Inspiration from a Pablo Picasso quote ...

“To draw, you must close your eyes and sing.” — Pablo Picasso

At night, I often read quotes before drifting off to sleep. I love quotes and find them to be extremely motivating, thought provoking and inspiring. Last night, as I did a little online 'quote surfing' I bumped into the above quote by Pablo Picasso.

To me, the quote says: to do anything, we must first have a vision in our minds and believe that we can make it happen. And then we execute it with passion, energy and enthusiasm!

Pablo, my eyes are closed and I'm singing ... "It's my Life and it's now or never"
(Bon Jovi song)


Artwork by Lauren Christensen, age 8

A moment on YouTube ...

Inspiration from a turtle ...

"Try to be like the turtle -- at ease in your own shell..."
- Bill Copeland

(Artwork by Kaleb Christensen)

Are you -- right now -- who you want to be?

So, what do you want to be when you grow up? That question may appear a little trite, but think about it for a moment. Are you--right now--who you want to be, what you dreamed you'd be, doing what you always wanted to do? Be honest. Sometimes people find themselves achieving victories that are empty--successes that have come at the expense of things that were far more valuable to them. If your ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step you take gets you to the wrong place faster. ~ Steven R. Covey / 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Inspiration from a butterfly ...

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
~Author Unknown

Your life doesn't just "happen" ...

You choose to go up or down ... :)

Your life doesn't just "happen." Whether you know it or not, it is carefully designed by you. The choices, after all, are yours. You choose happiness. You choose sadness. You choose decisiveness. You choose ambivalence. You choose success. You choose failure. You choose courage. You choose fear. Just remember that every moment, every situation, provides a new choice. And in doing so, it gives you a perfect opportunity to do things differently to produce more positive results.

~ Steven R. Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Notice the beauty ...

Appreciation ABCs --

A - The ability to love
B - Breakfast in bed for Mother's Day
C - Cell phones (feels good to connect with the ones we love)
D - The desire to keep moving forward
E - Empowering quotes
F - French Lavender out in the yard
G - Feeling grateful for life in general!
H - Hugs from my kids

And on it goes. Have you ever tried this? It's easy ... grab a piece of paper write A-Z and then jot down all the little or big things that you appreciate about your life (like I did above). Enjoy ... :)


“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” ~ Ashley Smith