I've Been Tagged! 7 Random Things About Me

7 Random Things About Me

I've been tagged by Deb over at Story-Beads. Her blog is Spiritual Anecdotes. Deb is part of our Joyful Business Journey program  and I'm just getting to know all the wonderful things about Deb and her business(and there is a lot!) and now I get to learn a couple of quirky/random things!  Deb is a very creative business owner...she has a cool business creating ritual beads....very inspirational!  I put in my holiday request to my hubby and ordered a few gifts as well!

Ok, so Deb and hopefully you, dear reader..want to hear 7 random things about me? ...So, here it goes:

Oops, first I'm suppose to post the rules! 

1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

Here we go...

1. I love sticky notes!  I have them in all colors, shapes and forms!  My LPE (Life Partner Extraordinaire) puts them in my stocking!  (hint, hint...keep it coming love!)

2. Speaking of which...my first album was KC and the Sunshine Band - tKeep It Coming Love & Shake Your Booty) the white one with the rainbow on the front (from my best friend, Teresa - I still remember my locker being decorated!)

3. I started my own business in 2001 after working with a coach (my first coach was Stacey Mayo, now author of a great book, "I Can't Believe I Get Paid to Do This!")  to try to recover my passion.  I was so burnt out in corporate after 5 buyouts and mergers in 6 years...I was freaked out...who is a marketing person without passion?

4.  Joyful Business came from my own pursuit of expressing myself. Most people think I'm just positive. Nope...(well, now I usually am)..but I've had to develop the habit over the years of daring to discover my joy and having the courage to express my joy and let it out into the world (ie: be seen!).

5. I love scrapbooking supplies - kind of related industry to sticky notes.  I could just stand and dream of possibilities in the scrapbook aisles at Michaels. The I buy a few things and they sit waiting to be used...one day....

6. My wedding band inscription from my marriage last year has the inscription: 1221 with the first 2 turned backward...the two 2's look like two swans forming a heart.  There's more story behind that.... :)

7. I have Rose Quartz rocks on my desk...these help you tap into your heart energy.  Think about how watches are run on crystals...they have energy....I love my rocks!

8. Trying to think of wierd things..not coming up with much wierd..but here's a bonus quirky thing....when I get really busy I decompress at night when I get into bed by watching the same DVd over and over again...a couple years ago it was Moulin Rouge...this fall it's Pride & Prejudice.  Over and over...every night....I don't have to think, I just enjoy, I start at random places and just let it go. It doesn't matter if I fall asleep, I don't have to keep up with the story line...just relax and enjoy.... any body else do that?

Ok...how'd I do??

So a sidenote from a business perspective...I can't help myself:  So I am curious about this phenomenon of "tagging" people and wanting to read 7 Random things.  It's defintely a "marketing thing" in several ways...it links your blog with other blogs which gains points with the web spiders....it also gives you some personality and makes you seem real to your readers. And Marketing is all about "Building Relationships" and this is one way to do this....

Now I'm tapping some friends who blog...Please share 7 Random Things...

Linda Woods and Karen Dinino - the sisters behind the book Journal Revolution - really inspired by your video done in the car by one of your sons using a cell phone video recorder - can marketing get more fun & easy?!!

Pam Slim @ Escape From Cubicle Nation - As a former escapee I love her blog and business observations...and Pam we want to know...what KIND of cupcake were you eating when you got excited about the Back Fat niche?

Serenity Hawkfire - (Fans of Suzanne Falter-Barnes- cover your eyes & ears and get prepared to laugh!) - I can't even imagine what Random/Wierd Things Serenity could share that she hasn't already... Serenity Hawkfire

Beverly @ Embrace Your  Gifts and Soar - You've got to see her BIG tree photo from Hawaii!

Dawn @ Write Well U - She always has a fascinating perspective!

Antonia at Antonia Russo.com NY Fashion...coming at you!

Sharilyn Horne (my web guru) Sharilyn Horne Designs...humor and techno info...

Teresa @ Woman Soaring - Teresa is testing the waters with a new blog - this will give you a content idea!

Have fun!!

Laura

The Creative Week

You may recall since my last updates that I've had quite a bit going on over the summer: two wedding ceremonies, my husband's move to America from the UK, and the boys going back to school (whew!).  Unbelievably, once the dust settled, I found a new focus on business.  I've been working on my new product which I'll be announcing soon!

I thought I'd share with you a mind map I did recently.  My husband went back to the UK for a week, and I decided that would be the ideal time for THE CREATIVE WEEK!  A week devoted to filling up inspirationally and writing and creating articles and this new product.

Here is a picture of the mind map I made to remind me of my focus for the week.  I thought I'd share what I put on the map and how it helped the creative process and focus.

I had several pieces I wanted to write and lest I forget what they were with all this open time - I put them on the map.

Then I listed baby steps underneath each mini-project.  For example, Write My Free Article was one piece I wanted to write.  To make it easier I listed the baby steps....Pull previous article as a guide, list my additional ideas, expand, edit.  Why did I do this?  I don't know about you but I tend to freeze when a project idea is too big. I need the little teenie, tiny baby steps so I can get myself into action. The baby steps typically aren't hard, and it's the best way for me to get the flow going.

I gave my Creative Week a theme:  Momentum Marathon!  Easy, Natural & Fun!   (This makes me smile, which makes me relax, which allows for more flow of ideas!)

I also added what I wanted to be feeling on Friday afternoon:  I wanted a Big Smile!  I wanted a feeling of accomplishment - I wanted to be surprised - I wanted my Marathon to bring more ideas! - I wanted to KNOW that this project IS happening!

Next, I added lots of color. Color always engages me.  I added smiling faces of women to remind me of the impact on those joyful business owners who are going to love what I'm up to!  And I added $$ signs to remind me that this wasn't just a creative week...this also had potential to add dollars into my pocket. Both of these icons reminded me (depending on my mood) why I was doing this to begin with.

Lastly, I added some resources: Who I can call for help if (when) I get stuck or talk myself out of my "great idea". I set up my week for success.  I let those people know that I was having a Momentum Marathon and asked for their support.  It was wonderful because I could pick up the phone if I got stuck and receive some great championing.  I also received several emails throughout the week checking in with me and cheering me on!

I found that posting my map right up on the wall in front of me had me smiling all week, and reminded me of where I wanted to keep my focus.

How could you use something like this for a project you are working on?

I would love to see your ideas for your focus mind maps or other tools you use!

In the creative flow,

Laura

Journey of the Wild Divine

I want to share with you a really cool computer game! Yes, a computer game.  As I may have mentioned, I am over in England visiting my partner, Marc. He has this fantastic biofeedback game called the Journey to The Wild Divine. Biofeedback, you ask?  It's just a  technical name for these gizmos that plug into your computer and on the end it has 3 sensors that you put on your finger tips.  They measure your heart beat and blood pressure, etc.

If you are familiar with Deepak Chopra, he is a major endorser of this game to help you learn how much power you have to create your reality - through being stressed or changing your breathing and changing your life.  One magazine quotes and says "In this game you get to be the Dali Lama"...curious?  It is pretty powerful!

The game takes place in this beautiful magical setting of the Sun Realm with lots of stones, trees, castle/fairy/eastern type buildings, archways, fountains, fabrics....actually it is so beautiful that I am finding it hard to describe.

Throughout your exploration you are given various tasks that include learning breathing techniques to reduce stress but you learn to do this by juggling these little balls in the air in the courtyard.  You practice being aware of your heart rate and raising it by thinking joyful thoughts (!no wonder I love this!).  You  lower the elevator (or as Marc says...the lift), by relaxing and lowering your heart rate.  It's a very fun way to learn meditation techniques vs. just sitting and doing "nothing" method, which as a busy entrepreneur & mom I find  more stressing than relaxing on most days.

It's fascinating to learn what your natural rates are and how they vary during the day.  Sometimes I can just summon the "joy" energy and the balls juggle effortlessly.  During some of the games you have to vary your heart rate - raise it and then lower it and do this over and over again to successfully accomplish the task.  There is an archery game where you use your breath to raise or lower the bow in order to aim it properly at the target.  I seem to be playing this late at night when I'm relaxed so lowering the bow is fairly easy with some focus.  Raising the bow has been challenging. What's funny is that Marc will come back into the room to check on me and as soon as he is close...my energy shoots up!  Guess that's the impact of love...

And like any other game, the more you learn the techniques and the better you get at it, the more the game unfolds new levels, new places and new tasks.

I'm finding I am at lost for words to describe how beautiful and relaxing the music and the graphics are in this....probably because I'm thinking about signing off for now and going to ride the magic carpet and figure out what I am suppose to do at the frog fountain! :)

This is a really great gift for someone you love who you wish would learn how to relax (maybe that's YOU!), or even the whole family.  Marc's boys have really enjoyed it as well. The youngest one just smiles and with no effort or much time, just has the balls juggling, the lift going up and down and the balloons soaring smoothly....for the rest of us....we're practicing our breathing......

Then again, we'll be doing that the rest of our lives...might as well have fun while we are at it!

Relax and enjoy.....!
Laura