I made this recording for you after clearing out my fridge.

My goal in this update is to shed light on how important it is to clear your mind, to clear your clutter – mental clutter that is.

Mental clutter holds us back. It can increase our brain age (you want a younger brain, as in a lower brain age is better). When you clear your mind more is possible.

Listen in and try this simple mind technique.

And let me know what you think, OK?

Ciao!

Taylor

One night last fall we had some friends over for dinner. A guest watched me draw out a knife, reach for my cutting board, and get busy on some garlic.

“Isn’t it amazing how quickly celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver (the naked chef guy) and Rachael Ray can chop things up? Incredible!” he said.

Yes, it is entertaining to watch a skilled chef. We watch them wondering how is it that these demi-gods prepare vegetables so gracefully, elegantly, and easily, whereas us mere mortals might cut off our own fingers.

Or the thirty-something bartender I met in the Philadelphia airport who whips up tasty concoctions as he juggles half-empty bottles of rum, blue curacao, and rum, while sliding them to his patrons?

Or just how mindblowing it can be to listen to your favorite singer or musician. Sometimes I get goosebumps.

Giotto di Bondone. Italian painter and architect

photo credit: McPig

And think about how enthralled you can be, slouched in your couch, watching your favorite actor do her thing.

So where am I going with this?

Well, are you ready to make some changes in your life?

Good, because the thing is, there’s nothing technically incredible about chopping vegetables, is there? In a lot of cases, things like these… they’re something that you and I can do too… with practice.

The people demonstrating these amazing feats are not all born with that ability. They gained the experience, developed more confidence, and honed their techniques over time, with practice.

And there you have it… pick one of the 7 areas of life where you want to change the most, and practice, practice, practice. This is the single thing we can do to improve ourselves.

It should be nothing new really. I know you’ve heard it before, “practice makes perfect.”

The advice is simple. Like most good advice that we seldom follow.

The more you practice something the better you get at it.

When we practice something, and when we repeat it, we improve. It is automatic. It is inevitable.

The chef who practices now can bake a perfect yorkshire pudding. The musician who practices chords tirelessly till his fingers blister does a great solo.

Like these men and women, we too over time can become practiced. And before you know it, someone less experienced will watch you in wonder accomplishing something that now is easy for you – no big deal.

Maybe you find this hard to believe. So let’s go back to when you were a child…

At first tying your shoes wasn’t easy, right? If you’ve ever seen a toddler or a preschooler trying to tie his shoes, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

And yet each of us, after much fumbling, and frustration, and stress, eventually learned how to do it, and do it so well that those laces would stay tied.

In Your 21st Century Personal Renaissance, I share the story about a young painter born near the city where I was raised.

Giotto di Bondone, better known as Giotto, was an Italian painter. Today he is generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to and developed the Italian Renaissance.

I was eleven when my art teacher told us how one day Giotto, ever the playful apprentice, painted a fly on the nose of a figure. Giotto painted the fly with such skill it practically came to life, causing his teacher Cimabue to repeatedly try to brush it away.

So start practicing more and watch your dreams come true.

And let me know what you think.

Ciao!

Taylor

Hi,

Have you heard the saying “Life is short – use good dishes?” Well, one particular morning I decided that there are more important luxuries than pretty tableware…

The realization came to me as I was reading a note a friend of mine sent me which contained the following quotation about life:

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.
~Hans Christian Anderson

I’m sure you can guess where I was. If I’d had a pen, I could have written this post on that paper …What was I thinking buying that stuff?

There are lots of ways to save money. Ways that make us feel in control of our finances and good about ourselves. These are great things to do. But some luxuries are necessary, aren’t they?

Anyway, back to my point … Life is short. How many times have I thought that it’s the big moments that really matter? If you have kids, maybe it was the birth of your children. For someone else it might be running into a burning building to save someone. And you’re right, times like these times are unforgettable and important. But trust me on this: it is the tiny fleeting moments that build your history.

Look, life is not just short, it is a series of moments. And the key to a rich life is for you to find happiness, laughter and joy in as many of these brief moments as possible.

Here are a few of my own personal tips for enriching the small moments in your life:

- Use good toilet paper. This one is almost vital!

- Smile at your children when they walk into the room. Everyone needs to feel that their parents are proud of them just for being born

- Notice the good luck in your day. You know that feeling you get when you pull on a pair of pants and discover you have left yourself ten dollars in the pocket? The average day has at least one moment like this. Welcome them, be aware of them, and enjoy them

- Buy six handmade chocolates rather than a block of mass-produced. In other words, buy the very best quality you can afford, and remember that you are worth it

- When your favorite song is one the radio, sing to it. Loudly. (And if you’re in the car, let them stare – it might make them smile). Singing not only can make you laugh, but it also releases endorphins, one of the body’s feel-good chemicals

- Be grateful for time stuck in traffic. You have a little time away from the world, to listen to an audio book or simply daydream. Stressing won’t make the cars move any faster, so take it as a mini-vacation

Waiting until all the bills are paid, until the timing is just right, or until the weekend comes around to be happy means letting hundreds of chances for pleasure and happiness slip by.

Make today be a day where you live in the moment and experience the power of now. And have a three-ply day.

Love to hear your comments, below.

Ciao!

Taylor

Hi,

A few of us were talking. The conversation took an interesting turn when Sarah (I’ve changed her name) started rattling off what she’s up to…

… Like how she’s working on a novel, grows her own vegetables, has taken up painting as a new hobby, got a new puppy, and has made a regular practice of yoga.

And as if that hadn’t impressed us enough, Sarah, gleaming ever so much, goes on… telling us how she’s also looking forward to going whale watching this Spring (if she can talk her best friend into coming along), one day becoming a midwife, riding in a hot air balloon, and on and on.

In an instant, I knew it was a good time for us to revisit what’s on our “bucket list.” And since there were a few new people in our group, I first explained what is a bucket list.

For the uninitiated, a bucket list is simply those things you want to do before you kick the bucket (actually this expression doesn’t especially do it for me, and if you’re not familiar with it, the term means “before you die”).

Anyway, getting back to where we were in our discussion… Most of us have all had the odd thing or two or three we want to do “some day” that we toss around in our heads every now and then. Some of us carry as many as ten or twelve around. You may have more, or you may have less.

That’s why the first time I asked everyone to do the following bucket list exercise you’re about to read, you can imagine why it was quite a challenge.

My instructions were simple – and by the way you can do this yourself if you like:

1) Pull out a few sheets of paper and a pen or pencil

2) Ask yourself: “If I was given less than one year left to live, what would I make sure to do?”

3) Make a list of 100 things you want to do before you kick the bucket. Not 10 items, not 20 goals, not even 50… we’re talking a list of a whopping 100 items.

If you sit down to do this, you’ll discover that writing a list of things you want to do before you die is a way to really examine your life.

Realistically you’ll need to give yourself a fair amount of time to do this. That’s why it will help to even give yourself a deadline of completing the first list.

And let me add this…

Your list doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember that just because you’ve made a list doesn’t mean it won’t change. In fact, the very opposite is true, especially because of step 4:

4) Start crossing items off your list – today!

It’s a fact – your list will change. You might add to the list or you may change your mind and drop a few things. And most satisfying of all, you will check things off your list when you’ve achieved them.

Now let me ask you, are you spending your time and money doing what you want to do, things you really care about? Are you going where you want to go? Are you experiencing the life you want to live? Are you seeing yourself become who you want to be?

Most people putt off their dreams for “some day” – but not those who go through with the exercise.

I wonder where you dream of traveling, what thrills do you seek, what experiences do you want, what are your goals? Maybe it’s places to see before you die, things to do before you die and books to read.

.. Just imagine where your list will take you.

There are two more important points worth mentioning:

First, remember this is your life. Choose what YOU want to do. And what I mean by that is avoid adding something to your list for the wrong reasons. Like to try and impress someone else, because you feel pushed into choosing it, because you think you should (yes, there’s that “should” word again) do it, or because you feel it’s expected of you.

Second, realize that the dreams on your list can be simple or can be a huge undertaking. They can cost a small fortune, or they can be free. And forget neglecting to add something because you don’t think you’ll ever be able to do it. Who knows if you won’t? So if you have the desire to do it, just put it right there on your list.

Okay, here are some categories to give you a few bucket list ideas and help you get started right now:

• Family
• Health/Fitness
• Money/Financial
• Relationships
• Romance
• Career/Professional
• Contribution/Volunteer
• Spiritual
• Home
• Sports
• Books
• Hobbies
• Travel
• Adventure
• Education
• New Skills
• Entertainment
• Celebrity
• Music
• Events
• Food

Just as I finished going through the list above, I thought of the old saying you may have heard time and again:

“No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I spent more time at the office.”
-Unknown

So let’s have a little fun… Share five items from your “bucket list” right here. When you commit them in writing, you are more likely to focus on doing these things.

If you’re one of the first 10 approved comments, you’ll get a peek at a little something I’m putting together that will boost your goal setting and goal getting abilities.

Here’s to making your life a grand adventure.

Ciao!

Taylor