Just the word money tends to bring up heaps of  emotions in people. Just the other day one of my clients said that ” I really don’t need a lot of money, just enough to get by on,”  I asked her what that meant, get by how?  She said, ” well just for what I need, and no more.”   I then asked her how much she needed. As you could guess, she hadn’t a clue.

She has a small solo-entrepreneur sewing business. She repairs clothing, makes curtains and creates accessories like scarves. As we talked about her business she realized that it would be nice if she could hire someone to help her. She had no  long term vision but when pressed she very tentatively mentioned the idea of a shop and a wholesale business although her self-esteem was challenged by this idea.  It could be that her idea of not needing much money was a reflection of staying smaller and feeling small.

Can anyone relate to this story. Does your vision include ideas that challenge your own self-esteem and do you know how much money you want? I would love to hear your responses.

Music

I am happily sitting upstairs in Starbucks in Nelson, New Zealand and trying hard not to listen to the Christmas music blaring from the speakers. I am plugged into my i-pod and am connected to WiFi. What could be better? I look out over Trafalgar Street into the bright sunshine and barely remember the cold and damp winter weather I just left behind in Oregon. It is very strange hearing about Rudolph the Shiny Reindeer while it is full summer outside.

Why am I sitting in Starbucks on such a lovely day? It is one of the few places in town that has wireless internet, otherwise known as a “hotspot.” I am happily listening to Joan Baez sing “Diamonds and Rust” in stereo crystal clarity through my ear phones. I am taken back to 1966 when she sat on her stool, guitar in hand, on the stage at Ohio State University hall, and sang this same song about memories, as well as others about freedom and peace.

All of us 19 and 20 year olds looked to her as a leader of the times.
We were invincible with our youth and her music made us feel we could all change the world and make things perfect just by the pure power of our collective will.

Of course the painful reality of life has challenged that belief many times over the years. Being a woman of my time, I have never given up, through the Vietnam War and now the Iraqi War. I still believe in peace as being the only choice.

In the last 40 years we have moved from transistor radios to i-pods and from encyclopedias to wireless internet. What makes it so hard to make that jump from war to peace?
I hear the words of the Youngblood’s, “Everybody get together and try to love one another right now.”

My i-pod is filled with 60’s music. Why? It keeps me feeling the power and will force of my 19 year old, who knows beyond any doubt, that she can still accomplish whatever she wants. It is all about being a leader in my own right, helping others to be successful and enjoying life to its fullest.

 Making Your Goals Bigger Than Your Problems

I remember when I was a little girl ( 50 years ago). Now that’s scary in itself. I sat on the top step and listened in when my mom had her ma jong club at our living room. The ladies talked on and on while they played, and I remember the chinking sound of the tiles and all the topics of all their conversations. From someone’s husband’s gall bladder operation to a scorned bride it was all about problems. The gorier the better. The amount that someone could complain seemed to give status in everyone’s eyes.

I am not sure what makes our culture thrive on the negative so much but I inherited the capacity for worry. I tend to fret and worry about what “could” or “might”happen. It is a fictional story of the future in my mind because whatever I am worrying about has not happened, and may in actuality may never happen.

Isn’t it much better to focus on goals and create a picture of the future based on what I want to have happen. If I am going to be visualizing why not make it positive. Not only do I feel more peaceful and happy, it also helps to create the future I want instead of the one I don’t want. Think about it.