Update!

Hello Everyone!

It's been a very long time since I have visited this blog.

Thank you for everyone who still requests to use my materials in 2017!

I have some really EXCITING news to share with all my blog viewers...

This might come as a surprise to a lot of people and even I am still putting it all together in my mind.

I am opening a child care centre and school of arts with my colleague!

We will be called...*drum roll*

"WOLO School Of Arts & Flexible Child Care Learning Centre"

I have been working on this project since 2014, but the full vision came to me in January of 2013. However, 10 years ago I already thought about one day building a school...somewhere.

Wow, the journey to get to this point has been very long and inspiring. I do really want to share this part of the journey really soon...before I forget how it started and how I got here. It has been a very humbling, overwhelming, and inspiring experience. I think back at how I was able to suspend all beliefs for several years...believing and never giving up. Not even the thought of it...and now I feel like my brain is wired for finding positive connections and meanings in life. It is almost as if I trained myself to just keep going. I feel like I might have always been like this as a child. Any problems? No problem. I WILL figure my way out and on my own terms. How stubborn eh? LOL

Now, I feel like I am paying now for my entrepreneur education/tuition but it is not a school. It is real life! I seriously feel it is the best experience...having the ability to do what you love, keep learning, provide value, and also make a living. That's what I strive for...a whole package!

On a side note and a little more story time.

Who I was before we started and who I am now is a completely different person. There are a lot of life events/experiences and beliefs/philosophies of thinking that really pushed me to go for my dreams. I am not going to lie...I work on my projects about 80-90 hours a week. It is what it is if I want to make it happen... Yes, I do teach full-time so I just keep drilling away at it.

I always remind myself...if I am telling kids to follow their dreams and to be yourself. Then you know? I also have to be the change for that belief to be valid. For me, I would never say something unless I believe in it whole heartedly. Now, I am not a perfect person so it's not a never say never kind of thing, but I do really think about how I am and what kind of an effect I can/do have around my kids, families, community, and the world.

To me...another defining time would be going through depression twice over a period of almost 7 years, challenging myself to overcome my fears by taking action and accepting my failures. Yes, I have failed and I died two weeks ago...so life is just like that. Take chances if you believe in your goals and dreams and BELIEVE in your visions and your ability to BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD. This quote guides me...there are many things that I remind myself which guides me and gives me the strength to keep going. It never feels like work but instead feels like I am working on being a better person and finding my value in the world.

This short snippet might not make sense...as imagine condensing 7 years of intense learning and restructuring of my mind and reality. The hardest thing I have ever experienced in my life from my current memory was going through depression. Thinking about it brings back memories of how I kept chipping at it to will myself out of that state of mind. I am not afraid or ashamed to share about this now because I was eventually able to will myself out of it due to intense focus and hard work. Never giving up on myself and always keeping in mind that if I can figure out how to heal myself, then I can, in turn, help others in the future. Now, I see what I meant when I thought of that... I am a huge advocate for mental health. I know how it feels...and I am not going to compare myself to everyone else in the world. I just know that...when you hit rock bottom. You have two choices: Stay for awhile...maybe forever OR keep chipping away and believing that you will overcome it. I have been in both and I think this part of me...and just going for your dreams without focusing too much on what everyone thinks is how I am going to keep growing.

I LOVE what I do. I LIVE it. I BREATHE it. I DREAM it.

I know I am just at the beginning of my new project but I want to create memories to remind myself of this humbling time...and to remind myself that I did not get here by a stroke of luck. I hustled and am still hustling. I work hard and while many people may be sleeping...I am up working on my dreams and goals. Why do I have so much courage? Because of many life experiences and because I want to challenge myself to create something out of nothing. To create something out of nothing is to me...fundamentally the core of human experience. To create something out of nothing while being ourselves...just another form of artistic expression of oneself. I practice every day on how to be a better person and I also practice every day to be mindful of what I say and do. I am inspired by my students and families...but I am so extremely thankful and appreciative of my friends, family, partners, mentors, and just everyone in and not in my life anyone.

I wanted to stay professional and keep it simple. But, you know it's not me if I keep things quiet. There is nothing humbling about keeping things quiet if I can inspire or help others to be their best self. People harshly judge the ego but sometimes the ego can have the desire to make the world/community a better place. Before we judge others, it's best to just work on ourselves. In the end, we all die. I know because I almost died 2 weeks ago...and that near death experience has now made me even MORE inspired to share more.

Can you imagine that in 2013, I was deadly afraid of sharing anything about myself (besides teaching) to an online audience/clientele? A lot has changed...

If there's one thing that I can suggest everyone do this year...that is to DO ONE THING that is out of your reality. It is not going to happen instantly but plans for it and get help with it. ACTION is the only reason why things happen in one's life. And if your actions are INTENTIONAL than you will always know that you did it on your OWN TERMS and that you are the change you wish to be in this world. No leader will ever be able to take about your own inner EMPOWERMENT and it is through consistent EFFORTS to trust and believe that the world becomes a better place.

If you have read this far, then you are indeed already in the same energy or seeking a similar energy. Best of luck and I am happy to share more if required.

NOTE: I am not editing grammar. I just don't care for this blog nor do I care if you have issues with it. My thoughts, my words, and my life. No, I cannot be bothered.

NOTE 2: I just re-read and I am not making changes. However, I noticed I wrote I died two weeks ago...in some way, this is a very profound thought/experience. Of course, I did not physically die but it seems to me almost like a real life metaphor/analogy of many things. At that point, I really experienced what I felt like to be near death experience. Time slows down and I was able to have thoughts...while also observing the reality that I would die at that moment. I was the most CALM I have ever been... I wondered if our body knows that when we are about to die, a release of serotonin or some chemical perhaps fills our body? I was so at peace. Then suddenly, that reality of death was averted and I was in shock/numb.  I did not freak out or make a peep. So, in one reality...I did die or I would have got seriously injured which would seriously impact on what I am doing now. But, in this current reality, I did not and the death experience was averted. There is a story behind this story...but still I think anytime you meet death, it changes your life. Almost like another layer of yourself gets unraveled and you just don't care anymore. Any moment you can die...and if I don't be myself and live my dreams or at least GO for it then I just am not being my true self. I guess more clarification was required for this post on that topic.