Sheila O'Mara

Eye on the Prize

School can be tough for many reasons. Discovering how you learn the best, how to keep it all together, and knowing what “YOUR” prize is and how to get there are just a few of the “clues” we will use to uncover this mystery called success. Designed for students in 5^th – 7^th grade, this is a hands-on, active workshop that includes a healthy snack, along with ideas on how to prepare your body for ultimate achievement.

Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 – 5pm, on October 25th, November 1, 8 & 15th. Investment is $95.

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Did you know you were born for greatness? There is no doubt about it – YOU ROCK!

Just in case you haven’t recognized that yet, we will show you all of the ways you can ROCK IT LIKE A ROCK STAR. Designed for students ages 10 -12 who can use a little boost of confidence during the tween years. This is an active dive into self-discovery with tools and tips on how to maintain your ROCK STAR status.

Thursday afternoons from 4 – 5 pm on October 27th, November 3 & 10th. Investment is $75.

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All Workshops will be taught by Sheila O’Mara, Lead Fireball at Speakers With Spark, Parent Company of the SPARC program. As a former middle school teacher, Sheila has witnessed firsthand the struggle many students have with school and with a lack of self-esteem. Sheila delivers her programs with high energy and employs easy to understand analogies, stories, and exercises to promote growth. Trying to make a positive change in the lives of students everywhere, Sheila travels around the country delivering workshops to students and parents providing real solutions that get remarkable results.

Registration is required. Please stop by Fiddlesticks to register at 2411 Ring Road in Cool Springs Center in Elizabethtown.

We can't wait to meet your kids! We are going to have a blast!

For questions or directions, please call Neeley at 270-982-4422 or Sheila at 270-300-6045!

I know, I know! It is August, not January. Here in Kentucky though school started today and it has that New Year's kind of feeling to it. New goals to achieve new successes. Goals are tricky though no matter what they are. I shared a few tips about effective goal setting in an article (Our Speakers With Spark monthly column) that was published in The News Enterprise today. I absolutely know that they will help anyone struggling with the process. They are tried and true and will help if you stick to the plan!

You can give the article a read here! Enjoy and happy goal setting!

I thought I would share a positive thought for today! Each day we have a choice to make the day whatever we want it to be. Hope this helps you find a little perspective.

Choices, choices, choices! There are so many options to choose from on a daily basis it could almost drive a person crazy! In this day and age it seems like there is a different option for everything and some choices seem limitless. There is still one choice you have that really doesn't change - it is the same one everyday. That is to decide whether you will have a positive day or a negative day.

You may be scratching your head thinking that it is not entirely up to you. Circumstances in life can cause many reactions and not all of them are positive. In a perfect world we all wake up and have an ideal day - no worries, no stress, no problems - just peace, love and harmony. We don't live in a perfect world though, so how do you keep the worries, stress, and problems from keeping you from having a negative day.

Read the rest of the post here.

Every once in a while, we need a little pep talk. If our spirits are lifted, then we are more productive, create better relationships with clients and generally have a better quality of life. I think that it all starts with how we think of ourselves. Here is an article I would like to share that may help you achieve the life you desire!

Have you heard? There is a growing epidemic sweeping our nation. It is claiming the well being of thousands of people and is changing the shape of our society. It is altering lives and not necessarily for the better. What is the cause of this growing epidemic? That would be an overabundant lack of self respect.

Some of you reading this may have an overabundance of self respect and I congratulate you! Stay the course and continue to flourish! You probably do not need to continue to read this article either - which is aimed for the rest of us who may think we respect ourselves or want to respect ourselves but may not even know where to start.

The way we view ourselves affects everything we do and say, how we interact with others and how successful we can become. Respect is a healthy attitude of reverence and awe for the existence of something. Respecting yourself is recognizing that you are a gift merely by your birth. You are worthy and are an awesome creation! When you recognize those two ideas as true it helps achieve a higher level of self esteem. Self respect is like the glue that holds together your self esteem. It is difficult to achieve high levels of esteem without a healthy dose of respect first.

When you embrace your worthiness, other things fall into place. They way you treat yourself and take care of yourself for one. That also translates into how you treat and relate to others. Your achievement increases because you believe you can do it and are worthy of success. If all people walked around with this kind of attitude can you imagine how different our world would be? It is unfortunate that self esteem peaks for most people in the third grade! Third Grade!!! That doesn't bode well for us, but the good news is that it can change.

The most difficult part about respecting yourself is that no one else can do it for you - just you. The great news is that you can do something about it. Here are a few ideas to help you achieve a healthier attitude towards yourself.

1. Celebrate your creation. You were created therefore, no matter what anyone else says - YOU ARE AMAZING and certainly worthy of respect!
2. Quit the negative self talk. Recently I spoke with a group of teen agers and we did an exercise where they looked into a mirror and had to describe what they saw. They all had faces that they could describe and yet the majority of the descriptions focused on the negative items that they saw. Interestingly enough, the things they did like about their faces were not described in positive terms like the negative aspects that they shared. There weren't "pretty eyes", but there were plenty of "ugly noses". This doesn't apply to just your physical features either. Your job performance, your attitude ... the list goes on and on.
3. Express and truly feel gratitude - for your creation, your blessings, your highs and your lows. If you were to make out a list of all of the "things" that you possess or were given, they would surely outweigh the negatives. Unfortunately we concentrate so much on the negative things we do not like experiencing, we neglect to respect the positive and healthy things in our life. Being grateful for both automatically lends to respecting each situation for what it is and confidence in your ability to weather any storm. Emerging from dark places and horrible situations is plenty to lend momentum to your self respect and what you can accomplish.
4. If you are feeling like the odds are stacked up against you and your life is overcome by difficult and seemingly impossible circumstances, there is still hope. Really look at the situation and find purpose to your pain. Even the most desperate situations have a purpose and you are a part of that. Look for the lessons and learn from them. You will emerge stronger and wiser and certainly worthy of praise.
5. Take care of yourself - body, mind and soul. Take steps everyday that lend to your healthy state of mind and body. Get enough sleep, eat better, exercise, dream, participate, and believe. By feeding your body and mind with what makes it stronger and clearer, you will feel better about yourself. When you are too tired to care about anything, your self respect is on the top of that list. If you are feeling guilty because you ate a whole box of Oreos, it is hard to celebrate your creation. When you stop believing that you can do anything, you can't. A healthy mind and body can change everything for you.

Remember too that you can be a model for those around you. You can lead by example and hopefully change the trend of those who do not highly respect themselves. It is a contagious feeling and who wouldn't like to feel good about who they are and what they can achieve? Don't forget - YOU ARE AMAZING - and worthy of respect!

This article was published in the Speakers With Spark column of The News Enterprise.

I have the honor of having a fellow speaker, Jeff Peden, who has some GREAT Ideas about key questions you should ask yourself as you are building your business. Jeff Peden is known as the Great Ideas Guy and really makes building your business easy and achievable.

Here is the link for the Speakers With Spark column in The News Enterprise and was also added to the Speakers WIth Spark Blog: https://speakerswithspark.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/life-is-a-test/

Prepare to think ....