Guest Blogger!

Every couple of weeks The Bliss Network will host a guest blogger. This week our special guest is Roxanne Weber of CremeMagnolia.net! CremeMagnolia.net is your Pay It Forward, on line community! Look for more great stuff from Roxanne!

Replicating Spring
by Roxanne Weber
Editor in Chief, CremeMagnolia.net
Email: roxanne@crememagnolia.net

Every Spring I look forward to the snow melting, the sun starting to shine regularly and the grass turning a deep green. I break out my cleaning supplies, dust off the curtains and deep clean my carpets, and let the breeze flow through the open windows which have been shuttered all winter.

All these efforts, though hard work, make me feel alive and ready for whatever comes during what will eventually be a long hot summer. I don't have to worry about "when" I'm going to start all these efforts. Nature tells me by the changes in temperature and spring flowers growing in my backyard. These seasonal changes in fact are nature's biological cues; they are ways of reminding us that we need variety and change.

It is just too bad that there isn't a similar natural cue for businesses each year. If there was a nudge to clean out the files in my documents folder, or spruce up the content on my website, or clean out old customer files in the cabinet perhaps business wouldn't be so sluggish year after year.

What I'd like to see is a computer programmed to change with the seasons, like in nature. In the spring perhaps some flowers could start growing out of the top of my monitor, to signal that it is time to water some new, creative ideas. Or maybe the screen could show signs of dust build up, making me think about all those extra files cramping up my harddrive and slowing down productivity. Better yet the computer itself might be designed to change colors slowly over a 3-4 month period, indicating the change in seasons. Each color could be a "cue" to tackle new projects, dust off old ideas with fresh content, and throw some sunshine into my work day.

While these developments may be a bit far-fetched, the concept of business spring cleaning shouldn't be something we throw out the window too quickly. Every business could use a fresh perspective, and what better time to fertilize those ideas than in the Spring, when everything around us is budding and growing as if it were all brand new. The fact is, one of the keys to creative and new ideas is to truly marvel at, and enjoy, our natural surroundings. When we forget about the beauty around us our whole lives suffer. A work-a-holic may be materialistically successful, but how much fun are they to be around? And, how creative are their solutions to business and personal problems.

When we allow ourselves to take in what nature so joyously and selflessly provides each and every Spring we can use that energy to help develop our own personal and professional needs. That flower you stopped to smell along the road can become the energy you use later to visualize a new idea. The heat of sunshine you allow to soak into your body can later become a moment of calm and relaxation during a trying business project. A beautifully blooming meadow may become the impetus for your next big idea, project, or business adventure.

While we may not be able to replicate the beauty of seasonal changes through our computers or offices, what we can do is use that beauty to bring out the best in our personal and professional lives. After all, life without beauty is really no life at all.

Thanks, Roxanne! I'm ready for a new color on my computer...I'm thinking sunshine yellow will do the trick! Bliss ON!!!