Thursday, July 21, 2016

Chrysalis by Ann Vanino- Guest Blog and Giveaway


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Ann Vanino will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Five Things You May Never Guess About Me!


I went to a nursery school that was under the FDR Drive elevated highway in lower Manhattan. I was living in an apartment complex just across the street and it did not seem unusual at all. It was in a small “park” – New York City style. My memories are spare, but I do remember that I loved the school, had a great teacher and we had a graduation ceremony where I played a squirrel. I lived my first seven years in Manhattan. As our family grew, we soon had my parents and three children in a one- bedroom apartment. When I was seven, we moved to a seven-bedroom house in the borough of Staten Island – “the country” as far as we were concerned. My mother, who grew up in the Midwest (my Dad was a native New Yorker) said she knew we had to move when she had three crying kids in the back of a station wagon shouting “Mommy, Mommy fly on me”!

In college at the State University of New York, I was President of the student environmental club. As Earth Day approached, we needed a program and it had to be good. Previous years, under other Presidents, we had David Brower, Founder of The Sierra Club and Ralph Nader. When Ralph Nader came, I and other students got to spend quality time with him. We had a late night meal together (he had just a grapefruit) and talked about environmental activism. He came without a speaking fee because he liked what we were doing as activists. Anyway, I had to find a speaker. I had heard of a Native American activist group named The White Roots of Peace. I had always admired the love of our natural world by indigenous cultures and thought they might come for our Earth Day program. Not only did they come, but they set up on campus for several days, teepees and all and ended their visit with a beautiful ceremony for Mother Earth!

I ran New York City’s Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team. I managed a Division that included a team of 8 chemists and chemical engineers who responded with New York City’s police and fire departments to over 600 incidents a year. The first responders were heroes. Managing the team, I was involved in incidents involving chemical explosions and fires, leaking electrical transformers that had hazardous chemicals in their oil, expired chemicals dumped in public spaces or found in illegal drug labs that were oxidized and highly explosive and transportation accidents involving hazardous chemicals.

The reason I am a coach goes back to waiting in line for a pay phone (yes, in ancient times!). I was at a personal development workshop in the Joshua Tree Desert waiting to make a phone call and had a conversation with a woman who told me she was studying to become a coach. I asked, “what is a coach?” and soon became intrigued. I actually could not believe there was such a professional where I could help people create fulfilling lives and make a living from it! The rest is history, I went on to train as a coach and since 1996, have a coaching practice that is now focusing on career and new direction coaching.

I am serving as a volunteer and helping to coordinate a wonderful public art installation being created for the Republican and Democratic Party Political Conventions in the United States. It is titled: Our Common Ground: Vote For the Good Life. Its purpose is to provide a space for respectful dialogue on the issues of our day. The installation will have “Dialogue Dens” every hour where participants will discuss topics such as “Security or Freedom?” “Open or Closed?” (society and borders). It will be non-partisan and use paint, sculpture and light to engage convention-goers and citizens in dialogue and conversation. The creator of the installation is public mural artist, Meg Saligman, whose inspiration is that art and beauty can inspire us to move out of the political polarity we are now experiencing to find our common ground.

We are living in a time of transformation. Old ways are fading. New ways are emerging. There is an increasing focus within. Many of us are feeling a desire to create a new direction for our lives.

Chrysalis: Personal Transformation From The Inside Out uses nature’s process of Chrysalis- a caterpillar transforming to a butterfly – as a guide for our own personal transformation. Each stage of Chrysalis provides a jumping-off point, upon which to reflect about our own experiences as we each transform.

Enjoy an excerpt:

THE QUIET TREE

On a beautiful, open hill, there stood a tree. Day after day it experienced the rain, the sun, the wind, the heat, and the cold. In spring it blossomed; in winter it was bare. Always, it was content with life and was silent and still. This did not mean that nothing was going on. The tree had sprouted from a seed into a sapling, grown to full size and changed with the seasons. But to travelers walking by the tree, it seemed that nothing was going on. The tree was something to look at and then move beyond.

One day, a young girl named Sara sat by the tree to take a rest. As she sat, her eyelids became heavy. She hadn’t realized how tired she was, and she lay down for a short nap. During her nap, she had a dream. The tree had a face and began to speak to her. The tree said, “Sara, there are many languages and nature has one of its own. There are wonderful things to learn from nature, if you can be still and listen.”

Sara awoke with a start! What had just happened? Did the tree speak to her? Oh, she thought, I was just dreaming. She picked up her things and began walking home.

In the following days, Sara could not get the tree out of her mind. It was as if the tree was calling her.

About the Author:
Ann is an author and coach dedicated to collaborating with her clients and readers as they create fulfilling lives and bring their unique gifts to the world.

Connect With Ann Vanino:

Website: http://www.annvanino.com
Connect On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnVaninoCoaching
Follow Me On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/annvanino
Connect On Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/annvanino
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://www.annvanino.com/newsletter-subscribe
Subscribe To My Blog: http://www.themanagershub.com
The book is FREE at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

46 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing a little bit about yourself with all of us. I know I appreciate knowing about a writer's life and their experiences. I wish you continued good luck with your tour! :)

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  2. Thank you! Wishing you happy transformations!

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  3. What makes up your ordinary life right now that you would like to transform for the better?

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  4. Wow, cannot believe it is Thursday already. Flying by for me. Have a great day and thanks again for the chance to win

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  5. Great things to know, very interesting :). Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?

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    1. Hi Becky, I usually have a set amount of words for each chapter, however when it comes to writing each day I measure it by time. Perhaps 2 hours each day, like that. My writing days vary - sometimes in 2 hours I can get pages done, other times just a paragraph!

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  7. Thanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)

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  8. What an interesting life you're living. I enjoyed the blog. :-)

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  9. A very interesting list thank you.

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  10. I enjoyed reading the #Five Things You May Never Guess About Me!# part of this post! :)

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  11. Happy Friday! Thank you for the giveaway and chance at winning

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  12. Congrats of the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)

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  13. Wishing everyone an awesome Saturday. Enjoy your weekend and thanks for the giveaway!

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  14. Good Sunday Morning! Thanks once again for the opportunity to win and enjoy your day!

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  15. Good Monday Morning, have a great day and thanks for the opportunity you have given us to win

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  16. Shared on G+, have a great day!

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  17. Thanks so much for the terrific giveaway and al the work you have put into bringing it to us

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  18. I'm back saying thank you for the chance at winning this great giveaway

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  19. A bright good morning to you! I really appreciate you offering us this giveaway. Thanks and have an awesome day!

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  20. Good Sunday Morning to you and thanking you once again for the opportunity you've given us to win.

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  21. Hope you had an awesome weekend. Let's keep it positive as we start the week by saying it's gonna be a great one for all.. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  22. Thanks for the chance at winning, you're awesome! Enjoy your day and have fun!

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  23. Congrats on the new book and good luck on the book tour!

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  24. Good morning and thank you for brimging us this great giveaway

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  25. I'm back and hoping you're not getting tired of hearing from me. I DO appreciate the opportunity to win this giveaway, Thank You!

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  26. Everyone have a terrific Sunday and thank you for this giveaway

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  27. Happy Hump Day! Time is flying by but wanting to say thank you for the giveaway

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  28. Good Morning! I am back to say thank you once again for the chance to win.

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  29. Thanks so much for all the work you put into bringing us such great giveaways. Have an awesome Sunday and Thank You!

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  30. Happy Monday and thank you once again for a terrific giveaway.

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  31. Rainy morning here in Michigan. Hope your day is bright and sunny! Thanks again for a great giveaway

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  32. Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for the terrific giveaway and all the work put into bringing it to us. Not sure if you all are appreciated as you should be because from what I read, it is very time consuming and a lot of work put into doing this for us. Thank you so much!

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  33. Thanks again for the chance to win and have a great weekend!

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  34. Enjoy this beautiful Sunday morning and thank you for the opportunity to win this giveaway.

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  35. Shared on Facebook to help spread the word! :)

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  36. The days so many of us look forward to....the weekend! Hope it's a good one for you and thanks for the opportunity to win.

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So... inquiring minds want to know: what do you think?