#114: Emancipation

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?”
–Marianne Williamson

In This Issue:

Emancipation
by Monica Day

I woke up Wednesday morning, propped my head up a bit higher on the pillow, and caught my first glimpse of the ocean outside my balcony window. Within minutes, the sun began to rise slowly – first orange…then pink…yellow…and finally, it was bright white, blinding, and I was forced to get up and start my day.

Of course, I’m in Delray Beach – my annual trek to the AWAI bootcamp. It is always a profound, career-altering, challenging and exhilarating experience – and this year is no exception.

Or is it?

I like to think I live a fairly free life…compared to most people. My clients and colleagues are more like friends. I go places and do things that make most people jealous. And I’ll probably never have a “real job” again – ever.

I have to tell you, though, something’s been bothering me since I’ve been here.

I’ve accomplished a lot of the goals I had when I came to my first bootcamp five years ago. Many people here are striving to achieve the same things I have – and I’m enjoying every minute of sharing the path I chose – what worked and what didn’t.

But as I’ve been listening to the likes of Matt Furey and Joe Vitale – a nagging feeling that I’ve been pushing back for months has come front and center.

I’m not working as hard as I should to achieve my new goals and dreams. And as great as my life is, I’m not content to be a six-figure copywriter.

I want more. Much more.

Bootcamp is about daring to take a chance on a type of personal freedom in your life that few people achieve. And yet as I listen to Joe and Matt – I see very clearly the ways that I am STILL holding myself back.

And so, instead of an essay today, I want to share with you something from the other side of my brain. The poet. Because all I can think about while I’m here is freedom – and what it really is going to take for me…and you…and every single person here in this room…to achieve the level of freedom we desire.

Hope you enjoy…and next week, I’ll return with my usual essay:

Emancipation

When the prisoner is finally set free
he realizes

the bars are now
his own

he flinches from even the lightest touch
shies from the sun, takes cover in rain

isolation his only prize
for such patient endurance.

When bound
he was free to hate

when free
love is the only option.

He finds this freedom
unfathomable.

Though wildflowers wave like arms
he shuns their embrace

though the wind dusts his skin
he cannot run through open fields

his feet are heavy
even with no chains

he has become the restraint
he always resented.

And that’s when the prisoner who is finally set free
crumbles to the ground and weeps

for even in defeat
his captors have won

even when turned loose he is
unable to run into the night

unable to stop dreaming of freedom
and simply be free.

Resource Referral: You Can Be Live from Delray Beach Too…From Home

If you’re not here, take heart. Everything is being captured on tape. I know, I know…the beach…the cocktails…the introductions and handshakes…the vibe and energy. Honestly – that’s why my essay today was all vibe and energy. That is the stuff you just can’t capture electronically.

But everything else – the lists and lists of concrete tips and advice – is all being boxed and shipped shortly after things end. If you didn’t come – whether for lack of time, money, or an aversion to beaches and sunshine – you should at least pick up the Bootcamp-at-home package.

Here’s a link – http://www.awaionline.com/orderbootcampnow – it just sends you to an order page. Don’t agonize over this decision – it’s 100% guaranteed. If you think it’s lame, send it back. But its not. And I believe the price is lower now than it will be once Bootcamp ends – a lot lower. So just do it. Now.

Bootcamp Journal #4: Exhausted and Happy…Ann-Marie Does Bootcamp

Ann-Marie Giglio didn’t quite know what she was getting herself into when she agreed to write one of her journal installments live from bootcamp. I did – and she does now! Maybe it wasn’t quite fair of me to throw her into the deep end of the pool…but sometimes that’s the best way to learn how to swim…

I’ve only got time for a quick note from Bootcamp…things really buzz around here. Energy is high and I’m completely swamped. But I do have a few observations to share – and I’m sure I’ll have many, many more once I can take a minute to breathe and digest this extensive buffet we’ve been served:

Today is a marathon day. We go from 8am-10pm–although the last hour is actually a dessert hour. I figure we’ll need the sugar just to fuel us back to our rooms to pass out and do it again tomorrow!

And that’s all she wrote today! Gotta run…

Ann-Marie Giglio is an AFAA certified group fitness instructor and a certified ChiRunning/ ChiWalking instructor. She’s written a book called Labor Day. When she’s not complaining to her accountant, she’s taking care of her 2 children, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 4 gerbils, and one husband. She’ll be attending AWAI bootcamp for the first time this year – and Copy Protégé is tracking her thoughts and feelings about the ordeal in real time. Stay tuned for more next week…