Judith Kerr died but the inspiration lives.

Just a quick note to say that Judith Kerr died. She is the woman I talked about in my New Year’s Day post. She was interviewed about her creative work at the Savoy at the age of 95, by the Guardian.

I thought about looking to find out more about her life, but in the end I decided against that. I know enough. I know all I need to know to set my own goals and design my own path.

She said she worked every morning, so she didn’t feel the day was wasted. I respect that. Especially for an accomplished woman at her age. I want to be such a person. And I want to be interviewed at the Savoy at 95.

So all I have to do now is fill that space between now and then with something worthy of an interview. And I have to keep myself fit and strong to reach that age and be able to work and go to the Savoy.

Any ideas? What is your dream? What is your goal?

Goodbye Judith Kerr!

Inspiration needed – let’s try again

I was amazed to see how many people responded to my previous post about needing inspiration in order to try again. I guess a lot of people just need reassurance that it’s OK to fail and restart.

All the truly successful people admit it. You can read it in the small letters. Journalists will never publish a heading saying ‘He / She failed and failed again and finally did it’. We never read what happened behind the scenes. The effort, the hard work, the mistakes, the patience, the perseverance. Unless we look for it.

I decided to start looking for it. To keep looking for the real story, the whole story. The latest quote on my screen reads:

Your life isn’t about a big break. It’s about taking one significant life-transforming step at a time.

Oprah

And it is true. For Oprah and so many others. J. K. Rowling – the author of Harry Potter – is a personal favourite of mine. According to her own words, she was as poor as one can get in modern day Britain without being homeless. And then she wrote the first Harry Potter book and 12 publishing houses turned it down. The 13th decided to give it a try. You know what happened next.

Imagine having 12 professionals – in whatever field – telling you NO, the one after the other. And persevering. It is easy to say it was worth it looking back. Looking forward we are unable to see the end. The end is not there yet. The end is being written by us. It is being created by our actions.

Looking forward we cannot connect the dots. We just have to keep trying. Have faith. Never stop. Place the dots. And one day we can look back and connect them. See the path.

What do you think? Do let me know in a reply.

Thank you

Do you need inspiration to try again?

You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water

Quote by Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time!

Thomas A. Edison

So I guess, we just have to try one more time. It’s not over until we say it is. Do you agree? Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Reportedly he failed time and time again before arriving at a successful result.

I believe trying one more time is easy. Waiting patiently is difficult. What if it never happens? And so we arrive at the question of faith.

You must have faith it will happen. We all must have faith.

Thank you so much for giving me faith!

My Inspiration for 2019: Judith Kerr

A creative woman at the age of 95

Most of this post is an excerpt from my Diary, from the pages where I tell myself how to plan my future. New Year’s Day post is dedicated to true role models and genuine inspiration.

A few days ago, I read one of the most inspiring articles ever. The interview of a lady at 95 who still writes or draws for two hours every morning so that she feels that the day “isn’t wasted”! I love Judith Kerr. She’s lived a creative life and continues to do so. She walks to the river for inspiration, she enjoys wonderful meals at the Savoy. Clearly, she has a mindset of usefulness and productivity. And she started writing and drawing in her forties. Which is excellent. Which means I can do this too.

That is what I dream of for myself. A full life where I forever create something useful, have a distinct reason for waking up every morning and lead an interesting life. She is active and alert and optimistic and quality driven. That is my role model. A 95 years old lady who still produces work and eats lobster at the Savoy while being interviewed for the Guardian. 

I love her energy, and the fact that she is happy about her grandchildren living in Rome, because that gives her an excuse to go to Rome. She loves that when they come to London they are excited about visiting places. I love her spirit, her mindset, her point of view. I love that she is alive and finds sincere and deep beauty in everything.

I want to become such a woman. A creative person, in peace with myself, in peace with my creativity and my desire to be useful. So, I too want to create something beautiful, and useful and interesting. I want to be that person that is calm and creative and respected and enjoys life and actively creates beauty! A person that has something to contribute to the world.

I’m so excited about Judith Kerr. That she exists is testament that I can make my dreams come true. That it is possible and feasible and real. I know it isn’t going to be easy. I don’t want it to be easy.

I wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR full of LOVE and INSPIRATION!

I’d love to read about your inspiration. Send me a reply and let me know.

How to inspire a teenager. Any ideas?

Well, I need some ideas for teenager inspiration. Can you help?

Life is full of surprises, we know that by now. And one thing is absolutely certain, that things change! As I was growing up, I used to think nothing would ever really change. I don’t know why I believed that so firmly.

About a decade ago, the dialing codes in my area were changed. When I first heard of that, I thought it was impossible. How could the telecommunications company change all those numbers? I thought the numbers  would simply stay the same. Needles to say that the numbers did change; at least twice since then. I was so surprised when this first happened. And I was also surprised when Internet arrived at my house. I still remember the sound of the connection the modem made. Loud and strange and it clearly signified that something new was arriving in the room. Obviously I also thought that the mobile phone idea would never catch on…

Today I am a huge fun of connectivity and new technology. I love learning about all the new things that are entering our lives like Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning and Big Data and Internet of Things and so much more. I love all that. I love the tools they provide for change. Because change is here. It always was, and it always will be. I know that now, and I welcome it.

 My only concern is that my children, and all the children, appreciate what is happening. It is important they know that things change, and they need to be ready for it. Strong and prepared and actually looking forward to changing. Not in a bad way but in an exciting way.

And that is why I need your help! How do we motivate them? How do we explain the necessity for readiness? I strongly believe that they need to be inspired, to fall in love with the prospects of our times.

They can instantly communicate with everybody everywhere and learn and play and share and participate. How do we inspire them to enjoy that and not take it for granted? To live their life to the fullest? How do we inspire them to learn, and then learn some more so that they can play an active part in forming their future?

I so want them to be in charge of their lives. To be ready and strong and decisive. To claim their identity, their autonomy, their dreams. No limits, no restrictions in terms of growth and development. Oh, I so want children to grow strong and powerful. To know that it’s up to them to build the person they want to be. To know that they can, and they must. To know that this is their privilege and their destiny. To claim the power to determine their choices, use their successes and their failures to pave their path to their happiness.

Any ideas?

Things I wish my mother had told me. Thoughts on the book.

Book Review: Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me, Lessons in Grace and Elegance by Lucia Van Der Post. John Murray Publishers, UK, London 2008.

I chose to write about this book because of its title. The mention of My Mother brings to mind so many things… Personal things I wished my mother had told me years ago, and most importantly, things I have to say to my daughters! This is going to be a review with that in mind.

Lucia Van Der Post is an associate editor of the Financial Times’s How to Spent it magazine, and has also written for the New Statesman, Departures and many others. She writes about style and luxury and has a devoted audience.

Inside  the Book

The book covers a variety of themes such as: How to Wear Clothes; How to look Good; Love, Marriage and Happiness; Perfect Presents; Fun and Games. Her Lessons in Grace and Elegance derive from personal experience and are solidified by her proven reputation as lifestyle writer. She offers valuable advice such as a list entailing what is worth spending money on. There is also her “golden rules” for shopping at the sales. Her advise is timeless and it extends beyond dressing elegantly and looking smart. She also offers insights into being a good host, a stylish professional and a delightful friend.

Going back to the title, there is clearly a positive message. You don’t have to worry about the things your mother didn’t tell you; you will find everything in here! And you do find everything in there.

What do I tell my daughters?

I think this book is practical rather than inspirational; it does cover everything in a very comprehensive way. More importantly, this book made me think about my role as a mother. It made me think about all the things I have to tell my daughters. It made me realize that I’m not here to teach them the basics and remind them to do their homework. My role is a lot more complex than that. It is equally important that they know how to take good care of themselves, how to manage their life, their manners, their feminine questions and aspirations. I’m not sure how much help I actually got from this book, but the title stayed with me over the years and made me feel more responsible as a mother. I hope I will be able to teach them how to determine their unique identity, how to define their personal look, how to set their priorities and lead their lives in a balanced way. Elegance and style included!

I would love to read your thoughts on this. As a mother what do I need to tell to my daughters? What would be the most important lesson? How do I teach them without being overbearing? Any ideas?

 

 

Hello world!

 

How are you? I’m happy to be here, talking to you.

Let’s open our window to the world! Let fresh air come in and the sun warm our faces. I am grateful for being here with you. There is so much to talk about, to share.

Recently, I learned so many things that enable me to communicate with you. I learned to write online ethically, to use colours and headings, and pictures, and tags. I am able to understand this world a bit better now and appreciate that there is so much more to learn.

I also realised that our creativity is endless. Inspiration can be found, we just have to look for it. Inspiration enables us convey our feeling, our message. It is so beautiful to find new interesting ways to express your voice. And it’s nice to get heard. And receive a response.

I would love it, if you were to reply to me with your thoughts. Whether you agree with me or not I’d love to hear it. Finding balance between opposites is my thing. Sometimes we have to choose, sometimes we can have both, sometimes we compromise. In any case inspiration makes this all the more interesting.

We have so many responsibilities at work and at home. By sharing our stories we can make our lives better; slightly better tomorrow and even better the day after.

I’d love to talk about things we care about. Things like finding inspiration and beauty in everyday life. Fully aware that both are easily lost in the hectic rhythms of our lives.

Dear world, before saying goodbye I would like to say how grateful I am to be celebrating my online presence today. Our human desire to connect and share our stories is powerful and amazing. An honest and intimate voice is so loved. I hope we can be friends.

All the best!

One year from today

 

This is a post about wishful thinking. Or is it about setting goals? It can be about dreaming, but it can also be about development.

Inevitably one has to accept that the two are linked, and I guess writing this post I will address both.

Let’s start with dreams. One year from today I wish to be your friend. I wish there is honesty and intimacy in our relationship, and you enjoy reading this blog. I would love to be able to devote all of my time to this and develop a useful platform for us.

On a more practical note, one year from now I want my writing to be crisp, fresh and appealing. I want to cultivate my ability to connect. Posting regularly for a year entails a lot of practice, lots of trials and errors. Hopefully a year later I will have had plenty of feedback for my improvement. My steps will be more steady and my voice more precise.

I just wish I keep getting better. So my goal for next year is a magical number of readers that will make this real.

A year from today I will be a lot more knowledgeable and experienced. Probably gone through some failures and difficulties along the way too. I’m trying to be realistic here!

And I do plan to call upon my creativity and imagination. Put them to work to prove their existence and their depth. I do believe inspiration is all around us – so it’s time to find it!

Finally, I want to make a promise. One year from today I will still be here, posting and sharing. This day next year the post will be titled One year later. In it I go back, retrace my steps and talk to you about my successes and my failures. That will be interesting!

Until next time!