place: mums

poison:water

favourite things: mums new rosary cd (smile)

i am loving the whole creative aspect of the website, these are pictures of people who feel pretty right now. NICE

A

place: Mums

Poison: Choc covered licorice

Favourite Things: choc licorice!

I have found this website that searches blogs, myspaces, wespaces and the like looking for sentences with the word feel and then a describing word attached…

Like I feel beautiful, I feel angry, I feel itchy. So on and so on.

At this moment people accross the world, accross the web are expressing the fact that they feel:

1.small

2.dirty

3.proud

4.awkward

5.cold

6.safe

7.lonely

8.wrong

9.real

10.great

What a fascinating social experiment. That someone, would create a software to check how the world is feeling. Its a huge big question shouting out accross the ‘How are ya feeling?’

The interesting thing however, for as long as this experiment has been going most people express feelings that are negatively bent.

Feelings. nothing. more. than.

Feelings.

or

not.

A

Place: Office

Poison: Water

Favourite Things: bright green tees…

On tuesday night, the amazing Jeff Crabtree and Julie Crabtree spoke to our creative teams about ‘Living with a creative mind!’ (the topic of their well anticipated book)

Jeff played a clip from this website- which was inspirational.

Check it out.

That’s a topic for a book right there!

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66

Watch it, I promise it will be 20 mins well spent.

Dance a little

A

Place: sitting in my office! Yeha!

Poison: Diet Coke

Favourite Things: new laptop with fingerprint technology

Sooooo, laughing at this photo.

Another confession ‘I have a fake sugar addiction also’ Mostly because I love sweet things, but they don’t love my body!

As I was laughing at this photo, I got a pretty damning creative revelation.

How often do we replace the real thing, for some fake, chemical, lack of freshness in the area of creativity and performance?

How often do we go back to something that has satisfied our real need but with something that is not the real thing?

Fake conversations, old ideas, songs that have worked so get them out again, messages and writings that are old, stale or even worse just a fake replica?

Just a thought, do with it what you will

Love ya natalie I do….

NO SUGAR. NO FRESHNESS. DIET COKE!

Smile.

A

Place: Adelaide Airport

Poison: Water

Favourite Things:new brown leather boots

Well, thinking about this year and inspired by this sunset…

I was thinking this has been a year of firsts.

My first time in London.

My first time to Disneyland.

My first time to London’s West End (a dream I have had forever)

My first time on a horse!

My first time as a God mother…

My first time in Adelaide.

My first time leading an impact trip to Thailand.

My first time tasting limoncello!

My first time at Cream resteraunt perth (amazing!)

My first time being a qantas club member.

Love doing things for the first time. It keeps life as colourful as this amazing sunset.

Noice! (thanks kath and kim!)

A

Place: Qantas Club Adelaide

Poison: Pumpkin soup

Favourite Things: 75% off boots at Myer! Yes girls can you believe it I brought two pairs….75% off! no way…yes way…on an already discounted price.

Smile.

My favourite Things has never gone this long.

Now it has…. ahhh 75% off, that’s criminal.

Anyway back to my post.

Walt Disney, for those who have read my book, Walt Disney was actually one of the hero’s in my first draft of Capture, but somehow, someway he got removed. Mostly from fear of copyright laws. But this morning I was in Adelaide for our ‘Building business leaders breakfast’ on the topic of disney and I was reminded of his hero status in this creative pigrims walk.

And it was amazing. The speaker Phil Baker, (as much as he’s my boss!) was exceptional and the presentation was the coolest of its like I have ever seen.

Leadership lessons from Walt Disney are not hard to conjure up, as the man in one life lived extraordinarily large.

From his attitude towards excellence, to his attention to detail, to his huge vision, to his pathfinding passion. Disney was a machine and creatively left his splash on the world, for my generation and for many to come.

It got me thinking particularily about living beyond the now, in the creative realm and what is it that you and I have on the inside of us? What creativity is awaiting exploration that can leave a mark on a generation.

I wholeheartedly believe that every person has the potential for creativity, every person has a creative gene, because we were created in the image of the ultimate creator.

What ideas are awaiting disneyification? What life changing light bulb is awaiting the perfect switch on, that could affect a generation.

Open your mind to the impossible, dream large and lifelike, bring a fresh splash of paint to your corridoor of the globe…The world so desperately needs uncommon innovators, men and women of purpose who declare bold creativity.

Disneyfied excitement

A

Place: Qantas club

Poison: Diet Coke

Favourite Things: Hannah beauty on the phone!

Okay, Im slightly addicted…my name is Amanda, and I am addicted to facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=617221549

Its all the rave at the moment, the new msn, the new blogville, the new my space.

Check it out. Very creative. Very people focused. Even found people from my school on it. How cool.

A

Place: Milkd

Poison: Water

Favourite Things: Rainy days that seem to promise summer will be here soon…

(the view out of my hotel window in Queenstown!)

Well I have had a delightful day full of not much. I stayed at mums last night and am in perth to start my few days of annual leave.

With all the travelling it feels a little indulgent to be taking extra time off, but it was booked so long ago and counting the amount of hours I am sleeping its obvious my body is needing it.

I had lunch with the beautiful Michaela today, and she told me many stories about Japan, and whats been happening since she has lived there for the last year and a half.

Also it is lovely Justice and also Sarah (Bain’s) birthday today. So a dinner happening in Sydney right now, is where my heart it. I wish I could be there to hug you all.

This all got me thinking about CARE packages. The amazing girls in my department, have been collecting little but lovely items for a HUGE care package that I got given today. They wanted me to rest up on my time off and feel the love and that I did.

Sending or giving a package with thoughtful bits and bobs, that only means something to the reciever and givers, is one thing I do to keep the flame burning brightly for my close friends in Australia and overseas.

To get the favour returned to me, completely unexpectedly was so thoughtful, rare and delightful.

Thanks events girls, I truly am priveleged to do my everyday with such quality people.

Share the love in your world and it will always grow and return back to you, even in the most unexpected ways.

Content and rested!
A

Place: Milkd

Poison: Long Macciato

Favourite Things: My own bed!

I came home this weekend for a couple of amazing weddings and also it was Elly and Ben’s first year anniversary of being married. (a year ago I was a bridesmaid! how time flies)

(one of my staff, the beautiful simone, marries lance!)

(how beautiful does she look!)

At times like this, when you have been away from home and travelling through another country it brings things back home, what life is truly about.

I found a brochure at the Auckland airport with this quote in Maori…

‘Ki Mai koe ki a au,

he aha te mea nui tenei ao:

He tangatat, he tangata, he tangata’

Translated it says this…

“If you should ask me what is the greatest thing in the world,

The answer would be:

It is people, it is people, it is people”

Last night before I fell asleep, I was ready a book of the bible called ecclesiates and throughout the whole book it kept repeating the phrase…It is all smoke…Life is smoke…one breath and its gone.

The writer of this book, was refering to the collection of material goods, success, gold, clothes, jobs, titles and position. He was making the point that it is all like smoke, in comparison to what really matters in this world.

So as I drive down to visit my family, with whom I miss so terribly. I am reminded…

What is the greatest thing in the world:

It is people, It is people, It is People.

Yes!

A

Place: Qantas Club

Poison: Cappucino

Favourite Things: Free Wireless

I have strruggled this whole trip to access the internet. Its so funny because you take it for granted when you are at a desk every day.

This internet fast has encouraged me to cruise the local New Zealand publications more and especially I have loved all the NZ magazines. (not the cleo, cosmo, womans day gossip trains) The architecture, the house and homes, the notebook, creative types.

Yes I am one of those annoying types, who secretly tear out pages from the magazine when no-one is looking. Most of the time they are my publications, but sometimes when I am 1% naughty I rip them out of pages from cafes.

The buildings, the gardens, the fashion, the creativity in Auckland, NZ is breathtaking. I am so lucky that I am addicted to my family, if not I would be packing up my life and shipping it to this Island of the long white cloud.

My little heart shaped notebook has gotten a beating this week, as I have glued, ripped, written and scratched a plethora of new ideas for life, work and my new publications.

My encouragement, is any chance you get, if you see a great idea. Use your phone camera to take a picture, or rip out the little quote like I did on the airbus today or go for broke rip out a whole page.

The creative inspiration that rolls from this act of naughtiness will totally over ride your feelings of guilt.

Live in the moment of creative inspiration, it turns a boring suduko crossword into a colourful magnet of inspiration.

naughtily

A