Archive for July, 2011

July 19th, 2011

Ten Ways to Find Your Creative Passion

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I’ve been reading The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard) by Jill Badonsky. It’s the kind of book that’s enjoyable on a Sunday afternoon when you have lots of time to pour into every word and whimsical activity.

Well, I came across one that I simply had to do-create a list of, “Different ways you can improve your approach to your creative passion.”

 

Here are my top 10 ways of finding creative ways to fuel your creative passion:

1. Develop a new hobby.

2. Talk to others who share your passion.

3. Create a new club or group to gather people with various interests and then take turns sharing what you’re interested in.

4. Volunteer, intern or work part-time for someone you admire, who is already living your dream.

5. Scope out LinkedIn and find out what others have done to get to where you want to be.

6. Schedule in an hour a week devoted to your passion.

7. Take a class in something you’ve always been interested in.

8. Write a letter to your creative passion and ask what you could be doing better to find it and approach it.

9. Interview people who are passionate about their craft and interview them for your blog.

10. Think outside the box. Do the absurd. Stop taking a linear path and open your mind to what’s possible, not just logical.

“Only she who attempts the absurd can achieve the impossible.” – Claire Goldberg Moses

What’s the creative way you’re pursuing your passion?

CategoryDaily Inspirations | CommentNo Comments »

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July 18th, 2011

Struggling to Do What’s Right

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We all laughed when in Eat, Pray, Love Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert, sits down in lotus position and attempts to meditate. Not a second after she closes her eyes, her monkey mind begins. “What am I going to do when this year is over? Where am I going to live? Maybe Chicago?…Why is this so hard?” Then when she looks at the clock turn from 1:50 to 2:00 pm: “Oh my god. Kill me!”

Funny because anyone who’s ever tried meditating understands the feeling.

Suddenly every single worry, fear, mindless concern seems to be front and center and there’s nowhere to hide from it, nothing to hide it with.

In that respect, how can meditation be really relaxing anyway?

I mean wouldn’t you rather plop down $100 to spend a day at a spa where people are ensuring your relaxation then spending 5 minutes of focused attention on yourself?

Somehow I think all the TV we watch, gossip we engage in and books we read to escape end up being more distracting and stressful in the long run. Like window shopping on our way to the grocery store, they impede our path. And while massage, manicures and shopping trips can be good for us and has their place in our lives, I think the thing we’re most afraid of (confronting our fears) holds the key to long-term change and ultimate happiness.

There’s all kinds of evidence to suggest it. There are research studies that prove meditation is good for our physical health (lowering blood pressure, decreases pain, increases immune function). But just like the choice between a healthy salad and a frosted scoop of chocolate ice-cream, it’s so much easier to lean to the right.
 

What is Good for Us Isn’t Necessarily Easy

The problem is, at least for me, doing nothing doesn’t feel like it should be any good. Sure sitting on my butt and watching mindless TV isn’t good either. But my mind is so distracted by flashes of light and attention grabbing verbiage that I forget about it for the moment. So although the repetitive motions of aerobic exercise or a bike ride when my muscles are aching really aren’t good for me, it feels like it should be. Maybe it’s growing up in the 80′s idea of pain = gain that has my mind twisted.

What’s hard is breaking the habit. 

Even in a cottage where it’s fitting that my husband sits on a lounge chair under a reading lamp and reads as jazz plays on the stereo, I busied myself painting, crafting a short story and trying my hardest to finish as much reading as I could before the weekend was over.

But when I am really honest with myself, all the drama of avoiding meditation has to with the word guilt. If I’m not creating, I’m not being productive. If I am sitting on my ass, I am being lazy. Generations of women who ran around cooking and cleaning and working as their men sat and relaxed has caught up with me.

This journey to take the time to take care of myself has revealed that. I guess “when you know better you do, do better.” The question now is what will I do with that information. Will you keep doing what’s easy and comfortable to ease your short-term experience or will you face the seemingly impossible-sit in silence and don’t do anything? We shall see.

CategoryInspired Life, Inspiring Movie | Comment4 Comments »

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July 14th, 2011

Loving Life via Eat, Pray, Love

Using an old writer friend’s favorite word…This old post seemed apropos based on my last movie post and a commentor’s comment. So here you go! This movie is old now, but the meaning is still-I’m going to use it again-apropos.

{Don’t worry there’s no secrets or plots revealed here. Just my 2 cents on how the movie can inspire you to live a conscious, happy and meaningful life.} [photo credit]

When the poop hits the fan, we might not be able to take off on a year long trip to three different countries. Heck you may not even able to get away from the job, relationship or the worries at all. That’s why we envy Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert. Because she gets to do what we always wanted to do, flee when times get tough.

But the reason why I fell in love with the movie, maybe a tad-bit more than the book, is that I could genuinely experience the difficulty that taking huge risks like that bring. On the surface, it seems easy to do what Liz played by Julia Roberts did. But in reality, it’s impossible to run away from your problems. Even thousands of miles away in India, her problems followed her wherever she went. It’s like Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book Wherever You Go, There You Are. It’s only when she stopped running and turned to face them that her life seemed to shift for the better. read more »

CategoryInspired Life, Inspiring Movie | Comment2 Comments »

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July 13th, 2011

Day #1: Inspiring Myself

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Do you remember Bridget Jones’s Diary?

“Alcohol Units 6, Cigarettes 45, Husbands 0.”

This current attempt was inspired by the movie. But instead of dropping the alcohol, smokes and poundage, I’m on a path to inspire myself.

How?

By living a healthier, simpler, more meaningful life. Not as easy to calculate this one. But I’m going to try.

In addition to cutting sugar from my diet and eating more like my 5 year old rabbit, I’m also going to journal, do tai chi and meditate. Did I mention I’m going to try to do this daily?

As I write this I can feel myself hyperventilate. It’s not a small task. But a must if I’m going to heal myself and change my life.

I know we’re already 7 months into 2011, but everyone deserves a second chance. And no one needs it more than I. So much regret I have for nights I spent “drinking like a fish” as my cousin once described it. And scarfing down enough Ben & Jerry’s and slurpees to keep a classroom of kids hyper and jittery for a whole school year.

So I’m going to do it.

Anyone else want to join me?

It’s day #1 for me, but I’ve already cheated and started the program. So far, I’m realizing that before bed tai chi and evening meditation are both helping me to sleep. It’s getting myself to do it that’s hard.

So far I’ve already found ways to cheat.

Here’s your CliffsNotes cheat sheet. You know how they say, “hiking is just walking?” Well meditating is just sitting. And if sitting is too boring, lying in bed and visualizing a happy ending story to your life with your husband counts too. Be creative and the process could be a whole lot more fun.

*If you want to be part of the support group to meditate and write more, comment below. Lurkers and meditation wannabes welcome.

CategoryDaily Inspirations | Comment14 Comments »

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July 12th, 2011

How Do You Know It’s Time?

Do you remember the scene in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love when Felipe takes Liz by the hand and says, “Darling, it’s time.”

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Don’t you wish someone would tell you that too? 

  • When you’re teetering back and forth on a decision to leave a job?
  • Deciding to start a business?
  • End a relationship?
  • Stay or move?

Today, a tweet from @MelissaBreau caught my eye. I replied to her Tweet to find out what was going on in her world and she replied with this:

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@theinspiringbee thanks. I decided recently – I’m going freelance full time.

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Breau, a fellow writer announced on her blog that she decided to quit her 5 year full-time associate editor job and go full-time as a freelancer. Woohoo!! I was excited for her. It made me wonder what gave her the courage to make such a decision.

What does it take for someone to leave the comforts of their current situation and take a leap into the unknown?

Although every situation is different, I think I have a few ideas.
 

Signs It’s Time

 
Your reason to stay is just not good enough. A friend once said the best thing about her current beau was that he had a “warm body.” If you can’t come up with any good reasons to stay in a relationship, a job or even a state, it may be time to pack it up.

You’ve stopped growing. At the beginning of your journey you were getting tons of new ideas, your learning curve was more impressive than a professional baseball player’s curveball. But several months later you feel stagnant. You haven’t learned a thing and your forecast for future growth is looking bleak.

Fear is controlling your decision. Perhaps intuitively you know it’s time to move on, but when people ask you why you stay, the only answer that keeps coming up is fear. You’re afraid of the lost of security. You’re afraid that you may be making the wrong decision.You’re afraid of letting go so instead you hold on tight and keep waiting for the fear to subside.

You begin to see other people doing what you want to do. In college I was dreaming of leaving my small hometown and going to school on the mainland. But that leap seemed so huge. I couldn’t imagine it for myself. That is, until I heard a classmate had already done it. Knowing that someone else had already done it. Knowing that she already faced her fears and took that leap excited me and I stopped seeing limitation and started imagining what was possible for myself.

You just know. You know how Oprah always talks about getting a whisper and then a whisper becomes a shout? Maybe you know you were destined to be a writer or you know that the person you are with isn’t the right one. Maybe you already know the answer to the title of this post, you just need a push to make that decision.

If you’re still on the fence, give yourself time. Reflect on your choices. Go through a list of pros and cons and think about what your life would be like if you decided to stay where you are or make a leap. Imagine how you would feel 5 years from now if you were doing exactly what you are doing right now.

Is the risk to go through with it greater than the risk of doing nothing at all?

CategoryDealing with Fear, Finding Your Purpose, Inspired Life | Comment3 Comments »

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July 11th, 2011

Asking Sherry Petersik from Young House Love

A few years ago, I emailed my role model bloggers John and Sherry Petersik of YoungHouseLove never expected I would get a response. And certainly not expecting the response that I got. I was blown away by Sherry’s kindness, sincerity and generosity. She was just SO cool and just like I’d imagined her to be-full of energy and passion for what she does-a true inspiration to me.

Below is her email, which I broke up into helpful themes categorizing their phenomenal success. Although I’ve posted this before, I’m reposting this here as part of my new “life is easy” mentality so you too can be inspired in various ways all in one easy and convenient place. Have fun reading!

Luck & Gratitude

 ”We have definitely had a series of lucky breaks to end up where we are today in the blog world, and for that we’re eternally thankful. We never solicited these mentions, people found us and liked what they saw- which is truly amazing and we still pinch ourselves when we think about it!”

Opportunity

“It might not have been the job that we always wanted, but once we started to grow and get such a great response it quickly became clear that it was what we loved doing, and we’d do anything we could to keep it going and help it grow even more!”

Talent & Hard Work

 ”I also think a lot of our success has to do with the fact that we’re actually writers (I used to be a copywriter and John’s still in advertising to this day) and we truly love to write (we ENJOY it and it’s never a chore) and we try very hard to come up with creative and unexpected approaches to decorating that won’t break the bank (which is really something that people can relate to these days). I’m not gonna lie- it’s the hardest job we’ve ever had. We work weekends and nights and we’re never really “off” because the internet is 24/7 and someone always has a question or places an order that we have to fill. Our to-do list is always eons long- and of course we still have to find time to write posts and complete house projects to keep people coming back! In short, it’s definitely a lot of work but it’s also rewarding and creative and challenging too. And we love a challenge!”

Passion

“I have no idea what I would be doing if I didn’t have the blog to keep me busy. Probably still writing copy for advertising (which I also enjoyed, I even wrote some celebrity stuff for the Got Milk campaign when we were in NYC). But the blog brings a different sort of independent satisfaction. We do it all and we’re the boss and we decide everything that happens with it and that’s very satisfying and empowering. Plus I’m just crazy about design and decorating and online shopping and color and art so it’s a great combination of a ton of things that really float my boat!”

Dreams

“I think our dream was to create a place that we’d love to drop in on (a site with tutorials and info and nice people who actually answer questions and emails), so we created the thing that we hadn’t found yet and people really seem to be happy that we did.”

CategoryInspiring People | CommentNo Comments »

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July 8th, 2011

Why Does Life Have to Be So Hard?!

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Ever ask yourself that question?

Recently, I about hit my head on the table when I realized why life is so hard…

I’ve been saying it to myself since I was a kid.

Really? Really.

I said it to myself when I decided to choose the hardest project to do in class. I said it when I vowed to find a way to graduate with honors even though the Dean (he was a.k.a. as Georgie Porgie who liked to make the girls cry) said, “No” to me. I fought for a lot in my life because I believed a long, long time ago that life was supposed to be difficult.

And it was.

Darn it! I hate it when I’m right.

But I realized that maybe instead of saying, “life is difficult,” why not be open to a different thought?

That change has begin opening doors for me I didn’t realize was possible.

For one, it made me rethink this website.

I had created it on an impulse. I had a strong desire to spread my little bee wings and after a bike ride had a vision of inspiring others in various ways. Like a bee floating from flower to flower, I wanted to spread inspiration and positivity so it would grow one person at a time.

For the most part, I have created what I had envisioned.

I say, “for the most part,” because the way I did it was so clunky and inefficient that I ended up spending more time structuring the blog than I did writing it. [Insert horrifying scream here.]

Instead, I decided to streamline the process by combining all my crazy ideas in one place. You’ll hopefully see what I mean over the course of the summer.

Now, I’m not completely sure this will solve all my problems. You may find The Inspiring Bee to be a little scattered and a little neurotic at first. I’m hoping that’s okay. I’m hoping you’ll love it anyway.

Since it’s summer, I’m on a mission to risk BIG and start reorganizing my life and my business.

I started sharing a few of my summery goals on Twitter and Facebook. And found a group of similar minded gals. This has sparked another idea of mine, which I hope to also get my hands into in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned.

With loving thoughts,

Brandi {a.k.a. TIB}

CategoryFinding Your Purpose | Comment2 Comments »

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