Labor Pains

The final stage is beginning. It may just be a few false starts but I can feel the moment I hold it in my hands is getting closer every day.

I so remember the countless preparations for a real baby. The  lists I checked and checked again to make sure everything was ready. Then suddenly the classes were completed, the nursery sat with fresh paint and toys, the shower gifts were all organized and even the thank-you cards were written. The months of anticipation were nearly over. It was just about time for the main event.

Maybe it is how an artist feels the final time a brush strikes a painting he or she has been working on for a long time. Maybe it is the way a construction team feels when the last nail is driven, or the final window hung in someone's dream house. Perhaps it is how the musician feels when the score seems just right or the ice hockey player feels when the puck sneaks right by the goalie. Maybe it is what it feels like to a game hunter who finally has bagged the big one.The feeling is awesome, overwhelming and amazing whenever we realize something we set out to accomplish has become a reality.

We start with a goal or and idea and after much trial and error, a good bit of anxiety,sometimes many snags, frequent sighs of relief and sometimes even stubborn refusals to quit we can see the end in sight. If you have a passion for or about something it takes a lot more than sweat and tears to make you cry wolf and just like any parent will tell you how the pain of birth is forgotten and so worth the product, whatever you have poured your heart and soul into completing will often have you feeling the same.


So the ride is beginning again for me;the adventure taking its final turn and the investment of time and energy is about to be completed...just a few more pains to go and FINDING YOUR FIRE will arrive. I can't wait. I am excited, nervous, worried, relieved and anxious to see what it will look like!


Everyone needs someone's support at a birth and I definitely need your help on this one. I would love your opinion on which cover you think this new "baby" should wear. So please assist me in choosing #1 or #2, because I can't do this without you.

And please share what you're creating and how far along you and your "baby" are.

COVER #1

COVER #2

You can vote and comment directly on this post or scroll to the end of the blog and vote on the left side. Thanks for your help!
                                

LIFE ...There's An App for That

Image via Wikipedia

Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know there are countless apps you can get to do everything from search for bargains, locate a recipe, play a game with friends, find directions or any number of other things. App, short for application, is a kind of software that when downloaded can actually perform a task the specific app was design to do.

Want to reserve a flight? There's an app for that. Want to figure out how many calories are in that drink you want to order? There's an app for that. Want to find the best deal on the newest HDTV? There's an app for that. Maybe you just want to follow your favorite team, contact an organization or rescue an animal; got apps for those things as well!

With all the apps, life certainly has gotten easier or has it? I wonder if there is an app for knowing when to take a different course in life? I wish there was an app that would determine the success of a decision you must make or the outcome of a plan you have before you put it into operation. But, I guess the life app for that is called mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. It actually can be a very useful app. Hopefully you learn from it and can use it as a guide post for future decisions and plans.

Image via Wikipedia

And wouldn't it be great if there were an app that could determine what types of problems or issues you would face prior to a dilemma? How wonderful if you could see the future and what was coming and adjust your responses now to avoid the obstacles. But, I guess the real app for that is simply experience. You do something and assess whether or not it had the affect you hoped it would and the experience is often a wonderful teacher. Experience is also an amazing app when you use it as a tool for reference.

Would your life be different if you could download an app that would create only  positive encounters, pleasant surprises and delightful interactions with everyone you meet? Wouldn't everything be better if we could identify those who would sabotage our dreams, re-direct our lives and spread ugly untruths about us? But, then again, perhaps the life app we actually have for those is called forgiveness, compassion and unconditional love.Come to think of it, these apps among the most useful of all.

I personally would love an app that would clean my house, make my meals, be wherever I needed to be and do whatever I needed to do when I just want to do other things. But in real life, that app is called responsibility and has the potential to change people's character with its application.

Upload / Download (Photo credit: johntrainor)

And surely it would be amazing to have an app that would take your dream, passion, idea or goal and have it become reality with just a simple download but there isn't. In real life those apps accomplish that in the form of motivation, ambition.determination and often just hard work.

You can download an app and the magic will appear to get you a map, a menu, a video or even a date, but if you want to make your dream reality, develop your ideas into something more or reach a life long goal...YOU are the app. Inside that app you have quite a bit of what it takes to be successful. Your life is an amazing app. Maybe it's just waiting for you to push its buttons and get something going.

What other life app do you think is needed to be successful?

Related articles

• The Disconnected Age (dynamiccalm.wordpress.com)
• An App That Promises Riches, Travel, and Love - In Your Dreams [Apps] (gizmodo.com)
• 5 Best New Apps Worth Downloading This Week [PICS] (mashable.com)

The Knack

Writing (Photo credit: jjpacres)

" This is a great story, Kathy, You might want to consider writing for a career choice." That was the comment I received on an assignment from my sixth grade teacher. We were asked to write a story about what "thing" we would like to be if we were not human. It also had to be in the form of a poem. I wanted to be a diamond ring...right!

 Several years later, I was asked by some colleagues if I would like to write for the high school newsletter. I thought about it and thought about the time it would take away from "having fun", "getting all my school work done" and  "other activities" like debate and drama club and did not choose to do it. "It's just not my thing," I shared.

Biology 101 (Photo credit: Kevin Krejci)

Image via Wikipedia

"Does not appear you truly comprehend the Embden-Meyerhoff pathway" (C+). This was the comment and grade given to me in Biology 101 by the head of the department, destined to "weed out" from the class of 150+ students, those who should not stay in Pre-Med.  I was one of them who chose to eliminate myself from the potential candidates to take the Hippocratic oath by second semester Freshman year.

I switched my major, graduated and even owned a successful business in my major for over twenty years, and I did not write again, until I reluctantly agreed to help a friend who wanted to write some personal stories to share with her mother before she passed away..One day she turned to me and said, "I can't write this well, please would you do it." Feeling rather obligated and loving her too much to have her not fulfill her wish prior to her mother's death, I put her thoughts into words. After she gave the gift to her mother, she casually mentioned one day, "My mother said it was so well written she thought it had been done professionally and thinks you are am amazing writer, thanks so much."

Books (Photo credit: henry…)

"This report about my child made all the difference in getting the services I needed" commented one of my clients one day . She went on to say,"They(school officials)were impressed with how thoroughly you documented her needs.. We cannot thak you enough.."

Bit by bit , it began to dawn on me that perhaps I could write; at least about some things. It also began to dawn on me that I had been writing in some form for a very long time. There were stacks of baby books for each of my children. I chose books with nothing but blank journal pages so I could not only write all the milestones I wanted to savor but words of wisdom and observations about life at every stage for them. I stopped writing in their baby books when they went to college, but never really stopped writing.

That is often the way it is for a passion we develop but keep on the back burner for years. We hear the comments from others who appreciate our skills but we don't validate their worth as more than "talk". We continue to enjoy pursuing our talents but don't recognize our enjoyment as more than hobbies. Quite honestly, we often are totally unaware we have a knack until something hits us over the head and makes us realize maybe out knack is really our gift and we should share it.


I discovered it throught a phone call in November of 2010, when best selling author Ron Hall contacted me and said, " I have just finished reading ONE MORE SERVING and I am about to write your Foreword and I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your book."  That day it became apparent, maybe I had a "knack" for writing.

Cover via Amazon

Everyone has a knack for something. Sometimes we need more validation than a few compliments from friends or relatives to realize what it is. Sometimes it takes a crisis for our knack to make itself apparent and sometimes it takes the self realization that "this is my gift" that begs you to use your knack well.

Our "knacks" are wonderful gifts given for a purpose. Not acknowledging your knack or its purpose is like being given a gift and setting it on a shelf without ever opening it. Often   when opening our gift, we are not so much surprised as relieved to discover it is something that completes us and pursuing it is our purpose.

Have you discoverec your knack and what are you doing to share your gifts? or Is your knack sitting somewhere in the cobwebs begging for you to give it some care and attention?

Related articles

• Two Kinds of Writers (writersresortllc.wordpress.com)
• 5 Ways to Kick Start Writing Your Own Book (theworkathomewife.com)
• Same Kind of Different As Me (volunteerfringe.com)
• Does the World Really Need Your Story? (wordservewatercooler.com)

SUPER BOWL GOAL

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Today tens of millions of people will tune in to watch the top television broadcast in the WORLD!
The ten top broadcasts in history have included 9 Super Bowls and the final episode of the sitcom, MASH.
Whether you tune it to watch the commercials, half-time show, the game  or even just to see what all the hype is about...It's a big day!

Image via Wikipedia

And no matter whether you care who wins, even support the teams playing or know who is playing, millions upon millions of dollars will be raked in by the winners, losers and even by players who won't even be part of the game. Let's face it, few people can earn what a professional sports player may make in a few games.



Given these awesome statistics, I have to wonder why more people allow a few hours and some skilled players to get more attention regularly than they give to thinking about their own lives, goals and aspirations. When was the last time you even took a few hours to really get excited about what was going on in your life? Isn't your life and what you hope to accomplish more important than the Super Bowl? Doesn't it make a difference to you what happens in your life more than what happens on some field? And shouldn't your skills be worth some significant "moo-laa." at well?

Without money (Photo credit: Toban Black)

Of course it should! So, at some point today, ask yourself if I had as much money as these players, what would I do? Aside from the typical; pay off my bills, etc. Imagine that all you had to do was think of what you would do with this money. Then ask yourself if money is the only thing  stopping you, because in many many cases, our biggest obstacles to achieving a goal is not money...it's our perception of what we can and can't do.


If you think you cannot reach a goal or achieve a dream, you have lost your edge for the most critical part. That's why teams get a pep talk before a game. Telling someone they can't achieve a goal or have no ability to become successful or even plan how to develop a dream is mental poison and yet often that is what we allow ourselves to accept. We fill ourselves with a mental poison and say, "I'll never get to this stage.", "I am too old or poor or uneducated to try this." or even,"Why bother dreaming when this will never happen."If Eli Manning or Tom Brady thought that most of their lives, I hardly imagine they would be where they are today.


Think about what you would do and then write down all the things that will help you get there or close to there and don't dwell on the money but more on the attitude; more on what you believe you can do.Because you can't reach a Super Goal if you don't even think you can plan the game and if you start with a winning attitude maybe, just maybe your will think you are worth oh so much more hype than a few players are on a field for a few hours. Maybe just maybe, planning for your game will be just as important as watching this one.


What's your Super Goal and what is stopping you from winning?

Related articles

• Why Watching the Super Bowl May Inspire You to Start a Business (entrepreneur.com)
• Jeanne Kelly: 4 Lessons We Can Learn About Credit From the Super Bowl (huffingtonpost.com)
• Does Your Company have a Super Bowl Winning Culture? (bdemarest.wordpress.com)
• Super Bowl in Indianapolis? Get ready world (cnn.com)