Pure Serenity!

Look up the definition of serene in the dictionary and this is what you will find.





Lake Aspen, Lerum/Sweden

Music to get you pumped

Waiting to go into an important meeting? Going to give a presentation? Driving to meet a potential customer? Then you need something to get you pumped up before you "go on stage". Do whatever works for you but music is usually something that can get even the calmest of calm pumped. Here´s an article I read suggesting a few. Music to get you pumped up before a big meeting  
Things can change but at the moment my personal favorite to get me pumped is Eminem´s "Lose Yourself". Perhaps you have other personal favorites?

Practice makes perfect or something close to it

When you want to be good at something you have to practice. Languages are no different. If you want to improve your English you have to practice and try and learn from your mistakes but the most important thing is that you practice, practice and practice some more. Also listen to others that are good speakers.


Many people don´t dare to speak or don´t want to say too much with the fear of making a mistake. I understand your fear and I know where you are coming from so I can sympathise with you but sorry to say you still have to do it anyway. You have to practice, dare to make mistakes, dare to speak up and ask that question in English when you´re in the meeting at work, dare to make that call in English to your customer. Will it be perfect, will you make mistakes? Maybe but you´ll learn from them and with each attempt you will get better and better and most importantly feel more comfortable. Despite your imperfections you might even inspire the ones you´re speaking with, inspire them with your courage of daring to do it anyway.


You can´t be good at ping pong or mountain climbing or horse shoe throwing or anything else if you don´t practice and languages are no different! 


Every opportunity you get to practice and learn improves your skills and you get better and better until you´re close to perfect.....because who wants to be perfect anyway?

Quote of the Day :)

This one´s great. We all know it but it so nice to be reminded and homage to Steve Jobs! :)

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose."  - Steve Jobs

Interactive Communication

First week of Interactive Communication class almost completed! So stoked but a little nervous...in a good way. Already pushing my limits by creating a youtube video of myself. Not as easy as I thought! Matter of fact it was waaaay more difficult or at least the anticipation of it. Had me sweating and fretting up until the moment I finally just did it! It was kinda like getting a shot at the doctor, after it´s over you´re like "what?- was that it?"  By the way, don´t go googling or looking for it, I didn´t make it public on youtube. Are you CRAZY? I haven´t gotten that far...... yet. :)

The Four Agreements

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz 


Be Impeccable with your Word
Don´t take anything personally
Don´t make assumptions
Always do your best

Inspire and be inspired

As most of you already know, I love being inspired which only ignites my enthusiasm to inspire others!


Thanks Åke at Business Performance for the inspiration!

Turn the Negative into Positive

Everyone is stressed, at least some time or another. To be busy and stressed has also become a sort of status. You´re not important or have a worthy job if you don´t have 200 unread e-mails and give the impression to colleagues, friends, clients, and competitors that you are super stressed and busy. 


Some of it´s real and some of it´s not. The real stress affects us negatively,  the other is just an image we want to convey. Most people have both going on. Here´s an article to deal with the real stress that burns us out, drains our energy and can unfortunately make us sick. 


This article helps us turn something negative into something positive. Turning Stress into an Asset 


If you want you can still keep the image of being super busy while being completely stress free.

Steve Jobs

Sometimes less is more. Less text more impact. I have apple.com as my startpage so when I switched on my Mac at 6:30am this morning a large black and white photo of Steve Jobs appeared with the small discreet text 1956-2011, huge impact.

One less creative genius on planet Earth. RIP Steve Jobs.

Cupcake 101

Yaaay! So happy that the cupcake craze has made it´s way to Sweden. However, not to be confused with it´s friendly cousin muffin. They are very similar but different, cupcakes you use cake mix and icing. Muffins are more like their other cousin bread, sweet bread you could say. Both are in muffins forms. Either way they are yummy for the tummy and eyes! 



Sent from my iPhone

Stockholm Marathon 2012

I knew the minute after I crossed the finish line in 2010 that this was something that I must experience again! Wasn´t sure when it would be but now I know.  It´s official, I´ve signed up for the Stockholm Marathon 2012!!! Hope I have the same awesome experience that I had last time, that the running gods are on my side from start to finish! 


I´ll definitely be following Anders Szalkai´s training program. That´s a no brainer. For those of you who don´t know him, he´s the Swedish marathon training expert and Stockholm Marathon winner a few years ago. He´s awesome with his easy to follow advice and programs that helped me to complete my first marathon. No I don´t know him personally, but with his awesome advice, personal tips and training programs that work, I sometimes feel like I do. 


I´ll be blogging about my training and how it´s going from time to time. With that in mind, I´ll leave you with some of Anders Szalkai´s mental tips for race day.  I love these tips because they are not only mental tricks to get you through a marathon but tips you can apply to everyday challenges or work situations. 


Anders Szalkais´s tips after the race has started: (I´ll write his original words in Swedish and then give a translation and my added comment on how it can be applied to everyday situations.)


1. Tänk INTE på hur långt du har kvar...... Don´t think about how far you have left. 
-This is also an excellent tip for any long task, project or challenge that you are facing.


2. Ta hjälp av publiken..... Ett litet leende till någon vid sidan av banan kan ge mycket energi tillbaks... Get energy from the crowd...A little smile to someone on the side can give a lot of energy back to you. 
- This is a great tip for work or just living life. We feel energized and positive vibes when we smile.


3. Det är lätt att säga att man ska tänka positiv när det tar emot. Men försök tänk på någon tuff träning du genomfört just för loppet...alla passen du har gjort är värda att inte ge upp nu!
- It´s easy to say you should think positive when it seems all uphill. Try to think about a tough run that you´ve completed. All your training and hardwork is worth something....don´t give up now! This one can be applied to more that just running and race day!


4. Alla är trötta, och du är INTE tröttast. Everyone is tired and you are not the most tired! Love this one and  this one is probably the one that I thought about the most and the one that got me through the whole race. 
-No matter how bad you think you have it, someone has it worse.


These are just a few of his tips for race day that I now use everyday! And just another reason why I´m a big Szalkai fan! :)

Presentations at their Best

Something that everyone will have to do sometime or another in some form or the other. There are all different types of presentations. Presentations come in all shapes and sizes. Even when you tell a colleague in a meeting a little more about yourself and your job. Yep, it´s a type of presentation too. 

It is one of the things that people fear most even more than spiders! 

Why is this? 

Probably because we don´t practice it enough. We are afraid of failing or what other people may think if we make a mistake. We are putting ourselves " out there " when we give  presentations and it takes us out of our comfort zone. These are the real underlying reasons but people are certainly quick to give other excuses. 

Like many things there is no quick fix and to improve your presentation skills you must practice....and I mean a lot. All of this practicing will minimize your presentation nerves or you will at least learn how to handle them so you are in control and not your nerves. 

Many people at companies claim to give presentations on a regular basis. 

My question is are you giving a presentation or are you reading from your power point slide? 

For a long time I have encouraged my clients to practice your presentation skills and minimize showing how power point savvy you are. Power point slides should support your presentation not the other way around. 

Take it easy on the text in the slides this is why YOU are there presenting. The audience is not there to read a load of text and listen to you read it to them.  Unprepared presenters use a well prepared company PPT slide and they basically read it to their audience. I cringe just thinking about it and yes it does happens ALL THE TIME. Give character and impact with your presentation. Give them something they don´t expect and with the prevalence of slide reading showing that you can give a top class presentation without power point is probably something they won´t expect.

Here are more relevant tips from BNET article encouraging less Power Point more human power! 23 Sure-Fire Ways to Improve Your Presentations

More compliments please

While in general I don´t think this is a problem in the States but in Sweden I think that the lack of compliments is widespread. Both, of course, are generalizations but I think that Swedes are not as good at giving compliments.  I´ve thought about and discussed this with friends and clients quite often and it was brought to my attention last week when I read an article in The Metro about a lady who is encouraging Swedes to give more compliments at work.


No matter what your nationality is I think that everyone should be reminded to give more compliments. Of course, they must be sincere. They must come from the heart. How many times have you felt grateful for something someone has done or when someone saved the day by helping you with something. No matter how big or small it was it made a big difference. It´s like the quote I wrote recently about "feeling gratitude and not saying it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." 


So this is your reminder no matter how busy you are the next time someone helps you out at work or anywhere or you feel like someone is doing a great job...go ahead... Tell them!! Even if it´s a simple Thank You!  Both you and the other person will feel the positive energy!

The Local

I have spread the word of The Local at all the companies that I visit and I will say it again on here.  The only way to improve anything is to practice, languages are no different. I use to tell all of my clients to read the NY Times or BBC News, etc. and those are still good sources of information. Everyone has a limited amount of time in their day and must choose carefully how they prioritize it. It takes more time to read the Swedish news and then go into another newspaper and read another countries new in English, I get it. That´s why I was over the top when I discovered The Local...Voilà! There you have it The Swedish news in English! What more can you ask for? Get the news while practicing your English. The Local

Vegetarian Chili on a rainy day

This is the perfect recipe for a rainy, chili day (no pun intended!)! I use to love the vegetarian chili at Fresh Market in Virginia Beach, VA. After years of experimenting and testing with different ingredients I have finally perfected it and think it´s close to Fresh Market´s if not better. The ingredients also vary depending on what´s in my fridge. Feel free to add other veggies or spices to create your own tasty chili. Even though I don´t follow a recipe, here is a good base below. The measurements are not exact as you can adjust  according to your own personal taste.


Vegetarian Chili


1 pack Quorn (veggie meat)
kidney beans
black beans
white beans
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 dl or 1 cup of water
chili powder
paprika powder
garlic powder
1 yellow onion (optional)
1 chopped red bell pepper (optional)
1 chopped carrot (optional)


Sauté onion and Quorn in a sauce pan until soft and slightly golden brown. 
Heat beans, tomato paste and water in a large pot. 
Stir in Quorn/onion mix when ready to the bean mix in the pot.
Add spices
Stir frequently and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer 15-20 min. or until the veggies are soft. Continue stirring to prevent stickage to the bottom of the pot. You´re hating it, when you have to clean the bottom of the pot due to lack of stirring. The pot literally has to soak for days before even the strongest Brillo pad (Svinto) can tackle it!  So stir folks stir and don´t forget to lower the heat after it has come to a boil. 


If you feel it is a little too thick, add a can of chopped tomatoes. Let me know if you have other ingredients or spices that would make it even yummier! 

Thought for the day .....

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it 
is like wrapping a present and not giving it.


-William Arthur Ward

Cross Cultural Communication

If you have international customers


international colleagues


or do any type of business with other countries 


Here´s the perfect site for to help you understand each other 


and communicate a little better. :)


World Business Culture

These are the chairs I painted over the summer to brighten up my kitchen and mood!

Thought for the day....

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you´re doomed if you don´t try. -Beverly Sills

Summer Recap

I´d like to share a little inspiration that I got over the summer. To do this I feel that I need to recap my summer. Just a brief recap of some of the influences that have me loaded with motivation and ideas ready for a new start. I´m not going to bore you with any of the summer lovin´details of walking on the beach, drinking margaritas on my deck, watching sunsets, eating delicious food and just relaxing. These are the reasons why I always love summer, every summer.  There were a few other things worth noting. They were the things that gave me that extra kick of inspiration.

#1. Detox. I did a cleanse this summer which I always like doing at least once a year. This gets your stomach and eating on the right track which is the base of getting everything else on the right track, according to me. Feeling a little off want to get back on track? Start with a cleanse. It cleanses your body and mind. 

#2. Finding a new love....and no I don´t mean leaving your spouse for someone new. I mean doing or learning something new. In my case, it was swimming. I already knew how to swim so I didn´t learn anything new but I started swimming laps in the lake for exercise and fell in love. Never before have I liked swimming laps. If you´re not running and sweating then it´s not exercise. Not true, swimming is total body workout (that sounded like a commercial gimmick) but it´s true. So this summer I discovered a new form of exercise and let my knees have a vacation too. Which has now given me more energy and love for my old sport...running.

#3. I read "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" by Susan Jeffers again. Read it once and loved it but it´s a fact we forget and remember very little of what we´ve heard or read. We need to be reminded, so reminded myself is just what I did. You have to do things to make them happen, they are not going to come knocking on your door so don´t sit and wait for them. Get up and do what it is you want to be doing! If you need a little push or help, start by reading this book. Is it easy? No! That´s why we need to remind ourselves and repeat what we already know. Nothing worth the fight is ever easy but it makes the victory that much sweeter. 

#4. Write a list of you passions, ...what is it that makes you happy and fills you with energy. Then do it. Two of mine are painting and playing tennis. I painted 1 kitchen chair, 1 big frame, and 2 walls during the summer and I played tennis almost everyday. :)

#5. Often for those of us with children, we live vicariously through them. Their accomplishments become our accomplishments and so on. So with that said I have to mention some of their highlights from the summer. My oldest kid got his "Kandidat" in swimming. After searching, I still can´t find the English translation but it is a pin he got after doing a butt load of difficult swimming endeavors like swimming 1000 m, lifesaving, diving from the high dive, and a bunch of other stuff too. I´m very proud especially since I can´t imagine doing it myself. My youngest son got his "simborgmärke" which is a pin for swimming 200 m. He was only swimming 50 m at the beginning of the summer. Also proud. Maybe this is what sparked my new love for swimming. My kids are always inspiring me. They also met Henrik Lundqvist which was awesome and my oldest got goalie training tips from him. I was close to pushing a bunch of kids out of my way so I could get a little closer to Henrik. My motto is always "Go for it" and the Nike slogan "Just do it" but sometimes you have to know when to hold back and this was one of those times. Finally there´s nothing quite like happy children running around playing, swimming, laughing, and getting dirty. Happy kids equals one happy mama.....

That´s it....only 5. They don´t have to be ground breaking or outstanding in a revolutionary way. Just as long as they are outstanding for you. You don´t have to get a gold medal or compare yours with the neighbors. Just simple things that inspire and give you a sense of renewed energy so you feel you can take on the world!

summer lovin´

lovely summer is gracefully slipping away

and mr autumn is boldly reminding you of his presence with his cool breeze

if your summer memories are starting

to fade away and die here´s a little treat

to keep them alive!

I´m Back!

i´m back after a long break of doing stuff.

other stuff besides blogging.

i know i said it in my last blog as well

why my absence?

no reason or excuse.

just living.

other things topping the priority list of life.

daily routines, family and other hobbies taking the center stage.

all this living and learning has things turning in my head

i´ve been inspired by so many people and things.

experiences and inspirations that I want to share....

starting now....so feel the fear!

it´s not a threat it´s just an inspiring book

"Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" -Susan Jeffers

love it and highly recommend it. go get it!

now my first blog has been completed since my return.

i´m back and with a vengeance!

(i´ve always wanted to say that...hehe)

Long time, no blogging

I´ve really been enjoying the sunny weather and now I´m ready for a little sunset and relaxation. There has been too much running and chaos lately. Barely enough time to breath, so unfortunately, there hasn´t been any time over to blog! We´re talking survival mode here. Pure craziness! But it´s all good, that´s what happens when we get carried away with living, some things go first in some periods and in other periods it´s other things.

So what have I been doing? I´ve been training for the Göteborgsvarvet (half marathon) coming up May 16th and which is by the way very time consuming. I´ve put in lots of hours of running lately and it takes away time slots for other stuff that I enjoy but I enjoy running so no complaints. My children´s activities become my activities and interests and they have a lot of them. Grass doesn´t grow under their feet, as my dad use to say.

I hope things have been hunky dory with all of you! I don´t usually use that phrase, my fingers just typed it. But my sister use to always say it...so that was a tribute to her! Paying homage to both my dad and sister without even trying.

Have a great week everyone! Bye for now! Hej då!

Bye Bye Ice....Hello Sunsets

Every season has it´s charm but you gotta love it when the ice has melted from the lakes and spring is in the air!

Laleh

I went to the Laleh (www.laleh.se) concert last night in Göteborg. Like her alot and finally got a chance to catch her in concert. It definitely wasn´t like any other concert I´ve been to, not your typical concert. She´s very spontaneous and she doesn´t follow any of the "rules". She writes and produces all of her songs, plays the piano, guitar among just to name a few. She was dancing, singing, talking, and playing instruments, well not in the order and not all at the same time but almost. Very real, very spontaneous, kind of like me but with musical talent! After seeing her in concert I like her even more.

Day off and it´s Friday!

Today is a teacher´s work day (studiedag) for my children. Just realized the translation difference....in English they´re working and in Swedish they´re studying. Interesting..but back to my day, so I´ve taken the day off, I freelance so I can do that...I´m my own boss, nobody tells me what I can or can´t do! YEAH! No I´m just talking trash what all that really means is I didn´t book any meetings today. So getting off my high horse and back to my story....the sun was shining through the kitchen windows casting a shadow on everything that crossed it´s path. Reading the morning paper, sun in my eyes, the day off and it´s Friday! Sometimes you just have to be happy about the small things in life. A day off in this household with the children is a day filled with Swedish bulle (cinnamon buns for all you non Swedish speaking citizens) coffee for me and hot chocolate for them. Lots of snuggling and a hike in the forest. Later we plan on ending our day with a big family pizza for dinner. These kind of days are not so good for your figure but good for the heart and soul. Hope your day is lovely too!

Thought for the Day

"You miss 100% of the shots you don´t take"

-Wayne Gretsky

A minute too late

Last Saturday I went to this second hand store close to my house. They had lots of good stuff and I didn´t know which way to go first. I was going in circles I was so excited, which was too bad since I just missed these cool chairs that I would have loved to have had. Just as I laid my eyes on them and started heading in that direction there was another lady paying the man 80 kr (10 dollars) for both of them!!

Art Therapy

Last week when I picked up one of my sons from school, the teacher said he had a headache. I picked him up just before lunch and I must admit that it seemed to me that his headache had already gone over. I didn´t see any symtoms of a headache as we were walking to the car and he was talking my head off. I did sense a little feeling of vulnerability.  He was perhaps not in complete harmony with himself for whatever reason. Perhaps it was these feelings that were causing the headaches or was it the feelings alone that he couldn´t quite describe, so he labeled it as a headache. 

Whatever it was I took it seriously and tried to get to the bottom of it. We talked and just took it easy. I gave him my undivided attention. Maybe this was what he needed. 

I decided a good way to help with his relaxation was to do some art. We had the kitchen table full of paint, colored pencils, magazines, you name it. We were drawing, painting and cutting and pasting and getting fully carried away in the present. Frank Sinatra was playing in the background and within 15 minutes he stopped and gave me a hug and kiss and said "mommy, I feel much better now!"  Case rested. Cure for everyday modern stress....a little art therapy. :)

Things That Make You Smile.....

Sleeping babies

Chocolate

Sunsets

And....

Unexpected Gifts

Thought for the Day

There IS no secret ingredient!!

-Kung Fu Panda

There are no shortcuts.....believe in yourself....you hold the key to your happiness...however you say it there IS no secret ingredient. I love that movie....

Royal Wedding

A week ago today all the newspapers and TV stations were busy announcing the exciting news that Crown Princess Victoria is engaged to be married early summer 2010. Only if you´ve been living in a cave during the past week has this news gone unnoticed as it has graced the front page of almost all of the local newspapers, and magazines all over Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Even though I am not so into all the Royal hype, I do think it is a nice break from all the financial crisis talks and write-ups, as one on-line paper put it "the perfect antidote for recession blues". In these tough times with a big gray cloud hanging over the economy, watching the saga of a real-life princess marrying her prince restores my faith in happy endings. And for a moment takes me away from the realities and current events that are going on in the world.

And let there be light......

Light is one thing that we in Scandinavia miss during the winter months. We are starving for daylight and especially sun. Some people go to great lengths to get their fill of daylight or warm sunny weather. When we´re not visiting warmer climates in our dark, winter months then we light candles to make our home a little cosier. In the picture are some lovely, green candles that were given to me this weekend by our dinner guests. These will help give me a little taste of light on the cold dark nights. Just as we are deprived of light in the winter, we are given more than our share to enjoy in the summer. 

The "New" Meaning of Flowers

for centuries flowers have had certain meanings

according to jason logan who has illustrated 

a "new" meaning of some common flowers

with a whimsical twist

i´m weak for flowers and especially painting them 

that´s maybe why i found this slideshow in the nytimes

fun and worth sharing

click below to view 

The Sweet Smell of Semantics

And today´s thought for the day is.......

Whatever you´re feeling is what you´re vibrating and what you´re vibrating is what you´re attracting.

-Lynn Grabhorn

Spread a little love.....

Hope your Valentine´s Day was everything you hoped it would be....... anything from a kiss from yours truly or a bear hug from your little bear cubs or just a nice relaxing dinner. I had the night out for dinner, and took the hugs and kisses too, and it was nice. We don´t go out to eat that often so when we do, it is a special treat. We went to Swea Hof in Gothenburg. Delicious food, drinks, and engaging company made for a lovely evening out. Cheers!