Faith Style

Today I decided I would publish my Life List. Whether you keep a written copy or not everyone has one. Things you want to do or accomplish before a certain age or before you die. If your new to my site you might be wondering why I write so much on things like goals, aspirations, spirituality etc…And the truth is Faith is Forward Motion. Style has everything to do with our daily lives, how we pursue things, the way we dress, the way in which we work and the manner in which we act.  So I wanted to share my journey in the hopes that it would inspire others and myself with what will transpire.

1. Start my own business 2. Write a book 3. Go sky diving 4. Bungee jump 4. Meet the Dali Lama 5. Dedicate my life to a charity for 3 consecutive months 6. Payoff my student loan 7. Live abroad for a year 8. Try to surf 9. Go skiing 10. Study under a Buddhist monk 11. Meet a sadhu 12. Spend 40 days in an ashram 13. Own a little cottage on the lake 14. Let go of the traditional day job 15. Bake for strangers 16. Have a pair of custom heels made just for me! 17. Look for beauty everyday (and make note of it) 18. Become a soul coach 19. Travel to Brazil 20. Find a Life Coach/Mentor 21. Go back to Peru and walk the 4-day Inca Trail 22. Learn how to speak French 23. Learn how to speak Spanish 24. Meet Paulo Coelho 25. Adopt a little girl from Rio de Janeiro 26. Meditate regularly 27. Meet Robin Sharma 28. Inspire others 29. Practice Yoga regularly 30. Purchase my very own Mini Cooper S series in Charcoal Grey and White Roof 31. Get a dog 32. Meet Stacy London 33. Travel to Africa with my dad 34. Travel to India on a Spiritual Retreat 35. Journal regularly 36. Watch more foreign films 37. Travel to Europe with my little sister Sareena 38. Go on a yoga trip to Costa Rica with my best friends 39. Finish reading all the unread books in my library 40. See the 7 wonders of the world 41. Laugh often 42. Wear lip gloss everyday 43. Design a fabulous line of dresses 44. Own a beautiful home in Leaside 45. Experience being pregnant and having my own healthy baby 46. Walk the Camino with my mom 47. Live a simpler life 48.  Eat more food grown by mother earth 49. Grow old with my husband Karim 50. Travel to Thailand & Singapore 51. Slow down and enjoy more moments 52. Do good everyday 53. Spend a week on the beach in Fiji 54. Travel the rest of the world with my husband 55.  Meet Faith47 when traveling to South Africa 56. Spread LOVE 57. Remember how grateful I am EVERYDAY 58. Visit the Himalayas in Nepal 59. Travel to Indonesia 60. Become a Style Statement consultant 61. Drive across Canada with my brother Sayyed 62. Take a couples trip with our closest friends 63. Help women look and feel truly amazing everyday 63. Visit Machu Picchu in Peru 64.Marry my soul mate 65. Sleep under the stars 66. Go skinny dipping 67. Swim with the dolphins 68. Go shark feeding 69. Donate blood 70. Visit an active volcano 71. Explore the amazon 72. Go deep sea fishing 73. Ride in a hot air balloon 74. Picnic at midnight 75. Go whale watching 76. Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans 77. Experience Times Square on New Year’s Eve 78. Learn to drive a standard car 79. Go canopying in Costa Rica 80. Go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef 81. Experience Carnival in Rio 82. Participate in the Holi Festival in India 83. Hang out in Ireland on St. Patrick’s day 84. Go to the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico 85. Wake up every morning, breathing deeply, being thankful for my life and give back.

What’s on your list?

My plans for 2010. I feel very strongly that it is important to have a plan, to write it down and to have faith that the universe will conspire in your favour. For me 2009 was an incredible year for love, for passion and for clarity in direction. Every year as I get older I feel like life gets better and better, I have a greater understanding of who I am, what I want and what I want to say to the world. The one thing that I haven’t been doing and which I think would be very beneficial is conducting an Annual Review, I was inspired to commit to this (starting this year) after reading Chris Guillebeau’s post on the subject.

Taking the cue from the many people who aspire me to be great, I’ve decided to map out my goals for 2010 and share them with you. I think that it’s critical to write them down and even more important to share them because it keeps you accountable and on track to be as successful as you can be. So here it goes, please feel free to share your thoughts and feedback.

Step 1, Gratitude (My List):

I’m grateful for…

• My family who are always by my side.
• My amazing friends.
• My past and what I’ve learned.
• My loving husband.
• My faith that the world is conspiring in my favour. Being a positive person makes a BIG impact on the way my life unfolds.
• The roof over my head.
• My health.
• Being surrounded by inspiring women who push me to new heights.
• The opportunities I have been presented with to take advantage of.
• My job that allows me to live well financially.
• Life, to enjoy and celebrate it everyday.
• Living in Canada and it’s multiculturalism and diversity.
• My passion, without it I would not be pursuing my business.
• The food I eat, others unfortunately do not get to eat a meal everyday.
• My freedom, the ability to do as I wish, when I wish.
• The people with HUGE hearts, without them this world would be a much darker place.
• My ability to learn, a never-ending process that makes me a better person everyday.
• My sight, without it I’d never know the beauty that exists in this world.
• My imagination, because without it I would not know what is possible.
• LOVE, that it exists in every little crevice and that it has the power to change the world.

Step 2, Setting My Intention/Theme for the Year:

2010 is the Year for Communication & Change

Step 3, Identifying My Goals (Clear, Specific & Measurable):

Business

• Create a 25% ROI, spread awareness for my work and draw additional traffic to my site through a successful “Honour Your Style” event which will represent the official launch of my business.
• Increase client base 25% each quarter this year.
• Strengthen Strategic Partnerships by hosting 4 Workshops this year.
• Start a Mastermind Group.
• Commence communicating style tips via video podcasts.
• Hire a Virtual Assistant.
• Make Faith Style more interactive. (Contests, Giveaways to get readers more engaged and posting comments, stories, etc…)
• Start writing my book idea.
• Partner with 3 like-minded clothing boutiques.

Wellness

• Committing to Hot Yoga twice a week.
• Indulge in hour-long walks on Saturday & Sunday.
• Reducing my chocolate intake by 50% while switching to 70% coca as a healthier alternative.
• Meditate 15 minutes daily.
• Journal 7 days a week.

Travel

• Take the long over due trip to Calgary to visit good friends and family.
• Make the long haul to one of my top 5 desired vacation spots (Indonesia, India, Nepal, Africa or Brazil)
• Make my plans for the Camino walk I plan to take for my 30th birthday.

Personal

• Read 24 books this year.
• Enroll and Complete 3 courses this year that are purely to ignite my creativity.
• Purchase my first home.
• Listen to music everyday as I work. It makes me feel great and puts a smile on my face so why the hell not?
• Volunteer my time with a charity that is close to my heart a few hours each month.
• Create a Legacy Project.
• Frame my vision/inspiration board.

Step 4, My Stop Doing List:

• Spending money on small local trips within Canada and the United States so that I can visit foreign soil that is culturally rich.
• Buying books until I finish reading the books in my library (with the exception of Danielle LaPorte and maybe a few others .
• Checking my emails as frequently as I do.
• Working 7 days a week. Friday is now my official day off.
• Having Twitter & Facebook open when I’m writing, I completely agree that it is a major distraction and therefore takes me twice as long to finish what I’ve started.

My words for 2010

Truth Transforms Spirituality

Great Resources:

Photo taken during the walk by Briana Hayes

The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known in English as The Way of St James which is a collection of old pilgrimage routes which cover all Europe. They all have Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain as their final destination. For more than 1000 years pilgrims have been walking along the Camino de Santiago.

The main Camino route is the Camino Frances. This part of the Camino de Santiago traditionally starts in St Jean Pied de Port and finishes in Santiago de Compostela about 780km later, after traveling the breadth of Northern Spain.  However you can start anywhere and even continue past Santiago to the sea at Finisterre. Finisterre was thought to be the end of the world in medieval times.

A pilgrimage is a term primarily used in religion and spirituality of a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or shrine of importance to a person’s beliefs and faith.

I mention on more than one occasion that the better you know yourself the easier it is to make decisions based on your heart and soul verses your mind. The Road to Santiago is a journey of self-discovery, one which I’m taking for my 30th birthday. Have you taken the journey? I would love to hear your story.

Great Read: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho