Congratulations! You’ve made it through 2011, and now we’re well into the first week of the new year. I don’t know what you expect 2012 to look like, but I’ve already decided that this will be the most amazing year of my life so far. I’ve proclaimed it and I’m committed to making that happen. I’m the author of my life, so I get to decide how it’s going to unfold.

And since you’re also the author of your life, how are your New Year’s ReVolutions coming along? Yes, I said and meant revolutions. If you read my blog last week you would know that I’m all about creating revolutions in my life. Resolutions never seem to last – mostly because they are usually set up to serve us as quick fixes.

Have you ever chosen a resolution that has lasted for the entire year, or longer? What if you were to stand in your power and proclaim that you are ready to create a long-lasting change in your reality? What if you were to completely overthrow an entire system in your life that hasn’t been working well for you?

Are you done being frustrated? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Are you finally ready to have the body of your dreams? Are you open to having a deeper connection with the people you love? You get to be the one to make the changes you wish to see. If you stop waiting for life to happen and you start creating the life you’ve always wanted, what’s possible for you is limitless.

All changes first begin with a thought. Start thinking about you, your life and what you are going to create in a whole new way. Instead of saying, “I want to lose a few pounds,” proclaim that you ARE going to lose the unwanted weight by a certain date. Being definite makes it easier to stick to your goal. If you want to be more connected to someone you love, declare a reasonable and realistic way to reach out to him or her on a regular basis.

The other day, I heard someone say, “I hardly talk to my parents. I’m gonna start calling them everyday no matter what.” Well, sometimes “no matter what” happens. It’s better to under-promise and over-perform. Set yourself up to win with a few times a week. Once a new system becomes a normal part of your week, you can begin to add more onto your plate.

If you feel like you have too much on your plate, get a bigger plate. Look at the broader picture and map out your journey. If you haven’t made a vision board yet, do it as soon as you can and put it in a place that will allow you to see it EVERYDAY. There is nothing you cannot have, do, be, achieve, experience, see or accomplish. You CAN and WILL if you say so! I like to say, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!”

Love all that is you,

Jenna xox

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Jenna Phillips is a certified holistic lifestyle coach and the CEO and founder of her company  I’m On A Mission.  Her mission is to guide people towards what is possible with a positive mindset and Self Love. Follow her on Twitter and be inspired!

Andrea Magnani is an Italian designer and art director who created the Hollo collection for the Italian design company Homecode. He worked with several artists including Paul Flannery, Anne Ter Har and Matteo Cibic to design the removable doors that can be interchanged on the cabinet. The doors become, essentially, a surface for the artists’ designs. Magnani’s work was exhibited at the 54th Venice Biennale.

Life+Times: I’ve read that T-shirt designs influence your approach to design. Is that true?
Andrea Magnani: Yes it’s true. When I started thinking about this project I took as reference a set of objects that could be distinguished, not by their originality or extravagant design, but rather because of their simplicity, the ability to become invisible, base, supportive.

L+T: What’s the process like for designing a new piece?
AM: There are essentially two ways. The first comes directly from my own research of new artists that are in line with the multi-faceted vision of our project. The second is that we accept proposals from anyone, and then put their designs online if we like them. But if I must answer as a designer and not as an art director, I think that any good design process should begin with research and end up with a response that “opens” possibility for some new questions.

L+T: Is there anything that is distinctly Italian about the pieces?
AM: The place, the passion and the experience of an Italian company that manufactures in Italy with a careful and critical look into the world. This is very Italian, or I would hope that more Italian companies start doing this. Two key words? Quality and innovation.

L+T: What ways to you incorporate green processes into the furniture?
AM: Thinking green is not a process that you can incorporate, but is the result of a comprehensive approach to design, a feeling that all companies and all designers must have. Hollo uses sustainable materials and production techniques, but the added value that distinguishes us from other similar projects is the ability to change the look of your interior design without having to throw away and repurchase a new cabinet. Simply change the four front doors. In addition, its design is not the result of trends but a timeless object and therefore less subject to obsolescence.

L+T: How big is your design team? Who is responsible for the company vision?
AM: We are a small team of two people. I’m the art director and responsible for the company vision, and the project manager Alessandro Bergamo. But behind us there’s a quality company called Homecode which is able to support a complex and diverse production.

“It is NEVER too late to be what you might have been. It is NEVER too late to become who you really are.” #George Eliot

When what you “say” and how you “act” don’t exactly match up, The Uni-verse puts you on an obstacle course of confusion.

It’s easy to talk the “talk.” A lot of people talk, and talk, and talk…AND seem to never shut up!

Talking and doing are two completely separate things. If you only talk about doing something and then not put it into action then those things become only words. It keeps it on a very superficial level of being. Sometimes words get in the way of doing (most of the time). Sometimes words get it in the way of everything! (Not good for me right now!)

Sometimes it’s the ones who don’t talk who are the wisest in the room.

Even if you don’t yet believe in what you are trying to accomplish, fake it ’til you make it. Act your way into a new way of thinking.

Don’t wait for the other person to be more loving to you. Don’t wait for someone else to give you something you can give yourself. Be the person you want them to be and see how the energy shifts. Don’t wait to show up until you “think” it’s important. Every interaction is important, everywhere we go, every meeting we have — even with complete strangers. It shapes us to be who we are truly capable of being. It gives us practice. So practice on the mail carrier, the coffee barista, the person who cut you off in traffic…practice on yourself.

Practice compassion. Practice forgiveness. Practice kindness. Practice discipline. Practice grace. Practice gentleness. Practice fearlessness. Practice integrity. Practice knowingness. Pretend that you KNOW everything there is to know. Practice LOVE. Practice makes perfect!

This is the time to walk with action. Now is the only time. This instant is it. LOVE is all there is.

BE = DO = ACTION. Walk the talk.

LOVE!
LB xx

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Lisa Bojarski is a writer and stylist. Check out her site here.