Ask Auntie Artichoke

Hello from beautiful Montana to all:

It is soon my husband Dwain's birthday and so we are taking a little trip to celebrate.  We are going to Spokane, Seattle, Rain Forest, Victoria BC etc. and wherever else the fancy strikes us. It will be fun.

But, getting ready to go is not fun

Here is just a few of the things I have to do this morning.

• Farm out the chores, animals, plants, mail, paper,lawn etc.

• Wash clothes and shop, because Heaven help us if some stranger saw us in the same old jeans and tee shirt we wear around here.
• Let neighbors, renters, family and the grocery clerk know we will be gone in case they miss us or care.
• clean the fridge, because what if we got in an accident and a neighbor had to come in and look for phone numbers to contact people. (What is she doing in my fridge anyway….cross that one off)
• Hide the jewelry in case some deranged thief, who is a cousin of the grocery clerk's ex-husband's sister's son who was cell mates with a bunch of juvinile deliquents who toliet papered the school, decides that anyone who has that neat of a trimmed yard obviously would have lots of diamonds. (Oh yeah, now I remember…..I forgot where I hid it last time we went somewhere.  If we couldn't find the few little pieces that my grandmother left me, neither could a thief.)
• Get the car a lube,oil and filter because who knows we may be somewhere they haven't hear of Jiffy Lube or Sears.
• Pack at least twenty times more clothes, medication, swim suits and shoes than we will ever use.
• Make reservations, schedules, alternative schedules and contingency plans.
• Wean myself from the computer………………………..wow, that is a hard one.  Will Twitter, FaceBook and you survive without me for a few days?  You will! Darn.
• Pack the car, then unpack the car to find the keys, then give hubby a dirty look because they were in my jacket pocket, but he is smirking…
• Get in the car and leave.
• Pull off the road at the first rest stop and take a nap.

See you in a couple of weeks.  Hey, you won't have to look at vacation pictures, because we always forget to take the camera.

Love,

Judy H. Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship coach and author

PS: I will be on the radio show this week, but may cancel the teleseminar.  Listen to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AuntieArtichoke 

Hello from beautiful Montana

Teaching, training, speaking, writing, giving, giving, giving. For the last
25 years I have been active as a family educator, writer,  and community volunteer.

The amount of
wisdom I have gathered from research and observation of families filled books
and drawers and stacks of papers on the floor.I have nearly a hundred binders on my shelves with my notes on the different
topics I have taught. 

My Destiny is to Share a Message

From the time I was a young girl I have known that I
would have six children, write books and teach families all over the world and
live to be 97 years old. (Someday I will share how this Epiphany happened, but
now back to this story!)

Ducks All In A Row and Nobody Cares

When I heard the term Messenger, I knew that was what I was. I had a message
about respect, kindness and communication that needed to be sent out globally.
My vision board was completed, business plan done, affirmations repeated,
website built, articles submitted,radio show started,social network tweeted,
etc. etc. etc. Every time some "guru" said jump, I jumped even if on
the way up I was thinking how that really was not me and my message.

Done Good for Years Now Time to DO Well

I had the products, the platform and the people who knew, liked and trusted
me. But no one was buying. I did not know the process to get people to buy. My
experience was in giving, not asking for money. And yet, perfectly rational
people were dropping thousands and thousands of dollars on crap and empty
promises packaged in a vinyl folder to set on their shelves. Oh yeah that was
me!

Found Information Product That Resonated with Me

I found this in my file and it had been there since 2005! It seemed to jump
out and me and I realized it had the information I needed right now. check it
out.  If may be the right information for you right now (or 3 years down
the road!)Learn about passive income from a young man, who walks his walk—Christopher Westr.  I bought it and am trying to incorporate the ideas, which seem reasonable and easy to do.

Click Here!

Don't be
Discouraged!  Just hang in there.

I want to be on your support team.  If you want a honest opinion of
what is worth buying, trust your heart and trust me.  I have probably
bought it and then regretted it or did not understand what they were talking
about.

Hope to see you soon.  We are going to Victoria BC for hubby's birthday.

Love,

Judy H. Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship coach and author

http://www.ArtichokePress.com 

Hello from beautiful Montana: 

Last night and today I am teaching parenting classes at local schools.  It is amazing to see parents who have been court ordered to attend and those who choose to attend to learn.

Sometimes people are so fixed on being "right"  and "the boss"that they lose the opportunity to know their children as individuals with voices and spirits that can be broken. Their minds, hearts and body language is closed and shut against new information or different ways.

If I had a nickle for everyone that says "well, I got beat as a child and I turned out okay"  I would be able to take a relaxing cruise.  If they will open just a little and hear from other members of the class, they will soon realize that those methods of punishment are unacceptable and there are alternatives.

When someone is open to suggestions, ideas, networking and problem solving it is so rich and their relationships are enhanced.  I can see their heads nodding yes, when someone shares a technique that brings about positive changes in respectful ways.

Respect is a two way street and cooperation is a worthy goal.

It is so great when parents "get it"  You can't have confident kids when they are afraid or have been constantly blamed, shamed and humiliated.

Discipline means leadership, teaching and mentoring and comes from the word Disciple.

I salute you and raise my cup of tea to parents and caring adults wherever you are in the world. Build the confidence of our children, they are our future.

Love, Judy H. Wright

PS:  be sure and listen in on Thursday mornings for our 15 minute radio show on building strong relationships   the link is http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AuntieArtichoke 

Hello from beautiful Montana:

Sorry I have not been posting lately, but have been walking my walk, not just talking my talk.  I have been building and strengthening family relationships.  Okay, okay, so I was playing with grandkids and having fun with adult children.

We met in Idaho at a daughter's small ranch.  They had just gotten a new horse and I was intrigued to see how the different ones approached the opportunity to ride a 3500 pound hairy beast.

As a child I was bucked off a horse and my foot caught in the stirrup and I was dragged for some distance. So,  in my mind, I can feel justified in my fear and disdain of any horse that doesn't go around on the Carousel, but did not want to influence any of the others.

Let Me At Him

Most of the children and adults were eager to ride and was exited for the chance.  They talked and laughed while waiting their turn, and needed only basic guidance on how this particular horse liked to be ridden.  They shared positive stories about the joy of riding and the freedom of flying along a beautiful landscape with your hair flowing in the wind.

Even though there were some stories about bad or funny experiences, most were about the connection one feels with the animal.  They spoke of the feelings of power and pleasure.

Not Yet, But Soon

Then there were others who sounded brave and anxious, but kept maneuvering back to the end of the line.  They were about 65% ready to be next, but wanted to be sure that everyone came back in one piece.  Some wanted an adult to lead the horse around and stay close, just in case something spooked the horse and she bucked.

It wasn't that they hadn't heard the positive stories of fun, but they zeroed in on the few stories that had a negative tone.

NO, Not Me!

Then there were a couple of us who absolutely refused to be involved.  We stood on the sidelines and encouraged others, but chose  not to be involved. It looked like fun for others, but for us, we would look at the landscape and let our hair fly while riding in a convertible, thank you.

The interesting thing I noticed was those who did not ride the horse, have accomplished incredible things in other areas of our lives.  We can write books, build houses, read at 3, and star in Shakespeare, but are not about to ride a horse.

Fearful or Fateful

Isn't it wonderful that we can choose how we react?  Our fate is not sealed by our past experiences, if we examine each situation and make a conscious choice. 

In my self-talk, I reminded myself that this was a different horse, different situation and I am no longer a child.  Now in the present, I knew that I had succeeded at other hard things and could succeed at riding a horse if I wanted to.  But, I didn't.

Choose for Yourself-Be Confident in Your Choice

God gave us brains to think of options and freedom of choice.  We need to remember that we can do anything if we are not afraid.  Fear is what stops us from accomplishing great things and confidence helps us to make wise choices.  Like not riding horses.

If you would like to learn more about building self confidence with encouragement, please go to http://www.EncourageSelfConfidence.com for an eCourse or call me at 406-549-9813 for private or group confidence coaching.

Judy H. Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship coach and author

I am off on a road trip for a few days, so decided to post a recent email from my friend Denise.  She has great information about article writing.

Hi
Judy,

Here are my answers to
your questions for the blog tour. I only answered questions 2 & 3, because
I’m not too sure about #1.

When you publish this
in your blog, could you please send me a link to the post? Then I’ll link back
to it from my own blog.

some
experts say write 250-400 word articles, some say, “No, No, No, You must write
500-750 words to be taken seriously.”  I say
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I think there's a place for both, depending on what you
need the article to do.

A good rule of thumb is to focus on writing articles
between 300 and 500 words in length.  Some article directories won't accept
anything less than 250 words, and it's really difficult to say anything of value
that's less than 300 words. Also, these shorter articles are easier to write, so
you can get a lot more of them out there.

There's also a place for longer articles, sometimes
called "pillar articles." These are usually around 750 words. While writing a
lot of shorter articles will help get your name out there, I think it's also
helpful to have a few longer ones as well, to help establish your expertise, and
to cover an important topic more thoroughly.

in
Ebooks, how important is it to have the ISBN number?

If you're planning to just sell your ebook on your own
website, probably not very important.

If you want others to sell the ebook for you, some
resellers will ask for an ISBN number. Some websites, like Ezine Articles, also
give you the opportunity to include ISBN numbers of your books in your profile,
which can be helpful and help you sell more books.

How can having an ISBN number help you sell
more?

Rather than having someone who's interested in your book
have to search for the title, and hope they find the right one, they can just
search for the ISBN number, and find the specific book they're looking for. If
your name is similar to another author's, giving out the ISBN number for your
book will make sure readers will find your book, instead of someone
else's.

Denise Willms is head writer of a ghostwriting
service and owner of http://www.WAHM-Articles.com , a
directory of reprint articles for moms and home business
owners.

Hello from Beautiful Montana:

Although my favorite season is Spring and April, my next favorite is September.  Both seasons let me know that it is time to prepare and grow. April is the last month of the first quarter and September is the first month of the last quarter, so I always think of it as another chance to accomplish goals before the end of the year.

Invitation to Join Me

I would love to have you join me in some fun and powerful sessions designed to end the year strong, confident and in shape (spiritually, emotionally and financially) for 2009.

Grab a cup of tea and decide which of these programs will benefit you the most. Pay attention to what resonates or touches your heart.  That is your spirit telling you that this is the next step in your journey. Please allow me to be your traveling companion.

TeleClasses Every Thursday Morning-some for free, some for fee(and well worth it) Register at http://www.ArtichokePress.com   click on Teleclass button to sign up.  All classes are recorded, so you can get the replay.

Sept. 4– Clues for Confidence- Non verbal and verbal communication that builds confidence and attracts friends.  9amPST, Noon EST  free and an introduction to a 4 week intensive class on Building Self Confidence.for a low investment of $147 including book, private coaching and weekly handouts.

Sept.11--Part Time Job Saving Money-This is a great teleclass for those trying to make their money stretch.  My husband and I had 6 plus kids, lots of expenses and we still managed to eat and live well. I will be teaching some of our Smart Shopping Tips.

Sept 18--How to Attract Friends- This class is taken from research for my book The Left Out Child-The Importance of Friendship.  Learn to reframe old beliefs and assumptions.  You will also learn how to join a group, speak up when you need to be heard, and be the kind of friend you want to have.

Sept 25–Anger–Manage Your Mad-  this is one of my most popular workshops.  You will learn techniques for handling your own anger and the anger of others.  This free workshop is a prelude to the 4 week  paid intensive course of the same name that goes into assertive, aggressive and passive behavior and setting boundaries.

October 2–Stages of Grief-Should I be This Sad? – Whether the loss is a loved one, pet or co-worker, it is important to acknowledge the pain and understand the emotions. Using my experience with Hospice, as well as having survived many losses and writing two books on the subject, I can support your feelings and questions.  If there is interest, I will do a 4 week intensive coaching session on this subject.

October 9–Learning Styles--I will just have finished a keynote address on this subject, so will have lots of information to share.

October 16–Encourage Self Confidence- This teleclass is taken from one of my latest books and you will learn how to help yourself and others build self esteem and an inner core of strength.

October 23-Ask and Get--this particular class is going to focus on asking for what you really want in life, not what you want right now. Find mentors, support and divine intervention to reach your intentions and goals. Powerful information.

Now you have 8 weeks worth of great guidance to help you finish the year with confidence, cash and courage.  I invite you to join our community of kind and helpful people who want to interact in respectful and mutually beneficial endeavors.

Looking forward to getting to know you better and sharing in your success.

Love, Judy H. Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship coach and author