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Sometimes we all need a little recognition
Sep 23, 2010

Sometimes we all need a little recognition

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Recognizing people for great things they’ve done, whether a personal achievement, professional goal or just something nice they’ve done for someone else, is part of the vision I have for this blog. I think it’s important to let others know once in a while that their progress is remarkable and that they’re doing an awesome job.

Sometimes it’s hard being a trailblazer and when you recognize someone’s efforts, it goes a long way in helping them stay motivated and working towards their targets. The idea for this award has been in the works for a few weeks now and it’s finally time to unveil the new Trailblazer Award!

Trailblazer Award

This award is not something I plan to do every week but rather something I plan to do whenever someone really makes a great contribution. At this point, it’s not going to have any sort of regular schedule. That may change in the future depending on how well the concept does. So for right now, it’s an irregular thing, kinda spontaneous and I hope that makes it a little extra special. ;-)

Our first Trailblazer Award is going to a blogger/facebook/loa group friend of mine who bit the bullet, worked through her fear and did her very first podcast this week! Please give a high five to El Baugher, my good friend who blogs at www.thesmilingspirit.com.

Here’s to you, Miss El!

And the second thing I’ll be introducing here very soon is a short series I’m tentatively calling Graphics for Bloggers. I’m hoping to have the first post in the series ready for you by early next week and then every few days, we’ll take it up a notch! We’re going to learn about some cool (and free!) programs, how to crop photos, how to enhance them, make them into links, and all sorts of good stuff. So stay tuned for that.

Also, you may remember back when I used to do desktop wallpapers for you to download and I think I’m going to start doing that again. I need to come up with some kind of theme that relates to the whole Trailblazing idea. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

So, that’ll do it for today! Once again, Congrats to El! Keep it up, lady. ;-)

Until next time . . . keep blazin’!

 

Filed Under: Personal Development, Trailblazing ·
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 ·
You are not your circumstances
Sep 4, 2010

You are not your circumstances

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As I’ve listened to my heart, learned to believe in myself more and healed my spirit over the past few months, I’ve re-learned a valuable lesson that I’ve walked before. See, sometimes we have to go through similar experiences or at least, re-learn previous lessons, not necessarily because we didn’t learn it the last time, but sometimes it’s because we need the experience to teach others.

I know that many times the situations I’ve gone through are not just for my own learning process – they are so I may become a testimony for someone else who may be walking in those shoes and need help to get through it.

And last night as I was reading, I came across a mantra I’ve heard time and again that I want to share with you -

You are not defined by your circumstances.

That really struck me this time because I had been thinking earlier in the day about how much has changed for many people over the past few years as our economy has gone through some radical changes. I was thinking that just because things might be tight right now, that doesn’t mean you’re any less of a person, any less valuable, less smart or whatever. It doesn’t diminish your abilities.

But I’ve seen so many people who clearly believe they are their circumstances. They throw themselves pity parties on a regular basis, always blaming some external source for their discomfort, and in the process, they just keep repeating the same mistakes.

Well, guess what?

You are not defined by your circumstances!

Your situation does not define who you are. YOU define who you are. Your gifts and talents define who are you. Your attitude defines who you are. And let me tell you – if you have a crappy attitude, you’ll have a crappy existence. Now I don’t about you, but I don’t want to live my life every day as though I’m a victim.

Yeah, maybe your circumstances have hurt you. Maybe someone else has hurt you. Maybe you hurt yourself. Whatever the case may be, you have the power to change it. Just like you had the power to create it in the first place.

Each and every one of us has value. Each and every one of us have the power to live life through one of 2 ways – as a victim who can’t  move beyond the victimhood or as an empowered person defined by love.

The choice is yours.

As for me, I choose to live as empowered person defined by love because when the victimhood falls away, when I learn from my mistakes, when I remove the doubt and jump through the fear, I know I can be, do or have anything my heart desires.

“Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.” ~Wayne Dyer

And that is a grand way to blaze new trails!

Until next time . . . keep blazin’!

Filed Under: Mindset, Personal Development ·
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