My SPARK Blog
Here I’ll share my life experiences as I explore strengths in myself and others, and what lights me up. My intention is to inspire you by sharing stories that hopefully will inspire and connect you to new possibilities, or if nothing else a different point of view. I’ll share the tools that I use to continually SIMPLIFY. BE. CREATE. an ever-evolving life that is fun, with full self-expression and kindness inside + out.
The POV’s expressed on this site are mine, inspired my interpretations and/or experiences of the CliftonStrengths® Signature Themes, Access Consciousness® tools, teachings of Jennifer Butler Living Colors, and life in general. Click on the links for more information.
Enjoy reading the blogs and contact me for any blog post suggestions that you would like to see in the future, or connect via social media below 🙂
Banner photo by: www.inherimagephoto.com
CliftonStrengths®: Achiever® – Getting stuff done
CliftonStrengths® defines the theme of Achiever® as “Work hard and possess a great deal of stamina. You take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive. You thrive on completion One symbol for this theme is the to-do list, you love having a list of to do’s,...
CliftonStrengths® 34 Talent Themes – What does it mean?
The 34 Talent themes One of the many things that I love about the 34 talents is that it tells you a story of how you’re uniquely wired, much like your DNA. What I have found is that transformational work doesn’t impact these talents. That’s pretty profound. So, even...
CliftonStrengths®: Input® – The Collector
You collect stuff for a rainy day CliftonStrengths® defines people with Input® as “have a need to collect and archive. You may accumulate information, ideas, artifacts or even relationships.” This is a “collectors theme”. Saving things for a rainy day, items that can...
CliftonStrengths®: Empathy® – Are you feeling it all?
You're feeling it, all of it.There's no hiding from the emotions of other living things whether it's people, animals, trees and plants. All of it has a consciousness and at times that can become too much to handle.Have people called you overly sensitive? Do you hear...
CliftonStrengths®: Arranger® – What are you organizing?
CliftonStrengths® defines the Arranger® talent theme as people who “can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to determine how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.” The conductor This...
CliftonStrengths®: Ideation® – The lightbulb theme
CliftonStrengths® defines the Ideation® theme as being “fascinated with ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.” You love to brainstorm This theme kind of speaks for itself 🙂 You will ask questions and throw out ideas,...
CliftonStrengths®: Responsibility® – Can people count on you?
CliftonStrengths® defines this theme as “taking psychological ownership of what they say they will do, they are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.” You say yes, or avoid it Yeah, you’re the one that says yes and takes on whatever that is until...
CliftonStrengths®: Relator® – Going deep
CliftonStrengths® defines Relator® as “enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.”You thrive when you “connect deeply with the right people to gain friends for life. “You careI love to dive deep...
CliftonStrengths®: Adaptability® – Going with the flow
Gallup® defines Adaptability® as “prefer to go with the flow. They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.” Adaptability® is about being urgent, current, present, responsive, in touch and calm. It could be a...
CliftonStrengths®: Self-Assurance® – The built-in compass
Following your instincts Do you follow and trust your inner guidance, gut, instincts? I remember how I, as a kid, was the one in front guiding the family safely back to the hotel when traveling to new cities. I just knew where to go despite never having been there...
Your story: 3 simple ways to finally create it.
When someone asks, “What’s your story?” You blank out. At least I did. It had me twisted for years after excavating every cell of my body and still not being clear on the missing piece. The problem was that I was focusing on the missing piece. I was trying hard to get...
Are you looking for productivity apps that will free up your time?
In recent months I've been recommended some really cool free sites that will make any business owner a happy camper. EMAIL OVERWHELM? Are you like me in that you get way too many emails? Adding to that you may have multiple emails and that's when it's easy to...
What are you focusing on?
Are you focusing on what makes you feel great or do you focus on circumstances that are not? Are you using the talents that come easy for you and take actions aligned with that? What if life could be created with ease by simply focusing on what makes you feel great?...
What narrative are you buying?
I listened to a podcast the other week that reminded me of the concept of narratives aka "what are you focusing on?" In this case, the topic was around news and how many choose the negativity that much of the news today is focusing on. The choice to focus on the...
Guest on the Strengths Activation Show
I had so much fun being on the Strengths Activation Show today. Click below to listen, I'm on around the 30-minute mark and you'll enjoy listening to Dryia Houston Taylor too who kicked off the guest portion. Thanks to Rhonda Boyle Knight and Jason Baffrey. CLICK...
What’s your life purpose and what do you do?
... is a question that had me twisted for years, looking for "it" without being able to verbalize the energy of what the "it" was. And yes, while having fun has definitely been a core "purpose" in life for me, what if you can't connect to what fun would be...
Guest on Unchained with Becky
Earlier this summer I was invited to be a guest on my friend Becky's show "Unchained with Becky" on A2zen.fm (now called "Inspired Choice Network"). The topic of the day was about having more fun, in other words, "Stop being so darned serious". Wow, has this been an...
A 4th of July book launch!
Happy 4th of July! I am celebrating the launch of my second book today with a topic close to my heart - The Energy of Play! Will you check it out? Click on the link below for available purchase options. I wonder how much fun this book will contribute to our readers? 🙂...
How To Fascinate and Create Your Unique Tagline
Have you ever wondered why people are drawn to you? What makes you special? If there was a way for you to communicate that in two words, would you? I just finished reading the book How to Fascinate by Sally Hogshead and from that, I created what's referred to as your...
Guest on the Erica Glessing Show
Last week I was a guest on The Erica Glessing Show and had a fun chat with Erica Glessing on her podcast show. We had so much fun and one thing that got created out of this call was an invitation to write a chapter in a new book, which I accepted, that is being...
Empowerment and inner fulfillment
To me, having inner fulfillment is something I prioritize every day. I generally wake up happy feeling peaceful inside, something I tend to take for granted until something happens that I can't shake. I've learned over the years that it's often not mine, simply me...
The space of inspired action – why would you take inspired action?
Do you take inspired action? If not, what is stopping you? What does inspired action mean to you? To me it's all about following my inner guidance, you know that inner knowing that has you say "yes" to exploring further. I'm a person who loves to learn new things, all...
Cha Cha Change!
Do you have those moments/periods in your life when you have a strong awareness of being in the midst of a big shift? Cha Cha Change? I'm in one of those periods, possibilities are showing up out of the blue and I'm just following the energy and choosing more of...
The choices you make
Do you have the ability to laugh at yourself and the choices you make? See the humor and ultimately have gratitude for the experience and new awarenesses? I recently closed a chapter of what at times occurred as an interesting 24/7 boot camp experience. It was one of...
How are you communicating?
Have you ever stopped long enough to look at how you communicate and how it is received on the other end? The words you speak AND the energy which you deliver your communication? Do you ask the people you are in dialogue with questions? Are you interested in hearing...
Humility, what is that?
What does humility and being humble really look like in your world and how do you express it? Is there a specific way of being that automatically has you be seen as humble? And if you are including your needs into the equation does that mean that you are not humble?...
What does it mean to be in allowance?
Being in allowance is an interesting space to be in as it’s ever-changing. It is at times mistaken for not caring, taking action or having any opinions which is not necessarily the case. And it includes the allowance of/for you! As I have explored, on the journey...
Gratitude and more
The power of gratitude never seizes to amaze me. From one moment to the next you can shift the focus of an apparent judgment by simply asking "what can I be grateful for right now?". And other times while it's an easy action you still go down the rabbit hole feeling...
Spontaneity and waiting games
Having always had a bit of a spontaneous person I gained the awareness early on that if a possibility in front of me seemed fun and I jumped on it, it tended to be a great choice for me and when I was wishy-washy it really didn't work for me. While it was easy to say...
The gift of asking questions
Today I am so present to how important it is to ask questions and how easily we can go into conclusion when we don’t. One of the gifts of the friendships I have experienced so far is all the new realities I get exposed to as I get to explore who each person is. And as...
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Cover Photo By: www.inherimagephoto.com