Dreams Really Do Come True - Part 2

After Cinderella's Castle, it was on to see the rest of Disney.  And I really do mean the rest of it!  We did four parks in four days.  And all I can say it - thank goodness we didn't have any children with us.  We were pooped just by ourselves. 

What I think will stay with me from all that we did was realizing that no matter how old you are...you are never too old for you dreams to come true!

Dreams Really Do Come True - Part 1

This past week I had the opportunity to go with a girlfriend of mine (Alexis) who, at 23 years of age, had never been to Disney World.  Having been there many times myself, as a child and an adult, I was looking forward to seeing it for the "first time" again through her eyes.  I had no idea how moving and inspiring that would be. 

Beginning from the Monorail on our way to the Magic Kingdom, when Alexis could see Cinderella's Castle in the distance, she had a big smile on her face that never faded for four days.  As we walked through the main gate, we ran right into the Disney parade.  It was perfect timing and even I got chills when Cinderella and the Prince went by on their float.  (see video)

We of course had lunch at the Castle with Cinderella.  I'm not sure who was more excited to meet the Princess, this little girl or Alexis. 

Most Handsome Little Man in the World!

It's been awhile since I've posted pictures of Baby Kai.  He will be 1 year old on December 31st.  Which begs the question, when will we stop calling him "Baby" Kai?  That is unknown.  What is known is he is the sweetest little guy - EVER!!!  And his sister Mika loves him to pieces.  So far, not a lot of sibling rivalry.  But then again - there's plenty of years ahead for that.

Moving Mountains?

No, just climbing them.  One of the things that's been on my "to do" list since my friend Lisa climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro a few years ago, has been "climb a mountain."  While I do feel like I climb figurative mountains in my business quite regularly, setting the literal goal has alluded me for awhile.

A chance encounter in a coffee shop last week had me encouraging someone to pursue their lifelong dream of visiting Sedona, AZ, left me with the little tug on my conscience that I have not been pursuing my own dream of climbing a mountain. 

So I have committed to climbing a mountain in the Patagonia region of Argentina in either late 2010 or 2011!  My friend Lisa who inspired this is going to join me!!!  Here is a picture from the region.  More to come...

Pearls of Buddhist Wisdom

I'm rereading a book my friend Dawn gave me.  It's called 1001 Pearls of Buddhist Wisdom.  When I went through it the first time, I highlighted my favorite bits of wisdom.  So now it's fun to skim back through and read them again.  Here's some of my favorites:

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late."

"Ride your emotions as the ship rides the waves; don't get upset among them.  There are people who enjoy getting swamped emotionally, just as, incredibly, there are people who enjoy getting drunk."

"The more we know, the more we forgive."

"If you are not learned but pretend to know, it is evil.  If you are learned but hide it, it is evil."

I'll share more soon!

Tradition!

Today is the day after Halloween. And there is a small town south of Rochester that knows the value of tradition. You see, in Cheshire every year on Halloween, the entire town gets toilet-papered. You have to see it to believe it - hence the pictures below.

When I learned of this tradition years ago, I remember thinking "what a pain in the rear to have to clean that mess up!" Nowadays I see it differently.

I think the people of Cheshire know the value of history and tradition. The fact that the police don't stop the activity and many people participate in it (not just mischievous teenagers) they are basically saying "hey this is a part of our heritage. It may be silly and it may be more work - but it's who we are!"

Perhaps we could all use a few more fun rituals in our lives!

Mind Movie!

Many of you have commented on my "Mind Movie" further below in the posts. It's a short inspirational movie about my life and what I want to do, have and be. Lately, I've been making movies for other people in my life to celebrate them!

I thought I would share the latest with you. If you've read this blog before, you know about the Most Beautiful Baby in the World...my niece Mika.

Now Mika has her own Mind Movie. She just turned 3 and I thought that was worth a movie debut.

WARNING - you will fall in love with this little girl after seeing this.

Facebook Faceoff

Hi folks! I'm back! Yes I realize a 6 month hiatus from a blog is unheard of nowadays. So I feel I should explain. Earlier this year when Social Media became all the rage for business, I figured I'd better text, tweet, friend and post and do all those things or my business would become obsolete.

Instead my TIME became obsolete! There was no way to keep up with it all. And without an overall strategy, I didn't know the purpose of the different medias. I thought Facebook would replace this blog (and hence I haven't been on since April) but then I heard people say they missed it.

So here I am once again sharing my life and insights for those who care! It's good to be back.

Wisdom Comes from the Strangest Places!

Have you ever been in an unremarkable place or situation and had a remarkable thing happen? This past weekend, I was in NJ for a conference. The day before the conference, it was pouring rain and not much to do in Fairview, NJ...so I decided to go get a massage.

I had never been to Massage Envy - a national chain for massage therapy - and was in their lobby waiting for my appointment. I decided to pick up their "Meet our Therapists" binder on the table where, I suppose to make you more comfortable about getting touched by a complete stranger, they had a profile on each therapist.

Besides their name, hometown, years in the business, and massage school graduated from...they had the favorite quote of each therapist. It was there, in this binder, in this lobby, in this chain, in this town that I came across this wisdom...

"If someone wants to be wise, let him observe;to be strong, let him work;to be happy, let him give;to be influential, let him serve and sacrifice."

It reminds me of a quote from the movie Evan Almighty..."when you ask God for patience, does he just give you patience or does he give you the circumstances that will allow you to cultivate patience?"

Whatever you're asking for, look again to see if it's available to you in a different way than what you might be expecting.

Visualization Doesn't Work!

I've finally figured out why visualization doesn't work for most people. It's not that visualization is hard - we visualize all the time. Sometimes good things - sometimes not so good. But even when we are imagining something really great - rarely do we get to a place of "feeling" what we are thinking about.

I realized this the other day when someone guided me through a visualization. They asked me to think of a beautiful place. They asked me to imagine the sights (looking off the balcony of my dream house on the water), the smells (crisp autumn leaves and coffee!), the feeling under my hands (a soft blanket wrapped around me).

By time the visualization was done - I had tears in my eyes! I felt so alive, so energized and empowered.

Then I realized, less than 10% of the time do I actually get emotional about my visualizations. And while I may not understand the quantum physics behind the law of attraction (vibrations matching and all that), I cannot argue with the fact that the simple 5-minute visualization kept me in ACTION the rest of the day.

That is perhaps the key to attrACTION after all.

How many of you are feeling affected by the economy?

I'm curious. How many of you are feeling affected by the economy right now?

Are you worried about your business? Are you looking for more income streams? Do you want to start a business but are afraid this isn't the right time? Or are you doing great right now?

For myself, I'm always interested in looking for more ways to take charge of my OWN life and my OWN business. That's why I was intrigued by Ali Brown's new free teleclass on Thursday, March 5, called "How to Create Your OWN Strong Economy This Year...With Online Information Marketing."

Here's the link to sign up:
http://www.netofficetoolbox.com/app/?af=682405

And don't forget to share your thoughts and questions. I'd love to know what you really think about your business and the economy right now.

Wanna see something cool?

If you know about the power of affirmations and visualization - you're going to love this. It's a Mind Motion Picture I created for myself. I have a vision board - but I find I don't look at it as much as I should. And I have affirmations posted all over the house - but after awhile - I don't see them anymore.

So now, I have an audio-visual, interactive presentation of everything I want in life. It's like my life's coming attractions! I watch it every morning and every night before I go to bed. It certainly sets the tone for the day - and it's a great way to stay inspired.

Welcome Baby Kai

My great-nephew was born on 12/31 (just in time for the tax deduction) and he is healthy and beautiful. Mika, his older sister, isn't quite sure what to make of him although she calls him "My baby Kai." At this point, everything is hers. I'm now called "My Nancy". Here are pictures of the newest "most beautiful baby in the world."