For or Against..That is the question!

We talk so much about reaching our goals, but what actions are we truly taking on the daily basis to reach our goals? I asked myself this very question the other day and found out that I was taking action--unfortunately the action was in opposition to my dreams. Again, I am the reason for the delay in my growth.

After that situation, I began to take mental notes about my chosen activities throughout the day. In my head I would mark them as 'for' or 'against' my goal. It was amazing how many things were found to be 'against'! The next day I worked to replace those activities with those that would expand my 'for' list and I surprised myself with how much I was able to accomplish.

For this coming week I challenged myself to a task and so I am extending the challenge to you:

On a piece of paper or wherever you keep your notes, write down one of your goals. Underneath your written goal, create 2 columns--'For' and 'Against'.  Throughout your day take a moment to write down all the activities that you choose to do. As you write them down put them in either the 'for' column or the 'against' column. See if you can make your 'for' column longer by the end of the week. Let me know how you do!

Consistency is Key

"After eliminating fear and removing self limitation it is most important to exercise consistency."

For as long as I can remember I have struggled with being consistent. here is my usual routine:

• think up a great idea,
• devise an awesome plan of action specifically charting my time,
• do above and beyond what the plan entails because I am so excited about the new idea,
• then I get tired from going 'balls to the wall' for a few weeks/days so I take a step back to look at my partially completed work, convince myself that its not good or never going to work out so I stop and disguise my quitting as a sudden dose of realism.

Im so tired of myself! This inconsistency is something that I've tolerated for too many years.

"To obtain new things I must be willing to do new things."

So in an effort to eradicate my inconsistent ways, I've decided to sign up for a 10k race(WHAT???!!!). I'm a little crazy but at this point I'm willing to do whatever it takes to replace this disgusting habit with one that I can be proud of. So I'm not at all a runner. I dont even run on the treadmill, but ive chosen to do this for a number of reasons:

1. To make myself accountable to other people. I've joined the race with some of my coworkers.
2. my ultimate goal for this year is to lose weight. I've lost 15 lbs so far. I know if I start training for this run, I'll get in the cardio that my body requires to lose fat.
3. In order to complete this run I have to be consistent. So everyday I have to make the conscious choice to put in time to reach my goal. If I can learn how to run, if I can complete this race, if I can lose the weight I've been holding on to since I was 15, then I can conquer the world. This seems to be a bit extreme but its so real. In my lifetime I have only 2 goals (out of the millions of goals I've had) that I have yet to reach because they seemed impossible which are my weight goal and my consistency goal. If I can do both than I have been successful for this year.

I'm not going to lie, my confidence in completing these are pretty low right now but what's different with this time is that I can see it. The picture is not crystal clear, I can't fully see the details and how its going to play out but I can see it. And I know that everyday I put in my time that vision will become stronger to the point that I can taste victory. I'm excited for the changes about to take place.

"If you can see it, you can achieve it"- Les Brown

To Be or Not To Be....

Choice is an awesome gift of power given to us from the Most High. Its incredible to me how we--me.. abuse it.

"When a purpose of a thing is unknown abuse is inevitable"

Though we cannot control circumstance, we can most definitely control our reaction to the circumstance. And sometimes the choice seems so complicated but in actuality the choice is simple: choose to use the moment to build yourself up or break yourself down. period.

That being said, in this day I decide to stop being my own limitation. There is nothing that I cannot do unless I say I can't. I refuse to let the impossible task of being perfect undermine the possibility of success. In this moment I expose myself for who I am. A creature of progression not perfection. One who will make mistakes, learn from them, and get better with practice, not time. I will not hide my vulnerability for it is the beauty that shines from within and to do so is the truest sign of fearlessness.

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." -Henry Ford

The Shopkeeper

Today I had to do what seems to be, at this moment, the hardest decision I've ever had to make. Today I decided whether I would conquer my greatest fears and obtain my childhood dream or continue to hold on to the past. Okay so it seems to be a no brainer when written out, but acting on this notion was a completely different animal, in fact it has taken me 3 years of dissatisfaction to finally let go.

All I kept hearing in my head was "Don't be like the shopkeeper, you're not the shopkeeper". In the book "The Alchemist",  the shopkeeper is this guy who had all these dreams but when given the opportunity to act on them, chose to keep dreaming because it was more comfortable. For the past three years I have been like the shopkeeper, dreaming, but not fully deciding to be the dream--stationary and not growing and I didn't want to play this role anymore.

So a little background....In 2005 I came up with the idea for my first company, The Original Basket Builders. I was so excited about the thought of being a business owner and I was excited about my family's reaction especially my mom and sister. My mom had all of these great crafty ideas and my sister actually came up with the name Basket Builders! After creating a website and logo, opening a bank account and 2 years of making gift baskets and marketing I realized that I was more in love with the thought of making gift baskets than actually making them. But over and over again when I was at the brink of letting it go, I remembered my mother's excitement and all the time I put into the business. To let go would mean I was a failure, not just to me but to my family. My heart was no longer in it, but I didn't want this to be another "something" that I didn't complete. I kept saying to myself, "maybe I don't love the business side of it...maybe its sucking the fun out of creating the baskets" so I just pressed through the growing disdain that I had for the business. Meanwhile, a business that could have been extremely successful was just a drain to my money, my time and my mind and it was because my heart wasn't in it. There was no passion.


"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure."

In January of this year, after much deliberation, I opened my first etsy shop, SoL 9 Designs. SoL 9 is a manifestation of every dream of being a designer that I've ever had.  I remember sitting in my room as a child drawing different dresses...I remember designing prom dresses in highschool....I remember coming home after graduating from college planning fashion shows and eventually entering my clothes into a show. Starting to get the picture? No matter where I go or what I do, this is one of those dreams that never goes away. But what if I fail? What if I'm not successful? This was all just my fear talking not me. The "real" me knew that it was time to step out and do what scared the crap out of me...thus my SoL 9 etsy shop. I now know the difference between love and like. The passion I feel for SoL9 far surpasses anything I've ever felt for OBB. I feel alive and the business stuff just acts as a motivator to do more and be more creative. I know what I must do.

Fast forward to today. I realize that in order for me to fully succeed at SoL 9 I have to let go of my past. I feel like an addict trying to quit. How can I just get rid of OBB? Won't that make me a failure?

My husband gave me this awesome visual: You're holding on to the past with one hand. With the other hand you're reaching for your goals and you're so close to grasping them. The only way you can grasp your future, the only way you can grasp your goals is by letting go of the past.

'Nough said. Just because the business failed does not mean I am a failure. It means that I was smart enough to cut my losses and spend time on a venture that I'm passionate about and can really succeed in. I know now that the time spent in OBB wasn't a waste. I couldn't even begin to describe all I learned from that experience and I'm grateful. But there is nothing more to learn so its time to move on. If what's draining you can't be fixed let it go. So today I finally learned the art of letting go. Today I am no longer the shopkeeper, I am Santiago, The Alchemist.

New Direction

First for the great news. So my goal for March was to create 4 new items....I'm glad to report that I did meet my goal! YAY! Go me!

Now for the not so great "it is what it is" news. I've been mentally, emotionally and creatively DRAINED. School lectures, group projects, and paying bills all have a way of spitting on the creative fire. So I decided I needed a dose of inspiration to give me some fresh insight. To New York I went!

I had such a ball! I visited with my lil sis who is a model and budding photographer. It was great to be surrounded by love, laughter and art...what else is there? Our frolicking led us to MOMA (museum of modern art). Between the both of us, her with her professional camera and me with a mini me version, took about a thousand pics capturing the sweet essence of Life. Here's a few pics from our adventures:

This trip was a breath of fresh air, a break from the monotony. The trip gave me a new spark. I am inspired to recreate what I envisioned in my head for my shop. Its a totally new direction for me but I'm so pumped about it! This new outlook requires that I close my shop until June. At first I was sad, but then excited. This will give me an opportunity to create a shop that is truly all that I dream it to be. I can't wait to see the roll out. Stay Tuned for the new SOL9 in June!