Coffee shops are ubiquitous here in Vancouver. We are after all just 200 km north of the birthplace of Starbucks. The good news among all this caffeine and biscotti is that there is a locally owned and operated coffee company here that is making a huge difference to the local community.
Blenz Coffee’s first store was opened in 1992 on Vancouver’s famous Robson Street. Since then Blenz has grown to have more than 85 stores in BC and internationally. This coffee retailer has also taken giving back to a whole new level.
Blenz Cares is a program developed by the founders of Blenz Coffee that is so elegant and simple, we can’t believe someone didn’t think of it years ago. It works like this: when you order a bag of coffee or tea from the Blenz Cares web site, you set up the charity of your choice (or choose one from a list on the site). Each month a cheque for the net proceeds from all your purchases is sent to your chosen charity. So, for example, if you buy one bag of Machu Picchu whole beans for $16, $7.28 will be sent to the charity of your choice. It’s that simple.
Some of the charities who presently benefit from this program are the TB Vets, Canuck Place Children’s Hospital, the Arthritis Society, the Alzheimer’s Society, and Rotary International. Imagine purchasing coffee for your office knowing that each cup you drink gives back to those in need. For more info please visit blenzcares.com.
namaste,
Zoey
Zoey Ryan
life & business coach for women
inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment www.shaktisage.com
604-323-3700
“Coaching for your heart & soul & the heart and soul of your business.”
Inrageous/Outrageous Self-Care Enchantments for This Week
With interesting synchronistic timing, just after sending out the last POW I received an email from a dear friend containing children’s messages to God. I am including a sampling below as reminders to us all of the purity and simplicity of childlike sacredness:
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* Dear God,
I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is this OK?
Neil
* Dear God,
In bible times, did they really talk that fancy?
Jennifer
* Dear God,
I think about you sometimes, even when I’m not praying.
Elliot
* Dear God,
I bet it is very hard to you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it!
Nan
* Dear God,
Please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter – cause there is nothing good in there now.
Ginny
~*~*~*~*
Your self care enchantments for this week are about simplicity & sacredness, holidays and festivals.
Self Care Enchantments for the week:
1. In this upcoming season of religious and spiritual festivals, how can you bring sacred simplicity into your life?
2. Do one thing this week that scares you!
3. Consider making a donation to your charity of choice this week.
“The Angels were all singing out of tune, and hoarse with having little else to do, excepting to wind up the sun and moon or curb a runaway young star or two.â€Â - Lord Byron
We would love to hear about your experience with these enchantments. Please share about your learning and exploration with these enchantments on www.thepowblog.com in the comments section!
Support fair trade gift giving at Hippy Grandma: hippy love for generations – an online eco-boutique selling fair trade & earth friendly treasures for your grandbabies, their mamas and you! www.hippygrandma.com
Did you know that many businesses do extremely well during a time of
“an “economic re-balancingâ€? Why do you think this is?Â
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Business & life coaches love discussions about economic downturns as it opens up the conversation to deeply investigate personal attitudes, expectations and beliefs. With this type of an exploration, we start to “re-light the fire of burning desire†and ignite those powerful and dynamic internal forces that are the signature characteristics of extraordinary entrepreneurs who truly run sustainable superstar businesses. This doesn’t mean that it is a comfortable or easy process, in fact, it is often quite the reverse, it can be scary, uncomfortable and edgy. In retrospect though, women entrepreneurs often look back and also say that it was exhilarating!
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Entrepreneurs who are competitive and like challenges often respond to an economic downturn by making a “game of itâ€, saying things like “I am not going to let this get to meâ€, “I’m going to prove this thing wrong†etc. Their attitude and pattern of responding to a challenge often kick starts them into massive action, which generates huge business momentum. Pam talks about this in her article, in www.thesuperstarblog.com ,how during a recession, businesses clean house and often actually re-invent themselves, resulting in a revitalized business.
A really powerful shift can happen for many women entrepreneurs when they allow themselves to use an economic downturn as a “gateway†or catalyst to explore their dominant belief patterns. I highly expect that as a business woman, faced with the possibility of a “recession†your personal “limiting beliefs†will be very easy to access. I experience this myself. As well, any “dominant cultural limiting beliefs†will be accessible and you may feel the strong pull towards a downward spiral of negativity.  You can halt this downward spiral and use this is an amazing opportunity to work on changing your beliefs and your internal self-talk.Â
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Warren Buffett apparently loves economic down turns and I love Warren Buffett. I love Warren Buffett because from what I read about him, he is an amazing and brilliant person who in spite of being incredibly wealthy, continues to drive an old model vehicle, live in his “normal house†and it sounds like, has instilled solid values in his children. I love Warren Buffett because he seems to value the amazing people who manage under capitalized businesses. I love Warren Buffett because he understands that it is the power of the people in an organization that makes the organization strong and dynamic. My guess is that Warren Buffett has a pretty clear set of wonderful “enabling and prospering beliefsâ€.
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An economic downturn is the best time to change your “limiting beliefs†to “enabling and prospering beliefsâ€. I never underestimate the power of the human spirit, when pushed to the edge with a recession to create, innovate, inspire, collaborate, re-design, re-vitalize, experiment and in fact “leap frog†into something new and amazing. I love the following quote, although I can’t remember where I first heard it…“Whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can’t, you are right!â€Â Changing belief systems is an intense exploration and often requires the support of a skilled life & business coach or other professional as it is very easy to get stuck in the process.
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Yes, these are platitudes and yes, these are true, however, remember… the power of positive belief and expectation, you can do it if you believe you can and never, ever, ever give up! You have the power within you to shift your beliefs, make this economic situation work for you and we believe in you too!
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namaste,
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Zoey
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Zoey Ryan
coach . catalyst . shakti sage
life & business coach for women
"Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business"
Support fair trade, eco-friendly gift giving at Hippy Grandma: hippy love for generations - earth friendly treasures for your grandbabies, their mamas and you!www.hippygrandma.com
A few months ago, I wrote a blog about being a “hippy grandma in training” and being very excited to be welcoming a new generation of babies into the world. Well, that excitement catalyzed a new “baby” of my own, a website – “Hippy Grandma: hippy love for generations” selling earth friendly treasures for your grandbabies, their mamas and you! We sell fair trade and honest trade, exquisite and unique products, mostly “hand crafted” by real grandmas and “spirit grandmas”.
I think that in North America, we have been taught to believe in the dream, you know the one about “life being happy, easy and if you just work hard enough, you can have everything you wantâ€? I haven’t lived in the East, however I have travelled to underdeveloped areas and from what I understand, in less developed areas, where people still live “closer to the landâ€, a deep understanding about the ups and downs of life is present in the cultural psyche.
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Both my parents grew up on farms and during summer holidays I often spent time with my cousins and the farm animals. I saw “farm life†in clear definition and remember in particular seeing how our food that is milk, beef and chicken got from the natural state to the plate. On a farm, things are messy, smelly and real. It is accepted that there is joy and suffering, good smells and bad smells, planting and harvesting.
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We have been talking about a deeper exploration of one’s habitual patterns and default programs and playing out the concept of paradox. As a continuation of this, how influenced do you feel you are or have been by your dominant socio cultural belief systems? What do you believe about life? Should you always be happy and life be easy? What if all of us “made room†for or “created space†for, the notion that pain and suffering are the natural counterpoints to joy and happiness. When I start to explore this with coaching clients, what they often express is that welcoming pain and suffering creates a sense of melting and relaxation. In fact, although it seems counterintuitive, they often say “ahhhh, I don’t have to try so hard to be happy.â€
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Your enchantments for this week continue in this theme and include some further questions and a fun art exercise.
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Self Care Enchantments for the week:
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1.  What is the “dream†that you are trying to live up to? If you find this difficult to answer, try to gain a different perspective, perhaps imagine that you are a visitor from another culture and then ask the question again from an observer point of view.
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2. How much energy do you devote to “being happy†and living the dream. How can you create more “spaciousness†in your life?
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3. Create an art doll that represents your “harvest†this fall.  Did you ever do this when you were a kid? Maybe make a doll out of a pine cone or grass or old fabric? You can add in glitter or crystals or other items to represent your life and its ups and downs this year.
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“The true harvest of my life is intangible – a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched†– Henry David Thoreau
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We would love to hear about your experience with these enchantments. Please share about your learning and exploration with these enchantments in the comments section!
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namaste,
Â
Zoey
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Zoey Ryan
coach . catalyst . shakti sage
life & business coach for women
“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”
Support fair trade, earth friendly gift giving at Hippy Grandma: hippy love for generations – earth friendly treasures for your grandbabies, their mamas and you!
I connected with two remarkable women yesterday. No, I can not make the claim to a personal relationship, yet I feel I know them well, through their actions and their words.
Gloria Steinem: Gloria appeared on Oprah yesterday and I was reminded of how she influenced my early twenties, when I subscribed to Ms. and engaged in lively discussions (sometimes debates) about women’s rights with my mostly male friends. I was idealistic, hopeful and absolutely convinced that women would change the world. I remain absolutely convinced that women will change the world, yet am puzzled by the timeline. Seeing Gloria and listening to her words, reconnected me with my passion, committment and intention to participate with so many other women around the planet who are acting for social change.
Severn Cullis-Suzuki: I loved reading the article about Severn in our local paper this morning. Living in Metro Vancouver, it feels like I watched Severn grow up and I like to think that I may have seen her in person many times over the years at Capers or Granville Island or the Folk Festival. Severn jumped onto the world stage in 1992 when she and a group of Vancouver kids traveled to Brazil to attend the UN Earth Summit and she presented her plea to the delegates for them to “save the world”. The video of this speech is still being widely circulated via “youtube”. Now grown and recently married, she is staying true to her roots through developing “roots” and community in Haida Gwaii.
In my opinion, these two women represent courage; integrity and transparency and stand as gently powerful and remarkable role models for women.
I still wear a favorite t-shirt from the Body Shop even though it is raggedy and has quite a few holes. I still wear it for one reason and that is the bold, bright and beautiful quote on the back of the shirt. This quote is by Walt Whitman and reads:
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“Re-examine all you have been told…Dismiss what insults you soulâ€.
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This quote and the other values that Anita Roddick and The Body Shop exemplified have long served as inspirations for my life.Â
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I had the great pleasure of hearing Anita Roddick speak in Vancouver in the late 90’s. She walked on stage, wearing a funky understated outfit and totally captivated the audience of over 2000 women. She modeled her personal values and essence to me by standing fully in her powerful presence. It was clear to me then as it has been in the ensuing years that she “wore her skin wellâ€, that she knew who she was and what she stood for and that this “knowing†informed all of her actions.
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I attempt to live my life and operate my business in the same way; from a sense of knowing who I am; from a foundation of a clear vision and the values of integrity, authenticity, freedom and respect; from understanding that one’s heart and soul need to be nourished through their life and work as well as their work meeting the needs of their clients; from an understanding that one’s uniqueness is an attribute to be brought forward and exalted, not hidden. I love the quote by Anita Roddick’s mother (page 33, “Business As Unusualâ€), “And my mother taught me how important personalities are in business. She made me realize that you can’t be a nondescript person or you will have a nondescript product. Be special she would always say. Be anything but mediocre.â€
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So, my encouragement to you as a woman entrepreneur is to go forward boldly and courageously in your life and business and be special, be anything but mediocre! If you would like to explore these teachings further, join us at the Westin, Whistler BC, October 17-19th, 2008 for “Fire, Ice &Lipstick: THE Business Retreat for Women Entrepreneursâ€. Attend and you can also participate in the Starlight Soiree & Awards Dinner, honouring socially conscious women entrepreneurs who embody the spirit of Anita Roddick in their life and work. For more info click on:
“My vision, my hope is simply this: that many business leaders will come to see a primary role of business as incubators of the human spirit, rather than factories for the production of more material goods and services.†- Anita Roddick, Founder, “The Body Shopâ€
Coffee shops are ubiquitous here in Vancouver. We are after all just 200 km north of the birthplace of Starbucks. The good news among all this caffeine and biscotti is that there is a locally owned and operated coffee company here that is making a huge difference to the local community.