Smell the flowers on your side of the path

This is a really wonderful story…………

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course the perfect pot was proud of it’s accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of it’s own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to the house”. The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You’ve just got to take each person for what they are and look at the good in them.

SO to all my “crack pot” friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!!!!

Rocky Balboa has it Sussed!!!!

(before you think I’ve lost the plot,read on……….)


If you are in your 30’s-40’s (or even older) you most probably grew up with Rocky. Even if you had never watched any of his films most of us could identify the theme tune from the Rocky movies, and most of us laughed at the way he spoke (or mumbled).

When the first Rocky movie came out I was still a really young girl, and being a real “girlie girl” hating anything related to boxing, I remember watching the first film and being quite non-plussed by what I saw.

However, this week something changed all that.

My husband came home with the Rocky Anthology this week, and I suddenly lost the will to live. There was NO WAY I was going to sit through six Rocky films. However, my husband then said something that really sparked some curiosity in me. He said “it’s not about the boxing, it’s more than that”. So I grabbed my tub of Haagen Daaz Choc Chip (well I needed some incentive!) and settled down to watch them over a series of nights. Suddenly I saw everything with completely different eyes. My husband was right (again!).

As I watched the films I realised there was so much to learn from the stories. Firstly here we had a man from a less than privileged background, with very little formal education. However, he had something really potent; he had a vision and a dream. In each film he had a different goal/vision, and he worked, sweating blood and tears to achieve each goal he set himself. I watched as he was so nearly de-railed achieving each goal, and yet he just kept picking himself up (literally) and continuing. He didn’t let anything get in his way, even when his body was literally broken, he kept going. Now that’s vision!!! What really stood out for me the most was not only his determination and motivation but that he never lost his integrity. Despite constantly swimming amongst sharks and piranhas, he never became one. He achieved his goals by keeping his integrity and spiritual belief in tact.He always believed in his goals, but the love for his family always came first. That for me was what really resonated for me. How many people do we know who start off swimming with the sharks and then become one themselves. Their excuse is usually that they needed to change to survive. Rocky shows us that this is nonsense.

And what about his coach. For me the person who epitomised his coach wasn’t as you might expect his trainer, it was his wife. Yes, the famous Adrian! She was more (or as ) certain and focused on his goals than Rocky was himself at times. She always encouraged him to press on, learn from his set-backs and celebrated his victories with him. She encouraged him to be more, and to do more than he would sometimes ask of himself, and most importantly she was the first person in line waving the flag at the top of the mountain when he finally arrived there.

So take it from a “girlie-girl” albeit somewhat older, that this film is more than a film about boxing. If you are looking for some real down-to-earth, hardcore motivation/inspiration without too much spiritual woo-woo, then give these a try. Just watch them from a different perspective, and see if I’m right. I think there's a lot that can be learnt from these fine set of films.

Every Woman Should Have........

A woman should have
one old love she can imagine going back to, and one who reminds her how far she has come.

A woman should have
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own

even if she never wants to or needs to.

A woman should have
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to
see her in an hour……..

A woman should have
a youth she is content to leave behind.

A woman should have
a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to retelling it in her old age.

A woman should have
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.

A woman should have
one friend who always makes her laugh and one who lets her cry.

A woman should have
a good piece of furniture not previoulsy owned by anyone else in her family.

A woman should have eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honoured.

A woman should have
a feeling of control over her destiny.

Every woman should know
how to fall in love without losing herself.

Every woman should know
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and comfort a friend without ruining the friendship.

Every woman woman should know
when to try harder….and when to walk away.

Every woman should know
that she can’t change the length of her calves, the width of her hips or the nature of her parents.

Every woman should know
that her childhood may not have been perfect……but it’s over.

Every woman should know
what she would and wouldn’t do for love.

Every woman should know
how to live alone……even if she doesn’t like it.

Every woman should know
whom she can trust, whom she can’t,
and why she shouldn’t take it personally.

Every woman should know
where to go……..
be it to her best friends kitchen table…….
or a charming inn in the woods………..
when her soul needs soothing.

Every woman should know
What she can and can’t accomplish in a day…..
a month……and a year.



Maya Angelou

The Honey Bee Has it Sussed!!!!

A question coaching clients often ask me is, "how do I find my purpose in life?" They get really tangled up and stressed trying to find out what their purpose is; what should they be really doing with their lives.A great and easy way I find to explain how we fit into the grand scheme of things is by using this fab quote by Peter H.Thomas

"If you asked a honey bee what it's purpose in life is, it would say it is to make honey for the colony. However, we know that a bee's life contributes a whole lot more to our world than just busily making honey. By doing its daily work, the honey bee in fact goes around and pollinates all the flowers and plants which results in new life for our planet. So just like in our lives, we may not realize what our big purpose in life is, by doing what we're passionate about, and by doing it well, with focus and determination, we may just affect a whole bigger purpose in our lives."

This sums it up totally for me!

How do you decide your purpose?