Have you ever found yourself working so hard that you felt like you deserved a treat… or maybe you just needed to treat yourself to something extra special to celebrate the day? Sometimes just a piece of chocolate will do the trick… or even an afternoon coffee is just the treat we need. Yesterday was extra special for us and we decided to treat ourselves to an afternoon cupcake! ;)

We have been crazy at work over here getting dream projects off the ground and running (The AMAZING Marriage Project, The AMAZING Life Escapes, and there is one more coming soon that we are super excited to share with you!). We have been plowing through our to do lists, and adding to them just as quickly! It is funny how those “off season” days have become just as full as the “busy season” days! However, we cannot complain! We are loving every minute of them and have realized that we find ourselves so busy because we choose to be. We set our schedule and we have the choice to do anything that we want. How AMAZING is that?

Yesterday, we had an AMAZING call with a bride that had us grinning from ear to ear! We got off the phone and our hearts were so full and encouraged by her and her fiancée’s story and their dream to host a non-traditional wedding. We literally were high fiving her through the phone! She definitely made our hearts smile and reminded us that every single thing that we do is our very own choice. We celebrated that amazingness by taking a break from our to do list to treat ourselves to a cupcake! And yes, that may have been our dinner last night! ;)

Take a moment today to recognize that you do have control of how you spend every minute of everyday. You work really hard and most likely you deserve a treat! ;) Go treat yourself to something special! It will be good for your soul!

I sit in a quiet room. Alone, thinking. A pen and paper by my side, I try to think of the perfect words to tell you how much I love you. The sun has yet to rise and the world is still silent. I close my eyes and breath softly. I remember the times when we started dating. We would write notes, love letters, to each other and exchange them as we passed each other by in the halls of high school. I can remember the torn edges of the paper, your words neatly written on each line, words that were written with care and fresh love.

There is something magical about a love letter. To write a love letter takes effort, it takes care. It would be easier to send you a text message or leave a note on your Facebook wall. In 140 characters or less I could pour out my heart to you with the perfectly crafted tweet. But all of these are fleeting. They are digital ink in a fast paced world that is quickly forgotten.

A love letter written with a pen and paper takes care, it takes emotion.

“The mere fact that somebody would even just sit down pull out a piece of paper and think about someone the whole way through with an intention that is so much harder to unearth when the browser is up and the iPhone is pinging and we’ve got six conversations rolling in at once… that is an artform.” – Hannah Brencher, creator of More Love Letters says it best.

I sit here and I breathe deep, eyes closed, thinking. Thinking of the laughter we share as we walk to breakfast on an early spring morning. Thinking of the moments we talked on the phone, I in my first year of college, you still in high school. Thinking of the moments we are yet to share on our next great adventure, the adventure of life we take together. Slowly I press my pen to paper. Words written are forever. I wonder, one day, will our children read this? I imagine a time, 50 years from now. We are worn and wrinkled; we have loved and lived life. Our grandchildren surround us as we pull out a letter. A letter we have written, with pen and paper, and full intention. A letter filled with love.

…

When was the last time you wrote a true love letter? A letter for no reason other than love? Today I would like to challenge everyone that reads this to write a love letter to someone you love. It could be your spouse, your sister, your mother, your child. Write with intention, from your heart. Write something beautiful, on real paper, with a real pen.

For those that are married, I’d like to invite both you and your spouse to join Liz and I on a project: One love letter per day for the next 30 days. 30 Letters each. Share the letters with each other before bed, or when you wake up. Then save the letters in a box. When times get tough, reopen the box and reread the letters. They are a record, a documentation of your love in this moment. Words beautifully written that will last forever.

Thank you Mary Marantz for introducing us to Hanna Brencher and the More Love Letters Project. For more information, be sure to check out http://www.moreloveletters.com or watch her TED talk below.

With curious minds and hearts bursting with so much love, we boarded a huge bus and made our way to the school. We honestly had no idea what we were going to be doing or what the situation would be like when we arrived, but we trusted in our hearts that we had a lot of love to give and it was going to be put to good use! ;)

On the last day of the What If Conference in the Dominican Republic, a large group of the conference attendees ventured off the road well traveled by tourists and made our way to a school in one of the local villages. As we pulled up to the small school surrounded by barbed wire fences, we were surprised to see kids just hanging out… outside of the fence. The school has about 900 attendees. However, there is only enough classroom space for about 150 (that is my best guess, anyway)! It is small. They have to rotate kids in and out. However, the most surprising and heartbreaking thing for me was, not the fact that the kids are only in school for a portion of the day/week, but many of the kids do not attend the public school at all. Their parents choose not to send them. Sometimes those kids are busy working for their parents and/or they just don’t know any different.

We all gathered around the playground and were welcomed with open arms by the kids and the teachers who performed a little ceremony for us! They knew we were coming and they prepared a whole welcoming event, complete with dancing and prayers. We split off into groups and made our way up into the classrooms to hand out some school supplies that we had all gathered for the kids!

As the school bells rang, the kids jumped out of their seats and ran for the playground! We were all there eager to have some fun. But, there was just one challenge. We did not speak the same language! It was definitely a barrier. As much as I tried to pick up a few phrases here and there, I was not a quick learner! All I wanted to do was hug these kids and tell them how special they are! Without words, we definitely struggled at first.

There were a few What Ifers that spoke Spanish and could quickly communicate with the kids. As we watched them, having no idea what they were saying to each other, we realized something. With huge smiles on their faces, they all seemed to be having fun! They were running around, doing what most kids on a playground do… they play. It didn’t really matter what they were saying… they were having fun!

We definitely like to have fun! So we stopped thinking about the barrier and started doing! We picked up a random Frisbee looking thing (that I am pretty sure is typically used as a base) and started playing catch with two of the sweetest little girls! Before we knew it, a few others joined in and we were soon running around the playground playing tag! With no words spoken or understood, we were having fun! It was in that moment that we realized Fun is a universal language!

This day we spent hanging out with these precious kids from the Dominican Republic was a day we will likely never forget! They taught us so much about love that our hearts were even more full than when we had arrived! Next time we are in a situation where there is any type of barrier… we will likely smile bigger, give a warm embrace, and do something crazy fun… all in honor of those beautiful little kids in the Dominican Republic!

Influence.  It’s such a powerful word when you really start to think about it. Every single day we are bombarded with all sorts of messages from all sorts of people, products, businesses, etc.  The cool thing about life is that we all have the ability to choose the people that we let influence us on a daily basis.  And doing so is really simple…

Recently I read the book “The New Relationship Marketing” an idea author Mari Smith calls her Hollywood Squares.  The idea is to create a list of people that you would love to meet in real life and become connected with.  She shares that by creating your own Hollywood Squares list and then proactively following their work, you can truly meet anyone in the world.

This sounded like a really fun idea to us so we immediately set out to create our own Hollywood Squares List.  But as we were doing so, we begin to think more about why we wanted to meet each person.  At first we added people that we thought would be cool to meet, but once we did meet them, we thought how would that help make our life more AMAZING?

Still really liking the exercise, we began thinking about a topic we previously blogged about, our Board of Life Directors. We shared that the people you surround yourself by are the types of people you become.

And then it hit us.  Instead of creating our own Hollywood Squares list, what we really wanted to do was create a list of people that in one way our another was positively influencing our lives.  So, we combined the idea of a Hollywood Squares list with our Board of Life Directors and came up with Our Honorary Board of Influencers.  Instead of just a list of people we wanted to meet for no real reason, we created a list of people that if and when we do meet them, that our lives would be influenced in a more positive manner.

As you head into the weekend, why not take a moment to create your own Honorary Board of Influencers.  Not sure where to start? Think about the authors of books you’ve recently read that have had a positive impact on your life or career.  Or, think about some of your favorite hobbies and the places and people you look to for inspiration.  For example, I LOVE to cook and I am just a bit of a science nerd.  The perfect combination of both these passions is Alton Brown, chef and creator of Good Eats.

Still looking for more inspiration?  Below is our current Honorary Board of Influencers and why we choose each one.  So far we’ve only actually met a few of these people, but by creating this honorary board, we have intentionally thought about people who we have/would like to have be a positive influence in our lives and in our business.  As you create your board… remember it is your very own! You can change it up as often as you would like. That is the fun part! We move ours around quite a bit… Chris Guillebeau is one of those people that will always be a part of our board, whether listed or not!  It doesn’t really matter what your board looks like, just be sure to have a good reason for why you are allowing the people on your board into your life and make sure they are a POSITIVE influence on you.

Gretchen Rubin – Author of The Happiness Project – Through her book and blog, Gretchen shows that we can proactively work to make ourselves happier.

Seth Godin – Author of many AMAZING books including our favorites The Purple Cow and The Dip  – Seth is a genius when it comes to business, taking control of your lives, and making things happen.

Alton Brown – Chef and host of Good Eats and The Iron Chef – I just can’t get enough of the way he incorporates science into cooking.  Plus his recipes are AMAZING.

Richie & Natalie Norton – Entrepreneurs and Authors of The Power of Starting Something Stupid – We had the pleasure of meeting Richie and Natalie at the What if Conference and they are probably two of the most genuine, down to earth people we have ever met! Their hearts are incredibly inspiring!

Savannah Guthrie – Host of the Today Show – We LOVE the Today Show and especially Savannah!  She is just so bubbly and her love of life shines through and brightens our day each morning.

Alexandra Beauregard – Editor at Heart Love Weddings – Alexandra is such a breath of fresh air! She is the one behind Heart Love Weddings, a blog dedicated to celebrating love stories… all kinds of love stories!

Austin Gutwein – Author of Live to Give and Founder of Hoops of Hope – At just the age of 9 Austin created a charity to help support orphans in Africa that lost their parents due to AIDS.  Since then the charity has raised over 3 million dollars. AMAZING!

Bob Goff – Author of Love Does – Bob is a true example of how putting love above all else can positively impact the lives of those around you. His book seriously lit our hearts on fire!

David Jay – Founder of Showit and PASS – DJ is a visionary when it comes to the future of the photography industry.  But most importantly, DJ is an AMAZING example of an incredibly generous and selfless leader!

Grant Peelle – Director of I’m Fine, Thanks – Grant decided to take action and follow his dream of producing a film.  In doing so he created I’m Fine, Thanks, a move that sheds light on how we so often live a complacent life but we can make the choice to follow our dreams instead.

We can’t wait to hear about the people you choose for your very own Honorary Board of Influencers.  And if any of our influencers happen to read this post, we can’t wait to connect more with you in the near future!!!

It was Saturday night and we were up late packing for our flight out to Las Vegas for our annual trip to WPPI. Like most of our trips, it seems like all the tasks we have to get done before we go expand in order to fill up all the available time we have and we are left scrambling around at the last minute to get everything taken care of before we leave. It’s in moments like this that we have come to understand how important it is to accept each other’s quirks with grace and do whatever we can to serve each other in our marriage.

Today for our AMAZING Marriages post, we thought we would share with you a few our eccentric travel quirks and what we do to accept them with grace.

PACKING:
When it comes to packing, Liz likes to stuff every possible thing into our carry-ons just to avoid having to check a bag. Liz definitely takes the one carry-on and one personal item very liberally. If the bag has straps and can be carried on her shoulder then it is a personal item. And if the carry-on won’t zipper the first time, sit on it and make it work.

I however would much rather just take a larger suitcase so I don’t have to worry about whether or not the bag will fit in the overhead compartment. Before packing, I like to lay everything out in neat little piles. My dream would be a suitcase with neat little dividers and organizers to keep all of our clothing organized appropriately. And if it’s a liquid … it better be in a properly sized clear plastic bag.

THIS IS YOUR WAKEUP CALL:
Somehow we always end up deciding to book the earliest possible flight in hopes of having just a few extra hours to enjoy at our destination. Because of this, we have to wake up super early to catch our flight. Having just recently missed a flight, I am extremely OCD about making sure we wake up in plenty of time to get to the airport. Each time we book a flight we tell ourselves we are going to book a later one, but we never do.

For this flight, I set two alarms just to make sure we didn’t have a repeat experience. I also like to give us plenty of time to arrive early and then relax at the gate before our flight. Liz on the other hand would much rather enjoy the extra 30 minutes of sleep in our own bed rather then in an uncomfortable airport chair.

Yes that does say 3:50 AM! EEk!

SECURITY (aka a free X-RAY):

Once we have made it to the airport our next challenge is getting through the security check with all of our belongings still intact. Again, if you have read the post about our most recent travel experiences, you know how much of a challenge that can be for us. As we approach the security line, I have already begun the process of disrobing. My jacket is off, shoes are untied and my belt has been tucked safely inside a pocket of one of our carry-ons.

Liz, on the other hand, will do everything she possibly can to make it through the metal detectors without taking off her shoes or belt. She says the floors are “icky.” In fear of missing our flight because Liz is being subjected to a full on pat down for failure to place her shoes on the belt, I grab her at the last minute and remind her that her feet really don’t smell that bad and walking 10 feet in your socks won’t kill you.

BOARDING:
Last but not least, when it comes to our travel quirks, one of the biggest ones that we ALWAYS laugh at occurs just prior to boarding. Afraid that each and every flight is going to run out of overhead bin space and our extremely overstuffed carryon will have to be gate checked, I always make sure we have gathered all of our belongings in plenty of time to stand up and patiently wait for our boarding group to be called. And, if we are flying Southwest, you best believe I was online exactly 24 hours in advance to check in and get the best possible ticket number.

Liz on the other hand always seems to make it a priority to head to the bathroom at the last possible minute before boarding. Although I know she will be back in plenty of time I definitely fear she will somehow get locked in the stall and we will miss our flight.

ACCEPTING EACH OTHERS QUIRKS WITH GRACE:

Although we definitely have a lot of quirks and differences when it comes to traveling, we are always sure to accept these differences with as much grace and compromise as possible. I’ll set the alarm for 15 minutes later then I had originally planned, and Liz will sacrifice that one last pair of shoes that would probably break the zipper on our suitcase.

By recognizing and understanding our own quirks, we are better able to serve each other in our marriage.

And no matter what, we make sure that once we are in our seats together, that we spend the first portion of the flight just relaxing together. This usually ends up with Liz’s head on my shoulder and my head leaned softly against hers as we wait for everyone else to figure out ways to fit their equally oversized luggage in the overhead compartments.