A Thought Experiment That Could Change Your Perspective on Your Life
Core Article: A Thought Experiment That Could Change Your Perspective on Your Life
Paragraph I’m Pondering:“If you have this love for what is humble and try very simply…”
Powerful Affirmations to Inspire: “I feel prosperous and will continue to act on my inner experiences…”
Book Review: What Great Storytellers Know by Bernadette Jiwa
Cool Stuff: You got to check out these donut doubles! Really… 😉
AI Info & Resources: Guess what AI can do now? Yep, Install roofs…
A Thought Experiment That Could Change Your Perspective on Your Life
Whoa, and just like that, 2 months of the year are done…
How are you feeling today?
I wanted to share with you something interesting that happened in my writing class this week.
Oh, Did I tell you I joined a writing group this year? I think I did… If not, now you know. 🙂
What’s interesting is how I didn’t expect this class to shake things up in my world. Yet it has—the connections, the impact on my writing, perspective, and more.
It’s not just about writing—it’s about showing up each week and building connections with my words, my thoughts, other people, and honestly, myself.
Each week, I show up to class, get a prompt, and write in real-time.
Have you ever taken a writing class? If not, it works like this: You show up, get a prompt, write during the session, and then—if you’re brave enough—you can share.
I’ve done this before. During the pandemic, I took two different writing classes, one with Julia Cameron (The Artist’s Way) and the other with Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones). Back then, it felt like a lifeline—a way to stay connected when the world felt anything but.
In Natalie’s class, we broke into small groups to read our writing aloud. Two thousand people were on those calls, and yet, in those tiny breakout rooms, the intimacy of sharing was pretty profound. It was an interesting test to being vulnerable with a group of strangers.
In my current class, it’s a bit less stressful; we share by posting our work instead, and everyone in the group can post their feedback. Somehow, that feels less stressful and easier...
This week’s prompt was: “If I knew then what I know now…”
When I first started writing, it felt like a trip down the regret highway.
And then, something shifted in me. I realized that I love my life as it is right now. If I looked at should-haves, the missteps, the ‘what was I thinking?’ moments and they didn’t happen, who would I be now?
Would I even like that person? It’s taken me a while to love this person! 🙂
What if all the twists and turns, the heartaches, the moments I thought I’d never recover from—what if they were all necessary? What if knowing then what I know now would have robbed me of those moments of learning and growth?
Here’s a short excerpt of my answer:
“I’m not so sure about this… I mean the overthinking or rethinking of my life, my decisions, and what unfolded for the past 40+ years… The funny thing is, if I made any changes based on what I know now if I knew then, I wouldn’t be who I am today, right? So, this kind of prompt scares me a little… Yet, what’s the harm in going there?
If I had the knowledge today back then – Honestly, I’m not sure my younger self would have had the maturity to do anything with it… She was on the journey that took her to be right here today at the pinnacle of her career, doing WHAT she loves WITH the people she loves and cares about. THAT, to me, is honestly all that matters”.
Then, someone in the group flipped the script entirely and wrote from the perspective of their future self—offering advice to the person they are today. That really resonated with me.
Because the truth is, we’re always in the middle of something. Always learning, growing, shifting, and changing. And maybe—just maybe—our future selves already know we’re going to be okay.
Exercises like this fill my head each week. I’m always thinking about how I can share with you what I discovered during my week to inspire, guide, or share things from a different perspective.
So, if you’re up for it – here’s a writing prompt:
Write a letter from the future version of yourself, offering guidance, encouragement, and perspective on the challenges and successes you’re experiencing today.
I’d recommend a pen and some paper. You can even set a timer if you want. And do what Natalie Goldberg taught me. Use a pen that you can write with fast, and don’t pick up your pen off the paper. Keep writing; don’t worry about the grammar or spelling; write and see what comes up. When you’re done, read it to yourself out loud. I bet you it will be a curious experience.
The reason to write with a pen is it will give you a different experience than a keyboard. Trust me, I do both. And for some reason, when I put pen to paper, I get things that come from a deeper place… So if you’ve not ever done it, try it and see what happens…
And, if you’re not into writing, simply grab your phone and record a voice memo. Just get the words out. See what comes up for you.
What I love about these writing prompts and taking the time to do them each week is that they open me up to the greater potential within me.
Not just writing. It’s forcing me to think about my past experiences and what stories I can share to create genuine connection, authenticity, curiosity, and inspiration with you and this community.
And this is definitely something that I know you can do, too.
Stories are at the heart of our DNA, it’s one of the core building blocks of community and connection in your business. When you build this muscle, you open even more doors within yourself that affect and inspire others…
And maybe, just maybe, they remind you that right here, right now, you are in the right place at the right time.
This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes about “living into the questions…“
Check out the “Paragraph I’m Pondering” below. I put it in context. As this quote is often very short (See what’s in bold), I just read the book where the quote came from and wanted to include the whole paragraph of where it came from which you rarely see. The sentences that came before and after the quote greatly impacted my perspective and depth of it…
Paragraph I’m Pondering
“If you have this love for what is humble and try very simply, as someone who serves, to win the confidence of what seems poor: then everything will come easier for you, more coherent and somehow more reconciling, not in your conscious mind perhaps, which stays behind, astonished, but in your innermost awareness, awakeness, and knowledge. You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers which could not be given to you now because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday, far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer. Perhaps you do carry within you the possibility of creating informing as an especially blessed and pure way of living; train yourself for that, but take whatever comes, with great trust, and as long as it comes out of your well, out of some need of your innermost self, and take it upon yourself and don’t hate anything.”
~ Letters to A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, Translated by Stephen Mitchell (Letters written from 1875 – 1926) These were letters Rilke wrote to a young cadet from the military academy Rilke had attended.
Powerful Affirmations to Inspire
- “I am a wise and confident steward of wealth, using it to create freedom and impact for myself and others.”
- “I feel prosperous and will continue to act on my inner experiences of abundance the universal mind will always offer me the right people, events, and circumstances.”
- “I prioritize my well-being, making choices that support my physical, mental, and emotional health.”
Book Review
What Great Storytellers Know: Seven Skills to Become Your Most Influential Inspiring Self
by Bernadette Jiwa
Cool Stuff
- If you’re interested in bizarre and funny things like who your donut double would like… (And tired of reading the news – give yourself a break!) Yep, you read that right; check out these portraits of donut doubles… Hmmmm …. 🙂
- Ok, so this news is a bit old, yet you may have missed it – When the bells of Notre Dame rang for the first time since it closed after the fire in 2019. Yikes, I can’t even believe it’s been that long. Interesting article – such history… Notre Dame opened in December 2024 after its restoration, which took 5 years.
- Check out the Good News Network’s story on this woman who’s reunited over 300 dogs for free using her thermal imaging from her drone… Feel-good stories are the best.
AI Info and Resources
- AI Prompts were all the rage in the beginning. Some say they’re passe now. Yet, I still think reading articles from OpenAI President about how to write the perfect prompt might be an interesting read…
- The AI robots are here to install roof shingles… Hmmmm. Guess what the robot’s name is???? Ummm yeah, Rufus, of course! 😉
- Apple’s $500 billion dollar AI investment coming to TX. They are betting big by building an AI server factory.
Weekly Photos
- There’s Emma on one of her favorite perches in the chair, where we work on our weekly puzzle. We always have a puzzle on the table as it’s a good mind relaxer for us. The best is listening to a good podcast or book, so my left brain can work on the puzzle while my right brain listens to the podcast.
- I just love it when I find hearts everywhere I look. This one was embedded in the pavement on one of Emma and I’s early morning walks.
- We’ve had a bunch of rain this winter. And it always brings some interesting clouds on my hikes with Emma. So of course, I want to share. 🙂
- Sometimes, the outtakes are better and funnier than the original. This one was a keeper.
- Love how the clouds are just taking over Shasta Bally. She’s also got a good bit of snow too.
- Yep, I sure did; I found some more change! Five weeks in a row now. This little penny looks a wee bit old. Maybe she came from someone’s car… I just don’t know how or why I keep finding change around the neighborhood… I just keep saying thank you and filling up a jar.
- As I shared earlier, these rainstorms sure bring out some amazing sunrises…. 🙂
P.S. If you missed last week’s blog, or maybe you forgot to click on the link… If you’re longing to be around like-minded people and want to move through your fears to create an even more successful business built upon your purpose and values and based on authenticity while attracting your dream client and more success... Welllll. you know what to do below. 🙂
- Want more information? I’ve created a Word doc. You can access the doc here.
- Questions or Want to Connect? If you want to connect over Zoom to see if it’s the right fit, please hit reply and let me know. Or schedule a call on my calendar.
P.S.S. Whenever You’re Ready: Here are 3 Ways I can make an impact on creating greater success in your business using marketing that’s aligned with your mission and values without feeling like you’re selling your soul.
1. Make Money Now Sheet – It’s one of the bonuses in my 7-Step Soulful Marketing System. I wanted to give it to you for free to help you create more success.
2. Love Books Like I Do? – I’m always reviewing the best nonfiction books – Where Buddha Meets Business.
3. Get my proven 7-Step Soulful Marketing System. It gives you the framework you need to implement authentic and connected marketing using online customer experiences and launching your products, services, or courses. It will help you create greater success.
It’s a simple system, especially if you love to read like me. There’s no video or audio. Plus, you get my proven templates, tools, and worksheets, all with tremendous value. And I’m pricing it incredibly low so it can be more accessible to more people. 🙂
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