going for it

I have been very fortunate this week to be able to participate in some excellent Pampered Chef training. One of those sessions was an all day seminar called "Director Express," jam-packed coaching on how to intensify efforts to promote to the director level in 90 days. The seminar was full of information, how-tos, and motivational encouragement (as opposed to motivational platitudes).

Several days prior to attending the seminar I was reading a book recommended to me by my PC director, Stephanie. It's called The Aladdin Factor, by Jack Canfield of various forms of soup-for-the-soul fame. It's about asking for what you want, and is full of testimonials from people whose life-changing experiences support the notion that asking for what you want can lead to getting what you want out of life. Sounds all very self-help, I know, but I found myself highly motivated by what I was reading, and inspired to make some decisions.

One of the things Stephanie emphasizes in our training is that visualizing our goals helps to achieve them. Until a few days ago I had no specific goal to which I could attach an image. Yes, I want to make more money to ease our financial burdens, but paying bills is an existing reality. Being debt free? What, exactly does that look like, other than a more peaceful expression on my face? And yes, I want to improve some habits that get in my way in virtually every corner of my life. Conjuring an image for that also falls into the category of vagueness.

At our team meeting a month ago Stephanie told us that it is likely that she will promote in the coming year to the highest level in the company: National Executive Director. At the recent PC National Conference when the newest national directors received recognition, their team of directors joined them on-stage, a sign and symbol that it is team work that makes such achievements possible. When Stephanie talked about her own promotion to the highest level, I knew that I wanted to be one of the people standing on stage with her. I want to be there not for my own recognition, but as a way of saying thank you to her for the many ways that she has helped me grow and learn, not only as a consultant, but as a person. Finally, something to visualize to help reach for a goal.

I had not, previously, made a determination to work toward becoming a director. I knew that my own flaws and bad habits would interfere with working toward that type of achievement. But in the last year+ as I have struggled to maintain equilibrium in the face of daunting challenges, disappointments and hardships, the evidence began to emerge that I had the capacity to move past being stuck, and into a new way of life that I believed to be out of my grasp. This is due in no small part to Pampered Chef, and the team of people with whom I work in that arena.

In light of all of the above, I have made the decision to go for it, to promote to director. I have seen improvements in habits that make it possible for me to believe that I can do this, a quantum leap from the belief that it just wouldn't happen. I am dedicating myself to the discipline necessary to make some adjustments to personal routines (and we're not just talking breakfast here!), and to keep the prize in front of me. It's good for me.

Toward that end I am asking for your help. If you're the praying sort, would you please hold me in your prayers during these next few months as I work toward making these changes in my life? A prayer as you read this is, of course, appreciated. But if you would, I'm asking for regular prayer through this transition, which I believe will be the most challenging for me. Whether daily or weekly, the support of those who care about me is coveted.

I will keep you posted. I will try not to bore you with the shop talk of the process involved in this, but sharing achievements and accomplishments feels like fair blogging fare. And if you know of someone who would benefit from the kinds of blessings that this is in my life, please let me know so that I can share this opportunity with them. Ultimately that is the greatest gift we have to offer.

Blessings to each of you. Thank you for being along with me on this journey.

one day at a time

Disclaimer: the image to the right is not mine. I am posting it as motivation to myself to get back to the discipline of logging daily life through what scrappers have come to know as Project 365. I am almost always better responding to specific criteria when it comes to creating in the scrapping realm than to start with nothing more than photos and perhaps some thoughts for journaling. I get inspired by seeing what other people do, and I am not the least bit above what is called scrap-lifting. The point is to get the job done, as my friend Kathy would say. I also admire how some minds take one person's concept and make it their own, accomplishing the same end. This "January" layout does just that.

This year, at this time in my life I am not sufficiently organized in my mind, or in my work space, to do justice to the notion of P365. But I don't have to. It has already made a difference in capturing some pictures I wouldn't have thought to take otherwise, and inspired another idea that is more important for me at this time.

My mother and brothers have email. My father does not. In an effort to keep him up to date with the details that are worth sharing but seem too mundane to get into over the phone, I have decided to create a synopsis "newsletter" for him. I had thought to do this each week, more in keeping with P365's intent on daily life-logging, but the reality is that it's hard enough to get a monthly newsletter done for the church, never mind a weekly sample to my father. A less regular effort will have to suffice.

And one day, when I finally get my closet overhauled and my workspace begs to be put to creative use (right now it just begs to be cleared), I hope to scrap some of the daily slices of my life. If nothing else those words and images will reflect what has mattered to me, what has surprised and frustrated me, and may, in the end, reveal a journey I would not have recognized otherwise. We'll see.

In the meantime, each day is to be savored. Whether we make it to the end like a race well run, or stumble to its conclusion, it is ours. One sip of coffee, one newspaper-read, one task, one meeting at a time, it is uniquely ours.

Enjoy.