Email Class Series

Email 1

Subject: This week will change your life!

You’ve probably wished for New Beginnings throughout your life. 

A chance to hit the reset button and start something new. 

Somehow, it all feels different in midlife. You’ve reached an age where you’re supposed to “have it all” and yet somehow, it feels like something’s missing. 

One of the reasons we start to feel this way is we’ve forgotten to live. We get so caught up in the ongoing cycle of life, that we put our own dreams and desires on hold. We do it long enough we forget what they even are. 

And before you know it, you’re asking: How did that happen? Now what?

Part of the pro-aging process is falling in love with your life all over again. And that’s where New Beginnings starts. 

I don’t think it takes a lot for New Beginnings. But it is going to take commitment on your part to try something new. 

That’s what this gentle reminder is all about. 

New Beginnings are important throughout our lives, but especially now, here in midlife. Especially with the way the world has changed in the past month.

Several months ago, I sat down and figured out that the average life expectancy is 82 years old. As a college graduate, I consider my adult life really didn’t start until I was 22. That gives me 60 years to live out my life as I choose. 

That also means in my early 50s, I’m only at the halfway point. With thirty years behind me. I still have 30 years to go!

Why settle in? Why not become my best, over and over again, living my best every year of my life?

But to do that, sometimes it takes a little reinvention. And that’s what my Week of New Beginnings is all about. 

During this week, I’m going to share some of the ways I bring New Beginnings into my life:

How I think.

How I feel.

What I do.

And ultimately, how I use it to create my life. 

I’m committed to creating New Beginnings myself this year as we move forward. And as a part of that, I have a special giveaway at the end of the week. I promise you’re going to love it. 😉 

So, what do you say?

Are you ready for New Beginnings too?

Email 2

Subject: (You’re In!) Let your Second Act begin!

Welcome to the “Week of New Beginnings” Challenge, Lori.

My intention for this week is for you to embrace your wisdom and life experience with fun and creativity while you define your second act. It’s time to dream! (Yes, we can still dream, now more than ever.)

As Mark Twain said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.”

Make this week a priority – put time on your calendar to show up and do the work. It’ll be the best five days to get you started towards creating a better 2020, a better decade, doing exactly what you’re meant to do. 

The challenge begins on Monday, April 13th. 

You will receive a daily email for the five days of the challenge. 

If you’re joining after the challenge, simply start from Day 1. 

Here’s what you can expect. 

I will be sending out one email with your New Beginnings Challenge. 

You will get an email from me for each of the five days in a row. I’ll talk about the topic of the day and what you can do to participate. 

If you want to be eligible for the “New Beginnings” prize, all you have to do is: 

1.    Snap an image of you participating in the challenge. (Have fun with this. This is all up to you!)
2.    Share on Instagram and/or Facebook. 
3.    Tag me @LoriOsterberg and use the hashtag #VisionOfSuccess. 

You’ll also increase your entries by sharing the challenge with your community. Feel free to use this copy on Instagram and Facebook:

Want to join me for a “Week of New Beginnings?” @LoriOsterberg, the founder of #VisionOfSuccess, will be sending us a challenge each day to inspire growth, change, and abundance as we define our second acts in these challenging times. Plus, she’s giving away a “New Beginnings prize to help us on our journey. You can join the challenge here:

The more you share, the more you increase your chances of winning. 

I’ll be announcing the winner at the end of our week together. 

Thank you for being a part of this week and my community. 

I’m grateful for you!

Email 3

Subject: (Day # 1) Show Up

It’s Day #1 of the Week of New Beginnings. Are you already feeling a difference in the air? Me too!

Years ago, I went through a difficult period where everything seemed to be going wrong. My career was going down instead of up. My relationships weren’t the best. I didn’t feel my best. And I certainly didn’t look my best. 

But then I discovered the secret of Showing Up. It’s the number one practice I use every day now. Especially now as we’re facing challenging times.

Are you curious how I do it?

New Beginnings Challenge Day 1: Show Up 

There’s a quote by Benjamin Franklin I use quite a bit. “Most men die at 25 but aren’t buried until they’re 75.” 

In your twenties, you’re just starting out in the world. You’re full of energy. You have so much to do. So much to live for. You’re learning as fast as you can. You’re pushing yourself to make all of your hopes and dreams come true. 

Suddenly, it all happens. You start to achieve the things you put on your goal list as you entered adulthood. And that’s when your life stops being your own. That’s when life starts happening TO you instead of you creating it. 

By the time you’re in your forties and fifties, you’ve turned a lot of your goals into reality. You have a checklist of things you’ve accomplished. Job. House. Spouse. Kids. Promotions. Things. Stuff. 

But with all that comes busyness. It takes a lot to keep everything working. So you react instead of think. You do what’s required instead of thinking about what you choose to do. 

That’s where I was several years ago. I had a fantastic career, but I wasn’t happy. I had lots of stuff, but it was meaningless. I was fighting with my husband. I felt out of place more often than not. 

I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do. (To be honest, I didn’t even really know what it was. Can you relate? ?)

On the outside, I looked like I had it all. But on the inside, I was looking for a way out. 

I did a lot of things at that point, trying to find myself. But the biggest thing I did was Show Up. 

Showing Up means finding awareness in everything you do. It means stopping this incessant belief that multitasking is the best use of our time. It isn’t. All it does is make you a bundle of nerves. (I know it does, because I was the queen of multitasking. And I get so much more done now that I’ve put that trait aside.)

Pay attention today where you multitask, and put it aside. Need some help coming up with ideas?

If you talk to your child, put your phone away and look them in the eye. Hear them. 

Have dinner with your spouse or significant other, and talk. No cell phones. No interruptions. Just you. 

Go for a walk, without your cell phone, without talking or texting, without your earbuds in your ears. Notice the spring flowers coming up. Notice the clouds in the sky. Notice the sounds of the birds. 

Then take a moment at the end of the day and check in with your feelings. How did it feel to Show Up? 

Don’t do this once, make it a practice. Do it with your kids, your spouse, your work, your friends, yourself. Give yourself the care you deserve, and I promise you you’ll start to notice a richer life. 

Email 4

Subject: (Day # 2) Take A Break

It’s Day #2 of the Week of New Beginnings. Did you Show Up for something yesterday in a way you haven’t in a long while? It feels good, doesn’t it?

Have you ever woken up to news about an icon suddenly passing away while you slept? Shocking is the only way to describe it. One moment they were here, the next they weren’t. And while they might not be a big part of your life – you idolized them from afar – the suddenness of death made you question your own mortality. 

It can happen in a bigger way if you are personally involved. 

I know that feeling all too well when I lost my own father suddenly at the age of fifty-four. One minute he was fine. The next, he’d had a massive heart attack, and died on the way to the hospital. 

Life is short. We hear that all the time. But in all our busyness, we sometimes forget it. 

This past month, we’ve been reminded of that on a whole new level. But worry, my friend, isn’t much different than busyness. When you focus on fear, there isn’t much else that can take up residence in your mind.

Here’s your wake-up call. 

It’s time to spend more time on the things that matter. It’s time to push aside things that don’t. 

For today’s challenge, it’s time to look at your life and figure out what’s most important. Here’s my list. 

?? Things that matter to me include:

• Being present with my husband, daughter, and friends
• Reading quality books
• Eating nourishing foods
• Morning walks
• Laughing daily
• Being gentle on myself
• Finding new ways to increase my compassion for the world
• Seven to eight solid hours of sleep every night

? Things that don’t matter to me include:

• Shopping and buying stuff I don’t need
• Being critical about the way I look
• Worrying about the judgment of others
• Paying attention to social media or what others say about my beliefs
• Trying to change my past – it’s set in concrete, all I can do is move forward

Sometimes it’s easier to Show Up when you know what’s most important in your life. That’s your challenge today – Make your list. 

What things matter most to you?

What things don’t matter to you? 

How can you spend more time doing what you love? 

What are you ready to give up to get more of the important stuff?

Email 5

Subject: (Day # 3) Stop Waiting For Someday

It’s Day #3 of the Week of New Beginnings. Change is happening. Can you feel it too?

Today, I want to start by asking you a personal question. 

What’s your biggest dream, Lori? 

I know, loaded question. 

But really think about that for a moment. 

Did your mind instantly pop to an idea you’ve carried around for years? Something you might not have told another soul about, but it’s there. You carry it everywhere. 

Or maybe you have no idea what your biggest dream is. You’ve forgotten how to dream. You’re just in living mode. 

That’s okay. You’re here. 

I’m a big dreamer. Always have been. 

But a few years ago I dreamed BIG. Like crazy big. And I came up with an idea to slow travel the world for the rest of my life. (You can read more about it here if you like.)

Like most people, the moment my big dream popped into my awareness, I laughed. What!? There’s no way I could do that. I had a career. I was living in my forever home. I had responsibilities. I had payments to make. I couldn’t do that. Could I?

I’m a little different from a lot of people. I thank my dad for that. Because I’d lost him at such an early age, I tend to ignore the “someday” a lot better than most. I guess it’s because I realize just how short life can be. 

When I make a decision – any decision – I focus on my highest desires first. If I really want something, I just do one thing to make it a reality. 

So, now it’s your turn. What is your biggest dream? Are you going after your highest desire? 

If not, how come? 

Think about it for a moment. If you could spring your biggest dream into action, what would you be doing today?

Would you be traveling the world, speaking new languages, sampling new foods, and experiencing new cultures?

… or maybe you’d have more time to spend with your kids before they pack up and head off to college, off to start their own lives. 

Maybe you’d whisk your spouse away on that second honeymoon you’ve been thinking about. You want a deeper connection, want to make each other a bigger priority now that you’re facing an empty nest. 

… or maybe you’d start that business you’ve been talking about for years. (Or keeping quiet about, because you don’t want anyone to squash your dream.)

Back when I had my Big Dream, I did one thing every day because I know just how short life is. I didn’t put it on the backburner and say I’d wait for “someday”. Thanks to my Dad, I know someday might never come. These past few weeks have only confirmed it.

My dream is still there. If anything, my dream is burning brighter than ever before.

Now it’s your turn.

What’s your Big Dream? 

Why have you put it on the backburner? 

What can you do to take one step closer to it today? 

Email 6

Subject: (Day # 4) 10 Years From Now

It’s Day #4 of the Week of New Beginnings.

Did you take one step towards your Big Dream yesterday, Lori?

Whether you did or didn’t, I have something for you to consider.

Every year gives you 365 days to live any way you choose. 

In two years, you have 730 days. 

In five years, it’s 1,825 days. 

In ten years, it’s 3,650 days. 

Think about that for a moment. 

What kind of relationship could you have with your spouse if you said “I love you” 3,650 times?

How healthy would you be if you walked one mile each of those days? 

How close would you be to having your Big Dream come true if you had done 3,650 things – one thing each day – towards your goal? 

Think back ten years ago, to what you were doing in your life. How has your life changed? 

Ten years ago, my daughter had just started high school. I had no intention of ever leaving my forever home. But I wasn’t happy with my business. And I wasn’t my healthiest self. 

As I’ve lived those ten years, my daughter graduated and moved 1200 miles away to start her own life. We became empty nesters, sold our forever home, and got rid of two-thirds of our stuff. We travel all the time, and are considering our next move carefully. I sold one of my businesses, and now write full time for a living. Something I can do from anywhere in the world. 

All of that happened because I did one thing each day. 

And that’s what I want for you. 

See yourself in ten years. Really see yourself. 

Who are you?

What are you doing?

Where do you live?

Who is with you?

Fill your answers with colors and smells and sounds and vision. The more you can “see” it, the easier it will be to take one step every day towards your goal. 

Email 7

Subject: (Day # 5) Set Your Intentions

It’s Day 5 of the Week of New Beginnings.

Look at the beautiful woman you’ve become this week. 

You’ve shown up in your own life. You’re present to the things that really matter. 

You’ve defined what you want, and taken a break from the things you don’t. 

You realize that “someday” may never get here, unless you take action every day to make it so. 

You’ve taken the time to see yourself ten years from now, really see her, and start to do things to make that “you” come true. 

So, what’s left? 

Goals are all about concrete steps to take to get to where you’re going. 

I’m good at setting and achieving goals. 

But when you’re striving for something bigger, sometimes goals just aren’t enough. 

That’s where intentions come into play. 

Intentions are about feelings. They are about emotions. They’re a product of dreaming big. 

While goals are concrete by nature, intentions are more about who you want to be in this world. 

• I can set a goal to write a book. 
• My intention can be to become a New York Times best selling author. 

 Intentions are limitless. They can also help you be more effective. They give you the vision you need to accomplish more with every goal you create. 

• I can set a goal of writing 1,000 words everyday.
• My intention is to be a full time writer who creates enough income to support my lifestyle.

Right now, you may be thinking it’s the wrong time to dream, given what’s happening in the world. But that’s incorrect thinking. Right now is the perfect time to dream … and DREAM BIG!

Why? Because the world is changing in big ways. And if you think like you did yesterday, you’re not going to move forward in a big way.

One of my coaches spoke just a few days ago about the concept of good to great. The problem with being good at something is it leaves you complacent. Why strive for great when things are so good? It’s hard to imagine giving anything up, and losing the “good” in your life.

But when “good” gets knocked down a bit, it’s easier to strive for greatness. To move up and reach for a dream you’ve long since pushed to the wayside.

Spend some time with a journal today and ask yourself some very important questions.

Who are you? 

How do you want to be remembered? 

What’s missing from your life, right now?

What’s left for you to accomplish? 

Write your ideas down now. Write them in the form of intentions. Write them as if you’re already there. 

And watch how it changes who you are. 

Email 8

Subject: Thank You + Special

Thank you for taking part in the Week of New Beginnings. My heart is filled and overjoyed from all the kindness I’ve experienced from you during this challenge. 

Please, please continue your journey using these tools as your guide. 

I know they will change your life because they’ve changed mine. 

If you want to continue your journey with me … 

I’ve just published a brand new book I’m excited to share with you. 

It’s called Second Act.