Your Fab VA - A Virtual Assistance Company

A friend of mine forwarded this to me.  I think it is worth sharing here - I wish I could give attribution to whomever authored this.  Whoever you are, thanks for the wisdom!  And to our Chinese friends, kung hei fat choi!

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to __________ today..’
5. Live with the 3 E’s:  Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.
7. Make time to practice meditation, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 80 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least five people smile each day - including yourself!
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.
18. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good. 
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
26. Forgive everyone for everything - including yourself.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. REMEMBER GOD heals everything.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch…
31. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
33. The best is yet to come.
34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
35. Do the right thing!
36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!)
37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
40. Share this with everyone you care about….I just did. May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing but happiness come through your door!  

Stay fabulous, everyone!

Jocelyn

Thought I’d share this tidbit from Michelle Cederberg. 

It’s been a busy day and am grateful for the wonderful blessings that I continually receive from all around. 

Remember to keep your eye on the prize…

Stay fabulous!

Jocelyn

“Failure isn’t failing at the project at hand.  Failure is giving up on yourself.”

 ~ Donna deVerona 

Any task is surmountable as long as you have the guts to keep at it.  Life is full of obstacles and challenges that the successful individual will continually knock down or climb over.  Failure is coming onto a road block and sitting down beside it without figuring a way past.  You may think you’re the only one who gets inundated with hardships, but the truth is those who seemingly breeze through life still face difficulties.  They’ve simply found a way to turn them into opportunities.  They don’t see the wall.  They see the possibilities on the other side.  That’s triumph! 

Good morning Tuesday, everyone!

We’ve all heard of the rule in the kitchen mise en place.  As a VA, I always try to find means and ways to stay organized. It kinda makes me feel good when things are where they are supposed to be.  It’s also a way to appease the control-freak in me!  Most importantly, it frees up my mind from having to remember where I filed something or what I need to do on a certain date.  When paper is piling up, I definitely know that I’m due to spend some quality time with my paper shredder

Here’s a few tips that I hope will help you in your own organizational challenges:

1. Sort out your thoughts before you start tackling clutter.  Know what it is that you need and be ready to let go of the things that you don’t need.
2. Be ruthless about what you keep and what you should throw away.  Have I used this in the past six months?  If not, let it go!
3. Be creative - use colored folders to classify your files.  Create folders in your inbox so that you can file opened messages in their respective folders.  Keep your inbox clean and up-to-date. 
4. Sort it, file it! There’s no point to keeping it all color-coded if it doesn’t make it to the filing cabinet.  One of the main reasons for desk clutter is not putting things back in its place right after using it.
5. Be very clear of what is URGENT vs. IMPORTANT.  We tend to fall behind and get disorganized due to these. 
6. Lastly, KISS!  Keep It Simple, Sassy!  Come up with systems that complement your style.  If your current system works, stick with it!

Being organized is not really hard.  So get rid of clutter, time-wasters and unproductive habits. 

Remember:  FREEDOM is SIMPLICITY

Stay fabulous, everyone!

Happy New Year, everyone!

OK - well, not quite new anymore.  My apologies for neglecting to post.  I have made a conscious decision to post if not regularly at least once a week.  We’ll see where this will take me

It’s usually at the beginning of a new year that we all create resolutions.  A friend of mine asked me what is my resolution for 2009.  My answer - NONE.  Over the years I have made various resolutions that lasted only for a few weeks.  It is sad - but I have also learned that resolutions don’t always work for everybody.  So, I am expressing my intentions - YES! 

Intentions are better.  I bring it out to the universe what it is that I truly, honestly would like to accomplish.  I am constantly reminded about my purpose.  For 2009, my intention is to be the change.  I reminded myself that the world will be a better place to live in if the change that I look for in others begins with me.  So here’s a shortlist of the things that I know I could improve on: 

1. I will not whine or complain about not having enough but instead be grateful for what I do have. 
2. I will no longer spend time on projects that I do not like but instead seek out more creative and meaningful work.  
3. I will not tolerate people and stick with relationships that do not work.
4. I will free myself from unhealthy habits and will make an effort to improve my health before it bottoms out!

 So what’s your intention for 2009?  Would love to hear all about it…

Stay fabulous, everyone!

My, time does fly!  I’ve been snowed and haven’t had a chance to blog.  

OK this might sound like a lame excuse for those of you out there that came to this world with the blogging gene.  I, however, am more into micro-blogging i.e. Twitter.  And so, I have made Blogging as one of my New Year’s Resolutions.  I would love to hear your thoughts on what you’d like to read more about - let me know! 

And yes, November was a great month for me.  My VANA community awarded me with the VAccolade Business Entrepreneur Award for the week of November 23rd.  And here is a press release that talks about this award.

By the way, have you written your cards yet? If you are as busy as I am you may want to check out SendOutCards. It’s a great tool to stay in touch with personal and business contacts.  And most of all, it is all created in the comfort of your computer.  No lining up in the card shops and the post office - check it out! cards.yourfabva.com

There are a lot of exciting initiatives that I am currently working on - projects that I’ve lined up for 2009. Stay tuned and do drop me a line and let me know your thoughts.  In the meantime, enjoy the season and don’t forget to share the love with family, friends and with your community.

Blessings, everyone! 

Good morning!  It’s a glorious day here in Toronto and I just can’t help but feel really grateful for today.  I was tired last night and didn’t really have the energy to stay up late to watch the final moments of the  2008 US Election Day.  And today, I thought I’d post the Acceptance speech of the newly-elect US President Barack Obama.

I’ll be very interested as to how fast the transition will be.  What would be his first agenda?  The economy?  The war on terrorism?  Healthcare?  Whatever it is, Obama’s rise to the US Presidency goes to show that there is power in the use of Social Media.  And most important of all, America has “matured” as a voter and has gone beyond racial issues that has been such a huge part of the electoral campaign.  Congratulations, America!

The Free World has finally awaken to new beginnings.  Be nice~the world is watching   Blessings, everyone!

Hi everyone!

Today’s quite a historic day - today the Free World cast their ballots to vote for their new President.  Lots of actions all-around and then of course, I stumble upon this great article from Mashable.com ~ enjoy!

10 Ways to Make Press Releases More SEO Friendly

Posted using ShareThis

Growing up in the Manila, Philippines, I have witnessed how hard and impoverished life is.  It is so bad we have Smokey Mountain to show for it.  People literally lived in the landfill and sustain their livelihood picking on garbage for EVERYTHING – for the boards that would form part of their makeshift homes, clothing to cover them up with and any food and drink that they can salvage out of the garbage which they will call their meal for the day.

You think you are having it rough?  Think again!

It makes me sick to think that in this day and age when the world has achieved and evolved, that we are still fighting the same societal problems from long ago.  In my honest opinion, poverty is a result of greed, corruption and plain disregard towards others.  I think that a concerted effort to eradicate poverty is achievable.  We just need to make this collective decision and be more aware about it in our daily lives.  

I know it is hard to do this as we go on our lives.  But think about other people who just wish “if only they can make it their next meal….”  Let us do our share in helping bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.  Our world is governed by a variety of policy makers.  Let’s make sure that we pick and choose the ones that will take poverty to heart.  We as citizens of the world are empowered to do so.  Let us be the change that we want to be in this world!      

Yesterday was Election Day in Canada.  Election Day gives me the thrills.  I think it is primarily because in my lifetime, I’ve only experienced and participated in a handful of elections.  It’s a shame because our voter turnout in Canada was not that great.I was born during the Martial Law era under the Marcos regime.  I have always been an active participant in my community.  I joined various civic organizations.  I was there during the EDSA Revolution. 

Where am I going with all these?  This is a shout-out to everyone out there who does not think that his/her vote does not count.  Because it does.  It is time that we empower ourselves and fight poverty as a collective.  Let your voice be heard.

We have all been impoverished with the recent hit on the World Markets.  And more or less, we have a taste of what it is like to be “poor”.  Before you start feeling sorry for yourself and start counting all your losses, think again.  And think LONG and HARD.  How bad could it be?     

Today, Blog Action Day 2008 I will donate my day’s earnings to my local church in support of the needy.  Today, am grateful for all the bountiful blessings I have received in my lifetime.

Watch this and you’ll get what I mean.  Special credit goes to pinoyatheist for this video I stumbled upon YouTube. 

Blessings everyone!” />

Hi everyone!

Would like to share this with you all out there.  Looking forward to a productive and inspiring week ahead of us all.  Thanks to Michelle Cederberg for our Tuesday Inspiration. 

Blessings, everyone!

“While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us.”

~ Ben Franklin   

So the world around you seems to be crumbling … what can you do but take care of you?  When life gets stressful, we usually drop healthful practices like nutrition, sleep, and exercise to fight the fires, and come out at the end all battle weary to boot.   When busy hits, the best thing you can do is fire up your self care.  Ensure you’re eating regularly and healthfully.  Make sure you’re getting fresh air and exercise daily.  Even fifteen minutes will make a difference. Instead of cramming in ‘to do’, go to bed a half hour earlier and top up on rest.  Restoration and self-care will not only make you feel energized, but it will give you back a feeling of control.  Who better to focus that energy on but you?  

Michelle Cederberg MKin, CEP, Professional Speaker