wealth
The Magic of Wong Thai Sin
This is a picture of my mother-in-law and me at Wong Thai Sin Temple in Hong Kong. I’m the blondie and she’s bent over next to me writing. It’s a place where prayers are answered using fortune sticks called kau cim.
While meditating on your intention or question, you shake a cup of sticks — each with a number. One eventually falls out and that is your fortune. The number is tied to a story when interpreted is your fortune.
My mother-in-law goes back every year to ask about the future of everyone in the family. Her report back is spookily accurate. Each year I wait with great anticipation to hear the news. And this year’s was stunning.
My story is about a phoenix that rises from the ashes and flies over the forest. A new beginning. A rebirth. Finding my inner calling.
That’s exactly how I intend 2010 to unfold. My word for this year is “soar”. To fly to new (scary) heights and truly expand my wings. I plan to make it a year where I tap into my deepest creativity, making the most of my talents. This will lead me to adventures and experiences beyond my imagination. This is the year I fly.
I wish you all much prosperity and peace in 2010. You have everything you need right now to make all your wishes come true, so come fly with me, come fly, come fly away… (think Sinatra).
Read MoreMake Your Own Stella and Dot Chic Flower Necklace
A couple of weeks ago my favorite Houndstooth girls invited me to their Stella & Dot trunk show. This is where a bunch of women get together for wine, nibbles, chit-chat and jewelry shopping. Superb.
While I was there I met this lovely lady sporting a cool capelet she made herself from an old sweater. She told me she found the instructions on a blog and whipped it together in minutes. This is my kind of lady! She quickly became my new BFF when just two minutes later she offered to loan me a bunch of sweaters for an Ugly Christmas Sweater party. She had just met me and yet was willing to hand over her prize collection — super ugly, these things could go for mucho bucks on eBay.
To thank her I created this necklace which is just like the one I purchased from Stella & Dot that night. The cool thing about the Stella & Dot necklace is that you can change the brooch. It comes with a metal flower, but for $34 you can buy the brooch in the picture below and swap it out. Ingenious.
I discovered how to make the flower brooch from the same blog that had the capelet tutorial. I got a long chain necklace for a couple bucks from the craft store and hot glue gunned it all together. The back of mine needs some work but overall I’m impressed. It only cost a couple bucks and took less than an hour! The tax alone on the one I purchased cost more than that. I’m definitely making one for myself!
Here’s a picture of me modeling the necklace. The length looks great in this dress. I love it when ideas come together, don’t you?
Bon Anniversaire Gratitude Journal!
A year ago today I woke to an email that changed my life completely. It was from Apple saying that my iPhone app, Gratitude Journal, was approved.
Like all anniversaries, I like to reflect on the year and note how far I had come. And nothing compares to this past year with my little buddy, Gratitude. This little app has put me in touch with people all over the world, all walks of life. People who are passionately sharing their artistic talents. And others who just wanted to let me know that the app has helped them through a particularly hard time.
It has expanded the opportunities in my life profoundly. I’m working with amazing talent who teach me something new everyday. I’m honored to be on their team.
But mostly, it has given me a confidence I never had before. Or perhaps it’s a feeling of peace rather than confidence. Sure, I still want to get a nose job and shed a few pounds. But that’s not it. For the first time I really, truly like who I am. I accept my mistakes as learning opportunities and know that the universe wants the best for me. For all of us. And I discovered how happy I am when I’m sharing my talents with others helping those I meet get ahead.
I have each and everyone of you to thank for making this past year one of the best ever. Your encouragement and friendship was an unexpected blessing that catapulted me out a slump and into a new way of thinking. We all have a gem inside of us. And by sharing yours, you changed my life. Thank you.
Read MoreMaggie Doyne: The Power of Yes!
Maggie Doyne came into my life through a casual email from my life coach. The message read, “Don’t you wish all our daughters grew up like this?” and a link to her blog. I quickly tucked in and found myself entrenched in her stories for hours. She is an old soul in a young body, filled with wisdom beyond her years. Personally I think she’s a philosopher reincarnated.
At just the tender age of 19, Maggie founded Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal. It is home to innocent victims orphaned by years of human rights violations and war. Using her own babysitting money, she purchased the land, organized the contractors, and build the home entirely from the ground up. Through her work, Maggie has given shelter to 24 kids, sent 60 others to school, and assisted in the placement of over 700 orphans in the region.
It all started when Maggie took off to see the world after high school. While trekking through the Himalayas in war-torn Nepal she met hundreds of children orphaned and homeless. Falling in love with their big smiles and bright eyes, she was stricken by what little they survived on. She flew back to the States and babysat kids, plants, animals (you name it!) and saved each cent with a vision of building them a home.
Maggie found the Blinknow Foundation and is the recent recipient of Do Something’s $100,000 grand prize. In her speech, Maggie breathlessly says:
“Sometimes making someone’s dream come true is a “yes” away. Thank you, Do Something, for being my ‘yes’ tonight!”
Maggie’s brave adventure started with a “yes” from her parents years ago which created a chain reaction, eventually evolving into a career of social entrepreneurship at just 22-years-old. Today Maggie is tackling human rights issues in the region, improving the lives of children affected by violence, child labor, sex trafficking, and poverty.
Maggie’s story reflects two of my favorite theories. First is that each of us have everything we need to make a difference (Maggie had ambition and $5000 in savings). Second, if we give back the universe will continue to provide us with abundance (congrats on the $100K, Maggie!). This makes Kopila Valley Children’s Home one of my favorite charities. If you like what you read, be Maggie’s “yes” and consider a donation. There are a lot of ways you can help.
Friends, please welcome the amazing and insightful Maggie Doyne….
What inspired you to build Kopila Valley Children’s Home? How has it affected your life?
It’s a really long story that can be hard to condense in a few words. My life took a 360 degree turn when I was just about to graduate from high school. I had a bit of a seventeen year old crisis. Who am I?… What should I do with my life?… That sort of thing. I had spent my middle school and high school obsessed with trying to be perfect at everything. Getting the perfect grades, trying to be a star athlete, the editor of my yearbook, a good friend, daughter, and sister, social light. I took on more than I could handle and with the intention of getting into a really good college and getting on the fast track. It turned out I wasn’t perfect at any of those things and trying to be perfect at all of them took a toll on every part of who I was. I could see my life going in a direction I didn’t want it too.
I could see myself going straight to college and falling deeper into this dark hole of doing what I was supposed to do, what everyone expected but not what was really in my heart. I’d lost my passion to learn. Thanks to the support of my parents I was lucky see this and recognize it in myself at a young age. I suddenly postponed my plans for college and signed up for a gap year program to backpack all around different of the world. After taking an internship in an orphanage in India, I began to meet young Nepali refugee children and became curious as to where they were coming from and why. I ended up going on a backpacking trip with a young Nepli refugee girl in search of her relatives in the remote Himalyan mountains of Nepal where I met hundreds of children in need of a home. I decided right then and there to build one for them.
You write quite endearing letters to the children in your home on your blog. What have you learned the most from them?
They’ve taught me the value of human life and the importance of childhood. I’ve learned alot about the healing process. They are the true definition of resilience. They make me laugh and they’ve brought so much joy and meaning to my life. We’ve really become a family over the past few years.
What was your biggest challenge when building the Kopila Valley Children’s Home?
During the early phases of construction and settling in with the community, I hadn’t learned a lot of the language. Losing your ability to communicate leaves you feeling pretty vulnerable. Sometimes I’d have an English speaking friend come and translate and other times I was completely on my own, with masons, laborers, and villagers that I couldn’t fully communicate with. The first few months were hard but I got through it. Looking back being in that vulnerable position of not knowing/understanding (what people around me were saying), and desperately wanting to know/understand, empowered me to learn more quickly and in a more meaningful and deep manner. I took Spanish for 7 years in middle school and high school and still can’t string a sentence together but Nepali came pretty easily to me. You can’t get by here without being able to speak the language and I was almost forced to learn to speak. I realize now that if I was never challenged, if I had never felt frustrated about not being able to communicate, I would have never learned.
Your website states that your mission is “To create a self-sustainable living community for destitute children that provides their most basic needs and also contributes to post-war recovery and peace in the nation of Nepal.” This seems like an overwhelming challenge. How do you stay focused with such a large task?
One of my favorite quotes of all time is this.
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
chinese philospher – lao-tse – 6th century bce
I focus every day the sanctity of our home and making sure that my children feel safe and loved. I’ve noticed that the peace in our home and the joy of our children often radiates to our neighbors and our village, the city we live in and people who come to visit from other countries in the world.
Children are the future. When our world’s children are educated, when they’re given childhoods, and love and a home, and enough food to eat, they grow up to share that with others and create peaceful homes of their own. The model for our home works because it is just that; a home with family living in it who love each other very very much. When I feel overwhelmed with the big picture of the world or the political situation in Nepal, or the extreme poverty I see around me I stop and try to focus on the smaller things that I know are in my control. Bathing my children, trimming their fingernails, cooking a meal together, and reading a bed time story. Then my heart feels peaceful again and then I can keep going.
Kopila Valley Children’s Home currently has 28 children and is continually growing. Who else has the home helped besides the children?
We had over 250 members from the local community employed to build the home. Six or so women stayed on with us as our permanent staff. We’ve been able to enroll almost 100 children into school.
You recently won $100,000 from The Do Something Awards. How do you intend to use this well deserved prize?
We are purchasing a larger plot of land and building our very own school. I’m striving to make it one of the best most innovative schools in Nepal providing quality education to poor children who normally wouldn’t have a chance to go to school and receive an education. Part of the school will also be a community center with a medical clinic, vocational training, art and music open to the children in and around our village.
You seem to be blessed with an entrepreneurial mind – how did you find yourself on this path?
Well I give a lot of the props to my amazing parents who, since I was a little girl have always, always encouraged my heart, and told me
that I could do anything I put my mind to and believed in me.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into when all of this startedto be very honest. I was 19 years old and had this “nothing can stop me” mindset. If I saw it in my mind, I knew I could make it happen. I had a dream of building this home for homeless and orphaned children. I could see it, in my mind before I even had a dollar in the bank account and the funds to build it, before I even knew what a non-profit was. I could see the children playing on the swings and being tucked into bed at night, and eating meals and singing songs together. I visualized what I wanted my life and the lives of my children too look like. I took things a step at a time, a day at a time. When I didn’t know the answers I found someone who did and asked them. I learned to share my dream, vision, and what was in my heart with others. Before I knew it, I was supported and embraced by people from my close-knit community in Mendham, NJ where I’m from and then people from all over the world who cared as well.
Who and what inspires you?
The children I live with, the men and women I have the pleasure of working with here in Nepal, my neighbors and friends, my parents, my two sisters Kate and Libby, Mary Oliver, Maya Angelou, my friend Megan Shull, The Dalai Lama, art, music, writing, and being outside.
What would be your advice for someone who wants to make their dream a reality?
The hardest step to take is to begin. You just have to take the dive. For young people who want to start a project for social good in the world. Two words. Do. Something. Go to dosomething.org. They’ve written up a whole guide there on how to get started with a project and they just awarded me $100,000 to fund my next project and continue onwards with my dream.
What’s your motto?
One of my favorite new saying that I’ve heard being used a lot lately is GLOBAL COMMUNITY! The world is changing. We’re not isolated from each other any more like we used to be, mainly because of advancements in technology and transportation. We are one. We’re all the same sharing this great big earth together and we all have a responsibility to it as global citizens of this earth and to borrow from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be and what would say to them?
I’d be thrilled to spend some time with Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, the pulitzer prize winning journalist Nicholas Kristof, and his wife (and pulitzer prize winner too), Sheryl WuDunn. I am sooo excited to get my hands on their new book Half the Sky, and am inspired by the work all three of them do but geesh there are so many amazing people in the world, I think we can learn something from anyone, from simple Nepali farmers, to pulitzer prize winning journalists, everyone has something to share.
What next do you have planned?
If I have learned one thing as of late it’s to not get too ahead of things, so yes, on the short term I have a list a mile long which includes four very active and playful four year olds, and a houseful of 26 hearts who need tending. That said, I have some big dreams sketched out that include a school for my kids and our community here in Surkhet, as well as continuing to be a sustainable and positive member of this community. I believe in the power of all of us working together to change the world for the better. One of my dreams is to create safe homes and communities for children all over the world in need of refuge. My heart is full and the future is exciting. There is so much, still, to do.
The Making of iPhone App – Vision Board!
After the amazing and truly unexpected success of Gratitude Journal, I crafted another app with the intention to improve peoples’ lives — Vision Board Deluxe (iTunes link). It is such a sweet relief to finally have this little darling out in the world!
See, it took Apple a month to approve Vision Board. First a rejection, then a resubmission, and a lot of waiting and wondering in between.
In the mean time, I was flooded with lovely messages from folks itching to get their hands on this little gem, wondering when it will be available. And rightly so. I’ve had the luxury of using it daily for over a month and let me tell you, it’s powerful stuff.
I created vision boards before. Basically you go through magazines and cut out pictures that scream “I want that to be my life!” and paste them to a big tag board. You hang it someplace where you will see it daily so you attract those things in your life. That last bit is the clincher. Not quite matching with my decor, my vision boards usually ended up in the closet losing their effect.
That’s where the Vision Board app is so amazing. I have it with me all the time. If I’m bored in a meeting, waiting at the airport, or for my laptop to boot up, I flip through my Vision Board app. But most importantly I make sure I look at it every night before I go to sleep.
Too often we go to bed with our minds filled with negative thoughts from the day’s drama or tomorrow’s worries. Not only does it damage our sleep, but we’re still emanating negative energies the entire time we’re fast asleep. According to quantum physics and the law of attraction, these energies grow and attract more of the same in our lives. Instead, I recap the goodness from the day in my Gratitude Journal followed by dreaming about the future with my Vision Board. I go to sleep feeling positive and good and continue to give off those vibes all night long.
As a result, my life has shifted so quickly this past month. Something small like a note saying “Meet creative and inspirational women” manifests well over 150 of them one week later! An image of my ideal career leads to a phone call with someone who can open doors. Of course, it’s not the image that got me there, but looking at it, believing it, closing my eyes and feeling what it’s like to have it, and then acting on it.
Creating another iPhone app was a lot smoother the second time around. I used the same formula outlined in my book “Inside Secrets to an iPhone App” and the costs were pretty much on par with Gratitude Journal. Although I gave my superstar developer David Loewental a small bonus just because it is such a charm to work with him.
I had the amazing Scott Jackson create the genie icon which he whipped together on just one go. Impressive, no? All the other design work I did myself.
I have the mix of an amazing team that are not only unbelievably talented, but super cool too. Decisions are made in a second. Honest opinions shared respectfully. And everyone strives to have their very best to come through. It’s been so rewarding to work with such deep talent.
Best of all, all three of us have the same intention — to create something that improves the world, puts out good vibes and creates peace in others’ lives.
If you don’t have an iPhone or iPod Touch, I highly recommend Jennifer Lee’s Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit. It’s gorgeous and portable as well!
Visualization works. Athletes use it, performers, politicians …you name it. It’s a little secret weapon of very successful people. The key to attracting the life you want is to see it, really feel what it’s like to have it, then believe with all your heart that it will come. It might not be in the form your mind thought it would be, but you will attract what you put out in the world. So start collecting those pictures and put then on a tag board, in your iPhone app, or Jennifer’s Vision Kit. Give thanks, vision your future, live life to the fullest.
ps: I promised David I would share him with the world. This is really hard to do given I did this with my last developers and they got so popular I couldn’t afford them in the end. But David promises he’ll always be my friend even when he’s super successful.
David Loewenthal
phone: +1 206 612 6741
email: davidloew@hotmail.com
Working together works.
A couple weeks ago I ordered half dozen books about female entrepreneurship. I’m only on the first one and already feel it’s making a huge difference. The main message is that women’s approach to business is different than men’s. Mainly because women are natural connectors.
Women love to gab and can bond over something as small as a brand of tea. We don’t really need much more in common that a love for Jimmy Choo shoes. When I moved to South Dakota, I was lost without my female friends back in London just a quick text message away. They gave me confidence, support, and a bond I attribute to my success.
I half-heartedly tried to rebuild my girly group here with little success. To be honest, I wasn’t trying that hard because until now I didn’t realize just how insanely important it is. This past week I’ve made it a point to expand my female network every day and I’m taken back by just how easy it’s been!
Here’s just a few of my new amigas:
- Jennifer Lee of Life Unfolds. I’ve admired Jennifer from afar and now we have all sorts of good ideas in the mix. Jennifer is an extremely talented artist and and I’m so honored to work with her!
- Kelly Watson of WomenwiseMarketing.com. I have read her marketing blog for months and am doing a guest post.
- Jamie Ridler of Open the Door. Another inspiring artist who’s all about doing what you love, Jamie just launched a new website and will be giving away promo codes for my new app, Vision Board.
- Christine Kane of ChristineKane.com. A singer song-writer who first inspired me to create a vision board, Christine’s blog is one not to miss. She’ll be giving away my app as well.
- Valentina Ramos of ValendinaDesigns.com. Her fabulous work will be featured in my Vision Board app!
- Susanah Conway of Ink on my Fingers. Susanah is the catalyst who woke me up to the power of collaboration when she interviewed me on her blog last spring. She is an outstanding photographer and writer and I’m lucky enough to be taking her Unraveling eCourse.
- Leigh Duncan-Durst of LivePath. I just got back from a three hour rap session with Leigh and I have to say it’s so cool to have this talented woman living in the same town as me.
Don’t get me wrong. I love collaborating with guys too. In fact, there’s a few names of some amazing men I could add to the list as well. But for now, I’m focusing on my girly group. There’s just something about girlfriends that makes life complete.
Read MoreThe Power of Visioning
I had my final meeting with my life coach this week. Her parting message was impressive and one I’ve heard a few times before.
She told me about something she learned from a show she watched on PBS with Dr Dyer. Apparently there are two things we should do just before we go to sleep to manifest abundance.
The first one is to recap all the wonderful things that happened to us that day — otherwise known as the Gratitude Journal, which, as you know, I’m a big fan of.
The second is to visualize your ideal life. As you drift off asleep, think of all the wonderful things to come. Visualize yourself in your ideal life and make it as amazing as your mind can stretch. You send out positive vibes while you sleep. And you eliminate the negative ones you otherwise would have been feeding and growing if you were dwelling on your day or worry about tomorrow instead.
So far I’ve had some superb results. We recently had some work done on our house and the builder asked if he could come around with the bill. I immediately thought the worse and assumed the final bill is going to be way more than the estimate. Otherwise why wouldn’t he just drop it in the post?
The night before he was came by I imagined all the details including a bill far less than the original estimate. And sure enough, my little fantasy came true. Over $500 true!
Sure, you can argue that the bill would still have been less even if I didn’t visualize it before hand. But then I would have wasted precious energy worrying for nothing.
This visioning exercise is now a part of my nightly routine. It’s like taking my vision board to bed with me, picking one image on it, and letting my imagination go wild. Tonight’s fantasy — a life in Provence, France.
Read MoreTake a Bite Out of Apple’s iTunes Store
Today I’m delighted insanely ecstatic to announce the release of my ebook Inside Secrets to an iPhone App: The essential non-developers guide to creating an iPhone app. It’s a detailed account of how I successfully created an iPhone app without learning a bit of programming and was written to help other ‚Äúaverage‚Äù people take a bite out of Apple‚Äôs lucrative App Store.
My new book is available for download at iphoneappsecrets.com for $13.99, along with two free bonus books: Interviews with the Best, which shares conversations with the makers of iSteam, Classics, Weightbot, and the best-selling app of all time, Koi Pond; and, How to Successfully Promote Your App, which is full of tips and tricks on how to market an app on a shoestring budget.
The books offer page after page of practical advice … via my own personal journey.
After creating my app, Gratitude Journal (iTunes link), I received a flood of emails asking me how I did it. I spent hours answering every question with as much details as I could. Eventually the emails, phone calls, and meetings started piling up and I knew there had to be a better way to share everything I learned.
As fate has it, a lovely woman named Jill Harrington contacted me to simply let me know she loved my app. Her website, lupusrecoverydiet.com, caught my eye. So I wrote back telling her writing a book on day interests me. Like an angel sent straight from the karma gods, she latched on my dream and talked me into taking my first steps. She unconditionally offered amazing insight and advice.
The bad thing is that I actually thought I could pull this off in a week or two. I now have a new found respect to all writers everywhere. The writing, fact finding, permission seeking, proof reading and website building took me months instead of days. I’m pretty sure I have the iPhone app making process figured out by now!
My 5am routine went from making apps to pouring everything I knew into a book before rushing off to work each morning . But I couldn’t just do one book. I had to do three just to make it really exciting tough.
Just when I needed it most, help surfaced from the best places. People still continued to contact me asking for advice. Their brilliant questions became the basis of my book. Friends offered to proof-read, I found an amazing PR company to help with with a press release, and complete strangers gave me insight into places I’ve never tread before.
My heart and soul went into these books. I truly hope they help others take the first steps to create those great app ideas they’ve been pondering.
Creating an iPhone app has been a truly amazing experience that has opened doors and introduced me to wonderful people all over the world. I created my app with the purpose of helping others find happiness. I created this book with the exact same purpose.
Special thanks to:
Hetty Myric-Hughes & John Oats from Scroll Publishing. These guys know how to write!
Jenny Rainbird – Eagle eyes and such an amazing attention to detail.
Jill Harrington – Your advice got me started on a journey I had no idea where it would lead. Thank you!
GB Veerman – The best advice I ever got for the price of a couple beers.
Alanna Web – Thanks for all your questions. I can’t wait to see your app!
Robert Andrescik – You write the absolute best press releases. View a copy of the press release he did for my books. Wow!
John Casasanta, Tap Tap Tap – Not only do you have a cool last name, you have a big heart. This guy continued to offer me support while managing the release of MacHeist.
Andy Skirvin, Koi Pond – The best selling app of all time made time for me. Thank you.
Vassilis Samolis, iSteam – You are the most efficient person I worked with.
Mark Jardine, Tapbots – Your work is amazing and inspiring. Thanks for raising the bar.
Colin White – Are you ever going to tire of feed and watering me while I burn the sunrise oil?
To everyone who sent me your questions. You motivated me the most.
Most of all, thanks to everyone who got my app and now my ebooks! I love you guys!
– Related Links –
Visit Gratitude Journal website.
The Making of an iPhone app — Gratitude Journal | December 12, 2008
About Me
I'm a yoga lover, runner and owner of Happy Tapper - a small design studio specializing in life improving iPhone and iPad apps. I also wrote a book about how to create iPhone apps called Ideas to Apps.
Based in South Dakota with my husband, baby boy and little Havanese. This blog is where I compile my love for design, wisdom, and all things beautiful.
For DESIGN or PUBLIC SPEAKING inquiries, email me for pricing & details at carla@happytapper.com!
Find me on twitter @carlawhite.
