HEADSPACE + HEARTSPACE Page 2 of 17

Feeling stuck? This could help you figure out what to do next!

Posted on 2018-01-30 at 9:35 pm.

I am writing this on a train, whizzing north through the English countryside to a beautiful hidden place, for a week-long writing retreat to work on my next book. The fields outside my window are veiled in frost and mist, and I just found myself doing a long and slow exhale. You know the kind that you do at that moment when you realise all your holiday preparations are finally done, your bags are packed, your out-of-office is on and your adventure has actually begun? That kind of breath.

To me the idea of having a whole week stretching ahead of me to write (which means to wander and ponder, walk in the hills and think deeply about one particular thing, chew my pencil, eat chocolate and drink copious amounts of tea) is dreamy. It’s one of the times that I really feel free, and my life is better for it.

I’m sharing this with you because I want that for you too, whatever your version of feeling free might look like. Which brings me to our newest tool to help you figure it out!

Since Freedom Seeker was published a year ago (Is that all? It feels like several lifetimes!) I have been humbled and delighted to hear how it has helped so many of you discover so much more about yourself, and inspired you to move in a new direction. One of the things I have heard over and over is what a difference it made to have practical exercises in every chapter of the book, so it goes beyond inspiration to real and immediate action.

In order to make it even easier for you to take that action, we have designed this elegantly beautiful new Freedom Seeker Workbook to accompany the book. It’s an action plan for living more, worrying less and doing what you love. And it’s in digital format so you can either type straight into it, or print it out and use it like a personal journal.

The Workbook contains versions of all the exercises from the original book, with space to scribble your thoughts and responses, and ready-made templates where they are helpful. 78 pages of goodness to help you make an action plan for moving towards your dreams!

Get your Workbook here, and dive in!

And if you haven’t read Freedom Seeker go and get your copy now to read alongside the workbook, or get it on Audible and let me read the book to you, while you sit somewhere cosy with a cup of tea and let the Workbook work its magic!

Right, it’s time for me to switch off and get writing. I’ll see you on the other side…

Beth Xx

How to find calm as a busy parent

Posted on 2017-10-23 at 4:35 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Prioritising self care can be completely forgotten about – perhaps even laughed at! – when you’re trying to balance work, life and parenting. But if self care is a fundamental part of yours and your family’s happiness – you must be healthy and feel fulfilled to pass on the same for your children – why is it we don’t make it a priority in our day?

Meet Shawn Fink, a woman striving to help mothers find the inner calm, mindful moments in their day. In a world that is so fast paced, when you feel like you couldn’t possibly steal 10 minutes for yourself and a cup of tea, listen to Shawn’s advice to help you savour those quiet moments you need to make more of…

How to find calm as a busy parent Abundant Mama 1

1. Tell us about the work you do with Abundant Mama and how you came to start Doing What You Love?

Abundant Mama is a family and motherhood wellness program that teaches overwhelmed moms how to slow down, take care of themselves so they can take care of their families and how to mother from a place of abundance.

I started blogging in 2012 and sharing tips and tools for how to be more present, playful and peaceful and my blog took off. I ended up creating the Abundant Mama Digital Program in 2013 and it has been SO popular through word of mouth that I was able to quit my full-time job and focus on this project solely.

2. What is driving you to help so many mothers with the challenges motherhood can bring?

Creating a more peaceful world! I say it over and over again — peace begins with me. I have never found motherhood to be easy. And the more real conversations I have with other moms, the more I realize that there are many out there who feel the same way. We’re highly sensitive and deeply committed to doing this RIGHT and so we place a lot of false expectations on ourselves in the process. By helping moms face the challenge of motherhood with the right tools, strategies, self-care and support, I am helping to create a more peaceful world — one family at a time. That is my ultimate driving force.

3. How can any parent reading this silence the busyness and find calm in their day?

In my book, Savoring Slow, I talk about 12 habits to implement to really slow your life down. This doesn’t mean to no longer be busy. It means to create a sense of calm and beauty in your busy life. We’re raising kids — we’re BUSY. I’d like to share those habits here with your readers 12 Savoring Slow habits to adopt:

Wake Up — Practice waking up every single day to see the beauty in your life. It’s everywhere!
Release — Embrace the idea of letting go of what is not working for you any longer to create more time for what you love.
Reframe — Accept that your busy life is your beautiful life and start telling yourself a different story about how you are living.
Focus — Aim for a distraction-free life where you always try to do one thing or nothing at all.
Go Slowly — Forget rushing through and start lingering more in all areas of your day.
Do Less — Understand that the only way to have more time for the good stuff is to do less of the other stuff.
Plug-in — Reject the notion that you need to unplug and start intentionally plugging in to be more efficient with your time and life.
Unstructured — Create more free time in your family’s day to allow the wow moments to evolve and multiply.
Go Quiet — Quiet your mind and feel time expand in the process.
Savor — Take time to appreciate every little detail around you.
Abundance — Start seeing time for what it is — something to be thankful for in your life.
Make Space — Carve out physical, mental and emotional space in your life for the things you want more of in your day.

4. What do you think is the typical definition of ‘abundance’ for parents who join your community, and what practices are important to put in place to achieve that abundance?

Abundance often means FINALLY feeling like we are enough, we do enough and we have enough … and we can rest now.

5. As someone who is doing what they love, what does a typical day look like for you?

I’m writing this after my girls are back in school after summer break so my days are a bit different. But the idea is roughly the same. I wake early — often between 4 and 5 a.m. and take care of ME by doing my Rise and Shine Routine (I offer a free challenge on waking up early and taking care of yourself!). I then put all of my efforts into getting the family fed and out the door. Once everyone is gone, I get to work. I have about 7 hours a day on a good day to write, send emails, create products and manage my programs and clients. SO … no wasting time. In the late afternoon, I set my to-dos for the next day, take a walk and meditate before my girls get home from school. On a really good day I take a rest in my hammock! And then I try to put all energy into my family and home in the evenings … until I crash into bed often very early because I wake up so early.

6. How do you juggle being a mum with running a blossoming business? What challenges might you come across and ways to overcome them?

My biggest challenge is and always has been my schedule being so inconsistent. Summer break is hard because I don’t have much time to do my work — and taking time to do the work leaves me immense amount of guilt as it’s summer after all. The school year isn’t much better with half days, sick kids, holidays and appointments. I am a work in progress on finding the right way to let go and trust that it all will get done.

7. Do you have any tools/techniques to help mothers who feel stressed out/anxious/overwhelmed because they have too much to do?

I believe strongly in the brain dump exercise for overwhelm/anxiety and worries. This is when you write everything down that is on your mind. All fears. Worries. Tasks. To-Dos. And then you slowly cross off what you can release that is not URGENT. And often, most of it is not urgent. Here’s a post on that! https://www.abundantmama.com/ease-mama-overwhelm/

8. What’s your ultimate dream? And your dream for women/mothers as a whole?

My ultimate dream is to build the most helpful, loving support group for mothers around the world possible. If I could I would build us a REAL VILLAGE with real houses and we’d all live there together helping each other out. I’ve said — they say it takes a village to raise a child but I think these days it takes a village to raise a mother. My dream for mothers like myself — those who are highly sensitive, introverted and highly reflective — is to finally feel peace from the inside out because there’s no better abundance than a feeling of contentment.

Shawn’s snapshot

Your happy place: my hammock if I can’t get to the beach

Quickest way to find clarity: journaling

Mantra of the moment: I am strong as F@#$ 🙂

Best place to people watch: the Beach Boardwalk

Most inspiring books you’ve read recently: The Go Giver, The Hate You Give and Dial Down the Drama

Best ‘ah-ha’ moment this year: Realizing that just because everyone else is doing a podcast doesn’t mean I have to … in fact, I don’t even LIKE podcasts. I’m not an auditory learner. I tune them out. So, I quit my podcast and told everyone to follow my blog. It was a real coming home moment for me.

Biggest ‘proud ofs’ in life: Building my community, writing a book and self-publishing and, of course, becoming a mother.

Current passion project: ReKindle … I’m preparing to launch another round of this program that my community LOVES that is all about rekindling your marriage AFTER children. And, frankly, my husband and I always need to do better this time of the year after a busy summer. Wish for the world: For everyone to place being KIND over being right.

Quote you live by: “Coffee is a lot more than just a drink; it’s something happening. Not as in hip, but like an event, a place to be, but not like a location, but like somewhere within yourself. It gives you time, but not actual hours or minutes, but a chance to be, like be yourself, and have a second cup” ― Gertrude Stein

You can read more about Shawn and Abundant Mama at www.abundantmama.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter

It’s never too late to follow your dreams

Posted on 2017-07-05 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

“When we start to live our own story, that’s when we really come alive, that’s when we really start living.” ~ Kathy Sparrow

Maybe in the course of bringing up your children or earning a living, you’ve put your own hopes and dreams on the back burner. It’s easy to get sucked into “life-as-usual” as you spend your days busily running from one thing to the next.

If you’ve been distracted from doing what you love, diverted from taking the path that leads you towards your dreams or have no idea what you really want to do, now could be the ideal time to think about how you’d like the next chapter of your life to look.

Follow your dreams and create more magic in your own life, and in the world!

Need help, support and inspiration? Start by making more time for yourself today…

Today we invite you to be present for everyone, including yourself. Making time to do the things you love is one of the kindest gifts you can give yourself.

So join us for 31 days of making time: 31 days to learn how to look up and rediscover the small wonders out there that make you happy, 1 day at a time, 1 minute at a time.

Our Making time daily prompt series is completely FREE and it couldn’t be easier to get started. Click here for information.

Time for a new career? Time to do what you love

Posted on 2017-01-06 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Stuck in a job that isn’t you? Ready for a career change? Want to spend your days doing something you love – a job you feel passionately about and that makes a difference – rather than just something that just pays the bills?

Dropping your current job to pursue an entirely different career path takes courage, confidence and commitment, especially if it requires going back to basics, retraining or taking a pay cut. However when it comes to chasing your dreams, know that an open mind and a willingness to succeed, anything is possible. It could be the best move you ever make.

A recent study asked 500 Brits who’d recently changed careers to share their experiences – here are some of the main findings from the research.

Learning something new is fun

Of course, the main reason you’ll undertake training is to get on the next step of that ladder, but there’s no reason why shouldn’t enjoy the journey. In fact, while some research participants saw retraining as merely a necessity, many others found it fun, rewarding and the most interesting part of their experience.

After all, learning new skills, discovering different ways of working and preparing yourself for a new challenge is exciting. It may feel daunting at times, but according to one participant in the research, ‘if you come at it with the right attitude it works really well’. So try and be positive, go with the flow and stay open to new experiences – you’re sure to reap the benefits in the long run.

Make use of your current skill set

You may not realise it, but already have a whole range of skills from your previous jobs and many of these can be carried over to your new role – even those that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to be useful. Got experience working with people from a retail or social care position? These skills can easily be transferred to things like marketing roles, driving jobs or customer service. Survey respondents agreed that using previously learnt skills stood them in good stead, with one claiming it made retraining much ‘easier than expected’.

Overcome the challenges

While many participants shared positive experiences of changing careers, it didn’t come without its challenges – one of which was fitting re-training around other commitments. Retraining can require you to study in your spare time, so be prepared to be flexible. It’s a great ides to think through all your options and make a plan of action. Consider things like your current hours – could you change them so you’re more flexible? And childcare – how will you fit studying/training in around the kids and family life – could your partner share the load? Do you have family/friends who could help out short-term?

For a while you could find things are a little crazy, but your future happiness – and the impact that will have on everyone around you – is well worth the investment in terms of your time and energy as who knows where this new chapter in your life might take you. Plus you’ll be able to add multi-tasking to your skill set, too!

Perseverance is key

While the survey showed some people found retraining intensive, with one respondent describing it as ‘not for the faint-hearted’, for most the process was a fulfilling one. That’s why, even when things are tough and you’re juggling studies with normal life, it can help to stay focused on why you’re doing this. Make a list of all the reasons to remind yourself to stay positive. At times, it may be difficult, but perseverance is key – don’t give up.

So there you have it. Retraining for a new career takes time, energy and dedication but when you find yourself armed with tons of new skills, bursting with knowledge and fully qualified for a job you actually want to do, you’ll never look back. Go for it!

The research featured in this article was conducted by Red Driving School.

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DISCOVER HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE DOING WHAT YOU LOVE

What is it you really want? The courage to start a new career? The time to pursue passions and hobbies? The freedom to travel and have big adventures? Or simply to “feel differently” about your life, just as it is? All of those wants — and so many others — stem from one big desire… The desire to do what you love.

And if that’s what you want, you’ve arrived in the best possible place you can be. This is your launchpad — and this is your community. And this online course might just change your life.

Do What You Love is an acclaimed course for people who want to spend more time doing what they love and less time doing what they don’t. Simple as that. It’s about finding freedom and building the life you really want. Inside this 5 week online course, our founder Beth Kempton will show you how to:

Do what you love, more often. Very often. In fact: daily.
Get paid to do what you love. (If that’s what you want — for some, it’s not. For many, it is!)
Make your life simpler and sweeter — not busier and more complicated.

Do What You Love is about re-opening doors that you thought were locked shut… re-opening possibilities that you thought were long gone… and illuminating possibilities you never knew existed.

A large part of doing what you love is about finding great work that you are passionate about, but that isn’t everything. In this course we explore every area of your life, to understand what is possible for you right now (in the context of your current responsibilities and situation), what could be possible for you in the future, and how to get from here to there.

We will make you look differently about how you spend your time and money, what company you keep, and where to find support if those closest to you don’t think the same way. You will see that you have a choice, in everything you do. The course will open your mind to new options, help you grow in confidence, and believe that it really is OK (and actually better for everyone) if you do what you love.

Your guide, Beth Kempton, will be with you every step of the way, and you will find immense support in the class community of other people just like you. You can ask questions in the class community space any time during the course, and seek advice and encouragement from your fellow adventurers.

If you find yourself thinking things like: “I can’t afford to _______” … or “I’m too old to _______” … or “I’m going to need years of training before I can _______” … or “It’s just not realistic for me to _______”… or “But what if ______”, Do What You Love will show you that all of your options are still open, no matter what your current circumstances and responsibilities may be. Inside this course possibility is your new reality.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THE NEXT COURSE STARTS ON JANUARY 16 AND YOUI CAN REGISTER HERE NOW!

‘Tis the season for a good book: what’s been your favourite read of 2016?

Posted on 2016-12-30 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

What better way to relax after all the excitement of Christmas than to light your wood burner, settle into a comfy armchair and get stuck into a good book. If you’re wondering what to read next, help is at hand! Here’s a round-up of the Do What You Love team’s favourite reads of 2016 – books that touched our hearts, made us think and inspired us on many different levels. Getting your read on never felt so good!

Image credit: Kelly Hoppen

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Wednesday Wellbeing

Posted on 2016-11-16 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

Happy Wednesday!

Friday is fast approaching but if you’re feeling the midweek blues you’re in the right place to be inspired!

Today the Do What You Love team is sharing what they’re up to and what is motivating them at the moment. We hope their thoughts get you thinking about what lights you up and how you can get more of this into your life…

Rachel Kempton is making time to create

I’ve been meaning to brush up on my sewing skills for years but since becoming a mum it’s a creative dream that’s fallen to the wayside… until recently! Through Hagglers Corner, a creative community of makers and doers, I was introduced to Running With Scissors, a business which runs small craft workshops, and it has inspired me to make time to make. It’s been over 10 years since I last used a sewing machine so I’ve carved out some ‘me-time’ and booked myself onto a beginner’s sewing course. Being a beginner can be scary so it’s good to know that I’ll be amongst others who are also there learn the basics. I hope that my new-found knowledge and skills will give me the confidence to experiment with interesting tools and techniques and that (one day!) I’ll be making all sorts of gorgeous gifts for my family and friends and giving my home a truly handmade feel.

My thought of the week: Maybe you feel stuck. Or bored. Or frustrated. Or maybe you quite like the life you live, it’s just that you suspect there’s something more. Some greater sense of meaning or excitement. New connections. New adventures. New possibilities. Well possibilities are always within reach. You may not be able to quit your job or develop new skills by osmosis, but every day brings new opportunities, dictated by the choices you make. Sometimes even the smallest shift in thinking or doing can create the biggest opportunity and set the stage for positive life changes. Nourish your mind, body and soul today by making choices that make you feel most alive and give your creative dreams a boost by living them. How can you give yourself time and space to create today? Do you have any passion projects right now? What creative dream are you going to start working on?

Louise Gale is feeling energised by nature

As soon as I wake up (and before logging onto my computer!), I head down to the beach for my morning walk. This is such a great way to start the day as I take time to appreciate a quiet moment in nature and sink my feet into the sand to soak up the earth’s healing electrons. This time of year is perfect as it is quiet and the sun is rising over the sea which sends beautiful reflections across the water. Spending time in the great outdoors is so good for us all, whether it’s a walk on the beach or through a local park on the way to work. Taking time to do this first thing in the morning sets me up for the busy day ahead, and leaves me feeling inspired, motivated and positive.

Louise’s thought of the week: Leading naturalist and author of the nature Principle, Richard Louv, is right when he says: “We can be happier, healthier and smarter if we weave more nature into our lives.” You can read more about why nature does good things in this article.

How can you strengthen your connection with nature today?

Fiona Duffy explains why her work always feels like ‘me-time’

I recently joined the team at Do What You Love to help Beth with the launch of her book Freedom Seeker, to be released in April 2017. I’m lucky that more often than not I feel very energised in the work I do. On reflection I realise that is because I always try to set myself realistic and personal goals that are super-aligned to the work projects I’m a part of. Doing this means that ‘work’ actually feels like ‘me-time’ as I can clearly see how my job is enriching my life on a daily basis.

For example, whilst the team here supports Beth with her book launch, I plan to use the stories and exercises within the book (lucky me, I get a sneak peek!) to identify exactly what it is that makes me feel free, and introduce more of it to my working day, and life.

Fiona’s thought of the week: I’ve found that choosing fun and uplifting locations to work from, like cafés and co-working spaces, and jazzing up my home office to make it an inspiring place to hang out, makes me feel creative, free and ready to take on the day.

What changes – small or big – could you make to enhance your workspace today?

We’d love to hear what is inspiring and motivating you this week so please do share your thoughts in the comments below.

Wednesday Wellbeing

Posted on 2016-11-09 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

“We rise by lifting others.” ~ Robert Ingersoll

Happy Wednesday!

Friday is fast approaching but if you’re feeling the midweek blues you’re in the right place to be inspired!

Last week we mentioned that for the next couple of weeks a member of the Do What You Love team will be sharing what they’re up to and what is motivating them at the moment. We hope their thoughts get you thinking about what lights you up and how you can make get more of this into your life.

Today Paul Kempton talks about doing something that makes a difference…

Here at DWYL we are always very conscious and determined that our content and courses are current and oozing with quality. Put simply they are as good as we can make them.

This month we opened the classroom for the tenth Do What You Love e-course. Although the course has been running for five years now the quality of the exercises and format continue to push our participants completely out of their comfort zones.

We are just entering Week 4 and already some very powerful issues have been addressed. A few of the topics discussed are below:

The importance of honesty. This might sound very obvious but we bury our greatest feelings deep, deep down because we are afraid, we don’t want to be ridiculed, we’re searching for acceptance, we fear other people’s judgments, etc…
The power of saying something out loud or putting it out there. This takes courage but it is only then we realise its importance.
Where can we find the courage and bravery required to make changes
The importance of communication.

When doing something so personal it is important to have a safe haven where you feel comfortable sharing your feelings and findings. Aside from your personal journal, this course in particular has a powerful and understanding community. The hundreds of people from across the globe who joined us this time round are an amazing group of people – who all want to spend more time doing what they love – and I have no doubt their strength in numbers will serve them very well in the weeks and months to come.

My thought of the week: It took me years of coasting through life, of lacking courage to make big changes, to find my true path. So our work here fills me with great pride ands joy. We are a small, friendly and dynamic team who juggle everything that life throws at us and are ultimately working harder than ever. Why? Because we truly believe the world will be a better place if more people are ‘Doing What They Love’. I cannot think of a better reason to wake up every morning.

What’s inspiring and motivating you this Wednesday? We’d love to know.

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The key to a complete inbox detox (it’s free, and it only takes a minute!)

Posted on 2016-09-05 at 4:56 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Can you feel Autumn in the air? The evenings are starting to get a little chillier here, and my head is full of thoughts of apple pie. My town has been full of young people visiting for the university open day and small children looking nervous in their new school uniforms. September always feels like a time of new beginnings to me, so this week I decided to do a major detox of my inbox.

I discovered a free tool that is so brilliant I just had to share it with you, because it only takes a couple of minutes to set up, and can clear your inbox of hundreds of emails in one fell swoop. I know that having an uncluttered inbox can be the key to an uncluttered mind at work, so I do hope you will try it!

The tool is called unroll.me can be used online at www.unroll.me or downloaded as a phone app. I have no affiliation to it. I just love it! It has been around a while, as a tool for quick unsubscribing from emails you no longer want to receive, but I have just discovered they have added a new feature which makes a huge difference. It’s called ‘roll up’ and it allows you to roll up any emails you DO still want to read into a single daily email of all the newsletters you subscribe to. Genius, right? It’s so simple, and is worth a couple of minutes of anyone’s time. Happy unsubscribing and rollup-ing!

The info we take in minute-to-minute, day-to-day, fills our minds. The right info fills our minds with inspiration and sparks ideas, but so much of the info that comes at us each day is just noise. I hope this brilliant little tool helps you clear out some of the noise so you can tune in to what really matters!

This week I challenge you to do an inbox detox with unroll.me. And if you want some additional chilling out, try our free 10-day mini course ‘Zen for Ten‘ and notice the difference!

Take care
Beth

Are we afraid to ‘do what we love’?

Posted on 2016-03-23 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

There are two things that really stick out for me in people’s responses when I tell them that our company is called Do What You Love and then subsequently explain what we do.

Firstly, “Wow, that sounds cool… I need that” and secondly, only seconds later (often within the same breath) in complete contrast “But then, not many of us can… we all have jobs to do don’t we?”

I continually wonder why we, as human beings, are so quick to shy away from our dreams, shut down our options and turn away from opportunities. Usually I come to the conclusion that our feelings must be based in fear. I know this has been, and still is, true for myself. Growing up I was often scared to push myself and commit to things. The reason? Because I was afraid that my best would fall short; way short of my own expectations.

We are all unique and built in different ways, each with vastly different personality traits – so why does this ‘fear’ affect so many of us? Where does it come from? Society? Media? Family and friends? Ourselves?

Well if the ‘fear’ is significant enough to prevent you from doing what you love, then it needs dealing with. But how? The recipe for freeing yourself from the ‘fear’ is pretty straightforward in principle, but putting it into practice is another thing altogether. Women seem to be talking about their fears, and how they deal with them, more and more these days, but I still don’t hear us guys talking about it anywhere near as much as we really need to (not one of our strengths I know).

Here are a few simple tips that have worked for me, together with some FREE resources that will hopefully help inspire and motivate you to move forward towards realising some of your dreams:

Slow down and make time: if you’re always rushing from one thing to the next, trying to get through your neverending to-do list and outwardly multitask with confidence, whilst inside wondering when the spinning plates are going to come crashing down, maybe you need to pause, reflect and re-prioritise .

FREE resources – Zen for Ten and Making Time will encourage you to get back to basics, enjoy the simple things and think about what really matters to you.

Immerse yourself in the world you are interested in, and find, a community of like-minded people there. Their positivity and energy will boost you up and make you realise what is possible. You may also be amazed what you can accomplish when you are not surrounded by the naysayers.

FREE resources – Alchemy and L.E.A.P – two fantastic resources that will help show you what is possible when you change your mindset.

Plan! My God, if I didn’t plan my days I am not sure I would make it past breakfast, especially with two small daughters keeping me on my toes. Planning in time every day to do something – however small – in the direction of your dream, adds up to big strides over time. Trying to visualise every step can be daunting, but breaking it into smaller manageable steps allows us to find direction, movement and most importantly momentum.

FREE resource – New Year’s Revolution – a practical toolkit to help you spend more time doing what you love.

Let’s just consider those two very different responses I mentioned at the beginning of this post for a second…

“Wow, that sounds cool…I need that”

Yes it is cool to do what you love. For me, to have found something as rewarding as being able to help people improve their lives has been one of the highlights of the past five years. Life is short. How can doing what you don’t love be a better, happier choice than doing what you do love?And yet, this doesn’t mean it is an easier life. I can honestly say I have never worked so hard. But I certainly don’t mind, as the motivation behind my actions is in line with what I believe.

There is also a misconception that you should be ‘doing what you love’ at work. Not necessarily. If you have a job you love then great, but you might have a job that provides for you and your family and allows you time to follow your passions. It really is an equation that has to fit you and you alone.

2.“But then, not many of us can… We all have jobs to do, don’t we?”

Yes, the truth is most of us do need to earn money to pay the bills, but there are thousands of ways to do that. In today’s connected world there are more opportunities than ever to have a flexible lifestyle, such as negotiating some remote working time, starting your own business, learning something new or sharing your expertise with the world by teaching online. And if none of those suit your particular situation, there are always ways to free up more time and prioritise even a small amount of money to do what you love outside work too.

Sounds like it’s [Tweet “time for a lifestyle spring clean.”] Are you in?

Until next time,
Mr K.

Why reading is making me happy + download your own Happy List for FREE

Posted on 2016-01-29 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

This is a post by our Senior Editor, Rachel Kempton

One of the (many!) great things I’ve resolved to do in 2016 is to spend more time doing things that make me happy – like reading. I love reading and my shelves are overflowing with books that are all begging to be read. So I’ve set myself a challenge: to read a book a week, every week, for a year. As well as increasing my knowledge, giving my brain a good daily work out and opening my mind to new thoughts and ideas, I hope that priorising my passion for books will inspire me to work on improving all aspects of my life. What’s more by 31 December I’ll have read 52 books – what a great feeling that will be!

I’m only a few weeks in and I’m already reaping the benefits of burying my head in a good book for half an hour a day:

I look forward to that little bit of me-time I carve out for myself each day
It feels like a really productive use of my time – unlike watching TV or surfing online
It helps me to switch off
Reading before bed is helping me to sleep better
Finishing a book is satisfying and that feeling of finishing things is motivating me to develop a habit of completion – in all other areas of my life
Deciding what to read next is fun
It’s a great way to learn more about my hobbies, interests, and passions
Now I’m in the flow of reading, I’m excited about stepping out of my comfort zone and trying other genres/styles

I love this image about the benefits of reading by designer Raphael Lysander which includes some fascinating statistics on how reading can help with stress relief, mental skill development, and forming relationships, etc.

During January I was reading:

Finding Your Element by Ken Robinson: a great source of help, advice and motivation if you’re pushing through the daily grind, lack passion for what you do, or are wondering how you can start doing what you love.
Walking on Sunshine. 52 small steps to happiness by Rachel Kelly: inspired by Rachel’s own life experiences this little book is bursting with tips, tools and positive thoughts to help you better manage the pressures of everyday life.
The Artist’s Way for Parents: Raising Creative Children by Julia Cameron: this book is packed with practical advice and is a great reminder that by taking time (even little moments) to nurture our own creativity we cultivate joy in our own lives, which we can then share with, and model for, our children.
F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin, who suggests that saying F**k It is the perfect Western expression of the Eastern spiritual concept of letting go, giving up, and finding real freedom by realising that things don’t matter so much (if at all).

What’s next? The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, which promises that I’m “about to discover how I can create the most extraordinary life I’ve ever imagined… right now.” Watch this space!

This month I’m especially grateful for these fascinating books which have taught me so much, and to the inspiring authors who wrote them. I’m also grateful to my husband who’s doing the book challenge too – keeping us both motivated – and to my sister, Lisa, who, on hearing about my challenge, sent me dozens of pictures of her bookcase and suggested we swap some books. All these things are on my Happy List.

“Be grateful for what you have now. As you begin to think about all the things in your life you are grateful for, you will be amazed at the never ending thoughts that come back to you of more things to be grateful for. You have to make a start, and then the law of attraction will receive those grateful thoughts and give you more just like them.” ~ Rhonda Byrne, The Secret

What is on your Happy List this year?

If you want to take more notice of the things that make you happy in the months ahead, download our Happy List – it’s completely free, and it’s a simple interactive PDF which allows you to note one thing every day that you are grateful for. Thousands of people used it last year and really enjoyed noticing the small and big things, and having a record to look back on. You can get yours here.

Download a low res version of The Happy List here.

Download a high res version of The Happy List here.