In the last episode I continued our exploration of the Cycle of Change using the analogy of a card game which was first introduced to me by iPEC Coaching. If you have not listened to the first two episodes covering the Cycle of Change I recommend you go back to the episodes titled Respecting Where You Are on Your Journey and The Secret to Clarity is Reflection and Research, respectively. These are quick episodes and will catch up on The Cycle of Change. I mentioned in The Secret to Clarity is Reflection and Research how I had moved into the Shuffle Phase and so I required more time to reflect and begin researching different options for the direction of Women Taking the Lead. Another thing that I was fully aware of but it started to become a problem in this Shuffle Phase is the constant feeling I have of being busy. I feel, and I want to stress the word feel, I feel like I’m always overbooked and up against several deadlines. This causes me to constantly abuse the busy word and it impacts my mindset and how I “BE” in my life. What had been happening was I was not honoring my flow; I time-block to get project work done, and have separate time blocks for meetings and consults. But I find I am constantly giving away my project time blocks because, let’s face it, I consider other people’s time to be more important than my own. And here’s my dirty little secret. I am constantly working on the weekends because my projects get pushed from the work week to the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I love the work I do, and would probably choose to do a little bit for my business every day but that’s not what’s happening. I wake up on Saturday and Sunday knowing I have to do several hours of work each day to play catch up before the work week begins all over again on Monday. I’m done with that. So on Saturday when I thought through what was happening and what I really wanted in this Cycle of Change for Women Taking the Lead I realized I don’t want to be doing project work every weekend. So I moved all my tasks to the coming week so I could not give my time away. Wish me luck and send me your love and energetic support as I commit to taking better care of myself, while leaving other people feeling honored and supported. Now, onto The Deal Phase. Phase 2: Deal (Preparing/Developing) In the Cycle of Change using the card game analogy, The “Deal” Phase comes after The Shuffle Phase and before Playing the Game. The Deal Phase is marked by an increase in activity – this will include networking, testing out interests or experimenting, training and skill building. Thus, the plan that was developed in the Shuffle phase is beginning put into action. You will have more energy and a more positive attitude because you now you can actually do something; you are following a path, you have a direction to go in. You’re open to new experiences, new people, and preparing yourself for the intensity of the next phase. When you are in this phase you are more optimistic, seeing life as an opportunity, and so you experience more confidence in this stage than in any other. You are the proverbial adventurous student of life eager to stretch, learn, and grow in new directions. When you first enter this this stage you will shy away from making commitments. Remember, this is the phase of experimenting and because of this you’ll tend to want to keep your options open and take things “one step at a time.” Before entering the next phase you’ll make a firm commitment to trust yourself and the choice you have made. In the next phase you will be assessing and evaluating the plan but what’s important in The Deal Phase is your ability to move to the point where you can make a choice to move forward and make something happen. Here you’ll also be looking around for allies, mentors and guides who can help to see you through the next phase successfully. You’re now developing a new plan that will take you beyond networking and experimenting. You will identify one or more goals for the n