Where Oh Where Does Fulfillment Really Live?
January 31, 2010
The mystics say that there are invisible realms, hidden dimensions to our Universe that cannot be seen, felt, tasted, touched or experienced with our five senses. So the question is – Where Oh Where Does True Fulfillment Really Live?
Years ago the love of my life had a dream about me in which he took me to the top of a very tall building. As we looked out from the top he said to me, “I’m going to take you to other beautiful worlds.”
Ironically the love of my life broke my heart, but I never forgot that dream and I’ve always wondered, Where are those other beautiful worlds? Maybe you wonder too?
Too often in our daily life we go about busily feeling the stress and urgency of our daily tasks and commitments. We have so many things that we want to do and we also want to make a difference in the world at the same time. Jeez, isn’t it enough just to do my job, tend my family etc., do I have to make a difference in the world too?
But the irony is that this is the very reason that we are here on earth – to make a difference and to create a better world. So what are we doing when we’re do darned busy and how do we find meaning and fulfillment in the midst of our busy lives?
One of the many amazing things that I discovered on the Creative Retreat process was where true fulfillment really lives. I spent my 42 days happily engaged in the process and woke up every day feeling a sense of deep meaning and purpose. How did that happen? Nothing really changed in my life from one week to the next, and yet somehow the mission of the retreat gave me a deep sense of fulfillment.
I was totally surprised by this. I had no idea.
It made me really think about how meaning and fulfillment are two of the biggest things missing from our busy modern lives and yet these two elements are the most crucial to life itself and what we are here to do.
Ironic isn’t it – that the thing we crave and need the most is the most elusive? It is not inside the busy freneticness of life, I can tell you that for sure.
Why mystics sat on mountaintops or went for 40 days in the desert is because they knew the mysteries of life and were dedicated to tapping them. We need to be dedicated too.
If we are to leave a better world – a world of meaning and fulfillment for others, then we need to be able to have the energy of inspiration whenever and wherever we need it. That is the basis of the Creative Retreat process and in the next few months I’m going to share with you the possibility of joining me on this journey of meaning and fulfillment.
I will be inviting 24 adventurous souls to try the process with me absolutely free. You will have the help and assistance of myself and my colleague who is creating the process with me. Together we are going to break the barriers to creating more fulfilling lives and meaningful work.
Want to join us? We’d love to have you! Please email me at: annie@anniehart.com to express your interest. Also if you’d like to listen to the kick-off Radio 42 Show, please feel free to listen.
You can meet my wonderful colleague and collaborator Ian Waddelow, a brilliant consultant from Europe. We are very fortunate to have Ian onboard.
Today take just a moment to stop, breathe and feel into these other beautiful worlds. They are right here all around you, all the time. You just need to stop, feel, look, listen and eat some good chocolate for them to appear out of the mist.
The mystics knew where true fulfillment really lives. We should follow their path.
Please join me every Friday for Radio 42 – the Meaning of Life, the Universe & Everything. It’s a fun, inspiring show that helps you change from the inside out.
Yours in that which brings greater meaning to life,
Annie
The Miracle of the Creative Retreat Process
January 27, 2010
Today I officially finished my 42 day Creative Retreat and it’s been absolutely fantastic – truly miraculous. I accomplished what I set out to do!
When I started I had only a tiny idea of what I was doing. I wanted to crack the code on why I couldn’t get bigger projects, like writing a book, off the ground. I also wanted to know how you can access inspiration whenever and where ever you need it. I decided to set aside some time and figure this out.
Initially I thought I might only spend 4-8 days over the holidays to do this, but very soon the retreat process took on a life of it’s own.
It’s a common belief that we have to wait on the muses to inspire us, but that’s not very useful when you want to get things done, because the muses don’t tend to ever show up when you need them.
I don’t know about you but there have been times when I have sat down to do a project and nothing comes. All that information that is somewhere inside of me has decided to go off to hide in a cave.
It is damned annoying!
I wondered to myself – is this just a cruel trick of the muses or is there something that we can actually do about it? I had an inkling that there was a way to access it all the time, I just wasn’t sure how.
During the retreat I realized that the realm of inspiration is always there. It doesn’t actually come and go at all. So the question is – how can we access it when we most need to?
Well here’s the good news – I cracked the code! I’ve done what I set out to do. I not only figured out what stops us from doing bigger projects, but I also figured out what to do about it.
Then I used those findings on myself and believe it or not I created an almost complete body of work, in only 42 days! How’s that for amazing?
I also have a wonderful new colleague and collaborator, a well-known consultant in Europe, who is now doing the process as well. Together we will be creating the process and sharing it with others.
Come join us for my brand new radio show this Friday at 11 AM. Radio 42 – the Meaning of Life, the Universe & Everything. We will be discussing the creative retreat process and the amazing things that you can create in only 42 days.
Please join us Friday at 11 AM, EST. You can also download the show later if you can’t be there live. You’re also welcome to share your ideas and suggestions for the show. I am always happy to have you as part of the contribution.
Thanks to all of you for really truly for supporting me so lovingly along the way.
Yours in the creativity and inspiration that changes the world,
Annie
The Story of the Miracle Pants
January 25, 2010
My mother is adorable. At 90 years old she still lives in an old fashioned world of no cell phones, no email and $5 pairs of pants.
She called me the other day very excited. I hate to say this but usually when she is excited about something for me it’s often something that I dread. Her tastes and mine are often very different.
As a kid she would take me to buy new shoes and when we got to the store she’d say to me, “Go ahead and pick out the ones that you like.” As soon as I would pick out the coolest, hippest pair of shoes that an 8-year old could find, she’d say, “Oh not those. We’re going to get these sturdy brown ones.” You know the sensible kind? Ugh! My mother’s taste in shoes and mine were radically different.
So when she called me the other day very excited to say that she wanted to buy me some pants, I had a moment of excitement until I realized that ‘Ugh’, they might be a lot like the brown shoes of the past.
But my mother is 90 now and I decided that I don’t have to ward off her clothing choices anymore. I can open to them and share her excitement, whether I want the pants or not. So I called her back.
She was just dying to tell me about these amazing $5 polyester knit pants that come in so many exciting colors and are completely spill proof. She knows this because she spilled her breakfast all over them and was able to wash them right out in the sink and they didn’t even leave a stain. Wow, these really are miracle pants.
I got such a kick out of her excitement about them. In her mind they have so many benefits – little washing, spill-ability and absolutely no ironing!
I have to say that it was so darned adorable how enchanted my mother is over these miracle pants that I decided to let her send me the catalog so I can (get this) pick out 5 pairs of my own that she wants to buy me!
Now here’s the funny part – when I told my niece Devon about this, we laughed until we nearly peed ourselves. We started making up funny stories about these miracle pants and all the things that they can do. So we decided that in addition to the no ironing, the spill factor and the many lovely colors, these pants can also provide these benefits:
- if you happen to be walking by a burning building and you are wearing these pants, go ahead and go inside because they are completely fire proof!
- if you should cut yourself and are being rushed to the emergency room, there is no need to worry about the wound, just wrap your pants around it and they will cauterize it immediately.
- got a bad ex-husband lingering around? These pants will get rid of him in a jiffy, need I say why?
- don’t have time to change between work and night life? These pants can go from a full day at the office to a night of disco dancing with a simple change of shoes. Note that I say disco dancing as they will probably not be suitable for any other type of dancing.
- do you need to sharpen your kitchen knives but don’t know where to take them? Worry no more, you can sharpen them right on your pants – they are just like stainless steel. Just be careful of your leg underneath.
Now these are just some of the many benefits of these miracle pants and as I said earlier, they are only $5 a pair. But what I am thinking of doing is buying them up in bulk and offering them on my website for an amazing deal of $7.50 a pair (let me know if you want some). I might as well turn a little profit from this amazing discovery don’t you think?
I just love the idea of wearing my miracle pants around town and watching people turn their heads to wonder if I have just stepped out of the movie “Staying Alive” (remember with John Travolta?).
I have offered to wear these pants to my nieces college graduation. Remember they won’t wrinkle in my suitcase. She however has threatened to kill me if I do. Young people are so ungrateful these days, they just don’t get the beauty of things like miracle pants like these.
Ahh, the beauty of the days of old, when pants were only $5 and had so many multiple uses. My mother lives happily in days of yore and I’m happy for her and her lilac, ruby and brown miracle pants.
Aren’t you curious to find out what colors I get and where I wear them? Stay tuned or put in your vote for which uses of the miracle pants you’d like to see me use them for.
Yours in wearing the pants that can change the world,
Annie
Featured Video – Life is Like a Cup of Coffee
January 25, 2010
Simple and wonderful message.
Corey’s Story Journey: Hanging a Picture Frame Around Your Life
January 22, 2010
When I started working with Annie Hart and Katie Gutierrez Painter on my book, I really had no idea where it was headed, or how it would all come together. In fact, like so many of my own clients, I often felt lost throughout this process.
Over the last eight months the three of us got together weekly and Annie pulled out my most poignant business, creative, and personal stories so that Katie could document them. But remaining objective was something I have not been able to do well. My view of my life is infinite, it has no edges, and yet, we have to put a frame around my stories to build the book. We have to give the stories context.
A short lesson on context. One thing I have learned through working with so many books is that readers, as they read, are constantly pulling information, ideas and lessons from what they are reading and are subconsciously filing them in their brain as they travel down the page. If an author fails to provide their reader with enough context, files quickly get backed up and create clutter as the brain slows down and tries to determine how to categorize them. For most readers, a single uncategorizable file can knock the reading experience off course. I call this a roadblock.
The brain starts directing extra focus towards determining how to unclog the road block. But information, like cars, is still being added to the equation. So now attention is being split between trying to unclog the road block and trying to direct new traffic to where it needs to go. One little road block can lead to a pile-up if an author is not careful. And a pile-up is a quick indication to a reader to drive in the other direction—away from what they’re reading!
Throughout the process of telling my stories, I have been waiting for the context to become apparent. I’m a strong believer in not forcing it, and so I have been patient. Then yesterday it happened. Annie and Katie and I were coming to the end of the storytelling portion of our work together and over the last couple weeks we had begun pulling out the themes we saw running through my life.
Simultaneously, I’ve been dealing with some very difficult company setbacks and trying to untangle some rough terrain. To be candid, I felt recently like I was watching my company fall down around me. From an authentic conversation around my life and the business, my picture frame popped out and into view. What a joyous moment to arrive at, and we did it together.
This weekend I plan on taking my first stab at the introduction to the book, and next week, Katie and I will begin to assemble my stories based on our new context. Phase 1 is over. Now we breath and enter phase 2.
From Annie: Corey has been a delight and a joy to work with over these months. Together we dove deep into the stories of his life and I am so happy that he’s able to go to phase 2 now. What a beautiful journey!
Creative Energy Is Nourishing Good Food
January 21, 2010
Creative energy is nourishing good food.
It is the vital rich substance of life not the icing on the cake. It’s not something that we should only have if we have time left over.
How awful is that! That we only consider creative energy useful and important if it makes us money, meets a goal or does something else tangible in our material world.
Now I understand that we need a strong sense of mission and purpose in the world, I’m not talking about losing that for sure.
But what I am saying is that creative inspirational energy is vital substance. We can’t and shouldn’t live without it and yet we pretend that it’s childs play or something that we do only when we have extra time.
It is not.
Creative energy helps our brain feel good, it keeps our minds stay at their sharpest and it enhances anything else that we do in life. How great is that! 
On this retreat I have been restored. I have purposefully accessed my creative, inspirational energy every day, day in and day out, even when I didn’t feel like it. You know how that goes?
Usually you have to be in the mood. Eek, if you waited for that to happen, given this modern busy world, you would almost never experience it.
Not good enough.
Part of the experiment of the retreat was for me to learn how to access this inspirational energy every day no matter what. It didn’t matter if I was foggy, sleepy or out of ideas. I showed up every day and did the same set of process that I had invented for the retreat and when I showed up, inspiration showed up with me, even if it was in tiny droplets at times.
That was my experiment. Can I get it to show up when and where I want to and not on it’s own whim?
No more waiting on the muses folks! They are too fickle for my tastes. I love the muses don’t get me wrong, but I also like to get things done!
I have ‘accomplished’ more on this retreat than in the past few years. And I did it with an effortless ease that made it enjoyable. That’s the trick – it’s like an invisible tightrope – when you access pure inspiration, there is almost no effort.
I have done more good writing, had more fun, more rest, more renewal and peace of mind and on top of all that, the icing on the cake is that I enjoyed the whole darned process.
Now how is that for the proof of the vital substance that creative energy is!
Only 8 days left on my Creative Retreat. I’ve already decided to do a second one to write a whole other book. Yay, yay, yay!
Today go for the gold – that vital vein of inspirational energy that lives right beneath the surface. You won’t be sorry.
Yours in the creative vital substance that makes life worth living,
Annie
Launching Radio 42 – The Meaning of Life, The Universe & Everything
January 20, 2010
I am so excited. I am getting ready to launch my brand new radio show called, Radio 42 – the Meaning of Life, the Universe & Everything. Don’t you just love that title!
I know that it’s not completely original but several things coincided to bring this name to the foreground. As my blog readers know, I have been on Creative Retreat for 42 days (I’m in day 32) and it has been amazing.
People have been asking me – WHY 42?
It’s a mystical number that I chose for several reasons (which I’ll talk about in my upcoming book), but what I didn’t know was of it’s association to the book, “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.” I never read that book and had never heard that story about how a computer spit out the answer to the question, “What is the meaning of life?”
And it’s answer was 42!
Only recently did someone tell me this story and give me the title for the radio show. Thanks to my fabulous colleague and his brilliance, Radio 42 was born and will be launched next week on Friday at 11 am. Please tune in.
What will Radio 42 be about? Well that’s the cool thing – it will be about everything – the meaning of life, the universe, everything! But in specific it will creative, everyday, practical tools to help you change from the inside out. I have take my mystical understandings of the world and translate them into easy to use tools.
We all need the ability to go away everyday. Mystics always went to mountaintops or into the desert to get a new perspective on life but I realized that we need ways to change everyday and so am bringing forth the tips, tools, secrets and stories from the masters. Sound fun? It’s gonna be, guaranteed!
For my first show, I will have a very special guest with me so so please do tune in for the fun, the frolic and a tour of the cosmos. It’s on Blog Talk Radio, Friday at 11 am.
Yours in sharing the tips, tools and secrets of the masters,
Annie
Wonderful Will’s Wisdom
January 18, 2010
I love this video. Will Smith is a fabulous communicator with a genuine and burning desire to change the world. Plus he’s a local Philly boy. What’s not to love about that!
The Critic: Know Someone Like This?
January 13, 2010
Yada, yada, yada. Have you had someone looking over your shoulder or speaking into your ear with a tiny megaphone lately? Anytime you go try something new, bigger, different or change yourself in some way?
This is the voice of your good friend and sabateur, your inner critic. Hmm, what to do about this?
Years ago, I had a High School grammar teacher, Dr. Falkenstein (pronounced steen, not styn) who told us very clearly that in the realm of grammar there are right ways and wrong ways.
I remember deciding very clearly that I wanted to be on the side of the ‘right ways‘. I didn’t want to incur Dr. Falkenstein’s wrath for one thing. And no that’s not Frankenstein, although she did wear some big tent dresses and an awkward wig that made us wonder what was underneath all that.
Anyway Dr. Falkenstein is a prototype for our typical inner critic. Know her or him? The one that taps you on the shoulder on a regular basis and says, “Hey dummy did you know that you’re doing that WRONG?” The word wrong implies that there is a right, right? 
Yes if there’s a wrong, there’s a right and if there’s a right there’s a left. I hope you’re not getting too confused here but if you are that makes sense because that’s really what this inner critic does to us – make us confused!
He or she confuses us out of what we really know to be true! How does she do that so deftly? Well if you’re Dr. Falkenstein or a catholic school nun, you carry a big ruler around in your hand and waft it around while you speak. The unspoken message is: ‘You better believe me or I’ll whop you with this.’
That is one very good way to get people to go along with bad and erroneous ideas. Another way that the critic does this is to say, “Well everyone else…..” You know that line? Implying that you are the only one stupid enough to do it your way.
I remember one time in college I was taking a boring ceramics class. The teacher said, “Today we’re going to make 6 mugs exactly alike.” Naturally I said to myself, “I don’t want to make 6 mugs exactly alike. If I wanted six of the same mugs, I could go to a department store and buy them.”
This bit of different thinking was not appreciated by my wise teacher who shunned me, but thank God he left me to my own devices while I created ONE single spectacular completely original mug. After I was done he reluctantly admitted that it was pretty cool. But had a critique process been part of the class, I would have been dead in the water guaranteed! They would have singled out everything that I did WRONG! 
So here’s the thing, as my favorite writer of all times Brenda Ueland says, “Thumb your nose at all critics, jeerers and know-it-alls, at least once a day. Brenda who was a pip of a writer, wrote a book called, “If You Want to Write” and she speaks about the importance of following your creative spirit.
We all know this! So why don’t we do it?
Because you probably just need to sit down and listen to the Dr. Falkenstein know-it-all-advisor in your own head and hear what she has to say. Then say to her, “Fabulous!! Thanks for the advice.” But keep writing or doing whatever it is that you really want to do.
Dr. Falkenstein is no longer with us and I often wonder if she ever published her novel? Did she write those erotic love poems that were pent up inside of her (I’m just making that up). And most importantly did she eat good dark chocolate every day (like I do)?
The real question is – did Dr. Falkenstein (not styne) thumb her nose at the critics, or did she go to her grave with all of her rules? I hope it was the later. (that’s pronounced latt-er, as in latte).
But Dr. F. did teach me one very important rule that I will pass onto you. Next time you go to the gas station, do not say “Fill it up.”
Why not? Because “up” is a syntactical redundance. Aren’t you amazed that I remember that word after all these years? Since you can’t fill something ‘down’ you don’t need to use the word ‘up.’ Got it?
So folks, impress your friends and your gas station attendant by only saying, “Fill it please.” Then go home and break some rules – in your writing, your blogging, your speaking or anything else that tickles your fancy. You do
n’t want to die with those rules wrapped around your neck do you?
NO you don’t!
Today take a chance – break the rules, risk, be silly and let that inner critic find someone else to pick on.
Yours in always sharing the juiciest endeavors life has to offer,
Annie
Why We Need to Dare to Tell Stories Raw & Real
January 12, 2010
I have several new clients lately that are all seeking to get to the heart of something beautiful raw and real inside of themselves – to be able to tell their stories in an open, honest and vulnerable format.
So you might wonder – why is it so hard?
It honestly is. They are not just making it up. It seems ludicrous in one sense that you actually have to go to someone to help them tell your story. Why can’t you just blurt it out?
What is so hard about it anyway?
But here’s the thing – it actually is hard. These folks coming to me to tell their stories are coming because they are brave human beings. They feel the call deep down inside and they just know that they have to articulate, express or share something with the world and that they need some help, structure or support to do that.
These folks are the smart ones who instinctively know that it is nearly impossible to tell these stories on your own. It is because people in our world don’t really want to hear the truth. If you don’t believe me just try this experiment…
Next time you are somewhere and someone you barely know asks you how you are. Stop. Pause. Look them in the eye and tell them the honest to god, real and vulnerable truth.
“Well now that you asked, actually I’m having a few money problems, my back is a bit aching from too much yoga, my boyfriend just left me and my dog is sick….and….and….and….”
Don’t bother to finish because the sentence because they are are already gone. If they haven’t walked physically away, trust me they’ve gone away inside.
A few months ago when I was going through a difficult time, I actually experienced this. Someone inquired about how I was doing and though I’m not a person that just spills out my personal life to everyone, I started to honestly tell her the truth. I thought she really wanted to know. But as soon as I started, I saw her physically backing up so I stopped.
People aren’t prepared to know the painful truth! Ouch. It brings up the pain in them. So when you craft a story of your own, first you need to get it out raw and real. You need someone to listen to you carefully, not to judge and definitely not to back away no matter what you say.
The message that I need to send people when I listen is - “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere and I won’t back away no matter how hard it gets.” You can do it too.
That is really powerful. Imagine just how life changing that one message can be – I’m here, I’m not going away.
If you remember or read my Raw and Real stories, there was one in which my friend Leslie came running towards me and body hugged me. That was just the message I needed – a big real hug that said, “I’m not going away.”
So that is why people don’t dare to tell their stories raw and real – because they fear that no one will be there when then are done, that everyone will go away because the painful truth is too awful. It’s not.
Today send this message to everyone in your life – I’m here, I’m not going away and I will listen no matter how hard it gets. Story-telling is life changing for this reason. It’s not about entertainment, it’s the deepest form of life change there is.
When we change our stories, we change the world.
Today dare to tell yours raw and real and encourage others to tell theirs too. You’ll notice how much closer you feel, how much more love and vitality is in your life.
Today don’t back away from pain but go right to the juicy heart of what’s real.
Yours in sharing stories that make a difference in the world,
Annie
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