The Storyteller Tells Her Stories
February 20, 2010
It’s time to take a leap. Every now and then in your life, more often then I’d like, it’s time to take a deeper plunge, a bigger risk and really go for the gold. So I am going to be writing and telling my own very personal and sometimes painful stories for the very first time.
Whew! Breathe.
It’s not easy! I make it look and seem easy for other people, that’s my gift. But damn it is really hard to do for myself. Luckily I have found just the right team as it honestly takes a team to pull these stories out of me. They don’t want to come out on their own.
These stories are like little long-fingered underwater creatures who are gripping onto the rocks so they don’t have to let go. Eeeeeek!
Why is it so scary to tell personal stories? Very personal stories.
Gosh, I could give you a long list of the reasons that it’s so scary. It seems silly to say but it actually feels life threatening to a part of us. Telling our stories is a way out of the box that we have lived in. We are bound by the emotions, the memories and the meanings of our past stories and thus like the famous Pandora’s box, we must liberate them.
Fortunately as I said, I have just the right team - I have my wonderful reliable weekly writing buddy whom I meet weekly at the local Barnes and Noble coffee shop so we can write together. We’ve been doing this for some months now.
In case you’d want to know my reason for meeting there - it’s because they have sunshine streaming in the windows (I need to feel warm), great Earl Grey tea (I need to have good tea) and a bag of delicious potato chips doesn’t hurt.
Basically it’s a good way to bribe myself to keep on going doing something that is hard!
Then I have my fabulous listening buddy who is helping me tell the stories orally. Written stories and orally told stories are two very different animals and so I know from my own story guiding of others, that the deeper, more painful and often more powerful stories need to be ‘listened out of you.’
My story Maestro listens to me very carefully. He is impeccable in his listening, which is what I really need. He does not trod on my heart nor make those kinds of comments afterwards that make you wish you’d never told your story. He wears a white velvet glove of purity that makes the telling easy.
To be impeccable in your listening you have to be out of your out of your own way - be really silent and really present.
But here is the best part of all. He also makes me laugh while I’m crying! Yesterday was a perfect example.
Yesterday as I was telling a difficult story (and blowing my nose through the telling), I suddenly heard an indescribable noise, a kind of ‘crkkkkrrrrrr‘ sound. Hmm, what was that???
He didn’t say anything about it and I heard him make an ‘uh huh‘ sound like he was listening, so I just carried on.
A minute later I couldn’t hear him, so I asked, “Are you there Chief?” (that’s one of my nicknames for him). Then there was the sound of scramble, scramble, scramble and then he says, “Yes I’m here. I just kicked the microphone over.” Perfect timing!
It was perfect timing. I started laughing so loudly that my crying and snorting turned into guffawing. It was a priceless moment.
Perfect for the storyteller to be paused mid-sob for a moment of sheer humor. My impeccable listener, who was working so hard to be there for me knocked over his microphone and was trying to retrieve it without interrupting.
I am still laughing just picturing him trying to rebound without disrupting my story. What a riot!
These are the precious moments of storytelling. In that moment I realized that it’s not just the telling of the story that is important, but every thing beautiful that surrounds it - the bonding that happens between two humans as they listen and share and the moments of pure delight when real life magic happens and humor appears out of nowhere.
This is the true magic of storytelling.
I am pr
oud, honored, scared and delighted to be telling my own raw and real stories. The deep ones, the raw ones, the ones that matter. If I can’t lead the way on then I’m not worth my metal.
Gotta leap, gotta take a dive.
Thanks to all my partners for supporting me. It takes a community to tell a story. I’d still be on the ledge without you. Thanks as well to all of my blog readers for caring about stories and storytelling. You make all the difference.
Stay tuned for more of the raw and real, the places we dive deep together and make life more fulfilling from taking risks.
Yours in diving into the heart of the matter and laughing about it all the way,
Annie
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Everything Happens in Starbucks
February 4, 2010
I don’t mean to eavesdrop but I love people and being engaged in life, so I can’t help myself. I tend to to listen in when I hear juicy bits of conversation, as I did this morning at my local Starbucks and boy was I glad I did!
I met two of the most wonderful ladies - women that are icons of a bygone era and role models of another way of living that we are dearly missing in this modern hectic world.
I tuned in be
cause I overheard one of them talking about trying to text on her cell phone. She was telling her friend that she needed to look in the manual to figure out how to do it.
I chuckled to myself because I could totally relate. When I bought my ‘little phone’ - aka cell phone, I had to beg a male friend of mine to meet me for coffee just so he could show me how to use it!
We are folks of another generation, one in which gadgets of this kind were not automatically attached to our ears at birth. As I turned to look at them, I chuckled and they might have thought I was laughing at them but I wasn’t. They said, “We’re not so good at this stuff.”
I told them that I hadn’t been good at ‘that stuff’ either and that we of another generation are all of a similar predicament. We come from the days before there were even answering machines. So we are all bewildered by this new technology.
We got to chatting and they were just delightful. I told them my story of being a former-technophobe (which I wrote about some months ago), until I took a course called, “Become A Blogging Maniac” with my wonderful mentor Bea Fields. That is how I advanced my business and propelled myself into the 21st century at the same time.
They were interested to know how it worked for me. I was excited to tell them that I’ve had over 5,000 visitors on my blog in under a year. I get nearly 900 visitors a month! Isn’t that amazing? And the best part is that it’s all from the comfort and enjoyment of my own home (or a local Starbucks) instead of trekking God knows where to drum up business.
They were intrigued and wanted to know more about how it works. I told them about Facebook and Twitter thinking they wouldn’t know what the heck they were, but I found out quickly that these are not your average golden-aged ladies. They are women with a great sense of adventure. One of them uses them both and so I got right on Facebook and made her my new friend! Love it.
They told me that in their era they were never encouraged to believe that they could do anything. One of them said, “We were told we would be taken care of.” Wow that really hit home.
They told me stories of ironing their napkins and polishing their silver and I felt this deep longing for the elegance and thoughtfulness of another time. Hearing their stories, I fell in love with them both instantly. They are truly gems of another day gone by.
This made me realized that I need to capture their stories. We need stories like these to remind us of the elegance of living. Right then and there I decided that I am going to film them and share their stories.
Aren’t you eager to hear what they have to say?
So stay tuned for the wonderful stories of the two beautiful ladies of another generation that I met in Starbucks!
Everything happens in Starbucks folks. If you’re willing to eavesdrop just a little, you can meet the most wonderful people. Today go have a Starbucks on me. Eavesdrop on some neighbors and see what magic might happen right in your local coffee shop.
Yours in sharing the stories that make life rich and meaningful,
Annie
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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
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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
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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!
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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
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Creative Retreat Process: A Structure For Success
January 11, 2010
Wow, believe it or not creativity has a structure that you can access and follow to take yourself to new creative heights. That is what I’m discovering on my Creative Retreat Process. *If you’re just tuning in and you want to read previous posts from the retreat they are listed under “Creative Retreat.”
Back at the beginning of the retreat (25 days ago) when I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I asked myself the singular question - Why can’t I get my bigger projects off the ground? What gets in the way?
I felt like I needed to crack the code of what was in the way and more importantly to find out what would allow me to access my creative inspiration whenever, wherever and however I wanted to. In other words, I didn’t want to sit there waiting for the fabled muse to arrive. I wanted to be able to access her whenever I needed to. 
I started with a very simple process - a daily practice of writing, jotting down notes and a few other mysterious techniques that I invented on the spot.
I had one simple rule - that I would use everything that came up for creative fodder - bring on the inner critic, bring on the obstacles and challenges. I actually wanted to see, feel and experience what they were so that I could learn to deal with them and create a method that myself and others could follow.
So I am delighted to report that IT IS WORKING - my theory, my hypothesis and my method are all working on me and today I brought on board a creative partner and we are going to begin to share the journey together.
What surprise to find my theory working already. If you remember I’m on retreat for 42 days, so I’m half way there. Half way there and I’m already clearly experiencing the benefits and maybe soon you’ll hear from my partner in fun as well.
Most of all I want to encourage all of you to access the life-giving power of creative retreat in your life. Even if it is only 1/2 hour a day - we really need this energy to revitalize and rejuvenate us to keep going on bigger projects in our life.
Buon viaggio as they say in Italian. I am enjoying the creative journey and look forward to the moment when I will be holding the results in my hand.
Yours in the life that creative energy brings forth,
Annie
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Writing From the Desert: Report From the Creative Retreat
December 23, 2009
I am in the desert. Boy is it dry in here at times. Big stretches of emptiness with no growth on the horizon. Today I woke up to only 3 notes scribbled on my page. That means it’s time to face one of my bigger fears of - Eeek, what if I have absolutely nothing to share with the world? What if I leave nothing behind?
Don’t try to talk me out of this fear. For facing one’s fears is exhilarating, awakening and deeply scary, if you do it well that is. The purpose is to scare myself awake and into action. Facing one’s fears is a vital and necessary endeavor which we have little time or place for in our world.
We are too used to putting on the mask, looking heroic and going off to do the same things we’ve always done before. I’m putting the brakes on that automated behavior and daring to delve down deeply into the things that really scare me.
Why?
Because I want more out of life for one thing. I want to give more, share more and be more. And I can’t do that from the operating position of comfort and safety. Being in the desert isn’t my idea of a good time, but I am doing this on purpose.
Yesterday I share with someone that it is going to get even tougher in the future. He wanted to change my language to say instead, “It’s going to get interesting.”
BUT NO! That is exactly the kind of linguistic trick that keeps us from fully experiencing our real fears, the ones that are stopping us from bigger life. If we can’t fully experience them, we can’t change them.
I meant IT’S GOING TO GET HARDER. But if you listen carefully to what I’m saying, which he obviously didn’t, you realize that I’m doing this on purpose. It’s going to get harder because I am going to purposefully keep diving deeper into the muck.
My Inner Critic is going to hurl even worse insults at me. Today for example her whammy was, “What if you have absolutely nothing to share with the world?” Thanks a lot! Don’t worry, I’m going to deal with her later. We have a tango every night now :>)
I am actually having a good time challenging myself. I want it to get harder because I really want to get to the gold. I am not a person who induces needless pain, but I am one who loves a creative challenge and the juicy results that come.
So that is my report from the outback. I’m having a good time, feeling dry, confused, unworthy and incapable! Whew, what an enlivening ride.
I’ll report again in a few days so you know I’m still alive. Day 6 and I’m still going!
Yours in the spirit of that which brings life,
Annie
P.S I’d love to hear your comments and needs for creative retreats for yourself. No critiques please, the inner critic has that covered for now!
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Going For the Gold, A Creative Retreat To Tackle the Inner Critic
December 21, 2009
Eureka Moment
when the lightbulb goes off
It is that time of the year and I am going on creative retreat. I had a Eureka moment this weekend in which I realized that I never truly get traction on the bigger projects in my life.
WHY NOT?? I asked myself. And I had a revelation about it.
I realized that even though I am NLP Trainer and a master Hypnotherapist, I don’t know how to control my own brain!
Yes I know how, and I do this very successfully for my own clients, but I don’t access this power fully for myself.
WHY NOT?
Actually it is MUCH harder to do for yourself. At least on a regular, reliable and consistent basis. So that is my quest. To find a way to do this for myself - a way that works anyone, anytime and for anyone. That is my goal, and if it works on me than I will share it with you and everyone….
and if it doesn’t, then I will die trying!
This is a big one. I can feel my inner critic pulling out all the punches already and I’ve barely even gotten started! I know they may sound completely ridiculous to you, especially to those of you who know me, but trust me she’s got a LOUD voice and she knows how to hit right where it hurts. Try to hear these critiques in the acid-dripping tone in which she delivers them. Then maybe you’ll know what I mean.
Here is the list of her top three hard hitters:
- “Haven’t you tried this before?” You do have a whole set of notebooks filled with other great ideas don’t you?”
- “What are you doing this for? Haven’t things like this already been done?”
- “Who is going to want this anyway? You’re going to go to all of this trouble….and for what?”
As I said, she really knows how to hit where it hurts. She knows that I do have a cabinet of notebooks filled with my millions of great ideas. She knows that what I am working on is not rocket science and is in fact very simple. And worst of all she knows that my deepest fear (and everyone’s) is that all of our hard work and effort will be for nothing.
The biggest fear is that NO ONE CARES!
But HA! Don’t worry folks, I have the tricks and the tools to handle this. At least I hope I do. Here’s how it’s gonna work - as she throws me a hard ball, I will devise a creative process to work with that. So bring it on inner critic! I’m ready for you. (I know I’m gonna be sorry I said this!)
I am going to let myself be wrestled to the ground, strangled by her acerbic words and brought to the edge of giving up. This is my test. Can I do it? Can I face all of my foibles, failures and fears of inadequacy?
The fun is that I may die trying. Not literally but figuratively. Part of me will die, the part that has been afraid all along.
It’s much easier to pay someone to change your mind. That is what my clients do every week and they get great changes. I’m going to do it the hard way. It’s just going to be me, myself, my inner critic and my journal. Plus my bag of creative tricks that I’m going to use to tackle this problem.
If I can’t do it, maybe no one can. I don’t mean that in an egotistical way. I mean that if I, who has all of the tricks of the trade, can’t do it for myself, then maybe it’s time to find a way that it CAN be done.
I want to create a reliable and repeatable process that can be used anytime, anywhere. No more muse! The inspiration has to come when I call it, not just show up when it wants to! That’s too fickle for my purposes.
So this my goal for my creative retreat. I will be back with the results in the new year. Promise to love me no matter what happens. Promise to stand by me whether I produce something or not.
Please admire for me just for going for it! I would really appreciate that.
I appreciate you already, for being here every week reading my blog. Thank you from my heart. Stay tuned for more in the new year. Anything good that comes my way, will be naturally passed on to you.
Happy New Year my friends….here’s to renewed Light in your life.
Yours in the creative incubator of life,
Annie
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Need A New Pen?? Get the World’s Best Pen For Only $3!
December 17, 2009
I have just gotten back into journaling and I have a super cool artistic new journal. So I am in the market for a new pen and I was wondering to myself what is the absolute best pen to write with??
Someone suggested that it is the Mont Blanc which is a $200 pen. Eeek! I don’t think so! But I found this hilarious article on how to transform an ordinary pen $3 pen into a Mont Blanc.
Transform a $3 pen into a $200 pen in just seconds.
Mont Blanc pens are the worlds finest writing pens but they make specialized refills so you must buy their $200 + pens to use their amazing ink…until now. This is the easiest adaptation to give anyone the king’s writing ink. Here’s how:
Step 1: Go out and find a Mont Blanc pen you like. Ask the salesperson to let you write with it…nice, huh? Now ask the price. When you’ve gotten over the sticker-shock, leave and go back to your good old G2. Remember what life was like before G2? The pens were cheap and the ink was like cheese. G2s were the best thing since clickable mechanical pencils. Even after we all had G2s, I still admired the uber-extravagant Mont Blanc people. Their pens were so smooth, they nearly wrote by themselves. Alas, at $200-$2000 a pen, that miraculous ink was out of the reach of the common man…..until now.
Step 2: Buy, don’t shoplift. Purchase the brand new G2 Pro and Mont Blanc Rollerball refills from your local office supply store. Cost: G2 Pro=$3, double Mont Blanc refill = $12
Step 3: Consider the Lillies. Think about your life…are you pretentious? If you are, buy a standard retractable G2, so you can see the Mont Blanc brand name through the semi-opaque handle. If you are not, congratulations, you live for function and not form.
Step 4: Dissemble the pen.
Step 5: If you don’t have a 5 year old. Make one. (this step may take awhile)
Step 6: One of these is not like the other. Laying inks side by side, notice the similarities…hmmm…notice the difference? You’re right. The Mont Blanc has about 1/8 inch of extra plastic on the end.
Step 7: I hope you spent more time noticing the similarities than the differences because we all have a lot more in common than different, even though we aren’t all pens….
Step 8: Dial 911. (Due to the violent nature of this step, we have not included a picture) Using any sharp implement (scissors, knife, axe, etc) cut the refill to be the same length as the original ink. (please use adult supervision)
Step 9: Compare again. When you are done with step 8, it should look like this.
Step 10: Here is the tough part. Now here is where it gets tricky, reassemble the pen. Now, before you do that, switch the refills so that instead of the original ink, you put the Mont Blanc refil inside the G2 pen. If it doesn’t work properly, repeat step 8.
Step 11: Save the world. Save the world by taken your original ink and recycling it at your local ink recycling center…or give it to a homeless person so they can take notes on their rantings.
Step 12: Enjoy. Enjoy the fact that you have one of the world’s finest writing instruments without the pompous shiny band names and logos on it. Way to go, common man.
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Check Out My Blog on Skirt!
