The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Living Boldly® Lifestyle Coaching is HERE!

I'm so thrilled to share with you that today, I launched my new lifestyle coaching business and web site, with e-reports, books, teleseminars and my fabulous new life-transforming program, the Master-Mindset Club, with three levels of membership starting at a very affordable $24.97/month for monthly group coaching. There's something for every Bold Soul out there who wants to kick things into high gear and live the bold life of their dreams! Check it out at: http://www.LisaTaylorHuff.com We'll be adding more products and programs going forward into the autumn, but for now I want to call to your attention that I'm offering special "launch month" discounts ranging from 10s to THOUSANDS of dollars. Each of these discounts is time-limited, as is space in the teleseminar and the Diamond and Emerald levels of the Master-Mindset Club, so if you feel these inspiring and transformational programs are for you, then I urge you to act FAST to reserve your spot at the lowest possible price. The prices will never be this low again. I look forward to seeing you at the new site and hopefully in one of the upcoming programs. Please feel free to spread the world through your Facebook and Twitter... Read more →

Your biggest challenge

I need your help. All of you, all Bold Soul readers. I'm very close to being ready to launch my new Lifestyle Coaching business and I've already developed several inaugural products and programs that I'm really excited about, and I hope you will be, too. But I've got my eye on the future... and I want to know what people will want NEXT, what more could I create that would be valuable and provide a service or solve a problem for people who want to take charge of their lives and make them extraordinary. People like you, who enjoy reading this blog and The Exception newsletter. So I want to ask you to answer the following question either by clicking on the comments link or by sending me a direct email to [email protected]. You don't need to spend a lot of time on this, but I'd really appreciate your feedback. And if you're normally a lurker, here's your chance to come out of the shadows and share your ideas! I can't wait to hear what you'll come up with! OK, the question: "What is your biggest challenge right now in Living your life more Boldly?" You can answer it any... Read more →

Paris, City of... the $10 Coke

I received an email the other day from a reader who wanted to get an idea of how much it would cost to stay in Paris for two weeks. Unfortunately the person in question didn't provide me with any other information such as: How many people are involved? Did she also want to know what the airfare might cost? And other such details which would obviously influence the amount of money one might spend during two weeks here. But I did my best to address her question in general terms, because really there is no way to put an exact price tag on what it MIGHT cost to stay here... since every tourist's idea of "value for the buck" is going to be different. Paris, as you probably realize by now, is one of the most expensive cities in the world in which to take a vacation, and live. A Coca-Cola purchased in any sidewalk café could run you as much as 7 euros, which at today's exchange rate is the US equivalent of $9.90. NINE DOLLARS AND NINETY CENTS FOR A COKE? I hear you screaming. YES. Exactly. It sucks. You see my point. And for the Aussies it's... Read more →

Older than the President

I just read an article about how some incredibly narrow-minded, idiotic, bigoted (ok, I inserted my own adjectives, but hey Rush Limbaugh, did you hear me? I'm talking to YOU) Americans have been challenging Barack Obama's status as a natural-born American citizen. They hoped to prove he wasn't born on U.S. soil because the American Constitution expressly states that only natural-born citizens are eligible to run for President (unlike in France where you just have to be a citizen). Well they can just give it a rest now, because authorities in his native state of Hawaii have stated, more than once and for the record, that Obama's birth certificate IS valid, and he IS a natural-born citizen of Hawaii and the United States. Hawaii became a state on August 21, 1959 (just about 50 years ago) and Obama was born August 4, 1961. Which is what made me realize... for the first time in my life, *I* am actually OLDER than my country's President. Almost 3 whole months older. Crap. Read more →

An Interview

A couple of months ago, Ami Spencer of Writing Out Loud wrote to ask if I'd be willing to be interviewed about being a writer. And here's the result! Despite the fact that I recently announced my decision to set aside ghostwriting and editing to pursue my own writing and create a new lifestyle coaching business, I hope the material in this interview will be helpful for Ami's readers -- and mine -- who want to do more writing. Enjoy... and thanks, Ami! Read more →

Honored, humbled... and deeply moved (Part 1)

Last weekend, Georges and I had the honor of visiting the American Cemetery just off "Omaha Beach" near Colville-sur-Mer in Normandy. It was a dreary, rainy afternoon, but we didn't care... in some ways, it seemed more fitting that the sun wasn't shining. The weather was a better match for the somber, quiet mood of this sacred place. Although the men in my family were either too old or too young to have fought in WWII, as an American I have wanted to visit this part of France for some time, and was so glad we got the chance to come here while visiting one of Georges' friends in Caen (merci, Gilbert & Valerie!) Looking out over the cemetery from the steps of the memorial. You're on American soil here. Omaha Beach. So calm, so serene. Now... picture the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan (warning: violent film footage, so don't click if you don't want to see it). Even when we were driving to the site through peaceful fields with cows and wheat, I could imagine how different things were 65 years ago for the French as well as for the troops who were landing and trying to survive.... Read more →

The melon marks the spot

... where he asked me. And where I said: "Oui". Read more →

The Much-Less-Secret Summer Project

Psst... I'm ready to share some of what's going on with my SSP. Or at least, I want to make it less of a secret. May I have a drum-roll, please? Merci. After a lot of thought and consideration, I've come to the decision that I don't want to be in the business of writing. That's not to say I'm not still focusing on being a writer -- being a writer is not what I "do", it's part of who I AM -- but rather to say that I no longer wish to have a business where I get paid to do ghostwriting, editing or copywriting for other people. I'm ready to put my writing energy into doing work solely under my own name. What that means, specifically, is that I am finishing up some existing commitments to clients with whom I've been working on various writing projects. A commitment is a commitment, and I'm honored that they have chosen to work with me to help them complete their books. I'll stick with those clients until we're done and will be proud of the work we've created together. Yet I've always known that ghostwriting and editing other people's books and... Read more →

Moon-walk

Was it only 40 years ago that man first walked on the moon? Seems like no time at all. I was a little girl at the time and have no memory of the event, although I'm sure my parents were watching it on TV and I probably watched with them. Where were you during the 1969 moon walk? If you're old enough to remember it, what did you think? Did it make you want to stretch your limits the way the astronauts stretched our imaginations? Michael Jackson took the "moon-walk" to a whole new level. He was enormously talented... and enormously troubled. I have a suspicion that although he could stretch his own limits when it came to performing for an audience, he was addicted to his own comfort zone in other ways, and perhaps that's what contributed to his addictions in other areas of his life. This week's issue of The Exception™ talks about how we can overcome our need to stay safely in the comfort zone by overcoming our fear of change and discomfort so that we can achieve what we dream of. Sitting in that space capsule for days on end wasn't comfortable for those three men... Read more →

Already missing the plage

That annoying bird is outside my front door, shrieking endlessly as she tries to call to her offspring who are apparently on "test" flights of leaving the nest. I look at our cat, wondering why she makes no attempt at catching this bird as she has often attacked and caught pigeons, which are much larger. It's a testament to just how annoying this bird is, that I'm wishing the cat would get out there and do what cats do naturally. We've been back two days and I'm already missing the relaxation of being at the beach. Since it's summer holidays and the kids aren't around at the moment, being a home is certainly quieter (except for the effing bird) than usual. There is less to do around the house: fewer clothes to be washed, rooms to clean and less food to shop for. We had a fabulous time hanging out with some friends for a picnic on Bastille Day -- how do you not enjoy a picnic with the Eiffel Tower in the background? And we got to meet a new friend, Carrie, who is going to Cat-and-House-sit for us in August -- bloggers are just amazing people, so generous... Read more →