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If you’re looking to make a splash, put your dent in the universe as Steve Jobs might say, there are all kinds of ways to get there.

Of course, the only real way to get there is your own way.

Meaning: you have to dare to color outside the lines, get really grounded in your own voice and be unapologetically yourself. I’m pretty sure every single teacher of the “follow your bliss” message agrees in many ways.

Great.

Well, I know a lot of daredevil outside-the-lines coloring rebellion-driven people with mountains of talent that are not doing much of anything. In fact, they are in so much confusion and chaos most of the time that its hard to admire the cool things that they do.

Why?

Today’s idea of the day for an expansive life is all about the value in knowing the basics before you go off and create breathrough creative rebellion. 

Imagine learning high level Calculus before you new how to add and subtract basic numbers?  It’s a wild way to go, and I think only the extremely conceptual science minds could even approach it without confusion.  Even though you can wrap your head around the concepts of this high-level math, you really can’t execute it if you don’t know how to perform any of the functions in the giant equations. Yes, I know its far cooler to look at twisting forms and wild equations and want to do THAT, but the very standard 1 + 1 = 2 stuff is what you need first.

I am a concept lover.  Are you?

I like to see big pictures and I like to dwell in a realm of quantum and esoteric.  Since I was a small child and could conceive of a life, I knew I wanted the creative wildness, but I didn’t want any of the stuff that make up “typical” life.  I didn’t want to pay bills or work at a job or even have a standard relationsip.  I saw only the splashy conceptual stuff and that’s where I wanted to go.  I hated the idea of coloring books, nevermind coloring within lines.

Academically, I knew the basics well and could thrive.

In life outside of school, I didn’t care to know the basics.  And as a consequence, I had a crazy wild rebellious creative life that came crashing down on me time and time again.  I would get so far as to have a breathrough- like writing my first big novel at 22- and then I would collapse under the weight of things like editing and structure and having to actually sell it.  I felt strangled by everyday tasks like having to get groceries or keep a checkbook.

Shouldn’t this be for people who like doing these things?!

It wasn’t until I learned the basics- eating, sleeping, organizing, day-to-day good habits- that I could create anything that was solid.

The basics include basic knowledge of subjects before you become a renegade and create your own path.

There’s a piece of me that still resents the basics, as important as I know that they actually are.  When I started studying feng shui I wanted to skip over the boring stuff that seemed standard.  I tried to rush through them.  I wanted nothing to do with it.  I asked if I could fast-track myself through all this nonsense.

It wasn’t until I deeply understood and embraced these basics that I was able to create my own way of working that actually worked.  I revisit the basics all the time, even though I have gone far to the left and right of them in my own design.

Chances are if you are having a hard time doing things “your own way” you are a lot like me at heart- you might find the basics to be boring and annoying at first glance.  Learn them anyway!   Picasso was a classically trained artist before he went off to create his own way.  Foundations are good.  I promise! You might be surprised how much you learn and how much confidence you have ifyou embrace the simple stuff.  And from there…. sky’s the limit!

xoxo Dana

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And, if you want to dive in to your own personalized feng shui in a modern, practical way, Say hello to Feng Shui 101.  Its the guide I made for you to create your own personalized feng shui at home, in the office, wherever you may be… in 8 weeks.  It’s not filled with strict rules or what you “must” do.  Its filled with information, questions, exercises and even videos and classes to help you confidently create amazing spaces with killer feng shui and live with more flow.   Learn more about the 8-week feng shui adventure & grab your copy to get started right HERE…   And, as always, please let me know what happens!