365 Inspirations—337: My Students

"There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."—Nelson Mandela

 I'm an author, but I'm also an ESL teacher at a local community college. Writing and teaching are two of my passions, but it's not the act of teaching or writing that brings me the most joy, it's what I'm able to convey through these mediums. I feel so happy and fulfilled when I see others find purpose, peace and joy in their lives—when they discover something about themselves or learn something they may have initially thought was difficult or impossible. I think it's the breakthroughs and the 'ah-ha' moments I witness in others that bring me a sense of fulfillment and bring me closer to my own discoveries. We are all learning and growing here, and sharing that process with others helps my own process of growth.

I've very impressed with my students this quarter, particularly my small business ownership class. I volunteered to teach it without knowing too much about what the class entailed. My husband has owned several small businesses, so I wasn't completely out of my league.

Still, I made sure I lined up plenty of guest speakers to cover the things that I did not know. I'm not fond of accounting, so I just touched on the materials that dealt with numbers. Afterall, it's an ESL class  and I am an ESL teacher, not an accountant.

So I decided to focus on the language aspect of business. I focused on the business proposal minus the spread sheets. We studied vocabulary related to small businesses and each student came up with their own business proposal which included a business name, tag line or jingle, owner's qualifications, five-year plan, etc.

Today they gave presentations and shared with the class their ideas. I was so impressed by these. Some of these presentations were reminiscent of Steve Job's new product presentations for Apple. These students have mastered the Power Point presentation. Here are some of them:

I'm sure the investors on Shark Tank would have invested in many of their ideas because they all sold me on what they had to offer.

Even though I volunteered to teach this class, I thought that I may not like it that much. Business can be so dry, but this class was completely creative. The students selected business ideas that they were PASSIONATE about and this made for a very exciting, energetic, FUN class and we also got to learn along the way.

I realized that if I allow students to choose and be part of the learning process, they learn so much more. It's fun for me, for them and for everyone.

I'm fairly positive that many of them will start many of these businesses they proposed. It's just an ESL class, but I know some of them will go on to take business classes or accounting classes. They will study nutrition, photography, architecture or any other classes they need to make their dreams come true.

I had one student who had absolutely no idea what her passion was. She spent the first couple weeks wondering if she'd ever find a business idea. Somehow, along the way, she discovered it and gave one of the BEST presentations I've ever seen and with so much enthusiasm. It made me happy to be part of this process of discovery.

I'm happy that I got to be part of seeing all of my students' passions and ideas come alive. It makes my job so worthwhile.

Have you ever done or taught something that seemed out of your league, only to discover that it was right up your alley?

365 Inspirations—330: Setting Intentions

Leading a Workshop at Kalani on the Big Island, Hawaii on Intuitive Writing

"I had let go of WAITING for anything. I had moved on to the next creation and while I was in the act of creating, this good news came through. And that is how it has happened again and again...."—Katherine Jenkins

Yoon and I are offering a very special retreat for the New Year. It's called Setting Intentions: An Intuitive Writing, Collaging and Yoga Retreat. You can find out more about it on the side bar of this blog or on my Yoga and Writing Retreats page HERE.

I am a BIG believer in setting intentions. All the best things in my life came to me by doing this. I have notebooks/journals full of pages which state my intentions and an art presentation book full of collages (like vision boards) that I've created on retreat and in my own free time.

I can tell you one thing I've learned for sure: These methods, which activate a different part of the brain, WORK.

But they don't work in the way you'd like them to. The intentions you set for your life come when they are ready to come. Sometimes they slip through the back door or sneak up on you when you've completely forgotten about them.

If you are waiting for something to happen, you may be waiting for a lifetime. The best things in life come when you least expect them to. Of course you have to do the groundwork, but let go of the outcome. It's that simple.

Lots of people quit before they even start. The road may seem long or difficult, but I truly believe that the FIRST STEP is just as important as any other step towards living a life that is uniquely yours.

Intuitive writing, which I'll talk more about in my retreat, has helped me in uncovering my subconscious mind. That's where the juice of life lies. If you've ever had a hunch, a vivid dream, an inner calling or a gut feeling, you are tapping into that authentic part of yourself that wants to be front and center in your life but has somehow taken a back seat to the 'rational,' 'practical,' or 'realistic'. Not that these aren't important in life, but they've somehow taken over the wheel completely.

They took over the wheel in my life and still sit on my shoulder and tell me to 'get real' from time to time.

But what is 'real'?

Intuitive writing and collaging are playful ways of bringing back that childlike innocence and purity to our lives. Somehow, in our need to be mature or grown up, we've lost touch with that purity. Instinctively, we all know what makes us happy and what fills us with joy, but it's easy to lose touch with that as we get older.

Do you feel happiness and joy in your life? Do you like the way your are living? Are you completely satisfied with your life?

If you can say "yes" to all these questions, I congratulate you!

I wasn't able to say "yes" to all those questions. I didn't know what I really wanted until I started to creatively explore this area of my life through writing and collaging. Meditation and yoga also helped shed light on that inner part of myself that had been buried beneath a pile of 'have tos' and 'shoulds'.

Many years ago, while in a long course of meditation, I saw an image of my very first book. I saw the title Lessons form the Monk I Married. I saw the entire book, with all its pages and chapters, as if someone had flipped it right in front of my face.

At first, I was irritated by this. After all, I was there to meditate. I was in a serious, long course of meditation. I wasn't supposed to be daydreaming about a book.

But it kept coming back again and again and again...

In 2012, that book was traditionally published exactly how I saw it in my mind's eye.

A few days ago I was lamenting that I hadn't heard much about my book lately from my agent. I was worried and thought I needed to do something more.

Today, while I was working on material for my upcoming retreat in January, my agent contacted me to let me know that I had received an offer for the simplified Chinese rights of my book. That meant that my book would be available in Mainland China! The complex Chinese rights had already sold, which covered Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong, but this was the cherry on the cake and I did NOT know it was coming.

I had let go of WAITING for anything. I had moved on to the next creation (my upcoming retreat) and while I was in the act of creating, this news came through. And that is how it has happened again and again....

Only through my own experience can I say for sure that this works.

I invite you to attend my upcoming retreat to experience how you might put these tools to use in your own life. If you can't attend, perhaps you know a loved one, family member or friend who might find this retreat useful. I'm also available for personalized Skype sessions on this topic.

And now a few questions for you...

Do you feel you are living the life you were meant to live? If not, what would it take you to get there?

365 Inspirations—229: Steve Jobs Movie

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."—Steve Jobs 

When I heard that Ashton Kutcher was playing Steve Jobs in the movie Jobs, it was hard for me to picture it. Kutcher has played, for the most part, in comedy roles and this wasn't really a comedy. However, I have to give the guy some credit, he did a good job as Jobs.

He got the voice, mannerisms, stare and even the walk (though a bit exaggerated at times) down.

So I ended up liking Kutcher as Jobs and it did make the movie enjoyable for me. After all, the movie is about Job's life and if you don't like the main character, then the movie is not going to be good either.

I found this movie to be inspirational. There were many things I did not know about Steve Jobs before the movie. I did not realize how determined and focused he was to succeed and how unwilling he was to sacrifice any of what he believed in for any amount of money. He was against following the status quo and believed, according to the movie, that each person must follow their own passions, no matter what those look like to anyone else.

He was fired from the very company he created and was later hired back as the CEO after the company floundered without him.

What I took away from this movie was that to make a difference in this world, it's important to stay focused on your passion, otherwise it is easy to just simply be living or existing. We all have gifts to offer, but very few people are fully offering their gifts to the world.

The movie made me want to keep on writing and creating. And yes, I am writing and creating on my MacBook Pro, created by Apple Computers. Apple was Job's vision and dream that he started in his parent's garage with some friends. He perfected it and continued to shape it and it was his gift to the world. It was his passion.

What gifts are you offering to the world? Have you found your passion(s) and are you living your dream(s)?

365 Inspirations—33: One Family and the Love of a Maple Tree (Greenlake, Seattle)

“For me, it’s more than just saving a tree. It’s inspirational that a little boy saw  something that he didn’t like in the world and stood up for it. And it actually worked.”—Kim Butler

Seattle people LOVE trees! We are the Evergreen State and we are very proud of our towering trees. People fight to have trees remain in place and would rather have the trees over anything else. For months now, I've been walking around Greenlake Park in Seattle and have spotted a huge Maple tree trunk elaborately decorated with fresh flowers daily! Someone obviously loved this tree and was saddened by its loss from the park. I have wondered for months now who has been doing this.

For a few weeks now, there have only been the remains of dead flowers on the tree trunk. I felt saddened to see this and thought the person decorating the tree trunk must have given up.

However, today, while I walked around Greenlake with my husband, I was thrilled to see that the trunk was decorated once again with an array of bright flowers! It made me smile. Several people stopped to view the flowers and I also noticed happiness on their faces.

So I decided to Google "decorated tree trunk at Greenlake" and of course I found the news story from the Greenlake Komo News website and most of this information here is from that story.

It all started with one family, the Butlers, in 2002. Taylor, the boy, was only 5 when he spotted a sign that mentioned the tree would be cut down. The young boy was so sad that this tree would be removed that he posted signs on the tree urging people to save it. He left blank pieces of paper in order to gather signatures and support for the tree.

The family's passion for the tree extended the tree's life by 10 years, but eventually it was cut down because it had split and was a threat to the community.

To honor the tree, the Butlers have been placing fresh flowers on the trunk for many months, but they decided that they'd like a more permanent way to memorialize the tree.

The kids, Emma and Taylor, along with their mother, created a fundraiser to raise money for a park bench that will be placed near the tree trunk. Many people have supported this fundraiser and they have raised over $1,200 for the bench.

I never expected that a little boy and a love for a tree could spark such a crusade to save it. It just goes to show that it doesn't matter how young or old you are, we can all make a difference.

Here's their Facebook page for their Maple Tree Bench Project

Have you ever stood up for a cause you believe in? Are you also a lover of trees?