Weekly (and Monthly) Inspiration

Last month I shared some of the daily doses of e-inspiration that keep me focused on how I want to be and what I want to create in my life. Here are some free weekly and monthly e-letters that consistently inspire me:

Michael Neill's Coaching Tip weekly e-letter

I especially love that it's a) short and b) filled with questions or action items. I loved his letter for this week, The Hard Way. I love his examples as they debunk my old mindset that talented people don't have to work at it.

Ali Edward's E-zine

Ali is a life artist and celebrity scrapbooker whose blog is a daily visit of mine (and thousands of others, too! She just broke into Technorati's top 1000 rank. You go, girl!). Her ezine offers inspiration and tips on living a creative life and documenting it. I love how generous she is in sharing her experiences, tips and learnings. This year, she hasn't published an e-zine since June, but it's worth the wait. My all-time favorite of her ezines, Infusing Your Life with Creativity, is here. I love what she says:

"Here's the thing: I want my personal masterpiece, my ultimate creative act, to be the way in which I live my life."

— Ali Edwards

SARK's e-letter

Colorful, hand-markered, fun, bouyant sharings by the author of such books as Juicy Pens, Thirsty Papers, Inspiration Sandwich and Make Your Creative Dreams Real. Pure SARK goodness. I also love that she has an inspiration line that you can call and listen to a recorded 5-minute message.

One Minute Parent Tips from Coach Barbara McRae of Teen Frontier International

Barbara was my first coach, and she was so influential in opening me up to so many new ideas and concepts. She's a wonderful coach with a gift for saying things succinctly. I love the quick read of her tips and the always good ideas on ways to become an even better parent.

Michael Bungay Stanier's Outside the Lines Business Edition

Consistently good ideas with a penchant for also choosing great quotes. I also love his online movies, The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun and The 5.75 Questions You've Been Avoiding.

Donna Downey's Creative Playground E-Letter

I mentioned my admiration for mixed media artist Donna yesterday, and I also am inspired by her monthly e-letter. Last month she had a bunch of "inspired by…flowers" links. Yes, she's a woman after my own heart.

Tell me, what are your resources for getting inspiration via your inbox?

Update on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 11:14AM by Shannon Jackson Arnold

I forgot one: thankfully, it just arrived in my inbox this morning.…

Mike Robbins' Appreciation in Action

Author of Focus on the Good Stuff offering tips and ideas for staying in a state of gratitude and appreciation.

Inspiring Today

Today, I am inspired by…

1. "Be Okay" video by Ingrid Michaelson (thanks to life coach Patty Jackson for sharing this!)

2. Donna Downey's fun arty projects of late (the colors, the textures, the flowers — swoon!!) and, most especially, her Campaign for Creativity. I love what she says about the campaign:

i 100% believe that inspiration and possibility are everywhere...

inspiration can be found in everything we do, share and see.

the possibility is our part in manifesting it into tangible art.

all we need to do is open our hearts and eyes and listen to our creative voice.

(And I say, Amen, sister. Sign me up.)

3. Brainstorming possibilities for the Gifts from the Heart gift-making playshop that Tracy and I decided to offer at the Joyful Living Center in Pewaukee, WI, on December 6. (Angel doorhangers, gratitude boxes, funky gift tags and more.) 

4. My husband sharing concepts from Seth Godin's Small is the New Big book. (Yes, it's two years old, but there's some great gems in there. One that my husband (wisely) read out loud to me: "There is no correlation between success and hours worked" (page 188).

5. The newest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors (love those snowpeople on the cover) and their free e-letter with fun projects (today included a zany pumpkin with blue hair).

6. My seven-year-old daughter moving beyond the frustration and knitting a cape for her little doll all by herself.

7. Exploring the Mindsets website (from author and psychologist Carol Dweck). I'm loving the book (highly recommended!!) and am loving exploring the website. (We are exploring these concepts in the Future Thinking program I participate in.) A summary of the book from the website:

Mindset explains:

• Why brains and talent don’t bring success
• How they can stand in the way of it
• Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them
• How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity
• What all great CEOs, parents, teachers, athletes know

Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference.

In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.

Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports. It enhances relationships. When you read Mindset, you’ll see how.

Tell me, what's inspiring you today?

Flowering Fridays: Daisies

A type of daisy, captured at Ridgeview Farm, Arc of Appalchia Preserve

According to Wikipedia, it is thought that the name "daisy" is a corruption of "day's eye", because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning.  Chaucer called it "eye of the day." 

I love thinking of the daisy as being the eye of the day.

There is something about a daisy that seems to be saying an emphatic and boisterous "yes!" to life and that it so utterly open to whatever the day will bring.

I notice how often I can be like a daisy at night. Closed off. Closed to possibility. Hiding my bloom. Finding comfort in the darkness.

But how I want to be is open to the light. In full bloom. Exuberant. Celebratory. Wide open. Receiving.

What I especially love about these daisy photos is that they are beautiful in their imperfections. (You might not even have noticed the imperfections. I sure didn't the first time I looked at the picture. I only noticed the beauty.)

There are some spots of what I imagine is pollen. The petals are not perfectly symmetrical. Some petals are of different length.

Still, the beauty of the flower is there. The flower is perfect just as it is.

In the past, I have worked so hard to cover my imperfections, wanting desperately to appear perfect.

I'm finding that it's exhausting to live that way. I'm also learning that my beauty is there with the imperfections. And I'm learning this too: my beauty is in the imperfections. (This has been huge for me to see.) I can stand in the day's eye and let me -- the whole  of me -- stand open to the sun.

Tell me, where are your beautiful imperfections? And how can you stand in the eye of the day and allow them to shine?