create this, yourself

its raining so naturally i am blogging. right? either that or nap, eat french onion soup or watch a movie eh?

my giant mug of hot spearmint tea is craddled in my hand. well now, i put it down to type.
but it is oh so cozy this lovely monday.
i haven't freely blogged in a long time
which is sad, because i really enjoy the release and the time to think.

um im in love. i always am. it's because life is so good.
did you know that?
LIFE IS GOOD MAN
serious. check it out.
i always always come back to the conclusion that i am surrounded with and blessed with the best people and great opportunities. i really am aware of how much God loves me and those around me. there is so much happiness if we choose to have it.

i have studied about success and goals recently. kind of re-evaluating where i am going. and i think i do this re-evaluation/re-write my goals every 2 days. which is the best. i have mounds of lists around my room. stuffed in journals. some of the same goals jump from list to list, these long term goals. and thats ok. i recently got to check off several goals that i had set out for in the beginning of the summer. exciting. progression!

i often times feel like 90% of the world is ok with being mediocre. and i feel that way because that is exactly how it is. and i can't stand the idea of being among that majority. i don't think my natural abilities are any better than another being's but i refuse to let myself be stagnant, waiting, plataeu. people get comfortable. "this is nice, it works, meets my needs, easy enough". i can't do it. so i push myself. my "psychology of selling" book talks about these 90% of people and how their mind keeps them there, not moving, not progressing. this is not only in a career sense, but in all aspects of life. physical goals, educational goals, family goals, spiritual goals, etc. if someone is lazy/complacent in one of these areas it is probable that they are in all aspects.

growth and progression is a choice. it is a mental state. i wrote in my journal the other day during a lesson.. "Get up and DO something. Do not be ok with mediocre. Push toward divine potential" my teacher told us, " you have no idea of your actual potential. it is so much greater than you can imagine." so we need to let our minds go.

taking a step outside our comfort zone is the ONLY way to progress. staying where we are does us no good.
something i have really learned in my sales at work and have now began to apply to my life is this theory, "if you never fail, then you will never grow". DONT MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GROW. don't miss the opportunity to fail.

in that same sales book (which has doubled my sales by the way and has made me much happier and comfortable at work) the author Bryan Tracy relays how all of the top leaders, richest people on earth, and ceo's of large companies ALL ARE GOAL SETTING people. they write them down. they ponder them and work on them. they refer back to them DAILY. this is the key to success.

i have been writing out goals ever since i can remember. ask my mom.
they began when i was young as lists of "things to do" or lists of homework assignments when i was in junior high. they have morphed into lists of life goals, specific goals for 4 different aspects of life, "physical, career/educational, spiritual, financial". i even have a list of 1 month, 3 month, and 6 month goals on top of that. i take the most important and pressing goal from each area and make a list of what i must do to achieve that goal (which then, you see, is a list of more smaller goals).

some people think its crazy that i don't watch tv. i have a hard time figuring out how to even turn it on with 3 remotes these days. but with all my goals, and my dreams, how could i waste my time like that? i think almost everything i do (except for my rare leisure time to de-stress) is for the purpose of achieving one of my main goals. and that is a great and exhausting thing, my friends. but it is a very fulfilling way to live.

during that lesson i spoke of earlier, he also quote something like this, "successful people do the things that unsuccessful/lazy people arn't willing to do. not because they enjoy it, but because it is necessary." i wrote down, "never be content, never be satisfied with where you are. always move forward to something better" our best today can always be increased to something greater. we each have a divine potential that only one can see. that is our Creator. i often have clients at the gym that look at what i ask them to do and immediately say, "i can't". that shouldn't be in our vocabulary. then i ask them to TRY. and they do. and they succeed becuase i would never give them something that i didn't think they could do safely. same thing with our father in heaven. he will never give us a challenge that is too hard to bear and overcome. we all get to the point in our day/ in our run/ in our set of biceps curls/ in our studying where we say "thats it, i can't do any more, im done." but at that moment we need to push ourselves everytime just a little bit more. you can always do a little bit more than what you think you can.

you have to learn to overcome your mind.


ah, end rant. so maybe this is a good time to set a couple goals...

BEFORE THE YEAR IS UP::

--running 10 miles (signed up for half marathon for beginning of year)
--2 temple trips a month
--finish "the miracle of forgiveness"
--thoroughly study "preach my gospel"
--begin saving for new wide angle lense (yeee!)
--study yoga
--read another palanuik book
--take clients on a 10k
-credit card paid off



-move to hawaii? utah?
IF I STAY
-yoga instructor cert
-ace cert
-womens soccer team





<3<3

darth vader candy proposals

is exactly what happened here.
toni and brandon are in love
and are to be sealed in the beautiful Oakland Temple next month!
hip pip horray!
im excited to shoot at the temple again. stunning.
i love love stories