Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise original expression today!

This week, Curt and I got to enjoy the company of two of the dearest people on the planet, Robert and Candis Coleman. Once again, we explored their home territory in Marin County, just north of San Francisco. Blessed, completely blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!

Every now and then I crave the drive we make through the vineyards in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. There’s something completely comforting about land that generously gives itself to the tranquility of others. Miles upon miles of rolling hills and winding roads painted with abundant vines, charming eateries, quaint vinery, welcoming boutiques and hard-working little farms with produce stands that offer the land’s yield – all infused with the intensity of spring flowers.

We drive through the beauty to arrive at the Sonoma-Cutrer vineyard, where Robert, a competitive croquet player, practices and competes. Looking around, I feel like I’m on the set of a 1940s movie. Quiet and serene, the land welcomes us to completely relax and enjoy its visual and visceral provisions.

Even the posted purpose of the vineyard welcomes me:

Sonoma-Cutrer is dedicated to the pursuit of original expression in our wines.

Ah, how would life be different for each of us if we were dedicated to the original expression of ourselves? A calling worthy of life’s pursuit. The long journey toward understanding, accepting, forgiving, loving and respecting ourselves is a focused and discipline pursuit. The noble venture of course, takes an entire lifetime!

As I take in all this treasured terrain has to offer, I capture this moment – this tranquil, completely unruffled moment – in an attempt to take it back to the other reality I will return to as I say goodbye to this jewel once again. And, I recommit myself to the daily discipline of becoming the truest expression of my highest being.

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com
http://www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: http://www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

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Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise tax thinking today!

Perhaps I’m not alone in my relief that tax day come and gone. Every year I watch my saintly husband invest an enormous amount of time and energy gathering all the correct paper work, organizing it in a way that would satisfy an auditor (we’ve learned from experience) and finally, filing the taxes on time. And, with great awe I watch him send the last check electronically with no signs of angst or misery. I’m in complete agreement with the physicist, Albert Einstein, who said about filing tax returns:

This is too difficult for a mathematician. It takes a philosopher.

There are over 7 million words in the tax law and regulations. That beats the Gettysburg address, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bible combined! When I have to do the last review before hitting the “send” button, my head is numb.

The IRS sends out 8 billion pages of forms and instructions each year to help us through the process. If the documents were laid end to end, they would stretch around the Earth 28 times! And, still, 60% of us need a tax professional to help us through the process, spending $27.7 billion dollars a year to have those taxes prepared!

And, according to the Tax Policy Center, 46% of households either paid no federal income tax in 2011 or will receive more from the IRS than they paid in. Hummm – I don’t think I can put my head around that today without it exploding.

For the rest of us, according to the Tax Foundation’s estimate, April 30th is the day that Americans can stop working to pay taxes (dubbed “Tax freedom day”).

Breaking our first 4 months of tax paying down, the Tax Foundation estimates it will take:
• 43 days of work to pay off federal, state and local income taxes
• 30 days to pay off payroll taxes (for Social Security and Medicare)
• 16 days to pay off sales and excise taxes
• 14 days to pay off corporate income taxes (This assumes that a tax on a business is passed on to its customers, employees and shareholders in terms of higher prices,
lower paychecks and less shareholder value.)
• 12 days to pay off property taxes
• 4 days to pay off other taxes (e.g., customs duties)
• 1 day to pay off estate and gift taxes

So, congratulations to all who made the deadline, one more year! (and enjoy the next two weeks or so that we’ll be working to pay 2012 taxes!)

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com
http://www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: http://www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)

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Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise, focused energy invested in wild ambitions today!

My sister, Patti, sent me this quotation. A good one to ponder today:

Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition. ~ Sir William Osler

Isn’t it easy to get caught up in the wallows of yesterday or the anxiety of tomorrow? Yet, this gift of a moment is all we really have (that’s why it’s called the “present”).

We’ll create more satisfaction and will certainly achieve more of what we define as worthy if our life is absorbed by fulfilling the highest expression of ourselves in those moments, whether it’s “work” we are paid for, or being fully engaged in a hobby, daydreaming, disciplined stillness, or play.

Thank you for thinking of me, Patti. I needed this message today!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com
http://www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: http://www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

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Wedneday Wisdom

In between packing, stacking and hauling, I sent this early yesterday morning; however, it apparently didn’t reach you!

Seed tomorrow with wise adventures today!

Today, Curt and I are helping our daughter and her husband move from their current apartment in New York into Manhattan. Of course, they’re excited about new adventures in unexplored nooks and corners. Novel restaurants, delis, friends and experiences await them! Yet, I can’t help but look around and realize how much I’ll miss this wonderful place they’ve called home for a while now.

Am I alone? Or, do you also sometimes find it challenging to embrace the next chapter because it means saying good bye to what you know as familiar, comfortable, and secure . . . as home?

I read to find comfort and insight. Rosalia de Castro wrote:

I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.

So, travel we do. When we seek new experiences with the open arms of exploration and great expectations, we often meet ourselves in ways we hadn’t expected. And, our life story changes.

Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time.
~ Leo Buscalglia

So, dear Courtney and Scott, enjoy your new surroundings. May you embrace each new experience as worthy of reverence, and may your story reflect all you learn from every person and every wonderful experience you encounter.

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com
http://www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: http://www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

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Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise adventures today!

Today, Curt and I are helping our daughter and her husband move from their current apartment in New York into Manhattan. Of course, they’re excited about new adventures in unexplored nooks and corners. Novel restaurants, delis, friends and experiences await them! Yet, I can’t help but look around and realize how much I’ll miss this wonderful place they’ve called home for a while now.

Am I alone? Or, do you also sometimes find it challenging to embrace the next chapter because it means saying good bye to what you know as familiar, comfortable, and secure . . . as home?

I read to find comfort and insight. Rosalia de Castro wrote:

I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.

So, travel we do. When we seek new experiences with the open arms of exploration and great expectations, we often meet ourselves in ways we hadn’t expected. And, our life story changes.

Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time.
~ Leo Buscalglia

So, dear Courtney and Scott, enjoy your new surroundings. May you embrace each new experience as worthy of reverence, and may your story reflect all you learn from every person and every wonderful experience you encounter.

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit http://www.The Success Studio.com
http://www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: http://www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Read Full Post »