RETHINK EVERYTHING a proven path to innovation

One of my favorite clients (all of them are favorites) recently shared a revelation that she needs to “Rethink Everything”

Yesterday, I posted on my Carpe Diem Wellness App the familiar Albert Einstein Quote, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

Today, more than ever before in history, we need to “Rethink Everything.”   Our greatest asset as human beings is innovation.  It can also be our greatest danger.  Prior to forming Carpe Diem Wellness, my company, Innovative Green Solutions enabled me to meet Vijay Chandra, SVP at Parsons Brinckerhoff and John Kim; both brought great innovation as shown by this article on Vijay and the thermoplastic bridges we built and brought to market together.  Read what other great innovations we have because of Vijay Chandra here: http://bulletin.pbworld.com/volumes/2014_06/profile_vijay_chandra_lifetime_achievement_award.aspx#.U6WI641dUzg

Those days were so much fun, however being first to market is not always financially sustainable for small women owned businesses and one day while sitting in a Resilience Workshop, I declared that I wanted to return to my healthcare roots and become a top spokesperson for health and wellness.  One of my colleagues gave me a great compliment stating that I was the best spokesperson he had ever met for innovative green solutions, but I realized that my heart was in making bigger, more personal changes, and required a bit of my own “Rethinking”.

Here’s what I’ve discovered:

Innovation has also bought us hybridized dwarf wheat, mass farming and genetically modified organisms, GMOs and/or genetically engineered GE crops.   This enabled us to feed more and more people providing cheap processed food, with less financial cost (due to farm subsidies). History will prove to be at a cost.

In fact our addiction to cheap processed food is the major cause of inflammation, which we now know is the root cause of 70-80% of the chronic predictable progressive disease that we are spending 20% of our GNP treating or over $2.8 Trillion a year treating.  This is not sustainable for us individually or for the corporations that bear 76% of the cost of healthcare.

Why do I say this? Nothing is more valuable than our health.  As leaders and business owners, we are our companies’ most valuable assets and our employees are our most valuable assets.  As a nation, we have always put a higher value on people’s lives.  So why is it then that are ranked one of the lowest for worldwide health?

I’ve had the distinct honor to work with some industry greats such as Vijay Chandra in my technology and sales career, but I have also witnessed since graduating from nursing school in 1981, rising epidemics in chronic illness, diabetes, cancers, heart disease as well as autoimmune disease and neurological diseases from ADD to Autism, Asperger’s and Alzheimer’s.  This sudden rise, this epidemic is something that cannot be ignored.  Our countries national security depends on this as much, if not more, than the guards and guns at our gates and borders.  And oh by the way, the treatment is a hell of a lot more fun.

Stay tuned to my upcoming book, Savvy Secrets to learn more… 

And congratulations to Vijay Chandra on his lifetime achievement award and his many accomplishments, not only for being one of my mentors as a brilliant engineer but as a genuinely authentic individual who taught me to “Rethink Everything”.  

What are you going to rethink today and how will that make all the difference in your life? Are you headed down a dead path and do you need to Rethink Everything? If so, then schedule a discovery call with me.  www.carpediemwellness.org

To hear more on becoming the leader of your life, sign up for free telesummit http://vlc14.katycaroan.com/

What Can Our Beloved Pets Teach Us?

Have you ever heard about the canary in the coal mine? When a canary bird dies in the coal mine, the miners know that they need to get out of the coal mine or risk dying too. Animals, like birds, have been known to be early indicators of disease.

Dr Weston Price experimented with cat’s diets and witnessed how certain diets affected their offspring. Like humans, what an animal consumes matters.

Like many of my clients, my cat, Jewels, has seasonal allergies. Every spring she would scratch like crazy and lose her fur. For the first several years the vet would give her prednisone shots to mask the symptoms.

Two years ago when I spent 3 months in Arizona with my daughter for a complementary cancer clinic, Jewels had a double whammy. The combination of the lack of attention along with her allergy caused her to lose half of her fur. I tried everything for about 6 months until I discovered a supplement that included blue green algae, probiotics and digestive enzymes. Within two weeks her fur returned.

This year, I ran out of the supplement and failed to order it for about a month and then when I started using it again she did not have the same immediate response. So I called the veterinarian and after testing her, it was decided that she was hyperthyroid which the Vet claimed was normal for older cats. The treatment? Either to kill the thyroid with radioactive drugs, remove the thyroid, or put her on medication for the rest of her life.

“Really?”  I asked, “what about treating the cause of the disease?” I thought about all my clients with Hashimotos or thyroid and hormone imbalances who I was able to help through diet, why would it not work for my cat? So I started to look at what ingredients are in the cat food. Not surprisingly, the same processed GMO corn, wheat, and soy that have proven to cause leaky gut in other animals (like cows in CAFOs and farm raised salmon) where we are feeding them unnatural diets.

So based on my knowledge, I changed her diet again, this time eliminating all grains. Jewels’ fur has started to grow back, dramatically, within a week.

Unfortunately, this connection between diet and health is not well known in conventional medicine as current medical students still only get up to 7 hours of nutritional training in their years of medical school (one of my clients, an MD, questioned whether if it was even that much.)

After further prodding, my Vet said that we could try an unproven, prescription-only diet for thyroid health for cats. I ordered the special diet that I had to buy through her and when it arrived one week later (after my cat was already improving) guess what the top ingredients are for the dried food? Corn Gluten meal, Whole grain corn, soybean mill run and a whole bunch of supplements. No thank you!

When will I learn to trust my own gut and inner wisdom? Unfortunately, I had to spend hundreds of dollars on testing and special food before I realized that my gut instinct and newfound knowledge was correct all along. Live and learn. Each day, each meal, we have the opportunity to choose either life affirming foods that nourish us or artificial food that can cause discomfort and disease. 

After all, we are constantly moving towards one of two states, either living or dying. Unlike our pets, every day we get a choice.

We can either focus on the three L’s: Love, laughter and living

Or three D’s: Diet, Deprivation and Death. 

We can react out of fear or respond out of self-love. Which will you choose today? I’m choosing Love, laughter, and living.

For me and Jewels.

Guest Blogger: Dana from The Closet Confessional

Hi everyone, Dana here! I'm the founder of the style blog, The Closet Confessional as well as the daughter of Lisa Jackson (founder of this spectacular blog). As anyone who has been following Carpe Diem Wellness knows, my mom is all about feeling good (which leads to looking good!) and following your passion.

I’ve spent the last several years doing both.

After being diagnosed with cancer, I learned to stop regularly destroying my body with crap (I say regularly because I’m not about to completely give up dark chocolate or red wine. Life’s about balance, right?) and start focusing on the things in life that bring me joy.

For me, that joy is fashion.

And seeing how I’m on a strict budget - like most people I know - I get very excited over bargain finds. Probably a little too excited. To the point where someone will compliment me on an article of clothing and my first response is not “thank you,” but “I got it for 7 dollars at fill-in-the-blank store!” But I can’t help it. I have champagne tastes on a beer budget. Or organic fruit tastes on a conventional fruit budget.

But just because I shop for affordable items, doesn't mean I'm filling my closet with cheap, mass produced clothes. The older I get, the more I realize the value in quality over quantity. This is why stores like Havana Vintage Boutique totally rock. They specialize in unique, quality items from all over the world at affordable costs. 

This dress I’m wearing here? A brand new Diane Von Furstenberg - with the tags still on - that I scored there at a fraction of the retail price.

A bargain like that? Makes me feel good and look good.

Find out more about me and The Closet Confessional on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. And thanks for letting me takeover at Carpe Diem Wellness!

Retail Therapy at Havana Vintage Boutique

I am birthday shopping for one my best friends at Havana Vintage Boutique, the local consignment shop in Great Falls. Not that I want to buy her something “cheap,” but just the opposite. It's about finding a quality item for an affordable price. Because when a girl is living on a budget - as most of us are - you've got to be a smart shopper.

And who doesn’t love a bargain? Like a brand new limited edition Coach bag that you can no longer get for a fraction of the cost. Or if I had a higher budget, a brand new Burberry bag that is to die for at $399. I don’t know what the retail is, but I am sure it’s much more than $399.

Although I am always preaching that I help people look and feel their best from the inside out - starting with of course diet, nutrition, and mind/body work - the truth of the matter is, when you look at our total well being, we have to account for our financial well being as well. And as Havana proves, looking and feeling good does not have to break the bank. It's sad but true that most ladies will spend more money putting toxic stuff on their hair than they will for their health. Because yes, we’re vain. And yes, we care how we look. So we have to look and feel of best from the inside out, but we also want to look good on the outside too.  

So, my new favorite store and one of the best kept secrets, is Havana. It will satisfy any woman's "retail therapy", as my daughter Dana likes to call it. And Dana is not only a great example of someone who is learning to look and feel good from the inside out, she is also learning to follow her passion. And her passion? Fashion!

So, if you want to learn more about both Havana and the yummy surprises that the store entails, like a brand new designer dress - with the tag on it - for about 20% of the original cost, stay tuned for my next blog post where Dana will show us her favorite find from Havana! And for anyone looking for some great deals, Havana is having a big 20-50% off sale for everything in the store on Friday and Saturday with extended hours Friday from 10am-9pm and Saturday 10-5pm. Definitely check it out!

Carpe Diem. Why? Because we only have this moment and this day to live life to the fullest.

To stay up to date with Havana's newest arrivals (especially if you don't live in the area!), follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

Why Green?

Why are green smoothies so popular for health coaches to recommend? First, greens are the most lacking food from the SAD and are full of essential micronutrients and phytochemicals with powerful ant-inflammatory and detoxifying agents that can help alleviate everything from acne to anxiety & depression and autoimmune disorders.  My mother is a case in point.  Having been diagnosed with another autoimmune disease, she will be having surgery for macular degeneration soon.  Thank God for modern medicine to return eyesight when our body can no longer handle the stressors we impart upon ourselves.  When we ignore our body’s signals, they do get louder.

But surgery is only one half of the equation.  Having surgery, without stopping the causative factors is like plugging up the sink without turning off the water.  You can stop the water from draining, but unless you turn the water off, you will eventually have a mess on your hands that you cannot control.  In the case of macular degeneration, the body will eventually give up and blindness will occur.  In the case of insulin resistance and diabetes, unless you change the diet, blindness, neuropathy and Alzheimer’s await you.   Unless we learn to lower inflammation and detoxify the body, heart disease and cancers await us.

So how do we turn off the faucet?  In the case of autoimmune disorders, we need to heal the gut.  Tomorrow I will be discussing this in more detail at Georgetown’s famous studio, Yoga Del Sol, Washington DC.  We first must learn how to discover what foods we are sensitive to and then we add in new foods to crowd out or eliminate the offending foods.  We learn how to turn off the water faucet that is negatively affecting our beautiful and unique bodies. 

This process gives us more energy and empowers us to be our own best Doctors.  This is why I’ve created a 6-week group program titled Energy & Empowerment.  I created this program for my mother, for my children, for my friends struggling with chronic disease, for my clients that I love who cannot afford individual coaching but could benefit from a group program.  Please call me for a Discovery Call session if you want to learn more.  Included in the program is a 90-minute assessment with a Naturopathic Physician and customized herbal tinctures to maximize the bodies healing process.

Basically the formula is the same for all chronic dis-ease.  1. Discover & eliminate the causes. 2. Heal & repair the gut. 3. Learn and practice new skills for life long change. 

The process is fun and empowering.

So back to Smoothies.  Now that we know the “why”, here’s the “how.”  To make smoothies healthy and delicious is as simple as 1, 2, 3!  Think Greens, Protein & Fat, and Fruit.

Choose between:
1. Greens, any kind will do. I like washed mixed greens, romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, & Swiss chard.  Be sure to rotate them in your diet.
2. Essential fat and extra protein for satiety and to make it smooth and creamy.  My favorite choices include: avocado, almond butter, handful of any kind of raw nuts, and or coconut oil
3. Fruit. I like ripe bananas and organic mixed berries, fresh or frozen.  Other choices include organic green apples, or kiwi, mangos, organic peaches, pears, pineapples, and prunes.

 Simply put something from each in the blender, add ice and or filtered water to achieve the consistency that you want and ENJOY! It only takes minutes, you can make a big batch and save some for an energizing afternoon pick me up instead of that cup of java.

Carpe Diem. Why? Because we only have this moment and this day to live life to its fullest!

Lisa

What Happens After "The Cleanse" and Why I Love my Job

I am a “self help junkie” but even I get into a slump.  Many who know me know that I can go into “geek mode”, hibernation… where I get obsessed with a project and sit on the computer researching and reading and typing to the point that I forget mundane things like getting dressed, showers, food, cleaning the house, etc. Can anyone else relate to this?  This is the beauty and downfall from working from home.  Thank God, that some of my clients still come to my home office, otherwise I would have little incentive to clean it…I kid you not!

So what happens after the cleanse?  What happens when you have all of this newfound energy?  When we've released that extra weight and heaviness that no longer serves us.  We are coming out of hibernation mode and are ready for the springtime and yes... spring-cleaning! When what at first appears impossible suddenly seems possible! 

Anything we ignore, mind you, builds up.  What we resist persists, proven by the mold in my refrigerator!  Everyone has been asking me, "When will you have another workshop, another cooking class, or another group in your home?"  Sounds fun and exciting to me until I look at the neglect I've caused and immediately feel overwhelmed.

This is where my cleanse and my job comes to play.  One of my clients came to pick up sprouts this weekend, I made her my green energy soup and suddenly she was daring enough and energized enough to look in my pantry….She happens to be a professional organizer and started giving me my own medicine right back at me!  We started to clear the clutter, which got me motivated to clean a little more on Sunday, a tiny bit more on Monday and this morning, before work, I tackled the almighty refrigerator!  She gave me the little push, a little coaching, a few tips to do little “digestible bites” at a time…sound familiar?  Exactly what I needed to clear the air so that I can complete my summer newsletter, which you will see before the end of the month!

The most miraculous part of this is that what seemed utterly painful to me, really wasn't that bad and was kind of meditative, just like my clients tell me food prep becomes.  Reminds me of the movie Karate Kid…”wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off”.  Will this be my new yoga?  My moving meditation?  LOL & Doubtful!  Still nothing is more fun than yoga dance!

What will you do today with your newfound energy?  What has been weighing you down? 

Please comment below then go to www.carpediemwellness.org to download my free App.

What do YOU want for Mother's Day?

My husband asked me what I want for Mother's Day.  This is always a tough question for me.  I’ve spent my life caring for others, my first career as a Registered Nurse and then a young mother raising four children.  As women, mothers and caretakers we are conditioned to put others needs first before our own.  Many of us come from puritan backgrounds and taught to always be selfless and accommodating to others needs.  We were taught to fit in, to play well together in the sandbox and to not compete.   But we also live in a competitive capitalistic society with high expectations, particularly if you are from Washington DC.  If you are like me, then you may have an innate competitive nature, maybe one of your strengths is ambition and competition.  If your learned belief is not to outshine others, to play well in the sandbox, you may work well collaboratively while internalizing that competitive spirit.  How many of us are more critical of ourselves than others?  How many of us hold higher expectations of ourselves than we do others?  Being born a twin, in a family of several generations of twins, competition was frowned upon.  If you want to fit in, you must be average; otherwise you risk being verbose and or vain, both shameful characteristics.  I learned to love competition on the tennis court and yet paradoxically noticed how if I started to win by too much of a margin, I would instinctively back off, let the other person win a few games so that we could both feel good and have fun together.  Also interesting to note is that I lost a couple of partners when I didn’t do this.  One friend said she wouldn’t play with me again until she got better, which so confused me.  Wasn’t that the point, to play with someone better so that you could improve your game? How do you get better if you don’t put yourself out there and play? Sports and competition teach us a lot about others and ourselves. 

Someone called me Super Woman yesterday.  I’ve been told before that I had the biggest case of “Super Woman Complex” ever seen.  You see as women, we often internalize that competitive spirit and strive for an unrealistic goal of perfection.  We have to look good, act good, our homes have to be spotless, we have to always be kind, loving, compassionate and giving, with a smile on our face.   We buy the perfect gifts and serve the perfect meals at family celebrations and then wonder why we have a migraine headache and our exhausted when we should be happy and grateful for all that we have.  Yet we ignore our own needs until the pain in the neck or the back or the head gets so big that we have to stop, usually with a cold pack and in bed. 

When asked, what do you want for Mother’s Day, I used to always say, I want everyone to be healthy and happy.   What I didn’t realize was that as a Mother, I had to set the example.  If I was healthy and happy then my children, family and friends were more likely to be healthy and happy.  In fact, I’ve had to learn that I can and must break the puritanical pattern if I want my children and grandchildren to thrive.  Sacrificing the self can not only cause “dis-ease” in the body (as the body tries to send us messages to stop, slow down and treat ourselves well), but it causes sadness, resentment and negative energy and pain to those around us too.   

The antidote, the secret sauce is that self-love and self-compassion allows for self-healing, not only for us but for others too!

It’s really taken me years to truly understand this.  It’s taken a road to recovery with my children and myself to learn this.  I now understand the profound difference between the words caretaker and caregiver.  I now understand that we either react out of fear or respond out of love.   Often my actions were fueled by fear of not being good enough or not fitting in, instead of motivated by what would make me feel better.   I now understand that self-care and self-compassion really is the most loving thing that you can do not only for yourself but also for your family and your friends.  That when you give to yourself first, when you are your best first, then you have more to give to others and you attract others to you.  You attract those who want what you have, which are ultimately more joy, more peace and more love. 

So I wish today for all Mothers a very Happy Mothers Day, one that is filled with celebration and acknowledgement of your love and your actions and the gifts that you have given to others.  Most importantly, I wish for all Mothers the ability to really answer, “What do YOU want for Mother's Day?"  Will we love ourselves today as we love our children?  Will we speak kindly and softly to ourselves and recognize and hush the harsh critic inside?

If you are challenged with this, will you schedule a Discovery Call with me so that we can discuss how coaching or yoga dance or the free Carpe Diem App might be a guide or support tool for you?   Go to my website, www.carpediemwellness.org and download my app and/ or join me on Monday morning in Vienna Virginia at 10am for a fun joyful Yoga Dance class.

Happy Mothers Day and Carpe Diem, seize the day because we only have this moment and this day to live life to its fullest.

With Love & Gratitude,

Lisa