Marcia's Blog

My mother was right when she said “Veinte años no es nada”, twenty years did fly by and here I am today in my 40s wondering where the time went. One thing is for sure though, I am much smarter and wiser. I’ve come to the conclusion that the longer you live the more you learn to enjoy life’s special moments and this is because as we get older, we learn what’s really important and have less tolerance for things that do not bring us happiness and peace. Here are the six things I wish I knew when I was 20. Who Cares What People Think About You People will criticize you no matter what you do so do what makes you happy in life. Always remind yourself what you are the owner of your own destiny and nobody else’s opinions matter. It is a skill that you have to practice on an ongoing basis to achieve proficiency and getting older is the perfect practice field for this. Be yourself, be happy and ignore the rest!   Do Not Compare Yourself to Others It’s very easy to compare ourselves to others, it must be human nature but we must fight against it. That comparison brings negative thoughts which prevent you from being your best self. We are all special in our own way and have something unique and valuable that nobody else has. Being older shows you that comparing yourself to others is wasted energy. Be and appreciate yourself! Always remember you’re beautiful! There’s only one “you” in this world!       The Small Things are the Big Things Little do we know when we are young that the little things are the big things in life. Time shows you that the smallest of the details can make lifetime memories and that those are the things that really matter in life. Take the time to smell the roses, feel the breeze of the ocean, make snow angels. Take everything in and enjoy every moment and every detail.     Don’t Settle for Anything Work hard, chase your dreams and don’t settle for anything! One of the best freedoms we have in life is to be able to choose, so choose to have the life that you see in your dreams and life aspirations. It took me many years to stop settling for things, now I am chasing my dreams, I kick routine in the butt and I am living the life that I want.     One Thing Never Changes, Money Does Buy Happiness I am sorry to tell you but money does buy happiness. However, in my 20s, the happiness money bought was the new outfits, the best seats to a concert and that trip to Europe. I still like those things but what’s more important to me now is what I can do for my family and I am not talking about being rich or anywhere close to that. Money buys us experiences like going to Disney World together, eating at iconic restaurants, helping our kids with college expenses but most importantly money gives me the peace of mind of having a comfortable home and good food on the table. This makes me happy.       Life is Short The sooner we learn that our time in this world is limited the sooner we start actually living. Don’t leave for tomorrow the things you want to do today because tomorrow might never come. Create a bucket list and start checking things off, the earlier you start the better. Life is short but is also the most beautiful present we could have received. Let’s make the best of it!     Too bad we couldn’t be this wise at the age of 20 but is never too late to learn. A life well lived is the only thing we can all hope for and always remember that getting older is a privilege that many do not get to experience. Have a good life!      

The term “Chase your Dreams” sounds like something so unreachable, something that we all want to do but it feels more like a dream in itself specially when all the daily responsibilities and the chaos of life hit us, believe me I know how it feels. One thing to remember is that life is short, very short, and that we owe it to ourselves to live it and not only survive it. Chasing your Dreams means having a vision of what you want for yourself and taking actions to achieve that vision. Your dreams and the desire to achieve them will make you wake up every morning with a big smile on your face eager to take the next step to chase those dreams. Here are my five tips:  Tip # 1 – Dream Big but Don’t Tell Everyone     This might be a cultural thing but my mother always told me to not tell everyone about your plans for the future because unfortunately most people won’t be happy for you and their negative comments towards your dreams can bring you down and discourage you. The best approach is to only share your dreams and aspirations with your closest loved ones, people that you know will support you and will provide the positivity that you need to go on your dream chasing journey. To the others, let them know about your dreams with your actions not with words.   Tip # 2 – Write Down what Dream you want to Chase     Have a vision on how your dream will be. Write down what’s on your vision of that desirable future state. Describe the goal you want to accomplish in your life, but write it down either on a piece of paper that you will pin to a board on your wall, your daily planner or diary, or even on our smart phone notes. You must write it down on a place that you will see often so your dream is not forgotten.    Tip # 3 – Picture your Dream     Now that you have a vision in your mind of what your dream looks like, make your eyes see it too. This can be as simple as having a picture of that final state dream put in a place that you will always see like the fridge or on your desk. The “picture” can be anything that will help you visualize your dream, like a magazine cutout, a magnet, a printed page from online, or an actual picture. Being able to see your dream will help you stay motivated on the actions to get there.    Tip # 4 – Break your Dream down into Smaller Goals     From that vision, start breaking it down into several smaller goals. Write them down in a list format to create an action plan. This action plan aka the list of things you need to do to achieve your dreams needs to be simple enough that you can easily follow. I recommend having dates for each goal so that you can keep track on the progress and hold yourself accountable. This list of goals can be as long as it needs to be because the important part of this tip is that these are not big tasks but rather small tasks that are much easier to complete. Keeping them simple and small will help you not get overwhelmed of the work involved to achieve your final state dream.    Tip # 5 – Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes and Learn from Them     Let me tell you, there will be mistakes or things just won't go as planned because it’s life. Regardless on the situation, do not get discouraged. You need to get up, try again and always learn from your mistakes. By learning I mean sometimes you will need to adjust, maybe one of the smaller goals to get to your dream need to be re-planned and redone. Mistakes and failures are life’s way of teaching us so embrace them and keep growing. These five tips will help you but always remember that the “chasing” journey is the most important part of it all regardless of the end state dream because it means you are LIVING so make sure to enjoy the moments along the way, make unexpected lifetime friends, dance like no one is watching, feel the breeze of the ocean, always include things that make you happy because as my friend Steven Tyler would say “Life’s a journey, not a destination”.