New Year. New Beginnings. New Experiences.

Two weeks into the year of the horse, I've managed to clean up my desk, post new blog entries coming back from hiatus, work out more frequently, and leave the office earlier than usual. What I like about each new year is the hope that it gives to people like me to learn from my mistakes, acquire new experiences, and be a better person overall. 

So sorry for the pic! I was so engrossed listening and looking at her, I didn't notice there's someone's head down there! Haha!

Last Saturday, I got the chance to attend PJ and Alessandra Lanot's Visioneering and Chalk Typography Workshop hosted by Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. PJ started the session by allowing us to think of the current achievements and future goals in life. Allow me to share some of the tips and realizations from him.

1. Recall your achievements in life. Think of what you have achieved, no matter how small it is, from the time you were born until today. This helps you realize how good you are and what blessings God has blessed you with. 

2. Plan your life two years from now. Each year, we have 12 months to strive hard and reach for our dreams - may it be for personal, relational or professional. Try listing down what your goals are two years from now. Putting your plans on paper makes you hold on to something and reminds you to keep on persevering.

3. List the things you need to do to achieve the goals. Our future plans are all nothing without acting upon it. We need to work hard for it, so we can reach our dreams. Write down what steps you need to take in order to achieve each of the goals you've written in number 2. 

4. Set a deadline for yourself. Deadlines are there for a reason. Doing things without a deadline may not push you to achieve your goals, because you'd think that there's forever to get what you want. Remember, each second in our life is precious. It's better to achieve more things while you're young and able, rather than be regretful when you become old and sickly.

5. Enjoy life, still. Having goals in life doesn't mean becoming too serious all the time. Have a balance of still having fun while maintaining hard work and perseverance. We always see YOLO, which stands for You Only Live Once. Yes, we do. So do you want to live it by being foolish or you want to live it with meaning and purpose?

The second part of the workshop was led by Alessandra, PJ's wife. She taught us the basic concepts of typography and how each of us can actually do it using chalk - think coffee shop boards with written menu. 

We had a cheat sheet of different fonts and styles, as well as banner designs. We used a compass, ruler, pencil, and colored chalks to write our own "signage" with quotes taken from our visoneering workshop earlier.

We were able to try it out ourselves and this is how mine ended up (pictured above) - very simple, looks like a work of art by an elementary student! I suck at art! Even stick people. LOL.

This entire workshop was inspired by Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's Giving Journal, which was actually illustrated by Alessandra herself. I don't usually use journals, but this one is really really nice! It's all about myself and how I can brew my life one day at a time. 

The Giving Journal is the first journal I appreciate the most. Apart from giving missions per month, it also has free coupons that I can use monthly for my CBTL orders. It does not only allow me to take notes on a daily basis, but also helps me think of how I can improve life for the better, one step at a time. Love it!!!

This 2014, let's all hope for a better life for you and me! Start writing down your achievements, goals, and deadlines today, so you can have the rest of the year simply crossing out items you've already reached.