An Ideal Day

I wake up in our enormous bed happily smothered by fluffy pillows. I can't help but smile at the handsome hubby as he blissfully snores in his sleep. I'm feeling well rested. Years of practice have taught me how to sleep right through all his ruckus and wake up feeling refreshed.

Source: habitualbliss.tumblr.com via Molly

It's a crisp morning in Chicago so I sneak out and start the day with a run. I run not because I have to and not because I'm training for anything in particular. I run because I love it. Running is a regular and cherished part of my day.

As I take off down Michigan Avenue I think back to last night's party. After twenty-five years of marriage, we finally threw another dream wedding. It took months of planning but the evening was a success. All of our friends and family were together feeling happy and healthy. It was the best wedding gift. Renewing my vows to the man I continue to love, respect and cherish is a memory I will not soon forget.

I arrive back to our condo to find the hubby is awake and he offers me a cup of coffee. We laugh about the night before and feast on left over wedding cake from the The Cakery. An indulgent breakfast is a perfectly decadent way to begin our second twenty five years together.

Source: micasaessucasa.tumblr.com via Molly

Once we clean up, we lock our place up tight and jump on the blue line headed for O'Hare. We have a long day ahead of us but my carry-on is stuffed with good music, a September issue or two and plenty of our favorite snacks to keep us entertained during our flights to Rotterdam.

Today we fly to Europe to begin our second honeymoon. After years of planning we are finally taking the Passage to Asia cruise we have always dreamed of. For the next 37 days we will explore the world while we celebrate the life we have created and share together.

Source: hollandamerica.com via Molly

As we ride the train, I find myself feeling a wonderful mix of emotions. I am blessed to be sitting next to the man I love. I feel relieved and content that our party was such a success. I know how fortunate I am that we got to see and spend time with the people closest to us before leaving. And I am full of anticipation and excitement about the adventure we are about to experience.

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Imagining an Ideal Day is something that I've never tried before. But as I allowed my mind to wander and weave together elements that had to be included, I began to see what all of Jason Womack's fuss is about.

One of the many fantastic things about my job is that I'm being introduced to books and authors that I might not have discovered on my own. I recently finished Womack's book Your Best just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More. At first glance it doesn't seem like this book and I would be a match. But I was surprised to discover that we are.

Be careful when you read it, Mr. Womack is an inspirational guy. You might find yourself running a 5K or imagining Ideal Days. Consider yourself warned!

What would be an essential element of your Ideal Day?

Dreaming Together

Today I'm excited to have a post about dreaming over on Of Such is the Kingdom.

Source: flickr.com via Molly

It's like Whitney Johnson says, "We dream best when we dream together."

Is there someone in your life that encourages you to dream?

How The New Job Came About - The Rest of the Story

This post is Part 4 in what has become a series on my new jobby job. 
Here are the first installments in case you need to catch up.

Part 1 || Part 2 ||Part 3

...where were we?

I was on the phone with Becky Robinson. She was being all encouraging and kind and warm and Becky-ish.

During our conversation I learned more about her new company, Weaving Influence. She explained that Weaving Influence offers a broad range of social media services including consulting, coaching, training, and implementation support. The company works primarily with authors by connecting them with their current and potential online audiences. As we spoke I learned that Becky was assembling a team of bright, capable women across the country. I realized that I wanted to be a part of her team.

Before our conversation ended, she offered to mentor me. She explained that she knew Weaving Influence was growing and that her team needed to grow too. If she spent time training us now, when the work was there, we would be ready. It was encouraging to hear her thinking ahead and planning for the future. I loved her positivity and sense of vision. Plus, her belief in me was incredibly flattering. We discussed scheduling weekly training calls and I enthusiastically agreed. She explained that during this mentoring period, she would share resources and suggest useful tools that I could research and get to know.

We agreed I should talk the idea over with the hubby, but I knew there was no way I was passing up this opportunity.

We (the hubby and I) discussed it. He was encouraging and excited for me. I happily accepted Becky's offer and looked forward to soaking up as much as I could during the training period.

And then something even cooler happened.

A few days later, Becky called me to offer an assignment. That's right, an actual PAID assignment. Once I was finished jumping for joy, I accepted in a very professional non-jumping for joy way and got to work. Apparently, she was pleased with what I turned in because assignments continued to come.




So that's where we are now. I'm still being trained and mentored (and learning a ton) but have also picked up a steady stream of work in the process. All those years of blogging and playing on social media have given me a few tricks and tools that are coming in handy. But what's exciting is that there is so, so much more to learn and so, so much that Becky can teach me.

My official title is Implementation Specialist and Photographer. My daily work involves navigating Twitter, Facebook, & G+. I'm formatting blog posts, creating graphics and even planning photo shoots. I work from home, or the library, or a coffee shop - wherever I have an Internet connection. And my hours are flexible. That is an aspect of the job that is incredibly appealing and will also prove to be challenging.

Being married to a man who doesn't work a typical nine to five job, it's great to have a job that is flexible. I can be around when he is and working when when he isn't. But it is going to require some boundaries and a little bit of discipline on my part too. Because I love what I'm doing and was doing some of it as a hobby before this incredible opportunity presented itself, sometimes it's hard to not work constantly. In fact, I've written about that struggle in a guest post today. If you're not already sick of reading about me, you should check it out.

So, ya, basically it's the dream job that I never dreamed existed. It's been a total blessing so far and I'm pretty amazed to be so fortunate. I'm excited about what the future holds as Weaving Influence continues to grow. I can't wait to see where this adventure takes me.

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a dream job you never dreamed existed?

More of the Work Story...

So here's how it happened.

A few months ago, I stumbled on a 12 minute tip called Finding New Connections. The topic is ironic really, because commenting on that blog post resulted in making one of the most encouraging and influential connections I've made on the Internet to date.

Because its author, Becky Robinson, is all about fostering relationships, she responded to my comment. I followed her on Twitter (probably retweeted everything she said) and our relationship began to develop. Becky and her family used to live Chicago and so we started there. She shared tips on where to eat and what to see. I put every tip on my to do list.

Next we found each other on Facebook. We each "liked" each other's perspective pages and even became Facebook friends. The connection deepened.

Because Becky has a significant social media presence, her smiling avatar began to pop up all over in my life. I'd read her tweets, pop over to her blog, or like/respond to a comment on Facebook. We developed a genuine online friendship.

I was immediately impressed that someone with 15K twitter followers, a family and a career was taking time to personally respond to comments or tweets that I sent her. I've come to know that that is who Becky is. She is personable. She is real. She values real conversation and personal interaction. But at first, I was utterly shocked that I had even caught her attention or made a blip on her radar.

It was Becky who suggested we connect on the phone the first time. But for whatever reason, for weeks we missed each other. Our suggested times would come and go and we would set a new date. I was in the middle of a move - I know now - she was in the midst of job change and for each of us finding time to connect was a challenge. So when we finally spoke I felt an air of excitement that the stars were finally aligning. The timing was perfect.

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A few weeks earlier she had offered to send me a copy of a book she was helping to promote. The book was Dare, Dream, Do. I had started reading it a few days before we spoke. So our first conversation was much, much deeper than a typical first-time, get to know you chat. Becky listened, encouraged and helped me process things that the book was stirring in me. She shared parts of her own story and told me about Weaving Influence. I can't speak for Becky, but I liked her from the start. She was - she is - bright, funny, positive and deeply spiritual. That phone call proved that the encouraging presence I met online was real. @Beckyrbnsn = Becky Robinson.

...to be continued

Have you taken the plunge and met an online friend in the real world? 

How did it turn out?

This post is Part 3 in what is turning into a series on my new jobby job. 
Here are the first installments in case you need to catch up.

Part 1 || Part 2

"Previously on A Foreign Land..."

It took a bit of nerve to hit the "publish" button on yesterday's post.

But your kind comments and sweet support were further proof that dreams, when spoken out loud, are powerful things. If you're back today and ready to read part two, thank you. If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, go read yesterday's post and then rejoin us.

Go ahead. We'll wait.

Ok, so now that we're all on the same page, let's get on with part two.

Source: ohhellofriendblog.com via Jonahliza on Pinterest

I was invited by Becky Robinson of Weaving Influence to share part two of my Dare, Dream Do post over in her neck of the woods. You'll find it right here. 

Alright, go. Get out of here. Go to Weaving Influence and read the post. I'll see you back here tomorrow.

Source: imgfave.com via Ashlyn on Pinterest

Inspirational Read: Dare, Dream, Do

A few weeks ago when my friend Becky suggested that I read Whitney Johnson's new book Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When you Dare to Dream I had no idea what I was signing up for. I thought reading this book was little more than a simple favor for a friend. I assumed that it would be an easy, quick read. I assumed that I would write a nice, safe, blog review and then move forward with my life. I was wrong. Dare, Dream, Do has proven to be anything but a quick, easy favor for a friend. 

Dare, Dream, Do has invaded my life and totally messed with my head.

Instead of inspiring a nice, safe blog review, this book and its ideas have engaged my mind and my heart. Truth be told, this book is scaring the poo poo* out of me. This book is encouraging me to do something that I find terrifying. Suddenly I'm dreaming about my future. All of sudden I'm dreaming about a career and not just a job. But what's more terrifying is that I'm sharing those dreams with other people. I'm talking about them. Out loud. And I'm blogging about them differently than I ever have before.**

But let me back up a minute. Back in March, I had the opportunity to write a guest post about my dreams at my friend Jennifer's blog, Simplistic Living. What I didn't realize until I read the comments the post elicited was that my dreams were all about how I'm living today. While I don't think this is a bad thing - I love my life and feel fortunate to be living it every day - I now recognize that there is a bit of unspoken truth behind how I've dreamed in the past. 

The dreams I've expressed in the past generally fall into two categories. They are either relatively "safe" or they are completely absurd. They are either safe dreams that I can work to achieve on my own, (IE Learn to share, live like a tourist) or they are crazy-pants. (IE Be Britney Spears, Rule the World - these are two dreams I have admitted to having AS AN ADULT) Those types of dreams are important and funny and serve their purpose. But what if I allowed myself to dream in a more traditional and daring way? What if I allowed myself to dream about more risky goals? What if I dreamed about a career? What if I spoke those dreams out loud and then allowed others to help me achieve them?

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For me, admitting to that kind of dream has always been terrifying. Dreams like that make failure a real possibility. Dreams about a meaningful career are a gamble. They may or they may not come true. Speaking that kind of a dream out loud is an act of vulnerability. It makes public a desire in my heart that is unfulfilled. It allows others into an already scary and private place. It, for me, is an act of intimacy. Scary stuff. Up until now, it is fear that has kept me from dreaming that kind of dream. There, I said it. By never speaking aloud dreams about my future, I thought I was protecting myself from letting others know if I failed. The crazy thing is, it has also kept me from the help, support, and encouragement of others. 

Lately though, inspired by Dare, Dream, Do, I've been learning that if you speak your dreams out loud, help just might materialize.

... to be continued  

* Sorry about the crass language
** Stay tuned.