So many times we linger in what we think is a permanent situation:

         ”I’m never going to find the right guy.” 

         ”My career is going nowhere.”

          “I don’t know how to make friends again.

But the truth is, every minute of every day, you and your vision are being escorted to one another.  Your job in the meantime, is to lighten up and have fun.

I want you to imagine your future self.  The woman you so dearly want to be.  Think of her right in front of you.  See how she’s shining, smiling, and living with gusto.  

She is just aching to thank you for everything you’re experiencing right now that is letting her be so radiant.   She wants to thank you for not skipping any steps or dropping out when the going got tough.  

Can you let her thank you now?

I did.  And this is what I saw and heard.

She stood so tall and full of energy and proud.  She was glowing from the inside out and her energy was so full and filled the room too.  Her vibration was radiating almost visibly from her heart. 

I saw her in a beautiful silky bright shirt with dangly earrings and a necklace and delicate bracelet.  She was wearing black pants and owning her heels.  It was like I met her in the middle of a rocking seminar she was leading to a packed house of women.  Her heart was wide open and I could tell.  

She looked so lovingly at me.  She knew all of my weaknesses and self-criticisms.  Without even saying anything I felt her love.  

I saw it in her eyes and knew that that love was thanking me now.  She wanted to use words but first she just looked.  She gazed so fully with a smile of pure joy and a rainbow of love surrounding her.  

She wanted to be sure that the me of today and not of 2 years from now or even of tomorrow could feel how grateful she was.

She walked the few steps toward me with eagerness.  She reached out her arms and hugged me.  

She held my hands and said, “Thank you.  Thank you for doing this work.  Thank you.  You did everything you could to get me here and I am so thankful.  You and your seeking heart made this all possible for me.  I’m so proud of you.” 

She backed away and still with her eyes stuck on me, sent me her loving energy.  I could feel her heart in mine and knew that this moment was perfect.  She winked at me.  And then she put her hands together at prayer center and said thank you, one more time before she bowed and said Namaste.  

I felt her light from my fingers to my toes.  I received her thanks like a hug from my mom.  Irreplacable and ceaselessly welcome.  

I felt like a flower that was turning its face up to the sunshine and drinking in the delicious water in my roots.  

I had bloomed.

In the comments below, I want to know what does your future self want to thank you for?

I feel as if I could box up my winter coat and mail it off to Siberia, I’m ecstatic.

Amid the joy of the season, the adventures and learning, there’s something else going on that I just HAVE to talk to you about.

I’ll cut right to the chase.  

The last few weeks have been a little rough.  And the book review I was going to bring you (which I will bring you in all it’s literary glory soon), just felt lacking when thinking of part of what’s going on in my life right now.

My dad, who I’ve told you passed away two and a half years ago, came from a family with 15 kids.  Daddy-o was the youngest (and favorite!) boy.

My uncle, we’ll call him Uncle Awesome, the best man at my parent’s wedding, was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer three weeks ago.

{Insert gaping silence followed by hysterical sobs.}

While this news was devastating at first, Uncle Awesome’s resolve and spirit of seeking the healthiest habits around in the effort to get himself to the top of the healing mountain have left me breathless with joy.  From a guy whose favorite hobby was eating (and not dark leafy greens) this change to grilled chicken, green juices, chia seeds, and naturopathy is like a Red Sox fan suddenly rooting for the Yankees.

It’s a reminder to me again of what we will do to live.

We will change our diets, change our habits, proclaim our belief in God.  We will shout our love, open our hearts, and become happily drunk in our relationships.  We will call old friends, give up old grudges, and seek new ways of doing, being, and seeing the world.

 In essence, we will live each day as if it were our last. 

Uncle Awesome told me repeatedly when I talked to him last week before he headed off to the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Chicago, that he’s changed.  He’s three weeks into the ride of his life and he already feels like he’s done a 180.

I might even say, he’s the most HIM that he’s ever been in his life.

The caretaker in me (sometimes to a fault) immediately unearthed the books, expert opinions, and research that I did for my dad.  I’ve called on my tribe of women who are experts in nutrition, exercise, and health to cobble together a routine to help my uncle the best way we collectively can.  Afterall, it takes a village . . .

And while I believe this kind of help and outreach is essential to his healing, none of it would even matter if he didn’t already decide that he was going to do whatever he has to, to live.

That’s the kind of decision that changes your life, and the lives of those around you, forever.

When you are vocal about your will to live it’s even more world changing.

When you refuse to sit on the sidelines while others are busy in the “arena”, you are sending the most powerful signal to the world.  You are here to live.  Live loud.  Live long.  Live deep. And ultimately, live forever.

My spiritual beliefs give me great comfort about dying and where my dad is now, but as Kenny Chesney said and my uncle reminded me, “Everybody wants to go to heaven.  Nobody wants to go now.”

And I’m thinking neither do you.

But what do we need to wake ourselves up?  To give ourselves the nudge that this is our life?  THIS ONE.  Without the terror, stress, and force of a disease.  Death. Or tragedy.

Though I embraced each day and loved my life, I definitely didn’t fully ‘get’ the sense of doing anything I could and giving as wholeheartedly as if my life depended on it until my dad got sick and died.

I still think of the time that we cared for him as the proudest of my life.

But what do we need to live like this – openhearted, generous, loving, forgiving, willing to scale the earth to live – with ourselves and anyone (yes, anyone) we meet no matter the circumstance?

Each of our answers will be different.  But my gut is telling me to live BIG.  

LIVE bold.  Live with conviction.  With grace, compassion, and courage.  

Revel in play and pleasure.  Take care of my body.  Laugh A LOT.  

Say what I need to say.  Do what I need to do.  

And leave nothing for tomorrow.  Nothing.

It makes all the difference in the world.

Tell us in the comments, what’s one thing you do that makes you feel truly deeply alive?

Work was busy, you barely ate lunch, and you missed your workout, BUT you get to come home to a place you love and it makes a world of difference.

We are each in charge of creating homes we love.  You can add all the sparkle and jazz to your house that you want.  Or if a zen-like spa feel appeals to you more – you can do that.

I know for me, I feel best when I see reminders of happy times.  Preferably when those happy times are show-cased in beautiful frames in colors I adore.  It makes me fee like a designer, anthropologist, and artist all at once.

I want you to feel totally confident about bringing this happiness into your own space too.  So today I’m showing you exactly how to move your house into LOVE status with my step-by-step guide to creating your own gallery wall!

Step 1. Gather your supplies

It’s always important to start with inspiration.  This project was inspired by all of the gorgeous walls that I see whenever I open a Pottery Barn catalogue.  Total wall envy.  However, I made this project easier and a whole lot more affordable than buying all those frames from PB.  There are times to splurge on yourself and other times when you don’t have to for the same result.  This was one of those times.

Step 1 – Gathering your supplies

For this project, I’d accumulated some old frames from second hand stores to add to the ones I already had.  I knew that I wanted a gold, silver, and black frame motif so I tried to collect ones that fit in with the look I wanted.  I started with a few frames that weren’t in this aesthetic, but just grabbed a can of gold spray paint and went to town one afternoon.  This part took seriously 10 minutes.  And to think, I’ve been putting it off for months!

Next, I gathered the other supplies I needed:

- picture wire hanger to wrap around those annoying little hanger spots to make it easier to hang (you could also use baggie ties if that’s what you have – just make sure the knot is secure)

- scissors to cut pics to size

- a level (because nobody likes a crooked gallery)

- tape to be sure my pics stayed put

- the actual nails – I used really small ones; there’s no need for the titanic when a speedboat will do

- a buddy to help (depending on the size and height of your wall)

Step 2. Set up the show

Step 2 Setting up the show

I chose the pics I wanted and made copies or printed them in black and white or sepia.  An easy thing to do if your pics are already the right size for the frame is just to photocpy them in the color you want.  The copy machine actually had a sepia feature that made it SO easy.  You can see the difference in my pics above.

Next, know the space you want to transform.  For me, it was a wall in my dining room.

Lay out all of your frames on the floor near your wall so you can get an idea for how to hang them.  Match your copied & printed pics with the right frame and get them ready to roll.

Step 3.  Establish your anchors

Step 3 – Establish your anchors

After you’ve laid out your pics, choose the one that you want to be at eye level (or about 5 feet off the ground) and hang that one first.  Build around this first picture to create an anchor to build off of in each direction.  This is SO much easier than starting from top to bottom.

If the hanger that comes on the frame is one of those little latches, wrap some picture hanging wire around that piece to create a loop.

Hold your picture on the wall and feel for where the hanger actually is so you mark the nail in the right spot.

When you’re done, use your level to make the frames all even.  This relieves you of the need to tilt your head each time you look at them.

Step 4. Stand back and adore your work

Seeing the finished project is so rewarding – it never gets old!  You can see the frames I spray painted from the first picture here too.  They are the top two outside ones, the big one in the middle with me and the H in it, and the bottom left pic.

Step 4 – Tada! Amazing gallery wall first good side

Step 4 – Tada! Adore your work from all angles

Creating spaces you love doesn’t have to be tricky.

It might take a little elbow grease, but the finished product is so worth it.   Having a sanctuary you love is definitely one of my secrets to happiness and you can use this project to amplify the feel good factor in any room in your abode.

In the comments below, I want you to tell me your fav way you’ve made your house a home (could be as simple as having plates you like to eat on or lighting a candle)?  Either way, share the goods!

And don’t be modest, I know how creative you are . . .   Can’t wait to hear what you’re up to at your house!

We live in a rental apartment so there are some things that just feel forced about our space.

The hunter green marble foyer floor that every time I see I feel like I’m back in my Catholic school uniform singing church songs at weekday Mass.

The modern dining room chandelier that looked like a sterile sculpture from the planet No-way.

Or best of all – what I refer to as – the funeral parlor drapes that hang floor to ceiling in every room of my home sans the bathrooms.

Perhaps I’m being overdramatic and things really aren’t that bad?  Yeah, I could live with all these things the way they were if not for one Essential Truth of Sar: I’m not here just to survive, I’m here to THRIVE and my home needs to support me in that.  It works for me, I don’t work for it.

So I recognized that I had two choices:

I could live with things the way they were.

-or-

I could change them to feel more like me/us  (the H gets to live here too).

Great News: Option #2 is way more fun than Option #1!

You have your own “Funeral Parlor Drapes” scenario at your house too, I’m sure.   You may think that whatever that nagging issue is, it’s too much of a pain to take care of.  But here’s the thing: every time you look at that item or piece of decor without loving it, your energy is being drained.

The things around you can take or give you energy based solely on whether they appeal to your aesthetic or not.  And whether they help cultivate the feelings you want to feel in your home.

Everything you lovingly choose to have in your home needs to give you energy or it’s just not good enough for you.

Your house represents your internal state.  Making it a sparkling, radiant, comforting place to be is the ideal match for you.  And nothing short of what you deserve, Gorgeous.

Here’s where to start: get all the junk out that doesn’t fit in with your vision.  My favorite questions to ask to see if something fits:

Do I use it?

Do I love it?

Does my home need it?

The first room to apply this unscrupulous eye to?  Your actual sanctuary – your bedroom.  I was so happy to see how many of you chose this as your favorite room in your house last week via my Facebook question.

At LYL, I work on the 3-part system of simplifying, clarifying, and shining.  First you need to pare down to get clear and then this leads to shining.  BTW this works for ALL aspects of your life – stuff, attitude, courage, health, job, love life.

I don’t care if your current home is a rental shared with three roommates or you plan to be there forever – you deserve a space you love.  It makes a world of difference in your attitude and outlook.

And if you know nothing else from being part of the LYL family, it’s that baby you were born to shine.

And your home needs to reflect all of your gorgeous light.

So now’s the time: clear the cobwebs, the clutter, and the funeral drapes and create a space you love!

In the comments I’d love to know two things:

1.    The first five words that come to mind for how you want to feel in your home.

2.   On a scale of 1 to 10, how close your home is to fitting the bill of sanctuary already.

Happy Nesting!

And it felt glorious!

I was working  on an exciting new piece to LYL that involves helping you create a home you love.   I’ll be telling you about soon.

But, Sar, why does this even matter?

For most of us, we’ve moved from place to place: from dorm to first apartment in college then to our next and our next.

Finally we land somewhere more permanently with a random assortment of stuff, people, books, jobs.

And amidst all of this we are creating a home.

Let me rephrase: we MUST create a home.

There is major obsession in our culture with homes – and rightly so.  HGTV has exploded over the past ten years and design books and blogs are hot hot hot.  Home is written about, sung about, and even acted out.

I grew up with an Interior Decorator for a mom so creating a welcoming beautiful home has been in my mind for-ever.  I feel like I grew up as an apprentice to her business and design sense.

We all want to know that at the end of the day, we have someplace we truly love to come back to.  Someplace where we can unwind, cook a meal for friends, cuddle up in our cozy sweats, and maybe even watch a Parks & Rec marathon all weekend long (uhhhhh yup).

I know you love to surround yourself with things you love, with pictures that inspire you and with comfort that envelopes you.

We are no different in our desires.

That’s why this past weekend, I was happy to be working.  Helping you to create a home you love is one of my raisons d’etre.

A few questions for you to ponder…

How do you think of your home.

is it a haven?

a sanctuary?

a place to drop your bag?

where you grew up?

What does it include that makes it feel truly like you.

a big open space so you can do yoga?

enough wine glasses to have friends over?

lots of pics of your travels, adventures & the people you love?

your favorite blanket that your Aunt made for you?

memories?

For the rest of the year at LYL, we will be focusing each month in a specific way.  February was about getting you set for your best year yet.

March is all about you creating the haven of our dreams.

I’ll be featuring book reviews, a home design project from my very own abode, and even presents just for you!

Your outer world reflects your inner world. Your home reflects your personal style, how you create comfort and is a direct reflection of YOU.

I want you to have the perfect place to come home to at the end of the day.

Much like your vision is the starting point for living your dream life.  Your home is the starting and ending point to every day in that dream life.

This is the month for restoring your sanctuary.  For clearing out, shaping up and making sure that your space is one you truly love.

To get our collective creative juices flowing, tell us, what’s your favorite part about your home?  What’s your favorite piece of décor/art/furniture?

Can’t wait to chat!

XOXOXO

Sara

PS.  My fav part of my house?  The picture above.  Sitting anywhere where I can see that beautiful wall makes me happy and reminds me of the things I want to feel in my house – comfort, simplicity, love, and memories.

I love the glow, the warmth, the presence that the light of a candle has.  Whenever I look at them I think, yup, I’m alive and creating.  It feels good.  So now even during the day, I have a candle going in my office.  It’s the first thing I do when I get in there.  Light my candle.  It feels purifying and awakening.

What can I say, I’m a sucker for ambiance.

But there’s a part of me that says Who Am I? 

Who am I to want to be constantly surrounded by inspiration?  Isn’t it a little greedy?

I need a line in my budget just for candles.  Isn’t that just TOO much?  Too first world of me?

And as if on cue, my mind quickly brings me to other “Who Am I’s” – the ones we think about regularly but rarely voice.

Who am I to want to be successful?

Who am I to want to feel beautiful, confident, fit?

Who am I to be totally in love with myself, someone else, my job?

Isn’t it arrogant and OTT (over the top) to put my desires out there so plainly and expect that I can fulfill them?

Who are you to be so gorgeous, Big Sur?

Shouldn’t I be demure, less demanding and just all around quieter with what I’d love in my life.

I’ve thought about this a lot.

I’ve felt guilty for buying expensive yoga clothes (you know the ones), guilty for wanting to feel amazing in them and, even worse still, for wanting to adore myself in them once I do.

But for what?

I’ve felt guilty for saying that I want to run a successful business, guilty about saying I’m a professional, and guiltier still for expecting that I will be phenomenally successful in helping you to lead a happier, truer-to-you life.

But for what?

Being bashful about my desires and vision is like putting those gorgeous yoga clothes on the top shelf of my closet completely out of reach.

That’s exactly where my dream life will stay: out of reach.

So I’ve decided to say to hell with it. (Kind of how your Grandma might say ‘to hell with it; I’m too old to not say what I mean’).

We’re all too alive to not be creating our own version of our dream life.   

If what I really love are fresh flowers in my apartment (and I do), I will not sit around hoping the H brings them home every so often or that I get a random delivery from a friend.

I will luxuriate in picking the perfect bouquet from Trader Joe’s (convenient and perfectly priced for weekly buys!).  I’ll hold them up high so people I pass on my walk home can enjoy them too.  I’ll pick my most perfect vase from my mini collection to let them live in for the week.  I’ll put them somewhere prominent so I get to see them often.  And each time I pass them, I’ll say a quiet Thank You.

You bring your vision to life each day. 

Not by force or greed or wanting too much, but simply because you can’t NOT.

The Who Am I question becomes null.

Our collective encouragement and permission could not be more eloquently stated than by the amazing Marianne Williamson.

You are on this earth to shine – I know this as surely as I see the candle burning in front of me right now.

For extra encouragement, tape this somewhere you can see it regularly.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.  Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.  There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

From: page 190-191 of A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course In Miracles

If you’re nervous right now, that’s good.  It means you’re stretching yourself and that usually feels a little scary at first.  But I won’t let you live in that scared place forever (OMG exhausting!).

This is the perfect time for the last secret which will help you jump out of fear and into action.

Click the video for all the details.  Around the 2:30 mark I tell you my absolute favorite part of this secret and I’m almost positive you’ve never heard it before.

A calendar will help you get clear and literally see where you’re going.  The most precious gift we have is time.  If you want to make the most of yours (and say sayonora to those pesky excuses again), this could be the best (and most obvious) tool for you in 2013.

Calendars are Awesome if You Use them Like this.

Consider this calendar the blueprint working backwards from your one year vision.

You calendar can be your best partner for daydreaming.  The magic of the life you want to lead doesn’t happen without a little boost.  Writing your calendar is that boost.

It shows yourself and the universe that you’re serious about your dreams.  It shows what’s most important to you and is a solid reflection of how you choose to spend your most precious commodity – your time.

•  I use a combo of Google calendar and my good old fashioned written cal.  My favorite one that I’m using this year is from Susannah Conway.  I love it because it lists out the year by week (this week we’re in right now is Week 8) and lumps the weekend days together, not separate as in a traditional US calendar.   I highly recommend downloading it – it’s free!  What a pleasure it’s been to write on.  Color coding what I write makes it easy for me to see what’s what too – birthdays are purple, vacation is blue, work stuff is lavender, off days are green.  Beautiful things inspire me and my calendar is no exception.

• Get out your handy brainstorm list of how you want to feel one year from now.  As you pencil in the family events, birthdays, work stuff and vacations, consciously notice if that thing you’re writing jives with how you want to feel.  Does it make you feel cramped when you want to feel spacious?  Does it make you feel excited when you thought you were dreading it?

• Start by writing in the personal things you know for sure: vacations that are booked, weddings that are planned, birthdays & anniversaries you want to remember, cool work trips or events.

• Now add in my FAVORITE part – Your Wish List!  This is where you add in anything that you’ve said “I’ve always wanted to see/do/try/go to that.”  As in: a yoga class once a week, seeing the tree at Rockefeller Center, piano lessons, London in the Winter, another country at Christmas, rock climbing, a once a month facial.  PENCIL THEM IN! And write them ON the date you’d ideally like to do them.  There is an alchemy to making this sort of declaration.  You start to see what’s important.  What deserves your time and what doesn’t.  And gradually those things that once felt so out of reach, don’t feel that way anymore.

Writing out your calendar will make you notice some things. 

Do you realize you need a little more fun & excitement in your year?  Maybe you want to plan a weekend away with your girlfriends and you see the perfect date for it in August so you can start rallying your crew.

This is your year to create.  Thankfully, no one will do it for you.

Which means you have the power to create e x a c t l y what you want.  Be flexible if what you want changes.

But always, always focus on the feeling first.

The feeling will lead you exactly where you most need to go.

 In the comments below, tell me one thing you’re adding to your calendar from Your Wish List. 

One of mine?  Learning to surf.  I’ve penciled it in for October when I’ll be in California.  I’ll let you know how it goes . . .

XOXOXOXO,

Sara

Because you’re as brilliant as I think you are, I’m betting you’ve started the ball rolling on Secret #1 to creating your amazing year.

Only two secrets left until you’re full steam ahead on having the best year of your life.

Are you as excited as I am?

I am trying something new today in telling you all about this secret in the video below.

Click to watch for the great reveal. And make sure you stay tuned for a blooper around minute 5.  We can ALL learn together, huh

But to quell your racing heart and unnerving anticipation (ha), you can find a quick breakdown of the Secret and the steps below the video.  Also look way down for a surprise that I still can’t believe I’m sharing with you.  (Helllloooooooo vulnerability).

In Review:

The 8 Steps to Creating Your Vision

1. Determine the best way for you to express it: ie typing, writing in journal, sketchpad, dictating.

 

2. Set the mood.  Light candles, get comfy, pour a glass of your favorite bev, create ambiance, be relaxed.

 

3. Focus on the feeling first.  Brainstorm all the words that you want to feel on this date one year from now.  Then create your vision based on those.

 

4. Record your vision of a day in your life ONE year from today.  In present tense.  As if you’re living it now.

 

5. Reflect: notice what’s NOT included in your vision.

 

6. Make reading your vision a part of your daily ritual. With your coffee, tea, meditation, when you get to work or when you write in your journal at the end of the day.

 

7. Think of one way you can embody your vision NOW.  Then start living it.

 

8. Your vision isn’t static.  It will change just as your life does.  Go with it.

** Important Note!

Be prepared for resistance and your silly monkey mind to pop-up and say things like: this is hard; I don’t deserve this ridiculous off the charts fantastic life, my life is pretty great already – aren’t I greedy to want more?

**** A MORE Important Note!

Ignore all of those pesky thoughts.  And get to work.  Your dream life can only be created if you commit to writing the blueprint.  Think of this as aligning your heart and your North Star.  Once you do, everything just makes sense.

Now for a little inspiration – check out my vision below.  

After you’re done reading, I’d love to know three things:

1. Did you like the video format?

2. If this brought up any “stuff” for you and if you have any questions.

3.  If you’re up for it, I’d love to get to read a piece of your vision.

 Without further ado, a day in my life one year from today:

February 12, 2014

I wake up before the sun with radiant joy. I say good morning to Andrew and stretch on my cozy

flannel sheets. I do my morning stretches before getting out of bed.  I say my thank you prayer and

think about how happy I am to wake up in our beautiful bedroom for another joyous day.

I put on my favorite cozy sweats and crewneck sweatshirt and indulge in my protein drink.  I head

back to my bedroom and sit on my meditation pillow for my 15-minute meditation to one of my

seven favorites that I have cued on my iPod for each day of the week.

After my meditation I head to the shower and take my time lathering up my delicious mint

shampoo.  I spend extra time washing my face and neck with the best Lush face scrub ever.  I take

my time and use my favorite honey soap that makes me think of happiness.

I go to my closet and love all of the things I see in front of me.  I feel elegant and luxurious and I

haven’t even put anything on yet!  I pick out my favorite red jeans paired with a tank top and

beautiful cream cashmere boat neck sweater.  I match a favorite chunky necklace and my pearl

earrings and put on Gram’s S ring and my wedding rings to finish it off.  I grab my favorite

feel-like-a-rockstar yoga crops and tank to put in my bag for my hot yoga class later in the day.   

I put on plenty of organic non-toxic moisturizing sunblock and some light makeup.  Thankful that I

upgraded my eyelash curler because it does THE best job!  I glance down at my nails when I go to

grab my vanilla powder and the site of my red nails brings me jolt of happiness.

In the kitchen, I make our green juice while Andrew gets breakfast together.  We talk about what

we’re excited about for the day.  

We head out of the house together at 7.  I love leaving in the morning with him a couple of days

a week.  I go to my favorite coffee shop where I start to work while waiting for my girlfriends to

get in a couple hours later.  I get so much done in the morning that I feel majorly productive! 

I follow-up on details of my first retreat weekend that I’m hosting in the Spring and I’m so excited! 

I’m also writing a new program for my amazing ladies and am two weeks in to working with my

10 private exclusive clients.  Talking to them is like talking to old friends and I pinch myself that

we found each other and that I can serve them in a big way.  I know that they’re onto something

important and can already see them blossoming into huge courage and radiance.  We’re just

getting into simplifying their closets and it feels amazing.

My girlfriends arrive and we spend the next few hours working together on our computers, 

bouncing ideas off each other and enjoying lunch. I love hearing what they’re up to in

their businesses.

I leave around 2 and listen to an inspiring podcast on my walk to my yoga studio.  I have plenty

of time to change and read a little of my book in the luxurious lobby area.  I feel at home.  I rock

throughmy yoga practice and loooove that I’m detoxing my bod and strengthening my mind and

muscles.  I am not so afraid of headstand anymore.

I walk home after yoga and rinse off.  I change into comfy sexy home clothes and spend time

catching up on my favorite blogs and helping some friends on my facebook entrepreneur group. 

I review my schedule with private clients for the next day and can’t wait for the closet clean-out

intensive that I’m doing in the afternoon.  I’m also taking a painting class in the morning and I’m

thrilled.  I’m already thinking of the next adventure and think it might be to join a ladies singing group.

Around 5 I start cutting vegetables and getting prepped for dinner.  Andrew comes home in the

middle and we decide to go for a quick run.  We get back and pour a few glasses of delicious red

wine and start cooking.

I light candles, turn on some relaxing jazz and we sit around our table in our comfortable sturdy

chairs for an hour or so.  We love bringing the luxurious slow pace of European eating back to our

table.  Our table truly is a place for communion.  We talk about our big plans, our South American

adventure next month, and our newest business ideas.

After dinner we play a game of Bananagrams.  And then snuggle on our couch that has plenty of

room for both of us while we finish watching the documentary we started last night.  We head to

bed around 9:30 and read for a half hour before peacefully and easily falling asleep.  My last

thoughts before dozing off are how grateful I am that Andrew is beside me and that this is my life.

I thought, oh the website isn’t working – I can’t talk to you now  – I won’t have anywhere to direct you.  All of the articles you reference aren’t there to help you.  And worst of all: You’ll see that I don’t have it all together. 

I convinced myself that waiting until everything was back to normal was the thing to do.

I had a serious case of the dreaded (cue scary music) – perfectionism.

Here’s what I realized when I was going through all the reasons I was annoyed about my website problems and how imperfect they were:

Waiting for perfect means waiting forever.  And you and I are on too big a mission to wait that long. (totally Tweet That)

Time to trade in the illusion of perfection in favor of imperfection and movement in the right direction.

When things aren’t perfect or how we envisioned they should be in our heads, too often we tie ourselves down with reasons and excuses.

I’m sure you’ve heard or use some of them too: 

I can’t do that because…

But what if I don’t meet someone else…

I’m tired and feel fat and …

I don’t have enough money ….

But I don’t want to disappoint anyone …

I don’t know anyone here…

I could never do that…

There’s just not enough time ….

I’m waiting until I have more experience …

Because we’re here together in the spirit and act of growing, loving, celebrating, and learning, I am throwing down the gauntlet on perfectionism and excuses – my own and yours too.

How do you feel after relying on one of the above?  I know how I feel and it sure isn’t good: Lame.  Crappy.  Disappointed.  Stuck.

I’ve got a waaaaayy better proposition than any of those heavy nasty excuses.

What if 2013 was the year that you threw away your excuses?

Which brings us to Secret # 1 of Creating Your Amazing Year!

 

Perfect is boring.  Perfectionism stifles creativity.  BE WRONG.

What if every time you want to use a lame excuse, you turn that excuse around and use it to catapult you into the holy grail of feeling alive: ACTION.

There is no way you can create the year of your dreams if you’re worried about everything being perfect.  You’ll never make mistakes or create something unforgettable because you’ll never try.

You’ll be too busy hiding behind a boatload of lame-o excuses to do anything memorable.

What if you didn’t worry about being perfect and solely focused on feeling alive?

This is your year.  The year for your possibilities.  For stepping into you in a whole new way you never dreamed imaginable.  The world needs exactly what you’ve got to give – imperfection and all.  No room for excuses and no room for regret.

This is your year.  2013.  It’s not anywhere near too late to make it incredible.

Secret Sauce Tool #1 to Planning Your Amazing Year:

The tool that I’m using for both my life and my business is this amazingly useful year planner that artist and creative super mama Leonie Dawson made.  I have never seen a more beautiful, uplifting, or flat out kick in the rear way to start my year.

Wait til you see the artwork inside – it’s totally gorgeous!

I’ve been working through mine over the past month and it has been eye-opening.  And the best part?  You can download the planner immediately to your computer.  Brilliant technology.

This book is very inexpensive, but is a time investment.  If you’re not up for that then these are the three questions I want you to think about in planning your amazing year.  Grab your journal – you’ll get waaaaay more out of it if you jot things down:

1. Before you fully open the door on this year, you need to fully close the door on 2012 and that starts with acknowledging yourself and what went well: What do you want to celebrate from 2012?
2. What do you want to leave behind and not carry into 2013?
3. What do you most want to feel in 2013?

This is the year for your dreams, your imagination, and your self to run wild.

What do you say, are you in?

It will be incredibly imperfect.  And totally unforgettable.  What could be better?

With my love,

SLMK

PS. Stay tuned for step 2 to planning your amazing year.  It’ll be in your inbox Tuesday. 

PPS.  The journey is always more fun with friends along beside you.  Be generous.  Invite them to join our big dreaming world.