Kensington Metropark, Night of the Michigan Philharmonic 2019

Lay down.

Dip your toes in the sand and water.

Walk freely… So unbound by life’s busyness… Let it go.

Walk slowly.

See beauty. Listen & watch… Feel.

Let the headaches of yesterday be let go… Renew

See the simpleness, uniqueness of a weed… Left swaying in the gentle breeze.

The stillness. The liveliness.

Weeds, flowers, green grass, and rippled waters.

Peace, quiet…. Life. No judgment.

All to be there is there.

The bee, he seems so content. The fly as well.

The dogs all happy wagging their tails.

And people doing, being… There.

Tips to get an idea AND fruit action and success

                           Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash

How to get an idea?

• Don’t tell yourself you can’t come up with an idea. Do you think ideas are only to be made by someone else? If so, please visit this thought you have and change it into one that tells yourself you’re fully capable of coming up with an idea and 100% on your own if you choose. You’re smart. You’re worthy. And you’ve got what it takes to come up with an amazing idea. Don’t second-guess yourself or think you can’t… EVER.
• Be curious. Learn as much as you can. The world and our lives are our artist’s pallet and playground for our idea formation.
• What are you doing and seeing right now or hear others doing or seeing? — how does this relate in similarity or differences to something you or they have done before or are doing? Getting an idea is grounded in being able to notice things and relate those things to ours or someone we know’s past, something they or you said, and/or things we’ve learned.
• Think. Plain and simple. Take time to yourself to think. Step away from people or yourself talking or doing things, and sit down and think about the world and yours and others lives. If you never give yourself a single second or minute or hour to yourself, and you’ve allowed yourself to be in constant action, you may not be able to think clearly or easily. Idea formation comes from 1) Doing, seeing, and noticing things & 2) Giving ourselves time to process things and think.

Have your idea, now what?…. How to fruit action and success.

• Write it down. Get it on paper. I do think the act of writing something down on physical paper does something that electronic devices or methods can’t. I think it embeds it in your mind in a beautiful way that no other method can and allows it to bloom easier and quicker. I don’t care how pretty it reads or looks. Write it down. However, if you can’t write it down on paper or would rather not for any reason, still get it out of your head someplace whether you do this electrically, on paper, or record yourself saying your idea.
• Protect it. Don’t dismiss it by telling yourself now that you have it that it’s awful and waste of time and space. DO NOT just toss it like garbage. You came up with an idea for a reason, usually. If you’re a person that would toss your idea or down-it in any way, shape, or form from telling other people and hearing their reactions or criticism, then keep it to yourself. I don’t recommend telling anyone or possibly just a few people you trust is ok, but I wouldn’t tell a bunch of people. This can easily cloud our positive state we’re in when we first get an idea.
• Give yourself time to think about your idea more. Make a schedule for yourself to sit and think. Whether that’s just 5 minutes a week or an hour or more a week, set time aside to think about your idea more. This is the difference between getting an idea and then it dying from not going further and fruiting action and success. This is crucial. You need an action plan and time to think to move the needle with your idea.

Do and ask yourself the following (Again, I recommend you write these down on paper.):

• Think of 1 thing to do to take action on your idea and do it immediately (or at least within the 1st week of getting your idea). Wait no longer on this. You need to do at least 1 thing. Get something rolling. This is the difference between people who come up with ideas and those who come up with ideas AND fruit action and success. They don’t wait. They don’t think about things for too long before they make an action. They think about 1 thing they can do first and they do it (within the first week). The rest can come later after you do this one thing. I promise you, this is one of the keys to fruit action and success.

Do 1 thing to take action now!

Now that you’ve done your 1 thing to take action on your idea… (Please, don’t skip this before you do the steps below!)

Ok, you’re ready now that you’ve done your 1 thing…

• What are 3 other things I can do to take action on my idea this week?
• What people do I need to help me with taking action?
• What things or resources do I need to help me with taking action?
• Collect all of these thoughts and action steps from above onto paper or electronically if you haven’t already and revisit them often. Don’t just think or do these things and toss it into the closet after a week or weeks or never revisit them. Keep going back to your thoughts and action plans and refine them, add to them, and keep this process going each and every week until you’ve fruited action and success. Do this for yourself.

Remember:

You’re smart. You’re worthy. And you’ve got what it takes. Don’t second-guess yourself or think you can’t… EVER. You need this mentality, positive thought, and belief about yourself to get an idea AND fruit action and success. Don’t lose this, or you likely will not succeed. Ideas and fruiting action and success with them is a mental process as much as it is anything else. This part of it is sooooo easy to not do and get yourself off course or stop you from success. You need to keep telling yourself this and believe it. Believe your idea is good and visualize yourself fruiting action and being successful with your idea. It does so much to help you. Believe me, you got this!

Be the “Plain Jane” You… Because She’s Beautiful!

Photo by Joel Mott on Unsplash

Forget what you’ve been told or think about Plain Janes. Let’s re-write what this means in a positive way. Being the “Plain Jane” you is being your most natural, authentic self. It’s understanding yourself. It’s letting go of what other people expect of you or think of you and embracing who you are in the most natural way possible.

Why is the “Plain Jane” me beautiful?:

Doing things because of or being a particular way because of other people or trends isn’t being your authentic self and therefore, while you may “feel beautiful”, this could be short-lived and is not grounded in understanding your authentic, natural self. It’s acting through other’s approval and it is a short-term, unstable way to be.

By being the “Plain Jane” you, you not only feel beautiful, but you are also truly yourself and that’s a beauty that is sooo deep and so needed. You radiate with authenticity and shine in a way that everyone notices (whether they want to admit or not). You don’t worry about what others think about you now that you’re “Plain Jane” you. You are you; because she’s beautiful.

You want to learn who you are, embrace who you are, and continue to learn who you are. Yes, people of all ages are learning more and more about their natural, authentic “Plain Jane” selves. Continue to explore and become more and more of who you naturally are. By being your “Plain Jane” self, you accept that you will not just “go with the crowd” or live through other’s approval of who they think you should be.

If you’re not completely sure yet who you are to a T… don’t worry — we’re all working on our Plain Jane self and this journey never ends. Don’t get discouraged that you will always need to learn about yourself in this life if you are. Don’t panic or overwhelm yourself over this in any way. Start with some tips below to be your Plain Jane self and continue to be her.

How do I be my “Plain Jane” self?:

• Don’t enjoy wearing make-up but everyone around you and with you says you have to or might think you look ugly if you don’t have it on.
• Don’t wear it now. Or do it a little more natural if you want to. It’s now about how YOU want to be. You don’t have to wear make-up or a lot of it to be beautiful. You do things now being your “Plain Jane” self only because you want to and it makes you feel good. Not because of others telling you that you need to do something or because you think you will not be accepted if you don’t.
• You feel terrible in those skinny-jeans or “insert any other clothing item here”, but your friends all wear them so you have to.
• No, you don’t have to wear what you feel terrible wearing. Doing something even though you feel terrible about it is not being your “Plain Jane” self. So, ditch those skinny jeans. Wear what you feel comfortable and yourself in.
• You absolutely hate yoga (or any other exercise and/or relaxation method), but “yoga” is the IT thing… So, you know: I yoga.
• No, you don’t yoga now, my beautiful Plain Jane. You find an exercise and/or relaxation method that YOU LOVE. Be yourself; don’t yoga or do things when you hate them. Now, if you hate them only because it’s hard but you kinda like them, that’s a different story. Sometimes things are tough, and that’s ok. But, if you’ve found or are finding that you don’t like something… move on and find new.
• I’m a vegan or vegetarian, but it’s only because I want to be “part of that community”… I secretly hate it, hate my life, and want to eat that meat, soooooooo bad. 
• You eat that meat now… Go out and eat it — right now! Because you’re living something you’re not. You’re not being your natural, authentic self. You’re doing things because you want to fit in or be something you’re not.
• I’m a republican. I’m a democrat. I’m a libertarian. I’m “insert any other political party on earth here”. BUT, I don’t know what that is even. Or/and — I’m only this because my best friend, family, boyfriend, or the person down the road is.
• Ok, stop labeling yourself or being something because others are or that’s the cool thing to be. Don’t be something you don't even know what is either. You figure out and study the political parties (and there are many… not just republican or democrats — research them all.) and you figure out what one is best suited for your own natural, authentic Plain Jane self. You are and be what is YOU… don’t be something because everyone thinks that’s what you should be or you feel you’d be less than if you weren’t something. Now, this can be tough in this day and age and political environment. It is hard. However, sometimes being our “Plain Jane” selves isn’t easy and we shouldn’t just give up on being her.

YOU STAND STRONG AND BE WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR, IN YOUR HEART.

Summary of, How do I be my “Plain Jane” self:

Don’t do things that aren’t your natural, authentic self. Don’t do things you hate, don’t wear things you feel terrible in, don’t do things you don’t enjoy, don’t be something you don’t even know what is — find out first if it’s something that’s for you, don’t label yourself something or be something because others are or that’s the “it” thing to be.

My beautiful, Plain Janes… Remember this, ALWAYS:

You’re smart. You’re worthy. You’re beautiful. And you’ve got what it takes. Don’t second-guess yourself or think you can’t be the “Plain Jane” you… EVER. You need to keep telling yourself this and believe it.

Believe in who your natural, authentic self is and visualize yourself being her — now be her through that vision. Believe me, you got this! You’re beautiful! 🙂