“The Creative Entrepreneur” by Lisa Sonora Beam, is a book that uses this method to make artist’s business ideas happen. In the book it says,
“Creatives tend to be visual, action-oriented learners. We respond to visual stimuli. We also need to be engaged in a personal, meaningful way with the material…Visual journaling helps us go beyond what we know in our rational mind, so we can access other ways of knowing – the kind of knowing that results in truly original thinking, ideas and creative breakthroughs.”

How to get started! Grab a journal, a pen/pencil/whatever! – and get thinking. I prefer using aMoleskine sketch book because its small enough to carry in my bag. I was not happy with how things were going in 2008, so I am using visual lists and journaling to figure out how I could change things and make goals. Ideas I tried that might work for you:

* Make a list of people or things that inspire you. Write a number next to each item, and then on a different sheet of paper, write down with the corresponding number a few reasons why this person or thing inspires you. When you are done, cover up the first list – it’s not what is important! (I hid mine under a sheet of cardboard with an illustration – out of sight, out of mind!) Instead, focus on is how many repeated factors you wrote on the second sheet. Those repeats are most likely what you are aiming to become with yourself! This is a great way to figure out where to start on planning goals.
* Make a list of all the “biggest myths” you tell yourself! Do you not believe in yourself, or think you are incapable of doing something? Write down these silly notions and take a good look at them when you are done. Most likely, they aren’t true. Figure out ways to prove to yourself they are truly myths!
* Do a mind map! Draw your name in the center – and branch off of it with whatever comes to mind about who or where you want to be. Look at these concepts – what do they mean to you?

Once you have an understanding of where you want to be, goals should come easily! Gala Darling wrote an excellent article on making goals last year, inspiring me to make 3 lists: Goals that scare me, Things I want to do before I die, and Easy/simple/smallish goals. After writing it all down, I took one goal from each of the first two lists and then several from the third. Fine-tuned everything, and then I wrote it all down in a final completed list.

This is the most important step – it seals the deal! Like making the promise to yourself more realistic. Write them down in your journal and somewhere that you will see them daily. Look at them twice a day. Or even better, make a mind movie or poster of your goals and look at that a few times daily.

Ideas to keep you inspired once you have come up with your goals:

• Paste in your journal photos/illustrations that inspire you.
• Doodle to your heart’s content!
• Write down whatever you fancy at the moment. I love making lists of things I’m adoring or dreaming of – it keeps my spending at bay and my heart calm.
• Jot down a few good/interesting points from each day! This will help you learn to look at the positive aspects of life.
• Make a small calendar of the months from now till next year in your journal. Next to each month as it occurs, write down an accomplishment or something you are proud of. As time goes forward, you will have this to look back at and will easily see your progress!
• Look up things to aid in your ideas and goals like classes, books to read, people to contact, things to purchase, etc. – and build a to-do list with it in your journal!
• Don’t focus on pages being perfect works of art. This is just for you! It’s all about being inspired and learning about yourself. Just have fun!

Good luck! If you end up making a visual journal or list for the new year, please share!

First off its a wonderful prize package and I would like to offer my thank you’s to HP, Microsoft, Buzz Corps, Techiediva , and Merlotmon.  You all rock.:)

Second I totally believe in “paying it forward”. In the past I have recieved help from many organizations and I have always told myself that if I ever get a chance to “pay it forward” I would.  My choice is the Ronald McDonald House of Mid- Michigan.  I would donate a laptop and a printer to them for the families of ill children to use for emailing relatives that are out of town, research and to post maybe on their own blogs .  I feel that this would be a wonderful gift to this organization.

I would keep the desktop for myself… give a laptop to my fiance for Christmas and share the rest with my family as a shared family gift.

And in the spirit of the season  BELIEVE .

Open Control Panel and double click on Regional and Language Options.

Next, under the Formats tab click on the “Customize this format” button.

Now under the Time tab, enter in the character and / or symbols you think would get a great laugh in the AM / PM fields.  You can basically enter in whatever you want up to 12 characters.   Click OK twice to get out of Regional and Language Options.

Here are a few examples of what you can achieve.  From your name to old chat emoticons.

If your co-worker is not aware of this trick … they will have a heck of a time trying to correct it.  Each different example you create will show up now in the drop boxes.

This trick also works in XP.  Control Panel \ Regional and Language Settings \ Customize \ Time tab.

Have Fun!  Please share any funny stories you might have with this one!

A California State ballot proposition that would amend the state Constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman.

Yep, California voters chose to actually change the Constitution to make it against the law for gay people to marry each other. Against the law. For two people who love each other to get married. How shameful.

Let me talk about a few things here…First of all, I really dislike the term “gay marriage” – it’s just “marriage”. My fiance and I don’t call our marriage a “straight marriage”; it’s just marriage, thank you very much. Second of all, this crap about the “sanctity” of marriage – what sanctity is involved when 50% of all marriages end in divorce? Third of all, marriage is not a religious ceremony. Sure, most people make it that way, which is fine, but you know what makes you “legally” married? A marriage license from the state, not from the church.Many people are legally married and they did not have a religious ceremony. And lastly, what are the opponents of gay people getting married so scared of? What exactly will happen if a happy couple, who happens to be of the same sex, gets married? Will the sun stop rising? Will our water supply become tainted? Will we run out of oil? Will straight people stop getting married? What will happen? Will the world end?

Nothing.

Well, other than the fact that a percentage of the population will be equal to the rest of us in their ability to get legally married. Gay people just want the same rights that the rest of us are entitled to – what’s next, we outlaw black people becoming President or a woman’s right to the vote? People who wish to be hateful and spiteful of another human because of sexual orientation are just sad – where do they get off thinking that they can tell other people what they can and cannot do with their lives? Don’t they have anything more pressing to worry about in their own life? How would you like it if someone told you that you couldn’t get married because you were born with brown hair? Or blue eyes? You wouldn’t like it too much, as you don’t have control over how you were born. Well, I have news for you – neither do gay people. Oh, I know these bigots like to think that being gay is a choice, but really – if that were the case, who would choose to be gay and face such hatred from other people? Anyone?

This topic always gets me heated, and for good reason – it’s a human rights issue. Gay, straight, brown, black, white, tall, short, man, woman, child – we are all equal humans, even if some don’t think so. And we should all have the same rights. The bigots who are against gays getting married often proclaim that being gay and gays getting married is against their religion, and to that I ask them to have a look through whatever book they read and to look for a sentence that looks kind of like this one and try to match that up with the belief that gays should not be able to marry:

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Unless of course you can take away the rights of gay people, that is…then it’s OK. We do not live in a theocracy – religion is not law, the Constitution is – and it says that we are all guaranteed equal protection under the law. All of us, no matter what.

hmmmmmmmmm …. thats all I have to say .

Last night in his acceptance speech, Obama said:

“Americans … sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

Remember how united the country felt after 9/11? Suddenly there were no red or blue states. We were one people, saddened by tragedy, but united as a country. What happened to that?

Yesterday history was made. Our country overcame racism and elected our first African-American President. We elected hope and showed that we believe in a better America.

As joyous as we may be, there are those today who are feeling the sting of defeat. For whatever their reasons- be they right or wrong, they chose to support John McCain. As tempting as it may be to gloat today, we must remember that these people are our fellow countrymen and women. They are part of America too. In his victory speech Obama reached out to them and promised he would hear their voices, need their help, and be their President as well.

We need to work towards a unified vision. The American people voted last night to end hyper-partisanship and to send a message to the Republican Party that it needs to moderate itself … not insist finding radicals.What the party needs to do is cleave harder to a narrow ideology. This includes obstructionists whose only purpose is to win elections, which has been the GOP’s approach to elections and government for the last decade.

If America really did change for the better last night and if we really want to support our new President, then we need to lead the effort to bring our country together once more. In that spirit, I am asking you to take down that Obama sign or McCain sign and hang an American flag outside your home. Let’s rise above and show our neighbors that we believe we can rise above our differences and be one nation again. Show them that we aren’t just red or blue, black or white, gay or straight, but one people united for a greater good.

Let’s be the America that we grew up believing in again.

The victory of Barack Obama makes history. The most obvious precedent broken was with the election of a black candidate as opposed to another white male, but there are many other ways in which the election of Barack Obama represents historical change.

Due to having two Senators running it was certain that this election would put an end to the view that a Senator cannot win. We also have a Democratic Senator from a northern state, totally at odds with the idea that only a Southern moderate governor could win for the Democrats.

The country voted for the intelligent candidate rather than the one they would prefer to share a beer with. Intelligence became a virtue, despite attempts by his opponents to attack him by calling him an elitist.

The red/blue map has changed, with Democrats taking both Ohio and Florida. The Democrats continue to lead in the northeast, but this now extends down the coast. Obama has won Virginia with North Carolina too close to call. Obama has also picked up several states in the west. Instead of being the party of the northern coasts, it is now the Republicans who are marginalized as representing primarily one region of the country.

We also saw the election of a candidate whose name sounds like Osama, has a middle name of Hussain, was accused of beng both a Muslim and as a Christian who attended a radical, un-American church. Those who believed he was Muslim also falsely claimed he attended a Madrasa, and some on the right claim he is not even an American citizen. He was even accused of associating with a terrorist and supporting socialism. Despite all of this Obama won with high approval ratings. The right wing smear machine failed, and hopefully Republicans will abandon this type of tactic after it failed to help them win. Instead the winner was the candidate who made a point of rejecting this type of politics.

Congratulations President Obama , Vice President Biden , and their families. May your 4 years in the White House be prosperous and even more historical.

We can now see why different people blame different people:

Some blame the Fed and Greenspan, because low interest rates were a necessary condition, they believe, of this mess. Had the Fed raised interests rates, this crisis could have been averted.

Some blame the lenders, because they loaned money on poorly thought out conditions. Had they not loaned this money, this crisis would have been avoided. Fannie and Freddie fall into this group.

Some blame the mortgage insurers, because the lenders believed that they were insured against loss. If the true bogus nature of the insurance had been known, or at least some actual capital been required of the insurers, then this problem might have been, if not avoided, not a crisis. So, if regulation had forced either of these conditions, the crisis could have been avoided.

Some blame the regulators, for the reasons  given above.

Some blame the borrowers because they foolishly took out loans they couldn’t pay. Had they not done this, the crisis could have been avoided.

Some blame the implicit guarantees of the government to intervene in a crisis, because, if these guarantees hadn’t been counted on, no one would have supported the stupidity of the insurance or lending to unsound borrowers. Had this not been the case, the crisis would have been avoided.

Finally, we can see why TARP is such a controversial remedy to this crisis. The most direct way to deal with this crisis would have been to find a way for borrowers to continue making payments and hence foreclosures be averted. Instead, TARP focuses on the lenders, trying to figure out a way to ease their losses.

From my perspective, it’s hard not to fault the lenders the most in this crisis. After all, they’re the ones demanding to be made whole (  stable, or whatever they’re asking for). As to whether they should have lent the money in these cases, the answer is obviously not. But to absolve them by claiming they couldn’t help themselves because the rates were low or the government pressured them, seems little reason or not enough reason for them to abandon sound lending criteria.

Now, suppose I’m the lender, and I take back the house through foreclosure. Now, I have an asset. A real thing. A house. However, I don’t or can’t sell it. Maybe I want to try and rent it, or wait for a while and see if the market corrects, whatever. But there’s a problem. If I do this, I have to list my house as being, say, $400,000, and I’ve now a $200,000 loss on my books. And say that there’s a rule saying that when I lose $200, 000, I need to come up immediately with $100,000 in capital to stay solvent. Is that fair? On the one hand, I have an asset, a house, that I want to do something with over time. On the other hand, we’ve just come through a crisis involving lack of capital, so we want to make sure you’re properly capitalized. Who’s right?

I can also understand TARP better. I’ve already discussed the mortgage approach to this problem, now I’ll address the liquidity problem.

Say I’m the lender. I have two problems:

1) I need to meet capital requirements for my current losses.

2) I have more of these foreclosures out there, but the number is iffy, and I have no idea how much capital I will eventually need to recapitalize.

So, until I solve these problems, I won’t loan any more. Suddenly, the oil that greases the engine of our economy dries up. How to solve this?

Well, along comes the government, which says we’ll give you the money to recapitalize for interest, stock, ownership, whatever. When we do, start loaning.

So, there are three immediate problems.

1) I’ve still got this iffy figure to deal with.

2) Even if you give me the money, I’m so shell-shocked I find myself incapable of lending.

3) If you’re the government, you’ve just given money to loan to businesses that have become problematic because they’ve poorly loaned money.

TARP has been all over trying to deal with these issues.

Let’s add another problem, just for fun.

I’m a small country. The big countries all have these government guarantees between themselves to keep lending going on. Tragically, the lending that was coming to me is now drying up because there isn’t enough lending to go around, and I don’t have these guarantees with the big countries. I didn’t start the crisis, but, well, I’ll feel the worst of it.  Get it now ?

The saddest thing about it is that we will never have the objective “truth” to learn from it later. I bet, in 50 years there will be still articles stating the same – it was Greenspan/capitalism/greedy bankers/stupid citizens. Like the Great Depression – you ask 10 people and you get 15 different answers about the causes – and it was 80 years ago.