Dump your worries

We all have worries. They may be there, but we all know that our worries will not bring us further. We need to understand that we are one choice away from our growth and we need to take responsibility to make that happen. 

♥

Leave your worries behind in 5 steps

 

1. Understand that we have a monkey mind. 

A monkey mind is like monkeys and trees—it jumps from one thought to another incessantly. It often stops at certain thoughts before it jumps to another thought. This stop is what we call ‘worry.’ When we worry, we should know that worrying is a natural part of the thought’s process, but it requires awareness to stop it.

 

2. Step back and look at the bigger picture. 

I like to compare worrying to a plant. The more we water it, the more it grows. Worrying can drag us in—the more we worry, the more the situation becomes disturbing. A valuable solution is to take ourselves out of the situation and look at it from a different angle. See it objectively from an altered lens. When you do so, you’ll realize that the problem doesn’t require much worry.

Looking at your ‘problem’ objectively helps to prevent being sucked into worrying.

 

3. Know that worrying won’t help in any way. 

Worrying can’t solve any problem. There’s a quote in the ‘wear sunscreen’ speech that says: “worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.” Remember all the times you worried in the past and try to investigate if your worry has helped in any way. Reflect the result on your present moment to see that worrying is only a waste of mental energy.

 

4. You’re not in control of everything.

The reason why we worry is because we need to feel a sense of control over things. We hope to control the outcome. So, we won’t have to face unwanted results. Know that what’s meant to happen will fall into place. Uncertainty isn’t terrifying. Befriend it and know it is a natural, smooth energy that only brings us the best.

 

5. Focus on the present. 

How we deal with our present determines our past and our future. That said, we can use our present moment to focus on what’s happening ‘now.’ When we practice mindfulness, we actually help with the realization of things falling into place. Things flow easier when we don’t push them to happen.

 

Source: Uplift

BUSINESS TALK

When you write your goals on paper or speak about it in public, you will stick to it and you will make it happen. So that’s why I launch the Quarterly BUSINESS TALK SERIES. In this talk, I will share with you how the past few months have gone and what I will focus on in the coming months.

 

Plans with my blog

This is the launch of the Quarterly Series of BUSINESS TALK. I couldn’t wait to the end of Q3, so I thought I just start with an acquaintance about the start of my plans and what happened the last couple of months. I will tell you about my transformation, why and how I took courses and about the struggles and success of finding your Ideal Customer/Client.

The last few months were about starting my online business. At the beginning, I didn’t realize that I would set up a business where I could generate an income to live from. I worked with a few mentors, and that really helped me to focus on what is important to do now and what to do later. My business is up and running now, but I still need to make a few changes this Quarter.

 

Transformation

When I started to write in April on several blogs, I didn’t know I would work online for myself. I just love to write, but I also had some other skills already. And from that moment I started to create things with my interest.

For the last 2 years, I studied Office management and I worked for a recruitment start-up. There I learned everything about responsibilities of planning, finance, recruitment, online systems and some other creative experiences. I am curious and I always want to know more about different subjects. I work fast and I love to create new products or helping other people with their business or products.

So.. during the process of building my website, I had to let go of perfectionism. Because during the process, I recognized the pattern that I always wanted to control something. As a Business Owner, you are allowed to change your product when and how you want to do it. It was time for me to do what I want and create solutions for people who want to learn from me and want to work with me on my terms.

At the beginning, I felt not sure about it. Until my aunt told me: ‘’Joyce, you’re already doing it, so just go to the Chamber of Commerce and make it official’’. I registered my business the same evening via their website and a week later everything was official.

 

Courses

Nowadays, Information is not free anymore. People ask money for their knowledge. I definitely understand that, because if you share everything for free, you can no longer meet your life needs.

I followed a Digital Marketing course before I started my online business. This training was given by an Affiliate Marketing Company from the United States. I accidentally encountered my ‘Badass mentor’ via Facebook. She is also from The Netherlands, and after a few calls, we started working together. She helped me through the steps, and that really changed my view about working online. It is all about mindset, trusting the process and get to know your personal needs.

I learned a lot about how to make yourself visible to the world. Being part of a team or having a mentor is one the most important things if you start running your own business. You can’t do it alone, you need a place where you can ask your questions. Business Buddies will give you other insides. You can still make your own decisions, but sometimes you just need someone who is telling you the different side of the business, product or whatever you want to talk about.

To me, it is really important to feel commitment with someone. Knowing that you can reach them anytime and anywhere will help you a lot. Setting yourself free from assumptions that you can’t do it starts by tackle your inner critic and make that Wonderful Idea in your mind happen!

For now, I paused the course for a moment, to set up my business first. I will combine those two in the future. We discussed that this would be the best way to create different income streams. I will write more about it in a later BUSINESS TALK.

Besides this course, I follow a lot of Business Owners online and I read books to expand my knowledge. For example:

• Big Magic
• You Are A Badass
• The 4-hour workweek
• Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant

 

Finding your Ideal Customer/Client

Finding clients was the most difficult part of the process. Not to find them, but the patient you need to have. You need to build real relationships. Sometimes you feel the commitment immediately, sometimes it will take months before you start working with them.

I started to work with 2 clients. I work as a Virtual Assistant at House of Tax and as an Inspiration Coach/ VA at Vraagelkaar. Both interesting businesses. The first one is set up for Business Starters in The Netherlands. The language of Tax is difficult as hell for a lot of new Business Owners. Kim de Jong, The Big Boss Lady, makes it easy to read for them. Besides, she and her team will coach them to the next money level of their business.

Vraagelkaar is a social organization. We help people who need extra help or want to meet new friends for a specific activity. As Inspiration Coach, we help these people to connect with each other. Besides, we organize Vraagelkaar Cafés where these people meet-up with each other. The name of the organization translated to English means ‘’ask each other’’. So people can ask a question on our platform or react on these requests. We monetize these questions and are there to make the connections faster. Everybody needs a friend, and we will make that happen.

‘’Ask each other, just do it.”

The next Business Talk will be posted in October. 

Barefoot Experience Series #2

RI didn’t realize that Walking Barefoot would take a bigger part in my life than I just wrote about online the first time. And as I promised my friend, Chris, Editor in Chief of The Bassist, I would write more about my Barefoot Experiences. So here it is 🙂 

The cover picture is made by Chris.

When I just started blogging, my first blog was about my Barefoot Experience. The first time I wrote something online was on Yoors. An independent platform where your content stays your content. I deleted my account last week because my business is up and running now and I’ll host my own website and registered my business in The Netherlands. So the content of my blog about my first Barefoot Experience is now online on this website.

As a young girl I was camping a lot with my family and walking barefoot on the campsite was more than normal. Maybe if you read this, you think that this is very normal in your life. But I forgot how good it is to walk barefoot a few times per week or month.

So, for the people who didn’t read the first episode of Barefoot Experience, I will give a small summary of it.

Credits: Goashape, Unsplash

The start

Last year I went to a psychedelic party in Hungary, called Ozora. The first days I still walked on my flip-flops or Palladiums. The second day I lost my flip-flops in the mud and a few hours later I could not recognize my Palladiums anymore. So I started to walk barefoot. There were paths with pebbles and because of the heat, my feet were burning as hell… I need to take a decision, or walking barefoot on some pebbles in the shadow or take another (longer) route and walking in the burning sun. After 2 days my feet started used to it and I became a professional Barefoot Walker… When I came back in The Netherlands, I didn’t even know how to walk on shoes or even choose one of them.

Until so far my Barefoot Experience there. I am sure that there will come up some memories sometimes and I will write more about it.

‘’I just wanted more of it, living easy and happy everywhere I go’’

 

Picture: Nataraj

Barefoot parties

So.. in the mean time I started to go to Barefoot parties. For example Nataraj Barefoot party at Meijer aan Zee in Zandvoort (The Netherlands). You can dance like you never danced before. I think you can do this everywhere, but if you don’t feel confident in expressing yourself in a large group of people, this would be a great place to start.

Besides dancing Barefoot on the beach they organizing a lot of parties in Club Lite in Amsterdam. So you will never be bored during the winter.

At the beach, they will always ensure that there are creative things to do. It has always something to do with creative expression in the category of body, mind, and food. I want to share some of these activities with you.

 

Creative expression

Yoga
The organization gives their guests an various experience. You can do yoga with professional acrobats and artists. There are some shows at the end of the party and people are just practicing yoga if they want to.

Hula hoop
As I said above, the organization would love to give their guests more experiences than just only dance barefoot. So, Adrienne Csanadi is giving hula hoop workshops at the Nataraj Beach party. She also makes hula hoops, so you can buy one there, or ask her if she will send the hoops to your home address.

You can follow Adrienne here on Youtube.

 

Credits: Sam Tobiana

 

Coconuts Cocktails & Food
There is always a vegan buffet at these parties. It is various what you get and it is always more than enough! Maybe I should say, it is always too much!

The coconuts are one of the things that make this party feel you’re on a holiday. You can buy a coconut alcohol-free just with fresh coconut water or the coconut is filled with fresh coconut water and Malibu. There is a working space where you can crack your coconut after consumption. Then you can eat the coconut after drinking this delicious refreshment.

 

If you want to join one of these Barefootparties, feel free to buy a ticket. The next Nataraj Barefoot party is 3 September 2017. 

Concentration Tricks to Demp Your Overactive Brain

If your brain is always overactive during the day, it might be annoying sometimes when you really need to concentrate. Tinker Dabble Doodle Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind, written by Srini Pillay, gives you insights how ADHD works and how you can turn it into power. 

 

ADHD can significantly impair your abilities in life, but minds that wander are not all lost. Rigid people have to teach themselves to be creative and flexible by loosening up. People with ADHD can tinker with their own attention to find the optimal reining in that is required before distraction provides the benefits of a restless brain, in search of connections and new ideas that could potentially transform the world.

In order to focus more, you can add an activity to your concentration. From my own experience, when I was in school, I needed to focus on 2 things. I made notes during the lecture, or I wrote exactly what they were telling me about their expertise. I could later make my story and transfer this to others.

Dr. Srini Pillay created other strategies which also works best. Doodle, daydreaming and switching between subjects. We can choose 1 expertise, but everyone has more skills than just one. To stay focused and happy, we need to expand our knowledge and stay tuned about different subjects to keep it interesting for ourselves.

 

 

1. Doodle during class or conference calls:

If it is difficult to pay attention, the last thing you may think of is to doodle, yet a recent study by psychologist Jackie Andrade and her colleagues showed that doodling can improve your memory. In their study, they asked two groups (one that doodled and the other that did not doodle) to remember eight names and places after listening to a boring conversation. They found that people who doodle remembered 29% more than those who did not.

Doodling activates the brain’s unfocus circuit. As a result, your unconscious brain participates in memory formation, and your brain, rather than being like a stiff, focused sponge, becomes more absorbent of information.

2. Daydream effectively: 

If your mind has a tendency to wander, you probably want to rein it in. Yet, too much focus can actually be harmful to your brain.  It makes you more emotionally reactive because it sensitizes your amygdala (the emotion processor in your brain), and it makes it difficult for you to care about anyone and anything because your brain becomes depleted of energy.

To correct this situation, use your exceptional daydreaming ability to your advantage. Jerome Singer and his colleagues found that it is not helpful to slip into a daydream or to ruminate over worries. However, a certain type of daydreaming called positive constructive (yes, constructive!) daydreaming (PCD) may be just the thing you are looking for.

To get this started, plan it. Select a time in your day when you might be daydreaming anyway. Then, do something low-key like walking, knitting, or gardening. While you are doing this, turn your attention inward, and imagine something positive or wishful. Be creative about it. Perhaps you want to imagine playing a sport on a nice summer day and have your butler serving you drinks afterward.  Or you might want to imagine lying on a yacht. When you do this, your mind will follow this rewarding image and start to wander. Let it. If you find yourself overthinking this, start with the image again. With practice, this will get easier and easier.

When you engage in PCD, it also activates the unfocus circuits. This re-energizes your brain, and it will make you more creative too. But that’s not all it does.

People who regularly activate this network become better predictors of the future. To predict the future, your brain has to make connections across large distances and then put this information together into prediction circuits. This crystal ball capability has been demonstrated.

 

3. Dabble in a few different subjects:

People always feel under pressure to declare a major at college or to choose between art or science. yet, in an era when programmers are required to have some design sensibility, or artists may benefit from a sense of proportion, there is an opportunity for a new kind of Renaissance, one that people with ADHD are well suited to. In fact, one wonders if Da Vinci would have been medicated for his wide-ranging interests in a modern society.

 

Source: psychologytoday

Vegan Zucchini Soup

Zucchini soup. I call it left over soup or ‘a prutje’. It is one of my favorite cleaning soups. Cleaning of our body inside needs to be done sometimes. Some weeks are filled with a soup diet. Think about Zucchini, pumpkin, asparagus, and gazpacho.

Fine, this article/ recipe is about the famous Zucchini. The green vegetable that is a smaller version of the cucumber. Not in fact of the kind, but in fact of the color, but then in a smaller size.

Ingrediënts:

• 1 Zucchini
• 1 Onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• Vegetable bouillon
• 0,5 Liter water

0,5 Liter is well taken. You should choose for less and then refill until the soup has the desired thickness. 

Preparation

1. Cut the onion, garlic, and zucchini in small pieces. The size does not matter. Make it easy for yourself.
2. Fruit the onion, garlic, and zucchini.
3. Put the lid on the pan and steam it until the zucchini is soft.
4. Cook the bouillon.
5. Put the bouillon and the vegetables together.
6. Blend everything into a smooth substance.
7. Spice up with your desired spices!

 

Bon Appetit!!

 

The Art of Content Curation

To create your visibility, you will need to compile a content plan. Create a plan with platforms and tools that fit you. Don’t think because that one blogger uses 8 platforms, you have to do that too. Choose one or two and Master these first, before you expand.

‘The Art of Content Curation’ 

Curation means that you collect, organize, edit and share content from third parties. Think about high quality, inspirational and relevant content for your industry. This is a smart strategy to give your target audience valuable content.

The Art of Content Curation means that you will add value to it. Don’t just copy and paste, but add your opinion, vision or knowledge to the content. A snowball effect may occur if the writer notes that you have used his or her content. You are interested in the same subject. Who knows, there is a cooperation.

There are a lot of platforms/tools you can use for your content. You can create:

• Blog articles
• Direct emails
• E-Books
• Facebook groups
• Facebook/ Instagram posts
• Video’s/ Vlogs
• Whitepapers

 

Respond to Trends

Inspire and activate your target audience.

Ask yourself two questions:

1. How do I get the best content from my organization/branch? How do I correctly bring them to my target groups at the right times?
2. How do target groups find my content on their desired way and moment?

Solutions:

1. Mobile first – Use or create apps
2. Big data – Research + storage prospect and customer data
3. Content curation – Time consuming à Outsourcing, but also curate self.
4. Marketing automation

Link the power of your business to trends

• Research rapport summary
• Interview a client, supplier or a colleague
• Top 3 trends in your branch
• Where does my audience group think about?

 

Story power

Don’t search for information, but look for a story. Inside and outside your organization. Of course, you can offer your target audience some information, but they are more interested in success stories. So, engage them with your successes, with successes of colleagues and help them in their success.

 Annet Scheringa: ‘’The power of the storytelling model for change communication is that it shows who is when and in what way in the lead, how change manager and communication professionals can enhance each other in their role and how to tell or collect stories of a number of common obstacles and wrestles can occur.’’

Significance of Work-Life Balance

Despite the worldwide quest for Work-Life Balance, very few have found an acceptable definition of the concept. Here’s a proven definition that will positively impact your everyday value and balance starting today. 

Let’s first define what work-life balance is not.

Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that.

Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement.

There is no perfect, one-size fits all, balance you should be striving for. The best work-life balance is different for each of us because we all have different priorities and different lives.

However, at the core of an effective work-life balance definition are two key everyday concepts that are relevant to each of us. They are daily Achievement and Enjoyment, ideas almost deceptive in their simplicity.

Engraining a fuller meaning of these two concepts takes us most of the way to defining a positive Work-Life Balance. Achievement and Enjoyment answer the big question “Why?” Why do you want a better income…a new house…the kids through college…to do a good job today…to come to work at all?

Most of us already have a good grasp on the meaning of Achievement. But let’s explore the concept of Enjoyment a little more. As part of a relevant Work-Life Balance definition, enjoyment does not just mean “Ha-Ha” happiness. It means Pride, Satisfaction, Happiness, Celebration, Love, A Sense of Well Being …all the Joys of Living.

Achievement and Enjoyment are the front and back of the coin of value in life. You can’t have one without the other, no more than you can have a coin with only one side. Trying to live a one sided life is why so many “Successful” people are not happy, or not nearly as happy as they should be.

You cannot get the full value from life without BOTH Achievement and Enjoyment. Focusing on Achievement and Enjoyment every day in life helps you avoid the “As Soon As Trap”, the life dulling habit of planning on getting around to the joys of life and accomplishment “as soon as….”

Life will deliver the value and balance we desire …when we are achieving and enjoying something every single day…in all the important areas that make up our lives. As a result, a good working definition of Work-Life Balance is:

Meaningful daily Achievement and Enjoyment in each of my four life quadrants: Work, Family, Friends, and Self.

Ask yourself now, when was the last time you Achieved AND Enjoyed something at work? What about Achieved AND Enjoyed with your family; your friends? And how recently have you Achieved AND Enjoyed something just for you?

Why not take 20 minutes on the way home from work and do something just for yourself? And when you get home, before you walk in the door, think about whether you want to focus on achieving or enjoying at home tonight. Then act accordingly when you do walk in the door.

At work you can create your own best Work-Life Balance by making sure you not only Achieve, but also reflect the joy of the job, and the joy of life, every day. If nobody pats you on the back today, pat yourself on the back. And help others to do the same.

When you do, when you are a person that not only gets things done, but also enjoys the doing, it attracts people to you. They want you on their team and they want to be on your team.
Simple concepts. And once you focus on them as key components of your day, they are not that hard to implement. So, make it happen, for yourself, your family and all the important individuals you care about…every day for the rest of your life… Achieve and Enjoy.

Source: worklifebalance.com, Jim Bird, Publisher

Let Go of EVERYTHING and count to Infinity

You don’t want to FEEL happy. You want to BE happy. So if you are ready to Let Go of EVERYTHING and count to Infinity, you’re on the right track. 

Julien explains about Happiness. You are not your emotions. Let go of EVERYTHING. That is Happiness. That is Freedom!

Great Mondays start on Friday

Oh noooo! It’s Monday again. Probably a lot of you don’t like Monday mornings. With the right attitude, you can make Mondays great again and start the week on a positive note. 

1. Plan your Monday already on Friday

You sit down at your desk after the weekend and are overwhelmed by the number of tasks you have to accomplish for the week? It doesn’t have to be that way: get a head start and plan your Monday on Friday! How? First, by writing a general to-do list. Then assign the individual tasks to a specific day. You’ll see that the world looks a lot different when you are well-organized. If you need to learn more about the Getting Things Done method, you should read David Allen’s GTD-book.

2. Identify the problem and find the solution

Are you one of those people who is always in a bad mood on Sunday evening because you have to wake up early the next morning? Let’s be honest: it’s all about the right attitude! Look for the cause of your Monday blues and find a solution fast. Pick up a good book, connect with a close friend, meditate or make a list of the things you are thankful for. Get your mind in the right place. One of the books really helped me finding a creative mind in everything is BIG MAGIC from Elizabeth Gillbert.

3. Prepare your lunches for the week on Sunday evening

Cooking can reduce stress. This makes meal prepping a great way to spend your Sunday evening. It gets you thinking about the week ahead and, if you already know all the tasty things you have planned for lunch, it gives you something extra to look forward to every day of the week.

4. Music makes your heart beat faster

“Six o’clock already, I was just in the middle of a dream…” Does this song by The Bangles sound familiar? 🙂 You can find lots of playlists on the internet to give you the right #MondayMotivation. Music makes everything easier!

5. Don’t start the week stressed

Try to develop a Monday ritual: make a delicious breakfast before heading out for work, go for a walk or do a short yoga session. The main thing is to avoid starting the new work week stressed and chaotic.

Before you check your emails, look at the to-do list you wrote on Friday. What should you tackle first? Set your priorities and then begin to work through your list slowly and mindfully.

6. Be thankful for every single day

Monday, 6 a.m. Your alarm clock rings… And everything just sucks? 😉 If you have a hard time thinking positively, then take a pen and a sheet of paper (on Sunday, for instance) and write down ten things you are thankful for in your life right now. You will see that there are bigger things (more worth your while thinking about) than worrying about Mondays.

7. Make Monday your favorite day

What do you like about Mondays? Nothing? Then do something about it! Don’t just try to survive the first day of the week but look for something that will put a smile on your face in the evening. This can be a weekly meeting with friends, an episode of your favorite TV show or a massage. Try to find something to look forward to and make Monday your favorite day of the week!

How do you start a new week? Share your tips in the comments below! 🙂 

 

Source: runtastic

Are u Ready to Leave a LEGACY?

Are u Feeling Stuck? Your Purpose in life is easy to find. Bosco Anthony tells us about finding your Purpose in life and which questions you have to ask yourself on a daily term.

LIFE CHANGING QUESTION:
What did you doing today? And what you’re going to do tomorrow?