Best of 2009 Resolution or No Resolutions.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 31.

Resolution you wish you’d stuck with.

I resolve to no longer make resolutions.

I stopped making New Year’s resolutions a few years ago. In my experience, a resolution tends to come from either a place of disapproval or depravity. Yuk. Instead I like to set New Year’s intentions. Doesn’t an intention just feel better than a resolution? It does to me. Setting intentions is the energetic equivalent of putting out the welcome mat for my desires.

Speaking of desires, I will also make a desire list for 2010. What’s the difference? The intentions are more broad and the desires are as specific and juicy as I can make them.

Stop it.

I like the idea of  listing what I will stop doing this year as an act of self-love as inspired by Danielle LaPorte’s brilliant stop doing lists one and two. I don’t have to finish every book I start or answer every email within seconds of receiving it as if it’s urgent. Ahh…what a relief!

Looking back to move forward.

One of my New Year’s traditions is to write down all of my accomplishments for the prior year. All of them. I think through each month, look at my calendar and recall experiences so I leave nothing out. I go through all categories: career, communication, relationships, home, spirituality, adventure, personal growth, finances, family, fun, health, fitness, skills, and so on. Making this list helps me to realize how much I have actually done. Processing all of this success and taking note of it creates the space for more.

The Big Leap for 2010.

As for my umbrella intention for the new year, I aspire to live what Gay Hendricks calls Your Ultimate Success Mantra  in his book, The Big Leap.

I expand in abundance, success and love every day, as I inspire others to do the same.

If I manage even a little expansion and inspiration, it’s bound to be a fun, meaningful year. Cheers!

Best Ad 2009 or If You Can’t Make Ads, Make Lemonade.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 30.

Best Ad. What advertisement made you think this year?

Being an advertising copywriter I naturally pay more attention to ads than the average person. This post is not about an ad, however, but rather the stories of those who used to make ads, lost their jobs and found their passion. 

Fellow copywriter and friend, Erik Proulx, was laid off this year along with over 65,000 other advertising professionals. Rather than indulging in a self-pity party, Erik viewed his pink slip as a blank page and parlayed a lemon of a situation into lemonade.

He created an inspiring documentary called Lemonade. It  features the  stories and faces of other ad professionals who lost their jobs in advertising and began living their dreams.

  

Erik used the power of social media to connect with the subjects of the film, the crew and filmmakers themselves and even Virgin America who donated flights for Erik and his crew. It all began with Please Feed the Animals, a blog Erik created as a support community/venting forum for advertising folks who got the ax this year.

Erik’s intention has always been to support and serve those who were in the same unemployed boat. No wonder the result is inspiring and inspired work. (Even CBS Evening News has taken notice.)

Lemonade is a well-executed reminder that opportunities are created and we are the masters of our own destinies. Simply put, we have a choice.

What’s next for Erik? Lemonade the book. If you lost your job but found your calling, he wants to hear from you.

Information about Lemonade screenings and DVD purchase is available here.

Best Laugh of 2009 or Underpants.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 29.

 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

There is a certain type of laughter that only my sister and I share with each other. We will find something funny that is inexplicable to others but cracks us up in a big, big way. We have an unspoken connection about this kind of laughter. It tends to happen around family funniness. This was one of these times.

I was spending the weekend at my parent’s house along with my sister. Before I arrived I decided I would love nothing more than to share a big laugh with my mom and my sister.

My mom, my sister and I were in my mom’s dressing room as she was trying on outfits for a party. As she got undressed, my sister and I noticed Mom’s underware looked strange. We couldn’t figure it out and then we realized, she was wearing her underpants sideways. Sideways! How is that even possible?

My sister and I fell to the floor in peels of laughter We laughed so hard we could barely catch our breath. I had tears running down my face. Eventually my mom joined in too. Luckily, she knows how to laugh at herself. In the midst of the cracking up I realized, I got my desire for a family laugh. It was a beautiful thing.

Best Stationery 2009 or Thank YOU.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 28.

Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?

My mom gave these beautiful Thank You notes. I immediately fell for them as I love anything pink as well as anything with nice detail like the real ribbon on the front of the card. I used these notes to thank people for non-obvious things. Rather than writing a thank you for a gift or a dinner party, I thanked people for being in my life.

One of my friends who loved the note said the design made her feel very prosperous. She placed the card in the prosperity corner (according to the Bagua Map) of her apartment. My note and I are honored to be there. Thank you.

Best Social Web Moment 2009 or Mojo Meeting.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 27.

Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

Yes, I discovered Twitter this year and my best social web moment happened today. How apropos for the blog challenge prompt.

I love meeting Twitter friends in person. Today I had the pleasure of meeting the radiant, inspiring, mojo-rific Lissa Rankin. (Her website, Owning Pink, got my vote for favorite site I discovered this year and one of her insightful blog posts for favorite article.)

 Lissa is a doctor-artist-writer-mother-blogger extraordinaire who sees people with magical eyes so they can see how beautiful they really are and practices love with a little medicine on side.

 I felt as though I already knew Lissa as we had talked on the phone and emailed. I’d read most if not all of her blog posts where she expresses her authentic self and shares her Mojo tips.

Meeting Lissa felt like a reunion between friends although we had never actually seen each other in the flesh. We had an absolutely lovely day together. We started at Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinatas, CA,  where we walked, talked, connected and took a self portrait by the waterfall.

Next we headed to Pannikin, a lively coffee shop, to meet Lissa’s adorable husband, Matt, and angelic daughter, Sienna, for lunch. Matt showed up with fresh green juice for all. What a hero!

 After the sun began to sink, taking the warmth of the day with it, Lissa and I headed to Torrey Pines Lodge to sit in front of one of their cozy fireplaces. Here we finished the day with discussions of shining your light, mojo and how to sustain it, and the practice seeing people with magical eyes to view them at their best and most authentic.

 I feel inspired and uplifted after a day of such fun and authentic connection. Thank you, Lissa. You are truly a bright light.

Best Aha! Moment 2009 or Lessons About Men and Honky Tonk.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 26.

Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?

Back in February I went to Austin for the annual retreat with Team Northrup. Because we were in Texas and because Team Northrup always mixes business with pleasure, our first evening activity was two-stepping at the famous Broken Spoke.

This legendary honky tonk bar and dance hall offers complimentary lessons which is a good thing considering I had never stepped one step of the two-step in my life.

I figured I should at least dress the part so donned my Jordache jeans, Lucchesse boots and got ready for some dancing lessons. The night was so much fun and I learned more than dancing thanks to the wonderful men who were my dance partners.

The dancing and the evening was a lot of fun. I noticed a few things that gave me many aha! moments.

When it comes to two-stepping, the roles of men and women are very clearly define. Man asks woman to dance and man leads woman in dance. Always.

This was actually quite a relief. In a time when gender roles can be confusing at best, it was actually refreshing to have some rules to follow for a few hours. There was no concern about ulterior motives or whether or not someone was “appropriate” for me. Aha! When roles and intentions are clearly defined, everyone can relax and focus on having fun.

As soon as I finished a dance with one partner and barely stepped off the dance floor, another gentleman would ask me to dance and whisk me and my boots back out for another dance. I never had to worry about finding a partner on my own. Aha! It is fun to be pursued.

I danced with anyone who asked and had a fantastic time. In fact, this was one of the most fun nights out I had all year. Aha! Say yes to anyone (within reason) who asks.

I noticed I preferred dancing with some of the old-timers rather than the younger cuter guys. The old guys really knew how to lead and as one told me, his only objective was to, “put a smile on my face.” How adorable is that? When my partner was good at leading the dancing was much more pleasurable and we both had fun. Aha! I prefer a man who truly knows how to lead.

At one point I was dancing with a gentleman and he looked at me and told me I have to let him lead. I realized that I was trying to lead him. I wondered, “Do I do this often with men? I am always trying to lead?”, and then I realized, the only reason I began to lead was were were about to collide with another couple. Aha! I am happy to let him lead as long as he knows what he’s doing but if he’s about to run me into something (literally or figuratively) I’m gonna take over.

I almost didn’t go to the Broken Spoke that evening as I  had been up since the crack of dawn to get to Austin in time for a speaking engagement at University of Texas, but I rallied. Aha! Even if you don’t feel like it, dress up, show up and play full out. You never know what you’ll learn or how much fun you’ll have.

Thanks, partner!

And one for the road… Aha! Lessons can come from anywhere, even two-steppin’ in Texas.

Best Gift of 2009 or Business Meets Pleasure.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 25.

Gift. What’s a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?

A little over two years ago I gave myself the gift of joining Team Northrup. This year the gift was focusing on it and growing my own team within Team Northrup.

Team Northrup is a league of entrepreneurial men and women who are philosophically aligned with the work of women’s wellness pioneer, world-renowned author, one of the country’s most respected authorities on women’s health, and one of my personal mentors, Dr. Christiane Northrup.

We cultivate optimal physical health, financial freedom and personal growth while creating a residual income with our product partner, USANA Health Sciences.

I have always loved connecting with like-minded entrepreneurs and of course with Dr. Northrup to create what she describes as, “heaven on Earth.”

The true gift to myself this year was to create more freedom in my life by building a solid business. This allowed me to have a consistently growing income when the rest of the economy was tanking.

I was surrounded by others whose businesses were thriving while the majority of the people in the world were focused on how bad the economy is.

I had the freedom to pick up and move cities as well as spend time living in the question without being a slave to an office job.

I learned so much about health, business, personal growth, speaking and reframed my ideas about the reality of business with pleasure.

Team Northrup booth at the Hay House "I Can Do It" conference.

I had the privilege of working with some of my best friends and women I truly love and admire.

Awards ceremony at the USANA convention.

I stretched myself in ways I haven’t before and grew myself along with my finances.

I benefitted from the amazing community of Team Northrup. It is amazing to cheer for, support and celebrate each other as we grow in business and personally.

The biggest part of this gift is that I am able to pass the gift along to others as I grow my team. I can help others create optimal health and financial freedom as we walk together. This gift not only keeps on giving this year but will continue to give for years to come. For that I am deeply grateful.

Best of 2009 Learning Experience or I Am [Not] an Island.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 24.

Learning Experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?

In thinking of my best lesson from this year, the lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel’s “I Am A Rock” come to mind.

I am a rock. I am an island.

This was my basic approach to life. “I can do it on my own” was my mantra. If you asked me if I was good at asking for help I think I would have told you I was and even believed it.  But that wasn’t the case. I never asked for help from anyone. After many moves to many cities and much striving in my career, I became ultra independent.

Starting over again and again (always for an opportunity) was exhilarating yet lonely at times. If I admitted to needing people, needing community, needing help, I might lose my edge or break my stride so I didn’t afford myself that luxury.

The truth is, I was afraid of being vulnerable. Terrified even. So little by little, move after move, brick by brick, I built a wall. I thought protecting myself would allow me to go for anything I wanted and nothing and no one would stop me. The thing is, a brick wall doesn’t exactly allow for mobility.

The lesson came this year when I asked myself, “Self, how’s this ‘I am a rock’ thing workin’ for ya?” The answer was, it wasn’t. At all. I finally surrendered to the condition of being human and needing others. I accepted help. I asked for it and received it. I became less lonely and more connected.

I still catch myself thinking I should be able to do it all on my own, whatever “it” is, but I’m now quicker to tell myself that’s just not true. And even if it were true, going it alone is never as much fun as continuing the journey with others in it.

Best Web Tool 2009 or Short and Sweet.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 23.

Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn’t live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

Bit.ly improves my online experience every day. Bit.ly is a free service that, as is says above, allows you to shorten, share and track your links. It makes it easier to share links via social media where sharing is paramount and brevity is king. I like the added bonus that it keeps things visually tidy.

If I want to share this awesome three dog photo I just found on flickr, rather than posting this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/torri/445398803/ I can shorten it with bit.ly and post this link: http://bit.ly/62Y8oD. I can also track it and see how many clicks it gets.

Sweet. And Short.

Best Business of 2009 or Pleased to Tweet You.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. Day 22.

Startup. What’s a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

The business I discovered this year is Twitter.

Okay, so Twitter isn’t exactly a startup but I didn’t personally jump in, or even understand it, until this year. Once I started tweeting I discovered so many amazing people. People I would most likely never have met otherwise, although I guess that point is debatable depending on your beliefs.

Twitter is like a global cocktail party that goes on round the clock and I can pop in and out when I feel like it. As a headline writer, I love the discipline of keeping a thought down to 140 characters or less. I have discovered more amazing entrepreneurs, kindred spirits, charming individuals, inspirational quotes, thoughts, and people than in any year prior. (I wouldn’t be writing this blog if I hadn’t discovered Gwen Bell and her Blog Challenge on Twitter.)

Twitter allows me to connect with a much wider circle of people that goes far beyond my personal network. This allows me to do my favorite thing, connect people with other people. For example, I helped a new Twitter friend connect with Dr. Christiane Northrup to write a forward for her book. This was something she dreamed of when she started the book and I orchestrated it for her. It felt amazing. I’ve had several other similar experiences through Twitter and I love it every time.

Twitter has restored my faith in humanity. I have never come across so many people who are so ready and willing to help others. I can post a question or even a comment on Twitter and within seconds someone I have most likely never met gives me a helpful response. How good is that?

Follow me on Twitter. I’d love to connect.