Chasing my Dreams!

#115. Write a Book – In my own way!

Today I received something in the post, which took my breath away – an actual ‘paper’ book I created through a ‘Photo gift’ site – (Snapfish – you upload your photos to the site, and you can create any number of awesome gift ideas/stationery/useful items, with your photos on them).  I decided to compile a photo from each of my ‘2012 ticks’, and create them into a photo book (courtesy of a voucher I had emailled to me, from the site).  It wasnt going to cost me anything, so I thought ‘why not?’  But…I had no idea how excited I was going to feel, once I knew that the book was on its way! I didnt intend to tick off ‘Write a Book’ with this (truth be known, it didnt even cross my mind!)…until the day I knew that it was going to arrive.  I knew that this book was, when I received it, going to mean something very special to me, and so I thought…why not connect it to my List? 🙂  Sure, I didnt ‘write’ the book, its not going to be a bestseller, its not for sale..and it may remain a once-off…but I did decide to create it, I placed the photos into it, with the captions, and I got it ‘published’….the book tells the story of my life in 2012, from the cover right through to the back page.  Just like ‘regular’ books tell a story – well this certainly does! 🙂

Collage of photos from my book….

When I received it….wow…the pride I felt when I saw the front cover was just amazing to feel!  Looking through each page, knowing that *I* was the one who created this ‘life story’, of what happened during ‘my 2012’…what a feeling! 🙂  With this book in my hands, I knew right then that this could become a useful ‘tool’ in my Chasing my Dreams journey – I could use it in any future motivational talks which may come my way, I could use it to promote ‘what I do’ when Im out fundraising for charity etc…this book puts into pictures (and words!) exactly what I now choose to do with my life.  This little book has opened up my mind to so many more possibilities of where this little journey of mine could very well go.  Awesome!!

My website is ‘my book’ – but the satisfaction of having this book I created, actually in my hands – I can pick it up, look through it, and know that this is MY life, right in front of me – such a brilliant feeling…

Anything is Possible….when you choose to achieve..in your own way!

#68. Do a ‘Photo a Day’ Challenge – the beginning!

I’m starting the new year off on a creative, fun note! 🙂

I didnt really have any plans to ‘make something happen’ from my List on January  1, 2013…but, as was the pattern throughout most of 2012, of opportunities showing themselves around every corner – I logged into Facebook on the morning of January 1 and there it was…..an opportunity right in front of me!  A ‘themed’ creative Challenge!  I’d been thinking of joining in with a group of people (I had no idea where or who, though!) to do some kind of creative/photo ‘monthly challenge’, and here it was…awesome! 🙂

(click on the image to expand it).

Do you have ‘Be creative/Blog/Take a photo a day’ as something you’d like to do in your life…perhaps its on your own bucket list?
Heres your chance..info is here: http://justbaustralia.com.au/be-creative/creative-a-month-of-moments-24239/, of how to join in with us!

I’d attempted to tick this off the List in 2012 – my 2012 Challenge was a personal one, doing it by myself…and it was going to be for the entire year.  But…after the camera breaking and me being without it for 6 weeks, and then my mind becoming seriously tunnel-focussed for my Fundraiser Event – by the time April came around, the Photo Challenge had lost its magic – it had become a chore for me.  It was no longer fun, or inspiring, to do it – at the beginning (before my mind became so focussed with the Event), I was really enjoying taking time out of every day, looking…really seeing, my world around me, spotting something in my surroundings that I would be able to capture, in a creative way…or something which inspired me.  So as I had lost this feeling, it was “Mission Aborted”.

At first I felt like I was ‘giving up’ on myself and something I had set myself to do – I dont simply ‘give up’, its not in my DNA…haha….but, life has funny ways of working out sometimes – if I had tried to continue juggling the Challenge, with the physical/mental intense focus of bringing my Event together, I know that my photos would have just meant nothing as I would have just done them ‘for the sake of doing a photo every day’.  And that wasnt the point of it..

Heres a compilation of the photos I did take during ‘Photo Challenge 2012’…

(Click on image to view photo compilation video)

Oh, and as for ‘Challenge 2013’ – Jan 1 is ‘Brand New’….I cant wait to look back at the end of the month, and see what inspired me to take each shot!

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Anything is Possible….when you are inspired to create and achieve!