Last week, I took a much deserved 5-day holiday. On Wednesday morning, I headed north of Toronto to spend 2-days at a friend’s cottage in the Kawarthas. Then on Friday morning, I went to the shores of Lake Erie to bask in the warm sunshine. I went to church on Saturday, a BBQ on Sunday, then spent more time in the sun on holiday Monday at Harbourfront taking in the sights and sounds of Caribana inspired gospel music.

Just glorious! An amazing way to unwind and relax. No computers, no Internet, nothing technical. Just sun and fun for 5-days. I learned many things about the world around me while away from the computer and I want to share them with you.

Waves Can Make You Scared or Make You Giggle: You Have a Choice

While at the beach on Friday, I watched the waves from my beach chair. Because it was a windy day, the waves roared towards the shore. I thought to myself that if someone is afraid of water, they would be too scared to head in.

I could no longer just watch the waves, so I slowly walked in step-by-step. Pretty soon, I was shoulder deep in the water and had a fun time jumping over the waves.

I laughed and laughed and laughed. I giggled at the roar of the waves. I snickered at how the waves slapped me in the back of my head when they came roaring by.

Not only was I laughing, but so too was everyone else who was in the water. I couldn’t understand why I – or anyone – would find the waves so humourous. And then it came to me – the waves made me feel utterly free.

Lesson – Instead of watching from the sidelines, jump right in. If you typically make the choice to do nothing, choose instead to do something.

Books Are Still Great Little Gems, But Don’t Forget Your Idea Journal

Who doesn’t love a good book? I took 2 of my favourite ones with me – Jan Janzen’s Devil With a Briefcase and Andrea J. Lee & Tina Forsyth’s Money Meaning and Beyond. Along with the hot sunshine and my bottled water, I sat back to catch up on 2 books that I hadn’t picked up in a while.

As I was going through the chapters in Lee & Forsyth’s book on making money, I kept getting new profitable podcasting ideas. New products, new services, new everything, but as I sit here a week later, I can’t remember any of those ideas. Why? I didn’t bring my ideas journal to the beach. All that brain power gone to waste.

Lesson – Never leave your ideas journal at home. You never know when an idea will pop up based on something you’re reading. Your next idea could make you millions.

Dream Often, But Goal Big

Towards the end of the day, I grabbed a camera and walked towards some beach houses to get some pictures. The picture on the left is a row of cottages that were right at the beach. Some were for rent, most weren’t.

I started to dream about the day I would own one of those beach cottages. I couldn’t settle for one in the interior away from the beach, I said to myself. No matter the price, I would buy me a beach-front cottage.

I continued walking along the beach when something else caught my eye. It was a humid day, so the visibility was a bit off, but with some hard squinting, I saw it. With my camera, I ran towards the object. It was on a closed off section of the beach, a private area. But darn it, I was going to get close enough – heck, even trespass – just so I could grab a shot.

Now this is a cottage (see picture on the right). Huge, opulent, monstrous. Yes, this is the cottage I would buy. I started to visualize myself on the upper deck while entertaining friends. I pictured my 3 rottweilers playing on the sand while I got my Squidoo ready. I even visualized the price tag being a cool $1.5-million and gave myself a 5-year goal to save up enough money to buy it.

Lesson – Never settle. Dreams make you settle on something that you may not really want just because it looks more attainable. Goals make you work towards the very thing you want the most even if it appears out of reach.

What are you doing so that you’re:

1. Jumping into the action?
2. Remembering those million dollar ideas?
3. Making goals to work on achieving what seems out of reach?

Do share your observations by leaving your comments in the comment section.