Athena is almost 3, very precociously social and ahead of the game verbally, acutely charming and engaging. She and I see each other from time to time at the Madhouse, the local internet cafe in our small town. She comes in with her mother, and loves to pet the Moose when I bring him along.

She is utterly confident. There is no false bravado in her, no edge or artifice. She is simply curious and friendly, uncomplicated and powerful, unafraid to engage the objects of her considerable attention. Athena is a force of Nature.

Her eyes always light up when she sees me, very much as though we’ve known each other for many years and she clearly delights in our reunion. I find this enchanting and do not doubt that she and I have known each other before.

Today my mighty, tiny goddess incarnate fixed me with dancing green eyes from under her strawberry blonde bangs and inquired,

“Are you happy today?”

She placidly waited for an answer.

This little Bodhisattva, this sprite, this fae child of grace, naturally cares about my happiness. Naturally. It is not some socially contrived artifice or self seeking cleverness. Athena cares.

I was momentarily dumbstruck. I am used to such questions from other human development folks, gurus, some of my more conscious friends, in workshop settings or seminars, and from folks trying to sell me something.

“I am very well indeed, and thank you so much for asking, my dear. ” I replied, unable to do anything but smile down at that divine little countenance. She is pleased to connect with me, it’s obvious.

A conversation of not much real import ensued for several minutes, in which she was alternately completely engrossed in our repartee and quick to share the distractions that captured her fancy.  I feel like I’ve known her forever.

How often do we encounter spirits we’ve danced with before, and never stop to acknowledge it? We are barely aware of our moments of deja-vu, we hurry past those twinkles of recognition. All too quickly we rush through our precious days, bent on accomplishments and accompanying metrics to measure our successes. All the while, all around us are old friends in new skins, and new conversations just waiting to be had.

Thanks, Athena’s mom, for the ease and largess. Thanks for bringing my friend to the Madhouse this morning. Thanks, Athena, for recognizing me again, and for rekindling our connection. Thanks loving me enough to ask me that really important,  really cool question. And thanks for really wanting to hear the answer. You’re a good friend.

“Are you happy today?”

As you all probably well know, I am an epiphaninny. I loves me some enlightenment.  So… 

I had a bit of an epiphany this afternoon on my way to a comfort food lunch with one of my BFFs. I was musing upon the nature of manifestation, and came to a new level of clarity.

The Universe operates like a mail order catalog. When you order something from a catalog, you look at a picture of the thing you want, decide that you want it and that it will be yours, you place the order and then wait in perfect faith (certainty) knowing that your stuff will arrive.

With the Universe, same thing.  You order, you pay, and then you get what you ordered. Only get this: we pay for what we know and believe is coming to us in one of two ways. I came to realize today that we either think (and so it is) that we pay through our suffering, OR

We pay with our bliss.

I get it now. When you place your order with the Universe for that you know and believe is coming to you (that you deserve, is your karma, what’s coming to you based on how worthy you think you are, etc etc), but expect your suffering to pay for it, you get hardship, trials and tribulations, because you gotta pay in kind for what you expect is coming to you.

HOWEVER….

When you place your order with the Universe for something great, abide in perfect faith/certainty knowing that it is coming to you, and then immediately follow your bliss, that becomes payment in kind for your order, which is then delivered.

The key here is that following your bliss is the necessary payment for your dreams. Not your toil, your struggles, your challenges or your disappointments. They are merely landmarks along the way that show you when you’ve gotten off track or lost your focus/faith.

Another point is that you must pay for what you’ve ordered before delivery. This means that it is folly to wait until your dreams come true to then allow yourself to follow your bliss. That’s bass ackward. Act on your Life Purpose, follow your bliss FIRST whilst knowing that your order is being paid for, and delightful coolness shall certainly ensue.

The Universe is prepared and capable of fulfilling your every dearest dream and wildest wish, but you MUST follow your bliss to receive it. A life of relentless toil is not the way to true happiness, nor is a life of making do. The buoyant, powerful energy of someone acting in accordance with their Highest most joyful Self is the payment the Universe requires to make good on your order.

After all, the brass ring ain’t on a treadmill, it’s on a carousel.

What do you believe is on its way to you? You’re right, you know.

I have a strong affinity for Facebook. I’ve connected with old friends, made new ones, and get most of my business there nowadays. Sometimes people ask great questions on Facebook that bear repeating. Today on my Facebook (Molly Burke, Queen of Confidence) fan page I was asked:

Madame Molly, QOC and Coach to the Stars (or soon to be stars): What would you suggest to an artist who has a project underway but not completed yet – is it appropriate to set up a fan page at this point? If blogging, what sort of things should one be sure to write about? Or is it all just too soon?

Oooh, tantalizing terrain for the QoC.

Here’s my answer:

First, I don’t think it’s too soon. Creating buzz by blogging about the process/journey can really expand the artist’s fan base before the work is complete. It creates and enhances anticipation.

SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO THE ARTISTS OUT THERE:

Be sure to write about your life and work the same way that you talk to friends, this will make your voice online uniquely you. Be pithy and brief. More often is better than more length per post, when it comes to blogging. Tell the truth about challenges and triumphs, share inspirations (yours and those that keep you going). Post bits about your personal creative process, and also post bits of your work in progress to get valuable feedback and further encourage fans to pre-order (you can at least get their names for a waiting list at some point this way).

Selling in advance based on the buzz about a partially finished work is becoming more and more commonplace. LOTS of folks pre-sell, and this money can be used to complete the project. Cool, huh?

As for setting up a fan page now: YES! The sooner an artist puts themselves out there, the sooner they get noticed. Anonymous artists rarely get noticed at all.

ONE FINAL COMMENT: We are ALL artists, each creating the magnum opus that is our life. Get out there and give your gifts lavishly, they are meant for you to share, not hoard. That’s why they’re called gifts.

Hope these answers can be of service.

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For the whole conversation (which was juicy and wonderful), check out Molly Burke, Queen of Confidence on Facebook.

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“Everybody can use a boost of confidence every now and again”

Aaarrrrggghh! It makes me craaaaazy! I can tell the difference between literacy and spell check, know how? Homonyms. From the obscure (ordering a blouse online that came on a “hangar”) to the ubiquitous (there, they’re, their), their incorrect usage is everywhere.

In an all text medium like the internet, genuine literacy really does matter to a lot of people, myself included. Bad grammar and ignorance do not inspire confidence in folks, believe me.

And if you want to inspire confidence online, you’re best served by making damnsure that the language you use actually says what you mean to say. Otherwise you just look like a dolt.

I’m going to take a few minutes right now to illuminate the differences between a couple of my favorite homonyms.

The first set is they’re, their, there. They’re is a contraction for THEY ARE. “THEY’RE (they are) going to the movies later.” THEIR is a possessive word, “they’re (THEY ARE) going to the movies with *THEIR* mother”. The last one of these is THERE, referring to location. “They’re (THEY ARE) going over *THERE* to that movie with THEIR mother.”

YOUR and YOU’RE. Okay, this one drives me friggin nuts. YOUR is possessive, as in “let’s use YOUR rocket launcher”. YOU’RE is a contraction for YOU ARE. Therefore it is impossible for *shudder* YOU’RE rocket launcher to misfire, because that would actually be saying something nonsensical. YOU ARE rocket launcher cannot misfire, but YOUR rocket launcher can. Likewise, it’s not “YOUR a nice person” which does not make any sense (it begs the question “your what is a nice person, your dog, your mailman, your avatar?”), but rather “YOU ARE a nice person”. Geddit?

I gotta stop now before I implode. Time to take my grammatically ornery self to the beach. Later!

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“Even before I begin, I am made of win!”

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