Monday Moments (on Tuesday)

It’s MONDAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!  Or that would be TUESDAAAYYYY!

Photo from Reallyfunnypictures4u

I guess you know what that means?!

Let’s kick this pig into gear…yeeeeaaaahhhh!

Let’s HEIGHTEN YOUR VIBRATION with this one!! CRANK IT DJ!

You would never be able to take your baby seriously, would you?

Photo from Reallyfunnypictures4u

Weekly Challenge

It is the beginning of another week.

I realise you don’t wish to be reminded.

To be honest, I don’t really understand the concept of hating a particular day of the week.  I guess it stems from the fact that I LOVE my job (would hardly call entertaining people a job really).  I have also had a 7 day work week for the past 10 years or so, but that is a story for another time.

Monday is also the day that tends bring the NAGGING out of you and into the air.

Nagging, fighting, arguing with people in your life is more  about the power struggle in your relationship rather than the thing you are ACTUALLY upset about.

Taffy Brodesser-Akner of REDBOOK blogged a post called “A Month of No Nagging”.

Your challenge for the week is to stop nagging.  This may be easier said than done I do realise.

What I would like to suggest is a redirection of your frustration by writing your “NAGS” down.  So for the next week, your frustrations are going to be still going to be voiced, but to another audience….

Your computer/journal/diary.

Weekly Net Fix

Are you looking for some business inspiration or guidance then check out these three FANTASTIC websites and women.

1. One for the performing artists out there and a homegrown favourite of mine.  The Entrepreneurial Pocket Rocket Natalie Peluso @ http://www.nataliepeluso.com/
2. EMpower Online is an online business resource founded by Helen Rosing, one of Australia’s best success and business coaches. With it also comes their online magazine which you can subscribe to be delivered to your door or download back issues directly to your computer @ http://www.empoweronline.com.au/
3. This list wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t put down the queen of entrepreneurship and online business, Marie Forleo @ marieforleo.com.

Weekly Recipe Fix

Photo by Paleo Australia

Egg
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/2 zucchini, julienned
1/2 capsicum, finely diced
~100g of meat (bacon/chorizo/turkey breast/etc) cut long and thin
1/2 can of whole peeled tomatoes
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
salt to taste
2 tbsp olive oil (from the antipasto jar if possible!)

Sauté onions and garlic in a pan. Add meat, zucchini and capsicum. Continue to cook through. Add tomatoes, extra oil, spices, salt to taste. Simmer for 10 or so minutes while poaching an egg.

Transfer sauce into a bowl, place egg on top and enjoy!

Weekly Book Fix

Half The Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

A Pulitzer Prize winning title.  What an amazing book!

“An ancient Chinese proverb goes that women hold up half the sky. Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn want that to be appreciated — on the ground….It declare (‘s) the global struggle for women’s equality “the paramount moral challenge” of our era.

“Half the Sky” tackles atrocities and indignities from sex trafficking to maternal mortality, from obstetric fistulas to acid attacks, and absorbing the fusillade of horrors can feel like an assault of its own. But the poignant portraits of survivors humanize the issues, divulging facts that moral outrage might otherwise eclipse.” – NY TIMES REVIEW

_______

“From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.

With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered devastating injuries in childbirth. Drawing on the breadth of their combined reporting experience, Kristof and WuDunn depict our world with anger, sadness, clarity, and, ultimately, hope.

They show how a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad. That Cambodian girl eventually escaped from her brothel and, with assistance from an aid group, built a thriving retail business that supports her family. The Ethiopian woman had her injuries repaired and in time became a surgeon. A Zimbabwean mother of five, counseled to return to school, earned her doctorate and became an expert on AIDS.

Through these stories, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential. They make clear how so many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.

Deeply felt, pragmatic, and inspirational, Half the Sky is essential reading for every global citizen.” – Summary from www.bookbrowse.com

 

Monday Deal Fix

Want a holiday with a little more AWE included?  Having seen this WONDER in person, I cannot suggest enough that people see and experience this at least once in their lives.

Check out this incredible deal to see one of the WONDERS of the WORLD: The temples of Angkor.

Check out TRIPADEAL.COM.AU for this experience of a lifetime.

HAPPY MONDAY!

If you are liking our content, don’t forget to SHARE.  After all, sharing is caring.

Wealthy & Wise: It’s Danielle LaPorte’s Birthday, but HURRY!

It’s Danielle LaPorte’s Birthday!

Who? (Check out a previous post)

Danielle LaPorte!

Oh….HURRAY!

And THIS is why you should be excited!

As part of her celebrations she is sharing the birthday love and offering her Big BEAUTIFUL BOOK PLAN in a PAY WHAT YOU CAN deal!

Image by Danielle LaPorte

OMG!  Is she fer REAL?

TOTE’S for real!

Her very generous and highly celebratory offer is only on for another FEW HOURS!

So get on over to DANIELLE LAPORTE’S site by clicking here, PAY WHAT YOU CAN (And DON’T BE CHEAP or karma WILL bite you on the butt!).

You won’t be sorry.

ACCOUNCEMENT: Guest Blogger & Project Phuket

I am honoured and to present our very first Guest Blogger, Jax @ Nature’s Little Ways and to present a most exciting venture!

Project Phuket

Finally, we are going on a family holiday….to Thailand! This is where my hubby and I had first locked eyes or backpacks I should say….my hubby to be (little did he know) thought I had accidently taken his backpack, later to discover his was stacked underneath about 50 others on the roof racks of the minibus. I think he was quite embarrassed about the scene he had made and to make it even more awkward,  he bumped into me later that day only to realise he was staying in the next bungalow! However, by the end of the 4 week trip island hopping from beach to bungalow, we had fallen in love. Eight years later, with 3 kiddliwinks and celebrating our 5th year wedding anniversary, we made the decision to share our story with our 3 gorgeous boys by taking them to the place where we fell in love.

When I travelled to Thailand in 2003, my whole life changed. Gone now are the days of spending significant amounts of money on shoes, dresses, handbags, labelled sunglasses and designer furniture. I suddenly realised that all the things I had craved from living in Western Society was totally unnecessary. After visiting villages in Chang Mai and witnessing their happy smiling faces, I found that even though they only had a hut and a couple of stray dogs to their name, these people were experiencing true happiness in life. These people, to me, were the luckiest people in the world living a simple life of bliss with their family.

So, venturing to Phuket nine years later, I would like my children to see Thailand as I did. A beautiful happy place where materials are meaningless and the simple pleasures in life, such as sharing your experiences with your family, makes it memorable and enjoyable. I wanted my children to also see the hardships some Thai people experience in life. My plan if all goes well, is to hopefully instill the boys with endless amounts of appreciation, gratitude, humility, compassion and may they forever be full of give.

I wanted the boys to be able to relate to the people we visited, so I started looking for orphanages in Phuket. There are many orphanages in Phuket, however, the one that caught our attention was the orphanage attached to the women’s prison in Phuket Town. I have read from tripadvisor.com.au that

‘Some children there have mothers in the prison next door and spend their days in the day care centre and at night time sleep in the prison with their mothers in unpleasant conditions. Some have no parents and are only offered shelter from 9am to 6pm. After that I don’t know what happens to them. There are 60+ children there under the age of 10.’

Wishing this never to happen to my own children, this was heartbreaking to read and I wish I could go over and scoop up all these children and bring them home with me. Thankfully, after explaining this to the kiddliwinks and making the decision of visiting for a morning, my eldest boy, Harrison, announced that he’d like to take something over with us that would help to make their life a little more comfortable. He suggested some of his toys. Phew… this was already starting to go to plan and we hadn’t even arrived yet! After a lot of discussion we all decided that good quality clothing would be beneficial for warmth, comfort and self esteem.

After telling my good friend, Debs, about the trip we have organised, and our plan to take a suitcase of hand-me-down clothes provided by parents from Harrison’s school. She suggested we take it to the next level and ship boxes of clothes over not only for the orphanage, but also the woman’s prison. So…..we are calling all our readers to send boys and girl’s summer clothes ranging from 0-10 years of age, as well as women’s summer clothing between the sizes of 6-12 (they are tiny over there!). Please make sure they’re in good condition and please contact either Deb here at The Women in Wellness Project or myself at Nature’s Little Ways to organise drop off or postage of the items.

PLEASE ENSURE that all items are packaged and sealed in a BOX ready to be delivered. 

DEADLINE for all items will be October 30th, 2012.

Thanks for your compassion and we look forward to hearing from you.

Jax Sherlock @ NaturesLittleWays

Can you help or do you like what you read?  Don’t forget to share the love.

Wealthy & Wise: Tarita Botsman-Carbo and The 7 Sopranos

This weeks featured Product/Service is one close to my heart.

On Mother’s Day I was fortunate and honoured to perform with some of Australia’s leading, and up-and-coming talent in the classical vocal powerhouse that is The 7 Sopranos.

“The 7 Sopranos is an ensemble of highly trained, professional, young, up-and-coming, female, Australian opera stars… With stunning voices, looks, glamour, and above all a strong sense of entertainment, The 7 Sopranos is a fusion of modern and classical vocal styles.”

And the Founder of this visual and vocal powerhouse sensation is Tarita Botsman-Carbo.  She is a performer herself, a Young Australian and Young Queenslander of the Year award winner with a string of performance credits and achievements to her name, all whilst balancing her family life including her gorgeous sons, Zachery and Maximus.

 

Tarita epitomizes the title “Diva”: First Lady.  She is exceptional at what she does – performing and otherwise – a born a leader but not a trace of attitude to be found (except in that slightly sassy way *SNAP*).  What makes Tarita so different to her performing colleagues is her SELFLESS passion, enthusiasm and dedication to opera and classical in Australia.  Her devotion to this style of music initiated the Sirens of Song, now SOS management and the 7 Sopranos.

Tarita is an inspirational woman.  While juggling her beautiful family and her own professional career after 18 years in the opera profession within Australia and overseas, she saw the opportunity to help those in the profession, establishing her business to provide employment for talented female singers in Australia.

“I have become aware of the large number of highly trained and talented, female, vocal graduates coming through Australia’s various Conservatoriums and Music Schools… (I) realised that singers returning from overseas cannot work in the Arts due to restricted visa opportunities in both Europe and America, and on arrival home…were faced with limited work possibilities and often lowly paid performance opportunities in Australia.”

The 7 Sopranos have performed with some of the worlds highest corporate profiles – Gucci, Rolex, Microsoft – and at some of the world’s most beautiful locations including Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Along with her performance group The 7 Sopranos, she has also developed SWAPERA.  

SWAPERA was created to allow the community the help support young opera singers in their pursuit of national and international careers.

“Opera Singers are to the musical world what brain surgeons are to the medical profession, and it takes a similar amount of time for them both to train.  The only different is for opera singers there is not a guaranteed job at the end of the training.”

Australia lovesits athletes: pushing their bodies to the physical limits in the pursuit of something extraordinary.

Opera singers are in pursuit of similar physical peaks, aiming for the same extraordinary result.

The difference?

The use of two tiny muscles and breath.

“(We push) the voice to its limits, without the use of amplification, to see how high, how loud, how fast, and most importantly how beautifully we can sing the most technically difficult music written for singers.”

What to know how you can help support Australia’s young, up-and-coming and talented opera singers?

Or perhaps you would like to contact Ms. Botsman-Carbo to employ The 7 Sopranos for your next National or International function?

For more information check out The 7 Sopranos website.

Wealthy: Are you Active or Passive?

Photo by Billionaire Belief

 

In yesterday’s post I mentioned the term PASSIVE INCOME.

If you haven’t read it, head there now.

This is the perfect opportunity to elaborate more on the different types of income and why we should be striving to earn an income that works harder than we have to.

Reality Check.

When you retire, the likelihood of having enough money in your superannuation to last until the end of your life is very slim.

How are you going to live?  How will you survive?  Does working until you leave this earth create a fear worse than death?

Scared?

You should be….

There are 4 incomes streams that we earn from: 2 active and 2 passive.

ACTIVE INCOME STREAMS

Employee

The majority of the world live in this income stream.

As an employee, you earn a regular income, no matter if the company you work for gained profit or not.  But what if for any reason you could not work anymore? As an employee you physically work to earn the money in your paycheck.  You have a boss who takes control of you and your income.  Otherwise, what would your maximum income be?

Employee use words like “benefits, security”.  What drives them is FEAR.

Self Employee

More of the population are beginning to look at this income stream as a “way out”.

Problem.

This option could trap you worse than being an employee for the rest of your life.

You are the boss!  YAY!  No one can give you orders!  Double YAY!

But before you start celebrating, you are also an EMPLOYEE as well ie Doctor, Lawyer, Performing Artist.

Sure, you can work anytime you wish, but your income depends on your working time.  The longer you work, the more you earn.

Self-Employed people use words like “Do it yourself”.  Be your own boss. For them money is not important but “independence, freedom” are.  They are considered experts in their fields and like to do things their way.  Quality of work is more important than money.

Would you still earn an income if you couldn’t work anymore?

The SMARTER earning stream is in the PASSIVE area.

PASSIVE INCOME STREAMS

Business Owner

Here, YOU ARE THE BOSS!

YOU are manifesting people’s time, mind and energy to make money for YOU!  *Start waving at your minions*

A business owner can leave their business for a year and return to find it more profitable.  A system is built that is capable of running on its own, with capable managers.  McDonald’s is a FANTASTIC example of this.

Be aware though, that as a business owner you will have to put in a lot of your own resources – time, money – to get started and develop the business.  A smart option, but not until after you put in the hard yards.

The last option….

INVESTOR

Money that works for you! *Happy Dance!*

Invest!

Invest in real estate.  Invest in Gold or Silver (these don’t lose value the same way that currency does).  Invest in YOU!

Investors make money WITH money.  The rich may be employees but only in their corporations.

According to Robert Kiyoasaki,

“As an investor, there are few things you need to understand…

* Risk is something you can manage, control, minimize, or even eliminate.
* Portfolio concentration or focusing on a few investments, rather than diversifying, is a better strategy.
* You have to first mind your own business.  A successful  investor gets his training  from running his own business.  This teaches him how to assess potential investments later on.
* Freedom comes at a price.  You will learn by making mistakes, sometimes costing  you a lot.  You need  to be prepared for disappointments, closing down of your companies, or sudden changes in the financial climate.”

The trick is finding LOW COST investment opportunities, like Storytelling.

Risk is there yes, but the overall financial investment is lower.  Find the lower financial risk!  Don’t fear failure.

There is a reason why 2% of the population earn 90% of the world’s wealth.

These people have broken free of the societal “Work Hard” mould and starting working SMARTER.

Don’t be afraid to reject conventional thinking, and think creative in your earning.

You and your family will be thankful for it.

Wealthy: Your life is a story

“Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.” – Marsha Norman

Everywhere I turn lately I am seeing articles, blog posts, books suggesting the writing of books as a source of income and PASSIVE INCOME at that.

What did I just say?

Passive Income.

I haven’t spoken about the different income types but I promise I will elaborate in another post in the coming days.

In the meantime, PASSIVE INCOME is an income stream that is maintained without being ACTIVELY involved, for example, real estate or royalties.

After a book is published, the author receives royalties from the sales of each book earning a PASSIVE INCOME.

Easy peasy!

So how exactly does one write and publish a book?

Well, it starts with an idea….

I have just finished reading the inspiring business autobiography “Savvy: Ingredients for Success” by Rachael Bermingham (co-author of the 4 Ingredients books).

Picture by Styling You

Let me be quite clear from the outset about one thing and she stresses this in her book.  Rachael is no different to anyone else and when you read her book, you will see that.

A single mother of 3 (twin boys in there, thank you very much),  an entrepreneur and now an author she is juggling with life and schedule exactly the same way we all do.  She has just started her own publishing company after having written and published a handful of titles.  She is the SCHEDULE QUEEN.

And moving on…. while I swiftly pick my jaw up off the floor in awe.

Rachael believes that there is a book within EVERYONE.  The choice is up to you whether you decide publish it.

All it takes to start one good idea.  One BRILLIANT idea!

Then find the target market that you can identify your book with BEFORE writing it.

And then careful planning and structuring of your business plan (how you are going to design, edit, format & brand the book?) and your book plan (what is the structure of the book, what is the layout/chapters?).

Need some more inspiration or ideas to propel you into your new-found venture?

Blogger Catherine, Caffeinated has christened May “How to Sell Self-Published Books Month” on her blog.

You will be happy to know in the age of social media and the internet, there is no need for publishing excuses anymore. If you are wanting more information on how to self-publish rather than wait for the Publishers to fall in love with you and your writing style (cue crickets) then head to her BLOG.

Helen Exley of Helen Exley GiftBooks says it best:

“Books can be dangerous.  The best ones should be labelled ‘This could change your life’.”

So what are you waiting for?

Get off your butt, head to keyboard, plan it  and START WRITING!

You would be surprised as to how many people would love, dare I even say, NEED to read your story.

GO GET ‘EM TIGER!

Like what you read?  Don’t forget to share the love.

Wealthy: Round up dem cattle and get out the branding Iron!

Now after reading that title, you are wondering what on earth you have gotten yourself into!  MWAHAHAH!  *ahem*

Well it seemed somewhat fitting for our first WEALTHY blog post to be about what we market to our consumers: our BRAND.

What is branding?

Well it comes from the Old Norse word “brandr” meaning “to burn”…..blah blah blah *SNORE*

WAKE UP!

Because strangely enough that last tidbit was actually relevant. 🙂

Although most businesses aren’t literally burning their image into their product (it is packaged around it instead), in order to progress our businesses we need to have a clear “image” for our product that can be marketed to our consumers.  One that will BRAND ITSELF into their minds, making you unforgettable.

Developing a BRAND is one thing for a business that is an entity in itself, but what happens when your business….. is YOU!

And anyway, your “business” SHOULD be YOU!

At this point, I think I should fill you in with a bit of a back story that has prompted this post and I promise to be brief.

As many of you may know, I am an opera singer by profession.  MY NAME is MY BRAND.

I am a subscriber to the RSS feeds of the website OperaGasm (Tee hee…) “a substantive, cutting edge national perspective on current events, news, reviews, interviews, fashion and editorial contributions regarding opera and classical music.”

A very relevant post was published last week by John Bowen, General Director of Opera Vivente, describing what opera managements are looking for when that dreaded Audition time of year is upon them, forcing them to wade through the hundreds and sometimes thousands of applications they receive in search for the right applications to grant auditions.

A lot of what went into this article is relevant to those who are working in business sure, but what about trying to establish your OWN BRAND?

The way you PRESENT to others ie the way you dress (first appearances do count and not necessarily in a good way), how your hair is done, what makeup you wear, or don’t wear, the way you walk up to someone, the way you greet a person, the way you make eye contact, or don’t, your interaction with others.  These things, and many more, create assumptions and even accusations of what you are like as a person.

Whether these things are TRUE or NOT is irrelevant.

Without having a clear knowledge of what I am and believe I present and represent, my brand ie ME would not convince others to believe in ME either.

In the performing arts, even before we are granted an audition, there are several pieces of information that are sent to management and they are a great guide in helping you to assert your own brand.  What I wanted to focus on in this post was the concept of a HEADSHOT.

“Many singers who were unsatisfied with their headshots or no longer looked like their headshots were stuck with sending out the same unflattering or baffling headshot year after year after year.”

The HEADSHOT is the key to your whole persona.  It should reflect and radiate YOU, not the YOU you THINK you are.

Don’t be afraid of the person you see in the mirror.  That person is beautiful, charismatic and most importantly, POWERFUL.  Not to mention, the easiest person to be. 🙂

Ok, Mr Bowen suggests the following as key components for a good headshot, but let’s break these down from “business” talk into plain English.

a) Go colour: You personality is more than just black and white.  Allow people to get a hint of your inner personality upon your first greeting.  Is it a smile that radiates warmth, a handshake that is solid but honest, eye contact that expresses the natural twinkle in your eye.  Draw people into you and allow yourself to radiate outward.

Since when is sunshine grey in colour?

b) Go simple: If there is a feature that encompasses you as a person – great hair, glasses,

c) Avoid the 1900 look: Well THAT is pretty self explanatory….that is unless that IS who you are….of course, there is nothing wrong with that. 🙂

d) Change the headshot as necessary: This one is a little harder to interpret.  What I see is, a happy reality but before I say what I believe to be true I need you to assure me you are sitting firmly on your chair….

PEOPLE WANT TO SEE YOUR IMPERFECTIONS! *GASP*!!

They DON’T want to see that Barbie is alive and well and standing right in front of them (or is that toppling in front of them).

Lines on your face, crinkles in your skin.  See them and love them because OTHERS DO!  This is what tells others that we have LIVED and HOW we have lived.  Don’t be ashamed of having LIVED and EXPERIENCED!  You would be surprised how many people may be envious of them. 😉

Find the external elements that work and WORK THEM BACK GIRL!  *SNAP*

At this point, I must also make very clear, YOU CAN NOT HAVE A CLEAR EXTERNAL YOU, WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE INTERAL YOU IS.

Are you content AND happy?

What do YOU want in life?

What are YOUR beliefs?

What are you PASSIONATE about?

What would you give anything to BE or CREATE?

Once you can align your EXTERNAL you, with your INTERNAL you there will be no stopping you.  People will have the accurate idea that you know who you are and most importantly, aren’t afraid to BE it rather than SHOW it.

So with that said, what BRAND do you wish to present?

What ELEMENTS of your brand would you change to fall into alignment with the inner you?  And I mean the TRUE YOU.  If you are unsure, don’t be afraid to ask someone that you truly trust.  Expect the unexpected.  There may be elements of you that you thought were worthless but people find intriguing or captivating.  Run with it!

Happy Headshotting!