Bought a Big Bat

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”

- Dr. Seuss, Writer, 1904-1991
 

You just have to love Dr. Seuss!! There is no better way to start off a New Year than with an “ain’t nothing gonna break my stride” attitude.

Welcome back to Turn Around Tuesday. I want to take a quick minute to thank everybody who has been supportive through an interesting 2009. I’ll be taking you to lunch in 2010.

2009 was interesting for a good many people. I myself watched one business die, another one blossom and opportunities unfold. Lighthouse Leasing & Management has grown to over 200 properties in 4 counties. We are busy but we enjoy serving our owners by taking great care of their tenants. I received my long worked for brokers license in October. That allowed me to add a Keller Williams affiliation to my real estate tool bag. Possibility is bubbling like champagne for 2010!

However, some things got off track in an effort to create a laser focus and trim the fat, so to speak. Some things needed to derail and I will leave those in the train graveyard. Others are patiently awaiting my attention. TAT is one of those things. The conversations started over at MLWFY and Beautiful Chaos are others. Connection with people outside of my client/tenant list is a huge priority. I am appreciative for the patience and the boot in the butt I got from the folks who know how.

Today I encourage you to pick up your bat and swing away into 2010. I have a list of things I want to remember because I learned, leave in the past because they are useless or worse, distracting and stars I am shooting for in 2010. Most importantly, I have decided to get out of my head, over myself and on the ball. Granted, this is a work in progress and some days will be better than others. Yours will be too. Know what that makes us? Just like everybody else! Sing it with me - “Ain’t nothin’ gonna to
break my stride. Nobody’s gonna slow me down, oh-no, I got to keep on movin’…”

What’s Going On

Still For You
This section serves the same purpose as the sidebar did previously. Events, activities, promotions - whatever - submit them to me and I will do my best to get them listed here.relevant content, and they get exposure.

Anticipation Celebration & Burning Bowl Ceremony
Vicki Manibusan of Capstone Financial Partners in Savannah will be leading this event at Asbury Memorial United Memorial Church on Saturday, January 2, 2010, 2:00 pm.

Vicki describes the event as “a guided exercise to help you think about what you want to accomplish in the coming year.” Bring pen, paper, and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Vicki can be reached at (912) 222-9410 for info and RSVP.

Leadership Bryan County
The next Leadership Bryan County class is slated to begin January 15, 2010. As a graduate, I can tell you this is a great opportunity. Call the Chamber at 912.756.3444 to register.

Today’s Superhero Cape

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”
- C. S. Lewis, author

One of the easiest things to do is to feel like a failure. Not good enough or smart enough or fast enough…the list goes on. Always watching other folks just to find more things I am lacking. How come I can’t pull that off or participate in that or be involved with that? Where is my superwoman cape?
Fortunately for me, I have the opportunity to discuss these thoughts with a couple a really smart women. During one such conversation, I had an epiphany. I am a wife, a business owner and the mother of four children under the age of 12. There’s my superwoman cape. This is the stage of my life I am in. These are the things that I concentrate on. Leaving the other stuff alone does not create failure - it demonstrates priorities.

In eight too short years, I will be the mother of 4 children between the ages of 10 and 20. That is a totally different place than where I am now. That stage of my life will have its own set of priorities, commitments and challenges. My superwoman cape will change, but it will still be mine.

Today I encourage you to appreciate your cape. At least for today - or the next five minutes - realize that you don’t do it like everybody else because you are unique. While your warrior cannot accomplish all things, the ability to accomplish all things meant for you is there in truckloads. You are perfectly positioned for your journey in this point. Run tomorrow’s race tomorrow. Enjoy today’s events now. It is the only thing you can truly wrap your arms around.

Hey There Parents

It is almost that time of the year again. You can always tell when it is fixing to happen. Bouncing, over excited, giddy, homework forgetting kids are preparing to roar into their summer vacation.

I am looking forward to my kids having a good time. They can’t take themselves to the pool or the park or the beach - so I get to go all those places too. Wonderful benefit.

However, I also worry about the summer brain rot. Three months is a long break from the 3 R’s. And they are expected to fall right back into the swing of things at the beginning of the next school year.

So, my question today is - What kind of activities and learning resources will you use to for your kids this summer?

Special Thanks to Julien Tromeur for the superhero graphic

Choking on the Apple

How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
-African Proverb

I watched my two year old eat an apple yesterday. She was given a slice and proceeded to stick the whole thing in her mouth. Didn’t work out too well and it ended up in my hand. Hmm.

Because she had been successful eating apples when given it whole, we went back to that method. She knew she couldn’t put that whole thing in her mouth and began consuming it, one bite at a time. She ate the whole thing. Interesting.

I have crazy big ideas. I have some pretty significant responsibilities. So do you. There are times when I have made a go at one of those enormous sized projects. I am so excited about the prospect that I try to tackle it all at once, only to choke on it and spit it out in the trash. Other times, the bigness of it all is undeniable and I convince myself that I am “not enough” for the job. These times I don’t even try. Either way, I get none of the apple.

Opportunities of condensed learning and inspiration can be like this too. Ever been to a seminar and tried to remodel your entire yard, kitchen, life, the next day? You’ve seen that the improvement works. Why not implement all of it in one big slice of a bite? Because you will choke and it will all end up in the trash.

Today I want to encourage you cut yourself some slack. Unless you have some really cool super powers I don’t know about, you are subject to the same laws of time and and physics as the rest of us. Time will not warp itself for you. Most often, one step at a time is the most effective. You are amazingly talented, incredibly capable and immensely deserving. Just move through the process, one delicious bite at a time.

Big eWomenNetwork Thanks!

I will be talking about Dallas for a minute or two longer. You just have to forgive me. I am still trying to unpack - both figuratively and literally. Because I have not yet had the chance to connect with all the folks I wanted to, here are a few thanks in the interim.

Big thanks to those who went with me and the best roommate ever! To the one that made me feel like a cool kid. To the one that inspired. To the one that dared me to impress myself. To the one who encouraged while listening to my kids in background. To the one who knew I had it in me and made me say so. And to all the others who made my trip to Dallas one that I will not soon forget. You have no idea and I am not sure yet how to tell you.

So instead, I will just keep putting one word in front of the other and hope in the process, you just know.

Commit to the Positive

“People will say things that sting. They sting more when I am raw from my own inner inquisition.”

-Tama Kieves, This Time I Dance!

During Marci Shimoff’s keynote talk at the eWomenNetwork conference, I heard some startling numbers that I don’t doubt one bit. We, as individuals, have 60,000 thoughts a day, 95% of them are repeat thoughts and 80% are negative. Hear that. We think a lot of stuff, over and over again, and most of it is bad. Is it any wonder some of us didn’t feel like getting out of bed today?

I am thinking about how last TAT I told you how nervous I was to be going to Dallas to begin with and that it probably stemmed from a sense of insecurity. Wow! Wanna guess how many of those 60,000 thoughts consisted of negative self talk that reinforced that idea? It is amazing what we allow our inner selves to say. Horrid things that we would not for a minute stand for if said by others out loud. But, we will say it to ourselves, about ourselves, over and over. Interesting.

I have made the commitment to spend a great deal of energy investigating Marci’s thoughts on happiness and Tama’s thoughts on honoring the inner person. Why? Because most everything we come into contact with and the way we feel about it when we get there is not happenstance, but the result of our own personal choice. My personal choice. And 80% negative is not going to be my choice.

Today I want to encourage you talk honestly with yourself about how close to that 80% you are. Consider how that affects you and those around you. Know that this is an exercise I have done and have committed to improving upon. If you need the support, I am here. The time for beating yourself down is over. Life is far too short to be your own worst critic. Time is too valuable to paralyze yourself. Your talents are too important to be trampled on by the lies in your head. You are a warrior!

Getting Ready!

After five wonderful days in Dallas at an incredible conference, I am still trying to process all the information I took in. Some of that is just going to be mental work work me. Some of it will be involve discussion with others.

TAT was presented as A Year of Tuesdays journal format in Dallas. It was very well received and I appreciate those of you who helped me with that. Now, I bring two major pieces of feedback from people who make their living doing this kind of thing. I’d love to get your take on them.

The quotes - they should either be mine or not be there at all.

The layout - to keep it from becoming outdated so quickly, group by subject and not by actual date (i.e. January 1, 2009).

I would love to hear what you think!

Righteous Indignation

A previous post about balance took on a life of it’s own. A spirited debate about children and television ensued. I almost wish the original post had been on My Beautiful Chaos with all the parenting advice given.

There was a dicey minute when feathers were ruffled. Then the thought was raised that the ability to keep keep feathers smooth was an important one. It sparked another post by Timothy over at Carpe Factum which included a fantastic quote

“Nobody can make me feel inferior without my consent.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

and a phenom reminder

…we ourselves own the reaction, even though we don’t always own the catalyst.

But, I can’t help but wonder where righteous indignation fits in. I believe that there is a such thing. I believe that there are times when things, situations, and even people are just plain wrong.

Don’t misunderstand - I know that one must pick their battles carefully. I also know that we are the masters of our own feelings. I think that drama filled, ill intended, provoked arguments are unless and counter productive.

But isn’t there a time and a place for a stand - and isn’t it possible that sometimes that stand is personal and affects us in an emotional way?

And isn’t just possible that that’s ok?

O - Observant Opinionated

I loved participating in theater in high school. I was fairly good at it too.

In my personal and professional life, I do well with people. I seem to “get” them. I find it easy to get past what they are saying and down to what they are thinking.

In my adult life, I have gotten very good at understanding situations. It may be why I love politics, the news and reality shows. I am able to cut through the smoke and mirrors and get a little deeper past the surface - usually.

While I am not close minded, I do have strong beliefs. I enjoy hearing new points of view. However, if it is a debate you want, if I think I am right, and there is coffee involved - let the fun begin. I can get heated, convincing and convinced.

But coffee is the important part. Face to face, that is. It is difficult trying to get into those kinds of conversations any other way. There has to be a level of trust involved. There has to be some human interaction - a chance to correct misunderstandings. The ability to understand each other that is hard to do in any other way than in person.

Understanding Both is Important

Being an observant individual lends itself to understanding people on a level they may not be ready to be understood at. Being an opinionated person has to be bridled in order to be respectful to feelings.

Being an opinionated individual can cloud observations. If I am not careful to remember that we are all fallible, I can miss the truth due to my own preconceptions created by what I think I saw.

The Chaff of Sameness

We started talking about separating the wheat from the chaff early in the week. This has become the idea with priority in my brain. Funny thing is it seems to be easier to do when coaching others that when coaching yourself. Maybe it falls in to the same category as, “Someone who is his own attorney has a fool for a client.” At any rate…

I so appreciated the comments. They were great springboards for continued thought. Robyn, Rosa, Brandie, and Karen had great points on saying no, loud clutter, and cleaning it all out.

So, let’s get started on some radical moves. I realize my brain needs to be defragged. I don’t think it is a problem with the multitasking - I think it is the problem with stagnant multitasking.

The first thing designated as chaff is sameness.

Today I am going to attempt to do things in a different way. I am not quite sure what that means just yet. But I know that there are some things that I am doing that are spot on…others are good - but they could be different. Variety is the spice of life - how spicy do you like it? I am kind of a mild girl myself…but I can handle a bit.

There has to be some type of movement, some change. If not, where does the catalyst come from? I had the opportunity to talk a few minutes with a friend of mine. Deborah Crespo helps people live their lives - when she talks, I listen. “Do you ever feel like you are just standing on the cusp of something great?”

YES!
Do you?
Then what?

N - Narrating and Named

I cannot draw or sing or play an instrument.  I find these faults unfortunate, but have resigned myself to understanding that these are not my talents in life.  I seek solace in the fact that I am gifted with nouns and verbs.  I can tell a story - yours or mine.  I can, if correctly centered, paint with words. 

I love to read the stories of others.  I enjoy picking through semantics, finding details in the punctuation, word choice…endings.  Watching the words of others can keep me entertained for hours.  Hearing them sloppily placed, ill used, or haphazardly designed sends me reaching for a red pen.

I am consistently labeled.  “What is your bio?”  How often are we asked that question?  What do we say?  Wife, husband, mother, father, daughter, son, friend, realtor, banker, attorney, biker, boater, writer, loafer, dreamer…

These descriptive words aren’t terrible. In fact, many of them are wonderful.  However, if we aren’t incredibly careful, being named can limit your dreams.

Understanding Both is Important

Because I love the verbal nature of my brain, I am constantly narrating my own story in my head.  I dream big dreams and imagine huge accomplishments.  These visions usually have a name - and these names often create a canopy that set the height limits on my fantasies.  If I am going to be this thing, then this other thing I cannot do.  Or, I cannot do that within the confines of this.

It is important to know our own limits.  But, it is more important not to create ones for ourselves that are not actually there. 

How often do we get excited about the narration of our lives, only to be brought back down to earth prematurely by a name?

*Photo Credit to www.FreeFoto.com

M - Motivated Muller

My mind is relatively strong.  So is my will.  The combination of these two things have succeeded in making me a pretty motivated individual.  I can self motivate easily.  Motivational teachings resonate with me.  Motivation from others is not wasted.

Projects deadlines do not typically intimidate me - the project might, but not the deadline.  Short term goals are toast.  I have zero problem seeing them, moving towards them and getting where I need to go.

Thoughts are my best friend and my dearest enemy.  My brain does this thing that looks a whole lot like rabbit holes going places I never wanted to go.  Scenarios play out in my head like a bad movie.  I am a deep thinker.  When this is going well, the outcome can be beautiful.  When it doesn’t, the effects can be paralyzing.

I have a hard time letting go of the thoughts - especially the not so fun ones.  I must mull them over.  Reconsider them, plan around them, acknowledge the possibility even if it is not plausible.

Understanding Both is Important

The inability to harness in the madness that occurs when a thought has been mulled over for too long sucks every bit of energy that I receive from motivation.  The process of considering, thinking and getting in touch is a great one.  When it crosses over into mulling, I am travelling into the land of unproductive. 

However, motivation is the best defense to overcoming this thought sabotage.  Maintaining motivation allows you to remain focused and intentioned.  Leveraging motivation against mulling thoughts allows for prioritization and task orientated steps.  The battle can be intense - but there are few things that can beat honest motivation.

*Photo credit to Eskimo North

When is diversification too diverse?

Alrighty…this is April going out on a limb…ready? 

I am the picture of positive thinking.  The vision of visionary.  The princess of purpose.  I believe in finding what makes you thrive and turning that into what pays the bills.  I love the idea of going big.  I think that if your business branches into unlikely places that are beautiful and exciting none the less - climb that tree and diversify your income and live your dream.

But when is diverse too diverse?  And when is big too big?  Is it possible for your goals to be too great, too mammoth, too much for others to keep faith and believe that your thoughts of the future, while unconventional and kaleidoscopey, are still worth supporting?

When have we stretched too far?

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