We all need a little more Bing Bong in our lives.
Have you met Bing Bong?
I remember the first time I met Bing Bong. My family took me to see Disney’s “Inside Out”. They had already seen it and knew that I would love it. I noticed them all looking at me when Bing Bong was introduced.
Are you familiar with Bing Bong?
He’s the pink elephant with a racoonish type tail that wears a sport coat with a multicolored flower on the lapel. You almost expect him to squirt you in the eye when you look at it.
Everyone in my family knew I would love that character.
They were right! He was mesmerizing!
So full of joy. So full of magic.
I could feel his magic.
I recognized him right away.
He was imagination!!!
I was reliving the magic of childhood imagination!
I keep an action figure of Bing Bong on my desk. I never want to forget him. He’s my favorite!
Not because of the way he talks or because of the bright colors of his character but because of what he represents.
Of course, this is my take on the whole thing so if it doesn’t align with what Disney had in mind, my apologies, but this is my interpretation.
To me Bing Bong represents childhood.
He is crazy.
He is fun.
He doesn’t worry about what others think of him.
He is a mix of all thing’s children love.
He is imagination.
He is play.
He is the essence of childhood.
When he left the movie…. I gasped and threw my hand over my mouth. Mortified!! The tears gushed…So…Hard. It was probably my biggest public “ugly cry” ever!
Yes, I’ve had multiple public ugly cries!
Losing our imagination and magic. That is so sad to me. It’s a devastating loss.
Have you felt that?
Do you miss it?
I sure do.
I mean, I have lost it in the past but I am working every day to bring it back and keep it alive.
Do I succeed every day? Absolutely not. But it is my intention to try.
Why have we allowed this to happen? Why should becoming an adult cause us to lose the magic? The imagination of our childhood. Why do we have to lose that part of ourselves? Can’t adulthood and childhood be meshed together into a beautiful whole?
Imagine how your life could be with the magic of childhood intertwined with the amazing life you’re building as an adult.
Maybe we wouldn’t feel so stressed all the time.
Maybe we’d smile more.
Maybe we’d have just a little more fun.
Maybe life wouldn’t feel so heavy.
Maybe we wouldn’t feel overburdened.
Maybe…
Allow yourself to imagine.
Then set an intention, or in other words, decide how you want to feel today. Imagine how you want to feel as you go about your day. Imagine the joy you could bring to someone else. Imagine the pride you can feel in a job well done. Imagine.
Just imagine.
Alright my friends, are you ready to start something new within this podcast community???
I am, and since I’m running it, I guess I get to do that!!
I want to start a Podcast Book Club!
One of the goals I set for 2022 was to do a Book Club here with you on the Podcast 4 times this year.
Whatd’ya say! YOU IN?
If you say no, I understand. You can still listen to the Podcast. I’ll still have lots of other things to share here that I hope you’ll continue to find valuable. Even if you don’t read the books, you’ll still learn from us talking about them. I’ve attended plenty of Book Clubs where I hadn’t read the book and still came away with some valuable information.
In the book club I’m going to share some of my favorite books with you and I want to talk about them.
I know that sounds weird for a Podcast since I’m the only one talking.
Maybe that can change!
Perhaps you can become more involved with the things I talk about here on the podcast.
I love that idea!
How can you do that?
I have a few suggestions.
First: Follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. They’ve made that pretty easy these days. At the top of the podcast you’re listening too, you’ll see an arrow or three dots where you can choose to follow the podcast. Make sure you leave a rating and even better…a review of what you think about the podcast. This is how more people can find my podcast and how we can connect with more people! More people that want to learn about the same things. More people that can add their unique perspective. More people that can help us learn and grow. I like how that sounds.
Second: Join the Hunkeedori Facebook Group. I’ll put a link in the shownotes so you can request to join. The facebook group is different that the Hunkeedori Page. Anyone can get on that Hunkeedori Page but it doesn’t have all the information. If you haven’t requested to join, then you’re not in the group which is the best place to connect and have conversations with the community. We can have back and forth conversations there. I’m on there every day, sharing thoughts and having conversations with anyone in the group that wants it! I love the things you share there. We can talk about the books there probably better than anywhere else. So, if you’re interested, join that TODAY so we can start the connection!!!
Third: If you’re not into Facebook, make sure you’re following me on Instagram. I’ll be sharing thoughts about the books there too. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll also see my stories where I share lots of stuff as well. When you actually leave comments and not just give me a heart, which is awesome by the way, but when you write a message to me and I respond (which I always do) then, the higher powers at Instagram recognize us as friends and make sure we see each other’s posts more. When you just scroll and not comment, they make it so we lose contact with each other. Crazy how that happens. Maybe you already follow me on both Instagram and Facebook but are just realizing that you never see my posts any more…that’s not because I’ve stopped posting. Instagram and Facebook have noticed we’re not interacting so they put my posts farther and farther down the list on your feed until I don’t show up anymore. If you’ve discovered that is true for you, would you do me a favor… go search me out. Click on the little magnifying glass and type Hunkeedori and start interacting with me again. I hate that we’ve lost touch so let’s fix that!
Fourth: You can always email me! Marla@hunkeedori.com I’ve gotten to know a lot of you because you send me emails. I also send out weekly emails that keep you up to date on everything I’m doing in Hunkeedori, which includes this podcast. If you’re not getting that email, go to Hunkeedori.com and sign up! It’s called the Keeping it Together community. That will get you all set up. I also have lots of free things I’ve made for you and when you request one of those that look like they’d help you out, that signs you up for the email as well.
Ok. Now that we know how we can keep in touch, let’s get back to the Bookclub!
Here’s how I’d like it to look.
We’re going to read 4 books this year.
One beginning in January/April/July/October.
I’ll introduce the new book the first week of the month here on the podcast.
The last week of the month before the new one begins; we’ll have a chat about the book we’ve been reading for the past three months. In that episode, I want to share thoughts from my listeners…that’s YOU!
How can I know what your thoughts are????
You have to tell me in one of the 4 ways I told you about a few minutes ago.
Follow and Rate the podcast.
Join the Hunkeedori FB group and my Instagram.
Request to be in the Keeping it Together community email.
You can join all or just the ones that sound like your style. Whatever you choose…but the main idea is that you have to start talking back to me! It gets pretty lonely being on this side of the mic without anyone letting me know what they think! This is a great chance to do that. If you don’t want your name shared when I talk about the conversations we’ve had, just tell me! I totally respect your privacy. I just want to hear your thoughts and insights.
Here are some things to tell me when you message me:
What were you’re favorite parts?
What left you with more questions?
What got you excited?
Was anything overwhelming?
Did you try some of the things taught in the book?
How did it go?
If you can’t tell, this isn’t going to be a book club where we read novels. Not that there’s anything wrong with novels, I love to read those too.
I have just decided that it makes more sense to read books that follow along with the self-improvement vibe of the podcast. So those are the types of books I’ll be assigning. I’m also open to your suggestions! Have you read a really good self-improvement book? Let me know if there one you’d like to be put on our list!
Ok…. I hope that sets up the expectations for the book club. Now let’s talk about our first book of the year.
The reason I chose it is because it talks about the essential nature of PLAY…
You know, Bing Bong!
(Book Club assignment)
The book I chose for January-March is Essentialism: written by Greg McKeown
I’m going to read you what it says on the back of the cover;
“Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin at home or at work?
Have you ever felt both overworked and underutilized?
Do you ever feel busy but not productive?
Do you ever feel like you’re constantly in motion, but never getting anywhere?
If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is becoming an Essentialist.
This is not a time-management strategy, but a systematic discipline you apply every time you are faced with a decision. By forcing us to apply a more selective criteria for what is essential, the pursuit of less allows us to regain control of our choices so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter.”
Sounds good huh?!! It. Is.
It changed the way I looked at a lot of things. And I can’t wait to talk to you more about it.
Remember, don’t wait until the end to let me know how your reading is going.
As you’re reading send me thoughts, questions, insights, anything as you’re going through the book.
Join me on Facebook or Instagram and my email community because I’ll be encouraging and reminding you to keep reading. I’ll be watching for your comments on all of those places. I hope you find some reading buddies close to you that you enjoy discussing the book with. Invite them to listen to the podcast as well. We’ll also be reading buddies in our community meeting places as well. We’ll be supporting and encouraging each other there.
It’s all going to be so much fun! I can’t wait to see what happens!!
Ok. Before I leave you today, I wanted to share some thoughts with you from the book and tie it in to what we were talking about at the beginning.
Remember Bing Bong?
He knew how to play.
Greg McKeown gives research to back up the importance of play in our book club book “Essentialism”. In fact, there is an entire chapter dedicated to play. It’s Chapter 7.
I wanted to point out a few things from this chapter that I just loved. I hope you’ll get excited about making it to chapter 7 and read all the good stuff.
-Play has the power to significantly improve everything from personal health to relationships to education to organizations’ ability to innovate.
-Play leads to creativity.
-Nothing fires up the brain like play
-We are built to play and built through play. When we play, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, the truest expression of our individuality.
-Play expands our minds in ways that allow us to explore: to germinate new ideas or see old ideas in a new light.
Play fuels exploration in 3 ways:
- Broadens the range of options available to us.
- Antidote to stress
- Positive effect on the executive function of the brain: include planning, prioritizing, scheduling, anticipating, delegating, deciding, analyzing.
About a month ago, I asked the question on Instagram “How do you play?”
Here are a few of the responses I got:
*Play, for me, is something that fills my cup… Usually making something I find pretty… bonus points if it is also useful to me. I like to spend time making something that brightens a few of my days or takes me away from the stresses of life for a short time.
*I use the word “play” when I’m referring to sitting at my desk simply messing around with any and all art supplies I’m into at the time. Usually it is me using fountain pen inks like they’re watercolors on really great paper. I enjoy playing around and watching the unique colors meld.
I loved hearing your responses to my question.
For me, I feel like I’m playing when I’m doing anything crafty! I love the way paint feels as I spread it on paper and canvas. I’ve even been known to finger paint.
I love writing my stories and adding pictures and pretty papers and embellishments in my daily scrapbook.
I love to crochet.
These are all ways that I play.
Everyone has their own way to play.
But do we make time to play?
I’m here to encourage you to PLAN IN PLAY TIME!
Is that weird or what!
I have to write it in my planner or I fill up my time with everything else there is to do.
It is one of my priorities and you’ve heard me say it often, that when you don’t plan your priorities, everyone else will fill in their priorities into your time.
Will you do me a little favor this week?
Play!
Do something that you find fun.
AND… go get Essentialism by Greg McKeown. However you like to read. Kindle. Library. Bookstore. Amazon.
Just get it and join the Book Club! Don’t wait until a week before we review it. Give yourself time to enjoy and learn from what you read.
This is a great start to a new year and I’m really looking forward to spending it with you.
Talk to you next week.
Promo:
I wanted to invite you to register for the January 2022 Monthly Workshop.
It’s called: The Daily Memories Journal Workshop
In this workshop, I will be teaching you a quick and easy way to record one memory a day for an entire year. It’s a valuable idea to make creating your life story less stressful. Don’t like the “cutsey” part of memory keeping? I’m even going to include a template so you don’t have to do any of that. Just print off the insert and add your own memory each day. That’s worth the price of the workshop right there!
If you’re listening to this podcast before January 19, 2022, I have a special offer going on.
I’ve decided to bundle my workshops.
The more you bundle, the better the deal.
Each workshop in 2022 will be $25.
If you by a bundle of 3, it is $65. You save $10
When you buy a bundle of 6, it’s $120. You’ll save $30
Purchase a bundle of 9 for $175 and it will save you $50 for the year.
You get to choose which of the 12 workshops you want in your bundle.
At the beginning of each month I’ll let you know what the next workshop is.
If it’s a workshop you’d like, register and I’ll subtract it from the number you’ve already purchased.
That way, you get the workshops you want and need for a lower cost. And you don’t have to worry about paying every single month.
Also, as something new this year, I’m offering a Custom Design Workshop where I will work with you one on one to design the Travelers Notebook you’ve been wanting that is not available in my shop. Maybe you’ve been needing a custom size or custom pockets. Contact me and I’ll take it off your bundle. We’ll set up a live zoom call where we’ll work out all the details. I’ve never offered this before and I can’t wait to help you design your DREAM set up. This is going to be $25 for the hour so if you buy the bundle, you can get that for less too!
This pricing ends on January 19th, 2022 after I’ve sent out this first workshop of the year. I hope it will help you be able to get all the workshops you’d like for a lower price. I’m working out some great ones and adding valuable content and downloadable pdf’s to help you with all your planning and organizing and all the things we talk about In Hunkeedori. As always, I’m open for suggestion of workshops you’d like. Watch for the bundle and I hope you’ll join me!