This is me

Tie everything up in a bow? Okay, then.
Hey, hi! I’m Briana. Which rhymes with Diana. (Yeah, like the princess.)

What are we doing here?
Okay, you know that movie reel that plays in your head of the way you hope life could be?

Your parallel life, the one that’s more adventurous, exhilarating, way better lighting? And sprinkled throughout with excitement and passion, spirit and satisfaction? Yeah, that one.

A couple of years ago it dawned on me that real life was a sad imitation of my movie. I tried to do all of those things that good little achiever-bees are supposed to do.

And? Meh. For me, corporate-ladder-climbing was a double feature of anxiety and existential ennui.

So, I had to start making the real movie.
Now I do a little bit of a bunch of things. Helping smart cookies explore the art and science of finding their thing so they can do happy work that lights them up.

Also, production assistanting. (Yes, on real live productions outside of this metaphor I’m running into the ground). Freelance consulting. Self-work-ish product developing. Flip flop wearing.

Life gets sweeter long before the edited, blockbuster version.
I keep learning that if you start taking teeny steps toward setting the scene for your movie, and cultivating the qualities you want in life now, the other big stuff will manifest happen naturally. Also, the word manifest makes me queasy.

Enchanting Epiphanies, Engineering Eureka, my addiction du jour.
I’m obsessed with designing the ideal atmosphere in work and life to evoke those revelatory flashes of creative inspiration. A fertile ground where our imagination and ideas flourish. I think we can develop talent for insight; train our brains to amplify the possibility and impact of aha moments.

Some philosophical bits…
Change makes me giddy. And I’m crazy in love with my rituals and routine. Because yeah, paradox is incredibly annoying, inspiring, beautiful.

Possibility is the juiciest high. And it’s possible to feel radiant, energetic, and happy in your body. To do remarkable work that inspires, engages, and delights you.

I am a bit impatient when it comes to settling for less. Because I am just that absurdly idealistic.

I have some crazy-high expectations, of myself and everyone around me. Yup, it can be a tad annoying. Luckily I also think changing your life starts with meeting yourself where you are. And having an occasional flicker of realization that you are already perfectly lovely. As is.

And now, for the entirely random.
If I liked to cook half as much as I love to read cookbooks, I would be Julia Child a chef. French culinary school will always be my if-nothing-else-works-out plan.

Super-random-no-one-knows-this thingamajig? I am a zealously superstitious wood-knocker. My best friend and I started this ritual as kids. Sometimes no wood was handy, so we made up this bizarre rule that we could knock on our foreheads instead. Of course it stuck.

The habit’s fallen away some. But once in awhile I catch myself surreptitiously, and unconsciously, brushing my hair out of my eyes with the knuckles of my left hand. (Hello, it has to be the left hand.)

If you’re still here, WOW.
Oh, see, now I have to knock. And wave. Hi and thank you. Here’s hoping that some of my discoveries help you create your own blissdom. May your reign be long and gleeful.

Last little thing.
In a wacky moment of sheer synchronicity, the day I wrote this page I happened across this:
“Life’s like a movie, write your own ending, keep on believeing, keep on pretending.”
— Kermit the Frog