Chart Your Life

“Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.” ~ Bertolt Brecht

One of the most important lessons life has taught me is that we have to be willing to readjust our course. Sometimes we make a mistake or things just don’t go the way we had anticipated. It is these moments we define how the outcome will go. Will we find an alternate route that takes us where we want to go or we just not proceed forward? Every person has faced situations that aren’t going their way. It is not a bias situation that only some of us experience; however, those individuals that seem to have life always go their way have just become master at charting their life with the ability to adjust to the winds of life. There is always opportunity and sometimes we have to paddle up the stream and others the wind will carry us, yet in all situations there is opportunity if in nothing more than the attitude in which we face the day and the situation. Those that face it with potential will find potential.

Realize That Life Is Meant To Be Lived

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” ~ Mark Twain

Tonight my daughter had her senior corn roast and bonfire and then some friends came over after, let’s say more than 20 less than 35. As I am upstairs typing this blog my downstairs is full of teenagers laughing and having fun. It makes me smile and realize how time changes things. Just over 2 months ago she was broken hearted thinking the boy she had dated for over a year could hurt her so badly. She was confident she would never be okay. As I glace beside my bed at a photo of my daughter at 2 and my grandmother that raised me I remember how much it hurt to lose her. To not have her to talk to every day to lean on, I didn’t know how I would make it. Now I talk with her often, and know she is always with me in spirit. Time allows us to realize the loss we felt is due to the love we felt. The love was a gift and the end is just part of what happens in life. It is how we let those ends affect us that determine if we have a life of fun and happiness or a life a pain and heartache. See the gift life is, that each day is an opportunity to experience life to live. Live it.

Find Abudance In All You Do

"Not what we have But what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.” ~ Epicurus

Life for each and everyone of us brings different challenges as well as different joys.  When we take time to know ourselves to undestand what makes us feel fulfilled as a person we are better able to position our lives to include individuals that share some or our core values as well as joys.  When we are able to spend time doing what we enjoy we are able to live a life that is more fulfilled.  There are so many opportunities to have a life that is lived as wide as it is long.  The key is to know yourself.  To know how you can live an abudant life and then to do what it takes to make that happen.  Find joy in yourself and your life.  Live your life in abudance.

Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?

Artists and musicians get their inspiration from life so where do we get our inspiration for our life? What inspires you to live life the way you do? Each decision we make and each step we take toward our dreams is inspired either by something we surround ourselves with or something from within. Sometimes our surroundings or situations are negative to we have to find the inspiration from within. Learning to find the inspiration when we need it is something we can practice and ultimately perfect. The key is gratitude and taking the time to look for the good in anything. It exists. We just need to find it.

Laughter was her Legacy

According to IMDB - Ball tried unsuccessfully to launch her show business career, finally landing a spot as a "Ziegfeld Girl". She launched her Hollywood career as one of the "Goldwyn Girls", but she moved out from the crowd of starlets to starring roles. With "I Love Lucy" (1951), she and husband Desi Arnaz pioneered the 3-camera technique now the standard in filming TV sitcoms, and the concept of syndicating television programs. She was also the first woman to own her own film studio as the head of Desilu.

Her quote “I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done” symbolizes her life. She was willing to be herself and follow her dreams. Women that have gone before us are a great examples of what we can do with our lives and the potential that we all have to live the life we imagined.

Learn for the Legacies that have gone before us. Ask “what is my dream, what do I love to do?” Then figure out what steps you need to take to make that dream a reality and take the first step. You never know what Legacy you might leave behind and the individuals you might inspire. Start with you, inspire yourself.

Join Our 300 Ways We Leave Our Legacy Blog Hop

We are looking for 300 ways we leave a legacy. How do you want to be remembered? What has the legacy of someone else done to inspire you? As a blogger yourself, we want to add you to our blog roll which will allow everyone to link over to your post. Write about what a legacy means to you and then add the link code found by clicking through the link at the bottom of this blog hop. Thanks for participating. We look forward to learning more about what a legacy means to you.

Hope To Find Our Own Greatness

“How do we inspire ourselves to greatness? We must exceed our own expectations.” ~ Invictus

As children we are taught to believe. Believe that reindeers fly and elves build toys. Believe in the Easter Bunny, Fairy Tales and that someday we could be anything. It is possible to be a famous actor, the president or a major athlete. We aren’t given limitations; instead our dreams are encouraged through stories, movies and dreams.

Somewhere this all disappears. We are taught about limitations and are flooded with news about what is wrong in society. We begin to doubt what life has to offer and even worse we begin to doubt ourselves and our own potential.
“I am the master of my fate the captain of my soul.” ~ Henley, William Ernest

However, there is hope. Inside every successful person is a person that overcame their own doubt. They realized they were the master of their own destiny and the captain of their own soul. They focused on what was possible not impossible. They took action toward attaining their dreams and with each action a new opportunity was born.

Our success is within our own hands. It is up to us what we do with it, the choice to pursue our dreams with all our heart. To be open to the potential opportunities that arise or to find reasons we must settle. To find opportunities or to look for what is wrong instead of what can be. Hope inspires us and enables us to become the person we are meant to be.

Monday's Inspiration

The Edsel was introduced by the Ford Motor Company in 1957. The sales goal for its first production year was 100,000 to 200,000 cars. Falling far short of this, Ford sold merely 100,847 cars over the entire three years of Edsel production. While fewer than 6,000 Edsels survive today, Ford reamins teh second largest automaker in the world. "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." ~ Henry Ford

We Declare 2010 the Year of Gratitude

Waves of Gratitude founders Cheryl Nordyke and Kim Wierman believe that the expression of gratitude has the power to change the world. With that thought in mind, they are declaring 2010 the Year of Gratitude and launching their new blog “Inspired Thoughts” with 365 days of uninterrupted blogging about the subject they hold so dear.

“The purpose is to show our followers that we are just like them. We have everyday joys, challenges, struggles, and triumphs and through it all we strive to find the gratitude and inspiration in these experiences, that’s what keeps us strong” says Cheryl. Kim adds “What you’ll see is the real deal as we relate our day’s experiences and reflect upon and find the inspiration and gratitude that will make us better the next day.  We invite you to travel with us and look forward to your comments and insights and hope that together we can all grow from this experience.  Let the journey into 2010 begin!”

Visit “Inspired Thoughts” today to get inspired and visit wavesofgratitude.com to buy the Inspired Jewelry and Apparel and wear the symbols of gratitude created by Cheryl and Kim that are both beautiful and meaningful!