Big Thought on their mirror that will make their day!

Andy, you can thank my 4 year old daughter for pulling your name out of the hat today (nothing but high tech stuff here at my house...and a whole lot of karma I think!). Drop me an e-mail and I'll get your package to you this week.

To the other folks who are following my Thought Spots blog AND to those who aren't following because they haven't set up a Blogger account (you technophobes know who you are and I know there are a lot of you!)- thank you for reading...let me know what inspires you most, what you'd most like to read about and drop me an e-mail anytime to SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!!

Thought Spots Care Package Contest Countdown

There's only a few days left to enter my Thought Spots care package contest. Just for signing up to follow my blog (which really just means that you'll be notified when my weekly post is live), you could win a Care Package of some of my favourite things - a $25 Starbucks gift card, a $15 iTunes gift card and some Big Thoughts that really motivate and inspire me!
To enter, sign up by November 15, 2009...then share my blog with a friend and get inspired!

SPOTTED!

I love hearing great stories about how creative women are using their Thought Spots to motivate, inspire, teach, praise and share!

Karen from British Columbia surprised her daughter Reegan with a Happy Birthday Thought Spot placed on her water bottle, tucked neatly into her school lunch! Karen told me that her nine year old daughter just loves getting little messages in her room from mom. "The inspiration from Thought Spots are wonderful!" she said. Thanks for sharing, Karen and Reegan! As a little surprise to both of you, I'm sending you a Thought Spots care package to say thanks :)

I want to hear your stories, see your creativity and get your pictures! So, send me a photo and tell me your story and you might just see yourself SPOTTED! Please send all submissions with your contact information to lynn@thoughtspots.ca - you will be contacted before any post goes live!

Think...think...BLOG!

Welcome to the Thought Spots Blog! Enjoy a weekly dose of inspiration on everything from good food, exercise and parenting to fun adventures and tips for living really well!

The world is evolving – people now recognize tea in "coffee" shops, yoga as part of a balanced fitness program and kids as young as 3 years old can sign up to do triathlons! Sounds strange – maybe yes…but my six year old daughter is officially registered in her first TriKids triathlon in July and is just brimming with excitement about the challenge that lies ahead.

So, it got me thinking that I’d been procrastinating about living out one of my own goals – completing a “Try-a-Tri” Triathlon. I had arbitrarily decided that it was a must do before I turned 40…and with my 37th birthday coming up this year and my daughter’s willingness to try something new, I thought “Why not now?” So, I summoned up the courage, ignored the nagging thoughts (you know…Will I make an *** out of myself? Lose my bathing suit somewhere in the lake? Be the only person on a mountain bike amidst road bikes? Trip over my own feet during the run?) and registered. I’ve got a little over three months to train and an official reason to say NO to Skor Bar Blizzards with extra Skor (my unofficial DQ franchise quality control days are over!). Even though the hours of training will far outweigh my time on the course, I can already feel the adrenaline and excitement that you get from challenging yourself, feeling like you’re in unknown territory and pushing through anyways – because I can! And, more precisely…I WILL!

On September 6th my daughter and I will toast each other over lemonade (and maybe even a DQ Blizzard!) for an accomplishment well earned.

Ask yourself…

What health and wellness goals have you been putting off? Why not now? It’s as easy as making a decision that you can and you will!

Cheers,

Lynn