| |||||||
live life on purpose work at what you love follow your own road
| |||||||||
   Changing Course Newsletter: Issue 20Date: Jun 2, 2001Subject: Changing Course Newsletter: Issue 20 Changing Course Newsletter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ Issue 20 - June 2, 2001 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brought to you by Changing Course http://www.ChangingCourse.com Dedicated to helping you: ~ Live Life on Purpose ~ Work at What You Love ~ Follow Your Own Road Barbara Sher, author of "I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was," calls Changing Course "wonderful, inspired and informative." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ QUOTE FOR THE DAY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons. ~Ruth Ann Schabacker ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FEATURED ARTICLE: Keeping the Dream Alive ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By: Jason Gracia Most of us, by choice or necessity, are extremely busy people. Whether it is raising kids, or getting the report in before the deadline, we all have a lot going on in our lives. This is not a bad thing. Many of the responsibilities in our lives are important and deserve our time and energy. Sometimes, we get so busy that we forget about the things we want to do, and only focus on the things we have to do. You may have stopped trying to learn how to play the guitar because you were too busy, or didn't plan your dream vacation because things piled up and you didn't have the time to make it happen. There are many things that we want to do, and should do, so it is important to set up a system that will ensure that our goals do not fall victim to time constraints and our busy lives. TALK ABOUT IT When you decide that you are ready to start working towards one of your goals, talk about it to other people. Tell you family or friends the details of your plan, and how and when it will take place. This will give it energy and life even when you are busy with other tasks. You may let it drift, but when your friends keep asking about your progress, you will be directed back to your goal. MAKE IT TANGIBLE If you really want to move to Florida someday, keep a picture of the city of your choice in a common area in your home. Every time you walk by it, you will be reminded of where you want to be. You may also have a dream job in mind that has always taken a back seat to your other demands. By researching the job and learning of the requirements, you will have brought the goal from your mind into your everyday life. This will help to remind you of your goal on a daily basis. DESIGNATE A TIME FOR GOALS Setting aside a certain time each week for your goals is an excellent way to stay focused and progressing forward. Every Saturday afternoon,f rom 12:00-1:00, you could get out your goal notebook and jot down some notes about what you've accomplished so far, what you still need to do, or just thoughts about what you'd like to do. With this system, you won't catch yourself wondering what happened to all of your goals and dreams, down the road. You will see them, read them, and work on them weekly. Keeping our goals in front of us is an important factor in accomplishing those goals. We all get wrapped up in daily tasks, and that can cause us to forget about a very important part of our lives, our goals. When the above tips are put to use, you will have an easier time getting to where you want to be, instead of focusing only on where you are now. Jason Gracia Reprinted with permission from Jason Gracia's free Motivation123 Newsletter. Get your Free Motivation123 Idea-Kit and Newsletter filled with tips and ideas to help you live a happier life at http://www.motivation123.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VALERIE'S PICKS AND PONDERINGS OF THE WEEK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First, let me apologize for the glitch in the last mailing. Many of you received a draft version that my editor Gerard Gernazian and I were working on. I am sorry for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused. I thought you'd enjoy some ponderings from a fellow traveler on the road to a more meaningful work/life. This one came to me from Beth in Oklahoma. Here is Beth's changing course story. Dear Valerie, This year, I turned 40 and decided I needed to change with the new millennium. My husband has been following his dream for over 20 years now as a professional hunting retriever trainer (Labradors) and hunting guide. I have been in the banking industry for 20 years, yet I never felt like I was truly living. So I am quitting my job as a commercial real estate loan analyst and will be trading my pantyhose for jeans and barn boots. I have always loved the outdoors and animals and with the support of my husband, have outlined a strategy for incorporating both into a meaningful, yet profitable life. I have worked diligently over the past year to pay off all my credit cards. Following your advice of developing several income sources, I have created the following businesses: (a) I have set up a sideline business through our kennel for giving obedience lessons; (b) since we live out in the country, last year I bought over 50 baby laying hens and am planning on selling organic eggs beginning this spring; (c) using the chicken and horse manure, I am also raising earthworms for composting; and (d) using the composting, I am raising herbs and vegetables for sale. My husband and I value the outdoors, conservation, and best of all, doing what we love to do together. Perhaps this story will inspire others to follow their bliss. Beth, Oklahoma Beth's story is a great reminder that you don't have to settle on just one dream! If you are interested in learning more about how to make the power of multiple income streams work for you, I highly recommend two fantastic resources: One is Barbara Winter's truly life-changing book, Making a Living Without a Job. If you dream of being your own boss but aren't sure what you'd like to do - or, how you could possibly earn a living at what you do love to do - this book is for you. The other resource also comes from Barbara Winter in the form of her inspiring and informative bimonthly newsletter, Winning Ways. Each and every issue contains food for thought for the aspiring self-bosser and practical advice to make your small business a success. For your convenience, Barbara's book is available in the Live Your Dream bookstore at http//www.ChangingCourse.com/bookstore.htm To learn more about Winning Ways visit http//www.ChangingCourse.com/subscriptions.htm Valerie p.s. Barbara has generously shared some of her articles with It's Your Life subscribers. You can read them at http//www.ChangingCourse.com/articles.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INSPIRATION TO FOLLOW YOUR BLISS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. ~ Helen Keller The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work, pleasure in its result, and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community. ~ Albert Einstein Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |