How to follow through

“Oh, this is the start of something good
Don’t you agree?”

– Gavin De Graw, Follow Through –

If you’re anything like me, you like bright shiny things. I get excited about new projects and ideas, start a whole bunch of things and then sometimes struggle to prioritise or complete them.

However, I am equally, very good at following through, when I want to. I just have to decide. I really do love finishing things that I start. And last year was a perfect example.

Last June I decided that I was going to start my own business in Australia and sponsor myself to stay, and 6 months later, come 12th December, I had done just that.

So, the question is, how do you follow through? 

Well a very simple set of tips to follow are

1. Pick one project

2. Commit to it

3. Set a deadline

4. Focus all of your energies on completing it

Another couple of tips for following through as well are

• Set an intention at the beginning of the week to complete a project by the end of it
• Set an intention to complete at least one task relating to your project every day

For example, this week I set the intention of completing my website by the end of the week and every day this week I have made sure that I have taken action to make this happen every day.

Tomorrow I will be handed my website in order to make final copy amends to it. I will pass it to people for feedback over the weekend and I should be ready for it to go live on Monday.

I have also found a great video by the lovely Marie Forleo which includes her top 3 tips on following through.

So, the question is, what are you going to commit to following through on and completing next week? Set the intention, so you know what to focus your energies on from Monday.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Marie Forleo’s video on How to Follow Through

The music video for Gavin De Graw’s – Follow Through

Stop learning, start creating

“It is better to create than to learn! Creating is the essence of life.”

– Julius Ceasar –

I have just watched a fantastic TED Teen talk by an 11 year old astro physicist called Jacob Barnett, who society labelled autistic. It has a very salient message. Stop learning, start thinking, start creating.

And it got me thinking. We spend so much of our lives learning, reading books, studying for courses, taking on other people’s views and opinions, that sometimes we forget to think for ourselves. Sometimes we forget that our own unique take on something, could actually be valuable.

I am currently writing a book on Conscious Branding and I have been researching it for the last month or so. However, every book that I read, doesn’t really satisfy what I’m looking for. There aren’t any useful quotes or references out there to inspire me. So I have actually stopped writing for a few weeks.

After watching this video, I have realised that I need to stop learning and start creating. And as Jacob concludes. I need to be the field, rather than keep looking for it.

Sometimes we just need permission to create. We are brought up in a society that tells us we need to be constantly learning, studying, reading. We have to go to school, we’re encouraged to go to college or university and gain further knowledge, higher education. When in actual fact, perhaps we already know all we need to know and we have everything we could possibly need to create, inside of us.

So my thought for today is, stop learning and start creating. Whatever thing you’re passionate about in life, whether it’s writing, painting, photography, nature . . . . start creating something amazing. Something that is unique. Something that is special.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this blog

Forget What You Know: Jacob Barnett at TEDx Teen – You Tube video

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Enjoy the rain

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

– Viviane Greene –

So here we are in the beautiful Blue Mountains, myself, Darren, my sister and her husband (who are currently visiting from New Zealand). And it is cold and raining.

For some people this would put a dampener on the entire weekend. Not for us, especially considering that between us, we are a mixture of English and Kiwi decent. Does hold us back? Heck no!

We’re off to go and explore today. We’ll be donning our waterproof jackets and trousers and having some fun in the rain.

Life is too short to be held back by the weather.

Here are some simple tips on how to enjoy the rain

1. Chuck on some waterproofs and wellington boots or gumboots and go and have fun.

2. Enjoy feeling the rain on your skin, it will make you feel alive.

3. If you’re inside, open the window during rainy weather. Let the sound of the rain soothe you.

4. Focus on your senses. Watch the rain run down the outside of windows, or if you’re outside watch raindrops fall into puddles.

5. Do things that you said you’d save for a rainy day. Play board games, go to a museum or art gallery, go to the cinema or visit some caves.

6. Swim in the rain. It feels awesome.

7. Make a nice cup of hot tea and enjoy it with loved ones inside.

Rain can be fun and exciting when you’re outside in it, and it can also make you feel warm, snug and cosy when your inside sheltered from it. Either way, enjoy the rain. Life is for living!

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

The Blue Mountains in the rain

Image reference – http://dailypositivequotes.com/quotes-images/find-beauty-in-rain.jpg

Don’t be a fainting goat

“Don’t let yourself be paralyzed by fear, which prevents so many people from living out their dreams.”

– Mark Fisher –

According to Wikipedia, “a myotonic goat, otherwise known as the fainting goat, is a domestic goat whose muscles freeze for roughly 10 seconds when the goat feels panic. Though painless, this generally results in the animal collapsing on its side.”

There are things that happen in life that startle us, scare or frighten us, but rather than freezing, being scared or feeling debilitated by fear, we can choose a different reaction if we so wish.

And even though it’s pretty funny to watch these goats fall over every time they get frightened or excited, I’d much rather be a regular goat. One that deals with life as it happens, and goes with the flow.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light, Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Fainting Goats – You Tube Clip

Life’s a game, play on

“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

– Albert Einstein –

Today is the final day of the Business and Marketing course that I’m on, and I have split feelings for the fact that it’s ending. On the one hand, I’m happy to say goodbye to the 12-13 hour days, getting up at 5.30 and coming home at 9pm. However on the other hand, I’ve loved every minute of it, learnt more in the last few days than I have in the last few months. A truly accelerated learning experience. And the pinnacle of this experience? A business strategy game that we played for 5 hours yesterday afternoon.

Now as you’ll know, I’m a fan of strategy board games, from my previous post ‘Enjoy the ride’. So I was excited about this prospect. I’m also a big fan of the Apprentice too and have watched the first 6 or 7 series of it in the UK before I left, in a row. And I very nearly applied to be on the TV show at one point, just because I was interested to see what it would be like.

And yesterday was a really brilliant micro simulator of what it would be like to be on The Apprentice, except none of us got fired at the end. Which was awesome. It was a fantastic opportunity to not only learn about business in an accelerated way, but to learn about ourselves too.

So, what did I learn? Very simple, it’s the lessons that are more important than the outcome. Despite the fact that our team didn’t win, it was the learnings that we all gleaned from participating in the game that were more valuable than the satisfaction of winning. And secondly, once you’ve rolled your sleeves up, got involved and played the game, you can apply your learning’s the next time you play, and win.

And here’s where I have the proof.

A couple of weeks ago when Darren and I played Ticket to Ride, he beat me. Pretty convincingly. And he has also later pointed out that the point gap was actually significantly wider than 15 points as I previously stated. I think it was more like 30 (Darren feel free to comment and further correct me). 🙂

However, we played Ticket to Ride again last week. And this time, even though I knew I would enjoy the game, I was keen to apply my learnings and win the second time. I was also keen to take more risks.

Without going into too much detail and to cut a long (2 hour game) short, I won. And I won convincingly this time. And it was only because I had applied what I had previously learnt and had taken some pretty big risks and played all out to win. After all I had nothing to lose, it was just a game.

So, I believe, and I have been taught this by a number of my mentors, that life is just a game. And all we need to do is participate, play to the best of our ability, be constantly taking the learning’s and applying them, and tweaking the way we play the game accordingly, and remembering that every time we wake up in the morning we have an opportunity to play the game differently. We can try different strategies, test them, see how they work, and constantly iterate and improve the way we play the game.

So I guess my question to you is, how can you be playing the game differently? Do you need a different strategy or approach? Are there any rules you can bend? Are there any previous learning’s that you have forgotten to apply?

And best of all, play more games, because the way you play the game is a reflection of how you live you life. And a 2 hour board game can give you more learning’s about how better you can approach life, than you realise. The important thing is to keep playing.

Lots of love, light and hugs,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Frontier Trainings

The Game of Life

Success. How much do you want it?

“You can do anything you put your mind to.”

– Benjamin Franklin –

I’m in full flow with this amazing Business & Marketing course that I’m doing. It’s awesome. I’m currently getting up at 5.30am, getting home at 8.30pm and still having time to relax, and meditate. I am ensuring that I am drinking lots of water and filling my body with lots of healthy food throughout the day, and I am getting at least 7 hours sleep each night and still making time to do our homework each night. Oh, and I’m making the time to write my blog too. How? Because I decided.

Anything is possible when you put your mind to it. You just have to believe that it is possible.

And yes, this is not how I normally go about my day, however, for 5 days I am happy and willing to sacrifice my normal routine, without compromising any of the things that are important to me. Plus, I know that at the end of the 5 days I will have some respite and this is not how it is going to go for months or years.

It actually reminds me of the time last year when I needed to write my business plan in 48 hours, and did it on 6 hours sleep within the 2 days. Did I do it? Yes. Why? Because I decided that that was the amount of time I would give myself to complete it. After all, things will take however long you give yourself to complete them. Another dear friend of mine, Pia, recently wrote her Business plan within a week? How? Because she decided that that was how long she wanted to complete it in. And most importantly, it was because she was writing it for a fashion business that she would love to create.

And so in conclusion, I would say this to you. If there is something that you would really love to do, but have been procrastinating and putting it off, how much do you want it? More than sleep? That was how important my Business Plan was to me, because I knew that that would be the difference between being able to sponsor myself to stay in Australia or not. It was a dream to stay here on my terms, so I showed up and did what I needed to do in order to make that happen.

So, you can decide right now, what you would like to create or change in your life, and what you need to do in order to make it happen. And you can decide to do whatever it takes.

Here is a short film that I watched last year just before I started writing my Business Plan. It motivated me beyond belief.

Now I’m not advocating not sleeping. Sleep is important, but have you ever had a time in your life where you have only got a few hours sleep (for whatever reason) and managed pretty well the next day? I guess the point I’m making is, that we have the ability and capacity to make truly amazing things happen in our lives when we commit. So, what do you need to commit to, wholeheartedly in your life, right now, in this moment?

Make it happen.

Lots of love, light and hugs,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

How bad do you want it? (Success) HD – You Tube video

Don’t over think stuff

“I believe in not over thinking things too much. When the right thing comes along, you really don’t have a choice.”

– Jason Schwartzman –

So I’ve started a 5 day intensive Business & Marketing course today and it is awesome.

I’ve been running my own mentoring, marketing and branding business for nearly a year now, and I still love learning more about how to improve it. Or even better, be reminded of the stuff that I already know deep inside.

The especially brilliant thing about the course is that it is really hands on. There are a lot of courses out there that will teach you a bunch of stuff, you’ll leave and then fail to implement, because you’ll conveniently not find the time, or bottle it, or just not have the self-discipline to get stuff done. Whereas Kerwin is really committed to ensuring that you leave the course having actually created some really awesome things. Content for your website, content for your blog, ideas for new products, the list goes on . . .

More importantly he doesn’t give you the time or space to over think things. He’ll just teach you the theory, give you a task to do, a small amount of time to complete it and then move on. Which is awesome! And I think this is perfect for entrepreneurs, because sometimes we can be the best procrastinations at time, especially when we don’t have anyone or a boss standing over us with a deadline for us to complete something by.

It’s fine if you’re doing some work for a client, but when it comes to creating your own website, or creating something new or special for your own business, that’s sometimes when it can get popped on the back burner or de-prioritised.

So, my thought for my second post today is, don’t over think stuff. And better still, find someone in your life to hold you accountable to actioning something that you’d deep down really like to cover off. And it doesn’t have to be in business.

I’m sure you have a list of things that you’ve been putting off, that secretly you’d really like to do in your business or your personal life.

So I would say, write this list down, and then pick at least 3 things off of the list, give yourself a deadline to action them by and share this list with a friend, other half or family member. This means that by sharing it, you have committed to making it happen and they can hold you accountable to it. It might be getting a hair cut that you’ve been putting off, having a massage, taking a horse riding lesson, going to see a movie, calling someone you’ve not spoken to in a while and asking them out for a drink, the list is endless.

All you need to do is write the list, don’t over think it, and just start taking action to make some awesome things happen in your life. And most importantly, make them happen for you.

Lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Kerwin Rae

Live beyond limits

“If your life was a book and you were the author, how would you want your story to go?”

– Amy Purdy –

I stumbled across the most beautiful TED talk this morning thanks to You Tube suggesting it to me after having watched Shaun Anchor’s talk on The Happiness Advantage for the umpteenth time (it’s SO awesome!).

Amy, a keen snowboarder and lover of life and travel, sadly lost both of her legs below the knee at the age of 19. However, her story is not that of sorrow or sadness, but one rather of a celebration of what happened and how it forced her to push through the boundaries and limitations in front of her. And most importantly, her choice of embracing the magic of her imagination to create the kind of life she wanted to live.

She didn’t allow herself to be held back by anything in her quest to get back on her board, and after years of rehabilitation, hard work, effort and sheer perseverance, she became the top ranked adaptive female snowboarder in the world. And rather than be held back by the seeming limits of having lost both of her legs, she used these as a jumping off point to transcend them.

She also now spends a great deal of time helping others, especially those with physical challenges get involved with adventure sports like snowboarding, skateboarding and wakeboarding. And she has set up a Not for Profit organisation called Adaptive Action Sports.

The beauty of this story is that Amy is has not only challenged herself to be able to continue to do what she truly loves, but she has made a wonderfully positive impact on the world at the same time.

So the question for you today is, what boarders do you need to push off of in order to ensure that the story of your life goes the positive way you wish it to go?

Inspiration for today’s post

TEDx talk – Amy Purdy – Living Beyond Limits

 

Change your mindset, change your life

“What you think and what you believe is what will come true for you. Your thoughts create your life. It’s that simple.”

– Louise Hay –

I have just watched the most incredible movie that has taken what I already know to be true about The Universe, The Law of Attraction, The Power of Intention and a whole tonne of other stuff and taken it one step further.

The movie of ‘You Can Heal Your Life’ from Louise Hay is absolutely fantastic. And if you do nothing else today, I beg of you to indulge 90 minutes in watching this film, because I am certain it will change the way that you look at life forever.

I don’t even want to paraphrase anything contained in the movie, just watch it and trust that your life will never be the same again after watching it.

I’m so happy to share this.

With big hugs, love and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay – The Movie

You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay – The Book

Just Live

“I think the thing to do is enjoy the ride while you’re on it.”

– Johnny Depp –

I think we can over-complicate life in our heads, when in actual fact the truth of the matter is very simple.

I was talking to Darren (my beautiful boyfriend) the other weekend about the meaning of life, and why we’re all here. It was after I had watched The Secret and I was super excited about adding an important piece to the puzzle in my head, the importance of The Law of Attraction and The Power of Intention.

I was especially excited about the notion that life really can be what we make it, and that all we need to do is decide how we want our life to be and what we want to fill it with.

And this was when he blew all of that out of the water (which he is pretty good at doing) and said something pretty profound.

“I actually think the meaning of life is much simpler than that”, said Darren.

“Go on”, I said.

“Well, I think it’s just about experiences.”

And this completely and utterly dumbfounded me. So simple, yet so true.

All we need to do is focus our energies on just enjoying the experience of living.

Stop thinking about what we should be doing and where we should be going. And rather focus our energies on doing things that we love, being with people that we love in places that we love and life will take care of itself.

And that is my thought for the today. Just live.

Inspiration for this post

My awesome boyfriend