• Business,  Inspiration,  Personal,  Thoughts

    Always Follow Through

    Work hard in silence, let success make the noise. – Frank Ocean

    Quote: Work hard in silence, let success make the noise.

    This is my motto these days. I have come to realise it’s sometimes better to keep quiet about all your plans than to blurt them out to everyone as soon as you thought of them. This has been a tough practice for me and it’s been difficult because I have done the opposite in so many areas and it’s still a daily struggle. I find that it’s better to wait for a while, let the thoughts remain yours and let them mature and then let people in your surroundings know when things are more clear and you have a good sense of direction. I have told people about my plans for writing a book, opening a café and my change of profession way too many times, in vain. Because they stop listening after a while. It’s now just become noise because you’ve been there before, you’ve said those words before. Let your actions speak for themselves instead. That’s what I’m working on these days, and that’s what is inspiring me the most.

    – How is the business going?
    – It’s going real well, I’m progressing and I enjoy the process.

    That is it. That is all that will be coming through my mouth regarding my business during the coming months, until I feel I have reached a step in my goal, and I want to share it with the world. Until then, I will keep my eyes on the goal and not look back.

    I don’t believe in regrets and I never have. I try to live in the present and plan some things ahead, but not too far into the future. I do however believe in reflecting over past mistakes, and past experiences, and I as a Piscean can many times get stuck in thoughts of the past. Not to dwell, but to figure out my way forward based on my past. My past is always teaching me a lot about my current situation and how I will go about to make the choices that I need to make in order to get to where I want to be.

    Song for this blog post: Darren Hayes  – Where You Want to Be

     

  • Business,  Dreams,  Inspiration

    Starting an Online Jewelry Boutique!

    I am finally announcing what my side-project is all about! I have for a while now been thinking of starting my own business, within something I’m passionate about. Too much time has passed since it was all thoughts and ideas, and I thought to myself that it’s time to not look back and just take action. I have been researching into all kinds of related subjects since this is a huge topic which mostly is pretty new to me. I’ve chosen an e-commerce platform to use and I chose Shopify. It seems pretty easy and scalable if and when the business becomes larger and you have a lot of products listed. I’m already super excited to get my e-boutique launched and be able to share it with all of you.

    You might wonder what my shop is going to be selling. 🙂
    I’ll be selecting unique and special pieces of jewelry (silver and other materials) and accessories from India, Thailand and South Asia, with an oriental and special design that I find too little of here in Sweden or in the West generally. Of course I will also buy in all kinds of popular trendy jewellery that can be used for an everyday look. I will begin with the Nordic region, and quite soon expand to ship to the whole Europe, and when I’m more stable I’ll include the whole wide world; so everyone can enjoy a piece of the East in the West.
    I’m also looking into specializing in more cool Indian accessories that I can easily get hold of when I travel to India next time. More focus on quality material that is specific to India and that region, which is great for scarfs, clothes and accessories.

    The second aspect, and the key to my business is that portions of the sales will be donated to charity organisations I’ve chosen to work with. One of my greatest wishes for the world is for it to be less poverty, and I can only do so much on my own with my contributions to try to work towards changing the world. Therefore I would like to ask for your help to help the world, to give back to the society and to help people in need. The smallest gesture can help, buying a piece of jewellery from my shop will contribute to charity organisation working specifically with women and helping them getting a solid income so they can provide for their family and themselves; thus becoming more independent.

    UPDATE in Aug -16: Due to some delays in some tasks the launch of the online jewellery shop will be planned for to the end of this year (2016). I will be sharing more details regarding the business as I get closer to launch date. Stay tuned!

     

    Peace and Love,
    Kimmi

  • Dreams,  Personal,  Thoughts

    New City – Level 2 of Life

    I’ve recently moved to Stockholm and this is my first move outside of my own city, which wasn’t that bad or small or anything (it was 2nd largest in Sweden) – this is just much larger. I love the feeling I get now when I walk the streets and I have to explore and recognise buildings to be able to find myself to places, otherwise you get too comfortable with your surroundings and you get to do the same thing over and over in the same old city you already know by heart. It’s easy to become that comfortable person who takes the same tram or train that they know will take them home and never try to find new ways or shortcuts, but this time I’m working on not being that person and find myself new ways every day.
    Too many people I’ve worked with in the past in Gothenburg have been those types of people; the ones that would only do things they’re comfortable with and used to do. I know everyone is different and what I’m doing right now might not be everyone’s cup of tea – the idea of moving somewhere else and start a new life might be terrifying to many people. But I just did it, and right now it’s not as terrifying as I thought it might be. As long as you have some people around you that you care about, it’s a good start.

    I’ll be updating more as I get more acquainted with the city and the life here.

    Peace and Love,
    Kimmi

  • Health,  Personal

    Laser eye surgery – LASEK – 2 weeks left..

    It’s less than two weeks left and I’m doing the countdown to my laser eye surgery. The treatment that I’m going to get is called LASEK (No Cut) and the healing time is about a week, give or take. I’m totally excited about it, but at the same time I’m nervous because it’s such a big deal to do a surgery for the eyes. I have pretty bad eye sight today so it would be such a blessing to be able to see properly without having to correct it with contacts or glasses. Waking up in the morning and be able to see the clock and where I put my mobile phone. To be able to take a shower and see where I’m shaving without having to put glasses on (that are steamy and watery). To not have to think about taking extra contacts with me if I spontaneously need to spend the night somewhere other than home. There are so many scenarios I can think of that would make my life easier, so I can’t wait to get this done!
    My plan is to make a video journal for each day after the surgery so I can remember the progress if anyone ever wants my advice on it afterwards. I’ve been asking people around me at the office if they’ve done it, so I can get some advice, but usually they only remember the result and have forgotten how it felt like during the first few painful days.
    So when I’m off to Stockholm for work during next week, I’m going to look for some nice sunglasses I could use right after the surgery. I would need to sit with those on both indoors and outdoors, especially if it’s going to be sunny – even during winter time.

    I’ll come back with more details and progress regarding this in two weeks.

    Peace and Love,
    Kimmi

  • Dreams,  Inspiration,  Personal,  Thoughts

    New directions in Life

    One day you wake up with a burning desire to change something in your life – you just don’t know what it is. I have gone to work every weekday for 2 years now after my studies and you could say that I’ve started to feel the sense of that routine life that people are talking about. I never wanted to be part of a boring daily life that only revolves around the work 9-5, so I’ve always tried to engage myself in other after-work activities as much as I can or allow myself to. Sometimes there’s this stress to do and achieve as much as you possibly can over a day or a weekend just because you want to enjoy every single moment and minute of your free time. When you fail to do that, I always get anxiety over the fact that I’m not making the most of my time. Those aspects still needs a change – to learn how to relax.
    But in another aspect of life I figured out that I could make a change – at work. Change of tasks and change of environment. So I applied for another position somewhere else. It was a drastic and almost thoughtless decision; it was as if it just came to me. I love my home town but sometimes what you need is to get away a bit and get some perspective on life and things in general by moving away a bit from your comfort zone – which is where home is.
    I attended a 3-day course in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm – and I was just drawn towards that office, those people and that life style. I loved the atmosphere and I loved the way I felt about myself there. I loved the attitude of both myself and the people I met there. Positive.
    Sometimes you don’t need to change a lot to slowly get where you want to be, just take a tiny step – which I did; right after I came home from the course.
    I always wonder when people mention that they followed their intuition or their instinct when they acted and did something. This time I can honestly say that it was the intuition that made me choose to apply for another position within my job and to look outside my comfort zone without thinking twice. I believe that’s my inner self guiding me right. This is what I need right now. So let’s bring it on – this next step in life.

    Peace and love,
    Kimmi

  • Inspiration,  Personal,  Writing

    2012 – an Amazing year

    This year has been amazing. Year 2012. The first complete year I have worked at HP – at my first real job. It’s been a great journey and experience so far and it will continue into 2013.
    I have travelled to some places in the world – as I try to do each year. This year I’ve been to beautiful Vienna, amazing Budapest and incredible India and I started year 2012 in Copenhagen. I wonder which adventures 2013 will take me on. Some places/countries on my list would be: Stockholm, South of Europe, South India (Mumbai, Goa, Kerala e.g.)… and the list goes on. Most of these journeys that are nearby Sweden would have to be done over weekends due to my job, but that’s okay. An extended weekend is always a nice way to get away from work and stress, a good way of relaxing (unless you plan to tourist around hectically for two days).
    The trip to India was the most amazing thing during the year – something I’ve wanted to do since I last went there 10 years ago. I promise myself that it won’t be as seldom as every 10 years from now on. I really started to connect with my roots this time and I really believe that the more I go now that I’m an adult the more I will feel comfortable there. It’s hard to imagine the future when I might have to go without family and rely on my own judgement when it comes to India – it’s such a large country and so much to learn – it’s just mesmerising.
    I have started my writing journey for real this year, I have made a lot of research for my book writing process and I have jotted down many ideas for it. Looking forward to 2013 when I will focus a lot on my writing and reading inspiring books.
    I’ve met some inspiring people through work and that has made my job more fun in the office – it’s just too bad to see them go when projects end. That’s when I think about the fact that the world is so large and the friends feel further and further away from me – all spread out in the world. I suppose that’s when we all should be thankful for technology and IT – to be able to connect worldwide with people we want to stay in touch with. But still, it’s not the same as sitting opposite to someone and have a real conversation – that’s precious.

    Happy new year, everyone! 🙂 Hope 2013 brings you a lot of joy, good health and insight. I intend to make it a great one!

    /Kimmi

    Endless skies