Read Excerpts of the Gutsy Guide

"BOOM Thinking: The Gutsy Guide to Breaking Out of Old Mindsets" weaves together all the tools and transformational ideas I share during my speeches, workshops and counseling sessions. You learn what BOOM Thinking is, how it works, and more importantly - how to make it work for you."

-Cheri Britton

Excerpted from Chapter 5: BOOM Boomerang - Reality Check Time!

Excerpted from Chapter 6: I Haven't Got Time for the Pain (Wrong!)

Excerpted from Chapter 8: How Dare You NOT be a BOOM Thinker?!

Excerpted from Chapter 5:

BOOM Boomerang - Reality Check Time!

I would dearly love to tell you that when you've done all your BOOM Thinking processes - you've put on the brakes, observed your current situation, obliterated the self-limiting beliefs and behaviors that were holding you back and then created a positive new mindset - you have successfully moved on and are finished with those old issues forever.

But you've already made it to Chapter Five, and by now you probably realize I'm not going to lie to you. Can't do it! Wouldn't be prudent.

It's taken you months, years and even decades to get ensnared in those old thoughts, words and deeds that wrapped snugly around your ankles and prevented you from taking positive steps forward. As we BOOM Think our way through those issues, we blow up those snares and make some serious progress. We congratulate ourselves for our BOOM achievements and feel well-deserved pride in our courage to release things that no longer serve us.
Then, in the middle of the night on a date that your subconscious circles on your mental calendar, you awaken to realize that your Sasha is hissing in your ear, "I'm baaacckkk! Did you really think you could obliterate me that easily?"

Ahhhhh, reality. You've just been bopped on the head with a BOOM Boomerang.

Cha-Cha-Changes!

But here's the deal. This is definitely not a failure. When you BOOM Think and set your intention to create a whole new mindset, you've put the change in motion. You've triggered the transformational process that might take a bit longer, but you've already shifted from the place where you were, and that's a good thing. Positive things are starting to happen. They might not be happening as quickly as you would have hoped, but hey, the only thing truly instant in the world is freeze dried coffee. To get the real thing, you have to work from the ground up.

I've mentioned before that change isn't easy, and it's definitely not for sissies. True change isn't just slapping a Pollyanna smile on a situation, either. Repressing how you feel about an issue is like swallowing a time bomb. Sooner or later, my friend, you're going to blow. Admit to yourself that this issue you've tackled isn't immediately "gone," but neither is it destined to permanently derail your best intention to get on the right track. Balance. Perseverance. Patience. Make them your friends.

Excerpted from Chapter 6:

I Haven't Got Time for the Pain (Wrong!)

Poppies Moni.jpg

I can't visualize a life that's totally blissful with everyone thinking only happy thoughts all the time. We don't learn from that. There are some people out there who will tell you that's not true, but they're either highly enlightened (rock on!) or totally delusional. YES, I consider myself optimistic, but I'm also realistic. I firmly believe clouds and silver linings coexist in everyone's life, and our lives are all the richer because of it.

To me, the goal at the end of a lifetime or a day or an hour is that the good outweighs the bad. If you don't have some pain, you won't appreciate, recognize or work toward achieving the good times.

Robert Bly's A Little Book on the Human Shadow beautifully illustrates this delicate dance of balance in our lives. He says the brighter the sun, the darker the shadow. There's no escaping the fact that there definitely is a direct relationship between the two. For instance, when you look outside on a cloudy day, there's very little shadow. It all looks pretty flat and neutral, and everything seems to kind of run together. In contrast, on a bright day when the sun is bathing the landscape in brilliant splashes of golden light, the shadow of a tall tree will be equally as dark. Dark doesn't have to mean suffering. It doesn't have to be an overwhelming negative. It just is. If you want a life that's like a neutral cloudy day all the time, you'll never feel great pain or sorrow, but you'll also never get to feel exhilarating, heart-warming joy, either.

A cartoon I loved had a huge, menacing dragon spewing flames, and a tiny knight tilting his helmeted head back to stare up into the glowering eyes of his green, scaly foe. The caption read, "No guts, no glory!" The greater the risk, the more you stand to gain or lose.

Excerpted from Chapter 8:

How Dare You NOT be a BOOM Thinker?!

Mary Elizabeth Kingston, a talented architect, did a coaching class with me and laid out a detailed plan for her company. A year later, she sent me a note to update me on her progress. She'd accomplished all her key goals. She and her husband bought a home within walking distance of work, so they were driving much less. She'd shifted to more environmentally friendly architectural projects, and she enjoyed more quality time with her daughter. She thought she was trying to fix her business (kingston-architecture.com) but discovered she was actually trying to create a life that more accurately reflected her personal values. Now, she has both.

Robin Payne attended my workshop for women entrepreneurs while she was pregnant. Despite the fact that her life was already about to drastically change, Robin identified several limiting beliefs, put them to the side, and "gave birth" to a new business dedicated to organic infant products (thegreenrobin.com) and to her baby at the same time. "When I look out into the world of people who are stuck in the fear of 'I can't do it' and trudge to the same unrewarding job every day," Robin wrote, "I am thankful that I continually go out on a limb. That's where all the good fruit is!"

Another woman attended one of my retreats, did some deep BOOM Thinking about her life, and gradually lost 75 pounds over the next year.

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