So You Had A Bad Day

I had a bad day today.

And for the first time I didn’t try to cover it up.

I acknowledged that I wasn’t feeling myself to the Knowmads and it made all the difference in the world.

I didn’t put any pressure on myself to act happy and cheery. I embraced the low feelings. Those feelings that just get you down.

In the process I understood what was really bringing those feelings to the surface. Homesickness, the weather (summer? apparently doesn’t exist in Holland this year), the need for change (getting out of Amsterdam), the need for freedom, and the knowing that I’m not living the life I want.

This brings me up against a wall. By allowing myself to just be down, I got to those root causes WAY faster than I usually do.

Now I choose to do something about it. All those things I have control over except the weather so in that case I just have to change the way I look at it. Accept that I will be wearing pants and a jacket the whole summer. This whole year is an experience. I’ve never experienced a summer this cold nor this rainy. For now on I will love every minute of it because this is something I cannot change. I can only change my outlook.

I look back on this day and it was a wonderful day.

It shows me what a great community I am part of and amazing friends I have here.

Friends trying to make me laugh, giving me hugs, comforting me, offering to eat M&M’s and watch tear jerker movies, inviting me to hang out for dinner, just allowing me to be in a low place.

Allowing to share my emotions and be absolutely ok with them. Having the space to not have to put on a happy face which I so often do. These are 2 things I can say I have definitely learned here at Knowmads.

Gonna play it by ear how I feel tomorrow. Already I’m feeling on the up and up!

3 Questions

During our inspiration session last week, the guy who was leading the session, Martijn, asked Tribe 4 & 5 three questions to help us create our own inspiring story.

First question was What drives you?

What do you do that gives you energy while doing it.  What do you do that makes you be in the moment and in a state of flow?

Everyone in the room had to write down what drove them. Then we shared them with everyone. Tom said something really that hit me before we all started to share. He said there’s no reason to be ashamed of the things that drive you so there’s no reason to be afraid to share. I think his line goes with basically every situation when you feel vulnerable. There is no reason to be ashamed of who you are and sharing what’s important to you. Shame is what holds us back from getting what we want and need in life. I could go on but that’s not my topic today.

Ok here are my drivers in my life currently…

• Inspiring people
• People who go after their dreams
• People who choose to be themselves and not let society stop/deny them from being themselves
• Possibility
• Wanting to live a remarkable life
• Fear of being mediocre
• Helping others achieve their dreams/goals/live a remarkable life
• Change
• Adventure
• Laughter-connection with others
• Challenges
• Creating something from nothing and reaching the goal
• Learning/curiosity
• Seeing what my limitations are mentally and physically
• Feeling of bliss

I read these now and I feel good about them. I wrote on my paper for this questions, “I feel like I’m missing an important one.” I did add more once I heard what drove others (the power of sharing). After I read mine, Martijn thought for a moment and said, “Sounds like you want to be a coach.” AHHHHH interesting observation and I do but I don’t. Again, another blog post.

2nd question was Who do I want to be?

Warning, this is a long list because my brain is not good at regurgitating adjectives (and feelings and needs for that matter) so I searched on my iPhone a list of 1100 adjectives. Here are the ones that I want to be.

• loving
• vulnerable
• open
• courageous
• independent
• grateful
• clever/witty
• helpful
• peaceful/calm
• tender
• powerful
• funny
• kind
• gentle
• charming
• classy*
• spontaneous
• focused
• creative
• successful
• confident
• positive
• responsible
• serene
• inspiring
• honest
• abundant
• acceptable
• adaptable
• adventurous
• fearless
• healthy
• fit
• strong
• encouraging
• enthusiastic/energetic
• outgoing
• knowledgeable
• initiating
• giving
• happy
• action taker/doer
• free
• accountable
• emotional/expressive
• compassionate
• affectionate

There are probably more because I only got to the letter K in the list but it feels good to have a starting list. The 1 adjective that seems the hardest for me is vulnerability so I’m making more of an effort to be vulnerable. I watched the TED talk about vulnerability again on yesterday and I grabbed a great quote from it.

What makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful.

This is what people who embrace vulnerability believe according to the research done by the speaker. Maybe this will be the first tattoo I get (haha kidding mom).

Martijn’s suggestion was to put this list by your toilet so every time you go to the bathroom you are reminded of who you want to be and are. I am going to tape them up after I get done with this post.

*The whole room laughed when I said classy which was funny (2 points for being something that I want to be) but also it makes me wonder what vibe I’m giving out to the world. It may have to do with the fact that I wear yoga sports wear every day. Or that I can be a goofball. Can’t you be it all? Can’t I be a living paradox. Maybe it’s the Gemini in me.

The 3rd question was Where do I want to go?

This is the toughest question for me to answer right now but it helped to be forced to think about it.

I want to…

• Be in a place where I can go and do anything. Where money isn’t a problem.
• Be in a loving relationship
• Inspire others to live a remarkable and courageous life
• Create a company that moves people and has a social impact
• Travel to countries and create adventures
• Move a group of people into greatness
• Be living freely (I think what I meant was having the freedom to do what I want but who knows)
• Push my body to the limits mentally and physically
• Be surrounded by a loving community

So there you have it. 3 questions to ask yourself to create your own inspiring story.

Was I inspired after this? In terms of writing about it yes. I thought these were 3 great questions. I also found myself getting lots of energy from it so yes I was inspired. Listening to other people’s dreams get’s me excited, energized, and inspired to think bigger in terms of what I want out of my life. I actually found myself participating in Power Hour (where we clean all of Knowmads) right off the bat and cleaning way more than I usually do. Had to do something with all that energy!

The most important thing I got out of this day was Martijn’s definition of success.

Success = being able to create the world around you that you want

Maybe I’ll create one of those motivational posters that you see all over Pinterest with this quote. Just a thought.

This is not the motivational poster 😉

Plastic Is So Confusing

Amsterdam doesn’t make recycling very easy. It could possibly be that I’ve been spoiled back home in Maryland where you have 2 bins: 1 for trash, the other for all the things you know can be recycled. All the recycling goes in one bin and you put it out on the street 1x a week. Easy peasey.

Here, in the ‘big’ city things are a bit more complicated.

First off I’m lucky that all I have to do is take my trash out to the street and sit it next to an Amsterdam pole. Since I live in a more posh neighborhood filled with houses, the garbage men come to you to pick the trash up. If I lived in an apartment building I most likely would have to take my trash bags to a trash receptacle which could be a good walk depending on where it’s located in your neighborhood.

The trash poles that are about every 10 feet. The 3 x has something to do with Amsterdam. That’s the extent of my A’dam history.

As for the recycling, we have to separate everything around here. Definitely takes more effort then back home. The only thing you don’t have to recycle is the aluminum because apparently they have magnets that suck all the cans out of the trash. I really hope this is the truth and not some myth. On top of separating everything you have to take your paper and glass to the recycling receptacles located near the trash ones. I would say the one closest to me is about 200 meters away from my front door. Could be worse.

The interesting thing about the recycling here is the plastic. Plastic isn’t recycled. Only plastic bottles are but the catch is not all are recycled. The plus is that you get cash back when you recycle, the minus is that I have no friggin’ clue what bottles get recycled!

Here’s the situation…You can take your plastic bottles to the local super market (ie, Albert Heine, Dirk, or Ecko Plaza), put them in this bottle returner machine, and then the automatic machine will suck in the bottle and give you a paper slip with the amount of money you earned from your bottles where you take to the cashier to redeem.

The problem here is that there is no sign on the machine nor the bottles that tell you if the bottle is recyclable. The only way to find out is when the machine makes this awful loud sound and the screen on the machine says some words in Dutch that it’s not recyclable. All I can understand is “geen” and “fleisch” (no and bottle). No matter if I couldn’t read it, I definitely know that I’m doing something wrong because of the sound.

The worst part of this experience is the extremely loud sound the machine makes. Remember when you play board games or watch quiz shows and someone get’s the answer wrong? Well multiply that by 5 and think of sirens from a police car and that’s the sound it makes while you’re in the market. I feel like the biggest loser in the store.

Most of the time my bottle doesn’t win and I feel it’s a reflection of me. My jackals go off in my head that the shoppers are judging me that I’m too dumb to figure out the bottle machine. Then I try to put the bottle in the opposite way with the cap towards me and again that awful sound. So I put that bottle back and try another bottle. Once again, that horrible sound.

Today I tried 5 different bottles and not one of them was taken by the machine! I do know they have to be a certain size but other than that I have no idea what the other criteria are. I ended up walking out of the Albert Heine unsuccessful with my full bag of empty bottles and not a single dime.

Maybe one of the Dutchies can help me figure out which bottles are acceptable by the machine and which aren’t because I really thought I had at least one winner with the Evian bottle. I mean if you’re going to pay that much for a water you better be getting some money back. Apparently not.

Help please.

Am I just supposed to put these in the trash now?

I also want to clear up any assumptions. I don’t actually buy bottled water or anything bottled for that matter. I only drink from the tap and on occasion wine and beer. I’m very simple when it comes to my liquids. I think drinking out of a cup is a waste of a cup. Reusable water bottles are where it’s at because you don’t have to wash it as much as a cup and you can take it with you anywhere.

I heart water bottles.

The water bottle I take with me everywhere. It was a great present from a lemon right before I left for Knowmads.

 

The Power of Hello

Yesterday at Knowmads we had an inspiration workshop. Basically the workshop was all about what get’s you inspired and then hopefully by the end of the workshop be inspired. I will go into more details about what we did in tomorrow’s post. Right now I’m working with a time cap of 20 minutes because I am going to the WTF Prom and won’t want to blog when I get home.

The workshop leader, Martijn (pronounced Mar-tyne..very Dutch), told us his story of how he would say “good morning” to every person he saw on his way to work. This simple act would get him so energized that he wanted to continue these small acts once he got off the train. Since he’d get off at Central Station, it would be way too many people to say “good morning” to so he decided to go for something else.

After the train he’d go to his usual cafe to grab a coffee. What he decided to do when he’d purchase his coffee was to ask the woman who served his coffee one question or give her one remark a day. This led him to know much about this woman and her boyfriend, the people that she worked with, and at times have his coffee ready for him so he wouldn’t have to wait.

The power of making connections.

Both situations energized him. They inspired him to want to have more moments like those.

I’ve been in Martijn’s shoes. I get the same energy when I say good morning or make a random conversation with someone. I know it energizes me and I have the belief that it gives the other person energy too. People just want to feel connected.

You’ve heard the story of the loner kid in high school that everyone made fun of but there was this one person who would always say hi to him. That one person meant the world to him and because of that he chose not to commit suicide that day. Well..the story goes something like that anyhow. Clearly I have lots of opportunity in the story telling department.

Anyways, what I’m saying is that people love when others pay attention to them. So just a simple hello and a beautiful smile can really mean the world to someone. Making conversation on the bus with the person next to you or while waiting in line or while waiting for the traffic light to turn green if you’re on your bike 🙂 If you understand that this small little act can make someone’s day, you will find yourself doing it more often.

I dare you for 7 days to pick a moment in your day and say hello/good morning and greet everyone you meet with a big smile as if they’re your best friend and you haven’t seen them in years. Imagine how that would make you feel if someone did that to you. How wonderful that feeling would be. Now take that and pass it on. Give that experience to someone else. Make them feel great. I dare ya.

Here’s my favorite video on greeting someone you haven’t seen in year. Just like dogs on bikes, this video get’s me everytime.

What’s Stopping You?

This is the background on my computer. I seriously think it’s one of the most motivating posters I’ve ever seen. When I look at it I think of all the excuses I’m telling myself about the things I want to do in my life. Seeing this quote knocks them down (and out the window when accompanied by some pumped up music) and I put on my courageous hat to do what is needed.

What motivates you? What get’s you inspired to go after what you want in life?

Enough with the excuses. Just go after them.

*I’m sticking to my 30 day challenge of posting everyday. Would love to write more about this subject but it’s already 1am here in the Netherlands and I have another fantastic full day ahead of me which includes a WTF Prom put on by some super cool dudes of the Knowmadic Learning Lab.

Higgenberries out.

The European Championship

The Euro Cup began last Friday which means people in the Netherlands dust off their orange (oranje) from Queens Day and sport the color on their cars, in their houses, on themselves, and on the streets. The Dutch team is in a pool with Denmark, Germany, and Portugal. This happens to be a great pool for all those at Knowmads because all the Knowmads that care about football are either German, Danish, Dutch or Portugeuse.

Then there’s me. Who is just glad there are people around me who are finally into sports. It’s a real shame that the NBA playoffs aren’t on here until 2am because this year seemed like a real thriller. So instead I am content with embracing the football.

It’s really quite fun to cheer against the Dutch to make the game more interesting but then when you realize they are going to lose it’s not so much fun. Reason? Because if the Dutch lose in their pool they are done with the Euro Cup which means the orange goes away and the excuse to go watch sports at a bar or Knowmads disappears. The Euro Cup continues on til the beginning of July so it would be nice if the Netherlands made it far. Something fun to follow.

To give you an update, the Dutch lost to the underdog Danes on Saturday. As I’m writing this the Dutch play the German in the second game in 5 mins. Most of Amsterdam has already raided the Albert Heines (the big grocery store in the NL), put on their oranje and headed out somewhere to watch the game.

I’m not getting good vibes from my Dutchies about this game. They seem to not have much hope for their team. Mostly because the Germans are bigger and stronger and I think to be honest they’re a better TEAM because they play as a team (so I’ve been told).

Unfortunately I have to be at home waiting for guests to arrive between 21:00-22:00, so I’ll be missing the beginning part of the game. I’m praying for lots of goals once I start watching. Always makes for a better game when a lot of scoring is involved which is why basketball is such a great sport. I think the football fans agree too but for some reason they think 2 or 3 goals is a lot of scoring for whatever type of sport in 90 mins. To each their own, to each their own.

Putting boas on the street lamps

The Secret To Reaching A Goal

I’ve been thinking a lot about goals lately. What goals do I want to achieve at Knowmads? What goals do I want to achieve while here in Amsterdam? What are some 2-5 year goals I want to reach? The last time I wrote out my goals was back in April so it’s due time for me to update them.

It’s funny because I’ve been writing down and setting goals almost my entire life (thanks to my mom for always encouraging and happy birthday again!) but I think it finally hit me now why I achieve some goals and others I do not.

There are 2 reasons why I achieve goals. The first one is when I make my goals small enough to achieve. I break down those goals and then the overall goal doesn’t seem so daunting. Then when I reach a mini goal it is a small victory that keeps me going. When I make the goal too big it leads to failure because most likely I will come no where close to reaching the goal. The second and I think most important reason I achieve a goal is when I …

create habits.

That’s right, habits. I think we underestimate the power of habits. We don’t realize that when we consciously change patterns in our lives we are actually moving towards achieving a bigger goal. Habits are mini goals to help you reach the overall goal.

I’m writing this post because the marketing team at Knowmads back in April made the goal of getting 1000 likes on our Facebook page by June 8th. Robert (from Tribe 5) and I came up with a mini goal of posting something on the page every day to keep the page alive. The result, on June 12th we reached our goal of 1000 likes! How did we get it? I made it a habit to make sure something was posted on the page everyday*. Yes, I definitely missed a couple of days here and there but I always came back to posting because I had turned posting on Fbk a habit. It’s now just another thing I choose to do during my day.

*The likes were also obtained by some great events we had in May and June so it’s not all about the posts but they were important

The other activities that I have recently made a habit are flossing and eating 2 pieces of fruit a day. I consciously made the effort for a few weeks to floss every night and now here I am a month later and I’m flossing without evening thinking about it. The same thing holds true for fruit. Everyday I would ask myself how am I going to get 2 pieces of fruit into my diet today? I found that eating them early made it easier and I’d give myself a pat on the back every day I did it. Now I am saying, “did I get my fruit in for the day?” and it’s usually a yes! Habit victory!

One activity that I was unsuccessful in creating was eliminating sugar from my diet. I completed the goal for 30 days back in May but unfortunately I didn’t turn it into a habit. Sugar is like alcohol to me. I fell off the wagon and am still looking for ways back on. Because sugar is more like an addiction I know I have to treat it like that and not like a new habit. Still looking for inspiration.

So what are my new goals for this month? Since I’m still trying to figure out “what I want to do with my life goals” I am now focusing the next 30 days on creating 3 habits that have to do with this theme. I’m going with 3 new habits because last month I accomplished the 30 days for each of the goals and was 2 for 3 in forming habits. I want to test myself on how many habits I can form in one month. I do know that creating too many habits at once sets you up for failure so depending on how you look at it 3 is a good or bad number. In my case 3 is a good number because I often go for somewhere around 10.

The 3 habits I want to form this month:

1. Blogging everyday.

With this habit I will allow myself to post any length of post. Starting off small will be the key just like any habit formation. So pictures, a quote, or a small journal entry will most likely be the posts at the beginning .  I really want to get in the habit of using my blog to help me figure out what direction I want to after Knowmads. By posting anything I hope to gain the habit of consciously reflecting on my life here in Amsterdam.

2. Meditate everyday.

               I am starting this habit in very small doses because at one point I was trying to meditate everyday for 30 mins. Do you think it worked? Of course not you say or why else would you put this down as a habit for June? What I realized was that 30 mins was too long and felt like a chore to me. I didn’t stick with the activity but I know that meditation can be very important and can do wonders. I want to use mediation to help me clear my mind to allow new ideas and inspirations to come to me in hopes that I am able to make strong goals for my future. 

3. Watch a TED talk everyday.

                I spend way too much time on facebook and other social media sites. Since I can’t give up social media for the month because I’m doing the social media for a new alternative school called Edventure: Frome, I figured watching TED talks will replace some of the time I waste on those sites with more inspiring and knowledgeable information to fill my brain. 

There you have it folks. The habits I will focus on for the month. Some activities that I’m not focusing on but am semi-consciously trying to turn into habits are making my bed everyday (apparently this is what happy people do according to The Happiness Project) and the other is going to bed with a clean sink. The latter makes me feel like I have a clean apt when I actually do it. So please hold me to all my activities that I want to turn into habits. I’ll make sure I give an update in 2 weeks to tell you how things are going. 

27 Things I’ve Learned About Life

A couple months back I read a post by a blog I follow. The blog is called The Art of Non-Cuonformity by Chris Guillebeau. The post was about the 34 things he has learned. It’s been almost a week since I turned 27 but nonetheless here are 27 things I’ve learned about life.

*Disclaimer:  Writing shorter has not been one of the 27 things I’ve learned 😉 this is my longest post ever at 2147 words.

*And for the record I do know more than 27 things 😉

27 Things I’ve Learned About Life

1. Things are greener on the other side of the fence.
   But just know that some of the field is muddier and uglier than where you came from. However, for the most part it is better as long as you look for the bright green patches which you will because that’s why you left the bad field in the first place.
2. There is no good or bad. There just is.
   People are doing the best they can with what they have. They always think they are making the right decision given the choices they are given. Therefore, I try not to judge when someone does something completely against my beliefs. Who am I to say what is good or bad? I have no idea what is going on in another persons life/head.
3. Leap and the net shall appear.
   When you make the decision to do something and are committed 100% , doors open up that you know saw possible. And if you want to take the island, you’ve gotta burn the friggin’ boats. I learned this best when I took the leap to go to Knowmads. I am still amazed at how everything has worked out even though I had no idea how I was going to do it.
4. Working out makes everything better at least for the time being.
   I worked out almost everyday until I was 23 because of being a basketball player. There were many long periods where I didn’t work out which never felt good mentally or physically. Now I realize that the best thing for me to do for myself is to get in a good workout at least 5x a week and the other 2 days either bike or walk. It’s the best stress reliever and helps you stay in the moment so you can’t worry about anything but your workout. I could be having a crazy stressful day but once I start my workout everything in my life stops and I focus just on the here and now. My definition of bliss.
5. Don’t talk about the weather.
   If you want to keep any type of relationship growing no matter how far away the other person may be, you’ve got to talk about more than just what happened with your day or the past week or month. There has to be substance and you’ve got to put yourself in a vulnerable state and really talk about feelings and what’s really on your mind. Sometimes my family suffers from this.
6. You are defined by the stories you tell yourself in your head.
   Are those stories empowering you or disempowering you? If you want to change something about yourself, then change the story you tell yourself. Lie until it becomes a truth.
7. It’s ok to eat meat, eggs, dairy, and sugar, just be conscious of it.
   I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 3 years and a vegan on and off for the same period. I recently had bacon for the first time in forever on my birthday.  It wasn’t much but just enough to fulfill my craving. I’ve also been eating eggs more often because my body is telling me something. Usually that message is, “Lay off all the carbs.” Carbs/sugars is what makes us fat, grumpy, tired people and that food group has been a struggle in my life since I came out of the womb. Defining myself as an eater has been one of the most difficult things in my life and I’m still working on it. I don’t want to put myself in a box because then people say things to you when you start eating diary or you eat a piece of meat. Eat consciously and educate yourself about what goes in your body.
8. If you feel depressed get busy.
   When you’re busy you have no time to think about how much your life sucks. Get up and move. Throw a ball. Take action. Go forth in a direction. I identify myself as a very positive person but sometimes I can get in depressed droughts. When I remember that this is only temporary I can get over the ‘depression’ must faster and even faster so when I go move my body or get involved with something.
9. We are all human.
   Why treat your boss differently than you treat your your co-workers? Or some famous person? There’s no need to get nervous around others or act differently. When it comes down to it we’re all just souls connected to each other. I forget this still a lot but when I remember my nerves calm down and I proceed as normal Kristin.
10. Unattachment leads to a happier life.
    If someone takes something of yours they probably needed it more than you. It’s ok. It’s all part of the giving and receiving of life. If something gets ruined, just breathe because these are just 1st world problems.
11. Drinking alcohol is fun but usually turns me into a waste of life the next day.
    I really didn’t start drinking drinking til I was 21. Alcohol has just never been that appealing to me. The words, “I could go for a drink right now,” barely come out of my mouth (but I’m not saying they don’t). I have learned that I can be just as crazy with alcohol as I can be without and the latter feels so much better the next day. If everyone is drinking it’s a great excuse to turn on the crazy and start acting like a fool. The people who are drunk aren’t going to realize you haven’t had a drop of alcohol or have sobered up from your last 2 drinks.
12. You have one chance to complain and after that you must do something about it.
    I always here my mom’s voice when I read or say this. I was an expert complainer when I was younger so sometimes it still comes out. But I always try to remember that If I don’t like something then I’ve got to do something about it. Simple. Complaining gets you no where.
13. You are responsible for the energy you bring into a room.
    You control your energy. Most people want to be around positive energy. You always have a choice. Don’t bring down the energy in a room. It’s not cool and like that famous quote goes by Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Control your energy.
14. If you don’t like something change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you look at it.
    This lesson has been a hard one for me learn but it’s one of the most helpful. Wayne Dyer says it best, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Brilliant.
15. There is no meaning to life. 
    Life is a blank canvas. You determine how you want to live it. It’s up to you babe. Set goals. Don’t let life take you on a ride. Remember you are the star in your own movie. Don’t be the supporting actress in someone else’s movie. Lame. Be the driver and determine where you want to go. But don’t be fixed on how you get there because God always knows best and you are so limited in your thinking.
16. Obsession is good.
    You’ve got to focus in life. When you spread yourself too thin you never are amazing at one thing. People who are obsessed are usually always the best in their field. They’re focused. They’ve got their sh*t together in that area of their life. I admire obsessive people and I refuse to feel judged when people say I’m obsessed about working out or whatever it may be. Obsession get’s you places. Now the only thing to do is figure out how I can make money with one of my obsessions.
17. Focus on your strengths and make them stronger.
    If you focus on improving your weaknesses  they only go from bad to not so good. So yes, they still suck. Figure out your strengths and improve them. You’ll go farther.
18. Fear is love going in the wrong direction.
    When you’re feeling fear, think of ways to love and be a in a state of love. The opposite of fear is love so go in the direction of love whenever you feel fear creeping up on you. Think loving thoughts.
19. People like you better if you are your true self.
    Do You. Embrace and except who you are. Do you and don’t let others dictate the choices you make or how you act. People respect you more when you just be yourself. I know I’m always giving props to the people who have the courage to act or dress in a particular way because that is who they are. It’s an inspiration to see people live out their passions and dreams.
20. Pain is just a thought in your head.
    One of the gifts I got for my birthday from God was a tan but first I had to endure a sunburn. Usually I stay a ghost the entire year but this year I decided to mix things up a bit. What was interesting is that I have found that my pain tolerance has increased and I can handle a lot more pain just because I know what to tell myself. The pain could always be worse. And it’s also very helpful to breathe.
21. Planning is a good thing.
    I know this counteracts #2 but I have found planning to be the best thing because when I don’t plan I usually end up missing out on things. I learned this when I went traveling through Europe for 18 days. No plan except the cities I was going to visit. Was it fun? Of course. But I also knew I was missing things because of time wasted trying to figure out where I was going to go or that I just had no idea what was going on in the city. Have a plan when starting out but understand you most likely won’t stick to it. It’s just a helpful guiding tool.
22. Worrying get’s you no where.
    “Don’t worry over things that you have no control over, because you have no control over them. Don’t worry about things that you have control over, because you have control over them” ~Mickey Rivers. Worrying puts an energy out into the Universe that only attracts what you don’t want. Live above the line and live in possibility.
23. Don’t let excuses stop you from going after your dream.
    Time and money are the two biggest excuses that stop us from achieving what we really want out of life. Are you going to let them rule you? I choose not.
24. Not settling is the key to innovation.
    We settle too much in our lives because complacency is comfortable. When we refuse to settle we get remarkable results. Results that are better than the original.
25. Always ask for the manager
    The key to getting what you want is asking for the manager. If that’s not working than ask for their manager. But of course don’t be a tool about it. Treat others how you would want to be treated in that situation and you’ll have a much better chance of reaching your goal faster.
26. Flaws give you character
    I’ve got rocks in my knees, a birth mark or something above my eye, a nice hereditary bump on my nose, and 2 dead front teeth. Do those things make me beautiful in today’s standards. Ehhhh, I don’t think so. But they do give me some nice stories. I’m finally learning to embrace my flaws. But if one day those flaws get fixed (like my teeth and knees) I wouldn’t mind.
27. To live with no regrets, be bold and courageous.
    I made a decision years back that if someone was doing something I thought was really cool then there’s no reason why I can’t do it either. But it takes boldness and courage to go after your dreams where many people around you are doubting you. You regret the things you didn’t do more than the the things you did. We don’t always have the chance to be courageous so take the chance when you get it. It will at least make for a great story.

And the most powerful lesson I’ve learned…

To a great 27 years. Year of the….