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July’s blog is dedicated to Anniversaries. July 4th marked the one year anniversary of my website. Thanks so much to Ana Maria Rayes for her lovely work on the site. Best of luck to Ana and her upcoming baby girl as both Ana and Kate Middleton are due any day now. If you have been receiving my updates for the past year, thank you for your support. I hope that my monthly updates have been positive and motivating. Thank you for reading and please know that you can always share your thoughts and comments.

An Anniversary is a special time and one that should be valued, cherished and always remembered.
Try to remember those special dates in your life.

There are work anniversaries, wedding anniversaries and other special occasion anniversaries that people generally cherish and love.

When thinking about anniversaries, these three pieces of advice may be helpful to you:

1. Try not to take people for granted. Instead, put yourself in the other person’s position and try to think about their perspective.
2. Try to enjoy and appreciate living in the moment. Think of a child at the circus or at an amusement park. Life is finite and it is much too short to live in the past or the future.
3. Try to say and express exactly how you feel. Be honest. This is really important! The more clear you are with everyone around you the easier things will be moving forward. Honesty, integrity, and commitment are key to maintaining a long-lasting relationship.

 
So why am I thinking about anniversaries right now? Well, currently we are celebrating some special anniversaries:

• June 20th was our 21st Wedding Anniversary. Last year was the big 20th and we had a lovely gathering with family from both sides (this same weekend last year). It was a great day that many will remember and I will treasure. Creating special memories are important and really nurture us as people. But, each year needs to be special and memorable. Try not to put off these dates. Celebrate and remember your special day each and every day and do it each and every year.
• On July 21st, we will celebrate our 29th year together since our very first date. Yes, we are heading towards the big 30. That is a long time. John is not only my best friend, but he is also my soul mate and my first and only love.
• Finally, 6 years ago this very same weekend (July 22nd) was the Christening of our son celebrating his Christian birthday. This day became the most memorable day of my life after the day he was born and followed by our wedding day. This little boy is my world and has brought so much love and joy to everyone that he encounters.

 
Remember to celebrate, honor and cherish your anniversaries. If you don’t do it, no one else will. You can only be whole if you follow your heart. My boys are at my core and I love them both dearly.

Don’t let your special and memorable days go by without the acknowledgment that they deserve. The weather these last few days has been pretty warm especially with only an a/c unit and house fan. However, our family membership at the YMCA has allowed us to swim the last several nights together and keep cool.

Here is hoping that you and your families are staying cool and enjoying your summer and the anniversaries in your life.

The term hero can mean different things to different people.  We often think of those that distinguished themselves in battle, or individuals that save others in a time of tragedy (such as our first responders), or even those that gave of themselves unselfishly during times of trouble.

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” 

– Joseph Campbell

My Dad is my hero.  I am so proud to honor him during the month of June, especially on Father’s Day.  Although my dad was in the army during the Korean War, he was not a decorated veteran or a war hero.  With his love of sports, he enjoyed participating in track & field events in the army. I fondly remember him coaching my brother’s little league team, but again he did not receive medals, trophies or awards.  However, in my eyes, he is my hero and I will explain why.

Growing up, we did not go on extravagant vacations. Our house always looked like it needed fresh paint and some work. We didn’t spend money on designer clothes or other material things.  Yet, my brothers and I never longed for anything.  We had all the things that were important.  My father always made sure that we had plenty of food, a safe home and an abundance of love.  What more does anyone need?  As the breadwinner, these were the most significant necessities he could provide for us.  This allowed my mom to be a homemaker and spend time with my brothers and me.

For all these reasons and too many others to list, my father is and has always been my hero.  He fits that definition of a hero and I will always “Hold Out For A Hero.”  Even as a young girl with a very high fever, I always knew that I could call out for my dad and that he would come immediately.

I love my Dad!  Did you ever notice that there is a very special bond between a son and his mother (as a mom I totally get this), but there is also a very special bond between a daughter and her father.  I also have a very special father-in-law that I love dearly and should also acknowledge.  However, my dad is one in a million to me.

When my father enters, he lights up a room.  His friendly voice and warm smile instantly engage others.  People are drawn to him and he is drawn to others.  My father can talk to anyone and have real meaningful conversations.  He makes lasting friendships in the way he connects with people.  As a little girl I was often intrigued by his approach and gregarious nature.  Now, I enjoy emulating him and following in his footsteps.

My monthly message for June is Don’t forget the heroes in your life!  They don’t have to be your father, but trust me, if you look there are heroes all around!  They deserve to be recognized, respected and remembered.

On a side note, (that ties in) I am honored to be named to the International Coaching Federation New England Chapter Board.  At the ICFNE’s 3^rd Annual Award Banquet next Monday, I am proud to say the entire proceeds will go to Boston’s Onefund (www.onefundboston.com).  Encouraged by the acts of heroes, we should all look for ways to do our part.  If we do, this world would be a much better place for all.

I am BOSTON Strong.  Boston is filled with incredible individuals that are truly our heroes.

If you would like to receive Lisa’s monthly motivational message via email, please click the “E Letter Sign Up” button at the top of the page.

With gratitude and best wishes,
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach

Last month’s motivational message was “Attitude is Everything”, thanks for all the great feedback.  I am glad to hear the positive impact that this piece had on many of you.  Keep up the great work!  Today, I want to expand that theme with my “Tribute to Mom” and talk about Gratitude.  Have you ever heard of having an Attitude of Gratitude?

As parents, we all love (or should) love our children unconditionally.  They are our personal blessings on this earth, an extension of ourselves, our legacy.  However, we all also have a very special place in our hearts for our parents, especially our mothers.  Love and gratitude are two words that seem to go together when talking about these special ladies.  Mom’s are the selfless women that not only gave us life but have also had a tremendous influence on shaping our lives and helping us to become who we are today. Our mothers were our first teachers.  They were our first nurturers.  They provided us with food, clothing, shelter and most importantly LOVE.  My motivational message today is to remember your mom and to reach out to her and express your thanks and appreciation.  Mother’s Day is really every day from the moment that one becomes a mom.  But it is nice to have a unique day when all moms can be honored and celebrated.

I am personally blessed to have two mothers who I love dearly.  My natural mother, who gave me life and so much more, and my 2nd mom, my mother-n-law (MIL).  I have known and loved my MIL since 1984 when I started dating her son, 29 years ago.  I just don’t know what I would do without either of them in my life.  They are two of my very best friends.  They are the first people that I reach out to call each morning and they are the last people that I check in on each evening.  I will always be thankful and appreciative for the love that these two ladies have shared with me and my family.  I have learned so much from them and I could never quantify or express everything that they have done for me.  

The two biggest things that I have learned from both of them is how to LOVE and also how to live a meaningful life.  They have both been married for over 47 years and live simple yet fulfilled lives centered around God and family.

My heart goes out to my friends and colleagues whose moms are no longer with us.  I am sure that Mother’s Day can be a difficult day.  I know that they still remember their mom’s and honor them in their own way.  Most of us need, want and desire love.  But to receive the love you need to give love.  Most of us learned this simple lesson from our moms.

Whether or not you were able to do something special for your Mom on Mother’s Day, please pick up the phone and just say, Thank You or tell them how you feel about them!  Doesn’t it feel good to really be acknowledged and appreciated?  Doesn’t your mom deserve this?  Well, a heartfelt Thank You can certainly go a long way.

Wishing you, your family and your Moms a very special Mother’s Day.

With gratitude and best wishes,

Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach

April is my son’s birthday month, so I would like to dedicate this e-letter to him. His positive attitude is contagious. Although he has faced many challenges, he takes things in stride and continues to bring love to everyone he encounters. I have always realized that attitude is important, however, from the moment I was pregnant I realized how essential attitude is to ultimately achieving your goals.

April- What is your Attitude and why?

I believe that my positive attitude significantly contributed to my son making it safely into the world (against all odds). Some of you know his incredible cardiac story and others can read about it when I finish my forthcoming book, “Follow Your Heart“.

Wayne Gretzky is quoted, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” This is a clear example of a positive attitude. As many of you know and realize, Wayne is one of the best hockey players of all times. But he didn’t achieve his success independently. He had the right attitude, outstanding teammates and excellent coaches to keep him on track and to help him reach his greatness. I honestly believe that everyone can benefit from working with a coach.

Coaching is very productive for people that are focused on where they currently are (the present) and where they want to be (in the future). These individuals have the right attitude, they know what they want and they are willing to work hard to achieve their dreams and desires. I am blessed to share my gifts with these positive people.

We have heard about this famous glass for years.

Is your glass half-full or half-empty? 

What do you see?

If you see it as half empty you are probably always looking for more and that things are never good enough, (hence the glass is not filled enough).

If you see the glass as half full you appreciate what you have, you are optimistic, you look at things in a different way and often ask yourself what is possible with excitement and positivity.

Attitude has become an important differentiator in today’s competitive job market. With so many people looking for new opportunities, companies choose individuals that possess the right attitude. Remember that your attitude is hard to hide. People can see a positive attitude by the way you carry yourself, your confidence, your handshake and even the inflections and tone in your voice. Positive people are not afraid to laugh, to joke and to smile. In a matter of seconds, my 6 years old son can determine if you are happy simply by looking at your smile. Remember that having a positive attitude is your choice.

If you are ready to have a transformation in your life, start with your attitude!

With gratitude and best wishes,

Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach

MAKE AN IMPACT – GIVE BACK!

Doesn’t it feel great to give as opposed to receive?

Doesn’t the act of sharing your gifts or helping others achieve truly nurture your soul? We have all heard the old adage that “it is better to give than to receive”.  But do you ever stop and think about what this really means?  When you give you actually get more.As a leader, a professional or as a parent you have infinite opportunities to give, to share and to empower others, but do you?   Every day you can make a difference in the lives of everyone you touch and you can have a big impact on others’ lives by giving more of yourself.  Examples of this include:

1. Sharing a warm smile, a nice gesture, a handshake or an embrace.  All of these take little effort yet yield incredible results.
2. Providing financial support to charities or causes that you believe in.
3. Giving your most precious resource, your time.  This is often far more valuable and precious than money.  People can always make more money, but there are only 24 hrs in each day.

Are you engaged in doing all three of these?  If you said yes, congratulations!  By helping others achieve fulfillment, you are probably living a very rewarding life as well.  As a coach, I have the opportunity to give each and every day with my clients.  But so don’t you.  Many people offer the first 2 things and then stop.  However, remember that giving your time and expertise yields an incredible payback that words cannot always describe.  This could be showing your friends, colleagues, employees or even your children how to do a specific task or function, or just listening to someone that is trying to solve a problem.  Each of us has the ability to impact the world in our own unique and special way. International Women’s Day– How did you celebrate it? Friday, March 8th was International Women’s Day, and this day and month offer me an opportunity to give back.  My activities in support of this celebration are as follows:

• I went to a Women’s Executive Networking Meeting last week on living your life with Clarity and Freedom and personally invited a dozen friends and colleagues to an exciting evening with more than 150 ladies.
• I will be speaking on Tuesday, March 12th at Curry College to female High School students on “How to be a Successful You!”
• I will be speaking on Tuesday, March 26th as part of the “View From The Top, 7th Annual Panel Discussion” at Bentley University sponsored by the Graduate Women’s Leadership Organization.
• I have been selected as a Mentor and will be participating in the 2013 Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Mentor Program.   I am very excited to meet with the industry mentees that I will be mentoring for the next 9 months.

Did you do something to celebrate this event?  It was the 102^nd Anniversary. 

What are you doing to give back?  It is never too late.  Don’t wait, give it a try.

 
With gratitude and best wishes,

Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach

2013 IS OFF TO A GREAT START – TIME TO SET A THEME

Wow, what an amazing January! I hope that everyone had productive starts to the new year. I am very proud to say that as a coach I just had my best month ever! What a great way to start off 2013.

I want to welcome my five new clients in January. All have completed their Discovery Sessions and started coaching sessions. I am honored to work with each of you and will help you both professionally and personally to achieve and accomplish your goals with balance.

Thanks to all who attended my first Goal Setting Conference Call- Make 2013 Your Best Year Ever! I received a lot of great feedback. If you haven’t set your goals yet, it’s not too late! To assist you, I have decided to hold this teleconference one more time. Instead of just offering a replay, participants indicated that value came from being able to share and be part of the actual call and the experience. The first dozen people that register will receive a free spot. I really like the idea of keeping the calls small and intimate so that people can participate fully. For more information, and to register, CLICK HERE.

Theme- What is in a Theme?

What is your theme for 2013?  Some coaches have their clients come up with a word for the year, others a strategic or a tactical plan, while still others ask clients to identify a song or an image. Well, I combine several of these ideas and concepts and I call it, “my personal/professional theme” for the year. Have you thought of your theme yet? If not, hopefully after reading this you will be inspired to have a theme as well.

My theme – the Bald Eagle! Why? Because it soars powerfully throughout the sky and always seems to have focus and purpose. To me the eagle represents both my clients and myself. I enjoy helping my clients to soar with focus and purpose and in return I take flight with them, flying by their side. I am the wind beneath their wings. Do you remember the popular song in 1992 by Bette Midler? The song was “The Wind Beneath My Wing;” this is my theme song for my eagle image.

This is also the song that I danced the memorable father/daughter dance at my wedding 21 years ago. My dad has always understood me and he is and has been the “wind beneath my wing.” He has believed in, encouraged, supported and celebrated me on numerous occasions and he will always hold a special place in my heart. So you can see, I learned what it was like to have a coach and a mentor before I even knew the meaning of those words and certainly years before I decided to embrace coaching as a profession.

The colors in my eagle image (and my theme) are the blue sky and the bright yellow beak of the eagle. These colors are part of my DNA and they weave the thread of who I really am. In college, when I was VP of Rush at my Sorority (Sigma Delta Tau) I proudly wore these colors. I earned my MBA from Bentley University where the schools colors were none other than yellow & blue. I was co-founder, CEO and President of Radi Medical Systems, Inc. where the colors quite ironically were also yellow & blue (for Sweden representing the Swedish flag). So finally when I co-founded Medical Development Partners, Inc., can you guess the colors that I chose for this venture? I am sure that you will not be surprised to see the yellow and blue theme on my website.

Again, you really need to resonate with your theme, your image, your song, your colors etc. This is about not only who you are right now, but also who you want to be and who you are becoming. I can be the wind beneath the wings for my clients. But, ironically I also want to soar personally and professionally like the eagle. Hence the dual image for me.

Please take a moment and think about what this looks like for you. Again, you can have one word that reminds you of your 2013 theme and you can incorporate that into your website, your LinkedIn Profile, your calendar and even your work space. Think, explore, obtain, embrace and finally own it. Cut out a photo of it. Tell at least 5-10 people about it. Make it REAL! Live it!

With gratitude and best wishes,

Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach

My best wishes for a Happy New Year to you, your families and companies!

May 2013 be filled with good health, happiness and success.

It is a new year, a fresh start and a clean canvas on which to paint your unique 2013 picture.  Now is the time to set your personal and professional goals that will be accomplished throughout the year.  Are you ready for this challenge?  As a thank you for a great 2012, and to assist you, I am offering a Goal Setting Call as my gift to you.  How would it feel to convert your resolutions into actionable goals, kick start your life and take charge of your destiny?

Let’s not forget about 2012. It is one thing to say that you set goals or that you made resolutions last year, but did you celebrate achieving them on New Year’s Eve? If not, why not?  What will you do differently in 2013 and how will you reward yourself for your achievements?  If you are not good to yourself, who will be?

I love what I do each and every day, do you?  My work is rewarding and fulfilling, is yours?  I empower people to take control of their lives.  When one does that, they can live the life they want to live by setting meaningful goals and celebrating their success.

With gratitude and best wishes

Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach

From our Family to Yours!

This summer John and Lisa celebrated their 20^th Wedding Anniversary and had a huge family gathering of both families at their home. We enjoyed a memorable 2-week vacation in May with Lisa’s parents (Bob & Camille). We went to Orange Lake Country Club (Orlando, FL) & enjoyed a relaxing Eastern Caribbean Carnival Cruise.

• John is still working in Operations for Medical Device Startup’s and enjoys his work.
• Lisa is loving her Executive Coaching business. In July she released her coaching website: www.MedDevCoach.com. She offers a free monthly e-letter.
• John Robert is 5.5 yrs old. He is a great kid, very sweet and lovable. He is healthy and very active; he enjoys Hip Hop Dancing, Swimming, Drama, Italian Class & Kindergarten.

Major accomplishments this year: John Robert learned to ride a bike, swim without a life jacket and write his letters.

Well, that is our family in the nutshell. We hope that you and your family are healthy and enjoy a happy holiday season!

“True fulfillment occurs when you are personally and professionally satisfied.”

Best wishes for the New Year!

Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach

www.MedDevCoach.com

(781)-872-1045 office