In the movie, “You’ve Got Mail”, Meg Ryan writes this:

“Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life…well valuable…but small. And sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it? or because I haven’t been brave?”

Lately, I’ve been contemplating the my life.

Leaving a marriage to strike out on my own….

Going Minimalist to simplify and reduce stress…

Going Organic for a long healthy life….

Becoming a fitness fanatic/adrenaline junky and doing something just for the sheer challenge of it! Much like mountain climbers that risk their lives to climb Everest simply….because it’s there. I GET IT!!

I have very little to no stress, and quite a lot of time on my hands. I work around 25 hours a week, all from home on my own schedule.

So I have plenty of time to “play” during the week. My weekends are completely free to do whatever I want!

But there are times when I crave good times spent with like-minded friends. What I’m finding is that everyone else is so busy and so stressed, that I can’t seem to hook up.

Most times, I find something to do by myself and I’m satisfied. But every once in a while, I let it get me down. I hate when I do that because I feel sorry for myself and waste a perfectly beautiful day.

I was in Panera this past weekend and overheard a phone conversation between a mother and daughter. Mom was talking to her daughter who was stressing over loosing a job, car problems, and having to live with Mom & Dad again.

Several times the mother said, “You need to calm down… you are letting it all get to you.” Mom finally says, “We aren’t going to solve all your problems in one phone call.”

You know….there are so many times when we simply need a reminder…and a little perspective.

There I was, sitting at Panera reading a book by the fireplace on a beautiful, cold Saturday morning. My plan was to hang out for 3-4 hours just reading. Then I was headed to a local park for a 5 hour hike and picnic lunch.

After overhearing this conversation, I realized how truly blessed I am to live the life I do. Having the luxury to spend the day however I want…with not a care in the world. WOW!!!

Where am I going with this??? We are all responsible for our own happiness. We can choose how we spend each day. Yes…spending good times with family and friends is something we all need.

But ultimately as the Cher song goes, “We all sleep alone”.

I realized that I too “lead a small life…well valuable but small.”

I do it….because I like it.

I do it….because I HAVE BEEN BRAVE!! I changed everything I didn’t like about my life.

So when I’m a bit lonely or frustrated because I can’t seem to find friends to spend time with….I remember all that I do have….I give thanks…

…..and I can’t help but smile

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Is there something you wanted to try in 2011?

So…did you ever get to it? How did it go?

Do you still want to try it? So what’s stopping you?

What do you want to try next year?

Does the thought of trying it….

scare you?

excite you?

What if you just tried it so you can get your answer? If it scares you…but you overcome a fear…WOW then you are AWESOME.

If it excites you….then WHAT THE HECK IS HOLDING YOU BACK?

Come on….live a little.

Need some motivation? Read this

or this….

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What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year?

Was it something ugly? Are you brave enough to admit it? More importantly….are you willing to change it?

Was it something that surprised you in a good way? Cool! Now can you make it better?

The New Year is just around the corner. So this is your chance to make a change.

Is your glass half-full or half-empty?

See the picture on this post? Is the sun setting OR is the sun rising?

Your perspective can make all the difference in your happiness.

There are good and bad lessons in life. As long as we hold on to the good…and improve or learn from the bad….it’s all good in the end.

Did this rock your world? Was it helpful? Did it resonate with you in some way? See those sexy social media buttons below? Go ahead and share this with friends, family, complete strangers….spread the good karma and it will come back to you.

What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, or unsure? Be honest with yourself….

Why didn’t you do it? What stopped you?

Afraid of failing?

Afraid of ridicule?

Afraid of succeeding? (think about this one!)

Afraid of putting in the effort?

Not confident in your abilities?

Friends and family convinced you it wasn’t possible?

The worst life I can possibly imagine….is a life of regrets. Better to have tried something and failed miserably…fallen flat on my butt…then to look back and wonder…..

What if I had tried that?

Where would I be?

Who would I be?

How about it? If you had a second chance today to do it….would you?

Need some inspiration? Read this

Did this rock your world? Was it helpful? Did it resonate with you in some way? See those sexy social media buttons below? Go ahead and share this with friends, family, complete strangers….spread the good karma and it will come back to you.

So I’m chilling out at the local coffee shop over the weekend listening to my ipod. The song, “I Hope You Dance” by Lee Ann Womack played.

As I listened to the words, it struck me…how very poignant they were.

May you never take one single breath for granted.

How much time have you wasted lately? How often do you get caught up in the little things…that simply don’t matter? How selfish or petty are you, when there are so many others that are worse off than you? Don’t assume that tomorrow is a given…live for today and don’t waste a minute of time.

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens.

I’ve learned this from personal experience. The problem is that people are so caught up in the situation, that they fail to see the other door. Believe me when I say, there is another door. Open your mind to the possibility….open your heart and find the courage to walk thru it.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance.

Fear stops us from doing so many things. Fear is actually a good thing….it will test you…but it will also show you what you are made of. It’s the first step that’s the hardest. Once you overcome 1 fear, the next becomes easier…and the next….and the next.

When you get the choice to sit it out or dance…I hope you dance.

I used to be so guilty of sitting it out. Of letting opportunities pass me by. Of being too afraid to try something new. That changed several years ago, when I walked away from my marriage to build a new life on my own terms. We all have a choice as to how each and every day goes. Choose wisely, because you only get one shot.

This is the refrain:

Time is a wheel in constant motion, always rolling us along. Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone?

Have you ever noticed how time flies? Once it’s gone, you can NEVER get it back. So why waste a minute of it? I don’t want to look back on my life with any regrets….do you?

So next time you are faced with a choice to try something…or pass it by. What will you do? What will I do….that’s easy….I INTEND TO DANCE

Did this rock your world? Was it helpful? Did it resonate with you in some way? See those sexy social media buttons below? Go ahead and share this with friends, family, complete strangers….spread the good karma and it will come back to you.

I’m constantly amazed at how people complain about their situation but when presented with alternatives or a solution….they aren’t willing to pay the price.

When I “worked for the man” years ago I was miserable. I hated someone else having control over my schedule. I hated the fact that the company I worked for dictated how I spent my time.

I hated giving up my weekends on short notice to meet some deadline. I hated having only 2 weeks vacation a year. I hated the stupid meetings, stupid work, and inefficiencies in the system.

I hated the fact that I could work my tail off doing fantastic work, only to be given a standard of living raise of 3% a year, while being told there was always “room for improvement.” I hated the annual reviews by management which were subjective and merely word play, while the company got rich off my hard work.

Sound Familiar?

Are you sick and tired of coming up with great ideas for working smarter and better only to be told, that won’t work…or we don’t do things that way….blah, blah, blah.

Do you go to lunch with co-workers only to bitch about all the stuff you hate about your job? Have you revamped your resume and put it on Monster.com? On days when your boss pisses you off, do you jump on the internet when you get home, surf the job sites and post your resume for several positions?

When Sunday night rolls around do you cringe at the thought of Monday morning? Do you drag yourself out of bed each morning sick to your stomach at the thought of going into work? Are you bored to tears with your job and watch the clock all day…waiting for 5:00 pm.?

The Price To Stay

Worse yet…are you one of those that complains but never takes action? You hate your job….but the money is good and you are addicted to your lifestyle? You buy new cars every few years, you have a mortgage, you have the toys (boat, jet ski), you like fine dining and your weekend mall shopping sprees.

So you settle….you convince yourself that if you just put up with it for what 30+ years you can retire and enjoy yourself? Oh my friend….what makes you think you will be around in 30 years?

Don’t you see that everyday that you settle….you die a little more?

The Price To Go

Do you want to change things or are you just giving lip service?

What if you could spend your days doing what you want to? Setting your own schedule? Having time to spend with your family? To see your kids grow up? To learn to play that instrument you’ve always wanted to play? To learn a foreign language? To travel?

You have 2 options; start your own business, or adjust your lifestyle so that a part-time job covers the bills, and gives you the freedom to do what you want.

It won’t happen overnight….the plan may take a couple of years. This is the point where most people balk. They aren’t willing to sacrifice 2, 3 or 4 years. But instead they are willing to stay at their soul-sucking job for 30+ years….ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!

A recent conversation with a friend went something like this:

My Friend: I hate my boss and my job. I wish I could live like you do!

Me: Why don’t you quit and start your own business?

My Friend: In this economy? It’s too risky and my husband would never go for it.

Me: Well then, how about finding a part-time job, simplifying your lifestyle and having time to do fun stuff?

My Friend: But then I’d have to cut back on shopping, and getting my nails done, and eating out…blah blah blah

WHATEVER…..If you are this person, I can’t help you..so quit complaining since you aren’t willing to take action. If 3-5 years is too much sacrifice to live your dreams, go back and give your boss 30+ years of your life.

Still with me? good…because you are different. You recognize how short life is. You have the desire and ability to make a change. You see the value in working hard for a short time in return for a lifetime of joy!

When I decided that I wanted to start my own business, I read tons of books on how to do it. One recurring theme was that you need to have 1 year’s worth of expenses saved before taking the plunge.

Here is a list of the things I gave up or cut back on, so that I could accumulate my 1-year emergency (or as I prefer to call it freedom fund.)

• Quit dining out, cook all meals at home.
• Park the car and walk or ride my bike.
• Establish a budget and live by it.
• Gave myself $25/mth to spend…NO MORE.
• Quit buying stuff I didn’t need.
• Sell or donate stuff I hadn’t used in the past 3 months.
• Stop newspaper and magazine subscriptions.
• Stop the daily Starbucks coffee and buy a pound to brew at home.
• Bag my lunch instead of eating out during the workweek.
• Put a timer on the water heater.
• Use a programmable thermostat for the AC/heat.
• Get rid of home phone line and keep the cell phone.
• Drop internet and messaging on cell phone….it’s a phone so use it as one!
• Give up cable tv, get an antennae.
• Rent movies from Redbox for $1.00 and buy microwave popcorn.

So I’m on the other side and let me tell you…..IT’S SWEETER THAN I EVER IMAGINED!!!!! It was worth the sacrifice, and I would pay 100 times the price all over again.

Did this rock your world? Was it helpful? Did it resonate with you in some way? See those sexy social media buttons below? Go ahead and share this with friends, family, complete strangers….spread the good karma and it will come back to you.

Are you stuck in a rut at work? Are you bored with the project you’re working on? Are you stressed out and having a hard time dragging your butt into the office?

What if you simply called in sick?
Oh no….I can’t possibly do that! I have a deadline. My boss would have a fit, I can’t afford to take a day off…. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH

Do you hear yourself?

EXCUSES! EXCUSES! EXCUSES!

And for what? FOR DOING SOMETHING FUN, FOR DOING SOMETHING FOR YOU?

When did that happen? When did you forget to give yourself a break? When did everything else become more important than you?

I’ll bet you have no clue! Yep I thought as much.

Do This Instead

Spend the day on a hobby
Do you remember the last time you picked up that sketch pad? played that musical instrument? sat for hours putting together that puzzle? worked on the crosswords?

Is there a hobby you want to try but never seem to have the time? What the heck, give it a shot. It’s a great stress release and you may discover a hidden talent.

Head to bookstore or library
I’m an avid reader and hanging out at the library or my local bookstore is a real treat. I love wandering the aisles perusing new fiction books.

Pack a picnic lunch, and head to the park
How long has it been since you went on a picnic? Remember how much fun those were as a kid? What an adventure right? Head to the park, spread the blanket, sit and munch as you enjoy the view.

My favorite picnics were ones by the river or next to a waterfall. There’s something so relaxing about the sound of water thundering down the falls….or trickling around river rocks.

Meet a friend for lunch
Call up that person you’ve been meaning to get in touch with for a while and set a lunch date. We get so busy that we forget how good it is to spend time with someone we enjoy talking to.

Go ahead, call in sick…we all deserve a little “me” time every once in a while.

Did this rock your world? Was it helpful? Did it resonate with you in some way? See those sexy social media buttons below? Go ahead and share this with friends, family, complete strangers….spread the good karma and it will come back to you.

I’m re-reading a book that was written in 1937, and is just as relevant in today’s tough economic times as it was during the Great Depression. The book is Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Here is an excerpt that I want to share with you:

“Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a BURNING DESIRE TO WIN, essential to success.“

I hear so many people talk about what they want to do. They wish they had more money, had a better job, owned their own business, had more time to pursue interests and hobbies, etc….

The sad truth is that for most people, that is as far as it goes. They are unhappy with their lives for whatever reason. They want something more from life and have dreams. But Monday morning comes and those dreams fade into the mist….and it’s right back to the status quo.

The only people that will live their dream…are the ones that have a BURNING DESIRE.

The ones that are ready to stake it all on a long shot.

The ones that hold true to their dream….and know deep in their heart of hearts that they can make it a reality.

The ones that want it so bad….they can taste it!

The ones that leave themselves no way to turn back….because FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.

I’m one of those folks. You see, 7 months ago I walked away from a 6-figure income and a client that had been a thorn in my side for 2 years.

When I started my software business 13 years ago, my dream was to work from home 100% of the time. But somehow it never worked out that way. All my clients insisted that I be on site, and work on their schedule. I admit, the money was good….so I settled and fooled myself into believing it’s what I wanted.

Slowly but surely, due to the bad economy I lost all my clients to the corporate trend toward outsourcing. I was down to my final client….and he was driving me crazy!

I took a 1-month sabbatical in 2009, to try and grow a web design business that I’d been doing as a sideline since 2001. One month was too short a time to get enough clients…and I began to doubt that I could survive.

So I’m ashamed to admit that I took the easy road. I went back to work for this client from hell. However by the end of August, I was just as miserable as before my sabbatical.

It happened, I finally reached my limit, I’d had enough. Come hell or high water I was going to build my web design business and work from home..

One of the lessons from Think and Grow Rich, is that you need to be very precise and specific when you go after what you want. So I set the actual date that I would “fire” my client. On August 1st 2009, I promised myself that November 30, 2010 would be my last day with this client.

Not only that, but I promised myself that by December 1st 2011, I would have a successful web design business. The plan was to live on my savings for 1 year, and give it everything I had.

I gave myself no way of going back by not only burning….but BLOWING UP THE BRIDGE. I knew that if I gave myself no other alternative, no way to “fallback”, then I had to succeed. No choice right?

Fast forward to today….I’ve been living on my savings for 7 months, but in the last 2 months, my web design business has begun to take off.

So I’m working from home 100% of the time, picking my clients, and projects, and working on my schedule. I won’t make the kind of money I used to. As a matter of fact, I will probably earn 1/3rd of what I used to make.

I’ve traded the quest for the all-mighty dollar, for the quality of life I’ve dreamed of. I work about 20 hours per week and the rest of the time I play. I can drop everything I’m doing at any moment, jump on my mountain bike and go for a ride in the park.

Think about this:

Henry Ford was poor and uneducated. Yet he dreamed of the horseless carriage. When his engineers told him an 8-cylinder engine couldn’t be built, he told them, “build it”. He had an unshakeable belief in his dream and never let anyone tell him it couldn’t be done.

Thomas Edison failed more than 10,000 times, before he achieved success with the light bulb.

Last week I wrote about taking chances. My friend Mark wrote about never looking back. My friend JD wrote about committing to your ultimate lifestyle.

I hope these 4 articles inspire you to finally take a chance, commit to your dream leaving yourself no way to retreat…and never look back.

Did this rock your world? Was it helpful? Did it resonate with you in some way? See those sexy social media buttons below? Go ahead and share this with friends, family, complete strangers….spread the good karma and it will come back to you.