A Note from Gregory Anne

Late August and September are my favorite days of summer. The weather changes often. One minute it is hot and dry, the next we are reaching for light sweaters as the shorter days head towards night and the temperature drops. I love the unpredictability and for reasons unknown it's given me a jolt of energy to jump back into the work of creating. I have been cooking quite a bit (and below I will share an easy recipe that make use of late summer's bounty) which is one way I create. What wants creating now is new ways of communicating with you, my readers. I am working on the newest addition to my teleseminar series, The Heart of a Woman. I'm also putting together some information sheets on things like supplements, quick and healthy breakfasts, how to stay healthy and energized while traveling, and more. I'll let you know when they are done. They'll all be accessible from my website as PDF files.

I've played a lot this summer—a first for me as summer used to be a time of work, work, and more work cooking. Three years ago I created a new vision for my life as a coach and trainer. It included cooking-because-I-want-to-not-because-I-have-to within three years. I am happy to report that I'm 4 months ahead of schedule! How did I do it? It all began with a guy named T. Harv Eker and I review his book, The Secrets of The Millionaire Mind , below.

To get the bigger picture of how I have learned to create the life of my dreams read my article, Creating What's Next. And remember, if your life doesn't look like you imagined it would or you would like it to, help is out there in the form of coaches, books, tapes, courses, groups. Check out my website, www.livebettercoach.com , to learn more about how coaching can help and for links to some of the best examples of the books, courses, and tapes.

Food That Fuels You comes to you in the form of Greg's Herb Marinated Grilled Vegetables.

Savor the last few weeks of warm, long days. Eat outside in the cooler evening air and really be present to what it all feels like, smells like, tastes like. Transition is full of that bittersweet of being in the moment we love and anticipating what's up ahead, knowing wechange timel. I for one am going to milk these waning days dry while at the same time I dream and create anew what's up ahead. I invite you to come along.

To your Health, Power, and Joy.

Gregory Anne

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Creating What's Next

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Sometimes something in our lives, the way we earn money, our relationships, or our bodies wants to change. Doing those things takes a revolution of thought and unfamiliar, potentially scary actions. When what worked last time is an exercise in banging ones head against the wall this time that's a good indication that it's time to ask the question, “what's next?” or “now what?”

Five or so years ago I found myself in need of work for reasons too long and unimportant to go into. I was living where I do now, in the Hamptons, a summertime resort community, and winter loomed long. This meant little or no opportunities for work in my field.

I knew three things that would shape my search for income. I would not go back to work in a restaurant. I wanted flexibility to travel to see my then significant other who lived in Scotland. I wanted to make enough money to pay for my desired lifestyle. In other words, I wanted a miracle. Odd thing is, as I'm not religious, I believed I could have one.

Although the parameters I had set would require me to radically change my usual way of working I set about doing what I knew to do when looking for work. I polished my hospitality resume, contacted head-hunters in the hospitality field, and went online looking for jobs at the high end of private chef/household manager. What was different in this approach? Nothing except my belief that I could “create” a job that met all of my standards in a field where flexibility is non-existent. I would make good money but I'd have to give up most of the lifestyle I wanted to pay for so that others could enjoy theirs. Can you see the disconnect?

I went on interviews. I sent countless unanswered resumes. I lived on my savings. I was miserable.

In my entire work life I had never had to work to get work. The best jobs I'd had were from referrals and I had never been out of work—unless I wanted to be—for more than a couple of days. Something had to change. I knew I had to do something different but I no idea how or where to start.

All the while my little voice said “why not write, why not go back to school, why not open a store, work for yourself?” Oy, if only this little voice could understand how hard it is to start over at this point….

At wit's end I went to work for a local caterer for a sorry hourly wage but it served me in many ways and I was grateful. The first way of course was the money. Mortgage lenders like getting it as do utility companies and the cats are always happier with food than without. The second was to get me out of my own head and the limited resources I found there to solve my problem. The third was to further reinforce that I did not want to work for someone else . The little voice smiles.

Now what? “What” came in the form of a free 90-minute seminar given by a guy named T. Harv Eker. I talk more about this turning point in this month's book review. Suffice to say here, that what I “got” from those 90 minutes was this:

I had to know what I wanted as well as what I didn't want.

I had to take action to do this not just think and analyze—two of my favorite pastimes.

I had to be willing to change how I did things and get out of my comfort zone or I'd be working for someone else doing something I hated for a long time.

How to begin all that? I knew two things. I had a lot to learn about creating what I wanted. I also knew I wanted to be in the energy of this man, Harv, so I signed up to attend his starter course, The Millionaire Mind Intensive. This is not a plug for the course, although I do think it's a powerful 3 days. (For more info on this go to ( www.lifeatahigherlevel.com .) At this course I was introduced to their other courses, one of which is called Life Directions. That one promised to help sort out what our life's mission and work could be. At the time I did not have the extra cash to go. So I put it on the side and thought “I'll just take what I've learned here and change my life. I'll think my way to all I want.”

Need I say it? That trick does not work. I'd just been through nursery school in terms of learning how to create my life. I'd been given a glimpse into the idea that I had to unlearn some limiting habits but I thought I'd heard all I needed to. After all, I'm a quick study, a smart gal. So smart, in fact, that 5 months later when Life Directions rolled around I was more frustrated and broke than ever but I was getting smarter. I knew I needed help sorting out what I wanted and what I'd be good at.

More than before I wanted to go to Life Directions and I was going to go. I had not a clue how that would happen. (Once again I invoked the miracle goddess to help me. Turns out she was available.) I called Peak Potentials to see if it was sold out as their courses mostly are at the last minute. It was. They put me on the waiting list. When they told me what the cost was I wondered where was the money going to come from? I didn't care and didn't obsess about it. Unbeknownst to me I was practicing the law of attraction. But that's a discussion for another day.

The short version of what happened was this. A space opened up. In order for the woman who was unable to go to minimize her losses she offered to give me her spot for half price. I checked with my frequent traveler program and I had enough miles for the airfare. The hotel was my last hurdle. I bit the bullet and pulled out the Visa card. It was one of the best credit therapy sessions I've ever spent.

I discovered that my early desire to work with and help people feel better had not gone away. Food was one iteration of that. Processes that we used during the 3-day course showed that my former love affairs with psychology, counseling, and writing, were high on the list of things that I'd be good at and enjoy. And I “got” that I loved working with people to transform their lives. It all felt right and exciting. I couldn't wait to get home and find the perfect degree program. The job that would support me while going to school would also emerge magically. Can you tell where the next paragraph is going to lead?

It did not all fall seamlessly into place but I knew in my heart of hearts that I was on the right track. At one point the perfect situation—or so it looked at first—presented and then blew up within weeks. It would have allowed me to work and get my counseling degree from a high caliber school I'd found with an adult ed curriculum nearby.

I'll admit, at this point I did sit down and cry. The frustration was choking my desire to keep going. Then the little voice reminded me of something I'd learned during my two year journey of discovery, reading, attending courses. “All of what we want to become takes practice,” my wee voice whispered. Right. I didn't wake up the chef of a huge, popular NYC restaurant one day because I'd dreamed of being that. It took years to get to that level of expertise and skill. Remembering that got me back into the game. And truth be told, that job and going to school for a degree would have meant no life at all outside of work and school. And I'd have been away from home and my beloved felines. Not at all the picture I had in mind when I started with the original 3 parameters.

At about this time I'd heard from someone I respected that she'd hired a coach. She also told me she thought I'd make a great coach. Had I ever considered that as my next move? she asked. It was the light bulb moment. I'd heard about coaching and I'd met coaches at T. Harv Eker's Peak events but I had no first-hand evidence that this was serious stuff.

I dipped a toe in the water of the coaching model by getting a coach myself. Wow, powerful stuff. She encouraged me to use my skills in the kitchen to do some private chef work as a way to earn money. What a concept: use what I was good at but on my terms.

It was spring and an old client I'd had while living in North Carolina called to see if I would cook for the family for a few weeks in June—not in North Carolina but right where I live now. Does miracle ring a bell? With money coming in I researched and chose the school that I would take my first level of coach training with. I didn't want to wait to get started but this would mean spending some of the cash that was finally coming in and taking time out from cooking to study and attend the classes.

Call me crazy as some did but I enrolled for the summer session. In the instant that I committed to giving up one day a week of cooking to show up for something I said I wanted I knew it was the right thing to do. Giving up a day of work each week during a short season had, up to that point, been a very scary proposition. It was a leap out of my comfort zone. It felt defiant, good, and so exciting.

I've been coaching now for just about 3 years. My little voice was right, writing is satisfying, helping others does not have to look like a degreed counselor, and I can do something completely new and do it well—regardless of my age.

My life looks very different than it did 5 years ago. It is bigger and richer in all ways. It's odd but I realize now that I am living within those original three parameters. I do not work in a restaurant. My now husband lives here but we travel together for pleasure. My work and my investments pay for my desired lifestyle. Pretty cool huh? The journey was more maze than straight line but I wouldn't trade that. The learning was invaluable.

Here's the formula for creating your life or the next chunk of it successfully.

• Vision—know what you want and if you have no idea, find a way to discover it.
• Commitment—do whatever it takes, not just what's easy.
• Stay in the conversation. What conversation? The one that gives you an awareness of possibility and of what keeps you from exploring and having what's possible. Read, get a coach, take a course.
• Get started! This is a biggy. Thinking and analyzing, what-iffing and procrastinating will not move you forward.
• Know this—if anyone can do this, you can do it. Whether it's making lifestyle changes, relationship changes, or just adding more joy to an already full and successful life, it's all possible if you'll work on your thinking and take action.
• Oh, and when the little voice has something wise to say, listen. When all you've got is hope and you need a miracle, make way, it's coming.

Blessings
Greg

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Food That Fuels You

Greg's Herb Marinated Grilled Vegetables

Ever had a delicious plate of grilled vegetables, try to replicate them at home, and end up with something dry and uninteresting? Or the opposite, you order a side of grilled summer squashes and end up with oil soaked chunks? In my opinion, grilled vegetables need only 3 things to succeed—marinating in the right amount of oil and aromatics, even thickness, and timing. No matter what vegetables you choose if you follow this recipe format you'll have savory, flavorful, perfectly cooked veggies.

Vegetables are like sponges and will soak up oil but the catch 22 is that without some oil vegetables will scorch and taste dry and uninteresting. You can produce veggies that will be fine without these extra few steps, (I'll show you how at the end), but in my book it's worth a little extra time.

This recipe will serve 8 as a side dish.

For the marinating part of the process you'll need a large bowl (I like stainless), a large zip lock bag, cutting board, knife, ½ C. olive oil, fresh herbs—2 springs tarragon, 2 sprigs marjoram or oregano, 4 garlic cloves.

1. The day, or at least the morning, before you will cook them, shop for the freshest vegetables you can find. I like a variety of squashes—I use 2 small zucchini and 2 small gold bar or yellow squash; 1 medium Italian or 2 small or Japanese eggplants; 1 each red, orange, and yellow bell pepper; 10 oz. box of button mushrooms because everyone can find them.
2. Wash and dry the large vegetables and if the mushrooms are dirty brush them but don't put them in water. Toss into the bowl.
3. Cut the zucchini and yellow squash lengthwise down the middle. Using a 3” paring knife, make hatch marks down the length. Place in the bowl.
4. Cut the eggplant into ½” slices and add to the bowl.
5. Peppers, rather than cutting the top off in a ring like our moms did I stand the pepper on it's butt and cut through right next to the top straight down 3 or 4 times til I've got all the flesh in sheets. This gives you more delicious sweet pepper to grill.
6. Pick the herbs off the stems and place them, along with the garlic and oil into a small food processor and pulse ‘til everything is chopped fairly fine. You can do this by hand as well. Once the herbs and garlic are chopped, whisk with the oil.
7. Pour the herb mixture over the vegetables, toss well to coat. If for some reason your vegetables look bare in spots just pour in a bit more oil. If your fat police little voice is clamoring for attention tell it to relax. The oil is healthy, some will burn off, the amount that doesn't will not make your butt look fat in those pants.
8. Put everything in a zip lock bag, zip and stow in the fridge. If you think of it, turn the bag over once or twice.
9. When ready to grill: heat the grill to high, brush it clean—and I mean clean—those black bits that lurk will ruin the flavor of anything you put on the grill. You'll want a bit of grill spray, a pan to put the cooked veggies on, tongs, and salt and pepper.
10. Place the squashes down on a diagonal in a row, top end facing 10:00.
11. Place the peppers on the outer edges and the eggplant slices and mushrooms down where you have room.
12. Once you've got everything down sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
13. If you have a smallish grill you may have to do this in batches.
14. Leave the heat on high until you have a good dark grill mark—you'll have to lift up one of something to see—then turn the things to face 2:00 if you want the nice cross marks. The eggplant slices just get turned a half turn in either direction.
15. The peppers and mushrooms will not keep those kinds of marks. Your goal with them is to cook them tender, give them color, but not char them so they are cinders.
16. At this point lower the grill to medium.
17. Once things have nice marks on both sides flip them over. The zucchini and yellow squash are done when you see bubbles coming up to the cut surface or when they feel tender when you gently squeeze the sides.
18. The peppers will take the longest so if you do have to do this in batches you can start the peppers ahead of time, remove them to a pan and reheat them in the oven—they can take the most abuse and still be delicious. I sometimes peel the skin from the peppers but some of my friends like it when it's burned so I leave it for them. Most often I peel and allow the sweet smoky skinless pepper speak for itself.
19. Grilled vegetables should not be too soft. Texture adds to the enjoyment of this healthy and flavorful food preparation.
20. Click on the photos to enlarge them so it's easier to see how I've cut and arranged them but feel free to play. The colors and different shapes make it easy to put a beautiful platter together and no two are ever the same when I do it.

The “no time to marinate” way:

You'll still have to pick fresh veggies and cut them evenly. Lay them on a sheet pan, heat up the grill. Spray the veggies with olive oil spray and sprinkle with a spice mix like Emeril's fish one or make your own mixture of dried herbs-not too heavy on the dried basil. If your store-bought spice mix has no salt—which is doubtful—the next step for either seasoning is to sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Follow the same steps as above. If you've chosen a good spice rub you'll be well rewarded with a truly no prep vegetable dish.

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Books that Cook

The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth
T. Harv Eker

How many of you reading this review have achieved financial freedom?

By that I mean the freedom to work because you want to, not because you “have to,” knowing your passive income supports your desired lifestyle.

“Whoa Greg, now you're talking crazy,” you might be thinking. Stay with me here. If this scenario sounds good to you but you have no idea where to begin—or how—then you might want to start with T. Harv Eker's book, The Secrets of The Millionaire Mind, Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth.

Why this book among the many hundreds out there on the subject of wealth creation? It's got “outside the box” thinking and exercises you can begin using to recondition your mind. Wealth starts in the mind, you know, not in your bank account. More crazy talk but let me tell you about this work from a personal point of view.

I discovered T. Harv's bit of transformational teaching one winter night here in Hampton Bays. I was invited to participate in a free teleconference given by a mastermind group I belonged to at the time. I was not working much, I was sick that night and I was, in general, in major pity party mode. I almost didn't bother but I had free long distance and was hoping for something or someone to tell me what to do that I hadn't already done.

A bit of background. A few months before, I had decided to take on the money game like never before. I wanted to get smarter about managing it, making it, keeping it. This call—and this is no drama-rama statement used to sell books—showed up as a result of that and changed my life .

For 90 minutes Harv spoke, ranted, cajoled, and inspired. Statements like, “Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world,” rocked my sick head.

Harv continued, “Have you ever heard someone assert that a lack of money was a bit of a problem? Now hear this: A lack of money is never, ever, ever a problem. A lack of money is merely a symptom of what is going on underneath.”

Wow, no one had ever said it just that way. I knew I wanted to learn more from him and there was no bestselling book five years ago. So I flew to Seattle three months later to attend his 3-day workshop called The Millionaire Mind Intensive. In three long days of processes, exercises, talking with others, and listening to Harv I decided to make many changes in my life using the tools I'd been given to do that. I began to apply what I learned and am more financially savvy than ever before. Am I financially free? Not yet, but I have a plan to get there and am making great progress.

This man has a gift and his gems are as accessible on the page as they are when he is speaking. Harv writes like he speaks. He is clear, funny, and leads you on a logical progression from understanding your money blueprint—or how conditioning got us where we are today—to how we can change that blueprint for success.

Eker's credibility lies in his own wealth creation. Part of his story is how using the principals he teaches he went from zero to millionaire in only two and a half years. Before that he had made and lost money over and over and didn't know why. He, too, took on the game of money and how the mind works and the result is an empire of notable proportions which puts on camps and courses to teach others what T. Harv figured out. He is currently the founder and CEO of Peak Potentials, one of the fastest-growing success training companies in North America .

Interesting concept, Greg, but what is a money blueprint and why is it important? It's what you decided was “so” about money while growing up. The way we—subconsciously for the most part—formulate beliefs usually comes from taking on the beliefs of parents, teachers, relatives. Did anyone in your home ever say, “Money doesn't grow on trees, you know,” or how about, “We can't afford that,” or “You must work hard for your money.” Yup, if any or all of those or the hundreds of other limiting beliefs about money were swirling around in your childhood brain they are by now driving the train. It's important to know what ours are so we can either continue letting the nine-year-old drive or we can take back the wheel. Without an awareness of something there is no way to change it.

What if you are already successful in the financial arena? Would you like to move up a notch or two, from say six figures to seven or more? This book can help you too.

If you find you are stuck at a certain level of income it's because of limiting beliefs not your boss, your age, your lack of certain letters after your name. Do I have to start naming names of billionaires without educational initials trailing their surnames? Right then, would it be helpful to at least explore the possibility that it's not what you know that limits you but what you don't know that you don't know that does?

Throughout the book there are exercises—corny, some will say, but Eker employs accelerated learning techniques in all of his courses and, so, why not in the book? The theory behind this is that learning in all three languages--audio, visual, and kinesthetic—promotes learning on a cellular level and it sticks better. And they are designed to shake things up in your head.

In the first section of the book Harv help us find out what our limiters or blocks to success are. In the second section he points out the differences between how the rich think and how everyone else thinks.

The book has been on countless bestseller lists and 250,000 people have heard Harv at the 3-day intensive, on the phone, or on audio recordings of the course. He's a proven transformational genius. But you have to be willing to be open and try on the ideas he puts forth and the new ways of thinking he suggests. It's an individual game for everyone and Harv's way is far from the only way to get to a better financial plane. His just happens to be one of the many I've read that I found is a simple and proven great place to get started.

If you are interested in having greater wealth or simply a better understanding of how money works, pick up this book. If you want to know more about it use this link, www.lifeatahigherlevel.com . There you can find an audio of Harv and lots of other free info. If you buy the book you will be able to get two tickets to the 3-Day for $97. That's a savings of over $2000! It's Harv's way of getting people into the conversation and to my way of thinking it's time and money well spent.

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Q&A Be sure to send your questions to Greg so she can answer them here in future issues of The You Revolution. Send her an

Q: I've heard some news stories about calcium helping with weight loss. Is there any truth to this?

A: It seems that information is rooted in good scientific research. The results of a study that followed 10,000 men and women from ages 45-70-something was published this summer in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. It seems that those women who consumed more low fat dairy products or supplemented with calcium gained less weight as they aged. The same was not true for men but it's about time we got some bonus program after all those years of menses and childbearing.

When calcium is present in cells it turns up the heat on fat burning; so the study says. And that thinking is not new. You need only google “weight loss; calcium” to read more of the research that has been done since around 2000. Avoid sites that sell any sort of calcium product for obvious reasons.

Logic would have us then say that if we combine a mineral that can help prevent weight gain with lifestyle modifications that do the same the effect could be weight loss if that's a goal. I'd buy that reasoning.

Here is the official caveat from the authors of the study, “Although more evidence from randomized clinical trials is needed before calcium supplements can be recommended specifically for weight loss, this study suggests that calcium supplements taken for other reasons (e.g., prevention of osteoporosis) may have a small beneficial influence on reducing weight gain, particularly among women approaching midlife.”

Hey, I'll take every little bit of support I can get.

If you are lactose intolerant, vegan, or you don't like liquid dairy there are other sources of food based calcium you can enjoy. Dark green leafy vegetables, salmon, mackerel, sardines, almonds, and oats are just a sample. These foods are high in fiber as well which we know is a good thing for many reasons, but fiber and weight loss go hand in hand.

If you supplement with calcium be sure to buy one with added vitamin D, zinc, and magnesium, which help the body to better absorb calcium.

Bonus #2? Calcium can help you sleep if taken before bedtime.

Got milk?
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What's Happening

Our next Smart Woman's Life Style Tune-Up begins September 26th, just in time to get tuned up for the Holiday season. The Tune-Up runs for 4 consecutive weeks. Please click here for more information on these programs.

Also coming this fall is The Heart of a Woman. Physically ours is different than men's and you need gender specific information to keep yours strong and healthy.

If you are ready to make some changes in your life and want support in the form coaching visit me at livebettercoach.com.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Have a great month and I'll be back on September 24th with Issue 4.

Best Regards,

Gregory Anne

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Thank you for reading. I know your time is valuable and that there is a mountain of information out there demanding your attention. My highest hope is that I've provided something of value for you. If you know someone who might benefit from any of the content please forward this.