We Live Where Our Focus Is

by Barbara Hartsook on March 12, 2010 · 7 comments

I live where my focus is.

The Good Book says, ‘Where your heart is, there will be your treasure.”

Where my heart is… hmm.

In the ancient text, the word heart referred to everything I’m made up of – my substance.

So it must matter where I focus my thoughts, my energies, my choices, my actions — some of those things that make up my whole being.

Let’s explore an example…

If I focus on my lack of stuff, or my lack of talent, or on what someone else in my life is or is not doing, that’s where I will live. Without stuff, without developing my talents, and probably envious of what others have and what they have accomplished.

That’s not a lot of valuable treasure! It doesn’t even sound like fun.

But I’ve been guilty of all of that…….

If I focus on my abilities and dreams – and clearly understand that my abilities are only starting points from which to develop my dreams – then I will live in the process of becoming who I can be.

Then there will be hope for my tomorrows.

Setbacks may set me back, but they won’t break me.

That sounds a whole lot better to me. I have done these things too and am getting better at keeping my focus where it should be. Or bringing it back when I get off course.

I know it takes a lifetime, this process of living fully. But what treasures can be found along the way!

Where is your heart? And how do you discipline your focus? Do you treasure the  process?

Enjoy the coffee while you mull these things over. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. :)

Barb

P.S. The photo above is of our family’s hand-made dinner place cards from last Thanksgiving. I chose this photo because my family is my number one focus and treasure. Making something a little special for them is always a treat.

{ 7 comments }

Learning Changes Us… or Does It?

by Barbara Hartsook on February 27, 2010 · 33 comments

Learning is such fun. It’s profitable. And it changes us.

Using My New Brushes

I made new Painter brushes in class, and then painted with them. :)

But only if we apply it.

Four of us rode together, returning home from a weekend motivational conference. We broke the trip in half by stopping for lunch.

I had picked up on an idea early in the weekend and was excited to try it once I got home. And so I asked the others, friends and business associates of mine, ‘What will you all do differently this week because of the weekend?’

‘Read, read, read,’ said one.

‘Contacts,’ said another.

The third bit into her Quizno sub and said nothing.

Hmmm… We had just spent five hours in the car, discussing the impact of the many speakers we’d heard.  Everyone had thoughts to share. Opinions, that is, but apparently no ideas to implement.

If we learn and don’t apply, what have we learned?

‘Oh, but we learned so much! And it’s all so exciting!’ All three agreed.

However, I thought, nothing they learned had translated to making a difference in daily activity. So did they really learn it?

Collage I did of Lys Sketching and Journaling... Planning her Tomorrow

I have led workshops and spoken for business folk over the years. My topics centered around self-growth: self-knowledge, esteem, image, value, relationships, attitude, passion and pursuit.

But that day at lunch, I wondered how much difference any of it had made?

If we don’t occasionally change something we do, or modify it somehow, or add to what we’re already doing, how do we grow?

My three friends each had dreams of a fuller life, and could talk endlessly about them…

…Yet they saw nothing in the status quo to tweak.

Is life different, or better, or are we more accomplished and profitable just because we know more?

There’s a saying that translates more or less like this:

If I do today what I’ve always done, tomorrow I will have what I’ve always had.

Must we make drastic changes?

True, technology changes overnight and new concepts greet us with our morning coffee. And while it’s an exciting time to live, I don’t think we need to change drastically.

I’m talking about tweaking our daily routines to allow us to apply an insightful bit of learning. It’s refining our chosen paths to become who we want to be.

It’s called growth.

  • What do you think?
  • Do you attend conferences or classes, online and on-site?
  • Do you take away an idea you can implement? So you discuss them with others?
  • Will working with that idea change you somehow? Help you grow?

Thanks so much for coming. Have a fresh cup of coffee and ponder with us a bit… Enjoy your day.

Barb

P.S. Some sites that teach and inspire me to grow:

I take classes to improve my life. Here are some: DigitalArtAcademy — Painting Classes and webinars; Creative Techs, — Live Painting Classes; LVSonline — Blogging and Twitter and CSS classes. And I read so many blogs that teach me to do better what I love doing.

Annually, Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker conduct a Successful and Outstanding Bloggers conference — SOBCon — to educate (and inspire) business people, as individuals and as team players, to connect and care and change and grow. Notice the fourth bullet point! :)

{ 33 comments }

Do Sports Teach Kids How to Live Life Beyond the Game?

February 19, 2010

The Superbowl is behind us, and with March coming, Madness will soon keep us near the flat-screens. Shortly after that we’ll have The Opener.
All American sports… football, basketball, baseball… soccer, track, volleyball.
Great fun… but are sports good for life beyond the game? Can learning to play sports teach kids how to live life?

I was raised [...]

Read the full article →

How to Paint a Portrait from a Casual Snapshot – A Tutorial

February 10, 2010

Even the most casual snapshot can be a treasure for finding a reference for painting a portrait. If it draws your eye more than once, chances are you sense a story to be told, written, or painted.
This stock photo was given to participants in a painting contest at Innographx.com/forum a year ago, with instructions to [...]

Read the full article →

We Attract to Us That Which We Are

February 3, 2010

We attract to us that which we are…

I read that years ago. I was young enough it stuck as a piece of esoteric philosophy… Understood only by the initiated…
But as the years have evolved, the truth of that statement has manifested itself. Slowly perhaps, but none the less. Life has initiated me, and I know [...]

Read the full article →

What Do You Think Makes an Effective Tweet on Twitter?

January 30, 2010

@beanfair asked the question on Twitter: What do YOU think makes an effective Tweet? Is it a call to action? A tease that makes you curious? a great link or…?

My answer is Yes. All those things. I am a life-learner, curious beyond measure, and ever-antsy to do something! so Yes, all those things.

A call to [...]

Read the full article →

Do We Doodle to Doodle, Solve a Problem, Find a Design?

January 22, 2010

Why do we doodle? Just to pass the time? To find a design? To examine patterns?
If I have a pen in hand and paper near by, I’m going to doodle. My name, a curved line, what’s being said by someone else — and that may also be in a curved line — or sometimes words [...]

Read the full article →

Name that Painting in Six Words

January 15, 2010

I’m not very good at naming things. I agonize over headlines and story titles, anything that must be told quickly and completely.

I love words, you see. They tell pictures…

Even giving title to a painting challenges me — I guess because I want the viewer to relate visually and emotionally and create their own stories. Wordy [...]

Read the full article →

How Do You Handle Hurtful Remarks?

January 12, 2010

It’s universal you know… thinking whatever offensive, hurtful remark gets thrown at us is because of us. It isn’t always…
Liz Strauss says to distance ourselves from the event. Her points are excellent — think, think, realize, decide, and think some more. Read the point specifics on her blog…
I’d add this: Realize the offensive comment is [...]

Read the full article →

Story Puts the Happy in New Year

January 6, 2010

I have to share a happy new year story with you. It’s called A Walk in the Snow with Not-So Strangers.
I was roaming the Internet from the Technorati site, and through a series of clicks from here, found myself on Katie Paine’s blog. In the side bar were titles of recent posts, and this [...]

Read the full article →