Decide 2 Matter

Making a Commitment

I think sometimes we forget about the ups and downs of life. When we see famous people or read book series by popular authors, we don't see what goes on behind the scenes. Well, perhaps if you are into Hollywood gossip, you enjoy looking at what goes on behind the scenes. But many of us read about success and want it for ourselves right now. However, most true achievements are cultivated over time and with commitment.

Take the guys from LifeisGood.com for example.

In 1989, Bert and John Jacobs designed their first tee shirt. They knew nothing about the business.

For five years, the brothers hawked tee shirts in the streets of Boston and traveled the East Coast, selling door-to-door in college dormitories.

They collected some good stories, but were not very prosperous. They lived on peanut butter and jelly, slept in their van, and showered when they could.

Chicks were not impressed.

By the Fall of 1994, heading home from a long, less-than-fruitful roadtrip, Bert and John were desperately searching for answers to keep the dream alive. Little did they know, the only answer they needed was back in Boston, hanging up on their apartment wall.Jake’s contagious grin, simple as it was, seemed to express everything the Jacobs brothers believed in.

Basically they made some shirts with the little smiling guy almost on it as a last resort. Little did they know it would become a huge success. Now you can find their t-shirts in retail stores all over the country. My friend was reading about their story in the newspaper and how they guys are now millionaires.

I think we read this story and think "Wow, I want to be that millionaire." But did you notice the time span between 1989 and 1994 when they were living in their van trying to make things meet. That's commitment. That is a success that didn't happen overnight. However, we didn't hear about these guys and their company until they "made it big". We missed out on all those long days of little money and little recognition.

When you start something new, do you give yourself the real chance of succeeding? Do you fully commit or do you set unrealistic expectations for yourself?

Let's take another example. Say you wanted to be an artist. Would you expect all of your paintings to sell immediately? Would you say "Okay, I'm going to try this a few times and it better get me somewhere." No, you would study your craft, you would make a commitment, and you would learn about the market.

But how easily do we just look at the success we see around ourselves and want to be where it's at? Making the commitment to succeed, if not financially, but in becoming your personal best in a particular medium or perhaps in going deeper into your art is a worthwhile goal.

Today make the commitment for the long haul. Here's some starter ideas how.

1. Identify what is it you want to do
2. Find other people and see what they did
3. Imagine what success would look like for you in this endeavor
4. See yourself in 5 or 10 years, is this something you would still like to be doing?
5. Mentally prepare yourself for the reality that it may be a long time before you see your results
6. Make a commitment to yourself to follow through with this dream
7. Better yet, get a coach to help see your through it (wink wink) or join a support group

Your dreams are worth it. Make a commitment to them and to yourself. Before you know, you'll look back and thank yourself.

"Life is a journey, it will take you where you need to go." - Christina Aguiliera

To blog or not to blog

As I remove more things from my schedule, I'm noticing that I want to read a lot more. Moreover, I'm noticing that being online isn't pulling to me as much as it used to. I have friends that enjoy cultivating online relationships and while I have many a wonderful "online friend", I crave the solitude from holding a book, sitting away from the computer, creating at my art desk, or playing piano.

Therefor, I ask myself if I should continue with this blog. A lot of this traffic comes from a few places I post. More traffic comes from one of the artists on the artist spotlight. But there is a lot to be said for providing daily content, or even weekly content. People do not comment on what I write, and that's fine. Nor do I have time to be commenting on other blogs. Blogging does take a commitment. Do I have that commitment? I'm not sure.

This is through typepad, so I am paying for this monthly. I could get something that's free such as a blogger site and just redirect my domain name to it. Who knows? I'm just pondering what to do. Often times I will just drop everything. That turns into a giant swing into boredom where I quickly scurry to fill my life back up again.

Soon that becomes overwhelming and I long to drop everything. There is a delicate balance between it all and I must remember my cycles - be they cycles of creation or cycles of living.

So, should I continue with this blog? If you read my blog and find it interesting, let me know. If you don't care, well that's okay too. There are new blogs popping up every few seconds of the day. I doubt mine will be missed. Funny though when friends find my blog, they say how well written it is. Yet it's not like I have a growing readership. Though perhaps if I wrote more I would.

Hmmm, would I rather talk/coach about creating or create myself. Or can I do both?

Less is More

Okay, so we've heard that less is more. Yet why are we constantly filling out up lives with more things, more bills, more experiences, more stress, and more worry?

I picked up Cheryl Richardson's audio program entitled Finding Your Passion. One particular statement she said (which I'm paraphrasing) stood out. She said that you don't hear how people have improved their lives by adding things to it. Most people improve their lives by taking things away and by simplifying.

So, if that's the case, what can you get rid or? What activities drain you? What are you cramming you life with? It's so easy to just sign up for something else.

I found myself with some more free time and immediately felt the urge to look into some college classes that might interest me. Or I was thinking of taking martial arts, or perhaps squeeze yoga into my schedule. Why? Did I need something on top of my monthly gym membership? It wouldn't hurt. Did I need to take another college class when I'm learned a lot on my own from reading? It wouldn't hurt. But before I could blink, all of my time would be scheduled and I would feel myself pulled in way too many directions.

Right now I'm taking piano lessons, going to the gym, blogging, and will soon start college again. That's plenty. Would I like to do more? Sure. But there's only so much time in the day.

What should you do less of? What thing can you eliminate from you life that will provide you with more time, more balance, and more peace of mind?

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Who hasn't heard that a few times in their life? Did you want to be an artist? A writer? A dancer? An actor?

While you may want to truly work at what you love, it isn't feasible to just quit your day job these days. Unless you've saved up 6 months equivalent of your salary, quitting your job will put more stress on your dream. So, what to do in the meantime while you are waiting for your dream job to start?

1. Get support. Join a Life Makeover Group at www.cherylrichardson.com
2. Make a plan. While this isn't always fun to do, having an escape route can help relieve the stress of working at what you don't enjoy.
3. Do research. Find others doing what you love and see if it really is for you. Being a painter also involves being a businessman and a sales man/woman because you need to approach people to get your work into galleries. Is this something you are up for?
4. Share carefully. Don't tell your mother that you want to be a writer if you know she won't support your dream. Talk to people doing what you love, or better yet, get help and support from others on your path. Check out www.barbarasher.com/boards for a great online community.
5. Pray. Tell the universe. Tell your higher power. Tell the divine. Let it be known what you desire. The universe always says yes. So if you say "I'll never make it", the universe will support you in that. Change your beliefs and you can change your world. How do you start? Pray.
6. Find time to chill out. Thinking about how you aren't where you want to be can suck the life right out of you. Get a balanced life and take time to relax and enjoy your life. It's the only one you have.
7. Take tiny baby steps towards your dream. If you think too much about all you have to do, you will overwhelm yourself. It's the little things in life that take us where we want to go. Start doing little things each day to bring you closer to your dream.
8. Surrender. While doing little things is good, once you do them, you need to rest and let the universe do the rest of the work. Think of it like a harvest. You have to till the soil, plant the seeds, and water the seeds. You can't go watering the seeds all day else you drown the seeds and they rot.