Are You Living Your Career Life Out Loud??

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

I was not born to live quietly, hoping to get to the end of my life without being noticed. However, allot of people spend their lives this way…quietly and unnoticed. They simply plow through, working a job that’s not what they want, while wishing they were someplace else. 

“If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.” – Emile Zola

Each and everyone of us was born with different dreams and desires! If you have a desire to be, do, or have something, you already possess the ability to make it a reality. 

What are your deepest desires??  
You are well within the realm of possibility, within your reach and you are a lot closer to achieving your dreams than you realize.

Us creative types have a problem or find it difficult to see how to turn what we love to do into a source of income, how to turn our passion into a career or business. 

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams..” – Henry David Thoreau

I am beginning to utilize my full potential at work and in life. Give what I am doing my best and fullest attention. Be here now. Even if I am not where I want to be at work or in my career, giving it half my effort doesn’t move me forward. I will master what I have at hand, for the sake of mastering it, and something will shift.

I am learning and discovering new talents. I am finding something that interests me and exploring it. I can never know what will come out of it, until I try it. 

“We don’t know who we are until we see what we can do.” – Martha Grimes 

I am learning to always keep my honor and my word. When I strip everything else away, my word is all I’ve got. Do what I say I am going to do. By honoring my word, I honor myself. And it doesn’t feel good when I don’t. So, make it a habit. I value my integrity and I keep my promises. It’s a good life practice and work practice. It’s a good business practice.

I always take 100% responsibility for my life. I am the creator of it. If things aren’t working out in my favor, I take note and ask myself what my part in it is. Being a victim is passé, boring. There is no power in blaming other people. Don’t wait for other people to change. When I change, my world will follow suit.

I live in the question. There is nothing I cannot be, do, or have, so I do not impose limitations on myself. Instead of saying I can’t get there, I ask myself: “How can I get there?” I live in the affirmation of possibility rather than the declaration of negativity. There is always a way, and it is being presented to me consistently, but I have to live in the question to be on the lookout for my answer.

I need to learn my own value. Others may be more educated, skilled, or talented in one or another area, but there is something magnificent and valuable about what I have to offer this world that, in comparison, is equal. I do not allow myself or anyone else to diminish it. I am stopping to  idolize anyone else’s gifts and dismissing my own.

I do not argue for my limitations, but instead I am focusing on my strengths. We all have weaknesses, but we also have our strengths. What do I do well? And practice that. When I lead with my strengths, the rest follows suit. Doors begin to open, and miraculously, my limitations sort of disappear. What I focus on grows.

I am authentic. In the past, I thought I had to assimilulate to fit in, almost be someone else. But, that is the past and this is the now! Have ever notice that the ones who are most successful are not the ones that follow the masses and trends, but the ones who stand in their own authentic expression and declare who they are? Regardless of who agrees with them? There is an expression that is uniquely mine and to dismiss it, is to dismiss the divine. I am being Vanessa💜
I am practicing “Being Vanessa” and have nothing to prove to anyone. I know my own value with or without results. My value is in my human being-ness not my human doing-ness. In a society that is wrapped up in image, this is sometimes difficult to practice. People ask what you do, not who you are. But a person who knows their own value, does not have to prove it. I KNOW MY OWN VALUE.

I am finding my bliss and I am living my passion. Even if I am not, I say this, to let the Universe know. If you don’t know what that is? Don’t worry, be happy as your emotions give away clues. When your life has spun out of control and you are finding yourself in a tizzy, go back to what makes you happiest and do that. The more you follow this thread, the more you are leading with the heart. Your emotions don’t lie. Follow their lead.

I have decided to stop waiting, stop waiting for a perfect time, the right time, that time…Life is happening right now. Don’t wait for right career or the landfill of money. Make the best of what you have right now and be creative with it. Don’t put your life on pause, live your life on play! Live with the possibility that what you are waiting for can arrive tomorrow, and live your best life today.

I have aleays been one to march to the beat of my own drum and stay the course. I hear my own music, but find myself dancing to the tune of someone else’s beat? Stop it. Were you told at any point in your life that your own music was the wrong kind? Re-Consider. Sometimes in a job or career we feel we need to change the music or beat the drum to someone’s beat or tune. But, they hired you…so march and beat to your own drum.. 

“Life is a hard hat zone, we’re always under construction.”
Bloom where you are planted. Work from the inside out. Make the commitment to yourself and get started.

If you develop a strong commitment to your success and hold to your vision, taking whatever actions seem approperiate, you’ll soon see the pieces coming together. You’ll meet the people necessary for you to progress, often in unusual ways. Stay positive. Resources will appear, out of nowhere. The Universe will conspire for your success…Find your “OM.” Claim It. Own it. Express It. Live it. You are divinely supported.

Love Vanessa 💜

That Horrible Job You Hate Might Just Change Your Life

“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” ~Ralph Marston

Before I worked at Foglers, I spent many years in different jobs. Working for a sole practioner, my boss was a sexist jerk with a Napoleon Complex. As a receptionist, I spent too much of my time being other people’s emotional punching bag. As a sellsperson for a jewellery store, too many longs hours for crappy pay.

Some of those jobs (let’s be honest: most of those jobs) totally sucked.

With the sole practioner, I worked myself half to death, burning out around the two-year mark and seriously contemplating a simple life spent working at Tim Hortons and never taking my work home with me. Sometimes, in the middle of the day, I would walk around the block and cry my eyes out because I was so exhausted. 

And if you told me that you hated your job or even that you loved your job but you’d burned yourself completely out, I’d say, “I hear that, sister!”
That said, it’s only now that I’m truly working toward what I want, doing the things that inspire me, that I can look back and realize that every single job I had, with every good, bad, and ugly thing about it, led me perfectly to the place I am today.

Being a receptionist taught me patience. It taught me how to work with people (even entitled, difficult, or angry people). It taught me not to take everything so damn personally. Working for a sole practioner, I learned how to run my own business.
Working at the jewellery store, taught me how to sell. Sell my ideas. Sell our services. Sell my expertise. I learned that when you’re constantly selling yourself, you start to believe in yourself more. In other words, all the tools that made me successful were things I learned on the job at jobs that weren’t my dream.

All the skills I’m using now as a full-time blogger, one of my dream jobs, comes from a history of difficult, sometimes heartbreaking work.

If you’re in a totally sucky job you hate or even a job that you kinda love but that is zapping your energy and killing your creativity…It’s okay. Because you never know how those skills you’re developing now might just set you up for future success. So, while you’re in that not-so-ideal job, learn as much as you can. Hone your skills. Connect with your colleagues. Go for that award. Volunteer for a task you want to learn more about. And in the meantime start looking for or planning for the thing you really want. That job at a company you admire. That career as a freelance creative type. That business idea that’s been coming up over and over again.

Make a change. Do what you love. But also take advantage of what you can now. And remember that you can’t know just how much that job is doing for you until you’ve left it in the dust. The things you do today can change everything…even if you can’t see it yet.

Love Vanessa 💜

What is your purpose at work?

“If you’re going to a job today just because you went there yesterday, you may want to reconsider  your life’s plan.” – Zig Ziglar

Are you living your purpose?
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love.” –Rumi

Merriam-Webster defines a “calling” as: “…a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence.”

The work I do is my purpose and passion, my gift to the world…Understanding that whatever I do and wherever I work right now is just what I need to be doing and just where I need to be at the moment. Though my job may only be a steppingstone to where I am ultimately going, it’s where I am at at the moment, so I owe it to myself and my employer to do my best work.

When I listen at the heart level, I will always, always be guided forward in a way that serves me. Who I am now is shaped by having followed those persistent whispers.
We each have hundreds of callings in our lives, some big and some small. Rather than one “life purpose” or mission, we actually have many opportunities to experience aspects of what brings us alive. The degree to which we listen to and act on our callings determines how fulfilled we are with our lives.

If you are truly committed to having a positive impact on people’s lives, you do whatever it takes to accomplish that! How does the work you do bring you satisfaction? How are you serving humanity? What could you do to feel even more satisfied from your work?

How are you bringing love and light to the world?
I notice what captivates me. What most excites me, or enrages me? What would I like to write an op-ed about? Why?

I then take my life inventory and refelct on my past callings. I acknowledge what I learned from acting on older callings, and see if anything from those experiences remains alive for me or in me. What past careers, jobs or places I volunteered… I retrieve bits that might help me in deciphering my current calling. I put my old callings to rest if they are no longer alive for me, so I can open space for new callings to arise.

I love to journal, so next I journal on what my calling is. I write out about 50 responses to the question: “What is my calling?” I put pen to paper and go!  I do not pause or edit or judge, and do not stop before I get to 50. My calling will make itself known. It will probably also make me cry. This is good news, crying is good for the soul.

Next is asking my friends and family what they think. I poll my friends and family about my passions.  I ask them what they see as my calling. I notice which responses elicit a feeling of “yes!” in me.
And finally, I use my values as a guide. I make a list of my core values (these are qualities that make me, me; they aren’t who I think I should be, but rather who I already am). How am I honoring those values in my life right now? What information do my values give me about my calling?

Regardless of how important or menial I feel my work is, it is an essential part of something bigger. When I understand this I will find it easier to derive pleasure and meaning from my work. I will feel better, as a result, be happier. I may even be promoted!

Love Vanessa 💜

Know Your Company

If you want to be happier both at work and in your personal life, cultivate your curiosity. Not only will learning about the world and people around you make your job more interesting, but it will also increase your value to the company.

The more you know about your company and its products and services, the more effectively and efficiently you will perform your work. This will lead to increased productivity and perhaps to a better position within the company. By cultivating your curiosity, you will be more engaged with your work and as a result feel like a more integral part of the company.

Do you know the history of your company?

It is astonishing how little most people know about their company where they spend a third of their lives working at.

Fogler, Rubinoff LLP

Full service law firm with offices in Toronto, Ontario Canada and Ottawa, Ontario Canada. Provide high quality legal services and advice to both established and emerging businesses and to individuals. Established in 1982 by the merger of the law firms of Siegal, Fogler and Rubinoff & Rubinoff. Fogler, Rubinoff LLP traces its roots to 1935 and 1928 respectively. One of the Founding Partners, Melvyn P. Rubinoff, Q.C., passed in 2015. 110 lawyers and a support network of 125 legal and administrative support staff. One of the 20 largest law firms in Toronto. Member of the International Lawyers Network, an international association of over 5,000 lawyers in 91 law firms in over 67 countries on six continents. 

If you want to be happier and more successful in your career or at work, learn what you can about your company. Make a point of learning something about the top management, your HR department, who are the founding fathers/mothers. Who is the expert of your career and contact them. Learn what charities and foundations your company supports.

By learning about and studying the history of your company, especially those who have been in the business for a few decades or more, you will learn how vital your role is and gain appreciation for what it took to build your company.

Knowing all you can about your company and its products and services will give you a sense of pride in your work, help make each day at work more enjoyable, and help you feel more connected to your work.

Love Vanessa 💜

Break Your Patterns

“What we call chaos is just patterns we haven’t recognized. What we call random is just patterns we can’t decipher.” ~Chuck Palahniuk 

Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons. When there is something I need to learn, something that I need to work on, the same situation will continue to repeat itself until I learn my lesson or find a healthy way of dealing with that particular issue.
Think of the movie Groundhog Day. Once Bill Murray realized that he was living the same day over and over again, he came up with ways to fix the things that went wrong before.  He learned how to fix the relationship with the object of his affection. He even learned to deal better with the annoying insurance salesman who approached him every morning. It wasn’t until he learned to accept his fate that the cycle of reliving each day ended. He also became more compassionate  and more sympathetic—an overall better version of himself.
I hear people say: Why do I keep going through the same things at work? I’m with different people, but things always end up being the same, or they act just like someone who I used to know. The same events happen over and over again.

While working with the public, I have noticed times when every single person I come across is upset, angry, or annoyed, and at first I would react in a similar way. We are all mirrors of ourselves. 

After a number of people with the same, or similar issue, came up to me, I started to try to find different ways to resolve the problem

If you want to have a happier, more interesting life at work, start breaking your patterns. An added benefit is that you will be stimulating your creativity as a result. By changing your everyday patterns and habitual processes, you will be creating new neutral connections in your brain. 

Simply changing your route to and from work will expose you to new visual and auditory stimuli. I will walk a new route to work in the morning and on my way home. I will see things I have never noticed before. 

The more you take advantage of opportunities to stimulate your mind, the more you will find new creative ideas popping into your head and the more likely you will be to produce breakthrough results.

For a while it will seem like coincidences playing out, but over time the pattern of your lesson will come up. This is the lesson you need to learn at this time. It could be a lesson in humility, or a lesson in gratitude, or maybe you may need to learn empathy to see things from the other person’s point of view. Instead of reacting all the time, every time something challenging comes up it could be an opportunity to learn.

“To thine own self be true.”

Find your pattern. Find your lesson. A good way of recognizing patterns in your life is by listening to your feelings, your intuition. I’ve found that when I am involved in a pattern, my emotions run a bit stronger, kind of like a warning from my subconscious mind to pay attention to what’s happening. More often than not, I recognize the pattern when the situation has ended, or changed. Hindsight is 20/20 in this way. It can be difficult to recognize a pattern while it’s playing out. So, usually we realize what happened afterward. And that is okay. In turn, life will continue to send us ways to overcome our patterns and learn our individual lessons. The key is to be alert. When you’re open to recognizing a pattern, you can change it by learning the lesson, and in doing so, change your life.

Put Your Problems To Work

“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for us in its hands.” – Richard Bach

If you are anything like me, you have a handful of life difficulties or minor problems lurking in your brain at any given point in time.

They can be minor irritants like computer problems or the photocopier not working. And then we have the biggies like coping with a toxic coworker,  issues with your boss or job loss.

Most of the time we spend far more brain energy worrying about the issue than we do actually suffering with the reality of it. In fact, for me the worry alone causes more suffering than the problem itself.

Worry doesn’t do anything to make life better, and it would steal my joy. 

Whether or not we seek out problems is not nearly as important as how we handle them when they appear. 
Change the word problem to challenge. Problems tend to be things we try to avoid, while challenges are things we step up to and fix. If you view it, as Bach suggests above as having a gift for you or at least containing an opportunity within it, your challenge could be turned to your advantage. 

A challenge in the workplace, while representing an obstacle for some, can actually present you with an opportunity to showcase your talents. The next time a challenge presents itself, rather than trying to avoid it, welcome it. Ask yourself what you might do to turn it into an opportunity. Explore how you might best use it to your advantage.

Making necessary changes can be difficult for many, but it pays off. When you are face what appears to be a problem, try approaching it differently. Look at it as a challenge. 

Love Vanessa💜

Rewards For Work

Have you ever noticed how easily we criticize ourselves and others for making even the most minor mistake?  “Oh that was so and so that made that mistake….I am perfect, blah blah blah..”
Some people see criticism as a way to embarrass people into performing better. It doesn’t work, at least not with me. Verbally berating someone and expecting her or him to perform better is like hitting a computer with a hammer, dropping it on the floor and kicking ot a few times and expecting it to run better. It doesn’t work!! I doubt that it ever did or ever will.

If you must criticize an employee’s or coworkers performance, be sure to do it in private and begin with what they did right first.

If you want to improve productivity and well-being, become a “goodness finder”.  I am a goodness finder!! I love catching people doing things right and praise them for it. I need to learn to motivate myself in this way too.

Paying a simple compliment and saying “Good job” to someone goes a long way towards showing her or him that you recognize his or her work and accomplishments. I like to tell people how much I appreciate what they do and what a great job they are doing. Sometimes I buy people a coffee or flowers as a little thank you for their work and to let them know I appreciate them!

Mary Kay is the best example I know of an employer rewarding their work force and showing appreciation for a job well done.

MARY KAY REWARDS:

A first-class trip to Paris? Or a brilliant diamond bracelet? With Mary Kay, you can pick the prize of your dreams, set your goal and go for it! From the first day you start your Mary Kay business, you can begin earning profits and prizes through your product sales and continue to receive bigger rewards and bonuses, depending on your inner drive and achievements. Mary Kay Cosmetics Ltd. offers one of the most generous rewards and recognition programs in the direct selling industry. And worldwide, the Company spends more than $50 million annually on rewards and prize incentives for the independent sales force.

Wheels Of FortuneAt Mary Kay, we think taking a road trip in a new car makes the trip a lot more fun. With the Mary Kay Career Car program, you can set your goal, earn the wheels you want and hit the road in style. Mary Kay Career Car qualifiers have been stopping traffic with their prestigious Career Cars since Mary Kay Ash awarded the first one in 1969. Since then, more than 100,000 independent sales force members worldwide have qualified for the privilege of driving a Mary Kay Career Car in the countries that feature this program.

World-Class TravelThe world is a playground for Mary Kay top achievers.  Each year, the Company offers luxury travel trips to exotic locations around the globe. Past destinations include Bangkok, Sydney, Athens, Montreux, Hong Kong – practically every corner of the world.

Rewards Worthy Of RoyaltyMary Kay Ash believed in lavishing women with recognition and prizes fit for royalty and the selection gets better every year. Picture a state-of-the-art television in your living room or reaching into your jewelry box for a gorgeous diamond ring or pendant. If you can dream it, you can earn it through Mary Kay’s reward and recognition programs. You are limited only by your ability to believe and achieve the goals you set for yourself.

Do you know any other company that gives you rewards like that!! I don’t! But if you don’t work for Mary Kay, start be a goodness finder in your office with yourself and your coworkers.

Love Vanessa 💜💜

Work/Life Balance

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.” ~Thomas Merton

Most people I know work to pay the bills or do the work they love. For some people, this is one and the same! For me it is taking time, dedication, and a willingness to blur the traditional boundaries that separate my work and my social life. Let’s face it, it’s not always easy to make a living doing something you love.

The first challenge is to figure out what I love to do, and it’s often complicated by what I think I should do based on what other people think and what I’ve done up until now. 

This is one of the reasons I decided to work on “Being Vanessa”. I have been searching my soul to figure out what I love 💓 to do in life. And the one thing I keep coming back to is “helping people”. And I am doing that now, I am helping people with the death of their love ones….

The next challenge is to figure out how to do it smart. It’s all good and well to decide I want to run an online beauty store, sell my homemade beauty supplies, or have a real estate empire, but unless I have a unique value proposition and a solid idea of who needs my services and why, I could end up just spinning my wheels. Round and round and round again….

I made a dream board and I decided to stay where I am and to love my job and look at it not as work but as helping people instead. 

The next challenge is the choice to work on my dream every day, knowing there are no guarantees and that it may take a long time to make the kind of progress that allows me to devote my full-time energy to my passion. And to be kind to myself during the process.

So everyday I work on loving my job, loving me and finding new ways of helping people through my work.

Sometimes turning a passion into work can strip the joy out of it, particularly when I give up freedom now in the pursuit of freedom tomorrow. Really, that’s what I am doing when I cram my hours full of tasks that leave little time for play and decompression. I am deciding tomorrow’s possibilities are more important than today’s. So, what’s the balance, then? 

How do I allow myself sufficient time to create that thing I visualized on my dream board, while also allowing space for relaxation, spontaneity, connection, and the simple act of being????

Keep it flexible. It’s all good and well to say, “I will never check emails after 8:00pm” or “weekends are work-free days.” But what happens when inspiration strikes at 9:00pm or on Saturday morning? If you’re anything like me, I’ll likely feel compelled to act on an idea when I have one. Why force myself to adhere to an arbitrarily determined timeline for relaxation? I am the boss of me…so why force myself?? A more realistic approach might be to set general guidelines, then monitor how I work within them and make adjustments as necessary. If I overwork myself on Monday, on Tuesday morning, I am going to make a conscious decision to block time in the evening to have dinner with friends or simply relax. The goal isn’t necessarily for every day to look the same; it’s for things to balance out on the whole. Sometimes, when I am working toward a new project passion, it requires more work than feels ideal. Putting in longer hours doesn’t have to mean a complete lack of balance if I create time for the things I need and enjoy.

Flow. The ultimate goal is to be present in whatever it is I am doing!! So, if I am working, I am going to put so much of my heart into it that I completely lose track of time. When I put everything I’ve got into my work, I am more likely to create things that provide value to other people, which eventually allows me to do that full-time. The same applies for my social life. Let myself be fully where I am. If I find my mind wandering to things I need to do, tune into my senses. Focus on the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the sensation of physically being there. This is my only opportunity to fully experience this moment in time. It will never come again. If I am constantly thinking about what I need to do later, I will never get to appreciate what I get to do now. BE PRESENT!! I give myself permission to focus.

Embrace the imperfection and the chaos. There is no such thing as a perfect blog post, painting, design, website, presentation, or project. At some point, I need to be able to walk away from whatever I am doing knowing that it may not yet be finished!! That even if I complete it later, it might still feel undone. There have been times when I’ve spent hours searching for photos for blog posts, searching facebook for the perfect quote, and clearing out my inbox feeling a sense of control in adhering to high standards. I’ve been learning to embrace the chaos of incompleteness so that I can either move forward or put something aside for later, after I’ve taken care of my other needs. By blogging, this has helped me do this, to be imperfect and love the chaos.

Define the non-negotiable. While every day can be different, it will help to determine which things I just don’t want to sacrifice. If I don’t identify these things in advance, I may find them slipping, little by little, while I pull myself in different directions, because I never made a commitment to not let that happen. This is what causes my unhappiness, as I work towards one thing I sacrifice things I don’t want to by mistake as I don’t have any of it written down.

Let the little things go. A lot of times, it’s not work itself that’s bleeding into my social time. It’s the work-related events I can’t stop thinking about. If I am doing something big, there will always be mini fires to put out. The important thing to remember is that I am mini; and if they can wait until tomorrow or later, I can let go and trust they will be put out. The client will get a call or email. I will get assistance. The conflict will get a resolution. If it’s not a big deal, it’s not worth thinking about it. If it is a big deal, it’s not worth thinking about at times when I can’t do anything about it.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If I identify myself solely with my professional roles and what I produce, I will likely set myself up for disappointment. It’s not just that there are no guarantees in business; it’s that I am wired to want more in life, and there is so much more to experience than the act of achieving.

There’s the feeling of loving and being loved.

The excitement of trying new things and allowing myself to fall,

There’s the sensation of being spontaneous and allowing the present moment to deliver me into situations I may never have known to choose.

I remind myself that I am so much more than what I do at Foglers. If tomorrow was my last day at the office, my life would still be full, I have friends, family, wild edibles, and countless adventures still to be had.

Focus on your dream, even if it requires you to work a little harder. Just remember: Time you spend nurturing yourself and your relationships both revitalizes you and fuels the value you add to the world.

Love Vanessa 💜

Feng Shui My Desk

I have a desk for success!!

Now comes the fun part of arranging my desk to promote the flow of positive energy.

I am imagining my desktop divided into a nine-part grid, as in the bagua map shown above.

1. Wealth and Prosperity The back left corner of the desk represents prosperity. Target this space to attract money and abundance. It’s a great place for a plant, but if your green thumb is more on the brown side, consider placing a valuable item (such as a crystal vase or jar of change) in this corner. This could also be a good spot for a (well-functioning) computer.

2. Fame and Reputation Want more than 15 minutes in the spotlight? In the center back of the bagua map, you’ll find the space for fame. Place business cards or a nameplate here. Motivational images that highlight who you are and your accomplishments” (think: a photo of your first marathon finish or your hard-earned diploma).

3. Love and Relationships To find a little love today (or in the future), focus on the back right corner. Single? A fresh flower, which can bring luck and maybe even spark romance, goes here. Already have a special someone? Place a photo of the two of you here.

4. Family A family photo, according to feng shui principles, fits well on the left center of the desk. A wood frame enhances the energy of this particular space.

5. Health Although sitting at a desk doesn’t do much for your health, there are a few ways to promote health even while working. Keep the center area of the desktop free of clutter to attract good energy to the area. Take short breaks throughout the day to reduce stress and maintain focus.

6. Creativity Boost creativity by adding inspiration to the right center of the grid. Aspiring writers, place a journal or book here. A blank sketchbook would be ideal for artists, while a metal object may work well for others. But really, anything goes—just get creative!

7. Knowledge and Wisdom Struggling to learn new material, or just want to be wise beyond your years? Focus on the front left corner of the desk. Place a reference book (or maybe a picture of Albert Einstein) here.

8. Career Front and center is the career space—definitely appropriate for a desk. Keep this spot free of clutter. Display affirmations or motivational quotes around the office; this would be a great place to stick one of those.

9. Helpful People and Travel If you’re in need of a little help from your friends, focus on the front right section. This is a good spot to put a phone or an address book (do people use those anymore?). This area also represents travel, so a travel guide or a photo of a dream vacation locale would work well here.

Start with above and always add positivity to balance your desk and your life!

I have a feng shui desk, cork board, credenza and office!

Love Vanessa 💜

My New Office

Ever since January 1, 2016, I have been working on “Being Vanessa”. I have had my ups, downs and arounds….but all around I am having an exciting year!!

As of June 14, 2016 and every morning since, I have been writing 10 times in my affirmation journal, “I do the work I love, I work with and for people I really like. I have a beautiful new office, beautiful desk, credenza, bookshelf, filing cabinet with 2 chairs, and it comes to me easily.”

And my positive thinking and writing is paying off, on June 30, 2016, HR advised me that they were giving me an office…..as of July 18, 2016 (TODAY), I moved into my beautiful new office!!! Here are some quick pics..

Need to hang up the bulletin board I found in our records room. Need a few more special touches, like another filing cabinet, a couple pictures and a few plants and voila, perfect working environment!!!!

Now my new affirmation starting tomorrow will be, “I do the work I love, I work with and for people I really like. I have a beautiful new office, beautiful desk, credenza, 2 filing cabinets with 1 chair, and it comes to me easily.”

Love Vanessa 💜