I went to Vegas recently for a conference, and it was so nice to be able to get away! Even though the conference was about store stuff, I made time to get a massage, which was so relaxing, and to go see a show. I saw Le Reve at the new Wynn. The show was absolutely spectacular! I always like Cirque shows because I love to see the limits of human potential - all the different acrobatic and aerial acts just amaze and inspire me! Le Reve combined aerial acts with water. The theater was specially built for the show. It's theater-in-the-round with all the seats surrounding the water. In the middle of the water, the stage can be lowered and raised from a totally open pool where the artists dive into from high above to a multi-layer "cake" that they dive off of. I loved the water aspect of the performance (the Pisces in me), and I loved the extremely buff guys in the performance (watching them do acrobatics and dives is so much better than any Chippendales - functional fitness wins out over muscles-for-muscles-sake!), but the best part of Le Reve was that it really was an ensemble show. The Cirque shows I've seen before tend to be different 1-5 person acts loosely strung together into the show. But with Le Reve, most of the different songs/acts included at least half the cast, all performing full-out, into and out of the water and back again. It was like a chorus musical without singing and with lots of water. Anyway, to paraphase, I loved Le Reve! :-)

What if we didn't have to sleep? Would we actually get more done? Or would most people just end up indulging their bad habits more? I just came across an article from Entrepreneur.com about how in the near future, it's likely that we'll be using drugs to stay awake longer and increase our memory. It's certainly an interesting topic, especially considering my interest in psychology and the brain. But what would these drugs do to the brain? Believe me, I often wish for more time to do everything that I want to do, but I don't know if I would take drugs in order to accomplish that. Even if the doctors say there aren't any side effects, everything has side effects. :-)

I finally got Apache, php, and mySQL working on the store computer! I've been wanting to start programming in php, but Apache would just not work on the store computer. After playing with the windows firewall and turning on and off Norton and installing and uninstalling, it's finally working! (Although I'm still not entirely sure why it's working now, because I swear my computer is in the same configuration as when I tried to install it yesterday- but whatever, it works now! And will hopefully keep working!)

Yes, I am a nerd - I am really excited to be programming again! It's been over 2 years since I've really programmed. (I TA'ed for Intro about a year and a half ago, but that was just grading code, not actually writing code.) Not being in school, combined with the fact that Red Zone (the company where all of my programmer friends used to work) is no more and that I'm not dating a programmer, means that I've been without geeky stuff in my life for a while. And yes, I do love my store and all its pink and fluffiness, and I definitely have my feminine side, but frankly I've been missing video games! I need more testosterone in my life!

Last Friday I went up to LA to visit one of my friends who is working at EA now. I got to see his office and had lunch at the EA cafeteria. And I bought some games at the EA gift shop (They have a gift shop!?!?!): Black&White2, The Sims2, and SimCity4. I don't know when I'm going to have time to play them, but they were only 10 bucks, so what the heck! And I renewed my WoW subscription last night, and played a little. It felt good to be back in world (although the updates took like an hour to download and install!) But I'm not sure what server I want to play on, because all of my friends are on different servers and have higher level characters. And frankly I don't know how much time I'll actually be able to play, but I can have fun by myself even if I can't keep up with everyone else's characters.

Ok, back to learning php so that I can get my ecommerce site up and running...

An interesting look at our (possible) future...

http://www.robinsloan.com/epic/


I tend to think that personalization is a good thing (I love Amazon recommendations!) But it is possible to take personalization too far, like anything. However there is definitely a need for some sort of organization and prioritization of all of the information out there. I think I've heard some statistic that we receive more information each week/day/hour than our grandparents received in their lifetime. But how do we know what is correct, what is important, what we should remember? Or do we even need to remember anything now, since we can look it all up on Google?

One of my goals for 2006 is that I want to start selling dancewear and shoes online through our (currently informational) website www.superdancewear.com

So I've been investigating different ecommerce shopping cart software, and now sometimes when I go to different ecommerce sites, I know what software they're using, because of the template and features. It's kinda cool!

If anyone out there knows of an excellent POS/CRM/ecommerce software solution, please let me know! So far I have been able to find good solutions in the separate fields, but I have not been able to find good software that integrates them all. Or if you want to program a custom solution/help me program it, that would work too! :-)

Upside-Down Christmas Tree!

What would happen if you turned your Christmas tree upside-down? The upside-down tree needs less floor space, the ornaments hang away from the tree so you can actually see them, and best of all, there's more room for presents under the tree!

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/72376.asp

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2005-11-07-christmas-trees_x.htm

A very interesting concept - whether it's a 2005 fad or something that will actually last longer is yet to be seen, but it certainly made some companies extra money this year.

What every-day concept can you turn upside-down? What if instead of lamps and lights that shine down on us, we had floor lights that shine light up? What if instead of having the freezer over the fridge, we had the freezer on the bottom and the fridge section on top (I think I've seen an appliance like this already)?

"Celebrate what you've accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed."
Mia Hamm (1972 - )American soccer player, Olympic gold medalist


HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that everyone had a great 2005. Now is the time that many people assess what they've done in the past and make resolutions for the future. What went well for you in 2005? What did not go exactly as you might have hoped? What can you learn from your successes and your failures as you go forward in life? What would make 2006 a fabulous year for you? A year from now, what will you wish that you had started today?

Ok, now that you've thought about it, what will you actually do in 2006 to demonstrate how fabulously cool you are? Planning is wonderful, but you must take action to for your life to actually get better.

"People are anxious to improve their circumstances, but often are unwilling to improve themselves; therefore they remain bound." - James Allen

What steps will you take this year to improve yourself? What steps will you take this month to improve yourself? What steps will you take this week to improve yourself? What steps will you take today to improve yourself? Ok, now stop reading my blog, and go do those steps!

Go do them now! Yes, it's nice to procrastinate, but the longer you procrastinate, the longer it will take you to get to where you want to be. Don't you want to get there sooner?!?

So stop asking, "Are we there yet?" Get off your butt and go take action right now. I'm going to go take action towards my goals right now; you can too! :-)

"Magnetism, as you recall from physics class, is a powerful force that causes certain items to be attracted to refrigerators." -Dave Barry

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to defrag your brain? :-D


And while I'm wishing... Wouldn't it be nice to just be able to upload new information into your brain, like in the Matrix?
Although it would be kinda freaky to not remember having learned the information.

I just found a great article on entrepreneur.com - Blurred Vision
Don’t expect your employees to be carbon copies of yourself. It takes an owner to have the dedication of an owner.

This is one of the areas that I've been struggling with in my store. It's hard when it feels like my employees aren't as committed to fabulous customer service as I am. I try to explain to them what I expect of them, but it ends up coming out like criticism.
But the article says that it takes seven years on average for entrepreneurs to realize that their employees have a different agenda than they do - so I'm ahead by 5 years! :-)

So lately I've been reading Steve Pavlina's blog (www.stevepavlina.com). He's got some very interesting things to say about motivation, success, self-displine, polyphasic sleeping, etc.

His current post called "Rules Are No Obstacles For Committed People" sounds a lot like my life as described in one of my previous posts "Everything is Always Impossible Before It Works"

So World, step aside please, I'm coming through! :-D

To repeat a very excellent Chinese proverb...
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.

-Chinese Proverb

"The degree to which you are willing to commit yourself is the degree to which you will achieve your goals."

I was talking with a friend the other day about how it seems like the work never ends. Back in September, I said that it would be easier after back-to-school was over, but it really hasn't slowed down. My friend was saying the same thing about his business.
But I've realized that it's not that the work never ends - it's that we're not satisfied yet! The store hasn't slowed down because I've chosen to keep trying to make things better (get new POS software, sell online, do expos, sell at dance studios). If I was content to let the store just run the way it has been running, then I would have a ton of time off, but I'm not content to do that.

Life is all a matter of priorities. There is always enough time for the things that are top priority for you - whether that be your business, your friends, working out, TV, playing video games, etc. You choose your priorities by how you spend your time.

LIVE TODAY WHILE WORKING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW!

What are you doing today to be happy today?
What are you doing today to be happy tomorrow?

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." - Erasmus


Such a true statement for me! My credit card charges consist of grocery stores, restaurants, bookstores, and not much else! :-D

The path to our destination is not always a straight one.

We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back.

Maybe it doesn't matter which road we embark on.

Maybe what matters is that we embark.

Barbara Hall, Northern Exposure, Rosebud, 1993

So let's see, what have I been up to lately....

I've been working at Applause 5-6 days a week. Sales have continued to be high! :-D So far November has been wonderful! I still have so many ideas of stuff I want to do with Applause - a benefit dance, an expo, more involvement with the community, etc. And I'm still trying to find a new Point of Sale system that does everything that I want it to do. I'm also doing bookkeeping for a gas station, and tutoring once in a while.

The main interesting thing that happened recently was my apartment flooding, which I still haven't totally recovered from. My carpet had to get torn up, so all of my belongings were moved into my bathroom and my kitchen (the only two rooms without carpet). My carpet is better now, and I've moved everything out of my bathtub so I can actually take a shower now, but I haven't made the time to move all of my books out of my kitchen yet. It's hard when I don't get home until after 9pm most nights and then I just want to go to bed! :-) But sooner or later I'll get to it, and then I'll remember how nice it is to be able to actually have home-cooked food.

Recently someone asked me to describe myself in less than 75 words,
and this is what I came up with about a minute and a half ...


I will make this world a better place with my
actions.  Dance, math, & psychology will always be a
part of my life.  I believe in living a life that
makes you happy while still making conscious, informed
decisions about your future.  I love children,
waterfalls, and an open dance floor.  I am always
learning, always looking for more and new information
& opportunities.  I love to understand!

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

~ Leo Buscaglia

VISUALIZE THEN ACTUALIZE YOUR SUCCESS

---

Your mind is your mental workshop.
You can build anything you want in it.

Visualize what you want in your mind.
See it. Feel it. Taste it. Believe in it.
Make your mental blueprint and then begin to build.

First, think about what you want out of life.
The beginning always takes place in your imagination.
Then organize your thoughts into definitive plans.
Next, it's time to transform your thoughts into reality
by taking some positive action.

You can live your dreams.

From YOUR DAILY MOTIVATION
©2005 by Max Steingart
Reproduce freely but maintain © notice

The reason so few people are successful is no one has yet found a way for someone to sit down and slide uphill.

-W. Clement Stone

Without ambition, one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it yourself!




Here's to starting and finishing - to getting everything done! I'm off to get a ton of stuff done today! :-)