Alina Mugford of Translation Link

Winner of 2009 Small Business Rookie of the Year Award

Sara Hand, Joy Beyond Freedom

Awarded 2009 Finalist

Small Business Rookie of the Year Award

Popularity: 75% [?]

It wasn’t until sometime during the 1300’s that some artists began representing the world 3 dimensionally in their work. Prior artworks were 2 dimensional or “flat.” Mathematical concepts inspired the “vanishing point”, a technique that created perspective. It took artists thousands of years to do what children today begin learning in elementary school art class.

Around this same time period, spurred on by the adventures of Marco Polo, men began to consider that the world might be other than they had imagined.  Christopher Columbus, through his exploration of the New World proved that our world was, in fact, not flat either. Life would never be the same as man’s consciousness embraced new dimensions.

Several hundred years later, man again would move into the unknown and impossible. This time, concepts initiated by science fiction writers such as Jules Verne with their voyages to the bottom of the sea, outer space and time travel would be incorporated into investigative procedures. These would allow man to not only travel to great depths and heights, but to actually work for extended time periods in environments that would further a multitude of industries.

It is said, “What the mind can conceive and believe… man can achieve.”

Yet do you ever feel like your life is flat? Perspective can be defined as a view of things or facts in which they are in right relation. When you look around, do you ever feel that your life may be slightly out of focus? Do you ever wonder if there could be more beyond your current experience? Are there things that you have only dreamt of, but have not really considered possible?

Changing your perspective is changing the way you view things. New dimensions that can only be imagined are simply over the horizon if you can only get past the gatekeepers of “shouldn’t” and “couldn’t”. Begin to add richness and increased depth to your life by identifying priorities, and incorporating goals and an action plan.

Then with accountability relationships, regularly reexamine those projections and make adjustments as necessary to keep your course to a new world.

Popularity: 75% [?]

Whenever we are growing or learning new things there comes a time when we are not who we were and are not who we will be. We are in a state of transition. This “identity crises” can be a place of vulnerability. We are at a crossroads. The choices made now are not ones that will be easily changed in the future.

 My world of yesterday was a world of comfort.

I knew who I was and what I was to do. Expectations were clear for me and I knew what to expect from the others in my life. But things are different now. I have grown. As an adult I grow as a person. This may not be as easily identifiable to the people in my life. They may see a few changes on the outside. But much of the change has been an inside job, only visible to someone looking at my heart.

 How do I make it through this time you ask? For if we are really living life; we will go from one state of change to another. There will be times of settling in, but these will again lead to more change.

Don’t make major decisions when you are tired. When you are tired the good is too good and the bad is too bad. Rest brings objectivity.
Have an accountability person in your life, and expect them to hold you to the goals you have set previously.
Continue to reevaluate and measure goals against “life values”. Although goals will change, “life values” will not. These will act as a compass in the midst of whatever may come your way.

Remember that whether your opportunities were chosen or thrust upon you, it is not so much what happens to us but what happens in us that matters.

Popularity: 66% [?]

Many parents may look forward to that day when their child, now an adult, moves out into the big world; this is a celebration of a job well done. However the pride of accomplishment is tinged with loss, sadness for the childhood that has gone by. The little arms that would wrap themselves around a neck as they said “I love you” are all grown up and off to start a family of their own.

 The better the change…the worse we tend to feel about any feelings that aren’t “all good.” In fact, often we just want to bypass or detour this part of the journey. However, a detour won’t take it off your map, because to fully embrace the future, the past must find its home.

 In going forward, there is always leaving behind. There is a part of you that is now only a memory, as the new you goes on. This “feeling” is completely normal, and although often uncomfortable, we all experience this “grieving” when dealing with significant change…even the good stuff.

Popularity: 61% [?]

So you purposed in your heart it is time to change.

It is time to do something. And you are going to do whatever it takes, or so you thought! Now you are wondering…do I really want this that bad? Is it really worth it?

All my friends know about this caterpillar thing. How I killed the prospective butterflies and kept the weeds…so much for transparency. Then, having learned my lesson, I publicly proclaimed that I would no longer care more about the appearance of my front flower bed and would allow the caterpillars to eat to their hearts content knowing all along that the leaves on my bushes would grow back…they did last time…and that I would be the butterfly benefactor.

However, because I killed those nasty pests last time…I did not fully appreciate how bad the front garden would look. They have been eating my bushes for about 6 weeks and they’re huge! Last week I was having a party…a friend suggested I put a sign up front, “Feeding in Progress.” It has been a tremendous joke.

So I am struggling. I mean when are they going to do this cocoon thing anyway? Do I really want to go the distance? Herein lies the power of Weight Watchers, AA and all groups that provide true accountability…it doesn’t matter whether I feel like it or not today…I will persevere. I have shared this story with all sorts of audiences…hundreds of people. It doesn’t matter how messy and unattractive this growth process is…the caterpillars stay…at least until they become butterflies.

<— Weeds #1: Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
<— Weeds #2: The Bugs are Back!

Popularity: 61% [?]

I discovered these black and yellow bugs all over my bushes out front. The bugs are back and I’m excited! Not that kind of “I just saw a mouse or such” freaked out excitement, but overjoyed at their presence.

I had shared with you my secret…how I had desired my own version of Sunken Gardens.

I was fostering this lush, somewhat native landscape that would attract a multitude of wildlife, including birds and butterflies. I planted a harmonious blend of foliage, and relished my emerging paradise…only to discover that insects had devoured the plants in my front planter down to the ugly stems. Very unhappy with the quite unattractive view I now had to share with all my neighbors, I had pride-fully gone to Wal-Mart to pick up an extremely toxic beverage, and had celebrated as each of those bugs had fallen dead to the ground.

Who knew what I was thinking. Except that several weeks later at a butterfly event at Sunken Gardens, it hit me…black and yellow caterpillars make great butterflies. My garden has prospered over the last couple years, and we get some great and somewhat rarer butterflies…but it wasn’t until just recently that the caterpillars returned. There are not near as many as there were the first time.

However….I am careful not to disturb them, even when I am watering. Hopefully, they will enjoy eating the bushes out front. I am just excited that sometimes in life, you get more than one chance to appreciate the beauty of transformation.

Popularity: 55% [?]

I have always had a thing for plants. There is something therapeutic about the process of working and growing things. A number of years ago I realized that not only do flowers bloom according to seasons, but so do weeds. Right now we have the long and slender stemmed yellow flowered weed. The leaves are somewhat fuzzy like a Gerber daisy and they pull out of the ground fairly easily when you get tired of the disruption to your golf course green. Next comes a similar purple flower with a tall slender stalk.

The leaves are quite different, much narrower, and prolific and stand up higher; but again these pull out fairly easily and make great bouquets for small children wanting to please their mother.

”So what,” you are wondering. I just reach over and pull the weeds out, it isn’t a big deal. However, all weeds are not created equal! After these come another much closer to the ground. They look like small roses, tolerate extreme heat and little rain, thriving even when all the grass has given up. Just try just pulling these out…good luck. Just as there are seasons in the plant world, so there are seasons in my life. As much as I work towards life balance, there are periods of time when there will be an abundance of opportunities.

When we moved into our new house several years ago we chose to clear the back portion of our property ourselves wanting to create a lush Florida friendly yard…our version of Sunken Gardens.

The first year I had mixed results. We had these beautiful lavender flowers on a stalk that somewhat resembled a sunflower. Going for the natural look, I left them excited about the beauty that was already available on my developing sanctuary. However when the black and yellow caterpillars began to strip my “snow on the mountain” down to bare stems, I have to say I wasn’t near as tolerant, spraying them with incredibly toxic substances and celebrating as they dropped off.

The funny thing is that the lavender flowers turned into these horrible stickers. (Have you ever just wanted to throw the clothes away rather than face the tedious chore of trying to get those things off?) And the bugs that I eliminated were the larvae for the butterflies I had wanted to attract. I had gotten so caught up in the ugliness of stripped plants; I had eliminated my opportunities to see the beauty that could have come.

The funny thing about weeds is that what one person might consider a weed, another person might plant. And where some gardeners hate and spray for insects others plant to attract them.   Yet what defines something as prized or rejected is not necessarily the thing itself, but the viewer.

Weeds #2: The Bugs Are Back! —>

Popularity: 47% [?]

When I work with my clients, I have the opportunity to bring clarity and focus into their lives. However, what is frequently apparent is that no matter how great I do that with others…it is extremely difficult to do for myself. There is an old saying “You can’t see the forest for the trees”.

Well, I am incredibly fortunate to have phenomenal coaches, counselors and accountability people in my life…however there was this one thing that had been nagging at me for a couple months. I had all this material; I was wading through it, but just couldn’t seem to find a common thread…voila…an hour with a friend earlier this week made it all seem so simple and so obviously apparent.

If you don’t have someone in your life who can give you objective feedback from a point of some expertise…find someone who does it well, whatever it is. Spend time with them; give them permission to give you feedback and to hold you accountable to follow through on your discussion.

Life changes when I do!

Joy Beyond Freedom is a Journey!

Popularity: 23% [?]

I hit the ground running this year, yet I am ever so much more sensitive to keeping balance in my life. I have really had to reflect on what my priorities are and how I want my life to reflect those. With increased opportunities for growth and success, there are increased opportunities to fall off the wagon and go spirally down the “if I could only go faster I could do it all” path.

I have realized recently that the reason many people don’t recognize the first step out of balance is because you can’t live by a measure you don’t have. You can not recognize that your priorities are blurring if you have never fully identified what your real priorities are. Priorities have to do with the things you most value, not the most recent crises you think you must solve.

Pretend for a few moments that there are no fires to put out. Take a few minutes, and make a list of the relationships and people that are most important to you.  Write down the activities that most energize you and give you the most joy. How do you feel about the quality of your life? Are you able to operate at a maximized physical condition for yourself, and if not, why?

Making life changes is not about getting it All right. This road involves opportunities. You will fall. To believe you won’t is unrealistic. However, babies don’t quit walking the first time they fall, they just have to keep getting up until they get it right.

 Are you living life or is life living you? Do you spend a lot of time running from one fire to the next, so busy taking care of “have to” that you don’t remember what a “want to” looks like? Find out what the measure for your life is. Find out the things that you would die for and then live for them. That is Joy…Beyond Freedom!

Popularity: 27% [?]

What resource do you have in common with the wealthiest person on the planet?

What quality do you share with the fastest runner in the world?

What gift do you possess that every successful artist requires?

…TIME…

At my High school reunion a wise friend said to me “20 years equalizes many things.”

Every day the clock strikes Midnight, and a new day begins.  Each person has the next 24 hours to call today, that won’t change.  The way we spend those hours and minutes is what separates us from each other.  No matter how we try, the day is the day. Time cannot be saved for tomorrow, it cannot be traded among friends, and once it is gone, it is gone! Ask yourself “At the end of the day, will I be frustrated with the way I spent my day, or will I be satisfied that it was a day well spent?”

Some people believe you only need to go faster to make “it” happen. They’re wrong.  Fractured families, stress induced disease, and mental breakdowns, are at the end of that road.  What can we do?

Take it one action step at a time. First identify priorities, and then focus your goals to reflect those priorities.  If this is done on a regular basis, when you ask yourself “was today a good day?” you will have a measuring stick.  Remember Bill Gates, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa, have accomplished great things, with the same 24 hours that you and I have.

Popularity: 22% [?]