Confessions Series

I’m afraid to write.

Yes, that’s right. I am afraid to write, and even though this is not my first official confession, I thought I should get it out of the way.

I love writing and at the same time, I’m dead scared of doing it. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I know what I like to read and won’t accept to write anything less than what I would expect to read somewhere else.

Maybe it’s because I don’t know the reaction people will have when they read whatever I write, or maybe it has to do with the many other confessions I’ll be making here in the blog. I don’t know.

A lot of people who don’t know me personally, who only know me through this blog, social networks or even by just seeing me in meetings or church, might have the mistaken idea that I have it all together, that my life is wonderful, that I barely make mistakes or that I am very wise (I don’t know if anyone really thinks that but just in case lol).

Well just like in the movies I write about, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth and that’s why I’ve decided to start these series here in my blog.

I find that it’s easier for me to learn something through a person’s experience. For example, if a friend talks about all her achievements in life and how her life is so different and better from what it was once, I will celebrate and be happy for her and that will end there. But if she tells me her struggles, how hard it was for her, the times she didn’t get it right, I assure you, she will have my undivided attention because that’s the reality of things. That’s what I relate to.

Isn’t that why most people love to watch movies based on true stories? People want something real, something more than just a beautiful, moving story. They want something they can use in their own lives.

I know I’m not perfect and though I truly wish that was the case, I know I don’t get things right a lot of the times. I’ve made many mistakes, I’ve decided wrong many times, I have stood still when I was supposed to get moving and I moved when I was supposed to have done nothing. I’ve had wonderful days and I’ve had evil, dark days. And by sharing my experiences with you, I hope that you may learn something, anything that you can use for your own life.   

It’s impossible to talk about the things I learned without talking about the people who taught them to me, so yes, I will be talking about some of my friends (they don’t know hehehe).

But going back to the beginning, I am afraid to write. To this day, I have written 4 plays, a book and numerous blog posts and I still get butterflies in my stomach every time I know I have to write. Do I feel bad? Shouldn’t I be over this fear already? Yes and yes, but that’s not what matters. What matters is that I write regardless of how I feel. I overcome my fear every time I sit in front of my computer and start typing.

That’s how you overcome fear. Even though 90% of you say you can’t, that you are just not capable, you do it anyway. You don’t wait to feel brave. You act brave and you will soon find out you don’t need to feel anything. You just need to believe.

So stay tuned for my first real Confession next Tuesday. I call that episode in my life: “The kiss of Revelation” O_o

So see you next Tuesday ;)

* In “Kiss of Revelation” I’ll be talking about a friend of mine who without knowing, played a huge part in the start of my change. And although I can’t say her name yet, I think some of you may know her. So here goes a clue… she is beautiful, has long black hair, has a blog of her own and was in one of my recent Instagram pictures. Can you guess who it is?

A Michael Myers kind of frog

          

Everybody knows how easy it is to start something and how difficult it is to finish it.

I’d say that even more difficult than finishing it, is to maintain it they way you want.

This is something I’ve recently realized through the Time Challenge… I’m not good at maintaining certain things. It usually goes like this: I do something and I like to do it well, and when I finish it, I cross it from my to-do list and forget all about it, after all it’s all done and over with :)

Time passes and now I’m totally focused on something else right? I’m working on finishing the next task when suddenly, I look around and there is the frog I just finished eating, very much alive, staring at me as if I had never even touched it!

And that is a big problem when it comes to proper time management, finishing something but not keeping it that way.

It’s just like cleaning your house. You can take a whole day to clean it from top to bottom, to organize everything and leave it the way you like, but then if you don’t keep it organized, next week when you separate a day to clean it again, it will take you the same amount of time to finish it, or even more.

That’s the cycle may people have fallen into. They never have time for other things, they never seem to have spare time for anything new or even to do the most important things they have to, because their current responsibilities and the things they are used to doing takes up all of their time.

Solution? Maintenance. Do something, finish it and work to maintain it that way. If it is cleaning your room, clean it and keep it that way until you have to clean it again. If it is your clothes, wash it, iron it and put them away and keep it organized until you have to do it again. Same with your house, same with everything you start and finish.

This is what I will be working on throughout this month. If you are my partner in the Time Challenge or would like to be, you should as well ;) I will be coming here at the end of each week to tell you (in the comments section) how my “maintenance” is going and I would love, love to hear from you as well.

Remember: A frog when eaten has got to remain dead; otherwise it’s like having a “Michael Myers” kind of frog in your life. No matter how many times you kill it, when you turn around, it is still coming for you O_o 

What is the Time Challenge?

People have been asking on my Facebook Page what’s the Time Challenge all about. So here are a few question and answers to help you understand it better:

What is the Time Challenge?

It is a challenge to help us change or improve the way we manage our time.

How does it work?

The Time Challenge consists of tasks that are sent to all participants every week. The completion of these tasks is monitored by me and the other partners. All participants must strive to complete the task given by the end of each week. Those who don’t will get eliminated from the Challenge by the end of the month.

How did it all start?

Click here to know more.

Are you an expert?

No. I’m just like everyone else who is fighting to do the most they can with the time they have. And just like them, I’m fighting to use my time in a way that allows me to do what I must and what I want.

Who can participate?

Anyone who struggles with time management. All they need to do is register ;)

They have to be ready to be challenged and to persevere until they get the results they want.

How do I register?

Just click here.

We have a new round starting every 3 months. The next will start in September and will be the last one for 2013. So, if you want to participate, hurry! There are only few spots left.

Got more questions about the Challenge?

Ask them in the comments below.

Do what you have to so you can do what you want to

This has been one of the objectives in this Challenge.

There are so many things that require our attention every day, all the time that we forget why we do them.

So a few weeks ago we had a very interesting task in the Time Challenge. All the participants had to choose something they wanted to do to relax and have fun :)

Here’s one of them:

This is Nanda Raissa. She decided to spend some quality time with her twin nieces and watch a movie with them.

It seems like they had fun, doesn’t it?

For more pictures, visit my FACEBOOK PAGE.

Click here ro register for the next round of the Challenge. 

The famous "little list"

“I’m afraid to write my list lol, I have the tendency to leave my responsibilities aside… Having to FACE everything I have to do will not be easy!”

This was a comment left by one of my partners in the new round of the Time Challenge and it spoke to me a lot because it reveals the truth about many of us.

For those of you who don’t know, the first task in the Time Challenge is to make a to-do list and after that, the challenge really begins. But who has never heard of the famous to-do list?

I had heard about and even done it many times but it was not something I did often and do you know why? First of all because writing a to-do list shows your reality, it makes you see everything you have to do and have been postponing for who knows how long.

This list can really be dreadful. Sometimes it seems to work against us because most of the time it shows that we simply don’t have time.

It’s also the list that shows our failures, everything we couldn’t do or didn’t have enough time to do. One look at all those undone items and we can almost hear that voice inside us:

“See? You can’t do it! Look how many things left undone! It’s no use…”

That’s why most people adopt the out-of-sight-out-of-mind method. They prefer to never make the list so that they are never reminded that they failed.

But that’s exactly what we need to do if we want to change the way we manage our time. We need to do like my partner described above, we need to FACE everything we have to do, face the truth about where and in what we’ve been spending our time and see where we need to improve/change.

To face the truth about ourselves is no easy task, but totally necessary if we want to cause any change in our life.

And that’s one way the Time Challenge has been helping us: To see where we need to change and how to go about it. So let’s do something, shall we? Even if you are not taking part in the Time Challenge, try making the list this week. Make a daily list of all the things you have to do. Start with the worst one, the most difficult one or the one you simply don’t want to do. Do not go to the next one until you finish it.

After you finish it, cross out that item and go to second one and so on and so forth. See how you do it :)

So, are you up to the challenge of the list? If yes, come back here at the end of the week and tell us your experience ok? If you do well, maybe… maybe I will post one other task that has been helping us oh so much… let’s see ;)

Time Challenge - New Round

I started this Challenge because I wanted to improve my time management skills and help whoever I could do the same.

But it was when I received this comment on my blog that I understood that this could REALLY help people in many different ways:

"I made my list on Saturday night and yesterday I managed to eat the biggest of all the frogs I had… For about ONE YEAR I wasn’t able to go to church on Sundays but yesterday I was able to wake up when my alarm went off and I went to church. I am soooooooo HAPPY! Let’s go all out… 2013 is going to be a good year! This challenge is a blessing!"    Phaty

I remember one time in my life when I too was overwhelmed with too many things to do and didn’t know what to do or where to start. Until a friend of mine showed me a light at the end of the tunnel…

And that was when this whole frog idea started :)

We started a new round of Challenge this week and those who persevere in following the tasks will also see the results in their life.

So for those starting with me, welcome to the Time Challenge. Expect to be challenged indeed.

And for those who would like to join us next time, here’s the link. 

Does it really work?

Take a look at what my partners are saying about the Time Challenge:

"This challenge has helped me write everything down, that I need to get done and I haven't been forgetting what I need to get done on my to-do list. Also it has been helping me get things done that I used to leave for "tomorrow's last minute." Overall it has been helping me keep more ORGANIZED!"

Danielle Ramos, United States

"The time challenge is THE opportunity to learn how to be an organized woman! Now, I can say that find myself at the end of the day without complete any of my important tasks is totally behind me!"

Leslie Ntoya, United Kingdom

"I'm positive that eating all those frogs did pay off ... thank you for letting me be part of this challenge! At last I started it and didn't give up half way and will keep going until I finish it. I remember the very first one, I forgot all about it and then didn't keep going cause "I didn't have time" but this challenge is the one that is making me have MORE time for many other things."

Triana Saucedo, United States

  

If you want to be one of my partners and challenge yourself to manage your time better, it's easy!

Just sign up here. 

The Door

They say a picture speaks louder than words.

This one screams…

Here’s where everything started…

Here’s where everything changed for me…

I saw him standing by that door and that's when I knew… 

I knew I’d never be the same again.

                                                      Amy

Coming soon…

Already Winners!

We all know that to start something is easy, but to finish it is, most of the time, not as easy.

In January I started the Time Challenge here on the blog and many people decided to start it with me.

So far, there have been frogs, lists, tasks, a diet and even a frog eating competition.  It has really been a challenge for my partners and I, but we stuck to it and we remain faithful to our tasks until today.

Change is hard for everyone but much harder for some. So unfortunately some were eliminated from the Challenge and will not continue with us in the next phase.

If you are reading this and you are one of those who got eliminated, don’t give up. You can join us for the new Challenge starting in March. Now that you know what to expect, it will all be easier for you. The secret is to look forward and to press forward always. If you want to register again, here’s the link.

To those who passed onto the next phase, congratulations!! You may not have won the war yet, but you are definitively already winners as the first battle is already behind us.

Here are the names of those who won the battle against themselves on the first round of the Challenge:

Jasmine de Los Rios

Alicia Montalvo

Jazmin Cazares

Bruna Araujo

Phelisa Godi

Sarah Ng

Triana Saucedo

Bianca Lima

Leslie Ntoya

Mady dos Santos

Jessica Aguilar

Congratulations once again!!!

Now, let’s fight and eat those frogs!

The 21 days

My partners and I have started last Monday a 21 days exercise to help us lock-in our new habit of eating our frogs.

No, we don’t eat actual frogs; we eat… tasks. No, we don’t eat them. We do them.

We complete tasks that are like frogs, get it?

No? I know… is sounds complicated/weird right?

But it really isn’t :)

Just click here and you will understand… kind of… lol.

The Frog Eating Competition

My partners and I continue strong in our Time Challenge.

Last week we started a very especial ‘diet’ where the more you eat, the better it is, right girls? Hehehe

This week we entered into a competition and we will see who manages to eat the most by the end of the week.

May the best partner win!!

And here are two more of my beautiful and brave partners:

Jasmine de Los Rios

Bianca Lima

P.S.: If you want to join us in the next phase of the Time Challenge, you can subscribe here.

Time Challenge – Meet my Partners

So this month I decided to finally go back to the Time Challenge and some brave people decided to do it with me!

Together we are going against our old ways, our old habits and everything that steals time from us.

Together we are challenging ourselves… We are challenging our own limitations… We are challenging time itself.

It’s hard but it can be done. It’s difficult but we will do it together!

Here are some of my beautiful Partners doing their first task ;)

Bruna Araujo

Jazmin Cazares

           

Julissa Rojas

Leslie Ntoya

Sarah N

Triana Saucedo

Selene Vital

       































If you’d like to join us in the next phase starting in March, just click here.

Ready, set…

So we are starting the Time Challenge this week, but I’m making a few changes to the way we go about it.

1.     I will no longer be posting the weekly tasks here on the blog. Only those who subscribed to the Challenge will receive it by email. 

2.     After this Thursday no one will be able to subscribe to the Challenge. So, if you haven’t yet but would like to, please fill out the form on this link: Click here for the form.

3.     If you are new to this blog and have no idea of what I’m talking about, please click on the links below to know more and if you would like to be part of it, just subscribe. You have until this Thursday ;)

 One of my major Flaws

Are you ready to start Again?

May the Challenge begin!

Time Challenge - Are you ready to start again?

Yeah… I know you thought this was over and that I had given up.

But I have not and will not until I achieve what I purposed myself right about this time last year.

So, here’s what I propose:

FORGET THE PAST!

Forget what you failed or didn’t fail to do. 

Forget if you joined me in this Challenge and have long ago forgotten about it.

Forget if you gave up half of the way.

And please, forget the fact that in the past 7 months I haven’t posted anything about it hehehe…

Let’s focus on now and on the future.

So those of you who started this Challenge with me back in January and would like to continue start again, please fill out the form below and will be receiving more instructions this week.

If you weren’t very interested before, but would like to join us now, please fill out the form.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check this post - Time Challenge - and then if after that you decide to join us, fill out the form.

Let’s start afresh. Let’s start again. The first step?

Fill out the form lol

Click here for the form.

What a Strange Feeling…

I have to confess. The reason I’ve not been writing here on my blog is more than just not having/finding/making the time to… After staying so long without writing, I started thinking that I’ve kind of lost… my edge. I tried writing these last couple of months, but it just didn’t come out right. It didn’t sound at all like me.

But today someone inspired me to come back to it (thank you Yuli). But before I continue telling you about my journey ‘In the Last 5 Months (well, 7 now)’, I want to share an experience I had this year. Sorry in advance if the post is too long, please bear with me :)

You know, I’ve never been the mother type of woman; I’ve always been more of a big sister type of person. Never really dreamed of having kids, of holding my own baby in my arms (although I love holding other people’s babies hehehe) and having a little person calling me ‘mom’.

But something happened this summer…

I had the chance to work really closely with a group of youths from the YPG here in Houston. As I mentioned on my previous post, we were working on a Play I had written and now had to direct. We had to meet every week, once a week, sometimes more and so I had the chance to talk to them a lot, really get to know them. Their hurt, their disappointments, their dreams, their goals in life; and as I did, something deep inside me started to change… I started having a strange feeling, quite unknown to me.

In the beginning I thought it was just excitement to get the project completed, but after all these months I can say it was so much more than that.

Every time we met, I began to realize how much it mattered to me that they smiled, that they were happy. And if they didn’t smile, why didn’t they? Were they going through problems? How were they doing in school? Had they eaten? Did they have friends? A family who loved them? Did they know how talented they were? How beautiful? Did people tell them that? Did they know how important they were?

Why were these things so important to me all of a sudden? Why did it matter so much?

It mattered because while all the meetings and rehearsals were going on; while we struggled to get everything perfect; while we laughed and shared our experiences; while they made new friends and new memories, something inside of me changed, softened…

I started seeing people very differently since then. I guess I care more, much more in a more ‘personal’ way. It’s almost as if I became more aware of the people around me. I want to help them, add to their lives somehow, even if it’s just by complimenting them or recognizing how hard they work or by something as simple as just smiling at them.

Maybe this is something very simple to you, very familiar. Something you’ve done all your life. But maybe you are just like me 7 months ago, not selfish, but not so concerned about the small things, the details in a person’s life that matter so much to them. Maybe just like me, you were blind to all the little things that make the people around you, the people you love, who they are.

What about your little sister? Have you ever told her how good she is in certain things? Or asked your brother if he's eaten all day?

How about your mother? Have you ever told her how beautiful she is? Or your dad how much you appreciate all his hard work?

Have you stopped to think that maybe that person in your work place that always seem to be in a bad mood, is actually lonely and would just love to have someone to talk to, to listen to them?

Have you ever showed your friend how happy you are to have someone like her in your life? That she makes it better?

What I’m trying to say is, you don’t need to be a mother, or old enough, or experienced enough, have time enough or be ‘good’ enough to care about someone.

It’s in the little things that you start a change. It’s in the small things that you start making a difference.

It’s through these little details, the ones people usually don’t pay attention to, that you can really change someone’s life.

And you know what? By doing these ‘insignificant’ things that you start changing your life as well.

That group of people certainly did it for me. They changed something deep within me. They don’t know, but while they talked and worked and laughed and shared their lives and problems with me, I became what I never dreamed of:

I became a mom… well, sort of ;)

In the Last 5 months...

Hello??

Does anybody even come here anymore?

I can’t believe it’s been FIVE months since I posted anything on this blog…

That was when three very important projects were given to me and I remember thinking ‘I’m just going to take a week or two to prioritize these projects and then I will continue posting on my blog’. And as you can see, two weeks became three, then a month and when I realized, five months have passed by!

But now I’m back for good!

I must say though that I have been really bad with movies. Haven’t gone to the theatres in ages… but this is all going to change now that I’m back.

But before I start talking about movies again, I’d like to tell you what happened to me while I was away.  But I can’t tell you everything at once because… well, if you know me, then you know I like to tell things in details hehehe.

So, let’s agree on something, shall we?

Come back tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that, and as often as you can next week and I promise to tell you everything.

For now, I must warn you that my English has gone quite bad these last couple of months (this is what happens when you stop writing and reading), so do forgive me if you see any mistakes lol.

I’ll be dedicating the whole of next week to answer all the emails you’ve sent me. So, if you were waiting for a reply, just watch out for it ok?

The Time Challenge is back, Good Oldies Tuesday is back, Twilight Series is back, movie reviews are back.

It’s soooo good to be back!!

See you tomorrow :)

Here’s sneak peek of what I will be talking about the next few days…

Mind over matter

If you have read the first book of theTwilight Saga or watched the movie, then you know that there's something about Bella that makes her extremely attractive to Edward: The scent of her blood.


He is a vampire and although he does not drink human blood, he feels extremely tempted to drink hers. The way the book describes it is that it's impossible for him to resist, everything in his body told him that not only should he drink her blood, but he NEEDED to drink it. It was his nature, the way he was, what he felt.


But everyone knows that he does not drink her blood. He falls in love with her instead.


Fiction apart, I'd like to draw your attention to this very important detail in the story. It's actually one of my favorite parts in the book. Bella asks him how come he can resist the temptation to just let nature run its course and kill her. 


His answer is: Mind over matter.


Which means his body craved for her blood, his nature screamed that that's what he needed to do, his heart told him he had all the reasons in the world to do it, but his mind... was another matter.


He knew in his mind that that was not right, it was not the right thing to do. That just because he felt something, didn't mean he actually needed to act on it. He let his mind call the shots; he chose his mind to be in control of his actions.


If you think you can't take any lessons from the Twilight Saga, here's one: He chose to let his mind call the shots in his life.


In our own lives we have urges, we have needs, we have feelings and temptation is just everywhere, but how many of us actually resist them? Go against them? Fight them?


Your mind tells you this is not the right time for a relationship or that the relationship you are currently in is not good for you. But you heart tells you that you need it, it's ok, everybody has someone, you are entitled to have someone too.


Your mind says you should be applying yourself to your studies, career, work, your family, but you feel you have time enough for that later.


Your mind tells you that sex should be saved for marriage, when both man and woman have made a life-long commitment to each other, but your heart tells you 'why not now? You both love each other and besides, the temptation is just too much to resist'.


Your mind tells you that there are certain sacrifices you have to make in your life, like leaving those friends that are not good for you for example... you feel that it would be unfair to leave those 'who were always there for you'.


Your mind tells you a lot of things. Everyday. So does your heart. 


Which one have you been listening to?


There is a constant battle between what you feel is right and what you KNOW is right.


But the question is, which one are YOU letting win?

Photo Personality

My sisters would always tease me about this picture. They said I look awful hahahahahaha.


That may be, but this is undoubtedly one my favorite pictures of me as a child, because it clearly shows my personality :)


It's very important to have and keep our personality, but it's also important to change and better ourselves.


Changing doesn't mean losing yourself. It means creating a better version of you. We need to understand that we are not ok the way we are! There's always something we need to improve, change, let go of.


Some people want a new life, a better and different life but they refuse to make the slightest change about who they are. 


If you are not getting better, you are automatically getting worse, simply by doing nothing.


So, change your mindset. Look at your own faults, see what can be improved and go for it. You will see that as you progress as a person, as a human being, your life will progress as well.


You want a new life? Be a new person.