Newest hair clips added to my Halloween Felt Fuzzies category.
Cheers!
ann
Friday, September 12, 2008
Carpe Diem
This post is a way to keep myself accountable... it's probably really boring for anyone else to read. Although I hope that it inspires any passersby to look at their lives a little differently as well. :]
I've spent my entire life dreaming my big dreams and occasionally taking some steps toward accomplishing a few of them. I do have a great deal to be grateful for and I have reached a place in my life that I never imagined possible. However, lately, I've been feeling dissatisfied - like I'm missing out on something... the next act has started and I'm wandering around somewhere backstage. I've felt like other people were really living their lives and I'm only an observer in mine - sitting on the couch watching "The Ann Show" on TV. It's only recently I came to the conclusion that despite all my efforts, I was still in the "wishful thinking" stage of my life. My plans were just that - wishful plans. Now I get it. I've figured out what living my life intentionally actually means. I can't sit around waiting for life to happen to me. This is it. It's not a dress rehearsal. I don't have all the time in the world to wait for my "big break." Frankly, I'm 32 and my life has started without me. What a way to wake up. All those times I tell myself and others, Carpe Diem? Yeah, well apparently I didn't fully comprehend that seizing the day is not a state of mind, it requires physical action.
I've narrowed down my field of dreams to two "must-haves." My dream house and my dream company. For years, I've been staring at pictures of houses and floor plans and trying to come up with a pretty dream of what I want my family and I to live in. Our Home Base. Yet today, do I live in my dream house? No. So what I should be doing instead of daydreaming includes:
- Researching actual properties as if I was actually an immediate buyer.
- Take those open house tours, shop homes for sale, talk to real estate agents.
- Drafting blueprints, shopping for materials, writing up a budget.
- Cleaning up my credit history and looking into financing options.
Basically, I should (and will) be doing everything a buyer would be doing, regardless of whether or not I have the money saved up right now. Even if I'm not ready to move right away, I should at least act like I am in order to light that fire under my own rear end. If I take that leap of faith, the means will be provided. I can't just wait for things to happen to me. It turns out that God works the other way around - He expects me to get off my ass and do something first. Message received!
The other huge dream I have involves my life's work - my business. Expansion has been long overdue. The major barriers I've been facing have been put up by, who else? Me. My own fears and insecurities. After all, the higher you climb, the farther you have to fall. But I managed to get this far so I shouldn't be afraid of taking it further. Now I understand how successful entrepreneurs "do it." They get out there! They hit the pavement with intentional actions - it's all in how they act and how strongly they believe in not only the business, but themselves. So I need to apply that sort of intention toward my every waking moment.
- I'll be checking out offices / storefronts for lease. My tiny studio just isn't cutting it anymore... especially if I want a staff.
- Researching options and costs of a professional overhaul of my websites. I'm a pretty good web designer, but boy - the pros are so much better. That's their life's work so of course it's better. It's not easy keeping up with the technology. I just found out about HTML 5. Sheesh.
- Shopping around for new labor options, supplies, materials, etc. for the new facility
- Sweet talking potential investors (like on Prosper.com... not banks - they've stolen enough money over the past few years, thank you very much.) - Cash Flow is King!
Again, I need to treat all these actions (and some more I didn't list) as the real deal... as if I'm really taking my business to the next level... which of course, I am. You see why I've been confused for so long? ^_~ Ugh, I've been stuck in playland so long it's hard to see the difference sometimes. If someone were to ask me today how much it costs to lease and maintain a fully staffed office and manufacturing/distributing center in the Metroplex... I wouldn't have a clue. But ask me a few months from now? I'll be an expert. I may even give you a tour of mine. :) No more sitting around daydreaming. It's go time. If I do the legwork and put it all down on paper - the research, the networking contacts, the facts and figures - I'll be at least one step closer to realizing my dreams than I was yesterday, when all I had was a head full of wishes.
I've spent my entire life dreaming my big dreams and occasionally taking some steps toward accomplishing a few of them. I do have a great deal to be grateful for and I have reached a place in my life that I never imagined possible. However, lately, I've been feeling dissatisfied - like I'm missing out on something... the next act has started and I'm wandering around somewhere backstage. I've felt like other people were really living their lives and I'm only an observer in mine - sitting on the couch watching "The Ann Show" on TV. It's only recently I came to the conclusion that despite all my efforts, I was still in the "wishful thinking" stage of my life. My plans were just that - wishful plans. Now I get it. I've figured out what living my life intentionally actually means. I can't sit around waiting for life to happen to me. This is it. It's not a dress rehearsal. I don't have all the time in the world to wait for my "big break." Frankly, I'm 32 and my life has started without me. What a way to wake up. All those times I tell myself and others, Carpe Diem? Yeah, well apparently I didn't fully comprehend that seizing the day is not a state of mind, it requires physical action.
I've narrowed down my field of dreams to two "must-haves." My dream house and my dream company. For years, I've been staring at pictures of houses and floor plans and trying to come up with a pretty dream of what I want my family and I to live in. Our Home Base. Yet today, do I live in my dream house? No. So what I should be doing instead of daydreaming includes:
- Researching actual properties as if I was actually an immediate buyer.
- Take those open house tours, shop homes for sale, talk to real estate agents.
- Drafting blueprints, shopping for materials, writing up a budget.
- Cleaning up my credit history and looking into financing options.
Basically, I should (and will) be doing everything a buyer would be doing, regardless of whether or not I have the money saved up right now. Even if I'm not ready to move right away, I should at least act like I am in order to light that fire under my own rear end. If I take that leap of faith, the means will be provided. I can't just wait for things to happen to me. It turns out that God works the other way around - He expects me to get off my ass and do something first. Message received!
The other huge dream I have involves my life's work - my business. Expansion has been long overdue. The major barriers I've been facing have been put up by, who else? Me. My own fears and insecurities. After all, the higher you climb, the farther you have to fall. But I managed to get this far so I shouldn't be afraid of taking it further. Now I understand how successful entrepreneurs "do it." They get out there! They hit the pavement with intentional actions - it's all in how they act and how strongly they believe in not only the business, but themselves. So I need to apply that sort of intention toward my every waking moment.
- I'll be checking out offices / storefronts for lease. My tiny studio just isn't cutting it anymore... especially if I want a staff.
- Researching options and costs of a professional overhaul of my websites. I'm a pretty good web designer, but boy - the pros are so much better. That's their life's work so of course it's better. It's not easy keeping up with the technology. I just found out about HTML 5. Sheesh.
- Shopping around for new labor options, supplies, materials, etc. for the new facility
- Sweet talking potential investors (like on Prosper.com... not banks - they've stolen enough money over the past few years, thank you very much.) - Cash Flow is King!
Again, I need to treat all these actions (and some more I didn't list) as the real deal... as if I'm really taking my business to the next level... which of course, I am. You see why I've been confused for so long? ^_~ Ugh, I've been stuck in playland so long it's hard to see the difference sometimes. If someone were to ask me today how much it costs to lease and maintain a fully staffed office and manufacturing/distributing center in the Metroplex... I wouldn't have a clue. But ask me a few months from now? I'll be an expert. I may even give you a tour of mine. :) No more sitting around daydreaming. It's go time. If I do the legwork and put it all down on paper - the research, the networking contacts, the facts and figures - I'll be at least one step closer to realizing my dreams than I was yesterday, when all I had was a head full of wishes.
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