Workshops for Women

Claiming Personal Excellence goes to Bakersfield!

We're thrilled to announce our expansion!

While the Portland team will be doing Pillow Talk on June 21st, our Southern California team will be hosting a one day version of Claiming Personal Excellence in Bakersfield!  This event will be lead by our very own Julie Hornback, Director, Diva, and all around inspiration.

We're working on updating the online ticketing program - but in the meantime if you or someone you know in Southern California is ready to take a look at personal values and life purpose give us a call - we'll get you signed up via phone.

Watch for more info to come!

Best
Kelly Sandstrom CPC
503-223-1612

Workshops for Women

Off to Homestead, Utah

Fellow Coaches or Coaches to be:

We would love to have you join us for an exceptional weekend of learning, laughter, growth and inspiration at the Resource Realization's Coaching Conference on May 30-June 1st.

The theme this year is "Deepening the Heart" and some exceptional speakers will be sharing their wisdom, techniques and skills with all who attend.  A few of the highlights for us will be:

Bill Hornback, presenting on Requisite Variety

NadineCooper and Joyce Christie, presenting an NLP Snowflake process

Claire Fontaine, author of "Come Back - A mother and daughter's journey to hell and back" (on our recommended list!)

Kelly Mobeck and Helena Lynch on Enrollment

Barbara Fagan, Resource Realizations President on Deepening the Heart

Just to name a few.

If your a coach, or want to future explore this fascinating career opportunity - this is the place to be.

If you haven't gone before - bring party wear for the gala Saturday night - cause this group knows how to party!  And I'm thrilled to be doing the closing Keynote on Sunday, regarding Workshops for Women and all that we've learned in the past three years of doing our thing.  What an honor indeed.

I haven't been there before, but I understand the Homestead Resort (and Aveda Spa) are fabulous.  For more information, or to register go to www.resourcerealizations.com

Hope to see you there!

best

Kelly Sandstrom CPC
And the entire Workshops for Women Team!

Where did you come from?

Part of owning our personal power is understanding where we come from. As Mother's Day rapidly approaches I started thinking about all the women we've worked with... and how much the woman who raised them has influenced their lives.

Did you have a blessed childhood full of laughter, family, support? Did you struggle with abuse, neglect or misunderstandings? Or perhaps some complicated mixture of the two? Well part of personal evolution is coming to peace with all the experiences of our lives and reclaiming the power to decide what lessons we will take from those experiences. Forgiving? Perhaps. Finding new compassion for the complicated lives our mother's lead? Perhaps. But for certain understanding that we would not be the person we are today, with all of our wisdom, understanding and strength without the experiences of our youth.

A couple of weeks ago I was blessed to celebrate my mother's 80 birthday with her in the Bay area. Surrounded by family who had flown in from all over the country - family I hadn't seen in years, I had to laugh at our disfunction, our miscommunications, our various role playing, our struggle to come to the simplest group decisions - Where to put the flowers? The cake?. And yet I was amazed at our commitment to mom, and how all these people (102 of us to be exact) could overcome time, distance and various other life circumstances be it finances, or a mentally challenged child, or work schedules in our shared commitment to be together on that special day.

Truly, part of owning your power is understanding and making peace with all of your life experiences. And perhaps this Sunday is an opportunity to celebrate a little more deeply the love of a woman who did the best she could at the time, and to love not only her but ourselves with a little more compassion, and with a little more authenticity.

Kelly Sandstrom CPC
Workshops for Women

The power of choosing from abundance -

So - did you catch Paul McKenna on TLC's "I can make you thin" last night? What a fascinating show .... it was the first in a series on his weight loss program.

Here were his rules for this week: 1. Eat when you are hungry (vs when you are emotional) 2. Eat what you want (vs what you think you should eat) 3. Eat consciously (be present - no TV or other distractions, chew your food 20 times per bite, and put your fork down after every bite while you chew and savor your food). 4. Stop when you think you are full.

What I love about his theory (so far) is that he is talking about coming from abundance. Whether he knows he is or not. Instead of telling yourself what you can't have, what you shouldn't be eating, what you could feel guilty about - he is encouraging us to eat what we love, to truly be present in the experience, to say "YES" to our preferences, and to be conscious in our consumption. The power of abundance, the power of choice indeed.

Where else can we apply this power of abundance? Everywhere of course. If you've worked with us at all, you know we are all about working with women to own their personal power and ability to choose.

By making our choices from that powerful place of "I choose" vs "I have too" we can shift our attitude about almost everything in life. "I choose to have one cookie", vs "I can only have one cookie"; or "I choose to put money in my saving account" vs "I can't afford that new dress"; or "I choose to light my fabulous candle" vs "I don't want to waste the candle as I'm the only one home right now". Or even "I choose to go to work today so I can pay my bills" vs "I choose to not pay my bills and live under a bridge".

Truly everything in our lives we do get to choose. When we pretend we have no choice - we are choosing to live from a place of victimhood. The show was a lovely reminder to recognize our personal power to choose abundance over scarcity, and joy over frustration.

NEXT FOR WORKSHOPS FOR WOMEN: We hope that those of your who are single will choose to join us (or to send us your single friends) for Fearless Dating coming up this Saturday, March 22nd. This short course will help create a positive dating experience - and create clarity on finding that someone special and that specific relationship you desire. Tickets available online.

Kelly Sandstrom, CPC

Workshops for Women

For the single among us -Fearless Dating

Someone said.... Courage is not the absence of fear, but feeling the fear and doing it anyway.  Who was that?  Please let me know if you know the source... as I would love to credit that person.

March 22nd will be Fearless Dating.  Not that we fear dating of course - but this co-ed training is for those who are ready to do something a bit different - to have something a bit different in this sometimes challenging situation. 

In this short workshop we will create clarity on who you are looking for in a partner, what you are looking for in a relationship, and then working with some specific and tangible skills that help you create both of those things in your life.

So join us - and send us your single friends (come on, you know several who would dig this event!) for an afternoon of "ah ha" moments, laughter, clarity, new skills and new friends!

Register online under "workshops" as seating is limited.

March 22nd, 2-6pm, at Souk 322 NW 6th Ave, Suite 200, Portland.

See you then!

Kelly Sandstrom CPC
Workshops for Women

Spa Event!

Are you a the queen of multitasking?  Have we got an event for you!

Join us at Terra Del Sol Spa during the first two weeks of February for some serious self pampering. 

You have to check this place out - gorgeous beyond words.  You can soak in their hot tubs under a hand painted sky, have a mud wrap treatment, do a couple's massage for Valentine's Day, rock out with Tiffany in the hair salon, have a massage, lay in the heated sand room, get your feet massaged under a waterfall - do a facial!  Or why not get a gift certificate for someone you love?

What a place - full of gracious and friendly staff - they will go above and beyond to create a great experience for you.

And if you book a treatment during the first two weeks of Feb, and tell them you are booking to support the Workshops for Women's Scholarship Fund - they will graciously add $10 to your service to support our work. 

We have promised 100% of the scholarships to our favorite group - the ladies of Dress for Success.  If you don't know Dress for Success they do amazing work to empower women - something of course that aligns perfectly with what we do!

So let's think about this for a minute  -you get gorgeous while empowering another woman from the community.  What could be better than that?  Terra Del Sol is located on the corner of NW 17th and Davis.  Their number is 503-227-7797 - and their website is www.terradelsolspa.com

Thank you for assisting us in creating a win/win for all!

Best
Kelly Sandstrom CPC

Workshops for Women

Fearless Dating March 22nd, 2-6pm

Are you willing to be uncomfortable?

Wow - the last 24 hours have been somewhat hysterical... you see I got a new cell phone. Now my old phone was ancient - truly, but I was comfortable with it. I could make and receive calls, get voicemail, all without stress or thought. Now I can check email, take pictures - video even! Well I could that is, if I could figure out how to work it.... I'm in that uncomfortable place of being new to something. I can't wait till I've practiced it enough that it's routine.

Our relationships can work the same way. Do you ever notice that you are having the same conversation with your daughter (or mother, or spouse or employeer) over and over again? In her book You're Wearing That? Deborah Tannen talks about the three topics mothers and daughter most often argue about: clothing, hair and weight.

A bit sad don't you think? Wouldn't it be fabulous if we were willing to talk about new possibilities, brainstorm ideas together, our values? Are we willing to be clunky with new conversations, like me with my new phone? Getting the value of changing things up and having more meaningful, or effective, or empowering tools in our lives? Being willing to practice, and be uncomfortable at first - for the greater good that will come when those converstions become more common, more fluent, more purposeful?

So today I am declaring that I'll have a conversation this weekend with my daughter - not about the current state of her bedroom, but about her beautiful sense of humor. And how that when I hear her laugh it fills my heart with emotions I can barely express of joy, hope, and a deep happiness. And I will have a conversation with my mother - not filled with all my hopes and excitement over our upcoming training - but about how she continues to model being in service, and how she has taught me to value being a difference in the world by her acts of selflessness. Today for example, she is hand rolling bandages for the hospitals in Kenya. Wow.

Those conversations aren't our typical, but we do have them from time to time. And yes it may be a bit clunky, because it's outside the normal, thoughtless, routine conversations. And it will be worth it! Are there any conversations you would like to declare for this weekend? Email us at info@workshopsforwomen.net to share.

And if you'd truly like to take on learning something new - join us for one of our five 2008 workshops - be it one of our mother/daughter series - or one of our co-ed trainings.

Our next event?  Fearless Dating for single adults in the dating world, March 22nd from 2-4pm.  Check it out under our "Workshops" link or call for more information! 

best

Kelly Sandstrom CPC
Workshops for Women

info@workshopsforwomen.net

503-223-1612

2008 Schedule of Workshops for Women

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 2008 we will be offering each of our five training once to the community at large here in Portland. That schedule is below. Our first workshop is our mother/daughter communication course called "This Precious Relationship" in January. What a fabulous way to start the New Year! To get an early bird special discount - sign up before December 20th and receive $25 off per ticket.  To redeem enter coupon code "Diva" when promoted during checkout online.   Gift certificates are also available. Put us in your calendar now - and make a committment to your life and relationships! MOTHER/DAUGHTER SERIES: This Precious Relationship - a communication workshop for women, (1 1/2 days) January 26- 27 Claiming Personal Excellence - an exploration of life purpose and values for women (1 1/2 days) May 17-18 Beauty in Three Parts - our self confidence training that covers inner beauty, outer beauty and living your confidence, for women (1 1/2 days) September 27-28 (We encourage women to attend with their mothers or daughters, but also welcome single attendees. Must be 13 to attend - but we've had daughters in their 50's come with their mom's in their 70's!) ADULT SERIES: Fearless Dating - a co-ed training for single adults in the dating world (4 hours) March 22 Pillow Talk - a co-ed communication training for couples in love (4 hours) June 21 Best, Kelly Sandstrom, CPC Founder/Workshops for Women 503-223-1612

The Most Important Questions-

I was so over the top upset.... I took 24 hours just to calm down so I could even have a rational conversation with my daughter... Steve and I spent a glorious week in Paris two years ago. It was amazing, we walked for miles each day exploring the city, the museums, and the shops. Someone recommended we check out a perfume shop in the heart of the city. What an adventure it became! The sales woman talked to me a bit, and then presented four possible choices. Finally in her lovely accent she insisted that one was "the only and obvious choice". But she wouldn't sell it to us - she insisted I wear it for a day to see if we were "compatible." So I spent the day sniffing my wrist, and of course talking myself into the splurge. We tried to go back - but couldn't find the shop. Another day we went back, and it was closed. Finally we got in - and I accidentally bought the wrong perfume. As we left town we went by again - and I finally scored my Iris Poudre. I brought it home and sat in on my shelf, saving it for a special occasion. A few weeks ago I discovered my daughter was using it on letters to her boyfriend. I had one of those over- the-top visceral reactions. I rarely get so upset - so what was going on with me? The bigger our reaction to something,the bigger the lesson to be learned. The first question to ask is: "How did I contribute to this situation?" It's not about being upset with what someone else has or hasn't done. The opposite of empowerment is blaming others for our circumstances or emotions - even though of course it's easy to do. First and always the questions are "What did I choose?" and "What did I get from that choice?" The obvious and simple answer is that I share my beauty products with my daughter, but had never told her how important that particular perfume was to me. Now I could explain it to her, and make a request she choose a different one for her letters. But I was way more upset than that, so I knew there was a bigger lesson for me. After reflection I realized I was upset because I was denying myself the use of this perfume. I was saving if for "someday" as though there might be some magical more-important-day-than-today in my future. I was hoarding it away in fear of running out! So what might have happened if I hadn't had this lesson, is that I might have hoarded that perfume until it went bad never using it at all! Lynndi simply chose the smell she liked best - and used it. What exquisite taste she has! And who even writes letters anymore? Let alone the fact that she created a magical ceremony of adding a touch of perfume to a letter. Truly what a lovely gesture. My being upset had nothing to do with her choices, and everything to do with mine. As usual when we are upset or angry .... it all comes back to looking at our own choices. Personal empowerment comes from continually doing the work of looking at our choices and our results. And yes, as I type this I smell of Iris Poudre. The deeper lesson for me was to remember this day is as magical as any other. This day is my life! And if I forget what I've learned it will be ok, because the beauty of how we work as humans is that I will just create the lesson for myself again in another forum. So if I'm ready to be done with "living in scarcity" then I'll move forward; and if I'm not I'll get another shot at it another day. Our workshops are about this evolution - improving and evolving ourselves and our relationships. We are not about being in breakdown or crisis, but rather about being conscious regarding our choices and our results. It's a journey of asking questions, and of getting real and trusting our answers. You know, looking for the answers beneath the easy and obvious answers. This is why those who attend our workshops get so much value out of their time with us, and why attending one of our trainings is so fun, affirming, and life changing.  We hope to see you in 2008! Best, Kelly Sandstrom, CPC Founder/Workshops for Women 503-223-1612

Making an authentic connection ...

What is it to make a real connection with someone? It's easy to spot when we have it, and sometimes when we miss we might wonder what happened? Why the disconnect?

There is a simple skill we can use to make an authentic connection , and that is the skill of creating rapport. My dear friend Leah is the master of this - and she has inspired this month's "Empowering Thought".

The critical step to creating rapport is a willingness to "be" with another person exactly where ever they might be in the moment. If they are joyful - to meet them in their joyful place, if they are sad to meet them in their sadness, if they are struggling - to acknowledge the struggle.

Even if we think it's our job to help them think or feel something other than what they are thinking or feeling (which it's not by the way) yet even in our desire to help - that cannot happen if we do not have rapport. In order to move forward, we must feel heard, accepted and understood where we are in the moment.

We like to be right about our thoughts and feelings, and when someone is willing to be with us in that place, it gives us permission to relax and acknowledge "Yes, this indeed is where I am, I feel understood." Having someone be with us in this way is very affirming. "No you are not losing your mind - this is a tough moment!"

The opposite of being in rapport is to launch into all the reasons you shouldn't be feeling what you are feeling - or thinking what you are thinking. Or the infamous giving of unsolicited advise. What are we really saying when we tell someone what they should do? We are telling them "I have your answers and since you cannot figure this out for yourself I'll help you out." Why doesn't this work? Well for one reason, my answers would never work for anyone other than me, but the bigger reason is because back to the fact that we like to be right... so if you argue with me about what I'm thinking or feeling or start telling me what to do - my first response as human, will always be fight or flight (ie defending my position - or shutting down on you in some way).

One of the things I love most about my friend Leah, is that she is masterful, absolutely masterful, about being with me where ever I am. She is far more gifted and skilled in this area than I ... and I am inspired and motivated by her gifts to practice this skill on a deeper level. She is compassionate and generous in the way she relates to people. She accepts that each of us are whole and complete and exactly where we need to be right in this moment....whatever that moment looks like. An amazing and inspiring woman indeed.

After Pillow Talk I had a fascinating conversation with an attendee who mentioned she struggled to keep her promises to herself. So I started thinking -what if we applied this same concept to ourselves? Perhaps our resistance to our own goals is that we are not truly accepting where we are in the moment. Perhaps for today, those goals are too much. For example some weeks I might be up for the big bodacious goal of working out every day for a seven days in a row, and some days I might acknowledge that is just not where I am right now. Doing 25 sit ups and drinking six big glasses of water a day for seven days might be more than enough of a stretch for this week. And by getting real about where I am and what is going on for me - my possibility of success will be much greater.

What if we could truly put down our need to fix, to judge, to move, to shift someone else.... what if we could truly practice the art of compassion, of listening, of rapport with everyone with whom we come into contact? Truly accepted that they are exactly where they need to be? And what if we could extend that compassion and rapport to ourselves? An empowering thought indeed: I am exactly where I am suppose to be in this moment. There are lessons for me in this and every situation - that will lead me to a greater understanding of my own authenticity and a deeper and more authentic connection with others. Thank you Leah.

FEARLESS DATING: If making an authentic connection in the dating world is on your list of wants - join us for our co-ed training Fearless Dating on November 10th. We'll spend time figuring out exactly where you are, and who you want to meet. We'll see what's working for you and build on that. We'll practice some new communication skills for the dating world, look at performance barriers, and come up with some new approaches.

Tickets are available online under "Workshops" or by calling 503-223-1612. Please note we do limit this training to 40 attendees - so buy your tickets soon! (Workshop to be held at Souk from 2-6pm).

Best,

Kelly Sandstrom, CPC
Founder/Workshops for Women 503-223-1612