This morning, amidst the flurry of activity in my home (cheerios poured, lunches packed, teeth brushed. etc) the song "Bittersweet Symphony" streamed in the background..."'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life. You are a slave to money then you die." Not really uplifting at all. But how true it is. Could this song be seen as a theme song to our lives?
How many decisions do we make on a daily basis that are directly related to our financial status? Where we live, where we work, what we eat, where we travel, what we wear, what we embark on and ultimately, what we compromise on. Lately, to me, life has become one big compromise. What was important and dream-driven has now been put on the back burner in exchange for long work hours, microwave dinners, getting those darn bills paid, and basically, flipping calendar pages in a survivalist mentality.
How did we get here? Where the almighty dollar takes precedence over family time...in which a strangers perception of us is more important than how our children view us. Where dreams have a price tag and our time is worth less and less and less. Gratitude and selflessness has been replaced with greed and selfishness. Our cups are being filled with temporary "boosts"...and the cycle continues. We are so wrapped up in clinging to the dollars in our worn pockets that it has led us to relinquish the things we believe in.
Remember, we got one life...one go around to make it happen. How can we change our mind's thinking to avoid being slaves to money and becoming victorious in our dream fulfillment? The answer is balance. And to achieve this balance, we quit selling our time for next to nothing and start charting our dreams. Making your dreams real to you and others will only instill a deep motivation to propel yourself forward, to a place where what you truly believe in is how you live.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Exclamation Point vs. The Period
You know what's great about face to face conversation between people? Great stuff emerges. Ideas...stories...jokes...changing tones of voice that can be construed as either sarcasm or satire.
But in writing, whether it be letters...emails or texts...how do we convey these "tones"? With a smiley face :) or a wink ;) or even...yes...the exclamation point!
View the difference below:
I had a great day.
I had a great day! (Yeah-that's passion for you!)
Our country was founded on passionate conversations laden with exclamatory statements; as our freedom-desiring forefathers with blood pumping fiercely through their veins fought for a life some of us take for granted!
My point? (There always is one of course.) Don't fear the "exclamation points" of life...fear the period. The period that ends a sentence describing a life under-lived, non-productive, passion-lacking...empty.
You know what's great about face to face conversation between people? Great stuff emerges!
But in writing, whether it be letters...emails or texts...how do we convey these "tones"? With a smiley face :) or a wink ;) or even...yes...the exclamation point!
View the difference below:
I had a great day.
I had a great day! (Yeah-that's passion for you!)
Our country was founded on passionate conversations laden with exclamatory statements; as our freedom-desiring forefathers with blood pumping fiercely through their veins fought for a life some of us take for granted!
My point? (There always is one of course.) Don't fear the "exclamation points" of life...fear the period. The period that ends a sentence describing a life under-lived, non-productive, passion-lacking...empty.
You know what's great about face to face conversation between people? Great stuff emerges!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Mad World
When I was growing up in New England, I was part of the rat race before truly knowing what it was. I mean I was 12 years old with a paper route, a part time babysitting gig, pet sitting neighbors' cats, and an occasional run at a lemonade stand.
And this was all before Blackberrys and iPhones and Facebook and all of the other craziness that we have voluntarily engaged in! In looking back, what was the point of multiple jobs at 12 years old? We didn't have the Wii or Netflix or on demand anything. We had the outside, and we had friends in person not via text, Skype or My Space!
How do we shift our focus back to people? Back to what truly motivates us...our families, our children, our dear friends that we are always "too busy" texting, surfing, or status updating to spend time with them. Challenging ourselves to be in person...engaging fully without having our attention turned to words on a screen.
Goals that we have set for ourselves and for our future have to have a foundation...a meaning near and dear to us. Or we lose momentum. The goals become fuzzy and we lose our focus. Another dream or idea dies in the midst of our modern day chaos.
I have learned two hard facts about myself recently...I can't fully disconnect from the electronic world without a small sense of panic. And secondly, even though through Facebook and texting and messenger, I am constantly "connected" to family, friends, co-workers, old high school friends...the person to person connection has drastically dwindled. It's almost like we don't know how to act around each other anymore without a phone or a PDA or laptop.
This is truly just scratching the surface of the social crisis we are in. People have stopped mattering to people. We scan news articles about tragedy while listening to the latest hip hop song on our iPod. We text while in the drop off line while our kids play their video games. We'll ponder over our next Facebook post but not about how we can help those in need. We become more and more de-sensitized to what truly matters the most...the human heart.
In the next several weeks, I am going to challenge myself (and hopefully you!) to disconnect to re-connect. Even if it's an hour at night...or in the morning or whenever. To me, there is nothing worse than our hearts, that are all filled with promise and potential, to be stifled and smothered by a seemingly connected world that has no depth, passion, or true reward.
(for an awesome song reference...google Gary Jules "Mad World"; you tube video to be posted)
And this was all before Blackberrys and iPhones and Facebook and all of the other craziness that we have voluntarily engaged in! In looking back, what was the point of multiple jobs at 12 years old? We didn't have the Wii or Netflix or on demand anything. We had the outside, and we had friends in person not via text, Skype or My Space!
How do we shift our focus back to people? Back to what truly motivates us...our families, our children, our dear friends that we are always "too busy" texting, surfing, or status updating to spend time with them. Challenging ourselves to be in person...engaging fully without having our attention turned to words on a screen.
Goals that we have set for ourselves and for our future have to have a foundation...a meaning near and dear to us. Or we lose momentum. The goals become fuzzy and we lose our focus. Another dream or idea dies in the midst of our modern day chaos.
I have learned two hard facts about myself recently...I can't fully disconnect from the electronic world without a small sense of panic. And secondly, even though through Facebook and texting and messenger, I am constantly "connected" to family, friends, co-workers, old high school friends...the person to person connection has drastically dwindled. It's almost like we don't know how to act around each other anymore without a phone or a PDA or laptop.
This is truly just scratching the surface of the social crisis we are in. People have stopped mattering to people. We scan news articles about tragedy while listening to the latest hip hop song on our iPod. We text while in the drop off line while our kids play their video games. We'll ponder over our next Facebook post but not about how we can help those in need. We become more and more de-sensitized to what truly matters the most...the human heart.
In the next several weeks, I am going to challenge myself (and hopefully you!) to disconnect to re-connect. Even if it's an hour at night...or in the morning or whenever. To me, there is nothing worse than our hearts, that are all filled with promise and potential, to be stifled and smothered by a seemingly connected world that has no depth, passion, or true reward.
(for an awesome song reference...google Gary Jules "Mad World"; you tube video to be posted)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
It only takes one...
Several weeks ago, I was in the midst of discussions with my regional boss. We were of course bantering back and forth about numbers and the region's different stores and the mix of people in those stores. Being in sales, we are all competing for the same magic thing...customer's loyalty.
Attitudes of different sales consultants were of course addressed (the "poor me" syndrome is infamous amongst commissioned sales) and he said something very interesting to me. He said, "Tiffany, it only takes one. It only takes one person in a store to change the feel of a workplace, it only takes one good customer to turn your month around, it only takes one good experience to revive hope within the desperate individual."
Wow...amongst numbers, and customer issues, long winded sales pitches, computer crashes...the true insides of sales emerges...people.
In the media frenzied world, where loyalty is rare and where true service is at a price, we have an opportunity to be that one person...that one thing that turns around a situation.
Yesterday, I taught this same philosophy to someone who is feeling very overwhelmed in her situation. She covered her heart with her hand and said, "What can I do? What can one person do to change what is around us?" I told her very clearly, "Find one good thing in every person and every situation and magnify it ten-fold. That goodness will fuel you to continue to see more and more good."
This blog isn't a "feel good, everything is warm and fuzzy, rosie sunglasses"...this is truly about how one by one we can change the world. Tweaking our attitudes, seeing the very best in every situation, tackling problems with clarity and optimism, and staying fired up for life-this is what I want to teach through this blog. A passionate exciting life is reachable for all of us! We linger in dead space sometimes...the should haves, the would haves, the can't haves. Regroup...and renew your mind. Today is now. Rejoin life with an excitement and tap into that inner fuel!
Attitudes of different sales consultants were of course addressed (the "poor me" syndrome is infamous amongst commissioned sales) and he said something very interesting to me. He said, "Tiffany, it only takes one. It only takes one person in a store to change the feel of a workplace, it only takes one good customer to turn your month around, it only takes one good experience to revive hope within the desperate individual."
Wow...amongst numbers, and customer issues, long winded sales pitches, computer crashes...the true insides of sales emerges...people.
In the media frenzied world, where loyalty is rare and where true service is at a price, we have an opportunity to be that one person...that one thing that turns around a situation.
Yesterday, I taught this same philosophy to someone who is feeling very overwhelmed in her situation. She covered her heart with her hand and said, "What can I do? What can one person do to change what is around us?" I told her very clearly, "Find one good thing in every person and every situation and magnify it ten-fold. That goodness will fuel you to continue to see more and more good."
This blog isn't a "feel good, everything is warm and fuzzy, rosie sunglasses"...this is truly about how one by one we can change the world. Tweaking our attitudes, seeing the very best in every situation, tackling problems with clarity and optimism, and staying fired up for life-this is what I want to teach through this blog. A passionate exciting life is reachable for all of us! We linger in dead space sometimes...the should haves, the would haves, the can't haves. Regroup...and renew your mind. Today is now. Rejoin life with an excitement and tap into that inner fuel!
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