Mantra of the Month

Life's challenges offer the greatest rewards.

Stacy Cottingham, RN

P.S. What's your mantra this month? Share your TWIGs (Talented, Wise, Illuminating Gifts) with others. Together we can Be the tree! Email me with yours.


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Web Site Resources

What does success look like to You?
Follow this link for a worksheet to begin creating your vision.

Bringing Life To Business eWorkbook

Business is a part of life and contrary to what a lot of people think, they can be happily merged. This 43 page eWorkbook takes you through the process of defining your own version of success, one that capitalizes on your unique gifts and talents.

Dear Diane, my humble opinion on your questions about, well... just about anything.

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Books I Love


Creating the Work You Love: Courage, Commitment, and Career by Rick Jarrow

If you are looking for a way to build a business or career from the inside out, this book is a great way to start. In his introduction, Mr. Jarrow explains how his inspiration for this book grew out of his observation that "many people who had worked diligently to develop their inner lives can find no place for themselves in the world."

Creating the Work You Love is a great way to find your place. Using the chakra system as a navigation tool, Mr. Jarrow starts out by giving you easy to follow exercises that build on each other to help you define what you need to create a life of meaning and purpose. In other words, you start out as a Human Being, not a Human Doing.

The Doing comes next as the author helps you to develop an action plan with the Medicine Wheel as the backdrop to finding a career which will support your growth into your personal vision. Finally it touches on tried and true techniques like time management and priority setting which, if you have done the "work", will most likely look much different from how you do things right now.

Among his many examples of people who created work for themselves from the inside out, Mr. Jarrow sites Stan Jay, owner of Mandolin Brothers Music Store located "off the beaten path" just outside of New York City, USA.

As you may know (or not), my husband Mike is a musician. He calls Mandolin Brothers the musician's mecca, and journeys there every year or so to bask in the welcoming, knowledgable atmosphere. He even bought his most favorite Martin guitar there.

I picked up this book at a conference not long after he went there for the first time just because it felt "right". The idea that Mandolin Brothers would be included was, to say the least, the furthest thing in my mind. What a wonderful synchronicity, eh? What's yours?

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Trafficking Tolerance

Hi ,

This month's story told itself while I was driving my car yesterday. Last month it was the Sacred Parking Privilege and now this. Guess I've got a theme going on for some reason.

I was on a two-lane highway. Traffic was heavy even though it was early afternoon. In my rear view mirror I saw a minivan coming up fast behind me. The driver came really close before breaking. So close that I could see that it was a woman. She did not look happy.

As she continued to ride my bumper, I felt myself getting angry. I shot her angry looks. I started constructing a story. Who was she to expect the traffic to cooperate with her? She was the one who couldn't get it together in time to leisurely get where she needed to go. I even thought about slowing down even more. That would teach her a lesson.

"And what lesson might that be?"

My negativity train came to a screeching halt. I was not Being who I want to Be – a happy, low stressed person.

Suddenly, different thoughts flooded in. What if this woman overslept and her day started out hectic? What if she hasn't been sleeping well because she is worried about something? What if she was trying to get to a family member in trouble? What if she was a rescue worker on her way to an emergency? All those things have also happened to me at one time or another. Wow! Got to tell you , my heart quickly began to thaw.

Sure, none of these reasons might be applied to this situation. So what? I was beginning to feel better. I looked again into my rear view mirror and tried to soften my eyes. I sent her the calmer feelings I was now feeling. At my first opportunity I got over into the slow lane. As she shot past me to tailgate the next car in line, my well wishes went with along with her, including ones that would have her arriving at her destination safely and on time.

At a traffic light a few miles down the road she turned off the highway and out of my life. As I rolled to a stop, the car in front of me was wearing this bumper sticker: Teach Tolerance. Okay…back on track again.

Hope to see you soon...

Where I'll Be. See you there?

Wed. Apr. 11th, 6 - 8:30pm: Reducing Stress on the Fly
At: Atlantic General Hospital, conference room One
Berlin, MD
Investment: $30

Stress is the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Looking for a way to navigate the gap?  Join me at Atlantic General Hospital and learn 3 ways to stop stress in its tracks.

  To register, call me at 410-251-7701 or send me an email.


Sun. Apr. 15th 1 - 4 pm: Angel Class
At: The lobby of the Lighthouse Club Hotel in Ocean City, MD.
Investment: Donation $25.00 or as guided. All proceeds to benefit the children in the poorest regions of Vietnam and the Darfur region refugees.

I'll be attending this class facilitated by Angel Therapist Michelle Fager. I was introduced to her work at a class last fall and it was illuminating. According to Michelle, this class is appropriate for those who have attended her prior classes and newcomers. She will be sharing ways to enhance intuition to help understand the messages God and our angels are sending us on a regular basis.

Please email Michelle directly to reserve your space.


Sat. Apr. 21st, 9 am - 3pm: Making the Leap From Employee to Employer

At: Small Business Development Center, Power Street, Salisbury MD
Investment: $61 includes lunch and all materials.

Jump off with me at this one day seminar that will focus on what you need to know before you begin the business plan. 

It will cover ways to make clear decisions, and tools to keep going when other areas of your life need attention.  It will also incorporate an understanding about how regardless of what business you're in it is your thoughts about money, marketing, and leadership, which more accurately determines the customers and workers who show up.

Register through Wor Wic Community College or call me at 410-251-7701 for more details.

Sat. Apr. 28st, 9 am - 4pm: DreamBoard Art Party!
At: My home in Snow Hill, MD
Investment: $ 50 includes all materials. Bring your own lunch.

At long last I have a the perfect space to hold Art Parties! This month's party theme will center around creating a collage of what you value most in your life. The morning session will be about tapping into your values. We'll spend the afternoon cutting and pasting images that reflect them. This is a wonderful way to practice trusting, allowing, and synchronicity; guaranteed to spill out into Real Life!

Space is limited to 6. Please register by April 20th by calling me at 410-251-7701 or via email.

Click here for May's events.