Brooke Castillo

Gossip is Good

Yesterday I got a direct message on twitter from a high profile coach whom I have admired for years.

She told me that she had heard really good things about me from a few of my colleagues and clients.

Nice.

I love it when people talk behind my back.

I love talking awesome about other people behind their backs too.

Try it.

Lean over to someone after looking around to make sure no one is looking and whisper, "Did you know that Shauna is frickin awesome?  Love everything about her.   Shhhhhh."

Feels good.

Gossip is good.

 

It Sucks-Let it go...

Have you ever spent such a long time working on something that you can't let it go?

Even when you  know it sucks?

A friend you've had for 10 years...but let's be honest, you guys have nothing in common anymore.

A job that you've been at too long?

A lover that has lost the love and only has the rrrrr?

A book you wrote, that YOU don't even want to read?

I have.

But every time I try to hang on when I know I need to let go....it hurts.

It hinders my growth.

Sometimes, we need to just let go.  Say goodbye.  Start over.

The book sucks. Throw it away.

The relationship is stale-work on it or move on.

And, by the way,  that outfit has never looked good on you and you know it.  I don't care how expensive it was. Throw it away. Right now.

There are things we can fix and work on, and there are things that aren't meant to be fixed.

It's not a mystery which is which.

You know.

You really do.

Let it go.

It's Been 10 Years Since I Hated My Body

The best 10 years of my life.

Hating your body is a choice.

A decision.

Nobody can make you do it, and yet so many of us choose to hate on ourselves.

We curse our thighs, our stomachs, our wrinkles, our butts.

And all it does is create emotional pain within our bodies.

I remember the day I decided to stop hating my body.

I was the heaviest I had ever been at 70 pounds overweight.

I decided that my life was too precious to spend it hating anything, let alone my only body.

So I taught myself how to love it.

And that felt better.

I had worried that if I loved my body I would not keep it fit, but I found the opposite was true.

I started moving it more.

Lifting weights.

Walking.

I loved that weight off of me.  Every single pound.

I have loved my body for 10 years.

I choose to love it.

Some days are more difficult than others.

But I make that decision for myself.

Because my life is too precious for hate.

How precious is your life?

Just When You Want to Quit...

And you don't.  You're introduced to who you are.

This summer we had our annual retreat for the Rowdies and The Life Coach School coaches in beautiful Lake Tahoe.  It was life changing for all of us.  Truly.

Part of the retreat was a rope's course designed to bring up our frustrations and our fears.  And it did.  It did more than any of us had planned.  But it was an amazing metaphor for our lives.  

Those of us who quit early, tried to quit early.  Those of us who get frustrated easy, got frustrated. Those of us who have a hard time trusting, had a hard time trusting.  And those of us who are over-confident, freaked out when we weren't in control and had to rely on others.  It was brilliant.

In that safe environment, we were able to see ourselves, pay attention to ourselves, and learn.  In my opinion, there is nothing more powerful than learning what you're made of.  Learning that you can go so much further than you thought you could and not quitting.  Learning that frustration was only caused from a thought.  That trying to control everything is impossible and unnecessary.

 

As coaches, Meadow and I spent most of our time looking up at our clients and our students.  And that was the most powerful metaphor for us.  We love these women. We learn from these women. We are these women.

And most of all, we believe in them.  

And You....

 

 

 

 

Overwhelmed by Other's Success

Sometimes I think other people's success can feel bad.

It's not true. I know its just my thoughts about their success.  But still.

I am venturing into the world of video and getting myself crazy overwhelmed.

There is so much to learn and so much to do and so much so much so much.

I look at other people who are on youtube who have amazing videos and content and tons of followers and it makes me just want to give up and go hide where no one can see me learning.

I want to be learned already.

I want to be done.

I don't want to have to go through the process of uploading seven different times in order to get it right. 

I don't want to have to re-record my 16 minute video again because I forgot to plug the microphone in.

I want it to be easy and I want to be successful and I want it to be complete.

Whhhhaaaaaaaaaa.

I don't want to suck at it.

I can see the temptation to stick to what I know. What I am already very good at.  I can just stay in my safe world of "already mastered."

But that would be short-changing myself.

I want to give myself the priviledge of failing.  Of being in the "middle".  Maybe I will fail.  Maybe I will kick ass.  But at least I will be showing up for the dance.

Show up, Brooke, show up.