Name It & Claim It: I wanted a Chihuahua.

Name It & Claim It:  I wanted a Chihuahua.
I wanted a Chihuahua. A dog to fit into a bag. A travel companion who looked good in scarves.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Dear Martin,

Dear Martin,

You have been named and claimed.

When I moved to Lucca in 1999, I started noticing all the dogs here. MarcAntonio, the apricot coloured poodle who owned Via Roma...Angelina, the doggie at the pizzaria...Socrates, the pincher mix on Via S. Andrea...Argo, the dalmation, and, Nina and Olivia, the yorkies next door. And I started thinking, 'I'm gonna get a dog. I'm gonna get a chihuahua.'

As I write, Mart is lying next to me. He is my constant companion. This summer we will make our third trip to the U.S. and he will be the stellar traveller he has been from the beginning. He is my buddy. I love him.

I named and claimed him.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Friday, April 9, 2010

Congratulations Gess

Gess named it. Claimed it. Rocked it.

Monday, March 29, 2010

GRATEFUL DEAD: FOLLOW YOUR PASSION

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SANTA CRUZ, Professor Barnes uses The Dead to teach a principle in BUSINESS=

Do your what you love and the money will follow. It is called PASSION-BASED SUCCESS.

They also were one of the first to practice another staple of smart business= Social networking... every concert sold out since the Sixties. Mailing lists. Relating to their fans. Customer service at its core.

Not bad for a bunch of old hippies who decided to play music for a living.

NameitandClaimit.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Don't always listen to your guidance counselor, kids

New York magazine photographer Patrick McMullen high school guidance counselor asked him what he wanted to be. He couldn't say. Then the counselor asked the question that all counselors should ask: What do you love doing?

When McMullen told him that he liked going to parties, he said, 'Forget it. You'll never get a job like that.'

This week Mr. McMullen is covering the parties and festivities surrounding Fashion Week in New York.

Visit your guidance counselor. The questions are good because they get you thinking.

And for those of us who are out of H.S., make sure you keep the counselor's voice in your head in check. Unless of course it is saying, 'Dream bigggggg. Bigggggger. Name it and Claim it.'

Friday, March 19, 2010

Fly! Testify!

Finally, to take a step without feet.

-Rumi

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Thank You Girls and, Testify Week Two

Thank you, girls.

Week Two. Hmmmmmm. What do you want? What do you need? What does it look like? Smell like? Feel like? I know a girl who married her high school sweetheart. They are still together and have a beautiful life. And I know a girl who told her mom that she wanted to work at the Italian Embassy in Rome and next month she will start her new job at the Italian Embassy in Rome (mind you, she told her mom that more than a decade ago.) And I know a woman who wanted to dance and she did and she wanted to fall in love and she did. And I know another woman who wanted to LOVE AND BE LOVED like she never had been before her sixtieth birthday, and she is LOVING and IS BEING LOVED by an elegant man who loves books and gardening. I know a girl who wanted to use her degree to do good and that is what she does every morning when she goes to work, where she actually uses her degree.

In summer of 2008 I sat down for dinner at Lynn and Marty's in Soho and we had Lynn's pasta and it was splendid. And mutual friends Silvia and Ceasar were there, too. And I told Silvia I wanted to go to school but that I was having trouble finding the bachelor's program I needed to become a teacher- a B.A. online. She reminded me that she was a professor at ESC and told me about their distance learning program. She gave me a website address. I came back to Italy and set the goal: During Christmas break I would fill out the application forms and financial aid request and start in the September of my 50th year on the planet. And that is exactly what I did.

Now, there were lots of reasons not to go to school and some people even reminded me of those reasons. I will not empower those arguements by writing them here. I can only tell you that I am in school and it is glorious. Glorious. And the teenager who did not know how to study does not live here anymore. Nor does her older, university age version who dropped out of K.U. Now, in their place is a late bloomer who discovered school now when it suited her best, when her talents could be utilised, her writing richer, her world expanded and where she could bring a wealth of experience to the table.

Dream big. Dream BIG. DREAM BIG. DREAM BIGGER. Testify. Name it & Claim It.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Testify!

Hey, wanna help me prove that we create the world with our thoughts?

Here's how it will work:
Each week I'll put something out there to inspire you to consider how name it and claim it has worked in your life or how it can work...

Use the 'Comment' to share your name it and claim it moment.

What is Name It & Claim It?

In 1979 I left school, moved to San Diego, got a wonderful job in a social service agency and met my office mate, Lee Russel, who became a wonderful friend and mentor.

She lived by these words, "name it and claim it", which she explained was her philosophy of life. She said that dreams are our guides and that we create our lives, thought by thought, even if we are not aware of it.

I wanted to be a singer. She said I could be a singer. She said, "Tell the universe." BE A SINGER.

I became a singer.

I have lots and lots of these stories, myself...

Here's the story, morning glory!

1. Your life so far is the proof.

i was sitting down thinking about what i've got and i realised that everything (everything) i ever really, truly wanted and needed, i got. i wanted to live in california. i wanted to sing. i wanted to fall in love. i wanted cats. i wanted to paint. i wanted to travel. i wanted to dance. i wanted to have a relationship with my parents and a handful of fabulous friends. i wanted to live in italy. i wanted to teach. i wanted to write. i wanted a dog that fits into a bag. i got what i needed. i set it up, worked on it, believed in it, and it came.

2. Be specific.
tell the universe what you want. BE SPECIFIC**. i wanted to make a living as an artist and i wanted to earn just enough to survive and that is exactly what i earned: just enough to survive. (presently i am working on changing that one....) ** 'name it and claim it'.

3. P.S.
p.s. i was fortunate enough to be born in a country that encourages dreamers and i had the advantages of a middle class upbringing. i was also a product of a movement that gave women a voice and a choice. I recognise the advantages I have been given...

4. A lot to work with
...and, with all these advantages, i did not want to waste any time or any of my resources. hey, i made tons of mistakes along the way but have no regrets.

Think about name it and claim it and then, if you want, tell me,
What's your tale, nightingale?