Pushing BEYOND the limits~

Pushing myself until it hurts~
On the brink of tears… yet I can’t STOP~
Beyond my limits~
Past my perception of what I can take~ learning I can take SO MUCH MORE~
Harder~
Faster~
Surpassing the exhaustion~

I am pushing myself today harder than I ever have~

I don’t believe I have EVER worked this hard… used so much of my body, mind, spirit and soul~

When you push yourself you TRULY see what you are made of… the things I believed were UNATTAINABLE are in the past… those thoughts no longer serve me.

“I can’t do it!” is no longer in my vocabulary… it is replaced by:
I CAN’T FAIL!
I WILL NOT FAIL!
I WILL DO IT!
I WOULD DIE FOR IT!
I WILL HAVE IT!
I CAN DO THIS!

“I am tired!” translates to:
FINISH IT… there is NO time to be tired…
MEET your deadlines~
DO what you set out to do~
Do what you say you are going to do~

“I am exhausted!” turns into:
If I have enough energy to even utter those words… then I still have a little bit more… SO KEEP PUSHING~

What about the housework, the errands, the dishes that have been in the sink for two days because I have been working 14 hour days? All excuses to stop my momentum - - to procrastinate… just FINISH IT…
Finish what I set out to do~
Finish what I started~

The dishes will still be there tomorrow… The only thing I really NEED to do right now is practice:
PERSEVERANCE
TENACITY
DETERMINATION
NEVER GIVE UP!
DON’T QUIT!
HARD WORK
COMMITMENT
EFFORT
MOTIVATION
DRIVE
ACHIEVEMENT
GOALS
TEAMWORK
ENDURE
ATTITUDE
INSPIRE
COURAGE
AMBITION
CHALLENGE

It takes great COURAGE to wake up everyday and go after what you want~
ENDURANCE to be able to take whatever comes your way and still have the strength to move forward even when you’re kicked down… wiping the dirt off your knees and continuing to smile while keeping it moving.

Know that anything worth having requires HARD WORK… and many moments of WORKING HARD for what you want! I have been non-stop and I am not stopping… I am PUSHING myself harder than I ever have… and this pain feels good~

An incredible amount of COMMITMENT is necessary - - without it we’re just full of shit~ and fooling ourselves and everyone we tell that we WANT TO ACHIEVE a certain goal… if you wake up today with a dream… and tomorrow a door closes RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE… and you allow that dream killer to take it from you… then YOU NEVER WERE committed… so stop lying to yourself… you’re full of crap and never really wanted it… TALK IS CHEAP! People have what THEY have… BY DOING, going after, giving, and receiving… by honoring themselves… don’t wait for it… COMMIT to it!

DON’T QUIT! You can’t fail! The only way you can fail - - is by QUITTING! I read that somewhere recently~

But my all time favorite and personal mantra… is practicing PATIENCE~ I KNOW that everything happens RIGHT on TIME~ I’m not worried… I’m not stopping… I will be ready when it arrives~

KEEP pushing yourself?

Peace~

The Process of CREATING~

What is the process of creating?

Where do we start?

Part of my twenty in 2 for today is re-connecting with my MYSPACE family. We were tight... words were shared... LOVE was always in the air~

I decided to add to my list of things for today to READ some blogs from my list of writers that I follow... and one of my most favorite writers DID NOT DISAPPOINT: SARA FREE... I love thee...

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=130461670&blogId=489856778

She posted a video that just FILLED me... with energy and love... I feel it throughout my body... YOU ARE LOVE SARA~ THANK YOU~

Courtesy of Sara Free's page... shared with love:





“Most of your time will be spent COLLECTING data… DATA that will help you DECIDE what is YOU want~ BUT, you’re REAL WORK is to DECIDE what you want and then to FOCUS upon what you want… THAT YOU WILL ATTRACT IT” from the video

Nothing happens by accident…things always seem to fall into place according to the direction we are walking in..

If my dream is to DO WHAT EVER… insert YOUR DREAM… what are you doing to get there? Are you waking up everyday making decisions and doing things that take you closer to fulfilling it?


We MUST set the wheels in motion… THAT’S WHAT CREATION MEANS TO ME… its MOVEMENT… constant movement… and it’s about TIMING… everything happens RIGHT ON TIME… we must be ready… once THAT WHEEL STARTS TURNING it does not like to stop! We must keep the momentum… TIMING is keep getting ready~


Where are we headed? DIRECTION~ We must move towards something… we must NOT settle for complacency…

Most of this year and last… has been about collecting a tremendous amount of data ALL ACROSS LATIN AMERICA… and all of this NEW FOUND data is moving me into a new space in my life~


I am creating more today than yesterday… and hope to continue to create more tomorrow~


Where do we begin?


JUST START~


Peace~

TEN things Latino’s do wrong~

1. Think we know everything
2. We are always RIGHT
3. Believe the Latin American country WE COME FROM invented EVERYTHING… merengue, salsa, son, platanos, the first person to walk the moon… yeah didn’t you know all that happened in DR first... lol (please don’t comment silly responses to me… I am not an idiot and I know for a fact the first E.T. was found in Santo Domingo)…. ☺
4. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HELP…
5. We are proud - - even when we shouldn’t be… (my personal feelings about Dominican’s and the treatment of Haitians)
6. We are NOT the best business people (we have very POOR examples)…
7. DID I SAY WE KNOW IT ALL… we don’t care what school you graduated from - - we will NOT back down… BECAUSE LIKE I SAID we know it ALL…
8. Trapped in our CLOSED cultural minds… our personal experience…Mexican’s are #1, NO Dominicans are, NO Puerto Ricans are…
9. NO unity in the LATIN COMMUNITY…
10. WE ARE MISSING THE MESSAGE… the bigger picture…


The message… LEARN, learn and learn some more… we keep doing the same old stuff getting the same old results… AND WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED - - what do we have to show for it?

I just came back from the opening of BEA - - Book Expo America… I have been going yearly since 2006… (WHEN I MET OBAMA *she grins*)… and every year I come back a little disappointed Latina…

There are many reasons to attend Book Expo… publishing houses from ALL OVER THE WORLD ATTEND… wonderful panel discussions and seminars, 100’s of booths FILLED with things meant to EDUCATE, INSPIRE, or whatever your heart fancies… free books, books on fishing, comics, every genre – every country – every color… did I mention FREE BOOKS people~

But why I attend?

HELLO! Free BOOKS… kidding…

There are two MAIN reasons I attend BEA…

First – to size up my competition… as a writer I like to see what other Latina’s are writing about… I go to network… to see who I see…

Second and most importantly - - FOR MY INSPIRATION! The African American Program at BEA… it NEVER fails me… and always delivers. Each year I attend the opening night at BEA and Ms. Clara Villarosa sets it off (I missed her speak today—but I know she was brilliant—she always is… I got to the event late…)
HOWEVER, I did attend the panel discussion on “Using Social Networks to Promote and Sell Books: Face, Blogs, and Twitter” - - USEFUL information… inspiring… EDUCATIONAL… you guys following me?

What’s my problem today with my Latinos? It’s bigger than BEA… but one example was the sad turnout today for the 11th Annual International Latino Book Awards…and not just that—barely anyone attended… THIS WAS AN AWARDS CEREMONY FOR LATINO WRITERS… and in the first 15 minutes (eleven awards were called out in the Children and Young Adults books portion of the evening… and only 3 of the authors or reps from their publishing houses were present…) we are not even supporting our own people…

What are black folks doing right?

THEY TURN OUT… they support, they come together… maybe not at every event… or family gathering or their own awards ceremonies… but from MY EXPERIENCE and in MY OPINION… THEY TURN OUT…

What are we missing – what’s the bigger picture… just look at my TEN THINGS list again!
There are few things I want to respond to:

1. Think we know everything
2. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HELP…
3. We are NOT the best business people (we have very POOR examples)…
4. Trapped in our CLOSED cultural minds… our personal experience…Mexican’s are #1, NO Dominicans are, NO Puerto Ricans are…
5. NO unity in the LATIN COMMUNITY…

We DON’T know everything… There is so much we can learn from the BLACK COMMUNITY. We DO NOT have to reinvent the wheel.

When are we going to have OUR OWN movement?

When are we going to MOVE TOGETHER towards something that benefits more than ONE group/ONE flag?

When are we going to open our minds to what we have in COMMON with other LATINO cultures?

Why are we NOT united?

I am not going to wait anymore… I am going to be apart of larger movement. A movement that moves me towards a shared history with Africa where I can approach African Americans here in the U.S. to show me the way… moving me closer to people who want to walk WITH ME… those who will teach me what I don’t already know—so I can move on and teach others… I know MANY Latino’s who don’t believe in asking ANYBODY for help. “WHO WANNA GET THERE FIRST” Those who are fighting for the scraps…those who will not take someone’s hand (a black hand) and allow them to provide guidance. We have so much to learn.

You think you KNOW IT ALL… but you have NO IDEA!

Peace~

Twenty in TWO~ Can't Stop~ Won't Stop~

My cousin Emma and I have been talking a lot lately about moguls… people who inspire her… people she aspires to be like… her role models… the Oprahs, Gates, Puffy’s of the world… and she shared with me a twitter post by her mentor - - it read something like this:

“Make a list of 20 things you need to get done - - you got two hours”


I have been incorporating that 20 in two concept into my daily routine… the past few days have been a hustle and I must admit I’ve struggled a little with it… its an incredible concept - - an idea that pushes you beyond your limits and truly teaches you about time management - - how to deal with interruptions - - those pesty little twitter alerts and text messages - - calls from friends who just want to chit chat… (like you my beautiful sister… spending ten minutes on the phone with me trying to convince me how funny dane cook is - - like I care girl>>>> love you ☺)

PRIORITIZE


20 in 2… is an amazing idea... I am loving it… but I am learning that it is NOT so EASY… its NOT about listing 20 of your most biggest projects and trying to get them done in two hours - - that’s setting myself up for self-sabotage… with unattainable goals…

It IS – about BALANCE… setting attainable - - realistic - - REACHABLE goals (lets not set ourselves up for failure) and not just balancing… but making room for the shit we can’t control - - like long distance calls that are unexpected from DR and Colombia that you can’t just let go into voicemail - - - - we gotta learn to switch up our list… minor adjustments…

I am proud of myself today… I am on my third set of twenty in two…

That makes sixty things I have completed today… THAT’S excellent…

I have a new way of looking at how I go about getting my tasks done… I just START.. tackling one by one… I am not sweating it…its about getting my tasks done.

I am learning how to focus… balance… prioritize… GET IT DONE!

How do we know how to pick what’s more important—when everything seems like a priority? And what about the minor priority things we feel are NOT so important? point is to just list twenty… give yourself two hours and GO~

“CAN’T STOP! WON’T STOP!”

Thanks Diddy… Thanks Emma - - I love you. Girl - - you are the best non-paid P.A. a girl could have… ☺

Peace~