Personal Growth

The Rules of Coloring, or Why Perfect is a Perfect Place to Hide But a Terrifying Place to Live

November 14, 2014

A few days ago my son and I were drawing and coloring an imaginary town on a neatly flattened cardboard box.

The town had a scenic road which curled past houses, lots of trees, and even a stately brick church with a gold bell hanging from it’s steeple.

It was perfect (and I was perfect for having drawn it with him).

I was really proud of my (I mean our) town. And as I finished drawing some trees, I asked my son to start coloring them for me. “Sure mom,” he said as he grabbed a nearby purple crayon with his still chubby 3 year old fingers and proceeded to scribble (I mean color) all over the tree I had just finished drawing. Continue Reading

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Personal Growth

I Just Made My First Dollar on Amazon!!!

October 24, 2014

IMG_1571 copyI just made my first dollar (well, $4.02 to be exact) from the book I wrote and put up on Amazon!!! (!!!!!)

Finally seeing a spark of progress on something you have worked very hard on and offered to the world (with shaking hands) is truly encouraging!

For about 2 years now I have been experimenting with creating a source of income that is fairly independent of my time and completely independent of my location. My Braces Made Easy book is the finished product of one of those experiments.

(I also recently started, and am still building this site.)

I really love being involved in bringing in an income for our family, but I also don’t want to be working every day while trying to care for two small children. Thus, I’m trying things that enable me to combine both.

The projects that I enjoy pursuing are helpful, simple, scary, (Seth Godin talks more about scary, simple projects in this podcast) and use my current abilities and interests.

My goal with them is that they keep me stepping out and trying things and keep me moving forward.

So, who knows where they will lead. Who knows if they will work, or not work, but I’m trying something. Great beauty and growth come from trying (I have to remind myself of this often!).

Tell me: Is there a scary/simple project you could start to get you moving in the direction you would like to go? Or, perhaps you have started one already. Please share!

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Personal Growth

Joanne Miller Answers 6 Questions About Her New Book

September 26, 2014

Joanne Miller934840765, along with Dorsey McHugh, recently released their new book, Be Your Finest Art. It is a book packed with pictures, quotes, and stories of how everyday people (including me!) have awakened their creative side and have been radically changed!

Because I think the message of this book is so important, I asked Joanne if she would be willing to do a little interview about her new book and her views on creativity. Continue Reading

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Personal Growth

Doing brave things

September 17, 2014

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My friend just started blogging again after a two year break. It was brave of her to pick up her pen again! It takes courage to do brave things, and most of us aren’t willing to try, or keep trying.

I’ve noticed, however, that something amazing happens when we decide to push aside the fear and questions, and try things. When we step out and start doing brave things we actually start to feel brave! And when we feel brave we have a tendency to do more brave things!

The cycle repeats and momentum builds. Continue Reading

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Personal Growth

Heads with holes

September 9, 2014

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Do you know why I blog?

I don’t just write here because I want to share my thoughts, I also write to get the words to stay in my own head.

You see, we have heads filled with holes when it comes to thoughts and ideas. When we read or hear something that resonates, we tend to forget most of it within a short amount of time, even if we really want to remember it. But, when we write, the words bypass our holey heads and go deep, they stay, they sink in.

The more I juggle and wrestle with ideas and carve out words from a tree of thoughts and write them here, the deeper the words are carved into my own heart.

The more I write, the more I believe what I say. The more I believe what I say, the more I live it out.

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Personal Growth

I’m not that generous

September 4, 2014

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While getting ready to pay for our groceries today, my son overzealously set some of our items on the counter before the woman in front of us was finished checking out. She immediately pushed our items out of the way so they wouldn’t mix with hers, and said “I can’t pay for those things, I’m not that generous!”

She then started digging through her purse and mumbling (I wasn’t sure whether to herself or me), “I would really like to be more generous but I can’t, the pocketbook only stretches so far you know!” Then she packed up her items and left.

Her comments got me thinking.

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Personal Growth

Writing Needed

August 28, 2014

Friends, it feels good to be back! I stepped away from writing for about 3 months while having our 2nd baby, and I have missed it incredibly!

Being away has only affirmed the importance of writing in my mind. I have heard some say there are eyes in pens and pencils, and how true it is! I am convinced we never truly get to know the deepest part of us (the part which begs to be known) until we consistently put ourselves in a quiet place and write. You can finally hear your soul there.

We become dried up, see through, and crusty individuals when we can’t hear our soul.

Words unwritten pile up inside. And when they find no healthy escape, they take on ugly character traits and leak out. They come out as angry, fearful, restless, and confused words.

They come out as words we don’t really mean, and often regret.

Words, whether spoken or thought, direct our entire life. And if we long to do anything of great value with our lives, or be anyone who leaves a legacy, it is vitally important that we know what words are going through our minds.

Writing gets the real stuff out and onto paper where we can stare it in the face. We need to know what we are really looking at before we can change it or unwrap it.

Writing is by far the best way I know of to get inside your own head and heart and figure out who you are and why you are here. It is the most exciting adventure you will ever embark on!

Question: Do you write? How has it changed your life? 

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Entrepreneurship Living Intentionally Personal Growth

Leadership insights: 3 takeaways from #GLS14

August 21, 2014
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Claudia and me with our friends Meredith and Tim

Recently, Claudia and I attended the Global Leadership Summit with our friends, Tim and Meredith Brunk. It was a wonderful two-day leadership conference filled with great speakers like Bill Hybels, Susan Cain, Tyler Perry, and Jeffrey Immelt, to name a few.

As I was reviewing my notes, I asked myself what my main takeaways were and, perhaps more importantly, what actions I was going to take on them.

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Living Intentionally Personal Growth

A worry box – A great strategy for banishing worry

August 7, 2014

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Worry. We all know it zaps our energy, creativity, and resourcefulness, but we often feel helpless to do anything about it. Without taking action, however, worry can grow into an all consuming fog of anxiety and fear.

Personally, I’ve seen triggers that cause me to worry. There are certain situations in my business, for example, that whenever they come up, worry seems to set in like a plague. I get super negative and think worst case scenario – almost immediately.

Thankfully, I have a new practice that has been making a big difference.

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