Michele

Michele DeVille is a Life Coach, Speaker and Author that has a passion to inspire others to live an extraordinary life at any age and regardless of the past. She believes that everyone has what they need from within to find their purpose, discover their passions and the courage to make the changes necessary to shift from where they are right now to where they want to be to live life to the fullest. Michele is the author of the book "The Path To Forgiveness" and is busy working on her second book. In addition to her love of coaching, speaking and writing she has over 20 years experience in business. She is a single mom of three amazing daughters and loves to travel, spend time up north, movies, reading, yoga, volunteering and spending times with friends and family.

Have You Told Your Kids You Love Them Today? (or anyone you love…)

 Posted by Michele on February 27, 2012  General  3 Responses »
Feb 272012
 

On Monday February 20th four young beautiful college students lost their lives in a tragic car accident on a treacherous stretch of freeway in Northern Minnesota. My heart like so many others broke upon hearing the news and I once again found myself asking the question of WHY? Regardless of all the grief and loss I have faced over the years I could not wrap my head around this senseless accident and I could not get the vision of these beautiful girls out of my mind. Perhaps it was the fact that they were so young. Perhaps it was because they had just spent a wonderful long holiday weekend at their homes with family and friends with no clue life was about to end. Perhaps it was because they had so much life ahead of them. Perhaps it was because it hit too close to home and it could have been my daughters Danielle and Jordan in that car and heading back to school.

Days later the vision still haunts me and while I cannot find any answers to the WHY or make sense of this loss it served as a painful reminder that we truly don’t know what the future holds. The only real thing anyone has is this very moment and just as life can be good in that moment it can drastically change in the next. Those girls were full of life and like so many other kids they said goodbye, got into that car and headed back to school and towards their dreams. They never made it and their lives were cut short. We all know this at some level yet we easily forget to embrace and appreciate every moment. Life gets busy and we get distracted with where we have been and where we are going versus where we are right NOW. It is hard to focus on those things that are most important and truly matter when we are drowning in stress, regret or worry. I am guilty as charged but every time something like this happens it is a cruel wake-up call that we waste too much time on so many things that mean nothing in the end. Continue reading »

Love Is Like A Box of Chocolates…..

 Posted by Michele on February 14, 2012  General  No Responses »
Feb 142012
 

As yet another Valentines Day is upon us I was thinking about LOVE and how it is truly the thing in life that matters the most. LOVE is powerful and it is something that everyone wants and everyone needs. LOVE is a risk. LOVE is irrational. LOVE is beautiful. LOVE is intoxicating. LOVE is simple yet so complex. LOVE is amazing. LOVE is confusing. LOVE can bring even the strongest to their knees and can lead people to do things they would normally not do. LOVE is one of the most extraordinary feelings in the world. LOVE is unforgettable. LOVE is messy. LOVE is perfect. LOVE is imperfect. LOVE brings peace.  LOVE is unpredictable. LOVE hurts. In the end LOVE is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you are going to get.

Most people have been in love at least once in their lives and for some it has been several times. Most have had their hearts broken and most have broken someone’s heart. Regardless of having loved and having suffered a broken heart people are still drawn to the allure of all that a relationship can bring and to love. It is a feeling like no other and one that is desperately missed when it is lost or gone. Humans need to be loved and in all honesty we have the need to love right back and so it is no surprise that we struggle when we break up with someone, a relationship falls apart, we fall out of love, we have been hurt or we find ourselves alone. We are meant to share our lives with others and somehow we do not feel whole or complete when we are walking the journey without a partner.

I have been in love more than once, have broken a few hearts and have certainly had my heart broken and as much as love has sometimes hurt I can honestly say I would rather have loved and been hurt than to never have loved at all. With that being said, it can be incredibly difficult to find the courage to take the risk and find love again when one has been hurt. We all go into relationships with our hearts open ready to dig into that “box of chocolates” believing that we are going to enjoy every moment and having faith that this could be the one. However, love is truly like a box of chocolates. Once we get past the beautifully wrapped box and open it up we do not always know what we will find inside and you never know for sure what you are going to get. That can be scary and leaves most of us feeling vulnerable. I have been there but on this Valentine’s Day there are a few thoughts about that box of chocolates I would like to share….. Continue reading »

LOVE YOURSELF and HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW!

 Posted by Michele on February 7, 2012  General  2 Responses »
Feb 072012
 

The deepest and most intimate relationship you will ever have is the relationship you have with yourself. Respect it, appreciate it, nurture it and protect it. Fall in love with yourself over and over again – there will be days when it is truly the only thing you can count on. Love YOU!  Michele DeVille

This past week I had a conversation with someone I am very close to and through her tears she shared with me that she was overwhelmed, stuck and so unhappy with her life. She compared herself to everyone else and questioned why others always seemed to have it better. She could not understand why life seemed so unfair and was frustrated that her friends had everything that she so badly wanted but could never seem to find. My friend talked of the next trip she was planning, the clothes she must buy and disclosed her wish to live in another country feeling she did not belong here. I tried to be compassionate and empathetic but I could not help but feel sorry for her knowing that happiness would continue to elude her if she did not learn to first love herself.

As humans it is easy to get caught up in the search for happiness but it is a search that often ends in misery because we search for it outside of ourselves. We come to depend on everything and everyone around us to make us happy and in the process we forget to love and appreciate the person that matters the most…..ourself! Failure to love oneself becomes a huge barrier to finding happiness and don’t forget that if we struggle to love ourselves it makes it far more difficult to truly love others. Continue reading »

What Everyone Must Know….

 Posted by Michele on January 30, 2012  General  No Responses »
Jan 302012
 

Last night I was watching a documentary on CNBC about a topic that upsets me deeply and one that I am very passionate about. It is a topic that, quite frankly, is often misunderstood, lacks awareness and it is one that many people would prefer to forget. Unfortunately, HUMAN TRAFFICKING is not going away and it is actually becoming a far bigger issue and problem than any one of us would like to believe. Watching these young women share their stories brought me to tears and made me so angry. As a mother of three daughters whom I love more than anything in this world, I was enraged at the horrific abuse these young girls endured and it was once again a dark and painful reminder that this monster is alive, thriving and lives closer than most people realize. The terror, pain and abuse these young girls survived was appalling and sadly, the circumstances that led these innocent and unsuspecting girls to their fate could happen to anyone.

As with many things in life, perception is everything and human trafficking falls prey to a great deal of misperception. Often times, people that live in the United States are lulled into a false sense of security because they believe human trafficking does not happen here. People believe that human trafficking is a crime that happens in other countries and that the victims are poor, runaways or drug addicts. It is time for a wake-up call. Human trafficking can happen to anyone and is prejudice to no one! It does not matter if you are male or female, young or old, rich or poor. It does not matter where you live, what ethnicity you are or what level of education you may have reached.

Human trafficking is a booming business in the United States and it is in the cities, small towns and the suburbs. Our children are at risk just like everyone else. The perpetrators are finding their victims in on- line chat rooms, at malls, schools, after-school programs, theaters and parties. All kids can be vulnerable and these perpetrators are smart, enticing kids with false promises of modeling jobs, gifts, clothes, popularity, love, money, friendship, drugs and more. At times, girls are being used to recruit unsuspecting girls into this nightmare. While teenagers are often targeted kids are trafficked at all ages. The belief that this only happens to runaway kids and in other parts of the world is wrong. It is happening everywhere and it is happening NOW. Continue reading »

The WHY….

 Posted by Michele on January 23, 2012  General  No Responses »
Jan 232012
 
It is not always a behavior that is the problem in itself but rather the why behind why the behavior happened in the first place. Take a moment to step back, look deep within, soul-search and try to find the why. It is when you discover and understand the why that you can truly start the process of change, learn to forgive and finally heal. Michele DeVille

I recently attended a course and one of the main themes that day was talking about human behavior. We as humans are sometimes vulnerable to poor behavior and unfortunately we make poor choices and mistakes. For some, these behaviors become a part of our identity – a pattern that weaves its way into our being if you will and we find ourselves repeating a behavior regardless of the consequences or potential pain it might cause.  This leads to the perplexing question of why. Why would anyone engage in a behavior or repeat a behavior when it is wrong, causes pain, hurts, has consequences or at times can ruin a life if not steal it?

While there are no easy answers to this complex question I do believe that we must at a fundamental level look beyond the behavior itself and focus on the reasons for the behavior. We must peel back the layers of the onion as unpleasant as it might be and get to the core of what might be causing the behavior. Regardless of how big or small, there is a why that lies deep within that core; there is a powerful why that is driving the behavior. Continue reading »

From Where You Are – I Miss You

 Posted by Michele on January 17, 2012  General  No Responses »
Jan 172012
 

Loss of a loved one is prejudice to no one and to lose someone we love is something that everyone will face at some point in this journey. Today like so many days before I was reminded of how short life is and that every day brings the pain and sadness of loss to someone in the world. While I did not know Samantha Channels personally I was honored to have connected with her through the halls of Facebook and to witness a woman that shined her light on so many with her courage, strength, spirit, inspiration and drive to make a difference until the very end. Even though I had never met her I was deeply saddened at her passing and my heart ached today for her husband, her children, her family and her friends.

Her life was cut far too short and yet I could not help but think about the legacy she has left behind and how many lives she touched. Today I was once again reminded of how precious each and every day we are given is and I once again could not help but think about all of the people I have lost over the years. Today, my heart goes out to everyone that has lost someone they loved – to all of the husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, co-workers and anyone that somehow touched our lives.

It is true that time does heal but life is never the same when we lose someone special and while life goes on it is impossible to forget just how important they once were. At the end of the day, those we loved and those we lost are forever missed and regardless of how much time drifts by there will be times when that familiar tug at the heart appears and you would give anything to see them once more. With that being said, I also know that life keeps moving and as difficult as the loss of a loved one is, the human spirit to survive is amazing. I have witnessed strength and resilience in my own children after losing their dad and unfortunately, I know so many other kids who have lost a parent far too young. Continue reading »

Out With The Old – In With The New

 Posted by Michele on January 3, 2012  General  1 Response »
Jan 032012
 

This week’s blog is quite relevant as I find myself getting ready to move. I must admit that it has been tough packing up an entire house that holds so many memories and we have all been a bit sad as we have sorted through boxes, donated things and taken bits and pieces of our lives, placed them in boxes and stacked them in the garage ready to be loaded and moved. As with any home, there have been good times and bad times but as the reality of the move draws near it is indeed difficult to close yet another chapter of our lives.

Moving was not necessarily my first choice but it was a necessary one for many reasons and while I have struggled with what to do for quite some time I know in my heart that it is the right thing to do. I have cried a few times as I have stayed up late at night in a quiet house with pieces of my life scattered everywhere but the hardest part is knowing that my girls have been sad and forced to accept that we will never live in this home again.

With that being said, for those of you that read my blogs on a regular basis, you know that I tend to be a glass is half full versus a glass is half empty kind of girl and even when things are difficult I try to find the gift in most everything that happens in life. I can tell you that New Year’s Eve held special meaning for me this year for I was more than ready for 2011 to come to an end and to welcome in 2012. While there are some difficult things to still face in 2012 I truly believe that the new year is a time for new beginnings and a new adventure. In essence, the new year is the perfect time for getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. With significant reflection as I packed this past week and as I celebrated the blessing of yet another new year these are a few of the things I have learned and reminded my daughters to hold onto…. Continue reading »

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