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by Richard Timothy | May 27, 2010 | I Do Suggest, I Think There's a Point, Lightbulbs and Soapboxes, MST3K, My Cutie Baby Sweetie Pie, My List of Things that Don't Suck, Non-Fiction, Observationally Speaking, Reviewed and Recommended
Movies, we all know what one looks like after it’s had its 15 minutes and then walks the path of inevitable DVDism. And even though I gather most of my film consumption via DVD, I have even been known to do the occasional theater experience as well. I’d like to say it’s better, but you know how it goes, once you get there you find need for a tub of popcorn and a soda usually costs you slightly more than your first born, and if you want to get some Junior Mints to go along with that, you have to haggle with yourself on whether making your car payment that month is really more important than a box of processed dark chocolate stuffed with a foreign substance that is the equivalent of a aftermath of a candy canes sneeze. Sad thing is, sometimes we actually decide that chocolate covered peppermint boogers are worth being a little late on the car payment for the month.
There are some films that I think are enhanced by seeing them on the big screen. Granted, most of this enhancement comes from watching a film in a theater full of devoted fans as opposed to watching it with a group of people that are only in the theater because they want to get out of the summer heat. Fan excitement is a power to be reckoned with. Because of fan excitement I have found myself in the past enjoying the hell out of an incredibly mediocre film. Then again the opposite can happen as well. You can go to a rather exciting and entertaining film and if you happen to be surrounded by a collection of people jacked up on Ritalin, there is a chance it’s going to lose some of its splendor.
One of the magical aspects of the cinema is that it is an entertainment medium that gives every person that watches it the self proclaimed title of film critic. When first starting out as a film critic the initial practice of rating a film is very Roman in origin. A film either receives a thumbs up, meaning that it should be allowed to live so that others can experience the same viewing pleasure that you received. Or you give it a thumbs down, which simply means that you would recommend going to the dentist for a root canal as a viable entertainment option as opposed to seeing the film.
The situation that then follows is a result of film makers not holding themselves to a higher standard, or it could just be that the industry is flooded with trite and uninspiring film makers. The result is the relentless flow of films that are not good, but they don’t really suck either. This requires the novice film critic to add a new dimension to their film rating system. Enter the three star system:
1 Star = Hated it.
2 Star = It was ok.
3 Star = Loved it.
As opinions about film grow, so does the range of your ability to review a film, thus increasing your rating system to a five points, stars, A through F or something similar. For today’s purposes and to add clarity, I’m going to borrow Netflix’s five-star system and their definitions. It breaks down like this:
1 Star = Hated It
2 Star = Didn’t Like It
3 Star = Liked It
4 Star = Really Liked It
5 Star = Loved It
The problem I have with this is that there are way too many movies out there that evoke absolutely no emotion at all, or just fail to exceed any of your movie watching expectations, thus creating a completely new movie going experience. These are what I predominantly call background movies. Something you can put on in the background, while you are doing something else. The film really doesn’t have enough merit to encourage you to pay attention to them, meaning they are easy to ignore.
For me these are movies that earn my 3 Star rating. The nice thing about these films is their utter lack of interest, so it’s easy to work on other things and focus on other things while these movies play. This is the main reason movies I disliked or hated don’t fall into this category. Movies you dislike are instilling in you a negative response or an unpleasant emotion. On a personal note, if you are of the disposition that you need noise while you create and your preferred background noise is a television, please never create while a film that affects you negatively is playing. It’s just a bad way to create in my opinion.
Here is my personal 5 Star film rating system:
- 5 Star = Loved it. I am going to purchase this film when it comes out for my personal collection and worth watching a few times.
- 4 Star = Exceeded my expectations and worth the time I spent watching it.
- 3 Star = Met most to all of my expectations. An ok film… or in other words, out of all the movies I’ve ever seen that definitely was one.
- 2 Star = Mostly worthless. Met few to no expectations I had for the film.
- 1 Star = Screw you movie! That is two hours of my life I will never get back. I am actually stupider because I have watched this film. It might also be comparable to a vomit milkshake. (There are few movies that I hate this much, but there are some.)
If it makes sense to you, please feel free to adopt it and raise it as one of your own.
Also, based on that system, here are a few movies that I’ve seen that fall into each category:
1 Star = There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, and Star Trek 5
2 Star = Aeon Flux, Burn After Reading, and Jerry Maguire
3 Star = Across the Universe, Crazy Heart, and Dances with Wolves
4 Star = The Breakfast Club, Dear Frankie, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?
5 Star = Harvey, The Hudsucker Proxy, and Stranger than Fiction
I do need to point out that I think for all people there is a kind of holy writ of viewing euphoria. It is very personal to the viewer and overflows with nostalgia, carrying with it such joy and appreciation that you could have it playing nonstop for days at a time. And whether you are paying attention or not, it’s fine, because you know that when you do stop and pay attention, it is always going to put a smile on your face, unconsciously causing you to appreciate everything in life that much more. It’s a kind of bliss movie, a blovie if you will. See even the word makes you smile. For me, it would have to be MST3K (or one of its off shoots), and for my sweetie-baby-cutie-pie its old Shirley Temple films. There is something permeatingly happy about watching Angela watch Shirley. They are a bit contagious in that regard.
So, what are some of your blovies?
Image Source:
Google Images, key words: watching movies, thumbs up, bored audience, and MST3K.
by Richard Timothy | May 14, 2010 | I Just Don't Get It, I Think There's a Point, My Cutie Baby Sweetie Pie, My List of Things that Don't Suck, Non-Fiction, Observationally Speaking
Women love shoes. Now I am not going to say this is a universal truth… like gravity pulls things in, cupcakes push things out, and puppies are cute, but I would dare say that if you run into a woman that is firm in her resole that “women loving shoes” is then maybe then it’s a universal truth. As a public safety suggestion, I do advise that if you are not shoe minded then please do not engage in shoe related conversation with a shoe enthusiast, unless you happen to work at a shoe store. I do also concede that there are some men who share this same shoe affinity, but in my experience, and with the backing of endless Hollywood movies as a resource tool, women are the standard by which we give irrevocable evidence toward the statement, women love shoes.
I do get it concept. So put it in a term that I believe most who don’t understand will, it is their collection of choice. Just like some people collect baseball cards, old coins, toys that are never allowed to be removed from their packaging, old cars that will someday be restored but has been in the driveway for the past 8 years with a blanket over the top of it, or first edition books, some people collect shoes. I guess the key difference between the two is that one of the collections does have a bit more everyday type of functionality associated to it. Do I care that my cutie-baby-sweetie-pie-wifey-pooh collects shoes? Not at all, as long as it gets purchased after everything that needs to be paid has been paid. I am the same way about my MST3K Boxed sets.
I think that may be the line between collecting and obsessing. If you are a collector you get things as you can, when you can. If you are an obsessor, obsessee… if you obsess about your collection and you put a second mortgage on your house so you can buy a 1951 Bowman SGC 96 Mickey Mantle rookie card or so you can buy a pair Stuart Weitzman’s “Diamond Dream” Stilettos that’s where the problem lies. Collecting = fine. Obsession = No! Bad! NO! (and you should probably be hit on the nose with a rolled up newspaper).
Now I’m not sure if this is the type of thing all shoe collectors do, but Angela has a distribution system for her shoes. It’s a type of open grazing distribution where her shoes have free range throughout the house. Usually they congregate in small social groups. Some groups choose to be by the front door. Some chose to take action in the never ending game of hide and seek and some pairs of shoes are convinced is always being played. Think I’m kidding, go look under your couch, or bed, or behind the television, or in your ice box… in one of those spots is going to be random pair of shoes giggling to themselves, sure that they are in the best hiding spot ever created by man, woman, or some combination therein.
One thing about shoes… I highly recommend keeping them paired up, or lined up, or spread evenly apart, but at all costs avoid leaving them in piles. Sure you might think they are just shoes and not bothering anyone, but just last week I noticed a small pair of sandals next to one of Angela’s piles of footwear. She claimed that she purchased them for our nephew, but I’m not sure I trust her explanation. Part of me thinks that it was just a quick cover-up. They were baby shoes, and she has one of those dispositions that baby things are endearing, and cute, and require you to make that “Ohhhhh” sound when acknowledging anything babyish. In her defense I have not seen any little pairs of shoes in the house since we gave them to our nephew, but in my defense I did place all the shoes side by side instead of on top of each other.
I have come to learn why Angela’s distribution system is actually a system and not a random happenstance. There are two key things that this system enables Angela to do. The first is a sort of working out system. When getting reading for a business meeting, or workshop, or some event that has her dressing up, and wearing snazzy shoes, having the said shoes spread throughout the house enables her to do a few sprints and stair runs as she goes from floor to floor looking for the right pair for the outfit.
The second aspect of this distribution plan is the daily prospect of the element of surprise. Angela is one of those sorts that appreciate a good surprise… or a very subtle simple surprise… or a surprise that had no intention of becoming a surprise, but just sort of turned out that way. Case in point, about a week ago I am in my office, working on a new Smirk and Angela walks in, in this fabulous new flowery purpley dressiley, err, dress. She was on her way to a meeting and came in to let me know she was heading out and to give me a kiss goodbye. As she turned to walk out of the room she noticed a pair of her shoes on the floor in my office, yes even my office is not off limits when it comes to the roaming power of her footwear.
As she looked down she made that “Ohhhh” sound reserved for those moments when someone mostly realizes that what they just saw is exactly what they were looking for even thought they weren’t looking for anything. “I forgot about theses, maybe I should… no they are the wrong purple of purple. I have to go.” I laughed. She smiled innocently, and then was off and out the door with the “wrong purple of purple” shoes still hanging out in my office next to a stuffed Garfield, which I’ve had since elementary school, taunting the cat to try them on.
See the surprise of finding random cute pairs of shoes that you always wanted and actually own, which appear in random situations reminding you of their adorability. Plus it gets you to think about what you are going to wear the next time you go out so you can actually wear those shoes. I’m not sure it’s an actual science, but I’d be there are some people out there that would be interested in taking the class.
For now though, the free range system seems to be working. It’s a system that is at its core, pure Angela… yes Angela does happen to be a verb in our home. Likewise, you would be amazed at the endless supply of smiles, giggles, laughs, and smirks that it gives me on a weekly basis. Thank you sweetie for being so… you!
So, how are shoes distributed in your home?
Image Sources:
Google Images, key words: women love shoes, shoe under bed, found shoe, running in high heels, and 1951 Bowman SGC 96 Mickey Mantle rookie card.
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by Richard Timothy | Apr 15, 2010 | Gratefully Grateful, I Think There's a Point, Lightbulbs and Soapboxes, My Cutie Baby Sweetie Pie, My List of Things that Don't Suck, Non-Fiction, Observationally Speaking, Public Service Announcement, Reviewed and Recommended
So yesterday, I had managed to put together a few lines for a new Smirk plus an intro and rough outline for a new book and then… I went to a Biz Divas event, with special guest star Lisa Nichols. Yes Lisa was back in town and was speaking at another of my sweetie-baby-cutie-pie-wifey-pooh’s events. The Biz Divas is Angela’s networking and education company for business women and entrepreneurs. So when faced with the option of writing about the finer points of how to best review a Hollywood movie or sharing some of the points Lisa talked about the previous evening, well, let’s just say… take it away Lisa!
See had I actually recorded any of her presentation that would have been a perfect place to put it. I did take some notes though, and I do concede that now would probably be a perfect time for those. Funny thing about perfection, it’s a little more subjective than one might think. One person’s perfection is another person’s pa… something. I was hoping for another p word, but I’m not exactly sure which one fits the way I want it do. Hmm… problem, poppycock, picture frame, ooh how about placency, well complacency. There’s even a p in it and I think it works. Actually, I think I’m looking for the opposite of that word, something like anxiety… only with a p in it. I think I’ve made my… a point.
So when arrived at the event I was a bit bothered. Not because of the event, but because of work. Ok not exactly work, but I received a phone call at work from a Crap-Magnon, which is a lot like a Cro-Magnon except that they look like humans and sound like humans when they speak, but have not evolved to the point that they know how to speak with and be human. They reek of foul, vile energy and after talking to them for about one to two minutes tops, your skin begins crawling and a trigger in your brain that goes off that repeats over and over again that this is not a good person and you need to get away from them as soon as possible.
Even an hour after the call had ended I was still bothered that I had experienced such an intense black hole of negative energy. You could say it was the energetic equivalent of accidentally stepping into a pile of Great Dane pooh. The smell follows you around for a while and it takes a little time to get all of it off. Plus, you’re going to need a water hose to do it.
The water hose arrived when I walked into the event. The room was an energetic white hole, which is the opposite of a black hole… I looked it up. When I walked into the event the room was full of friendly faces, old friends, new friends, friends that will someday be friends, but as of yet we’ve still not met. It was the radiating positive energy of people there. It was light, kind, warm, and accepting. Also, because the room was full of people like that the energy just kept growing, and expanding outward. Five minutes after walking into that room any residuals from the Crap-Magnon caller were all gone. It was a good day and it was only going to get better. So a thank you to everyone there for that, and thanks for the smiles, the hugs, and the love.
Lisa’s presentation was grand, and it was a little different than last time I saw her. This time the focus was on business and some tips, suggestions… make that steps for people to mull through and start with to assist them with their own business. I did like this concept a lot. One of the things that make us all the same is the fact that we are all so different. When you share information designed to help others it helps to have multiple choices that people can choose from, because we’re not all in the same place. One person’s “eureka” is another’s “that was so last year.” Out of the 6 steps she shared there were individuals knowing that Step 1 was just for them while others cradled Step 2 as their “Yes, YES” and so on for each step shared.
Here are the steps Lisa gave, although if you get the chance to see her present these 6 steps I highly recommend you do so. Mainly because she has a brilliant entertaining personal story to go along with each step, and the presentation is definitely going to make you feel all warm and fuzzy.
- Step 1: Begin with the end in mind. It’s good to think about the process, but it just as important to know what the end result looks like.
- Step 2: Give yourself a thousand second chances. It’s not that your idea or dream didn’t work. It just didn’t work that time. Give yourself a second change, and then another, and another, and another. You get the point.
- Step 3: Get someone who is better than you to play with you. Get a coach and/or mentor for your business (art, music, writing, whatever it is you do), to motivate and encourage you, and to remind you that they were once were you are now, and are now were you want to be.
- Step 4: Give yourself permission to have what it is you say you want. If you have no respect for millionaires and think they are all evil and bad people, how can you become one? The more successful you are the more you can share your message and help others. Begin wealthy does not make you a bad person, it only amplifies the person you are.
- Step 5: Bring your family on the journey, but don’t drag them. And don’t wait for them. It is your vision, and you have to keep it going. Either they will support you or they won’t. What you need to do is keep moving forward.
- Step 6: Move from operating like a flood light to operating like a laser. Don’t try to do everything at once. Start with one or two things and focus on those. Once you get those down and they begins running on its own (or the event you planned is over, or the song you wrote is recorded, or the book you wrote is finished), focus on your next vision, idea, product, etc.
And that’s it… six steps. Find the one that speaks to you and own it… or don’t, in the end it’s always going to be your choice and no one else.
Which one was my “ah ha!” step? I think it was a mixture of 1 and 6, but mostly 6, mainly when it comes to my writing. I have already started four novels and only one is roughly finished. 
I get to finish that first book. Proofread, edited, revised, and submitted to publishers. Then it will be time to start working on the next one. I get to be more laser focused on completely finishing my first novel instead focusing on my writing like a puppy with ADD in a bouncy ball factory. Don’t worry though, I’ll keep Smirking as long as people are willing to read and happy to laugh.
It was a good presentation and a good night. Of course when Lisa is in the room, it always is. I wish you all could have been there. But since you couldn’t I guess it’s a good thing I took notes. Yay me!
Any thoughts on today’s Smirk?
Image Sources:
Google Images, key words: Lisa Nichols, 6 steps, rude people, hosing off shoes, and puppy with ball.
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by Richard Timothy | Mar 4, 2010 | Confessed Confidentially, Gratefully Grateful, Lightbulbs and Soapboxes, My Cutie Baby Sweetie Pie, My List of Things that Don't Suck, Non-Fiction, Observationally Speaking
So to assist my cutie-baby-sweetie-pie with her Ignite Your Spark Conference I ended up taking last Thursday and Friday off from work. Yeah, I’m a pretty kick ass husband. Hmm, maybe I should start teaching a class. I could call it, um, ohhh, I know! KAHN… Kick Ass Husbands National. That way when people look into the sky and yell KAAAAAAAAHHHHN! It could actually be considered a good thing. I’d like to say I’m taking the whole “KAAAAAAHN!” thing back, but I can’t really. That’s because I think the Kirk approach to Kahn was the original take on it. There’s nothing to take back. If anything I’d be completely reconstructing it. I guess you could say I’m just taking it.
I think this would be the first KAHN lesson:
Chapter 1 – Get Married.
It seems to me that in order to become a kick ass husband the first thing that would need to happen is for you, in fact, to become one. Sure if I really wanted to I could change it to KAPN, Kick Ass Partners National, but frankly I don’t appreciate the lack of pun and I’m not especially keen on accessorizing with eye patches and birds sitting on your shoulder.
Side Note: I will concede that if you choose to acquire the status of husband via some other means not limited to the concept of traditional, or nontraditional, union ceremonies involving rings, flowers, and/or shotguns, then I will ask that you submit your process for how you acquired such status. It will be reviewed and voted on by me and a bottle of Chianti. For the record, the bottle always votes yes and your chances of getting in do increase as the evening progresses.
The conference was a fabulous time for both me and my ego. Everyone was so kind and friendly and happy. There were a few things that I consistently heard from women while at the conference.
- “You’re Angela’s husband? Oh! It’s so nice to meet you.”
- “I love your wife.”
- “I’ll bet you can’t wait for this to be over.”
- “All the support you’ve given her is just amazing. You’re amazing.”
I always responded to the second statement with an ecstatic and resounding, “Me too!” because it was both clever, cute, and true. Hmm, that seems to exceed the both identifier. Let’s just go with clever and true then. It was the third statement that always left me a little confused. I mean I understood what they meant, but with all the hours, tears, joy, worry, excitement, and other roller coaster of emotions that you embrace throughout a year of putting a conference like this together, I could wait. I wanted to savor every moment I could of those two days. It had earned that from me, and I deserved experience all I could before it ended.
I wish that theme was able to stay concrete throughout the event, but here’s one of the things I learned… hauling hundreds of books up and down stairs and trying to clam presenters down when they mailed something and UPS had not delivered it on time, and having an endless stream of questions directed to me that I just couldn’t answer to help assist those asking the questions, does have a tendency to wear on ones bubbly exterior. It left me a little like a helium balloon that has exhausted most of its supply of pixie dust. It’s not popped or deflated, it’s just lost its soaring ability. It mostly just hovers and begins moving a lot slower than it did before.
I think I may have managed to leave the conference a bit stronger than when I started it. Again, this is solely due to the hours of lifting and hauling heavy boxes up and down flights of stairs. Let’s just say that when I got out of bed Saturday morning my legs, especially my calves, started a revolt. Much like the towns people carrying torches on the way to ol’ Doc Frank’s place. My legs and feet felt like they were burning. Every step hurt and I didn’t even wear heels! Next time I’m getting those gel shoe inlay things.
Emotionally, sure it was exhausting, but there were those moments that picked you up, dusted you off, and got you ready to start all over again. One moment that just killed me, and not in a “oh no zombies, run for your life or they’ll ea…AHhhhh!” kind of way, but in the “I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to cry, I’m not going to cry, ok I’m going to cry” kind of way. It was a special break out session all the VIP guests got to experience with Lisa Nichols.
The thing about Lisa is that you either know who she is, which will cause you to get excited about this next bit. Or, is some lady you have never heard of her before, which probably won’t mean as much, but still worth reading about.
So Lisa is giving her presentation. Chatting with everyone in the room, making everyone laugh, and most cry. Encouraging everyone and letting them know that now matters, and so do they. As the end of her talk drew near, she decided to give away a few items to some people in the audience that she felt could use them. Out of the 70+ people in the room, guess who she calls up? No… it wasn’t me, but it was my little sister. This got her all emotional, which got my parents, who were sitting next to me, all emotional, which got me all emotional. Hey, hit my thumb with a hammer and swear for a good ten minutes and eventually I’ll be fine. But put my little sister in the front of a room crying tears of joy, transition and hope, and you better just pass me the tissues as soon as you finish grabbing some for yourself.
Lisa was emotional, amazing, and healing, so in a word… um… let’s go with emazaling. Yes… YES! I do believe that covers it nicely. It was two days of people coming together to encourage each other, listen to each other, help each other, and empower each other. When you are surrounded by that much love and support, it doesn’t matter if you arrived under dark clouds. You become the sun that dissipates those clouds, and you shine. More than that though, you know it’s ok for you to shine. I saw that a lot at the conference… it was beautiful.
Only a year to go until we get to do it all over again!
To those of you who made it to the event, and/or helped us out with the event, thank you, thank you thank you. I love you all. Feel free to share some of your thoughts on event.
Image Sources:
Google Images, key words: yelling Kahn, shotgun wedding, carrying boxes, happy woman, and box of tissues.
by Richard Timothy | Feb 1, 2010 | My Cutie Baby Sweetie Pie, My List of Things that Don't Suck, Non-Fiction
In the midst of today’s postful creation I got an e-mail from my cutie-baby-sweetie-pie-wifey-pooh. One of the local papers did a little article and video on her, where she talks a little about what she’s been through, what she is doing, and, more than anything, about how she refuses to back down from her dreams and from her vision of helping others find their light.
So, I suppose the best way to put it, is it’s an honor for me to share this article and video with you. Call it a mini-Smirk if you want. Part of my goal is to bring a smile to your faces, but this post is about the smile Angela brings to my face and my life. Sure it’s a bit self indulgent, but that’s one of the many groovy things about being human, the awareness that you are being self indulgent and the consciousness that it’s ok to do so.
I’ll get today’s post out later today, but for know check out this article and the video. Yes, both links take you to the same page, I call it necessary redundancy.
Ok, now everyone look away, this is just between Angela and I… anyone peeking? Good, cause you better not or else… or else, something and um, yeah! You know for having a way with words there are definitely times I don’t do so goodly with them. Ok, so no peeking now I mean it!
Angela, I love you and I am so proud of you and what you are doing. You are my butterfly.
Ok you can all come back and finish reading now… ok so I’m done. Thanks everyone! I’ll have something else for you all later.
What did you think of the article about Angela?
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by Richard Timothy | Jan 21, 2010 | My Cutie Baby Sweetie Pie, My List of Things that Don't Suck, Non-Fiction, Observationally Speaking, Public Service Announcement
I’ve been thinking about a conversation my cutie-baby-sweetie-pie-wifey-pooh and I had a few days ago. And you know, since starting this blog thing, you’d be amazed how many times a week I hear the sentence, “And no, you can’t put this in your blog.” as the closing remarks to some of our conversations. This conversation, however, was not one of them.
I guess one of the things to start out with is to explain a little about my love, my Angela. I think it would be safe to say that we would still not be married if she has not proposed. I always get mixed reactions when I tell people this. Men commonly give me a sort of “well done” nod of approval. Women on the other hand usually give me a “you romanceless lout” look, but it usually passes once they get to know me.
We actually met at work. We even shared an office for a while. And No! There was no hanky-panky at work. I’m a professional damn it… better make that a we. We’re professionals damn it! I know it’s a bit cliché to admit we had an office romance, but, well, yeah we did.
We did keep it mostly hidden. I mean our boss knew obviously. Mainly because she was the one who introduced us and had, on more than one occasion, subtly implied to me that she thought we would make a good couple and would like to see us go out… No, it wasn’t a boss to employee request, like “Get this newsletter finished and mailed out by Friday.” So, like, “Take Angela out to lunch this Wednesday and tell her how beautiful she is.” And come to think of it, it wasn’t subtle at all. It was much more of a matter of fact statement and suggestion, you know, in a wink, wink, nudge, nudge kind of way.
Once our professional relationship evolved to a private relationship I’m sure more people at work figured it out, but there wasn’t a lot anyone could say. I mean the president of the company’s wife use to be his receptionist, which is much more cliché than our situation. In clarification of his character though I will point out that he was not married at the time, making his situation much less cliché than the married boss sleeping with his secretary, so kudos to him for that.
Anyway, back to the conversation Angela and I were having. It was about self progression or development, but more than that. It was about investing in yourself. For a lot of people, college or a trade school is the big self investment. For others, buying books and reading about things that ignite a spark in them to make a change or start a business is a self investment. It doesn’t have to be a self help book, or a comprehensive comparison of world religions, but maybe for some it does. That’s the nice thing about investing in ones self. It’s all personal and very subjective to each individual.
Angela has gone to a number of trainings and seminars as part of her self investment, and they have been amazing experiences for her. I have even accompanied her to a few, and I have always gotten something out of them. Sometimes it’s just a nugget that has helped open a door inside, letting me reevaluate and adapt some knowledge of who I was to become who I am. Then sometimes it’s like walking into an old room that has not been visited in years and you walk over to the window and open the blinds. Light fills a room in your mind that has been dark and dusty for far too long. Sometime you cry, sometimes you laugh, and sometimes you just quietly sit there.
I think one of the things about self investment is being ok with attaching a monetary value to it. Whether it’s spending $300 to go to a writing conference or $10 for a used book on eBay, I am making that purchase because I know I am worth it. When people pay for something they are going to be more invested in it. People want to get their money’s worth, and they are much more willing to do the work required of them to make sure it’s as worthwhile as possible.
I’m pretty sure that if my college education were free I wouldn’t have completed nearly as many homework assignments as I did, and my all nighters would have consisted of a lot more libation and togas a lot less retention. But because I was paying for it my all nighters consisted of studying and writing and rewriting the same paper just to make sure it was right and that I was learning what I needed to from the class.
Self investing is not just a belief, it’s a personal knowledge. I know I am worth the 40 dollars I spent on a collection of poetry by Pablo Neruda. It opens up my heart when I read it. It gets my brain processing word painted imagery so vivid that I can almost taste the salt from the sea and feel its mist caressing the skin on my arms. It ignites my love for words and inspires me to create, and write, and share.
Honestly $40 is a very small investment based on the way it assists me not only as a writer, but as a person. Likewise, when I purchase books on writing, or on being a writer, or things that focus on writing tools that can be used to strengthen the development of my characters, all these are self investments. And if I paid for the book, you can bet your ass I’m going to read it, and mark it if as well. Some books help, some might not, but I’m willing to invest in the time and money to continue to expand myself as a writer and a person.
In Angela’s case, she is opened up by investing in herself through programs and processes and the interaction that goes along with that. Then again that is what she is all about. Inspiring others to be who they really are after the fear is removed and their true self worth looks them in the eye. She loves to assist people in facing and accepting their greatness, then with open arms give to and receive from the world. Angela is about empowering others, especially other women, so they can empower themselves, and eventually empower others as well. Everyone deserves to connect to their own greatness and share it with others. She is a living example of that.
Sure I’m biased when it comes to talking about my amazing, beautiful Angela, but I believe in her and in the message she has begun sharing with the world. She is putting together a woman’s conference at the end of February. (Yes, a woman’s conference, sorry guys.) So today I’d like to invite you to take a look at her site. Read a little about what she is doing to assist and empower women. Check out all the amazing people she is bring together to talk and present their messages of love, and hope, and healing the world one person at a time. I honestly believe her conference is something all women not only should experience, but deserve to experience.
Please go to Illuminated Woman to see what it is she’s doing.
http://illuminatedwoman.com/
Thanks for checking out.
Let me know what do you think?
Image Sources:
Illuminated Woman
and Google Images, key words: conversation, office romance, investing in yourself, and man reading.
Movies, we all know what one looks like after it’s had its 15 minutes and then walks the path of inevitable DVDism. And even though I gather most of my film consumption via DVD, I have even been known to do the occasional theater experience as well. I’d like to say it’s better, but you know how it goes, once you get there you find need for a tub of popcorn and a soda usually costs you slightly more than your first born, and if you want to get some Junior Mints to go along with that, you have to haggle with yourself on whether making your car payment that month is really more important than a box of processed dark chocolate stuffed with a foreign substance that is the equivalent of a aftermath of a candy canes sneeze. Sad thing is, sometimes we actually decide that chocolate covered peppermint boogers are worth being a little late on the car payment for the month.
One of the magical aspects of the cinema is that it is an entertainment medium that gives every person that watches it the self proclaimed title of film critic. When first starting out as a film critic the initial practice of rating a film is very Roman in origin. A film either receives a thumbs up, meaning that it should be allowed to live so that others can experience the same viewing pleasure that you received. Or you give it a thumbs down, which simply means that you would recommend going to the dentist for a root canal as a viable entertainment option as opposed to seeing the film.
