May 20, 2009 @ 12:22 am | by spxds

Top 10 Bodacious Ways to Be Nice to Yourself
by Christine Kane

Just as there was a time when “google” was not a verb, there was also a time when “bodacious” was not a word. Bodacious is a blend of “bold” and “audacious” created in British English dialect late in the nineteenth century.

Still, I’m glad it was created! Some days we need to be bodacious! And some days, we need to remember to apply it to how kindly we treat ourselves. Trust me: You’ll thrive tomorrow because of today’s kindness.

Here are my top 10 bodacious ways to be nice to yourself:

1- Flowers!

This is so simple – and yet so powerful! Fresh flowers beautify any space. I always have an orchid on my coffee table. I see it the minute I walk in the door, and it reminds me to take a deep breath and cherish the beauty of my life. Have a Sunday practice of getting fresh flowers to get your week off to a bodacious start!

2 – Take a nap

Favorite thing: I climb into bed for a nap in the middle of the day. Within minutes comes the soft ploop of cat paws on the cover. I can hear the cat thoughts: Hmm. The human has decided to lie quietly. I’d like to take part. Then the paws walk all around me until they find the very best spot for settling.

Cats know the truth: Naps are bodacious!

3 – Pay full price

The amount of energy we waste on trying to get “deals” is often not worth it. If you see something you love, then get it. I’m convinced that we’d all be so much happier and wealthier if we just got exactly what we loved without looking at price tags and wasting time looking for sales. (We’d probably have much less stuff too!)

4 – Trampolines and swings.

I was at a cocktail party last year. The adults were up on the deck watching the kids jump on the trampoline. At one point, all the kids ran inside. I kicked off my shoes and ran for the trampoline. Three other women joined me. We laughed and jumped for about 15 minutes. It was the most fun I’d had that week.

Swings are fun, too. And they’re easy to find! Who cares if you look or feel stupid? Being an adult doesn’t have to mean being boring!

5 – Truncate your To-Do’s.

How many items are on your to-do list today?

32?

20?

67?

A day should have no more than two or three mission-critical priorities for completion. The rest are extra credit! Giving yourself the gift of completion is the ultimate self-kindness.

6 – Order out.

I love preparing meals. But some nights, it’s just necessary to let someone else do the cooking. We have a great delivery service in our town. I don’t mind the extra expense if it allows me a night of no clean up, and a little extra time to write or just be with my husband.

7 – Take a long walk with your dog.

Are you one of those people who gets home from work and marches your dog around the block with a grim look on your face? (Another to-do item checked off the list!)

Try this: Take your dog for a long happy walk. Revel in the delight and presence of your dog. It will absolutely lift your spirits.

8 – Go on a retreat.

Many of the women who come to my Unstoppable Power of Intention Retreats show up frazzled and nervous. They’ve never done something so bodacious in their lives! They leave refreshed and renewed. One woman hugged me as she was about to drive away from the March retreat and she said, “This was the best money I’ve ever spent on myself.”

It doesn’t have to be one of my retreats, of course. (Though they are pretty great! And the October retreat is already half-full!) You can search google for all kinds of bodacious retreat getaways in your area.

9 – Read for fun.

Do you relish your days on the beach because it’s the only time you’ll allow yourself the joy of a trashy novel or some “light” reading?

Why not get a little bodacious and bring the beach to your work-week? Curl up at night and get lost in some fun fiction.

10 – Step AWAY from the computer. (And the phone.)

Everyone needs a break from social media and blogs and email. (Yes, even this e-Zine!) Don’t include your computer in any of the above activities. And turn off your phone, too! I promise, your computer and phone won’t take it personally! (Neither will this e-Zine!)

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

March 1, 2009 @ 2:39 am | by spxds

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.

Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.

January 29, 2009 @ 9:16 am | by spxds

I was reading an article the other day about how taking time out of your busy schedule to have  an Adventure  day helps boost creativity and it also relives stress too.

Here is the article below if you would like to read it too.

Boost Your Creativity with Adventure Day 
by Christine Kane

“The best way to open your mind is to apply a jolt of unfamiliarity.”
“The Big Moo“, by Seth Godin and The Group of 33

 

Do you notice that your most juiciest ideas never come when you’re staring at the computer screen? 

Do you ever wonder how to get the creativity flowing or how to generate a zest for life? 

Are you in the midst of great change and know there’s something new out there but don’t know what it is?

If you answered yes to any of these, then it’s possible you need to shake things up a bit. You need Adventure Day. 

What’s Adventure Day? 

Adventure Day is a day devoted to breaking out of the same old patterns of every day existence. It’s a day set aside once a month when you do something different. That’s all.

The scheduled activity is up to you.

- It can be something you haven’t done since you were a kid – like roller-skating at the local rink.

- It can be something that scares you a little – like eating a new foreign cuisine, or going to the symphony if you don’t know classical music.

- It can be something tourist-y and embarrassing – like gem mining, or a carriage ride through the city.

- It can be something totally cheese-y – like going to the carnival in the mall parking lot. (The one where Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” is invariably blaring through the cotton-candy-drenched air.)

A combination of fun, a little scary, and really cheese-y is optimal. 

Adventure Day can last a day, or an overnight, or a few hours. You can do it with your spouse, a friend, a business partner or your mom. 

Keep it simple and somewhat local. In other words, don’t make it into such a big deal that you never even do it. The goal is just to do it. 

What’s the point of Adventure Day? 

I know. I know. You might be reading this and snorting. “What’s the point of that?” Or, “How is THIS going to help me change direction in my life?” 

Well, it’s organic. And it works like this: 

1 -Adventure Day gets you OUT.

We get into creative ruts when we stick only with what we know, when we stay confined to our insular worlds, when we think we’ve had all the experience we need. Getting OUT reverses this trend. It blasts the boundaries and breaks the mold. 

In Seth Godin’s entrepreneurial gem, “The Big Moo“, one writer said: “Too often in the business world we preserve and revere experience, when we should be challenging and renewing it. Go out and get some inexperience.” 

2 – Adventure Day fills your Idea Well 

One of my coaching clients asked me why she feels most alive and creative when she’s traveling in a foreign country. I told her that all of that yummy newness requires full present-moment awareness every minute. So, not only are we receptive and open to new things – but we’re experiencing them with our highest level of attention. This IS creativity! 

It’s important to be proactive and productive. But we also need to open up and be receptive because this is what replenishes the well of ideas. This keeps us from burning out on productivity. And you don’t have to wait til you have the time to travel to Italy! 

3 -Adventure Day shows you how to be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable 

Ask anyone who has ever performed, spoken in public, had a job in sales, or run a marathon. Success involves learning how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Once you can do that, you can do anything! 

My theory is that the world has turned into The Olive Garden. The mantra is, “Keep us safe. Don’t challenge us. Fill us up with pasta and the same salty salads no matter where we travel.” 

There’s nothing wrong with The Olive Garden on occasion, of course. But a key component to success, to creativity, and to accomplishing great new things is learning to be okay with not knowing what the entrée will taste like in advance! You order some falafel and see what happens!

Your Assignment 

Get out your calendar. 

Open up to February.

Call a friend or partner and read this article to them. (Or email it to them.) 

Schedule Adventure Day in ink. Show up. 

The unfamiliar is all around you. Go find it.

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative atwww.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

January 22, 2009 @ 3:17 am | by spxds

Thought this was a great article about needing to hire someone especially if you are a freelancer with overload of work and trying to juggle  everything.

7 Signs It’s Time to Hire Someone 
by Christine Kane

I remember the first time I hired someone to mow my lawn for the summer. I was a tried-and-true D.I.Y. gal. I prided myself on it. 

The only problem was that I freakin’ couldn’t stand mowing the lawn. I’d dread it all week. And even though I was happy once it was done, I started dreading it again the very next day! 

At that time, I was studying several financial and business books. I began seeing my songs as my assets. I realized that the simple act of writing a song like “No Such Thing as Girls Like That” could pay me – in the long run – WAY more than the money I saved by mowing my lawn. 

In other words, I learned how to value my work in the world. I learned how to act on that value. It was scary for sure. (The voices in my head shrieked at me to just bite the bullet and do my own lawn!) But that one act taught me so much about success and the value of my time. 

These days I’ve taken it to a much bigger level, and I have a small team working for me. 

Now that I’m coaching people, I gently teach them these new ways of valuing their time as they expand into more success in their own lives. 

Here are 7 signs that it might be time for you to hire some help… 

1 – You don’t have enough time to do the thing you’re best at. 

What are you good at? What do you want to be good at? How much time do you actually spend doing that thing? If you’re running around getting menial tasks done – and you have no time topursue your passion, or engage in your high-pay-off, high-delight activities, then ask yourself why. 

Even if you let go of one item (like shoveling the snow) you’re telling the Universe the value of your time. (And you know what? The Universe always says Yes.) 

2 – You resent people who don’t struggle. 

This is a big one. 

If you hold resentment for people who live life with joy and ease, this could be telling you that you are waiting for rescue. That just leads to more struggle.

Only YOU are in charge of whether or not you struggle. Rescue yourself and learn what true empowerment feels like. 

3 – You’re worried about the economy 

Waiting for the economy to get better before you’ll hire someone? Why not become a part of the solution and use your money to improve the economy? 

While everyone else is pulling back and firing people – you can experience what it’s like to be the change you wish to see in the world!

4 – You think that no one can do it as good as you.

If you just shouted “Amen Sister!” – then please step away from your computer. Go to the bathroom mirror. Look into that mirror and say the following aloud: 

“I have a bit of a control issue.” 

The belief that no one can do it better than you serves only to keep you in the role of the Martyr. Unless you are, say, a brain surgeon, then there are many people who can (and will) do it as good as you. 

5 – You’re not playing to win. You’re playing not to lose. 

Ask any coach or athlete about this. 

When you play to not lose, all you’re doing is surviving, relying on yourself and hoping no one notices you. 

When you play to win – you take risks, you keep your mental attitude strong, you rely on the team, you look for the goal. Decide that you want to play to win.

6 – You’ve used this phrase at least once in the past week: “By the time I show someone how to do it, I could just do it myself.” 

This is a classic phrase of someone who refuses to succeed. It’s the mantra of the struggle-addict. 

Learning how to delegate is empowering. Not just for you, but for others as well. Besides, when you show them how to do it once, they can keep on doing it so you don’t have to! 

7 – You dread certain things so much that they don’t get done.

It’s okay to not enjoy aspects of your work or your life. (Most musicians don’t like doing their own newsletter, for instance.) This is the exact thing you can hire someone to do. 

What items do you dread? No matter what they are, when you get them off your plate, you’ll experience more energy just knowing they’re getting done – and you don’t have to worry about them anymore!

---

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

 

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative atwww.christinekane.com.

January 18, 2008 @ 10:44 am | by spxds

AOL finally decided to start using a XMPP, which Google Talk has been using for a while now. ICQ and AIM services are now compatible with XMPP, but still in the beta stages. Check out the Wiki Page to learn more about this new and exciting announcement. 

http://wiki.jabber.org/index.php/AOL_Alpha 

December 19, 2007 @ 7:14 pm | by spxds

These simple steps will help you secure your devices and networks. In this post, “The Web Worker Daily” gathered up six tips that can get you off to a good, secure start in 2008.

read more | digg story

November 17, 2007 @ 9:37 am | by spxds

I took this quiz and could name 59 HTML Elements out of 91 in 5 minutes. Take the quiz and see how many you can name.

The HTML Quiz

November 9, 2007 @ 11:29 am | by spxds

It’s convenient, connecting you to faraway buddies with little cost. It
’s safe, releasing you from the worry of looking pretty or sounding sexy. And its deliciously fun.
Despite the benefits, instant messaging can turn you into a mindless chat drone. Too much chatting replaces real interactions and, soon, people turn into pixels.

read more | digg story