I wanted to first say Thank You from Azile’s Journeys for kindly taking an interest.  Second, I wanted to applaud your willingness to engage in this conversation.  I believe that many people do want change in the world. Thirdly, I received a tremendous amount of responses, so many that I cannot keep up.  I would love to accept every comment out of this belief in the goodness of people.  Over time I chose to not accept the majority of the comments.  Why, you ask?

1.         I rejected duplicate canned responses.  You will see them from time to time on the site and have a good laugh.  You have no idea how many people use the same message over and over again.  Or should I say “bots”?

2.         Whatever your endeavors are, they are of course important to you.  You may have affiliated yourself with the wrong site though.

3.         Parameters.  Occasionally I stretched these for various reasons.  Some people left beautiful comments and I wanted to reward a well-written message.  Other times I decided to lend a helping hand.  I felt very disappointed that I could not accept the majority of the replies.  However my head overruled my heart.  These messages came linked to medication, online gambling or other undesirable topics.   In other cases I received ads from 30 or more people for the same business.   If someone left a message attached to an unclear site I didn’t accept it.  This presents problems at times for people in other countries if the translation is bad.  Having lived abroad I understand how difficult it is to learn a second language and don’t want to create a barrier in this regard.  However I should be able to understand the message of the blog or site even with the language barrier.  If not, a good human translation is needed.  In some situations I made mistakes.  So as a consumer, please make educated decisions in regards to sites sometimes linked here.

4.         Answers to Questions.  The same questions, like comments, are asked repeatedly.  Instead of answering them 10 times, feel free to search the replies and/or headings pages where you should find the info you desire.

A.        Sources.   I draw from my life experiences, work, countless hobbies and various adventures.  I have spent more than half my life working with people to empower them.  I write with a pen name so that I may be able to write more freely.  Everything I write about is true.

B.        Spelling.  There have been comments about the site being “rife” with spelling errors.  I do take pride in spelling so I am thinking that the person(s) that left these comments never read through the site in its entirety and therefore didn’t “realize” that I created a special word “Re-A-Zile” to illustrate a point.  So in some cases I mean rea-ziling, not rea-lizing.  And in other cases, I mean the latter.   And then again, maybe someone found some spelling errors that I cannot see.

C.        Motivation.  My motivation is to encourage others to own their own power.  If I had a dollar for every time someone said they could not do something, I would be a wealthy woman, people who have two, three or five times the amount of money I have.  Stop letting fear control you; start living more; start celebrating more.  Expect more out of life; your job.  Create more with your life.  Bad things happen to people, sometimes life is not fair, but it is about choosing to switch the focus onto what is good and real.  And moving to the other side, the side where joy abounds.

D.        User Experience.  I hope to be able to improve this for people if you bear with me as this is a labor of love.  They say that good things are worth waiting for; I hope it will be worth the wait.

So Thank You from Azile’s Journeys for your kind comments but I am more interested in hearing your journeys, your reexamination of your life paths, your stories, than hearing about how you like my blog.  I appreciate the kindness but IT IS TIME FOR SOMETHING MORE!

Azile

P.S. Part II is coming

Ask yourself the next time something bad happens “It is the end or beginning on this Date?” for Azile’s Journeys.  For example one April 15th, my world dropped out from under me.  When it happened so unexpectedly, I found it very hard to pick myself up again.  One year later to the date I realized that April 15^th signified rebirth when I unexpectedly purchased my second home.

Where were you on 12-12-12?  I was working and halfway through the day when I realized that magical date. I celebrated it two different ways, one knowingly and the other unknowingly.   I called my best friend after work and she immediately got it!  She agreed with me about the significance of that day.  I told her that her son needed to get married and he only had a few hours left.  Her daughter married the year before on 11-11-11 so it was only natural for her son to follow suit.   She completely understood.  We laughed and he remained single.

I found out it was 12-12-12 by accident when I dated a new journal for someone.  She brought a new notebook to record her daily accomplishments since she lacks self-confidence.   Naturally she had trouble starting it so I dated it 12-12-12 and listed five great things.  After writing the date, I squealed with delight stating:  “You began this on a magical day.    It is the end of old habits and the beginning of new ones.  This means that anything is possible!”  We both laughed.

So my partner told me the other day that Friday, December 21, 2012 is when the world is supposed to end.  How long have we been fascinated with the year 2012 and the end of the world?  There was “2012 – End of the World”, “Seeking a Friend for the End of the Year 2012” “2012 Doomsday” a few of the many movies with the same plot line.  Keeping in line with “Is it the End or Beginning on this Date?” for Azile’s Journeys, what will December 21, or December 31, 2012 mean to you?

Could the end of the world signify something other than our physical reality?  Could it relate more to ending a fear-based consciousness?  And with that ending, could we establish a new one based on love?  This means that there are no walls, barriers or religions that separate us.  Could this begin December 22 or January 1 based on whether you think the world is ending or just the year?   When you believe that whatever happens to your neighbor could happen to you, then you act differently.  We feel this connection whenever manmade or natural disasters occur around the world.  But why does it take something of that magnitude to wake us up?  We don’t.  We can choose to live like this on a daily basis.  Since we cannot control others, why not begin by sending out what you would like to receive?  What would that new year/world look like to you?

One glimpse is I drove through McDonald’s the other morning getting a free cup of coffee from the driver ahead of me, the recipient of someone else’s kind gesture.  It made my day.  What can you do for someone else? Can you improve someone’s day with a smile or a kind gesture?  It could be exercising patience when someone screws up.  Or it could be affirming someone for what they do well.   Or it might be forgiving someone.  It is all within our power.  So January 1, 2013 or December 22, 2012, “Is it the end or beginning on this Date?” for Azile’s Journeys or You?

Decisions in Azile’s Journey happened daily or weekly. The author tripled my rate for the next project, however, the timing proved wrong for him.  He kindly referred me to another individual to work with in the meantime.  This referral proved very interesting but I had reservations about the project.  Would it be too large in scope?  Were too many people involved in it?  Would I become an indentured servant?   I expressed my concerns to the referral and the author.

When I didn’t hear back from the referral, I felt sad and frustrated but didn’t dwell on it and instead moved on.  Movement became my ally.  Whenever I felt stuck or negative thinking overran me I worked on increasing my options.  I kept applying for different projects and dabbled in TV commercial writing, video script writing, editing, learning modules, essays, articles, project coordination, etc…   It was absolutely wonderful to be in an arena of full exploration from jingle writing, to encyclopedia editing.  I chose my projects carefully so that I could expand my portfolio with creative tasks I enjoyed.

In addition I leaned towards jobs that would pay me for learning what I needed to know.  One such article might be something like how to attract attention with blogging.   I continued getting paid for information I needed to learn.

There were countless decisions over which project would make sense to do, when to let go and move on and which ones to really go after.  If I could learn something that would benefit me than I would offer my services for a lower fee.  These decisions proved very important for Azile’s journey.  If it was a specialized skillset, then I would hold my ground on my pay.

Decisions in Azile’s Journey kept pointing me back to my own works.  I needed to finish the story of my trip to the Grand Canyon several years earlier recorded via cassette.  That journey was inspired by an inner voice that could not be quelched when it seemed so irrational to do.  Now at this juncture this journey was about doing something transformative.  Meeting the author was one moment.  Working for the author on a second project  (not mentioned) was another moment!  The creative assignments comprised countless other moments.  Finishing the book was a milestone marker.

The next decisions in Azile’s Journey related to taking a sabbatical for two weeks and who I took along with me on that trip.

Azile Hensen

The next life changing moment in Azile’s Journey came earlier than expected.  Azile was not prepared, however, she will always be grateful for it.  My post on Azile’s Journey, An Opportunity or not details the last one.  After that ended, I resumed my original plan of opening myself up to the universe like a Rubik’s Cube.  I doubled my efforts on a global marketplace and bid on several jobs.  I won a writing project that would take me about a month to complete.

If you want to do something different, choose your projects wisely.  I never have agreed with career coaches that point you towards doing more of the same.  If you feel comfortable taking the linear historical route, then by all means continue that path?  However, exploring gives you the opportunity to find extraordinary connections with your life purpose and the possibility of encountering the next life changing moment.

At one point I thought of traveling without working for a short period.  When I set out on this journey I needed to do something transformative to change the sequence of bad events happening.  Because of waiting and not rushing in to “fix” things the options expanded.  I could envision traveling while getting paid for it.  I never thought of this idea before because my mind could not conceive of it.

Imagine if you could visit a place for awhile and then get PAID too?  I signed up for a house sitting service and some opportunities began trickling in.  The Universe was unfolding majestically with continual ideas and options.

In the past I have organized shows from simple to complex.  I learned that the project you undertake teaches you the things you need to know.  You envision the final product date and then work backwards to determine the project’s needs to meet the target date.   If I stopped before I knew everything there was to know, there would have been no school musical, no variety shows, no arrangement of music, no singing performances, no collaboration of music, no film, and no adventure.  Not knowing everything about an endeavor makes you more willing to reach out for help.  You can create a team which shares the same vision, has different levels of expertise and fills in the blanks.

The next life changing moment in Azile’s Journey came after writing a 50-70 page How to eBook.  Azile hadn’t written research papers since college. I thought I would apply experience, interest and passion to write about this subject.  Instead of paying for tuition, I offered my services at below market value.  I heard from others:  “Are you getting paid enough?”  “Are you underselling yourself?”  I responded internally:  “No, I am just doing an apprenticeshop for money” or “I feel fantastic that I can earn money while learning and practising my craft.”  Your mind can create traps that limit your options.  If you truly want to live in this lifetime, you need to be willing to take risk.

I have moved geographically to follow my heart.  I have let go of things at times to move ahead.  When I worked in mental health rehabilitation a common thread in people’s stories was:  holding on too long to people, jobs, outcomes and things they were attached to like a  rope.  That rope could either be a lifeline or a noose if they held on too tightly.  They never knew when to let go.

Important questions to ask yourself about your life path are: “Is my work satisfying to me?”  “Am I giving something back in what I do?”  “Does my work take more from me than I want to give?” “Is it in line with my core values?”  And who is more important in your life?  The things you have or “You, Your Family, Your Friends and Your Health!”

When I accepted the next project of the eBook I had not written something close to this length since college.  It, however, was a stretch within reach.  If you are moving to the next level, you want something that is uncomfortable but not unbearable.  Every large project I ever undertook was broken down into smaller pieces and became more manageable in those states.  Breaking it down took away the overwhelming “fear” of “how”.

I finished a very rough draft version in two weeks and completed a polished version within a month.  Shockingly enough, little changes were made to it.  The next life changing moment in Azile’s journey was being praised by an internationally published author!

Now this was something transformative!

Azile