Guest Author, Author at Successful Blog Page

Are You Staying on Track?

July 6, 2008 by Guest Author

Beach Notes by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel

Are you Staying on Track?

Walking on the beach on Friday, I noticed the pattern made by a fisherman’s truck at sunrise. The close up looks like my life right now. Too many compartments! Spreading myself too thin.

Do you sometimes look at all the compartments in your life and wonder how they relate to one another. I have many exciting possibilities in my life right now. The challenge is to achieve simplicity, not be overwhelmed by complexity.

Getting on Track I then looked at the bigger picture the trucks tyres had made. So that was another challenging image.

Where am I heading? How well am I staying on track?

Beside the tyre tracks were a line of footprints.

To get on the pathway to freedom and success what I need to do each day is to set myself a simple daily path, put one foot in front of the other,celebrate each small win along the way and share that each day with my readers.

Then I will be living my purpose: Something I got clarity on back in May

Step By Step

I make a difference by inspiring others and empowering people to live lives full of joy, creativity and freedom.

I have this sitting on the computer screen. Today I will print this out and put this around the house, on the cover of my "imitation" Moleskin,and in the car. this will keep me focused and keep my vibes high.

Having a focus and a path mapped out each day, in line with my purpose will allow me to harmonize the compartments of my life and business.

Images: suzie cheel

Catch the Moment

June 29, 2008 by Guest Author

Beach Notes by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel

Catch the Moment

Sometimes an moment arises that can create joy, open up a business opportunity, sometimes even change our perception. We can take the moment and embrace it or we can say no not today.

Catching this amazing sunrise on Thursday morning was an instance of this.

Walking on the beach early that morning, I nearly missed the magic moment. We had gone to the beach early thinking we would see a sunrise. We were a little too early so we thought, next time, We walked away from Rainbow Bay towards Greenmount. I turned around before we headed aroung the rocks and saw the golden light of the sun glistening on top of the clouds. Des said did I want to go back? yes I said. As I saw the red of the sun begin to peep above the horizon, I thought ” Catch the Moment”, this will be my Beach Note this week. I took this photo and then a series which I am thinking I will turn into a slide show with words, maybe even an e-book.

This then became a positive story I used to illustrate positive vibes on Friday Morning. If hadn’t turned around at that precise moment would have missed the joy that seeing the sun rise brings, it warms my soul.

Can you think of time where you have caught the moment and it has been an inspiration or moment of change?

Images: suzie cheel

Getting in the Groove

June 22, 2008 by Guest Author

Beach Notes by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel

Getting in the Groove

Walking on the beach yesterday I thought what will I write for Beach Notes this week. I then remembered I mentioned before I went to Vancouver that I was going to write about Getting In the Groove. This is probably very timely as since I went to Vancouver I have got out of the blogging groove.

I thought I would just whip up a post a day while I was away, I know I mentioned to Liz I would do photo posting.

I started well for first 3 days and then when I got into the course there was so much going on and to do, plus homework that blogging did not happen. When I returned my body, and my ego I think decided to slow me down. I did try to figure out what was going on and then succumbed to slowing down. It has been a time to integrate the knowledge I have acquired, work out my new business plan and develop a workable fun blogging plan.

The words from song Tu b Thumping performed by Chumbawamba came to mind

I get knocked down, but I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down, but I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down, but I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down, but I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down

(Note: the YouTube is audio plus photo only)

That was how I felt yesterday, it was time to get up and move forward. This is a good song to dance to. Dancing and singing raise my vibes and get the creative juices flowing as well as being one way I get into the groove.

Today I am planning out my blog posts for the week for both The Abundance Highway and my Art Blog. My plan is to spend the first 2 hours before I go beach walking blog posting, so I take the pressure off getting a daily post done. I want to start doing 2 posts a day to Abundance Highway and develop some rhythm to my blog. A bit like Liz has here.

What’s one thing do you do to get into the groove?

Do You Love Where You Live?

June 15, 2008 by Guest Author

Beach Notes by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel

Why I Love Where I Live

Do you love where you live? I know I do and on my return from a week in Vancouver I have found myself feeling so much gratitude for and about where I live.

Vancouver often dubbed as one of the most livable cities in the world along with Melbourne. Yes both cities do have great transport systems, great food and other qualities that are used by Mercer each year to establish these ratings. I found the people in Vancouver very friendly, the food superb, the public transport excellent and the shopping great. I got a glimpse of the cultural life: there seems to be a diverse range of art centers and galleries. One aspect that seems to have not been taken into account enough is the weather (ditto for Melbourne). Where I live it does rain, but the sun does shine.

I mentioned to Glenda I was bringing boots, "not in June" she replied. They were my most worn footwear.The summer temperature even today in Vancouver is lower than here on The Gold Coast in our winter and the sun is shining here.

We all have different values about what is important about where we live. Blue skies, clean air, watching the sunrise and set, something I have done since my return. I feel very blessed each morning to walk barefoot on clean sand, enjoy the sun on my face, swimming in clear blue water, for me it is magic. We moved here 4 years ago from the big bustling city of Sydney and it is something I have never regretted. After my recent trip know feel even more blessed to live in what I do call paradise. This afternoon we are going to a Gallery about 20 minutes drive from here that is set in the hinterland. We have access to such a variety of Nature’s beauty and at the same time, live 10 minutes from International airport and just over an hour’s drive to the city of Brisbane.

I went walking on the beach the afternoon I came home, to get grounded and saw a beautiful setting sun.

and wrote:

The magic and the beauty of the sea

The waves roll in

The rays of the sun touch my heart

I feel so blessed to be sitting here barefooted

My heart full of love and feeling so peaceful.

The mind slightly spaced out

So much new information to integrate

The gift has been given

Now it is time to pass it on. June 11 2008

Do you love where you live? Share your why’s below.

Too Many New Blogs Too Fast?

May 25, 2008 by Guest Author

Beach Notes
by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel

I was feeling a bit of overwhelm in the blogging department today. Then I realized that in the past six weeks the number of blogs I own and/or contribute to has gone from just one to five – one a week!

The Abundance Highway blog has been the main site for my blogging activity for the past year.
I became co-author on Thinking Home Business. I was wanting to write more on blogging and making money online and realized it didn’t really fit on The Highway.
I launched Zen Law of Attraction, as an offshoot of The Abundance Highway.This transpired after i wrote an article on To Niche or not to Niche, that generated a traffic surge as well as lots of commentary and food for thought.
Inspired by Richardink.com I found a way to put Suzie’s Art Studio online. this is one of my loves and passions that I had put on the back burner for the past year or so. this was blog four to write on.
I became a guest blogger here at Successful Blog.

Objectively, madness. But definitely fun.

Actually, I don’t recommend starting so many new blogging ventures in such a short space of time.

On the other hand, I have learned a lot. I’ve learned is that I really do love blogging. I wasn’t so sure before. There were days when i thought is this what I want to do?

I have learnt the importance of planning out the new blog before you begin. Being an artist I also can spend far too much time on the look of the blog, only to find that what looks a simple design doesn’t always work. I am looking forward to the day when I either learn how css works or pay someone to make me my own unique templates.

Another, related lesson is that when I get “in the groove” it’s really easy and enjoyable to write and I can produce a good blog post quickly and without stress.

Next time I’ll write about what I do to get in the groove.

Suzie writes on Law of Attraction at Abundance Highway and you can see her wonderful Art scarves and Art Quilts at Suzie Cheel

Social Networking and a Small Town Business – Why Bother?

May 22, 2008 by Guest Author

I asked my friend — heck, she’s like family — Becky McCray, if she was interested in writing a guest post on Successful-Blog. My motives were clear and simple. I think she’s brilliant at everything small business. She wondered what topic might interest. I tossed her an idea and at the same time, our mutual friend Chris Brogan tossed her a similar idea. Being the brilliant thinker she is, Becky devised an artful plan that involves three connected blog posts — one here, one on Chris’ Blog and one on her own.

That’s a plan I can support fully! So without taking further time, I present the first of the Becky McCray master Trilogy.

Social Networking and a Small Town Business – Why Bother? by Guest Writer Becky McCray

Small town business is an interesting challenge. You either target people in your local area and hope that’s enough, or you reach outside for customers and work to get enough attention.

If you’re targeting outside your local area, there is no question. Social networking is a top way to reach beyond your geographic boundaries. If you’re looking for local people as customers, you might be tempted to think that social networking is not going to work for you. WRONG! More of your potential customers are online than you realize. More importantly, marketing is only one reason for using social networking tools. I can think of four other big reasons to invest the time and effort.

To expand your horizons/perspective
The world is an unbelievable place, and technology finally makes it possible to connect with the people in it from almost anywhere. People have different perspectives, based on their life in a big city, in another country, or just in a different industry. If you don’t participate in the online world, you’re not going to get to meet these people who could help you cross-pollinate some new thinking.

To connect with vendors and other partners
Buy local campaigns notwithstanding, social networking means expanding your choice of service providers and partners far beyond your local people. Professionals and service providers of all kinds, and from all over, are active in social networks. If you stay out of social networks, you’ll never build those relationships, so you’ll have to rely only on the local accountant, web designer, and printer for all your needs, even if they aren’t all that great.

To learn
Face it; you don’t know everything. But you can find people who know about what you are needing to learn right now. When you are building friendships on Twitter, you probably don’t ever think about the fact that @susanreynolds is a jewelry artist, or that @mikeg1 knows about home schooling. But if you aren’t reaching out, you’ll never have the chance to ask, “Who here can help me with writing a magazine query letter?” (That would be @sheilas!)

To feel connected
My favorite reason for social networking from my small town: feeling connected. Being online can’t replicate the feeling of an in-person conference like SXSW or SOBCon, but it helps. Bunches. It’s like the best of a water cooler at a company of terrific people you picked to interact with, to bounce ideas off of, or just to catch up with. If you are staying out of social networking, you are missing the number one reason to do anything: the people.

What are your reasons?
These four reasons are just a beginning point. What other reasons do you have for investing your time in social media? This question is open to everyone, whether you are from a small town or a big city. But if you are from a small town, shout about it in your comment!

Sounds great, but how do I do it?
Need some starter moves to help you get online and building relationships? I’ll be presenting some Social Media Starter Moves for Small Town Small Businesses at ChrisBrogan.com tomorrow.

Becky McCray writes about small town small businesses at Small Biz Survival.

Thanks, Becky!
You really are a master.

–ME “Liz” Strauss