For those of you that missed Oprah’s webcast of A New Earth – Chapter 1 (like me), here it is for download.

I just downloaded it to my iTunes to watch later. I was busy last night helping my daughter put the finishing touches on her Science Fair project! Whew! Thank goodness that project is over… I better get an A — I mean, she better get an A. heheh.

Marcia, a friend and fellow life coach in South Africa, has tagged me to do these lists… How would you answer? … I’d love to know!

8 passions in my life
My two daughters
yoga
surfing and hanging at the beach
travel – pretty much anywhere
cooking and eating Italian food
baking yummy breads and desserts
meaningful conversations
the thrill of a new experience or making a new friend

8 things to do before I die
Live in Europe for at least one year
Write a book that helps millions of people (currently working on it)
Visit Africa and see the gorillas in Rwanda
Spend the Christmas to New Years week in Bruges, Belgium
Learn to fly a small airplane
Sail the South Pacific on a private yacht
Play with my future grandchildren
Leave this world a better place than when I entered it

8 things I often say
Thank you
Be here now
I love you
Be good
I don’t want to know what you do — just what are you passionate about?
I choose to be happy
Stop annoying your sister!
I’ll have a large, half cheese, half pepperoni pizza on original crust…

8 books I read recently
Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
The Alchemist – Paulo Coehlo
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life – Wayne Dyer
The 4 Hour Work Week – Timothy Ferris
Everyday Italian cookbook – Giada De Laurnetiis
Journey Into Power – Baron Baptiste
The 4-Day Win – Martha Beck
A New Earth – Eckart Tolle

8 songs that mean something to me
Wonderwall – Oasis
In Your Eyes – Peter Gabriel
Everything – Alanis Morrisette
Guide Me – Arno Elias
One – U2 and Mary J. Blige
Soar – Christina Aguilera
Feel – Robbie Williams
You’ve Got A Friend – James Taylor

8 qualities I look for in a friend
Honesty
Integrity
Loyalty
Trustworthiness
Playful
Kind
Good communicator
Generous of spirit and spiritual

8 “things” I love (I added this category… I couldn’t fit it all into the 8 passions list!)
my heart-shaped rock collection
shells I have found on beaches all over the world
artwork my daughters create
clean, warm sheets and lots of fluffy blankets on a soft but firm bed
coffee with hazelnut creamer
long, hot baths
funny movies
simple, uncluttered, clean spaces

I was having coffee with my friend, Emily, the other morning and after we chit chatted about the usual — struggles with our kids, what we did for the July 4th holiday, how blazing hot it is in Arizona right now — we finally got to the juicy stuff. By juicy, I mean PASSION, and by passion, I don’t mean X rated. I’m talking about passion for life. Passion is what lights someone up or puts that gleam in their eye and that spring in their step. Passion jolts you out of bed even when you are sleep deprived. When you have passion, you don’t even consider hitting the snooze button.So, across from the table at Starbucks, Emily lowers her voice and whispers to me, “Do you want to know what I can’t get out of my head?” The tone of her voice and the secret smile on her face made me stand up at attention and say, “YES!!!!” I could sense her passion and I couldn’t wait to hear what it was. She tells me she saw the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” and ever since hasn’t been able to rest.

The movie inspired her to want to take some action to make a difference in the environment. She rattled off a few very cool ideas on what she wants to do. She is an elementary school teacher and could do something in her classroom. I encouraged her to start somewhere. It really doesn’t matter what she does, just as long as she begins… and well, Emily started an environmental mom blog. Check it out!

Feeling passionate or attracted to something is a sign to follow that path. Even if it doesn’t always make sense or it doesn’t lead to incredible wealth. What it will give you is a sense of fulfillment and happiness.

Also a benefit to taking action in a cause outside yourself is that is it puts your focus on something bigger than you. Suddenly your problems don’t seem so important. I always notice that my clients overall happiness increases when they are volunteering their time or services to others in need. It is true what they say, “When you give, you always get back more in return.”

Something to think about: What are your PASSIONS and how can you GIVE in that area? Check out this blog article from Monday Morning Power with some great tips on finding your passion.