Best Year Yet

by Cindy Bostick, Certified Best Year Yet Partner

I live in the High Desert area of Southern California, and a few weeks ago I attended a conference in one of my favorite cities, Santa Monica.  I grew up near there and spent many summers at the beach and on the pier. I most effortlessly connect to a place of peace within me when I’m near the ocean ~ no matter what’s going on in the world and in my life.

Thought leader Bill Cummings paints the picture beautifully. He says,

“There is nothing like the sound of the open ocean crashing against the rocky coast…  Listen for a minute and you will hear the rhythm, the pace of the seawater as it hits the shore.  Day in and day out that water comes in and goes out, in cycles as regular as anything on earth.  Two high tides and two low tides each day, predictable years in advance.  At anything but the highest of tides, you can see the tidal marks of the water at last high tide.

There is something so regular, powerful, beautiful about it, that in this one place, I sense the entire ordering of the universe, the incredible gift we’ve been given – life – is impossible to miss in this place. Almost anything can be going wrong, crisis upon crisis and in this place by the ocean, I am, in the midst of chaos at peace.”

Life happens and change is as predictable as the high and low tides, whether it be a job change, illness, debt, a new love, death or ______ ~ you fill in the blank with the hurdle you’re facing.  Know that you have everything you need to prevail, if you know what it is you really want. More later about this, but first I want to share my story.

Two years ago, I made the decision to leave a leadership position I had outgrown with a large real estate company in order to free myself up to focus on two key areas of my life:

• Developing my coaching business, and
• Helping take care of my mother who had Alzheimer’s disease.

I proceeded with a clear sense of purpose, knowing I didn’t want another “job” to go to. Spending more time with my mother was important to me as well as developing an exceptional skill set as a coach. It didn’t matter what the stock market was doing or what the unemployment rate was or what was going on in Europe. I learned to say No in a way that was empowering. Rather than making me feel guilty, I’m now serving others and myself at a higher level. 

Gay Hendricks describes changes like mine in his book, The Big Leap, saying, “Discovering your Zone of Genius is your life’s big leap. Everything up until now has been about hops, not leaps. Hopping, though it seems safe, is actually hazardous to your health. If you confine yourself to hops, you run the risk of rusting from the inside out.”

What I’m learning about making more money in the middle of the recession is this:

Now is the best time to stop, exhale, and examine how you are connecting 

with that which makes your heart sing and your spirit come alive.

As author Michael Neill discusses in his “Effortless Success” CD series, “what’s the biggest WOW you can imagine? Not the logical next step if you followed the path you’re currently on.”

How do you connect to that place of peace inside?  For me, it’s the ocean. My hope is that wherever you are, you become crystal clear about your destination and have the courage to leap to your greatness!

How? The Best Year Yet tool is a perfect place to start. You’re a click away from making the next 12 months your personal best!

All the Best,

Cindy Bostick
Mobile:  760.953.1269
Website: www.cindybostick.com
Email: cindy.bostick@bestyearyet.com

by Cindy Bostick, Certified Best Year Yet Partner

I love this time of the year! As the end of the year approaches, I’m preparing for the annual ritual of taking inventory and planning the next year of my life. I use a brilliant three-step approach from the Best Year Yet system that I like to describe as “face time.”

The first step is to reflect on the past year, specifically what I felt good about accomplishing. The second step is less pleasant because it requires an honest look at the disappointments.  The third step is the most fun because I get to choose what I want to celebrate this time next year!

I’ve discovered working this process provides the fuel I need for the next leg of my journey.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.” ~Steve Jobs

I’m working with a client named Josette, whose inspiring story is one of focus and perseverance.  She has not allowed the “noise” to drown out her inner voice.  In November of this year, she earned a passing grade on her thesis, completing the major piece of a stretch goal she created in 1993 (18 years ago). She started college in the early 1970’s with little direction, and eventually she quit school to pursue full time work, get married, and raise children.

When her two daughters reached elementary school age, she decided to return to college to resume focus on a personal goal.  She wanted to “walk the talk” as a role model to her beautiful daughters about the importance of education and being learning based.

For Josette it was one step at a time, one class at a time, year after year. It was always a challenge with her studies, their homework, and their afterschool activities.  Her struggles exacerbated with divorce after her long marriage, one daughter in college, and one on the way.

The divorce brought the financial challenge of keeping all three of them in school.  But a blessing came when Josette became employed by a company that provided tuition reimbursement.  Josette and her daughters split their tuition costs between student loans and parent plus loans. According to Josette, “I met every obstacle head on because I had but one focus:

Obtain my degree and make sure my daughters obtained theirs.”

Over the course of a few years Josette lost both her grandparents and her dear sweet mother who passed in 2005.  Her mother became her champion and encouraged her regularly to continue her studies.  In one of their last conversations, her mother admonished her, “Don’t quit going to school.”  Her mother knew she had taken off a quarter to spend time with her in her last few months.

During the years of 2005, 2006 and 2007, Josette and her daughters obtained their undergraduate degrees. In early 2012 Josette will earn her Masters degree in Leadership and Management, and she then intends to pursue a Doctorate degree and fulfill a life dream of becoming a university professor.  She wants to help influence young minds to think, to be creative, and to be challenged.

It is Josette’s response to common life events
that is uncommon and remarkable,
as she holds steadfast to her dream.

Several years ago I had a dream of coaching others.  During the past decade, I’ve worked in real estate in both sales and leadership roles, and I have a special passion for these professionals who work tirelessly on the front lines for their clients. So this year I launched my coaching business.

There were times when I wondered if the timing of my new venture was right, given the challenges of my self employed target market. I held fast, determined that Realtors and others needed my services today more than ever.   So I stayed connected with them, I listened to what their needs were, and I provided different mediums of coaching and training (live and online).

In 2011 I introduced 60 new clients to the Best Year Yet Online (BYYO) goal planning and tracking tool, and I’m honored to be coaching groups and individuals. I love what I do, and it feels good to finally be following my heart.

If you’d like to get started on your personal Best Year Yet goals for 2012,
please register today for my special 2 for 1 bonus offering:

https://www.bestyearyet.com/byyo/register.cfm?referral_code=1198f

All the Best,
Cindy Bostick
Mobile:  760.953.1269
Website: www.cindybostick.com
Email: cindy.bostick@bestyearyet.com

by Cindy Bostick, Certified Best Year Yet Partner

Incredibly, the Best Year Yet system works for individuals, non-profits, educators, Fortune 500 firms, executive boards, derailed teams, newly formed teams, and entrepreneurs in every industry. What our top clients all have in common is a fundamental dissatisfaction with their current results and a commitment to experience a positive change over a reasonable period of time.

If you’re open to discovering new ways to get the results you want in your businesses and life and you’re eager to put new lessons into practice, Best Year Yet is for you! You know that real sustainable change doesn’t happen with a quick fix, but rather as a result of a well thought out plan that includes the “A” word. Yes, I’m talking about “accountability,” folks. Please don’t cringe because it IS the game changer.

So, let’s examine a few diverse real life situations that our clients have worked through using the Best Year Yet system:

Her world was turned upside down after the breast cancer surgery. She was filled with fear and felt like her dreams had vanished along with her breasts until she discovered the Best Year Yet Online (BYYO) tool during the post surgery treatment protocol. She accessed the online goal setting tool in the privacy of her home and in one and a half hours, she had created her plan and was re-focused on goals that pointed to an exciting next 12 months. Her mental state transformed from being a victim to thinking about what she wanted to accomplish. During the following year, she made an intentional career change and spent a week in Maui!

A team leader of a large real estate office rolled out a campaign to increase productivity and profitability for both the agent and owner. Morale was down along with home prices. The productivity campaign targeted agents who wanted to earn $100,000 over the following 12-month period. During the very first quarter, 70% of the “$100K club members” generated closed production, 49% opened new escrows, and 40% acquired new listing inventory. The agents used the Best Year Yet system to create their specific production and personal goals. Once the goals were set, weekly and monthly group accountability sessions were scheduled. The positive peer pressure of this group is working and many of are on track to experience a phenomenal year in real estate sales.

One of the most exciting examples of using Best Year Yet occurred in 2001 when an accomplished mountain climber set out to achieve a life long dream of conquering Mount Everest. In addition to the treacherous terrain and unforgiving climate, this climber faced a unique challenge: he was completely blind. He organized a 19 member team of world class climbers to help him achieve this goal. This team worked with a certified Best Year Yet Program Leader to develop a strategy for the daunting journey. After three months, the group achieved their goals and made history in the process. The expedition not only included the first blind climber but also a 64 year old climber who was the oldest man to ever reach the summit in 2001.

Are you seeing the possibilities for yourself and your family right now? How about your organization or your board of directors? Welcome to the power of the Best Year Yet System. Its application is universal and your results are limitless!

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ~ Harriet Tubman

Please click on the link below to register to create your personal Best Year Yet Online (BYYO) plan. This is a 2-for-1 bonus offer and includes a free coaching call with me to fine tune your plan.

https://www.bestyearyet.com/byyo/register.cfm?referral_code=1198f

by Cindy Bostick

Like millions of viewers, I was curious about the theme of Oprah’s farewell show. After 25 years, what more could she talk about that we hadn’t already heard? I wondered. Well, she got right to the point and spoke about the power and responsibility that we have to add value to others in terms of our talents and our energy. She said to her audience, “Carry what you’re supposed to be doing forward.” A perfect final message…

I call it Personal Responsibility (PR) and it starts with you. It’s an inside job and unless you’re committed to developing yourself to the next level, you could be robbing your loved ones, your business, your community, and the world of your influence.

Social experts tell us that the most introverted individual will influence 10,000 people in their lifetime. This is an amazing statistic! John Maxwell actually describes leadership as influence. I like this definition because it drives home the point that everyone influences someone else. Adolf Hitler was a leader and so were David Koresh and Jim Jones. Martin Luther King, Jr., Winston Churchill, and John F. Kennedy were also leaders. Each of these men had followers who believed and trusted in them.

Events influence us as well. I’ll bet you can recall exactly where you were and what you were doing when you learned about the planes crashing into the twin towers on September 11, 2001. My husband and I were in Los Gatos, California scheduled to fly out of the San Jose airport on September 11. Instead, we rented a car and drove home in a state of shock on that tragic day. Where were you?

We influence others and we are influenced by others and too often, we aren’t even aware of it. Several months ago in a Best Year Yet workshop, I met Karen (not her real name), a woman who looked frightened and apprehensive as I described the process she and the others would go through that morning. Individually, this group would answer 10 questions that would result in a personal one page plan or blue print describing results they wanted to achieve in the next 12 months. Karen later told me this workshop event changed her life. She never experienced the kind of love and nurturing she deserved as a child; therefore, her adult life included making poor decisions in her relationships. Karen was carrying a lot of baggage.

Today, it warms my heart to be around Karen and watch her interact with others. We live in the same community and attend some of the same local events. She is a different person. She easily smiles and connects with others. I watched her literally transition from a caterpillar to a butterfly.

Karen shared that her biggest ‘Aha!’ from the Best Year Yet workshop was in learning that she is the one in control of her destiny and that her past doesn’t dictate her future story. Karen has gotten out of an abusive relationship and she loves her newfound freedom and power. And, guess what . . . her ability to develop herself to a higher level is causing ripples, affecting those in her life in a positive manner. What a great Personal Responsibility (PR) story!

Imagine in your mind the picture of a wheel. The center is the source of movement and unless the hub of a wheel speeds up, there is little change on the outside. Every change at the center affects what happens at the outer layers and the effect of even a small amount of effort at the center brings about great change and beyond.

What about you? Every time you learn to listen in a new way, the quality of your communication improves. Every time you remember your plan and the different results you want in your life – and you match your actions to those plans, there is transformation. What you do matters. You aren’t invisible. What you say is heard and repeated. You are in a position to influence in positive ways as never before in your life. How will you develop your PR?

“I am done with great things and big plans, great institutions and big success. I am for those tiny, invisible loving human forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or the capillary oozing of water, which if given time, will rend the hardest monuments of human pride.”
~ William James~