Path Partners

Step out of your comfort zone and try something new! What have you wondered about doing in the past, but haven’t had the courage to try? Aim for something small that you can accomplish in a single day. Get in the habit of trying something new on a regular basis. Each successful experience will build your confidence and motivate you to try something else!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Make an appointment to try a new hair color or a new hair style.
2. Visit your local car dealership and test drive the sports car of your dreams.
3. Schedule a hot air balloon ride for you and a special friend.
4. Visit a clothing store you don’t normally go to and try on clothes that represent the new YOU!
5. Buy a pair of designer jeans or fun shoes.
6. Try on some bold fashion jewelry that you wouldn’t normally wear.
7. Rent a kayak and spend the day on the river or local lake.
8. Sign up for dance classes.
9. Dine at a restaurant alone and fully enjoy the experience.
10. Park your car and take a bus somewhere — just for the fun of it!
11. Take the day off and walk through a botanical garden or art museum.
12. Visit one of the popular “naked” clay art studios and tap into your artistic self.
13. Visit your local library and find a book about something that you would normally never read — biography, historical fiction, or a science book — expand your horizons!
14. Start your own blog!
15. Enter a story, poem, or article in a writing contest or submit it to a local magazine.
16. Check out classes at a local college or community education class and sign up for something new.
17. Take a “do-it-yourself” class at Lowe’s or Home Depot and learn how to lay ceramic tile, repair a leaky faucet, or give your bathroom a fresh coat of paint.
18. Go someplace with a friend and sing karaoke!
19. Go line dancing — or salsa, or ballroom — whatever is new, different, and sounds like fun!
20. Find a local Mary Kay representative in the phone book and schedule a makeover.
21. Volunteer for a day at a school for special needs children and discover the joy of working with these kids.
22. Send a letter to the editor about a local issue that is important to you.
23. Make a point of greeting every sales clerk, delivery person, server, receptionist, and cashier you encounter today by their name and ask how they’re doing. A smile goes a long way!
24. Go fly a kite, ride a bike, go skating, or anything else you haven’t done since you were a child. Buy some crayons and color a picture of your dream. There’s nothing like big, chunky crayons to bring out the creative spirit of a child in you!
25. Open a bank account and name it your “dream fund.” Set aside a little money from every pay check to use to make your dreams come true.

Whatever it is, dream it and DO IT!! Enjoy!

Recently I was talking to a client that shared with me his concern that the new house they were purchasing didn’t have a place for his home office. So we brainstormed about different possibilities that might meet his needs.

In a world of laptop computers, wireless Internet connections, cellular phones, efax, and virtual assistants, it’s becoming increasingly easy to run a successful business from your own home.

Here are a few ideas for carving out workspace for your home office:

1. Spare Bedroom or Den. This is the most obvious choice for a home office, but not everyone has the luxury of this extra space.
2. Formal living room or dining room. Too often these formal areas of the home go unused the majority of the time. Why not re-purpose an otherwise underutilized room (or a corner of it) for your home office?
3. Under the Stairs. Be creative. If your home lends itself to this type of arrangement, it can be quite charming. You can also carve out space on an enclosed porch or a hall closet.
4. Multi-shelf Rolling Cart. Use it to store all your office needs and pull it up next to the kitchen table. When you’re not working, roll it away in a pantry or closet.
5. Armoire. Choose either a contemporary or traditional style based on your home decor and use it as both storage and a workspace. When in use, pull up a nearby chair and let it function as a desk. When not in use, close the doors!
6. Bookcase. Visually separate your work area from the rest of a larger room (or even the end of hallway) by setting a tall bookcase perpendicular to the wall. It will provide a cozy nook for your workspace as well as offer storage for your files, office supplies, and a special photograph. Utilize decorative boxes, wicker baskets, and magazine holders for attractive display of your office needs.

No more excuses! You can set up your next profitable business venture right in your own home!

My heart breaks when I hear all-too often another story of a couple splitting up. Separation and divorce are believed to rank second only to death of a spouse in terms of stress levels. If you’re in the midst of a split right now, you’re likely going through the emotional stages of grief: shock, protest, guilt, anger, hope, inferiority, depression, loneliness, and finally acceptance.

Here are six tips for coping:

1. Recognize that you’re not the first person to experience this pain and suffering. Remember the old saying, “What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger?”
2. Express your feelings. Talk it through with those you’re closest to. Cry. Journal. Find excuses to laugh. Watch a funny movie just to release some of the tension.
3. Understand what went wrong. Learn from it. Don’t spend a huge amount of time over-analyzing, but try to take away the lessons to be learned from your loss.
4. Fill the emptiness. Find projects to work on. Take a trip. Volunteer. Get involved in life outside your own little world.
5. Keep things in perspective. Challenge negative thoughts. Write them down when they occur and look for the positive perspective. Read uplifting literature. Listen to stories that will inspire you. Give your friends permission to help you “police” your negative comments.
6. Table tough decisions. Avoid making any major decisions when you are really upset. Give yourself the time and space to clear your head and think straight before deciding important issues like where to live.

I truly wish that no one had to go through the agony of divorce, but for those that have no other choice, you will make it! It won’t be easy, but life will go on and you will experience joy again.

When I first heard of Project 333 a year ago, I was intrigued with the notion that you could whittle your entire wardrobe for the season down to 33 items (for three months). Inspired, I decided to give it a go. Only having two pairs of jeans that fit me at the time, I was off to a good start. I hauled everything out of my crammed-full four-foot wide closet and pulled out my favorite tops and coordinating jackets and sweaters. When hot flashes are a constant threat, you learn to dress in layers.

Next out came shoes, boots, and outerwear. I basically alternate between wearing a pair of comfy clogs and boots all winter.  Although I like to look nice, a fashionista, I am not! Living in Michigan, a winter coat is a necessity – I decided on a long, white one that makes me feel like a queen and a short, warm fuzzy brown one that I wear on less self-esteem boosting days.

The rules of Project 333 don’t dictate that you donate all your excess clothing (although it’s not a bad idea), so I took what was left and stored it in a sealed plastic tub under the bed – to review when I transitioned into Spring & Summer. Then I put my 33 items back in the closet and smiled at the results: There was breathing room between my clothes… I could actually see at a glance what I had to wear! (more…)

Due to my Christian heritage, I had always associated the “Sabbath” as the required day off each Sunday to attend worship services and avoid work related responsibilities. Reading Wayne Muller’s treatise on the subject has totally transformed my views however. Instead of seeing this Jewish-derived practice as a day of prohibitions, I’ve come to view it not as restrictive, but rather as a boundary keeping out that which would threaten to harm us. Muller writes about the Sabbath being a “sanctuary in time” when we can stop whatever we’re involved in and be refreshed.

The majority of us talk about being “so busy” with a hint of pride in our voices, as if the busier we are, the more important our life is. And those who are secretly bored with life will attempt to fill their schedules to mask their loneliness. Either way, when we are tired and weary, we turn to the marketplace (or illicit relationships) for happiness and instead discover desire – craving what can never be completely satisfied. Sabbath is about surrendering our desires. As Muller writes, “We quench our thirst with Sabbath tranquility.” Just like temporarily fasting from sugar, our desire for it starts to fade. When we set aside our acquiring for a time of rest and reflection, it diminishes our desire for more. (more…)

When people talk about living a simple life, what do they mean? Typically, they’re referring to lifestyle choices that are voluntary – unencumbering themselves from physical and psychological clutter that impedes their journey toward a more authentic existence that is intentional, creative, and free of guilt.

People choose to simplify their lives for a variety of reasons. For some, it is born out of a desire for inner growth, to get in touch with what they deem to be most important in their lives. For others, they’ve sought a simpler lifestyle as a vehicle to reduce stress, get out from under the burden of too much stuff (and the subsequent debt that often accompanies material acquisitions), and a desire for more freedom, autonomy, and a higher quality of life.

What voluntary simplicity is NOT: (more…)

Living simply is an attitude, a way of life. It’s being mindful during the common events of our daily existence. It’s slowing down to appreciate each moment and not being in such a rush to get to the next event.

I have learned much from my Dad about the art of living simply and intentionally. To watch him in the kitchen is comparable to watching a master at his canvass. He chops each vegetable and piece of fruit with a real connectedness and respect for it. He never follows a recipe, but rather follows the natural instincts of his heart and mind preparing a meal. And each plate is presented so beautifully, betraying his roots as an artist and designer.

Homemade soups are garnished. Orange juice is served in a stemmed goblet. An asparagus stalk is laid across the plate as an artist would apply a (more…)

A woman recently wrote to me because she’d been ignoring the one thing that she felt most passionate about in her life. She had a dream of pursuing a career in music, but felt it was too late for her.

How about you? Do you wish you’d gone to college? Do you regret not taking that trip to Italy that you’ve always dreamed about? Do you lament the words you said to your spouse before walking out the door this morning? It’s not too late!

Action Steps: (more…)

Do you believe that “life happens to me” or that you create your life? Do you find yourself blaming others for your current circumstances.

Chris Gardener, whose inspirational story was portrayed by Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happiness, had every reason to complain and blame others for his circumstances. But Chris realized something that not enough people truly comprehend: We are 100 percent responsible for our own lives.

Don’t blame other people and circumstances if you don’t have the kind of life you think you deserve. Blaming serves only one purpose — making you feel like a victim. And a victim doesn’t have power over her own life. Someone with a victim mentality thinks life happens to her; she remains helpless. She’s not involved in creating her own experience. She looks at her circumstances and asks, “Why me?” She’ll blame her situation — not having enough money, a dead- end job, an unsupportive spouse, or the demands of children — and use it as her excuse for not pursuing her dreams. (more…)

How important is your time to you? What value do you place on your time? Outside of sleeping, eating, working, household chores and other activities to sustain your life, what do you do with your time? How do you spend your “non-working” moments each day?

It is easy to lose sight of where your time goes. An hour here and an hour there may seem harmless enough. However, all of those hours add up to make a significant portion of your life. For instance, the average American spends more than four hours a day watching TV. Multiply that by fifty years and you have eight years spent staring at a box!

Think about it: There are 525,600 minutes in every year. How do you want to spend them? Assuming one- third of those minutes are spent sleeping, you still have 346,896 minutes left to spend however you choose. Do you want to just let the days happen to you or do you want to plan?

There is a major difference between being busy and taking specific, well-planned action. You can have a busy day with nothing to show for it – without moving closer to your most important goals. The key is to map out your day; prioritize the important tasks on your agenda so that you have time for learning and expanding your knowledge.

To start with, set aside at least 20-30 minutes a day to develop the habit of reading. Read anything that is stimulating, challenging or gives you an edge in your industry or profession. The experts all agree that if you really want to be successful, you should invest one hour of your day to learn more about your area of interest. Developing this single habit can totally change the direction of your life! (more…)