Stories to Inspire - Susan Boyle's Amazing Gift

Have you ever felt that you could do something really well? Something that gives you joy? Something that you know deep down you are here to share with others? It's an awesome feeling!

It can also be frustrating if you don't have the right environment to share it to the full extent. And it can be very disheartening to be disregarded by the people you want to share it with.

Every day I get to talk to people who are awakening to that sense of what they do well and how they want to share it with the world. Often times, they have to overcome obstacles (doubters, challenging life experiences etc) that seem to stand in the way of what they are really here to share. It seems to be a very common thread - the need to persevere and develop an inner commitment to express a gift in spite of the challenges.

Amazing things can happen when we persevere through the challenges and hold fast to the dream of sharing our gifts with the world. In big public ways or small personal ways, we change the world by adding our magnificence.

Susan Boyle did just that. This unassuming woman, living in a small village somewhere in the UK, knocked the socks off the world when she shared her gift. Give yourself the gift of the next seven minutes on YouTube to listen to Susan Boyle's gift.

Get ready for the goosebumps...And make it an inspired day!

Universal Laws Test Drive Tuesday April 21

How would you like to take Inspired Journey and the Universal Laws out for a test drive? Well, you can!

On Tuesday, April 21st at 7:00 p.m. CST Violetta Grzesko and I will be getting together for a discussion about Universal Laws and how they relate to our everyday experiences.

It will be a lot more fun and interesting if you join us, so give some thought to a question or idea you have about Universal Laws and the experiences that are showing up for you.

Here's the link to the conference line to join us.

Feel free to send in a question even if you can't join us live. We'll ask your question and send you the recording so you can still take part in Test Drive Tuesday.

Sounds good? Well, then please join us, no charge, gratis, just for the adventure of it.

Looking forward to our time together!

How Will You Celebrate Earth Hour?

World Wildlife Fund is inspired to raise awareness about climate change for the earth and its inhabitants. And they’ve found a powerful way to involve each and every one of us. It’s called Earth Hour. On Saturday, March 28^th 8:30 local time, the world will be shutting off the lights, TV, computer and any other non-essential gadgets and appliances that we usually have plugged into the grid. For one hour we can all power down electronically and power up consciously.

“What’s the big deal”, you might ask. The World Wildlife Fund acknowledges that Earth Hour is not going to save the planet. It’s a symbolic event to raise awareness. Participating in last year’s Earth Hour had a lot of impact for me. As I went around my home with kids in tow, turning off and unplugging to prepare for an hour without power, our family became more aware of how far our reliance on electricity really goes. We, like so many others, have the privilege of being able to access electricity at the flick of a switch, and that can lead to taking something so powerful for granted. So, the big deal about Earth Hour is really about how making a small change can have a big impact on our awareness.

One hour. That’s pretty small. The amazing thing is that one hour multiplied by 10 million (that’s how many people in Canada alone participated last year) easily turns into something pretty big.

So what is one to do with an hour in the dark?

Good question! Our candle lit hour was spent listening to the observations of a seven year old. There was no need to plan a thing. Her comments about electricity and questions about the sounds of the house (now audible without the background noise of the TV) made for a memorable and enlightening experience. Of course there are lots of ways to spend the hour like:

• taking a soak and splash during a candle lit bath
• organizing a jam session – singing acapella or with acoustic accompaniment
• hosting a pot luck party in the dark with foods that require no heating
• enjoying the silence and stillness and just being – what a nice change of pace
  
  

As the hour drew to a close, I remember feeling a bit sad. The hour in the dark brought us together around that single candle. We re-focused, we relaxed, we laughed. Did it take a world wide initiative to remind us that powering down could be such a good idea? Guess so. One simple little act with an immeasurable impact.

Enjoy your Earth Hour in whatever way you choose to celebrate it.

Adventures in De-cluttering – Leaping Over Old Electronics?

The de-cluttering journey begins, and I’m really glad I started with something that's easy to release. Cell phones with dead batteries, old computer towers and out-dated audio equipment was not so hard to part with after I found ways to recycle and re-purpose my trash.

When you consider how often we upgrade our technological devices, it’s mind-boggling to think about how much space they could take up in the landfill. The plastics and batteries also contain some nasty chemicals that we really don’t want leaching into our soil and water. Thankfully, manufacturers and consumers are taking more action to reuse and recycle electronic trash rather than simply tossing it in the garbage. Reducing would be another good practice to get into. That involves buying products that are not considered “disposable”, because cheap comes with a high price when we consider the waste it creates.

My search for places to share and recycle electronic goods lead me to lots of interesting sources. There are non-profit groups making use of second-hand equipment; government programs for recycling and sustainability; and retailers receiving the old, worn out stuff they once sold in it’s shiny, new state. To find out more check out:

• My Eco Ville - an on-line destination for local recycling and sustainability information. Just type in your province or state and the links to local resources (public and private sector) appear before your eyes.
  
  
• Freecycle - a great site for giving your electronic stuff away. Go to their site to find a group in your community. After you’ve joined, you can post pretty much anything to give away. And the best part is your treasures will be picked up right at your door!
  
  
• Call2Recycle is a link to recycling retailers in your area. Type in your zip/postal code and they’ll even tell you the distance between you and the stores.
  
  
• And finally, a great “how to” article for leads on everything from wiping your computer memory clean to finding out which retailers recycle which products.
  

A word of caution must accompany this adventure. Be prepared to:

• try, try again – I posted my old printer on freecycle. No one wanted it. Then I found the Lexmark Recycling Program (insert your brand of printer along with “recycling program” into Google to find out more about your printer options) but learned that recycling involved mailing it out of the country at my expense. I chalked it up to a sign of the times. We’re doing much better at recycling but we’re not perfect yet.
  
  
• learn and teach simultaneously – Before hauling my bag of no-longer-working goods to the local recycling sources, I decided to phone them up and make sure they were still participating in the program. Turns out that a fair number of retail employees don’t know about their company’s recycling programs. My simple little query of “does your store have a cell phone (or other gadget) recycling service” was often met by a long pause followed by being transferred to people in different departments who might just have the answer. The cool thing was that each employee seemed really interested and wanted to find out more information for me. So get used to being a bit of a public service announcement when you make your calls.

• trade junk for coupons – Even though it was tough to unload my worn out printer, the ink cartridges can be recycled and Office Depot will give an in-store credit for every cartridge. Works for me!
  
  And the best part of all? The guy I spoke with seemed to have a passion for recycling. My printer dilemma was solved when he said – as if talking me out of jumping off a cliff - “we’ll take it and figure out how to recycle it…just don’t throw it in the garbage!” I wonder if his recycling-hero-cape was blowing in the wind behind him as he rescued me and my broken down pile of plastic.

And so, I’m off to a good start. Recycling electronics cleared some physical space and made me laugh. And the trip through the house to unearth all the broken, worn out, no-longer-needed items didn’t take much time at all.

So what do you say? Will you give yourself a day or a week (or whatever feels like the right amount of time) to lighten your load of electronic clutter? Great! And then send me an email to keep me posted on your adventure.

Have fun and let it go!

Yours On Purpose,
Tara

What’s in the Way of Your Inspired Journey?

A reoccurring theme has been popping up lately and it’s getting too big to ignore. Whether it’s a matter of tripping over toys, losing that crucial phone number in the stack of paper or needing a helmet and safety harness to get over the boxes in the basement, the story’s the same. We got way to much stuff! And the worst part it is that the stuff is getting in the way of our happiness!

How the heck did we get here?

Okay, I’m not really going to take the time to answer that question because I’m pretty sure that’s not the path to happiness either. What I’m more interested in focusing on is how to deal with the clutter so that we can all make a little more space and time for meaning and purpose in everyday life.

As I sit here at my desk – which I will admit has a few too many papers on it, and look around the room that is in no way organized to its potential – I know I’m not alone in thinking that this whole clutter thing has become a serious issue. I know this because I recently did a survey of my email list and found out that some people didn’t have time to spend on inspired projects because their time and space was cluttered with other, less meaningful stuff. Then I had lunch with a friend (who I’ve always considered to be organized beyond belief) and found out that she too is overrun by every kind of clutter a family can create. My final straw occurred while standing in line at the grocery store, listening to the woman in front of me talk on her cell phone about the mess she had to go home to. As I overheard her confession of strategically hiding piles of papers under the coach just so she could feel some sense of peace and comfort in her living room, I was struck by just how far we all are going to deal with the material items we’ve surrounded ourselves with.

All this stuff is creating a road block between us and the experiences we long for in life. We’re living and working in spaces that are cluttered, and how are we supposed to feel inspired, creative and happy in that kind of environment? And the more we have, the more we have to take care of, so our time is spent cleaning, fixing, upgrading, storing and tripping over stuff.

We all need help!

Trouble is that the likelihood of us all getting a de-cluttering coach to come over and help us sort through our poor decisions is slim to none. And as nice as the rooms look at the end of each Clean Sweep episode, I’m guessing there’s a heck of a lot of physical and emotional work involved in going from chaos to clean and organized in the span of two days. If you’ve got a Peter Walsh to help you out, way to go! If not, what are you going to do to deal with what’s in the way of your inspired journey?

I think I may have a plan – well, actually an adventure. I’ve got stuff in my house I no longer need and it’s not adding to my happiness quotient. My life is full, so taking a weekend to unearth, toss, donate and reorganize it all is highly unlikely. And I’m not even going to do it room by room, because that tends to cause the clutter to find a new home somewhere else in the house. Here’s what my de-cluttering adventure looks like:

• de-clutter by category – old and unused electronics go first (it’s and easy place to start because I have no emotional attachment to a cordless phone with a dead battery)

• let go in eco-friendly ways – tossing the excessive contents of my house in the landfill is just not an option for me. I’m building in time to find out where I can share, sell and recycle what I no longer want.

• be gentle – it took me a while to get cluttered and it’s going to take me a little while to reverse that. I’m all about gentle and effective plans of action. This de-cluttering experiment is going to be added into an already full life, so drastic action is not the order of the day.

• make it fun – I’m planning to enlist the help of others and turn on the music. And it goes without saying that de-cluttering becomes a bit more divine while eating chocolate.

So, there you go. A de-cluttering adventure with a strategy coach along for the journey. Now all you have to do is join me for the adventure. I’ll share what I learn along the way and you can too!

I wonder what we’ll be doing a month from now when our collective loads are that much lighter?

Yours On Purpose,
Tara

Where do I begin?

Have you ever had a big idea get hold of you?  It’s an amazing feeling to be able to see the big picture – how something could be done to solve and problem or make life better, richer or more enjoyable. These are the moments many creative types long for and pay homage to. They make the times of muddling along a little easier to endure.  Oh yes, the big ideas are wonderful!

And yet, the brightness of the “light bulb moment” can become rather dark as soon as we try to figure out a first step to take.  We can soon turn our focus to thoughts like:

• I’m not an expert so how far will I really get;


• I must not be committed enough because the last time I had a big idea I lost interest in a week;


• maybe someone else could do it but for me it’s just a silly pipe dream;


• that’s likely to cost a lot of money to really do it well; or


• great idea, but whose got the time...and probably an endless number of other thoughts to justify why the big idea is impossible.

Well, before you start feeling too deflated, let me remind you that as Thomas Edison was going through an amazingly long process of trial and error while inventing the light bulb in 1879, he said “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work”.

Where would we be without Mr. Edison’s perseverance?  We wouldn’t even be able to call a big idea a “light bulb moment”!

And Thomas Edison is not the only one whose had to try and try again, investing himself in so many ways to see a big idea through to completion.  Truth is, it’s a pretty common experience to have to walk through some doubt and adversity.  It’s focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel that keeps the doubt from overshadowing opportunity.

So, with the big idea intact and enthusiasm reinstated, the question still remains ‘where do I begin’?

And the answer is (drum roll please)... You begin with the end in mind. You got it.  Steven Covey’s phrase is the one to keep front and centre as you begin to focus on your big idea.

Too lofty you say?  Well, here’s my suggestion.  Try one (or more) of these out as your first step:

• Take your big idea out for a test drive and day dream a bit (how’s that for a cheap yet priceless gift to yourself?)


• Get out the scissors and old magazines and create a collage, a visual image of your big idea


• Write your big idea down on an index card and keep it in your wallet or pocket or somewhere you’ll see it regularly.  The card will remind you to get lost in your big idea even during the less-than-enthusiastic parts of the day

And if you’re ready to build even more momentum:

• Check out www.thomasedison.com/ to learn more about an inspired inventor


• Treat yourself to more of Steven Covey’s wisdom in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People


• Share your big idea to build the enthusiasm even more by contacting me at www.inspiredjourney.net/contact.cfm

These ideas don’t required a huge investment of time or money and the upside is that you’ll be investing in yourself and your big idea in a most amazing way!  You’ll be breathing life into it.

Have fun, leave the doubts behind and try it on for size.  Your big idea just might be a perfect fit.

Yours On Purpose,

Tara

Is Blogging Supposed to be Part of My Inspired Journey?

Welcome to the first post of the Inspired Journal, brought to you by InspiredJourney.net! Just getting to the point of typing this first entry has been an adventure with many false starts and “wrong” turns. Who knew getting lost in technology could be such an opportunity for personal growth. The technical side of this stuff is not my passion but rather a series of necessary hoops I had to jump through to share what I do love to do - write, ask questions and walk with others on their inspired journey of bringing purpose and meaning into everyday life. Well, I have to say that the countless road blocks that appeared on the way to setting up this blog did make me ask myself ‘Is Blogging Supposed to be Part of My Inspired Journey?’

Being open to guidance is really what made this all possible. And that’s the coolest part of being inspired – it opens us up to amazing possibilities and connections that we might otherwise be oblivious to. My desire to create a blog made me aware of opportunities to work with people who have the ability to make sense of all this techno-garble and are inspired to share and guide the non-techies of the world (that would be me). When I focus on my passions and invite others into my life to share theirs, it enriches the journey of everyone involved.

So, with the technical stuff somewhat worked out, I am happy to say a new adventure on my journey begins. I'm a blogger! Who could have ever known way back when I as a kid watching the ever-so-passionate-and-inspiring Leo Buscaglia on Public Broadcasting that blogging would be a way to share my passion with the world!
And that’s the beauty of being on purpose – the adventures are amazing!
To embark on an adventure of your own:

• consider what you’ve been putting off and take a step towards it


• focus on the part you feel passionate about


• open yourself to the guidance that will connect you to others with complimentary passions


• get clarity about life purpose by reading this short definition at http://www.inspiredjourney.net/life_purpose.cfm


• give yourself the gift of tapping into Leo Buscaglia’s passion for life. You can find his book Personhood at Personhood: The Art of Being Fully Human

Who knows where blogging will take me…and you. Connect, Interact, Enjoy!

Yours On Purpose,
Tara