Do What You Love

I Dream of a World

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“If our poor die of hunger, it is not because God does not care for them. Rather, it is because neither you nor I are generous enough. It is because we are not instruments of love in the hands of God. We do not recognize Christ when once again He appears in the hungry man, in the lonely woman, in the child who is looking for a place to get warm.” (Note: You may replace God by whatever you know is true.)

“Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world.”

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.”

-Mother Teresa

 

Reality satisfies me. I know that reality is not what it seems, it’s an illusion which hardly reflects that great truth of spirituality and science—that we are one with everything and there is much love everywhere. I created a daily life that reflects these facts, a cozy microcosm with my family.

I still dream of a better reality. I dream of a world where everyone has enough to eat, for the belly and thoughts. Basic needs are met, without restraint. In a moment of total support, societies bring impostors to right their wrongs. I dream of a world where the self-proclaimed elite, totalitarian style governments, and corporate interests that governed yesterday’s life are nonexistent; Justice had them pay for their crimes against humanity. The money collected is used to establish our utopian foundation.

I dream of a world where love, equality and peace reign absolute. War no longer exists—it is even necessary to explain this concept to children, who have difficulty conceiving it. People have settled their disputes in their homes, and in their tribes. Family and community are honored. It is normal for a parent to raise his own child and to offer a wise and useful education, free of authority. It does not come to mind to let his education be given by a stranger who loves or respects him little, or leave him to himself before he is ready.

I dream of a world where health is paramount, and begins with a healthy lifestyle. People’s interests take precedence over those of corporations. We are not kept away from the truth—truth is treated as holiness. So in this better new world, vaccination with heavy metals, junk food as a lifestyle, or compulsive medication are avoided; we go to the problem’s source. The lack of active listening, care, love, presence, and realization are resolved.

How? Each individual counts and has a loving network who takes the time to meet daily. Each individual is responsible for his life as early as possible and treats it with respect, ensuring to meet all his needs adequately. Work is balanced with personal and collective life, unlike our current reality, and it occupies our lives only part time. We finally understand its importance; it is not everything in life. This redefinition of our values and priorities makes our dream come true.

We find joy again in living simply, following our passions, happy, in modernity. Overconsumption went away, because it wasn’t respectful of our healthy environment. Same for character flaws such as greed and narcissism, gone with our harmonious lifestyle. All are recognized, small organisms as large ones, and treated with reverence and respect for their role in the macrocosm. Everyone is satisfied with a minimum of material but accesses a lifestyle rich in possibilities. Everyone has a useful role and uses his talents for the good of all.

Society is self-managed. Everyone is free, without infringing on the freedom of others, and every one can make his opinion count; the right to decide happens in real time with technology, not only every 4 years. Representatives are transparent, and we found a way to implement the voted changes directly.

This image of a better world is far from complete, but it is a safe foundation. Each should add his missing piece of happiness.

We can only dream of a better world. But we could rather propose to get there. By making the necessary changes in our personal lives, while sharing our findings with others (in discussions or on social media, like the Do What You Love Journey Facebook page, the Independents News Facebook group, and on Do What You Love Journey Twitter); by changing ourselves, to see reflected in the world our transformations. Because we are but one.

 

 

Thanks for reading! From Do What You Love Journey, post I Dream of a World

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Lifestyle Design Survival Kit – Part 4 of 4

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Fourth article of the Lifestyle Design Survival Kit series, part of the upcoming book Lifestyle Design: One Woman Takes On the Do-What-You-Love Journey

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thoreau Lifestyle Design Survival Kit Part 4 of 4

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favour in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

-Henry David Thoreau

Let’s take a final overview of the equipment to bring for our journey before we tackle my new favorite tool, habits.

To go straight to the goals, we should ask ourselves what would attract the success of our needs and desires. What basic equipment do we need to live our dream life? To be a great parent, I must have among others time to spend with my children, my spouse, even myself, as well as adequate knowledge on the subject, and love, patience, and more. Some of these skills are worked on the field every day, but for others, I’m reading a stack of books to improve myself—my favorite way to download information faster. To become a published writer, I need at least basic tools to write and a website to publish, in addition to my writing toolbox I improve daily—and another mountain of books here (in ebook format if possible, letting my tree friends alive). Along the way, we can fit more into our equipment, find support, be efficient, do more with less, and not take our eyes off our course. I am already climbing to the tops I chose, so I’ll find what I’m still missing during the journey.

Assessing our needs and desires helps us draw our map to our goals. I like to do it with the journalistic process for each of the areas, which I delimited as career, spirituality, relationships, capital, personal time, help, home, food, health, environment, psychology, social contribution: Who, What, When, Where, How, Why? At this stage in my career, an important area in our society, I want to be happy, accomplish myself and help others to achieve that too, while making of our society a better place to live (for the Who and Why, the answer is a blissful Us). At the crossroad of my talents, others’ needs and the demand. I set my super human talent, what I’m gifted for and I want to devote meaningful time, a difficult aspect to find but good challenge at the same time–I believe each one of us is gifted for something, no matter how obscure it is. For me, this is the art of writing: I love and I need to share my research, and the current times show that many people need guidance in lifestyle design. There is also a demand and a great opportunity in the writing domain; ebook sales have even exceeded those of printed editions on Amazon. I would also like to expand the area of my creations and create other artistic products, such as inspiring clothing and jewelry, writing and playing for a band, or even participating more in making crafts with my children and be covered in paint—though I often end up this way cleaning after their art (the What is the artistic, personal and collective development domains). I want to live a fulfilling and Zen life now (the When) and be on the lookout for opportunities in the future. I need a great flexibility to be there for my family and a balanced life between work and rest; working from home is well suited for the introvert that I am, and I want to be able to work from anywhere in the world to travel, so using the Web to stay connected is appropriated (Where and How). Even if we exhaust ourselves 5 minutes to come up with our desires, it is one of the best time investments of our lives.

To complete the preparation in the pursuit of our dream life journey, we could consider support and commitment in our design. For the real commitment, I stay focused every day with establishing habits. For the support, I surround myself with great people who inspire, respect and support me. I also search on the topic and on the lives of successful people.

Returning from the funeral of a friends’ mother, it makes me think that we all have ups and downs in our earthly journey, and that one thing is certain, we will leave. But this woman has left a powerful legacy into the world; eleven of her children are still standing strong, alive, and well, in the circumstances. We are all experiencing the magic of life, even if it is full of paradox. Life disappoints, and life is hard, sometimes. But it is amazing too, we must admit. I do not pretend to know all its mysteries. Nevertheless, I intend to live it fully, head first, heart on my sleeve (as shown in a tattoo). I know I am only decent at certain activities, but I’m pretty good at three: in sports, to be a family person, and arts (mainly writing). I do not know for certain at which I’m the most talented for, but is it that important? We should make sense of how to live what we love, and give this love as a legacy, to be an instrument of good with our abilities. If Steve Jobs told the truth, and he had wisdom, we could connect the dots of our lives only backwards, looking back on the past. When my time comes to an end, I want to realize that I’ve had a fantastic and well lived life, no matter what she has given me on my plate. What about you?

Once well equipped, I say we engage in our lives. It’s time to go. Let’s put aside our excuses, our procrastination, our lack of leadership, and take on our best chances of success with preparation, focus and enthusiasm.

Let’s live a wonderful life…

 

 

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Lifestyle Design Survival Kit – Part 3 of 4

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Third article of the Lifestyle Design Survival Kit series, part of the upcoming book Lifestyle Design: One Woman Takes On the Do-What-You-Love Journey

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P1140082 Lifestyle Design Survival Kit Part 3 of 4

Are we fulfilled in our daily lives?

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

–Mark Twain

It is a fact that a Koi left in a small aquarium and not sufficiently fed grows only a few inches, while in a huge pond, well nourished, it can reach a few feet. This can make us ponder in our lives: to remain in a familiar world, am I truly realizing my potential? In contrast, why could we not achieve ourselves by living simply, like those who made poverty vows and help generously? To each to study those questions, out of what society imposes on us. I contemplate them while deciding what course of life to pick. I care about my priorities first, love, well-being and art, which are like planets revolving around me, needed for my solar system.

Once decided on our way, so we don’t lose sight of our dream, it is good to get a map, or visualized goals, that at the same time support inspiration and habits. I decided to use again a method that has proven its worth and has helped me in the past, first to win medals in swimming competitions, or having my difficult twin pregnancy to term, and other positive events in my life: visualization.

The method was popularized by Dr. Carl Simonton to cure cancer patients. It shows that what we imagine can happen, as cure cancer, and we can even use it to improve at the same pace as practicing, like in activities such as basketball. There seems to be an element of myth in pop psychology, perhaps imagining winning millions at the lottery will not happen, but I still like to put the odds on my side – the more my ideal life vision is clear, the more I know on what to put my efforts to achieve it.

Recently, I visited a natural area for log houses. First, to visualize myself living there one day, with all the senses. I’m not very materialistic; I am even blamed of not being attached to things. A mansion of multiple buildings with a fleet of super expensive cars? Not my dreams! I prefer intimacy, in nature, in an ecological cute house as tools to live well.

One of my dreams to realize is to live in a log cabin on a private wooded area with a lake view, and see my family flourish there too. I see myself by a beautiful summer afternoon, writing, my feet in warm water, while the children are in a canoe with their father. To get there, I put a background image on my computer with the lake view from one of the cabins. To create further this reality, I created a montage for this wallpaper (but you can also put it on your wall or on social media like Pinterest), with all my dreams to realize right now. As a final, you may add the words “All this, or better.” I see it every day.

Not that I’m not happy now, or I’d be miserable if I did not realize those dreams, but it would be nice and it is a common dream with my boyfriend to have a summer cottage. I remember summers at beautiful lake St-Jean, one of the biggest lakes in the province of Quebec, throughout my childhood, and I’d like to continue to do something similar. I do not want to be attached to the future, but it is a fact that the future can be made of many of our present intentions, and it makes me happy to have this vision every day. Images that I have in mind: laugh sitting by a fire with friends established in this area, building a tree house, hours of hiking encountering deer, hares and foxes, drifting on a raft in the sun, winters made of sliding and reading by the fireplace in a house smelling pine and homemade bread! I gradually bring this dream into reality (I also put my subconscious on the job), and I work to find a method to achieve it. I suggest making a list of your goals, putting them onto a map, film or other media of your choice, and then beginning to take steps to bring them into your reality.

But dreaming is not all; we must appreciate now and not live with our heads lost in the clouds. Gandhi inspires me; I have a lot of his wisdom in my head, including “There is enough for everybody’s need, but not enough for anybody’s greed.” I think the most sensible way to live my life is to meet my needs, then my conscious desires (my dreams). To participate, to do what I love to do, and, after, head toward (humanitarian) goals I want. Because the future is never certain, and try to crystallize it with fixed plans can make us lose our time and miss the essential. If I sacrifice all my needs for a dream, and it doesn’t become reality, my life could seem tragic… This way, going into debt to buy a log house is not a need. To realize this dream is a desire; it would be nice, but my current home is good for me at the moment – it helps to have gratitude for our privileged life, when many only dream of what we have. This desire, I bring it gently in my reality while living consciously.

 

Lifestyle design tip: what is a need, what is a desire?

 

It’s not always easy to distinguish between a need and a desire. I need to be fulfilled, and help people to be so, while using my sensitive side; I can do it in raising fulfilled and compassionate children, and writing. One of my desires is to write hundred of books, including bestsellers. There is a world between my needs and desires, and frankly, responding to my needs, the ones of my family and be an inspiration to help the needs of others is enough. Being a successful author seems great, and I work at it every day, but what really fulfills me is to meet all my needs, the ones of making art, eating enough and be near my family for example. I could put my children in daycare, publish more products, and write my books faster, but I would miss my family, and I would have an inferior quality of life – we must evaluate what is sacrificed. I would pass on the essential, and ironically, my dream life. I live a dream life now. So, I want to meet basic needs, enjoy the present, sniff the air, then aim to the tops of my desires in parallel with a noble mission, saying: “I will go in this direction, to see if it’s great. From here, it could be interesting!” This way, I’m happy now, not overwhelmed, and I prepare the success of my desires. As Buddha said,

“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.”

There is also that we can be gifted to force desires making it into reality, but by not taking circumstances into consideration, we can shoot ourselves in the foot and be in bad shape to live our dream life – this is one of my life lessons not to force things (oh yes, I still have to learn it). Leaving the divine explanation or that there is a destiny aside for the moment, there seems to be in our universe truth in the saying,

“There is a time for everything.”

For me it is a lesson that just being on the way you love, following its course without focusing on the past or the future while staying focused on our dreams, this is not an art, it’s not rocket science. We should not force a way; most of the times we would just be more tired and not necessarily successful. Sometimes we have to make it around an obstacle or climb over it. But the more we stay on our way in the long run, we ensure that it makes us happy from the start to meet our basic needs, keeping our priorities in order, and the more we are prepared and believe in our dreams, the greater the chances of meeting the right circumstances to achieve our desires.

To be continued!

 

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Lifestyle Design Survival Kit – Part 2 of 4

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Second article of the Lifestyle Design Survival Kit series, part of the upcoming book Lifestyle Design: One Woman Takes On the Do-What-You-Love Journey

Previous article: Lifestyle Design Survival Kit – Part 1 of 4

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A man even alone at first, if he uses every day his pickaxe in the same direction, without being distracted or diverted, if every day he continues his effort, every day, without missing one, eyes fixed on a single star, if he uses it every day, even if the ground is of rock or clay, he always ends up opening a path…

- Raoul Follereau

To be on my dream path, I make sure that I have all the necessary physical equipment, or capital. There is this capital that seems elusive: time. A saying goes that we have as much time in a day that all the greatest people of the world did. Okay, but we can end up poorly managing our time, abusing of good times preventing to accomplish ourselves, or “loosing” it with endless meetings or obligations. If I respect myself, I have as much rights as anyone else to use my time and resources according to my needs and desires. To have more time, I simplified my needs with various principles: minimalism, or voluntary simplicity, Parkinson’s Law, the theory of relativity, and a few others, described below.

Minimalism is a return to the basics, which help to reduce what we do not like (as seen in the previous step) and balance our interests. The majority of my time is used to spend time with family and friends, reading, playing guitar, move, and write. Having a minimum of interests that cover well all my needs, I have time to accomplish myself well and be present for each. Depending on our personality profile (I have an artist profile, it seems), we can choose our passions that combine needs, talents and interests (such as martial arts, for the physical activity and art needs, or artwork, for purposes of fulfillment and transcendence).

Sometimes we can have a weak moment where we feel unmotivated or we are attacked on the way we live our lives, and we wish for a moment to go back to the familiar (but maybe detested). We have to remember that choosing voluntary simplicity does not mean to be simplistic, and sacrifice our dreams on the altar of a life without color. Not living our passions removes flavor from life. Life becomes dull, it seems to decline in shades of gray, and we forget our enthusiasm, an important element of success. A few weeks ago, having difficulties to live a balanced life, I hear myself telling my mother: “I do not know if I will continue to write for the moment. With children, I seem to have two jobs and head in all directions! “A little later, I review my statement – it is true that having a blog and wanting to keep my word to readers strengthen my grip to my pieces of dreams (keeping our word in all integrity, is a virtue that can help us. Did you tell someone your dreams? Declaring our intention makes us commit). No, I take that as a challenge. I’m thinking, how can I accomplish my dreams while not adding to my work week? I managed to get there in focusing more on productivity and leaving out activities that do not matter as much to me.

According to Parkinson’s Law, also treated in the book The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich of Tim Ferris, we use all the time that is allocated to a task. So if I dedicate myself to my children only during the week, I would not have time to write. I need delimited hourly periods of time, when I close the door at least figuratively, and write. Children get the law too – many new parents are searching for only a few minutes to do exercise or get presentable! But our needs are also important. To find this magical time, I cut my hours of listening to the lullaby of modern times, television. While my boys sleep tight, I write at least 1 hour, 6 times a week. When they are busy, I read, research, correct and communicate on social media – or relax! I have two careers that fulfill me, on alternating or parallel times. I refuse the word impossible, and I believe in my dreams. And on Sunday, it’s my day off. I take a time off from writing and sport, and I use it to replenish and as a time of reflection on the past week – what has worked and what has not, to redesign my lifestyle even better.

To make best use of our time, there is also the famous Pareto principle, the economic law of 80/20, where 80% of our results come from 20% of our business. What are the activities you do that return the best capital and satisfaction? We must invest in these and improve the others, or drop them if you want.

Einstein has famously stated that time is relative: “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.” The relativity theory fits with the flow happiness principle, that the joy of living in the “flow” would make us happier. I observe that my passions slow down time and make me ardent. I accomplished more by focusing on doing what I love. Writing for an hour seems like only a few intense minutes. I’m in the moment – I am not aware of either the past or the future – there is that joy here and now. I’m positive, but also realistic; there is the possibility that everything we do is in vain – perhaps there will be an electronic pulse tomorrow and this book will be lost. Gandhi said that all we do is futile, but we must do it anyway. We might as well love what we do of our time, and profit.

And there is the point that we live in a temporal universe, whose time appears to be limited, and there is the possibility that what we do is worthwhile and will have a great impact. We might as well put our time on what is worth it. One day, I hope in 100 years, when I’ll be a still energetic great-grandmother, I want to look back at my life and be proud of what I’ve done. I say to myself, stop wasting your time. Focus. And be ecstatic. It is possible now.

It’s almost frightening all the possibilities we can do, and the time that elapses for those that we have not yet made – will I be up to them?  Following my heart, synchronicities, and setting aside my ego not to seek glory but to help others, surely.

Regarding other types of capital, there is little that is really necessary to begin with. Chris Guillebeau, in his book The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future Lifestyle Design Survival Kit Part 2 of 4, demonstrates that our capital to live on a fitted career can be very small. I think our work, or our commitment to work, is the basis of our capital, such as Karl Marx observed, if we ensure to keep the gains, we can grow the capital.

To be as productive as possible we can use our capital and leverage it to do more with less. For example, what I write now will both be published as articles on my site, to please my readers and to share my work, and as a book, which allows me to do two shots with one writing session. I write both books and a blog without overloading my schedule. I also use the material in French – creating another blog and others books. This is only part of the work that I have with the capital work that I create. I can use it for magazine articles, create a elearning course or give lectures. You can also do more with less for a multitude of tasks, such as responding to an email with an audio message inserted into the email, because speaking is generally faster than writing.

Tim Ferris has also made famous the concept of virtual assistant, or outsourcing to freelancers. Many workers around the world are happy to be well paid for doing tasks that we do not like or do them more efficiently. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would love to clean full-time, but the reality proves me the opposite: there are sites where there are cleaning challenges like “Clean the bathroom in 15 minutes. Let’s go! ”

In fact, productivity innovations and resources to do more with a minimum of capital appears to go as far as our imagination is willing to. And with today’s world opportunities, where we have easy access to technology, network, software beyond what we thought possible just 50 years ago and several billion people who can help each other, we would be crazy not to list and take what facilitates our work and ensures success.

Next article:: Lifestyle Design Survival Kit – Part 3 of 4

 

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Lifestyle Design Survival Kit – Part 1 of 4

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Many pictures on the blog are from my family, who love to travel the world. This one is from my sister Laury, her blog is at laurymilkyway.tumblr.com

 

We can’t predict the future; we can prepare for it. –Maurice Blondel

 

How to make our lifestyle design a reality? If we are rather reluctant to fulfill our dreams, one reason is that in general we do not have the right tools beginning in life. With the right knowledge, we can counter that.

I have already started to live my dream lifestyle design. But I realize it may not be perfect in all aspects. Life is not perfect. It doesn’t go as we planned. I do not think it should either. I love good surprises, and for the bad ones, it allows me to cultivate a Zen attitude. Often we realize that the obstacles repeatedly encountered are an opportunity to grow. One may ask, what are the patterns that recur in my life and should be surpassed?

I write live from my basement, in front of a mess left by children in their new playroom – we decided to inhabit the basement, which was unnecessary before having a family. My next door office is almost ready, less some pieces of walls, sacrificed by water damage. I’m sitting on an old but comfortable sofa, which has seen grow my cousins, the laptop on my knees, on a Saturday afternoon. None of my framework is perfect, but it is exciting anyway- everything you love to do on Saturday, especially for free, is synonymous with passion. I am fulfilled with a wonderful family, a good place to live, and a passion that energizes me. My head is full of dreams, for example I’m looking forward to other writing projects as an inspiring science fiction book, on my mind for years. But it seems that the book, or passion, chooses you, so I have to do everything in time and place. It is the joy of living in a universe with space-time continuum.

Could I have planned to start as an author before, renovate a house, have a family all in separated times? Maybe, but I wonder if I would have been fulfilled at all levels. Nothing is perfect, so why wait for the perfect time to start? There is nothing better than this now to live our passions, even if we still wait to live off it!

In the first book of the trilogy, Do What You Love, I describe the method I took to get into my dream life. Here is a success kit, to pick up before leaving or equip along the way.

 

Success kit

Once having identified what makes us happy, a sense of our dreams, and put our efforts to change direction, we must prepare our backpacks to ascend our dream.

When I go on a journey, I first let got of what is not necessary. I think the most effective way to break up with a routine that we do not like is to part with it. Before each big project, I clear the clutter of my life. Objects that I dislike are going to recycling or as donations. Well, I still have to learn because it happens that rooms and cabinets refill, but I find it increasingly easier to live with less.

Same for the activities, habits, stress, or weight of the past cluttering my calendar. Even for the relationships with people and social norms that no longer fit. It is best to let go of what is unwanted, then to put what we love and want to keep in our lives, responsibly. This allows to cherish what we love the most, and make space for what we want to receive in our lives.

During this stage, I like to keep in mind to aim to be safe – you remember, this important basic need as stated by Abraham Maslow? That is why we must be careful not to sacrifice vital elements, and to know well ourselves to decide what we want to get rid of, and what we want to keep.

Then we should bring our energy for the journey. This is the element that tells us best if we are on the right track, if what we covet is a good dream for us. If for some days, when I start a project that interests me, I am bubbling with energy and it does not diminish (assuming I do get all my sleep and I do not work too much), if I’m like a child who ate too much Smarties and drank a Coke when nobody was watching, if I feel like I’m onto something big – bigger than me, that could contributes to the good of many – I know I’m onto the right road.

To put all the chances on our side, we must pack: our enthusiasm! Social research and common sense show that the most enthusiastic person is often the most successful. Fortunately, if we ensure that we are passionate about our choices, we are likely to be the person that will be up for the challenge. At worst, bring some boxes of Smarties – whatever it means; I thought it was an inspiring sentence, but hum, it seems suspicious afterward. Let’s say that we must be enthralled by our subject. We can for example achieve it by reading our list of dreams every day, reading advice from people who have succeeded in our field, and making sure to have a healthy diet – I correct myself – and healthy life habits. I also advise to bring a positive and Zen attitude; in case of crisis, it will enable us to face the challenges in beauty rather than to risk giving up. We have to summon all the motivation, perseverance, insight, determination, and efficiency we need. Big words to say: let’s do our best and live our dreams with passion, as much as possible!

To be continued…

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I Have A Vision – The Manifesto

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I Have A Vision Manifesto3 I Have A Vision The Manifesto

I Have A Vision Manifesto

(Click to download or print)

Text of the I Have A Dream Manifesto 

Today, from the depths of my being,

I Have A Vision

Because I had a bad dream,

That we on earth are suffering to different degrees.

I have a vision

That humanity turns away from survival and starvation.

From hidden slavery and raping mother earth.

From the normality of violence and money, the false prophet.

From greed in favor of a minority and the misery of the majority.

I have a vision

That the healing begins, that humanity rises up,

We begin our mission of peace, love and wise evolution.

I have a vision

That a dream life is no longer the privilege of the 1%, but the 100%.

And these dreams are lucid, for the benefits of all.

I have a vision

That each one of us discovers his mission in this world,

And accomplishes it, stars in his eyes.

I have a vision

That our children swim in love, and are guided

To follow their heart on their life paths.

I have a vision

That the human community plots for the good of all

And lives enchanted, in harmony.

I have a vision

That all have enough to eat, that our needs are satisfied,

And our awareness is elevated.

I have a vision

That everyone gets up in the morning, not only to earn his bread,

But also to help the humanitarian mission and pay it forward.

I have a vision

That beings of all shapes realize they are one;

The good we are giving one another comes back and nurtures us.

There were visions

Who started the march.

Previous generations had similar dreams,

The American Dream, the ones of Gandhi or Martin Luther King.

Thanks to them, we woke up.

But now, we must be more awake than ever.

No, no more dreams of a better world without realizing them,

For today, we are aware of making a difference.

I have a vision

And I am sure that I am supported,

I see it, and in fact, I feel its

In realization.

 

I Have A Vision Manifesto - Do What You Love Journey.com

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How to Be Free From Our Past!

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166924 10150444467903992 570258991 8668880 2120538664 n How to Be Free From Our Past!A parenthesis on how to be free from our past and do what we love

 What will you do with what has been done to you? -Jean-Paul Sartre

Once upon a time, there was a little girl with a big heart, but who was against the current. Doing her best to be nice, she was an easy prey to the dark heart of some youngsters, who attacked her for things as trivial as curly hair, or indifferent caretakers. Furthermore, she followed her own drum beat, wanted to be free to be herself, and was wary of those who would have authority over his life; nothing to win popularity contests.

She was often accused for not complying, not cared for, or it was push upon her that she worth less than others. She faced several episodes of violence, more or less hidden. It was hurtful, but the girl was holding on good. “I do not know what I’m really good at, or even who I really am, but I’ll keep going. I refuse to comply without good reasons, to do what is wrong, because I would lose the only thing I own: my integrity, or myself. ” She had to fight more in life than most of her peers, but instead of seeing it as a poisoned gift, she began to make it a redemption, forgive, and emerge stronger.

She has still several obstacles in her path, such as health problems and difficult events like loosing a child. But knowledge about human well-being and love makes life sweeter and accelerates healing. Over time, she finds what she’s good at, what she likes and she realizes herself, even stronger for her past – the price to pay for her freedom and authenticity was worth it, she is not stuck in a life she does not like and she can accomplish her potential, unrestrained by social norms. She lives happily and have many moments of joy that would not have been possible if she had not pursued her own path.

My past was the chrysalis which allowed me to transform, achieve my potential to take my flight to my dreams, instead of being trapped in the normal standard of being stuck in a hated routine.

Like the ugly duckling fairy tale of Hans Christian Anderson, about a little bird who suffers abuse and doesn’t understand his purpose but finally matures as a majestic swan, we can not change what we are but we can persist, affirm ourselves, and become fantastic beings. However, we may internalize wounds of the past. And drag this weight with us day after day, which prevents us from being our own sensational selves.

Resilience is a concept that is seen in children with a difficult life, or even in “red-flag” dogs. It is an amazing ability to bounce back and resume a normal life, at times being even stronger than before. Cesar Millan, known as the Dog Whisperer, How to Be Free From Our Past! says that it is easier to rehabilitate a dog than a human because dogs live in the present and do not cling to the past (Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems). A dog can return to balance if all its needs are satisfied. It can be the same for us. As the Golden Rule says, “Do unto others as you wish for it to be done to yourself.”

When we are a rather nice soul, we tend to get crushed as kindness is seen by arrogant people as weakness, for animal instinct persists in humans and some like to enforce their will on others. Should we avenge ourselves when it arrives? We should stand strong à la Gandhi, but not be vengeful, because in history, it is the criminals who are to be pitied. They have a heavier cross to bear. In fact, forgiving them (but not necessarily forgetting) gives them an opportunity to be less unhappy, because we internalize what we do wrong, even if one gives a different impression, or is trying to hide it.

How to let go of our past to move forward in his dream lifestyle design? First, by realizing, analyzing (therapy can help), changing environment (like moving, or stop harmful relationships), forgiving, and correcting the reality (for example, realizing that no, I’m not a worthless little girl but a beautiful and accomplished woman) at every opportunity that doubts creep in our head. Georges St-Pierre, a champion recognized as one of the best fighters in mixed martial arts, has notably been the prey of bullies and known obstacles. He realized that it weighed on him like a brick. He then took literally a brick as a symbol of his worries, and to get rid of it, threw it in a watercourse. How much energy do we give our demons that could be used to accomplish our dreams? It is time to get rid of this destructive habit of hanging to the past.

We become better learning of our past – as the saying goes, what does not kill us makes us stronger. I feel that we’re nicer, because we know the effects that doing harm have (if karma exists, that the good or bad we do comes back to us, it is better this way!) I am more respectful of people, who present themselves in any shape or appearance; I try to see the gold nugget in everyone’s heart. We know who we are, and we stand up no matter what. We are more determined, not a victim but a survivor with a tender heart, and even a winner. Kindness is not a weakness, but a learned ability and the symbol of a great soul.

Forgiving ourselves also helps redemption; it is a weight off our shoulders. I also believe that my shoulders have hurt for 10 years for this past I supported too long. I am healing day by day. Forgiving, or being forgiven, can be done on the spot or to be more effective, directly with the people involved. For example, I chose to forgive all the bad that has been done to me. The effect on my wellbeing is fantastic, even if I have to remember often not to fall back on having resentment (it is said that ingesting poison – resentment – to punish someone isn’t the solution). For the harm I’ve caused, I used Facebook to find old friends and send messages of forgiveness.

Letting go of our past keeps us in the present to be the human being of value that we want. We do not choose the circumstances in which we’re born, but with lifestyle design, we can choose to be our better self, and give a happy ending to our story.

Exercises of Do What You Love Journey

-         Who have you not forgiven? Forgive them now, right this instant, and don’t go back to resentment. Poof (well, it almost makes that sound)! Feels better, right?

-         Who have you hurt? Think about telling them your love and asking to be forgiven.

-         Choose to let go of your past and trust the lifestyle design you are choosing. Be your fantastic self once and for all, and be happy ever after!

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What Is Your Dream Lifestyle Design?

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After facing the obstacles that block the view of our dreams, we finally see these dreams; they are tempting, rising like a majestic mountain, breathtaking. But the ascent to our dream lifestyle design may seem harsh. One wonders if he will emerge unscathed, and victorious.

One might even ask, do I want [insert the best dream lifestyle design here] that much? This is legitimate, and prudent once again. We might as well be sure of what we want to do.

“In truth, the path does not matter, the will to arrive suffices to everything.”

- Albert Camus

Once we have our eyes on the mountain that we want to ascend, which side should we choose?

First, just to observe the Dream in all its splendor gives wings to do what you love. When I have a dream that I’m into, like writing this blogged trilogy, I am energized. A dream lifestyle design gives you wings. This is what gives a surge of energy in the morning, pushes us out of bed, and makes us love the day ahead. Even on Monday. Especially on Monday.

And on more difficult “rainy days”, rather than seeing obstacles to my dream lifestyle design as impossible to overcome, I try to see them as a challenge or a game. I wonder, can I give it even more quality, my 110%? Or, how can I make it more fun?

 

Our dream lifestyle designs

 

Dream lifestyle designs that interested me were varied, and subject to change. But this gives spice to life!

To give ideas for the variety of lifestyles possible, I contemplated or realized to:

  • study for my baccalaureate degree during the day, and train at night to become a kickboxing master (or go out to dance in the city),
  • write a book a year while I raise my children at home,
  • volunteering in Thailand,
  • meet true love and be with him every day,
  • working to make the world better and feel like I’m making a difference,
  • live in the country but close enough to my old town to visit family and friends,
  • stay at home to spend time with my family (and my dogs rather than leave them alone),
  • fully enjoy the ephemeral summer in Quebec and all its sunny days,
  • see closely my children grow up, really be with them every day and have a strong bond as they become individuals capable of making a wonderful difference in the world.

What is your ideal lifestyle design? I think we should not judge, that way everyone feels respected, free to be what he really is, and is happy. I prefer to see people happy and aware, who may be doing something that seems futile but gives joy, than deliberate unhappy individuals, who contribute only to tarnish the luster of life and perpetuate problems.

Other dream lifestyle designs can be to :

  • work from anywhere in the world,
  • retire at age 50 to take care of our grandchildren,
  • drop out of school to learn directly from a master,
  • have a green home,
  • live in a big city in the middle of a family-like community,
  • be surrounded by people interested and interesting,
  • get involved in a humanitarian organization,
  • realize old dreams,
  • get a PhD to improve a career,
  • work 3 days a week,
  • placing 50% of his income to be a philanthropist millionaire,
  • start a company anywhere in the world,
  • finally learn to do a passion like playing guitar,
  • adopt the habit of taking a bath with a glass of wine each afternoon,
  • or bring home an aging parent,
  • and more.

Often just thinking about our dream lifestyle designs suffices to create the favorable circumstances… Then, we can take different paths and hiker kits to reach the top according to what suits us, and have fun along the way.

I love to ask, what dreams float into your head? And how will you accomplish them?

 

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Throw Tomatoes at Lifestyle Design’s Obstacles?

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P1140057 1024x576 Throw Tomatoes at Lifestyle Designs Obstacles?

If you are reading this, we agree that lifestyle design is good, in theory. In general, we want to do what we love and have a customized lifestyle. There are however two main obstacles that are ready to catch us when we consider it, even before finding what we like in some cases: how to live of what you love? And how to decide to do what we love when everything seems against us?

These questions are prudent; we must take them into account. But lifestyle design is for everyone, at all times. For the 10 years old, or the wise 110 years old.

One, there are ways to do what we love all the while having another way to pay the bills. Oprah Winfrey says she would do what she’s good at even if she was not paid; she would find a second job to live her passion. Wise words.

Two, we must have the courage to be ourselves, or we’re damned. The biggest regrets people have on their deathbeds are worked too much, didn’t take advantage of opportunities, didn’t have the courage to live as they wish, didn’t choose to be happy, didn’t tell their love and what is on their mind, wasn’t spiritual, didn’t forgive, and haven’t stay in touch with friends. I don’t know about you, but that sounds upsetting to regret, and possible to counter while we still can. I want to work now on not having regrets.

There are masses and masses of advice from people who have managed to live their dreams, and of their dreams. I post quotes daily on social media (on Twitter and Facebook) to encourage us to do so, and I think I could find different quotes until the end of my life without ever having to repeat them. The success stories are numerous, and overwhelming. To name one of the mentors on the subject of doing what you love, the late Steve Jobs advocated addressing the issue each day, and making changes whenever necessary. In his speech on the subject, addressed to Stanford students, he says one of my favorite quotes:

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

With this principle, he creates among others a modest company – what’s its name? Ah, Apple, you say? Steve Jobs became an authentic icon of success and his company, an empire that changed our modern lives forever.

Science also agrees that being happy with what we do has several positive effects. For example, it is proven that happy people are more productive, accomplished (book Happiness at Work: Maximizing Your Psychological Capital for Success Throw Tomatoes at Lifestyle Designs Obstacles?) and good, among others (The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun Throw Tomatoes at Lifestyle Designs Obstacles?).

The real obstacles are ignorance, fear, and complacency. I still use these crutches sometimes, but I quickly get to let go of them because it is satisfying to live our life with a passion.

Many are unaware that they can be happy here and now. However, if we have a meeting of the minds at this moment, it’s because we have the gift of being alive. We must honor our life and live it fully.

Many also fear change. We should not let fears paralyze us, prevent us from living, but let them guide us. In doing so, the fears lead us to be careful, while going forward.

Many seem to enjoy being miserable, but it seems to be laziness, so not to change their lives. There is a principle of physics that says to make a change of direction, to make a u-turn with our car for example, it takes more energy during the movement, otherwise the car will keep going straight. It’s the same thing in our life. The inertia principle implies that we stay on the same path, which leads to the same results that we usually get. To change direction in our life and finally reach our dreams, we have to put more efforts to begin with. But understanding this, we know that after we make a life change we love, we can stay on this new path with little effort – awesome, because I’m not for laziness, but all for easiness.

I say we have to choose living our lifestyle design because it also meets our basic needs. The renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow distinguished that we have these requirements: (1) physiological needs (as for food, to drink, to sleep, to breathe, to reproduce), (2) safety needs (of body, employment, health, property), (3) the need to belong and love (as friendship, intimacy, family, sexuality), (4) esteem needs (confidence, respect for others and by others, self-esteem ), and (5) the need for personal accomplishment (morality, creativity, problem solving). Another theorist also added (6) the need for transcendence (such as helping others, leaving a legacy).

We should make a life habit to distinguish if we are missing something in these needs, and if so, address it. For example, the situation of parents who stay at home is illuminated with this view.

Previously, it was common that the mother stayed at home to raise the children. My grandmother tells me she hid as long as possible to my grandfather that she had a job when her children were more independent; it was even frowned upon, as the father figure was to be able to adequately meet the family needs without requiring assistance. But my grandmother had a need for achievement that was answered by her new job.

The feminist movement has welcomed the entry of women into the labor market and changed family dynamics – but this has created another problem, the lack of time for proper attachment needs. As in my situation, there is a movement back to home for a parent; statistics for Canadasay fathers stay home more than ever.

Why, is it a step backward, insanity? Should we go protest, throw tomatoes at each others, parents on the labor market or at home? No. White flag – bring me your tomatoes, I’ll freeze them (the organic ones, let’s make compost with the others).

This is an improvement of life conditions. First, to address the significant needs for attachment. It is notable that the majority of parents at home want a part-time career, and those on the labor market as well – to fill the need for achievement, but in a manner consistent with family, this time.

It is individuals, and businesses or self-employment which best suit all our needs that will have the most success in all aspects. It is only a question of a short amount time, I hope, for the wellbeing of all – and of tomatoes.

 

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What is Lifestyle Design?

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Part of the chapter one, of the free blogged book Lifestyle Design, to include lifestyle design in our lives

DO WHat You Love Steve Jobs What is Lifestyle Design?

What amazes me every day is that, though as humans we are alike in many ways, we are all different wonders of the world. When we see a baby, we understand (or perhaps we should, if this is not the case) that this existing presence is a miracle of life, and it carries with it an amazing potential, to bloom. Each of us is first amazing, unique; and each of us should then have a unique lifestyle design, which should fulfill us.

What follows is college material 101 on lifestyle design. If a college education is blocking your life path, being able to understand what I explain should convince you to do it once and for all, if you want. (Although not always necessary, university as we call it in Canada, is possible for almost all of us; especially if we study what we love, progress can be astounding!)

Lifestyle is a general designation, a paradigm for everything we do and live. It therefore encompasses all the aspects mentioned before for each individual, such as spirituality, relationships, or career. In short, this is the way a person lives.

It reflects an individual’s attitudes, values or way of seeing the world. We create a sense of self and symbols by creating a lifestyle, intentionally or not.

In the specific sense of sociology, we can also classify ourselves socially as a population in different lifestyles. It is even proposed nowadays to use lifestyle instead of social class. There are designations like green or sustainable lifestyle, which have beliefs and activities that respect the Earth. I think there is good in a lifestyle like that.

We also know those based on consumption. In fact, the term lifestyle has been popular with the consumer culture – we buy things and own symbols to differentiate, so we exists and situate ourselves socially. It’s not the term I’m interested in – a lifestyle based on consumption to enrich only a few, to other obscure many, and to focus our attention on that instead of a more noble mission, no, thank you.

One final theoretical overview that reveals a secret practice for our lives, the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has informed that our habitus, a disposition system that allows an individual to locate himself in the social world, is defined by our social position. Generally, rich social classes value a particular type of values such as finesse, will love hobbies reserved to this class – we know that golf is coveted by this class, and even favor a particular body type that reflects their values. In contrast, the poorer social classes have another special type of values and interests as strength – boxing is more represented in this class. Oblivious to our primal social positions, knowing these facts, we can get rid of them and define our real lifestyles with each of our true interests. And, for those interested, in adopting the habitus of the class that we want to be in, we can see their attributes occur in our life.

Enters the word Design. Nowadays, we design our home, or our financial portfolio; we consult experts on material aspects of life more than personal life counseling. However, lifestyle design is interesting, to me, even more than interior design (although Feng Shui says they are equivalent) because it is what makes us live incredible experiences, or not, according to our needs. It involves a conscious choice.

Lucid lifestyle design takes into consideration the environment from which we come from, so we’re not to be limited by it, and our aspirations, to go at the end of our limits, of our potential. It is unique to each, and is subject to change at any time.

In fact, I do not think we can fix our lifestyle designs in concrete, in a routine without a right of veto. I believe in virtues of habits, but each habit of our lifestyle designs must be able to be reviewed, improved or rejected – otherwise, it is like to live on autopilot.

We have to take the wheel of our lifestyle designs. Come on, let’s go! (Undertake a university education, perhaps?)

Each path begins with the same first step: replacing assumptions.

-Timothy Ferris. author of the bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

 


Thanks for reading! From Do What You Love Journey, post What is Lifestyle Design?

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