Shortly after I returned, I was chosen to receive the keynote of the year award from the National Speaker’s Association of Australia – even though I had not been here speaking for all that time! How blessed was I! And then – all unbeknownst to me – I appeared in The Speaker Magazine in the USA as one of the HOT 25 speakers around the globe – I liked the ‘hot’ idea – I am nothing like ‘hot’ so it really was treat!! LOL!

But wait, there’s more! Not only that but again as a surprise, I find out the I am awarded the CPAE – basically inducted into the Speaker hall of Fame – and Lisa McKinnes Smith is the only other person outside the USA to ever receive it – she is a wonderful speaker and good friend of mine! This is recognition from your peers and they vote on it!

So you can see why it has been a humbling year! But I am saying this not to brag but to thank you all for my awards! Without you, none of them would have been possible! If I had not had the fabulous support of audiences willing to participate and laugh and have fun and tell others what they learned, I would never have been given those awards.

So these are for you! for all the people who have supported me – audiences members, bureaus, clients, meeting planners , the fabulous people who worked with me (Especially Somer, and Julianna and Holli and Jenny and Michelle and Cassie and Vince and Michelle – I could go on for hours! ) Without you folks reading this, I would be sitting in empty rooms talking to myself!!! hahahah

So if you are interested in reading about some of ‘our’ awards , the article is posted HERE on www.thegospelofjoy.com!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!

I AM SENDING YOU ZOOTIES AND A HUG!

Imagine what life would be like if we actually found customer service people who had compassion for our suffering. I know the best experiences I have had are when I feel someone genuinely does care that I am frustrated, upset or disappointed, rather than the toneless, insincere “I am sorry you have these problems.”

Compassion transforms customer service.

Imagine too what life would you like if you had compassion for your colleagues—even if prior to now, you have judged them idiots. Give them some grace!

People may be confused, stressed, overloaded, have a difficult situation at home, not be trained well or have a hundred other reasons for not performing the way you think they should. Compassion can transform your relationships with colleagues.

The best bosses I have ever had are those that really showed me compassion. They knew I had plenty of areas where I needed growth, but they still believed in me. They treated me with understanding and compassion when I made mistakes, and they worked with me to help me learn, and supported me. I felt good about myself around them. If you are a boss—do you think the people that you lead feel the way I did? Compassion transforms leadership.

Maybe your life would change if you viewed everyone at work through a compassionate heart and treated them that way! Maybe they would miraculously turn into great colleagues and bosses and they would wonder what kind of personality transplant you had undergone!

Your mission this day is to be compassionate with everyone at work:

• Be selfless—focus outward and not towards yourself; sincerely offer to help people; be understanding; if you see someone stressed and rushed, find a way to help them.

• Be gracious—pass God’s grace onto as many people as you can. Be patient, kind, tolerant, forgive them, give them the benefit of the doubt, and just be kind!

• Try your best to unconditionally love (or accept) them as they are.

• Be tender with them. See them through tender eyes. Be kind again! And again! And always be gentle with them—and yourself.

Ugluu is a group blog founded and moderated by Guy Harris and Kare Anderson. It is based on, built on and focused on collaboration and creating mutual value for and with other people.

Our mission is to enable people to live more meaningful, high-performing and joyful lives by practicing proven, practical ways to attract and deepen positive, productive and authentic relationships. Through extraordinary experts, Ugluu will cover questions such as:

* How can every interaction become an opportunity to enjoy life with
others?
* How can we overcome or even sidestep conflict?
* How can we cooperate, collaborate or partner to create something
greater than we can on our own?
* What are the ways we can best support our friends, family or
strangers who may become friends?
* How can we get the support we need?
* How can we become valued opportunity makers with and for others?
* How can we create turning points to the next chapter of your life
to create the kind of adventure story you truly seek to live with
others

GREAT NEWS! The web store ( http://www.amandagore.com/easycart/productsnew.asp ) is now open at last! And it should be working properly – please email me on magic@amandagore.com if you have any issues. Happy shopping – if you have any suggestions please let me know!

Zooties to you all

Amanda

In the bottom of the old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their group ever came back after crawling up the stems of the lilies to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings, In vain, he tried to keep his promise.
Flying back and forth over the pond , he peered down at his friends below. The he realized that even if they could see him, they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.

The fact that we cannot see our loved ones or communicate with them, after the transformation which we call death, is no proof that they cease to exist.

Walter Dudley Cavert, Remember Now, 1944, 1971

The other day, a good friend of mine called to say her mother had just died – and I really knew how she felt as my mother died 3 years ago. Many of you were wonderfully supportive, generous and kind at the time (and still are!) – bless you and thank you! One person had sent me something that really touched my heart and I remembered it after Jackie called me.

So off I went searching through the contents of the 300 boxes we have unpacked to find what I knew I had seen somewhere, sometime in the last 2 months! At last I found the envelopes I had been looking for.

These envelopes include a card depicting dragonflies in various environments and colors, a copy of Mr Caverts story and a small dragonfly keychain. It is a remarkable project begun by an 11 year old girl, who is now 17, called Anne Marquardt Brooker. She lives in Minneapolis and has an official website – www.dragonflyproject.org.

When an 11 year old friend of hers died some years ago, Anne sent the family the dragonfly story and was so inspired at how much help it gave them, she founded this volunteer run organization. I would like to meet that young woman!

You can go to the site and give a donation for some cards to be sent to you – or just ask for some of the cards. You can ask for them to send someone a card for you.

I wanted you all the know about this project as I think it is one of the most beautiful, hope filled and comforting gestures that we could offer someone who has just had the loss of the physical form of a loved one.

For all of you who have ‘lost’ someone you love, look for them! Perhaps if you think like Mr Calvert, if you believe that they are with you in some spiritual way- a way that we cannot see with our eyes but we can see with our hearts or sense with other organs – then amazing things will happen.

When Ken and I moved back to Australia and were setting up home, we found a stone wall hanging tablet thing (sorry don’t know what to call it!) that we had to buy. It had a sparkly butterfly on it (Mum loved sparkles!!) with the word HOPE written under it. Most of you know my story about Mum and butterflies. For those who don’t – forgive me those who do! – at my Mum’s wake, we were 2 stories up and a gorgeous turquoise butterfly flew by (Mum’s favorite color was turquoise). It was the strangest thing – but I just KNEW it was Mum!

At the time, she sent me an amazing array of turquoise creatures – including dragon flies! And all the time I just knew it was her! It was very strange but comforting.

Butterflies would hover around my head and sometimes land on my shoulder after that time. When we sit in our little back garden at home, a butterfly will fly by- always! I could be inside for hours looking out and not spotting a butterfly and as soon as we are outside, one would float by.

Well, the day we put the stone tablet on a wall outside, we were sitting down and within 3 or 4 minutes, this gorgeous butterfly landed right on the sparkling butterfly and stayed there for at least a  minute! Amazing. But then all things spiritual are amazing!

So I say we can ‘communicate’with those who have transformed! We just need to put on special ears and eyes! Send them love and gratitude for all they did for you, and look to see how they are trying to connect with you.

If my Mum has anything to do with it, you will soon be seeing sparkling butterflies all over the place and get goosebumps when you do!!

LOL – laugh, love and live out loud!

Zoot-Zoot!

Amanda