Loving Life Blog

Spur of the Moment Reflections

Here is Your Life March 6, 2010

I came back from another movie by Jan Troell last night. The Spirit Awards that took place in Los Angeles had nominated the previous film I saw, “Everlasting Moments” for “Best Foreign film” – but Jan Troell himself was present with us in San Rafael.

The movie “Here is your life” (1966), taking place in the early 20th century was based on Eyvind Johnson’s semi-bioautographical books. The film was mainly in black and white and almost 3 hours long, with a built in 10 minutes break. Here are three things that stood out for me in the movie:

1) Business practice reminder. Olof, 16, was about to bike away to set up posters for the next movie at the Cinema graphic Theatre – the owner leans out the window and shouts, “The life of the nation is business! I want you to wear tie – remember that you represent the business.”

Not only is it important that you make sure your employees/colleagues have the same values and represent the company in a unified way – ultimately, you would also want to make sure that your 3rd parties represent the same values. That stroke me earlier this week when I went to yoga. Stressed from not finding parking and eventually finding out about the deal the yoga studio have with a garage close by, I pull up by the entrance to get a ticket by the gatekeeper. That man said “Welcome to your yoga practice” in a way and with a warm smile, so that I felt as if I had already come to the yoga studio. Brilliant. I’d be happy to park there again.

2) Make the Dream significant. As a special effect in the movie, there was a reoccurring sequence of a flying bird with a colored background, which gave a contrast to the otherwise black and white picture. In the Q&A Jan Troell gave the explanation why. The color was a symbol for the dream; the bird was a symbol for Olof’s longing for a new life and freedom; for this boy becoming an author or writer.

Intentional dreaming is powerful. Eyvin Johnson grew up from the working class up north, to receiving the Nobel price in literature 1974.

3) Freeze the frame. In a bicycle lecture scene John Troell had chosen to include a series of frozen frames. “The expressions in the face of the girl was so fantastic and they would just disappear if you did it the normal way.”

If you experience an extraordinary moment – take some time to freeze the frame and enjoy. Take a photo or a note to self, and make the moment last.

Coming home I researched the result from the Spirit Award and came over an article from New York Times with the below photo. I can’t help believing that there is no coincidence why Jan Troell is here right now. The man behind the masterpieces “The Emigrants,” “The New Land,” “The Flight of the Eagle” based on Vilhelm Moberg’s books. Just days after a conversation with Michael E. Gerber about the above, the Law of Jante in Sweden, and the question: where did the Viking spirit go?

Looking at the photos, I believe there are more things than the hat that the two gentlemen have in common. As the last comment was at the Q&A last night: “Jan Troell brings life [and soul] to the movie, and to us”. I would say: “Michael E. Gerber brings life and soul to business, and to us.”

If I can bring just a little bit of joy and love of [or in – or both?!] life to you – I would be happy. Ultimately, I would love for you to capture your journey. Here is your life.

Stay tuned,
Johanna

Michael E. Gerber - Author to "Awakening the Entrepreneur Within"

Michael E. Gerber, author of The E-myth and Awakening the Entrepreneur Within.

Jan Troell filmin "Everlasting Moments"

Jan Troell filming "Everlasting Moments"

Johanna Nilsson and Michael E. Gerber

 

Everlasting Moments March 3, 2010

May I introduce to you, one of the world’s greatest filmmakers: Jan Troell.

That was the beginning of a very impactful experience Saturday evening at The Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA. Had I known which treat I was up for, I would have let you know and spread the word ahead of time. And luckily I just realized that there will be a warmly recommended repeat at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley Thursday night. And more. Check out the above links for details of the complete program.

“Jan Troell is to me a genuine, outstanding genius…an extraordinarily singular, totally original and deeply inspirational director.” Ingmar Bergman (1997)

If I would add to this statement, there are three things that I have learnt about Jan Troell: he is humble, self-taught and his personal favorite among his movies is “The land of dreams” (1988).

Saturday night he said that the reason for the pick of that movie was 1) his daughter Yohanna had the leading role in it at the age of 3.5 and 2) it started as a need to express a feeling at the time being Swedish. In an article in SFGate where he was interviewed last week he said to explain what it was about “I tried to put it in one sentence and it was something like this: “the increasing absence of life in Sweden.” If the state interferes too much with the individual, with the best intentions, it can backfire. That’s to simplify it very much.”

It makes me think of a comment by Michael E Gerber, calling the entrepreneurial spirit in the American population: “We don’t need Obama, just as we didn’t need Bush – we need you”. And you don’t need to have an MBA or a high degree of some sort, to make a difference. Start with what really moves you.

Jan and Agneta Troell at Smith Rafael Film Center, February 27 2010

What made the evening with Jan Troell very special was the beautiful and touching movie, the personal introduction of it, and the presentation of its origination and Q&A together with his wife Agneta. At a deeper level it connected to what is important for me, thoughts about my deceased father’s family’s history that I wish I new more about, and to the product I am about to create. What if you can document your own history as you go? Not only in words and pictures, but also in a way that has structure and supports you in reaching your goals and dreams; and provides you with inspiration from your own progress.

I won’t tell you about the story. To quote Jan Troell: “I never read reviews of movies that I will see. I want to get my own impression. What’s good to know though is the name of it…”

The name is “Everlasting Moments”. And seriously – what if you can create them?

Enjoy,

Johanna

The Cinema of Jan Troell: Sat. through March 6, Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. Troell will be present at several screenings. (415) 454-1222, links.sfgate.com/ZJEY. Troell will attend a screening of “Everlasting Moments” at 7 p.m. March 4 at the Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft, Berkeley. (510) 642-1412, bampfa.berkeley.edu.

The film series is organized by the California Film Institute in association with the Swedish Institute, Stockholm, and the Consulate General of Sweden, San Francisco

 

Rule #1… It’s Golden. March 2, 2010

Yesterday morning I took time to open an email from Simple Truths titled “Rule #1… It’s Golden”. Click this link to see the 3-minute inspirational movie, filled with powerful quotes, colorful pictures and moving music:

http://www.simpletruths.tv/store/movies.php?movie=tpoa

Dreams – A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (Chinese proverb).

Purpose – your vision becomes clear when you look inside your heart.

Passion – Belief fuels passion, and passion rarely fails. (M. Anderson)

People are like sticks of dynamite: The power on the inside… but nothing happens, until the fuse gets it.

Courage – is not always the roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day that says, “I will try again tomorrow”.

Goals – take the long view, one day at a time.

Stay positive. You become what you think about. (Earl Nightingale)

Attitudes truly are contagious – so ask yourself one question: is mine worth catching?

Really – what is the impact of your attitude? Does it help you? Will that carry you to your goal? Business results? Create the ambiance you want? Relationships and interactions?

Rule #1: The power of attitude… This was a little piece of reminder that served me when kicking off my day yesterday. Hope it can serve you as well. Let’s make the journey enjoyable, and the impact mind-blowing. Why not? Go for it!

Enjoy your day!

Johanna

 

Buying Water is Dodgy February 20, 2010

Filed under: Entrepreneur,Inspiration — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 3:27 pm
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Sometimes very little is needed to have a positive impact in the world. Take for example the act of buying bottled water. How annoying can that be? Water is PreciousNo matter how much information there is about it – there might be many reasons why many people are still uninformed, and keep going on with the same destructive behavior.

Recently I got invited to the facebook group “Drick kranvatten för i helvete!” (“Drink tap water dam it!”) which reminded me about the topic. Little did I know that Swedes drink 260m liters bottled water per year. We import 180m liters (350% more than 5 years ago!) and export 30m liters (that’s an interesting exchange)! Maybe the graphic display below can help understand the impact of it (click to see the complete picture). If you don’t trust your tap water – get a water pitcher with a filtration system!

When visiting a restaurant in the bay area in December, I for the first time saw the sign on the table saying: “Water is Precious on California’s Central Coast. Limited water supplies make it necessary to serve water only when you request it. If you would like a glass of water, please ask. Thank you”. Never before have I been that mindful about the water I drank. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to make sure to stay and finish that precious glass of water.

My personal wake up call was a while back when I (driving around with a 12-pack of bottled water in my car) got the comment from a friend in the fashion of a clear statement: “Buying water is dodgy”. Simple as that.

“Många bäckar små blir till en stor å.” as we say in Swedish – “Many small brooks will form a big river.” How can you make a difference?

Or, to turn it up just a notch, move it to an entrepreneurial context and quote the Inc.com nominated #1 small business guru Michael E. Gerber:

“We are here for a reason. We are here to create Earth. If you would believe that – how would you live your life?”

What life relating and entrepreneurial ideas does that quote invoke in you?
Mindfully yours,

Johanna

Presented by Online Education
The Facts About Bottled Water

 

Time to Steal Second Base! October 30, 2009

Late night and I am reading an email from Simple Truths promoting a book with motivational quotes… and there is a selection of the 20 best.  I stripped it down to 3 – for clear reasons they spoke to me right now:

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.~Henry Ford

Makes me think back to the leadership program where we did a number of exercises that required true teamwork, creativity and persistence. Whether the task was to figure out the rules and each time we broke one we had to start over, or the rules were laid out loud and clear but the task was very difficult and each time we broke one rule we had to start over – the spoken word was “begin again!”; and that’s what we did.  (It’s like in yoga when meditating – as soon as your mind starts wondering away you tell yourself “Thinking!” and get back to focus on the breathing). Back to base line. The amount of energy that was created in the process was huge; all derived from the wanting to figure it out, to reach the finish line and make it happen. We had a purpose. And doing it over and over again creates a pattern – there wasn’t even a thought of failure – it was just a little recap and thinking and on it again! With that attitude you will reach the finish line.

You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.~Wayne Gretsky

I haven’t come across this quote before, but a close friend of mine just told it to me an hour ago. With other words, as my father said on the phone this morning: you can’t win if you don’t try.

Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.~Frederick B. Wilcox

That is so true. That quote brings me back to a couple of years ago when I wrote a proposal for a new responsibility structure for my group at work. I can smile at it now, but I was a little concerned thinking, “If I give all of these responsibilities away to my proposed direct report – what will I then do?” Did I make myself jobless? No. Did I get my plate full? Yes, and more than. Was there growth? Plenty. Was there risk? Probably not as much as I thought. But the lesson is still there – had I not created time and space by delegating responsibilities – or leaving the first base – there wouldn’t have been room to take on new responsibilities and expand the horizon with those. Which first base are you sticking to although you are long past due to move on? What is stopping you? How big is the risk really? What would the worst case look like if it didn’t work out?

You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first… my tired slightly creative mind imagine the scenario of leaving the first base, full force forward – and then half way to second base pops this question up – then what?  What if you don’t know the rules of the game? Because I clearly don’t. My friend’s comment pops up in my mind from when we played tennis in Budapest 1993 “but Johanna – this isn’t ballet” [I was just reaching with the racquet for the ball, but apparently in a ballerina fashion]… which turned my imaginary scenario into a dance – free dance. What if you really would apply the principle of Nia, to dance your body’s way? To create from nothing… or from your own core. Then it will end up like a lesson with my legendary ever so energetic and enthusiastic statistic professor from Stockholm School of Economics, who would give us a lesson on derivatives, and very involved fill the black board writing this extremely long formula from top left to bottom right three times over that magically will end up with the solution. Tada! All the students will sit there with big eyes, quietly and frenetically trying to capture everything he says and write. And Professor Håkan Lyckeborg will always end up with a big smile, turn to the students and say “Isn’t that beautiful!?” Like magic. I like it. And I do need sleep – that is important!

Last day tomorrow as full time employee. It’s time to gradually leave the first base and create space for a new. A new.

Join me on the joy ride! At least The Ride. I’ll be happy to join yours (as a cheering, loving, kick-ass coach down in the corner)!
Hold tight!
Johanna

By the way – stealing the second base was not what we ended up doing after that I posted on Facebook that Keeva was looking for bases… But we did find two great bass singers – come and hear them at the concert tomorrow!

Date: Friday, October 30th
Time: 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Place: Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez Street at 23rd, San Francisco
Price: Free for folks in costume; suggested $7 donation for all others
Food: Various tricks and treats will be available

 

From American Idiot to Great American… September 19, 2009

Filed under: coaching,Entrepreneur,Swedish-American — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 1:30 pm
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I had the privilege to get tickets to the World Premier of the Rock Opera “American Idiot”, based on the hit album by Green Day of the same name. It was a tempo filled performance at Berkley Repertory Theater Wednesday night by a very talented group of musical artists. The anticipation was high, the house was full and the standing ovations rocking. So was the opening party. I can warmly recommend the show!

You may recognize this song, Boulevard of Broken Dreams:

However, American idiots and broken dreams were not what I intended to write about – rather the contrary. Something that captures the spirit of the American Dream. One lesson the entrepreneur & CEO freedom fighter Christine Comaford learnt by Bill Gates in terms of growing a business, reducing risk and securing revenue was “Sell first, build later”. Ask provocative questions and find the need of your individual clients. Find the pain of the clients, come up with and sell the solution that will remove it. Know that you with your commitment, capability and connections can make it happen.

You could also market your idea and create a buzz before it actually has been materialized. One individual who did just that was the now entrepreneur and CEO Coach Mark Friedler. As an exchange student [correct me if I’m wrong Mark] in Stockholm, Sweden, 22 years ago he realized in essence that Swedes “suffer from the pain” of not having American Chocolate Chip Cookies. After a successful sample test serving cookies in Humlegården, by the Royal Library in Stockholm, he happened to step into the same elevator as a visiting journalist from the Wall Street Journal. That is literally when an elevator pitch comes handy! Sharing his story resulted in the below notice in the WSJ and later on the creation of what today still exist as American Cookies in Gallerian in Stockholm.

Mark was this weeks keynote speaker at the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce (SACC) San Francisco/Silicon Valley’s monthly luncheon with the topic “10 tools to grow your bottom line”. Life was too busy to let you know ahead of time – but keep your eyes open, I’m sure he will appear elsewhere. The next mothts speaker will be the founder of Craigslist!

What is the pain that you can identify with your clients? What could you create as a solution to remove it? What do you need to do to sell it and close the deal?

I went to the concert yesterday with “The Pain of Being Pure at Heart” at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The concert was OK, but I have secure sources that say the group will become very big, so I kept the ticket ;). I loved the facility. The promoter in me looked around with the eyes of “what event can be created here?” It would be perfect for a US release party of Spotify – I guess I should sell them the idea! Anyone wanna join?

Go painkillers!
Johanna

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Dead Man Attracts Love September 10, 2009

Welcome! I thought I would become a journalist – what do you think of my headline? Seriously, please read on – there lies something in it, as we would say in Swedish…

I started writing this last time I came back from yoga. Relaxed and happy – the session ended with a nice Savasana – dead man’s pose. Apparently it is the most challenging pose of them all, although it’s the one that seems the easiest. B.K.S. Iyengar wrote: deadmanspose

In this asana the object is to imitate a corpse. Once life has departed, the body remains still and no movements are possible. By remaining motionless for some time and keeping the mind still while you are fully conscious, you learn to relax. This conscious invigorates and refreshes both body and mind. But it is much harder to keep the mind than the body still. Therefore this apparently easy posture is one of the most difficult to master.

Keeping the mind still. It is good to practice. Not only to learn to relax, and refresh your body and mind, but also to allow things to happen. As Rusty put it at that time: “the biggest favor we sometimes can do to ourselves is to step out of our own way. To stop thinking, forcing or manipulating something to happen. Sometimes the quickest way to create what we really want is to step out of the way and let it happen.

The following evening I attended an entrepreneurship event organized by TiE – The Global Network of Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.  The title was “Wisdom From Past Entrepreneurs – The Dirty Little Secrets that No One Talks About” presented by the CEO Freedom Fighter Christine Comaford. Christine is a business accelerator referred by individuals such as Bill Clinton and Bill Gates. She has track record like few – check this video for a taste of her wisdom to help you as an entrepreneur avoid the mistakes that keep you overworked, underpaid, and feeling trapped by your business. As a former Buddhist monk (aside from software engineer, geisha trainee, entrepreneur and venture capitalist) one of her key tips at the end was “keep the mind still daily”. She recommended Eckhart Tolles latest books “Stillness Speaks”, and she reiterated what I have said beforeit is so often in that stillness that you find a great idea or the solution you have been looking for.

Next morning I receive an email from my leadership group where one individual shares along the same lines on a personal level:  “Awareness is just that…staying without judgment, feeling without adding shoulds, and in the end, being able to look into my own eyes and see the joy and strength and beauty of the moment – awareness of the moment is the connection to the heart…. connection to the heart is connection to everything else that exists in the Universe.  […] I have gained quite a swatch of grey hairs over the past year – and the peace I feel in my heart is allowing me to step into my role as an elder with courage and incredible enthusiasm.  While I have lost what I thought was the love of my life, I have gained what I know to be the life of my love.” So beautifully put. It made me think of the introductory words of a book I had just come across: Enchanted Love, by Marianne Williamson. “Forget logic. Forget your head. Open your heart, and come with me.” Now I am curious what more it has to say.

Dead man’s pose in reality – how attractive is that? Maybe more than you think.

With love,

Johanna

 

Full Stop August 22, 2009

Filed under: coaching,Entrepreneur,Health,Inspiration — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 9:17 am
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Time to reflect. I have gotten a lot of interesting and motivating comments and messages sent to me relating my blog. This one was sent yesterday, which made me want to comment.

“It is easy to be loved when one’s young, when employed, when healthy… when beautiful, when blond, when twenties, when wealthy. Actually one of the hardest thing for wealthy people is to find out who their real friends are. Who are the people around them, friends or beneficiaries of their wealth?”

Thank you for sharing! Several thoughts are coming to me as I read this and I am going to dissect this a little bit.

It is easy based on the look of things to assume that someone is young, healthy and wealthy. It is easy to assume that “love is easily accessible for them, but not for me”.

What does that assumption serve? Who is really talking – you or your gremlin? I would say that it is a limiting belief by the gremlin that would cut you short by listening to it. So please don’t. Open up for love. It is here for all of us!

And would it make a difference if that one person in reality were getting closer to the forties, gray hair and unemployment? Or is it the attitude and energy that the person is radiating that is of importance?

From that perspective I do agree on most of your points – it is probably easier to be loved when one is young, employed, healthy, beautiful and wealthy. Let me clarify my definitions when I say that: Young in mind. Employed by something you enjoy. Leading a healthy life. Beautiful soul. Wealthy at heart. We all can strive towards that.

Talking about Friends and Wealth…

I can’t personally relate to your example – but I have seen with my own eyes examples of friends disappearing when personal success or health is gone. It may be difficult – but it is the remaining friends that matter. This is another way to look at it:

To have a friend is great. But, to be a friend is the most helpful thing anyone can be. In doing so, the one who is being the friend is also the one who is for sure enjoying the friendship.

What is wealth to you? To me, being financially astute whatever amount of funds you have is far more desirable and attractive than being rich. I am not denying that money helps, but it is not the most important thing. “Rich is a matter of the heart”, as the artist and painter from La Jolla, California, Sally Huss expressed. I just visited her website, and would love to share some happy musings of hers:

clipped from www.sallyhuss.com
The accumulation of wealth looks a lot like a gathering of friends.
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What Real Wealth Looks Like
“The accumulation of wealth looks a lot like a gathering of friends.”
Better than a friend is a group of friends, the more the merrier. To gather friends is a great art. Dennis Wood is such an artist. Although Dennis has never met a stranger, he has also never met a person who was not his friend.
Dennis came to work for our company 20 years ago. It didn’t matter what he was asked to do, he figured out how to do it and do it well. But one of the best things that Dennis figured out how to do was make friends. Everyone who worked for us loved Dennis. The suppliers loved Dennis. The customers loved Dennis. UPS and Mail Clerks loved Dennis. There was not a place where Dennis went that he didn’t leave a trail of friends.
There was another interesting thing about Dennis. He had a key ring filled with keys. He was in charge of a lot of things, but there were more keys than there were things to be in charge of. The keys hung on Dennis’ belt and made their presence known as Dennis walked about.
There always seemed to me to be a correlation between the many keys and the many friends. I thought perhaps that Dennis had many answers, therefore many keys to creating friends. Maybe it was just one key – Dennis, who knew that being a friend first guaranteed that the other person in the equation was automatically captured. In this way they became a part of his inner key ring – the one around his heart.
Dennis has moved on to his own endeavors, but we are still attached with hardly a beat skipped, even though we may not speak with each other for months at a time. Dennis is one of the wealthiest people I know. And he makes me wealthier myself for having him as a friend.

clipped from www.sallyhuss.com
Your friends are your assets. Guard them well
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Count Your Friends, Count Your Assets
“Your friends are your assets. Guard them well.”
Friends are assets whose values are unknown. But they are assets for sure. I remember reading a story of a man of great wealth who lost everything he had in the great depression of 1939. At the moment the market crashed and he realized all his money was gone he remembered he had friends – and he had an idea.

Horseracing had become legal again in America and he wanted to build the finest racing establishment in the country. He no longer had financial assets, so no banks would loan him money. Instead, he took his idea and began knocking on friends’ doors. Many were not interested, but a few were, including the famous crooner Bing Crosby and the owner of one of the top racing stables, William Howard. Monies were gathered. Ranch land was purchased near the San Gabriel Mountains in California . And the magnificent Santa Anita Racetrack was created. It has been one of the primer racetracks for over 60 years and enjoyed by millions of people during that time. It came into being because a man with an idea had as his only assets, friends.

clipped from www.sallyhuss.com
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“You can find something beautiful anywhere you look, if you are looking for something beautiful.”

I remember long ago in Psychology 101 my teacher explaining how a need or intention alerted the subconscious to bring to the forefront those things that fulfilled that need or intention. The example he gave at that time was that if you were driving along a highway and became hungry, you would continually notice restaurants along the way. Naturally, that’s an easy one and one that we have all experienced. But, in the same way you can find something beautiful anywhere you look, if you are looking for something beautiful.

Right now, it is very important to look for something beautiful, something positive, something uplifting. These things are everywhere. The intention sets your sifting mechanism and the things you are looking for will be found. There is much to see and much to distract us from the better things in life. Sometimes those distractions are of the coarsest, loudest and most unseemly of things available in our realm. But we can make adjustments — change channels, change stations, change locations, change friends. As we do, we make way for the beautiful things.

The really good things are the subtle things, the sweet things, the things that lift our spirits. We need to look for them. They are there in our surroundings whether those surroundings are of nature or are filled with high rises and people.

This idea of looking for something beautiful must also be applied to ourselves. How important is it that we see our own beauty? Very. Not that we created it, but we can certainly appreciate it and find it by looking for it.

I knew a woman once who was brimming with self-appreciation. She and her husband ran a popular restaurant in Palm Desert, California. She was just beautiful! Yet her face was covered with wrinkles. She was a great skier, tennis player and swimmer and obviously, lover of the sun. Not one wrinkle covered her beauty. I always admired her because she was as she was, which was an exception to the local women who tended to try to correct every “blemish” with cosmetic surgery. Yes, it was easy to see this woman’s beauty, even if you were not looking for it.

When I look in the mirror, I could see only the wrinkles on my face. But then, I would miss the light in my eyes or the underlying beauty of the life that is within that is forever working towards well-being. So, I honor that life by smiling at this hidden beauty.

You can always find something beautiful anywhere you look, if you are looking for something beautiful because it is looking for you.

clipped from www.sallyhuss.com
HMTC20090828[1]
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How To Get Your Man (or Woman)
“If you wish to have a love in your life, because you wish you will. And because you know this is true, smile until you do.”

There are too many people out there without a close friend or a loved one in their life. Yet as life on the outside gets tougher, colder and more demanding, the needs of the heart become even greater.

We all need warmth and we need to share our warmth. The sun in the sky warms us on the outside, of course, but it is the sun on the inside that really warms us. It is the sun in our own hearts that likes to shine, expand and share its contents. It also likes to receive the same. Why not? That’s the way we are constructed. A heart is not meant to languish. It needs to be used and exercised. Love is the answer.

Why are there so many people without love in their lives? Too busy? No! Too disconnected? No! Too discouraged? No! Too unworthy? Not really! Too afraid of rejection or being hurt? Not buying it! It is forgetfulness!! They’ve just forgotten how to use the heart. Again, love is the answer.

Love first and all good things will come to you, including that special person to be in love with. That’s the thing: be in love right here, right now.

What about love? Love is that effervescent feeling that wafts from the heart, leaving you on top of the world and better for it. The beauty of the heart is that it is so close. Open its door and let the contents spill out. Practice on small things like a flower, a peach, a dog, then move to grander targets like a walk on the beach, a starry sky, or a heavenly concert. Beyond this, that love can grow to all sorts of things and all sorts of people, until the whole day is filled with love.

Not only is the heart close, but it is in the center of a person, more precisely, is the center of a person. So, as a person loves, he or she benefits by its emanations first and foremost. Those vibrations go through the loving person on the way to something or someone outside. That’s how to be in love. Create your own ocean of this good stuff. Let it fill every nook and cranny of yourself and then spill out to all that is around you. At that point your special person, who is meant just for you, can’t help but show up. He or she will be caught up in the stream and whirled into sight.

So there, go ahead, be in love now, and then you’ll be ready to truly be in love with. Because you know this is true, smile until you do!

Much love to you all!
Johanna

 

This Time I Dance! August 16, 2009

Filed under: coaching,Entrepreneur,Inspiration,Johanna Nilsson,Loving Life — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 10:50 am
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Two years ago my acappella group Keeva went to Portland to sing at Chris’s, one of the members, wedding. The day after we were strolling around and enjoying the city. To avoid the rain we stepped into a bookstore – and there is this book starring at me: “This Time I Dance! Creating the work you love.” If you’re this successful doing work you don’t love, what could you do with work you do love?

Move mountains. I know. I continued reading – “If you’re ready to make the journey into the life of living your dreams, Tama J. Kieves is the tour guide you’ve been looking for… Tama gives voice to the fearless spirit within each of us. If you want to wake up to your own passion, read this book. It will open your heart and guide you home.” Very nice – I recommend it!

The author Tama J. Kieves is an honors graduate of Harvard Law School who left her practice with a large corporate firm to pursue a writing career and embolden others to live and breathe their most meaningful self-expression. Today there is the book, workshops, study groups etc – look it up on meetup.com, I’m sure you’ll find some.  Or read the book and start one.

Start dance to your own music, or just add the instrument that is missing, and trust the journey. If something like this would happen – then we know what to do. Break down, get up, and move on!

Shake it babe! 😉 Hopefully the dance looks more like this:

I am just telling ya – get ready wedding party! (Imagine that – “Wedding party audition, this direction->” OK, let’s not get too excited – no pressure anyone.) THIS was the actual wedding we attended in Portland. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY Michell!)

Whatever situation you are in – keep dancing through life!

Johanna

Oh – you want more?! OK – go for this – some real “Dirty Dancing!” Nobody will put Baby in a corner…

 

When Life Gets Busy August 12, 2009

IMG_2238When life gets busy and starts running a little faster then yourself in terms of activities, ambitions, responsibilities, thoughts and ideas – then it’s very easy to fall out of a healthy track. It’s very easy due to the excitement or dedication to skip a meal, to eat at awkward times, to prioritize the “to do” and “just finish up” rather than the break, the fruit, the workout.

Whenever life has been too busy and there has been a sense of insufficiency or a problem unsolved my dad’s standard advice has always been: “go for a run!” Work out.

It is so true – whenever I do I come back relaxed with a sense of tiredness AND recharged, full of energy and strength – isn’t that an awesome combination?! How many times have I almost not done it, and afterwards felt like the happiest individual on earth? And how many times has THAT idea or solution come up during a run in the forest? Many. I shouldn’t need to remind myself. I’m sure you don’t need a reminder either.

With activities gearing up at my daytime job, coaching awesome clients in my spare time job, and ideas forming and contacts are being made for my future job… I do sense a need of staying close to myself in terms of routines and piece of mind. Having a structure in life that feeds you and keeps you on track can be immensely valuable. It may be going for a run, a yoga session or to the gym regularly in the morning. It may be meditating or journaling. Making sure you get your sleep. It may be cooking your own food and socializing with friends and family. It may be simplifying things and having a very tidy home. Clean car. It may be cranking up the music and releasing all your extra energy in a tribal dance in your living room!? :O

What tools or routines do you have to stay on track when life gets busy?

Johanna

 

 
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