So Step One found you moving on up to the place where we all belong – the top of our list!

And Step Two found you scribbling little love notes to yourself. Keep them coming. And maybe write one for your partner, spouse, child, friend, co-worker, neighbor, etc. You get the idea. Expand the love out to the universe. Write it down and let the love continue to flow. Who knows the Nobel Prize for Love could be yours one day! Right after I receive mine.

Step Three will get you off the furniture and exercising your right to be fit and trim.  

Step Three: Shake it. Move it. Walk it off. Work up a sweat. Get your body moving and grooving.  The reports just came out we as a nation are becoming heavier and less fit. Colorado was the only state to have the least number of obese people but it is an alarming 18.9%.  In 1991 not one state had an obsess rate higher than 20 %.( Trust for America’s Health Report). Yikes!

I have a confession to make. I have been a bit of a slacker in the area of Step Three. But I promise to do better.  I do. I promise.

Start slow, but get off that sofa and put the Ding Dong down.  It all comes down to loving yourself enough to gift yourself with some extra years to be with your loved ones. So join a gym, get a buddy to go walking and lift some weights. Put the fork down after one serving and drink your water. If it doesn’t make a difference in your life, don’t eat it. If you would kill for it then I would say have two spoonfuls and then put it away. A little more savoring means a little less laboring at the gym.

I got a pedometer strapped to me and from the looks of it, my yellow lab and I have a date to walk another 2,000 steps right after dinner. Of course, we will have to stop every two feet. I have no idea what she is sniffing at (yes, I do) and I really don’t ask too many questions. I’m just gonna walk.  My butt off.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

        

All  their answers were brilliant and I thank them for their courage to be truthful (you all were, weren’t you?) and my hope is that all will  get so close to their dreams that they can feel it, taste it and know it to be true.

I also want to say that I am a very lucky woman to have these women in my life

Jennifer Ross, President & Marketing Strategist, http://activentrepreneur.com/

I actually started looking at what would make me happy a few years ago. It is not always so easy to identify what that is and I am still in the process of figuring that out. My career happiness centers around marketing, animals and health/fitness.From a health & fitness perspective I have taken a bunch of steps to explore those dreams including launching an entrepreneurial community that networks while being active, taking a 12 week personal training certification to explore the field and learn the basics, mentoring with an established personal trainer in return for some marketing help, and focusing a greater deal of effort and time on my own fitness by training for a mini triathlon.

Beth Costello, Artist and teacher www.bethcostellosimplyme.com

The one thing I have always wanted to do was to be an archaeologist, and travel the world digging up artifacts. Even before Indiana Jones arrived I was cutting pictures from National Geographic, and Archaeology magazines making scrapbooks. Two things I could do to bring me closer to this goal…hmm! 1) Research classes on line and go back to school. 2 )Find groups that allow you to pay to go on sites and dig for a length of time.

Furahi Achebe, Chemistry Consultant day job and President; Elite Media Productions LLC (every other moment)

I would work full time in media if the opportunity presented itself. I tried this in 2007 when I didn’t have the savings and I almost lost the house from under me and my kids. If I had funding for my video projects I’d quit my day job in a heartbeat.

I am already shooting my project at my own expense. As for the two steps I could take – 1) I need to seek funding and 2) get publicity.

Jane Beller – Educator

Become a travel guide in historic and exotic places

What 2 steps could you take to get closer to that goal/dream?

1) Learn Spanish

2) Get a connection with a tour company by traveling myself to exotic places. Maybe land a job with a travel company that has to set up trips. I already have people skills and the patience of a saint and am highly organized believe it or not.

Jane Cairns Irvine – Glassworks by JCI http://www.glassismyname.etsy.com

I would love to be able to make a large scale installation using recycled glass and other materials. something that would be shown in

the Museum of Art and design or MOMA or other contemporary art museum. Since completing my Waves of Change sculpture, I think the two steps that would bring me closer to this dream is to

1. Continue making more sculptures expanding on the idea in other ways 2. To send photos and information to curators of museums, press releases to art magazines and to newspapers.

Now that i have actually written this down, it seems attainable.

Kim Sisto Robinson: Educator, Writer, Freedom Fighter

I would travel to Kenya if given the opportunity. I would go to Kogony first and then Nairobi….see what I could do to empower girls….Meet Mercy Adhiambo (Mercy has been my connection to another world…another way of life. She has been my awakening to women’s oppression and how ignorance can kill…. Mercy is my friend, daughter, pen pal, and hero.
First step would be to do fund raising for money…(Which we do now for Mercy) and the second thing would be to get others aboard to make my vision happen….I believe when others have the same vision, our dreams come true faster!

Laurie Lawson CEC, PCC – Professional Life Coach – http://www.eljny.com/ and one half of the brilliant Coaches on the Edge blogging duo! And the only other queen in the group besides myself. http://www.skirt.com/user/8507/view

I feel fortunate that I (and fate) have maneuvered my life so that I pretty much get to do a lot of what I like already, but if I could pluck a blossom off the wishin’ tree, I think it would be that I would write that book that occasionally bubbles up inside me. Not very original I admit – who doesn’t want to write The Great American Novel? – but I enjoy writing. And even more importantly, I am positive that no one else has had the bizarre experiences I have had. My subject matter would probably be my stay in India where I lived on a guru’s ayurvedic farm with saints dressed in orange togas who were not allowed to speak directly to me while taking care of my husband. No, it’s not science fiction.

As with everything else in my life so far, the two steps that would get me there would be (1) decide to do it and (2) do it.

Sheryl Dluginski, Owner of Generations Fitness, LLC, a holistic fitness consulting business. http://www.generationsfitness.net

I would like to start and run an organization that makes holistic health services accessible and affordable to all.

Step 1: Re-organize operations in my current business in order to free up time and money which will then be re-directed toward this dream.

Step 2: Research pros and cons of possible types of organizations in order to make a decision on whether it will be a non-profit, a for-profit hybrid, a foundation or a co-op.

LAS – alas this mysterious woman is not wanted by any law enforcement agency

I think I would be infinitely happier if I could write — fiction or journalism or both — fulltime again. I also would like to be far from the madding crowd, but also closer to friends and family.

So my two steps to achieve those goals:

1) Stupidly in this job market, I might actually look for another job that puts writing first and foremost in the job description. However, I can always freelance, so I expect to — and it would be more practical for me — to look for opportunities in that marketplace.

2) Although it may seem foolish in this real estate market, we are also looking for another house closer to some family — and maybe a second home that our children can invest in/visit/inherit.

Meg Eilidh Greene, Writer

Meg is a freelancer in Connecticut. She visited Scotland for 5 weeks in 08-09 to research her epic historic fiction novel, THE RELIC-a tale of love and unlikely heroes set in Dark Ages Britain at the dawn of the Viking Age. In the process, she fell madly in love with the place and its people. She will return.

I’d like to hike St. Cuthbert’s Way (yes, there really was a St. Cuthbert) in the Scottish Border country from Melrose to Lindisfarne Island. It’s a marked trail with officially protected natural landscapes, however it does present opportunities to stop at the odd pub along the way. It’s also in or close to bird migratory patterns, so there is even more to see at certain times of the year.

I’ve already taken several steps:

I’ve spent some time in that area last year, so I know what the weather and terrain are like. I made friends who would put me up before and after the hike. I have a willing hiking companion in my daughter, Esme. I already own some outdoor gear that I could use.

Next I could get a job and start a little savings account earmarked for it.

After I do that hike, I could figure out the next hike I want to take.

S.J. Parrott

One thing I would try if the opportunity presented itself would be to be a cloistered nun. (Ok, you can stop laughing now.) Since the world has become decreasingly reverent toward God and increasingly immoral during the past 50 years of my life, I have come to realize that happiness is something not of this world. Happiness is all about heaven. It’s about serving God in the here and now. You see, I never thought I was “good enough” to be a nun when I was young, so I went to college, stumbled into love and into publishing, got married, had two children and voila, now I’m old and still seeking holiness.

To reach my goal presents a problem. My husband would have to perish and my daughter would need to be raised by someone else. My son is of legal age, but might think my late calling in life odd. Since neither step would be beneficial to me or to my family-it only would be beneficial to achieving the goal itself-I suddenly realize that I do not need to achieve the goal. I have heaven on earth and all the happiness I need and want. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Elizabeth.

CH would like to have been a nurse.
Two steps to get closer, my kids have to grow up and not need me as much. They are 7 and 2 and need a full time Mommy. So my dream of being a nurse has to be put on the back burner and I am OK with that. Nothing is more important than my family. Maybe I’ll go back to school for it some day and maybe I won’t. I have to see what the future holds but I am enjoying my life now.

Sign me, Bonnie T
Funny you should ask. Last week I started taking Reiki healing classes after being told by four separate psychics that I have an affinity for healing that needs to be developed. Being a very spiritual person, and having done “research” on many spiritual issues over the last 25 years, the thought that I could put something into practice that could benefit others was an exciting prospect. Although I’m a writer by trade, and this is clearly something that’s a bit different for me, I feel like I’m embarking on a whole new method of expression, one that could make a real difference to the people around me. So the steps I’ve taken are signing up for classes, and practicing to see exactly what my abilities are as a healer. I never imagined I’d be doing anything other than writing (and of course I’m still doing that), but somehow this has afforded me the opportunity to explore a new side of myself.

JC may have already gotten an answer!

I have long wanted to own a consignment/resale shop. I started shopping at such stores about 20 years ago and that concept always appealed to me. Unfortunately, I was always busy with family and work and probably didn’t have the courage to venture out on my own. If I had to do it again, I would actively seek someone with whom to partner and just take the plunge. Maybe it’s not too late.

P.S. – she emailed that something may be coming up, so let’s all keep a good thought for her.

Another one who wanted to be known as Queen, so I will bestow the title on her – Queen Patty responds:

Wow hard question…….the one of many things that would make me happier (I’m pretty happy now!) would be to travel with John….I would love to first take the time & second have the money to just take off & go where ever….John is a pilot & it would be fun to just jump into a plane, file a flight plan & go!!!!!
The two steps I could take to get closer to my goal: Win a Lottery & give up the idea that I am the only one that can do my job…..learn to give up a little of the control!

Baby D Art Director – this girl can paint with a brush or words!

I have read so many novels about “mature” women (I mean gals with some miles on them – well earned, of course – and definitely born before the Beatles came to America!) leaving their boring jobs, exasperating lovers and over-priced neighborhoods to start over in some sunny, quirky, romantic, adventure-filled European country. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I’ve seen Mama Mia – the play and the movie – more times than any sophisticated New Yorker would care to admit.

And everytime I always think to myself…Aaahhhhhhh…I could definitely live life under the Tuscan sun, or below a Mediterranean moon or surrounded by Provencal stars. I’d gladly turn in my undervalued dollars for Euros in a heartbeat. Since we’re talking pie-in-the-sky, this is how a typical day in my dream life would pan out…After having spent the morning working on yet another oil painting of the fishing boats on the beautiful Italian coastline, I would wander into my favorite sun-drenched, happy cafe on top of the beach cliffs for a delicious espresso. While conversing in Italian (which I slowly, but surely become better and better at) with the cafe owner about my morning’s accomplishment, an admiring tourist on holiday would absolutely need to own a piece of my artwork to help them remember their wonderful trip. Now comes the tricky part. I would have to take care of a few details to complete Step 1 of the process to my new dream life. First, I would take my Salvador Dali finger puppet (my only personal possession at work) home from the job one night, and never return again. Next, I’d sell my property tax-loving (although beautiful) home, to a thirty-something The-World-Is-My-Oyster Manhattan transplanted couple. And lastly, I’d ask my Lover to leave old anxieties and worries behind, and to put love before everything else and come away with me. With these 3 missions accomplished, on to Step 2.

Step 2 is to live with my new freedom after dumping all that stuff from Step 1. The daily 9-5 never allowed me to be the creative person that I am. How can an artist be stuck in an office building, for 8 hours a day, in a room “decorated” with gray carpet? I will paint everyday in my new life. Possessions grow to possess us after a while, and we exist just to gather more “things”. My two favorite possessions are my cats, and they are always happy to see me. I will only keep things in my life that give me inner joy. At last but not least of all, my partner will not just be a mere part of daily living. We won’t judge each other’s differences and criticize them, but grow to appreciate them and value them. I will be in love everyday without condition. To be happy, I need creativity, joy and love. And having all that while living on the Amalfi coast would certainly be a bonus. Much love to all of the Brilliant Women who also shared their thoughts.

        

I never think of myself as a pack rat. Maybe the lover of much. Maybe too much?  But there are times when I look around the house and I can’t find the dog or I delve into drawers and come up empty handed or I find myself crawling around closet floors in search of a runaway shoe.  I end up feeling just awful that I have the makings of becoming a canaille rongeur. It sounds so much nicer when the French say it, doesn’t it?

Letting go of our stuff does have the potential to give us room for more. I am not saying room for more stuff, but how does having a few less things to worry about sound? Less time wasted shoveling things into inappropriate spaces (Nothing says clutter more than pocketbooks in an oven and one of my city girlfriends resorted to that. Needless to say, she ordered in quite a bit) and more time to do things you really care about.

Every year I make the vow and I take action. And for a while the world looks bigger and brighter because I can see out my windows again. And then the New Year comes and I make the same vow again.

Here are a couple of ways to psyche yourself up for introducing the “Less is More” way of life into your lives.

1)  Release. I had to sit myself down and figure out what I could release from my life. I think using the word “release” feels better than “getting rid of.” I don’t want to get rid of my treasures. I would like to release them to the universe and see what happens. I also had to deal with the reality that my one bedroom apt. in Manhattan morphed into a 3 bedroom house on LI with goodies in every nook and cranny…and then some. I had some major releasing to do.

2) Give your stuff a good home. I looked around at where my possessions would fare well and I started to make some phone calls. The organizations that resonated with me and my beliefs were on the receiving end of things I finally realized were clogging up my brain and testing my sanity.  I went thru my closets one day and ended up with six garage bags of clothes. They now clothe people who needed them more than I did. It felt liberating and my remaining clothes have a bit more breathing space and so did I.

3) Have a garage or tag sale. I know there is really no difference between the two words when it comes to a sale. I think people use “tag sale” when  they think their stuff is worth a lot of money. I use “garage sale” myself.  I am a realist on occasion.

Look around at our world. We are in a recession and money is getting tight for a lot of people. Craig’s List reported that garage sale postings have gone up 100% since last year. People are looking for kids clothes, household items, furniture and  even jewelry, but now they are willing to get up early on Friday and Saturday mornings and  drive all over for the chance of finding that right item at a very good price.

This is a great way…probably one of this best ways to recycle. Be bold and brutal and start going thru each room and pick out things to sell. Place an ad or 2 (Craig’s list is free) make some signs (use large type so we can read it) and put on enough sun screen.  At the end of the day, complete strangers go home with their new treasures and you get to count your loot. Put it in the bank and save for a trip or a great meal. Make memories and not mounds of stuff you don’t need.

Let us know how you handle too much stuff. Did you find “releasing” your stuff helped to clear out the cobwebs in your mind and did you find that sofa that has been missing since Carter was in the White House?

        

When I heard this title a few months back, I did the mature thing. I found a wall and banged my head against it.  A real-life, “Why did I not think of this” moment. When I found out that Carol Leifer wrote it, I felt a little better. We were both doing stand up in the 80s. She became famous. I became convinced that it was a  character building episode for me. But was she compared to a young Woody Allen?? I think not.  My mother was concerned that I had morphed into a short, Jewish man, but I did get better gigs.

Okay, this is not about me. I am not a big “laugh out loud person.” Maybe it’s because I still have my tonsils, but it takes a lot for me to make any type of noise when I am laughing. . This book gave me permission to do just that and it felt liberating!  Who cares if my 401K is worth 37 cents.  I loved this book. The timing of the book hitting the bookstores is like Carol’s timing when telling a joke –   perfect.

“When You Lie” is 27 (you couldn’t do 25 or 30 ??) brilliant and humorous observations about life according to Carol Leifer.  Each one is a complete gem. I believe when you want to help people learn or experience something new, give them something to laugh about. it is like sulfur medicine that is flavored with honey. Carol does this better than most people walking around.

Her life experiences and background make her a natural for tickling people’s funny bones.  She does this by bringing you into her life and letting you kick the tires a bit. Her sharp observations are right on and you leave the last page wanting to start all over. And I am sure Carol wouldn’t mind that as long as you tell all your friends to buy their own damn copy of the book.

I won’t say  anything else about what is in this book. It would be like not  letting you all enjoy the set ups and punch lines. You deserve to discover it all by yourself.

But, if you think the title is funny, there is, “The Call of the Sweatpants” or “”Buried or Not, here I Come” that caused me to strike my head against the wall.

So go out and buy this book.  And if I can’t motivate you to spend a little cash to ward off the bad news of the world, then do to for Carol, Lori, Bruno and their rescued dogs.

You will thank me. Very much.