ROCK THE BOAT!

Boat reflection (Photo credit: Jesper Hauge)

I can't swim well but I'm darn good at floating. I don't think I was ever supposed to be a great swimmer. My parents signed me up for swimming lessons when I was around 9, but I ended up with ringworm and the lessons ended before I was permitted back in the pool. I had taken two lessons and learned to float and paddle in some shallow water.

Then in college I was required to take swimming lessons to graduate, but the semester I was to have swimming, the pool needed repaired after the first class and still wasn't fixed nearly 6 weeks later. The University decided to make it a non -requirement for anyone scheduled for swimming that semester because it seemed ridiculous to hold up someone being able to graduate on the basis of not being able to swim. Again, the first week was doggie paddles and floating!
Sometimes I do wonder how I would fare in an emergency because I always am the one who has to know where the life preservers are. 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Often we don't realize what we can or can't do well in life because we have only ever been "safe" in a routine situation. We wonder how we might do as a consultant, business owner, leader. We decide before we even try that we wouldn't be able to survive as an entrepreneur. We can't fathom what living without someone else signing a paycheck might be like or even test  the waters to see how we react. We never rock the boat so we really don't know what kind of swimmer we might be in an emergency. Maybe we assume we would need more support than we really would or be totally convinced our less than stellar skills will surely mean we'll drown. On the other hand, we might be so confident we never consider that even a great swimmer has some trouble in shark infested waters! There really is no way to know how you might perform if you don't rock the boat, tip it over and see if you float, swim, survive or drown. While it may not be a pretty picture; it most certainly is the blatant truth. You must experience the situation before you know for sure.

Considering I know I'm much better at floating than swimming, I have decided I need  to be sure I can survive in a pinch and have signed up for lessons at a local center. After all, I doubt many people in an emergency float their way to the shore and I have wondered too long how I would do when it really counts. So even if I thought I was never meant to be a swimmer, I need to know for sure it was not because I hadn't tried.

Swimming (Photo credit: MarkHaertl)

This weekend I participated in the CALLED WOMAN 2012 conference. Several people shared stories of how they learned to swim in life's less than predictable waters; some learned out of necessity, some out of choice but now they know they have what it takes to be successful even when waters are choppy and the boat tips over.

Sometimes it was messy floundering around trying to get their bearings, but I am sure they are not the least bit worried about "going under" no matter what. They know they can keep their head above water because they know what they are capable of doing when their boat tips.

Do you have something in your life you'd like to try but wonder if you would just sink or drown?

Does fear or lack of skill, resources or commitment stand in your way of finding out what you might be quite successful at? 

Do you need to rock your boat and tip it over and determine what you can do when you really have to?

ROCK YOUR BOAT...and stop wondering if you have what it takes.

UPDATE ON THE "BABY" STATUS...It's on the way. I doubt it will need to be induced. Bag is packed and waiting on "baby" to just arrive.(hopefully in less than 2 weeks)

OPPORTUNITY... OPEN YOUR WINDOW!

Image via Wikipedia

There are several beautiful dogwood trees in my yard. While I love the white flowers edged with pink, I really love the yellow buds that bloom like a lacy covering of sunshine all over the yard.just before the white flowers arrive. However, those yellow buds last but a few days and less if there is a strong storm while they are in bloom. I have learned to deliberately begin to look when the first buds come out and then constantly during the day as I know in just a day or two, maybe hours depending on the weather, my favorite part of the tree will be gone again for another year or maybe forever.


Many opportunities in our life arrive in much the same way as those dogwood trees. There is sometimes just a small window of time to take advantage of something that may change a great many of our perceptions. Sometimes that small window will make all the difference in our
 relationships, our careers, our joy in life.

Image via Wikipedia

Most people believe they can always return to those opportunities an they use words like "someday" to delay what is present now for what they believe will be a better time when they will have more resources, more energy, more flexibility and more knowledge. But just because you have MORE of anything doesn't mean the opportunity is guaranteed to return when you get all your stars aligned. Did you ever say, "I'll do that when the baby gets into school" or " "..when the kids graduate",  "...when I save enough money, have more time, finish my degree, get older, retire...." Suddenly you look and wonder what would have happened if you would have just looked through that window of opportunity when it presented itself instead of hoping it would return when you finally decided the time was right.


If I waited until I had more time, energy, was less distracted or wasn't so busy, I might not have to drop what I am doing and realize the yellow buds are out, but if I wait, they may be gone and I will have missed the opportunity to catch something  I love before it's too late.


Dogwoods bloom every year, but this year a friend saw 4 out of the 5 in her yard die for no apparent reason. She thought she would enjoy all the blooms every morning as she looked out over her patio and enjoyed her morning coffee, however all that's  left is a little tree in the corner of her yard, too far away to even be seen from the kitchen window.

Image via Wikipedia

I will enjoy watching mine bud today just because I still can.


What opportunity is opening a window or door in your life?  Are you planning on making time to see what is on the other side.or are you convinced you will address it "someday."


Maybe it's time to re-think the idea that  opportunities always return.

How To Be Your Own Best Zen

zen (Photo credit: mkebbe)

"Zen" is a type of philosophy in the Eastern Hemisphere that believes that enlightenment can occur from meditation, self contemplation and intuition. I don't necessarily subscribe to all  Zen supports however I do think we can discover a great deal about ourselves by reflecting (self-contemplation) on our behavior and determining whether we need to make changes or not as well as from looking at what we intuitively know.


I am a perfect example of needing to use my intuition and self-contemplation to change a behavior. You see, I often have had to go dumpster diving when I have tried to multitask something rather than attend to one thing at a time. It seems I always misplace something while multitasking, especially when I try to clean up while I am doing other things. I would be trying to clean up from unpacking groceries or while trying to feed the dog and later realize I couldn't locate a gift card I purchased or a can of peas or most recently, a light bulb. Years ago, I would be trying to clear off my desk after a busy day at the office so I could get home quickly for my children's activities and I would need to return to the office later in the evening to rescue checks I had been given from the trash! Concert tickets, once thought lost, were discovered in the wastebasket near my desk after I remembered was filing away papers and clearing off my desk while talking on the phone.


Recently, I received a coupon from a jeweler I use. The coupon offered to clean and repair any damaged posts on rings for a reduced rate. I had just been thinking about taking my wedding rings in to be checked whenever I came across the coupon and decided to use it. My rings require a combination of dish detergent and extra effort to remove and so I made sure I had already taken them off and put them in a container before I even got to the jeweler's.


But, the day was much more busy than I planned and everything did not go as expected, it was nearly time for the jeweler to close when I arrived at the store. Not being able to locate the coupon was a minor problem, as I realized the container with my rings was no where to be found. I turned the car upside down trying to locate it while I watched the jeweler hang his "Closed" sign on the door. Then, I remembered I had put all the incidental odds and ends I didn't need anymore  in a bag in my car and dumped it promptly in the trash can at the post office where  I had stopped previously.


"My ring is in the trash at the post office!" I frantically thought. But it was far too late to go back as they had closed as well. In my mind I thought of how I was going to tell my husband I had lost the rings. I felt clammy and distracted the entire way home and was nearly in tears when I reached my house. As I started to unload the groceries into the kitchen, I saw the small pill container I had dropped my rings into still on the kitchen counter. I had forgotten to take them with me as I went to complete all my errands. Needless to say, the rings are back on my finger and not coming off until I am standing in front of the jeweler.

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When my husband arrived home and asked me how my day was, I quickly said, "Well I learned something I should always remember, today!.....Stop cleaning up!"


Obviously, my Zen was not to stop cleaning up but to pay more attention to each individual task than to try and knock off several at a time. I can't help but think that is how we often go about deciding how to pursue something important in our lives. We don't take the time for the internal contemplation. We don't assess our our style and behavior to make sure we are going about it in a way that is complimentary to our personality and allows the best to be brought out in the process and we sometimes don't look at what didn't work in the past and allow it to be a teaching experience. We are so busy with everything instead of what really needs our undivided attention. Sometimes we are far from our own best zen.

Do you ever feel like you have great ideas but don't know how to get them started or that you are in a rut but have no clue how to break the cycle? Do you ever think you make the same mistakes over and over again or simply go after your dream with the same formula that didn't work in the past?  Take it from a girl who spends more time than she should looking through what she throws away, everyone of us has a behavior that interferes with our accomplishments and needs addressed. Everyone of us has a passion that sometimes needs a little more fuel to get it going.

If you want to take your passion to the next level, if you want to get your dreams off the ground the right way, if you want to quit spinning your wheels and going nowhere, register for CALLED WOMAN 2012 and make the rest of your life the best of your life.


I'll be there...as soon as I can find my car keys which I hope are not in the .....!
 

START SOMETHING

Starbucks (Photo credit: Ivana Di Carlo)

Several years ago, I was flying back home from an out of town trip, when I happened to skim an article about Starbucks in the free magazine airlines provide. After reading about the company philosophy, I noticed in small print at the end of the article that the company was interested in developing more shops all over the country and gave a contact address and phone number. At that time the only Starbucks was in Seattle, Washington.



I took the magazine home and shared my enthusiastic interest in perhaps owning a Starbucks with my husband, who immediately asked what may have seemed a logical question especially since he is not a coffee drinker, "What person in his right mind is going to pay 3 to 4 dollars for a cup of coffee?"  This still did not deter me from visiting a still empty kiosk in an up and coming shopping center regularly and imagining my Starbucks on that very spot.


But I had a small child and another on the way and it did seem impractical to invest money in a fancy coffee shop. Who knew (I'd like to think I did!)the biggest boom in gourmet coffee was just around the corner and so were many more franchises as within a year someone else turned the kiosk into a Starbucks and well, the rest is history. 

Coffee cup (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

It probably wasn't meant to be, I often tell myself, however even now when I tell my husband, "I have an idea", my daughter often admonishes him, "Remember how you thought no one would buy 3 or 4 dollar coffee, better listen to her this time!"(Wise daughter!)


One thing I learned is dreaming and talking and wistfully thinking about what could be will never make it happen. If you have something you have always wanted to try then maybe it's time to put some wheels in motion. Maybe you want to start a business, start taking better care of yourself, start a group, start rallying for a cause, start making money from a hobby, start a new career, start a family or even start over.

Image via Wikipedia

Whatever is calling you will never get off the ground if you don't start. Start something.
Start looking into opportunities, start investigating, start getting experience, start talking to others who have done the same, start making a plan, start investing, start trying, start looking at options, start getting the word out, start packing...Start something.

 You can bet I hear the Start Something mantra loud and clear on days when I am the one choosing to pay 3 or 4 dollars for my Starbucks coffee!

  
What about you? Do you have a Starbucks story too?


What do you wish you would've started? What do you need to get started doing?

Related articles

• How Starbucks Is Staying at the Top of Its Game (thedailymeal.com)
• Globetrotting: Starbucks Opens Another "Concept Shop," Lacks New Concepts (curbed.com)