Have I Told You Lately How Lucky You Are?

I haven't written a personal blog in quite some time so I thought I'd put up this video!  Dr. Seuss is by far my favorite author, even since I was a "wee little one"  His books are timeless and sadly I only own a small few!  I am going to make sure to own all 44 by the end of 2013, so if any of you have any you would like to donate to my collection I would greatly appreciate it!  I hope you all take as much from this as I do!

I SHAPE ME!

Sat. I started a new fitness routine...and it's kicking my butt, LITERALLY!  But in a very good way!

My Life is FULL!!

            On a cold and rainy spring day, I sat blankly at the sheets of white paper trying to erase the memory from my mind by spilling it onto the pages before me.  The photograph is proof, in an instant your life can change, and unwillingly you look at the old you and find a peacefulness that you have grown.  I ungrudgingly pardon those who have wounded me…I have no reason to pass judgment on your new life or the many paths that you choose to follow after our crossroads.  My life is full.

            My friends and family mean everything in the world to me and you have facilitated my journey.  There was a point in my life where blankets of cold covered me, defeating their purpose.  The sunglasses worn on my face only to cover the dark circles of my eyes, only highlighted the walls I hid behind.  The smile plastered in posed pictures were never truly smiles at all, but only pigments of what I hoped.  My life was dull.
            Congratulations, as I pat myself on the back, I have found myself long ago and never slowed down enough to realize it.  As I look through the old photo album I do not frown at my past as one might expect, I smile jubilantly knowing that I am a better self.  I am an endless sea of feminine courage and faith.  I need no partner to hold me up nor enemies to pull me down.  My life is full.  
            It's interesting what a heart does when the life is full, it smiles right along with the eyes: both the windows to the soul.  When the soul is happy, your world is happy and who could ask for more?  My life is full.
            Many have held my hand on my path; let me hold yours.  I don't care if you are a stranger or a life-long friend…I WANT to hold your hand.  I want you to smile as I smile.  I want you to laugh as I laugh.  I want you to embrace your past as I have mine.  I want you to love as deep and as pure as you can love.  For your life is full!

BOLD

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the day with an amazing individual!  If you are in the market for a real estate buyers agent in the Richmond Virginia area...please look no further then Charlotte Shirey!  She is wonderful on all levels!  You will notice a video above, it was a part of the seminar that Charlotte took me to today.  And in this post you will learn a little about what I learned today!  And that was...A LOT.  From someone who has no experience with real estate, I got a lot from the first day of this BOLD program that pertains to LIFE and how you view it.  I took away a ton of info from this experience and met some really great people in the process.  So here goes the start of a new journey, and I'm excited to see the outcome!

BE BOLD!!

90% of business is mindset <---it's true!

1. Look for patterns in your life
2. Take a chance even if you don't think you can win.
3. Believe in yourself and go for it!
4. Be willing to do what others haven't
5. Don't listen to nay sayers!
6. If your willing to put your kids in a wagon...you can do anything!! (meaning...if you are willing to eat ramen noodles for weeks, months, years...etc.)
7. Don't be afraid to be first
8. If you work to help others you will grow and your business will grow
9. Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forward
10. Watch your money. (money is not the root of evil...the love of money is)

"The purpose of life is to truly live before you die; and the purpose of business is to fund that perfect life."

Remember to always BE first, then DO, in order to HAVE.  And continue in no other order!

Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.  For example, the picture above for a literal interpretation.  

My life is the result of my beliefs...become aware of my behavior (self talk), ask ?'s, control the convo, and ALWAYS GET INVOLVED!!

WORDS!

50% of all words are negative while only 30% positive...its no wonder we always feel so surrounded by negativity.  There are just more words to describe it!

In business practices, always do what works and change what does not.  Liken it to the needle v. stick analogy.  If I throw a needle at you, most likely it will not hurt you.  But if I attach that same needle to a stick and then throw it at you...it has more impact.  

Needle = Words

Stick = Emotions

In speech Eliminate BUT and use AND

                             TRY and use INTEND

Complaining = Garbage Magnet!!

"You can have reasons or results but you can NOT have both"

1. What you focus on expands

2. I choose to take responsibility and design my own life.  

55% of communication is body language

38% is tonality (speed and tone of which you speak)

7% is actually words you use.

*Find connections with people!!

Step up to mastery!

Foundation (have a growth plan and implement with no excuses)

Concentration (Do the work...struggle!)  Performance v. Stress...

Momentum "OMG!"  

Stabilization - systems (If you don't do this you end up back at concentration)

Mastery

In this world there are two types of people.

1. People moving towards pleasure

2. People moving away from pain

THAT is just a little bit of what I took away from today!  In the coming months you will see me put together my growth plan of what I hope to accomplish in 2012!  And I will be sharing every step of it with you all!  I hope it helps you as much as it's going to help me!!

Life's Crazy Dreams...

Last night I had a very vivid dream.  I didn't recognize any of the faces (other then my own) but it felt so real!

It started off with me walking into this outdoor mall setup (like Stony Point), I found myself in the back side shipment of a FedEx distribution center.  My dream told me that I had been there before b/c I was very familiar with the construction.  When I walked through the garage doors the place was in chaos (there was paper, peanuts, strapping, boxes...everywhere).  Underneath a bundle of used strapping something caught my eye, so I walked over to it and brushed away the bundle and it revealed two canvased portraits of a couple Westies.  (for those of you who don't know...I have two westies myself).  In my dream I thought to myself "this must be old marketing materials, I wonder if I can take them since they are left here to be destroyed with all the other discarded shipping materials." So I stopped a kid and said, "Is there a manager around I can speak to."  He took me to this room and knocked on the door...I had the canvas' in tow.  When the door opened the two men inside (my mind told me they were gay...which I didn't quite grasp until later in the dream) did not seem to care that I or anyone else was there (typical shipment managers I thought in my dream...though in real life I completely know that in the jobs I have had where there is shipment involved, the managers are 100% on top of things).  I cleared my throat a bit and with the intimidation in my voice I managed to mutter "Can I keep these?  They were in the trash and I would like to have them."  Thinking to myself again, "they are going to say yes, surely b/c they have been stepped on and damaged a bit, but I don't mind."  The dreamy, Italian looking one asked me, "Do these canvas' give you life?  Do you HAVE to have them?  Do they tell a story to you?"  In which my reply was, "I figured that if they were being stepped and trampled all over out back that nobody would mind me having them and giving them a home where they will be taken care of."  The manager snatched them from my hands and said "If we wanted you to have them, do you think we would have trashed them?"  With tears (for whatever reason) swelling up in my eyes, I turned to walk away.  The other guy asked me, "Do you need help finding your way out?"  In which my reply was, "No, I was smart enough to find my way in...if you ever need inside product knowledge at Banana Republic...you just lost it by being total assholes to me."  It is apparent that I knew that would bother them, and it also made it apparent that I was some kind of high corporate power in Banana Republic.  Strange...my dream ended with me walking away and the two men snickering in the background "oh no!  I can't believe that just happened."

I woke up to my two dogs trying to go outside to bark at a feral cat that was screaming!  <-this is weird b/c it has never happened before.  My babies!  Lady and Deco (with the snake).

The World is an Ocean

Every person lives in their own boat. All the time we come across other boats and other people, but rarely do we ever join them in their boat. Most of us are rowing towards shores we cant see; but we're sure they exist.

Some of us can't afford the oars. Some of us can afford them but refuse to use them, distracted by the fact that maybe the water is more fun, why not just jump off and swim through the vast waters, could it be more efficient then rowing to a destination that may not be satisfying?  One that we do not know for sure exists?

Some of us can't afford the boat, and we live in the water. Some of us sink. Some of us never reach the surface again. And all we have is the shadows of boats above us, and dark water under us. But we're stuck somewhere in between, unable to breathe. Every shark and sea monster we see is another somnambulatory abstraction.

Others of us are convinced we've found the right current; but most of us are just lost.
We look around and every direction is a horizon.
Nobody has an anchor.

Then there are a few of us that find land; temporarily, mostly. I have at times.  Those of us that do find that land, and stay on it, are driven away quicker than we came in most cases. Rarely do we find land we can call home.

Love is two boats docked on an empty island.
You are my island.
This is our world.

<-we're boats!  See!

Elizabeth Pauline "Polly" Morris

Last night I had a dream about my grandma, or as I like to say "NaNa"  She has been gone almost 5 years now so it was nice to get a visit in my dreams.  I certainly think of her often, and she (even gone) provides laughs for my family!


How I knew My Grandma,

            As a young one growing up and building my imagination, what happened at Nana's house…stayed at Nana's house!  Many memories of my childhood are (to this day) kept secret…pacts between Nana and I (and sometimes my big sis Niki).  SOME I will share with you, OTHERS I swore never to repeat but always to remain a part of my heart forever.

            I credit a lot of who I have become to my Grandmother.  You know…the one who influenced my childhood just as much as my parents.  The woman who taught me the true meaning of reverse psychology and pushed me in her own stubborn way to achieve my goals.

            First impressions of my grandmother are unmatched!  The way people respond to her is a quality I hope I have inherited.  Vibrant, exciting, and very talkative!  That's my Nana!  And boy did I know all about every last character in her recent romance novels or every member of the Gathier Band, of which I knew many songs and sang along all the time.  Singing was a past time I most cherish with her.  Nana had the voice of an angel in her day, and she always encouraged me to sing my little heart out.

            This is the woman who taught me to read...eventually.  Taking special note of my first secret!  And that was…1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Kiss?  From my many Dr. Seuss adventures…I hadn't come to learn the words, but more so to memorize them!  Haha, but somehow Nana knew.  One day taking a pen to change the words and having me read it again!  She caught me!  But it was from then on that she knew I was going to be a smart one for she said, "Anyone who can remember all those silly rhymes and words…can surely learn to read books like this."  (She said this has she held up the largest version of the Bible I have ever seen in print).  But that was a book I couldn't even fathom reading at the time.  But this was when I was introduced to Phil. 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  In due time I learned to read and can credit that to be my most cherished memory verse.

            There is nothing faint or half-hearted about my Grandma.  She was the apple of many eyes.  She pursued everything with irresistible enthusiasm, always bending, but never breaking!  Nana was one that exuded self-confidence and total control but never afraid to show her sweet side…and tooth (and as one of many grandchildren…I know first hand what this really means!)  Nana ALWAYS had bubblegum, and not just any gum…sugarless!  And her reasoning…well it goes something like this, "A girl as sweet as you doesn't need any sweeter…otherwise, you just might melt and my heart would break."

            Nana was audacious and VERY intent on getting her way!  A Morris quality I myself have a smidge of!  Stubborn to a fault…that was my grandma!  Forbid anyone ever do anything for her!  I will never forget family gatherings.  Nana would prepare the food, serve the food, and clean up the food just so we could all mingle amongst ourselves.  I didn't understand until now why that was so pertinent to her.  I never saw her shine more then when her whole family was together, or when she held her grandbabies.  Nana has so much love to give and I am lucky to have been showered with it for 21 years.  I am honored to carry her name as my own…I only hope to live up to it.

            This is the grandma I will always know, love, and remember!

I love you Nana!