I was so thrilled to have my dearest friends all ring in the New Year with my husband and me in 2011. In fact, we had so much fun that the celebration lasted two days. The Winter Solstice this year has produced the most beautiful sunsets and the sunset New Year’s Day evening was just as beautiful. I just had to share some of the pictures I took that evening. I hope you enjoy!

My Great Aunt, Belle and Grandmother, Mary

My grandfather’s name is Wiley Galbraith, and he was born in Windsor and married my Grandmother, Mary Irvine McDonald in Windsor and later moved accross the Detroit River in the early 1900s and bought a home in Hazel Park just north of 8 Mile Rd.  He became a banker and continued to work even through the Great Depression.  My grandmother took a job working at the Book Cadillac Hotel as a switch board operator, and used her paycheck to pay thier two story home off in just 18 months. Imagine that!

Sunday night I decided to pull all the documents out regarding our ancestry.  It was already midnight when I got started, but I logged on to Ancestory.com to see how it worked.  Three hours later, I had traced my ancestors on the d side back to the 1700s and found our first ancestor who had emigrated here from Glascow, Scotland, James and his son Walter Galbraith in 1769.

I also located our family castle, Culcreuch Castle in Stirling, Loch Lomond, Scotland.  Yes we have a castle now the home of Hercules and Janet n of Culcreuch, Baron and Baroness of Culcreuch.  It had been the home of Barons of Culcreuch since 1699, but before this was the ancestral fortalice of the Galbraiths and indeed the Clan Castle of the Galbraith chiefs for over thee centuries (from 1320 to 1630). 

Culcreuch Castle is now a bed and breakfast/hotel, so we plan on having a family reunion next summer! It’s been described as a ‘gem of outstanding beauty’, and yet is situated within twenty miles of Stirling, Loch Lomond, Callender, The Trossachs and Glasgow, and is but an hour’s drive from the city of Edinburgh.

This is our family crest.  Apparently the GalbraithClan were pretty warlike, even rising up against the the Scottish Crown. This is our family crest – wolf!  Well, I just wanted to share with you some of the history I dug up on my ancestors.  Between my Mormon relatives and ancestory.com, creating an extensive family tree was not only fun but very easy.

In addition, they allow you to invite collaborators to join and fill in their branches of the tree. Please share with me below what your experiences have been with seeking out your family heritage. If history, culture, travel, anthropology, languages are your hobbies, you may enjoy learning about your own past using this tool.

What are you passions and hobbies?  Do you make time for them? Are you encouraging others to join you?

On October 14th, my partner, Marilyn Schwader and I will be offering a wonderful free teleseminar, “Purpose and Passion into Prosperity”.  Let me know if you want to join us and I’ll send you her free ebook on Purpose and Passion, written by Marilyn…she’s a fabulous author!  Just send me a note at katana@katanaabbott.com  See you on the radio show today at 11 am EST!

If you would like a lesson in following your passion and living authentically, then you have to watch this video with violinest, Nigel Kennedy, playing Purple Haze.  About 6 1/2 mintutes it goes a bit crazy.  Watch how he engages the audience and the orchestra. 

My husband, Mark, is in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, so I have had the pleasure of watching/hearing Nigel Kennedy perform live here in Detroit and he alway surprises us with something totally unexpected.

How can you express yourself more authentically in your work and in your personal life, so you are fully engaged and expressing yourself fully?  When was the last time you were feeling really powerful, joyful and authentically you?  What were you doing and what was that experience like?  Share you comments here.

How many of us go through life on what I call, “on robot”, or like the commercials use to say, “gotta make the donuts”.  I remember actually saying this myself before I found my Purpose and Passion in life.

There was a point in my life around 45 years old, when I realized that there was something missing in my life.  It was almost like an itch…something I could not put my finger on…yet I knew it was there.  There was this nagging feeling or calling that was inviting me to do or be something different and it scared the hell out of me.

I actually kept shoving it down because my life was actually on auto pilot and it was easy.  I was at the top of my game — in the top 1% of money managers in my company — attending fabulous conferences and making lots of money.

Then one day, things began to happen to me physically.  My knees gave out, and ultimately, I ended up taking one full year off work to think things through…I know this is something that most folks could never do…I am so grateful for that opportunity because it gave me the time to figure out what I really wanted to be doing with my life.  What that is, is helping others experience their own Awakening so they too can live with more purpose, passion and prosperity.

Here is a simple exercise that you can do yourself.   Imagine that you just won the lottery and money was no longer an issue in your life. 

• What would you be doing with your time? 
• What would change in your life? 
• Would you still be doing the work you are doing? 
• Would you still be living where you are living today?
• Would you still be in the relationship you are today?

Now look at your answers and ask yourself why or why not to each of these questions.  If your Perfect Life is totally different than how you are living today, what is one thing you can do today to bring more purpose, passion and prosperity into your life today:

• Take up an old hobby like oil painting
• Join a health club or yoga class and schedule time to show up
• Call or visit an old friend you almost forgot about
• Start a blog to get your story and ideas out to the world
• Volunteer or start your own foundation (I did this…it’s not that hard…just ask me)
• Hire a coach, find a mentor, take a class
• Just take that first step

Yes, taking that first step can be so powerful.  Take some time to journal about this or leave a comment on this blog telling us what is the one thing that you could do today that would have the biggest positive effect in your life immediately.  Thank you!

Visit www.midlifemillionaires.com for your free audio on Creating Your Midlife Millionaire Lifestyle and article on Creating Your Perfect Life.  You will also become part of our free community!  You can email me at katana@katanaabbott.com   Live with Purpose, Passion and Prosperity!

Recent Trip to Brazil

A few years ago, I was told that I needed both knees replaced.  The doctors wouldn’t do the surgery until I was older (after 50) and quite frankly, I am putting it off as long as possible.  In fact, I hope to avoid it.  I tend to be a workaholic, because I love what I do.  The problem I run into, is that I can put self care on the back burner and that’s probably part of the knee problem.  

When I turned 50, I realize that unless I take action now, having lots of money and poor health is a terrible scenario.  Besides, my husband is five years younger than I am and when he retires, we have plans for lots of travel and golf. 

Over the last two months, I have implented three new smart choices in my life and I’d like to share them with you.  My goal is to lose weight, feel more focused and calm today…and then ensure a more vibrant lifestyle later in my life with Mark.

• I joined a yoga class and am attending classes about three times a week.  I notice that I feel much calmer, more focused and feel lighter on my feet.
• I have created a bedtime ritual(inspired by Contributing Expert, Marci Shimoff’s 10:30 Angel Train) where I journal before bed to clear my mind, listen to music, read and stay away from the TV and computer after 9 pm at night.  I am sleeping so much better and waking up a lot earlier.
• I am drinking lots of filtered water with lemon during the day.  Here is the formula for how much water you should drink:  weight divided by two and add a zero.  TIP:  If you weigh 150#, then you want to drink 70 oz of water daily!  Many times when we feel hungry, it could just be dehydration. 

When we get ready to retire some day, having all the money in the world won’t mean a thing if we don’t have our health, right?  By taking these three simple actions, I find I am more affective at work, and happier and more active at home with my family at night.  Plus the yoga class is amazing…my goal is to go five times week. 

What steps are you taking today to live happy, wealthy and healthy?  I’d like to know!  Thanks!