In pursuit of our passion....

"Courage is, with love, the greatest gift. We are, each of us, defeated many times, but if we accept defeat with cheerfulness, and learn from it, and try another way, then we will find fulfillment."

~Rosanne Ambrose-Brown

 

"Confidence and courage build great dreams. Fear, however, shatters the hopes of those who spend much of their lives trapped in a zone of comfort. It fills the unaware with regret over a past they cannot change. They envision great objectives, yet fear holds them back from action."

~Steve Brunkhorst

 

"I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism."

~Charles Schwab

 

"We are never more discontented with others than when we are discontented with ourselves. The consciousness of wrongdoing makes us irritable, and our heart in its cunning quarrels with what is outside it, in order that it may deafen the clamour within."

~Henri Amiel

"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do!"

~Walter Bagehot

 

"Trust your instincts. Your mistakes might as well be your own instead of someone else's."

~Billy Wilder

 

"Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do with such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling."

~Vincent Van Gogh

The last quote here seems to sum all of it up for me....Van Gogh sold very few of his paintings......and yet he is considered a genius and his paintings now sell for millions!! His paintings, drawings and various pieces hang in museums across the world....he is studied at every university of one of the most passionate and innovative artists ever to live. AND YET.....in his time he struggled not only with his finances but with his mental health.

 

To spend my life doing what I know I was put on this earth to do with passion and intensity......WOW.....it takes commitment and vision.....courage and confidence.....most of all, it takes love and surrender. Surrender to the truth of myself and God's love for me. Surrender to who I am when I am alone with myself and God......surrendering to the unbelievable love He has and continually demonstrates to me. What a life!

 

Lately, I have been admonished by people who know me well, and people who hardly know me at all.....to trust my instincts. As I look back on my life, the times I did NOT trust and follow my instincts were times that proved, in the long run, that my instincts would have been the beneficial choice of action! Whether it is "women's intuition"  or "The Holy Spirit" or just plain old good common sense.....whatever that "oomph" in my heart and soul that either I follow or go against.....is not something to be discounted.

 

Today Jack and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch with Amy and Ryan.....hearing that Amy has stepped out and followed her heart's desire to be a gymnastics coach.....hearing that she is having the time of her life coaching kids who are just beginning their experiences! Yesterday she coached her girls through a small recreational meet....and she was beaming with excitement as she shared her experiences. Gymnastics has always been her passion....to watch her step into a profession where she lives her passion has given me great joy! Ryan also lit up when he shared that he had taken a part time job as a mobile DJ....doing what he has always dreamed of doing.....DJ-ing as a profession!! It was so exciting to see our children pursuing their dreams!!!!!

 

This past week, Sara and Sydney made decisions to pursue their passions also.....at Brevard College in North Carolina....together! Each will play the sports they love to play for the school, be involved in ministry, and pursue degrees in fields that excite them! They are following their instincts about this life and making choices to live in pursuit of their heart's passion.....which thankfully includes the decision to spend the next 4 years rooming together!

 

I have learned that trusting my heart has lead me to where I am......enjoying the journey of my life with "such passion and such intensity that it has become spiritual in calling"

 

So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision--you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.

~Paul in a letter to the Philippians 3:15-16 (The Message )

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

 

Giving up or giving Up.....

"The opposite of courage is not fear. It is conformity.The most exhausting and frustrating thing in life is to live it trying to be someone else."

~ John Mason

 

"The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position."

~ Leo Buscaglia

 

The past 8 years of my life have been a journey towards complete surrender to who I really am.....giving up the struggle to be who others want or need me to be....and giving Up to the truth of who I am. Giving up is not all bad. It depends on what we are giving up or if we are just giving up completely.

 

This past summer marked the end of my struggle to not give Up and finally surrender....recognizing that surrender is the beginning of release. I learned that releasing is not quitting ....but instead it is giving Up to God what I can not do and surrendering to His Ways.....which are higher and far superior than mine. It is the beginning of RECEIVING.....true peace and joy.

 

It has been 8 years of releasing areas of security and relationships that I depended on. And in these 8 years, I have learned that the only One I can depend on has been there all along....teaching, training, loving and leading me to this place. I have also learned that I am not the only one who is going through this.....or who the lesson is for....but that I am to share my journey with others who are some where along the path....so they can be encouraged and will continue on through the pain and struggle.

 

"Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters--yes, even one's own self! -can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.......Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple.......Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it's useless, good for nothing. Are you listening to this? Really listening?"

~ Jesus in Luke 14:25-25

 

So for me this has looked like....

• Releasing the security of the 401K that I had built up for years to pay the debt that I had incurred from the very first attempts that I had made to produce 6 concert events.
• Releasing my secure Mary Kay business that I had built for 20 years!
• Releasing my support system of all my Mary Kay friends and associates!
• Releasing my anger, hurt and disappointment as my family life disintegrated
• Releasing my expectations of what the Christian life should look like and bring to my life
• Releasing my small dreams of the life I thought I would have....
• Releasing my pride as I continue to walk in the world of the music industry where I still know so little of how to do or how to be what I am....
• Releasing my clients and their dreams up to their own keeping....and embracing my own dream!
• Releasing my business partners up to God, who is my only true business partner.

Seven years ago last October, I answered the request of God to build. It costs to build...it costs dearly!!!!....and God has provided all that has been needed....and will continue to provide all that is needed to build what He wants built. My only responsibility in all of it is to continue to release ( give Up ) any and all that pulls me away from completely following Him. When my security and well-being relys on anything beyond my relationship with Him.....I can be quite sure I will be asked to release it.....and the sooner I do.....the sooner I have begun to experience the peace and joy that I long for. I am learning daily that He and I are in this together....and Who better could I want to have in all the world than YOU, Lord!

 

"You can't force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,' says GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies."

~ Zechariah 4:6

Grace and forgiveness....

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

 

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.”

~Reinhold Niebuhr

 

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

~Lewis B. Smedes

 

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

 ~Mahatma Gandhi

 

“Sincere forgiveness isn't colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don't worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time.”

~Sara Paddison

 

I had this incredible experience on Tuesday morning with a group of people I meet with each week. And we meet for the purpose of loving each other enough to let ourselves and others just be who they are in a safe environment. The environment we come into is one of acceptance and recognition that each of us has our own "stuff" and being honest and open about it allows us to begin to work through that "stuff" to the other side. And just so that we don't get too proud of ourselves and think we have found the "answer" in this group....we call it "The Love Machine".....the name says it all and we all HATE the name and yet love it! And so the essence of the experience lies there.....

 

One of my dear friends who I have come to know and love was struggling this past week....and as we all were able to share our own struggles, we took the opportunity to allow her to simply get out all of her frustration and pain. Somewhere in the midst of that experience of loving her through the pain of her life...I learned a powerful and deep truth!!!! It came to me quietly and yet profoundly.....as almost a tap on the shoulder.....

 

I was about to encourage her to "give grace" to the person in her life who was seeming to cause her tremendous pain.....and the light tap came....and I turned and realize a truth that I had not realized prior to that moment....and it changed EVERYTHING!!

 

Grace is something that is bestowed on someone from above. God gives us grace.....it is "unmerited favor". Someone must own something in order to give it to another. The fact is that I own ABSOLUTELY NO grace.....neither does any other person. It is a gift that must be regularly received from above.....and can not be held onto. The fact that it is unmerited, is the reality that I can never own it. Only the One who does merit, it owns it and can give it as He pleases. When we THINK that we can "give grace" to another we have in that moment put ourselves in a position higher than them.....thinking we can give them "unmerited favor"....when we really have no "merited favor" of our own.

 

We are never told to give grace to another.....the ONLY source of grace is God....AND He only gives it to the humble! WHICH means that when I think I can "give grace" to someone.....I am not receiving grace myself.....because in my pride I am thinking I am the one giving grace!!!! WHEW!!!!!!! How convoluted my thinking can become!!!!!!!

 

What we are told to do REGULARLY is to forgive. True forgiveness comes from a humble heart that recognizes that the debt we owe is beyond our ability to pay.....and we have been given grace and we have been forgiven the debt.....so how could I not forgive such a small debt owed to me by another fellow debtor. This perspective puts everyone on equal footing....we are all on a VERY slippery slop.....we can all fall far down the hole of pride and destruction in any given moment. It has taken me a lifetime to even begin to see my own issues with forgiving others.....and how I try to get around the real issues of true forgiveness. How I try so hard to not face my weaknesses and sin.....my own lack of grace and turn to the only Source and receive.

 

This journey is filled with pot-holes and great big ditches.....as well as quicksand that tricks us into believing lies about ourselves and others. To love one another is all we are called to do.....and on that journey of loving, generous forgiveness must be requested and given from every possible perspective. What a dangerous and wild journey we are on....I am so glad that I have these wonderful and precious people on it with me....and I am not alone!!!!!

 

"And what He gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."

~ James, the brother of Jesus, in the first letter ever written to Christians.....James 4:6 (The Message)

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

 

 

Living in the Integrated Truth....

http://video.craveonline.com/video/?showVideo=1716

 

No quotes, no story.....just a powerful reminder that life is so many times truly different than we think it should be. I am not an Eminem fan....don't like rap music, don't like the sounds, or the kinds of messages that are usually sent. BUT all I can say about this video that was sent to me by my friend, Jim Spivey, is that it hit me POWERFULLY.

 

Working with singer-songwriters and musicians is not a lot different in my experience than working in Mary Kay Cos. We all get confused about what is REALLY important in life. We all can fall into the hole of thinking that our work "out there" is what takes care of our families and all of our other relationships. It is a lie. It is the lie that we all fall into believing because we are sold it 24/7.....on the radio, on the TV, in magazines, the newspapers, billboards.....EVERYWHERE!!

 

The constant work that I had to surrender to was that the "business" was not the problem.....it was me. I had to work on the "me" on the INSIDE.....and walk in the REALITY of life rather than the lie. Sifting through all the messages coming in....and taking each instantly to the throne of God....and allowing Him to reshape my heart and soul....and then living from that place. It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO hard!!!

 

Some people use a strategy of isolationism to combat this issue....others the "if it works, it must be OK" plan.....and then there are those who convince themselves that they can be right in the midst of it and go untarnished. At some point, each of these and ALL of the other plans break down....then we break down. And then we wonder WHY we broke down.

 

We were created to walk in the truth.....not the lies. Any other option is bound for destruction. It is a hard fact to face when we realize our own responsibility in lying to ourselves, and to others. Self examination is required on a moment by moment basis. Risking that others will reject us or abandon us as a result of our commitment to live an Integrated Life is a risk that we must take as we surrender to the journey!

 

"A devout life does bring wealth, but it's the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough. But if it's only money these leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after." 

~Paul in his FIRST letter to his friend, Timothy 6:6-10 ( The Message )

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

 

 

Celebrity or Integrity....

Shultz Philosophy

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is.....none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

 

This was sent to me by Paige Stroman....one of the artists that I have the privilege of having in my life as a result of this business called Extreme Dreams. As I read through it and thought about the people in my life.....and the "celebrities" that seem to be so important in the eyes of the world....I was reminded of a discussion I had today with a young artist who has felt the "issue" of being a celebrity.... how shallow it can feel and how when all is said and done....it just does not matter. And yet....how many of us just go bonkers over the opportunity to meet or talk to or even be in the presence of a "celebrity" ????

 

I remember when I was a young Sales Director....I took some of my unit members up to Dallas to tour the offices and manufacturing plant. As we were standing in the lobby, Mary Kay herself walked in and I about had a heart attack! I look back now at how ridiculous I acted....and how very gracious she was.....how she wore her "celebrity" so well....by not accepting it as real!! She came up and started talking to us....like we were friends. She asked if we wanted to take a picture....(she took the signal from the cameras locked and loaded!)....and made some silly jokes while we got in place around her. I realized that day that she was just a lady.....a great-grandmother....a grandmother....a mom....a friend. Someone who had problems and issues just like the rest of us....who wanted to have fun and enjoy her life just like the rest of us......someone who had a vision for herself and her company.....and who loved the people who were a part of that vision. We each felt loved by her that day....she held our hands and told us how glad she was to have us as a part of the company. From that day on I never saw her as a "celebrity" anymore....I saw her as a real woman. I had several other opportunities to be around her and talk to her as the years went by....and I respected her as the woman she was....not the celebrity I had seen her as that day.

 

When we accept the role of "celebrity" as being something we really are, we fall into the pit of setting ourselves up as a lesser god. My hope is that I will have the integrity to hold the artists I work with to what I learned from Mary Kay that day. To hold them to being themselves. To hold them to being real....not a celebrity. To hold them to loving the people who are a part of their vision, their music, their careers, their audience, their families.....and to loving God with all that they are and ever will be. AND I will ask that they do the same for me.....may I never be anything more or less than God has created me to be.....His daughter, His servant, His friend.....that is more than enough for me!

 

Paige has held me to this vision....her presence in my life reminds me that I am only here because God has a dream for me...she believes in that dream for me as much as I believe in the dream God has for her.  Each artist God calls me to manage is a special gift in my life from Him....and I am a gift in their lives.....we are called to love each other as He loves us. That is one part of the journey that challenges me daily as I surrender my own perspective of what it means to love one another. For Paige that looks like standing for her as she steps into new territory to bring her company, Lullabyland, into existence....loving her enough to help her create the life she knows she wants....one where her little boy Matthew has a mom who is there for him every day...and a life with her wonderful husband, Brian, that is enjoyed throughout the journey to Lullabyland.

 

"There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. It's not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality.......He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!"

~Paul in a letter to the Philippians 1:6-8 (The Message)

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

 

 

Affirmations from all around..

The story is told of a study that was done to learn if a positive or a negative attitude was a part of personality or environmental circumstances of the person. The researchers took a set of identical twin boys, one had a very positive and happy outlook on life and the other had a very negative and sullen outlook on life. They placed the negative twin in a room filled with toys and music and every imaginable thing a child would love, and the positive, happy twin in a room filled with a mountain of manure. They as they watched from the observation room of the child in the room filled with toys, they were surprised to find the boy sitting in the middle of the room crying. As time passed and his crying did not stop, they went into the room and asked him why he was not up playing with the toys and enjoying all the wonderful things?? His response was "I am so afraid in this awful place! If I ride on the rocking horse, I may fall off and hit my head! If I play with the train set, something could short out and I could electrocute myself!" and on and on he went...quite convinced that he was in a dangerous place.  The researchers went quickly to check on the responses of the boy in the other room....as they looked from the observation room, they became very frightened! The boy was no where to be found! They ran into the room calling and searching for him. All of the sudden, he popped out of the middle of the pile of manure, covered from head to toe with the stuff, with a big smile on his face! In surprise they asked him why he was in the middle of the pile! His response was " I figured with this much manure in one place there had to be a pony in here somewhere!!!!!!"

 

This past week has been a week of wonderful affirmations, reminding me that with this much "manure" everywhere around me and in my life, THERE HAS TO BE A PONY somewhere in all of this for me! I have found that most people think that life will be filled with toys and goodies and positive things all of the time....and if it is that we are "blessed"....we allow the world around us to define what being "Blessed" means and looks like. This week I was blessed and the week before I was blessed.....and for the past 51 years of my life I have been blessed. I have lived an extraordinary life....filled with pain and sorrow, rich with family and friends, troubled by rejection and abandonment, torn by loss and gain, broken by constant change and circumstance, lonely beyond belief and yet surrounded by love.

 

Throughout all of it, I can not remember a day when I did not have a sense that SOMEONE was there with me through it all......for many years I had no idea WHO that Someone was. I was blessed.....blessed in the pain, blessed in the loss, blessed in the struggle, blessed in the rich relationships, blessed in the changes and in the loneliness. Each of these things and more blessed me beyond belief because they drove me to know that Someone who I sensed was there with me through it all.

 

My mom always loved the name "Kathleen", she says it is "lilting", whatever that means! I used to hate my name....it was not a "cool" name...and I wanted something that was different....there are a lot of "Kathy's" in this world!!! My name actually means "pure"....and when I learned that I began to love my name....I realized that my mom had not given it to me by accident....but that I was blessed by it. It is a constant reminder of the blessing that God has given to those who are "pure in heart"....and when I remember that, I surrender to His life of blessing. It is not a life that the world would call blessed.....but it is a life that is TRULY blessed.

 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ( There is mine!!!!!!!!!!)
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you

Jesus in Matthew 6:3-12

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net