Take Action #27: Be Happy

It really is a choice.  I know it is annoying when your whole world is falling apart and some happier-than-thou person says, “It will all work out.  Don’t worry.   Keep your chin up.  What is something FUN we can do today?”  You basically want to knock them over the head with a two-by-four or push them off a cliff.  Quite frankly, sometimes it feels good to be a crab. 

However, what I find happens is if I wake up crabby or let the soap in my eye be the start of a “horrible” day, then I usually have a horrible day.  It is all in the way you “choose” to look at it.  You could say “oh great – it’s going to be one of those days.  What else could happen?”  OR you could say “Darn, soap in my eye. Oh well, the rest of my day is the best of my day.”

Like the guy who cuts you off on the highway; you can scream profanities and assume he must be the biggest jerk on the planet (my kids really don’t like this response).  OR I can assume that he must either be distracted, in a big hurry, have a crying baby in the backseat or just simply not paying attention. I sure feel better about the 2^nd way and it helps me to move on and enjoy the rest of the day.  If I assume the guy was a jerk and out to get me, then I spend the rest of the day meeting more jerks and people out to get me and yell up to God “Why me???”

So –  CHOOSE to be Happy.  Whatever gets in your way today – crabby teacher, cranky kids, crazy driver, difficult employees…..just take a deep breath, smile and say “That’s ok.  Today is a great day!”  Then it wouldn’t hurt to remind yourself of all the great things going on in your life – health, kids, love, job, etc.

Take Action by Being Happy!

Angela

Take Action #26: Throw it Away!

Some of us are better at this than others.  I am not a big fan of clutter, but I do tend to hang on to things because I either think I will use them again or I am cheap and don’t want to part with it – especially clothes.   I have a friend who goes through her closet on a regular basis and if she hasn’t worn it in a year, she gives it a way.  OR since she has lost weight, she gets rid of anything that is not her size.  Yikes.  I always think that I might need them again.  It was really sad when I had my 25^th high school reunion and I was considering wearing the same blue shirt that I wore for the 20^th.  Geez.  I just don’t like shopping so I hang on to things – but really, I need to get over it.

Also, going through your storage room/closet/basement and getting rid of things that you don’t need or that someone else could use is VERY therapeutic – really makes you feel like you accomplished something.  This weekend I finally got rid of an old pillow and an office chair that needed to be reupholstered.  I also went through old files and pitched tons of old paperwork – why was I hanging on to it? 

As Cathy Sexton with The Productivity Experts says, with each piece of paper you need to decide if you should file it, pay it, pitch it or put it in the “to-do”pile.  She helped me get rid of 100 pounds of paper over the years.  One of the things she always asks: “can you find it again on the internet?”  If yes, then pitch it!  Easier said than done.   If you need some help, I would highly recommend one of Cathy’s workshops – or subscribe to her blog to receive free organizing tips.

You can’t take it with you, so decide if you can live without it.

Have fun Taking Action by getting rid of stuff!

Angela

Take Action #25: Create an Emergency File

I had a dream the other day that I was out of commission – not sure if I died or just hospitalized.   When I woke up I realized that my kids would never know where any important documents were if they needed them.  Normally we would share this information with our spouse; if you haven’t, then do that today.  However, if you are single and have children or friends, be sure they know where to find those “important documents”.  My suggestion would be to have a single file or folder with copies of items such as life, health, car and property insurance documents.  You should also have a file with birth certificates, social security cards, and other personal documentation for you and your family members.

If you have a Last Will and Testament, you should have instructions in the folder of where to get a copy of the will. (Might not want them to see the will until after you are gone in case you have a favorite kid).  If you have specific medical instructions, that would be helpful also.  Checking account information, passwords, and any retirement/investment information would also be good to put in the file.

I know it’s a morbid thought, but if you have instructions for your funeral that would also help your loved ones.  For example, do you want to be buried, cremated, donate your body to science?  Do you want a private ceremony or everyone you know at your service?  Do you have specific songs or scripture you want read?  Is there a message you want to leave behind?  We are all terminal – some of us get a heads up.  My father knew he was dying and was able to get things in order and share his thoughts and tell us what he wanted and didn’t want.  Some of us won’t have that opportunity. 

So Take Action today and get those important papers in order and show your family where they are, so if there is ever the need, they aren’t scrambling to find them.

Take Care and Take Action!

Angela

Take Action #24: Go House Hunting

Fall is here.  The weather is gorgeous and there are plenty of houses on the market.  Some of my favorite memories are when my mom would take us to Open Houses on Sunday.  She would go to dream about what “could be” and that’s where I learned to dream.  We would walk through huge houses and my sisters and I would pick out our room and talk about where we would put our bed and dresser and dolls.  I loved to fantasize about living in a big, open, beautiful house.  Little did I know that was part of “visualization” – the other part is of course “believing” that you can actually have it.

Anyway, there are so many houses on the market, the opportunities are endless, interest rates are low and some sellers are flexible – meaning that they may work out owner-financing, lease-purchase or some other creative arrangement.  You never know until you start to explore.  Not sure what the weather will bring this weekend, but get on online and see where there are some Open Houses in your area of interest and go see what’s out there.   Here are some resources:  www.century21.com, www.realtor.com, www.craigslist.com and your local paper.

Click here for buying tips.  Happy Hunting!

Angela

Take Action #23: Get your Oil Changed

I have a book called “You Can Do It” by Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas.  It was a book written for women about trying new things.  One section is on Car Care with ideas shared by Patti Critchfield, the owner and operator of Patti’s Auto Care in Berkeley, CA.   I’m not the greatest when it comes to taking care of cars and I have to be reminded to change my oil and sometimes red lights are on for a while before I ever notice.    Below is some advice by Patti which I took directly from the book.  Some guys and gals won't need this but the reminder might help others:

CAR CARE TO-DO's

1.      Read Your Owner’s Manual

2.      Check the fluids

3.      Keep an eye on your gauges

·        Fuel Gauge

·        Odometer

·        Speedometer

·        Tachometer: shows engine speed in thousands of revolutions per minute

·        Water temperature gauge – shows the  temperature of the engine coolant

Warning Lights

·        Brake system – lets you know if your parking brake is on; if the brake light is on while you’re driving and the parking brake is off,  your brake fluid and/or braking system needs to be inspected

·        Charging system: Indicates a malfunction of the alternator or charging system.

·        Check engine: indicates a problem with the engine function or, on some cars, the transmission

·        Engine oil pressure – reveals low engine pressure

4.      Check your tire pressure

5.      Inspect your windshield wiper blades

6.      Assemble an emergency kit:

·        Flares

·        Flashlight

·        Rope

·        Gallon of water

·        Couple of quarts of oil

·        First-aid kit

·        Tire changing equipment

Glove Compartment should have:

·        AAA or other roadside assistance cards

·        Auto insurance info

·        Health insurance info

·        Pen and paper

·        Regional maps

·        Tire gauge

·        Travel-size packet of wet wipes

·        Owner’s manual

·        Car registration

Hope this information helps and check your oil every 3,000 miles.  I had my first car for a year when I met my ex-husband.  He asked me when I last had my oil changed.  I responded with a big clueless "what?".  He said, the oil - you know, it has to be changed several times a year.  I said "Yeah, well I don't think I have ever done that."  I was 22 then.  At 43, I at least know to change my oil....

Have fun Taking Action by taking care of your car.

Angela

Share your Brain: Take Action #22

Each of us has the gift of having our own personal experiences, relationships and lessons.  I believe it is part of our job to share those with others so that we all can learn from the knowledge we have gained.  For example, if I just started a business and went through the process of getting a loan, forming an LLC, creating a website, buying a phone system, and more, it would be great to share that knowledge with someone else who wants to start a business.  This helps to short-cut the process for the new business owner. 

If I am expert at gardening, rather than watch my friend suffer through planting the wrong flowers in the wrong place at the wrong time, perhaps I could help save her frustration and an ugly garden by giving her some tips.

We do this every day in our personal relationships with our children, co-workers and friends, but how about sharing it with a larger audience?  Creating a blog is free and there are various resources  wordpress, blogger, blog.com.  Or, if you have a Facebook account, you can write a note and tag all of the people you think would get value from your advice.  You can write an article for the community newspaper or an on-line newsletter.  You can provide advice through groups on LinkedIn.  You can go to lunch with someone who needs advice or ideas.

So, go share your experiences and your brain with another person today!

Have fun Taking Action.

Angela

Take Action #21: Own Your Name

I read an interesting article  the other day that said that some parents have e-mail addresses for their babies before they are born and 80 percent of children have a profile online before they are 2 years old!   People thought I was nuts when I reserved my kid’s domain names – i.e. www.angelalieb.com   I did this when my daughter Jessica was producing a music demo cd.  I thought that if they were ever going to do something where their name was part of it – then I wanted to make sure they owned their domain.  It makes it difficult for folks like John Smith or Julie Jones – but if you can, I would encourage you to reserve your namesake domain – you can get one for less than $10/year.  GoDaddy, Register.com, NetworkSolutions are just a few places to purchase your domain. 

Another benefit to having your name as a domain is if someone does a Google search, the first thing that will pop up is your namesake website.  For example, I meet you at a networking event.  I want to learn more about you but I forgot who you work for or the name of your business.  I do a search for you on Google.  If you have a domain name, that will be the first item to pop up on Google.  Even if you aren’t using the domain, it will come up.  You can always point your domain name to your existing website or you may be able to point it to your LinkedIn or Facebook account.

So, if your name is important to you and you think you will ever want to promote yourself online, make sure you own your domain name.  So Take Action and go claim your name online!

Have a great rest of the day!

Angela