Ode to Joy!

Article & photos by Margalit Ward

What can I say, I just couldn't help myself.

With the launch of our new Balancing Motherhood women's group this week, (what a wonderful group of powerful, committed and inspiring women. Wow!) and this beautiful spring like morning in sunny LA, my heart was bursting with gratitude and joy for all the blessings in my life and I wanted to share some of it with you.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes about the JOY of life!

"Joy is not in things, it is in us." -Richard Wagner

"Ecstasy is a full, deep involvement in life." –John Lowel

"It is astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen." –Frances Hodgson Burnett

"Joy delights in Joy." –William Shakespeare

"I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful." –Unknown

"To love what you do and feel that it matters –how could anything be more fun?" –Katherine Graham

"Enjoying those things for which we were presumably designed in the first place... the opportunity to do good work, to fall in love, to enjoy friends, to sit under trees, to read, to hit a ball, to bounce a baby." –Alistair Cooke

"Love many things." –Vincent Van Gogh

"Joy is increased by spreading it to others." –Robert Murray

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul blossom." –Marcel Proust


Making a clear intention of experiencing greater happiness and joy, or any other quality, is the first step in creating more of it. Choose to create joy in your life today. Laugh. Play. Breath. Enjoy this moment. Reach out to others, and do the things you love. Your happiness today is the gift you can give to yourself. Enjoy!

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Life Lessons From Fast Food

Most of us would never put the words 'fast food' and 'balanced living' in the same sentence. Are there really life lessons that can be learned from a greasy hamburger? Reinvention Expert, Coach and Speaker Eli Davidson writes about how 3 simple questions can SUPERSIZE the quality of your life. Pass the fries please!

Life Lessons From Fast Food

There's not much good food in prison. I am still digesting that life changing experience.

So, I have an admission to make.

I just polished off every molecule of a McDonald's Big 'N Tasty Meal. (That's a #6 for you Mickey D's wannabes.) Ahhh, I loved each bite of that burger and salty, soggy fry. Every mouthful was so refreshing after my time eating microwaved chicken potpie while working in a prison. As I sat in my car waiting for my Big 'N Tasty, it dawned on me that life is like the "drive thru" line at McDonald's. You get what you order. Often, people settle for what shows up in their life rather than going for the Big Gulp that is the life of their dreams. Particularly in our current economic environment many of us are afraid to ask for what we want.

The First Step: Ask.
The Universe is asking, "Can I Supersize that for you?" What is your answer? The first step in having what you want in your life is asking for it. It sounds so simple and dorky. Yet, it is true. Recently, a client doubled her income. When a new customer asked her normal rate, a ridiculously large number popped out of her mouth. She told me later of her surprise at this new found boldness. Even in this economy, she asked for what she wanted and got it. Her deeper process began as he opened to an inner place of worthiness which she needed to embrace in order to actually receive greater abundance. Her request for more money got her both more money and a new awareness of the innate goodness that is her authentic nature.

Click to read entire article

Eli Davidson is a nationally recognized executive coach and motivational speaker. Her book, "Funky to Fabulous: Surefire Success Stories for the Savvy, Sassy and Swamped", (Oak Grove Publishing) has won three national book awards. Eli is a reinvention catalyst, who can transform your professional and personal life from Funky to Fabulous with her ten, trademarked Turnaround Techniques that create rapid and remarkable results.

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