Tag Archives: learning

10 Insider Tips to Start off your Day Right.

Posted on January 23, 2012 | 14 Comments

Through God all things are possible.

1) Put your best foot forward.

Regardless of how many mistakes you have made in the past today is a new day. Just by making a decision now, you can make your dreams come true by believing in yourself. Think of the adage of the train who said I think I can I think I can. Before you know it you can overcome any obstacles.

2) Overcome obstacles.

It’s all about the way you view them. There is always a good side to every story. When a door closes a window opens. What could be good? Opportunity. The world is your oyster. There are infinite possibilities. Look at your obstacles as stepping stones to your future.

3) The world is your oyster.

God gave us this wonderful life so we could live it to it’s fullest. Now is your opportunity to live life to its fullest, love and learn.

4) Make attainable goals.

Simplicity

Out with the lists of stopping smoking, losing weight and getting rid of old habits. In with the lists of positive choices. Choose a healthy lifestyle that includes rest, relaxation, good food, exercise, abundance, lots of water and happiness. Make your goals to be state driven.

That means desiring what you have.

Set yourself up to play a winning game.

5) Have state driven goals.

It’s not the money that makes us happy, it’s what that money can buy. Let’s just jump over this hurdle and stop wanting more money. Start to have happiness in the terms of joy, love and peace of mind. You have all that you need in this moment.

6) Be the change you desire in the world.

Instead of complaining about what is wrong, start finding what is right and then start acting how you want to be. Decide to avoid any self negative talk. Your mind can hear you and it might just believe what it hears.

7) Model good behavior

So your not perfect, neither am I. But I do try. I set myself out to be the best I can be. At times I don’t know what good behavior is like so I find someone who I think is doing it right and I try to do it just like them.

*8) Be sensible my dear child

Get a good night’s sleep, drink lots of water, do some exercise, eat well and hug someone.

One thing I’ve learned is to moderate behavior. Make good choices because you think they are sensible, not based on desire. Be thankful for what you have and try to want less.

9) Go green.

Go green.

Start talking about recycling and then do it. Start dividing your trash into paper, plastics, glass and organic waste and then deposit them in the appropriate bins.

10) Laugh

Sometimes laughter is the best medicine. Dedicate some time of your day to things that make you happy, like love, family and friends.

Remember, live life with passion as if it were your last and first day. Live life as you were looking through the eyes of a child. All things are possible through God.

What do you think? What would be your insider tip to having a good life? I would love it if you left me your ideas in the comment section below. Thanks!

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Posted in happiness, Inspiration, motivation

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I don’t know about you but I don’t take criticism too well. ✿◕ ‿ ◕✿

Posted on January 19, 2012 | 34 Comments
Clear your heart. Let it go.

Clear your heart. Let it go.

Hi mom!

People who read this—God bless you—know that I had to overcome a lot of fears to set up this blog. Would you like to know why?

Love God. Love others. Love yourself.

Because writing for the public is similar to public speaking. You talk to people and they can smile, judge, laugh, agree or disagree. Sometimes they throw tomatoes right at the computer screen. I don’t suggest it.

Believe in yourself. I do.

Believe in yourself. I do, believe in you.

I like to to emphasize is a learning by doing aspect. For example, if any of you have ever travelled, I bet that what you saw first hand is different than what you read in books. It’s like a thousand reflections in a mirror. Until you go and experience something first hand, they are all just stories on a page.

Writing a blog is an ongoing learning experience. Please don’t think I know what I’m doing. I’m rather new to this @$#% blgng bznss.

almost late summer colors! Cheer up lovely Julie. You are smart, talented, beautiful and have an awesome family. You are more blessed then MANY so stop sulking and snap out of it...ha! xoxo

Beautiful happy, bright, Spring. My vase is over flowing. :)

When I put up my art work last week, it was the exact same feeling. Sure, some people have no problems writing and talking and showing off their work. I do. I have enormous insecurity problems.That is EXACTLY why I feel like this blog is growing steadily. It’s because I’m so darn afraid of failing, I putting every ounce of myself into making succeed.

I am willing to take a risk and show you my work. Put DOWN that tomato. If you want to succeed in today’s market, I believe you must be willing to talk about your work.

Newbie blogger tip ~ See how you can read words when you roll over my pictures? In your html code after the word title, change the text to what you see between the quotes. It’s really cool. Don’t forget that all of your pictures click through to links YOU choose, so you should do that too. {back to reading}

I don’t see what is wrong with it. Like I told my blogger friend, it’s fat free. Unless, of course, you are eating a lot of food while writing.

I also love reading and studying and learning from other people. That’s why I spend a lot of time on other people’s blogs to see how they approach the same question as mine.

How do you, as a blogger or website owner, reach an audience, connect with them, share information, and grow as an individual?

Give and ye shall receive. No, it’s ask and ye shall receive, isn’t it?

I’m willing to try. I’m willing to learn. In the meantime, I hope this post finds you happy, lovely, lucky and in love.

♥ Your encouragement is what pushes me forward. Leave your comments below where it says *comments*.

God bless.

Julie

She’s got gumption up the wazoo!

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Posted in happiness, Italy, learning, relationships, travel

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How to increase blog traffic – 10 tips and tricks from jbulie’s blog.

Posted on January 12, 2012 | 27 Comments
ㄥ❀∨モ

ㄥ❀∨モ these great gift ideas.

If you want your blog or website to succeed, just love doing it. Easy.

I’m sharing with you what I’ve been doing over here to attract visitors and increase blog traffic.

Don’t believe the guys who say they get a million visitors a day. They are like kids in a candy shop, typing in numbers. Learn from doing first hand, and ask a blogger friend.

Here are the steps you can take to make your site grow.

1. Get to know your readers. Share.

Spend a lot of time looking at your stats feature and try to understand where your readers are coming from. A lot of my readers have become friends because I hound them on facebook. Thanks guys. A lot are new, welcome. I’ve also found having a stats counter installed helps.

I’ve learned that they come from all over the world and different backgrounds and ages.

2. Participate in comments and conversations.

One of the best ways of inviting visitors to your site participate in conversations in the comment sections of blogs you like reading. Ever since I started my blog, I’ve learned a great deal in the comments section of articles.

3. Write good content.

Wishing you flowers today.

Wishing you flowers today.

My highest ranked day was when I wrote a piece about motivation. You can read it by clicking here.

4. Write from the heart.

Talk as if you were speaking to a few good friends. Write about what you care about people are going to be supportive.

5. Make it a goal.

I have also made it a goal of mine to have a lot of visitors so in my free time, I look read as many articles I can on the subject.

6. Use your real voice.

When I write, I like to picture I’m either standing infront of my peers and explaining things simply. Or, I try to imagine I’m writing my sister or mom and telling them how simple it is to make a blog grow.

7. Enjoy

You guys might have noticed how much I love to play around with my readers. I don’t think anything is more boring then being serious. I don’t take myself so seriously. In fact, I like to find aspects of life that are a little bit off, and hone in on them.

8. Add extra value, go the extra mile.

The more you give, the more you receive. It’s so easy to get great feedback ~ just give of yourself.

You are one person writing, right? Well, there are lots of people reading so the ratio is just immense. Give of yourself and you get back so much from some many people.

9. Be inspiring

You can be inspiring, funny wonderful, full of life. If you don’t believe in yourself, well then I do! You can do it.

We all have the ability to push ourselves to learn and make our lives better. You can do it. I believe in you.

10. Pay it forward.

Without my visitors, I’d just be here talking to my cat. She’s a good listener, however. To pay it forward it’s super simple. Just hit the tweet button if you have twitter, or share on facebook by clicking the link below.

Thanks for visiting. I appreciate your comments.

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Posted in happiness, Inspiration, learning, lists, motivation, writing

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9 killer blog buzz words that add extra value to your writing. It’s chill.

Posted on November 16, 2011 | 16 Comments

I remember one day sitting at a trade show booth in Las Vegas with my awesomely successful and lovely sister. Clients would come up to us and ask if we had any number of objects from Velco to copies, to faxes to signs.

We’d look at each other with a knowing smile, pretend to bend down and change hats.

One hat said Designer, one said Electrician, on said Copy Girl. Today my hat says Blog Writer.

i shall be calm in this moment. ♡

i shall be calm in this moment. ♡

I think that flexibility in skills in today’s marketplace is absolutely key to being successful.

If you are wondering what any of that story has to do with the nine blogging buzz words is that I think using cool words can add value to whatever you are writing.

That is why I’m giving you nine FREE words that you can use with certainty to spice up your blog titles or just have some fun. Can you think of any?

By the way, the above example is ONLY a story. We didn’t actually change our hats.

Here are 9 rockstar blog words for dummies smart people.

1) Barbra Streisand She’s amazing. She’s everywhere. If you don’t quite get it, neither do I. I am almost sure it’s just playing around. I love people just like to say it. If you know why they do, please tell me. :)

2) Life Hacks I’ve noticed a lot of the seriously smart blogging blogs are using Life Hacks in a positive way. Life Hacks offer simple solutions to every day problems.

3) Wicked As old as this seems I’m still coming across Wicked in in well written headlines. It’s still works. At least on East Coast it was big when I was a wee tot. On the west coast we used a little bit more surf slang. You tell me, do people still use this? I try to use words that I say. I’d never say killer buzz words. It sure looks good in a title though, doesn’t it?

So I heard you been jammin’ down some gnarly tunes on your guitar?

That is just so wrong on so many levels. This gem was offered up last summer at a barbeque.

Be a free thinker.

4) Zen Whether it’s Zen Motorcycles or Zen Journey or Zen Habits people love anything that will make their lives more zen like. It’s an art. It conjurs up images of peace. Oaahhhhhmmmmmmm.

5) Simplicity I like any website that promises a simpler better life. I remember reading one day less is more. Or was it every day one thing less? My goal in my life is to get everything put away before I die. One thing less. Simple Life, Simple Pleasures, Simple simpleness. Simplify your life. It’s simple.

6) Social Media I don’t truly love this term. I bought a book at a garage sale in Pacific Palisades, California from a nice lady. I wanted to keep in touch with her so I asked her if she was on facebook. She said, no I don’t like social media. It was the first time I heard the word. Now it seems to be everywhere and growing. I still can’t use it in a sentence though.

Take the road less travelled.

7) Non Conformity If we are living parallel lives as avatars in another planet, I think we’d all be driving Prius’s and living in solar powered houses. The idea of non conformity offers you the possibility of changing your life for the better by choosing to do what you love.

Be a non conformist. Be a free thinker. Turn off the news. Get informed. Read. Stay informed. Make up your own mind.

~8)  Trending It seems like people say Trending and then whatever new thing is out. I don’t know because I’m not trending anything!

*9) Boomz Thanks to one of my super cool blog writer friends like Tiny Island who shares with us some Singaporean coolness from their beauty girl Ris Low. I love they they just have fun and play with language. I used to do this when I was a little girl. I wonder why I no longer do. That’s just Boomz {hands out}.

It’s time for reader input ~ what are your thoughts?

What do you think? I think these words are on their way out: Dude, Alternative, Rad, Stoked, Factoid, Gnarly, Social Media and SEO. Those are lame in my opinion.

I think these words are up and coming: Blog, Boomz, Fluffy, My Bad, Hiney, Smile and Nod, Shiny, happiness, writing and Talk to the Hand.

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Posted in happiness, Inspiration, lists, writing

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6 reasons my blog readers rock. ❒ ~ check ✔

Posted on July 17, 2011 | 22 Comments
Muah ♫.•*¨`*•♫.•´*.¸.• {blows a kiss.}

Muah ♫.•*¨`*•♫.•´*.¸.• {blows a kiss.}

Welcome back visitors for yet another pot of freshly brewed hot blog copy, using homegrown partially recycled pure grounds. Whatever that means.

Blog copy. Try saying that ten times fast.

I wanted to start off by saying I’ve had a few readers who have been such loyal blog followers leaving comments, hitting the facebook ‘like’ button, encouraging me.

I thank you for being my constant inspiration. Believe it or not, some of you wonderful readers have sent me long inspiring letters AND super cool REAL presents. That’s just too cool.

Like This!

Now my readers are going to ask What does blog copy mean? Then they are going to ask me what fresh brewed has to do with blog copy. I’ll have to send them to an expert because I have no idea.

Bwah ha ha

I’m digging myself quickly into a hole on this post. I can feel it spiraling down.  I still have friends who don’t know what blog means.

Note to self.  Should I start calling it an online journal?

❀ I know you are there. I can see you and it makes me happy and sad all at the same time.

❀ It's okay to take a break. ❀

1. I love my readers. Some of them I have known for ages and others are new. They continue to inspire me to write.

They tell me nice things like you never know Julie, maybe you will make someone’s lives better. They say things like they love to read my blog. I don’t know if that counts though because it was probably my mom. ;)

2. I love writing. To me writing gets my thoughts on the page and out of my head. Yesterday while shopping with my kids I sat down and wrote a list of 15 things I had to do. I felt overwhelmed and getting my list on the page made me feel like I could accomplish it. I’m just taking baby steps one at a time. Stay with me folks.

3. The more I give the more I receive. My friendships have been growing steadily and so is my reader base. I feel like I have never learned so much about life, love, laughter and people as I have in the last couple of months since sharing my life with others.

I had a lot of fears to overcome. I think we all get used to talking to our inner circle of friends or to ourselves we think that if we wrote it for all the world to see we would be drastically made fun of.

4. My learning curve is out of control. The minute I hit the publish button on my first blog entry most of you know I couldn’t sleep. I thought, Oh great, delete, delete, delete. My husband is currently worried about me because it has been almost all consuming.

I just read. I want to know what makes a blog successful so I just click away. Luckily I’ve been super peaceful and smiling.

I'll forgive you. ´¯`»¸¸.·☆

It's a new day and new dawn and I'm feeling good.´¯`»¸¸.·☆

I’m not so certain that spending more time online is a good thing though.

I have always sustained that a to be happy in life you have to find a balance of work and pleasure.

I’ll give you an example. Say you are successful. I ask you how you are spending your days. Are you spending them alone or with other people? What percentage of your time are you dedicating to your family, to your work, to entertainment?

How much of your time are you dedicating towards being a good person, toward helping others? How much of your time are you dedicating toward making yourself a better person?

As my best friend says it’s the doing that makes the difference. In writing and sharing, I’m a do-er not a be-er. Note to self: don’t forget to hyphenated the word be-er.

This chick is so cool. She's thinking about you. ❀

I can see you. Just tell me everything is going to be okay. It will! ´¯`»¸¸.·☆

5. People are curious. I think one of the reasons people are reading this now is because they want to know what it is like to live in Italy. I think I should write more about that. I’ll tell you. I spend a lot of time with my family, cleaning, cooking, writing, drawing,  a lot of time with my friends – as much as possible and the major part of my time taking care of life.

6. I push myself to succeed. I strive for excellence. I strive for peace. I model good behavior. I strive to be a better person. I’m crazy scared that I’m going to bomb in front of all of my peers so I’m doing all I can do to make this great.

I know it’s not. But like I tell my kids, I’m not a great mom, I’m not even a good mom, but I do try. I make it a goal. I know they know that. Making it a goal shows you care. I tell them I love them every day so many times. They know the story because I tell it to them every night before they go to bed.

I tell them I love them more than the moon, more than the stars, and more than all of the oceans.

Tell people you love that you love them. I don’t think you can ever say that enough. Be the change you want to see. Be inspiring. You think you don’t know how? I’ll give you a start. Smile at someone you don’t know. Live your life with passion. Pursue excellence. Take care of yourselves.

Until we blog again. Uh hmm, I mean journal. Have a good one.

Julie

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

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Posted in happiness, Inspiration, Italy, journal, learning, motivation, teaching, writing

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Building a Better Blog – You guys rock.

Posted on March 1, 2011 | 4 Comments

I’m so proud of my readers I’m turning the spotlight on you.

My heart is bursting with joy as I welcome you again to another pot of blog copy at jbulie’s blog. I have to share today how proud I am of my readers. They are all taking HUGE leaps and bounds towards their personal goals. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be part of that.

What I didn’t expect when I started this blog is the many thanks I am getting.

Choose HappinessWho would have known?

So much news to report all about you guys, my readers. I don’t even know where to start. Yesterday I had a chat with a friend of mine that I have known since I was a young kid. We were literally cracking each other up talking about our lives, our families and our progress on our blogs.

We pitched each other ideas and we got to the point of intense laughter. My idea was the hand in the video with the Mtv microphone interviewing myself about the success of my ebook Zero to Blog. I had the microphone decorated like a real mtv mic with lights, bells and whistles on it. And a puffy something or another.

Only problem was working out logistics since I make my own videos, I have to be the hand and the voice. We were laughing thinking how we are going to manage this on line from a distance. Maybe we can use a fake hand?

I’ll get my cat to prop it up on a pillow. Too bad the cat can’t talk.

Everyone’s starting to write, express themselves and make blogs.

It started with a friend of mine who is a runner. She sent me her article and asked me what I thought. I thought it was out of this world. She made a step of sharing. If you knew this girl and her story you would see what a big personal step that was for her. She’s a mom of five. Her running is her time for herself. She runs marathons. When I went on a diet, she’s the one who filled my inbox with health and fitness information. I love this girl. She is working on her personal growth and I am so very proud of her.

Then the blogs.

At LEAST four of my good friends who have read my book have talked about it and made positive steps on make their blogs more reader friendly and interactive, by asking for comments, by interacting with their visitors, by adding music, but adding of themselves. It’s a wonderful feeling to know I am somehow part of their process. We encourage each other. It’s like a fire under your buns. :)

OK, I have more and more and more to tell you about but life is calling me. I feel like I’m living life at the top of my game. I have my work, my family, video, my book, my blog, my friends, my mom’s new website and my clothes line going on.

OH AND two of my readers have a date this Saturday. Ah ah ah, life is good.

jb

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Posted in family, happiness, Inspiration, relationships, writing

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Pre Holiday Jitters ~ Is there a gift wrappers pre hab?

Posted on December 16, 2010 | 5 Comments

Hi guys and welcome to my blog.

Christmas Shiner

Christmas Shiner

How are you? How is everything going in your pre holiday worlds? Hope you are welcoming the upcoming season with joy in your hearts. I know we joke on facebook and in conversations that we feel like we can’t get it all done but at the same time, I think we know in our heart of hearts that it’s really all going to be okay. Are you with me?

It’s all about the journey, right? Hopefully we are enjoying it.

I’ve been thinking about this blog and why I started it. I haven’t yet quite figured it out. I’m almost certain it has to do with spontaneity. I believe some things are inexplicable, like where children come from and how plants grow. Also how wounds heal. Who would have known.

I can precisely remember when I got my first cut on my finger and I thought, oh no, now what. I’m going to have to live with a cut on my finger for the rest of my life.

It was my sister, Lisa, who explained to me that God made us in a way that we heal. I was sort of shocked. She explained how a cut would stop bleeding because the blood got harder, dried, made a scab and in a couple of days it would fall off.

you inspired in me as a small child

you inspired in me as a small child ♡

Wow!

Just like that!

When I hear things like that I just am awestruck. Sometimes I have a young student in class shout out something to the fact that they are non believers in God. I just couldn’t fathom a life without religion and belief. How else would we answer the questions about where babies come from and how wounds are healed.

How the Internet is Changing our Lives.

I think with access to information available to anyone with an internet connection and nearly immediately people just want to learn. I think they like to learn and like absorbing information.

When I was a kid I learned like a sponge. I’m a little bit slower to learn as I get older yet I think people love to learn.

What floors me.

What floors me is that the more I learn, the more I connect, and reconnect with my readers and old friends, I find that people generally have a loving attitude. I find that most of the information that is shared is out of a loving heart with good intentions.

That is the choice I made.

Well, that’s about all I got for now. I just wanted to leave you with a few quick thoughts. I’ve had some REALLY stressful last few days. I found myself stuck in traffic and in situations I didn’t want to be in. I felt uncomfortable at meetings I wished I wasn’t in. But at the end of the day I felt thankful.

I felt thankful for my job, for my family, for my house, for my car, for my friendships, for my blog, for the ability to communicate, for my health and the list goes on and on. I felt thankful for having a blog, being able to write and paint, having readers and having a creative outlet.

Hope this post finds you lovely, lucky and in love. Have a happy relaxed easy joyful pre holiday season.

Julie

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Posted in family, happiness, holidays, learning, relationships

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How to be successful without even trying.

Posted on November 16, 2010 | 4 Comments
Mimi Weddell Blogger

Develop a love for learning. ♡

If we can all agree that we got here now today thanks to the support of friends and loved ones I think we can also agree that it is also thanks to people who have motivated us.

One of my favorite teachers whom I’m grateful to is a man named Mr. Phil McGreevy. For some reason when I was going into high school I was told there was an experimental math class where ‘bright’ students were going to be experimented on. Like little hamsters. I still consider myself to be lucky that I was chosen to be in this class because the 24 of us had the honor of having the same students with the same teachers for the four years of high school.

Consistency, Relevancy and Going the Extra Mile.

Mr. McGreevy was a great teacher for so many reasons but mostly because he took the time to slowly explain everything from the start to the end. I always felt I could ask him at any time any question with out him getting angry. I loved the way he wrote on the blackboard because he had nice writing. He was consistent because he did things like draw squares around the answers. He also seemed to choose relevant homework.

Even though I had him for four years I remember one day when he asked who was interested in getting straight As – he was offering a Saturday workshop. Like most of my students they’d LOVE to have straight As but for various reasons their grades are all over the board. Most of them do follow what Mr. McGreevy called the Bell curve where he demonstrated that most students lie somewhere in the middle. I always wanted to be one of the students with the As. Maybe if I just did that little bit extra it would pay off.

Pay attention ~ here’s the key.

I attended his class and after doing various exercises and reading he got to the point of the argument. He said,

If

If

If

If you want to get straight As then all you have to do is develop a love for learning.

I was shocked. I was little bit disappointed because I thought he was going to give me the answers to that Friday’s test. I had to love learning?

Who loves learning? We only went to school because we had to. Love learning. That was the key. He was right. I don’t care how many times my mother could tell me about the starving children in Africa who didn’t have shoes or school it still didn’t make me want to study.

I don’t actually remember doing homework although I do remember it was assigned. I’m pretty certain I did it either during another class or before the class started. I’ll have to check with my classmates on that one.

I do agree that the key to learning is to develop a love for learning. I since have gone on to become a teacher. I found something even more important and that is the love of teaching. I truly love being infront of the kids and seeing them smile. I feel like it is an enormous privilege and honor to have this responsibility. I try to do my best with it.

One day I’m going to retire from teaching and just be an American living in Italy with her family and garden. God willing. In the mean time, I’m going to love learning.

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Posted in happiness, motivation, teaching

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243 days to overnight success. Thx Chris at AONC.

Posted on May 26, 2010 | 11 Comments

I’m heading towards a new milestone on my blog and it’s my 6,000 viewer mark. It sort of seriously freaks me out. Who ARE you people? ;) I wonder when it will REALLY freak me out. A million? 7 trillion?

Numbers. That’s all they are. Or is there something more?

♥You're an angel.

I spend a lot of time in the class room talking about grammar, parts of speech, adjectives and motivation. I found after fifteen years of teaching that not too many teachers actually brought up subjects like how to get good grades, developing good study habits, LIKING or even LOVING learning and one of my favorites, brushing and flossing.

Maybe that is why I started a blog, so I could spend more time thinking, writing and talking about what I find more important than grammar ~ inspiration, motivation and becoming a better person.

If you like what you are learning you are going to study harder. It’s just a theory. What do you think? Do you agree?

Like This!

Adjectives and numbers.

One of my friends asked me how I was going to measure the success of my blog. Well, define success. Is it when I make my life better somehow, your life better? Is it when I make a certain sum of money? Is it when I get a lot of compliments or comments on a post?

Or, is it when someone notices a small detail like having a band aid on my finger in my video? {if you answered yes here, please give yourself two points and a coffee break.}

How do you measure success?

Is it when you have fallen in love? Is it when you have a certain amount of money in your bank account? Is it when you are able to travel somewhere you have always wanted to go?

Or is it losing weight? Stopping smoking? To me, success is stopping, enjoying the moment and living in gratitude. For some reason, I always got caught in the belief system of needing and wanting more. I worked, and worked hard until I obtained my next goal. For some reason, there is always another goal right around the corner.

♥The gift of the blessing.

Lately I read in a book by Gregg Braden, called IQ Matrix, that all words are just words given to us to label things as children and we just accept them. I also learned lately that the opposite of whatever we believe can be proven true. So what is the truth? A collective consciousness? Is it when we have the house, the car and the family?

He also wrote some incredible insights about our DNA and how we are all interwoven in a divine, sort of holigraphic type way.

I think happiness is when we finally stop looking outside of ourselves for and accept ourselves exactly how we are; creatures of God, with our defects and our glory. Believe it kids, it’s self love at it’s finest.

I had earlier called my blog Serendipity because it means an unexpected result, I think. Well, what I did not expect when I started this blog was that I would get an extremely supportive and loving audience to write to. I didn’t expect I would find a way to show off my art work.

I didn’t expect that I would be making and sustaining more new friendships than I have in a long time. In a way it’s a bit sad that our society so openly embraces internet relationships when what truly matters are the people you have in front of you.

I didn’t expect I would be able to provide the tools necessary to good or great people to help their ideas become even better while some truly flourished.

Somewhere along the lines, my real life and my virtual life are becoming blurred. A teacher called me out of class today while I was teaching. It was super strange and out of the blue. She had heard that kids were making fun of my accent.

I was six inches away from her face looking at her eyes and thinking what is she saying? Has she called me out because she cares? Because she wants to know me? Because she is reprimanding me? Because she is praising me?

For goodness sakes I was in the middle of a lesson, half way through the sentence on the blackboard: A lorry is bigger than a van. That sentence must be more important, right? Or is it the face to face contact?

I think it’s communication. It’s an attempt to make our current situation a little bit better by talking. That’s our job, right, Chass? Just to make this world a little bit more beautiful?

You truly ARE angels.

I love that I have someone to write to. I love that you share. I love that you have become part of my life, virtual or real. They are all just words anyway.

Julie

Now it’s your turn.

I’d like to know how you evaluate success? What are the labels that society has given you that you just don’t agree with? Do you think the teacher pulled me outside to praise me or to reprimand me? What’s your view on virtual vs. real life communication?

Mostly, what kind of things can you and I do to make this world just a little bit better or more beautiful?

Thanks for reading. Comments are not only appreciated, they are paid. ;)

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8 life hacks to turn your end of semester blues into all the colors of the rainbow.

Posted on February 3, 2010 | 4 Comments

Talk

There is a field. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. Rumi

Here are 8 ways to turn your upside down days right side up.

1) Care I was saddened yesterday because I saw a fellow student get a bad grade and her world went to pieces. Her eyes went red, her tears started flowing, her lip was trembling and she started writing frenetically in her notebook. How can we as a society be completely unmoved by things like this?

2. Pray – True story. Not too far from my house a kid’s teacher finds out he was smoking and he jumps out the second floor window of his school because he’s afraid his parents will find out. He’s still in a coma. My class and I are praying for his recovery. When I talk to my students I’m so careful to encourage them. It would have been so nice if we could just communicate.
It’s life and death.

3) Offer Encouragement. I have a soft spot for kids who come from broken families. I am one of those and I can tell you it has been my defining moment as I grew. I rarely talk about it because I feel like mentioning the word divorce would break my mother’s heart again.

The wind longs to blog in your hair.

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. Emerson

Still, I offer encouragement to kids going through difficult times. The other day I was in the class room and there was a new kid. He’s a cool kid. He talks when he’s not supposed to and sometimes doesn’t listen to my answers but I understand him. I understand him because I took the time to find out he’s new because he’s no longer living with mom, but he’s living with dad.

4) Contribute I contribute what I can to make my home and family a happy one. Not all the time. OK, I’m far from perfect.

Rather, there’s ROOM for improvement. OK I’ll do better. I promise.

We all have the power to add special touches that make our lives better, such as putting out some flowers, some candles, some spices in the garden. I do it as often as I can because I love to share. I recently added my dot com name, my logo and my shop. Pretty soon I should be giving away a beautiful picture, if I can manage to part with it.

Sure my shop doesn’t actually work YET but I’ve put down the corner stone. It’s a wheel in motion and I’m enjoying the process.

5) Communicate Teachers: Don’t wait until the end of the semester to tell your kids how they are doing in class. Parents: Find out ahead of time by meeting up with the teachers. Kids: Ask your teachers how you are doing – don’t let them intimidate you.

Do what is asked. And then some. Please don’t push your children or students too hard. THEY have to WANT to learn. Guess what? Children love to learn.

6) Do your best and then a little bit more. It’s a triangle that has to work together: parents, teachers and kids. The reason this sweet little student was upset is because she’s scared to talk to her teacher because every time she asks her something she gets scolded or a bad grade.

7) Have a Positive Mental Attitude Find what’s good. Find what’s good. Find what’s good. I have to turn in my semester end grades day after tomorrow. I pray I’ve been fair. I think so. I have worked hard at teaching. I tell my kids my goal is to be their best teacher. I want them to succeed.

*8) Go the Extra Mile I particularly remember a mom who asked how her son could improve his grades. I said do something extra. This kid would bring me a translation on a weekly basis. Was I ever impressed. I’m certain his grade reflected it.

I wrote the girl who cried a little message. I told her I hope she knows that there are more things in the world more important than grades. But in her world, there aren’t.

What are your experiences with teachers and bad grades? How do you get your kids motivated to learn? Do you think it’s better to award good grades, punish bad grades or something in the middle?

Thanks for your comments.

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