Category Archives: Featured
The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.
Related Posts:
20 Things to Be Thankful For That Don’t Revolve Around Cash
Have you found yourself cash deficient and losing sight of the beauty that the world has to offer? Whatever you do, don’t allow your fears and frustrations to get the best of you. Allow for what is working and beautiful in your life to offer you strength and courage. In an effort to help us remember the many free things in life that we can be thankful for, here are 20 things to be thankful for:
- The art of conversation
- A forever friend
- A stranger’s nod and smile
- The love of a child
- The touch of a loved one
- A listening ear
- Legs on which to walk
- Eyes with which to see
- Hands which can build and touch
- Words of wisdom
- The ability to be kind and help
- Tummy tickling laughter
- The sun shinning in the sky
- The moon illuminating our nights
- The blue sea
- Prayer and meditation
- A good ole’ jog in the park
- Sleep for a weary mind
- Grace and forgiveness
- Hope
Related Posts:
If This Were My Last Day on Earth I’d…
The days we live
just skip on by
as we think about what could be
what should have been
or what may one day be.
All this thinking
and planning
plodding
just seems to cloud the mind
depress the soul
inspire more couch sitting
staring at walls
grinding of teeth.
But what if this were your last day on earth?
What would you do?
There are some who would probably fret until they fell to the ground...
Others who would grab onto their loved ones and hold on tight...
Some who would do that one thing they wanted to do for the past 20 years...
I've thought hard about what I'd do,
about the moments I've felt most alive...
Visions of me long ago
gliding along on a jet ski on a desert lake
permeate my mind...
my hair blowing in the wind
face warmed by the summer sun
and me singing a song
that only my heart could hear.
This is when I felt most alive...and free...
I wonder sometimes why we bind ourselves?
Why we sit and ponder our dreams,
yet punish ourselves
for
wanting something more.
If this were the last day on earth....
I think I'd inspire all who I love
to come with me and journey to my warm and sunny desert lake
and there we'd laugh and play,
listen to a bit of Beach Boys and Frank Sinatra
while enjoying the feel of warm water,
a desert breeze
and the smell of sage baking in the sun.
When I was a kid,
We'd spend amazing days on the lake...
and when it came time to leave my heart would ache...
I'd wish that if only the car would break
then we'd be forced to stay
and just play...
If it were my last day on earth...
that's it...I'd just play.
And smile...
Maybe even laugh
Sing
and swim until the sun dipped
behind the sandy, cactus covered hills...
Then I'd feel amazingly free...
----
What about you...what would you do?
- Jen Engevik
Related Posts:
Why Achieving Your Dreams is More Possible in Today’s World Than Ever!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about systems of old and how they use to hold us back from reaching for our dreams. For
instance, if you wanted to publish a book, you had to write a query letter and be at the mercy of sometimes limited thinking publishing companies.
Or if you wanted to make a film or documentary, you had to run around like a wild person and plead for a production company or studio to help bring your project to life.
In the case you were an innovator, you had to find distributors and try to convince them that your product was worthy.
Fast forward to late 2011 and now we have the ability to be our own publishers, our own production companies, and product distributors via our personal computers. Yeeehawww! Now that’s a lot of power to hold!! The only thing that limits us is our outlook, creativity, and resourcefulness.
Let’s take my three above scenarios to reveal what an amazing age we are living in…
1. Writing and publishing a book. The first step is to write your heart out. Second, is to create a simple blog or Website, open a Paypal or Google Checkout account, and learn how to post your book with link to purchase via Paypal or Google Checkout. Third, create e-book publisher accounts on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other key publishers. Once you’ve finished your book and edited it carefully, you can post it on your Website and/or within various online stores and advertise it via Google and social media. Done!
In the case that your e-book goes bananas and sells millions of copies, publishers will be knocking down your door. In today’s world, chasing a publisher may take years…now we can do it ourselves! The secret is to just get your work out there and get eyeballs on it, rather than letting it sit on your computer hard drive until you’re old and gray.
2. Make a movie. The same is true where movies and documentaries are concerned. Invest your time and effort into creating something that people will love. Give the world a teaser…and then sell your movie via iTunes or your savvy Website. You can even get creative and go after product placement deals within your movie…you’ll just need to prove that potentially millions of eyeballs will see your flick. The sky is the limit!
3. Releasing a new product. The key is to fill a need for humanity. If you think your product idea has the ability to solve problems and/or inspire people, the only thing that limits you is your ability to promote it. Thanks to the Web, it is possible to launch a new product within moments once it’s been produced.
Throughout my marketing career, I’ve learned that there are many amazing products out there…but…if the marketing effort isn’t there…they tend to fade into oblivion. Beyond delivering innovative, high-quality products, we must find the right method for advertising and marketing. Once a product starts selling in masses, distributors will be knocking down the door to become a part of our visions.
As the new year approaches, think deeply on how you can improve the lives of others…follow your passions…and open your eyes to possibility! Looking for help in guiding your vision, I’d love to assist you…e-mail me at jen@projectbebold.com. Also, feel free to scroll down and comment below to share your ideas and thoughts!
Have a beautiful day!
Jen Engevik
Project BE Bold
Related Posts:
What is in a Dream?
I’ve found myself thinking lately about the dreams that live within the heart. I fight for dreams realized, yet wonder just
like everyone else if they should be given up for a different road that could grow into a new dream. Within my deepest longings, I’ve always longed to live by the warmest of seas…and walk barefoot 12 months of the year. I also dreamed of an amazing and fulfilling love. Today, I’m here in Gothenburg, Sweden…an amazing city near a chilly sea. It is for love that I’m here.
As I try to imagine my future, I am struck with how dreams evolve…and how things like love and family can reshape destiny. The balance of compromise and dreams realized is an art to say the least.
My mind tosses between my love for a dream and the call of reality. Today, I wandered into a tiny coffee shop called the Mahogany…it’s a famous spot with amazing coffee drinks and fresh pastries. Behind the desk was a man from Washington D.C. He was excited to hear that I am from California and shared with me how he misses his hometown and followed love to Gothenburg. “I miss my home,” he said with emotion-filled eyes. “I’m just not sure how things will shape up.” Now with a child and a Swedish wife, he’s in a beautiful place, but lives between an amazing town and the place he calls home in his heart.
We all make decisions that lead us down a path…and sometimes our decisions split our hearts in two pieces. One piece loving a person…and the other loving a place or a cherished dream.
Yesterday I read the theory that Amelia Earhart may have survived her tragic crash and tried to make it on a small island in the pacific. Items such as a comb and compact mirror were found some time ago, along with a bit of bone thought to have belonged to a woman. DNA tests are currently being conducted. What if it were Amelia and her belongings found?
In an attempt at following her dreams, can you imagine her gazing at the stars at night on an island all alone, as warm winds swept from one end of the island to another? I wonder if she concluded that her dreams were worth the result? She could have played it safe and been strolling around the streets of Kansas or New Your City with a skirt and high heels…instead of sitting under the stars with a pair of torn trousers and only her thoughts. During the time she was praying she’d be rescued, did she dream of what life would have been if she had played it safe…or did visions of all she’d seen while flying in her plane flood her mind?….of her solo flight across the Pacific to Europe…gliding high above animal herds in Africa…or circling the majestic skyline of New York City…
Dreams and decisions can be tricky…the process confounding. How about you? Things shaping up OK?
- Jen Engevik
Project BE Bold
Related Posts:
Jen Engevik’s Bold Speech for TED.com: 5 Steps to Boldness
The following is a speech developed by Jen Engevik and Anette Ericsson on the concept of boldness. It outlines 5 Steps to Bold Living that can be applied to your and anyone’s life. Pass it on!
Related Posts:
First Step to Boldness
After studying some of the world’s boldest men, women and children, it has become more and more obvious to me that
Galileo in Court - Sharing HIs Truth
they seem to share five traits. I’ll be sharing them at the TED Conference in Irvine today via video. In an effort to give you a sneak peak, I’ll provide you the first of the five that I”ll be sharing:
1. They listen to the truth within. Plato instructed humanity to “know thyself.” He discovered that when we fail to examine our selves, it is rather impossible to have a purpose in this world.
A couple examples include:
Galileo – He just couldn’t resist standing up and shouting to the world that the earth rotates around the sun…because it was the truth! The government and church taught the opposite and were worried that if the world learned the truth there would be a revolution. They tried to silence Galileo, yet he didn’t quit. They took him to court…he still didn’t quit. They then sentenced him to house arrest until his death. He chose to put his life on the line for future generations. His perseverance was driven by truth…and oodles of gumption…you gotta love it!
Rosa Parks – She stood up for her truth…that she was just as valuable as a white person. In defiance of a ridiculous law, she refused to sit at the back of the bus with the other black men and women. Her actions played a major role in changing history forever!
Knowing thyself appears to mean…
- understanding what makes you tick
- fully examining your beliefs and testing them against reality
- daring not to follow the pack and thinking for yourself
- not being threatened by those you don’t understand and listening to their stories
- knowledge of your body and how you can maintain true health & balance
Those who fail to know their truths…or are just too fearful to acknowledge them tend to be quite unfocused, unhappy, frustrated, frustrating, and dreamless.
I can’t help but wonder if this is why so many of us are miserable and depressed in this world. So many of us fail to really look inside, buck the system, and do our part in changing/improving the world.
If you find yourself doubting yourself…how about taking a bit of time to get to know who you really are. Ask yourself…”if I could do anything in this world…what would I do?” And then think hard…what within inspires you to desire your dream? Such knowledge is a perfect starting point!
I’ll be a part of the Ted Conference today…check it out from 11-4…the live stream will be at http://www.livestream.com/tedxyouthbommercanyon.
Thank you for reading!
- Jen Engevik
Project BE Bold
