Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change. - Wayne Dyer

Dear Friend:

Some people are experiencing a lot of frustration and despair right now. Others are enjoying riding the waves of new opportunity and unlimited possibility.

And most of us—feeling ever so hopeful about 2010—are dancing with both.

A long-time client, Ellie, is really struggling. At the end of 2008, she left a high-paying, high-stress corporate training position, cashed out her 401K to fund a new business, and due to sluggish sales, bad luck and poor timing, she is facing a possible home foreclosure.

And, over the past year, she’s also never felt more alive, more hopeful about her future and more excited about the possibilities she envisions down the road.

Ellie, along with millions of other Americans, is experiencing what is called polarity. And, they’re asking, “How is it possible to live with these extremes?” (Read my recent popular blog post on this theme.)

The concept of living with polarity is not new (from as far back as we can remember, we’ve been fascinated with the balance between light and dark, birth and death, love and hatred—polarity is everywhere).

Debra Wilton Kennedy with Polarity Pathways believes the polarity path—creating consciously from wholeness—is the key to unleashing enormous untapped potential.

If we are able to hold opposite feelings and experiences: frustrations—that are very real—and our highest aspirations, we open ourselves up to a vast unknown of possibility. What I like to call, the great wide open (read more).

I encourage you to pause and be open to the unwrapped gifts you might be ignoring. Pull up two chairs and invite the extremes you’re experiencing to tea! What would they share? As you consider this theory, you might ask yourself:

• What are the current polarities in my life/career/relationships?
  
  
• Which end of the spectrum do I tend to gravitate towards (continuously hopeful/optimistic or chronically negative and discouraging)?
  
  
• Am I comfortable holding these extremes in the same space or do I want them at opposite ends of the building?!
  
  
• If I were to describe this dance (of extremes) would it be a Texas two-step, a foxtrot, the jitterbug, a waltz or Michael Jackson’s Thriller?
  
  
• What opportunities might come forth from “being” with both extremes (i.e. shifts, new perspectives, ideas, etc.)?

As you examine areas of your life where polarities exist, consider what brilliant breakthroughs might be awaiting you if you’re willing to not just live with, but embrace these extremes.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you come into balance around this theme at info@reneetrudeau.com or on the Live Inside Out community page.

And, I hope you can join at me one of my upcoming spring events so we can continue this dialogue. Warmly—Renee

If I am to let my life speak things I want to hear, things I would gladly tell others, I must also let it speak things I do not want to hear and would never tell anyone else. My life is not only about my strengths and virtues, it is also about my liabilities and my limits, my trespasses and my shadow. An inevitable though often ignored dimension of the quest for ‘wholeness’ is that we must embrace what we dislike or find shameful about ourselves as well as what we are confident and proud of. – Social change author/activist Parker Palmer

Upcoming Events and Training:

• February 1-23    PRG Online Facilitator Training www.reneetrudeau.com  Lead self-renewal life coaching groups around "The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal".  www.reneetrudeau.com/facilitator
  
  
• February 18   7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Texas Self-Renewal Party with Renee Trudeau, Austin, TX. Hosted by Rhonda McMahon. Email rmcmahon@austin.rr.com; enjoy a Mom’s Night Out with a message and Miles of Chocolate. Cost: FREE.
  
  
• February 23    7:30 - 8:30 p.m. (CST) FREE Live Inside Out class via telephone with Renee Trudeau. Topic: Good is Good Enough: Releasing Perfectionism. Join author/life coach Renee Trudeau and women from around the world in a "virtual living room" as we explore how to live life from the inside-out. Register and receive details here.
  

• March 5   9:00 a.m. - Noon   The Empowered Entrepreneur with Renee Trudeau.  Learn to work less, make more and be the master—not the slave—of your business. Space is very limited.
  
  
• March 26    9:00 a.m-3:00 p.m. Refresh & Renew Mini Self-Care Retreat with Renee Trudeau at The Crossings Spa and Resort; cost: $175. A perfect Valentine’s, Birthday or Mother’s Day gift to give or receive. View the flyer here. Make a date with yourself today!
  
  
  
• April 10   9:30 a.m. - Noon
  The Career Strategy Workshop: Find a Fit, Create a Plan, Love Your Work at St Edwards University. A small, dynamic group-coaching workshop focused on helping you strategically map out your next steps and find work that is a “fit” for you. **BONUS** register by March 15 and receive a free DIY Job Search Toolkit (a $99 value). Class size is limited. CLICK HERE to register online. Contact info@careerstrategists.net for more information.
  
  
• April 23-25  Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance: A Woman’s Self-Renewal Retreat.  Join us for an amazing weekend designed to nurture and nourish your body, mind and soul at The Crossings Spa & Resort. Led by Renee Trudeau. Ideal for women in career/life transition. Commuter options available. Download flyer here. Details/register here.
  
  
• August 13-15   Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance: Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance (with Renee Trudeau). Kripalu Retreat Center - Lennox, MA (The Berkshires). Click here for details and to register.
  
  
• Are you a coach, parent educator, birthing professional, counselor or women's empowerment advocate who wants to grow their business and loves helping women nurture their emotional well-being? Learn more about becoming a PRG Facilitator and join an international community of leaders who are changing women's lives through powerful life coaching groups centered around The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal.
  
  
• Did you know Renee travels around the world speaking to corporations, organizations and at national conferences on life balance, self-renewal (and other related topics)? Learn more about having Renee speak at your next event, workshops or conference. We're scheduling 2010 events now.
  
  
• Visit our online calendar to learn about upcoming self-renewal retreats and events.