Three Super-Simple Kick Starts to Living Your Dreams – In the Next 15 Minutes
Guest Post by Kathi Lipp, author of
The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life You've Always Wanted
Is there a dream that God has given you, but you are waiting until the kids are grown and you have money in the bank before you get started?
You may not be able to enroll in a month long pastry making class or take a week off of work to get started on your novel, but today you can take three little baby steps to making your dream a day-to-day reality.
1. Go Public with It
It’s a little scary to tell the world what you want to do when you grow up—but this is one little step could get you closer to living your dream than almost any other. Plus—it takes very little time and you don’t have to raid your kid’s college fund to make it happen.
When you gather up all your courage and tell your best friend, “I want to learn how to paint,” suddenly she remembers an old art book she has laying around she would love to give you, or her friend from church who teaches art classes. The people you know and love want to be a resource. Give them the privilege of being a part of making your dream happen.
2. Join an Online Group
This is one of the simplest—and cheapest—ways to start exploring your passion. Find out who else is talking about restoring antiques and listen to their conversation. Start by Googling your interest along with the term “online groups.” You will be amazed with the number of people who want to talk about the proper way to care for 1950’s lunchboxes as much as you do.
3. Don’t be Afraid to Pray
I remember the first time I put an offer in on a house—I wanted it more than I had wanted almost anything else in my life. While I knew that I had dozens of other people praying on my behalf, I was too scared to pray.
I didn’t want God to tell me no. I was afraid to pray until my co-worker Kim asked me (in a loving, kind way), why I didn’t believe that God wanted His best for me. Don’t be afraid to pray—as with anything amazing in my life, the path is never what I expected, but it has always been obvious that God’s hand has been on it the whole way.
Labels: goals, priorities
Friday, February 25, 2011
The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life You've Always Wanted
I’ve spent a lot of time this year planning, considering, and trying to balance my goals and priorities for the year. Seems that the older I get, the harder it is to know where to focus my priorities. I thought my time was not my own when I was raising and home schooling my son, but that was a piece of cake compared to an aging mom, a husband and a sister with multiple health issues, plus my own health problems, grad school, and running a business. Whew! That’s why I enjoyed Kathi Lipp’s The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted. According to Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, taking small steps every day will not only help you stay committed to your goal, ¨but will also help you ultimately achieve that goal when obstacles come up. Kathi’s book is helping me do just that. She wants you and your friends to live out those dreams—and have some fun along the way.
It’s easy for women to forget the goals and dreams of our younger years. The busyness of everyday life gets in the way. To-do lists and crises replace goals. The Me Project provides women with fun and creative ways to bring back the sense of purpose and vitality that comes with living out the plans and dreams God has planted in our hearts. Kathi’s warm tone and laugh-out-loud humor motivates women to take daily steps toward intentional goals. The end result? We get back our lives and enjoy living in the confidence of a purposeful life in spite of our chaotic schedules.
This handy guide coaches women to do one simple thing toward achieving our goals each day for three weeks. A woman experiencing the exhilaration of a rediscovered life offers more as a wife, mother, friend, volunteer, career woman and daughter. I have had the privilege of being Kathi's friend and colleague. We were in the same writers' group for several years. This is Kathi's third "project" book. The others are The Husband Project and The Marriage Project. I felt those were a little young for my audience, but The Me Project scratches right where we itch.
To motivate you, Kathi is offering a great drawing. Leave a comment here, with your email address, and Kathi will enter your name in a drawing for an incredible Starbucks basket.
Grand Prize Giveaway:
Deluxe Starbucks Coffee Gift Basket
• Three 2.5-oz. bags of Starbucks coffee
(Sumatra, House Blend, and French Roast)
• Tazo black tea
• Starbucks marshmallow cocoa
• Almond roca
• Almond roca buttercrunch toffee cookies
• White chocolate and raspberry cookies
• 2 Starbucks mugs
• Keepsake black bamboo basket
Labels: book review, goals
Monday, August 09, 2010
Never Too Late
In a way that’s true. I’ve wanted to do it for over twenty years, but life made it almost impossible. But three years ago I woke up to find all my excuses gone. I applied and was accepted, and began an adventure that has given me untold joy. I’m a natural student, full of curiosity and joy of learning. When I started, I felt as if I had fallen in a vat of chocolate – I was drowning, but so sad I couldn’t eat it all. Now that I’ve developed my skills, I’m loving it and doing quite well, thank you. And I’m coming to grips spending the time and money on something that feels frivolous.
This week I came across a story that brought joy to my heart. Nola Ochs just received her Master of Liberal Studies in history from Fort Hays State University (KS). At 98 (yes, 98), she’s the oldest person ever to graduate with a masters degree. This follows her record for being the oldest to receive a bachelor’s degree at age 95 in 2007. What now? Nola hasn’t decided if she’ll teach or work toward a Master of Arts in history and apply for one of three graduate teaching assistantships in that department that will be available in spring 2011!
Good for her! Just goes to show ya, it’s never too late. Maybe I will get that Ph.D. after all!
Labels: Baby Boomers, education, goals
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Of Goals and Clutter
Well, here it is, January 7. When I set my goals for the year, one was to be much more consistent in keeping this blog up to date. And here we are… OK, today is the first day of my blogging year.
On December 31st, I finally had an empty house. I had planned on going out for a retreat day, but the weather was cold, the library was closed, and the house was snug, so I told hubby to pretend I wasn’t there. I had a wonderful retreat right here on my comfy sofa.
I always like to take time to review the previous year and plan for the New Year. This year, after the tumultuous year 2009 was for so many (including us), I had great expectations for 2010. As I reviewed and prayed, I began to feel a sense of expectancy. Then joy. Then anticipation. I wrote. I planned. I prayed some more. I set goals. Lots of them. I felt 35 and on the verge of new life.
Later, as I headed out for a walk (one of my goals) I saw this on the tree in our front yard. I love January in California, where the buds appear within a week of Christmas. As I walked over to examine the new growth, I recognized my life – fresh buds, surrounded by last year’s leaves. Dead, dry leaves. Stubborn leaves that had not succumbed to the winds and the rains. Leaves that were contributing absolutely nothing to the task of the tree for this new season.
This has been a problem I’ve faced for most of my life – the fear of letting go of that which no longer brings or has life. I have a lot of projects that are unfinished. Projects that probably should be abandoned. But, what if… what if I could resuscitate them? What if I could repurpose them? So they cling to the branch of my life, cluttering and crowding out the new growth.
This year, as I face the fact that at 62 with an aging mother who needs ever more help, I need to be ever more strategic if I’m going to age successfully and well, I must also face the fact that my life is cluttered and the clutter has to go if I"m to finish well. When I had walked my 5000 steps, I came home a eliminated some of the more unattainable and over-reaching goals from my list. And on the 2nd, I spent the day cleaning my office. Clutter, you must go this year! New growth, blossom and thrive!
(BTW, I still feel 35 and on the verge of new life. I’m just going to try to be a little smarter as I go.)