Month: March 2014

Dusting off the To-Do List

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Spring is FINALLY here! I know so many people have been looking forward to the warmer weather (I’m looking at you east coast). Here in L.A., it’s been Spring-like for a while but I’m still super excited about the change in seasons. Longer days, more time out enjoying the city with the family and the clothes! I’m a sucker for warm weather fashion. There’s something about lighter fabrics, strappy sandals and sundresses. That just may be my idea of heaven.

Spring-Is-The-Time-Of-Plans-And-ProjectsI see Spring as a bit of a fresh start. It like New Year 2.0. There’s all of this energy and excitement  for what’s to come. From the anticipation of Summer to Spring blooms, it’s like we all find something to look forward to again. Even if those New Year’s resolutions are now collecting a bit of dust, Spring gives us the nod to sweep off the dust and start again. Personally, I think we’d all get more done and stick to our resolutions if the new year started in Spring or Summer anyway, right?  The grey days of Winter can make it hard to stay committed to anything but comfort food. LOL!

not salmonFor this faux New Year, I’m going to take the opportunity to finish a guide I’ve been writing. It’s all about taking care of the dreamer’s inside us as mother’s! I’ll keep you posted on that one! Do you make any fresh starts during Spring? How about taking a minute to make some promises to yourself. Let the warmer weather be your motivation to keep them!

 

Dream Now, Live Later?

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On a recent trip to Target (seriously, I spend WAY too much time there), I stopped by the cards section and noticed a card about living the life you deserve. I was all offended. Yeah, the idea of it all was nice but this card was in the retirement section.

retirement ecard

It made me think about the way things usually go. People work all of their lives toward that pie in the sky called retirement. That’s supposed to be when you are really able to live and enjoy life. It seems to me that doesn’t work. If we wait until retirement to enjoy life, we’ve already missed so much. For my generation, retirement seems SO far away. We are going to need millions to be able to live comfortably. Some people fully expect to work until they are 70 years old.

Yes, at 70 years old is when you can begin to enjoy and life the life of your dreams. For most people, 70 years old finds them tired and many have health issues. How much energy do you really have at that point to travel, pursue your passions and “enjoy life”? Yes, that card had ALL of this racing through my head. It seemed to suggest a “dream now, live later” life. I am fully on board with a “dream NOW and do it NOW” way of life. (tweet this) I have all of these ideas and desires for my life NOW. I can’t get to every single thing right now but I’m determined to do as much as I can.

By the time I’m 70 I want to be still enjoying my life but I really want to be at a point where I’m not chasing myself and trying to do things that I’ve wanted to do my whole life. I’d rather that time be spent still pursuing and dreaming but also doing a great deal of reminiscing about all of the dreams I’d made a reality. That’s my goal. What’s something that you’ve put off to do later that you could do right now?

Fall Madly in love with YOU

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Dont-forget-to-fall-in-loveHow much do you love you? Is it off the charts love? Whatever the case, we could all use a little more love – from ourselves! Here are my top four ways to fall so madly in love with YOU!

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  • Stop comparing yourself to others. You are fabulous just the way you are. There’s no reason to compare your short story to someone else’s novel. You have no idea how long it took to get that novel picture perfect and publisher ready. Give yourself a break and focus on your journey. It’s going to turn out as it should.
  • Let yourself off the hook. So you didn’t work out today.  What did you do? Focus on the things you do right instead of the areas where you think you’ve failed. That doesn’t mean to ignore the areas that need a little improvement. Don’t make your failures your focus. If you give more energy to the things you do well, other things will begin to add themselves to that list.
  • Spend some time with yourself. Take a little time to get to know you, like really know you. Fall in love with yourself. The more you love on you, the better you’ll be to Y-O-U!
  • You have dreams that are unique to only you. That is pretty freaking awesome! Even if your dreams seem like they are someone else’s life, you’re a different person so that dream would look totally different on you! Go for it!

If The World Wrote You A Letter

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“We’re all desperately waiting for you to just do it.  What are you waiting for?

Signed,

The World

Is that the kind of sign we need to get things moving? Does the world really  need to cry out for us to set out on the path of turning dreams into reality? The truth is, the world really is waiting for you to just do it – whatever “it” is. Whatever it is you want to offer the world, there is someone out here waiting for it. What you have to offer could change. their. life. Seriously, think about that. If you decide that it’s too much and you can’t get to it or it’s too hard you know what happens? A lot of somebodies miss out on something pretty special. Think about the people who have changed your life with their gift. It could be a pastor, a singer, a teacher or Oprah! If they hadn’t followed their heart and their passion, you would have missed out. Make sense?

waitingEvery year, so many of us make resolutions, intentions and commitments to rock out life in some way or another. We start off strong. Then around March we start to slow down. Our burning ambitions become a slightly visible flame. So what happened? Over the years, I have been able to point the finger at a few things. Sometimes it’s as simple as life. It gets hectic, it gets complicated, it changes before we are ready to make the adjustment and we have to roll with it. So, our original demands of ourselves become back burner suggestions at best. It happens. If you stop altogether now, you’ll be that much further behind and probably totally give up eventually. Don’t do it!

Consider this your permission slip to take those goals and dreams off the back burner and make them a priority again. Maybe you can’t take on the whole enchilada but how about one small piece of it? Everything is easier to chew in bite sized pieces, right?

Here’s what that looks like for me. Instead of taking on the task of writing a whole new book right now, I’ve decided to work on a few small things at a time. I’m still keeping the writing mojo going but giving the time to my family that they need too. It’s a win-win. I do what I love and my family still gets what they need.

So tell me, how can you take bite sized pieces toward your dreams, goals right now?