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Girl Effect Post

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Today I am dedicating my blog post to all of the little girls, teenagers and young women out there like me that are not allowed to read this.

To all the little girls who will never grow up to become beautiful young women because of the circumstances of their birth and the country that they live in.

In any number of countries (including Ethiopia, India and Bangladesh) I might never have had the joy of going to school, graduating, going to college and marrying the love of my life.

I think about these little girls being married off and pregnant by age 12 or 13 and forced into prostitution and I think of my daughter who will never have to worry about such things.

Women are still treated as second rate citizens in much of the world even though we have taken great strides to change this. In many countries though, women are still looked upon as property and are treated as such which doesn’t make any sense to me.

The Girl Effect is trying to change that and to give little girls the same rights that I have had; the right to grow up healthy and the right to an education that will help take them out of their horrible circumstances.

Watch and share the video below with anyone and everyone to help get the word out about these little girls and how we can help ensure they grow up to become beautiful young women.

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Posted in Random Thoughts | 1 Comment »

Finding your Chocolate Banana’s Vision

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Today we are going to start up a series focused on planning. I’ve written about planning before but now we’re going to delve a bit deeper into each ingredient in anticipation for my project, “Creating your Chocolate Banana“. (Yes, I said Chocolate Banana.)

Why focus on planning you ask? Well, because if you don’t have a plan, then you’re planning to fail.

It doesn’t matter if you’re starting a business, writing a book or getting artwork together for a gallery opening, if you don’t have a plan you’ll never get to the end result – the delicious, delicious end result.

Ok so what the heck does a Chocolate Banana have to do with planning you ask. Your Chocolate Banana is your one fabulous idea, business, product or adventure that you want to make happen in your life all rolled up in a nice neat delicious package!

choko banana (chocolate banana)

Do you have a Vision for your Chocolate Banana? A focal point? A perfect outcome?

When I started my business my Vision was very simple. I basically said “I want to make enough money working as a virtual assistant to pay for my personal bills each month (student loans, credit cards, fun money)”

Very simple. Too simple in fact. I didn’t take into effect how I wanted to feel about the business, how I wanted my family to be effected by me having a business and what I wanted to really do with my business.  I was too focused on the money aspect and not so much on the human side of the business.

Let’s talk to all you authors out there today because I know you all have a hard time with this whole planning ordeal. (Yes I’m talking to you!)

So you want to write a novel. Awesome. Your novel is your Chocolate Banana.

  • What’s the ultimate goal for your novel?
  • Do you want to go through a major publishing house or self publish?
  • How many pages/words/chapters will it be?
  • What will it look like?
  • How do you want the reader to feel when they read it?
  • How do you want to feel when you are finished?

Take some time to really delve into what those questions mean for you. If you’re not an author think about the questions in relation to your Chocolate Banana and spend some time on them. Creating a tangible vision for your Chocolate Banana is SO important because it gives you a starting point to build upon as you construct your plan.

Meet me in the comments and let me know what your Chocolate Banana is and how you are finding your Vision for it!

Are you ready to start working on your Chocolate Banana? Sign up here to be the first to hear about my upcoming products and events focused entirely on helping you create a recipe for your Chocolate Banana!

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Posted in Business Planning, Chocolate Banana | 10 Comments »

Sunday Super Links

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

Since I am trying to post on a regular basis now I thought it would be fun to have a links post because I always love it when other people share links to awesome stuff they’ve come across that week! (Plus it’s an excuse for me to keep track of all the cool stuff I find… )

I can’t promise these will all be business related because, well, that would be boring so please enjoy my cornucopia of awesomeness. (On a side note, some of these links might be affiliate links. I thank you a head of time for helping me pay for my makeup, shoe and Netflix addictions.)
 

Source: None via Sara on Pinterest

What were some of your awesome finds from last week?

 

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Posted in Sunday Super Links | 2 Comments »

Creating an Editorial Calendar

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

I am just going to warn you all now that there is going to be A LOT more going on in this general area this month and hopefully going forward. I signed up for a blogging challenge (or two…) so the plan is to blog every day for the month of October and I really think it will be great!

Great for ME because it’ll push me to write a lot more and try out some different topics.
Great for YOU because you’ll get so much more of ME!

The actual coming up with topics scares me so please be sure to mention any and all ideas you have for future blog posts and I’ll be sure to address them. For the topics I have in mind now, I’m using a super cool WordPress plugin called simply WordPress Editorial Calendar.

What this plug in does is it creates a calendar that you can plug ideas into and then move them around to different dates to get an idea of how your week or your month is going to look in a very visual way.

The only thing I have found that it doesn’t do is there’s no way to bring in a draft post that you already have created unless you go to that post and schedule it out for a day on your calendar. Totally not a big deal, just kind of a pain when you first start using the calendar.

 

You’re turn! I love to hear from you so what are your thoughts?

  • Do you schedule out posts ahead of time?
  • Have you used this plugin yet? How did you like it?
  • How do you think this could help you write more or better?

 

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Posted in Organization | 12 Comments »

Facebook it is A-Changin’

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

I am pretty sure that Facebook will not bring upon the Apocalypse but if it does please feel free to lynch me.

So why is everyone up in arms about all of the new Facebook changes and the new profile organization that is going to launch called “Timeline“? Let’s walk through some statements that I’ve heard recently and try to calm some people down about the changes they’re going to be seeing.

“Facebook is changing everything and now I can’t find my Farm or how to poke my friends.”

Change is a GOOD thing but it’s hard to see that when we’re so used to doing things a specific way.

Login, go there, click this, post that….

Rather boring in my opinion, but this is coming from the girl who loved to rearrange her bedroom furniture once a week so I may not be the biggest fan of being static.

The new Timeline will be much more visual and much more user friendly when it comes to adding details and sharing information. I really like the idea of being about to go back and see what I was doing 5 years ago and adding in key moments that might be missing. It’ll also be a great way to learn more about your friends by looking through their Timeline! In the coming weeks we’ll get more info on how we’ll be able to update and such so I’m sure I’ll revisit and do a whole post on how to use the new profile set up.

“Don’t fix it if it’s not broken.”
This is a good point but I’m pretty sure that the inventor of the first cell phone thought it was pretty awesome until the smart phones came around. Evolution is a part of life and to expect everything to stay exactly the same forever is just silly. Sure there will be an adjustment period but that’s the fun part! “What happens when I click this? What is this part of the profile I didn’t have before? What new stuff can I add to my info page? ”

I agree with some people’s statements that Facebook is really bad at launching new options and changes because they change a lot of things all at once or they do it on a Monday when we all just want to get on with our day instead of learning a new system. Having an adjustment period would be nice but again, just roll with it if there isn’t that easy adjustment period. It’s not the end of the world.

“Facebook is trying to steal your identity.”
Being online always comes with risks. Anyone who has an email account has gotten at least one Viagra email in their lifetime so we all know that our email and info is out there for people to find. If you are seriously concerned about your privacy on Facebook make sure to visit your Account settings and Privacy settings sections of Facebook and really take some time to check out all the options you have there. If you are really confused, let me know and I can do a post just on these settings and how to configure them.

On the same note, don’t just click willy nilly all over Facebook or the internet in general without thinking! If someone posts something too good to be true, don’t click on that link! People’s accounts get hacked all the time (normally because of an unsecure password) so just be mindful of what links you are clicking and what apps you are allowing to have access to your account. I am very weary when it comes to allowing apps to have my profile info so I normally only allow apps that I know are reputable and that I know a lot of my friends are using. That and the Sims…it’s so addicting….

You know it’s Free right?
You are by no means required to use Facebook. There are SO many social media sites out there now that Facebook isn’t your only option. Yes, Facebook is very powerful because just about everyone has an account but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t switch over to Google+ and have just as rewarding an experience. As an entrepreneur it’s a little sticky because you want to make sure you have a presence in front of your audience but if you have a fan page you don’t have to worry about any of the personal information issues that we talked about because you can choose whether or not to link your page with your profile.

Facebook is NOT going to start charging.
I have read nothing that points to the idea that Facebook is going to start charging for their site. No, not even if you forget to run around outside naked and screaming “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs!” at the top of your lungs while mowing the grass in a purple tutu. (But just to be sure you should go try that now…)

In sum, Keep Calm and Carry On.

If the change to Facebook is your biggest problem right now then congratulations, everyone is jealous of you!

Your Turn! Comment below and let me know what you think!

  • What are your concerns about the new Facebook changes that have happened or will be happening soon?

 

  • What is the craziest status update about the Facebook changes you have seen? (there are some awesome ones floating around the interwebs…)

 

  • What are you looking forward to with the new Timeline feature?

Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

Planning for the Creative Mind

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

I’m getting some of my thoughts together for my upcoming class in Chicago (check out the end of the article for more info!) and it got me thinking that “business planning” can be integrated into so many other places!

Want to move to a new house? You need a plan.

Want to get your budget under control and live debt free? You need a plan.

Want to stop a group of Bynars from taking over your starship? You need a plan.
(I’ve been re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation from the beginning so stay with me…)

Basic business/life/starfleet plans are comprised of three basic parts; Vision, Budgeting and Implementation. (Business plans specifically also need the Research and a Marketing portions)

Found on Pinterest

Vision: What do you want to see happen with this project? What do you see as the end all and be all final product? For moving to a new house it might be having the backyard or the screened in porch of your dreams. If you’re getting your budget under control, find that sweet spot where what you are making is covering all your expenses with a little extra for your savings account and a night out on the town.

Budgeting: Remember budgeting is more than just money, we all need to budget our time as well. Buying a house takes money (uh, duh…) so creating a detailed budget before going to the bank for pre approval is very important. When you have hostile aliens on your bridge and you need to get to them before the auto destruct destroys the ship in five minutes, budgeting and using your time wisely is very important.

Implementation: Putting it all together and setting things in motion is sometimes the hardest part but if you have a strong plan behind you things can go much smoother. Also, with this step think about who you can bring on to help you out. Do you have a friend who’s great with numbers take a look at your budget and get their opinion? Maybe you need to trust that your first officer is going to have your back when you finally transport to the bridge to take back control. (If you didn’t know I was a nerd before you certainly do now…hehe)

It’s much harder to buy a house or budget your time or save the universe without taking the time to gather your thoughts, take a breath and think. Make sure you are doing that each time you have a problem that needs to be addressed or even a goal that you want to see come to life and things won’t seem so out of your hands and out of your reach!

In my class next month we go through the ins and outs of how to create a business plan that fits your personality so let me know if you would be interested in learning more about creating your own plan. I really love this topic and would love to put together some virtual events or an ebook but would love to hear from you so that I can cater it to what you would like to learn the most about!

Homework for this week:

  • What projects, problems or goals are you putting off because you don’t know where to start?
  • How can you use the basic parts listed above to kick things into gear?

Bonus Pimping Myself Out Section

 

What:
Business Planning 101

When:
Wed Oct. 12th
7-8:30pm

Where:
Catalyst Ranch

Cost: $20

(nope not a typo! It’s a rediculously low price for all the awesome I’m going to be bringing!)

I’m SO excited to share with you my FIRST in person workshop on how to create a business plan that fits YOU!

Whether you are beginning your business or creative endeavor and don’t know how to make the first move, or have been in business for a while but feel a bit disconnected and unorganized, this class is a great start!

We’ll go through the basic parts of the business plan and actually create the first sprouts of your plan in class so that when you leave you’ll have some awesomeness that you can use to add and grow your plan!

I am offering this class in association with a neat little site called Dabble so please go check them out and if you’re in the Chicago area check out their other great classes!

Hopefully if the live event goes well I’ll try to do a local class or a virtual class as well!

Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to share this event with anyone you think would benefit from it!

Posted in Organization | No Comments »

Operation: Creative Career Cheer Review!

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

For followers of Your Creative Ally and my newsletter you may have heard a tid bit about Michelle Ward and how amazingly awesome-sauce she is a few times. Now, I have had the privilege of working through her wonderful workbook, Operation: Creative Career Cheer!, and I have some awesome nuggets to share with you!

Operation: Creative Career Cheer!

At first glance I really didn’t think I needed this workbook. I already did a round of coaching with Michelle when I first started working as a virtual assistant so I was familiar with her worksheets and the way she worked. Plus, I really kind of have my career all figured out and I’m not working in a soul sucking corporate position that I am trying to get away from.

BUT (and it’s a big but…) I realized by going through the worksheets and the exercises that I really wasn’t fulling my passions and bringing them into my life.Sure I have a great job where I can stay at home and take care of my daughter, help awesome people and make a little bit of money, but a long the way I seemed to have lost what my true passions were.

While working through the workbook I realized there were a lot of things I could change in my business as well as in my personal life to make sure those passions were finding their way back into my life.

If you haven’t worked with a life coach (or really, even if you have in my case) the first few worksheets will be SO important for you. Finding your interests and then figuring out how those interests can morph together with your values is a big stepping stone to creating your ideal life/job/business.

My favorite worksheet was Peanut Butter Jelly Time (did I mention she’s hilarious and all of the worksheet titles are fun and quirky?!) where you start “mashing together your Skills & Interests” to find possible careers that will fit for you! Like I said, I wasn’t going into this to find a new career but by doing this exercise I was able to see how I might be able to add some additional offerings to my business as well as some side projects that would bring up my passions again! Hurray for more work for me! Wait…I need more coffee…

Pros and Cons for the Workbook
Pros:

  • Beautiful artwork throughout the workbook byJess Swift
  • The worksheets really make you stop and think and work through them. My advice is to work through them in sections and don’t try to do them all at the same time.
  • When I was done, I really had something concrete that I could look at and work with as I move forward.
  • Really a fabulous workbook for anyone looking for a career change.
  • Also, equally great for rediscovering your passions which is what I really took away from this process!

Cons:

  • The whole workbook is written in rhyme. It’s cute but gets kind of annoying after awhile.
  • While the artwork really is beautiful I didn’t get to experience it because I printed the worksheets out to work through them, and color printing is expensive so it was all in black and white.
  • The workbook took me about 4 hours (in two sessions) to go through and I didn’t go through the last few sections because they are really geared towards the career change process. I highly recommend setting up some sessions with yourself to go through the workbook because I kind of burned myself out going through it all together.

I highly recommend Operation: Creative Career Cheer!to anyone who is looking for a jump start in their business or anyone who is ready to find a career that is whole heartily YOU!

Posted in E-Reviews, Working with your Passions | No Comments »

Music and the Art of Procrastination Maintenance

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

I've chosen disco

Found via Pinterest

This month has been full of music for me! I hadn’t been to a concert in a LONG time (yes, I know I’m old…) and this month I got to see two of my favorite bands, A Perfect Circle with my husband at the beginning of the month and Incubus with my good friend Emily this past weekend! Each concert was awesome and amazing in their own ways but both put me in very different frames of mind afterwards. A Perfect Circle is a little bit rock and a little bit “sad bastard music“, so afterwards I was a little introspective and a bit meloncholy but I LOVED the concert so much. This past weekend after the Incubus concert I was again introspective but a lot more energized because they have songs that make you think but also put on a much more energetic concert.

Being empathetic and understanding how music afects your mood and ultimately how you work is an important peice to the work day balance.

Today is going to be interactive so get out your notebook! (Yes, YOU. Don’t give me that face, you’ll enjoy it!)

  • Take a a minute or two and wrtie some situations or emotions that you come across on a normal basis at the top of each page. For example, my notebook has “When I’m scared to do something”, “When I have the blues”, “When I’m writing”, “When I’m in a nasty mood and need to shake it off”, and so on.
  • Now, start thinking about the songs you love and start writing them down. Go through your iTunes, write down songs from the radio, think of bands and then narrow them down to individual songs. You can start off with a long list of your favorite songs or you can start placing them in categories as you go.
  • Once you have at least 10 songs in a category, go to your iTunes or to Spotify and start creating your playlist! You could also go to YouTube and create a playlist there as well and watch the videos along with the songs if you need the visual to get up and shake your booty! : )

So now you’re asking, “This is great but….why did we create these playlists?”

Being a Creative is all about being creative in everything you do, even if it doesn’t feel very “creative” at the time. So now when you have a rewrite that needs to be finished by Monday or you need to get the house cleaned before your in-laws show up, you can crank up your “When I need a kick in the butt to get things done” playlist and push through! Or maybe you’ve been staring at a peice of paper, canvas or cloth for a good hour and haven’t made anything, put on your “When I need inspitation” mix and you’ll get the creative juices flowing!

Your playlist will be completely different than my playlist or even your friend’s playlist because we all experience music in a different way, but that’s the fun part! Here’s a peek into my “When I need to dance and shake my cares away” playlist on YouTube! I am warning you though, you will feel a tingling sensation and the urge to move so be prepared for awesome dance moves.

Posted in Be Creative!, Organization | No Comments »

Resistance is Futile

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

I recently read two books by Steven Pressfield called Do the Work and The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles and they were both rather amazingly awesome sauce. I highly recommend getting one or both of these books if you are a writer, an artist or hope to become a writer or an artist someday soon. Heck these books are fabulous for any kind of entrepreneur who needs to get past a road block and get their business rolling again.

In the books Pressfield talks about his idea of Resistance and how that, not fear, is the reason we don’t make our creative ideas reality.

Resistance is procrastination.
Resistance is your family.
Resistance is your inner monologue.
Resistance is your shiny object syndrome.
Resistance is that OTHER really great idea that you just HAVE to make happen right this minute.
Resistance is your fear.
Resistance is anything that keeps us from doing our life’s work.

“Rule of Thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.”

- The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle

These books could not have dropped in my lap at a better time. There is so much change and so many scary things on my plate right now and I am excited about each and everyone of them now! It scared the bejesus out of me to drop down to a part-time work load but once I made the decision it was like a weight was lifted off of me! I’m scared and nervous about auditioning for a play next week but I’m going to do it anyway. I realized that I was scared of these things because there are the right decisions for me, and I just need to do them.

It also goes for writing and creating in general. The manuscript isn’t going to magically complete itself even if you stare at it REALLY hard. This is not Bed Knobs and Broomsticks and although magic IS real it doesn’t work like that. Creating is hard but it’s not impossible, Resistance just makes it feel that way sometimes.

So, how can you start “doing the work” instead of always battling Resistance?
Here are some things that have helped me so far:

  • Find a kick ass life coach. I have worked with several amazing coaches and each one has given me a new tool to use. Two that I highly recommend are Michelle Ward and Lisa Hunter. Two very different coaching styles but they are both equally awesome sauce!
  • Take some time to sit and rediscover yourself and your passions. I had no idea I missed acting and musical theatre so much until I started working out what my passions really were and music and performing always popped to the top of the list!
  • Decide right now that your project is a priority.  Wake up in the morning and start work on it even if you have other important things that need to be done. Feeding your soul is the top priority from now on.

Oh and I have a bonus for you this week!
Here’s a video where Mario Forleo interviewed Steven Pressfield about his book and about how to deal with Resistance!
(Unfortunately the book giveaway is over but I still HIGHLY recommend getting the book or books!)

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”

- Steven Pressfield

Weekly Questions:

  • What is scaring the pants off of you that you need to see through?
  • What passions are you putting to the side that deserve to see the light of day?
  • How can you overcome your fear and make your dream life a reality?

Posted in Be Creative! | 2 Comments »

Zombies and the Art of Being Furiously Happy

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

This past week I was perusing my Feedly blog feeds, checking in on my favorite blogs and I saw this post from Wil Wheaton about The Bloggess.

Did you click through to watch the video? If not, (lazy people….) click on the video below to watch the video.

Oh, but be sure you put your small children in another room…. it’s awesome and hilarious but not too safe for the tiny ears.

Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

The Art of Being Furiously Happy

Would you have joined in on the fun or would you have been like me and stepped to the side, secretly wanting to jump into the madness? Even if you don’t approve of her use of fabulous curse words I hope the idea hit home for you like it did for me.

Being furiously happy is not something that other people have, it’s something everyone has the ability to find. 

For me, being furiously happy comes down to leaving room in my life for my passions. I took some time to sit with myself, work through a workbook and made a plan of attack for my happiness. I get so caught up in work and family and doing things the way I “should” that I had to really spend some time this weekend and remember what my true passions were.

Here’s the start of my list of ideas on how to become furiously happy in my own life.

Feel free to borrow one or more of these because I know they’re all pretty awesome.

  • Try out for a community theater play/musical.
  • Start leaving inspirational quotes everywhere I go.
  • Get dressed up in full vintage style everyday (or at least throughout the work week).
  • Finger paint with my daughter.
  • Dance in the middle of a store with my daughter more often.
  • Start a blog about one or all of my passions (music, movies, books, weight-loss tips, crafting, spirituality).
  • Start a video channel on YouTube that is just me singing in the car to the radio.
  • Take up belly dancing.
  • Sit outside for at least 10 minutes a day.
  • Learn how to sew a swing dress.
  • Create a meditation space.
  • Always keep a fantastic book on my Kindle for emergency reading sessions.

to be continued…

That video switched something on inside of me and I hope it switched something on for you as well!

Weekly Questions:

  • What do you think I should do first that’s on my list?
  • What do you think should be added to the list?
  • What did you put on your list?
  • What are you putting off that scares the pants off of you?
  • How can you start to invest some time for your passions and make them a priority again?

Bonus Challenge:

Go out and do something off of your list.
Go out and do something ridiculous.
Go out and do something that feeds your soul.
Go out and do something that will make you furiously happy!

*Super Special Pimping Out Section*

If you are looking for an excellent way of finding your passions I highly recommend Michelle Ward’s workbook, Creative Career Cheer, (review coming soon!) as well as her up coming ecourse,The Declaration of You!

I did the first installment of the course last year and it was fantastically wonderful and really helped me see how I wanted to build my business and my life to reflect my passions. Plus, this year they have a music video!! How awesome is that?!

Registration is going on right now, AND if you’d like an extra $20 off the ecourse use the promo code THESTORYOFPIERRE.

Your welcome in advance for all of your epiphanies and awesomeness.

Posted in Be Creative! | No Comments »

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