Every year I give books as gifts and below are this year’s picks.
Waking Up by Sam Harris
Oh and download the app too. Harris’ book is an exploration of spirituality for those of you that are as interested as I am in the nature of reality. Both knowledge of and the experience of reality come about by way of our minds. I’ll leave it at that. Headspace is also a great app too and I have heard of some other great meditation apps. Try them all!
Thirst by Scott Harrison
The biography of charity: Water’s founder Scott Harrison. I adore this organization as many of you do I am sure. Not just because of its mission but because of its transparency. Harris is someone who has truly thought outside the box and gone far. He is truly an inspiration.
Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferris
I am a Tim Ferris fan. Pick up Four Hour Work Week too if you have not already and do not poo poo it because of its catchy title. In Tribe of Mentors, Ferris asks a bunch of successful people questions such as; ‘what is the book, or books, you’ve given most as a gift and why?’ Or ‘what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?’ ‘What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months, or recent memory?’ For me, that would be the app Waking Up. Headspace is both a great read and purchase because you can read one of these entries before bed say without needing the added concentration a novel calls for.
Happy Reading!
Enough of that….
Each year I do this New Years end blog. Unbeknownst to me, my year-end blog post has really resonated with those who read it. A few vendors and friends have asked about this years post. A few of you also know that this past year has personally been a noteworthy one, which for us all here is the same thing as a professionally noteworthy year. I am sure many of you are probably thinking ‘something went horribly wrong; or ‘something really good happened.’ Well, both inclinations are entirely wrong. It is this year that I have grown the most and subsequently ADE has grown the most.
I did have a health scare earlier this year, but this noteworthy of a year began well before that.
Each year I ask myself where I want to go and how I’m going to start down this renewed path. This is why I love the New Year - Planning! To drive this idea home, more often than not I will only have one glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve! New Years is the most religious of holidays for me.
About a year ago, I began to take a good inventory of my life. I literally wrote a mini pamphlet for myself on living my own life. No, you will never see this. It went through revisions, discoveries and more revisions. I can narrow it down to this………
I have three words: Simplicity, Intimacy and Wealth. If you fancy the word abundance more you can replace it with that.
I greatly value Time. Our mind is the primarily tool for making use of that time. Time looses its value if our mind cannot show up to meet it. Time is all we have.
Do not look at your emails on your phone and perhaps include in this list your texts as well, until after you are ready to show up for the day. For me it is after having had my morning coffee, some water and meditation.
What is most important to us here on a day-by-day basis is productivity. I am a recovering perfectionist that has resolved herself to excellence instead. As technology is designed to distract us, I do not let technology take control of my time or productivity. If we allow each bell, whistle, prompt, text and alarm to take our attention there will be nothing left of us. We will loose ourselves and our ability to create whatever we have to offer.
I have been meditating for well over a year now, every single day, sometimes twice a day. Just try meditation. I promise you, after some time, you will “get it” and not know how you ever went without it! Maybe I will write another blog post on this soon.
I also write in a journal every day and have been writing pretty much my whole life. I think you should too.
I work out at least five days a week. I always have and if I do not, I am not ‘normal Ashley.’
I read every day. I think you should too, and social media does not count.
Nothing is ever about you. I repeat, nothing is ever about you.
Show up more and do less.
You really do feel, look and think better if you predominantly eat veggies. And living longer is worth it.
We crave authenticity and we hope you do too.
Struggling is a habit. You can stop struggling and still accomplish as much, maybe even more!
Most days I commit to tackling the hardest thing first and move on from there.
We schedule time in the office because the more time we spend outside of the office; the less work we get done.
Everything that happens to you, happens for you. This is my life motto.
You really have to take care of you first to take care of others. Doing otherwise is not a badge of honor but a selfish cry for attention, its you making it about you.
That is all folks! Until next year! xo
