Loving Life Blog

Spur of the Moment Reflections

go Go GO! August 20, 2009

Low fares in the air!!! SAS has sales on tickets to Scandinavia – if you have a little extra time for vacation before December 16 – do check it out!

Just an example: San Francisco – Stockholm from $247 – THAT is hard to beat! I checked, and it is only one way… it is still a good price though. Pretty much half the normal cost. Click here to see the complete list of destinations and departure cities.

Do you need inspiration? Go to www.visitsweden.com. Read the “Take a chance on Sweden” article in Times Online and start dreaming about the future ;). Go in December and experience the light in the darkness – Lucia Procession December 13!

Just do it! go Go GO!

Johanna

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Detected… June 17, 2009

No! It’s been detected… “You seem to have moved since you downloaded the software. Spotify is not yet available in your country…” I could not log in. Devastating. Sort of. 😉 I was sooo excited about having successfully downloaded the Spotify software on my computer during my last visit to Sweden, and the fact that it actually worked in the US upon my return to San Francisco. YAY! Finally! I [hope I am sure I] entertained all my neighbors with great music, I threw a Spotify Preview Party for all my friends (and their friends), I discovered some great new artists… and rediscovered old goodies. Among those Titiyo’s “Come Along” was continuously returning to the play list for the two weeks of music ecstasy… And now this.

Makes me think of Mark Levengood when he was the master of ceremony at the holiday concert Stjärnjul. It’s a heartfelt outstanding annual concert that I warmly recommend if you happen to be in Stockholm December time – 2009 tickets are available from today! (Mom – your seat is secured 😉 ). Mark was in his role telling short stories in-between the songs, with his calm humoristic style and distinct Swedish-Finish dialect. His grand-ma was a key figure in them and there is one line that I clearly remember that was her response to a devastating situation: “Det är bara å bryta ihop och gå vidare”. You just gotta break down, and move on.

So move on… (I already broke down). I got a CD in my mail yesterday! “Busy doin nothin” from a friend in Brazil (THANK YOU Lasse!). I have been begging him to release some CDs – people would love them – and now I hear that Pod Casts are on the way… waiting. I could also wait for the US release of Spotify by the end of the year. Or find a way to still be able to use it. Hack Internet. Become a premium user with “unlimited travel”. Maybe I should apply for a position with them and become their US rep! It’s in my genes to promote things and people that I care about and that inspires me. Specially if there is a Swedish connection. What a dream position, and also at the same time realize my dream of bridging Sweden and California. (No worries – I will still keep coaching!) What is your dream position? Or dream situation in life?

What ever you want to do or create – the one tip that has repeatedly come back to me during the last few days is ACT. ACTION. Just one step at a time. Get the ball rolling. Feel the energy coming… A couple of places that can be of inspiration for you are:

1) A presentation by Brian Tracy Achievement in Action. Don’t miss the last two minutes. Don’t quit! 

2) The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur’s blog post about I Am A Failure – The Biggest Lie Out There. My friend and competent Business Coach Jane Pollak has contributed with tip #109 on the list: Action is the magic word. 

Go act, be unstoppable and get detected! 

Johanna

 

Avoir la pêche. June 12, 2009

Filed under: Entrepreneur,Health,Language,Promotion — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 7:38 am

I walked out the door yesterday morning catching myself almost forgetting to bring a fruit. Not that it is something that I always do – but, it’s sort of been the habit of the week, and I like it! Being in the process of brushing up my French I thought when going back out: “Bonne, j’ai la pêche!’ . Literally translated as, “[Great, I am] having the peach,” it means [I am] being in high spirits, having a lot of energy, feeling great physically and/or mentally — in other words, feeling peachy! It is an informal expression that is only used in casual conversation, but is not vulgar. (And the last piece I found when I googled the expression at work, and came to the very nice food blogg Chocolate & Zucchini.)

I am often amused by expressions, idioms, sayings and how they translate over languages. And now I am going into deep water, because I am an expert at mixing them up… you are welcome to correct me! “All roads lead to Venice, right?” (Geneva 2000). So what do we say in Sweden? Relating to peaches we have “hud mjuk som en persika”, a [facial] skin smooth as a peach; or could it be that the expression “kärnfrisk” is also derived from here since kärna also means stone (the center of the peach) – healthy to the core. I’d like to think so.

My instant recipe of feeling healthy to the core is to do some kind of movement form: dancing, Nia, 5 Rhythms – or right now more often yoga. I have my favorite class of Rusty Wells at Yoga Tree in Castro (outstanding – you must try!) across the city. But since he is a globetrotter wanted for his teachings around the world I found out that his great assistant Brad teaches a few blocks from where I live. So yesterday I received an email with the subject “Fwd: 63% Off Five Power Yoga Classes” from my friend Mari and dog walker, who also knows everything about this city, saying: Maybe this is something for you? This was the coolest thing. Not only that it was a great deal at the pad yoga studio that I had been intending to go the last couple of weeks, but also, I was introduced to the concept of Groupons. So great! Have you heard about it? OK – so for you guys and gals who are looking for great deals this is were to go as clients, but also for you entrepreneurs who have a service or a product to offer, this is a great way to market your product and get a bunch of clients in a day! The deal was “sign up for x number of 5-session classes for $30 each. We need to sell minimum 20 by the end of the day. Only if we do, your credit card will be charged”. At noontime when I purchased my couple of 5 sessions they had sold 97 of them already. Imagine that! Get your offer out there and bring your clients in!

Happy clients, thriving business, healthy core – a la pêche!
Johanna

 

 
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