Posts Tagged ‘gratitude’

A few things…including the Gratitude Dance.

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

If you’ve been following my blog, you may have gotten the impression that I’ve become a little lazy with my posts – erratic, to say the least. Guilty as charged, and I apologize.

There has been a lot going on, what with moving to a new city, looking for a job (still) and working on my novel, so my posts will continue to be erratic. To make up for it, I am leaving the e-book version of 101 Reasons to be Yourself available to you indefinitely. Just sign up at the top right and you’ll get it in your inbox. Feel free to leave comments about it on this blog, too. They’re always appreciated.

If you have any concerns about getting added to a pile of mailing lists, being overloaded with information or anything else of the sort, I assure you that I don’t have the energy for that. If anything, some day in the future you might get the occasional newsletter about new stuff I’ve come up with. I just want you to enjoy the book and maybe improve your life as a result.

Now, here’s the big sales pitch: You can also buy the physical book with your credit card or paypal account by hitting the ‘Buy Now’ button on the right. That’s it. Pretty straightforward, really. It’s a good book to have if you’re stuck and wanting to make some positive changes in your life.

On another topic, I came across The Gratidudes first video, “The Gratitude Dance”, a while ago and, since they live in the same city as I do, I hope to run into them soon and have a chat with them. They do some cool stuff, and are doing their part to make the world a better place.

Check out The Gratitude Dance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9z2ELaBVJY

and check out The Gratitudes:

http://www.thegratidudes.com

Hasta Luego!

Heather

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All I want for Christmas is what I’ve already got.

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

All I want for Christmas is what I already have in a storage locker 500 km away. My guitars, keyboard, books, paints, printer and scanner…and the remainder of my wardrobe. Anything else is gravy, although I wouldn’t complain about a never-ending supply of Merlot and extra-aged cheddar.

Living in a new city where I am virtually a stranger, I find myself drawn to the same places, activities and people I knew in another time, another place, where I became a performing singer/songwriter, a published writer and part of a creative community. With nothing but what I could cram into my Toyota Yaris, dog included, I’m doing just fine. After checking out several open mics, I want to make music again. In order to distract myself from the absence of musical instruments, I started writing another novel. You don’t need anything but a pen and a notebook to do that. And I finally got my second online course, Cash Control 101, up and running.

Quite often, what we think we want for Christmas is simply an escape from what we really want for life; that is, stuff that helps us fill time rather than invest it. Is an Xbox 360 going to make your dreams come true when you want to be the designer behind the games making $200,000/year? The new TV may be great to watch, but who cares if your dream is to write the screenplays?

If you’re a little tired of all the consumerism, big credit card payments and wastefulness that can arise at this time of year, why not consider what you truly want for your life and give yourself the gift of moving forward in that direction? What will truly make you happier than you are right now?

#16 of 101 Reasons to be Yourself – Make Music.

Get the book! – 101 Reasons to be Yourself


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Being Grateful (Jan. 10/09 – repost)

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

Starting a new career and self-publishing a book (101 Reasons to be Yourself) have created a great deal of pressure to stay positive and focused and to work hard in order to make both ventures successful. This is a challenge. Not just doing the work to make it happen, but staying motivated to do the work, particularly at this time of year with spring and warm weather still off in the future. Who has time for the mid-winter blues?

The thing that keeps me on track is, surprisingly, forgetting about my schedule, my goals and my objectives for a while every day. I consciously force my busy mind to shut off, look around at the abundance in my life and say, “Thank you”. Really, I’ve got it pretty good right here, right now. I have a nice place to live, full of things I like. I have loving and supportive friends and family. I have a great dog who makes me laugh in the bleakest of times. I have a great car that gets me where I need to go. In short, I have everything I need and more. Not everything is perfect, but it’s perfect for right now. I had so much, in fact, that I went through everything and began to sell or give away the things I don’t need.

When you keep stuff in your life that doesn’t serve you, it only weighs you down, when it could be lifting someone up. Hanging on to remnants of old hopes and dreams doesn’t help. There is someone out there just starting their journey along the same lines who could really use that stuff. For example, I was in the music industry for several years and had dreams of being a rock star, but I’ve moved on. Why hang on to the stage outfits and the excess guitar equipment that I may never use again? Why hang on to the downhill skis that are too long, collecting dust in the shed? Why keep the novels I’ll never read, or the DVDs I’ve watched too many times? It’s just stuff – stuff that someone else can enjoy for a while.

I want to feel grateful for everything in my life. If my home or my relationships are full of reminders of regret, failures or unfulfilled dreams, it makes for bad vibes. Gratitude makes for good vibes and a positive outlook, something we can all use to beat the mid-winter blues and go on living our dreams.

Take a look around. What do you have to be grateful for?

Here is Chapter 2, as promised.

2gratitude

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