It’s a noisy world out there. Distractions abound. Then there’s Resistance tempting us to neglect our most valuable dreams.
While visualization and affirmations are popular manifesting tools, adding visual reminders can keep you from forgetting your focus. Happily, there are many ways to add visuals to your journey.
I was reminded of this the other day when I was searching for the perfect wall calendar for 2012. At this time last year, I was settling into my new home with its treetop views and added to the pleasure with a calendar of treehouses from around the world.
Since 2011 was about putting [...] Continue Reading…

Commitment is about being there when it’s not convenient or easy. It’s about steadfastness in the face of change and crisis. ~ Mary Pipher

Commitment comes in all sizes and shapes and levels of intensity. Sadly, when it comes to dreambuilding, many people make only feeble attempts.
A woman I’ll call Leslie comes to mind. Although she professes a desire to live a creative, self-employed life, her attempts to make that happen are repeatedly thwarted. In fact, if you have the stamina to listen to her story, you’ll hear about years of being a victim of the most pathetic [...] Continue Reading…

Trying to build a business without entrepreneurial thinking is like trying to build a house with a toothbrush. An employee mindset is not a useful tool.
Fortunately, learning to think like a successful self-bosser is something we can teach ourselves. Here are some proven ways for expanding entrepreneurial consciousness.
° Make persistence your personal trademark. We’ve all heard the stories of the multiple experiments conducted by Thomas Edison before he figured out how to make a light bulb. Edison’s not the only one, of course, to succeed by not giving up.
During the remarkable renaissance of Tina Turner a few years back, the [...] Continue Reading…

This piece appeared in early 2009, but I find myself rereading it from time to time lest I forget these valuable lessons. It seemed a good time to share it again.
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There’s a woman who goes walking in my neighborhood every day. What’s so noticeable about her is that she always looks furious. I have been tempted to holler at her and ask, “Doesn’t your body produce endorphins?”
I know that wouldn’t be well received, however. She’s taken a strong position as one of the perpetually miserable among us and she’s not about to give it up.
I got thinking about such [...] Continue Reading…

 
It is not an exaggeration to say that we spend our days moving closer to our dreams—or farther away. Every moment that we invest in our goals brings us closer and every moment we ignore the prompting of our hearts takes us somewhere else.
When people tell me that  fear is a huge obstacle, I am quit certain that they have misdiagnosed the problem. Most of the time we are bewitched by self-doubt, not genuine fear (unless a tiger is about to devour us).
Self-doubt can afflict anyone, of course. When this occurs, the healthy approach is to combat it with [...] Continue Reading…

If you arrived at the end of the holidays last year saying, “Thank goodness that’s over!”, you might decide to take a different approach this year. Although the holiday season is supposed to be a time of celebration, many of us find it the most stressful, even depressing, time of the year.
Since the holidays will go on with or without your participation, why not make them the happiest, warmest time possible? Begin by giving yourself a gift or two.
Here are some ideas for extra special gift giving that will eliminate the hassle and expand the pleasure in the busy [...] Continue Reading…

The other day, I was going through some papers and came across a question I’d written down. It said, “Why settle for false security when you can have the real thing?”

Apparently, I’m not the only one challenging the conventional notion about what constitutes security.

When I saw this piece from Christine Kane, I thought it was the perfect way to end Got Options? month here at Buon Viaggio. Obviously, she has given much thought to what constitutes genuine security.
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One of the scariest things I ever did was quit my first (and only) “real” job so I could begin my own [...] Continue Reading…

When I first moved to Minnesota, I joked  that there was a church on every corner. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, of course, but it seems that most major thoroughfares are dotted with them.

For several years, there was a church that I passed almost every day. Like most churches, it had a message board out in front; unlike most churches, this message board actually contained messages. Even more unusual, the messages were changed a couple of times every week so there was always a new one to check out.

Some of the messages were attention-getters like the one that [...] Continue Reading…

Life often seems like an endless series of decisions to be made. Chai latte or decaf Americano? Take a walk or sit at the computer? Plant roses or zinnias? Start a business now or wait until you get fired?
Given the fact that we are called upon to make decision after decision everyday, it would seem reasonable to assume that most of us would have given thought to how we make decisions. We’d have our own decision-making tools that we could employ when needed.
If we  lack such tools, too many decisions are simply based on habit. (Chai latte yesterday, chai latte [...] Continue Reading…

On the day that my daughter left for college, she tucked a card in my dresser drawer that said, “Thanks for being such a great mother, a great friend, a great teacher and student.”
I’d like to think that the most important thing I taught Jennie was to keep being a student. And she has.
Just before New Year’s Day a few year back, she called to tell me about a trip she’d made to the bookstore where she’d found several treasures. “My project this year is to learn lots of new things,” she announced.
One of her purchases had been a [...] Continue Reading…