At this time of the year, I pick a theme for the coming year.  My theme for 2011 was “It’s happening!“, and indeed a lot of things happened.  Most notably, I moved to Los Angeles to be with my husband!  Yay!

My theme colors the year with a mantra that guides me and inspires me.  This year especially, I noticed that some of you reminded me, on several occations, that “It’s happening!”   I can’t begin to describe how helpful that was.

My theme for 2012 is “Abundance“.  Make sure you tell me yours so that we remind each other when the time comes.  :-)  I look forward to hearing what your theme is!

Throughout the holiday season and in 2012 remember that you make your dreams come true!  I wish you health, wealth, love, peace and happiness.

Season’s Greetings!

Joyeux Noel!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy 2112!

Elle
xox

This is the latest post from my friend Steve and I thought it was a must share.

Peace and love,

Elle

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...S T E V E ' S....3 - M I N U T E....C O A C H I N G 
Steve Straus - Coach Subscribers: 1600+ Readers: 3200+ 14DEC11 
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Today's Topic - QUOTE: Optical Delusion 
(Quotes are capsules of information, reinforcement or enlightenment.) 

"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 
'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. 

He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings 
as something separated from the rest - a kind of 
optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion 
is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our 
personal desires and to affection for a few persons 
nearest to us. 

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison 
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all 
living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. 
Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the 
striving for such achievement is in itself a part of 
the liberation and a foundation for inner security." 

Albert Einstein 

Coaching Point: Optical delusion? Separated? Compassion? Inner 
security? Oh, Albert, what have you made us think about now? 

YOU ARE FREE TO FORWARD THIS. And Thanks! 
Copyright 2011 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. 
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To subscribe or unsubscribe, click here 
www.StrausUSA.com/subscribe.htm then enter your email address. 

Steve Straus 
A Coach for highly successful people -- since 1987 
195 Panorama Cir., Pottsboro, Texas 75076 USA 
903-786-4786 
http://www.StrausUSA.com 

“The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”

— Albert Einstein

Peace and Love,

Elle

Peace and Love,

Elle

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...S T E V E ' S....3 - M I N U T E....C O A C H I N G 
Steve Straus - Coach Subscribers: 1600+ Readers: 3200+ 07SEP11 
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Today's Topic - DISTINCTION: Adding Value vs. Cutting Costs 
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, 
cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) 

When the going gets tough in business most folks 
automatically think of how they can cut costs in order 
to survive. There's another way to go. 

Remember a time when you, either as a consumer in a 
retail transaction or as a business person dealing 
with one of your vendors, were pleased by receiving 
more value than you planned on. Those occurrences 
may have been rare, but notice that the ones you 
remember feel really good. Of course they do; 
everybody likes to receive added value. 

So why not think of how you can cause those feelings 
in your customers by creating ways to add value to 
them? When they experience and feel that, you have 
set yourself apart from the automatic-cost-cutting 
horde. Besides, cost cutting only leads to a race to 
the bottom where nobody wins. 

Often, adding value costs no money, only some of your 
time and your intention to add value. Because you want 
to do business that way, which is no real cost at all. 

Coaching Point: This Distinction is, of course, applicable 
to business, but can you think of ways you could add 
value to the meaningful relationships of your life? 

YOU ARE FREE TO FORWARD THIS. And Thanks! 
Copyright 2011 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
To subscribe or unsubscribe, click here 
www.StrausUSA.com/subscribe.htm then enter your email address. 

Steve Straus 
A Coach for highly successful people -- since 1987 
195 Panorama Cir., Pottsboro, Texas 75076 USA 
903-786-4786 
http://www.StrausUSA.com

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...S T E V E ' S....3 - M I N U T E....C O A C H I N G 
Steve Straus - Coach Subscribers: 1600+ Readers: 3200+ 27JUL11 
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Today's Topic - GREAT QUESTIONS: Ideas? 
(Great questions lead to great answers; weak questions, weak ones.) 

"What if all the ideas I want to have already exist and 
are just floating around waiting for me to discover them?" 

Coaching Point: It would change the game, wouldn't it? Instead 
of working hard to think up new ideas you could shift to simply 
becoming open to discovering the ones which are for you. Just 
about all the great creators who have ever lived have described 
the creative process in terms which could easily and accurately 
explain this idea. Your only requirement would be to quiet your 
mind of the assumptions, beliefs, programming, and noise of 
trying to figure things out and have the intention of noticing 
your next great idea. What kind of idea is that? 

YOU ARE FREE TO FORWARD THIS. And Thanks! 
Copyright 2011 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
To subscribe or unsubscribe, click here 
www.StrausUSA.com/subscribe.htm then enter your email address. 

Steve Straus 
A Coach for highly successful people -- since 1987 
195 Panorama Cir., Pottsboro, Texas 75076 USA 
903-786-4786 
http://www.StrausUSA.com 

Peace and love,

Elle

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...S T E V E ' S....3 - M I N U T E....C O A C H I N G 
Steve Straus - Coach Subscribers: 1600+ Readers: 3200+ 20JUL11 
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Today's Topic - PRINCIPLE: Thinking 
(Principles are basic truths that, when applied, 
cause success to come to you easier and quicker.) 

"Outside the Box Thinking" is, and has been for way too 
long, a popular thought. The intent of the phrase seems 
to be to stimulate creative thought, that is, to let go 
of being constrained by what you have already learned, 
what you have already thought, and have new thoughts. 

The problem with the phrase Outside the Box Thinking 
(other than its cliched status prevents it from being 
heard, thus having no effect) is that the emphasis is 
on Box and, somehow, getting out of it. It's an inward 
focus which does little to expand creative thought. 
Focusing on Box promotes more awareness of Box. 

Consider a new phrase -- "Outside the Thinking Box" -- 
where the emphasis is on Outside. This new phrase 
stimulates (at least for a little while until it, too, 
becomes cliche-y) by provoking questions such as: 

'What's a Thinking Box?' 

'Can there be anything Outside of thinking?' 

'What does Outside look like?' 

A Thinking Box is a hemmed-in place. Outside is 
boundary-less. 

Inside a Thinking Box lives understanding. Outside 
lives knowing. 

Box is cut-off-from. Outside is connected. 

Box is safe. Outside can be unsettling (a perfect 
place for creativity!) 

Coaching Point: Do you regularly get Outside the 
Thinking Box? 

YOU ARE FREE TO FORWARD THIS. And Thanks! 
Copyright 2011 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
To subscribe or unsubscribe, click here 
www.StrausUSA.com/subscribe.htm then enter your email address. 

Steve Straus 
A Coach for highly successful people -- since 1987 
195 Panorama Cir., Pottsboro, Texas 75076 USA 
903-786-4786 
http://www.StrausUSA.com

Peace and love,

Elle

Peace and love,

Elle

__________________________________________________________ 

...S T E V E ' S....3 - M I N U T E....C O A C H I N G 
Steve Straus - Coach Subscribers: 1600+ Readers: 3200+ 22JUN11 
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Today's Topic - PRINCIPLE: Attachment (To a Time Frame) 
(Principles are basic truths that, when applied, 
cause success to come to you easier and quicker.) 

Attachment is a recurring theme in these S3MC's. 
You may want to visit the full on-line database of 
these weekly musings at 
http://www.straususa.com/scripts/selection.lasso 
and enter 'attachment' in the Subject box to see what 
has been published over the years. 

Most of them have referred to attachments to 'things' 
such as objects or outcomes. 

This S3MC is about attachment to timing, which is 
when you try to force an outcome to occur by a 
certain time. The key word here is force. 

If you are attached to a time-certain, you may be 
doing two things: 

First, you may be setting yourself up to be disappointed, 
if the outcome has a different timing. Intend the 
timing, don't try to force it; big difference. 

And second, you may be holding yourself separate 
from other resources which could help bring about 
the outcome. Remember the old quote attributed to 
Goethe [incorrectly so, but never mind, the idea's 
a good one], "...the moment one definitely commits 
oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of 
things occur to help one that would never otherwise 
have occurred." 

By letting go of When and simply focusing your 
intentions on What and Why, you allow additional 
resources to assist you in the proper time frame. 

Coaching Point: Does what you want really have to 
happen by....? 

YOU ARE FREE TO FORWARD THIS. And Thanks! 
Copyright 2011 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
To subscribe or unsubscribe, click here 
www.StrausUSA.com/subscribe.htm then enter your email address. 

Steve Straus 
A Coach for highly successful people -- since 1987 
195 Panorama Cir., Pottsboro, Texas 75076 USA 
903-786-4786 
http://www.StrausUSA.com

Children are the greatest casualties of war.

Hi! I’m Elle de Champagne and I’m the producer/writer/director of BOY. This is a story that is extremely close to my heart.

Since an early age, I was traumatized by my father’s stories and childhood memories as a victim of war. He was one of the many child-victims that lived and witnessed so much atrocity.

Unfortunately, the stories continue to this day. According to UNICEF, in the past decade over 2,000,000 children have died as a direct result of armed conflict!

We have got to band together to bring an end to these atrocities.

There have been many inspiring people over the years who have been extremely outspoken against war and who have helped to transform the outlook of many.

Two in particular are Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa.

Mother Teresa once said that she would never participate in any anti-war demonstration but would always be willing to go to a pro-peace rally. What she meant was that…

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in order to end war you need to focus on creating peace.
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Similarly, Martin Luther King Jr. believed that…

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the only way to end hatred was with love.
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We need to stoke the fires that Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. and countless others have built and BOY will do this for us.

Boy is the inspiring story of an 8 year-old boy who gains the insight to bring peace to his world in spite of struggling to survive war and the wrath of a heartless soldier. This story inspires us all to take a step towards creating peace in our lives thus moving the world towards peace.

We need your help to produce this film. This will be our way to help to end the pain that MILLIONS of children suffer.

Here’s how YOU can help make a difference NOW!

(1) Make sure you ‘Like’ this page in order to raise the awareness of BOY. Together we can help BOY deliver it’s message…

IT’S TIME TO MAKE A GIANT LEAP TOWARDS PEACE.

(2) Be sure to sign-up for our mailing list on the left beside the BOY logo to keep up to date on the production of BOY and to keep stoking the fire of this project and it’s message (this is also available on the BOY website – see below).

(3) If you can, please make a donation to the production. Go to http://wwwindiegogo.com/boy.

Together we WILL make a difference.

Peace and love

ps – We invite you to find out more by visiting the BOY website at http://www.boy-themovie.com