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Expanding my trailblazing
Sep 14, 2010

Expanding my trailblazing

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Well, it’s time to ramp it up!

The book I won from Tyler at Advanced Riskology last week arrived yesterday and I began reading it last night. I really should have been going to sleep but I just HAD to start the book! It’s called “The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want and Change the World” by Chris Guillebeau and I must say – the first few chapters are quite thought provoking, as I’m sure the rest of the book will be.

But after I read those few chapters and decided I’d better go to sleep, my brain was a whirlwind of activity. It made for some interesting dreams. ;-) And I woke up this morning with all kinds of thoughts that made me realize I need to ramp it up. I’m pretty good at helping other people figure things out and get moving on the right path but I often fail at helping myself do the same. Although I usually have direction and purpose along with a good starting place, the middle of the road tends to be rather muddy and often frustrating.

So, this morning after I woke up with all these thoughts and while I was enjoying some quiet space between getting kids ready for school and out the door, I came across an article on Bicycle Magazine’s website about bike riding, ADHD and drugs that control ADHD like Ritalin. Now, let me preface this by saying I’ve always hated those drugs and I refused to put my autistic son on them when he was diagnosed with that disorder as a toddler. Anyway, this article made me fully realize and acknowledge something I’ve known in the back of my mind for a long time – I really miss bike riding!

As a kid, I was always riding my bike somewhere. I would ride all over the city after school. I even had a paper route throughout most of junior high and high school – my mom would load up me and my bike in the truck and drop me off with my papers in the town just north of where we lived to do my route. I loved it! Did I have ADHD as a kid? I have no idea but it’s certainly possible I had a mild form of it. I could sit still and do my homework and stuff if it was something I was really interested in but if it wasn’t? Well . . . let’s just say it was like pulling teeth. ;-)

All of this to say – it’s time to start riding again. Not only for the benefits of physical exercise but also because of the focus it allows me to have. I have a problem, though – because of my back, shoulder and arm injuries I can no longer ride a regular upright bike. But my doctor told me a few months back that if I was planning return to riding, I should be riding a recumbent bike. Now, I don’t know if you know much about recumbents, but they’re extremely expensive. You can buy a decent used car for what they cost!

Fall and winter aren’t necessarily the optimal seasons for riding in my neck of the woods, but I do have a bike trainer in the basement that I try to ride my regular bike on but it just kills my back and arm so I don’t do it as often I really would like. Once I get a recumbent, I’ll be able to bring it indoors when the sun turns to liquid form.

What I need to do is find a cheap used recumbent bike. I’ve actually been looking for one for a while but the cheap ones always go really fast. So, if you know of any resources for recumbent bikes, please let me know. I really would like to buy one in the next few weeks so I can get started before the weather turns too bad to go riding outdoors.

Riding is a part of my plan to live a life of trailblazing proportions. Because the whole premise of this concept for me isn’t just about the business end of it – it’s also about fulfilling personal dreams that have lain dormant for far too long.

Do you have dreams like that? If so, I hope you’ll join me in putting them into action.

Tell me about your dormant dreams in the comments and let’s go after them!

Until next time . . . keep blazin’!

Filed Under: Health & Fitness, Ideas, Personal Development, Self ·
Focus makes perfect
Aug 28, 2010

Focus makes perfect

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You’ve likely heard the old saying “Practice makes perfect” dozens of times in your life but let me tell you a secret . . .

It’s not really practice that makes perfect. Oh, sure it helps a lot especially in the beginning and it’s kind of an underlying side benefit of what’s truly important – and that is focus.

Focus makes perfect.

You can practice and practice and practice something but if you’re not really focused on it, let’s face it – you might not get the results you want. Or maybe, you will, if your heart’s not in it in the first place! If you’re not truly interested in something, chances are, your practice alone won’t make you perfect. And if you’re not really interested, you’re likely not all that focused.

Do you see what I’m saying?

In order for practice to be perfect, you must be focused.

So, let’s change the saying to “focus makes perfect.”

And in order to change your life for the better, in order to blaze your own trail, you’ve got to have focus. I’ve spent some time recently developing an outline of the big picture. It’s now time to take the big picture and break it down into smaller blocks that I can focus on each week, each month to move me to the end result of what I want for my life.

This week, and for the next few months, my focus is going to be on 3 things:

  1. Learn more about writing. Although I think of myself as a fairly good writer, I know there’s always room for improvement. I’ve found a couple of blogs and courses that I will be following in order to help me achieve that.
  2. Add to my design skills. I will be focusing on learning new and better techniques for design. This will include newer standards like HTML5 and CSS3 among others.
  3. Develop my Self. With school starting very soon, I will have some uninterrupted time that will allow me to really focus on my Self – body, mind and spirit. Sometimes with kids home all day long during summer, it’s hard to etch out that time alone we need to nurture our own being.

Now, what are YOU going to focus on for the next block of time? Tell me in the comments!

Filed Under: Ideas, Life, Self · Tagged: ,
Let’s get uncomfortable
Aug 27, 2010

Let’s get uncomfortable

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Being comfortable is uncomfortable.

I know . . . you’re probably thinking, “Huh? What in the hell are you talking about, Annie?”

What I’m talking about is this — sometimes we get so comfortable in our daily lives, that we don’t move forward. We just stay stuck in a rut, a dark black hole. And although we don’t usually notice it in the beginning, suddenly we wake up one morning thinking “how in the world did I get here?”

And that’s what I’m talking about. We get so comfortable that ultimately, it becomes uncomfortable.

So, today I want to give you a few ideas to keep things moving forward in your life. How not to get stuck in that one place and just keep trudging on because you think life can’t be different for you. You stay stuck because you think that’s all there is.

Well, YOU and you alone, have the power to change that. Nobody else can do it for you. I can’t, your spouse or significant other can’t, your parents can’t. It’s up to you to change things.

It starts with acknowledging that your life isn’t what you want.

Trust me, I know that’s a hard step. It’s something I have recently gone through myself so I know how hard it is – and how painful it is – to admit to yourself that you’re not in the right place and maybe YOU have made some less than stellar choices that got you there.

Now, stop for a minute if you’re thinking someone or something else got you there. The truth is, your life is controlled by YOU. All the choices you made. All thee choices you didn’t make. All the times you kept quiet when you should have spoken up. The excuses you made along the way that justified those choices. In the end, it boils down to you alone.

You’ve allowed life to happen TO you instead of making life happen BECAUSE of you.

That’s a heavy thought, a heavy burden. But look – it doesn’t have to be. You got you where you are and you can get yourself out of it. While the work you have to do will not be easy, it is a simple process:

  • Acknowledge your life isn’t what you want. Go ahead, say it out loud. Tell yourself you know you’re life sucks the way it is. Say sorry if you feel the need to. Cry, rip some paper up, write it all out, pound your fist into a pillow. Whatever you have to do to understand and realize the truth.
  • Decide what you do want. Rekindle those dreams you had as a child and young adult, do some research on them, find other people who are living that dream and create a connection with them. Ask yourself “Who am I when nobody else is looking?”
  • Create a plan to get there. Write it all down! Get specific! Have fun. Even write down the crazy ideas that make you laugh and say “I could never do that!!” Make lists. Allow yourself to dream.
  • Take action! A plan is no good unless you actually DO something. Make some kind of effort every at opportunity to help move in the direction of your dreams. Don’t be afraid to take small steps – they add up over time just like big ones.

One thing that is necessary to get beyond this stage is to realize no matter happens in your life, you are responsible for it. That’s the most important thing you can do right now. And if you need help with the rest, I’m always here. Leave a comment or contact me through the contact page (located under the “About” tab of the navigation menu above).

Filed Under: Ideas, Life, Self · Tagged: , ,
Renewal
Aug 23, 2010

Renewal

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So, I had a tarot reading last Saturday. First one I’ve had in a few years. And as always, it was spot on.

But more than that . . . it’s what I already knew – confirmation of what I already knew. And I find that comforting, somehow. I see it as the Universe speaking through someone else for my benefit. I like confirmation from the Universe that I’m on the right track! That is always awesome and I’ll take it in any form it comes in!

The roadmap is no more clear, though. It’s still “out there” and kinda hazy but at least I can see it taking shape now. That’s exciting! Being a big picture thinker, it’s hard for me to not see the whole thing clearly by this stage.

I recently had a conversation with Tyler over at Advanced Riskology about fine tuning my business ideas and I gained a few more insights. I’m not quite sure where it all fits into the big picture yet or exactly how it will play out but along with what I learned from the tarot reading, it certainly has cemented things in my mind.

Deciding on the details and getting them all worked out is going to be the largest piece of the puzzle going forward. I took some time yesterday to begin writing down a plan. It’s shaping up quite well and I’m excited by that! I now have all sorts of ideas running around my head just waiting to get out!

When I finally get things fully pinned down, I’ll share the roadmap with you. It’s not anything earth shattering but it’s my hope that if you have even the slightest inkling of wanting to start your own business, it will be helpful for you.

Another topic I’ll be discussing with you on a regular basis beginning very soon, is creating your best life. We’re going to get down to the nitty gritty of what you really want and how to go about getting there. I’m really looking forward to sharing that with you as well.

So, stay tuned, peeps! We’re on the way!

Until we talk again, take care!

 

Be blessed,

{ write * design * blog }
Filed Under: Ideas, Life · Tagged: , , , , ,
Themes for 2010
Jan 28, 2010

Themes for 2010

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With the close of January coming up very soon, I thought I’d post one more time about my Themes for 2010. Earlier this month, I wrote about my ThemeWord for the year – CREATE. And it’s my single-minded goal for 2010. What that means, is I take that one word and apply it to everything I do – “What can I CREATE with this?” With only one thing to focus on, I find clarity as well as productivity in the things I do every day.

I’ve read several blogs recently that are taking this ThemeWord thing even farther and adding in things like Theme Song, Theme Color, and a variety of other ideas. While I don’t want to take it that far myself, I do like the idea of themes. Like I already said above, it creates clarity and productivity for me plus it also gives me a sense of balance.

(And sometimes a sense of balance is sorely lacking in the world around me! LOL)

Now, having said that, I am going to add a ThemeColor to my ThemeWord for 2010. I don’t know about a song. Maybe I’ll find one that really draws me in and compliments my other theme choices but for now, no song. ;-)

So here’s my color . . .

pinkSwatch.png

Mind you, I do NOT like pink very well (I’m not a girly-girl!) but I do like the brightness of this color. If I thought I could effectively change my blog design to incorporate this color, I would. But I think it would end up throwing the design off quite a bit and I have yet to find a design I like better than this one. So for now, no design change either but that may come at some point as well.

Have you considered adopting any themes for this year? Why or why not? And if so, which themes have you incorporated into your life and/or business?

(Please don’t be afraid of disqus! It’s a great commenting system. Oh – and speaking of disqus, look out for my post tomorrow about exactly why I decided to implement disqus here. I hope it’s helpful to you!)

Until then . . .

Be blessed,

{ write * design * blog }

Remember – you can always contact me via the contact form if you don’t want to leave a comment but feel like you have something to share.

Filed Under: Ideas, Mindset, Personal, Work · Tagged: , , , , ,
Your desktop as a vision board
Jan 20, 2010

Your desktop as a vision board

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One of the things I do which I have not really talked much about, is visualization. So, today, I want to just talk about it a little bit.

There are several versions of visualization. One of the most common lately seems to be vision board idea from the movie, The Secret. Basically, it’s a poster with a bunch of pictures, words, ideas and etc of things you want in your life. You create this poster and hang it where you can see it now and then.

About 7 or so years ago, I took a course and we studied some of these things. We did several techniques of the vision board – we made mobiles with things we wanted career wise and we made rock gardens that were labeled with things we wanted in all areas of our lives. In fact, I still have them and there is only 1 thing in my rock garden that has not yet happened. It will at some point, I believe.

But anyway, there’s another thing you can do and by the title of this post, you’ve likely guessed it already. You can create a picture for your computer’s desktop wallpaper that includes the pictures, words and ideas you want to manifest. I actually have several wallpapers that rotate on my desktop all day long.

Every now and then, I will minimize whatever I’m working on and just look at that picture. And it’s refreshing. It puts things back into perspective when I need it. It allows me to dream a little when I need it. It’s so helpful in many ways, I don’t think I can explain it, really.

It’s just one of those little ways I can connect with myself and my desires and I thought I would share it with you today! I hope you find it useful. ;-)

Be blessed,

{ write * design * blog }

Filed Under: Ideas · Tagged: ,
Reinventing Annie
Jan 18, 2010

Reinventing Annie

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Earlier this year, I wrote about my new ThemeWord for 2010 – CREATE. So far, I must say, I haven’t created much of anything. Mostly as a result of having a house full of sick kids for going on almost 2 weeks now.

And if that weren’t bad enough – when I took them to the doctor Thursday, the doctor thinks my 11 year old son (the autistic one) may be diabetic. Hopefully, we’ll get the necessary tests done this week to find out for sure.

Anyway – back to CREATE. My birthday is coming up this week. I’ll be 37. I usually don’t tell people my age but I’m doing so in the interest of the topic – Reinventing Annie.

Now, don’t worry – I wouldn’t call this a mid-life crisis or something. I just feel like this is my 2nd wind. This is my time.

The first half of my life has been about other people – my family, mostly. Earlier in the scheme of things, it was about school or work or whatever else I’ve done in the past. And now this part of my life is going to be about myself. Not in some conceited, “me first” kind of way – but more like, I am me and this is who I am. This is what I want to do with my life.

I won’t be letting my family define me anymore. I won’t be letting my personal beliefs define me anymore. Nor my parents. Or siblings. Or my work. Or my writing.

This is me on my terms.

And I am Reinventing Annie.

Stay tuned.

Be blessed,

PS – Would you keep my son in your thoughts? He already has so many things in his young life and diabetes might be a hard row to hoe for him if indeed he is diagnosed with it. Thanks! I appreciate it.

{ write * design * blog }
Filed Under: Ideas, Life, Mindset, Personal, Self · Tagged: ,
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