One for One

How many pairs of shoes do you have in your closet?

If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably have a pair to go with your favorite jeans or dress, along with a range of comfy shoes, sexy shoes, working shoes, walking shoes…you name it.  I’d bet you have several pairs that you can choose from to fit your mood.

What about your kids? Do they have shoes for every occasion?

Soccer cleats, football cleats, dance shoes, tennis shoes, sandals, winter boots, slippers…the list goes on and on – but all of them are essential!

What if you could not provide shoes for your children?  Would they be able to go to school?

I was recently made aware of an amazing company called Toms Shoes.  You may have heard of them or seen their ads on TV, but the TV ads don’t really do justice to the impact that going without shoes has on kids around the world, and how Blake Mycoskie is out to change the lives of children, one pair of shoes at a time.

Toms Shoes was founded by Blake Mycoskie in 2006.  His idea for Toms Shoes came about when he was in Argentina learning how to play polo, which he himself has been quoted as calling, ”The least noble cause in the world for me to go to Argentina, which goes to show you never know what is going to happen in your life.’

While on that trip, Blake observed the polo players slipping out of their boots into shoes called Alpargatas.  The Alpargata are traditional Argentine shoes that have been worn by the Argentines for hundreds of years.  That shoe was the basis for the Toms Shoe design.

Blake had zero experience in fashion or shoes, to which he says, “I think sometimes when you don’t have experience, you don’t know the rules; you don’t know which ones you are breaking and you end up creating true innovation.”

The name Toms Shoes actually started out as Tomorrows Shoes.  It was shortened because Tomorrows Shoes was too long for the logo tags found on the side of the shoes.

The best part is – Blake was determined to donate a new pair of shoes for every pair purchased.  One for One.  How amazing is that! Read more

How do you know when to say yes...or no?

Well, it’s official – I’ve entered into more than one retail store over the past few days to find it transformed into a Christmas wonderland, complete with music, new staff uniforms, and a spirit of joy that doesn’t seem to come at any other time of the year.

But wait a minute…

Didn’t we JUST have Halloween?

I suppose it’s inevitable that the stores are always going to seem to start Christmas earlier every year – particularly this year when they’re so eager to get a jump over the somewhat dismal performance of recent economic downturn.

As much as I enjoy the early holiday spirit, I notice that it always seems to call for an increase of targeted advertising – particularly relating to children. One of the areas I’ve seen this most is among the mobile phone companies, who seem to be targeting younger and younger audiences all the time.

While these ad campaigns used to have a clear target of mostly teens and twenty-something’s, they’ve now shifted over to the ‘tween’ sector. The actors in the ads are younger – there’s even one ad that has a tween asking her dad if he signed her up for a calling plan yet. In another, the entire family is in the car with both kids in the backseat – the younger one is texting while the teen is arguing with her mom about expired minutes!

Last year, my daughter began to ask for her own mobile phone.  Her asking became begging, and her begging became desperate acts of pleading and yearning. But throughout all this desperate pleading, she could not actually tell me why she wanted a mobile phone – other than repeating, “Everyone has one – and they are cool!”

The truth was, there wasn’t really a need for her to have a cell phone. She is on a closed campus during the day for school, and has access to the office telephone should she need to contact me. When not at school, she’s with me. Despite her arguments of, “Other people in my class have one mom – it’s just not fair!” she did not get a mobile telephone. I did not feel in alignment with giving her a mobile phone, so she did not get one.

Even more importantly than my alignment with her having one, it was very clear to me that she was really not in alignment with having one. She could not give me any real reason that she wanted one, other than everyone else has one, and they are cool

It can be such a difficult struggle when your child asks you for things like this. It can feel like you’re asking your child to earn his or her wellbeing. It can feel like ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’.

But it doesn’t have to feel like any of that. Read more

Sit back, relax, and listen in!

As the holiday season FAST approaches, it seems like there’s just no time left in the day to get everything accomplished. I’ll tell you a secret – while some people like to shake their heads at things like microwave steamer bags for vegetables, crock pot liners (to save on washing!) and coffee pot timers – I’ve gotta tell you, I love ‘em! As a parent, pretty much anything that can save me time is a GOOD thing.

In the spirit of saving you time, I’ve recored two audio versions of what it means to apply spiritual parenting skills and energy management practices to your experience – allowing for the beginning of what I love to call Blissful Transformation among the family life that for so many just seems to boil down to chaos!

If you’re getting tired of the chaos and looking to begin transformation, take this opportunity to listen to one (or both) of these recordings – created especially for busy parents like YOU!

It was an honor to join the Queen of Joy, Velma Gallant, on her Welcome Changes Radio show, where past interviewees include people like bestselling authors Guy Finley, Christine Kloser, and Masha Malka, as well as amazing experts like Kathleen Gage and Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein. :

Velma’s easygoing and welcoming helps make an instant connection between host, guest and audience, where you’ll be sure to feel drawn right into the conversation – just like sitting down with a good friend! It was truly a pleasure to join Velma on her show – when you listen in, you’ll hear a lot of tips I haven’t shared anywhere else!

This next audio is a recording I created especially for my community – a one-hour tele-training called “The Magnetism of the Awakening Parent“. You’ll find a wealth of useful information here – and best of all, the tips and tools you get in this call are fast, easy, and ready for you to apply right away for almost immediate results!

Listen in to the recording by visiting here now: The Magnetism of the Awakening Parent

If you have any comments or questions on what you are hearing, please feel free to get in touch with me  at Cyndi@blissfullytransformchaoticfamily.com. I look forward to connecting with you again soon!