I just want to say…

I guess the title says it all!

Isn’t that the beauty of blogs? They give you the freedom to express yourself, to share your opinion, to let the world know what you want them to know. There is no one to tell you what to say or how to say it, just a blank page waiting for you to to fill it with your mind’s wonders. Better yet fill it with the deep things of your heart and soul.

Expressing yourself doesn’t necessarily have to only be about the deep meaningful things in life, it can simply be sharing your opinion on a new product or service, re-telling a joke that you found absolutely hilarious, or venting at something that really grinds your stones. The best is that you are able to get it out!

From days as a child we are taught not to bottle up our emotions else one day we’ll explode from the overwhelming pressure build up. Why is it so different in other areas of life? As human beings we have a complex make-up. We are multi-dimensional creatures that need stimulation and releases in many facets of our lives. You’ll be amazed at how liberating it is to just act the fool for a while and make your family or friends laugh. To put aside all uppity behavior and let your hair down. Who cares if people think you’re a little nuts? The truth is they probably wish they had the guts to do what you’re doing!

Liberate yourself, share yourself, express yourself. With expression comes freedom and freedom is a great thing!

I believe that inside each and every one of us there is something great just waiting to be shared. Each one of us has a genius that wants to come and amaze the world, a comedian that wants to being the crowds to their Knees, an expert that needs to share in their experience or a freedom fighter compelled to push for truth.

So let rip! Thet thos who are watching be amazed!

Rest… mmmm!

That sure does sound heavenly.

In a time where there simply are not enough hours in a day, the word “rest” sure sounds out of place. I mean honestly who has time to rest?

We need to work, work, work. Get up early, rush through traffic, skip breakfast – no time must hurry! Get the kids to school, avoid giving in to the temptation of road rage, rush to the office, I need to work, work, work. Wade through mountains of emails, get stuck into 20 things at the same time – multi-task, work, work, work.

Don’t break for lunch – eat at your desk. Don’t visit the loo unless you really have to, because we have to work, work, work. Drink too much coffee, eat too much junk food – no time to be healthy.

Oh no! Where has the time gone? Not enough work done – need to leave to fetch the kids. Rush, rush, rush. Dodge the crazy taxi’s, weave through traffic that looks like a mutant anaconda that stretches for miles. Get the kids, rush home, rush, rush, rush.

Slap some dinner together – whatever is quickest. It doesn’t matter if it’s healthy or not – no time to care. Hurry, hurry, hurry. I need to hurry and start working again. After hours. The world is quiet, except for the droning noise of my computer fan. I need to work, work, work. Get in a few more hours.

Fall into bed. Exhausted. Tightly wound like a spring. Wake up to the screaming siren of the alarm clock. So it starts again. Day in and day out. Eventually your body and mind separate. You become a mindless zombie following the orders of a cruel and relentless mind. The silent slave driver that cracks the whip of guilt on your weary back.

Faster, better, longer – no place for laziness!

Eventually your body revolts. Millions of cells working together to take back possession of the body. Suddenly you feel pain that you simply can’t explain. You fall ill with some strange sickness for no apparent reason. It takes far longer than normal to heal, to recover. That’s it… you have burned out!

To recover from burn-out is a lot more difficult that avoiding it, but some of us need to learn the hard way. (ouch!) There is only so much your body can take before it throws you off the bus. When you go tumbling down the embankment devastated by runaway fires, you may bump your head, crack a few ribs or inhale the toxic gases given off my the very last burning embers. Don’t go there.

Rest is necessary! Rest is good! Get enough rest and the “rest” will get sorted as it must.

Give rest to your soul, quiet your mind, forget about your problems and the stresses of the day. Take a time out. Retreat to the tranquility of your quiet place. Unwind, let your body relax. Jump into a hot tub, allow your breathing to be deep and slow. Get some good sleep. I’ve learned that there is no place like “la-la land.”

Your body speaks – listen! Rest and you’ll achieve more than you think!

Give a little and get a whole lot in return!

Selfishness has a bit of a destructiveness way about it. It causes us to focus inward, clouding our vision and eventually causing an implosion. SPLAT!

I decided to give a little!

We are all faced with busy lives, daily stresses and struggling to pay the bills. Our lives automatically push us into a place where we are continually thinking about our problems and the issues that we need to deal with. It becomes so easy to become self-centered, even though it is more than likely unintentional.

To break free from the mold of self, we need to adjust our focus to that of an outward one. It is only when we focus outward that we see that our problems are rather small or sometimes insignificant.

My time is incredibly valuable to me. I run a time based business. A creative solutions firm, specializing in web design, website development, hosting, graphic design, flash development, animation and email marketing campaigns. Time wasted is costly! Not only is it costly financially but wasted time causes pressure in other areas of life as well.

So I’m a busy person – “Big deal, get over it!”

I decided to take a little time and give something back. I created a directory for all of the South African Website Design Companies and am offering free listing to web design companies across South Africa. It feels great to do something for the greater good of others. The directory is going to help us all!

How do I feel? GREAT!
I actually feel like I have had a bit of a rush – I like :^)

The Freedom of Trust

Well trying to anyway!

Am I the only one that is a bit of a control freak that has serious trust issues?

For some reason, I have a seriously hard time letting go sometimes. Especially when it comes to business and being creative. There is no way I can continue to grow my business if I don’t give a little.

Stemming from an absolute hate to disappoint, this has become somewhat of a problem. The only way to fix problems is to firstly, identify them, secondly, find a way to resolve them and lastly, do the practical at getting them resolved. Easier said than done in my case! I guess being burned more than once makes you cautious, perhaps a little to cautious. Human nature is to learn from mistakes and stop them from happening again, unless you are stupid of course.

Our company is growing!

Yes this is great – it really is. But that means I have to trust that others will be able to do things as well as I do. (okay that sounds really arrogant – not intended.) Our clients have come to expect excellence and if we deliver anything less it would be a disaster. But in order to grow you need to trust. Just like a seedling extending it’s roots into the soil and growing new leaves to capture the sunlight. So too we need to trust in our foundation because it is solid. We need to trust in our surroundings because we are, were we are, because we are great at what we do. We need to allow ourselves to bask in the freedom of growth and enjoy every second of it!

Yes I am choosing to be free!

To have the freedom to trust, to let others have the freedom to grow, just as I need to grow into the next phase of my life. I believe that people have far more potential than most recognize and I am going to trust in that potential and help others grow.

I feel better already! :^)

I’ll take that one, no wait that one, hold on…

What is it about the word ‘choice’ that makes my heart smile? Perhaps it from the pleasant connotations to the word that have been deeply rooted in fertile soil of my mind.

Choice is great! Especially when choosing which take-outs to get over the weekend. “Will it be pizza? How about burgers? Ooh no what about that new place…?” What about choosing clothes, “yip that shirt looks great” or “these new trainers are awesome!” Even better yet, choosing a car. This is something we men seem to relish. It amazes me how we can stand for hours checking out all the bells and whistles the new models have to offer and reading the performance specifications until we know them all by heart.

A big choice is choosing the right home. Where will you feel comfortable? Are you close to the places you frequent often? Is it your style? Very similarly we make choices like these in business. Where to setup office, which marketing approach to take, who to target, where to get the funding and the list goes on.

Take a minute to think of how you would feel if there were no choices…
… You are forced to eat some devilish looking slop for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You were forced to where the most unimaginative, putrid, uncomfortable clothing everyday. You drove the same car that everybody else drove and no, it’s not a luxury sedan or a new SUV. You lived in a commune that spanned as far as your eye could see, homes clustered together like processed goods along a conveyor. The world is grey, there is no colour, life is dull.

OK before I get way to depressed pondering on the previous paragraph, I am going to celebrate the fact that I do have choices and many of them to last a lifetime.

What choices are you going to make today? Will they be your own, or will they be pressured by somebody else?

Choosing is a form of creativity!
Just as an artist chooses which colours to stroke across a blank canvas, so too are the choices that colour our lives.

Be creative, think out of the box. Hey there doesn’t even have to be a box. But most importantly be the best you that you can be!

Graham :^)