Curious about what "students" get out of life coaching sessions? Well, this might not answer your questions but it might get you thinking. Check out www.brightlivelihoods.com to find out more.

1. My Bright Livelihood
- LF Widder

2. Intro:
Two months ago, I was unemployed and unfocused.
Nine weeks later, the image of my future - my purpose! - seems sharper. I’m still
unemployed but I am training my lens to capture all of the possibilities for soul work.
My Bright Livelihoods project:
Here, committed to “paper” is an e-journal created to keep my mind’s eye trained on
what’s important. My favorite images, quotes, and words “seen” while studying the
chapters highlight each principle.
Begin.

3. Courage:
“Everyone has (a) talent. What is rare is the courage
to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.”
- Erica Jong
The feedback that I received from this group of amazing, inspiring women sounds
different from the voice in my head. They hear courage where I heard fear. The dark
can be seductive and magical rather than gloomy and overwhelming: dark chocolate,
blackberry jam, aubergine.
My timid “What now??” is being replaced by a resounding “What’s next?!”
My visualization for courage:
I was visited by the most courageous person I know (knew): My mother. We met
on a beautiful bridge in an old city. She handed me a Post-It as the message was
not very long. It read:
Write.

4. my amazing mom
my fab auntie
Sunset ride - New Orleans, LA.
Seductive color palette - “Nomad”

5. Faith:
“Faith is not belief. Belief is passive. Faith is active.”
- Edith Hamilton
My faith is informed by my Catholic upbringing and my explorations of shamanism,
the teachings of Buddha, the celebration of Dia de los Muertos, Anne Lamott’s writing,
naps in the sunshine... A mixed bag so full that I tend to “misplace” the difficult or
challenging parts on purpose.
My visionary insights on faith:
✴The path toward soul work begins with better bridge work.
✴Trust the process and engage in it, even when it gets deep.
✴ I get distracted - I need to be more diligent incorporating meaningful ritual into my
everyday life.
Be.

6. Gain strength from rituals
Nurture simple spirit
Acknowledge the difficult

7. Awareness:
“I’ve been through it all, baby. I’m Mother Courage.”
- Elizabeth Taylor
Reviewing my personal and professional past is a lot like staring at old family photos.
Some shots are all glossy, big grins and clowning around. In others the soft-focus
almost obliterates the clenched teeth and uneasy smiles. Almost.
My visionary insights on awareness:
✴I have the ability to forge new routes to soul work.
✴I’ve let traumatic and disappointing events bruise me. That shouldn’t be my
legacy. I have a history of healing, too.
Moving on...

8. The old neighborhood - Chicago, IL
Memories in Marigny - New Orleans, LA
Guess who?! Lake Geneva, WI

9. Truth:
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
I’ve spent a good portion of my life thinking myself “not good enough”. I have let others
put me down in spite of some tremendous support (family, mentors, role models). That
was my doing - I gave my power, my spirit, my potential for future soul work away.
My visionary insights on truth:
✴I continue to work on eliminating the self-medicating: sleep, noise, social media.
✴Comparison is the thief of joy. I am easily deflated by other people’s Facebook
status. My own seems so mundane - but true. Therein lies the answer.
Let it be.

10. I can write.
I can teach.
I can contribute.

11. Balance:
“Keep breathing. “ - Sophie Tucker
I am a “second helping” kind of girl. If one glass of wine is good for the heart, then
double-up!! Nothing will ever be in perfect balance. Why be the enemy of the good
when I can shoot for a nice 60-40 split?
My visualization for balance:
Cool teal green and deep, rich blue are the colors of the pool in my visualization.
The water is warm and steamy despite the grey sky and snowfall. Outward
balance, inward tension. My wrists and fingers ache. My head is calm. Practice
makes peace; practice untangles the knot.
Equal - in opposite directions.

12. Yoga stretches the body beyond
preconceived limits
Coffee invites conversation
Food & wine feed body & soul

13. Love:
“Love...is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.”
- Iris Murdoch
I haven’t loved myself as well as I should, or as well as I could. That has thwarted my
ability to love others more completely. I have been loved and I am loved. It’s a good
foundation. Forgiveness (of others, of myself) is frightening.
My visionary insights on love:
✴Holding on to my notion that simply “forgetting” will do has done me little good.
✴Clarify what I want in order to get the love I need.
Forgive.

14. The nieces & nephew
Alice & Timber
Share the love.

15. Abundance:
“Life’s what’s important...Birth and pain and joy.”
- Katharine Hepburn
It’s difficult not equating “abundance” with “stuff” and “stuff” with “security”. I get tangled
up in the (false) purchasing power of unhappiness. Being out of work has reacquainted
me with crafting, thrifting, stretching. I am spending my time not my money.
My visionary insights on abundance:
✴Consider the value of everything, of everyone, of myself.
✴Reconsider what is a memento and what is just a knick-knack.
Enough.

16. So much hope...
So much beauty...
So much bounty...

17. Authenticity:
“I want to grow old without facelifts.
I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I have made.”
- Marilyn Monroe
Letting go of weaknesses is scarier than I thought. Weakness is a security blanket
that insulates me from the difficult task of being true to myself. Owning up to it was
an incredibly freeing experience.
My visionary insights on authenticity:
✴I am not the family “babysitter”. They don’t need me in that way. They need me to be
happy. That is a much different role.
✴My talents and interests are worth showcasing.
Real.

18. Interests: Travel
Talent: Writing
Style: Creatively cluttered

19. Creativity:
“Rule of art: Can’t kills creativity!”
- Camille Paglia
There is no creativity without authenticity - no action! I think this is why I’ve had
such a difficult time being creative about my dreams, about my budget, about my
life over the last decade. Not pursuing soul work has drained me of my
imagination.
My visionary insights on creativity:
✴My ideas for bridge work now include job sources that have the potential to
enhance my creativity.
✴There is still a lot of innovation with my make-believe.
Dream.

20. Try new methods
See new ideas
Play with new possibilities.

21. Integrity:
“Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.”
- Janis Joplin
A hat is something that can be taken off, refurbished, embellished. I don’t
have to wear the same hat(s) in the exact same way for the rest of my life.
My visionary insights on integrity:
✴Integrity - featuring a variation on the word gritty. It can be so when life, work,
people force you to stand by your convictions. Get gritty, dirty - or forego the
path to soul work.
✴Live the mission statement:
Dream it...and write it down. Then, plan on it!

22. Share my principles
Light my way Commit to my route

23. Vision:
“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.
Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
- Gloria Steinem
I am turning away from what I think of as comfortable. This concept is foreign to a
Scorpio; we like comfort, hate change. I haven’t been truly cozy in a decade. My
bridge work has been more hair-shirt than cotton sweater.
My soul adventure insights:
✴Practice not relying on GPS, self-help books, articles on how other people “did it”.
My process, my wrong turns, my discoveries.
✴Stop thinking that there are dire consequences around every blind corner!
Momentum.

24. Plan on it
Stop talking myself out of doing
Look toward the future

25. Commitment:
“The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs.
The chicken is involved; the pig is committed!”
- Martina Navratilova
What a novel concept: The short-, mid-, and long-range plan! I doubt I could’ve
gotten to this point without going through the previous 11 steps. I had no real idea
how to get from point A to point Z. I didn’t want to work on the B’s, C’s, and D’s.
And that was the point all along.
My visionary insights on the personal pledge:
✴I pledge to release fear and focus.
✴I pledge to take honest, measured steps toward soul work.
✴I pledge to battle through self-doubt and limiting beliefs.
Ready.

26. Open the door!
Cross the bridge (finally)!!!
Take the risk!!

27. Outro:
It’s not suddenly all sundaes-with-cherries-on-top. I’m struggling with my plan,
with my forgiveness, with my vision. But I’ve written it all down - and continue to
do so. That is a big step for me. I’ve learned a lot about myself, how to recognize
my soul work, and how to plan for it.
To Cindy H, Mindy, Anna, Cindy D, Kat, Jill, Kate, and of course Laurel - I couldn’t
have made these discoveries without such caring, giving women.
Thank you.