I've absolutely had this blog on my mind lately… and at the same time I have been experiencing some major writer's block. Not because of lack of things to write about, but more because all of the things swirling around in my head that can't seem to get organized. So today, I'll just write out what's on my heart:

Instead of working on creating a living, try working on creating a LIFE. The more reliant I am on receiving a paycheck, the more I realize that I am not fulfilled by my daily actions. If I am just waiting for payday, the quality of the time in between suffers. As Daniel Pink addresses in Drive, the three things that humans are motivated by are autonomy, mastery and purpose. I run these through my head every single week, and I think we all crave these three, though we each probably identify with one more than the others. For me, it's autonomy. I am time sensitive and need to feel control over how I spend my days and my time. So, I'm putting the need for paycheck to the side and focusing on what it is that I should actually be doing with my time to design my life.
Make room in your life for the things you want to happen. Literally create physical space -- we've been working on this by purging unused items, cleaning out closets, and rearranging to make things more appealing when new things come into our life. Also create mental space: Jake quit his job this summer because even though we loved the extra bar tending money, we needed to make space for the things we want in our future. Bar tending was not sustainable from a family time perspective, so we needed to say goodbye to it -- and guess what? My business income skyrocketed and more than replaced bar tending income once we made space for it in our lives.
Dream big, and make goals. Write them down. It's proven that goals that are written down are more often reached than goals that are just thought about or talked about. I'm working on updating my vision board this week and will share it with you after it's complete.
Someday I want to write a book. Considering my current state of writer's block, this is a daunting task, but at the same time I figure once I get going, the words will flow. I have to trust my instincts and follow my heart. My head has a million reasons why the things I want to accomplish can't happen, but my heart knows that this simply isn't the case. Someone wise recently said, "Those who hang out in the heart earn the most money." I happen to believe she's exactly right.