Last week was an interesting week that started off on a high note and actually ended on a high note, but had a minor bump in the road. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, I am finally back in New York City after a crazy travel schedule. I spend the last week of March and the first week of April in Denver so I could be with my BFF. I promised my BFF that I would come home to be with her when her father passed and that’s exactly what I did. It was a bittersweet return home but I felt it was an absolute honor being at her side.
I spent last week in San Jose/San Francisco with the hubs. He attended a training and I stayed in the hotel like a prisoner. Just kidding- I got to explore a little bit of Santa Cruz but I spent most of my days in coffee shops doing work. It was a busy week for me and my social media clients and I had to prepare to launch our East WillyB Kickstarter campaign. (Which you can support by donating and sharing the news about the campaign here!)
After a fantastical week in San Francisco full of adventure, rain and stuffing my face with the most delicious crab and shrimp a girl could ever want, we had to head back to NYC. We took different flights back home, so the hubs left at 11am and I had to wait until 1pm. Here’s a fun fact about me: I HATE FLYING. I fly at least 2-3 times of year (if I’m lucky) because we love traveling, but every time I get on a plane, I treat it as the last time I will EVER be alive. So I have a stupid habit that probably makes people think I’m a bit “special.” First, I must step onto the plane with my right foot and I have to touch the outside of the plane as I enter the cabin. Then, I take my seat, put my seatbelt on and try not to think of the horrible way that I am about to die. After that, I look for the closest exits and life rafts. After I’ve identified the proper exit locations, I begin to think how I might survive a crash. Then I get really upset and scared and start reading the SkyMall Magazine. Once we leave the gate and prepare for take-off, I start to pray silently and to myself and I do the holy cross and beg La Virgen de Guadalupe, my guardian angel, my grandmother and God not to let me die like this. Then I relax and try to enjoy the movies or magazines that I brought.
Most of my flights are perfectly fine and I actually got use to minor turbulence. Living in Colorado means that you will experience turbulence on your way in and on your way out. That’s just a fact of life, but what happened to me on Sunday was no small turbulence. It was 30 minutes of absolute hell and I’ve never been so close to losing my mind. To begin the trip, the plane was a half hour late departing and the flight attendants were the most obnoxious women that I have ever encountered on a flight. One of them had a Cali-valley-girl accent and the other one had a cute southern drawl that turned annoying very quickly because she had no southern charm. They treated the intercom system as if it was their personal walkie-talkies and were quick to let us know that the delay was not their fault at all, but the fault of the catering staff.
Once we left, we had some minor turbulence as we approached our cruising height. About two hours into the flight, as we flew over what must have been Oklahoma and the midwest, the plane took a sudden drop and I just about peed my pants. Then, another drop, side to side and more up and down movement. I grasped my seat and start saying another silent prayer. Then I hear a female voice come over the intercom:
“Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking, we will be experiencing some heavy turbulence as we go over a big storm right now, please stay in your seats with seat belts tightly fastened. Flight attendants, take your seats.”
My first thought was this (and I apologize now to everyone):
“WHAT THE HELL IS THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT DOING PRETENDING SHE’S THE CAPTAIN! GET OFF THE $%*& INTERCOM SYSTEM AND QUIT SCARING US!”
That was literally my first thought. Then the intercom system comes back on and I hear another female voice: “Ladies and gentleman, you heard our captain, we ask that you please do not get out of your seat until we have passed the storm. Please. Stay. In. Your. Seats!” She scolded us and I realized that I was wrong. We had a female captain flying the plane and then I thought this (apologies again to my feminist friends):
“GET OFF THE INTERCOM SYSTEM AND FOCUS ON FLYING THE PLANE! THAT’S LIKE TEXTING AND DRIVING! NO WONDER WE’RE ALL OVER THE PLACE!”
The plane continued to drop and roll from left to right for 30 awful minutes and I was clawing at my window and my arm rest for it to stop! Nothing helped. I tried reading but that didn’t help. I tried watching a movie, that didn’t help. I tried putting my face down in my lap, that was awful and made me want to vomit, so I just sat there clutching my legs for dear life! If I could have folded myself into a fetal position then I would have but I felt so helpless and scared. It turned we experienced clear air turbulence which is difficult to fly in and undetectable. Great.
Once we made it through the storm, I calmed down and realized what a sexist pig I had been. Why wouldn’t a women be able to fly a plane? After all, women airline pilots make up 5% of airline pilots, totaling 8200 as of December 2011. I never had a female airline pilot fly a plane I was in and I was surprised. After I got over my sexist episode, I realized what a fantastic job she did getting us through that storm because it was the same storm that spawned 100 tornadoes in the midwest.
Even though I felt like I was going to die, I was pleasantly humbled by this female airline pilot. I just wish her stupid flight attendants would have been as awesome as she was. I’m glad to report that I didn’t die but I’m pretty sure that was a close call.
As you know, I’m a part of the bloggers who are doing the #Nando25 challenge. I haven’t’ been keeping up online but I have been keeping up with my own little journal. I hope you have been able to follow along. We will be having a live chat again this week and you can register to win prizes with Nando and to ask him your questions about the challenge or about life in general. He’s good at answering those questions.
I was fortunate to do two videos with Nando on topics that I find to be of particular importance to my life. The first video is all about taking UNREASONABLE ACTIONS in your life to make all your dreams come true and to meet your goals. This topic is near and dear to my heart because it has helped me get out of a few ruts and I tend to take unreasonable actions to meet my goals. Hell, our entire move to NYC was a HUGE unreasonable action and it has paid off. Here is my first video with Nando. Don’t mind that I look emotionally constipated, I was super nervous and hot. Enjoy.(Disclaimer: if you pause it at certain moments- I look like a gopher!)
The second video is all about dealing with what you are resisting in your life. The idea is that what you resist persists in your life until you address it. This is especially true in relationships. If you don’t address the things that are affecting you with your loved ones, then the problems will continue to persist in your life. You will notice that life is going to give you the same challenges over and over and over until you learn how to deal with them. So, take that unreasonable action, deal with whatever you are resisting in your life and get it over with already. 
Join me tonight as we speak to Nando live! You can join the event or just follow along here or on Twitter #Nando25. Enjoy!
I have the great privilege of being a part of this project and I am asking for your help! We have launched our own Kickstarter campaign in an effort to fund our entire first season on our own with the help of the community!
Please support independent Latino programming that is created by Latinos and for Latinos. We are challenging the representation of Latinos in the media and want to show that we are more than just maids, gardeners, or gang members.
Any amount helps and I would greatly and kindly appreciate your support! You can go here to donate!
Please share with your networks and everyone you know!
Source: ingerjohanna.blogspot.com via Adrian on Pinterest
Today I will have to make a difficult decision in my life and my career. It sucks but it’s necessary. I’ll keep you posted but I have to keep pushing.
I’ll keep you posted. How’s the #Nando25 challenge going?
The #Nando25 Challenge Idea: We add meaning to life situations–then, sadly, believe they are true. Read the rest of this entry »
The Idea: I want you to consider the concept of SCAMS. It’s a 2 sided concept that serves a purpose in your life. Read the rest of this entry »
The Idea: Being present is just that, being present. Notice I didn’t say, be present and smile. Or, be present and happy. That’s not centered in authenticity. If you’re truly present in every situation, you can identify your state of being–whether the interaction left you void of energy or filled with hope. Being present is allowing yourself to be in the moment–the very moment you’re in, not allowing your mind to drift off into tomorrow or slip back into yesterday.
The Lesson: Watch the video and be present.
The Homework:
1. Start being present at work, with your kids, when around your loved-ones and be aware of when you’re pulling yourself out of the now. And why?
2. Post on our private “facebook #Nando25 page” how you feel about this assignment.
Before we begin, I need to establish some ground rules; there’s only 1. For the next 25 days, I request that you make yourself “coachable.” What exactly does that mean? That some of the theories I will introduce to you might seem foreign at first or maybe you’ve heard then before and they “didn’t work” but there’s a reason you’re on this page and a reason you’re reading…it’s because you were not coachable at that time. Before you read below, I’d like for you to make the declaration–out loud, “I will make myself coachable for these next 25 days.”
Make sure you did Pre-Work assignment #1: #Nando25 assignment 1
Make sure you did Pre-Work assignment #2: #Nando25 assignment 2
Life Only Happens in Language
The idea: If you allow me into your mind for the next 25 days, I can actually guarantee that at the end of the journey, there will still be you, only better; think of it as the 2.0 version of yourself. How sexy does that sound? But all of this must begin with the idea that life happens only in language.
The lesson: I’d like to introduce you to two ideas—subscribing to these two theories will be key ingredient in the next 25 days. The first being that life only happens in language. It’s in our language that we root our thoughts and behaviors. Language propels—what we think of ourselves + others—into real life. Do you get that? Language is a powerful tool that we often times misuse–especially on ourselves–in order to achieve ultimate life #fails.
Example #1:
Why does one person love going out on dates while another person hates it? Language. The person who dislikes dating thinks, “Here I go again, another date. I wonder how long this one will last?” vs the other person who’s excited and thinks, “Here I go again, another date! I wonder how long this one will last!” Same words but do you see the difference?
Example #2:
You have one person who thinks, “I’m so fat + disgusting. I guess I’ll try that new diet I saw on Dr. Oz. Maybe that will work…maybe. He’s so skinny, I wish I had me some of him.” vs someone who says,”I know I need to be a little healthier in my food choices so I’m going to eat only fresh + clean foods this week. I saw on Dr. Oz that people found success doing that so here I go! And that Dr. Oz sure does know how to work a scrub!”
Example #3:
“I can’t seem to get out of this creative rut, I lack motivation. My eBook, blog, business (insert other areas weakened by your rut) Let me just switch on Maury Povich and find out “Who’s the baby-daddy.” If those are the thoughts you’re having and the language you’re using, it’s time to change the conversation. Just change it. Instead of reaching for the remote control, reach for the phone and call someone from your support group list that you’ve identified in Pre-Work assignment #2 and change the conversation. Once you change the conversation, you change your world!
The words we choose to use in our daily lives trigger responses that you’re not even aware of half the time. Your life is happening all around you–because of the language you’re using. Choose your words wisely.
The second idea is that action, and only action, brings forth transformation. You can go on a diet, but cheat and never lose a single pound. Your actions didn’t reflect your goal. You can go for a new job interview, but you didn’t do your research on the company and when asked, “What do you know about us?” You gave the generic response, “I know I wanna work here!” You failed to “do” your part to really get that new role. You can write your one-man-show and just leave it on your bookshelf for 2-years and complain that no one has ever produced it. Have you taken “action” to getting it produced? I’ve never of the “producing fairies” invading someone’s home at midnight looking for manuscripts, have you? You can sit around and complain that your boss doesn’t respect or even like you–then take action and get a better job–some people you just cannot and will not win over–but how much time are you willing to spend dealing with it? Action must correlate to your language.
Love only happens in language. You can’t physically touch love. You can wrap it up in a box and give it away, nor can someone take it away from you. An ionic hair dryer is tangible. A dead bird splattered on 5th Ave is tangible. A dirty toenail clipping on the Q train is tangible–love is not. Love is a magical and wonderful idea that lives in language–why do you think you always want your “loved one” to tell you they love you? Because subconsciously, you already knew that: love only exists in language. You might be saying, “My man shows me love when he takes me out to dinner.” If you dissect that act, truly pick it apart, the action is: he’s giving you food, tangible–not love–not tangible. You may interpret that as love, which is okay, but then, why weeks later do you find yourself saying, “You haven’t told me you love me?”
Again, try on these ideas for the next 25 days. I warned you some of these concepts would be foreign, but stick with me, I promise, they will all come together.
It’s only when accepting/working/acknowledging these two theories “together” that we can bring about transformation. Notice I didn’t say, “change,” and that’s because I don’t think you need to change, you’re perfect, just “as is.” But I know we’re all looking and willing to be transformed into a better person.
What will it take to make these transformations? One word: Power. And what is power? Power: the time-frame it takes an idea to manifest. Step back and re-read that over again.
In the next 25 Days, again—only if you open yourself up to the 2 ideas I introduced to you: Life only happens in Language and Action brings forth transformation, will you start to experience a new way of “being.”
On this journey, I’m not going to “help” you, per se; that would be wrong of me, instead, I will empower you to transform. Helping someone is grounded in the theory that you seek acknowledgement for the help you gave; I’m not looking for that. I don’t need the pats on the back. Empowering someone means that the person you empowered takes flight and soars. I want you to soar in these next 25 days, and you will, because it’s just been said.
Homework: Start noticing your language. Notice how life centers on the words you say and how it affects those around you. If you say you will be somewhere at 6pm, and you arrive at 6:14pm, you’re not honoring your word—and that’s not sexy. And how do people’s attitudes/behaviors change when you don’t honor your word? Are your dates a little disturbed? Is your boss a bit upset? Are you kids looking at you with disapproval because they just spent the last 45 minutes with the cafeteria lady who smells like roast beef? Also, start to notice your behavior, and how your language affects it. Are you dreading a certain conversation, call, or meeting because of “the language” you’re using to predict the future? “This is gonna suck!” almost guarantees you have some anxiety entering the situation and you’ve also just set yourself up for a miserable time even before this event takes place.
- Think back + notice 3 instances last week where the language you use didn’t serve you and what you could have said instead.
- Write down 3 instances in which your behavior is affected by your language.
- Identify 3 other concept that only happen in language. How does this change your view of life?
That wasn’t so hard, right? If you said, “Yes it was you Mexican slave-driver!” Then I can’t wait for tomorrow because I introduce you to the concept of SCAMS!
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