Remabulous

With wishes for a beautiful brand New Year for us all...

Hello, everyone. I am in Book Soup, finishing up my last shift of 2008.

It's been a crazy year. Not only for me, but for everyone. In this last year I have built and lost a relationship, watched the economy go crazy, voted for change, and have weathered the drama of being an entrepreneur. I have found a new home that I love, made some amazing friends and now I sit, ready for the next level.

What is the next level? A great image I read about writing this year was that it wasn't necessary to see all the way to the end of a story in order to write it; you just need to think about story like the headlights of the car: you'll see as far as you need to see in order to keep moving forward.

That is how I see my life and my work right now in many ways: I see the next step and not much further. I see the next leap, but not how I'll land once I jump or where these choices will take me.

I know only that this is more excited than I've been in a long time. Things are happening this year. And for all of us, this is a good time for dreams, no matter what the news says.

This is because there is no way to say "This is the way it's always been done," anymore without being open to something new. Things we expected to go a certain way have changed, whether we have wanted them to or not.

You can always count on change happening. Let's all work together to be part of the new history that's unfolding before our eyes. Don't hide from it. Throw your dream out there in the mix. There is room for all of us.

Let's get started. I can't wait to see where it takes us. Sometimes, it feels good not to have it all planned out in advance.

Much love, and Happy New Year to us all.

Vision for 2009

A whole new year starts in two days. it's exciting, and a little scary because - have such big plans for he next year. Remabulous is going to move forward in ways that feel exciting and good to me. New offerings are on the way, starting with a free teleseminar call on Tuesday, January 12th. I'll link to the details page once I am back in my office later this week. It's been pretty quiet here at the blog over the holidays, but do know that big visions are unfolding behind the scenes. If you are getting your dream ready for the new year, my best advice is to lay out your vision today. The world has never been more open to new ideas than it is right now. There is room for your story, so get excited to tell it out loud in the New Year!

Becoming a Superhero in your own life.

This past June, my friend Erin and I attended a lecture at machine project in Echo Park in Los Angeles. It very well may have been the best lecture I have ever attended. Journalist Joshua Bearman spoke about a project he was working on about real life superheroes for Rolling Stone.

The article is out now. It is called "The Legend of Master Legend." It is fantastic. For anyone who has ever thought about really committing to a vision fully, there is still something to learn about commitment and dedication to a vision from real life superhero Master Legend. He perseveres despite obstacles and really dares to dream.

One of the most delightful and human stories I have read in a long time. Even if you're not looking to don tights and a cape, it's still a real treat. I know we're all trying to do less this holiday, so I'll just leave you with that treat rather than a longer post.

Enjoy, enjoy!

image: Rolling Stone

My Christmas Gift to you...

Many many thanks to Andrea of Superhero Journal, who posted this on her site. It makes me so so happy, so I wanted to share it. I'm traveling east today with my brother to be with our mom for Christmas in Boston. May you all have a beautiful holiday. I'll be back Friday...or maybe before if I am so inspired.

What's the big deal about GTD?

Lately, the fancy web term seems to be GTD. As those of us who play around on the web know, it is a world of acronyms. And as someone who only recently realized that natch was short for naturally, I thought I might take the time here to demystify GTD for the rest of us.

First things first: GTD= Getting Things Done, a term that was pioneered by productivity and business coach David Allen in his book of the same name.

Even though the term is Allen's, as is made clear by the registered mark after every title of his workshops and products, it's become quite a buzzword outside his realm as well- specifically as related to productivity planning and software.

Since I am a big proponent of taking the bull by the horns in terms of brainstorming, organizing and charging ahead procrastination-free, I wanted to give some time to these elements of GTD, complete with my spin on the philosophy as well as sharing my favorite software for this process.

This is the time to start thinking about what things you want to get done in 2009, so why not set up a system that helps you do just that? Let's get started...

image:  "Post-it To-Do 2.0" by rintakumpu

Ask Remabulous: Is now the time to leap?

This week's question comes from conversations I had with my family over Thanksgiving. With the economy in a strange mood, and with job security more precarious than before, people were curious about the practicality of launching a new venture or changing industries now. So here we go on that topic:

Dear Ask Remabulous,

I would love to start my own business, or at least change out of the line of work I am currently employed in. But is this a good idea when I am enjoying reasonable job security where I am? It seems like a huge risk to make a change in the current climate.

Should I leap or should I stay on solid ground?

Thanks,
Hesitant Leaper

Thank you so much for your question, hesitant leaper. I think lots of people are dealing with this issue at the moment so I am delighted to address the topic. Read on for my reply.

This image, "dive," is by blindseeing.

Building your vision for 2009.

We are coming to the very end of 2008. A crazy thought, as so much has happened in the past twelve months. An election, an economic transformation, births and deaths, and the unfolding of each of our individual stories.

It feels like the year has gone by so quickly, and yet when I look at where I was this time last year, that feels like eons ago.

Now is an excellent time to take stock of where you have been, and where you want to be in the future. I make a list of accomplishments each year. It's important to celebrate what we have achieved. All too often, we feel pushed to plow ahead indefinitely without any break or recognition. Don't short change yourself. Write down all the goals you reached this year, whether you had set them in advance or not.

And then, take the time to reflect on what comes next. Below, I'll share what has been useful to me as I look forward to a whole new year of possibility. We all have the chance to grow this year. Let's get started now!

This image is by Sir Mervs.

10 days until Christmas. How are you viewing giving this year?

The last 10 days until the holiday strike a bit of excitement -or fear- up depending on how prepared you are for the gift-giving season. This year has been an interesting process. For the past several years, my family and I have proclaimed a desire to spend less, and give fewer gifts that we have each actually asked for. I was happy about this shift. I am less and less of the opinion that a parade of stuff is what shows affection and love over the holidays. However, each of us still snuck around buying extra gifts and not wanting to be the one who did the least.

This year it feels like a bigger message to give well. I have been collecting over the year and now have a little cabinet full of things to give away. I have fantastic friends with whom I can make things like marmalade and other homemade treats, exactly the sort of thing I love the idea of giving this year.

If you are thinking of giving differently this year here is a list of things I have come up with that are Remabulous, yet cost very little.

Also, I must mention that I do have gift certificates available for coaching sessions. Contact us to order one for yourself or your loved ones. What better gift to give someone than the opportunity to pursue their dreams? This is a time where lots of change is underway. Be a part of the change you wish to be in the world and get some coaching under your belt to move forward. There really is no better time than now.

image: mr kris.

Top 7 reasons you know you're a sick entrepreneur; that is, an entrepreneur who's ill.

I have been stuck in bed the past 2 1/2 days, a slave to my defective tonsils. Bleh. But, I have noticed some new trends in my sick habits since I started Remabulous. You know you're ill like the self-employed when: 1) A friend tells you to stop e-mailing and get in bed and you have to reply that you are in bed. With the blackberry. 2) You lay on the couch watching movies all day, getting newsletter ideas and trying to think of how you'd market to the characters. 3) Your one trip out of bed the first three hours of the day is to print out marketing handouts for the course you're taking. 4) You're getting more consolation about being sick over your website and online networking than you are from normal phone calls. 5) You lay in bed, feverish, and feel guilty for being behind on your blog. 6) You post to the blog at 11pm when you should be in bed, with a thremometer hanging out of your mouth. 7) )Your internet is wonky, and you are too tired to dig around a rewire it, but instead of giving up on the idea you post anyway. From the miracle Blackberry. May we all survive the holidays stronger than we were before and hopefully, flu-free!

It's the holidays, people! Get your message out there, but mind people's piggy banks...

Hello, everyone. I have been guilty of holiday overwhelm. Getting over colds, traveling back and forth from the East Coast three times this fall/winter by the time we get to '09 and keeping business drummed up while trying to write a novel has been, well, busy.

We all know that this year the economy is crazy. I was speaking to someone at Merrill Lynch who said he had never seen anything like this market in 30 years of working in the field. It seems to me that the market and the economy is behaving a bit like a person with a mood disorder: it gets a bit sad in the late afternoon and drops, perks up when Obama announces things that feel like forward movement, and is sometimes just totally irrational. Oi.

So how can we deal with the lack of sales and attention our products and services are facing in this market? I think the answer is simple: be with what is. Here's how:

image: "piggy bank" by jaevus.