The Virtual Hammock

I subscribe to some daily inspiration from Peggy McColl of www.destinies.com and would like to share with you, this week’s Friday story by Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards - it is certainly a perfectly timed reminder for me - I hope you enjoy it too

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come and see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. Going and coming took most of a day - and I honestly did not have a free day until the following week.

“I will come next Tuesday,” I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove the length of Route 91, continued on I-215, and finally turned onto Route 18 and began to drive up the mountain highway. The tops of the mountains were sheathed in clouds, and I had gone only a few miles when the road was completely covered with a wet, gray blanket of fog. I slowed to a crawl, my heart pounding. The road becomes narrow and winding toward the top of the mountain.

As I executed the hazardous turns at a snail’s pace, I was praying to reach the turnoff at Blue Jay that would signify I had arrived. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these darling children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!”

My daughter smiled calmly, “We drive in this all the time, Mother.”

“Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears - and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her.

“I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pick up my car. The mechanic just called, and they’ve finished repairing the engine,” she answered.

“How far will we have to drive?” I asked cautiously.

“Just a few blocks,”Carolyn said cheerfully.

So we buckled up the children and went out to my car. “I’ll drive,” Carolyn offered. “I’m used to this.” We got into the car, and she began driving.

In a few minutes I was aware that we were back on the Rim-of-the-World Road heading over the top of the mountain… Read the rest of this entry »

I was going through my emails this morning - instead of ignoring them which has been my want for the past few months due to feelings of overwhelm - I deleted MASSES yesterday and now it is a pleasure to be able to look in my inbox instead of dreading it… anyway, one of them was from internet guru Joel Comm who is on holiday in Hawaii but obviously logs in despite it! He was talking about two guys I’ve heard of before - Tellman Knudson and Shawn Casey - so I thought ok, I’ll click the link… and I think you should too! Here’s an excerpt from Joel’s email:

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As more people are finding success online, the methods they are using are becoming more public.

And every now and then someone just comes right out and spills the beans!

That is exactly what is happening right now with Tellman Knudson and Shawn Casey.

These guys have put together a series of training videos and a report that tell you every list-building strategy they know… and it’s all FREE!

It doen’t matter what your business model is. If you aren’t building a list, you are shooting yourself in the foot.

Take advantage of this free training now at:

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=NOo6R&m=
1h6vhb2pMeADqb&b=SXh5kvkZhauy3f7f4sUcDQ

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Today I woke up and decided to ‘get my shit in one sock’ - a delightful expression given to me by my soon-to-be-ex-husband which felt perfect for my mood.

So I was up and washed and dressed by 7.45am - take note Nicola (the woman who was still in her nightie at 2pm yesterday) - and ready for the garage to come pick up my Sedona that I’d scraped at Christmas time squeezing into my sister’s driveway… Yes, it had been something I’d been ignoring for months but last week, with a surge of energy from eating more raw food, I’d gotten it mot’d and serviced and the chewed up seatbelt (courtesy of my mutt Jasper) was replaced in readiness for being sold. The scrape is the final thing to sort, then bye bye fun bus …. she will soon be appearing on eBay *sniff*

Why am I selling? Cos I need the money basically - a wonderfully easy car to drive with enough room to swing a small child or 6 in, it is just too extravagant for my needs and I’ve got to pay the bills somehow until I get my affiliate marketing business off the ground (that’s another blog post alllllll together). I’ll post a photo and details on here too when I get it back in case you know someone who’d love to buy it.

So, with my new sense of getting on with things, I sat down and trawled through my email and actually DELETED stuff that I know I’ll never read which was actually a HUGE relief. I will start unsubscribing from things now as they come in, my criteria being - if I don’t want to read it straight away then it’s not good enough to get my attention, so LET IT GO.

Reading through I saw Nicola’s post about her new Google group to help people focus. WOO HOO I thought and signed up straight away! Then I thought ‘bugger’ I now have to think about what I want to do today and write it down and be ummmmm accountable… Here is what I sent in:

ok, i’m joining in!

1. Create spreadsheets for my personal finances

2. Move money around based on that info

3. Find the back up discs from my old computer and install files on my laptop ready for more sorting of finances

4. Write a blog entry on http://www.thevirtualhammock.com/blog (for Judith’s info *grin*) and not worry about how it looks or sorting it out first

5. Contact at least one mortgage company or broker about trying to get a mortgage for a flat over a restaurant…. will post on other group about this too

The idea is that you then have to report in every hour or so and update the group on what you’ve actually DONE to achieve your daily goals… WellI’ve actually been pretty good at doing that and this is the last one I sent in…

Ummmm well that didn’t go too well

Done

> phoned Virgin and downgraded tv package to save money

> received phone call from broker - he’s found one lender that will lend subject to valuers comments… 6.39% 2 yrs fixed £1200 fees plus the £8400 to move from my current lender
> did some quick research on cheaper cars as I’m about to sell my Kia Sedona to get a cheap run-a-round
> emailed ex requesting help with school fees…
> emailed buyers of my property to find out what’s happening and to see if they want to adopt my dog
> phoned solicitor and made appointment

> booked dog into kennels forFriday, ready for going to London for Alan Forrest Smith’s marketing workshop on Saturday!!!

Still to do

> paperwork to sort and file *sigh*
> take another look at Nicola’s spreadsheet, find discs, write blog

What have I learned?

> I get distracted easily
> I underestimate how long things take - especially with kids at home
> I need to close down Skype and MSN to help me focus I should do the
> stuff I REALLY don’t want to do first

But I HAVE done a load of stuff - and because I told the group I can see I’ve done stuff and don’t feel like a failure!!! YAY! I’ve also started tackling stuff I’ve been ignoring for ages, which has gotta be a good thing. And I have a new slogan..

I’m not perfect but… I’m having a go!

Yep, I’ve managed to remember my login details for my blog and am actually writing something - I was inspired to do it in order to shock my eldest sister, Nicola hahhahahah. Nicola is my champion, and no matter how much i procrastinate she STILL believes there is something great in me waiting to get out and shares her knowledge and experience with me as well as her love - even from her hospital bed yesterday (she’s just had the most ENORMOUS gall stone out - the size of a damn brazil nut!). I count myself lucky to have her and my other sister Heather who have both been there for me in what has been a shitty year, slowly coming to terms that my marriage is over, feeding me pie and making me laugh and giving me hugs - thank you both.

So here I am again - dunno what I’m gonna do but I’ve gotta do SOMETHING. And in instead of getting hung up on planning it all out, I’m just going to log in here and write what comes and hopefully some of it will make sense and may even be informative hahahhah. I have created my life so I now HAVE to do something - I need money to look after myself and my children, I need to find a home I can afford and make it a place of refuge, love and happiness for us and our friends. But luckily I also have lots of desires - and they sound more sexy and will hopefully bring me what I need.

So armed with my trusty lappie, a HEAP of self help and business books, online resources coming out of my ears, I’m going to become a web 2.0 whizz and have a go at finally generating an affiliate resource income that will make me financially free… so now I just have to figure out what THAT figure is *lol* the paperwork can’t be ignored any longer BAH! (or my giant washing pile that needs ironing and sorting)…. so til later, byeeeeeee x

Hi, I’m back *grin*.  I’ve had a message or two asking where on earth I’ve gone and am shocked to realise how long it’s been since I logged in here - especially as I was off to such a good start with my blogging.

Ah, well… never mind.  What matters is that I’m here again  *smile*

The last few weeks have been an up and down time for me.  After my last posting I kinda lost it and started bingeing on sweets, chocolate, junk food and even some alcohol.  What was different about it this time though is that…

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I’ve just started going through my email this morning and just have to share the Friday story I was sent from www.insightoftheday.com:

Because I Was Told I Can by Jan Graham

About 6 months ago, I joined a gym. Every morning, there is one personal trainer there that works out at the same time that my little group does our workout. He does his “routine” with such a quiet determination that he makes it all look very easy; although I know all too well how hard he is working. When I am tempted to whine and quit, I watch him push himself to his own limits, and I find myself motivated to work as hard and without complaint.

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching him do chin ups. He made them look effortless. I broke away from my group and asked him if I could try a chin up. I had never tried before, but he just made it look so easy. He eagerly stepped aside and encouraged me to step up to the bar. I pulled myself up without thinking…once…then twice. That was all I had in me, I had no strength left. I told him that was all I had, so he stepped up behind me and pushed me up for a third and fourth “pull.” It felt so good. I felt strong and I smiled from ear to ear.

The next day when I was done my workout, I asked him to spot me again. Again, I did two. Again on day three and so on. I thought it was pathetic that I could only do two, but when I came to the gym at the end of the week, he was standing there just shaking his head. When I asked him what was up, he said…

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In January this year, I started to read up more about raw food.  Following on from dabbling with juicing, I signed up to a raw food newsletter and when an email invitation plonked itself in my inbox from Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach, hotly followed by a Skype conversation (read ‘verbal challenge’) with my friend Paul Fuggle I parted with some cash, left the kids and the husband and dashed off up to Ely for a weekend’s raw experience…

There were 9 of us on the course and to say it was an amazing weekend would be an understatement.  Karen took us through the why’s, what and how.  She howed us how to make stuff and fed us to within an inch of bursting with the most amazing, tasty, colourful foods - including raw chocolate ‘icecream’ - yummy!  We laughed and talked and shared on every level - physical, emotional and spiritual and went on the most amazing self awareness trip - this raw food stuff really brings stuff to the surface (in more ways than one *grin*)… 

So by the end of the weekend, despite feeling like I’ve eaten wayyyyy too much, I came home to find…

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One dream that I have is something that has been bubbling on the surface for the past 3 months (after brewing below the surface for the past 9 years…).  It all ties in with my own feelings of Self Love /
Worth.

I want to be fit and healthy and living my life at my ideal weight - whatever that turns out to be.

To do this I’ve been drawn increasingly to ‘eating raw’ as, not only will this stabilise my body weight to its natural state, it will also remove toxins from my body and clear my thoughts which will help me in
my desire to work with the Universal Energy to live a life I love (also reiki / spiritual /angelic healing especially interest me and the clearer you are the better channel you can be).

I first started to ‘geddit’ about the difference between ‘going on a diet’ and ‘getting healthy’ when I bought (and followed religiously) the Fit For Life book after I had my daughter, Chloe, in 1994.  And
with a determination I’ve been striving to find again, I stopped stuffing my face with the wrong foods and got down to my pre-pregnancy weight (with some killer abs from doing Step Reebok video workouts no matter how bored I got), only to then fall pregnant again.

I’ve read with great delight the books by Jason ‘The Juicemaster’ Vale and this has had an impact on me to give juicing a go and I feel the benefits really quickly (when I do it) - loads more energy, clearer
skin, sparkly eyes, no uncomfortable bloating, lowered body fat percentage, loss of unwanted fat and a desire to exercise as it suddenly seems like fun (bizarre !!!). 

But as soon as people start to notice the changes in me I relax(?) and fall back into old habits. (I secretly wonder if I self sabotage myself as I have a fear that I’ll get pregnant again - even though I’ve been
sterilised…)

Anyway, now I’ve acknowledged that fear (and my other biggy that popped out in a conversation with a friend - will my new self confidence end my marriage?), I’m telling myself that I have choices
and that if I can love myself enough to treat myself well, what amazing things could I then do to help other people?  After all - you can only give what you’ve got.

Inspired by Jason Vale, I read with great interest the posts of The Raw Food Coach, Karen Knowler, on my sister (Nicola Cairncross)’s support group for The Money Gym and Karen’s newsletter Successfully Raw (sign up to get it for free at Karen’s website www.TheRawFoodCoach.com).

Karen is inspirational to me.  She walks her talk and her enthusiasm for what she does and the energy she exudes makes me feel that ‘I want some of that!’  So when she told the group that she was launching her new ebook - How To Get Started With Raw Foods  - I downloaded it immediately.

I’ve just finished reading it today and am amazed at …

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No, I haven’t fallen off the face of the Earth…  I’ve just let life take over and allowed my time to disappear in a puff of chocolate and a sea of wine… ho hum.  Well, not quite a sea of wine, as I don’t drink that much nowadays but I have been drinking ’socially’ on a regular basis instead of very occasionally (and piling on the pounds as a result).

So I’m going to kick start off 2007 I’m making this a week where I start as I mean to go on!

We’ve got a puppy, Jasper, from the local Dogs Trust (a red setter/collie cross much to the disgust of our two cats Jemima and Bruce), which means I now HAVE to take regular breaks from my pc and actually walk (and have had to buy a carpet cleaner which will probably use a few calories to clean up around here)…

I intend this week (yep, I’ve been reading Wayne Dyer *grin*), to give myself the mind space to sit and think and write down what I really want from my life. 

After all, until I know what I want, I can’t create it, can I?  Which means that I continue to do what I’ve always done which means I get the results I’ve always got and I’m no further forward and continue to feel frustrated with myself as a result. 

It also means I continue to do what others want me to do and my personal boundaries and focus are a hazy mist, easily blown away. Bum.

So… some dreaming is required, from which I’ll set some goals and create a plan.

But before I do that, I’m going to clear the decks and fufil my promises I’ve made to others and not yet completed on - or un-promise them and not feel guilty about it.

And I’m going to pause and count to 5 before I say I’ll do things for others to make sure that I can deliver, on time, what I’m offering.  And that in doing so, I’m not using it as a distraction from living my own vision and moving myself forward *grin*.

About 5 years ago I attended a Russ Whitney seminar and what I learned there, saved me £15k on my next property purchase - pretty good eh?  It also opened up my eyes to the many different ways of making money through property / real estate.

Fresh with enthusiasm I scoured the local property papers, seeing opportunities left, right and centre but had to focus on finding a property for my family to move to as we’d just sold the house we’d bought and renovated with my sister and her family.

Due to my determination and new-found negotiating skills, I purchased the property we’re currently living in today without using any of our own money.  We then went and spent several thousand pounds improving/updating it, which included double glazing throughout. 

The original deal plus the changes we’ve made, together with the rise in market in the last 3 years, means we’ve now got equity of about…

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