When you don’t know what to do, do nothing. Get still. Don’t ask anyone. Just get still. Only you know the path to your truth. ~Oprah
Tag: Dailypost
Weekend In Paris…
Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. ~Dr. Suess
I have always wanted to visit Paris. This was the promised gift to myself when I hung up my student cap after years and years of continuous studies. Then the workaholic that I am, saw 4 years go by in a flash embarking on community initiatives, writing, and more.
My oldest surprised me with a Birthday Weekend trip to Paris. But how can I visit Paris for just a weekend? I needed a Retreat. That’s when my youngest ‘scolded’ me. “Go”, she said. “You have always wanted to do it. Just go.” I agreed and made it into a long weekend. Wonder of wonders! I discovered I even had time to spare. Time to watch the rain, the people, and the waves of the Seine River go by at sunset.
Travel Across Continents
The flight was long but it was far from boring. I read. I wrote. I watched movies. I chatted with my oldest, slept, and I ate. Before we knew it, the descent was upon us.
Reading in Flight
Travel’s Cultural Differences
Cultural differences are everywhere. In Paris the hotel rooms are tiny spaces. Just enough to get by, yet absolutely comfortable. TV channels are in Le Francais. Plugs for chargers, electrical items and such differ. Disappointed, frustrated for sure I was at first, but then it’s not about me. I travel for new experiences and that’s what I got.
A polite society…bonjour, merci, pardon, were among the basics to know in that language and will serve as the basic entre to service. They are curt and offer no apologies. So do your research before you go and you’ll be just fine (smile).
Travel’s Cuisine
Food in Paris is divine. Delicious. Sumptuous. Absolutely satisfying. But don’t rush….it ain’t fast food. When you visit the unique restaurants among which my fav is the Cafe, you dine, taste the delectables, and chill. No rush for the check. You ask, you eventually receive.
Transportation
Getting around you have the choice of the cabs, buses, the metro. But may God help you if you do not understand the linguistic pronunciation of the place where you are going. When you arrive at your stop, you may not even know. So ask, ask, ask information before you board. Then read as you progress at each stop.
Speaking from experience…do I need to say more? Hint…frustration (smile)
Paris Sites To See
You haven’t been to Paris if you haven’t visited La Tour Eiffel, Notre-Dame, Le Louvre and smiled with Mona Lisa. Sites …beautiful. Historically meaningful. Mesmerizing. Long walks. Tired feet, but worth every minute.
So that’s a tiny glimpse into my Parisian journey for the first time. The trip was memorable. The photos provide the stillness of the moment. A dream come through. Would I go back? Yessss definitely!
I encourage you to take the time to step out and achieve your own dreams. Big or small, they will come through despite the odds.
Cheers!
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Destress The Stress. 11 Ways..
Want To Succeed? Here’s How …
Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life–think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.” –Swami Vivekananda
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Books & Books: It’s Like Candy…
Books and Fall Festival: It’s like candy! Treat yourself!
Join us at the City of Plantation’s Family Festival and get your copies of books on Success, Career, inspiration and motivation.
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Write That Resignation Letter…
Begin with the end in mind. Write that resignation letter. Then begin to plan your escape route.
What are you escaping from? A boring job? Restrictions that immensely tug at your creativity? Doing something that has been calling your name?
Writing your resignation letter is similar to stepping out. Stepping away from something. It’s final. As head of Human Resources, it was hard receiving this letter from a member of the organization. Some should go (e.g. problematic worker) and we smirk when they do. But in the main 95 percent of the team we mourn as in a loss. It means they’re onto the next chapter of their life and no matter what, they go. We too needed to move on.
Move On
That’s what companies do. They move on. That’s what YOU should do. If you are unhappy, longing for more…do yourself a favor and move on.
Write that letter. It will boost you to take the steps to move into your next phase. But remember don’t hand it in until your plans are finalized… Until you have been offered and accepted that new job; or that new opportunity. Because once you do, there’s no turning back (especially if you fall into that category of problematic employee …smile).
Need help? Lets connect
Cheers!
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Shucks! I Ran The Red Light…
I ran the red light.
It’s peak hour. Early morning. Light’s green. Bottle-neck. Car turns slowly. Suddenly, driver comes out of nowhere and cuts me off. Oh, I’m going to be late. Late for meeting. Late for work. Disappointed. Angry. GreenLight changes. Turns orange. About to turn red. Late for work. Unnecessary delays. I hastened to not let that light catch me. But then it did …because of the irresponsibility and carelessness of others.
I drove through angrily!
Reflection
Oh what did I do?
Then I started thinking that for sure I am going to have to pay the penalty charge for running-a-red light. The slow driver. The driver that cut me off. None of them will have to pay. Just me. I began thinking… is it worth it? Is it worth it to react in a moment of delay? In a moment of impatience? Just to get to meeting/work on time?
My Practice
It’s my practice to urge my girls and others to be careful on the road. To be patient. To exercise that patience. Yet I ended up doing the exact same thing. I am thankful that I did not have an accident. So often it is the same reaction that causes serious accidents. But I got lucky. Even though I knew better, I did not act accordingly.
Pursuit of Goals and Dreams
How often does that happen to us in the pursuit of our goals. For me it was the distance to get to my meeting/work. For you it may be goals such as further studies, marriage, starting a family, purchasing a car, house, career change, or other. Then things go awry and we think twice. In some cases we give up.
Today, I encourage you to never give up. Hold on. Be strong. Keep going. You will be glad you did. Need help? Lets connect
Cheers!
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The Plane. The Sky. The Dive.
Sometimes you have to do it afraid
I did it Afraid. Yes, I was afraid but I did it anyway. A skydive in Ocean City, Maryland. 14,000 ft. in the air! Here I share the jump, the skydive in pictures.
Want to see it live? See it here
Dreams can come through if we let them.
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Always Dream. But Be Careful…
Always Dream. But be Careful of who you share it with. Not everyone may understand. Some may even discourage you. But keep dreaming. Work it. Then hold on tight. You will reap if you never give up.
Cheers!
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If There Is No Way…
19 Things To Inspire Your Writing…
I sat staring into the distance. Pondering. What to write? What to post? Haven’t we all been there at one time or other? Times when we don’t know what to write-be it social, blog, or book. Jen dePaula shared 40 Things to inspire your writing. I liked 19 and share these below.
- Share a motivational or inspiring quote
- Share a link to your new blog post.
- Highlight a fan with an @mention and thank them for their support.
- Share what you’re currently reading and tag the author.
- Do a #TBT (Throw Back Thursday) by sharing an old picture.
- Share one of your favorite writing tools (whether it be digital or a physical tool).
- Share an interesting article or blog post that someone else has written – be sure to tag them in the post.
- Share a picture that your child (niece, nephew, friend) drew.
- Share some of your favorite songs/albums you like to write to.
- Highlight a fellow author and share a link to their website – it’s always great to help and promote fellow writers.
- Share a writing tip.
- Share a Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram page your followers should check out (not necessarily your own).
- Share links to an old (but relevant) blog post – keep those posts alive!
- Join the conversation on a trending topic.
- Write a Haiku.
- Give a shout-out to people who inspire you.
- Share a link to your favorite blogs or podcasts.
- Share a review or testimonial of a new product or service you’ve had a good/bad experience with.
- Recommend other authors or friends others should follow.
Hope these will help to inspire your own writing in whichever form you choose.
Cheers!
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To Fail Or Not To Fail? Entrepreneurs Speak…
Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. ~Og Madino
To fail or not to fail? That is the question. Fail Fast. How about don’t fail at all? That was the statement James Altucher posed in a public forum. Entrepreneurs jumped in sharing their beliefs, values and thoughts on the concept of failure. Names have been omitted as I share excerpts:
What It Means To Fail
- A person who hasn’t failed is more likely to have never been successful
- The message of “fail fast” is not to encourage failure. What it speaks to is moving action with ideas instead of analysis paralysis and never-ending planning. No amount of analysis and planning can prepare you for the reality of launching something. This is what “fail fast” means. It does not mean to emphasize failure. Build it (now). Measure it. Learn from it.
- The wisdom in “failing fast” is that you should test your ideas hard and fast. If it’s going to fail, better know sooner rather than later. But, yes, failing is not fun at all and shouldn’t be a badge f honor unless you can speak to what you have learned from it.
- Fail fast is not supposed to be taken as a literal plan. It is a frame of mind entrepreneurs are suggested to take when there is a large unknown. The fact that it’s unknown means you have no guarantee that you won’t fail. So it makes more sense to operate in a way where you have affordable failures instead of large ones you can’t rebound from.
- Failures are shameful, painful, and not shared. Experiment, test for the good and bad. Do something you don’t like to confirm. Get in touched with yourself. Be clear with your goals etc. You will feel more success and fewer setbacks with how you learn and experience the world.
- We ought to believe in our ideas and craft them in a way we believe failure is not possible. The idea of “fail fast” sometimes naively lures us into playing the game to fail rather than to win
- Is it possible to never fail and be trying new things? Pushing things to its edge or standing for things? The opposite of failure is not trying anything because its risk-free in our world. So being willing to fail and even fail big speaks to a conviction to do something maybe extraordinarily new. Failure stings …but so does living with little drive and not learning from past experiences/experiments.
- Edison’s approach of saying he didn’t fail 100 times; he learned 100 things. I prefer to teach people and make them better not punish failure. Of course I believe in study, preparation, and teamwork to minimise the chance of failure. If our approach is “failure is not an option”, then you are like that ex-CEO of Yahoo who infamously posted how she didn’t have Plan B or Plan C, because she didn’t plan to fail. I have never met people who have used failure as a badge of honor but have met people who told me how they used an instance of failure to learn and get better.
- If you have never failed, you haven’t pushed yourself or taken challenges and put yourself out there.
So there you have it. Entrepreneurs and leaders sharing their thoughts on failing fast. What’s your take? Do you agree?
Personally, I believe never trying is a certain path to boredom, apathy, and remaining stuck. Try something new today.
Cheers!
