“The way a dog shows up in the world is something to honor, pay attention to, and model.”
Diane Forster (2:30-2:38)
I HAVE TODAY to learn life lessons from my pet.
There is no better person to model this intention than Gila Kurtz, a serial entrepreneur who has found her deepest passion in working with dogs and their people.
Gila is co-founder and co-owner of Dog is Good, a lifestyle brand for dog lovers, and author of Fur Covered Wisdom: A Dog Can Change the Way You See the World. Gila is also the creator of a transformational program which takes dog owners on a journey of self-discovery through the eyes of their dogs.
But Gila didn’t just wake up one day with the passion to do this kind of work.
Soon after she and her husband Jon started Dog is Good, the business took off much faster than they expected. Gila found herself scrambling to keep up with its rapid growth. In the midst of this, she also took on the task of training a puppy for Leader Dogs for the Blind to raise awareness and funds for the organization. She struggled to juggle everything and to show up perfectly for it all. While outwardly everything looked good, inwardly she was spiraling downward and fell into a deep depression.
One morning she watched her puppy wake up and excitedly grab her toy, tail wagging, and look expectantly at Gila. At that moment, Gila decided that if she could wake up like her puppy for just one day, she would do everything she could to wake up with that kind of expectancy and excitement to start a new day. She surrendered herself to seeking out more life lessons from her puppy.
Over the course of a year, Gila notated these life lessons and the actions to take from them and began to see shifts and changes in her life. Ultimately, those lessons from her puppy saved her life and the notes turned into her book and other work she is now passionate about.
“Every moment that you are centered, you feel it. It’s a different way of being and there’s an amazing element of peace that occurs.” -Gila Kurtz (20:20-20:35)
Gila’s personal course of action to get back to centerline when she becomes aware she is moving away is to center it with her canines.
She lives the “I HAVE TODAY way” by being self-aware and having pre-identified strategies to pull her back to where she chooses to be versus allowing the world to affect how she feels and how she will be. She also has a non-negotiable morning routine which includes writing in her journal, doing visualization exercises, meditating, reading, and working out.
In this period in humanity when we are more disconnected from each other than we have ever been, Gila has a theory that this deep connection we have with our pets is the result. We seek connection, love, and a sense of peace and well-being, and our pets bring that to us every time we’re with them.
“Dogs have gone from the backyard into the bedroom and out everywhere we go.” -Gila Kurtz (24:25-24:29)
Gila invites you to become a part of the Fur Covered Wisdom Community and to check everything out on the Dog is Good website.
How to get involved
- For more information about working with Diane and to gain access to valuable resources visit dianeforster.com.
- You can contact Diane for coaching information at info@dianeforster.com.
- To learn more about the EED Process discussed on today’s episode, get Diane’s book, I Have Today.
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