You know what made my day yesterday? I found my colored pencils and my  bulletin board.

Sounds like a strange thing to make my day huh?

Well let me tell you about it.

My bulletin board hangs over the side of my desk. I tack up things that inspire me. Pictures that people send me go there. Little mementos of events that I have been to. Stuff that reminds me of my kids and family and friends. Its always been in sight of my desk when I write. I have really missed it. OK so it is not on the wall yet, but it is propped up where I can see it again.

My colored pencils. How I have missed these guys. Now yes I know I am 40 something and colored pencils shouldn’t mean that much, but these are special colored pencils you see. I have these for my journal. Yes I keep a real live journal, not just this electronic blog.  It is the typical diary. I draw, I put in pictures, I scribble down story ideas. I use a lot of stickers and scrapbook stuff. My journal came with, but some how the pencils ended up in a box with the packers. But it is nice to be able to make my journal and ideas techinicolor again.

Since moving I have been so “all over the place”. I know my writing has suffered horribly. I have let a few things fall through the cracks. As a matter of fact I have a deadline coming up and am no where near finishing the project. I work well under pressure, but this is a bit ridiculous.

My thoughts have been as unorganized as my writing. These two simple things help to ground me when it comes to my thoughts and writing. They may seem very insignificant, but in reality and to me, they play a major roll. I guess I didn’t really know until this move how big of a part they play in my creative process.

Do you have something that helps you get through your day? Some little thing that help you stay focused and organized? Would love to hear about it.

Ever wish you could just throw in the towel? Start all over again? Just pitch the old plan and get a fresh piece of paper and a new crayon?

Well you can.

Talking to a friend who was taking a quit smoking class once, she passed along a piece of advice that can apply to all of us.

You can start right now. This minute is your fresh start. It doesn’t matter what you did 5 minutes ago, it matters what you do right now.

Your brain is cluttered and you seem to be going in all different directions? Need to focus, but think that everything is just too confused to even get started so you just walk off and do something else?

What matters is what you do right now. Pick one thing and just work on that. Say to yourself I give myself 15 minutes to do this. If it works it works if it doesn’t I am moving on. In the grand scheme of things 15 minutes isn’t a whole lot of time.

Start anew right now. Remember the old saying this is the beginning of the rest of your life. Every minute is a gift, take advantage of it!

I want to share with you one of the better investments I have made for my online business.

Coaching with Carrie Lauth. I spent 30 minutes on the phone going over my business and sites. She gave me honest feedback and suggestions on how to change things around.

30 minutes, half an hour. that was it. I took 4 notebook pages of notes. She really inspired me. She gave me new ideas for things I had never thought of. She gave me new ideas on how to approach old problems. I have to tell you that was one of the most informative 30 minutes I have spent. I can’t imagine how much I would have gotten out of 60 minutes with her!

Carrie knows her stuff. She knows how to put it into action words that you can grasp and understand. When I got off the phone with her I was inspired. I have to admit that I was more inspired with my online ventures than I have been in a long time.

I have just moved and want to start out this new life in a positive manner. With Carrie’s coaching I really feel that I will reach my goals.

If you need a coach that gets you, that explains things on your level, go with Carrie Lauth. She has coaching and email follow-ups. I know I am planning on another coaching session in a month for more of her great help.

Thanks Carrie!