For all your wall decal needs visit www.wallappeals.com or gives us a call at 270-761-5237.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Infographic: What We Can Do With Apple’s Reserves of $100 billion
Something to think about from Wall Appeals.....
Think about that next time you use your iPhone...
For all your wall decal needs visit www.wallappeals.com or gives us a call at 270-761-5237.
For all your wall decal needs visit www.wallappeals.com or gives us a call at 270-761-5237.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Have you seen our Etsy Shop!!??
Here at Wall Appeals we have been thinking of new ways to share our designs and bring them to our customers! One of the ways we have attempted to do this was to start our own Etsy shop. If you haven't heard of Etsy it's a wonderful site where many business people can get together and join this artistic community to buy and sell products. Everyone from stay at home moms with hobbies to medium sized businesses come to this community to share their work. Wall Appeals is generally a custom wall decal business, you tell us what you want and we design it for you with your specifications. Our Etsy shop is a little different in that while most of our products can still be customized, there is already a wall decal put together that you can order if you like it the way it is. Here are a couple of examples of what we offer on Etsy:
Hopefully you now have a taste of what a lot of our Wall Appeals look like and if any of these stand out to you, please visit our Etsy Shop! As always visit www.wallappeals.com or call us at 270-761-5237 for any of your wall decal needs!
Hopefully you now have a taste of what a lot of our Wall Appeals look like and if any of these stand out to you, please visit our Etsy Shop! As always visit www.wallappeals.com or call us at 270-761-5237 for any of your wall decal needs!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
How Not To Hurry
Taking a break from a normal Wall Appeals blog post and bringing everyone a little life advice. I think this is a great article for anyone to read, whether you run your own company, work in a big corporation or maybe you are a stay at home mom, everyone should take some time and realize life shouldn't be one big rush. This article comes from DesignTAXI.com:
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”—Lao Tzu
Consider the above quote from Lao Tzu, (perhaps mythical) father of Taoism: how can it be true? Is it possible to never hurry, but to get everything done?
It seems contradictory to our modern world, where everything is a rush, where we try to cram as much into every minute of the day as possible, where if we are not busy, we feel unproductive and lazy.
In fact, often we compete by trying to show how busy we are. “I have a thousand projects to do!”, “Oh yeah? I have 10,000!”. The winner is the person who has the most insane schedule, who rushes from one thing to the next with the energy of a hummingbird, because obviously that means he’s the most successful and important. Right? Maybe not.
Maybe we’re playing the wrong game—we’ve been conditioned to believe that busier is better, but actually the speed of doing is not as important as what we focus on doing.
Maybe we’re going at the wrong speed. Maybe if we are constantly rushing, we will miss out on life itself. Let’s let go of the obsession with speed, and instead slow down, stop rushing, and enjoy life. And still get everything done. Let’s look at how:
A CHANGE OF MINDSET
The most important step is a realization that life is better when you move at a slower, more relaxed pace, instead of hurrying and rushing and trying to cram too much into every day. Instead, get the most out of every moment.
Is a book better if you speed-read it, or if you take your time and get lost in it? Is a song better if you skim through it, or if you take the time to really listen? Is food better if you cram it down your throat, or if you savor every bite and really appreciate the flavor? Is your work better if you’re trying to do 10 things at once, or if you really pour yourself into one important task? Is your time spent with a friend or loved one better if you have a rushed meeting interrupted by your emails and text messages, or if you can relax and really focus on the person?
Life as a whole is better if you go slowly, and take the time to savor it, appreciate every moment. That’s the simplest reason to slow down.
And so, you’ll need to change your mindset (if you’ve been stuck in a rushed mindset until now). To do this, make the simple admission that life is better when savored, that work is better with focus. Then make the commitment to give that a try, to take some of the steps below.
BUT I CAN’T CHANGE!
There will be some among you who will admit that it would be nice to slow down, but you just can’t do it… your job won’t allow it, or you’ll lose income if you don’t do as many projects, or living in the city makes it too difficult to go slowly. It’s a nice ideal if you’re living on a tropical island, or out in the country, or if you have a job that allows control of your schedule… but it’s not realistic for your life.
I say bullshit.
Take responsibility for your life. If your job forces you to rush, take control of it. Make changes in what you do, in how you work. Work with your boss to make changes if necessary. And if really necessary, you can eventually change jobs. You are responsible for your life.
If you live in a city where everyone rushes, realize that you don’t have to be like everyone else. You can be different. You can walk instead of driving in rush hour traffic. You can have fewer meetings. You can work on fewer but more important things. You can be on your iPhone or Blackberry less, and be disconnected sometimes. Your environment doesn’t control your life—you do.
I’m not going to tell you how to take responsibility for your life, but once you make the decision, the how will become apparent over time.
TIPS FOR A SLOWER-PACED LIFE
I can’t give you a step-by-step guide to moving slower, but here are some things to consider and perhaps adopt, if they work for your life. Some things might require you to change some major things, but they can be done over time:
Do less. Cut back on your projects, on your task list, on how much you try to do each day. Focus not on quantity but quality. Pick 2-3 important things—or even just one important thing—and work on those first. Save smaller, routine tasks for later in the day, but give yourself time to focus. Read more.
Have fewer meetings. Meetings are usually a big waste of time. And they eat into your day, forcing you to squeeze the things you really need to do into small windows, and making you rush. Try to have blocks of time with no interruptions, so you don’t have to rush from one meeting to another.
Practice disconnecting. Have times when you turn off your devices and your email notifications and whatnot. Time with no phone calls, when you’re just creating, or when you’re just spending time with someone, or just reading a book, or just taking a walk, or just eating mindfully. You can even disconnect for (gasp!) an entire day, and you won’t be hurt. I promise.
Give yourself time to get ready and get there. If you’re constantly rushing to appointments or other places you have to be, it’s because you don’t allot enough time in your schedule for preparing and for traveling. Pad your schedule to allow time for this stuff. If you think it only takes you 10 minutes to get ready for work or a date, perhaps give yourself 30-45 minutes so you don’t have to shave in a rush or put on makeup in the car. If you think you can get there in 10 minutes, perhaps give yourself 2-3 times that amount so you can go at a leisurely pace and maybe even get there early.
Practice being comfortable with sitting, doing nothing. One thing I’ve noticed is that when people have to wait, they become impatient or uncomfortable. They want their mobile device or at least a magazine, because standing and waiting is either a waste of time or something they’re not used to doing without feeling self-conscious. Instead, try just sitting there, looking around, soaking in your surroundings. Try standing in line and just watching and listening to people around you. It takes practice, but after awhile, you’ll do it with a smile.
Realize that if it doesn’t get done, that’s OK. There’s always tomorrow. And yes, I know that’s a frustrating attitude for some of you who don’t like laziness or procrastination or living without firm deadlines, but it’s also reality. The world likely won’t end if you don’t get that task done today. Your boss might get mad, but the company won’t collapse and the life will inevitably go on. And the things that need to get done will.
Start to eliminate the unnecessary. When you do the important things with focus, without rush, there will be things that get pushed back, that don’t get done. And you need to ask yourself: how necessary are these things? What would happen if I stopped doing them? How can I eliminate them, delegate them, automate them?
Practice mindfulness. Simply learn to live in the present, rather than thinking so much about the future or the past. When you eat, fully appreciate your food. When you’re with someone, be with them fully. When you’re walking, appreciate your surroundings, no matter where you are.
Slowly eliminate commitments. We’re overcommitted, which is why we’re rushing around so much. I don’t just mean with work—projects and meetings and the like. Parents have tons of things to do with and for their kids, and we over-commit our kids as well. Many of us have busy social lives, or civic commitments, or are coaching or playing on sports teams. We have classes, groups and hobbies. But in trying to cram so much into our lives, we’re actually deteriorating the quality of those lives. Slowly eliminate commitments—pick 4-5 essential ones, and realize that the rest, while nice or important, just don’t fit right now. Politely inform people, over time, that you don’t have time to stick to those commitments.
Try these things out. Life is better when unrushed. And given the fleeting nature of this life, why waste even a moment by rushing through it?
Remember the quote above: if nature can get everything done without rushing, so can you.
Hopefully this article brought up some good points for you to think about. Life should be enjoyed.
Visit www.wallappeals.com or call us at 270-761-5237 for any wall decal needs!
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”—Lao Tzu
Consider the above quote from Lao Tzu, (perhaps mythical) father of Taoism: how can it be true? Is it possible to never hurry, but to get everything done?
It seems contradictory to our modern world, where everything is a rush, where we try to cram as much into every minute of the day as possible, where if we are not busy, we feel unproductive and lazy.
In fact, often we compete by trying to show how busy we are. “I have a thousand projects to do!”, “Oh yeah? I have 10,000!”. The winner is the person who has the most insane schedule, who rushes from one thing to the next with the energy of a hummingbird, because obviously that means he’s the most successful and important. Right? Maybe not.
Maybe we’re playing the wrong game—we’ve been conditioned to believe that busier is better, but actually the speed of doing is not as important as what we focus on doing.
Maybe we’re going at the wrong speed. Maybe if we are constantly rushing, we will miss out on life itself. Let’s let go of the obsession with speed, and instead slow down, stop rushing, and enjoy life. And still get everything done. Let’s look at how:
A CHANGE OF MINDSET
The most important step is a realization that life is better when you move at a slower, more relaxed pace, instead of hurrying and rushing and trying to cram too much into every day. Instead, get the most out of every moment.
Is a book better if you speed-read it, or if you take your time and get lost in it? Is a song better if you skim through it, or if you take the time to really listen? Is food better if you cram it down your throat, or if you savor every bite and really appreciate the flavor? Is your work better if you’re trying to do 10 things at once, or if you really pour yourself into one important task? Is your time spent with a friend or loved one better if you have a rushed meeting interrupted by your emails and text messages, or if you can relax and really focus on the person?
Life as a whole is better if you go slowly, and take the time to savor it, appreciate every moment. That’s the simplest reason to slow down.
And so, you’ll need to change your mindset (if you’ve been stuck in a rushed mindset until now). To do this, make the simple admission that life is better when savored, that work is better with focus. Then make the commitment to give that a try, to take some of the steps below.
BUT I CAN’T CHANGE!
There will be some among you who will admit that it would be nice to slow down, but you just can’t do it… your job won’t allow it, or you’ll lose income if you don’t do as many projects, or living in the city makes it too difficult to go slowly. It’s a nice ideal if you’re living on a tropical island, or out in the country, or if you have a job that allows control of your schedule… but it’s not realistic for your life.
I say bullshit.
Take responsibility for your life. If your job forces you to rush, take control of it. Make changes in what you do, in how you work. Work with your boss to make changes if necessary. And if really necessary, you can eventually change jobs. You are responsible for your life.
If you live in a city where everyone rushes, realize that you don’t have to be like everyone else. You can be different. You can walk instead of driving in rush hour traffic. You can have fewer meetings. You can work on fewer but more important things. You can be on your iPhone or Blackberry less, and be disconnected sometimes. Your environment doesn’t control your life—you do.
I’m not going to tell you how to take responsibility for your life, but once you make the decision, the how will become apparent over time.
TIPS FOR A SLOWER-PACED LIFE
I can’t give you a step-by-step guide to moving slower, but here are some things to consider and perhaps adopt, if they work for your life. Some things might require you to change some major things, but they can be done over time:
Do less. Cut back on your projects, on your task list, on how much you try to do each day. Focus not on quantity but quality. Pick 2-3 important things—or even just one important thing—and work on those first. Save smaller, routine tasks for later in the day, but give yourself time to focus. Read more.
Have fewer meetings. Meetings are usually a big waste of time. And they eat into your day, forcing you to squeeze the things you really need to do into small windows, and making you rush. Try to have blocks of time with no interruptions, so you don’t have to rush from one meeting to another.
Practice disconnecting. Have times when you turn off your devices and your email notifications and whatnot. Time with no phone calls, when you’re just creating, or when you’re just spending time with someone, or just reading a book, or just taking a walk, or just eating mindfully. You can even disconnect for (gasp!) an entire day, and you won’t be hurt. I promise.
Give yourself time to get ready and get there. If you’re constantly rushing to appointments or other places you have to be, it’s because you don’t allot enough time in your schedule for preparing and for traveling. Pad your schedule to allow time for this stuff. If you think it only takes you 10 minutes to get ready for work or a date, perhaps give yourself 30-45 minutes so you don’t have to shave in a rush or put on makeup in the car. If you think you can get there in 10 minutes, perhaps give yourself 2-3 times that amount so you can go at a leisurely pace and maybe even get there early.
Practice being comfortable with sitting, doing nothing. One thing I’ve noticed is that when people have to wait, they become impatient or uncomfortable. They want their mobile device or at least a magazine, because standing and waiting is either a waste of time or something they’re not used to doing without feeling self-conscious. Instead, try just sitting there, looking around, soaking in your surroundings. Try standing in line and just watching and listening to people around you. It takes practice, but after awhile, you’ll do it with a smile.
Realize that if it doesn’t get done, that’s OK. There’s always tomorrow. And yes, I know that’s a frustrating attitude for some of you who don’t like laziness or procrastination or living without firm deadlines, but it’s also reality. The world likely won’t end if you don’t get that task done today. Your boss might get mad, but the company won’t collapse and the life will inevitably go on. And the things that need to get done will.
Start to eliminate the unnecessary. When you do the important things with focus, without rush, there will be things that get pushed back, that don’t get done. And you need to ask yourself: how necessary are these things? What would happen if I stopped doing them? How can I eliminate them, delegate them, automate them?
Practice mindfulness. Simply learn to live in the present, rather than thinking so much about the future or the past. When you eat, fully appreciate your food. When you’re with someone, be with them fully. When you’re walking, appreciate your surroundings, no matter where you are.
Slowly eliminate commitments. We’re overcommitted, which is why we’re rushing around so much. I don’t just mean with work—projects and meetings and the like. Parents have tons of things to do with and for their kids, and we over-commit our kids as well. Many of us have busy social lives, or civic commitments, or are coaching or playing on sports teams. We have classes, groups and hobbies. But in trying to cram so much into our lives, we’re actually deteriorating the quality of those lives. Slowly eliminate commitments—pick 4-5 essential ones, and realize that the rest, while nice or important, just don’t fit right now. Politely inform people, over time, that you don’t have time to stick to those commitments.
Try these things out. Life is better when unrushed. And given the fleeting nature of this life, why waste even a moment by rushing through it?
Remember the quote above: if nature can get everything done without rushing, so can you.
Hopefully this article brought up some good points for you to think about. Life should be enjoyed.
Visit www.wallappeals.com or call us at 270-761-5237 for any wall decal needs!
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