I just read Jen Lemen’s little book called “Beginnings.” I’ve read it several times before, and always loved it. I met Jen Lemen at the BlogHer conference two years ago when I attended her session for ‘little bloggers’ like me. I was just starting out on my blogging journey and she was so reassuring to ‘little bloggers’ like me. She said ‘little bloggers’ are important…that they touch people just like big bloggers do, only they reach fewer people…but they make a difference to each person they reach. She was so encouraging and inspiring. You should read her blog at jenlemen.com

Then I met her again last year at the BlogHer conference and I saw her little book called “Beginnings” and I immediately fell in love with it.

As I approach the end of my 50th year (about 48 hours to go) and the start of my 51st year and 50 plus life, it is so fitting to read “Beginnings” again. Jen talks about “how difficult beginnings can be…how you can get all these ideas about how great things are going to be and make grand plans…and then you get scared that everything is going to be a disaster…and how perfectionism can paralyze you so much that you have to lie down or eat chocolate to stop freaking out.”

Jen says that “sometimes these episodes last for weeks or even years.” She says that “starting can sometimes be so damn overwhelming because the fear that once your fantastic idea sees the light of day it will no longer inspire or delight you in the same way.” But, more importantly, “we have to learn to accept this and keep dreaming, keep coming up with ideas, and take chances.”

My favorite part of the book is when Jen talks about making a Mondo Beyondo List. She says there is no requirement to actually DO any of the stuff on the list. All you have to do is DREAM it up. Sometimes this list leads to an ADVENTURE. Jen heard about Mondo Beyondo from Andrea Scher’s website called SuperHeroJournal. Andrea’s friend encouraged her to make a list of her most outlandish and amazing dreams. The idea is to let your mind go WILD with possibilities about your future, whether it’s 5 months or 5 years from now. Andrea says that daring to write down your dreams is very powerful.

Sooooo…I think now that I am approaching 51 and the NEW ME is EMERGING…it’s time for me to start my own MONDO BEYONDO LIST. Yes, I’m just going to start and see where it takes me…what adventures it takes me on. Oh, where should I start? I could have a MONDO BEYONDO LIST every day, or every week, or every month of my 51st year. Ooh, ah, what should I put on it…I better hurry up because the first thing on my list is to get more sleep and it is almost time for my Ambien time release to kick in (oh no, I forgot to take my pill at 10:00 pm and now it’s almost 11:00 pm, which means that I have a whole additional hour to dream up my MONDO BEYONDO LIST…oh goodie!)

Here goes:

MY FIRST MONDO BEYONDO LIST

– Take myself on a fabulous, incredible spa vacation (fa, la, la, I am going to Miraval Spa and I just booked all my fabulous, amazing treatments. I am going to have a hot stone massage, a reflexology treatment on my feet, a Miraval full body scrub followed by a full body massage…fa, la, la, la, la…me, me, me, meeee…dreams do come true)

– Meet a super fantastic new male companion…who is caring and loving and gives great hugs and likes the beach and likes biking and yoga and exercising and good food and cooking and being outdoors and traveling to fun places and doing fun things…lots of fun things that I like to do too…and who has his own MONDO BEYONDO LIST of dreams (yes, I did go on a first date this weekend…after 24 years of a wonderful marriage…during my last days of my 50th year…I went on a date and I survived.)

– Get an absolutely adorable dog…that doesn’t shed…that has big eyes and loves to be with me…and doesn’t chew up the furniture…and that likes to take long walks (but doesn’t wake me up too early in the morning or keep me up too late at night)…who greets me at the door every evening and keeps me company at night…and travels in the car well…and likes to go to the beach (not actually on the beach but I will take him or her to the beach if he or she is a good dog)

– Go to the Golden Globes someday and watch all the movie and tv stars in their designer outfits and ooh and aah over the stars (yes, I will be doing this from afar on Sunday evening as I watch the show on my big screen television…that is if I can find the channel and turn the big screen television on to the correct channel)

– Write my book – A Year To 50…An Extraordinary Journey By An Ordinary Woman (yes, I will, I will, and maybe I will be on the Oprah Show and have Oprah select my book as part of her book club. Of course, first I have to write it and get an agent or a publisher OR publish it myself. (okay…okay…this is a Mondo Beyondo List…but I want to do this…I do…I do…stop the fear and JUST DO IT)

– Go to the Golden Globes in my ARMANI designer gown to accept my award for the movie they made out of my bestseller book (I did say I was giving up my ARMANI suit dream, but I never said I was giving up my ARMANI designer gown dream)

– Go to Paris and Provence with my sister…and then go again with a super fantastic new male companion

– Go to Tuscany and if I don’t have a super fantastic new male companion I’ll take my absolutely adorable dog…or maybe meet a super fantastic Tuscan male companion who can teach me Italian (okay…my kids can join me too…I’ll get a villa that is big enough and they can bring along their super fantastic companions too)

– Relax on the beach with dozens of great books to read (or maybe even learn to use my new Kindle)

Oh…I have to go to sleep…I must get some sleep….more dreaming tomorrow. As Jen and Andrea say…there’s always time for

MONDO BEYONDO

…where do I want to go?
…what would make my heart sing?
…what adventure is calling me?
…who do I want to meet?

This is today’s list…I can have another one tomorrow and the next day, and the next day too…I can take as many days as I want to write my MONDO BEYONDO LISTS in my 50 plus years…but I better get some sweet dreams now…where is my memory foam pillow…oh…there it is…good nite…sweet mondo beyondo dreams to all.

Judi