Hello All –

Summer is here -- what do you have on tap? Nothing? That could be the perfect thing if you're one of those people who overbooks. Lots of somethings? That could be ideal if you've been wasting yourself in front of the TV. Not sure how productive you want to be this summer? Contact me for a consultation and let's find creative yet relaxing ways to effect meaningful change.

Please scroll down for this month's message.

One of the most central concepts I try to instill in my life coaching clients is openness to just about everything. Just because you have a job doesn't mean you can't be open to an idea for a new one, even if it feels like a "step down." Just because the timing feels a little off when a potential relationship comes along doesn't mean you can't be open to its possibilities. You get the idea.

Perhaps it was an attempt to practice what I preach that made me so open when last week I received an anonymous gift in the mail – a book called Having It All. Below are some inspiring – if a bit cliched – quotes from the book. See if you can guess who wrote it.

The biggest secret to having it all is understanding it's simply a state of mind.

You have to be a risk taker to have it all, and nobody wins every battle. The trick is to learn from mistakes, move on.

If your conscience cries out, stop in your tracks. Listen carefully to your inner voice. Find out what's wrong. Don't make another move until you figure out which principle of right thinking you're violating, and fix it.

The intimacy, tenderness, and love we yearn for is there, within ourselves, in our own hearts. It's the gift that keeps on giving. All we have to do is allow it free expression.

Never pass up a chance to be kind for no reason.

Don't resist change. Change is opportunity.

Here's the twist. The book was written by Erica Kane, the fictional All My Children character played by Susan Lucci. Truth be told, I thought it so absurd to actually read this book that when I finally decided to do so I made sure to hide the cover when I opened it on the subway. But the person who sent it to me must have suspected curiosity would get the best of me and that I would devour it just as readily as I would a literary or spiritual classic.

The book is written from Ms. Kane's viewpoint and sometimes, frankly, she sounds downright nutty. But if you read between the excess, you find this character is a wonderful creation who has something to say. In fact, I'd go so far as to say if a minister used these same words in the context of a sermon, they'd be perceived as meaningful, purposeful, even beautiful.

I remain stymied about who my gift giver is. But the message is crystal clear. Be open to opportunity, inspiration, guidance, love from all sources. An ad on the side of a bus might spark something meaningful. Listening to Alanis Morissette could be just the juice you need to replenish your creative fire. A job answering phones could be your ticket to a whole new fantastic experience.

Try it on for size.