Following My Intuition

How often do you listen to your intuition?
What does it feel like when your's calls?

My intuition is something I started to get to know about 10 years ago.  It's been a lot of fun getting to this point, but it hasn't been easy.  I have found that, for me, it comes in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is that still, small voice that whispers to me first thing in the morning.  Sometimes, it's like a thunder clap in my head.  It's a nagging thought that won't go away or an emotion I can't explain.

(The tribute to Lucille Ball in last weeks post was definitely a clap of thunder intuition. )

I've learned to follow up on it.  Yesterday was the affirmation of a whisper I had a month ago.   "Volunteer" the still, small, voice said early one morning just as my eyes were opening.  The thought followed me all day.  My first response was "Well, exactly where should I volunteer?" You see, I live between Baltimore and DC so it is the Mecca of volunteer opportunities and it's a little overwhelming to even try and find a place to start.

For me, part of my intuition depends on a close relationship with God, so I said, "God, you evidently have a plan, so I'll trust you to lead me in the right direction." Funny thing is that as soon as I said that, things started to happen.  A friend of mine called to invite me to an event at the Veterans' Administration.   Hmmmm, I'm a vet.  I'm sure I could be of service there.  Maybe this was the flash I was looking for.  So I called.  I got a sweet little old lady volunteer who didn't know where to direct me, so she passed me to someone else who was also pretty lost to provide the information I needed. However, he was happy to pass me to a  vague voice mail.  This was a dead end and not where I was supposed to be.  Intuition usually opens doors so when I get blocks like this I know it's not right.

 Moments later,  I saw a commercial for the Job Corp... There it was!!!  When intuition is on, the object or direction seems "brighter"... more vivid.  This was it!!  I have never seen a commercial for Job Corp...ever.  That was the first clue.  The volume on the T.V. seemed louder and that was the second clue.  Then the third thing was that it triggered possibilities such as the location of the nearest Job Corp to my house is less than 3 miles down the road.  Definitely time to follow up.  I looked up the number and called and left a message.  But the urge did not go away, so I got in the car and went down there to see if I could talk to someone in person.  No luck, but I left my business card and got the point of contact information for the director of the volunteer department.  Next day, I was just about to pick up the phone and follow up when my phone rang. Yes, it was the director.  She was lovely and I liked her right away.  I had an interview set up for the next week.

After that, things just flowed.  I didn't have to do much but show up and act on the next intuition.  Gloria (the director) invited me to attend the Thanksgiving dinner she held for "her students."  I walked into the cafeteria while preparations were underway and was greeted by a group of happy, thriving young people.  Each one was as different as a snowflake.  I was enchanted and the I felt like was home.  I knew I was in the right place.

Yesterday, I met the young woman that I will be mentoring.  She and I have so many things in common. Gloria did a great job matching us.  I'm so excited to get to know more about her and I'm looking forward to getting a little more updated on things since I tend to be stuck in the last century.

My intuition led me to something very special.  In fact, it is one of my life long dreams.  You see, I've always wanted children to love because I never had any of my own.  I'm hoping this beautiful, ambitious, and determined 19 year old girl will be the first of many.

OMG I Forgot that She's a Redhead too!!

Two weeks ago, I woke up full of energy and just knew that something new was in the wind.  My first thought was to get out of the house to work that day.  So I followed my instincts and got dressed. Something kept whispering, "Hurry... hurry, but you have to look great too." My instincts are rarely wrong so I followed them.  I was finally ready and looked in the mirror satisfied that I would go through my day and honor a famous redhead that had come before me.

I grabbed my computer and out the door I went with a confident swagger in my stride.  A couple of minutes later, I'm standing in line at one of my favorite coffee spots and am face to face with one of the most handsome men I've met in a long time.  Now, I have to tell you that I'm rockin' the energy.  I noticed that he had a really nice drawing on his name tag and since I like to sketch, I mentioned it and asked if he drew it.  "No," he said, "I can't draw stick figures."  With what I hoped was my most brilliant smile I countered with, "Y'know, I'm a life coach and I can give you 1500 reasons why you "CAN" if you want." He perked up when I said life coach and wanted to know what it was.  Well long story short. I told him that if he got a break, I would be in the store for a while working and would be happy to tell him what I do.

Sure enough, he took a break and came to talk to me about it.  He was genuinely interested in my services and I felt confident as I explained what a coach could do for him.  I am sitting there thinking to myself that every famous redhead is surely applauding how I'm living out load.  Little did I know that the redhead I was honoring was Lucille Ball!!!  Hours later, I'm at home and look in the bathroom mirror and noticed that I've got my bright red shirt on INSIDE OUT!!! No kidding!!!!

Here's the rest of the story...

This hot guy did not hire me as a coach, but he has since been added to my list of favorite people and he doesn't seem to hold it against me that I'm a dork.

How do you honor the redhead in you????

What makes a Redhead?

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my blog!! I hope you will take the time to comment on the things you read here and if you choose not to,  I hope you will at least take away something you can use in your day.

My name is Tammy Leslie. I'm the founder of Miracles Within Life and Self-esteem Coaching and actually I didn't decide to be a redhead, I was born with the spirit of one.  But since my natural hair color is brown I had to dye my hair red so people could be warned.

What does it mean to be a redhead? It means living life in full view, mistakes and all.  It means choosing passion over safety.  It even means taking the road less traveled just to see where it goes.  So how has "The Redhead" manifested in me?  Well, I can say you won't find me sky diving or bungee jumping anytime soon, but what it means for me is that I show up in my life everyday to take at least one step toward my goals.  You see,  I was called to be a life coach.  It's not what I dreamed about as a little girl. (The profession didn't even exist back then) And it wasn't what I started my adult life doing either because at 18 I joined the NAVY to be a linguist.  I discovered my calling when people in my life showed up that needed someone to believe in them, however I still didn't know there was a profession that included that as part of the job description.  At least not until I saw a show on television called "Starting Over House" that featured two women who worked with women in transition to help them get back on their feet and maybe make a dream or two come true along the way.  I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to help people like that.  I assumed that helping people on that level would surely take a masters degree in psychology.

Meanwhile, I enrolled in college at night and spent my days working in office management and bookkeeping.  I had a succession of these jobs and it seemed that no matter how hard I worked, I could never stay on top of everything.   It seemed the harder I worked, the behinder I got.  That's not like me.  I'm intelligent so I should have been able to handle it.  But I just kept getting more and more stressed out.  I was in a career that although honorable and paid the bills was not fulfilling me.  My heart was aching for something more.  Then lightning finally struck! I was at my last job and I was talking to a new girl who had transferred in from another city.  We were chatting and getting to know one another and she mentioned she was studying to be a life coach.  Of course my ears perked right up at that.  "Really?!! What Masters program are you with?"
        "Tammy, it's a school that specifically certifies coaches."

BANG!! Somedays you just know you've met your destiny.  I got the web address from her and couldn't get home fast enough that evening.  I immediately went to the website and requested more information.  I was on the phone with an admissions coach the next day and enrolling that night.  I didn't hesitate or ask questions except how much is this going to cost so I can get the financing together.  Well, there was a snafu with that thanks to my outstanding college loans but other arrangements were made.  And here's destiny's affirmation... I was no sooner approved for my financing when my boss came to me and said, "Tammy, we are moving your job to our headquarters in Texas and we will be letting you go in 10 weeks."  Let's be real here, I was not planning on giving up this job until I had my business off the ground. I thought I could tough it out for another 18 months.  Evidently God had other ideas.  Now I help others find the redhead in themselves and I'm creating the life I was born to have.

Are you a decided redhead too?  I'd love to hear your story.