When you miss the cord

The other day I reached my hand for the cord to open the blinds and I missed! This was a first. I've never misjudged the distance between my hand and the cord to the blinds. In fact, it's almost become instinctual. Everyday I open the blinds and every night I close them. No big deal. And truly it's not a big deal that I awkwardly reached and missed, but since it was the first time it had happened, I noticed. 

Isn't that funny? A simple task, I do everyday, that I never paid attention too (until I missed the goal). A task that (for me) required minimal thought and definitely does not affect my future, unless you consider sun coming through the window and a lovely view, a long term benefit (I actually do!)

How often do we "miss" a goal or deadline in life? Or we don't say what we know we should have in a moment? Or we say something we know we shouldn't have said in a moment?

And then we focus on the miss, the mistake, the words that came out of our mouth. 

Instead, we should be focusing on what we do well, what we succeed at. What keeps us growing and moving forward.

I've opened the blinds hundreds of times, but the most memorable time is the time my hand didn't connect with the cord. 

Think about your day-to-day. How often do you praise yourself for something good? Even if it's as simple as complimenting someone on their shoes in the 60-seconds you have with them on the elevator? Or whether it's biting your tongue from saying what you really want to say to your co-worker who made the same mistake for the 3rd time this week? 

Such a simple "mistake" that really opened my eyes to how we view our everyday. 

Focus on what you've done well and let that attitude grow and prosper. We will all make mistakes, fall short, and disappoint each other. There's not really a way to get around making mistakes.. Unless you burrow yourself in and never expose yourself to people or challenges (and I would argue that decision itself, is a mistake).

I've made a million mistakes and I do not want too, but I am pretty sure I'll make more. I don't want to spend my life focusing on the 1/100 "miss of the cord." Instead I'd rather focus on the 99 times I open and close the blinds successfully. How about you?

Choose to stand up again, with confidence and attack what you know you are called to do. Don't be afraid of "missing the blind" or of making a mistake. Treat every mistake as a learning experience. Move forward. Forget the old; get on with the new. 

There's a huge world out there, waiting for you to take a few shots, miss a few shots, and sink just a couple. 

3 Ingredient Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This is the easiest soup you will ever make, aside from opening a can and pushing "start!" And.. You already know 2/3 the 3 ingredients!

In a stockpot, over medium heat, add 1 - 32 oz box of organic beef or vegetable broth and a 16 oz bag of broccoli. Cover and Bring to almost a boil.

Reduce the heat a couple notches and add in an 8oz bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Add in your favorite spices (but no salt). I used cumin, a salt-free ranch type mix, cumin & turmeric.  Cover and let cook for 5-7 min. 

If you have an immersion blender, use it, and leave some chunks of broccoli. If not, let cool a little bit and then use a regular blender. 

Enjoy! 

Nutrition per serving (based on 4 servings):

271 calories, 18g fat, 6g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 20g protein

A Crash Close to Home

In Gaithersburg, MD, small planes fly around all the time. I've always loved it, because I want to be a small planes pilot and own a plane so I can travel to visit friends and family on my own time ;-) 

On Monday, at 8:30 am, as I was walking up to a home in Gaithersburg, I looked up and smiled at a small plane flying close to the house. It was lightly snowing and it was beautiful. For some reason that day, the plane sighting was memorable & brought joy to my heart. It's probably because I was walking up to the home of one of my best friends, my confidant, my business coach, and now the mother-in-law of my favorite (and only!) brother Rob. Her name is Kristin. What better way to spend a Monday morning?

We packed up a rental truck for Rob & Tayden with beacoup d' wedding gifts, boxes, and furniture... My little brother, married... moving... and starting his life & business with his eternal partner, down in Wilmington, NC. It was an exciting day and a reflective day for me. 

Just before 11am, we had finished up loading the truck, and had gathered in the house to pray for Rob and Tay and their journey. As we are praying, I'm remembering when Rob was born (we're 7.5 years apart), I held him as a baby, I saw him go off to college, and saw him become a man... a married man, and I've seen him work his butt off as an entrepreneur. It was special & I'm so proud of him. 

As  we were praying, the family dog, Jake, was howling from outside, wanting to get back inside. It was different though. I think he may have heard the crash. 

It made us all laugh. We had no idea. I think I busted out laughing first, during Rob's prayer. I try to make a point to not laugh during prayer...unless it's just me and God. Me & God have the same sense of humor (that's probably true for you too!) and sometimes laughter is a part of prayer... but not usually in public. Ok, moving on...  

As Rob was praying, we also heard sirens. Actually, an abundance of sirens. I'm a former EMT, and as I'm hearing these sirens, I'm thinking, hmm... this is something big. I said a silent prayer for what was going on. We had no idea. 

We finished up our prayer, hugged, cried, and sent Rob & Tayden off to pack up more stuff at my parents house. Kristin and I stayed at the house and she showed me pictures from a trip she and her husband (and my other business coach), Terry, had just returned from. It was an all expenses paid trip to Vegas, paid for in full by the Amway corporation. She was showing me pictures and videos of some of their adventures, and we were just talking and dreaming about the future.

At the same time, less than a mile away, there was a tragedy unfolding. A small plane (the same type of plane that I'd been smiling at a couple hours earlier) lost control and hit a home, killing a mother, and her 2 young children, in addition to the 3 people on the plane. Looking back, we heard the response, and had no clue. 

We were praying; I was laughing... actually I think we were all laughing, I was just the one who couldn't keep it in! And we were sending my brother and his beautiful, new wife off to start their new life. 

It was less than a mile away from us. I mean we heard it. It could have easily been us. I'm not yet a wife, or a mother, and obviously I'll never be a dad, so I don't even know how to feel, respond, or even really speak on the subject. 

The only thing I can say is that we can't waste time. We are here for a mere moment. And in that moment, we must make a difference in other people's lives. Me must. We are all so capable of affecting others positively and stepping up to the plate. It could be financial, it could be time, it could be smiling and saying hello to someone at the grocery store. 

People everywhere are starving for positive attention (in my opinion!) There are so many times I simply ask people, "how's your day today?" I'm so amazed that most people I ask truly stop and say, 'thanks for asking, actually, x,y,z' And we connect. 

Let us be a people that loves on each other wherever we are. That we take each opportunity we have to inspire someone. That we take every moment we can to thank God for the blessings in our lives. That we live as if today makes a difference. It does. 

The outpouring of giving for the Gemmell family in financial giving has been incredible. Marie (wife), and their sons Cole & Devin are survived by Ken and their oldest child, Arabelle. Less than 48 hours after the incident, by the click of a mouse, a Good Samaritan initiated a response that has brought in over $322,000 in support. 

Please consider giving. 

And if nothing else, just be thankful for your family, your life and the impact you can have on your fellow man/woman.

Love y'all,

Monica 

Sent from my iPad

Please consider donating: http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2014/Fundraiser-for-Gemmell-Family-Raises-More-than-200000-in-Less-Than-24-Hours/

YOU ARE SO WORTH IT

I'm so thankful to be surrounded by dreamers on a regular basis. Sometimes we (dreamers) are outcasted or "sympathetically" patted on the back for thinking outside the box. 

If you don't know better, you'll listen to the 'committee of they' who don't mind going through life as if it's expected. 

Some of us like spontaneity & change and we must be in pursuit of something all the time. That's me. 

I can't stop thinking about my calling, about who I can help, about what I can do to help others live better. 80% of my thoughts go to the team of entrepreneurs I've been blessed to be friends with & the people I've been entrusted to help live better. 

This is for all y'all that have ever had a fear or a doubt, who want to pursue something better or who are in pursuit and sometimes need a reminder that what you are doing is good and will be worth it. 

WORTH IT 

It's harder than I thought 

(It's ok, it'll be worth it)

It's taking longer than I expected 

(Don't fear, it'll be worth it)

It seems impossible 

(No doubt, it's positively worth it) 

A lot of people laugh at my dreams 

(Oh.. than it's definitely worth it)

I'm not that special

(Yes, you are, you're so worth it)

Nobody gets me

(You're still worth it)

Do I have what it takes?

(Yes...you're totally worth it)

The price seems too high

(Nope, it's worth it)

Ok, Maybe I can do it 

(Yes, you are 100% worth it)

I believe I can

(Me too, you are so worth it)

I am pursuing my dreams

(Yes! It will be worth it)

Keep going no matter what the price, obstacle, or victory

(In the end the pursuit is so worth it)