April 9th, 2010

TGIFriday's Inspiring Links

How about ending a long week with fun, inspiring links to get you motivated for the next week?

Inspiring News Sites.

You might look down on me when I tell you that I skip the evening news every night. For me it’s a personal decision. I cringe when I hear someone’s been murdered, or the economy’s not doing well, or a host of other negative things the media wants to report that I have no control over. Why not read about the wonderful things going on in the world instead?

Here are a few sites that will get you started:

For inspirational stories, positive & good news such as the story about how rescued dieting hedgehogs were returned to the wild, turn to Optimist World.

For real happy news, like Suze Orman speaking about how better health can lead to better finances, turn to Happy News.

For positive human interest stories like how one woman helped her neighbor by donating her kidney, turn to the Good News Gazette.

For good news now, like stories on how power ball winners of $200,000 tipped the clerk $740 as a thank you, check out GNN.

And here are a few of my favorite inspiring stories right here at 2inspired:

Successful Dreamer Bonnie St. John talked to me about overcoming abuse, divorce and disability and rising above them to eventually winning an Olympic silver and bronze medal, becoming a well-known author and motivational speaker.

I still also love these past inspiring links and go to them regularly when I’m in dire need of inspiration.

These dogs from Greece broke my heart and continues to weigh on me. I still think about them every once in awhile, wondering if they’re okay. While I have yet to find an organization to donate to, I did find a few sites and would be wonderful if anyone knows of organizations that do so.

I’ll leave you with one last post. This one’s on the various stages of dreaming. What stage are you on?

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April 7th, 2010

Joy Diet Week 4: Creativity

Ooooh, my favorite chapter! At least that’s what I was thinking when I turned to page 66, item #4. I’m all about creativity. In fact, I took O magazine’s quiz, “Who am I meant to be?” and scored highest in the category: Striving to be Creative. So forget nothing (chap 1), truth (2) and desire (3), now I would go straight to the head of the class. Creativity? Easy-peasy!

Could someone hit me over the head please? I forgot that I’m reading, “The Joy DIET.” I’m forgetting that bringing in joy means delving deep into your psyche, going past superficiality and shallow happiness, into the real meat that is true, authentic and raw emotion-real joy. Pass the tissue please.

If I had a temporary jolt of insanity, I was quickly reminded that Beck is a genius. Genius because she’s able to twist, shatter and turn my mind upside down. This week isn’t about buddying up with Martha Stewart and creating a spring floral arrangement, it’s about creativity in the sense of bringing life to our desires. Desires (in case you missed week 3) like writing a book, helping inspire others, etc. Or it could be less grand like, “I want to buy a bunny or take a trip to the beach.”

Ms. Beck says to first get past our long-held belief that talent and creativity are inborn, easy feats, that we are 100% responsible for and oftentimes doesn’t work. I L-O-V-E the part where she says this,” I’ve noticed that the biggest difference between wildly successful people and total failures is that the successful people fail more.” Then I think I’ve got a head start!

The next part asks us to ask ourselves how to get there. For example, “How can I write a self-help book?” Then, go crazy writing as much answers that come to mind, the nuttier the better, which is good because I have a mind filled with nutty answers. There were a few jewels in there too though like take a class and ask other authors.

When you’ve reached your limit, Beck says to dig in deeper and gives a bunch of creative (here’s where the mind-boggling started) ways to find more solutions. My all-time favorite is when she asks readers to think of an enemy, list their obnoxious traits and then (to get to your dreams) adopt them. Her thinking is that the reason why certain people really bug us is that they are mirrors reflecting what we haven’t accepted in ourselves. It could be a behavior that we were taught was bad or unacceptable and denying that part of us may be keeping us from getting to our dreams. Wild isn’t it?

At first, I just kind of scratched my head and sat there, mind-boggled and trying to let it all sink in. Then, I thought of someone who drives me crazy and had my ah-ha moment when I realized that selfish people were my pet peeve. And had a even bigger ah-ha when I suddenly got it! My whole life I’ve been taught to be selfless, but what’s been preventing me from following my dreams is a focus on not being selfish. I realized that being selfish isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, according to Dictionary.com it means, “devoted to or caring only for one’s self.” I think there are times when we all need to be selfish. I realized that how else would I get everything I desire if I’m not a little selfish. Funny how that works huh?

There are tons of gems in this chapter, but I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you. I hope you’ll pick up a book and join me. It’s not all hard gut-wrenching parts, there’s a ton of insight, wisdom and fun too!

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April 6th, 2010

2inspired Updates

I’ve been collecting quite a bit of photos over the last few years and finally decided to post them up. If you’re interested in taking a look, click on My Shop. It’s my latest addition to 2inspired and with knees shaking and bated breath, I’m waiting patiently  to see what you think of them.

These are handpicked pictures I’ve taken from the purely playful to the seriously modern and captured from every place I’ve been (San Francisco, Carmel, Cambria and Yosemite to name a few). Perfect pics to dress up any room in your home (temporary apartment or for permanent home living). And there’s an option to have them matted and framed as well. Happy photo shopping!

And here’s a few more updates:

I finally decided to commit to a regular blogging schedule so if you’re on 2inspired fan, come back Monday/Wednesday/Friday for new posts. I’ll be posting on Not2shabby on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday.

And finally, I’d love to get feedback on 2inspired, my new photography site and the new schedule. Comment here or join us on Facebook and let me know what you think.

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April 5th, 2010

How I Made My Own Dreams Come True

The # 1 thing people ask me is, “How do you get all those people on your blog?”

What I think they mean is, “You’re not famous. You’re not that special. You work at home all day so how do you get all those inspiring people to take time from their busy schedule to spend time on 2inspired?”

I know. I get it. Because I’m pretty astounded too.

I started blogging because at the time I was quite fed up. I spent most of my life working at jobs that went from, “eh?” to “EEEEEHHHHH!!!.” In other words, the blah jobs and the “I’d rather do anything else than this” job.

After I was officially in my thirties, I decided that I’d rather risk being poor than taking a job I hated. With that, I opened the door to the possibility of writing again.

I think my first stint as a writer was poetry in elementary school. I started creating my own little newspaper where the top events was a leaky pipe or a sunny day. I got involved with our school’s newsletter and “worked” as an editor when computers were big, bulky things with no pictures. In high school, I joined the newspaper staff and surprised myself by winning a journalism scholarship award-one of only a handful in the state.

‘Til today, I still believe that I won solely based on my one strength. No, it’s not my writing skills, but something I share with Ryan Seacrest. It’s my A for effort.

I truly believe the reason why fiction and nonfiction authors, life coaches and past Olympians visit 2inspired is that I have a passion and that passion makes me high on E: E for energy and effort. It’s also on the graciousness of the people who I meet that makes 2inspired possible.

Well, plus, I ask.

Most people don’t believe that if they ask, they might just get what they want. I ask because my crazy desire to inspire others is greater than my fear of being rejected. I’ve experienced a million and a half rejections in my life and I’m still standing. Most of the time, I surprise myself by getting exactly what I ask for.

I think this goes back to Martha Beck’s Joy Diet and desire. Some people are so afraid of disappointment that they would rather hide their wishes in a closet, then lie them out so the world can see them. Maybe I’m just a little less scared of that. That’s all it is really.

If you want to make your dreams come true, don’t wait for someone to hand it over to you. Don’t wait until you feel good enough to deserve it or until you think you’re talented enough. Don’t wait or else time and the world will pass you by. Work today, one foot in front of the other, and your dreams will be that much closer while your fears will be that much farther behind.

If I waited for permission, for a sign or something that says, “Now you’re ready! You’re talented enough so people won’t laugh behind your back and talk about what a fake you are.” I’d be doing the same thing I did for most of my career. Sit back, watch life happen outside my window and let fear take over.

My point is this.

I’m not any more talented than the next person. What I have is a strong desire to make a difference to others, inspire them while I face my own fears and share the experience through my writing.

I just hope you realize that you can do it too. Follow on that path of whatever it is that makes your heart soar. Allow yourself the chance to shine and live out your dreams with wild abandon. Because really. If you don’t do it, who else will make your dreams come true?


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March 31st, 2010

Joy Diet Update: Week 3 Desire

Sounds kinda sexy doesn’t it? Well it is!

This week’s challenge is all about identifying your true desire. Beck’s theory is that any strong desire, ache, or thirst that we have are like bread crumb’s left by our soul-little nuggets to help us find our way to our true calling. That path will lead us to our destiny. Pretty cool, I’d say.

The way to get there?

Another 15 minutes of nothingness.

On Oprah yesterday, Raquel Welch spoke words that sounded like gospel to me.

She said, “A moment of silence sometimes is the most scariest thing in the world.”

Amen sister! It’s been an uphill battle for me these last few weeks, but the trek IS getting much easier.

I set the timer, closed my eyes and easily went first to nothingness, second to truth and third to this question, “What do I want most right now?”

I was suddenly flooded with images. First, I saw a book-my book on how to help others reach their dreams. Then, I felt a wave of energy pulsate through me and became swept up in the electricity of something greater than me. I saw myself as a spiritual teacher, with online classes and magazine columns and presentations. In the image, I had a strong, unbreakable spirit and surprising certainty that my life’s purpose was to inspire others to find their own purpose and live the life of their dreams.

A dam broke open.

Instead of any fear of inadequacy or fear itself (the wretched old man that walks around asking me, “Why wish, hope or dream?” since I’ll never get what I want), I  was suddenly free. Free to dream the impossible. My imagination flowed through effortlessly like a dam broke open and with it all my fears washed away and I was suddenly filled with every possibility.

Beck says we grow up learning early not to feel hopeful out of the fear of being disappointed or that wanting something is somehow selfish or hopeless. In reaction, we bury our dreams, lose sight of our true purpose and settle for the safe road. Better to conform and live a life of safety, then to reach out, take a risk and lose everything.

I am surprised that in 15 minutes, Ms. Martha Beck in her delightful book, changed everything for me. Not only did I feel optimistic about my potential and a life not limited by fear, but it also helped get me back on track. During that 15 minutes, I started to visualize every job I have had so far and knew instantly whether they fit in with this new vision or whether it was a job I took for convenience.

Thank you Ms. Beck again for making me shake my head in sheer and utter disbelief!

But I have to ask, where were you when I took that job at Apple?!

CategoryFollowing your dreams, Happiness | Comment1 Comment »

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March 29th, 2010

We have a Winner!

photo by: ADoseofShipBoy’s

I just wanted to thank Carol McClelland (author of Green Careers For Dummies
and founder of Green Career Central) again for visiting 2inspired last week and for all of you who tuned in, asking great insightful questions and for helping to spread the word. It’s all of you who help make my own inspiring dreams come true.

But this post isn’t about me, it’s all about our winner. So Raechel Conover come on down…Congratulations you won! Hope you love your new Green Careers for Dummies book!

And as for the rest of the week, I’ll be posting on the third week of my joy diet. (If you’re behind and missed week one, click here.)

This week is all about desire. After doing nothing, and uncovering truth, so far I’ve learned that joy is a whole lot of work. It makes sense that some would sacrifice lasting happiness for a temporary fix.

That’s cause to live your life joyfully, you need to live it consciously. That means no more filling your time with stuff (shopping, food, errands, etc.) to avoid feeling _____ (fill-in-the-blank with your own personal emotion). Beck’s forcing me to deal head on with my demons with the ultimate goal of experiencing life to its fullest. It’s reinforcing my past belief that we avoid painful emotions out of fear. And that the fear, like all fear, is a lot worse than the fear itself.

Case in point: Last week I had two fears. Fears so great that I was in anguish the whole night before the day I was expecting fear 1 and fear 2. The next morning I woke up to both fears. The very thing I was worried would happen did. And you know what? It wasn’t even that bad. The day passed and the event became a nonevent. I learned quickly that it’s what we do to avoid the fear (drink, drugs, destruct) that’s tons more harmful than the actual emotion itself.

So anyone with me? Would love to hear about your own personal mission to joy, diet or not.

CategoryFacing Fears, Following your dreams, Happiness | Comment4 Comments »

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March 26th, 2010

Wondering if I fell off the joy wagon?

I haven’t posted about my first week on the joy diet, now have I? In case you’re wondering how it all went, I’ll tell ya.

I might have fell off the wagon a bit during the end of the first week.

Why?!

I know shocking right. I’m not blaming it on time or energy or even boredom. Instead, I went straight to the source:The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life.

Chapter 2: TRUTH

“If you can’t get yourself to do Menu Item #1 (nothing), you’re not ready for Menu Item #2.”

Beck says our resistance to doing nothing is a good indication that there is something we’re not wanting to deal with. Truth be told, after I read this chapter and forced myself to sit in nothing, a lot of dark somethings were unearthed. Truth behold waves of worries and a sudden uncovering of past events ran amock. I sat there for 15 minutes thinking, “Wow nothing! What a concept. Why didn’t I think of that!”

Nothing was the answer to a lot of my questions and the best part was that all I had to was sit there and do absolutely nothing. Imagine doing that for a living!

There’s something very healing about doing nothing. I wonder how much time each of us spends running around doing errands, typing on our computers and blackberries and how much energy that drains us and how much farther we get from our own truth.

If I could, I’d thank Ms. Beck for that one chapter alone. (Who I’ve actually met in person by the way and who recently Tweeted me, “Yay! I’m so excited you’re trying my “diet.” It’s still working for me, so my hopes for you are high.Keep me posted!” No joke. Really. I would not joke about this.)

Somehow all the stubborn attachments, fierce denial and false realities I’ve created over the years only to cover up fear and insecurity ended up imprisoning me. When I let certain situations be, I realized that they weren’t as scary as I thought. And the result was freeing.

I dare anyone to try it. Sit for 15 minutes and reflect on something painful you’re going through. I bet it won’t be as scary as you make it. In fact, you might learn that the story you told yourself about the event (a rejection from a publication, a conflict with a friend) was a lot worse than the even itself.

Then, come back here and tell me what you’ve experienced. It’s great to know I’m not in this alone.

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March 24th, 2010

Guest Post: How I Found My Way to Green Careers

Well the day is finally here! I’ve been holding in my excitement for months now waiting until the day when I could feature this successful dreamer. After reading her 1998 book,”Seasons of Change : Using Nature’s Wisdom to Grow Through Life’s Inevitable Ups and Downs” I knew I had to feature her. Author of four books including her latest book, “Green Careers For Dummies, founder and executive director of her green career site, “Green Career Central, Carol McClelland, PhD, is a true inspiration! I’m happy to welcome her to 2inspired and am excited that she’s here. Read her story on what it took to get her to live the life of her dreams, green dreams that is, in the field of green careers.

Since 1991 I’ve worked with professionals in the midst of career transitions. My passion is helping mid-career professionals identify the work they love that matches their values and their lifestyle needs. Over time my work has taken different forms from one-on-one consulting, teaching career self-assessment courses at the local university, facilitating workshops and retreats, training other professionals to use my career programs with their own clients, and writing books, but the purpose of my work has always remained the same.

In 2007 I attended a book marketing conference in Los Angeles with a colleague. I was searching, trying to figure out my next step. Throughout the conference two themes caught my attention.

  1. Don’t wait to make a difference – do it now! – I’ve always known I wanted to contribute more to the environment in some way. I’d been waiting to act on this passion until…until when?
  2. Focus on ONE thing – Throughout my business I’ve always been torn between two topics – the career transition work I described above and helping people through major life transitions using nature and the seasons as the guiding metaphor. Finding the right balance and priorities for these two themes has been a constant source of confusion for me.

As I was trying to choose which ONE thing to focus on – my career work or my work with nature – I was torn. I didn’t want to give up either one. I don’t mind admitting it; I felt anxious, frustrated, and confused.

As the conference drew to an end, my colleague and I took some time to reflect on what we wanted to take away from the conference. I was describing my dilemma of choosing one of my passions over the other. Her first question was, what if you helped professionals find green careers?

I felt an immediate shock of recognition. It was as if all of my business choices and decisions over the years had prepared me for this next step in my business. This direction allowed me to focus on ONE target market while weaving my two passions together in a unique way. In addition the business would allow me to contribute to the state of the environment in a significant way.

Driving home to the Bay Area from Los Angeles gave me plenty of time to consider my new direction. Ideas were popping open like popcorn! Now, three years later, I’m still implementing ideas that came to me during that brainstorming session.

As I reflected on my decision to refocus my business on helping professionals find green careers, I was struck by how consistently “green” topics showed up throughout my life history: from the toys and books I loved as a child, to my favorite memories of family road trips to National Parts, to school projects I chose to work on. Later in life my passions, volunteer activities, and most poignant moments all relate to nature and the environment in some way.

I’m thrilled to be helping people discover their own passions and how they can use their passions and talents within the green economy.

Thanks SO much Carol! For more information on green jobs, you can visit Carol’s site Green Career Central. And if you’ve got any questions for Carol about green jobs and her book, Green Careers For Dummies, feel free to leave them here. She kindly offered to check in throughout the day to comment and answer questions. Plus, those who leave a comment, tweet or share the story on Facebook today will get an entry to win Carol’s book. The winner will be announced on Monday. Good luck!

Categoryjob, Resources, Successful Dreamers | Comment11 Comments »

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March 22nd, 2010

New Things on 2inspired

New to 2inspired? Or are you an oldie, but goodie who hasn’t checked around here in awhile? Besides being excited about the new guest hopping over on Wed., March 24th, there are a few other changes going on. Feel free to click over at my portfolio to see what I’ve been up to, see my new store at Amazon (here or up above), my collection of inspiring photos, peruse my sister site and find more info at my professional writing blog.

And for more info about this Wednesday’s giveaway… Join author Carol McClelland for her inspiring life story. She’ll be answering questions throughout the day about her new book, “Green Careers For Dummies.” Then, comment, tweet or facebook (or become a Facebook fan of 2inspired) about the event and you’ll get an extra entry for each (total of 3 possible)  in Wednesday’s giveaway. Good luck!

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March 19th, 2010

Reject the Rejections

“Oh these little rejections how they add up quickly
One small sideways look and I feel so ungood…

Oh these little rejections how they disappear quickly
The moment I decide not to abandon me…”

– From Alanis Morissette’s “So Unsexy”

I was going to post this on my profession writer website, but realized that all of us experience rejection at some time or another, whether we’re writers or not. Just the other day in fact, someone close to me told me that I’m not that good of a writer.

In fact, over the years I’ve collected a list that would give Santa Claus a run for his money. Things like, “You think you’re good, but you’re not. You’re a poor writer. You’re just not that talented.” have once haunted me. And admittedly on occasion it still runs through my head during a particularly difficult day. Sometimes I wonder, “Are they right? Should I just give up?”

Here’s the thing. The more you venture out into the vast open land of possibility, the more you’ll open yourself up to rejection. When you do something outside your comfort zone, it makes others feel nervous and uncomfortable. They’ll start to wonder what’s wrong with them. Hence their reaction: They’ll try to keep you down, so they won’t have to feel uncomfortable around you.

Here’s what I’m not saying. I’m not talking about friends and family who love you and give you constructive feedback or criticism. I think it’s always wise to keep your eyes wide open and your ears as well. There’s always something you can learn from any situation.

What I’m saying is this: Don’t let other people sway you from doing what you feel is primal to you. Whether or not you’re good or bad, talented or not, you can still create the life you want. Give yourself the opportunity to see how far you can go without giving up just because someone told you not to.

Living life safe. Stability and comfort can be good things. But sometimes you need to reach beyond what’s familiar to get to your dreams. If I listened to the hundreds (okay maybe not hundreds) of people who deterred me from following my dreams, I would be safe, unhappy and stagnant. Not the kind of life I had in mind. I wouldn’t have move to California, traveled to Europe or start my own freelance writing business.

Think about it this way. Everyone has to start somewhere. So what if you’re not up to par with the greats, you’re sole purpose in life is to find the path of your dreams. And that path is made for you and only you. To get to where you want to go, you need to start from here. Here’s what I’ve learned: If you keep working at it, you will get better. I can say that my writing has gotten so much better in one year let alone the 20 years since I started.

After reading Walt Disney’s biography in Neil Gabler’s Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (Vintage), I was first astonished by what the author called was an unexplained and unfounded confidence in Disney’s abilities at an early age. Even though he had no reason and no experience to be cocky, he was. Now I think, “Oh he got it!”

He had the passion that makes one think he’s going to change the world. It’s funny that in the end, Disney wasn’t doing the animation he started out with. In fact, a lot of his employees couldn’t really say what Disney did. But they knew what he was good at. He was passionate about whatever he put his mind too. And I’ve come to realize that this is key to fulfilling your dreams.

So go ahead. Be obnoxiously confident about yourself and your talent. If you won’t, nobody else will be. And who are you to do it? Well, you’re the one person responsible for changing your world.

Pssstt...Want more info on Wed, March 24th’s giveaway? Catch me on Twitter, and Facebook. Then keep coming back here for more.

CategoryFollowing your dreams | Comment1 Comment »

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