Friday Carousel — 12.18.09

photo credit

Welcome to this week’s Friday Carousel! It is all of 14 degrees outside on this lovely Friday morning in Northern New Jersey. The forecast calls for snow tomorrow, perhaps it will take us to a white Christmas? I’ve got my fingers crossed.

I hope that you are warm & happy wherever you are, whether the Arctic or the Caribbean. Now on to this week’s lovely links…

1. The Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2009: Wow, I don’t know how so many of these really important news stories from around the U.S. & the globe slipped past my radar.

The media (at least where I live) tends to focus so much on celebrity gossip, that many people lose sight of the real news, the important stuff that is shaping history. It is definitely worth taking 10-15 minutes to read through these.

2. Facebook is Your New Best Friend: A thoughtful & entertaining post from Andrew at Leaders of the Free World. It confuses me when people complain that “Facebook changed its policy, now the world can see my private stuff!” I’d like to know why people are posting “private stuff” to the internet if they don’t want the internet to see it? Andrew’s points are spot-on & I agree with him, a little common sense will go a long way!

3. How to Be Mindful During the Holidays, in 350 words: Sound advice from Leo at ZenHabits.

Remember what’s important. During these holidays, think about what’s most important to you. That might be your loved ones, or a loved one, whether that’s a spouse or friends or kids or parents or whatever. It might be your work — what you create and are passionate about.

4. It’s Okay to Not Go Home for the Holidays:

…if you’d rather spend your Christmas Eve skiing in the Alps or trekking across the Sahara, I say go for it. There’s no need to lie, there’s no need to feel guilty.

5. Lifestyle Design for Normal People: Four Baby Steps Toward Absolute Freedom: If you have not yet begun to explore the world of Lifestyle Design, this post is a great place to start.

6. Social Networking: Stop Being Polite & Start Being Real: Social networking is huge right now. What I really liked about this post is that it wasn’t yet another redundant social media post; it actually gives some solid tips about how to use social networking to your benefit.

7. Why Making Meaning is More Important Than Making Money: Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or just an average Joe with a good idea, you must read this post.

…to stand out, you must make meaning in people’s lives.

8. Five Tips for Planning Effective New Year’s Resolutions: A few things that you can do to make sure that your New Year’s Resolutions last longer than the third week of January!

Ask: “What is a concrete action that would bring about change?”

9. Convention of Those Wounded in Love: If you’ve ever been hurt in a relationship or know someone who has this post will definitely give your heart strings a tug & then, hopefully, put a smile on your face.

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  • Carousel — 02.19.10

    sunset, lake

    Oh, what a week! I’ve been busy catching up after my recent trip to South Carolina last weekend. (Thanks for all of the positive energy that sent my way—the presentation was a great success.) For the past two days, I’ve spent 14 hours participating in new database training, so that’s been… interesting. On the bright side, I learned a lot and it’s been exciting to see my company transform as we implement this big change.

    I couldn’t be happier that it’s Friday. I have lots of lovely adventures planned with family, friends, & loves this weekend. So let’s get the party kicked off with this week’s Carousel then. Shall we?

    1. self hatred: beneath sugar-coated criticism + self improvement: Danielle lays it all on the line in the post about how we degrade ourselves with little insecurities. The first step to stopping it, is admitting that you do it.

    2. Phoning It In, The hidden power of a gift, and Frightened, clueless or uninformed?: Three excellent posts from Seth Godin. How have I not discovered this brilliant man sooner? A couple of months ago, I won Seth’s book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us in a Twitter contest. I finally made the time to read it this past weekend during my flights to & from South Carolina. OH. MY. GOODNESS. The book was brilliant. Now I am head over heels for Mr. Godin and of course, have since subscribed to his blog.

    I’ll be posting a review of Tribes in the near future.

    3. Nine Things You Can Do Every Day – Even When You Can’t Do Anything Else.

    4. The Only Problem Standing in Our Way: I loved this post by Marc. It teaches us why sometimes the only problems standing in our way are the ones that we create in our heads.

    5. A panorama of tea: At Vagablogging, Colleen Wilde explores the drink of philosophers—tea! Her lovely descriptions of delicious tea across beautiful cultures warmed my heart.

    6. Giving Up TV and 8 Changes I Experienced After Giving Up TV: A few years ago, I moved out of my parents house & out on my own. One of the first decisions I made at that time was to opt out of cable television. There are a lot of things that I dislike about modern television: glamorization of sexism, violence, addiction; in-your-face ridiculous marketing, etc. I find that I am much more productive without the distraction of television—I read, write, create, love, and live more without it.

    In these posts, Steve talks about his initial decision to take a break from TV and his subsequent decision to give it up altogether. I think it is something that we should all consider. Currently, my partner & I have basic cable which is great because I only watch it once in awhile for programs that enrich me (cultural documentaries, environment/wildlife, home &garden, etc). And it’s a good compromise because he can still tune into his favorites, like Family Guy, while I graciously opt out… most of the time.

    7. “The View” of What’s In a Name?: Dr. Oz talks all about names. Why do some names evoke images of strength & beauty? What things should we keep in mind when naming children, or even pets? What does your name say about you? (I now this isn’t exactly self-improvement; but I’ve always been a fan of names. We’ve all got one!)

    8. be inspired: the “special problem” of strong women looking for love: Sarah Wilson writes about dynamics in man/woman relationships and how it is often necessary for men to be the “stronger” ones. I thought it was interesting & it made me ask questions about the dynamics/expectations within my own relationships.

    9. 8 Helpful Ways To Deal With Critical People: Lucky for me this isn’t much of a problem. I genuinely like criticism— be it constructive or even harsh. Criticism serves as a catalyst for me to be better myself or remove unkind people from my life. For me, criticism is a win-win. However, it hasn’t always been this way & there have been instances in my past where I could have used the good advice in this post.

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    That’s it for this week’s round up. Have a great weekend, friends. Remember to spread love & light wherever you go.

    P.S. I am super sore (in a good way) from a fitness class I took at New York Sports Club last night—Will Power and Grace—I highly recommend it if you have an NYSC in your area!

  • Carousel — 02.26.10

    Snow, snow, and more snow! Are you beginning to notice a theme here? I sure am. We’ve gotten ten inches over the past few days & the forecast calls for at least another 10-15 inches by tomorrow night. I am actually writing this on Thursday (pre-scheduling the post for Friday) because I probably won’t have an internet connection tomorrow. I will be up in the mountains & most likely snowbound.

    Well, I plan on keeping busy & keeping warm this weekend. I hope you do the same where ever you are. I recommend hot cocoa, snowman building, and warm blankets. If you are someplace warm, soak up the sun & be glad!

    Here are this week’s Carousel links. Enjoy!

    1. polaroids from marrakech, morocco: Beautiful photographs from the Our Labor of Love blog. Just looking at these make me warm inside, perfect for a cold Winter’s day.

    2. Be Indispensable: “It’s so sad because people don’t recognize that they have to go that low and wait that long.” I love Gary Vaynerchuk, this guy is probably the single-most passionate individual I’ve ever come across. Enjoy this quick video where he talks about what you need to do to become indispensable. Then go search him on YouTube when you’ve got more time—guaranteed inspiration.

    3. On the importance of “No”: “There are moments when we say ‘yes’ to others and in fact are saying ‘no’ to ourselves.”

    4. 5 ways to escape the escapist weekend: Perfect advice to make the best out of this coming weekend & then all the rest!

    5. How Do You Treat Your Food?: I love this post from the Epic Self blog. It is so important that we apply conscious living to every aspect of our lives—especially when it comes to what we put in our bodies! Being mindful about what we put in our bodies is just as important as being mindful of our thoughts, words, and actions.

    6. Stillness is a Powerful Action: “Let stillness become your most powerful action. It could change your life.” Another great post by Leo! I’ve actually been practicing stillness in my life much more frequently than ever before. The results are amazing—I feel calmer, more energized, and ready to take on the world. Stillness in the middle of a hectic day is priceless.

    7. In Defense Of The Death Penalty: Fascinating post by Tim Brownson about the power of our beliefs & values. Don’t be too put off by the title—there’s a twist.

    8. Creating a Happiness Plan: Attention, everyone! Do you have a happiness plan. If not, what are you waiting for? This post will set you on your way.

    9. the perils of justifying yourself: Leave it to Danielle to press your buttons & make you think. Do you justify yourself? You need to read this.

    Alright friends. That’s it for this week’s Carousel. I hope that you love each of these posts as much as I did. I’ll be braving the blizzard for the next few days. Wish me luck. Have a great weekend and, as always, spread love & light.

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