Tag Archive for: travel

On Vacation

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As I write this I am sitting in a cute little vacation villa in a lovely resort with my dear friend Dian after a stroll on the beach and dinner in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.  I needed this vacation.  Yes, I travel a lot, but travel and vacation are two very different things.

Taking time to rest (13 1/2 hours of sleep last night!), relax and reflect is a very necessary part of life.  I go at such a fast pace most days, driving my business, taking care of endless details, housekeeping, caring for my brood of animals, communicating with friends and being (seemingly) constantly on the internet, well let’s just say that slowing down for a whole week is a bit overdue.  And it got me to thinking…

It seems that leaving your home and traveling to a place where the day to day things that occupy your time and mind is what we call a vacation, but we can also create that in our every day world.  Since I’m a Libra, I’ve always sought the balance in things and often take “mini-staycations” at home to revive myself.  You know, the occasional movie day (3 back to back, like my own film festival!) or brunch with friends that turns into a day full of eating, drinking, shopping then eating and drinking again.  It’s necessary, quite effective and yet somehow not quite the same.  Yes I think at least a week…the Europeans have it down, taking a minimum of two to four weeks at a stretch!

Leaving all of the “distractions” of life at home and traveling to another location gives me the opportunity to fill the time I’d normally be taking care of other things and people instead to take care of myself first.  The luxury of reading Think and Grow Rich again, finally learning Spanish from the Rosetta Stone course I bought over a year ago and staring at the ocean are high on my priority list.  Like they tell you on the airplane, “put the oxygen mask on yourself first before attempting to help others”.  This is an essential practice.

Writing this blog, putting out a newsletter, and having consults with my favorite actor clients also doesn’t seem like work…even though I’m doing it on vacation.  So it all comes back to this game I play with myself as an entrepreneur just like you.  If you are LOVING what you are doing when you are doing it, it’s never work.  And if you call it play, then isn’t life a constant vacation?  Yes!

My ultimate goals for this lifetime include laying on the beach all day and singing in my bar at night.  Its called The Gold Bar and it’s on a yet to be determined Caribbean island or in a Spanish speaking country. You can rest assured that everything I do daily leads to this goal.  It may not be my bar just yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be singing in one this week!

I’d love to hear what your favorite vacations look like, either at home or away!

To your success…and rest!  Lisa

Resistence is Futile

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OK, so I finally, finally, finally gave in.  I bought a GPS for this trip.  I’ve traveled across country by car many, many times.  Early in life with my parents, then again in my 20’s when I moved from FL to LA, a few more times for a few more reasons and again a few years back on a journey to speak at colleges across the country about The Business of Show.  This time it’s to build the Act Outside the Box brand on the west coast.

And always with a map.  And before the last time, without a cell phone.

My friends and other well wishers for my journey said “What? You don’t have a GPS?”  To me it felt like I was going in to outer space or something.  Come on, I-40 is fairly plain and simple.  Hard to get lost.

But I’m one of those folks that prefer to do things the old fashioned way I guess.  I like to use my wits and brain and intention and attention.  Heck, I don’t even use a calculator to balance my checkbook!

Buuuutttt, I gave in.  In Staples the week before I left and with a giant coupon in hand, I bought a Garmin (I’ve named her Sally the Sat Nav) and you know what?  I LOVE her!  She speaks in soothing tones and gives me little updates along the way.

Sometimes it IS better to stop resisting.  Sometimes it’s better to go with the flow.  But I still like knowing in the back of my mind that I can get there with a map!  Lisa Gold

Best Laid Plans and Armani’s 16th Birthday

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So this is it!  Last night I pulled out of my parking space in front of my apartment 4 hours later than planned, to start my big adventure driving across the country to Los Angeles.  My car is packed to the gills with only what I think will be needed for the next 6 months and of course, my most precious (hate to say possessions, cause they’re not possessions) furry children.  As I write this, Armani is celebrating his 16th birthday today.  We’re off to Charlotte, NC, again a few hours later than planned, but heck…as I’ve taught many in my CEO workshop, a planned 37 minutes usually takes an hour.

Give your career that extra time too.  Why be in such a hurry?  Enjoy the ride and follow along with me as I journey “outside my own box” to bring the Business of Show to the west coast.

Thanks for all of the good vibes and I’ll see you soon.  Lisa

P.S.  I’d love to hear some stories about your road trips, either to the Big Apple or the Big Orange.  How did you get here?