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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Motivate, Advocate, & Reciprocate

Life is a gift! Every moment, everyday counts. Recently I ordered an item called a Living Locket by Origami Owl. I put a lot of thought into the items that would make up my locket that I would wear each day.

First to represent "Motivation" I choose a plate with the word Inspire inscribed on the top. I love when people are motivated by actions and words. In both my professional and personal life I hope to inspire others to live out their dreams, love their life, and leave mark in history.

Second I chose a grey ribbon and added a red drop of blood to represent Diabetes Awareness. The cause that I choose to support is in finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes and being a voice to the difference between type 1 and type 2. There are so many causes in this world! I believe we should each find one that is near to our heart and support it with our giving, time and voice. What is your cause?

The third item is the word "love". This represents many factors of my life. I found that when you have a love to give back, to do for others, and to serve the community, you truly live a live of passion which is represented by the red accent stone.




Two great quotes that some up my purpose to reciprocate:

I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and do no defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again. -William Penn

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.- Winston Churchill

We only have one life which is the inspiration for the final piece of my locket. A tree with the words unscripted in the back stating that "Life Is A Gift".

This represents who I am and the image that I strive to live out each day.




What is your life known for? What are your passions? For motivation on not just existing in this world but existing passionately, follow my blog post throughout the week or visit my page.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Every Little Bit of Motivation Counts!

In 2012 I made a commitment to start living a healthier life. Since then I have lost 30 lbs, changed the way I eat and my overall lifestyle. The amazing part is that I am still changing! My husband has seen this commitment and recently made life a lot more simple by surprising me with two amazing gifts. The first was our very own elliptical machine. No excuses! The second was given to me this past Monday and it was a Fitbit Flex band.

Have you seen these?

fitbit flex
I immediately began searching for reviews and information on what others thought of this product. What I discovered was that for the most part people LOVE it! Overall it seems to be the perfect "motivator" for the person like myself that is making small yet significant changes in their lifestyle. 

What I like is that it it can sync to my laptop, android phone and my Ipad. When on my phone or Ipad the screen display looks like this:


During initial setup I entered my current weight along with fitness goals and selected a plan according to the level at which I wanted to work at. The program then set up the amount of calories that I need to intake each days as well as burn. With ease I can enter my water intake throughout the day and food that is consumed. In addition to loving the application itself the device is comfortable and water resistant. 

When on my laptop, the Fitbit Dashboard is a little more detailed. It offers the ability to view graphs and average results in various categories. Additional resources include the ability to keep a daily journal and log heart rate, blood pressure and glucose readings. It all depends on how specific and detailed you choose to be. The battery life from what I researched is around 5 days. I am currently on day 4 and my battery life is just at the halfway mark. 

I personally have not found a downside but could see the potential for someone much more active or who is an athlete.  They may find this device to be more work and less motivating. This product could give false readings by misunderstanding your high activity for actually steps you are taking. You can override that by logging into your app and adjusting your current activity, but you would need to realize this takes away from the simplicity and easiness of the product. If you don't mind this task then it would not be an issue. 

I will leave you with this tip. Whenever I use a new product or start a new endeavor I find that motivation comes from seeking out others of like mind. So to achieve that goal with my fitbit flex, I made my way over to the official Fitbit blog site and subscribed to their feed. They have a ton of interesting tips, motivating challenges and statistics to keep you and your fitbit working together. 

My overall opinion thus far of the product is that it lives by it's product name in that every little bit does motivate and make a difference in living a fit lifestyle! What are you doing to keep yourself motivated? 

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Making Memories With No Regrets

Have you ever found yourself investing time to plan a vacation and once you getaway nothing seems to be going according to this master plan? You find yourself more frustrated than you do relaxed and full of joy?

I've found a few ways to ensure that any vacation whether small or short will help relieve the stress and leave you with nothing but amazing memories!

First, DON'T WAIT! Life is constantly going and moving forward. If we wait until everything is calm and in order we will never find ourselves getting away. Sure, there is probably a better time of the year than others to plan special trips, but don't underestimate and overlook the power of a quick getaway. It is refreshing and renewing to your soul and will help you live a life of passion!

Second, TRY NEW THINGS! Visit a new location, try the food that you can't pronounce, go para-sailing, just say yes to that experience that you have always been curious about. Ask questions and be inquisitive. You never know what you will discover about yourself.

Third, NO REGRETS! The worst thing you can do is come off of a vacation or mini-getaway and focus on how much you spent financially verses the memories you made. If this is something that tends to always become an issue following an experience, next time plan ahead to only use cash or the amount of money placed on a prepaid travel credit card. Research activities of interest in advance and financially plan according into your budget. This will ensure that your focus remains on more memories and less regrets!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

6 Ways To Live Your Life With Passion

Life is a journey. Often, we can find ourselves in a boring routine along the way where we wake up, get ready for work, breakfast in the car, same work routine everyday, go home, dinner, bed and do it all again. It happens to most of us at one point or another. Life gets busy. But that does not mean it should be any less meaningful and passionate.


Six ways guaranteed to change your ordinary life into one that exist with passion!



1. Love your career!
If you don't then your the only one who can fix that. Start now with a plan. If that means going back to school so you can achieve your dreams then do it! The only person stopping you is yourself. Stop telling yourself it's too late to change careers or that your children need you at home. There are solutions to all your road blocks if you seek them out and are determined to make it happen. Yes, it's harder if you already have a family but trust me, my personal experience, you can do it and it is so rewarding.


2. Love yourself first!
Love yourself enough to take care of you mind, body and soul. Bring balance to these areas of your life so that every morning you wake up with confidence and every night you go to bed feeling accomplished.






3. Try new things!                 
Go ahead and eat the sushi, attend a painting class, try out a new recipe, join a spin class and step out of the box. Start pinning fun new things to do and try, like new hair! We live in a great big world, don't be afraid to discover all it has to offer.

4. Be a voice!
What is close to your heart? Is it breast cancer, autism, diabetes, heart disease, abuse, homeless, kids or the elderly? The list is endless and most of us are affected in someway or another with a cause that we can be a part of through raising awareness, finding a cure or solution to the problem, and financially contributing to a mission. Find yours and be a part, volunteer! Organizations need you! Together we can make a difference in this world.

5. Surround yourself with success
Be a part of social media groups that are positive and challenging. Go to that networking lunch, join the study group, attend the Gala. Subscribe to successful people and motivational blogs, newsletters, twitter feeds and Instagram accounts. Keep feeding yourself the good stuff! Follow and participate in groups that promote success like Success Networking via LinkedIn


6. Be a PASSIONATE person
Don't be satisfied with just being "okay". In whatever you do, wherever you go and whoever your with, be happy, enthusiastic and fascinated enough that you continue to discover new things.
There is an old saying that says you get out of life what you put in. If your not happy, if your life lacks energy and meaning then ask yourself what are you going to do to change that?