This week from the Amazing Life Manifesto we are highlighting the power of touch and encouraging cuddling, snuggling, and embracing.
Take the extra minute this week to give warm hellos… greet others with a hug or a kiss. Instead of walking down the street with your loved one walking two feet behind you… consider walking together, holding hands, or even wrapping your arms around one another!
When we were in Europe, one of the cultural differences that we noticed almost immediately was the way that people treated each other. Everyone greeted each other with a kiss of the cheek and a warm hug. It was not uncommon to see couples walking down the street holding hands and or even with their arms wrapped around each other. It was beautiful!
The power of touch can be a magical thing! Use it! This week, be sure to Cuddle, Snuggle, Embrace!
Congratulations to Amanda the winner of our Friday Favorites Redbox giveaway! Thanks to everyone who left us a comment!
Good Afternoon! We hope you all have been having an AMAZING week! Last week we started off our mini series on Dream Storms by discussing ways to find your inspirational space. If you haven’t had a chance to find a space that truly fires you up, be sure to check out the post here to learn more.
For part two of our series on Dream Storms we will be discussing “A Storm of Big Ideas” and ways to improve how you set goals, brainstorm, and come up with Big Ideas!!!
You might be thinking, how hard is it to brainstorm, or come up with a list of goals and ideas? Well, when was the last time you really took the time to sit down and do just that? When was the last time you really forced yourself to focus on your dreams and let your mind freely flow? This brings us to the first step for creating a storm of big ideas.
1. Make Dreaming a Priority
For the past year, we have had a standing appointment on our calendar each month titled “Big and Big Dreams Planning Session.” The sole purpose of this meeting is to Dream Big. We go to our inspirational space and let our minds wander. In fact, we take this portion of running our business and our lives so seriously that we don’t just schedule an hour or so of time but instead we block off an entire morning or afternoon and sometimes longer. Knowing that all we have to do for that day is to dream big allows us to forget about our mile long to do list, or the laundry that still needs put away, and instead lets us focus on dreaming.
Make your dreams a priority. Open up your calendar and schedule out a block of time this week for at least 3-4 hours to dream.
2. Dream Intentionally
Now that you have made your dreams a priority, it’s time to dream intentionally. During the first portion of our Big and Big Things meetings, we always start by reviewing where we have been and what we have accomplished in the past month. This not only allows us to see how many of our dreams and goals we’ve accomplished but it also sets the stage for us to begin dreaming even bigger. Dreams and goals don’t have to be permanent. If we worked on a project or tried to accomplish a goal and it just wasn’t fulfilling to us then we remove it from our list and replace it with an even bigger and better dream.
In addition to reflecting on where we have been, we also take time to fill our minds with inspiration. The key to this step is to look at many different sources of inspiration. During our Big and Big Things meetings, we will often take a stack of magazines with us ranging from Vanity Fair to Popular Mechanics to Food and Wine to the latest J. Crew catalog. Sometimes we will even start our sessions by watching a new movie on Netflix or by taking a walk along the harbor. The more sources we can use for inspiration, the more original our ideas will become. If we are simply looking at one source all the time for inspiration, everything we do will end up being based on that single source and what we do will quickly start looking exactly the same.
Once we have reflected on our progress from the previous month, and we have filled our minds with inspiration, it’s time to dream.
To do so, we start by taking 15 minutes to individually write out our dreams and goals. At this point, anything goes. Fill up a notebook, type out the list on your computer or iPad, whatever you do, don’t stop until the 15 minutes are up. Dream about ways to improve your daily work flow, things you can do in the next 30 days to live a more AMAZING life, where you want to be in a year from now, five years from now, etc. Dream about things that you might think are impossible now or ways to impact the world. If it pops into your mind, right it down.
3. +1 your Dreams
Once your 15 minutes are up, it’s time to look at your list and +1 your dreams. Often when we start our lists, we write out things like “exercise more” or “get to bed by 10pm.” Both are good ideas and great things to dream about, but these are not BIG Dreams. We call it a Storm of Big Ideas for one simple reason, at the end of your Dream Storm, you should have a list of ideas that rock your world and once accomplished and turned into a reality will have changed the lives of others. This is what Chris Guillebeau calls your “Legacy Project.” Check out his manifesto “The Tower” for more details on creating Legacy Projects.
One by one, look at your list of dreams and goals. Take a few seconds and think about each goal. For each item on your list, ask yourself, does this seem possible? Would turning this dream into a reality be fulfilling and result in a more AMAZING life? Would this dream make the world a better place? Highlight each item on your list that forces you to pause for a second longer or creates an uneasy feeling in your stomach. We want to identify the dreams on your list that fire you up and seem nearly impossible now. Continue to refine your list until you have narrowed it down to the 3 – 5 biggest, scariest, most amazing dreams. Or what Mary Marantz call’s your bHAGs.
Now, +1 each of those 3-5 dreams. Take 15 minutes for each dream and let your mind wander again. On a blank sheet of paper or in a new document, write out what accomplishing your dreams will look like. Try to describe each dream in as much detail as possible. The more specific you can begin to get will allow you to quickly take the steps to turn your dreams into a reality. At the end of your Dream Storm, you should now have 3 – 5 BIG dreams written out in full detail. Now it’s time to turn your dreams into reality…
Be sure to check back next Thursday for the final installment of our mini series on Dream Storms: Dreams = Reality, taking the first step.
This week from the Amazing Life Manifesto we are focusing on Being Spontaneous! Instead of finding an excuse of why not to do something… just do it. Go out and have some fun without even thinking about it!
Sometimes it just makes life easier to say no… to decline an offer that ultimately would make for a really fun and memorable experience. Sometimes the thought of jumping at a “crazy” idea and making it happen is just scary. Fear often is an excuse that keeps us from fulfilling dreams or having fun.
The other day Ryan was feeling antsy and needed to get out of the house. He needed to take a break and asked me if I wanted to go throw the football around. I was in the middle of working on a blog post. However, I had been writing all day so the thought of going outside to take in the fresh air sounded kind of awesome! However, I did think of every excuse to say no. “Have you checked the weather- it looks like it is going to rain.” “I have sweat pants on- I should probably go change.” All of the reasons to say no came to my mind before I said yes!
Eventually I said yes and we found ourselves spontaneously in the park in the middle of the afternoon throwing the football around! Fresh air was exactly what we both needed! We laughed, we flirted like we did in high school, and we had fun. The work was still here when we got back… and in fact, we were more productive when we returned because we had less time to do more. (That always motivates me to crank it out! ;) ).
Being Spontaneous always has a positive outcome! Is there something that you have wanted to do but have found every excuse not to do it? Do it now. We have a pillow on our bed that reminds us of this every day. “Why Not Today?!” Don’t answer this with an excuse… go out and do something fun! In fact, call up a friend and have them join you!
Dream big, follow your passion, do what you love … these are all things we’ve told people in the past when they ask us for advice on starting a business. In fact, these are often things that life coaches and motivational speakers will tell you too. However we have decided that these answers are no longer good enough. Instead, we want to truly inspire each and every single person we meet to live a more AMAZING life.
To start, we hope to be able to help you dream big BIG dreams. Dreams that can change your life. Dreams that seem impossible at first, but with a little dedication and effort, dreams that will come true. For the next three Thursday posts on our blog we are going to be discussing one of our favorite ways to dream big. It is what we call a “Dream Storm.” It’s kind of like a brainstorm, only much much more amazing. In this three part series we will discuss the following things we do to help us have a successful Dream Storm:
1. Finding your inspirational space 2. A storm of big ideas 3. Dreams = Reality, taking the first step
Finding your inspirational space
BIG Dreams, Dreams that can rock your world, don’t just begin flowing from your brain to pen to paper to reality. Instead, you need to set the stage. Dreaming is an entire mind and body experience. Before you can begin, you must find your inspirational space. A space in which you feel safe to dream big. A space that screams you. A space that allows your mind to wander endlessly. It’s more than a room, it’s an environment. It’s the sounds and the smells. It’s how the space makes you feel when you are there. Finding a space that inspires you will allow you to truly Dream Big.
So how do you find your inspirational space? It’s not always easy, but there are a few things you can do that will make finding your space easier. First, create a checklist for your space, or what I like to call my “space criteria.”
Develop your space criteria:
Do you prefer calm spaces or loud and energetic spaces?
Do you prefer being around lots of people or by yourself?
When you really need to get work done, where do you normally go?
Do you think better while listening to music or in silence?
Do you prefer to capture your thoughts on pen and paper or on a laptop/iPad?
Do you like to be outside or inside?
Do you work better in the morning, afternoon, or in the evening?
Do you prefer sitting on a couch or at a table?
After you have answered these questions take a moment to look back over your space criteria and remember your space is your own. This isn’t an all encompassing list so feel free to write out as many different criteria for your space as you wish.
Spaces that fit you:
Next, think about spaces that satisfy the criteria on your list. If you prefer being by yourself in calm spaces, than a coffee shop is not the space for you. In this case, your inspirational space might be a simple corner nook in your home. If you like energetic spaces, then trying to dream big in a dark basement office might not be the space for you either.
For me, I love energy, being around lots of people, the smell of coffee, bright rooms, music, using our laptop and iPad, and sitting at a table. When I want to Dream Big I try to find a space that maximizes as many of these things as possible. Usually, I’ll end up at the Starbucks around the corner, or over at Spoons if I am feeling a little hungry, or up at the rustic chic Artifact Coffee. Spaces like these feed my soul. I love looking around and seeing so many different people in one space. Soaking in the buzz and excitement of a full coffee shop really sparks my creative energy. It’s amazing to think that the person at the next table could be working on something HUGE that may change the world. It inspires me to try and change the world too!
Once you have thought of a few spaces that match your space criteria, take a few of the different spaces for a test drive. When you bought a car or a home, you probably didn’t settle for the first one you looked at. Your inspirational space should be no different. Finding the perfect inspirational space will allow you to dream big dreams that can change your life.
Time for the test drive:
Create a list of 3 simple tasks. The tasks should be easy enough that you can complete each one in 30 minutes or less. An example could be responding to 10 emails or writing in a journal. Once you have a list of 3 tasks, using your answers to the questions above, think of three different spaces that fit most of your space criteria. Go to each space and complete one of the tasks on your list. Once your task is complete, take a moment to write out or think about how you felt in the space while completing the task. Was it hard to focus? Did you zip right through the task? Were you inspired to continue working?
Rinse and repeat … After testing out your three spaces your inspirational space should begin to stand out. Feel free to refine your criteria and try out as many spaces as you wish in the next week.
Once you find your inspirational space, leave us a comment below, we’d love to hear about it. And if this post was helpful, let us know, we always love feedback on how we can improve our blog! Don’t forget to check out Part II :A Storm of Big Ideas on our blog next Thursday!
Cheers to waking up this morning with a smile on our faces. Cheers to making the decision to do what makes us happy. Cheers to the sunshine and to the rain. Cheers to calling our parents to say hello. Cheers to eating a healthy lunch today. Cheers to writing in our journals and thanking God for all of the amazingness that surrounds us.
Sometimes it is the smallest things… but everyday provides a reason to celebrate! We hope you take some time today to celebrate the everyday. For you, maybe its that you got up 15 minutes earlier to make sure you had time to make yourself breakfast, or maybe you made it to the gym today. Who knows… maybe it is just that you washed the dishes instead of letting them sit in the sink so you have to think about it later.
Here’s to celebrating the simple things that make you smile. Take some time this week to recognize what those simple things are and celebrate them! Everyday!
