IWCE 2010 Awards Ceremony
Window treatment and productivity expert, Vitalia Vygovska, receives her award from the president of McNamara Inc, Grace McNamara at the IWCE Vision 10 Awards Ceremony. The award is the 1st place win in the whole room integration category. For picture of Vita’s work, check out this post.
Do you know this man?
The man that I’m talking about is David Shepherd.
A very accomplished entrepreneur, he is also the founder of Business of Design Conference – THE place for serious designers to get best business advice and latest strategies.
I am embarrassed to admit that until a few months ago, I had never heard of David Shepherd or his conference. And you know me – I am ALL about business of design. It’s shocking that such a charismatic figure in our industry and such a powerful event, escaped my radar.
So, it occurred to me that if it escaped me, perhaps it’s escaping you as well. And I just couldn’t let that happen.
I am very excited to be attending the conference this year. You know that I always talk about continuing education, self-improvement, and betterment of your business skills. Well, if you are a serious designer, there is no better place this year to further your business, your confidence, and your bank account, than by attending The Business of Design Conference, September 2-3, in NYC.
I’d like you to experience it so much, that, as a preferred partner of DPI, I’ve been able to negotiate something very special for you (I still can’t believe David agreed to this).
Officially, the ‘early bird’ special ended on June 1st but David is extending it for you through July 6th! Only through July 6th, you can save $500 off the regular price admission ticket of $1995. So your price for this premier two-day event is $1495! Your special code is 74Z4G. (this offer is not valid for those who have already purchased their tickets)
Be sure to check out the particulars at The Business of Design Conference and register today. Can’t wait to meet you in NYC!
A Lesson in Productivity – the LOA Style
Just came off of a 3-day seminar, as part of my year-long Quantum Leap mastermind program. If you’ve ever attended anything worthwhile, you will probably sympathize with what I’m about to say.
I feel excited, overwhelmed, and numb all at the same time. Excited by the prospect of what’s to come. Overwhelmed by the possibilities. Numb from the amount of information. Phew!
Now I have to sort through all the notes and handouts and decide what to do next. It’s interesting how I have to remind myself to take my own advice: list, prioritize, act, I wrote more about it here.
The last day of the seminar was led by Jack Canfield – the co-author and best seller of Chicken Soup for the Soul. What an experience it was! Here’s me, holding an autographed copy of his book and getting close to Jack at a photo op.
As I am trying to work through the numbness and emerge with clarity, one lesson keeps coming up to the surface for me. It has to do with the law of attraction and it’s super old and super obvious. Listening to all the information, I kept thinking: “this is going to be so hard, how am I ever going to get it all done”. This idea of it being hard is really something I need to work on. It became very clear to me that until I get rid of this limiting belief, everything I do will be hard. It will feel hard. It will never be easy, b/c I concentrate on the ‘hardness’. Since I keep thinking about it, I keep attracting it. It’s a vicious circle and only I can stop it.
I’ll let you know how it goes…
After the moment is gone, all we have are pictures!
It takes a village – 1st stop – nails!
It takes a village (con’t) – next stop – hair!
It takes a village (con’t) – final stop – make-up!
Voila!
In some countries, it’s illegal to let nursing mothers out in dresses like this.
This is such a lame angle, but it had to be done – had to capture the hair!
My supportive husband Vitali!
Enterpreneur, wife, and mother – now a winner of her 1st latin ballroom dance competition – woo hoo!.
Window Treatment Expert by Day – Amature Dancer by Night
Personal hobby: a one-time wonder or a permanent pursuit of enjoyment?
In a true spirit of a blog, I am inspired today to write down my thoughts and feelings about the performance last night.
Like anything that’s being anticipated for a long time, it went by in a fleeting moment. 14minutes, 35 seconds to be exact. The only way I know is because there is a DVD that we ordered and that’s what it says on a time stamp. If you would have asked me, I could have sworn that the whole thing lasted about 8.9 seconds.
Many rehearsals later; being worried that I would forget the steps; constantly reviewing them in my head and on video; armed with an awesome dress; tan to the point of no recognition; fabulous pedi/medi, hair, and make-up to boost – I did win the 1st place in everything that I entered. Woo-hoo! 1st latin competition! I’m very excited!
But honestly, to me it wasn’t about the win, although no question that’s nice too. “Remember the Moment” is my favorite phrase of all time and that’s exactly what I kept saying to myself. I tried to stay in the moment and enjoy the whole process. The preparation and anticipation. All of it!
Perhaps that’s why it doesn’t feel bitter sweet, like it would normally feel when something fun ends like that. I was present at each step of the way, I didn’t hold back, and I have no regrets. No “I wish I would have done this or that…”.
I’m not talking about messing up the steps – I did, and who cares! I’m not talking about leaving it all on the floor – I did, no matter how much it does not look it on video. I’m not talking about being great, let alone perfect – god knows I need so much more work.
I’m talking about enjoying and giving yourself to the whole process, committing to what needs to be done without skimping – so that there are no regrets the next morning. That’s my big lesson.
Of course, none of this would have happened without everyone who was involved and helped. It truly does take a village J. My family (Vitalik, Lilichka, and Katya B.) who lived through this with me every step of the way, my friends who sent their good vibes (too many to list), the “team” that made me beautiful (Doron, Lusya, and Ira) , the cheering section that energized the whole dance hall (again too many to list), and my teachers to whom I owe everything I know about latin dancing (Zhenya and Inna of www.SitiDance.com. To feel this support is unbelievably empowering and humbling at the same time. And I hope I gave them the reason to smile and have a little fun too.
Today is the day after. The dress is off. The eye-lashes are off. The make-up is off. What’s left are pictures, videos, and fabulous memories.
And the fire orange nail polish that keeps flickering as I type this – so bright, someone said, we’ll use it to guide us out in case of emergency.
Where do you go from here? Do you just relive this one moment, or do you pursue this further? Was this a one-time wonder (like sky-diving that one time). Or is this a permanent enjoyment? Is there a next time? For now, that remains to be seen…
2 ways to increase productivity in your home office So you can get more done in less time
1. Keep it to bare essentials. What I mean is that permanent contents on the top of your desk should be kept to bare essentials, so that your desk always has a clean and organized look and feel. When I say bare essentials, I really mean it. Here’s what my desk consists of: laptop, docking station, printer, fax, scanner, router, staple and tape dispensers, writing utensils, 2 pictures, 2 accessories, and some bragging items (more about that later). That’s it. And I have a decent size, U-shaped desk. Everything else has either been discarded, moved, or hidden. All reference binders are inside cabinets. All customer and project folders are inside file drawers. All samples and swatches are put away.
It’s ok to keep 2-3 feel-good things that make you smile. For me, they are photographs of my wedding and of my baby. One accessory is a small globe I received as a gift – it’s a reminder and an inspiration of the global vision for my business. The other accessory is a small plaque with my favorite quote: “Love the moment”. Everything else is behind closed doors.
During the course of the day, the only other things that belong on your desk are your calendar, to do list, and 1 folder on which you’re working. Yes, you read it right, just 1 folder. Not several on which you are planning to work later. Just one, because you can effectively work on only 1 thing at a time (multitasking is one of my least favorite words)
So look around your office right now and see what can be taken away, cut down, and hidden. You will be amazed how cleaning your desk increases your productivity. Here are some examples of things to eliminate:
a. Dry flowers
b. Baskets of fill
c. Mismatched frames of random art
d. Knick knacks
e. Multiple folders that you may or may not use on a daily basis
f. In-basket
g. Top-of-desk organizers
2. Designate a home. Everything in your office should have a permanent home, which is a place on your desk, in your drawers, or inside filing cabinets where things always go. For example, if a designated home for your, say, envelopes is in the right-hand side back corner of the 2nd shelf in the top cabinet, than that’s where they should always go. If a designated place for your, say, paperclips is a small bowl inside the top right-hand-side drawer, that’s where they should always go too. No but’s or if’s about it.
The home for every piece of paperwork is a file – just a simple manila folder. The home for vendor catalogs and price lists is a binder. You can easily store these away in a filing drawer and refer to them later. This way, you don’t have to deal with piles of paper, wondering what to do with them, while they irritate you on a daily basis and drain your energy.
When I work with my clients 1-on-1 as part of my GET IT DONE Mentoring Program, this is one of the areas where we spend some time. I help designers organize their businesses and mindsets by starting as small as organizing their desks, files, and physical environment, in which they operate every day. This is so important because, if we are to operate at the top of our productivity, our surroundings need to energize us, not bring us down; they need to support us in moving forward, not pull us back.
Look at everything that you use on a daily basis and decide on the “home” for these things. Having a home for everything you use not only makes you feel more organized and saves you time, but it clears up our head and energy to work on what’s really important to grow businesses.
In my GET IT DONE Mentoring Program, my clients particularly like this rule, because it’s so simple and they can easily implement it. Just remembering about it and catching yourself when you’re tempted to put something aside until later, is all it takes to make it work. Just remember, all your tools, reference materials, supplies, and files must go back full circle to where their designated home is.
Vision 2010 Awards. 1st Place in Whole Room Integration – Photos
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- Fabrics in the design
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- The Tent
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- A view of the full room
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- The Full View of the Tent
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- One of the twin beds