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? 

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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

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

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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+ 01JUN11 
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Today's Topic - PRINCIPLE: Fail To Fit In 
(Principles are basic truths that, when applied, 
cause success to come to you easier and quicker.) 

When you just fit in, your passion dies a little. 

When you just fit in, we all lose the contribution you 
could have made. 

When you just fit in, you believe in your own truth a 
little less. 

Fitting in sucks. 

You fit in because you're afraid to stand up, stand out. 

You fit in because you've been conditioned to, by them, 
by the system. 

You fit in because you don't believe in you, you believe 
in them, in the system. 

Fitting in kills you a little. 

But don't fail to fit in just because it makes you unique. 
That's merely being needy for attention. That's using the 
outside, their reactions, to define you. 

Fail to fit in because it would be inauthentic for you to 
do anything else! That comes from a place so deep 
inside you that you may not have even seen it before. 

If "they" don't like it when you fail to fit in, you may be 
planted in the wrong place. 

We don't need you to fit in. We need you to inspire us. 
To show us what we're capable of, too. 


Coaching Point: Where, recently, have you failed to fit in? 




YOU ARE FREE TO FORWARD THIS. And Thanks! 
Copyright 2011 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. 
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Steve Straus 
A Coach for highly successful people -- since 1987 
195 Panorama Cir., Pottsboro, Texas 75076 USA 
903-786-4786 
http://www.StrausUSA.com 

First thing first, how is your theme manifesting this year?  I’d love to hear about it.

My  theme,”It’s Happening!“, has been manifesting in a few, sometimes surprising, ways and I’m sure there are a few more ways that I haven’t even noticed yet only because they’re happening right now.  So have faith that your theme is manifesting itself in the most glorious of ways and at the end of the year we can look back together  and be grateful for all the wonderful things that have come our way.  :)

But there is one thing that I do want to tell you about.  I had one of my best “It’s Happening!”‘s  just a few days ago!  (It was a HUGE step for me!)

As you may already know, I’ve been working on a short film project for the past 2 years.  This is something that is very close to my heart and I’ve been working very hard at developing the script and getting the story just right.

BOY is about an 8 year old boy who, in spite of having to struggle through war and the wrath of a heartless soldier, gains the insight to lead the world to peace.  It’s a story that could potentially touch millions of people and perhaps inspire us to take that monumental step towards peace.  So that’s why it’s taken me so long to get the story just right?

But just right it is and this project is ready for the next step (that huge “It’s Happening!” step that I just took a few days ago).

You see, the story of BOY is now ready for production.  Production is a very complex machine that involves a lot of talent, equipment and materials.  This is something I definitely can’t do alone.  I need a lot of help.

… But more importantly I need your help.

The HUGE step that I took a few days ago is I began my campaign to raise the funds to produce Boy.  As you can imagine, it requires a lot of resources to get production machine going and to take care and of all of the talented people.

So you might be thinking that my request is a financial one. Well, you’re partially right and here’s why I say that.  I know what it’s like to be asked for money.  I also know what it’s like to not be in a position to give money.  So, my request for help is not just financial.

If you want to help out financially, please visit the fundraising campaign on IndieGoGo (http://www.indiegogo.com/boy).

Alternatively, you can help me spread the word by doing the following:

1. ‘LIKE’ the BOY page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/BOY/117480124999261).
2. Invite your friends to “Like” BOY as well.
3. Pass this email on to friends you think would like to make a difference.

There is a lot of interesting up to date information about the project on both the IndieGoGo website and the Facebook Page.  So, regardless of your involvement, please visit these pages.

BOY is definitely a story that we could all relate to.  We’ve all experienced unbelievable pain in our lives and this story will show us that no matter what you experience in life, there is always a way to find peace.

If you’ve ever wanted to make a difference now’s your chance.  All you have to do is make a pledge by clicking a few buttons and/or telling a few friends and you will be making a HUGE difference.  Together we’ll make BOY the little movie that made a big difference.

Thank you very much for your help.

Peace and love,

Elle de Champagne

p.s.   If you have any fundraising ideas, I would love to hear from you.

Visit http://www.boy-themovie.com for more information.

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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+ 13APR11 
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Today's Topic - PRINCIPLE: Allow 
(Principles are basic truths that, when applied, 
cause success to come to you easier and quicker.) 

(3rd in a series of 5) 

You might think allowing is easy. There is plenty of 
evidence to the contrary. 

Allowing is about getting you out of the way. 

It's so easy to think that you, and you alone, cause 
all of your outcomes to occur. "If it is to be, it's up 
to me" was a popular saying a few years ago. Well it is 
up to you...to ask and then release it. To allow, not 
to make happen. This is a big deal. Allowing is about 
not doing, and we so want to do! 

Allowing is about trusting. And about abundance. 
And about desire. 

Allowing follows asking. After you ask, allowing is 
opening the door to allow what you have asked for 
to come in. But you may have barriers to allowing. 

Some common barriers are, "I must earn what comes 
to me." "I don't really deserve what I've asked for." 
"I asked for more than I believe is possible." "If all of 
what I asked for really does come, I'll be overwhelmed." 

You will want to discover and resolve all your barriers 
to allowing. There, that will give you plenty to do! 


Coaching Point: Are you really throwing the door 
wide open to allow what you ask for to come in? 




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+ 16MAR11 
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Today's Topic - DISTINCTION: Luggage vs. Baggage 
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, 
cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.) 

Baggage. 

Just the word, used as a complete sentence, can evoke 
an emotional response because it has come to be used 
in the context of something unpleasant. "She/he has so 
much emotional baggage," is not a generally positive 
observation to make of someone. Or, to have made of 
you. 

Luggage is a more neutral term. Luggage is used to 
carry useful stuff. You use luggage to take the things 
you believe you will want and need on a trip. "Packing 
light" is a positive process; taking only what is useful. 

The distinction between luggage and baggage, then, is 
in the contents. Luggage assists you. Baggage weighs 
you down. 


Coaching Point: Who packs your (emotional) bags? 
You, living in the present, or your past? 



[Thanks to Clive Wilson (www.primeast.com) for inspiring 
this S3MC.] 




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