Week 3

            Somethings to think about, living life as an adventure or as an experiment.  There is no failure just an opportunity to try something different. Follow your dreams and the money will follow, but I should add the money is not as important as how you live.  You must have goals to succeed.

            Over the next few weeks I am hoping I will learn more about myself and what I can do as I look toward the golden years of my life.  I also like reading about the experiences of others, how they have made the decisions which have changed their lives for the better.

            This week readings I value above everything else. Being “true blue, through and through”. I value honesty. I want to trust everyone, but I know this you cannot always do. I can have integrity and have the same expectation from others. It may not always be easy, and sometimes it will not be enough, but I and the Lord will know who I am and what I stand for.

            I also found the top ten list informative. Somethings you would think were common sense but apparently not so much. I also believe unless you have invested something personal into a business or idea you are not nearly as driven to succeed.  If you don’t have anything at risk then it is not your loss. What better way to push yourself to succeed than by having something at risk you are not willing to lose?

Week 2

Randy Pausch looked at life in a unique way. Everything should be fun, and if it was worth going after then you didn’t allow fences to stop you from achieving what you wanted but still while having fun.  He had a spirit of excitement and energy that just did not quit.  Every challenge was just that, a challenge, something to gain knowledge and experience from, but not to stop you from achieving your dreams.

I know dreams are important. We cannot accomplish anything, invent, build or create anything if you do not dream. When I hear the word dream I think of imagination.  Your imagination can set you free, the possibilities are endless.  I think of Walt Disney with his dreams and how he created a magical world. How through all the pit falls and extremely high fences he never gave up. We need dreams to inspire us to not only achieve, but to also see beyond what we think our limits are. Think of all the many things which would not have happened, been created or discovered if someone did not have a dream.

I do not have many memories from growing up, because of this, I do not remember what my dreams were. I am sure I had some as a child. I do know I wanted to be happy and when I got into high school I wanted to go to college. It is now many, many years later and I have started again on trying to achieve this goal of getting a degree.  Can it be accomplished? Yes it can. I am in a position where I can dedicate time and money to this endeavor with the hope of passing all my required classes and graduating.  Had the Pathway program not been introduced would I have tried again to go back to school, probably not, but everything lined up and here I am today a sophomore hoping to continue until I have my degree.  The other dream of being happy, I have achieved this one. 

Week 1 Where do I Start?

As I reflected on the readings of this week, I thought a lot about my experiences over that last few years.  My daughter and I have a small creative business we have been trying to find a niche for.  We have been actively pursuing this for around 5 years now.  I am an independent consultant for a stamping, scrapbooking, and paper crafting company.  We use these products to create art and other things such as gifts or cards and of course scrapbook layouts.  We also have been trying to find a way to build a bigger customer base for the paper crafting while trying to sell the artwork we produce in different markets.  We have not been wildly successful.  As I read through the steps on how to achieve some measure of success I realized we do some of the steps already, but some we do not.  Two things stood out clearing to me; one is evaluating and changing what you are doing until you find what works for you, which we do after every season. We return, report and evaluate and then make decisions on what to do next.  Two, “Living a life of meaning is about living a life with intent.”  I must have intent and purpose for what I am doing. I love it, and I love working with my daughter but it is not enough to just love doing it. We must have a better plan for what we are doing or we will never find our niche or success. This also made me rethink, is this my “calling”, is it time to try something completely different?