When people are struggling to get organized, the weirdest piece of advice I give them is to add something to their to-do list: Joy. It is counter-intuitive. Why not just focus on the multitude of tasks at hand?
Because if you’re struggling, it means you don’t want to tackle the tasks at hand. They seem like chores. They’re heavy. They’re things that have to be done. Yep. So add one more: Joy.
My Artist’s Way task for the week is to do one lovely thing each day.
“Plant both feet firmly in the ether.”
Bruce Lipton, The Biology of Belief
I just finished Bruce Lipton’s book, The Biology of Belief. Here’s the premise. We’re made up of over 37 trillion cells that work together in amazing ways. If we can do that as cells, can we also do that as individuals and as a society?
What’s cool about cells is that they each have a built-in road map (DNA), but DNA is triggered by the environment the cell lives in; DNA by itself can’t take action. In a healthy environment, a cell thrives. In a toxic environment, a cell dies. In between, proteins that coat the DNA open up to expose some DNA traits and hide others.
If you want to avoid catastrophic illness, you give yourself the best shot at health by eating well, watching your weight, exercising, meditating, and being happy. Healthy living isn’t a guarantee you won’t have to deal with illness, but it gives you the best shot at keeping those cellular proteins wrapped tightly around potential DNA triggers.
I have two big take-aways on this. Continue reading
Last week, I facilitated a meeting of a new Entrepreneur’s Group here in Cape Elizabeth. Our guest was Peter Bissell from Bissell Brothers Brewing. If you don’t know anything about the business of brewing, it is thriving! Here in Maine, we have over 130 breweries and that count is growing by the month. If you love beer, Maine is a great place to live and to visit.
But what could we learn from this young entrepreneur? A ton! Here are my notes.
Peter graduated in the UMaine class of 2006 where he got great grades but didn’t learn much. He worked as a professional photographer out of college (“I’ve always been a worker,” he says), but didn’t learn about photography in school – that was all on his own. At the start, he took any job that came his way (Say “Yes!”). He learned the photo business by doing it on the fly – and by talking to people. Weddings were particularly lucrative because each wedding led to more gigs. He did great work and he made connections.
He liked photography and was financially successful, but when Peter’s younger brother Noah starting brewing at age 17 and decided he wanted to do this for a living, Peter jumped in on the game. From the start, they ignored conventional advice and made decisions based more on gut than on number crunching. And where others went to England to learn about brewing, they stayed home and experimented with new recipes to make a unique tasting American beer.
The Brewery is wildly successful, and after only six years they are rolling out overseas with a restaurant brand. Their name is recognized globally thanks to the Internet. And they opened a second brewery in their hometown of Milo, Maine, a former mill town. How cool is that!
When you’re trying to do something new, it’s always nice to chat with someone on the same path. Here are my big takeaways from Peter’s hard-won experience that you can apply to almost anything you’re working on.
Here are a few of Peter’s book recommendations
I hope you find this as inspiring as I did! Now off to find your superpowers 🙂
I’ll leave you this morning with a shot from the old farm where I live. Come on, Spring!
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A friend of mine at last night’s Artist’s Way gathering said she was having trouble getting organized and asked for some advice. You know my ears perked up at that. She pulled a few examples out of her bag of various spreadsheet attempts. All had different sortations looking at a mix of times, days, and tasks. She said nothing was working.
And here’s the thing: She’s retired and has a problem many folks face. When you have too much time and lots of stuff you want to do but don’t have to do it’s hard to get motivated and it’s hard to stick to a task that has no deadline.
Here’s the advice I shared. Continue reading
I’m reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron with a smart and heart-warming group. The book is a platform to make you think. And the group is a platform for great discussions! It’s a cool combo.
Last week, one of the “tasks” in Chapter 5 was to not read for the week. Cameron believes that most writers stall on writing by reading. We have rebelled as a group against many of the tasks Cameron prescribes, but this one took the cake. To most of us, the very concept of not reading was repellant. And for a whole week? No way! Besides, I am working on a class at Boston University and I had to finish the reading for that. And I had a library book, nearly done, that was due back. So of course, I finished that.
But then I paused. Could I take a hot bath without reading? Could I go to bed without reading? Could I eat breakfast without a book open in front of me? I took on the challenge and here’s what happened. Continue reading
Decluttering is kind of trendy now, but is it for you? Ask yourself: Does the clutter in your house really bug you? Or does it feel like something that “should” bug you? If you secretly love your stash, please revel in it and spend your time elsewhere.
But if your clutter is bugging you, choose to tackle it with intent. Focus on it. Put your energy into it. And come up with a plan to help it on its way. Here are a few tips to help you get started. Continue reading
