Rita Wilkins's Blog, page 58

New towns and new friends

Rita

Good morning, and welcome to day 23 of my 30 day journey to the South of France and today I’m here with a new friend Patricia Brooks.  We’re in this beautiful town that she chose to move to just a little over a couple of months ago, right?

 

Patricia

I’ve been in France for a year and four months, but in this particular town for a for a little over three months.

 

Rita

We were just recently introduced by a mutual friend who has a podcast called “Dance after Midnight”.  Brandt interviewed me a couple of months ago, and he and I have become friends too. He too is somewhat of a nomad and  said, “Oh, my God, you got to meet Patricia!” So this morning, I traveled to meet my new friend who has an amazing business called the Courage Catalyst.

This woman is living the life that she loves and she chose to come from corporate to living to this beautiful small village.  Right across the street is where Picasso was painting and there’s a fountain that was designed for him. So if that tells you anything at all about how beautiful this little village is and it’s surrounded by the pier.  So on three sides, we have the mountains around this beautiful little village in this valley.

I am so glad that I came here today to meet you and I feel like I have a sister because her business is very much aligned with what I’m all about – having people design the life that that they love. That is your business basically, too, and I want to hear a little bit more about why you came here. And what is it that what drew you to this beautiful place? And how are you changing lives here?

 

Patricia

Thank you for coming and reaching out to me, because this has been a really great opportunity to get to know somebody who business is so like mine.

It was intuition. I had gotten to a place in my life where I was successful in corporate and comfortable. But that didn’t feel comfortable anymore. That sounds funny, I don’t know, we need a lot of people like that.

I felt like I wanted to live here. When you go to Paris on your own, which is where I’m staying, I felt completely free. I spent my first year in France there, but I wanted to move to a smaller village. The mountains here are grounding for me, so I decided to stay here.

 

Rita

So tell us about your new book.

 

Patricia

My new book is called “Live a Bold Life, Your 30 Day Mission to a Fearless Future.”  It recounts my first year living here in France, the insights I gained over the little things I did and it includes these intuitive affirmations at the end of each chapter so that the reader can personalize them.  I have these affirmations that can help them to grow bold. One of the things that really has helped me to transform my life is saying positive things to myself, the positive self-talk. It wasn’t until recently that I recognize that, in the saying positive affirmations to myself, I started to see myself differently. Then seeing myself differently, I was able to create new habits, the habits of the kind of person who believes those things about themselves. That was a huge piece in my ability to take the space back.

 

Rita

You know, it’s so funny that you say “seeing yourself differently,” because for me on this 30 day journey, and I’ve only got one week left, one thing I’ve learned is I’m seeing myself differently because of this trip and because I have taken bold steps.  It’s what we’re both all about – what we want to encourage other people, other women to do is to not be afraid or if you are afraid just do it anyway.  Then you see yourself a lot differently and then there’s nothing that could really stop you.

 

Patricia

You gain that confidence to do the next thing. Okay, well, I did that now what’s next, right?

 

Rita

And we’re all about what’s next in your in your life. So, for me part of this journey has been this was always a dream of mine. In my book I’ve written about, when I realized I was stopping myself from living my own dreams. Here I’m talking about it to other people and it was such a momentous moment because I realized, I’m not allowing myself or giving myself permission to live the dreams that I really want to live.

So the reason I wanted to meet Patricia was because she actually is doing what she said she wanted to do. You’re just open to the way that life took you here and you’re now creating another business around it. You’ve written your second book and are coaching.

So no matter where you are in life, you can do whatever you choose to do. You can design the life that you love. Anyway, I’m just so glad that we met and I know that we’re going to be seeing each other more often.

 

Patricia

Absolutely. You’ve got a place to stay.

 

Rita

I’ll be here.   So until tomorrow, go out and design and live the life that you love.

Bonjour and welcome to day 6 of my Work 3, Play 4 journey!

Today I’m in Arles, France, a beautiful vibrant town with art everywhere and there’s this huge art festival with over 200 artists here. So it’s a pretty busy little town right now, but so friendly.

So today, I’m going to just talk to you about a few things that I’ve learned about myself on this journey so far and it’s only been a week:

Number one is I needed to give myself some time to get my travel legs. I don’t know what I was thinking that I would just land in France and feel immediately comfortable and fit in and be able to get right to work and feel productive. That’s what I thought, but that’s not exactly what happened.

For the first few days, as beautiful as the surroundings were, I feel disoriented. I certainly did not have a structure or schedule. I felt a little bit like a fish out of water but now I feel very much at home with the surroundings.  I’m getting used to being totally uncomfortable with a lot of different things. So I’m determined to follow my dream to work three and play four in a foreign country and no matter what I was going to figure it out and I was going to do it.

Secondly, I need to get comfortable with the messiness that’s confronting me head on every single day. Logistics have never been my strength and I know that.  I knew I’d be challenged going from town to town, city to city using public transportation, but yesterday, probably was the highlight of my journey so far in terms of being challenged.

It was Sunday, I had just gone to mass and I was right near a bus station. I said, “Maybe I’ll just take a bus tomorrow.”  I bought a ticket and was told I’ll have to transfer. “Okay, no problem.”  So I get dropped off and I was the only one there and the bus station itself was closed. I looked across the street, the train station was closed and I thought for sure there would be a bus coming.

I waited for about 30 minutes, but no bus. So I thought well, “I’ll call Uber.” No internet. No bus, no train, no internet… I walk down the street, and the only place open was a tiny little tap with four older gentlemen sitting at a table playing cards. They didn’t speak English at all but with my limited French I was able convey to them that I was stuck and asked them if they had internet and they shook their head and said “No.” Just then a young man walked in and in perfect English, he understood exactly what my dilemma was. He then told me that there was a hotel right down the street, he knew the woman who owned it, and he would be glad to introduce her to me, and I’m sure I could use the internet.

I go there and she did have internet, but she also said, you know, “My son will be glad to drive you there.”  I said “That’s wonderful,” and offered to pay her. So when I got the bill, it was rather large, and I could have probably could have done a little better with Uber. But regardless, just the kindness of people and was really inspiring and you know, I was stuck and had to figure it out.

Perhaps the name of this trip is ultimately going to be called “Figuring It Out.”

The next big learning experience for me is planning. It was Friday, last week, I decided to leave Marseille and go to Aix-en-Provence. Aix-en-Provence during midsummer is the highest tourist season. I arrived at the hotel, I thought I made reservations and they had no reservation, I had no confirmation.

I was stuck in the middle of summer without a reservation in a brand new town. They were delightful though. They spent over 30 minutes with me trying to help me find a hotel and it turned out to be just fine.  Just a little farther away from the city than I wanted to be. But in the meanwhile, I met some amazing people from London who were on tour and invited me to London.

So I guess what I’ve learned is a lot of flexibility, a lot of adaptability and, you know, going from Plan B to plan C, whatever the plan is, just to let go of the disappointment that you have initially.  “Oh, I can’t stay in the middle of Aix-en-Provence in the middle of the summer?  What do you mean you don’t have my reservation?”  As it turned out, you know, it was lovely meeting this other couple and then having an invitation to go to London at some point.

Another thing that I’ve learned about myself is traveling alone you have a lot of time. It’s an opportunity to start seeing yourself differently. I have been traveling all of my life and I guess maybe I’ve just never really paid attention or observed, “How do I respond to uncomfortable situations?” What I’ve realized this time is that I’ve allowed myself to be real, to be uncomfortable, to be a little afraid, and yet to push through and also, of course to figure it out.

So what I’ve learned is just to be okay with being uncomfortable, be okay with being afraid, and not knowing. Given that there are so many wonderful people in the world, they’re definitely there to try to help you if they can. There are so many other things that I’ve learned but I think probably one of the biggest takeaways of all is that there are so many kind and good people out there and no matter what, they’re willing to work with you to help you. It’s being open, honest, vulnerable, and just being who you are. It’s been an amazing journey so far and I look forward to what new challenges I will be facing in the future.

I do hope that this is helping you.  If you’re traveling alone, if you’re feeling some of the same feelings, I’m hoping that that this will be make a difference for you. What I’d love to hear from you would be if you are traveling, if you are have been traveling and face challenges, what are they and how did you deal with it and what did you learn from it?

I hope you are following my YouTube videos of this journey and I want to invite you to my website, www.Rita Wilkins.com and in the meanwhile I will see you tomorrow from Arles.  By the way, I’m going to a bull running contest, or something like that, tonight in the Coliseum. I met some people today and they invited me to do that and to go to dinner. It’s all about five minutes from here and I’m looking forward to whatever that brings. See you tomorrow!

What’s it like to work in France – Day 4

Welcome to another day of my 30 day journey to the south of France. Today I’m working remotely from the Port of Marseilles.  This is what it looks like to be working from here. How can you not be inspired by this?

As many of you know, I’m testing a new lifestyle business model called “Work 3 Days and Play 4” . Since today is a work day, I will be designing a kitchen for a client in the U.S. and given the beautiful surroundings, likely it’s going to be one of the best kitchens I’ve ever designed.

I will also be having a Skype consults with a client, then conferencing with my amazing team back in the U.S. on projects that they’re working on.

If you were to have told me a year ago, that I would be traveling to places I always wanted to go while still growing the business that I’ve always loved, I would not have believed you.

I was inspired to rethink my old business model by my sons and daughter-in-law’s who have successfully worked remotely for a number of years. I’ve seen the impact that better work life balance has had on their relationship and on their lives. So as a baby boomer woman who is reinventing and redesigning her life in the third act, I decided to design a new business model that gives me both the lifestyle and the business that I dreamed of – one that provides both work/life balance and working less and traveling more.  As part of my journey over the next 30 days, I hope that I will inspire you to challenge yourself to reimagine your own life in your 3rd act.

What do you dream of?

What kind of lifestyle business might you want to create that allows you to work less and have more time for what matters most to you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re inspired by my journey, please like, share and subscribe to my YouTube channel.  Also, I invite you to visit my website, www.RitaWilkins com.

Remember it is possible to design and live the life that you love.

Discovering the Life I Love

Good afternoon. I just arrived in Marseille a few hours ago and I’m settling in to my tiny little hotel room on the fourth floor overlooking a beautiful tree line street.  A little jet lagged, but so excited to be here and to share my new adventure with you.

Little did I know when I booked this historic hotel, they have no elevators.  So as I was struggling up the stairs, a woman saw me and suggested I use something I’d never seen before.  It’s called a luggage elevator.  So tiny, it fits exactly the size of one carry on piece of luggage.  So glad it was there.

Over the next 28 days, I’ll be exploring various parts of southern France, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, to Toulouse and perhaps a few other areas. For me, travels always been an opportunity to explore, to discover, to gain insights and new perspective all while having conversations with the people I can now talk to because I have a translator.

While learning about the culture, the history, I also suspect, I’m going to be learning a lot about myself.   I’m challenging myself to step out of the box out of my comfort zone, because I know that’s where true growth always happens.

Are there areas of your life that you’re willing to step out of your own comfort zone to have the life that you really want?

I look forward to hearing from you about that. Remember, you too can live the life you love by design.

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ALONG ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL! 

Comfort zone. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

By Guest Blogger, Leana Dell, Author/Speaker/Podcast Host

Comfort zone. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? I envision a quiet evening wrapped in a blanket and drinking a hot cocoa by a roaring fire. And why not add an adoring little dog at my feet for good measure. Joy. So, if comfort zones are so appealing, why is everyone trying to get us out of them? They say push yourself “outside of the box” for a reason. They’re confining.

What I’ve found is that the longer I rest in a comfort zone, the smaller my world gets. I’ve lived in Dallas, Texas, off and on, for close to 10 years, and if you’re familiar with traffic in the Big ‘D,’ you’ll know that commutes of any kind are like maneuvering the Texas Motor Speedway. Somewhere around year five, I moved back to my native Canada for a few years and to a significantly smaller city. It was lovely. Slower pace, relaxed culture, and people who actually took vacation. Coming back to Dallas, I found myself intimidated.

How did I ever drive in this city? Or keep up with this insane pace?

What had happened? I’d settled into the recliner of my cozy, little comfort zone, and it took several months for me to get back in the swing of things.

Am I recommending that we force ourselves into a fast paced urban environment in order to challenge ourselves? Hardly. But what I do suggest is that we make a conscious effort to set down the cocoa and try something new to keep from getting locked inside. One of the best ways to do this is to get in touch with our most challenging inner voice. You know the one: I can’t do that. I’m too old to try. What if I make a fool of myself?

For me, that’s the cue to go for it. If I think ‘I can’t,’ then I do – within reason, of course. I’m not in the best shape to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, for example, but I know people my age who have gotten there and done it, which means I probably could, too. For me, my biggest push was jumping out of a plane at the age of 54, but yours doesn’t have to be dramatic. Maybe you take up public speaking, or volunteer at that shelter that’s been calling your name. It could even be as simple as having dinner alone in a restaurant. Regardless of what your can’t do is, know that so much waits for you on the other side.

What if I told you that we’re never too old to gain self-confidence? Or that the more we do, the more we’ll want to do? The magic awaits in our one brief moment of hesitation – that place where we pause and think, ‘Maybe.’ All possibilities shift when we respond with a YES! And remember, nothing stays the same, regardless. When we consistently say ‘No,’ that roaring fire eventually dies down, the blankets wear thin, cups of cocoa grow cold, and adoring little dogs beg to go outside.

Leana is host of the internationally popular podcast Girlfriend, We Need To Talk!, author of the bestselling novel Control Switch, a TEDx speaker, and an authority on leadership development.

You can find her at www.leanadelle.com or www.GirlfriendWeNeedToTalk.com or follow her at @leanadelle.