Tag: quote

Think - Speak - Inspire

Stay Grateful, Not Hateful

danicote

“Keep a grateful journal. Every night, list five things that happened this day that you are grateful for. What it will begin to do is change your perspective of your day and your life. If you can learn to focus on what you have, you will always see that the universe is abundant; you will have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey

I read this earlier in the day and it kept popping up into my head throughout the day. I like to think that I’m pretty grateful and let people know how much I appreciate them. However, sometimes it’s hard not to get caught up in my everyday hustle and bustle…and just like that another day is coming to an end.

As today comes to a close, I’ve decided that I am going to start keeping an (electronic) Grateful Journal. That way it can sync on my phone and computer giving me no reason why I can’t finish each day with five reasons that I should be filled with gratitude.

I figured I would share my first 5 with you all:

  1. My compact car and awesome brakes: I was inches away from getting in a car accident today. Traffic went from 65 mph to almost a complete stop in the matter of seconds.
  2. The Missy Elliott Pandora Station: Enough said.
  3. “Best EVER Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies” from Chelsea’s Messy Apron that I made tonight: Hey, I need to get some sugar in before The 30 Clean starts in 19 days!
  4. 32 Things You Should Be Grateful For: Sometimes you really need to get back to life’s basics and appreciate the little things.
  5. Hugs: Some people aren’t “huggers”, but I really think hugs are underrated. What’s better than a hug after a long day or when you’re just really feeling a little down?!

HugsBoy Meets World Fan for Life.

Hugs 2#ByeFelicia

Hugs 3We all need somebody to lean onnnnnn…

Hug 4Oh, come here you.

What about you – do you take enough time to think of all the things that you’re grateful for? Do you like the idea of writing down five things everyday? 

Pure Barre, Think - Speak - Inspire

Love What You Do and Who You Do it With

danicote

People, people, get your minds out of the gutter.

Last night, I went out for Mexican (and margaritas) to celebrate one of our amazing teachers, Courtney, who is relocating to embark on a new adventure with her husband.

MargaritasHey, remember that time I cut out sugar?

I always get sad having to say “see you later” to a coworker, especially when the coworker is also a friend. And then I started to think… The majority of the people who have become some of my greatest friends over the years were my coworkers. I’ve been lucky enough (for the most part) to always work with really awesome people. This has often made my jobs not always feel like work…and when it did feel like work, the people I was surrounded by always made it so much better.

Currently, at the two Pure Barre studios that I work at (right outside of Charlotte, NC) there are thirteen lovely ladies that I get to call my coworkers.

TeachersIt’s rare to get ALL 14 of us together at once – woohoo!

These thirteen women are so much more than coworkers – they are more like family. And here are a dozen reasons why I’m so happy to have them in my life:

P  Passionate.. about teaching and everything that they do.
U  Understanding.. there to lend an ear or two..or shoulder to cry on.
R  Reliable.. they’re always there when you need them.
E  Energetic.. when you’re having “one of those days” and need a boost.

B  Beautiful.. both inside and out.
A  Above Average.. in everything that they do.
R  Reassuring.. that everything is going to be alright.
R  Resourceful.. hey, because LIFE happens sometimes.
E  Eager.. to share their stories and listen to yours.

L  Lovable.. all day, everyday.
K  Kind hearted.. is there a mean bone in any of them?!
N  Necessary.. in MY life and in the lives of so many others.

Well, well, well.. wouldn’t my fifth grade teacher be proud?

Amanda, Belinda, Courtney, Frances, Jamie, Jenna, Jeri, Julie, Kate, Katie, Michelle, Stephanie, and Vanessa – I love you all!

And before I go, here’s four of my favorite quotes about loving what you do:

“Never continue in a job you don’t enjoy. If you’re happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success than you could possibly have imagined.” – Johnny Carson

“The people who make it to the top – whether they’re musicians, or great chefs, or corporate honchos – are addicted to their calling … [they] are the ones who’d be doing whatever it is they love, even if they weren’t being paid.” – Quincy Jones

“There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn’t that a little like saving up sex for your old age?” – Warren Buffet

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” – Maya Angelou

What about you? Have you had coworkers turn into friends? Do you love your job? If not, what do you need to do get to where you do love your job and the people that you work with?

Think - Speak - Inspire

This is Life, Please Hold.

danicote

“Hello, this is Life, please hold.”

Pause. Break. Time out. Freeze. Hang on. Stop. Please hold.

You’ve got 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 12 months in a year to experience this thing called life. Sounds like a lot of time, but when it’s all said and done aren’t we all always saying how time seems to fly by? Isn’t it funny how when we’re enjoying ourselves time does seem to fly by, but when we are doing things that we don’t enjoy time seems to drag on and on? When we get caught up in our day to day routines it can become easy to complain about the “small stuff”. Every once in a while life seems to throw us a curveball and we are reminded how precious and fragile life is. For a bit, we seem to appreciate our time more. More importantly, we appreciate the people around us more and tend to complain less and live our lives a little better. It can become really easy to slip back into our routines and that go go go mindset.

Nowadays, most people seem to go at 100mph. Consider a typical day for yourself. Work. Significant others. School. Children. Errands. Pets. Car trouble. Bills. Working out. Illness. The list goes on and on and often times seem never-ending. One of the most important things in the midst of all the madness is taking a moment and asking yourself if you’re happy with your life. If not, what do you need to do to get there? It may not happen overnight, this year or within the next few years. However, if you’re on the way to getting to where you want to be, even if you never get there, your mindset will be so much better knowing you were heading in the right direction.

I read this earlier from Richard Carlson’s Handbook for the Soul:

“Find your true path. It’s so easy to become someone we don’t want to be, without even realizing it’s happening. We are created by the choices we make every day. And if we take action in order to please some authority figure, we’ll suddenly wake up down the road and say, “This isn’t me. I never wanted to be this person.” – Richard Carlson

I think a lot of us can relate to this. Whether it’s a job, relationship or lifestyle it can be very easy to get caught up without even realizing who we are becoming. For some of us, it might even be a combination of all of these things. If we are unhappy with one it can then have a direct effect on every other area of our lives spreading even more negativity. It may take months, it make take years…but, challenge yourself to find your true path so you can wake up down the road and say, “This is me. I’ve always wanted to be this person.”