Yup, it seems to be about that time to hop on board. Our solopreneurs group got together today to talk about internet marketing. While our group had a nice, open ping pong style chat about local marketing ideas last month, this one’s format was very different. Basically, two folks (Paul and Vanessa Smith)  who have been on the train for a while did the talking and the rest of us took copious notes.

The first two things I’m going to explore are Twitter and Stumble Upon.

Once I get profiles up and running, I’ll share here on the blog. I’m looking forward to meeting more like-minded folks interested in the simplify train!

Long ago I realized that a lack of understanding why I was doing something was a recipe for “not going to happen”. The reason for action is a huge part of the motivating factor me. Money, nope. Fame, nope. What everyone else was doing, nope (wouldn’t that be easy?!). Where was the heart? the drive, the contribution to the world? Project Simplify has been my exploration in connecting my passion with usefulness.

However…
lately I’ve been feeling like some clarity is in order. While my drive is wide-ranging and humanistic, my services seem a limited slice of a much larger picture. How do they relate?

Combine those questions with the exercise of creating a plan for the upcoming year and it was clear. My vision statement needed to be re-visited, even re-created.

So here we go…

My Vision is to help people who are making the world a fantastic place to live in:
full of JOY, Creative Solutions, Inclusiveness, and Respect for ALL Beings

Guiding and modeling principles:
- Model a life & work that is joyful, diverse, sustainable, and service-oriented.
- Show respect for self, others, and nature in all situations.
- Express creativity and have fun!

What I like about this is how broadly I may interpret it. 1:1, workshops, speaking gigs, volunteer work, writing…

My question now is: “am I speaking as boldly as possible?” I’m thinking not. When I read my words I’m not sensing the urgency and passion that I think the world needs right now.

There is so much going on in the world, it’s moving so fast, the momentum is ever increasing, and yet, the direction is influence-able. This is important. There is so much S#*T being presented and with the intent of influencing us. Which means that, it’s our job to know what’s right for ourselves without being told. It’s time to affect the course of our history and we need to be LOUD!!!!!!

I truly hope Obama is elected. AND I truly believe his election would be a drop in the bucket considering our current state of affairs. It’s time for ground swell. It’s time for everyone to be speaking their truth about what they believe to be important. It might not be words, it might be art, it might be song, it might be gardening. NOTHING is too small if it is rooted in the heart.

Looking ahead, I’m choosing a world that is fantastic! People are doing what they love and loving what they do. Community by community, we satisfy our resource needs. Pollution and stealing from others is a thing of the past. We are aware of our friends downstream and send them ample, clean water–literally and figuratively.

Begin now. Smile at strangers, say no to guilt-driven action, take responsibility for your experience right this moment.

Let’s have a great time making this world a fantastic place to live in!!!

Putting a puzzle together can be a very satisfying experience. You recognize some shape or color on a piece and know what area of the puzzle it belongs to. As the pieces click together, a cohesive image slowly appears, encouraging you to continue and connect the surrounding parts.

The image on the box cover guides you in the same way that an inspirational vision drives the entrepreneur. However, the pieces of her vision are dynamic, and tend to morph as she and her business grow. As entrepreneurs, we may think we know exactly what the vision is only to find that it was actually a significant chunk of the puzzle, but by no means the final piece.

Over the last couple of years I’ve had many satisfying moments in which I saw that a large chunk of the Project Simplify puzzle had emerged: the 5 Core Concepts, the Simplicity Statement, Organizing by Zones, the Inbox Zapper and so on. Each emergence was cause for celebration. My desire to understand what the final image would reveal kept getting stronger.

With great delight–and frankly, some relief–the various parts of the puzzle have connected to reveal my imagination’s inspiration on the box cover. Certainly there are still pieces to be developed and set into place but these will simply add more detail and richness to the whole picture. What has emerged is the vision of the Natural Professional™, an emerging group of business people for whom work has never been so fun. As far as I’m concerned, it’s time to celebrate!

The article in the upcoming issue of The Simplifier is intended to share this vision with you.

It’s that time of year. I’m leaving on Thursday for two week road trip. But then any time is a good time for a road trip as far as I’m concerned (ref. December road trip to Aspen when Lance commandeered Project Simplify).

I’m going back to Colorado in my little biodiesel imbibing Beetle, but this time I’ll have company–for half the trip, anyways. Mark (my beau) and I are stopping in Utah’s Canyonlands and then heading to Boulder (home of Chocolove). I look forward to experiencing, first hand, the fine cuisine of the Royal Peacock, Mark’s favorite restaurant.

Here’s my goal for the trip. (Yikes! Holding myself for public accountability!) To have a video up on Youtube by the time I get back. This means using a camera (borrowed from the greatest sister on earth), having a purpose (some kind of simplify interview), editing in iMovie (not as intuitive as I’d like), and posting on Youtube (which will be the first time ever).

I know each of these should be easy enough–once I’ve done it a few times. Just seems like a BIG project from this side of the mountain.

My idea is to expand into video on the site and I want it to be interesting and fun, which may be a little tough seeing as sometimes my tech side and creative side don’t hang too well with each other. Oh well, it’s always (sometimes?) fun to look back at my novice level of some skill and say, “remember when!”

To wrap this post up I feel I should complete the thought of why I’ll only have company on half the trip. Mark will stay in Boulder to spend some time with his family, and I’ll continue on to the great northwest and Portland, OR. Don’t know much more than that at this point except that half my trip is planned out and half is totally up to the four winds–yeehawww!

Not too long ago, I introduced our new logo that never seemed to make it on to the website. It worked well as a “bug” on handouts for workshops (a bug is a tiny version of the logo, usually known as the little TV station logo that appears in the corner of the screen). Well, I had noooo idea how it was going to be incorporated into the banner, and, well, it never did.

Compounding the issue was that the image couldn’t really be extracted from the words easily because it’s an unrecognizable shape. It’s an artistic rendition of the original logo which included the Fiddleneck flower.

Common Name:
Fiddleneck, Rancher’s Fireweed

Family:
BORAGINACEAE (Borage)

Botanical Name:
Amsinckia meziesii var. intermedia

Not a very well known flower or shape. I liked it because of the spiral it’s curl created.

Letting go of my attachment to this flower, as well as realizing that it was time to let go of the new courier font led me to work with another designer. We co-created what’s going to be the new logo–for real this time. (Now is the time to “oohhh” and “ahhhh” with verve and excitement):

OK, I’m a happy camper. The banner will be done soon and it is Sah-Wheet!!!

Last Monday I interviewed Suzie Daggett, publisher of the Insight Directory for the next issue of our newsletter, The Simplifier. One of the things she does nightly is “review and gratitude”. Even though I know these are important, rarely do I take the time to do it.

I was so grateful to get the reminder from her, because, really, the less time I think I have for this nightly activity, the more important it is to my life. Reviewing is for acknowledgment of

• what you’ve accomplished during the day
• what you could have done or dealt with better (and perhaps how)
• things you did or dealt with well
• significant happenings relevant to your values and goals
• any other stuff you want to review or that you’d benefit from getting off your mind before hitting dreamland

Gratitude is for just that, acknowledging all the blessings, good things, reasons you are fortunate, people in your life, positive exchanges with others, and anything else you can think to be grateful for. Gratitude keeps you based in your heart, helps you remember what’s truly important in your life, and lubricates the “good things coming to you pipeline”. Not to be skimped on =)

Despite the dearth of posts lately, A LOT has been going on. The “Time in Your Life” workshop begins tomorrow, newsletters have been going out bi-weekly, new client appointments thanks to the recent newspaper article, mucho networking for more speaking gigs, changes to the website, a successful “Clean Desk Challenge” month, ongoing client work… and …. a revised logo! Applying it will happen over time–we’ll see a change to the website graphics soon.

Yay!!