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We have the power to unlock the secret to childhood creativity and it is SO simple. Learn how to step away from the world, how to reinvigorate your mind, and how to find you again.

Hello, everybody, and welcome to this week’s episode of Motivate Me!

It’s Me! Time here on Motivate Me! and we are working on coming back from flat.

Before we start, let’s get into the right headspace. Let’s engage in the idea that this is time where YOU are the priority. Let’s take two slow, deep breaths to get us centered. Just follow me.

Today’s focus is: Unplug to Recharge

Listen, it’s no secret that in today’s society many people are trying to mimic the highlight reel they see of the lives others share on social media. And, it’s no secret that we pick up our phones twice as much as we think we do. The NY Post estimates that we pick our phones up eighty times a day, which is every twelve minutes. I’ve seen other reports that say that number is even higher.

For the record, I’m a cell-phone, Internet, social media, people-loving person myself who really enjoys staying connected with friends and family online. And I’m curious and I love to watch all different kinds of videos: true crimes, inspirational, historical, etc.… all the things. I get “sucked down rabbit holes” all the time, as they say.

If you’re not familiar, getting “sucked down a rabbit hole” looks like this: You think to yourself, “Oh, Billie Eilish has a new song out!” So you search YouTube, play the new song, then play three of her other videos, then watch videos about her life. Then you decide to search for footage about her and her brother recording their first album in their bedroom, which leads you to search to see if her brother has an album of his own. Yep, he does! So you flip through all his songs on the app Spotify. Then you go to Billie’s Instagram to see how her new album is being received and get sucked into reading pages of comments by her once adoring fans who are bashing her because they think she’s doing something called “queer-baiting” – because she titled one of her posts, “I like girls.” Now her fans think she’s just baiting a specific fan group in order to build her base.

On one hand, all this searching and watching was interesting and entertaining, it was also informative because “queer baiting” is new to me. On the other hand, I lost an hour of my life, and I walked away feeling horrible. I couldn’t stop reading the posts, one after the other, bashing Billie. And I thought, “Wow, fans! Where’s your loyalty?” Shouldn’t fans show support until they at least know what they’re bashing? Isn’t Billie allowed to be human? I understand what they’re upset at, but they’re making assumptions and they’re judging – judging harshly – and I’m not about it. It honestly made me super sad, it’s still resonating with me. Like, I hope Billie Eilish is OK right now.

I hope people who’ve been through this reach out to her. In the rabbit hole, I did see that she’s become friends with Justin Bieber, so maybe him or Pink or Gaga or Britney or Lindsay or anyone else who’s been put on the pedestal to be ripped down is giving her perspective.

I had a whole conversation about it with my husband because this is one of the ways celebrities end up in rehabs. Billie Eilish has a strong support system, I just hope it’s enough to get her through this, because she’s 19-years-old and that’s a crazy place to be in all of this.

Anyway, do you see how invested we can get when we get sucked down the rabbit hole? How much energy we put into things that have nothing to do with us, things we have no control over?

Now, I’m not saying to never explore random things and people online. Sometimes we do this as a family, and we learn new things about people, their life, their craft. I just found out some pretty interesting things about Louis Armstrong’s life! I’m just saying that sometimes we need to unplug from it all to recharge who we are, to evolve in our own right.

So, what does it mean to “unplug to recharge”? Here’s my definition:

To “unplug” yourself means to step away from the world at large and let your mind be still.

And to “recharge” yourself means to refresh and reinvigorate your state of mind.

So, what kinds of things is it important to unplug from and for how long do we need to do this?

In general, I recommend finding space and time away from the things on this following list, and doing this for at least thirty minutes once a week (much longer, if you can).

You will need to say NO to:

            – Internet

            – telephone calls

            – social media

            – YouTube

            – video games (all games)

            – television

            – music (optional)

The only reason I suggest avoiding music is because we’re constantly being stimulated by something, and nothing manipulates our emotions more than music. What would you think about and what would you do if you were surrounded by total silence? If you were sitting in a room and everything was just off? Just still?

Something would happen. If you didn’t fall asleep, your mind would probably become restless and very quickly you would start thinking about things, like, maybe I should paint these walls or make a pillow? Or where is that book I’ve been wanting to read? Or I should try that new chicken recipe for dinner tonight.

Or maybe your mind starts envisioning story lines or begins to hear new melodies or starts to plan a surprise for someone you love.

You may have experienced this when we were forced to quarantine if you weren’t busying yourself with distractions, like binge-watching television, scrolling through social media eight hours a day, drinking all that wine. I’m not here to judge. I had days doing all these things, that’s how I know what you need to get yourself back on track. That’s how I know that in order to recharge, we must unplug.

Here is the only thing you are not allowed to do during unplugged time – and it will be your first go-to! – when you have these delicious, creative ideas, you CANNOT pick up your phone. When the ideas come, jot them down, jot down a few notes to look into later. Yes, on paper – not on your phone. You don’t have a phone right now, remember? Just keep gathering ideas. Draw out your idea, create steps, do all the things, but the longer you wait, the more you gather this information, the more developed it will be, because you are giving yourself space and stillness to delve deeper.

So often we use all of the things we are plugged into as distraction, it’s a form of escapism that is different than but similar to drugs, alcohol, excessive exercise, a shopping addiction, etc. All of these distractions take our minds off of things. But if our minds are distracted, how will we ever grow or change or create?

If you really want to give yourself this opportunity, if you really want to see what could stem from this kind of quiet time, try to manage these four additional distractions, too. These will take more planning.

The first one is: Work

– Work is the first of these. It’s very easy to throw ourselves into making other people successful. And very often, work can bleed into our personal lives and drain us. Even if you’re someone whose work is a passion, getting that thirty minutes to an hour of quiet time a week could enhance the work you are already doing. Work/Life Balance is vital to the recharging process, so it’s important to value this time and honor it.

The second one is: Chores

– Chores are an obvious responsibility we can’t get away from, but we can absolutely give ourselves an allotted amount of time a week to ignore what needs to be done.

The third one is: Pets

– Pets seem like a silly thing to bring up here, but have you ever finished all your running around, you pour yourself a nice cold drink, you sit on the couch, and Fido goes into a full-blown temper tantrum? Exactly. And if you’ve only allotted yourself thirty minutes to unplug, then taking the dog out and getting their treat, their dinner, their fresh water, and then getting your head back in the right headspace could cost you at least ten minutes of your thirty! So take my advice, take care of any needy pets before you start your time.

The final and fourth one is: Relationships

– Relationships is the most important and final point I’d like to bring up. And when I say relationships, I mean any and all that leave you with a sense of responsibility. Yourpartner, children, family, neighbors, friends… whoever could commandeer your quiet time, physically or mentally. Again, plan ahead to get the most out of this time, and remember that you are not required to respond to calls and texts on demand. Your work lunch break may be the best time for you, when you are padded by your work day? And, maybe you can utilize these relationships to help you achieve your goals; could someone in your life assist you in getting this quiet time?

We would love to hear your thoughts. Join us in our Private Facebook group: Motivate Me! Support System and checkout MotivateMePodcast.com for anything else.

I am going to leave you with some truth talk from me to you: What happens when kids are home and bored? They begin to create. They make forts and draw and have talent shows and play teacher. Make it your mission to find time to get bored! Unplug, be idle, stop the multi-tasking. I know some pretty important people and they manage to unplug – because none of us are so important that the world will not go around if we dip out for an hour. So claim your time, it’s yours to take, and see what you can create with it!

Remember, you Motivate Me!

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Hello, everybody, and welcome to this week’s episode of Motivate Me!

It’s Me! Time here on Motivate Me! and we are working on coming back from flat.

Before we start, let’s get into the right headspace. Let’s engage in the idea that this is time where YOU are the priority. Let’s take two slow, deep breaths to get us centered. Just follow me.

Today’s focus is: Say Goodbye to Feeling Selfish

This topic has evolved for me over time. What does “say goodbye to feeling selfish” mean? At first glance, we probably think about how hard it is to let go of our daily responsibilities just long enough to embrace a personal interest, but is that it? Is that all there is to feeling selfish and is it that easy to just let go?

I mean, where did the idea that we’re selfish begin for us? We’re not born believing we’re selfish human beings. This goes deeper than that. Really deep. And, if we feel like at our core we are truly selfish, how will we ever be able to dedicate the time, space, and energy we need to create, to evolve, to flourish, to deeply love?

How will we ever feel worthy of success or abundance if we are heavily rooted in the belief that we don’t deserve these things because we’re not good enough?

I think the fundamental idea we need to prove to ourselves first is that we are good. So let’s start there, let’s prove it. Here’s what I would like you to do: I would like you to take some time to look past what you think you already know, to look past what anyone in your life has told you, and I want you to write down some facts. Just list examples of when you know you did good for someone. Think about times when you sacrificed your time, your effort, your energy, your money. Think about the times you have prayed for someone, times that you sincerely wished well for someone, think about how you have shown love to others.

Here’s why this is important: You may have been a bratty, selfish teen who was trying to fit in and put friends before family, but are you that person now? Have you been that person for the past twenty or thirty years? Or maybe the person who called you selfish used that term to get you to do what they wanted, because, in reality, they’re the selfish one? Maybe no one called you selfish at all and you just assumed people thought you were because of a story you created in your own mind about a situation?

The funny thing is, none of that stuff matters, that’s why we need to focus on facts. So, first make that list of all the good you have done in the world. See that you are not a selfish person, that you’re, actually, quite a giving person who has true and pure intentions. Someone who wants good things for others.

Know that people who believe they’re selfish are most likely not selfish – why? – because a selfish person would never put the time into caring about how what they want impacts others. Wow, that would be a big contradiction!

I will warn you that gaining this awareness is not a magic cure. Even when you see the facts on paper, you will probably make excuses about how you have done good things but that doesn’t make you a good person. If this is you, you will just need to continue to prove to yourself that you are good.

Continue to revisit this in your mind daily – and sometimes you will have triggers that set you back. Especially because people who believe they are selfish have the hardest time protecting their personal boundaries.

OK, so let’s say that you got this down. You made your list, you’re proving to yourself, “Hey, self, I’m a pretty damn good person, I’m not selfish at all,” and you are reinforcing that idea daily through your giving thoughts and actions – what next?

Do a chore a day.

Sounds so simple, right? It is. Do whatever you need to do to feel as if you’re pulling your weight in your world so you can spend untethered time on something you’re passionate about!

You may be laughing at the idea of having to do only one chore a day, maybe you typically do twelve? But, maybe you’re someone who is currently struggling to get even one chore done a day?

There is really so much to say on this topic that I know I’m going to struggle keeping this episode around ten minutes, so I am not going to beat around the bush here.

If you are someone inundated with chores, always racing around to get it all done, with no time left for yourself – ever, like nowhere in a week can you find a few hours for you, you need to look deeper into that for yourself.  Something else may be going on, like staying busy stops you from facing reality, like you don’t feel worthy enough to focus on you, like you are making yourself a martyr. If this is you, before you can move on with any other ideas shared here, make sure you take an honest look at this. Discussing this with a loved one, friend, or therapist, journaling about, and being honest with yourself is really helpful here.

If you are someone who struggles to get even one chore done, you have to remember that decluttering your space will declutter your mind. This may be as simple as doing the dishes or organizing your junk drawer or cleaning out the refrigerator. Whatever is wearing on you, tackle it in pieces. You can always tell the health of my mental state by my laundry room: if it’s in chaos, so am I, if it’s under control, so am I.

So… let’s start this by understanding we are worthy of time to ourselves to feed our interests. Then, let’s see responsibility and creativity as equals! Next, let’s make a plan!

The Four Simple Steps to Guilt-Free Creativity

1) Make a “Do List”

            – Label your To Do list by days of the week:

                        *Labeling this list “Do Monday” will set the expectation that you will attempt to                                     complete these tasks on this specific day

                        *Rather than having one large list, this breaks down your responsibilities into

                        smaller chunks, helps you prioritize, and helps help pencil in time for you

            – Include on this list everything you want to accomplish on that day:

                        *Include the chores, the hours you will work, appointments you have, phone calls                                    you need to make, questions you need answered, the dinner menu, any exercise,                                   reading, or journaling plans

                        *Include your creativity goal

            – Mark things off as you go:

                        *At the end of the day, try to fit in what you missed – maybe it’s your stretches or                                   your meditation, maybe you can change your nail polish right before bed (I know

                        it’s risky, you’ll have to wait until morning to see if they dried without blanket                             wrinkles!) Checking items off the list is pretty motivating, I’ve been known to make a mad dash late at night. I’ve been seen on the couch nails wrapped in aluminum foil soaking of my gel polish, heated eye moisturizer mask prescribed by my doctor on my face, and headphones on getting my meditation in – that is                                some multi-tasking! I feel so good afterwards.

                        *Whatever you don’t get to, don’t sweat it, just add it to tomorrow’s list.

                        *Take a moment to look at all the things you did get done! Be proud of yourself.

2) See Yourself as Important

            – What lengths would you go to if your child wanted to learn a new instrument, take

            dance classes, or become an athlete? Would you talk them out of it? Would you fill them   with fear and doubt? Would you make excuses over money and time?

            – Or would you make it happen because you love them that much? This is how much you need to love yourself. This is the kind of support and encouragement you need to show yourself. Do not feel selfish – just love yourself as much as you love everyone else.

3) Give

            – If you want to fill yourself with love, joy, and abundance give of yourself. Care about

            others, help when needed, show kindness, care, be connected, be compassionate.

            – Give without any expectation of reciprocation. Give without being attached to what

            the other person does with it. Let’s say you gave someone a meal or money and they gave

            it away to someone else, this does not change your act of kindness. And, who knows why

            they did what they did. That’s not part of your story.

            – Remember: You cannot feel selfish when you’re giving.

4) Make Believing “I am Good” a Habit

            – Revisit the knowledge that you are good by writing a new list of facts that prove it.

            – Change how you view yourself.

            – Change how you value and honor yourself.

            – Believe in yourself – this is the foundation of the Law of Attraction.

            – By doing these things, you control what you actually accomplish!

We would love to hear your thoughts. Join us in our Private Facebook group: Motivate Me! Support System and checkout MotivateMePodcast.com for anything else.

I am going to leave you with some truth talk from me to you: Selfishness is such an important topic. Feeling selfish runs deep, it holds us back, it controls us, and in the end, it will have been pointless. Let go of whatever created this in you the best you can, and keep working at understanding how truly good you are. Make believing in yourself a habit. No one has the power to change this narrative but you – and that is only a decision away.

Remember, you Motivate Me!

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What does it mean to emotionally detach yourself? What are the benefits to doing this, how can doing this help to build relationships based on respect, and how can doing this increase your personal support system?

MM546- Emotionally Detach Yourself

Hello, everybody, and welcome to this week’s episode of Motivate Me!

It’s Me! Time here on Motivate Me! and we are working on coming back from flat.

Before we start, let’s get into the right headspace. Let’s engage in the idea that this is time where YOU are the priority. Let’s take two slow, deep breaths to get us centered. Just follow me.

Today’s focus is: Emotionally Detach Yourself

Where did we start believing that if we don’t care with every fiber of our being, or become consumed with the lives of our loved ones, that we don’t care?

How many times have we allowed what our spouse or children are going through to consume us? I can think of many times I’ve done this. One example would be speaking to my husband during the work day and hearing about how he got ripped to shreds during a big meeting because he didn’t have something prepared. This will weigh on me all day, and at dinner I’ll empathize with him and how embarrassing this experience must have been – only for him to tell me that his boss realized that he’d never passed along the material and let everyone else know it.

Similarly, say I was concerned about a situation where my daughter called for a freak out session about a fight she got into with her college roommate. She’d get me all spun up, and I’d be concerned about her and the situation. But later, when I’d ask how things were going, she’d say that the issue had been resolved for hours or sometimes even days.

In both of these situations, I’m sitting over here with a knot in my stomach over things I have absolutely no control over. I’m distracted and less productive in my own life because I’m worried about my family – when their situations have been resolved and I don’t even know it.

Does this happen to you? I know I’m not the only one!

This is why I want to talk to you about the importance of detaching emotionally from friends and family. I want you to think of emotionally detaching as just taking a small step back from the details of their everyday lives. Think of this more as creating just a little bit of emotional distance, where you are just not quite so invested in the outcomes of their situations.

Why do this? Because it’s not your job to solve their problems. Why else? Because you need to be focused on what you’re here to accomplish.

I’ve learned a lot about emotional detachment, and I practiced it a lot until it became my natural behavior. I’ve learned that if it’s not in my control, I can give it less weight in my heart and my head. I have whole-heartedly accepted the idea that 99% of what we worry about never occurs, and that whatever my family experiences in their journey that is out of my control is meant for them and has nothing to do with me.

Now, this doesn’t mean that I don’t care, I care a ton. And it does not mean that I love them less or am here for them less. I always want to hear about their jobs, their friends, their lives. These are my favorite people! I just don’t wear their challenges. I don’t own them. I don’t feel like I need to fix them. I focus more on asking questions that help them make their own decisions than giving advice.

So Motivate Me! Friends, the reality is that our focus should be on our own paths, and we should allow our loved one’s focus to be on their own paths.  Our lives will naturally and lovingly intertwine. We are all teachers and all students in each other’s lives, and I have learned so much about my family and myself from creating some emotional distance.

On one hand, it’s freeing to let go of feeling responsible for everyone else’s happiness. We think we do, but we really don’t have control over other people’s happiness. This is a personal journey based on a person’s perspective on life and their decision to be happy.

And on the other hand, it’s empowering to take control of our own happiness, and to allow ourselves the time and space to do that.

Something else that you may not expect from taking an emotional step back from your loved ones is how this will make them feel. At first, they may buck because they are used to you jumping in and solving everything, or caring to the point of worrying. But once they adjust, they may begin to feel more capable in making their own decisions, they may feel more respected by you because you are showing confidence in them. And here’s the best part, they may begin to mirror your modeling and start to show and give you and your desires more respect and support. And isn’t that a beautiful thing?

We would love to hear your thoughts. Join us in our Private Facebook group: Motivate Me! Support System and checkout MotivateMePodcast.com for anything else.

I am going to leave you with some truth talk from me to you: We cannot take ownership of the life path of others. When we raise our children, our goal is to make them healthy, happy, independent humans who are capable and confident. They cannot become this if we don’t give them the space. So as they mature, become the guide on the side, reveal to them that you are a human, too, who is just learning and growing. Create the distance between you that inspires confidence in them, and show them the kind of respect that will encourage them to become your greatest fan and source of support.

This is a gift you will give them, yourself, and the families they create.

Remember, you Motivate Me!

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Putting our ideas and work out into the world for feedback is a vulnerable place to be. Learn why it is imperative that we go through this process, and how best to protect ourselves when met with negative energy.

MM545- Be Open to Feedback, but not Too Open

Hello, everybody, and welcome to this week’s episode of Motivate Me!

It’s Me! Time here on Motivate Me! and we are working on coming back from flat.

Before we start, let’s get into the right headspace. Let’s engage in the idea that this is time where YOU are the priority. Let’s take two slow, deep breaths to get us centered. Just follow me.

Today’s focus is: Be Open to Feedback, but not Too Open

So hopefully, you have been taking a deep dive into yourself in order to reconnect with what excites you.

I’m wondering what you have you discovered? I’m wondering if you have shared your new ideas with anyone? If not, I recommend that you start thinking about with whom you can share these discoveries.

If you’ve been meditating and journaling, chances are your energy is shifting and your perspective is changing.

Are you gaining clarity on who you are, who you’ve always been, and what drives you? Have you gathered materials and begun to create? Are you starting to see that a new pathway could be opening up for you? Have you started a new project or business plan?

If you are making mental or emotional moves, or if you’ve begun to work on something tangible, it’s important to verbalize these new ideas. To learn how to articulate them. To see how they feel when they hit the air. Doing this will inspire even more clarity and even more ideas. It allows us to voice our excitement and build human connection.

By speaking these changes or new ideas, we claim this direction for ourselves. We start believing it for ourselves. We map our brain to achieve it. We put it out to the universe. We practice being vulnerable. We gain confidence.

And also in doing this, we open ourselves up to feedback from others. Being open to feedback is a big part of the creative process, the part that is not always easy to do, so it’s important to know how to protect ourselves after putting ourselves in such a vulnerable space.

We want to approach this feedback with an open-mind, we want to listen deeply to the ideas of others – not spend this time building a defense against what they’re saying while they’re speaking, we want to learn from them and their perspective. However, in the end, we need to make our own creative decisions. 

This concept is easy to understand if you’ve ever seen the reality show Project Runway. Tim Gunn comes around and critiques the show’s contestants as they’re working. Well, he doesn’t always get it right, and sometimes the fashion designer sticks to their vision. This is not always the right call by the designer, but there have been many times where that look wins the episode. There is something to be said for sticking to our vision, but like in the show, sometimes we have to “edit” that vision to make it better than our initial idea.

We cannot distinguish between holding our ground or editing our initial idea if we’re busy being defensive. So we have to really take in what others have to say, consider their opinions, revisit what we want to accomplish and why we want to accomplish it, and then make the decision to either pivot from our original direction, tweak it, or stay rooted.

Now, what happens if the feedback we receive is not what we had hoped for or needed? What if it sucks the wind out of our sails? That moment where we were so excited about it until, for whatever reason, the person or people we shared our ideas with is not? I have three suggestions for this.

1. Sometimes we need to take a short break.

Whether it’s days or two weeks, create space between what you’re working on and where you want to take it. Maybe your aspirations are a little ambitious and you need to break your plans into smaller steps. Or maybe your plans are big but you know you are the person to make it happen. Take your time to consider what you want to accomplish from many angles, journal about it, meditate on it, let feelings about it surface.

2. Others sometimes respond to our ideas with their own insecurities.

This insecurity could be because they want to protect you, or they don’t want you to be more successful than them, or they don’t want to be left behind, or what you’re doing is outside of their own comfort zone.

For example: When I told someone I had an idea to travel the 50 states in 90 days to interview people about passion, their response was: “Aren’t you scared? I can’t believe your husband is going to let you do that.” I had to remind myself that their response wasn’t about me and my idea; their response was about them and how they would feel about doing my idea. They would be scared. Their husband wouldn’t “let” them do something like this.

3. We are prone to make up stories in our head about what other people are thinking or feeling.

Did you really get negative feedback, or could you be jumping to conclusions?

Here’s an example: We share an idea with someone, or a work of art with someone, or a personal goal with someone, and they either don’t respond, or it takes them forever to respond, or their response is weak.

What do we automatically assume? We automatically think our idea is stupid, our art is horrible, our goal is ridiculous. We jump to conclusions and make interpretations that are not real.

Even if their reaction does mean this and it IS real… go back to points #1 and #2 – either take a short break from what you’re working on, or understand that this person could be responding with their own insecurities.

If we pay attention, we can learn a lot about others when sharing of ourselves, it’s almost like being psychic, it’s so telling.

I’m going to leave you on this last note: What is the best way to know if you are headed down the right path? It’s easy: follow your feelings. If something intrigues and excites you, keep going. If something causes you stress, doubt, or anxiety, you’re not hitting the target, but that doesn’t mean you are far off base, either. So take the feedback of others with a brave ear, and then follow your heart.

We would love to hear your thoughts. Join us in our Private Facebook group: Motivate Me! Support System and checkout MotivateMePodcast.com for anything else.

I am going to leave you with some truth talk from me to you: Listen, it’s really hard to be vulnerable. But to me, putting ourselves out there or not is the difference between existing and living, the difference between just settling and thriving. Feedback is part of this journey we are on, and learning how to handle difficult feedback is part of our journey.

Remember, you Motivate Me!

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So often incredible ideas surface in our minds and we discount them and discard them. What if you went on a journey to generate more ideas, and what if you knew how to manage them in a way that would help you bring them to fruition?

MM544- Managing Your Creative Ideas

Hello, everybody, and welcome to this week’s episode of Motivate Me!

It’s Me! Time here on Motivate Me! and we are working on coming back from flat.

Before we start, let’s get into the right headspace. Let’s engage in the idea that this is time where YOU are the priority. Let’s take two slow, deep breaths to get us centered. Just follow me.

Today’s focus is: Managing Your Creative Ideas

When do you feel most passionate about life? For me, it’s when I’m creating. And when I’m in my creative zone, ideas upon ideas continue to come to me. Being open to these ideas is part of why and how I believe they flow so fluidly, but it’s my job to manage them – and to organize them.

When I was working to reclaim my passion, I had to make changes in my approach to being creative. At one point, I had found legal pad after legal pad that was filled with ideas and fiction writing I had put on paper, but I’d put those pads down and never looked at them again. I knew I couldn’t let that happen this time around, because I was setting the intention that this time wasn’t going to be like the rest. That this time I would collect and categorize my work, and that something substantial would come from it.

So, I took all the notes I’d been writing in my little one-subject notebooks, I busted out a big blue binder and an un-opened pack of dividers with tabs, and I set up my organizer. I labeled each section: “Reading Log,” “Journal,” “MoMe!,” “Zoom,” “Biz Opps,” “Writing Ideas,” “Podcast,” and “Flat.” And I set out to fill these sections but in a compartmentalized kind of way that was not overwhelming.

I had loose notebook paper on a clipboard, and whenever I had a question or idea, I wrote it out, I journaled, I found an answer, and I locked it into the binder. If I had an essay idea or product idea, I wrote that down, too, and locked that into my binder. You get the picture.

I wrote everything and I dated everything. Why date what you write? Because it gives our ideas value, because every important document is dated, because what I wrote on this paper was important. And won’t it be fun one day to look back on where it all began? Yes, I set that intention with every step of my process.

They say if we collect our ideas and keep them organized and together, the weight of them will carry them to fruition. Why not give that theory a shot?

During this whirlwind of a time, something happened. I had been meditating and journaling and excited about helping people with what was bringing my passion back, and I was reminded how much I enjoyed the process of creating. That, yes, I want to produce something valuable to help as many people as possible, but I was filled with actual joy just in the doing of the thing. And that’s what I continued to focus on: the process.

Now more than ever, I realize that I am in love with the process of creating and not the outcome of it.

Elizabeth Gilbert really put my feelings into words when she said, “Creativity itself doesn’t care at all about results – the only thing it craves is the process. Learn to love the process and let whatever happens next happen, without fussing too much about it. Work like a monk, or a mule, or some other representative metaphor for diligence. Love the work. Destiny will do what it wants with you, regardless.”

I love getting immersed in what I’m creating. To give you an idea of what I mean, here are some of the projects I have worked on: I have completed the writing of two novels (they’re not published, but they are written!), and I have two other books in the works. I’ve designed a podcast, a 50-state tour, and now this program about reclaiming your passion and coming back from flat. I have worked like a monk; I work like a mule… I speak Elizabeth Gilbert’s language.

I’m wondering how many of you are at home slaving away at something, too?

When our ideas are carefully managed, they never get lost, they no longer distract us, and they inspire more ideas!

So, to do this…

1. Desire to be creative

2. See your ideas as important and valuable

3. Manage your ideas to eliminate distraction

4. Record all ideas

5. Collect all ideas in an organized fashion

6. Be in love with the process, not the outcome

I kept at doing this, I am still doing all the things I’m sharing with you this season because they work. Because they led me to putting ideas on paper, and seeing these ideas on paper helped me make discoveries that inspired me to take next steps.

We would love to hear your thoughts. Join us in our Private Facebook group: Motivate Me! Support System and checkout MotivateMePodcast.com for anything else.

I am going to leave you with some truth talk from me to you: So often incredible ideas surface in our minds and we discount and discard them. What if just for right now, you seek them out, you write them down, and you collect them? What if you just start with that to see if these ideas change you in any way, to see if they drive you to do more or to do differently?

Remember, you Motivate Me!

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Reading takes very little commitment with the possibility of the greatest reward. It is the single easiest way to grow and learn. And don’t worry, if you struggle with reading or retaining, we have pointers for you!

MM543 – Read Everything, Read with an Open Mind

Hello, everybody, and welcome to this week’s episode of Motivate Me!

It’s Me! Time here on Motivate Me! and we are working on coming back from flat.

Before we start, let’s get into the right headspace. Let’s engage in the idea that this is time where YOU are the priority. Let’s take two slow, deep breaths to get us centered. Just follow me.

Today’s focus is: Read Everything, and Read with an Open Mind

During this past year, there were times where I felt like I was lying dormant, like all I had to give was apathy, and just getting through the day was all I could muster. Have you had times like this? Maybe you’re feeling this way now?

During times like these, there is something we can do that takes very little effort with maximum gain and that’s to read.

Now listen, I know reading isn’t for everyone, but hear me out on this.

The beautiful thing about reading is that it’s low commitment, it can be free, and we do it at our own pace.

To get reading, we just need to make the decision that we’re going to do it, even if that means that we have to psyche ourselves up and prepare to do it.

Quick tips to get started:

1. Pick a topic or author you enjoy

2. Set aside designated time

3. Turn off the television

4. Put your phone on silent

5. Request the support of those around you

6. Don’t get discouraged if you need to re-read sentences or pages because you felt distracted (There is more coming up on how to stay focused when reading in a minute.)

If we do make the decision to dedicate the quiet time needed to immerse ourselves in a book, it can have a PROFOUND impact on our person and life.

If you listened to the introduction of Season 4, you heard me credit a close friend for insisting I read Jane Pauley’s book, Your Life Calling. During the time my friend was reading it, she kept hearing my voice through Pauley’s words. She kept seeing the conversations we’d shared while coasting down the Tennessee River the summer before. She was moved enough by this to keep sending me pictures of pages from the book. She went out of her way to get it to me, and then, she badgered me until I read it. And I say that in the most loving way, Jan. And I thank you for that.

The truth is, I was honored that she saw me in a light similar to the experienced and wise Pauley, and at the same time, I was annoyed. I was annoyed because Jane Pauley had done so much in her career, and I was currently lying dormant. I was annoyed with myself for not continuing to try harder at what had meant so much to me. The thing was, at this point, I didn’t even know if it still meant much to me, it felt like I just didn’t have it in me to get back it.

Because of my friend, Jan’s, badgering, I picked up the book and turned the first page. I realized then that it wasn’t just that Jane Pauley’s book was informative, entertaining, and insightful, its’ structure is similar to how I had envisioned writing my book about traveling the 50 states in 90 days interviewing people about passion.

Jane Pauley includes previous show guests and their interviews, as well as her own life and her career experiences. She does all of this to introduce her audience to people who have designed lives they love, so readers can learn how to (and be inspired to) build a life that is more exciting or more meaningful. Pauley and I share a love for interviewing people about passion, we share the want to help people live lives they love. Needless to say, Jane Pauley got my attention and I perked up!

I was most moved by her sister’s interpretation of her talent. Pauley writes of her sister, “Ann told me I have a gift for helping people see themselves in positive and powerful new ways” (54). I felt these words in my core. I read and re-read this line many, many times. I want to frame these words for myself, they mean so much to me. These words helped me to understand myself differently. I thought: Maybe, writing is my skill, and helping people see themselves ‘in positive and powerful new ways’ is my talent?

I tell you all of this because I learned something about myself from reading her book. I grew… and I was only on page 54. This is how reading can be so powerful. I felt a connection during a time when I really wasn’t connecting to anything. I learned something about myself and I felt hope – because her story confirmed for me that there is value in what I had done – in what I thought I should do next: the writing of my book. It made me understand that I needed to keep at it.

Jane Pauley’s big take-away from her book is to say, Hey, people. You have a very good chance of living ten years longer than the generation before you, so get prepared to do things the generation before you didn’t get time for! Yes, do the career thing, then do the encore career thing.

My advice to you today, Motivate Me! Friends, is to read everything. Read everyone. Be open-minded. See in whom and what you see yourself. I like to be extremely open-minded when I read. I’m not looking to reinforce what I know and believe, I’m looking to learn new information, to be exposed to new perspectives. This is how I form my own ideas.

Recently, I posted a picture on my Instagram of the current stack of books I finished reading, and they cover a wide range of interests. Here is what’s in that stack: Jane Pauley’s, Your Life Calling, Rhonda Byrne’s, The Secret, Elle Luna’s, The Crossroads Between Should and Must, Napoleon Hill’s, Think and Grow Rich, Marianne Williamson’s, A Woman’s Worth, Blake Snyder’s, Save the Cat (which is a book about screenwriting), Glennon Doyle’s Untamed and Love Warrior, and Matt Fraser’s, When Heaven Calls.

Matt Fraser is a medium. I learn something from every book I read, so while Matt’s story and the fact that he can communicate with the dead blows my mind, something important I took away from his book is how to stay positive and grateful, even with people who are negative to you.  

As you can see here, I read everything: fiction and non-fiction, books by democrats and republicans, I read about things I’m interested in, like spirituality, but also other topics that I’ve never been exposed to, like becoming a Navy Seal.

I have two and a half stacks of unread books that are similar to this one waiting in the wings to be read. So, I suggest you get a book in hand, and get one for in the wings!

I do have recommendations for those of us who struggle to keep our focus when reading, or for those of us who don’t remember what we read after reading. Consider these techniques:

1) Read with a pen or pencil in your hand, even a highlighter. This way, you can quickly underline key concepts or circle key words. You can also jot a word or phrase down in the margin, too, something that will help you easily spot this page again, or when you flip back through the pages the highlighted words and notes in the margin act as a quick summary.

2) Sit at a table and take notes as you read, just like when you were in school back in the day. I’ve really enjoyed taking notes on subjects that interest me. I just extract key thoughts and record them on paper, make sure to include page numbers so you can go back and find it later. You’d be surprised how often I have gone back into the text to re-read things.

3) There are a couple of ways to work on remembering material you’ve read, the gist of it is to create a memory with the information. You can journal about it or write a formal essay, or you can just verbally share what you’ve learned with someone else. When you share information you’ve learned you’re now teaching it, and a great way to retain information is to teach it. So, just talk about it.

So my advice: mark the book up with notes and have a conversation about what you’ve learned!

I used to teach high school English and I understand that reading is not easy for everyone. There are some other options to explore where you can listen to authors talk about their books, like audio books, YouTube, and podcasts. The goal is to expose yourself to information that will enlighten you, however you can do that.

We would love to hear your thoughts. Join us in our Private Facebook group: Motivate Me! Support System and checkout MotivateMePodcast.com for anything else.

I am going to leave you with some truth talk from me to you: The bottom line is, there are so many ways to better ourselves – to elevate ourselves – and reading is one of the most accessible, inexpensive, low-commitment ways to do this. So make the time, read with intention, and get ready to expand your mind and person!

Remember, you Motivate Me!