Tune out ~ to Tune in

The happiest people in the world share one major common trait.  They know that in order to be truly free and happy in life, they must not allow themselves to be a enslaved to the ideas, thoughts, visions and fears of others.  Once we start "cloaking" ourselves in the ideas of others, we lose connection with our inner voice.  Does that make sense?

What does Inner Peace really mean?  What does it mean to you?  Can anyone have inner peace?  How is it acquired?  Can a person in any career or any situation in life be expected to be at peace?

These are questions I often ponder.  I have a large collection of books and one of them is written about the life of the Dalai Lama.  He is a remarkable Human Being...and the fact that he really is just a man like any other, should cause us all to pause and consider how it is he can do what seems elusive to the rest of us.

It is more and more important as time is passing, that we learn to manifest for ourselves, something awe-inspiring!  

We, as Human Beings, have many gifts and abilities and can accomplish much more than some of us allow ourselves to.  This idea began to emerge for me when I began to travel.  I found that travelling was my inspiration to achieving (striving to achieve) enlightenment.  Most of us want to have great experiences in life...most of us want to see other places in the world and try foreign cuisine.  Everyone can think of a place in some remote corner of the globe where they dream of visiting.  Some people say they cannot do it because they have no money.  I say- IF YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN, YOU WILL!

I challenge you to let yourself be changed and transformed through your life experiences.  When you broaden your horizons, you will get the sense of satisfaction that comes no other way!  If you are new at travelling, start small!  Do LOCAL things.  Simply set out to a random destination to watch the sunset from there instead of from your own back porch.  Ask yourself;  "How did that make me feel"?  Ask yourself why it feels different when you watch the sunset from the top of Prospect Park overlooking the City of Providence, compared to how it feels to struggle to see more sky while standing on the front lawn.  How can you describe the difference?  It is slightly intangible.  It is sort of like the difference between watching a movie on a small living room tv or watching that same movie at the IMAX cinema.  There is a feeling of being connected or embedded in the experience.

Wherever your journey takes you today, I hope you find happiness and peace.  They are your constant travel companions...they are not a destination.  They are within you all the time.  Think of yourself as the delivery system for peace and joy to others around you.  You deliver it by what you say, how you share, what you make others feel and by being of service to those in need.

I wish you a wonderful day to celebrate your life.

Namaste~

AngelMarie

What's on Your BucketList?

Good morning.  Sunday mornings seem like the right time to soul search and question life and ask the deep stuff.  Maybe asking the question about "what is on your bucket list" doesn't seem all that heavy.  But for me, this morning...maybe it is the right question. 

A few years ago a tv show called Glee premiered. 

I didn't want to fall in love with the next best teeny-bopper show that featured singing.  That being said, I DID fall in love with the Love story between Rachel and Finn (Lea Michelle and Cory Monteith).  This morning in the news I learned that Cory died at age 31 in a Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver.  So now is the right time to think about the Bucket List.

If I were to create a Bucket List right now it would include a home, travel and some certain life goals.  What I have learned is that you SHOULD write things down and express your INTENTION to achieve it because that is exactly how the Universal Law of Attraction will bring it into existence...that and the part where you work towards it. 

I would love to hear some of people's Bucket List wishes.  Who or what inspires you?

AngelMarie

Selling Stuff

July 12, 2013

Friday was a complicated day.

Pretty yellow flowers at Queens Botanical Garden
 

I have a lot of inner faith.  Sadly, I have faith in Universal Laws and Energy and Magnetism BUT I lack faith in myself.  I am still really hard on myself in spite of all the Spiritual confidence I have.  Does this make sense?

Friday was a challenge.  I have challenges at home...with the house and kids.  I feel like I cannot give everyone the attention they want and need and deserve.  A friend bought me food today and I cried over it.  So sensitive because of everything that is troubling me.

Selling stuff is a job...some people are in the job of selling stuff.  Some people sell things because they want others to buy it...and because others' buying it benefits that person.  some people want to sell stuff because if the buyer knows what they want...they want it and that is that.  Someone has to sell what it is others want to buy.  It's pretty simple over all.  I agreed to be a person who sells stuff and that is what I do.

I do not sell things to people.  People want things and I procure them and then transfer them. I act as a bridge and liaison between an experience and a person who wishes to have the experience.  The money exchange is the sale.  But the sale is not "what it's all about". 

It's all about the relationship.

Today I had my first sale as a Travel Agent.  Wednesday I had a small transaction with the promise of a honeymoon booking, but today I booked an Alaska Cruise and IT FELT GOOD!  I really owe it to my Team Leader because she has been so driven and focused and has refused to let me slide and has refused to let me be " easy" on myself.  She is a really great leader.  I mean it.

Some friends of mine will remember when I first started Travel Planning.  It began as a hobby for me.  Then Annika and I went on our adventure in Acting. 

learn more here:
http://annikamsalgado.blogspot.com/

Acting opened doors to traveling...going to so many new places.  Now I am really going places.  It's pretty exciting! Annika and I traveled throughout Boston by train and on foot and also in the car.  A few times her sister Daly was able to take my place and have these adventures with her.  She got a few jobs and we referred some friends who also got some opportunities.  She still loves Acting but we don't have much time for it anymore now that I am working longer hours.

My early experiences with traveling were from childhood.  I traveled in the womb.  My mom became pregnant with me while married to my father and living in West Palm Beach, Florida.  They divorced during this time and she came to Rhode Island to give birth to me.  I was born in Providence. 
Mom said that I was on a plane as a baby so maybe she traveled back to Florida to see my dad for some reason or his family.  I am not sure.  As a toddler, I was one of the early members of a Harley Motorcycle Club.  I never got my own hog....sad face.  I think I had a big wheel bike though...happy face.  My mom's boyfriend (who would become my Dad and adopt me at age 8), has always been a biker.  I can remember being a small child on a motorcycle and traveling to Florida (Daytona) or out to New Hampshire (Laconia).

Dad was also a Truck-Driver who did long hauls.  We went up and down the East Coast with him for years.  Childhood vacations weren't exactly glamorous or planned out elaborate type trips.  We WENT PLACES...constantly.  They liked to get out and go places.  For years we partnered with another family and spent our summer and autumn weekends out on Prudence Island.  We would ferry our car over from Portsmouth to the Island and we had a house with an enormous property.  We put up tents in the yard and just camped!

We did a fair amount of boating too.  My uncle Mike had a fishing boat and recreational boats so we got to explore the Warwick shoreline.  I did not grow up talking about travel per-se or going on elaborately planned vacations.  There were four kids in the family and one parent who worked to support us all, so life was simple.  Mom and Mom's family were farmers, so they stayed local most of their lives.  Dad's family were always very frugal.  My Grammi went on a cruise once.  She loved it and raves about it still. I wish she had/would go on more!

I could not go on one of my Band Trips when I was younger.  I was SO scared to fly.  I went on a very memorable trip (via bus) to a band competition in Montreal and we also visited Quebec.  IT WAS AMAZING.  I was so young, but I have such vivid memories of this wonderful experience. 

Learn more about Quebec here:
http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-en/montreal0.html


As an adult I vacationed in  New Hampshire, Cape Cod, Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida...some of these repeatedly.  It's AMAZING how you can pinch a penny.  Even BROKE you can travel...you really can.  No excuses.  I mean it.

So everything in my life changed after my daughter Annika was born...and then my brother was killed.  I started thinking about John and his bravery and sense of adventure.  He had lived in California and trained all over the world.  Then he went to IRAQ and Qatar.  I started to wish I could experience the world as he did and feel free...more free...I began to believe in the connection of FREEDOM and TRAVEL.  So I started planning my own family's vacations and also planning a MOVE to another state.  It took years for me to realize some of the dreams I had and when I realized them they were not exactly as I had planned them.  I blogged about the experiences along the way because writing is a favorite outlet of mine. 

See those blogs here:
http://lionandshark.blogspot.com/
recommended articles:  A Splendid Summer Diversion;
Reflections of Cocoa Beach;  summer Road-Trippin Cocoa Beach;  Flushing Queens Botanical Gardens

Florida became a favorite place for me.  Then my sister moved herself and husband and kids down there.  This past year my other sister moved there.  So now I am all alone up here in RI!  Well...you know what I mean.  I have the boyfriend and kids and the dogs and these two crazy cats....and lots and lots of friends and other family, but nothing can replace a sister.  Last summer I spent traveling and thinking about my life and trying to figure out how to put it all back together after tearing down the towers I had created that no longer served my higher calling and higher purpose in life (which is love).  I went to all the places I had been wanting to go.  When I came home from Florida I was refreshed.

Aside from the Traveling and Writing, there was the Planning and Organizing aspect that I love so much.  That was why for years we had been hosting and creating Events as Avonlea Weddings and Events.  It is hard to "break" into the industry as a small unknown because you need deep relationships and connections.  It takes a lot of time and connections and networking.  I kept working at it though.  Eventually some friends of mine wanted to create a group who would inspire and serve the community and so I was a contributor to organizing and implementing that.  My family vacations were always planned out to the last detail with an itinerary.  I love doing that.  Now I get to do that for others and get paid for it.

When you are passionate about something because YOU PERSONALLY LOVE IT...it is so easy to talk about.  When you talk about it with everyone you meet, eventually you will be heard by someone who wants, loves or needs the things you have connection to.  When you find that person, then they will know you have something that they need and want and that you have the resources to connect them with it and make it the best experience they could have.  THAT, to me, is what sales is.  I think I learned this from my friend Mike Harrold who was an exceptional salesman.  I dedicate this article to his memory.

Love and Peace to you all,

AngelMarie

The Trenches

written 7/11/2013

Title: The Trenches

“Being in the trenches with others”.

What do you think of when you hear that statement? Are you aware of what it means to be in the trenches? Those of us old enough to relate it to certain wars,Vietnam in my case, will immediately have pictures in our mind of scenes from movies and shows such as “Tour of Duty”. The trenches are a place we go to when there is a lot of gunfire and we are on the frontline of action. The trenches are a simple yet vital place to regroup, protect ourselves, communicate, reload a weapon...pray. The trenches means there is a war going on. And there IS a war going on...always and everywhere. I am not referring to the war between countries. All of humanity is at war with itself and we, with our own selves... and we humans are also at war within ourselves. It is a Spiritual war. It is a war with consciousness. Accepting that this is a constant and continuing state of things and is the undertone of all life, is essential. There is no reason or need for us to walk around feeling heavy-hearted about this war. Just a simple yet respectful and mindful acknowledgement of it should suffice- an awareness, if you will.

I have a new job. At my job I have been sent to another state to train for the work I will do when I return to my office. This whole process is exactly the same as real war. 
My brother was a U.S. Marine. The government sent him to train (boot camp) at Camp Le Jeune and then later at Pendelton. Eventually he went oversees and was embroiled in the war with IRAQ until he was killed in his second tour of duty. We just saw the 9^th anniversary of his passing on July 5, 2013. Anyway...my brother trained for his job (war). There is no other way to see it because the climate around our world at the time of his enlistment was...war. His training was grueling. I am sure plenty of men and women didn't complete the training. He did. But the intensity of the training, designed to really replicate the experience the Marines would have in a state of war on foregin soil, was helpful...honest...but nothing really feels like when you are completely immersed in war. This relates to my new work experience. The training itself was so intense and focused...it was easy to hope that the work itself would be easier than that. But the truth is, the training is NOT what makes you a success. I will repeat this statement.

The training is NOT what makes you a success.

Arriving into my new work environment was initially exciting. I wanted to see what I was made of. I wanted to show myself I could do it. Our perceptions of what it is we will be experiencing are often different from the actual experience. This was one of those times. I was neither pleasantly nor unpleasantly surprised. In fact, I really wasn't surprised in the least because after many years, with my now advanced age (38, lol), I am one of those women who has “been there, done that”. I went in with very few expectations. Rather than show up with a preconceived idea or expectations, I arrived with an open heart and mind and ready to listen, learn, be taught, pick up my gun and fight...I think you get the point. Everybody in my office is on the frontline. There are no corner offices. No one is better than anyone or higher than anyone. We all carry certain responsibilities that contribute to the team itself being successful and we manage our part of this responsibility chain in order to allow growth within our core group and also for the individual Agents in our store. So the best thing I could do was have acquired a great amount of product and technical knowledge from my training to bring back into the Store. I sure wish I had!

I am not the greatest “book learner” so to speak. I cannot easily memorize details and then furnish them upon request. Nor do I have the greatest organizational skills where I have a file-o-fax (remember those???) neatly stationed with each detailed resort or destination or regulation at my fingertips. I wish! I wish I could plug my brain into some master computer and just download the information into my knowledge base. It doesn't work like that. These things come with time and experience and repetition and unfortunately, some of the best learning comes from actually failing a few times! Hearing “no” makes us stronger. It makes us work harder, cleaner, neater...it makes us refine our approach and our thinking. You just cannot let the “No” scare you or silence you or stop you from working. Sales can be a tough job. It is exciting too, though...especially when you can successfully match a person with a product and then after all is said and done, they come back and say it was perfect. Once you can create that cycle and repeat it a few times, I think then you can say “I have arrived”. I think it is at that point when you can truly know you are expertised in your field. Until that point arrives, I am there, I am THANKFUL to be in the trenches with the women who sit in my office with me. They are some of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life.

In my new job, the sales people are the frontline. We are the movers and shakers of this business and we make things happen. Without the work we do, our company would not have the means to financially maintain the support team of administrative personnel that keep the company in order. We are all connected. I take a lot of pride in what it is I do and more so in who it is I stand in the trenches with. For me the “who's” in the game of life are much more important than the “what's”. I believe that the 5 other women I work with feel the same way and we all approach life from that same point of view. I love that we have different backgrounds, family structures and ages. We are more similar than different and that is important for compatability! That one thing is often overlooked in offices but my Team Leader is astute and chose people who could LIKE each other...people who would HELP each other and most importantly people who were tolerant of others. Tolerance is of extreme importance in a workplace. We do not all have the same tolerance LEVEL...but we are all tolerant of each other and this creates a kind of trust and warmth between us that is fairly unusual to find.

I have had a lot of success in workplaces. For the most part I am likeable and I work well in most environments. The difference now is that I have a lot riding on my career at this stage in life. I have to be willing to put myself “out there”...front line...in the trenches...work harder and realize more financial and professional success. I need to be the CREATOR of this success. This is a step I have NEEDED to take for a long time and it will take some time to get there so, off I go. There are people I feel I am leaving behind. I cannot help it in a way. My work is very consuming now. I worry that my children are not getting the best of me but that is because I have always been their primary caregiver on a daily basis and now I cannot be what I used to be for them. I have to learn to depend on others and it is SCARY and it makes me feel VERY SAD sometimes. Just sharing these feelings with all of you is making me teary-eyed. It hurts me to let go of them a little so I can focus on being at my job 100%... immersed... and doing my job. If I was in Iraq, would I jump out of the trenches to go get my son a juice box? We all know the answer to that. It is not what I need to be doing at that moment. This is the most difficult part of having a career and a family at the same time.

I have the support of many great women who have done this before me. I see the outcome of their lives...their children...their careers and family and marriages. I feel encouraged. I will say thank you to you ladies. I will say thank you to women like Fiona Sanders, who (for me) pioneered the way. I believe in myself because she showed me I could do it, because she did it and not without difficulties along the way. I will thank Dottie Rudoph for the same thing. There are many, many others. Your sacrifices and passion have inspired me. The inspiration of that has fueled my faith... and my faith brought me to Liberty Travel and Flight Centre. When I got there, I met 5 other amazing women and many more people at training (mostly women), who are also doing it. So here I go! Back to the trenches. Love and peace to all of you.

Lilac