www.cathyelliss.com

The Gift of Work

Cathy Elliss — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:29:28 +0000

What is the value of work?

I see work as an absolutely wonderful gift.

The gifts of work are limitless. Recently I surveyed a group of colleagues and students, mostly aged between 18 – 22, with a few older up to 40 and 50 years old.

Responses included:

Understanding the time and effort traded for the particular item so the value of money
Understanding over time that it is better to receive a higher amount per hour for less effort and this usually requires the sacrifice of further education
Coming to understand the parents sacrifice and point of view
Learn skills
Increase self-esteem
Sense of achievement
Prepare you for later in life
Learn how to handle and mishandle money (use or abuse)
Opportunity to earn own money so can give gifts to others
Time management such as being punctual or getting the sack! Working to a deadline
Doing things you don’t want to do
Taking responsibility
Being able to buy yourself rewards

The above is from the Notes from Interview on Financial Intelligence on ABC Radio, Goldfields, Western Australia – Part 2 of 2

With Lisa Van Oyen, Saturday 16 July 2011, 7.15am

for Part 1 CLICK TO FIND OUT What is Financial Intelligence?

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Examples from a recent session

Some trendy 20 year olds had on some nice jackets, you know the padded ones with fur trim. We had just done an activity where we heard that in Australia the hourly rate for teens for part-time work is between $8 – $10. I gave a price to their jackets and asked “How many hours would you need to work to buy this jacket?” Someone yelled out 10 (which by the way was not correct made the point even better!) So I asked the students “Is this jacket worth 10 hours of work?” The class were shocked and there was a resounding “No.”

I have been relief teaching to help support my passions of writing, blogging, speaking and coaching. As most of my students are supported financially by their parents I have them consider how many hours their parents needed to work to pay for their further education.

Each session I hold ends with a time of reflection and review. Participants are asked to reflect using the following patterns:

“Today, I liked…”

“Today, I learned…”

“Today, I am grateful for…”

Following the above mentioned session, some reflections were:

“Today, I learned to be be grateful to my parents for the sacrifice they made for me.”

“Today, I am grateful to my teachers and the managers, who gave me more chances to change my attitude from a lazy, bad student to a good student.”

“Today, I liked to understand how I have been selfish and how I can change that to consider others.”

… and people wonder why I do what I do, that’s easy. For people to change their lives they need to change their mindset. I am fascinated with why we think what we think and also how we can change what is not working for us.

“To make a difference in the world, it is by making a difference in one person’s life so they can then make a difference in another person’s life.”

~ Cathy Elliss~

Your thoughts?

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Cathy is available to speak or run workshops with small and large groups on a variety of topics. Particular passions of hers include: Financial Intelligence; Emotional Intelligence; Relationship Skills; Personal Leadership; and Study Skills. Although she does do some pro bono work, she is a professional and part of her commitment to integrity and teaching Financial Intelligence is to be paid for her services. Email her at cathy@cathyelliss.com

What is Financial Intelligence?

Cathy Elliss — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 23:56:27 +0000

Financial Intelligence is being number smart and acknowledging that those numbers have a monetary value. Basically it is about how to make money, keep money and grow money.

According to Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame, Financial Intelligence is 10 % technical skills and 90% Emotional Intelligence.

Why should this interest you?

As we get older we know that we must look after ourselves ie we cannot expect our families or government to pay our bills. So by learning basic principles we can look after our future. Eg In the classic book ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’, we hear about the golden slaves, and those slaves having their children and grandchildren for us. In modern terms that is compound interest. Even low interest rates allows our money deposited in banks to grow, and that compound interest is added to the principal, so the growth is exponential.

Then there is active income versus passive income. Most of us either work for others as an employee or have our own small business where we are self-employed and we trade time for money. This could be as a brickies labourer or a doctor. Our time is limited so our income is limited. The goal that better benefits us is passive income where rather than working for money, our money works for us. This is most commonly investing in property or shares.

Is there an age you believe is good to start learning about money?

I have come to believe it is never too early to learn about money. Eg Recently I was visiting a girlfriend and her six year old daughter had helped her mum grow some plants. She had a small stall selling these plants. We had a play at her shop and agreed on a price. I then gave her pretend money as is usual when playing games with small children. She got upset then her mother explained that she really does sell them. Her mum negotiated a new price, equivalent of $1, and we were both happy with the sale. Initially I had been shocked but then I thought “Why not?”

Another example could be children or teens designing their own rewards system in the home. Household chores can be exchanged for tokens which equal whatever the desired currency. Eg cleaning the toilet + doing the dishes every night for a week = 1 special stationary item, or a certain number of hours playing the chosen game. Again teaching children and teens the concept of trading time and effort for rewards.

These questions and answers form the Notes from the interview on ABC Radio, Goldfields Western Australia – Part 1

With Lisa Van Oyen, Saturday 16 July 2011, 7.15am

CLICK HERE for the next post – Gift of Work which is Part 2

Your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? Start a conversation on this important topic by commenting below.

NEWSFLASH: Cost of Dating Ebook, Revised Edition Now Available

Cathy Elliss — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:23:42 +0000

The Cost of Dating includes physical, mental, emotional, financial and even spiritual costs. These costs CAN be converted to investments, just by changing your mind. No longer do you need to carry this baggage with you, especially not into your next relationship. Even if you are married, there is hope, you CAN Save Your Marriage. Keep reading below for WIIFY – What’s In It For YOU!

The original edition of ‘Cost of Dating: The Real Cost and How To Turn those Costs into Investments’ was released in January 2011. Although the response was quite good, I wanted more. So over the last couple of months, in demonstration of my commitment to provide my best value to you guys, I have been seeking feedback from clients on this, my second book on Dating Mindset. This has culminated in the release of the revised 2nd edition of my second book, TO FIND OUT MORE CLICK THE LINK BELOW

***‘Cost of Dating: The Real Cost and How To Turn Those Costs into Investments‘.****

click the image to find out more

So in response to your overwhelming support and valued feedback, new additions have been included. Testimonials for the original version have been…

“I love it. I had never thought about the various costs of dating and relationships before physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I want more strategies so I do not repeat the same mistakes.”

“I really enjoyed it. I now understand more about my own role in the breakdown of my marriage. I just want even more inspirational stories.”

“Is it in Indonesian? Why not? When will it be. I have so many friends who will want to read this.”

“I really liked it but there is not much of God in this one. I want to know that it is possible for me to find love too.”

“Is it just for Christians or can anyone read it? I think it should be for everyone.”

“You write really well. I felt like we were chatting over coffee. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

These testimonials have been collected from around the globe, from clients and friends in Indonesia, Australia, America, the Philippines, plus they are from both women AND men!

So in addition to the original benefits of:

learn how to express your emotions, even anger and sadness, in healthy ways;
be inspired by stories and advice from the experience of others;
learn strategies how to upgrade your thinking;

tweak your dating expectations to set yourself up for success; and
steps on how to succeed in your desired relationship and
recommendations on where to gain further information;

Added value includes:

7 Secrets to Love

Plus

… the new theme of restoration of relationships has been woven through. When we mature in life and love, we understand that all relationships, particularly marriages, are hard work. Restoration of broken relationships is possible. If you want to save your marriage, CLICK HERE TO READ THIS BOOK!

Sneak peak of original introduction via youtube.

Are You a Winner?

Cathy Elliss — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 08:15:20 +0000

Yesterday I checked the Lotto ticket I was given for my birthday, the lady ran it through the lottery machine and said “You are not a winner.” I replied with a big smile, “I am always a winner.”

This got me thinking, who did win the recent Brian Tracey blog competition? I checked, it wasn’t me, however never one to let a blog article go to waste, here is my entry….

How to Win What Could Be the Blogging Opportunity of Your Life.

1 Name drop???? Hmmmm – don’t think so.
2 Write something amazing, divinely inspired? But what if God didn’t show up today?
Then I am left with me.

As with many other bloggers, my early journey was fulfilling on a creative level, at least to me. I wrote about topics that I love – all personal development. I shared wisdom from some of the biggest names in the business. Being a fan of gurus like Brian Tracey, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Antony Robbin, Rick Warren, and John Gray, quotes were included.

As I was on my own journey of becoming the best me I could possibly be, I spent much of the last few of years undertaking courses, attending seminars and being coached. What I found as I went on was that I remembered many different ways I had learned or taught various techniques such as the life wheel or goal setting. I gained confidence that what I was paying others thousands of dollars for, I had already been teaching these strategies, at times in a variety of different ways for decades. No, I am not that old – I just started young! In fact my first paid job outside my family, was when I was 12 years old, my first management job was when I was 18 years old, my first business was 13 years old.

So why was I not already as successful as I would like for this point in time?
Mindset was becoming bigger and bigger. I will always remember Jim Rohn reminding us of the cartoon many of us grew up with, where there was a little devil and a little angel on each shoulder whispering to us. Others call this the Encourager and the Inner Critic. Plus most of us have people in our lives who are dream stealers. For example, when I finally published my first book, ‘Find True Love’, one of the people closest to me said “No-one will ever read that.” Fortunately by this stage, I knew enough to know that this would only be true if I did not give others the opportunity to read it!

This particular book is given away for free in ebook version as I believe in the message. To find true love, we need to first love ourselves, personally I also believe that getting right with God is a major key, we also need to acknowledge where we are at, work out what we want, then create a plan to get there and go for it!

As a blogger, whether as a hobby or business, we need to be passionate. Sometimes it feels the world is quiet. At other times, encouragement comes in from iphones, blackberries, and email almost daily. So we need to have the bigger purpose to keep going and maintain the vision.

So what else am I passionate about?

I am also working a series of Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress. Blog posts have been published from survivors sharing not only their experiences but also their wisdom on how they were able to overcome PTSD. James Greenshields is a coach who specialises in helping former soldiers, following his trauma of being blown up in Iraq. Frances Byrne and her family survived the Boxing Day tsunami while on holiday in Phuket, Thailand. Then there is my own story of surviving living in Dili, East Timor, in the early days of it’s independence. One needs only to read any newspaper, turn on the television or the internet to see that daily there are thousands more who are undergoing trauma. So the need for this service is unfortunately skyrocketing.

My favourite type of story to read are autobiographies about normal people, their experiences and how they overcame obstacles to succeed in life. God blessed us with the opportunity to be overcomers. I choose to thrive, not just survive. These days I am over being adequate, average and being comfortable. I choose to step out and help others, to step up and be counted.

Will you?
Wishing you love, peace and joy.

Cathy J

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Why is it so important?

Cathy Elliss — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:54:59 +0000

By investigating this issue with a positive, solution focussed approach, the goal is to bring hope to those still suffering from the nightmares and debilitating effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Have you watched the news lately??? There are more and more people in disaster zones, undergoing horrific scenarios. These people not only suffer the physical effects and emotional results of guilt from having survived when so many others have died, but also the ongoing psychological effects which can affect people decades after the trauma.

Just this year in Perth, Western Australia, apparently the most isolated city in the world, we have been affected in the first part of 2011 (at least indirectly) by

For some unlucky residents – they have been waiting a year for repairs from the hail storm on 22 March 20110, which was reportedly the worst/most expensive natural disaster to ever hit the city. This summer December 2010 – to May 2011 (yes, it didn’t stop as scheduled on 31 March 2011), was the hottest, driest on record causing or fuelling many fires.

Indirectly, we have all been affected by the horror stories coming out Christchurch, New Zealand with the seemingly never-ending earthquake and aftershocks, the earthquake, tsunamis and nuclear disasters from Japan, to name a few.

So it is no wonder, that although 2011 seems to be the busiest for everyone on record (or where we are so distracted and have lost the ability to focus) that I have chosen to push forward with this series on ptsd.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is defined as:

“Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.” The Mayo Clinic Staff

Or “Posttraumatic stress disorder (also known as post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma.^[1][2][3] This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one’s own or someone else’s physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,^[1] overwhelming the individual’s ability to cope. As an effect of psychological trauma, PTSD is less frequent and more enduring than the more commonly seen acute stress response.” from Wikipedia

According to New Scientist magazine,

“Many patients suffering from severe depression “test positive” for post-traumatic stress disorder, regardless of whether or not they have actually experienced trauma, a new study reveals.”

As a survivor of ptsd, I would propose that ptsd manifests similarly as a result of acute shock or trauma as a result of a natural disaster, such as a tsunami , earthquake, or manmade horror such as a state of war or chronic stress, for example as a result of abuse.

The good news is – you CAN overcome ptsd. I have and I have met many others who have either overcome it or are well on the way to minimising the effect it has on their lives. As with anything in life, it you want something bad enough, it is possible.

This series will share my own story along with the story of a variety of others who are survivors.

Your thoughts?

Life Is Short

Cathy Elliss — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 02:01:37 +0000

Sometimes I get so frustrated as it feels as if there is so little time. We really do need to decide our priorities and live by them every day. Sometimes it is a blessing to consider “What if…. I only had a short time left to live?” Do you have a legacy? Have you fulfilled your dreams?

Are you having fun?

I felt like I wasn’t then recently I was inspired by my family and friends, some belly dancing and Greek hospitality.

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Reminder to self:

“One night I looked up from my study (I had returned as a mature age student and was boarding at my brother’s place) to see the time. It was almost midnight. I heard the television still on. I went into the lounge room to see that my young niece and nephew were still up. “What are you two still doing up? Why haven’t you gone to bed?” I bellowed accusingly. I can still hear their answer, “We are waiting for you. You said you would be in to see us.” Even now, probably fifteen to twenty years later, my eyes well up in shame at how much these two young people were patient with me while I focused on my studies.”

Recently my life has become so busy again and I can feel the same old shame rising. I am spending time away from those I love, or not doing the things I love, as I feel I should do this for my job, or I am supposed to do this study to keep my job. And yet interestingly although I love teaching, I have always known it is only one small part of my dream. So what were my dreams?

About 18 years ago I created a list, which was displayed on my fridge for years.

To love and be loved..
To give and share life with wondrous children.
To write and speak what is in my heart.
To have the resources (time, energy, and physical resources) to help others.

Am I any closer? Perhaps in some ways.

I would add these days

To be wise.

To be emotionally adept.
To be financially intelligent.
To be a gifted communicator.

So what does this look like for me.

To be a best-selling author (of books that truly impact people and bring them closer to their purposes in life)
To be an international speaker who genuinely impacts others.
To share my gifts and talents (and financial blessings) to help and encourage others.
To love God with all my heart, soul and mind and love others as myself.

I now know how distracted I can get. I spend my time teaching, blogging and coaching others how to stay focused, prioritize their lives and live a balanced life. Mindset, has been and always will be an essential key. As the wise Solomon wrote, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” So if you do not have the life you want, what are you thinking?

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What is your story? Please join in a conversation and inspire others by commenting below.

Academic Success Strategies

Cathy Elliss — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 06:46:28 +0000

As part of my ongoing commitment to success in various areas of my life… I am becoming clearer on how I am developing various aspects of my own business. This post reveals plans on Academic Success Strategies.

So what does success mean to me…

Being ‘Rich‘ or ‘Successful’ to me involves being peaceful, joyful, to love and be loved, have close friends and great family relationships, have excellent health, be financially free, and have hope for the future.

Of course you may see that it is somewhat similar to the results of Zig Ziglar’s research. Of course, I am a big fan of his and other people similar to him. When we follow others we really do need to look at their lives as if we do what they do, we can reasonably expect to have what they have with one proviso. We also need to ‘be’ who they are. To clarify, ‘As a Man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ we are the products of our thoughts. I am happy to confess that my thoughts are getting better and better (more controlled) thus leader to more success in each area of my life!

So how does this apply to Academic Success?

As with any success habits, there is a formula:

mindset + right input -> right thoughts -> commitment + right strategies + discipline -> success

Each part is vital.

Just as Robert Kiyosaki believes that Financial Intelligence is 90% emotional intelligence + 10% technical information about finance or money’, I believe that we need to utilise Emotional IQ plus other skills to gain success in any area.

So what specifically do I incorporate into my coaching of Academic Success Strategies:

Mindset, Success Habits, Time Management +

Emotional and Financial Intelligences +

Relationship Skills +

the more common skills in the areas of

Exam Preparation, Study Skills, Learning Styles, Essay Writing, Presentation Skills, Note-taking Skills,

If you would are interested to know more on this subject, click on ***LIKE Academic Success Strategies***.

I am working on my first seminar series which is planned to be available in the second half of 2011.

I have found nearly everyone has their own opinion on this topic, whether it be for yourself as a student (in a formal setting or as a life-long learner), educator, or for your children?

What are your thoughts?

If you are keen and already want to tell us about you so we can better cater to your needs for a seminar near you, complete our Academic Success Strategies Survey.

Valentine’s Day Competition

Cathy Elliss — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:36:09 +0000

What does Valentine’s Day mean to you?

I know for some it means a bouquet of long stemmed red roses and a lovely romantic dinner at an exclusive hotel with the man you love and who loves you. For me it hasn’t always been like that – let’s face it…. never happened!

I have been where you are and know how certain days of the year can be soooo lonely. This Valentine’s Day I want to offer hope to those of you who are longing for the romantic Valentine’s Day. By clicking ‘Like‘ on my Facebook page , you will be in the draw to win my latest ebook on how to turn your dating costs into investments and set yourself up for dating success.

***

Of course rather than relying on winning the book (which will be drawn on Valentine’s Day),

you can also find more about DATING SUCCESS HERE.

Let’s start a chat about what you did last Valentine’s Day…

I’ll start – it was a non-event. My then on-again-off-again man was overseas ( definite ‘off’ time and I was over men!)

_______________

PS If you are the blessed winner,you could choose either my ebook Cost of Dating or my audio with international healer and author, Mr Dominique Bourlet, where he explains how you can learn to heal ourselves and your loved ones.

NEWSFLASH….. The winner drawn on Valetine’s Day is April Badana Nasataya. Congratulations April!

Cost of Dating: Cathy J Reveals How to Turn These Costs into Investments

Cathy Elliss — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:01:08 +0000

Cathy J, formerly of Smart Lady Dating, reads her introduction on video, where she shares wisdom of the real cost of dating: emotional, spiritual, physical and financial AND how to turn these costs into investments into dating success.

This refreshing look at dating and how to set yourself up for dating success is now available – **CLICK HERE**

Even if you have found your true love, why not buy this for someone you know who is yet to have dating success.

In this video, Cathy J shares part of the introduction.

Please share your thoughts by commenting below?

Audio with International Healer Now Available

Cathy Elliss — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:31 +0000

After overcoming some technical hiccups…

I am proud to present the audio with international healer and author, Mr Dominique Bourlet.

If you have any interest in learning how to heal yourself and your loved ones with Dominique’s own techniques such as ASIFU and Hello BOP. **Click Here for more information**

Here I am interviewing Dominique during my trip to Bali, Indonesia.