Weekend Wishlist | Surround yourself with beautiful things.

"This house is 100% me, I've created every inch of it.   My surroundings are everything. 

I have to live in a place where I feel inspired and [that's] a sexy space. Otherwise I can't do what I do"  

"If you surround yourself with beautiful things, beautiful things will come to you. You have to live in abundance to attract abundance."  -ASA (Shahs of Sunset)

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Take a moment to look around at your home surroundings. Where you spend the most time.  Do you feel absolutely inspired by your home environment?  Or do you at least have a place in your home where you can go to refresh, refuel and create?

If not, then you have some work to do.  Your homework for this weekend is to create a space where you feel inspired, peaceful, energized!  Why?  Because your environment pretty much impacts who you are and everything you do.  You want to change your life? Change your environment.  Your environment is comprised of multiple layers.  There's your internal environment consisting of your thoughts, health, and physical well being.  Your external environment which includes your home, car, and people you surround yourself with.

Today, we'll focus on your home environment.  Here's my experience.  When things are out of place and clutter builds up. My mind gets cluttered, my thoughts aren't clear, anxiety builds, and I'm uninspired to do anything except surf the internet mindlessly.  It's a viscous cycle.

Why I allow myself to live like this when I have 100% control over how I operate when I'm at home?

Because I don't make is A PRIORITY to control my environment in a way that brings me the experience I want.

 Creating an inspiring environment should be the very first thing I do on a daily basis.  I'm reminded of the movie "Limitless" where the star of the film consumes pills that help him access 100% of his brain.  The very first thing he did after walking into his apartment was to clean + eliminate clutter.  Once the work was complete, he was able to write a book that he's been putting off for years.   Steven Presfield, author of "The war of Art," talked about overcoming writer's block by tackling a huge mound of dishes that were building up in his kitchen sink.

Clutter in the house creates blockages to our creativity.  Your home is a place of creativity whether you realize it or not.  At work, you're told what to do but at home, there are no boundaries.  Anything is possible when you are in a place with no constraints.  But if the environment doesn't inspire you, then your home becomes a place where you EXIST versus a place where you LIVE.

This weekend, invest some time in creating your ideal environment (whatever that means to you).  Decluttering should be at the top of your list because creating space in your home invites a new type of energy.  Declutter to the point where you notice a positive change in your mood when you look around.

 Once you're there, you can move on to the little extras like rewarding yourself with a new favorite candle or buying fresh flowers or a new plant for the home.  Maybe you play some soothing jazz music to travel throughout your home.  Whatever makes you feel good......do it.

What's most important is that we PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT at all costs!  Steve Jobs, when he first returned to Apple, requested that everything be painted white.  He realized that an all white background is free from all distractions which is the baseline for creativity.   The fewer distractions around you, the more you can create.  Consider creating a ritual on Thursday or Friday evenings of cleaning + decluttering your space in preparation a beautiful and most inspiring weekend.