Welcome to My Daily Warm-Up

This is my first blog post for this website. I waited til the day the full version hardcover went live on Amazon to write this. I'm so excited!! This is a project I began last Spring close to the time of the Concertmaster Audition. More about that experience some other time. I realized around that experience that I needed something that would anchor me, get me focused and clear headed, something that would keep what is important to me FRONT BURNER both in my personal life, my spiritual life and my violin playing. I'm the kind of person who can easily drift and that has been so much of my life. I realized that taking time to refocus, realign, reorient and design my days was necessary for deeper fulfillment and carrying out of purpose with greater excellence. It's not just the "to do" list that I needed to keep track of. It was the why behind it. It was the intentionality and spirit and meaning behind what I needed to do. It was remembering what was truly important to me amongst the business of life. And then, the clear head, organization, discipline and structure to actually carry through!!

You may think this is for musicians only, but that is not true whatsoever!! This is for practically ANYONE who just wants to create their life with more clarity, meaning and purpose, anyone who wants to intentionally grow and live up to their God given potential. Our life becomes the sum of what we do every single day. I want what I do to matter. I want my life to matter. Therefore, I have to make sure what I do each day matters.

The days can start to blur together and we can have the same day over and over and over. That's the kind of life I was tending to live, with all the stresses and demands thrown in. I wasn't thriving. I wasn't growing. You will hear plenty here about my health journey that helped lead to this, but before my focus on my health began, I was in such a pit and was there so long that I started to decorate it!

Once my body started to feel well and energized, I realized how much more I could be doing and giving and living for. I realized that I had been hiding long enough and not fulfilling the purpose (well, I was doing some things!!) but not nearly as much or as well as I could be because of all the reasons holding me back. One reason was, I had forgotten how to even check in and dream. No time, no patience and then no belief I even could.

How often do we sit and reflect on what we really want and take time to be grateful for what we already have? How often to we consider how we can learn and grow and create? If you are like me, you might resist structure and most forms of discipline. But it's in finding that structure and discipline that I have finally found freedom. Freedom to live and thrive and create and give and be in the flow. It's an upstream fight to carry on these ideals, and one MUST keep front burner that which is important or it will easily get swept to the back burner.

"My Daily Warm-Up" helps keep the important things important, front burner, top priority. It creates some structure that we can lean into single every day.

I invite you to begin filling this out, perhaps with a cup of tea or coffee. Before bed and first thing in the morning are when I sit with these pages every day. I love knowing there are others who are filling this out at the same time I am, others feeling nourished and challenged to take steps toward a life that takes more courage and intention to start living. That upstream effort that is required?....the hardest part about that is always getting started. Once you are in motion, trust me, it's easier to stay in motion...with anything and everything! You will find your flow, your zone. Just don't stop! I started running recently. Once I find my stride, there seems to be a sense of equilibrium. The same is true here. It's awkward to start anything new, but you will find your stride. Just commit internally to do it and keep doing it. It becomes easier and easier.

I got home late last night and was eager to open my Amazon box with the "My Daily Warm-Up" proofs. I'm so relieved they are what I was hoping for. Of course I found about 6 mistakes and am in the process of editing it now, but nothing earth shattering. It's all there, and I'm pretty dang proud of it. Most importantly, I really believe in the power of this tool. I really believe in how much meaning it can bring to anyone who is willing to sit for a few minutes every morning and every night to set up and reflect on what's most important. We must start designing our lives around what is most important to us. What does that mean to you right now?