I am a Butler Bag fan!  I just got mine the other week and am loving it.

And I love when everyday things come with important lessons.

First off, though, let’s talk about this awesome bag!  With it’s seven compartments, I’m able to store and (most importantly) retrieve all my necessities when I’m on the go.  There’s a spot for my keys, my pens and little notebook that I carry around with me for when inspiration strikes, my business cards, my phone, my camera, a book and my water bottle.  My odd-size brochures even fit perfectly in the side pocket!

I discovered that despite having a great organizing tool, if I still carry too much crap with me, I won’t be able to find what I’m looking for.  What a wonderful metaphor for life.  I went to a workshop last weekend and loaded my bag with lots of additional goodies.  I was overwhelmed by all my stuff and found myself doing the old diggin’ in the purse thing again literally and figuratively.

In the workshop, I found myself getting antsy, feeling like I had more to-do’s to take care of but couldn’t while I was there.  I had piled on just one too many things on my already full life.  I thought about the Yamas and Niyamas.  I thought about saucha (cleanliness) and staya (truthfulness).  I thought about the Four-Fold Way (which we just covered in the class):

1. Show up
2. Pay attention to what has heart and meaning
3. Tell your truth without blame or judgment
4. Be open to the outcome

So, to honor having order and purity in my life and to practice speaking my truth, I made the difficult choice to not continue with this class.  I was almost going to just not go the second day, and then I was reminded of the first step in the Four-Fold Way.  Show up.  Once there, I let the other steps guide me.  I noticed what had heart and meaning for me - the delight in knowing that I’m on my way with developing my creative products, meaningful connections with like-minded people and the plethora of opportunities that seem possible on a beautiful, clear day.  The hardest step for me was to speak my truth and to do so without blame or judgment.  And yet, by simply naming where I was at, I was met with understanding and total support.  What a relief to know that by staying true to myself, I was still able to maintain valuable relationships and take away valuable learning.  I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome!

My big lessons in this are to honor what is true to me, to focus on those key things and to be willing to eliminate distractions.

What can you do to lighten your load?  And how can you practice the Four-Fold way in your life right now?

My second interview on the J.O.B. radio show aired tonight.  Since I was a featured coach in “The Girl’s Guide to Kicking Your Career Into Gear,” Larry quizzed me on the differences between how men and women approach their careers.

Larry even asked a bit about the Right-Brain Business Plan and musepreneurs - this guy does his homework!  Oh, and speaking of musepreneurs, my article 10 tips for the creative entrepreneur is on the Ladies Who Launch site, so please check it out.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon at the Creative Action Center with my friend and fellow Lady Launcher Laura Parker.  Given the busy week I had, it was really nice to just hang out, create and connect.

Last month when I took Kimberly Wilson’s Yoga and Creativity workshop, Kimberly highlighted the yamas and niyamas.  We studied them during my yoga teacher training, but I appreciated the refresher since I have such a hard time remembering the Sanskrit words.  So, I created two pieces to stay connected to these spiritual guidelines.

Yamas are ethical observations or how we interact with our outer world.  The five yamas include:

• Ahimsa - nonviolence
• Satya - truthfulness
• Asteya - non-stealing
• Brahmacharya - moderation
• Aparigraha - greedlessness

Niyamas are self observations or how we interact with ourselves in our inner world.  The five niyamas are:

• Shaucha - cleanliness
• Samtosha - contentment
• Tapas - fiery discipline
• Swadhyaya - self-study
• Ishwara-Pranidhana - devotion to the universal

This week I’ll be focusing on Samtosha (being grateful for what I have) and Tapas (to keep me on track with my goals).  I invite you to pick one or two of these teachings to play with this week, too.  Namaste.

This week is Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.  I, like many others who watched Jaws at a tender age, am scared to death of sharks.  In honor of Shark Week, Larry Olson of the J.O.B. radio dedicated a whole show to this theme.  So, I dove into the waters of radio once again, this time being interviewed by Larry on leadership and how to swim with sharks in the office space.

For some reason, Plaxo thought today was my birthday.  Colleagues sent me birthday wishes and e-cards.  It was pretty cool to have an extended celebration!  My actual birthday was on Tuesday.  I enjoyed my day by taking the afternoon off, hanging out with my friend Kate (who gave me the lovely orchid pictured above), going to yoga, having a white chocolate dream at Bittersweet and then Brian took me out for a nice dinner in Berkeley.  I also started off my b-day by writing what I’m grateful for on a card for my blessings box and what I hope for the coming year on another card for my wish box.

What I loved about getting the second round of birthday wishes on my unbirthday is that it reminded me of something one of the leaders in my leadership program talked about.  He mentioned that growth is the process of constantly being shattered and reborn.  So in effect, everyday and every moment is our birthday.  At any given instant, we have the opportunity to shed the old and embrace the new.   So, Happy Birthday to you, too!