Inspiring Words....

For anyone who doesn't know, Randy Pausch was a professor of Computer Science, Human Interaction and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. Watching his "Last Lecture" is something everyone must do in their lifetime. This lecture was really for his kids (Randy put it together because he was dying of pancreatic cancer and wanted to leave this for them), but millions of people all over the world have watched it and taken something away from it. You can find a number of Randy's inspiring and humorous lectures here and here.

For those of you who are short on time right now, I will leave you with some great quotes taken from the "Last Lecture".

" We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand".

"The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough".

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted".

"Follow your passions, believe in karma, and you won't have to chase your dreams, they will come to you".

"It is important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear".

"When we're connected to others, we become better people".

On time management: "Here's what I know:

Time must be explicitly managed, like money.

You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.

Ask yourself, Are you spending your time on the right things?

Develop a good filing system.

Rethink the phone.

Delegate.

Take a time out."

Weekend Gratitude....

I've been a bit stuck lately with updating my blog. I love it and I miss it when I don't check in, but thoughts of not having anything interesting to write creep in every now and then. In an effort to kick myself out of this rut, I'm going to randomly select a topic and write about it. Today I'm choosing Gratitude, as this has featured in a number of the blogs I've been reading. I used to religiously write down 5 things that I was grateful for every night (Thanks for the tip Oprah). Sounds corny but it completely changes the way you perceive each day and assists you to focus on the positive rather than the negative. Here's my list for the weekend:

• I am grateful that I had breakfast with my little man at a cafe yesterday morning.
• I am grateful that my little man had a mid-morning nap with me yesterday.
• I am grateful that I got to spend time with my Dad, Step-Mum and brothers yesterday (as well as the little man!).
• I am grateful for the chocolate sundae I had yesterday (YUM!).
• I am grateful that I had a great day with my lululemon peeps at work today.
• I am grateful that I have tomorrow off and can catch up on some creative projects.
• I am grateful that I have tomorrow off so that I can prepare for the lululemon conference that starts on Tuesday.
• I am grateful that I get to go to the lululemon conference in Melbourne this week.
• I am grateful that I get to spend time with my awesome fellow lulu's from all over Australia this week.

I am sooooo excited for this week (while at the same time being a little sad that this thing I have been looking forward to for so long will come and go). But I have no doubt that this will be a life changing experience for me and I can't wait to share it with you all!

Fun Times....

Last night all of the lululemon crew from the store I work at attended a special screening of George Clooney's new movie "Up In The Air" (Due to be released in Australia in January, 2010). The movie is directed by Jason Reitman of 'Juno' and 'Thank you for Smoking' fame. A woman who works at Paramount Pictures rang us out of the blue the other week and asked if we would like to go. Of course we said 'yes' but we were curious to know why she picked us. She said that she personally loved our clothes and coming into our store, and that we all seemed like exactly the kind of people who would enjoy this movie. And I did. It was really, really good and so awesome for all of us to go together, along with our partners, fathers, best friends, and some of our regular guests in the store who are like family. Here is a summary of the plot just so you get an idea of what it is about:


"Ryan Bingham's (George Clooney) job is to fire people from theirs. The anguish, hostility, and despair of his "clients" has left him falsely compassionate, living out of a suitcase, and loving every second of it. When his boss hires arrogant young Natalie, she develops a method of video conferencing that will allow termination without ever leaving the office - essentially threatening the existence Ryan so cherishes. Determined to show the naive girl the error of her logic, Ryan takes her on one of his cross country firing expeditions. But as she starts to realize the disheartening realities of her profession, he begins to see the downfalls to his way of life".




Make sure you go see it!

Contradictions.....

This week seems to be a week of contradictions for me. In my head I am happy and excited for so many things eg. lululemon party on Thursday night where my husband and sister Alison are going to help, along with my sister Lauren who is going to sing, going to a special screening of George Clooney's new movie "Up in the Air" tonight with all the lululemon gang, going to Melbourne next week for the lululemon conference, making T-Shirts that people have ordered from me for little bubba's for Christmas. Its all good. So why then do I feel so cranky? Why can't I stop letting other people's negativity and meanness (a word?) affect me so much? Hopefully I will get to spend some time today being inspired and I will be able to 'suck it all up and get over it' so to speak. I hope so.........

Welcome to new friends!

Image by John White via flickr

Two new friends have joined our lulu family and I wanted to officially welcome them. Anthony and Maya, you guys are both fantastic and if there is anything at all we can do to support you, don't hesitate to ask. Looking forward to a long and fun-filled journey with you both! X Bel

Another goal achieved......

I'm giving myself a pat on the back because tonight I finished the 5th and final book in the lululemon core library. I'm pretty chuffed considering that I have only been at lululemon for just over 4 months and I have also read at least 7 other books in this time (As you can probably guess, I LOVE reading). All 5 books in the core library (Good to Great, A New Earth, The Goal, Focal Point and The Tipping Point) have been well worth reading as I have learnt so much more about areas such as goal setting, business and reaching my potential. I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to be exposed to the life changing culture that is lululemon. The best thing is, that it isn't a secret. Anyone out there can pick up these books and share in the culture - I highly recommend that you do.

Boy with balloons in Afghanistan.......

Image from The Boston Globe via wide open spaces