You = Impact

I am always astonished by how desolate the trails are in SoCal.  People, what are you doing?  GET ON A MOUNTAIN!

With that being said, the quiet and sweet silence on my hike today with my trusty dog, Bear was absolutely perfect and so eye-opening.

We hiked up the dog-friendly trail in Temescal Canyon late afternoon today.  We took a new route, trail ran a bit, and encountered a total of 4 humans, 2 dogs, 5 chipmunk style rodents, 7 desert-looking lizards, and an assortment of birds.  We were pretty much solo the entire 2 hour hike.

What I realized today was the ripple effect in our movements.  Bear would run ahead of me and move a tree branch sticking out that would shake the tree, make some noise, perhaps shake another tree, more noise and settle back.  Or, I would accidentally kick a rock forward in the ground that would cause something to scurry off into the brush nearby, make my heart beat faster and Bear jump forward.  There is this massive ripple effect of movement, that I could really only experience audibly and visually.  Who really knows what else is going on out there (nor do I want to, snakes?).

Once you get far enough into the hike, beyond the cars noisy engine and the hustle and bustle that is our lives both externally and internally; this is where quiet and space to listen intersect.  You can actually hear everything and realize how alive the Earth is, how very alive you are.  In one tiny movement, you causes a ripple effect of sound into the atmosphere, amongst the plant life, the wildlife and then back to your life.

It’s a rush to feel so powerful and large, and yet so small and puzzle-piece-like in the grand scheme.

So, what if we all were aware of this epic ripple effect?  At all?  More often?

Reminder:  you = impact.

What if you knew that a smile to that stranger today could shift a mood, to enhance an encounter, to some how inspire 57 people to passionate action?  Possible.

What if we realized the impact of one bottle cap dropped on the ground, picked up by the wind, broken down by the Ocean, consumed by a fish, consumed by a bigger fish, then consumed by you?  Truth.

What if we truly, truly, truly realized the radical impact of ourselves?

What would we really get up to?

What is your ripple effect?  Own it.  Every.  Single.  Day.  #impact

Wow.  Beautiful.  Be Powerful.  You.

Project Inspiration: Amanda Casgar

As I dig deep and look into who I really am, I look into who I invest my time with and how they have moved me in what I have called Project Inspiration.

I wanted to take this time to tell you how my dear friend, Amanda Casgar has inspired me and been a part of my life evolution.  She is newer to my World, but just as much impactful.  She really is the hostess-with-the-mostess-stand-for-your-goals-in-the-utmost-powerful-way-insanely-innovative-powerful-total-New-Yorker-that-walks-fast-and-talks-fast-loving-poopoo-platter-creating-joke-teller of a friend.

Dear Amanda,

I remember sharing a hotel room with you on one of our numerous trips to Vancouver for work.  We were talking, laughing, sharing and you said, “hey, can we be friends for a long time?”.   I had never been asked that question directly, and of course, my immediate response and reaction was, “yes please!”.  And I meant it.  We phone one another often, and by often, I mean a lot and we have the luxury of the work connection, however, some times work friends become real life friends and I am so happy we made that shift.

What I wanted to let you know is that who you are has and continues to shape who I am every day.

First and foremost, you are my goal stand.  And I wish I could think of a cooler analogy and I am sure you will think of one in 13 seconds, but you stand for my goals.  Period.  I say I want to do this, here comes Amanda with an opportunity.  I am thinking maybe I should go this direction with my goals, here comes Amanda with advice and someone to connect me to.  Now, I know you are the ultimate matchmaker for people.  But I am so happy that I was already taken in the love domain and you took the path of matchmaking my deepest, scariest, most radical goals with possibility in my life domain.  I am inspired by how you stand for me, how you stand for others.  It pushes me to listen, listen, listen to and be in possibility and find opportunity in the coolest of ways. 

Amanda, you are the epitome of the phrase, ‘hostess with the mostest’.  You can make a full on snack bar out of an empty refrigerator.  You can make a roundtrip grocery shop in 17 minutes for a full week of delicious-ness, in what would take me at least 92 solid minutes.  And this truly reflects how much you care for other people; how much you care that there is an environment for people to feel comfortable, satisfied and always  just enough wine.  I admire your party-throwing abilities and how you care and love others so they feel invited and ‘at home’. 

You are a funny human being.  I smile and laugh so much when I am around you.  You have this quick wit, one liner, loud type of humor that everyone gravitates to.  Never a dull moment, be it in a yoga class, a full on dance party, or on a 5:30am run, in which I have no idea how you enrolled me to be up that early;  you lighten a mood and throw out some vocabulary word we all have no knowledge of and then make another joke about that.  You relate quickly to your audience, connect and truly leave a legacy.  It is a true gift to be someone who people never forget – you are one of those people.  I am inspired.

You are the Director of Innovation.  When it comes to creativity energy and cool ideas, I call on you.  I look forward to every conversation and especially the future you will create, as it will never look the same as the last idea, as yesterday; it will never be old news.  You will never be old news.  So fresh, so vibrant, and some times risky.  I am inspired by your thought process and the way you stand for it; it allows me to think big, be a bit risky and ask for more in all areas of my life.

And Amanda, you are just fun.  I know every time we get together that I will walk away smiling because we had radical conversation, deep belly laughter and get real moments of presence and gratitude.  Always the life of a party, always a good time; I would definitely opt to be stuck in an airport with you for 8 hours any time. 

You are a great friend I am so happy to have in my life.  The true life of a party, the host of a party and the entertainment at the party; one might ask, “how do you do it all?”.  But that is who you are and it is amazing.  Thank you for being my friend now and for a long time, for standing for my goals in the most beautiful way, for being a perfect host and rocking life on the regular with your huge ideas and innovative ways.  I am so inspired by you.

As you continue to rock in this life, keep being who you are. And I promise that I will do the same.

Inspired,

Jacki Carr

Too Early Morning Jog

Of course, YOUR idea!

Dance! Party!