Are you ready for the holidays? Gifts purchased and wrapped, Christmas cards sent, meals and gatherings planned, home decorated, donations made... it can all be so overwhelming. But as the end of 2011 approaches, I hope you will take the time to reflect on your successes and failures with grateful learning and look toward your future with hope, optimism and inspiration.

• Passionately pursuing a focused vision
• Conquering fear through adventure
• Developing creative genius

My son Taylor's golf career progressed as he won several tournaments and significantly improved his golf game. His highlight came in November when he signed his National Letter of Intent to play Division 1 Golf at Western Kentucky University beginning in the Fall 2012, and he received a full academic scholarship. I share this because he is someone who found his passion early in life. Taylor only started playing golf four years ago and he has been pursuing his dreams with a vengeance. His hard work, determination, integrity and focused vision have moved him closer to playing professional golf. He is passionately pursuing a focused vision.

My daughter Tess decided to conquer her fear through adventure. Tess traveled across the world through the Rustic Pathways community service program in Mongolia in July. There, she overcame her fear of riding horses when she trekked across the countryside for three weeks on horseback. Without showers, toilets or decent food, she became fearlessly confident and expanded her world. You can read her story here.

My sister Michelle, an avid spiritual student and creative genius, launched her new BLOG called Leave Light Everywhere. Beautifully designed, she shares her heartfelt learnings to connect the spiritual with the mundane. She was also recently published in Vie Magazine with an article titled, "The Language of Light. The Language of Life." She is following her dream to inspire others by developing her creative genius and putting herself out into the world. I am amazed.

This season I am filled with joy for those I am closest to- my family and friends, as well as the clients of Excavive Life Coaching. My clients dared to pursue their passions, conquer their fears and develop their creativity through their relationships, their careers, their volunteer work and their creative outlets. I am honored to be part of so many people's lives where I can be of service and share my own talents.

As I look towards next year, one of my goals is to use my gifts more intensely and deepen the experience of the people I connect with both personally and professionally. I was inspired over Thanksgiving when I read a wonderful book, The Go-Giver. It is a story of a young go-getter trying to meet his goals. Desperate to succeed, "Joe" reaches out to a wise man and consultant who shares with him the life perspective needed to achieve success. By changing his focus from getting to giving, putting others' interests first and adding value, this ultimately leads to unexpected results. By learning what was in his heart, Joe was able to give of himself in a powerful and authentic way. So in this season of giving, reflecting and envisioning, I ask you,

• What's in your heart?
• Are you powerfully sharing that with others?
• Where's your passion?
• What fear do you need to conquer?
• What creativity do you want to bring to 2012?  

"Some people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy."

                                                      -Abraham H. Maslow

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

                                                             -Thornton Wilder

I hope that you will see your capacity to share, create, give and open your heart to the world in 2012.