Remabulous

on pursuing dreams: my current must-read blog

i met kalyanee and david just a little earlier this year, which is when i learned about the film. kalyanee had done relief work in baghdad and, in the process, had heard many people's stories about life in the region. it was then that she began recording the stories, possibly for a radio piece. once returning from baghdad, she and her partner, david, a film composer, realized that audio alone was not enough. this project expanded in size and scope into a totally new approach to documentary filmmaking. i have been so lucky as to hear about this project as it progresses. please please do yourself a favor and follow along with their blog, iraqrefugeedoc.blogspot.com. not only can these two make film, they can also write.

the story of how this film came to its current point is one of incredible hope, investment from unlikely sources, and belief in the beauty of human connection, no matter what the circumstances are. i am so excited to see this film once it is finished. i would even be delighted to see a companion film about how this one was made.

this is a project born of of real connection with people in a difficult part of the world, not just a real-life action movie as so many stories about iraq have been. i can't say how much this project inspires me, or how inspiring i know reading this blog will be.

they will say it all better than i can, so just enjoy it. 

image: care of iraq refugee documentary blog.

remember notetaking? here's a resource to make yours better

gina trapani has been popping up a lot lately in my world. last year, at blogher, i was lucky enough to see her on a panel since her blog, lifehacker.com, had been picked up and made into a book of the same name with wiley publishers. i purchased the book, and do read her blog, but hadn't really been able to dig into the book until now. i was reminded of her in a funny and fabulous interview she did on susie brights audible show, in bed. trapani popped back into mind, and i sprung into action to order her second book, upgrade your life. i figured i couldn't very well upgrade until i had hacked, so figured i had better get down to it and read book number one pronto.

i have already been transformed. from the simple tasks- putting reminders into google or yahoo calendar and having reminders sent to your e-mail or phone (one i could not live without i tell you) to using a camera phone with email capacity to send pics of your wish list shopping items to flickr, she's got ideas that will make a difference.

as someone who takes a lot of notes when on the phone with clients, i was delighted to see a link to an article on the lost art of notetaking by michael hyatt. i was already sold by the title of the blog: working smart, the alternaitve to working hard. so let's see what he says about taking notes.

thanks gina, for the great find!

support for the starting out blues

while there are many reasons to go out on one's own: the control, the ability to make your own schedule, having the vision and following your own plan, starting out can be hard in ways we never expected.

for one, i find it hard to answer the question "what do you do?" even now. i have been at the helm of remabulous coaching for nearly a year, have worked with numerous clients, run groups, written this site and participated in conferences and workshops, yet still it feels new and strange. it is a bizarre thing to find yourself contained only within your own vision. and sometimes that can be quite scary.

motivating when in a slump

sometimes it is easier to take cameraphone pictures and slump around than get things done. and the longer this goes on, the harder it is to start up again. i know from experience. but start up again we must, in the words of yoda. here's how to get the force on your side:

image: superterrific via flickr

 

top 10 ways to cover your ass. (literally and figuratively)

when you work for yourself, there are a lot more services to deal with and hats to wear. working from home and for myself, i have to be ceo, cfo, coo, the legal department, the admin department, bookkeeper, and coach. oi! here are some essential elements to keeping the ship afloat, complete with horror stories to ensure you remember to protect yourself!

mark frauenfelder's gift to the entrepreneur: a must read

just one look at mark frauenfelder and you know he must know what he's talking about. look at those fabulous black framed glasses (i've always been a sucker for those babies)! mark probably does not remember me, but i did get a glimpse of him at craft magazine's launch party last year. he was playing with a gocco press with a bunch of kids. it was great. the other reason one should trust his judgment is that he is the mastermind behind the website with the highest grossing hits in the english language: boingboing.net

so, when i spotted mark's book, rule the web, while working at book soup, i had to take a peek. he won me over right away by clearly outlining how to generate an rss feed for a podcast, a task which is much more of a pain in the ass than you'd think. milda and i have been trying to do just that for the literature life podcast for far longer than i'd care to admit. so i was hooked on that point alone. beyond that, he goes over ho to get traffic, creating a web page on google pages, how to start a blog and many other topics, all in clear simple language with great reference sites and instructions. if you are an entrepreneur who is looking to upgrade her web savvy skills and, like me, can't admit easily when it might be better to hire outside help, this is the book for you.

thank you, mark!

how work can save your life. sometimes.

debra condren is the author of amBITCHous, a book about why ambition is not a dirty word for women.  she is a proponent of women not apologizing their drive to succeed. her book is a great pick-me-up if you're feeling slumpy and less than motivated.

in an article in the huffington post, condren talks about women's struggles to hold onto themselves and their drive in the face of life's challenges. this is a point i can more than relate to personally- when something is awry in one's personal life and one works at home, it is extremely difficult to buckle down and work anyway. this article was a pretty profound reminder of why that is the right thing to do.

looks like condren puts her money where her mouth is. and how.

lottie wilkins, unsung guru

yes, it's true. i wrote about enchanted april this time last year on literature life. and until i cease to get something out of it, i will keep  on going!  most people pick a guru from a spiritually advanced nation, from some illustrious yogic or zen buddhist tradition. for me, lottie wilkins says it all.

why planning your free time will ensure you have more of it.

when i teach groups, most people look at me with wide blank stares when i ask them what they'd like to do with all the extra time they hope to have. we spend sessions learning ways to be more efficient, ways to prioritize, and ways to do annoying tasks in the shortest possible amount of time. great, right? so what's missing?

the fact that we are not encouraged in this society to plan for leisure time. there is a reason that we have people employed as "recreational therapists" in this country. we have forgotten how to set this time up for ourselves.

when faced with the possibility of wide open amounts of time, most people respond with constriction and terror rather than relief. why? because we are conditioned from an early age that occupation=value. we ask each other how we're doing and answer with a knowing, "very busy." and pat each other on the back for being so productive.

but is this really productive? here's how to embrace your time in order to have more of it. what is the answer? clear and desirable goals to move towards rather than having to deal with leisure as yet another scary unknown in life.

once again, tim ferriss has it right.

Top 10 Go Anywhere Businesses

i recently discovered an informative site, www.expatwomen.com. this site caters to women who live or work overseas, either for their own career's benefit, or because of a partner's job move. the articles and links are informative and well-written. i was struck with this one on the top 10 go anywhere businesses, since this is something that is of appeal whether one lives and works domestically or abroad. i was happy to see coaching as one option, as flexibility is a priority for me for certain.

look for remabulous under expat women's life and career coaching resource section soon!