Friday Carousel — 12.11.09

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I’ve just returned from a two-day conference in Atlantic City. What an awesome trip. I ended up in a corner room with two full walls of ocean-view. Yesterday morning’s sunrise was breathtaking.

I made some great connections & took away lots of valuable insight. I will share my favorite takeaways & some guest posts from new friends in upcoming posts.

And with that, Dear Readers, I present to you this week’s Carousel!

1. John Lennon: Gala Darling celebrates the memory of John Lennon, 29 years after the day that he was shot & killed outside his Manhattan apartment.

“We’ve got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it & leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it & nurture it.”

2. 20 Key Questions on Motivation and Habits, Answered: Leo at ZenHabits shares what he has learned about motivation & habits. Some really great advice packed into this post.

You need to forget about your failures, or at least the part of them that gets you discouraged. Take away from your failures a lesson about what obstacles stand in your way, and leave behind any bad feelings. Those are in the past. Focus on right now, and how fun the activity is, right now.

3. I Don’t Know How To Do This: Karen makes a brave and revealing post about her struggles with alcoholism, depression, and anxiety.

4. 13 X-Mas Gifts That Can Change (or Save) Your Life: Tim Ferriss posts a list of awesome & innovative Christmas gift ideas. (Dear Santa — I’d love a pair of the Isreali SilentEar Ear Plugs, please!)

5. How to Raise Your Self Esteem: Tim Brownson asks some good questions and then slams you with some great advice in this post about learning to love & accept yourself.

If I asked you to go and stand in front of your bathroom mirror and say “I love you” to yourself, would you do it? Could you do it even?

6. Holy Crap, I’m Actually Moving to Thailand: Sean recently left his 9—5 and is embarking on a lifestyle adventure to Thailand. I am just as excited as he is to find out how it goes!

7. The Natural Order: I admit it, I am in love with Paulo Coelho’s blog posts, especially these short & powerful ones. So much wisdom packed into such tiny doses.

8. Net Worth vs Self Worth: The Passion Paradox: Great post. Somebody HAD TO SAY IT …and it’s about time. I do not agree with every aspect, but I do agree with the fact that if you want to make money, you have to work — passion or not.

Sometimes it happens that a person’s passions also pay their bills, but those results are not typical. I don’t think I like the way the rest of us are starting to feel about the more traditional path: work to pay the bills, and to have the freedom to pursue our passions in our spare time.

Have a gorgeous weekend, my loves! Spread love & light wherever you may go.