BUILDING MOREZMORE (PART 2)
A One of A Kind Million Dollar Challenge or
Do What You Love, Money Will Follow
(an Exciting and Terrifying Personal and Business Growth Journey 
Step-by-step Work in Progress Journal)

Part 1 can be found here: http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/BUILDING-MOREZMORE-Part-1/_W0QQentrysyncidZ564096011QQidZ533279011

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Still July 30, 2008

As I was writing about homework, I received an interesting Ask Seller Question:
With the permission of the author, I am posting it here:

Dear morezmore,

Congrats on your one year anniversary!
You deserve every success for all the effort you put into your 'baby' :o)
I'm still reading the extras you posted on your site. Loved the way you are following the self-improvement plan - getting a window into your world inspires me: I'm constantly working on something personal!
You wrote somewhere that your moto was (something like) 'Do what you love & wealth will follow'. I agree in following your heart, it takes courage. i am just wondering about teh many gifted, passionate musicians who stayed poor doing what they loved, like Beethoven & Mozart! There has to be more to teh forula than that. You obviously have business savvy, coupled with a very friendly approach to business, which obviously works, I know I appreciate it.
Regards,


.............................
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dear ...............,

Thank you!:) I am just about to put another entry into the blog - I completed my "homework" for my tomorrow's session with my personal coach and putting it online - for all to see - perhaps that will move me off my butt! I am desperate for change here and the change starts from inside.
That's a good one - about the musicians. I thought about it and here is my answer off the top of my head - there were other demons. I don't know life story of Beethoven, but there were other demons in Mozart's life - he did not have any problems making money, he had trouble keeping it for his own good. I think that is what I remember, but I am not certain - by all means I am not that knowledgeable, just bits and pieces of his biography.
With your permission - I will put it on the blog - it is a very clever question. Let's see what folks think about that.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hi Natasha,
Lovely to hear back from you, thankyou for spending the time to write.
Sure, please add my thoughts to your blog, I'd love to hear others' thoughts also!
I agree with you about 'other demons'. I think the human race is evolving spiritually & that in our lifetime there is alot more awareness & self-responsibility for our destinies than there has been in the - I think in Beethoven & Mozart's day there must have still been alot of superstition & lack of awareness of spitiual laws such as how our own thoughts & beliefs have power to manifest. Beethoven was a grumpy guy & moved homes about 32 times to avoid his debts. I rememeber this fact because when I was young my father wanted to take his whole family on a pilgrimage of all his homes! - needless to say, we didn't manage ALL of them ;o) So that trait could account for his poverty.
Another thought - there has never again (in my opinion) been such a concentration of gifted musicians on earth. ..And I'm now out of space!!

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Dear ..........................,

Ah, GREAT!
:) I will post your thoughts there - I am almost done with my post - it is a LONG one!!
will do that right after.
If you don't mind coming out of the closet - you can respond right there - in the comments section. I sense an intelligent and educated mind here :)
Ah, you see about Beethoven... I did not know that... there were demons, as drinking and debochery (sp?) were Mozart's demons.

This Work in Progress is developing and progressing faster than I am able to report.
Some developments:

First of most important - Lou and I are not divorcing. There was a major development - an unexpected breakthrough and a few very emotional and very inspiring and empowering days.

After reaching the decision to part and go separate ways about 1.5 months ago, there was a period of thinking for both of us. We were in the same house and the atmosphere was friendly and calm, but cool and indifferent. It appeared that the last warm coals were cooling off in this dying fire, covered with cold grey ashes. I was mourning it and was prepared to bury it and make a effort to move on.

We had agreed that we were going to make that transition as comfortable and pain-free as we could - nobody needs to jump out of the airplane, we can wait until we land on solid ground and take care that both of us are all right - from financial and logistical point of view, if not emotional - before separate. For that reason we agreed to we were going to stay in the same household and be civil until we sell the house and move.

The sudden change of events happened when we were discussing our puppy Sasha last Thursday. Sasha is a troubled german shepard mix puppy whom we resqued (well, Lou did, against my wishes) from the pound about 2 months ago. Sasha is still very much out of control and is still causing a lot of trouble. She was already in and out of the pound 2 times, lived with 2 different families before ours and was never properly trained or even house-trained. Lou said - well, if  you want me to, I will take Sasha back. I said - you know that she will not make it if we were to give her back to the pound. No, I said, we got her (well, you did and thus made both of us to assume this responsibility) and now she will have to stay here and we will train her to be a good dog. We trained Harley chocolate lab who is a wonderful dream dog - we have done it before and we will do it again. Besides, look at her - can you send this pair of eyes to death?

Then I said - "I feel sorry for you, Lou". He said - "Why do you feel sorry for me? I will be all right". I said "I feel like I am sending you back to the pound". And he said - "You are. You are moving on with your business, with your sculpting, with your plans and with your life and leaving me on the side of road, alone". I was dumbfounded - "Just a minute here! You were the one who, over the period of last year, took great pains to successfully disassociate yourself from me and from Morezmore. I was running to you with every new thought and idea and piece of news, I begged for help and you did not want to do anything with it, actually you prohibited me from even talking about it with you".

Anyway, the evening was emotional and sweet. The next day was emotional, painful, and accusatory and felt like we were hitting a brick wall. The day after that - breakthrough! I said "I'll tell you what - there is no reason for us to stay together, unless we want the same or similar set of things - a similar set of wishes, goals and aspirations, in other words - if we are not on the same page. We got to compare our "pages" and see if they are the same or similar enough. I have a page - I am actually writing it right now. Why don't you share with me your page, I will share mine with you and then we will make a decision." He said - "How do I write my page". I said "Well, glad you asked - listen to this book that I have listened to". It took an effort, but I convinced him to listen to the book. It was more like an ultimatum, to be honest, because if things were to remain the way they were over the last year, I am, frankly, not interested and he assured that he would not be interested to continue our relationship either.

Next morning Saturday, we listened to "Success Principles" by Jack Canfield together. THE TRANSFORMATION WAS NOTHING SHORT OF MIRACULOUS. We listened and then we talked for hours. We are on the same page - not similar pages, not "ok, that might sort of work" pages, but totally and absolutely EXACT SAME PAGE. Needless to say, we were happy to discover it. We are together in this relationship, this marriage and this business and this life!


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August 25, 2008

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne Creator of The Secret   "How do I stop my negative thoughts?" - is a question that I have been asked many times. If you have ever asked this question then you will feel such enormous relief in knowing the answer, because it is so simple. How do you stop negative thoughts? You plant good thoughts! When you try to stop negative thoughts, you are focusing on what you don't want - negative thoughts - and you will attract an abundance of them. They can never disappear if you are focused on them. The "stop" part is irrelevant - the negative thoughts are your focus. It doesn't matter if you are trying to stop negative thoughts or control them or push them away, the result is the same. Your focus is on negative thoughts, and by the law of attraction you are inviting more of them to you. The truth is always simple and it is always easy. To stop negative thoughts, just plant good thoughts! Deliberately plant good thoughts! You plant good thoughts by making it a daily practice to appreciate all the things in your day. Appreciate your health, your car, your home, your family, your job, your friends, your surroundings, your meals, your pets, and the magnificent beauty of the day. Compliment, praise, and give thanks to all things. Every time you say "Thank you" it is a good thought! As you plant more and more good thoughts, the negative thoughts will be wiped out. Why? Because your focus is on good thoughts, and what you focus on you attract. So don't give any attention to negative thoughts. Don't worry about them. If any come, make light of them, shrug them off, and let them be your reminder to deliberately think more good thoughts now. The more good thoughts you can plant in a day, the faster your life will be utterly transformed into all good. If you spend only one day speaking of good things and saying "Thank you" at every single opportunity, you will not believe your tomorrow. Deliberately thinking good thoughts is exactly like planting seeds. As you think good thoughts you are planting good seeds inside you, and the Universe will transform those seeds into a garden of paradise. How will the garden of paradise appear? As your life!   May the joy be with you, Rhonda Byrne The Secret... bringing joy to billions Visit the Secret Site | World Languages Link to the Secret | Recommend a Friend Watch the Trailer | Watch the Secret | Own the Secret Copyright 2008 TS Production LLC. All rights reserved.

September 25, 2008
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I receive a message from Karen - a friend of mine - by email and her message was calm and soothing and supportive, cheering me up. It made me think of something that happened to me recently.

Create your own visitor map!

Morezmore WIP #22:
Rusalka (Part 2)
Part 1 can be found here:
http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/Morezmore-22-Rusalka-Part-1/_W0QQcommentsyncidZ0QQentrysyncidZ556405011QQidZ544278011

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Day 11 (July 24, 2008)

Good morning! So, about that "fat suit technique" that I wanted to try (pack the clay around the armature, cut off the excess - basically carve the body out of the lump of clay). Well, I did not find it practical. My problem was that I kept losing the armature in all that clay and cut too much/too little. Perhaps, with more experience it would be something I would want to try, but for this one I returned to my old ways - "pancake technique". It is simple and very controlable, the only thing one needs to pay attention to is avoiding trapping air under the layers of clay. So I go slower and really work every pancake into the sculpt. Here is the pancake technique:
- take a piece of clay, condition until soft and pliable, roll into the ball and flatten.

- put onto the sculpt


- press down from the center to the edges, squeezing all the air from under the pancake, seal all the edges so it becomes one with the rest of the sculpt

 Working like that, I arrived to this:

Because it is such a large sculpt, I am going to stop bake all this clay - normally I don't, I just sculpt the whole thing. The reason for baking now is those large lumps of clay move under the pressure of my hands and I ruin the parts that are good by refining the parts that need work. The problem with this mid-way baking of course is some parts are not correct all all (too much clay). But I figured, I will be able to just shave the baked clay off with a knife, if I need to.

So, here she goes into the oven. It is new Puppen Fimo, so the temperature should be 230 degrees and I am putting her for 30 minutes, not-preheated Deni oven. The thermometer on the pictures is my liquid commercial oven-testing thermometer. I scraped a thin line with a needle right onto the thermometer (on 230 degrees and on 240 degrees), so I can see right away if the current temperature is right on the dot - between those two settings, even if the temperature in the oven fluctuates a bit. Puppen Fimo cures at 230 and should not be heated over 265.   

That's all for today!

I need to start my working day, talk to you soon! :)
Many thanks for watching!

Morezmore WIP #22:
Rusalka
(Part 1)

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Day 1 (July 14, 2008)

Good morning! It is time to pick up the clay again! While I am waiting for the Fool Muse, I decided to create Rusalka.

Rusalka (plural rusalki) - are Russian water fairies. Sometimes "rusalka" is translated as "mermaid" but it is not quite the same thing. Russian rusalki don't have a fish tail like mermaid, but two lovely legs and feet, just like humans.

They are spirits of unbaptized girls, unwed mothers and young women who committed suicide or were murdered near the water or were not given proper funeral rites. 

They appear as young girls and young women - lovely, pale, lithe, with gorgeous bodies and flashing eyes. They have long green hair, worn loose. The hair is always moist. They have pleasing voices and musical laughs. They wear water lilies in the hair. They mostly appear in the nude or decorated with wet water weeds or wearing a long white cotton shirt - wet and clinging to the body.

They live in rivers, streams and brooks and surrounding woods. On clear warm summer nights, they come to the surface and frolic around in the water, splashing, laughing and playing joyously or sitting on the shore in the moonlight combing their beautiful long wet hair. Sometimes during those long summer nights rusalki run through the meadows and fields. Where they step, blue flowers grow and where they dance in the field, the grain grows better. 

No man is able to resist the smiles of rusalki. But if he dares to come close to a rusalki gathering near the water and attempts to peep at those gorgeous bodies through the grass, he is in mortal danger as he risks to be discovered, pulled into the circle, undressed and tickled to death or drawned.



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I happen to have around an already made Morezmore Modular Brickhouse Armature, so that part is done. For the detailed information what it is - please see here:

http://search.stores.ebay.com/The-Morezmore-Estate_morezmore-modular-armature_W0QQfciZQ2d1QQfclZ3QQfsnZTheQ20MorezmoreQ20EstateQQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQsaselZ58601371QQsofpZ0




Posing:

Magic Sculpt to freeze the position, reinforce the entire skeleton and build up a bit of bulk in chest, hips, head and thighs:



20 minutes at 250 F in Deni oven (or 12 hours at room temperature) sets it to rock-hard state.

Two unfinished manzanita burls flats for the base. The base will be mossy, with tufts of grass, etc. The pieces of wood when put together, create this opening in the middle. I want to make an illusion of one of those small deep and dangerous pools - deep holes in the ground filled with dark water and weeds - which can be found in swampy areas in the woods. A while ago I promised to experiment with faux water and post the results - here is a great opportunity to do it.

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Day 2 (July 15, 2008)

Good morning. It is 8 am and I am sculpting since 6. I am making the head and it usually takes forever. So far I made and folded down 5 heads. The main problem is the inset eyes - this is my second time - first was Fortuna, and yes, it was a nightmare with her as well. So I will keep going and put the pictures when I have something worth taking pictures of.

Rusalka is supposed to be very pale. Yet, I don't want her to be stark white. So I decided on 1:1 mix of Puppen Fimo Rose and Porcelain - the shade is very pale pink.

The aids that I am using in making head are pictures from the book by Andrew Loomis Andrew Loomis - Drawing The Head & Hands. It is out of print, several sites, including mine, host online copies of these incredibly useful practical books by this wonderful artist. If the above link does not work for you, you can find and download a copy here:

http://www.morezmore.com/links.html

These are the pictures which are in front of me right now:

Anyway, recently I watched Jack Johnson's DVD (the creator of prosculpt) on dollmaking. What he does with the head - he presets the eyes into the skull, makes sure they are aligned correctly, bakes to set them and then builds a face around it. So I decided to give it another try. I tried this method before, it was not successful - the position of the eyes was wrong to start with and my face did not work. However, I think it is possible, with practice, to set the eyes just right, and in that case, it is so so much easier to deal with the face.

Here is what I have right now - it is baking at the moment.

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Day 3 (July 16, 2008)

Good morning! I have something to show! The face!
Not complete, need to clean the dirt and smoothen out and touch up the symmetry, but it is a face! As usual, I never know before hand what they will look like - so when this face showed up I decided that this will work for what I have in mind.
Rusalka appeared to be young and slightly naive and sweet. The mood is melancholic, pensive, deep in thought. That might change (the mood).

I sure hope that I can improve on this particular head without starting it all over. I don't know how many heads I folded down - it is always such a struggle for me.

Oh, the experiment with prebaking the inset eyes did not work again - the eyes were too deep, so this head was done old-fashioned way - insetting the eyes into the raw clay.

anyway, here are the pictures! As I said, I will clean up the dirt, smooth it out and touch up on the symmetry tomorrow - I am out of time for today, but wanted to keep up with my decision to post every day.

 

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Day 4 (July 17, 2008)

Well, by some amazing luck, I was able to complete the same very head as I started yesterday. It seems to me that all I did was clean up, touch up the symmetry and smoothen, but somehow she looks different now. How did that happen, I have no idea, but it is baked, moreover it is baked perfectly (!!!) no flaws, I generally rather like the face and it stays. :)

On the pictures you see the baked face and some added raw clay on the back of her scull and on the neck. Once I took the pictures I can see that I need to cut the of of the lids just a tad to make them symmetrical, but other than that I am going to proceed with torso.

Now, with the torso - I packed the clay around the skeleton - sort of making a tight fat suit. It will sit like that until tomorrow and that is a good thing - the clay inside will have time to cool off and solidify in the middle so that it has less chance to shift/move under my hands tomorrow and it is a bit easier to sculpt.


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Day 5 (July 18, 2008)

Guess what - as I started to sculpt the torso, a suspicion started to creep into my head - there is something wrong with proportions. I measured the head - SURE ENOUGH! the head belongs to 10" sculpt, not the 8" sculpt as I have the armature for! Darn, I made the head too big. Well, I have two options now - make another head or make another armature. I opted for another armature - so, here we go - 2 steps forward, one step back. Will make another armature and post the pics.

Another afterthought - I forgot about reference pictures! What usually happens - I start a sculpt, think of a pose, pose my sculpt, start to put the clay, get into an anatomy roadblock and start to look for anatomy reference pictures that will be in the same pose as my sculpt. Of course, it is usually very hard to find. Wouldn't it be much easier, I thought, to FIND the reference photos FIRST and THEN make the pose? Yes, it would.

So, with this bright idea and the fact that I need to redo the armature anyway, this morning I went on the search for reference photos on Female Anatomy for the Artist website. I found a nice set. Here are the pose and anatomy reference photos for Rusalka. I have them in large resolution in front of me, but for copyright and modesty reasons I am putting just small thumbnails here:

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Day 6 (July 19, 2008)
Good morning! As you might recall from yesterday, I needed to make another larger armature. So I did. The head is 1.25" tall, the entire height is 1.25 x 8 =10". Printed Ms. Bones in 10" scale, wire, pliers - that drill is easy enough for me by now. 

A eureka moment - once I put the magic sculpt on the armature and tried to smoothen it out, I discovered that wetting the entire armature in the sink and just rubbing with wet hands all over the surfaces speeds up the process of smoothing quite a bit.

Another eureka moment - she was not sitting quite right and I realized that she needed those bones on the very bottom - you know those bones that hurt if you sit too long. Once I added those two bumps, her pose immediately adjusted and became so much more natural looking.

I played with the head angle and incline a little bit (it rotates 360 degrees at the moment) - not sure what will be the best one. But that can wait perfectly well until later, of course. The point is I really like this feature about modules - the ability to keep the options open until the very end for the final subtle turns and angles of head and limbs. Once all the body parts are sculpted, it is very nice to be able to play with them and pinpoint the positioning just so - perfect for what you have in mind.

Here are the pics - they came out - rather unintentionally - with a ghostly bluish glow.

Overall, she looks good to me - I can move forward with the torso tomorrow.




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Day 8 (July 21, 2008)

Good morning!

I have something to show - the base.
So the idea is to make a base out of two manzanita burls with an illusion of a a deep mossy swampy overgrown water hole in the middle.

I put it together - so far so good and very easy, no water yet.
step-by-step:
- put the burls on cardboard (priority box)
- trace the outline with a pen
- cut out the outline - this is the bottom for the base
- mix magic smooth
- spread magic smooth on the cardboard - thin layer - full coverage
- spread magic smooth on the bottom of the burls - full coverage
- press burls on the cardboard
- plug and fill the gaps with small pieces of wood and magic smooth in the "water hole" - to make it leak proof
- create a bit of a landscape with small wood cuttings on the top - the ugly magic smooth spots will be later covered with artificial moss.

Here are the pics:

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Day 9 (July 22, 2008)

I am doing the inventory - updating all counts. This must be done as quickly as possible, because everything is off the shelves and it is impossible to ship until the inventory count is completed. So everything is on hold until I am done with the inventory and put everything back to the shelves and resume normal operations.

Thank you for watching and sorry for the hold up :)

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Day 10 (July 23, 2008)

Good morning! I am continuing with the base. It looks like I got carried away with all that landscaping on the top of the base - Rusalka did not have a place to sit on. I figured that out, of course, after it is all hardened. So with the help of the icepick, by brutal force, I removed some of the wood cuttings to make the surface more flat.

Next step - the moss. That is an easy fun part - pour fabritac on the surface - a couple of square inches, take bits of faux moss and press it down using the fingers and toothpick, trying to create as little glue strings as possible. I used three colors of moss - Forest, River Bank and Meadow, because I like the varigated look. I also used this chance to try faux grass in Medium Green. It was my first time and I like the results - it does look like little tufts of glass and a little goes a long way.

Next step - water. The pit on my base is lined up with moss and I figured I just pour the faux water into that hole and that should look just right. I grabbed one of those 2 oz samples of Liquid Illusion Faux Water, emptied both bottles into a paper cup, stirred it well and poured it into the hole - filling it completely up. Immediately I noticed that the level is going down - I have a leak! I had thought that I sealed it rather well. Apparently, it is going down into that space between the burls and the cardboard bottom. The bottom is dry as of now, but the level of the liquid definitely went down quite a bit. Oh well, I figured, let it be. I sat it on waxed paper and left it alone. If waxed paper gets stuck to the bottom, no big deal. I am going to let it harden over the period of 24 hours and pour another 2 oz portion on top of the surface tomorrow. I think that should be just fine. Meanwhile, the moss through the water does look really nice - you can't see on these pictures, I will take a better shot next time! Here are the pictures:





END OF PART 1 - PART 2 CAN BE FOUND HERE:

http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/rusalka/_W0QQcommentsyncidZ0QQentrysyncidZ556405011QQidZ556405011

COMMENTS SECTION IS CLOSED AS WELL - IT IS FULL
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT,
PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENT ON PART 2
THANK YOU!!

That's all for today!

I need to start my working day, talk to you soon! :)
Many thanks for watching!

Create your own visitor map!

BUILDING MOREZMORE (PART 1)
A One of A Kind Million Dollar Challenge or
Do What You Love, Money Will Follow
(an Exciting and Terrifying Personal and Business Growth Journey 
Step-by-step Work in Progress Journal)

********************************************************************
July 4, 2008
What It Is About

I am starting this blog on this rainy holiday evening listening to the distant sounds of the fireworks in the neighboring town celebraing the 4th of July. The neighboring town which is located in Northern Virginia countryside is generally rather big on fireworks - firing them every few weeks or so without no apparent reason, the 4th of July, of course, being the main occasion.  

As I am writing this, I am sitting in my office on the lower level of the house - you can call it a finished basement - the Morezmore headquarters. One wall of this spacious 3-room space has a wide glass window with a glass door opening into the backyard which seemlessly extends into the valley with a backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The door is open, the mountain air is fresh. It is a nice place to be in and I will miss it, as Morezmore is moving soon, but more about it later.

My cat Fluffy, distrurbed by the fireworks sound, is clinging to my feet under the desk. To me the sound of the fireworks feels very appropriate - I have my own reason to celebrate today - Morezmore is 1 year old. 

Morezmore was born a year ago and has been viable and profitable from day one. I am proud and grateful for this, but for the most part is was an unconscious, natural kind of growth - not unlike a growth of a child during the first several months. Like a mother of a new-born child, the first year my attention was concentrated on everything I could do to ensure the survival of my new born "baby", attending only to the most urgent basic needs. 

This is the time when we - Morezmore and I - are entering the next phase of development and I want to document this exciting (and terrifying) personal and business growth journey in this blog.

Another reason I want to keep this record is that I just signed up for a year-long Jack Canfield's Personal Coaching Program. The program will involve a lot of thinking, planning and soul-searching. This blog will be a central place to keep the day-by-day diary of the progress.

Yet another reason is that this blog will be a time-saving device - keeping my friends and family - and anybody who is interested - up to date on what is happening with Morezmore and myself. I will be very busy the next year and might not have time for phone calls and emails.  My loved ones, friends, family and relations can easily log in to this blog, assure themselves that I am alive and stop worrying.

The Success Principles

The starting point for this journey was a book, an audibook, to be exact - The Success Principles by Jack Canfield that I happened to listen to two weeks ago.

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July 5, 2008

My first session with my Coach will be on July 17, before that there will be an orientation session July 10 and before that I need to do some homework.

The starting point, according to the book, is to determine and write down my life purpose.
That is a question that requires some serious thinking. It is not that I did not know what it was - I have been thinking about it for quite some time now. The challenge was to put my vague disconnected notions, visions, thoughts, wishes and ideas into a single statement. They were about:

present generation of people will live longer than ever
long life is only of value if an abundance in every aspect of life is present
that includes maintaining cognitive health
art therapy can be used to enhance the quality of life
including prevention of Alzheimer's decease, treatment of depression, eating and substance abuse disorders

Here is what emerged as a rough draft:

The purpose of my life is to use my creativity, imagination and enthusiasm to serve as an example, to inspire and to support others in creating a joyful, serene and abundant life, in using the creative process of art for healing and life-enhancing as well as for the sheer joy of the life-affirming pleasures of the creative experience.

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July 11, 2008

After read the book, I did quite a bit of thinking. Lots of things that were fuzzy in my head started to take shape. It is time to re-read the book and take notes to get it better into my head.

Success Principle #1: I take 100% responsibility for my life

One hundred percent responsibility for everything.
I have to give up all my excuses.
Everything I experience today is the result of choices I have made in the past.
I have to give up blaming.
I have to give up complaining.
I either create or allow everything that happens to me.
I will pay attention - my results don't lie.

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July 21, 2008

I am writing this to share with you something that makes me smile today!

Background: You might or might not know that I sell supplies for One Of A Kind Mixed Media Art Dolls. The prime material used to make hair for those dolls is tibetan lamb - it is long, soft and silky fur in texture resembling human child hair. Needless to say, a "must have" for my store.

Anyway, I hit a bit of a roadblock in June - my tibetan lamb supplier (USA-based) "stood me up", lol. Never delivered my order which was paid on May 16. I waited for 2 months and finally I had to file a chargeback on my credit card. This caused me to have a significant amount of money tied up for 2 months and, in addition, caused an interruption in Tibetan lamb listings, thus cutting my monthly earnings - earnings that I need to live on and to GROW!

But, as wise people say - CHALLENGE CREATES GROWTH. This roadblock pushed me to look for another Tibetan lamb supplier.

Now, Tibetan lamb lives in Tibet and Mainland China. It is a domestic animal which is mainly used for food industry, fur being a by-product. I decided to go to the source. I needed a fur-processing company in Mainland China which processes Tibetan lamb fur.

It was hard to find them - I don't read Chinese and Chinese internet is a jungle for me to navigate. Then it was hard to make a connection - language barrier and 12 hour time difference. Also, those people don't hang on internet 24-7 like we do. My attempt to call on the phone in the middle of a night was discouraging - I don't speak Chinese, they don't speak English. 

But finally an English-speaking General Manager from that company answered my email! I was able to connect!! Great price (no USA-based middleman), acceptable minimum purchase quantity (100 skins at one order), they have their own professional fur-dying equipment and a promise of a very prompt delivery times! Just send the money and hold on for the shipment!

Just send the money, that's right. This was the next challenge for me - to TRUST MY INSTINCTS and HAVE FAITH that PEOPLE ARE GOOD. I needed to send money (quite a bit of money) to a bank account of an unknown to me fur-processing factory thousands of miles away, with no way of recalling the money if there is a problem. The advise of my family members was "you must be out of your mind to do it". Not helpful.

As I was listening to one of my self-improvement books - on money subject it was, I heard something, that helped me to take that leap of faith.

Poor people play the money game to not lose.
Rich people play the money game to win.
T. Harv Eker

On the basis of that nugget of wisdom, I created my own principle:

POOR PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF LOSING MONEY
RICH PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF LOSING AN OPPORTUNITY

The payment in the form a wire transfer was made on July 8.
The payment was confirmed with instructions to wait for shipment tracking number.
Waiting... waiting...

July 21 - Tracking number received!
Status:
2008-07-21  17:39:00 YINCHUAN  Posting
2008-07-21  19:51:08 YINCHUAN  Arrival at Sorting Center  
2008-07-21  20:50:27 YINCHUAN  Despatch from Sorting Center

Whew...
Feeling better already!
:)

will keep you posted...

********************************************************************
July 30, 2008

I promised to keep you posted, but in the flurry of the last few days I did not!

Anyway, I was watching that delivery link, like a hawk!
Checking every day:
Nothing... nothing... FINALLY!

2008-07-25  09:30:00 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 22630  Arrival at Delivery Office 
　 2008-07-25  15:25:00 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 22630  Arrival at Delivery Office 
　 2008-07-28  15:00:00 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 22630  Delivery 

YES, DELIVERED! 40 GORGEOUS TIBETAN LAMB FUR SKINS, as promised - SOFT, SILKY, BEAUTIFUL - PERFECT. Sending message to the supplier - I LOVE IT! He responds - Happy that you like it, contact me when you need more. VICTORY!

********************************************************************
Tomorrow is my first training session with my personal coach - his name is Gary. Technically, this is the second session, but the first time we were mostly getting to know each other.

To prepare for tomorrow session, I was expected to complete several assignments - my homework. I was pondering it over in my head over the last week or so and finally sat down this afternoon to write it all down.

The assignments were in the form of questions (not simple ones, I have to assure you). I finished the assignments and I am posting them here. One of the assumptions of the program that I am following is "Sharing your vision, goals and aspirations with other people will assure that the vision will materialize" - in other words, one gets accountable for one's own resolutions.

Well, as I am desperate for changes and utterly dissatisfied with certain areas of my life, I need all the help I can get in materializing that vision of mine. So here I go - I am accountable in front of the whole world (or rather, that portion of the whole world that will read this text).

My answers are in ITALIC 

Assignment: Reflection On My Life Purpose

If I were provided with everything I wanted and needed to release my full potential and achieve my highest vision, what would my purpose be?

The purpose of my life is to use my creativity, imagination and enthusiasm to serve as an example, to inspire and to support others in creating a joyful, serene and abundant life, in using the creative process of art for healing and life-enhancing as well as for the sheer joy of the life-affirming pleasures of the creative experience.

Assignment: The Vision Exercise
Our next step is to create a clear vision of your ideal in the different areas of your life-of what you really want that stems from your deepest desires, values, and your Life Purpose.

Start by finding a quiet, comfortable spot, just as you did when you worked on your Life Purpose. Go through the same process of centering and focusing on your breathing. If you like, put on some relaxing music. When you feel you're ready, go through The Vision Exercise on pp. 32-33 of The Success Principles. What works very well is either to have someone read it to you so you can keep your eyes closed and just visualize, or to record the instructions on a cassette player in your own voice with about a minute pause in between each area of life. As the book describes, ask your subconscious to give you images of what your ideal life would look like if you could have it exactly the way you want it in each area. After you have visualized each area and created the clear picture in your mind of the ideal, write down that vision in the table on the follow page.

Area of Life
My Vision-The Ideal
Financial (income, savings & investments, debt, credit)
My income is 500,000 a year - coming from Morezmore - a professionally managed online and catalogue arts and crafts supply company, with total networth of 5 million dollars. There is no debt, not even a mortgage.

Career / Business (position or self-employment, top line / bottom line, opportunities)
I am on the Board of Directors of Morezmore, which is professionally managed and ran, and my own time is spent sculpting, sharing my art and my skills with other people - both online and by giving free classes, as well as  writing books.

Free Time / Family Time (days off, trips, hobbies, special events)
For fun I like to travel to a new country for a week or so every four months. I have an Open House Tea every Thursday night. I am an avid reader - just like now - and I read every night in bed.

Health / Appearance (weight, well-being, chronological age vs. how old you feel)
I am easily maintaining my ideal weight of 170 lbs. I feel 30, I am completely free of pains and aches. My mind is as sharp and agile as it always has been. I am addiction-free.

Relationships (family, significant other, friends, business, civic)
I have a close loving nurturing supportive, just like now, relationship with my mother, my sister, my daughter. I happily share my time with my friends.

Personal (mental growth, skills, abilities, spiritual growth, emotions)
I am accomplished artist and an expert in the field of OOAK Mixed Media art. I have read everything worth reading on the subject and wrote several books myself. I live in serenity, emotional stability and joy - every day is a gift to receive, to cherish and to share.

Community (environment, safety, people around you)
My house is a beautiful safe haven for my family and my friends, an place of emotional and material comfort, a place where art heals. It is a serene retreat, inspiring creativity, peace and joy. One of the rooms is a large fully equipped OOAK sculpting studio - open to public for free art and craft lessons one or two days every week. 


Assignment: Share Your Vision
Okay, now that you've created the clear vision of your future, choose someone to share it with in detail. Identify someone who you know will be positive and supportive. As you share your vision with others, many will want to help you achieve it. Many will be inspired by it. You'll achieve greater clarity and motivation and the belief that you can get there.

 I will share my vision with:  my mother, my sister, my daughter, my two friends and ON MY BLOG - BUILDING MOREZMORE. Actually, I already shared it with all those people and I already started the blog.

The date, time and setting will be... DONE with my friends and family! Will continue with the blog :)

Assignment: The Learning Journal - Discover Your Life's Purpose
If you are new to meditation, what was your experience with the meditation exercise described?

I followed the online video of Jack Canfield Meditation Exercise and I must admit, I was impressed of how it made me feel - calm, serene and purposeful.

What do you want to do to make formal or informal meditation a regular part of your life?

Yes, I will do it on my own, with pleasure. I have a rich imagination, it is easy for me, but I never really tried.

How did you feel as you worked to clarify your Life Purpose?

I already had my Life Purpose figured out before I started, but it had a focusing effect.

How do you feel about the result?

I feel good about the result :) More confident, more purposeful and more determined.

Assignment: Blueprint Your Life Balance

What are some of the ways that you have, over time, lost the ability to see clearly what you want and do what it takes to get it?

I honestly thought all my life that one needs to sacrifice one's own wishes, wants and preferences to live together with other people in peace. I think I overdid it.

What can you do to reverse that?

I can divorce (I am, actually) and then it will not be a problem at all.

What was your experience as you shared your vision with another person?

I shared it with my mom and my sister and my daughter. I think my mom and my sister did not believe me at first and are still not quite there. But every time I talk about it and bring to the table my small beginnings of my accomplishments, I can feel they believe me more every time. It is not that they don't think high of me - quite the opposite, but my goals are so high they appear outlandish to my family which are normal middle-class kind of folks and work hard for their money all their lives. My daughter is very supportive and believes more than my mom and my sister. Both friends were supportive but I am not sure whether they really believe it or just being polite. One thing for certain - the more I talk about it, the more real and attainable it appears to myself. The first time there was almost a sense of embarrassment talking about it, now it is easier and I sound more and more confident to myself. Just like Mr. Canfield promised.

Overall Learning
What stands out the most for you from the work you've done in Module One? What have been your biggest insights?

The good one - the amount of confidence that I gained about my own ability to reach my goals - from mere thinking and talking about it. That was impressive. The bad one - how much more confidence I still need - I am still doubtful, much much better, but not quite there yet. Another insight - how much more clear the prioritizing of my activities has become - I know what I need to do.

How will you use and apply those insights?

I will keep my eyes on the ball.

Who are you now, and who can you become, as a result of your learning?

Right now I am a sceptical doubtful scared apprentice. I will become a strong, kind and confident influence for people who will come in contact with me.

Assignment: Session Strategy - Identifying Your Life Purpose

This form will help you prepare for our coaching sessions so we can optimize your results and our time together. Prior to our appointments, please complete and send the answers to the following questions:

Next session date and time:  July 31, 2008 12:00 pm

1. How am I today, right now? How has my week been?

I am well overall, determined and purposeful. I have moments and hours of doubt and I can feel the motivation going away. I start my day well - I feel I can move the mountains and as the day goes on, I am more and more doubtful and discouraged. Perhaps, it has something to do with my very long days and the amount of work I need to accomplish each day. I just probably get tired. When I finish my day, no matter how fast and how hard I work, there is still plenty left and I feel stressed and always behind. Again, this is because I really do have a lot of work.

I sell, invoice, process payments, answer questions, pack and ship about 2000 purchases every month - that amounts to 30-40 orders (packages) a day. My day is full - I have to move very fast to accomplish it all. The load is heavy. The new hired help is still in training and is too slow, although very motivated to learn. I understand that I need to be patient with her and take it easy on her, trying to be encouraging and supportive. I also try to be truthful with her - and tell her that I am expecting her to learn and get better and I am willing to wait and provide a kind support while she is grasping different areas.

Although I reached my goal of 20% increase in sales compared to June - actually, did better than that - from 9,385 dollars in gross sales (that is sales, not income) in June to 12711 as of now, July 30 (35% increase), it is still not enough - I feel constant cash flow strain. That creates additional stress from the delays in the supplier deliveries, unexpected, even small, losses and unforseen expenses, etc. It is just too much of a close shave. I would feel much better if I had a business loan of sorts but I don't know how to go about it - need to learn which I don't have time for either.

Overall, I feel hopeful, impatient, anxious, more confident that it will work and more stressed as my sales (and my workload) increases. I feel great in the morning and almost in panic in the evening. My business is developing wonderfully, the demand is very high, everything that I offer flies, I (my time) am the only bottleneck, I work from 5 am until 8 pm and I feel I am holding my business up. Need to do something about it. Hiring helper is a step in the right direction, although I don't feel the relief just yet.  

2. What were my wins this week?

I wrote it in my blog earlier - that entry answers this particular question perfectly! I am reposting it here - it was that important for me.

July 21, 2008
I am writing this to share with you something that makes me smile today!

Background: You might or might not know that I sell supplies for One Of A Kind Mixed Media Art Dolls. The prime material used to make hair for those dolls is tibetan lamb - it is long, soft and silky fur in texture resembling human child hair. Needless to say, a "must have" for my store.
Anyway, I hit a bit of a roadblock in June - my tibetan lamb supplier (USA-based) "stood me up", lol. Never delivered my order which was paid on May 16. I waited for 2 months and finally I had to file a chargeback on my credit card. This caused me to have a significant amount of money tied up for 2 months and, in addition, caused an interruption in Tibetan lamb listings, thus cutting my monthly earnings - earnings that I need to live on and to GROW!
But, as wise people say - CHALLENGE CREATES GROWTH. This roadblock pushed me to look for another Tibetan lamb supplier.

Now, Tibetan lamb lives in Tibet and Mainland China. It is a domestic animal which is mainly used for food industry, fur being a by-product. I decided to go to the source. I needed a fur-processing company in Mainland China which processes Tibetan lamb fur.

It was hard to find them - I don't read Chinese and Chinese internet is a jungle for me to navigate. Then it was hard to