Mommy Blog? Nah...I don't like that term

Well yes, for the record I  am a mom and yes I am a blogger too....but please don't categorize me as a "Mommy Blogger".... it just evokes an image that I just can't handle.
My focus is not on how to pick the right pillows for my couch , or how to get grape stains out of my kids' t-shirts. And no, I really don't care what brand of dishes I eat from, as long as they please ME. If they happen to be valuable, then great...but dishes are not my raison d'etre.

How 'bout you. Do you have a hobby that folks often misname or misunderstand?
Do you cringe when folks call you a "crafter" when you're really a serious artist?
Or you folks label your ability to fix anything mechanical...."tinkering" ?

Push comes to shove, we have to be content when we are accomplishing our own goals, no matter what others are saying or writing about it.

Peace and enjoyment this new fresh month of 2015.



Tweet

Throw Some of your Earnings Into Tomorrow

Perhaps you are already so wise, as to have gotten a grip of this concept many years ago.
But although, I'm not always lightening fast quick on the uptake, I am incredibly persistent when I want to learn something. "Neva Geev Up" was coined for me.

Anywho, what I wanted to mention today, as it's the beautiful first day of this brand new year 2015.....is the idea to to:

Spread some of your efforts towards a certain point in time in the future.

How and why you may ask? Well, because it diffuses the delusion of only living "for today" and stirs up an expectancy for future blessings.

For example, if you run a blog or website, you can pre-write some of your post and post date them to appear one month or 3 months or three days from today. By that method you are not putting all your eggs in "today's" basket. You can Spread your blessings out over the long term.

Another example, would be putting some portion of your investments into something that won't pan out until at least 10 years from now. Instill some kind of preventive mechanism so that you won't be able to touch that investment until a decade from now. That gives you a Christmas present ten years from now to look forward to.

And now for the "Why".... Well, let me just say this....When folks go through hard times, sometimes they just
paint themselves into an inspirational corner, solely by living hand to mouth which feeds into a mindset of "living only for today". But that isn't a life affirming way to live. Living only for today encourages too much risky behavior and provides no nourishment for the years and decades to come.

Our life expectancy is a lot longer than it was for folks born 100 years ago. For someone my age, I was recently given a life expectancy estimate of around 88 years. That's  a pretty juicy long life.
Why would I want to burn all my candles while I am in my forties? Don't I want to save some blessings and energy for my fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties and however many years God gives to me on this wonderful earth?

So I just want to encourage you as my human friends. Don't give up on your long term plans.
Plan and sow something into your future that you can look forward to.
Some folks even schedule couriers to mail a parcel to themselves or someone they love ....for way in advance, like one or two years from now. What a great idea! Preplanned blessings.

So much to look forward to.
God's best for you in 2015.

Carla



Tweet

Changing State

Trying to get yourself motivated and just can't?
Try one of Tony Robbin's fave coins of advice, which he calls "changing your state".

It isn't something complicated. For me, I can change my state with
my own personalized prescription of 41 minutes of walking on the electric treadmill.
Why 41 minutes? Just 'cause over the years, I've realize that that's all that it takes for
me to change my frame of mind, my perspective and my physiology.

Sometimes, we just get stuck in proverbial inertia...
Wikipedia describes inertia in these words:

1. Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion, including changes to its speed and direction. It is the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at constant velocity.

That's a pretty accurate description of "stuck humans". We resist any change in speed or direction because we are comfortable with what path we have been on for any length of time.
We instinctively resist change, because it is new and unfamiliar. 

Even when we know that we are really ready for something new to come about in our lives, we still have that natural draw to cling to what is our personal "comfort zone".

So, one of the ways that Tony Robbins helps empower his "students" is by teaching them how to "change their state". When we change state, we have a new emotional condition and a new set of physical circumstances. We mentally prepare ourselves for good new things.

So, before you hedge your bets on some enormous New Year's Resolution, consider
allowing yourself a change in state first, to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for whatever new idea that you have in store for this coming year.

Blessings, empowerment and peace.

Carla









Tweet

Blissful Creative Exile

Yesterday I tweeted about a cool review by Katherine Monk of Tim Burton's new movie
"Big Eyes". What stood out in my mind in the review were Katherine's two epic
words "Creative Exile".

While, for some, that phrase may evoke a lonely period of time, when you'd rather be huddled away in the clay stained art department in high school than out with the cheerleaders or in the lunch room.
Creative folks sometimes just long for a get-away where they can completely "zone in" to hone their craft and figure it out just what it is, after all, that their art is trying to express.

So when I started reading and learning about Tim Ferriss and the specific methods he uses to completely focus and zone in , without distraction, my artistic ears perked up and I find myself re-reading those parts of his Blog over and over.

One of the coolest things, other than that he puts Casino Royale on a loop on mute playing in the background while he's zoning in to write....,  is that he drinks epic proportions of Yerba Mate tea virtually all night long when he's on a tight writing deadline.

There's just something so "college cool" about Tim. He's steadily increasing his circle of influence, hobknobbing with folks like Sir Richard Branson, Tony Robbins and the like. But when he talks, you get the idea that you're just talking to the kid who sat beside you in math class, never wore matching sox and could never sit still.  Come to think of it....that actually sounds more like me.

Anywho, what does it take for you to zone in?  A fave cd? A fave playlist? Certain lighting?
Or do you have to leave your house and rent a room like Maya Angelou? Her fave writing haunt was at a hotel toting a bible, a bottle of sherry, and her famous yellow legal pads. Maya didn't write on computers.....  real pen on paper was her chosen route for creation. What is your fave creative media? Online? Or a word doc. or speaking into some "speech-to-text" app that transcribes your brilliant verbage into prose?

Carve it out folks, your niche can only be created by you. Make it yours, make it quirky, and let your family know not to bug you when you're in your zone.

Peace and productivity this week, friends.
Carla

Tweet

Valley Of Decision

There is gentleness here in the "Valley of Decision".. although many would try to sabotage my peace.

When we have some decisions to make, whether large or small, there are those who sense that vulnerability and try to coerce your thoughtfulness into something that is more about their goals than yours.

I want to encourage you to walk peacefully when you are going through a season of decision making.
It needn't be a loud and brash time. You needn't manically hop from book to book to activity to person to blog to site and back again. If you have any kind of relationship with God, He is going to help you walk calmly and purposely. A hasty decision is made when we don't allow our valley of decision to bear
RIPE fruit. Don't pluck those fruits until they've had a chance to mature and grow into a sweet juicy peach of any idea. Any idea worth having or choice worth choosing isn't going to disintegrate into thin air if you don't act on it in the next 30 seconds.

If I might add my two cents worth....take the time just to journal out your thought processing while you are in the Valley of Decision. If you prefer to write on paper with pen/pencil, then go for it. If you prefer just to blab with your computer onto a clean fresh open Word doc, then so be. Enjoy this process. It is yours. It belongs only to you. It matters not whether you save your journals or you save the computer file of your ramblings. The point of the journaling is to help you make a choice. Stay clear. Stay humble, Stay calm. Keep your heart open to nudges from the Spirit of God....Avoid folks who are chaotic or the ones that speak before listening.

Blessed and peaceful this amazing sunday afternoon.


Tweet

Oy Vey Money Versus Proud Mary Money

Most of us have some sort of income... Income from a job, from rental real estate, or from royalties from something that we have invented or created like a book or a witty invention.

Then there's money that comes just because we are a citizen of a certain country...a government refund.
Although I appreciate it, no matter what it's label....it's just "Oy vey" money....because I did nothing to deserve it or earn it. "Oy vey" money is useful, but not inspiring..... utilitarian, but not fulfilling.

I've noticed that the source of the money really strongly affects how I feel about a certain chunk of change....and the size of that chunk matters very little in terms of how it makes me feel.

For example, there's a writer I follow who has created a homespun fishing lure business on the side.
It is his love and passion to create lures and find the best places to sell them. At this point, the business is not enough to entirely carry his household expenses, but the joy and fulfillment he is getting from seeing the progress of his homemade creations is inspiring. He's at the stage where he is considering great expansion in marketing his goods. Whatever nickels, dimes and dollars he earns from this venture...I would be tempted to call his "Proud Mary Money".

I have upon occasion celebrated this kinda money too. I can assert, that "Proud Mary Money"
has a lot going for it. It contains within it's DNA all sorts of good stuff....momentum, hope, fulfillment of a life's dream, and hint of a better tomorrow. "Proud Mary Money" has my sweat, focus and artistic bent written all over it. This kinda money is gutsy and has a pioneering spirit. "Proud Mary Money" goes where no man has gone before.

Do you have some of each? Does that five bucks you earned selling one of your homemade treasures on Etsy make you grin for 5 hours straight? Did that Youtube video you created that's earning you 3 cents per day, make you chuckle while you're driving to your "day job" ?

Even if your "Proud Mary" fund is so teeny tiny as to not even deserve a bank account of it's own, I'll bet that you are already bragging about that new book you wrote, video you created, item you sold on line, etc....because you created it with your own sheer will, curiosity, artistry, and pioneering spirit.

When push comes to shove, my goal is to focus on creating more in 2015. I am so pumped! It's gonna work...it's gonna bring increase....more Proud Mary Moments.

Tweet

Tony Robbins on Basket Brigade

Tweet

You just have to watch this video. It is Tony's retelling of the story of one of his Thanksgiving experiences

with his parents when there was no food ....and then the miracle of the man at the door.

If any of you have ever experienced some kind of hunger, you will understand his story.

Also, if you have ever entertained the notion of feeding the hungry, this story will most certainly inspire you to action. Incredible story. Bring some tissues.

Peace.