The Word of the Year! (And thank you Tonya Leigh!)

Hello my beautiful friends!

Have you ever chosen a "Word of the Year" to represent your life, or more importantly, what you want your life to look like for the coming year?  I've done this for several years now, and I have just had my love for this process reignited by Tonya Leigh from The French Kiss Life.  

I have always chosen words such as "brilliance" or "excitement" or "sparkle" because those types of words keep me excited about my life,  my progress and my goals.  But this year, I found it more difficult.  I wanted something different.  Something better.  Something more motivating!  It's almost February, and I usually choose this word on New Year's Day!  What is going on with my brain this year?!

I have given so much thought to what my word of the year should be for 2016.  Since I have done this in the past, it should be easy, right?  But for whatever reason, this year the choice has eluded me for the entire month of January!

Then one day after listening to Tonya, I looked around my beautiful flat in Dallas, and my word finally came to me like a sudden POP!  My word of the year is:  PARIS!

Yep.  PARIS!

To me, Paris represents learning how to slow down, to breathe, to make gentle, well thought out decisions and spend time discovering who I am, as well as who I am choosing to become.  Tonya calls it the next evolution of "you."  Well, let me tell you, I am super excited about the next evolution of ME - and I hope you are excited about the next evolution of YOU as well!

Let me explain why "PARIS" works for me.  In Paris, people really do slow down.  They'll sit for what seems like hours at a cafe watching life, people, and the world go by.  They recognize the importance of self-care.  They take the time they need to reflect and contemplate their own lives and to enjoy all that they have - even if what they have is very little.  

For my next evolution, life isn't going to be about accumulating anything other than beautiful feelings and memories and joy.  I believe PARIS is the perfect representation of the life I wish to create for myself.  I firmly believe "PARIS" will keep me going on my path!

Have YOU chosen a "Word of the Year" for yourself?  What word will inspire you to move forward and stay focused on your goals and your dream life?  Do you see how having an anchor word that suits YOUR next evolution could help keep you focused on bringing your dreams and desires into fruition?

I hope you will give this some thought.  You will need to choose a word that wakes up the butterflies in your tummy!  A word that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning and get your party started!  

But consider this as well:  Don't close yourself in by choosing a word that sounds like it comes straight out of a self-help book!  "Motivation" Ugh.  "Power"  Dull.  "Energy" Snore.  

Find something that SCREAMS EXCITEMENT TO YOU!!!  PARIS screams excitement to me! What word is SCREAMING - not whispering - into your ear?  "CHANEL?"  "HERMES?" "NEIMAN MARCUS?"  "MERCEDES BENZ?'  "INDIA?"  "FREEDOM?"  "TRAVEL?"  

Remember that your word of the year is not about something you want to buy or own.  It's about representing the lifestyle that YOU want to LIVE!  A way of being that YOU choose to create for yourself!  The YOU that you always dream of becoming!

Let 2016 be YOUR year!  The YEAR of The Ultimate You!  Search for your word of the year, and let me know what it is in the comments below!

Or better yet, head over to www.brilliancefactor.com and get some inspiration there if you need it! Contact me directly if you'd like!  I would LOVE to hear from you!  

My email address is:  thebrilliancefactor@gmail.com

Remember...

2016.....IS.....YOUR.....YEAR!!!

With love and blinding brilliance!

Donna

Such good weekly Brilliance, I made it a BLOG post! Please read...

I didn't start out writing this to you....

Hello my love... This morning, when I sat down to write  this week's post, the subject I was going to write about was completely different from what you're receiving.  However, today, I did something I usually don't do before writing to you.  I checked my Facebook feed.  I choose not to do that before writing, because it seems to put me into a reactive mode, rather than a creative one.  But something struck me today.   I saw a post from a very close friend of mine, who did no more than share something she thought was nice.  But it struck me like a bolt of lightening.  It was a YouTube post of an X-Factor show from back in September 2015.  A gentleman was the very last person auditioning to be on the show.  I'm sure the judges were worn out from all the listening and judging of the talented and not-so-talented.  Over 200,000 individuals auditioned for the show, although Simon Cowell and crew only see the last and most qualified ones, regardless, I'm sure the number of people they listened to this day was substantial.   One young gentleman named Josh was auditioning on the video that my friend shared.  He was the last person to audition for the evening, and God knows how long he'd been waiting in the wings for his opportunity to WOW the judges.  Can you imagine the flood of emotions that would come to you during this long period of time? Excitement, confidence, fear, lack of confidence, hopefulness, hopelessness, all jumping back and forth as you wait and wait and wait.  I honestly don't know if I could withstand the stress involved.   But Josh waited for his turn.  With humility and grace, he waited with his mother.  He chose to sing "Jealous" by Labyrinth.  For him, this song represented the jealousy he felt when his best friend passed away.  He was jealous that his best friend is in heaven and Josh is not. Jealous that his best friend no longer feels pain, while Josh does feel pain. Jealous that his best friend moved on with out him.   When Josh finished speaking onstage with Simon and prepared himself to sing, there was about a 10 second delay.  It took him 10 seconds to gather his emotions.  10 seconds to breathe and prepare himself for what could potentially be the defining moment of his life. Josh was a car mechanic in England and this was his shot at the big time.  Internalize THAT for a minute.  One big chance for you to make or break, and it's all in your hands.  Or in Josh's case, your voice. The song begins with Josh's voice.  Spot on that first note so when the music began he was pitch perfect.  Excellent job, Josh.  (I'm no Simon, but to impress a music snob like me, is quite the big deal) Then he continued.  Josh was actually NOT the best singer I've heard, male or female.  Not even close.  However, he has a whispery quality to his voice that I found intriguing.  Some of his notes were a bit off key.  Some of his enunciation was tough to make out.  We all know who Simon Cowell is, and usually, that's enough to make him stop someone dead in their tracks - but not this time. Josh's presentation of this song was completely captivating.  His deep emotion showed through.  His passion and heartbreak connected with the passion and heartbreak of every person present.  Studio audience and judges alike.  The cameras showed people in tears everywhere. And of course I was in tears, just watching the YouTube video.  How did the guy who was "not the best singer in the world" captivate everyone the way he did?  Well, the same way YOU can, my love.  By not holding back your passion and your emotion. You see, we all try so hard to "control" our emotions.  To not "feel" so much that we are on the edge of losing control.  We try to "manage" ourselves so closely and so tightly, so as not to give others' the opportunity to judge us.  Most of us fear that being judged is the worst thing that can happen to us.  What if someone doesn't like us?  Our talents?  Our gifts?  Our Metier? Can I break your heart for a moment?  We are all being judged whether we want to believe it or not.  The question we all must ask ourselves is this:    Do we want to be judged around how well we control ourselves, or do we want to be judged around our passion, emotion, commitment and dedication?  That is a big question, and one that I plan to spend a great deal of time contemplating.  I suggest you do the same!   Open up and display your passion!  Bring out your love!  Bring out your dedication to your passion!  Let your joy, devotion and passion for your life show, right now, to everyone!  Be an inspiration to others! It's perfectly OK to be judged, and who cares anyway!  The only judgement that matters is the judgement you place on yourself.  Are you living ALL OUT?  Are you giving this one, precious, beautiful life we have been given 100% of what you have?  Let me tell you in no uncertain terms.  THAT is the way you should be living your life. That's the way to do it.  That's what I want my life to look like.  I don't have to be perfect.  I just have to be 100%, authentically, unabashedly, unapologetically ME!   Don't you? I would love to know what you think about this post.  Please comment below! With Brilliant Love and Passion, Donna www.brilliancefactor.com feel free to email me at:  thebrilliancefactor@gmail.com

My Perfect Day - Let's examine this again! Have you created yours?

My Perfect Day  ........   

I believe it is SO important to become clear about what you would want your perfect day to look like.  So clear that is feels as though you are living the life you want to live RIGHT NOW.  Honestly, I think it is VITAL.  If you can clearly describe your perfect day, you can begin to pull pieces of that perfection into the life you're living right this moment!   I learned this from one of my greatest mentors, Tonya Leigh Rising.  

Do yourself a favor and check her out!  WWW.TONYALEIGH.COM

Here is an example:  If part of my perfect day is listening to music while I get ready for work, or while I have my morning coffee, I can begin NOW to add that music to my morning rather than waiting for life my to be perfect.  Why wait???   Why not make it work NOW???  I guarantee you that if you give this a try you'll start to feel significant changes in your daily life, which will impact your level of BRILLIANCE right away!  You brilliant thing, you!!!

And I'll admit this to you, I didn't get it at first.  But once I really took the time to stop and think about the life I wanted to live, put it into words, and then gradually into ACTION, I fell madly in love with my life!

So take a few minutes to think about your ideal life and do some writing of your own!  Write it in the present tense, just like it already exists for you!  And as always, leave me a comment at the end.  I'd love to hear how you're going to live and love your BRILLIANT life!

To help get you started, let me share with you MY PERFECT DAY:

"Today is my absolute perfect day.  I woke up around 9:00 am.  I am a night owl, so I need to sleep until 9:00.

My home is light and airy with sheer curtains billowing in the breeze, on all of the windows.  It is clean and uncluttered.  I have decorated with a lot of white.  I just love the clean feeling of white!  White bed, white sheets, white walls, white blankets!  All clean and luxurious!  I keep my white Frette  pajamas on as long as I can, until I have to dress for my day.   Tres chic et tres luxe!

I had my coffee this morning outside.  I do that as often as I can, depending upon the weather.  It gets hot in Texas, sometimes very early in the day!  I keep the outside living area nice and clean as well, so I can go out anytime I want to.  Sometimes I eat breakfast out there if I'm hungry, but today it is just the coffee.

Today I am going to spend some time working on my weekly blog post.  It’s Sunday and I like to get it posted Sunday night for everyone to read on Monday morning.  I really only work about 6 or so hours per day.  It’s so different from the Retail craziness I used to live!  I spend about 2 hours writing and then I get dressed because today I’m meeting a potential new coaching client to talk with and see if we’re a fit for each other.

As I get dressed, I realize that yes, I’m still wearing my all black uniform!  I dress like a French woman.  Simplicity is key, and then I add my personality by choosing the accessories - scarf, bag, shoes.  It’s become my trademark!  Black during the day and white at night!  I love it!  In my closet, my wardrobe looks like salt and pepper!  The only color I see is on my scarf hangers and on my handbag shelf!  It’s super clean looking and everything is meticulously organized.  I have always hated digging through piles of clothes and shoes!  It took me quite a while to figure out that simplicity works very well for me.

After I get my makeup on - not so simple, but I’m pretty fast at the application process - I give myself a few sprays of my signature fragrance and I’m ready to go!  EVERYONE asks me what fragrance I wear and I will not tell a soul!  One time, I told someone it was a scent I had custom made for me in Paris!  I know I shouldn’t lie, but a girl doesn’t want anyone else wearing her signature scent now, does she?

Back to my best day ever:  TODAY!

I am leaving now to meet my prospective client at Starbucks - not my favorite coffee, but she chose it and I’m nothing if I’m not flexible!  I choose to have a Berry Hibiscus drink - super refreshing and a bit of caffeine to keep me going!  She orders coffee and looks nervous!  I can fix that - just give me 5 minutes with her!

We talk for 30 minutes or so, and she decides that she wants to work with me.  I’ve gone over the options she has and she decides to get a few friends together and do a group coaching program.  Those are fun!  When the client brings her own friends in, she has an immediate, built in support system, in addition to the private Facebook page I create for them.  I love my job!!!

So now it’s time head home.  I want to have an hour or so to take my dog for a walk before I relax for the evening.  She loves and needs the walk.  She’s a little on the chubby side and I’m trying  hard not to be a little on the chubby side!

I have just enough time for a quick shower before I meet a friend for dinner.  We are going to Nick and Sam’s for dinner tonight.  It’s my favorite restaurant and I usually save it for special occasions.  There's no real occasion tonight, but I’m happy to go there and have a bit of Caviar and Champagne before dinner!

I put on a pretty black Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dress and some pretty, strappy sandals that I found on sale at Neiman’s!  I think this dress needs to be adorned with diamonds, so I put on all of the diamonds I have!  At least a lot of them!  Dinner is outstanding, as always!  I alway feel so spoiled when I go to Nick and Sam's!

When I get home, I'm pretty sleepy!  I put on some nice music in my bathroom - I’ve always loved music, and I have some special playlists.  One for my AM Rituals and one for my PM Rituals.

I take my time, getting ready for bed.  I put a comfy little nightgown on - white of course - brush out my hair and apply the hideously expensive LeMetier Skin Care products that I love so much!  Then head straight to bed.  I love to read before going to sleep.  I’m reading Gone With The Wind for the 100th time.  I love it!  I’m sure I’ll get a chapter or two in before I fall asleep.

It’s a beautiful life I have and I am grateful for every silly second of it.  I am thankful that my past - now THERE’S a story - has brought me to where I am.  Content, peaceful, purposeful and in love with my calm, elegant life.

Oh!  Tomorrow I'm going to plan my next vacation!  I’m thinking London - we’ll see!  And I'll keep you posted!

Good night my love!
Donna
Don't for get to leave your comments below!

Adding Elegance to your Crazy Life!

Why add elegance?  Well let me tell ya!  One of the best ways to feel genuinely good about your life and your surroundings is to bring everything you love into your world on a daily basis.  Surrounding yourself with beauty, joy and passion will make you feel better, even when your circumstances aren't ideal.  

Let's discuss how to make that happen, shall we?  

First, I always recommend taking the time to learn what it is that you love.  I do that by looking through magazines for decorating ideas such as HGTV and InStyle Magazines, Pinterest.  There are so many others though.  Just pick up one or two magazines that cover your favorite subjects!  Then see what you can do to realistically incorporate things into your surroundings.  

Second,  declutter your home!  And your car!  And your desk!  As a matter of fact, read last week's Blog post about Decluttering your surroundings and your mind.  You need to make room for the elegance to come in!!!  

Third, clean up things as thoroughly as you can.  Nothing screams NOT FABULOUS like a dirty area!  Get straightening and cleaning!  Just getting things cleaned up will go a long way toward adding a feeling of elegance to your world.  But we're not stopping there!

Fourth, choose to add a few - or all - of the following ideas into your newly cleaned up life:

1. Fresh flowers!  Flowers are nature's CHANEL, and few things will make you feel as fabulous and special as a beautiful vase (or 2) of flowers.  And do we really want to wait for a guy to send them to us?  God no!!!  They don't need to be expensive either!  I've gotten some of the prettiest flowers from my local grocery store!  I treat myself to them once a week!  Tres elegant!

2.  Music!  Nothing creates ambiance like background music!  I have playlists for various times of day and feelings I want to create.  For example, I have a playlist for getting ready for work, dinner music, when I'm sad, when I need energy, when I'm exercising, for afternoon tea, for when I need to be distracted from something!  Music will create whatever mood you desire!  Don't know how to make a playlist?  Just get a CD or two that you enjoy and play them!!

3.  Write a letter!  Not a text or an email, but an actual letter to someone you care about or someone you need to thank for something.  Put it in the snail mail and let the recipient be surprised when they get it!  Make it even more special by spritzing it with perfume!  

4.  Speaking of perfume, find a scent that screams your name!  Don't worry if someone else will like it!  Find one that makes YOU feel like a million bucks! If you don't have anything in mind, make a trip to the best department store you have near you.  Go to the fragrance department and try a few on!  Not too many!  3 or 4 at the most!  Wear them for at least an hour.  Smell them one at a time, keeping YOUR feelings of elegance in mind.  When you find one that makes you excited or happy, THAT can be your signature fragrance.  Wear it every day, whether you are going out or not!  Put it on immediately after each shower.  Before you work out. Before going to bed.  Always wear it!  Perfume creates an elegant mindset!!  And you deserve an elegant mindset every day of your life!

5.  Get out the good stuff!  Good clothes, good shoes, good pajamas, good China, good crystal, good tea pot, good jewelry!  We own these things because we love them.  So get them out and USE THEM!  

There is nothing wrong with a champagne flute to use while brushing your teeth!  Or taking your vitamins with water from a Baccarat crystal goblet!  Keep a beautiful water glass on your night stand!  Keep the red solo cups for a picnic!  There is no reason to hide those exquisite items that you own!  Bring them to your life!  Enjoy them!

6.  Get yourself some beautiful, decadent, aromatic candles!  And light them!  A flickering, fragrant candle immediately adds elegance to any room! Even in the daytime!

There are so many more things you can do to create a beautifully elegant atmosphere around you!  Come visit

Www.brilliancefactor.com to learn more!!!

PS.  Coming soon is a self study course on adding elegance to your life!!!  Keep checking back!!

Love and fabulosity...

Donna

Declutter Your Space = Declutter Your Mind

Decluttering all of the areas of your life seems to be what all the talk is about these days.  People are writing entire books on the subject!  For good reason, too.  As time in our society marches forward and we become more and more self-aware, we are learning that unlike generations past, more is not always better.  Sometimes "more" is heavy.  Or crowded.  Or stifling.  Or just plain ugly.

There is definitely something to be said for lightening our load - in all of the areas of our lives.  When we declutter our lives, we are actually creating space so that what we truly love and desire can come into our worlds.  When we live in a cluttered mess, we close ourselves in.  We build barriers by allowing "things" to be in our way and slow us down.

Just think about how easy it would be to get ready for work, or any event if your closet was cleaned out and organized!  Just think about how easy it would be to find your freshest food if your refrigerator was cleaned out.  And how easy would it be to sit and pay your bills if your desk and miscellaneous papers were organized!?

Each area of your life that you can declutter and get organized will provide a small piece of freedom in your life.  As you gain control over more and more areas, your freedom, space and clarity will become bigger and bigger.

If your life and your mind are so cluttered and over crowded with all of the miscellaneous messiness that has evolved in response to your daily living, you won't have the freedom and clarity of thought to design, build and create your life into the artful masterpiece that you deserve it to become.  Once you've begun to work on this, you'll find that you will breathe easier and feel physically lighter on a daily basis.  Are you ready to feel that way?

Here are some areas of your life that I recommend decluttering:  Closet, kitchen pantry, kitchen junk drawer, your cosmetics, your shoes, your jewelry box, the drawer beside your bed, your book shelves, the trunk of your car, your desk, your music collection, all of the tables in your house!

Please don't allow yourself to become overwhelmed.  As you tackle each area, do everything you can do to make it an enjoyable experience.  Choose one area at a time - maybe one area each weekend! Play music!  Take breaks!  Dance!  Sing!  And above all CELEBRATE as you progress!  I'll be writing more on this subject, but in the meantime, Target, The Container Store, and your local Dollar Store are great resources for containers to hold some of your clutter.  You'll find some great ideas on Pinterest as well!

As you go through each area, ask yourself if each item brings you happiness and joy.  If the answer is no, it must go!  Of course, donate anything that you no longer need, but is still of value.  Remember:  One woman's old poodle skirt is another woman's TUTU!

I wish you freedom, clarity of thought, and lightness as you clean up your life and your surroundings!  Leave me a comment letting me know what you plan to tackle first!!

Love,
Donna

For more information on designing your life, please visit...
www.brilliancefactor.com  where you'll find more resources including how to work with MOI!