Friday, September 3, 2010

title pic Not Feelin’ It? Do It Anyway!

Posted by LisaMurray on January 8, 2010

If we wait until we feel motivated to work on our dream, chances are our dream will remain just that, a dream. I remember when I was in my late teens, I had the opportunity to live with my dad in his condo a few miles from where I grew up. (My parents divorced when I was 9 and I lived with my mother.) My father was very active – he played basketball on a league, he biked 20+ miles every week, he regularly went on long hikes, and he went running every day. I envied his energy level and commitment to being active. I started going on 13-mile bike rides with him and although it kicked my butt, I really enjoyed it! I’m not one of those people who dislikes physical activity. I love it!! My problem is that I don’t stick with it and then “starting over” feels like crap. I let things get in the way and I tell myself that I’ll do my workout “tomorrow” until a month (or two or three) has gone by and next thing I know, I’m completely out of shape again. And then starting over again becomes an uncomfortable reality that I avoid until I can’t stand how I feel anymore and so I get out there and get active again. Every time I wonder why I gave it up in the first place because it feels so good! I tell myself I will never let ANYTHING stand in the way between me and my exercise ever again – but then (like clockwork) the inevitable “thing” comes along and messes up my schedule (I get a cold, I go out of town for work, I have friends in town, etc.) and I am unable to get out there and then I get discouraged, and so the cycle continues.

One day I was talking with my dad about this and I said, “I’m not like you, I have to push myself to go running. But once I’m out there, I’m okay.” What he said completely spun my world around. He told me that although he has been active since he was a teenager, ran in 5 & 10ks, biked for miles miles, jogged every day, and was in tip top shape, every single time he went out to start his exercise he had to overcome a feeling of not wanting to do it. WHAT? I couldn’t believe it. I said, “You mean, just every now and then, like when you haven’t been out in a while, or when you were sick or injured for a while, right?” and he responded with “No, EVERY time.” He went on, “It amazes me how it never gets easier. After all these years you would think my body would just know that by exercising I will feel great but instead I am met with a feeling of resistance every single time!” I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing. So the difference between myself and the people I envy who exercise every day and are in great shape isn’t some genetic thing that they have and I don’t, but rather, it’s a CHOICE that they make, each and every day, to OVERCOME that voice that tells them NOT to do something, to settle and to stay “comfortable”. So if I wait for that resistance to go away, I will be waiting forever because even people (like my dad) who workout every single day experience that resistance! The trick is to push past it and not let is control my day.

Dreams are the same way. The passion and excitement for our dream rises and falls. Life has a way of taking the wind out of our sails at times. Maybe we want to do something that helps people but then we get sick of people and so we think maybe our dream isn’t what we want after all! Or, we may want to be a writer and then we hear some negative feedback and we think all of our potential readers may have the same type of negative feedback so we decide we don’t want to be a writer anymore.

The bottom line: We won’t always feel excited about our dream.

Nobody ever tells you about the mundane aspects of “living the dream” because well, let’s face it, we don’t want to hear about it!! We are working in jobs that make us unhappy and the excitement we get when we think about our dream is like oxygen to a dying man!! The last thing we want is a cup of “reality” thrown in, taking away our hope of a better life, our reason for getting out of bed in the morning. But I’m telling you this because I think a lot of us give up on our dreams once “the honeymoon is over” and we are just faced with the day-to-day aspects of it all because we initially associate our dream with the feeling of “excitement” and when we wake up one day and that excitement has turned to just another day, we get discouraged and fall back into old behaviors and give up on our dream. Don’t get me wrong, the day-to-day aspects don’t have to be boring, we can make any and every part of our lives as fun as we want them to be, but I’m just saying, there are parts to all life that are just … well, mundane! But don’t let the mundane, repetitious, or boring parts of your dream discourage you from working at it each and every day. Don’t listen to that voice that tells you it’s not worth it. Don’t listen to that feeling that tells you that it’ll never happen and what’s the use? Every day that you put energy into your dream, even if it’s not the big, sweeping progress that you can Tweet about and receive all kinds of “ooohs” and “aaahs” for, but instead maybe you just mailed a letter you were supposed to mail, or looked something up on the Internet that you’ve been putting off, or made that phone call you’ve been avoiding, whatever! No matter how “small” the action, any and all action is another chuck of wood that you have cut out of that big wall that stands between you and your dream and so… you have made progress!! And even if you make no measurable external progress, the reason you must face that feeling and push past it is to prove to yourself that YOU (not your schedule, your job, your family/friends, etc.) but YOU are in control of your destiny!! Every time that you face that resistance and you tell it to sit the EFF down – you take the control back, and you are stronger and happier for it!

The people who achieve success are the ones who put energy into their dreams every day – no matter how they’re feeling or what’s going on around them. They put their happiness FIRST. They put their mask on before they assist others. They don’t let the “boring” parts of their dream discourage them because they know that ultimately, for them, it’s about living the life that they chose to live because even the most boring day of living their dream is one thousand times better than the most exciting day of not living their dream. If you are waiting for everything to “feel right”, you are wasting valuable time. NOW is the time. NOW is all we have. Go out there and get em tiger! EACH AND EVERY DAY… no matter what!

title pic RIP Zimba :-(

Posted by LisaMurray on December 10, 2009

Yesterday I lost my little baby “chicky”, Zimba. Thank you for your love and kindness on Twitter & Facebook. He touched many people’s lives in his 16 years in this world as a dog named ZIMBA. (“Zimba” means: The Warrior… to me, he was my “Dream Warrior”) I have hours and hours of footage of him as a young dog swimming and playing and running around with his “pack” and so when I’m ready, I will post a video. Your stories about your dogs helps me go through this intense pain. Thank you.

Zimba

I love you Zimba.

title pic Twitter Shout-Outs!

Posted by LisaMurray on October 24, 2009

Follow me on Twitter!
http://www.twitter.com/lisamurray

Cool people to follow!
http://www.twitter.com/tish_tish
http://www.twitter.com/annspade
http://www.twitter.com/projblogsphere
http://www.twitter.com/scottfaithfull
http://www.twitter.com/michaelbonline
http://www.twitter.com/mia
http://www.twitter.com/dhlawrencexvii

Twitter Shout Out Spotlight!
NoHiddenPath79 is a great follow!
http://www.twitter.com/nohiddenpath79

Subscribe to my BlogTV show!
http://www.blogtv.com/people/lisamurray
(and be sure to add me as a Friend too!)

title pic It’s Adopt A Shelter Dog Month!

Posted by LisaMurray on October 20, 2009

My friend, Jill Hanner (YouTube’s “XgobobeanX”) asked me to be part of a video for YouTube to spotlight the fact that October is Adopt A Shelter Dog Month! I immediately knew which organization to spotlight: Petfinder.com. If you are looking to get a dog or cat (or horse, bird, reptile, etc.!!) I strongly encourage you to visit Petfinder.com. Watch the video to learn about it! Visit Petfinder.com

title pic Miley Cyrus Quit Twitter? Nooo!!!

Posted by admin on October 10, 2009

I can’t believe Miley Cyrus quit Twitter because her new boyfriend told her she should. Ew!! AS I was uploading this video to YouTube, I saw Miley’s YouTube “rap” about why she quit Twitter. She says it’s because she was living for moments to Tweet about and that the tabloids were using her Tweets and she was losing her private life. I totally empathize with her but all she had to do was MODERATE her level of usage. She had TWO MILLION FOLLOWERS! Why would you DELETE your account? Miley’s Twitter was her only avenue to speak directly to her fans. Grr! Whatever, she’s young, she’ll figure it out. :-) Love ya Miley!

title pic Friday Blog: Going Out With An 8 Minute and 44 Second Bang!

Posted by admin on October 2, 2009

This is my final blog as the “Friday Blogger” on the 5AwesomeOptimists Channel on YouTube! I am turning my focus to MY channel and to my ever changing schedule right now. It’s hard to leave something I enjoy but it’s important to let go when it’s time. I hope my action has inspired you to let go of something this weekend!! Cheers!

title pic Friday Blog: “Let Go of Your Past – Practical How-To Tips”

Posted by admin on September 25, 2009

Is your past holding you back from living life the way you want to? Everyone always says, “You gotta let go of the past!” but HOW do we do that? I came up with a few practical ways we can let go of our past. Can you think of more ways?

title pic Friday Blog: Dream Milestone Marker for Dapo Torimiro

Posted by admin on September 18, 2009

Dapo Torimiro is one of the subjects in my documentary, I HAVE DREAMS DAMMIT!, a film about the realities of the pursuit of dreams. He just experienced a dream milestone marker this week and I was happy to be there to share it with him!

title pic Blog: VMAs – MJ, Janet, Madonna, Beyonce, and …Kayne Pest

Posted by LisaMurray on September 14, 2009

Did you watch the VMAs on Mtv last night. Well, whether you did or not, I’m sure you’ve heard by now all the juice from the night. Amidst some wonderful performances by Janet Jackson, Green Day, Pink (my fav and I can’t believe I forgot to mention her in my video!), and Beyonce, it was Kayne West’s antics that stole the show. He actually got on stage while 17 year-old Taylor Swift was accepting her award, took the mic out of her hands and said that Beyonce should have won! Can you believe it? What a pill!!

title pic Friday Blog: Support Your Friends’ Businesses!

Posted by LisaMurray on September 11, 2009

Don’t ask your friends for the “hook-up” when it comes to their businesses!! SUPPORT THEIR BUSINESS by paying full-price! Help them build their empire!

title pic “Dream Hoarders” – A Twitter Stream of Consciousness

Posted by admin on September 10, 2009

Dream Hoarders

Dream Hoarders

My tweet stream just now:

The show HOARDERS (on A&E) has gotten me thinking… I wonder if we
Hoard our dreams…like, collect so many that we end up getting
overwhelmed.

Imagine yourself sitting in a house filled with boxes of dreams,
covering the furniture, up to the ceiling. How do you feel?

Can you see yourself weaving in and out of the boxes getting ready for
work? Occasionally knocking one down. Dreams spill out.

People come over and tell you to “just get rid of” all the boxes…
but you cling to them, believing “one day” it’ll all mean something.

But as the days go by, you are starting to question if it ever will
make sense as the # of boxes increase every day.

Yet you are overwhelmed and tired and sick of living in the cracks of
the boxes of unfulfilled dreams.

You will either die in your dream warehouse or you will go crazy and
start breaking open all of the boxes and LIVE!

title pic Blog: Catching up with you…090909!

Posted by admin on September 9, 2009

Now that I’m not working in an office full-time, I am going to try to record more blogs for MY YouTube Channel and I promise I will try to keep them shorter than this one! LOL Insanity. I give a basic update, show you my new camera (Canon Vixia HV40), and my favorite topic: Advice!

title pic New LIVE SHOW intro video! (BlogTV)

Posted by admin on September 2, 2009

Check out my new INTERNET LIVE SHOW intro!! Click here to subscribe. <-- to be notified via email when I go live!


LisaMurray Intro - Broadcast your self LIVE

title pic Friday Blog: Stand Up Chicken Girl! Stand Up!

Posted by admin on August 28, 2009

So this is Day 5 of not having to go into an office… how do I feel?

title pic Friday Blog: It’s My Last Day at Paramount!

Posted by admin on August 21, 2009

Fear. Excitement. Euphoria. Fear. Peace. Bliss. Numbness. <-- those are all things that I've been going through in the past few weeks!

title pic Friday Blog: Scare the Doo Doo Outa Yourself!

Posted by LisaMurray on August 14, 2009

This is a quick blog because it’s been a busy week preparing to leave Paramount. I hope to see you Sunday when I go LIVE on BlogTV at 2pm EST.

title pic Catching up with you…a video blog!

Posted by admin on August 11, 2009

I finally made a video for MY YouTube Channel!! Just a catching up video!

title pic Friday Blog: I’m Leaving Paramount!

Posted by LisaMurray on August 7, 2009

Yep, I’m leaving my job at Paramount so I can finish my documentary and pursue my dreams. I LOVED my time there, love the people I met there, and I learned sooooo much about the “real world” of the film industry and I’m happy to say that I’m STILL going to go for it!! haha

title pic Friday Blog: Rejection is Protection!

Posted by admin on July 30, 2009

Just remember, when you are rejected – that is God’s protection!

title pic Friday Blog: Merge With Me!

Posted by admin on July 26, 2009

So it’s been 3 years since I started shooting footage for my documentary, “I Have Dreams, Dammit!” and I wanted to explain why I decided to shoot this doc.