Curly Hair Artistry

Inspiration & Persistance

How you take the day on starts with what you do the day before. 

If you wake up and feel lost....then you are unprepared. 

Preparation is a skill set and discipline that takes some getting used to as its a habit.

Preparation sets you up to achieve #1) a Goal & #2) a Habit. 

If you want to achieve a goal you need to set up and work on habits to achieve that goal. 

Example: I want to be healthy (Goal) and to help me achieve this goal I want to build habits that lead to health and I am currently working on and learning from a new book that is out about a lifestyle of health vs a diet - its called 131 Method by Chalene Johnson. 

As a hairstylist I need energy to stay upbeat during the day - trying to manufacture that on my own is difficult - so, I need help with food, fitness & creativity and resources help me the most by reading, implementing and learning from others who have been before me. 

I just started The 131 Method and as I read about the science of health and what I can do to make it my own is fascinating. Adding to what I already do will make for implementing these habits into what I do a bit easier. What makes this more fun is that I have many in my circles that are 'into' health and live life this way as a habit - do you have a circle of others around you that you can discuss how to maintain health? 

Another resource that I read to stay focused and on a path of creativity is by Steven Pressfield called The War of Art of which has a concept described as "The Resistance" as this Resistance is inside each of us - that is sort of like a fear that once you recognize it you can use it to move past fear and into creating. This habit of moving past resistance is a life changer! Recognize and use it to create - and over time with persistence - creates authentic expression through art, writing, video or work of ANY kind including being in an office or in a car as you drive to make your sales. 

What helps me to track and keep up with my journey are two types of journals of which one is blank that is called a 1917 Journal and I learned what to write in this by the creator or bullet journaling from his book The Bullet Journal Method. This is a habit of taking a blank journal and make it your own by the BuJo Method (YouTube Link). I express my deep inner thoughts in this blank journal - to put in what matters to me and at the end of the journal I made an Index so that I can find sections that are important to me with what page number its on - as this journal has pages that are numbered. This comes in handy if you want to always find what you write instead of blindly looking for notes you take. 

At the other end of habit tracking is a journal that is already filled in for you for tracking my habits with the Best Self Journal that has what is called 'prompts' that lead you to discover habits and action steps that lead to achieving your goals AND it includes what you learned about your actions daily. 

I am often asked what I watch to find Inspiration - and this leads to discussions of books I have read by Chef's of how they structure their business, lead their staff and even designing menu's and how they lay out their plates for dinner. I watch Netflix documentaries and shows about how chefs think and structure their life & business. 

I also have a yearly membership with something called MasterClass (click that link to get $30 off of YOUR membership) - this platform has a variety of artists, musicians, writers, directors, chefs and more - the best in the world - sharing how they do what they do and I find it fascinating that I can learn from them. There are things here I will never do, but what happens is that my mind gets inspiration from these people and over time of viewing these classes (a habit) they infiltrate my imagination to persist and create in new ways. Learning from these videos is WAY better than mindless viewing on YouTube or time spent on social media that leads to wasted time. 

Finally - I can not live without my VitAmix Blender - this thing pulverizes fruits, veggies and whatever else I put in to make awesome soup, smoothies and even frozen ice treats to fuel my day. I freeze my organic kale and it breaks up easily to put in my blender, I add some of my favorite protein powder, blueberries and some ice cubes for a smoothie that I have most mornings....and yes, I feel better from this as I am not keen on getting all of this throughout the day like I should - and its super easy to clean. This is not a cheap purchase but I have to say I have had mine for YEARS and its still going and if you are buying a salad, smoothie or ice cream or soup somewhere else you could have paid for this on your own by now and even get better results as you can add what you need to fuel YOUR body, mind and spirit. 

Check these things out (affiliate links) and share what you use to stay inspired and persist with habits that lead to achieving YOUR goals - as these tools are super helpful for helping many others I know to fuel their body in ways that are important to counter the stress and over-all inactive lifestyle that can lead to tearing down our bodies. 

The choices we make are often encouraged by others willing to share what works for them - and this blog reveals a few that work for me and many others.

I have to keep the cycle going of sharing the best of the best to help others and when you implement these tools then we form a like minded community of excellence to achieve our goals together. 

Homework: get your journal and the night before you go to bed, spend 15 minutes to write out what time you will get up (30-60 minutes early) and get some hydration in you when you wake up, go for a walk or work out as you listen to a podcast or an audible book, get home and create your smoothie (prep it before you go to bed as well), drink your smoothie as you answer email, get on social media and spend some time getting your business replied to or create something to share on Instagram/Facebook. For me - by this time my sons get up, they eat breakfast and we discuss the day and get some good laughter in. We have habits of finishing strong with whatever we are doing that makes us want to ease up a bit before we finish up our goals...but no, we finish strong, own it and celebrate what we put our mind to. They leave for school, I shower up and listen to a podcast or audible or a MasterClass on my drive to work. This is just the first few hours of the day. 

What will you do? 

Let me know in the comments section or send me an email as I love hearing what others are doing & achieving that will also inspire others to stay on their path.