Step Right Up To The Encouragement Booth!
Hey inspirational ones,
I got this “musestorm” in the wee hours of the night several months ago to have an “encouragement booth” at my town’s annual celebrate the town day. Vendors, non-profits and community groups set up stalls/booths along these grassy aisles. People drifted in, out and around the booths as well as attended lots of other familyish events. This is the first year I did this. Of course, I had to do something really DIFFERENT or I would have felt off rebel kilter. So, the encouragement booth was born.
I’ve got a pic of me at the “booth,” but can’t seem to load it into WP media at the moment. Will work on it later and add so you can see it. The front of the table had the same poster as the back fence. I never realized until I looked at my newly installed sign that day that the word enCOURAGEment had the word courage embedded in it. Honestly, it took courage for folks to come to the booth and get encouragement. Did I find myself shouting, “Want some FREE enCOURAGEment?” Hell, yes! It felt right.
I really enjoyed it. And everyone that stopped in wanted encouragement for something different: to dance, to kayak, to paint, to write, to finish a book, to finish a school program, to be a better parent, to be more observant, to open a business, to have more fun. Raffled off a similarly themed book by BJ Gallagher called “It’s Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been.” A real gem of a title because it really never is too late, no matter what your age.
When I got out of college at 22, there were times in the years that followed when I looked in the mirror and thought, “you’re washed up.” Holy moly! Where did I get such a crazy idea? Well, I got it from the world and people around me. I managed to wrangle my thoughts out of such craziness but it wasn’t easy.
Seriously, it’s never too late! Grandma Moses didn’t start painting until her 70s! Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t publish her Little House books until her sixties. And there are more examples. Telling folks it’s too late to do something is just another mechanism to keep folks in mental chains. (Of course, you’re encouraged to “shop” until the day you die!)
So, please tell me in the comments what you would like to do with your one wild and precious life that you haven’t done yet?
Thx, Giulietta
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Um, doing it. Consider me the converted. 🙂
Your booth idea is frikkin’ awesome though. I want one. That would be awesomely fun.
Hi Michael,
Maybe I should franchise “encouragement booths?” Thx! Ooh, I like the title of your latest post. Will stop by. Can we carry ones banned in the past like the delightful Lady Chatterley’s Lover and The Awakening?
G.
Hi Giulietta,
I remember feeling that same washed up feeling in my late 30’s after burning out in my mental health career. Took me a while to sort through all that negativity. Now I write blog posts title “Why Am I Feeling So Grateful?” and am spending time with great people like you. Just wanted to put in a plug saying no matter how washed up a person’s feeling, your dreams are possible!
Hey Paul,
I’m sure my readers will be encouraged by “no matter how washed up a person’s feeling, your dreams are possible!” Thanks for saying it. I will check out your post as well …
G.
Can’t wait to see the picture of the booth!
working on it! G.
I believe I would love to join your Franchise and seed enCOURAGEment, enLIGHTenment and enJOYment on a full-time basis! Sometimes all somebody needs to take that important first step is someone behind them that believes it’s possible.
Your muse has beautiful and fantastic ideas!!
Hi Sally,
Wow, you found so many hidden treasures in the en*.*ment words!
I see no reason why our economy cannot shift from buying stuff we don’t need to buying the experiences that make our lives truly RICH. Let’s all enCOURAGE each other to leave that destructive mindset behind. Glad to have you in the franchise.
I LOVE your blog post title as well. Need to visit all of them today.
Thanks, G.
Shew! I need some enCOURAGEment right now. I’m miserable at my job and am dying to start my own business. I know I can do it, I just can’t seem to “let go.” I’ve been there for almost 9 years and its time for a change!!! What is it going to take for me to quit? Before I know it, another 5 years will have passed by. It seems like all the days bleed together- what makes one day more special than another to call it quits? I’m scared b/c I’m single and don’t have anyone to fall back on- AND I have a mortgage payment to make…Help! I cannot continue to go on like this. My boss sucks the energy right out of me every day!
Hi Anne,
Thanks for stopping by for some enCOURAGEment! That takes courage, of course. I know you can do it too. Perhaps, try writing a letter to yourself first with all the reasons you’re holding yourself back, then look at each reason and write ways to turn it into a positive or overcome it. For example, “I have to pay the mortgage.” What are some creative ways to handle that? Let your mind really go! Sometimes, we need to loosen up our mindsets enough to see there are many choices.
I encourage you to see the choices around you! Best wishes, G.
Love the idea of your enCOURAGEment booth. There should be a lot more like that rather than all the material incentives the world or this country seems to offer. Especially in current times, just seeing that word, enCOURAGEment, does something positive to one’s psyche. And yes, I have a couple more decades – I hope – left for that last great achievement and adventure. I certainly know where I’m going even though I seem to be thwarted at every turn, but determination and enCOURAGEment can be great motivators.
Hope you solved the image problem. Have anything that says “insert?”
Hi Penelope!
Giving away encouragement felt right. A lot of folks said they needed encouragement in so many things. Am going to try the pic again in a bit. I saw “upload” and may have been doing it in the wrong place.
Glad you are still on your wild adventure! Makes life enJOYable when we see it as that. Why not teach kids to see life as an adventure instead of a series of milestones to check off?
Makes no sense.
Thx for the encouraging words about encouragement. G.
Oh, this is too wonderful G. The image of you out there in your Encouragement Booth just delights me to no end. What a gift to give people. You’re really special, you know that? So lay some on me, sister! I need encouragement to make my dream of living full-time in Sonoma County come true. I know it won’t happen for another two years or so, so help me not lose sight of it and get buried in other less important stuff. Oh yeah, help me to not obsess about it too! Is that too tall an order?
Hi Patty!
I appreciate your encouraging words about the booth.
No orders are too tall. Keep your eye on this wonderful prize to live in beautiful Sonoma Country.
Perhaps create a big two-year time line with lots of bright colors and tack it on the wall where you live now. Reverse engineer it, so on the far right you move into your new digs in say lush Healdsburg on October 2, 2011 and the far left is today. Then back track to October 2, 2010, creating pause points where you’ve done what you need to do. Give them names like put current home on the market, sign up with Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce, etc.
That will this dream can be born – kinda like a two-year dream pregnancy!
I look forward to hearing about your relocation adventure.
thx, G.
Thank you, G. That’s just what I needed to hear. You’re good at this, you know that?
I plan to write a series of guides on effectiveness that I wish somebody gave me when I started out in life … a playbook series for work and life.
Hi J.D.,
Your playbook series sounds fabulous. The schools and work focus on conventional subjects, when the info we really need in life rarely gets addressed — we just stumble onto it as we move through life. I’m sure you’ll have a large audience. Best wishes for your guides! G.
I’m so late getting here but wow, I LOVE this! What a fantastic way to spread good vibes! Who couldn’t use a little encouragement, right? How lucky is your town to have you, but perhaps you should take this on the road?!
At the moment, I could use a little encouragement getting through this election season without biting my nails.
Hi Belinda,
Now, that’s a great idea to take it on the road. Thank you!
I’ll look into doing this at other events around the State. I really enjoyed it.
As for your encouragement to keep your nails intact, perhaps think of new ways to support/spread the word about your candidates that involve shaking a lot of folks hands! You’re a fantastic connector. Others might need to hear from you.
G.
Hey G-
Just wanted you to know that I quit my job a few days after your words of enCOURAGEment. I didn’t tell anyone! I decided I had to do it on my own. Too many people had too many things to say about it….Anyway, it might be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but its also the most liberating thing I’ve ever done! Once I got in there, the words just started flowing! Funny thing is that my biggest fear was crying in front of my bosses(speaking of tears), but I managed to hold it together! Anyway, I already have several people who are asking for my services. You’re right! Job security is overrated. Anything is possible! Thanks again for your support. Keep up the good work. You have quite a gift.
Well, Gotta run- my new found life awaits me! 🙂
Anne
Hi Anne,
I’m happy for you. Yes, too many people will have too much to say about it, which clouds your own ability to make a decision that’s right for you. Enjoy your new found life. It’s been waiting for you! Thx for letting us know. G.