Imagination: we all have one—I encourage you to use it! I dare you in fact! Just a super quick post to remind you all of your wonderfulness and your ability to imagine and live your very best life. The following people know what’s up:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
~Albert Einstein

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.”
~Jesse Jackson

“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”
~John Lennon

“I reject your reality and substitute it for my own.”
~Adam Savage

“Imagination rules the world.”
~Napoleon Bonaparte

It’s a big beautiful world out there go forth and rule it as only you know how. Have a productive day! I hope this post finds you smiling! :)

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If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when? ~Rabbi Hillel

We tend to define ourselves by the roles that we play in life and base our decisions on the expectations associated with those roles.

We define ourselves by our relationships (e.g. I am a loving daughter/son, I am a single mother/father, I am a wife/husband, I am a best friend), groups we are a part of (e.g. I am a Buddhist, I am a New York Yankees supporter, I’m a punk, I’m a hip hopper), our geographical location (e.g. I’m an Australian, I’m a Californian, I’m a New Yorker) and by our practices (e.g. I am vegetarian/vegan, I’m a golfer, I’m a painter). While these things all represent different aspects of us they are not who we are at the ultimate core of our being.

You can change your job, you can move cities, change relationships, your ideas, your wants (desires) but who you are at your core is perpetual without beginning or end. It’s the one thing that is with us for life. You can’t get away as much as you try (ha!) I believe that who you are at your core can never be lost completely… despite how much we try to bury ourselves under ‘stuff’ or activities we distract ourselves with.

I came across an exercise in one of my favourite books: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga by my man Deepak Chopra which has helped me get to the core of it all, of myself. It’s helped me think about and understand who I really am and what I really want. It’s helped give me a solid platform, a starting point to take off from whatever the destination.

Deepak asks us to ask three questions that are essential to ask ourselves:

1) Who am I?
2) What do I want?
3) How can I serve?

I thought I’d share the exercise with y’all here. Hope it’s helpful! Here goes:

Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for a few moments. Sit down, close your eyes, start with some slow deep breaths, and settle into the awareness of your heart area. At around 15 second intervals ask yourself, who am I? Who am I really? At first you may get answers like the above mentioned. Keep asking yourself over and over until answers arise for deeper within. Then repeat the exercise asking the other two questions.

I’ve found that this exercise has help raise my awareness on so many levels. It’s something super easy that anyone can do regardless of religion, cultural background etc. I dare you to try it ;)

“My philosophical belief in life is that we have a meaning and a purpose for being here. All of what we do is important to drive towards that purpose. That comes from a spiritual place. It’s not necessarily a God or set of laws that’s in a scripture. We have an obligation to do our best and reach our goals that were meant for us… Everything I do is part of my purpose or meaning in life. That’s what guides my decisions.”
~Louis Posen, Hopeless & Subcity Records (book extract).

Please take the time to check out the Take Action Tour that Louis has helped create. His work has raised over 2 million dollars and has been donated to over 50 non-profit organizations. We CAN make a difference!

Happy exploration!

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Do you know the time in which you work at your best? If you don’t know the answer to the question I suggest you have a think. Being in touch with yourself and knowing your body’s cycles and rhythms is essential to your productivity. And, don’t we all want to be more productive?! It’s helpful to try and slot in the important things when you know you’re at your best. Also, knowing when you tend to ‘flop out’ is the perfect time to plan something fun and light-hearted. Work with your body and mind not against it.

The last month has been very kind to me, I’ve been inspired 24/7 (yes even when I sleep) no joke! My dreams have been vivid and insightful. Usually I’m a morning person though and I get up super early to write. I tend to flake out by mid afternoon and then get a second-wind in the late afternoon/early evening. My Jhonny on the other hand is a total night owl. I’ve seen him sit an 8-hour+ stretch working on something and not even flinch. I wake up every morning to a new painting at the foot of the bed, drawing on my bedside table, new songs on my Ishuffle—that usually gets me fired up and inspired for my day.

I tend to spend my evenings writing to do lists and planning the next day ahead. I find that doing this it frees up my mind for sleep and I’m not stressing about anything and I can get a more solid, peaceful, restful sleep.

The Bhagavad-Gita describes that there’s three different modes of nature; day is divided up into different modes. The early morning hours are described as illuminating. It’s a great time to get inspiration. They’re very special. The morning up until lunchtime is the “mode of goodness” then you have the “mode of passion” in the afternoon. You see everyone running around in the day trying to make money and get things done. The evening is described as the “mode of ignorance” people tend to flop out. ~Lora Logic (book extract)*

Tap into your natural rhythms friends. It’s all part of uncovering your truth. So, tell me when you work best?

Every second is precious. Make it count!

*Lora played saxophone in one of my favourite female-fronted British punk acts X-Ray Spex. She’s also had her own solo career and played on release for The Stranglers, The Raincoats & Boy George. After leaving X-Ray Spex Lora joined the Hare Krishna faith and stayed on an estate donated to the Hare’s by George Harrison of the Beatles fame. She currently resides in India with her husband and children.

PS- The weekend post recap, just in case you missed it:

Saturday = The Noble Eightfold Path To Success
Sunday = Miss Bianca’s Punk Rock & Hip Hop Ideas Mash-Up Party

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“If I had to boil it down to one word it would be “kindness.” It goes beyond that, though. Spirituality is a training of the mind and heart in wisdom and compassion practices and ways of living that increase understanding of the way that the world, ourselves or reality really are . Spirituality is also learning how to respond skilfully to the suffering and confusion in the world. The only rational response being to care about it, to feel compassion for all of the confusion and suffering that’s present both personally and in society or the world.” Noah Levine on spirituality (book extract).

In my travels I’ve explored and encountered many different cultures and their unique perspectives and philosophies on life. I’ve come across some things that have fit me well and those that didn’t at all. Something I found that has resonated strongly with me though is the Buddhist idea/concept of The Noble Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path is a collection of eight enduring principles which if taken onboard can help you be and do your best. I’ve found that by incorporating these virtues into my own life it has helped me create things that bring benefit to others and lasting value to people’s lives—inspiring them to take action and make a positive difference themself—as well as my own.

Working with the following tools, I feel you can’t really go wrong. It’s all common sense. I don’t define myself as Buddhist (I find stuff in Buddhism that I don’t necessarily agree with) but I do appreciate and practice the things that ring true to me. Have a read, see what you think & make your own mind up.

We’re all interconnected and interdependent—as are the values associated with the path’s principles: wisdom, ethics & mindful-awareness—maybe have a think about what you’re contributing to the world with what you do in your everyday and of your values and what you believe. I’ve found that when exercising the following steps my life is more successful in all areas.

The Eight Steps to living your best life:

Right View. Right View is understanding your reality. It’s realising that a conditioned existence if unacceptable. It’s visualising your highest potential while maintaining a realistic view of where you’re at and what you’re doing. Ask the questions: How do I see myself? What is my purpose? How does it impact the world? What are my gifts? How am I utilising them? What is my grand vision for my life?

It’s important to have a vision and to really see that vision and believe it. Having a clear idea of self and what you do is a great foundation for anything in life. Often our idea of self can be distorted by ego and delusions. Having Right View will help you see beyond that and influence your day-to-day decisions for the better. If you’re having trouble seeing yourself, why not ask a trusted friend for help. Friends can sometimes see what we can’t. They can give us a fresh perspective on ourselves. It’s time to awaken to the real you… wakey, wakey! Rise and shine.

Having Right View is looking at all the ‘good’ and all the ‘bad’ bits that make up you. Once you acknowledge your truth and accept where you’re at, you can work on changing those things that don’t fit. It can also be about keeping ourselves free from prejudice and superstition.

Right Intention. With your thoughts you create your world and with your intentions you set the tone and dedication of your mission. Your mission is what you do; it should drive and excite you.

Your intentions behind what you do, determines the quality of your interactions and life experience. Choosing your intentions chooses your experience. Ask yourself what is my mission? I’ve found the practice and cultivation of equanimity can be helpful here as it can nurture innovation and promote open-minded thinking. How we think influences how we feel and how we feel affects what we say and what we do.

Right Speech. Think before you speak. Lose the ego and bad attitude. Think about what are you saying? How are you saying it? Right Speech is saying things that matter and that are not hurtful or causes harm to others. That includes things like idle chatter, there’s a lot of people out there that just talk for the sake of talking, silence can definitely be golden sometimes.

I admit that in the past I’ve totally been guilty of saying hurtful things to others (I’m pretty sure that we’ve all been guilty of that at some point). The important thing though is that I woke up and saw what I was doing and have worked super hard every day since to be mindful of my words. I’ve also apologised (where I have been able to) to those I have hurt. As with all these ideas it takes practice, dedication and work.

A funny thing I’ve noticed since consciously practising Right Speech is that sometimes the people that are on the receiving end of what I am saying get a little taken aback by the truth. Maybe at times I haven’t phrased what I’m saying so great, right speech to me is also choosing your words wisely. Think about what it is you’re really trying to say, don’t just grab the first word available and think that’ll do.

Note: Also typing mindfully would fall under Right Speech to me. In our day and age our interactions on the internet, chats, forums etc (our online voice) is equally as powerful. Don’t hide behind your keyboard being a hero gossiping and slagging people off, contribute something of value to discussions—be helpful not hurtful.

Right Action is understanding that your actions have consequences. It’s about walking the walk and talking the talk and treating others how you want to be treated. It’s always a work in progress; we are always upgrading ourselves so obviously it can change moment to moment. It’s basically just not acting in ways that would be dishonest or bring harm to oneself or to others.

Right Livelihood. Seriously, the world needs you to do what you love! When you’re passionate, engaged, aware you’re at your best. It’s all about loving what you do and taking up a vocation that is non-detrimental to others. It’s also appreciating what you have, your talents, and your abilities and using them for the power of good.

Right Effort is combining your intelligence with your intuition. It’s performing at the top of your game. Exercising efficiency in your work, you don’t need to work a million hours a week. It’s about making the effort to work smarter not harder. Exercising Right Effort enhances you productivity. It’s about practice and perseverance, it can take a lot of effort and energy to go against the grain and change our habits and conditioning.

Practising Right Mindfulness is being aware. It’s staying fluid. It’s being a witness. It’s being in the moment. It’s being thoughtful in your actions (if you haven’t noticed yet, all of these principles overlap and work in unison with each other). It’s keeping in mind what motivates you? Please cherish your mind lovelies. To me the Eightfold Noble Path is all about being mindful of yourself and others.

Right Concentration is collecting your energy, focusing and once again staying in the moment. It’s cultivating a strong mind. Meditation has helped me with this. Having clarity of mind can help us do great things.

For more info on the above: Dharma Punx author Noah Levine talks about The Eightfold Path here. Also, the Dharma Punx NYC site has more information on the Eightfold Noble Path and some interesting, helpful talks and guided meditations on everything from dealing with stress & anxiety to working with depression.

Love & light,

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Art by John.E

I LOVE books! I adore reading. I have several on the go at one time! I can’t help myself. I’ve worked in libraries for the greater part of a decade. I’m addicted to the smell of the pages, the feel of the different textured page paper (I also care about GSM! ha!), the quirky cover designs and the thrill I get from opening a package from Amazon.com and my frequent visits to Borders books. I’m currently in the midst of the following books:

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga by Deeprak Chopra (this is by far one of the best books on yoga I have ever read)

The Mastery of Music by Barry Green (this book has been blowing my mind with it’s approach to making music)

Tribes by Seth Godin (this guy is the marketing guru)

My reading wish list currently includes:

Gimme Something Better, A History of San Francisco Bay Area Punk Rock by Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor

Meat Is For Pussies by John Joseph

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (an old classic with a new twist)

My pal Rob Fusco (Most Precious Blood) shares with us a book that’s made a difference to his world:

“I think the book Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is extremely important. That book helped shift my paradigm. It helped me understand what spirituality means. The young Brahman in the book falls into materialistic practices. In his old age he becomes not religious, but spiritualised by his connection to the river. He works as a ferry man and that becomes his spirituality. The river becomes his religion. It’s an incredible book. I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone. Even if you take nothing away from it except a good story, it’s still incredible. It’s a work of genius…

… If you’re doing something long enough, religiously enough—pun intended—then it kind of becomes your spiritual practice. It becomes your religion. It becomes what you’re about. Your heart and soul is in it and it’s what you do. Even the simplest practices become active prayers. There is a definite connection there. If you do something for long enough it’s going to smack of spirituality.” (extract from my book project)

Are there any books that have made a big difference in your life? I’m always on the look out for a new read… I read lots of different types of books so let me know what’s awesome that you’ve found so I can check it out.

RANDOM MISS B STORY: At a show one night in my hometown a young punk kid came up to me and said, “I never read anything but I read your zine from cover to cover and it made me really happy. You so get it. Thank you.” That kid’s comment made my whole night. Recalling it still makes me smile… a lot!

Get those pages turning & that mind expanding!

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Change is pretty much one of the only certainties and constants in life (‘besides death and taxes!’ says my pal Dave from Punkcore Records. Ha!) We all reach points in our life when we realise that our ways, patterns, and habits might not suit us anymore or may even be hurting us—in other words we’re growing! Congratulations! Go you!

Changing our ways requires us to learn new habits, to replace the old with new. It requires commitment, hard work, patience, dedication and perseverance. It can feel totally daunting at times—it can seem like an impossible dream. It can feel really, really hard! It can really push you, stretching yourself to new limits can be frightening and uncomfortable. I’ve found though that in these kinds of times I grow so much more than in times when everything feels super sweet and mint.

‘30’ is the magic number of days it takes to make a new habit stick (obviously that number will vary from person to person and habit to habit but it’s a good place to start) it’s the average length of a rehab stint.

For most of us the hardest thing is to overcome our inertia and simply start. We get all psyched out because we scare ourselves into thinking that the change we’re making will be forever! We get overwhelmed and scared and we can want to stay where we are because we know that, it’s familiar to us. That’s why setting yourself a temporary goal of trying something for a short time (in the grand scheme of things) of 30-days and telling yourself you’re free to go back to your old ways after that period is a good way to make it seem less scary. It’s not FOREVER it’s for 30-days. You can do it! If need be put up a calendar on your wall and count down the days to your freedom. Crossing off the day on your calendar in the evening before you go to bed will give you a sense of achievement; it will track your progress.

I know from my own experiences with changes I’ve made in my life over the past few years that the keys are to first establish a new habit and second to need maintain that habit—persevering with your new habit will help you to break your addiction to your old habit.

Sticking to something for 30 days will give you confidence, the confidence to keep going. Lastly (and perhaps most importantly) you’ll have 30 days of results to look at and make a more informed decision as to whether or not your new habit is working for you. If it is, extend the period, if not try something new again and keep going until you find something that you’d make into a habit for life.

For example, part of starting this blog was a little 30-day trial for me, a commitment to engage in something I love (beyond words :) he, he, he) like writing—in turn disciplining myself to work on bettering myself and to contribute something positive to the world every single day. I’m only one person but I know from comments left and an inbox full of correspondence (that I’m slowly working my way through) I am making a difference. Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement.

See I’ve always enjoyed writing but I’ve always been very sporadic and unfocused (for the most part) with it. I woke up at 4 am on New Year’s Day this year and decided that I wanted to write every single day, that I wanted share what I’ve learnt in life so far from my own experience and from those I’ve had conversations with (interviewed) from the creative world.

My hope is that by sharing me trying to live my best life with you guys it will hopefully inspire you to work towards your ‘best life’—to let you know that you’re not alone. Even though at times we may feel alone I can pretty much guarantee that someone somewhere has experienced what you’re going through (and lived to tell the tale). Sometimes we’re just too busy concentrating on our differences to see our commonalities! Open your eyes, mind & heart!

..and just because I don’t look like you or act like you / It doesn’t make me any better or worse– The Suicide Machines

Helpful tips to get you started:

Decided on one thing you’d like to change about your life whether it’s to change your eating habits, quit smoking, drinking or coffee, to exercise, to be less shy, to be a little braver, it is super, super important that you only work on changing one thing at a time! If you try to change more than one thing at once or everything, as I’ve ambitiously attempted unsuccessfully on many occasions… ha, ha!

Ask for help. Have a support group… tape a piece of paper with phone numbers of those that you can count on to encourage and support you to your wall. Even though you may not call them having that visual reminder that you have people on your team will help you hold fast. Knowing that you can pick up the phone when you have a strong urge to engage in your old patterns and talk to someone is an powerful aid.

Prepare for sabotage. When you try to better yourself, unfortunately there can be people you meet and so-called ‘friends’ in your life that don’t share your enthusiasm for you living your best life. They try to derail your plans. They poke fun at your attempts and try to discourage you. People fear change, and a lot of the time you’ll find they’re afraid you’ll leave them behind. You must go forward my friends! Don’t ever play dumb for your social set. Stand up to those that try to keep you down, confront them and tell them they either need to start supporting you or it’s goodbye time.

Identify triggers. What are the things or situations that foster your habit you’re trying to change? Knowing what sets you off can allow you to plan alternate action when they come up. It’s important to have a plan in place. For instance when you get super stressed or when you feel blue what do you do? Do you go drinking with your buds? Do you reach for the cupboard for the cookie dough? Try replacing your existing habit with a new more positive thing like meditation instead of watching TV or drinking herbal tea instead of coffee. To make things easier for you, try to avoid things that could trigger your urges.

Stay Positive. If you slip back into your old pattern or if you miss a day of doing your new thang in the 30 days don’t beat yourself up! Just get back on the horse and keep riding. It’s okay… really! Don’t see it as failing; don’t sabotage all your good work with self-beatdowns. You’ve started to change things in your life you don’t feel are working for you and that in itself is AWESOME!

Take it one day at a time. Take it hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second if need be! Slowly but surely. Find your own rhythm. Some days will be radder than others.

Rest! Don’t run yourself into the ground… take time to replenish your stores, do steady. In my experience when I set my little heart on something I put everything I have into it. I work 110% all the time. I’ve been prone to exhausting myself and I’ve found if I am tired I get fuzzy headed. Being tired can leave you susceptible to triggers and urges and impair your judgement.

Things that can change your life given a 30-day trial:

Talking to someone new every day. It’s amazing what you can learn through conversation. Everyone has a story. Everyone has insight. Everyone can be a teacher.

Stop watching TV. You’ll have time to do more constructive things.

Going for a walk. I get some of my best thoughts while out walking. My brain gets a chance to have a break from the computer, TV, whichever distraction I’m engaged in.

Take up yoga (post coming soon). Seriously, yoga has had such a big impact on my life. Since starting my practice a couple of years ago only good things have come from it.

Spend one hour reading every day. Learn something or get lost in a whole new world.

Call a family member or a friend. We text, email and social network so much these days that we forget the importance and specialness of connecting via picking up the phone. Reconnect with the people you love.

Good luck!

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A lot of all this—I’m not saying it hasn’t come without hard work though—has come quite easily. I think it’s because of how we approached the whole thing. It’s funny, that story like when you decide to do something and you’re one hundred percent determined, you’ll see a million unseen hands come to your aid…

…We were f*cking one hundred and a thousand percent [motivated]! I’ve never worked with someone so closely. When we moved to Sydney we were sharing this one room. I was living on this homeless mattress. We were renting this room from a gay glass artist who would come in and perv at Beau painting with no shirt on. [Laughs] It was crazy! We just made each other laugh so much, about 95% of the time. Sometimes it got tense, when you’re that close to someone, you’re actually trapped in a room working on this project and then you’d go to sleep and wake up and you’re still there with that person. It was really just focusing on the project, we put that photo of New York on the wall and were just like, “F*ck it – there is no reason we can’t do this” and we just went out there and smashed it! ~Johnny Siera (book extract)

Once you make a conscious choice to go for something, once you have that passion, fire and determination—that belief in yourself and what you’re doing (if you don’t back yourself, why should anyone else?)—there’s pretty much nothing anyone can do to stop you; the whole ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’ attitude comes into play. If you want to do something bad enough believe me, you’ll find away.

If it feels right, 99.9999999% of the time it is! I know when I’m on the money because everything in my life just flows, and like Johnny says things seemingly come ‘quite easily’. It’s not easy to be motivated all of the time, motivation ebbs and flows but from my experience the more time you spend doing what you love, the greater your motivation will be to do it.

Another thing that can help you along the way is the company you keep, when you’re ruling it, you’ll start to attract other people into your life that are ruling it, and that’s when things can really start to take off! When everyone gets together and pools their talent and resources great, great things can happen. There are so many AMAZING collectives around the globe working on killer projects: Brooklyn Art Collective; Beinit International Surreal Art Collective; Guerrilla Girls; Cicada. Work together, not against each other!

Follow your heart, it knows the way!
Love & light,

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The Force has a ‘dark side’, which feeds off emotions such as anger, jealousy, fear, and hate, whereas the ‘light side’ Jedi use the Force only for peaceful purposes. Do you choose to embrace your Dark Side in order to seize power? Or do you use the Jedi way of compassion and selflessness on your journey of greatness? It’s all a matter of choice.

“I choose my choice! I choose my choice!” ~Charlotte from Sex & the City.

Think about your choice – Protest!

Greetings from Possibility City,

The best thing about choice is that you can always change it or make another one. You can always choose to take your life in a new direction. With that in mind, you have nothing to lose.

When faced with challenges in life we can choose to focus on the problem or the solution. We can dwell in Self-Pity Town or we can drive/bike/walk/skate/surf/fly to the next ‘hood over yonder, Possibility City (where my friends and I reside :) come meet the locals! Ha!).
On my journey I have learnt that whatever you choose to think about is what you value and what you will experience. Every choice in your life naturally produces an outcome.—the whole cause and effect Universal law. What kind of choices have you been making in your life lately? What kind of outcomes have you been experiencing? If your answers are on the negative side of things, you may what to do something about it! You may want to make another choice. A change is as good as a holiday, right?!

A conversation with Duane Peters & Corey Parks (book extract)…

DP:There are other things that Corey is still teaching me.

CP: There’s still stuff that I’m learning too. It’s one thing to learn it, but a whole other thing to apply it to life. When I met Duane, his friend told me, “He’s the hardest working man I know.” Duane used to say a lot of things like, “You’ve got to lose to win,” and was creating this reality for himself which I think most people do…

DP: Plus it’s just a “self beat down” that is familiar to me. Corey used to always stop me and go, “What are you talking about? You don’t have to lose to win.” I’d go, “Yeah you do. You got to work hard and then you got to get beat down and then maybe something will come.”

CP: Now after years of knowing him and falling in love with him, I’ve heard all his stories of how he spent time on the streets. If you live a certain way for so long, your beliefs reflects your reality. He carried that into his life as a sober man. He was building this new life for himself and carrying those beliefs into it. They didn’t suit him anymore.

Strip away / Be the voice of a generation / Strip Away / You’ve got a choice to make /Cut Away, Cut away… Strip away your chains – Anti-Flag

Something else to ponder is how many of your choices are actually for you? Do you base your choices on what other people think? On the opinions and ideas of those that are closest to you? Or even strangers’ thoughts or comments? How often do you actually think ‘what do I think?’ Are you aware of your relationship to your own happiness? I strongly believe that it is only us and us alone that can truly know what is best for us.

We need to realise and recognise our power and ability for shaping our own lives and outcomes. Don’t let your mentality cripple your growth. Punk & hip hop have both been empowering forces in my life—both taught me and nurtured a do-it-yourself ethic and the motivation and belief to think that I can achieve anything. If you don’t like things change them! Sometimes it can take one quick little change to set your life on a whole new path, other times it takes work over your whole lifetime.

If you find yourself agonising over a choice, making excuses to avoid making a choice or procrastinate so choice time never comes—all tactics which I’ve deployed at times—this podcast may be of interest (thanks Lobo for the recommendation). Not choosing something can set you up for Camp Fail. Making a choice can be truly empowering.

The podcast helped me realise that I should value where I place my value, energy and time. It reminded me that there is no perfect time like the present to start something; to make choices and go with it until it doesn’t suit anymore and then make another.

It’s time to believe in yourself & believe in your choices! Choose the best!

Anything less than the best is a felony – Vanilla Ice

So, what choices are you going to make today?

Choose Wisely!

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Around a year ago, I read Dr Dre’s biography. I found it to be a really interesting read. I’ve always loved reading biographies. Another thing I inherited from my ma, she always told me that ‘Reading is knowledge’. I love to hear the story of people’s lives. I enjoy that insight into life, I like getting to see different perspectives and experiences. I enjoy learning that way. I guess maybe that’s why I took so well to what I do today (ha!) Why I’m forever asking everyone, why? And how?

Out of all of the cool stories and thoughts I read in the book, one thing that really struck a chord with me was when Dre talked about work and school. He said that he’d always had a healthy and enthusiastic work ethic and positive attitude and view towards work. He felt that if you work really hard at what you did, then that (energy) would flow out into every aspect of your life. I can totally vouch for that!

I know that when I work hard I feel super content and everything in my life feels like it happens a whole lot easier.

“The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” ~Oprah

I work so hard I get super tired sometimes but it doesn’t bother me because I am so motivated by the fact I truly LOVE what I do! When I write I feel like I glide into a slipstream and I feel like I fall off the face of the Earth sometimes. I’m just so absorbed in what I’m doing it’s like I’m the only one that exists. To me those moments are transcendental, time becomes irrelevant. That’s why it’s the ultimate to be engaged in ‘smart work’ work that is meaningful and that you’re passionate about.

And I should mention that by ‘work’ I don’t necessarily mean the paid variety, the kind that involves you being an employee of someone else and earning cold hard cash (put $5 in my hand… he, he ;)). I have a lot of wonderful musician & art friends that are ‘unemployed’ that sometimes feel as though the things they do with their day isn’t really much of anything. I’m here to tell you all now, that just because you’re not (most of the time) experiencing a momentary gain from your work doesn’t make your contribution to your community or the Universe any less valuable then work produced in a paid employment environment.

Working for your freedom / Is the best way to get trapped / You can’t call it independence / If it needs to be paid back ~ Intro5pect

Here’s a little chat between two of my favourite hardworking women Oprah & Beyonce:

A thought for your day: Hard work is the willingness to push yourself past what you are able to do… even just a little. Baby steps. It’s being consistent and dedicated.

Inspiring reading:

♥ Richard Branson – Screw It, Let’s Do It

♥ The Josephine Baker Story

♥ Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones

♥ I cannot wait to read Daniel Johnston:The Story of an Artist by Everett True. I had a conversation with E recently that included some chat about Daniel and this project. I was read a part of it that was just beautiful.

♥ The Real Frank Zappa Book

♥ I also enjoy The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book: 101 of Chuck’s Favourite Facts & Stories

Is there any biographies you’ve read that are about people that are totally workin’ it?

My electro-rockin’, burlesque performing, tambourine shaking pal Miss Brodie-Ann knows how to work it!

Don’t forget to work it today!

Soundtrack while typing this = Roy Orbison! :)

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