Category Archives: Guest Writers
How to Reinvent Yourself
How to Reinvent Yourself
Guest Writer: Christine Kane
There’s change in the air.
More than ever, people are being called to stop living superficially, to let go of a life of “shoulds,” and to create authentic purpose-driven days full of happiness, wealth, and spirit. Everyday and everywhere, women are reinventing themselves. It’s almost as if it’s impossible to stop this amazing flow!
And of course, there are many who might know this truth – but they hold back because they don’t believe it’s possible for them. (If this is you, then read on!)
I’ve been through two major reinventions. And I’m telling you from personal experience, it’s not only possible – it’s imperative to your happiness!
Reinventions are not just external. They often require huge paradigm shifts. In fact, true reinvention happens on the inside more than on the outside. (It just that by the time people start to notice you’ve reinvented yourself, they can only see the external changes!)
But it doesn’t have to be dramatic or painful. In fact, my friends, it’s quite a hoot! You’ll thank yourself for it, I promise!
So, from Christine’s “Been-There-Done-That” files, here are five tips for How to Reinvent Yourself.
1 – Use the Power of Intention
Usually, reinvention starts when someone looks around at her life and says, “Wow. This is NOT working. I am not happy.”
The next step after that?
Intention. I LOVE and LIVE BY the power of intention. It’s why the Uplevel Your Life Mastery Program begins with intention – and uses intention throughout the transformation process. Intention starts the ball rolling.
Ask yourself: What do I want to create more of in my life? Who do I want to BE? Use these answers to begin crafting an intention.
2 – Don’t Wait for the HOW
Don’t worry about HOW it’s all going to happen. This will only stop you in your tracks. When we try to make the HOW happen, we aren’t allowing the Universe (and our soul!) do its work. We’re so busy opening up the oven to see how things are going, that nothing really gets cooking!
The true lesson of reinventing yourself is trust. You have to trust the power of your intention, and the power of this process. It’s easier said than done, but it never stops being the ultimate lesson!
3 – Slow Down to Speed Up
After you set your intention, there might be a slow down period. That’s because you have to let go of some of the old in order for the new to arrive. During this time period, most of the people in your life will think you’ve lost your mind. :-)
One of my self-reinventions was the transformation of my music career into an on-line model that included coaching and mentoring women. When I began this transition, I experienced one whole year of questions from my musician and songwriting friends: “Ohmigod, what’s going on? You’re NEVER on the road anymore!” They were downright worried for me.
I had to clear out the old. I had to slow down to speed up. The “slow down” period is why so few people want to reinvent themselves. It can be very uncomfortable to keep your focus on your intention, while everyone wants you to justify your choices.
(Trust me on one thing, okay? When things pick up again, everyone will want to know your secret! It will suddenly seem like you did it effortlessly!)
4 – Take Action
Slowing down to speed up doesn’t mean you sit back and watch television. You must take action. You might feel, at first, like you’re stumbling and fumbling – but a steady movement forward helps the process.
People who believe it’s ALL about positive thinking are forgetting that human beings are meant to take action and use their bodies, too. Our bodies are a huge part of our powerful creative system! Use yours and take action!
5 – Get Support!
There aren’t a lot of places in the mainstream world to find encouragement and wisdom when it comes to reinventing yourself. So, you need to seek out support! Coaches, mentors, books, audios – they are all terrific resources!
Don’t try to do this on your own, okay?
In fact, here’s a video I just created to speak about this very deep level of transformation! Click the link below to watch it – and then join me for a free coaching call!
Click this link. http://christinekane.com/uplevel7steps.html
Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 12,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at: http://christinekane.com.
Create a Powerful Morning Ritual
How to Create a Powerful Morning Ritual
by Christine Kane
It is said that your habits create your destiny.
I’d add that your habits also create your confidence, courage and even your creativity!
In other words, your daily choices, routines, and seemingly insignificant moments make all the difference in your results.
One of the best ways to generate great results is to create a morning ritual. A powerful morning ritual sets the tone for your entire day – and your entire year!
A ritual is personal. A ritual is creative. (Not reactive!) A ritual is what gets YOU on track to create your best day. (And subsequently, your best life!) It can be as simple as a 15-minute routine, or as intense as long-distance running. The important thing is that it becomes a HABIT.
My morning ritual combines a mixture of physical, mental and heart-centered activities to engage each of these human power centers!
Here are some ideas to help you create your own powerful morning ritual.
Hydrate First
Many Eastern health practitioners recommend chugging down at least a half-liter of filtered room-temperature water first thing. (Yes, before your coffee!)
Upon waking, your body has spent hours without hydration. Drinking pure water at this time triggers a series of physiological functions that keep your body super healthy. Some report that this one practice can actually heal many diseases. (I’m not a scientist – but I can attest to the amazing results!)
Get Moving
Exercise is called “The Number One Form of Preventive Medicine.”
It is also a prescription for happiness and a cure for depression! Getting exercise first thing sets your day off right. You can do a simple stretching routine, yoga or an all-out heart-pounding hour at the gym. Pick something do-able and do it.
Meditate
Many people don’t meditate because they find it intimidating. I say, start with just 5 minutes. Meditation connects you to your center, and to the deep silence that surpasses any drama that might be happening in the world of your personality. Don’t worry about doing it right. Just allow yourself the time to BE.
Set Intention
“Intention rules the earth,” says Oprah Winfrey.
It’s true! Your intention is a powerful force to engage.
Remembering your intention puts you back on track. You become focused again.
Reflect for a moment on your Word of the Year. Read a goal you’ve written down for yourself. Remind yourself of a financial dream. (If you’re one of my new students in Uplevel Your Business, read the intention you wrote down on the first day of the program!)
You don’t have to know the HOW. You just need to set the intention so your inner GPS can stay on target!
Be Grateful
Before I get out of bed, I silently create a morning gratitude list. When I begin my day remembering my “gratitudes,” (instead of my “anxieties”) my heart fills with extreme joy and deep awareness. I then bring that energy into everything I do – and to everyone with whom I connect.
Use a Netty Pot
(This one’s a little weird!)
For years, my acupuncturist told my husband and I to use a Netty Pot. We laughed at him. Then, in the face of acute sinus problems, my husband tried it and became a convert. He converted me.
A Netty Pot uses warm water and a special salt to cleanse your sinuses and clear your breathing. Google it, and let the idea sit with you for a while. (You might be a convert too!)
Eat Creative
Your choice of breakfast foods can set up your success with other meals as well. Start your day off in the healthiest way possible for you – and make it a ritual, not a chore.
Be Prepared: Create a Not-to-Do List
Everyone needs a “Not To Do” morning list.
Suggestions here include anything that brings up a “reactive” state: Turning on the local news. Checking email. Answering texts. Answering the phone.
Let these things wait until AFTER your ritual has been completed!
Your Assignment:
After reading this article, don’t just think, “Wow. Those are some good ideas. I should try one or two.”
Instead, deliberately create your morning ritual now. Take about 20 minutes to think about and write down what your ritual will be each morning. Start simple at first. Choose one or two items from this menu. Or come up with your own. Write out your Ritual in detail.
Begin first thing tomorrow morning, and let your habits create YOUR destiny starting now!
Guest Blog by: Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 11,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be C
Guest Writer–10 Creative Capabilities Enhanced by Travel
Buff Up Your Creativity: 10 Creative Capabilities Enhanced by Travel
Guest Writer: Cynthia Morris
Creativity is a combination of skills, qualities and perspectives that allows someone to bring ideas into form. Identifying and cultivating those capabilities allows you to be more effective in life and work.
It’s no surprise that the rigors of travel build our creative capacity. Both endeavors push us to our physical, mental and sometimes emotional limits. Travel and creativity (in art making, business or life) aren’t for pansies.
Fresh from the road, I’ve charted ten ways that travel cultivates creative aptitude. Check my list to see how travel has contributed to your creative capabilities. (Psst…you can travel without leaving home; see how these aptitudes can be sharpened from your home turf.)
1. The wrong! capacity is strengthened. When you travel, you find yourself off target at least five times per day. You have an inaccurate address, incorrect opening hours for the museum, you say something inappropriate, you pay too much…it’s endless. Creative pursuits involve a lot of wrong turns and dead ends. The wise creative person knows that being off course has nothing to do with intelligence. You’re not an idiot but you’re going to be wrong a lot.
2. Willingness to be uncomfortable. Travel and creativity both require a person to be comfortable in the uncomfortable, or better yet, to even forget the notion of a comfort zone. We travel and create to surpass our known world, and we might as well embrace discomfort rather than try to contrive environments where we feel too ‘safe’. Shrug off your attachment to your comfort zone.
3. Ability to process and decide easily. While traveling, you amass thousands of new impressions daily. You have to make decisions based on limited information. Travel forces you to sort, filter and critically assess information easily so you can simplify decision making. I use my creative travel tools to jot lists, capture names, and render in quick sketches what I was experiencing around me. Strengthen your ability to sort and process new information to keep what’s useful and discard what’s not.
4. Resiliency. When things are go wrong, how do you respond? Travel shows you that you are more resilient than you think because, well, when you’re out there trying to find food or lodging you have no choice but to keep going. You find you’re able to bear greater challenges, and perhaps even rub your hands with glee when facing difficulty creating. Suck it up: you can do and be more than you think.
5. Flexibility. If you’re not flexible while traveling, you’re going to be frustrated a lot. So you missed that train in Florence. Do something unplanned; it won’t kill you to veer off schedule. The ability to quickly shift from one approach to another is a sign of a developed creative mind. So the structure of your book isn’t what it was when you started; adjust your expectations. Be nimble – but not flaky — in your creative process or you’ll be very miserable.
6. Surrealism. Experiencing life in another place can provide fresh solutions for problems you’re facing at home. Creative people are adept at taking one thing and pairing it with another for a fresh new idea. The surrealists have a penchant for pairing disparate items for the sake of jolting the mind out of its predictable path. Cultivate new associations based on what you’ve seen elsewhere.
7. Ability to relax dualistic thinking. We’re naturally prone to comparisons that lead to judgments. But that can hinder insights. If you’re caught up in thinking that it’s better in the US because shops are open on Sunday, you’re missing the opportunity to see what could result from doing things differently. Your willingness to set aside a comparative or competitive mindset makes life richer. Creative thinking goes beyond black/white or reductive thinking. Compare for the sake of opening your mind rather than solidifying an entrenched mindset.
8. Ability to adjust your pace. Perhaps the places you’re swim upstream, defending your own pace, or you’ll adapt and enter the flow. Creativity has its own timing and pace, and being able to adjust according to the ebb or flow makes things much easier. Be responsive to the flow of life around you.
9. Randomness. I call this juju – when unexpected connections surprise me. Juju appears most often when exploring with little or no plan, or as the French say, flaner. I always encounter something remarkable that sparks a new idea for my work or art. Random or unplanned occurrences are gold for the creative process. Don’t try to control your circumstances or projects too much; leave room for creative juju.
10. Physical fitness. Travel is tough on the body. Hauling luggage over cobblestones, eating too much strange food, and sleeping poorly can take a big toll. When your body is strong and resilient, you’re able to think beyond your basic physical needs. The same is true for creative work. If you’re not taking good care of yourself, chances are you’re not able to produce your best work. Build a strong physical foundation so you have energy to create and explore.
11. Bonus: Math smarts. Travel calls for all kinds of quotidian math. Calculating currency conversions, estimating costs, and juggling timetables all build your numeric literacy. Any creative project – writing a book, launching a business, or publishing a blog calls for a nimble numbers mind. Don’t leave math behind; make it work for you and your projects.
The next time you embark on a trip, know that your journey will build your creative capacity. You don’t have to do much other than hit the road and be open to the world’s gifts.
Copyright 2009 Cynthia Morris. Cynthia coaches creative people to confidence and completion and inspires life as a creative adventure. Visit http://www.originalimpulse.com to get an infusion of inspiration for your art, writing and life.
Guest Writer–Cynthia Morris on Blogging for Creativity
Blog for Creativity: Ten Reasons Your Muse Will Love Blogging
By Cynthia Morris
Blogging is a great way to add zest to your creative life. I love the way it engages me and my Muse. Here are ten reasons why blogging will bring your Muse around more frequently. Blogging:
- helps you focus your writing. Finding a good angle on a subject and spouting forth on it in under 500 words offers excellent writing practice.
- offers a great way to develop your visual art intelligence. I’ve been challenged to find photos that represent the topic and graphics that get my point across visually.
- is great conversation starter.
- invites your authentic voice out into the public and gives you a forum for your passion.
- keeps you alert to new ideas and concepts.
- helps connect you to a creative community of peers.
- allows you to develop content and ideas for products and books.
- fosters the opportunity to share links and resources that you love.
- gives you a deadline for posting art and writing.
- is FUN and fun always stimulates your creativity.
If you are considering blogging, I highly recommend it. If you’re a veteran blogger and need help keeping the pulse of your blog steady, consider my upcoming blogging class with Alyson Stanfield. See below for details.
Copyright 2009 Cynthia Morris. Cynthia coaches creative people to confidence and completion and inspires life as a creative adventure. Visit http://www.originalimpulse.com to get an infusion of inspiration for your art, writing and life.
Guest Writer, Christine Kane — How to Be an Extreme Encourager
Many years ago, when I first shared my dream of being a songwriter with one of my best friends, she knitted her brows and said, “Huh?”
I can’t say I was deflated by all of the warnings that followed. After all, I had always been surrounded by this kind of “practical thinking.” In fact, I probably shared my dream with her just so she’d talk me out of it.
During this fumbling stumbling time in my life, I met a man who became an unlikely best friend and mentor. He was a brilliant jazz musician, and he could do pretty much anything on the computer.
One night, after he performed at a local jazz club, we were walking towards my car. I told him my dream of being a songwriter. Without even blinking, he said, “Honey (he always called me Honey), you’d be a fabulous songwriter. That’s perfect!” And he meant it.
At that moment, I felt like I was falling into a soft clean bed. I had never experienced such direct and truthful encouragement without a single “practical” warning attached to it. This friend set me free by offering one simple thing: Encouragement.
Fast forward many years and successes and failures later. I’m surrounded by encouragers. I’m sure there are doubters around. But they don’t register anymore.
Also, I have become an extreme encourager myself.
I’ve observed extreme encouragers. I’ve also recognized some traits that they all have in common. Here they are:
· An extreme encourager lives by example
The best encouragers are the ones who live it. Whether they’re just getting started, or they’re veteran risk-taking creativity-living wild-women – the encouragers are the ones who want a bigger life for themselves and are willing to “go there.” This is why my jazz musician friend could simply offer encouragement when my other friend could not.
· An extreme encourager actively listens
Encouragers know that encouragement doesn’t mean you just tell people to “buck up” or “get over it.” They know how to listen. This means looking at the speaker, listening to her, setting agendas and judgments aside, and honoring the speaker as a wise soul.
· An extreme encourager avoids clichés
Avoiding clichés is actually a result of actively listening to someone. Being an extreme encourager doesn’t mean that you blindly tell people “You can do it!” or “Let go of fear!” It’s deeper than that. It’s seeing the truth of the other person, especially when they cannot.
· An extreme encourager acknowledges the hooglie-booglies, but doesn’t focus on them
We all have the hooglie-booglies. These are the voices that tell us we can’t, or we shouldn’t, or we’ll fail, or we’ll look stupid. An encourager doesn’t focus on those voices because she knows they they’re trying to hook her. An encourager simply acknowledges that the voices are there and that you can’t make them go away by arguing with them. An encourager knows that those voices aren’t the truth. They only SEEM like the truth.
· An extreme encourager remembers that no one knows what’s best for anyone else
An encourager knows that we are all wise and that sometimes we make choices that might not seem so wise. An extreme encourager calls out our deepest desires and then helps us see the thoughts and fears that hold us back.
· An extreme encourager accepts miracles, grace and mystery as the deeper truth.
Extreme encouragers are often mystics of sorts. They know that the so-called “woo-woo” stuff is more real than the so-called “logical” stuff. They celebrate the divine as a simple fact of everyday existence and don’t get caught up in the “prove it” mindset.
· An extreme encourager knows that you can develop the needed character traits as you go
In other words, she knows you’re ready now, even if you’re not perfect yet! I shudder when I read advice that discourages people from trying something because of character traits “required” in advance. “You shouldn’t blog if you’re not disciplined.” “If you don’t have focus, you can’t be a writer.” Most of the successful people I know developed these traits as they went. I certainly did. Encouragers understand the huge potential for growth in each human, especially when someone begins to follow her heart.
I’m grateful to the encouragers! And I’m grateful to be able to pass it on to others – either my friends, or to women in my retreats or my coaching clients!
Who has given you the encouragement you needed in your life? And do you pass it on now?
Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.
Guest Writer, Christine Kane–The Universe is Your Dog
“Start by becoming a pack leader in your own world and healing your own world, and the effects will ripple.” – Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer
One of the fun assignments in my Uplevel Your Life Mastery Program is what I call “Mental Dress Up.”
This is a game that you can play daily. It is designed to bring intentions to life by literally embodying them in your own being.
Here’s how it works:
Take a few moments throughout your day and Be [Fill in the Blank with Desired Thing].
As you’re driving you can become a published writer. What would that feel like? When you’re at a party, try being someone that everyone wants to talk to. Be wise. Be someone who has so many clients, you can hardly get through a day without turning people down. Be someone who is certain of what she wants. What does that feel like?
Don’t get all scrunchy-faced and try to VISUALIZE – which is a very high-pressure word.
Instead feel the effortless shift in you, and BE successful. BE a fun person. BE wealthy. BE a rock star. Whatever!
My client Isabella started using this technique when she decided to “be someone who loves to run with her dog in the morning.” She was amazed at the results.
Typically after a few blocks of running, she’d start wheezing and feel awful. But when she became “someone who loved running with her dog,” she had more stamina and felt great during the run. She got better and better at this game until she actually began to love running with her dog!
One morning, she was returning from a run. Another dog and his owner were walking in her direction. Isabella’s dog, Bruno, is still healing from an abusive past and can be aggressive with other dogs. So, Isabella started to get anxious, clinging to Bruno’s leash.
Then, she remembered Mental Dress Up.
Instead of getting nervous and reacting to her dog’s bad behavior, she focused on how calm she felt and how much she loved her dog. She also played Mental Dress Up on Bruno, feeling that he was always very loving and peaceful around other dogs.
It worked! Bruno was fine. He followed her energy, and they both headed home without incident. To Isabella, this was a nice little miracle.
At this same time, Isabella was beginning a new business. She had experienced a whole range of emotions from enthusiasm to fear tone. He followed her energy, and they both headed home without incident. To Isabella, this was a nice little miracle.
excitement to disappointment during the process. At one point, she met with her accountant. The accountant was skeptical, issuing warnings to Isabella about the numbers and telling her the reasons why the business wouldn’t work.
During our coaching call, she shared these stories – about the triumph with her dog, and about the discouragement from her accountant. She wanted to know how to deal with her emotions after this deflating meeting.
Here’s what I told her:
I said, “Your accountant is your dog.”
Huh?
It’s true!
People follow your energy. It doesn’t matter if they are mentors, accountants, lawyers, audience members, listeners, friends, or customers. People follow your energy, just like dogs. You always have a choice to step up and lead them. Just like Cesar Millan has been telling dog owners for years. And just like Bruno showed Isabella in that one situation.
I told her that the success of her business would always be up to her. I told her that every business owner, artist or entrepreneur experiences bad news, good news, depression, loss, gain and insecurity. The decision to quit, fail, or succeed is always hers.
In that moment, her accountant might have sensed her fear and found all the negative stuff he could muster up to dissuade her. He became her dog and followed her energy.
You don’t have to be a Jedi master to tap into someone’s emotional state of being. You just have to be human. Had Isabella been feeling confident, most likely the accountant would have presented his views in a different light.
Ultimately, during our coaching call, I told Isabella this:
“The Universe is your dog.”
Everything and everyone follows the energy and emotional state you bring to it. Decide that you can do something, and the Universe follows that decision. Choose to radiate love and wisdom, and the Universe follows that radiance. This is not always an easy place to go. But it almost always teaches us about our own power to create or transform any situation.
Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.
Guest Writer–56 Things You Can Toss Out Now
56 Things You Can Toss Out Now
by Christine Kane
We hold onto our stuff for two reasons: Love or fear. We either love things. Or we fear letting them go.
We cherish them and know they have value to us.
OR…
We fear that we’ll need them someday. We fear that we wasted our money on them. We fear what others will think if we let them go. We even fear making the decision to release our mistakes, so we don’t make any decision at all. Instead we passively hold onto stuff out of guilt.
Well, guess what?
When you begin to make choices from a place of LOVE and EXPANSION, then your world will change. Love is the clearest reason to do anything. If you don’t love it, toss it. Give it away. Your abundance and energy will increase when you begin to live by love, and not by fear.
Here are 56 things you can toss out (or give away) right now…
1. All the hotel key cards you forgot to turn it when you checked out.
2. The doilies your Aunt Missy crocheted 45 years ago that got handed down to you.
3. CD’s you haven’t listened to in three years or more.
4. The boxes of cassettes you’ve been meaning to transfer to CD’s.
5. The bread maker you haven’t used since 2003.
6. Your wedding dress
NOTE: You can say you’ve been saving it for your daughter, but here are three signs that your daughter doesn’t want to wear it: a] she’s already married and wore her own dress, b] she’s been roommates with a woman named Pat for nine years, or c] you don’t have a daughter.
7. Credit card bills from 1995.
8. The Allen wrenches from every piece of IKEA furniture you ever assembled.
9. The jacket you spent way too much money on and never wore. NOTE: Keeping it around just to punish yourself for your bad choices is like going to parochial school all over again.
10. Every scratching post or toy your cat doesn’t like. NOTE: Your cat didn’t go to parochial school so there’s no sense punishing him.
11. House plants you no longer love.
12. The stacks of O Magazine you swear you’ll re-read.
13. Every little zippy bag that came with a Clinique purchase.
14. Every unopened perfume that came with a Clinique purchase.
15. Leftover scrunchies in case you grow your hair long again.
16. The “Cherries Jubilee” flavored lip balm that makes you nauseous.
17. Every single regretful lipstick color you bought on a whim. (“Cherries Jubilee” is probably there, too.)
18. Your last four cell phones and all their chargers and blue teeth.
19. Single socks.
20. The Spode Christmas plates and mugs you don’t like. (Along with the Christmas bath towels and welcome mat.)
21. The framed posters you had in your college dorm room.
22. Old stereo wires.
NOTE: If your husband refuses to let go of any of these mysterious wires, try this: Put them (not him!) in a bin and label it “Random Cables and Wires.” After two years, bring it out of storage and kindly note that no one has thought about it in two years. Ask if it would be okay to let go of half of them. Repeat process until all mysterious cables and wires are gone.
23. The nails, screws, anchors, and cup hooks rusting in the bottom of your tool chest.
24. Remote controls that don’t remotely control anything you own.
25. Lamps, toasters, blenders, coffeemakers that no longer work.
26. The notion that you will ever be one of those moms that makes beautiful scrapbooks.
NOTE: Put your photos in boxes. No one will judge you.
27. Old blankets and linens you keep in case you suddenly have 27 sleepover guests.
28. College text books
29. Any boring decorative item that does little more than fill space.
30. Vases you don’t love or use.
31. Candle holders you don’t love or use.
32. Picture frames you don’t love or use.
33. Class notes from college.
34. The idea that you have to save every piece of your children’s artwork and school work because it might mean you don’t love them if you don’t.
35. The “good silver” you don’t use that was passed down to you.
36. Old VHS movies
37. Unlabeled VHS tapes. (And don’t waste your time watching them just in case.)
38. The stationary bike that got even more stationary after you got it.
39. The fabric pieces you’ve been collecting in case you ever become a quilter.
40. Flashlights that dimly light up only after you bang them over and over on your thigh.
41. Old keys that open some door somewhere in the past.
42. Suitcases you don’t use.
43. Old computers.
44. Old stereos.
45. Promotional duffel bags with ugly logos and bad acronyms stitched all over them.
46. Anything that makes you say, “But I got such a good price on it!”
47. Anything that makes you say, “But I paid so much for it!”
48. Half-full cans of paint.
49. Extra baby items/Old baby items.
50. Record albums. NOTE: Don’t spend your extra hours in a day trying to figure out if someone will buy them. Really. They won’t.
51. Gifts you never liked.
52. All the cross-stitch, knitting, or sewing projects you never finished.
53. Any glassware or dinnerware that is a “memorabilia” item from proms or sororities or sports events.
54. Old information packets you no longer need or that you can easily find on line.
55. All the hotel soaps that you took with you. (And stop taking them. You’ve got plenty of soap!)
56. The belief that you only have to go through the de-cluttering process once and won’t ever have to do it again.
Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.
WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.
Create With Kim 