Planning for Success

Personal fulfillment is an important part of planning for career and financial success. I discovered this when doing workshops in the Bay Area for people wanting to change jobs. You also have to think about survival in a world that can sometimes be financially harsh and difficult and how you want to live – in luxury or barely getting by?

When you’re living the life you were created for in your career path, you’re achieving personal fulfillment in a way that should make you happy. But if that life doesn’t provide you with means to survive with enough left over to live your dreams, then that career choice might be flawed and can produce regrets.

Many people become complacent in just getting by and pursuing more can seem like a mountain – impossible to climb. Others become obsessed with achieving a career that will bring happiness – and create a life they’ve always dreamed of. Most people these days are looking for a way to have a side project that can provide the extra income they want and need. They build a side business so that, in the event of their day job going south, they have something to fall back on.

Providing an education for your children, traveling as much as you want, living in a nice home with all the features you enjoy – or simply having the leisure time to work in your garden is something we all want, that provides us with joy and the freedom to choose how we live our lives.

Success isn’t the same for everyone. Your perception of success and how you go about achieving it might be totally opposite from a friend or family member. That’s because you each have different potential to work toward your goals and be happy with those accomplishments.

The potential you carry within has to be set free to pursue the goals you have for the future – and that can be difficult if you live in fear, doubt or negative self-talk that keeps you down.

You can do anything you want to do bad enough with that inner potential of yours. You may need to shift your mindset from holding back to jumping in and taking the steps necessary to achieve financial success and overall fulfillment.

How do you do it? Begin to program yourself to believe that anything you want to accomplish is possible. That may mean that you have to change your personal story from failures to any accomplishments you’ve had along the way. Write down your personal successes and use them as a daily reminder that you have come a long way already.

The best way to begin your pursuit of success is to take action. If you truly want success in a career that brings financial stability, you will take the steps necessary to achieve it. And don’t forget to pursue happiness along the way!

If you’d like more information about what I’m doing with an “on the side” business project, fill out the Contact Form on the WHO IS REGINA page. (I’ll email you a video that just might blow your mind).

P.S. I don’t sell “stuff” that people don’t need. I lock arms with people who want to set up their own Plan B and show them exactly how to do it).

Pennies from Heaven

On my recent visit to Tucson, something happened that proves the Universe obliges us and that what we focus on expands.

My Mom lives in a residential care home and hates the food there so every day when I went to see her, I would stop at the grocery store to bring her some goodies.  She loves sweets and even though I know they’re not good for her, I brought them anyway. She’ll be 92 next month and I believe that she deserves to have anything that makes her happy.

One night while reading from Pam Grout’s book, E-Cubed, I decided to try one of the experiments. It’s called Pennies from Heaven and it goes like this: in the next 72 hours be aware of Pennies from Heaven. Most people discount pennies as seemingly worthless, but they represent abundance in its many forms.  So I set my intention to consciously put them on my radar.  The next day my Mom asked me bring her a Coke, among other things, from the store. When I reached into the cold case to grab the Coke, there was a penny just laying there.  I picked it up and let out a big “woo hoo!”  People stared but I didn’t care.  There was a Penny from Heaven!  Proof that the Universe obliged my intention.

After I had swiped my credit card to pay for the groceries, the clerk asked if I had a member card.  I said no, so he told me I could use his to get the discounts on the items I purchased.  OK, cool, I thought.  What happened next blew me away.  He gave me $10.20 back in cash. What???  I thanked him and put it in my pocket, still baffled by what had just happened.

Out in the parking lot I noticed there was a woman standing in front of my rental car smoking a cigarette. A homeless man walked up to her and asked if she had a cigarette he could have.  She told him she didn’t have one to spare.  So he asked her if she could spare some change because he was hungry.  She told him she couldn’t help him. Without even thinking, I blurted out “I can.”  I pulled out the $10 bill I had been given and gave it to him.  He looked me square in the eye and said, “God blesses you.”

I will never forget him or the events that took place in the space of just a few minutes … serendipity.  God put me in the right place at the right time.  A blessing for that man and me.  It wasn’t my job to know what he was going to do with the money.  But it was my job to share a blessing.  Both of us felt God’s grace.

I got in the car and looked skyward to say my thank you’s and saw the palm trees.  I love palm trees so I took this photo, knowing that every time I see a palm tree, I am grateful for my Pennies from Heaven experience.

But it didn’t stop there.  When I got back home from Tucson, I had coffee with my neighbor and was relating all of this to her.  As we were talking, I set my coffee cup down on the table, and there was a penny.  Wow!  Neither of us had seen it there when we first sat down. We were both speechless and just burst out laughing at the wonder of it all. And then when I got back to my house, as soon as I put down my purse and keys, the music station hubby and I usually listen to played … you guessed it  … Pennies from Heaven.  I kid you not.  Life is full of magic.  Go find it.  Namaste’

Regina (Reggie) Arnold is a “flunked retirement” entrepreneur, co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, and photo blogger.

 

Just for the Whimsy

OK, all you detectives out there.  What are the little “things” in this photo?  Shouldn’t be too difficult for you.  I’m not mean, after all, but I purposely didn’t tag it with any “clues.”  Have fun and let me know what you see.  Namaste’

Mug Shots

A lovely surprise came in the mail for me a while back from our friend, Anne, who lives in the City by the Bay.  She knows how much I love shooting pictures so she sent me this wonderful mug, which I absolutely love drinking coffee from.  So thanks again, Anne!

Yes, I’m a bona fide coffee drinker and no, I will never, ever change in that respect.  I do like tea, but in the morning it’s a good cup of Joe for me.  This morning I had to do some fasting blood tests, so I filled up this mug, took it with me, and as soon as the vampires took my blood and I was back in my car, I drank that glorious brown liquid.  Ha!

If any of my photographer friends want one of these, I believe these or similar ones can be found at Photojojo.  Namaste’

My Scenery

Most people think of southern Arizona as a dry desert with hardly any green at all.  But that’s if you haven’t been here.  There are a lot of things that make it green in places.  Like the monsoon rains that we have in the summer.  They’re now over, but the plants and trees are still loving the effects of our rain, as you can see in the foreground of this image.

I took this shot from the passenger side of the car as hubby was speeding down the interstate.  I like it because it has the Santa Rita mountains in the background, the cloudy sky and the foreground of green.  Added a slight watercolor effect to give it a dreamy look.

No, I can’t just sit idly by in the car, especially when I have my camera, so here’s an image that I took as we came upon this semi-truck hauling coffee to those Pilot travel centers.  I love coffee, so of course I had to share this image with all of you.  But I have to say, this is the first time ever in my life that I’ve seen a coffee truck rolling down the freeway.  Namaste’

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea

This weeks photo challenge is the Sea.  I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like the sea.  Some of my best days and nights have been at the beaches of northern California.

I remember one time when I had to go to Bodega Bay to make sales calls.  It happened to be one of those grey, overcast days and I didn’t really feel like driving out there but I had to get the calls out of the way.  On the way back to my office, I pulled over at one of the beaches near Bodega and simply sat and watched the sea.  It was spectacular to watch the power of the mighty surf as she rolled in, wave after wave.

Because of the weather, there was no one else there but me and God.  Magical time; just magical.

This image is the beach in Marina Del Rey (southern CA).  The sun had already set, so all I could get was the last vestiges of light on the waves, while watching this man and his child.  I added a nostalgic effect because that’s how it felt to me. Namaste’

“Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Burning Question

While on my trip and just being a tourist, I decided to do a little street photography and this is one of the images.  The background was somewhat busy and we were being bustled along by a crowd, so I didn’t have a lot of time to take the shot.

What struck me was that this Rabbi looked like the kind of person you could ask your most burning question to and he would be happy to engage with you.

What would YOUR question be?  Namaste’

 

Uh-Oh, She’s Back

My trip to CA was simply great. We managed to pull off a surprise birthday party for our dear friend, Linda.  And I got to visit with my daughter and grandkids.  Spent some time in Palm Springs with more dear friends.  That’s where I met up with Marilyn again (see below).  This time I got her picture in daylight and had some fun with a couple of special effects.

It feels like I’ve been gone a long time.  So it’s nice to be back and I’m trying to get back into the swing of things.  More updates later.  I hope all of you, my faithful readers, are doing very well.  Namaste’

 

 

American Southwest (A Peaceful Journey)

A good friend of ours who lives in San Francisco sent me this video the other day.  I just now had a chance to watch it and decided to share it with all of you, especially my readers who have never been here.

I think each part of this beautiful planet has its own special power and places that, when we view them, take our breath away.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.  May it bring you a few peaceful moments.

Thank you, dear Anne, for sharing this with all of us.  Right now, with the excessive heat we have here, I would love to be in my favorite city by the Bay.  Send a little of that bay fog over to us here in the desert … please  ❤  Namaste’

If This Truck Could Talk

First of all, thanks SO MUCH to all of you who sent good wishes to hubby.  He is doing much, much better and we are so grateful.  No more taking anything for granted.  In fact, I even have a new app on my phone … Gratitude Journal … which gives me a prompt every day to write what I’m grateful for.  If I don’t get reminders about things, I’m so forgetful.  Maybe I could just post sticky notes on my forehead – LOL!

Today I sold one of my most popular images and I’m so pleased.  Someone from Australia purchased an art print of my  WHITE ON WHITE.

While looking for some photos today, I came across this one of an old Chevy truck that was parked in the tunnel at Alcatraz.  I took this some time ago but decided it would be fun to work on.  Oh, if this old truck could talk.  I wonder what it would say about some of the famous residents of Alcatraz, like Al Capone.  Hmmm.  Namaste’