practical and meaningful

food porn

photographer + foodie = food porn

identify your bliss and make that your life's work

Ask yourself these questions. What motivates me? What am I good at? What is important. What gives my life meaning?

My list is varied but you can see parts of it shining through every thing I do.

Building things. Shaping people's experiences. Providing jobs. Feeding people. Knowing. Working hard. Loving hard. Organization. Seeking. Documenting. Sampling. Doing good. Creating spaces. Encouraging others. Standing back. Family. Details.  Friends. Meeting people. Making a difference. Believing. Soul work. No regrets. For the long haul.

Identify your bliss and make that your life's work.

my secret sauce

There is  a lot of talk when you are an entrepreneur about what "you" specifically bring to the table in terms of your work and your business. My friend Jan calls it your secret sauce.

This past week was busier than usual with  big events, parties, and catering  ON TOP of the usual cafe, art studios, and crafty work.  I thought about farming out the baking of the rainbow cakes since I had so much going on - but ended up doing them myself. As I was assembling them, I was inspired to switch up the order of the layers, so that each girl would have their own different cake. Had someone else made the cakes, I would not have had the insight to ask them to switch up the layers ahead of time. It was in the moment, and I concede, part of my secret sauce.  What did you do today that was done specifically a certain way, because you did it. Do you know what your secret sauce is?

middle aged...how did that happen?

I was basically a kid (25 years old) when I met my husband. I was living in  a loft in downtown los angeles - pushing my steel bathtub down the hall to the community bathroom, traveling the world taking photos, and making plans for how I wanted my life to play out. I spent days in the dark room, hours gardening on the roof, and money on things such as sunday night dinner parties on the roof.

Almost twenty years has passed and I am in awe of how life has played out and how fast the time has flown. We were laughing the other day because I suddenly realized I am no longer a kid and that we are middle aged....how did that happen?  We have built houses and responsibility and college funds and retirement funds, we own businesses, our daughter is a tween and i still feel exactly the same in my heart as I did when I was 25.  I feel the years on my body and I mark the years in my body of work, my heart carries the weight of life, but my spirit still feels 25.

 

tiny dancers

a beautiful performance today by the girls at dance camp.

Entrepreneur's are turning the economy around without going to business school.

I call myself an accidental entrepreneur. I never would have expected that I would own a business - or three!  I am an artist who loves to travel and document the world with my camera. I spent my twenties traveling light with very low overhead and freedom to go as I pleased.  I always supported myself, paid my way through college, and was financially responsible. I started working and making my own money in 4th grade as a score keeper. Soon after, I started working for a family realtor friend - helping her run open houses and also cleaned her house, paid her bills, and did her laundry. After college, I bought a one way ticket to New York City and moved there (I had never been!) I started working young and I have a good work ethic.

I started my first company fifteen years ago and grew it organically. Two years ago I bought an existing business (with an SBA loan) and expanded it by opening a second location. This year I will open a cafe adjacent to the Hollywood Art Studio.  I truly believe that if you can start/grow/expand a business during a down economy and succeed - you will make it in the long run.

My college degree is in Humanities and Photojournalism. I do not have an MBA. There have been a few times where I have wondered if my businesses would be different had I gone to business school. Would I have been scared away from being an Entrepreneur if I had spent two years learning how to be in business and came out of it owning a hunded grand? I do not like having debt and I know I would have gotten a job to pay off the debt - rather than making my own way and starting my business.   Love this graphic from  Tony Shin and his creative team!

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Affirmations

When I love everything around me, I am constantly inspired.
When I have money in the bank, I am more able to think, feel, and live life.
When I invite people into my home, I am more connected and loving in the world.
When I am taking care of myself and eating right and exercizing, I have more to give.
Creating jobs and making money connects me to my community and my purpose.
Appreciate your life, find meaning in everything you do.
Eliminate what does not support your true self.
Love your life, work hard, play hard, be AWAKE.

painting by Adele Sypesteyn

productive and beyond

Most of my days are fragmented and super busy with too much to do and not enough continuous time to get it all done.  Yesterday I accomplished so much due to the fact that I had the full day to work and lots of people to help.

In twelve hours, I met with the architects and finalized plans for the cafe, met with an artist and created a workshop series for the art studio, reorganized various parts of the crafty warehouse, donated big heavy file cabinets, reconfigured the entire supply room at the art studio to make room for a knitting circle seating area with better light, moved a couch into my office, tore out the ugly counter and shelf in the bathroom, worked on new software system, relocated all the cake boxes to better storage, rearranged all the fridges and set up a mock layout of the cafe based on our finalized plans, decided to donate the big desk, shelves, and extra fridge and freezer, went to the tailor to get my jeans hemmed, taped crafty receipts, did banking, finalized payroll, booked a new show, worked on scheduling, had lunch with my husband, cleaned off all the sticky labels on the trashcans and fridges, with goo gone, cleaned the windows and swept, reduced some clutter, found some money, booked a party, bid on some restaurant supplies, worked on our budget, tightened up the operating agreement, got extra sets of keys made, replaced the broken fridge lights, booked someone to detail and wash the van, paid rent (x4), and strategized about ways to make it all work together and work well.

DONE.

 

Happy New Year from Practical & Meaningful

Practically speaking, here are some resolutions for the new year.  Meaningfully speaking, here is what I loved most about last year. 

PRACTICAL Resolutions for 2012 - Tighten up my systems, simplify, & be more organized. Exercise regularly.  Take more photos. See more movies. Spend time with the people I love. Enjoy more music.

MEANINGFUL What I loved most about 2011 - My Think Days. our Valentine's Dinner Party. the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. My daughter singing at David's 40th birthday party. Bring your dogs and parents to ART CAMP day. Moving Crafty. Hiking the Stairs in Culver City. All the great press I got through HARO. Being a moMPreneur. The Egg Project. my TWEEN.  Going to PSV.

Practical and Meaningful. Resolution and Review. Action and Appreciation. Work and Play. Friendships and Friends. Places and Memories. Systems and Recall.  Happy New Year!

practical and meaningful is going to BlogHer!

hope to see you there! cyndi