True Confession Of A Rat Race Escapee

Two days ago I celebrated my birthday and as usual it was a time of deep inner searching  and reflection for me.  I thought about my journey to the person I am today.  Emotionally.  Spiritually.  Physically.  And financially.  Am I living up to my true potential?  

In 2006 when I graduated from university my goal was to eventually step away from the 9-5 and support myself by owning and operating my own business. It was something I wanted sooooo bad! It was a goal then, but now I can say I am DOING it.  I officially began working from home 7 years ago and never looked back. It was hard, really hard but I had to get off the hamster wheel. I felt so stifled, it truly felt like a  "rat race"

. 

I made up my mind that I would grind and research and do whatever was lawful to see results!  Along the way I've had epic fails and countless booohooo sessions.  Sometimes I struggled really hard to pay the bills but with the support of my husband, we got through it.  Fast forward 3 years and I found myself separated and alone.  Suddenly I was at rock bottom wondering, now what am I gonna do?  Thankfully I was able to lean heavily on my faith in God which provided guidance and an endless supply of emotional strength. I was also blessed to have support from family and friends and then a little later, God totally restored my marriage.

Out of The Nest

 

Well, every baby bird must leave the nest eventually so 3 years ago year I took a leap of faith.  I moved to a new State, and decided to just do everything in my power to succeed.  I decided go hard with Ebay in addition to my Graphic Design business.  I also set up Etsy accounts as well and created new products.  As time passed my hard work started paying off!  I spent countless hours researching home based jobs, lost money with some of them but learned a lot along the way as well so it was the most beneficial experience as a business person so far.  I regret nothing. 

As I write this, there have been changes yet again in my life. I now reside in my native country. The Bahamas. 

While my location has changed I am grateful that my outlook on life is still the same.  Same Drive. Same Faith. Same Passion to go and get it for myself!

 I am not a millionaire by any standard or affiliate guru or any of those things. I am just someone who learned to support myself from home so I can live the life that feeds my spirit.  Someone who believes any dream or goal can be achieved if one is willing to work at it and above all be honest and diligent. Money can be made and lost in a second but character is the building block of lasting success. 

And so my friends, to your success and mine!

Cherio!

I Hope You Dance

I've had this song playing non stop in my head since yesterday so I just had to share.  The words are so powerful, heartfelt and true.  This song really ministered to me, I hope it does the same for you.

As you may have read in two of my previous post, the last two weeks has been really stressful and hard for me.  After weeks of insomnia I started having heart palpitations which scared the daylights out of me.  I literally feared for my life.  Today as I write this though, I feel a lot better and I am almost back to my normal sleep pattern.  Yay me!!!!  whew.  Trust me when I say I have a whole new respect for sleep.  It is so vitally important to remain healthy.

This whole experience has made me look at my life and all the areas where I held back or put things off for later.  I AM SO DONE WITH THAT.

Life is precious.  It is the most awesome privilege anyone can have. We get a gift every single day of our lives. It comes to us each day wrapped up in 24 brand new hrs.  And those hours are ours to do whatever we choose.
To dream.  
                To Plan.  
To see that plan come to life. 
             To bring comfort to the hurting
To travel
                 To write
To learn
            To teach
         To love and be loved
To serve selflessly
                                                  To find your path
   To live victoriously...
                       and of course 
        to dance.

Cherio!
          

You've Come A Long Way Baby!

So yesterday was my birthday and it was nothing short of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  I had the time of my life and I pretty darn well did whatever I pleased.  And it pleased me to indulge myself. Immensely. Without restraint. A Happy birthday.  To me, by me and for me.

Fast forward to this morning and I am sitting up in bed in a much more reflective mood....asking myself some pretty tough questions....

Questions like:

What did you accomplish this past year?

Could you have done more/better?

What about those goals in your journal...time to tackle those don't you think?

So, what is your plan for the next six months?

Are you living up to your true potential?

When are you going to finish all those incomplete projects you started?

What!!!?????   What is this, the great inquisition?

Truth is, I know exactly what this is.  I do it, you do it. Some of us do it once a year on our birthday and some, at least once a day.  It is that internal check list we keep to make sure that we are on course.

Well, my response to "miss internal dictator director" went a little something like this....

I loved hard.  Fought hard.  Played just as hard or harder.

I challenged myself to grow........to count my blessings even amidst the pain.  To allow others to love me as I am, and to accept people just the way God made them.

I painted, crafted, designed, and honed my skills.  I entered competitions,was featured in galleries and participated in trade shows.  I celebrated, and was celebrated in return. Now I have a loyal following of people who believe in my Artistic ability/talents.  Some of them are very dear friends and some are loyal customers. (giant pat on back)

And then, just when I was feeling great about my life and the progress I was making, I gained 13 pounds in 7 months.......

But fortunately, that is not all I gained.

I gained insight and wisdom about health....my health. I learned how to better take care of my body.  Of myself.

I succeeded....

I lost 15 pounds in 3 months.

Then I failed. 

 I gained 12 pounds of it back......again........ 5 months later.  

.....But I never quit.

I lost every one of those 12 pesky pounds. And this is where I am now.  I learned so much about myself during this time.  I know now that I can do ANYTHING I make up my mind to do with God's help.  Am done with the up and down weight gain. I know now where I struggled and how to prevent myself from struggling in the future.  I am now 80% vegetarian and very happily so.

But wait.  There's more.

And, as if that change wasn't drastic enough, I went from this....



To this.

Then recently I decided to kick it up a notch with my design business.  So I did.  I am saying this only because you never heard me say it yet on this blog...that is until now.  I have a fashion line coming out but honestly sometimes the magnitude of it overwhelms me so much I keep it in the closet. Talking about it sometimes is just too painful.  I just want to do the darn thing!

I have BIG dreams for myself.  They have been coming together slower than I would like but slow progress is still progress non the less, yes?  So here is a small sample of my God inspired line. Hopefully they will be in a store near you real soon.

And Finally, last but not least.  Mi Familia.  The people whom I love most...on most days.  I think this year has really brought us closer.  We have had my dad and grandmother fall critically ill within months of each other and but for God's grace and mercy, they both narrowly escaped death. Both of them.  This put a lot of things into perspective for me.  No more sweating the small stuff. Seriously.

I think this picture sums up the way I feel about it all.  Look real close you will see two little figures walking in the distance.  That is me behind, the one in front is my sister Shan.  We are polar opposites but we have lots in common too.  Unlike me, she is very athletic so I am always one step behind. Literally.

Did you ever know that you're my heroooooooo,.....lol.  Am kidding.  The point is, I appreciate her for her strengths and I think she appreciates me for mine.  We forgive the parts in between, especially in the last year.  We have both grown so much and we are so much better for it.

And so "miss inner director/diva" I got news for ya.  What did I achieve in the last year?

NOTHING BUT GROWTH BABY!!!....and not just the hair.

Cherio!

My 100th Post! Woo hoooo!

So technically this is post 101, but hey the fact is, I reached my 100th post mark!  Woo hooo!!!!!

Wow, imagine that. Originally when I started this blog, I was practically nagging and bribing family members to join my blog, lol.  Seriously, the poor souls. I didn't realize at the time how my blog would evolve, I just wanted to have at least 1 follower. P-l-e-a-s-e.

I remember the day I finally got my first follower.  I called my sister and you would have sworn I had won the lottery. Man, I was all kinds of excited! That was all the encouragement I needed to keep going.  Someone out there had read my blog post and was giving me the thumbs up. Oh happy day! Thanks Charmaine, it meant so much to me. 

In the last year, I have met so many interesting and caring people. You all have been so supportive and non-judgmental, which made it easy for me to share a piece of my life with you.  I have been challenged, inspired but most of all I have grown through this blog.  More than I ever imagined I would when I began this journey.  So, today I say thank you to all 245 of you, my friends, I love you all. I am looking forward to 2012 with great expectations and excitement.  We're going to have a blast.  You betcha!.

Cherio!

Carpe Diem: Darn it!

So lately I've been pulling my hair out  just a tad bit frustrated with myself.  I have so much I want to accomplish and though I know that I am making progress, it is not near as fast as I would like to proceed.  Like warp speed fast.....now that would be perfect!  I tell myself that I'm learning patience and that this is for my further maturity and development.  All true.  I gotta tell you though, the waiting part bites!  The experience of accomplishing a dream/ building a career is like the scariest roller coaster.  It is the most exciting thing I have ever done,  I never know what will happen next.  The highs and lows, the woo hooos, and arghhhhhhhhs however all makes for an unforgettable journey.

Weeks ago I wrote a post entitled  8 Tips To Spend Your Time Wisely and since then I have been really doing my best to get the optimum out of my day.   It's the only way I am going to see the progress that I so desire.  In time I know my earnest efforts will pay off, they are already doing so............graadually.

At the end of the day I would much rather die happily and thoroughly spent than recalling a lifetime of missed opportunities, fear and regret.  No my friends, that is definitely not for me.  I am going to embrace my life.......like give it a bear hug and a kiss.  After all it's the the only way I know how to live and be happy!

8 Tips To Spend Your Time Wisely

Have you ever been busy doing a whole lotta nothing?  Wait, let me clarify.  Are you face booking, internet surfing or watching the NY, New Jersey, Atlanta or Orange County housewives marathon when you have other more important things to do?  Well, read on, this one's for you!

Ahem!, and me too.

Though normally I am a stickler for time and getting things done, alas, I have found my kryptonite.   "Platinum Hits" on Bravo (and a few others that I am most embarrassed to mention.)  I also love TCM movies, HGTV and the food network channel......a lot.

 Now, there's nothing wrong at all with watching TV or having a little R&R but this should come after work.  After, all the necessary things are done.

With this in mind, I set out to organize my schedule so I can accomplish more out of my day.......without having to stay up until 2:00 am every night getting it all done. Here are the guide lines I will be following to make sure I stay on track. Notice there are only eight principles, any more than that and my eyes start to glaze over.  Well here goes!

1.  Make A To Do List And Stick To It
Write down what you hope to accomplish for the day and stick to it!  Make sure that you put the list where you can see it throughout the day and cross off each task as you complete it.  I normally put mine on stickies and stick them on my computer where I spend most of the work day, but you can use your ipad or any other medium that is comfortable for you.  Just do it!  It really is an invaluable tool.

2.  Take Control Of Long, Unexpected Phone Calls 
You shouldn't be having a three hour long conversation in the middle of running your home business or doing something else that requires your undivided attention.  Politely tell the person that you will return the call later and do so at a more appropriate time for you.

3. Plan Ahead 
Always  plan your day the night before,  If you have projects with deadlines, do not wait until the last minute to get moving!  Instead, block out time on your calendar well before the project is due.  Devote that time to that project only.  Starting early without "last minute" anxiety/pressure will allow you to concentrate entirely on doing an excellent job.

4.  Prioritize
Do the most difficult and urgent task first. There is always the temptation to do the easy jobs first, however if you are constantly thinking of the dreaded task that you have to do, it hangs over you like a dark cloud.  Think how motivated you'll feel when the task is finished and out of the way.

5.  Get Adequate Rest
The greatest factor affecting concentration is rest.  If you are not well rested your mind will be scattered and lethargic.  Avoid this by making sure you get sufficient sleep which is 7-8 hors for the average person.  Set a regular bed time for yourself and establish an evening routine that helps you to wind down before turning in.  This way you will be able to fall asleep easier and sleep soundly.

6.  Take Care Of Your Health
Maximize your ability to concentrate by eating light and healthy meals.  You'll find that you need far less food than you think.  If you run out of energy, keep some healthy snacks on hand to give yourself a quick boost.  In addition to this, exercise regularly so that you are in peak condition.  This could be as simple as walking your dog every day.  A healthy body makes you look good and feel good.......and who wouldn't want that?

7.  Be honest with yourself 
Ask yourself- "Is what I'm doing now getting me to where I want to get to?"  If the answer is "no," change what you're doing.

8.  Make Time For Fun And Relaxation
Make time every day no matter how small to relax.  This gives the mind and body time to be rejuvenated.  Taking time to do something you enjoy makes you calmer, happier and more fulfilled.  Whether it's crafts, reading, gardening, a day at the beach with your family, or a night out on the town with your friends,  enjoy your life.  Have fun!!!

So there you have it, a very simple but powerful plan to kick things into high gear!  I am energized and ready to go, hope you are too! 

Cherio!