A Life Un-plugged

The night before our move, I lay in bed worrying about the fate of my coffee maker. My precious coffee maker, along with a pile of other “high wattage” plug-in appliances, was in a box by the door for a one-way trip to Goodwill.

Bright and early the next morning my husband and I were moving into our dream house—a little chalet, perched on the side of a mountain with forever views. The only caveat was this house was “off-the-grid.”

We didn’t “plan” to live off-grid. We considered ourselves to be environmentally conscious. We recycled—but I was quite attached to leaving the lights on. My previous mountain home was on a north facing slope. I loved to brighten it up by turning as many lights on as I could. It never occurred to me that I would have to get used to turning off the lights.

Now my husband was educating me on watts and amps and such. What? A watt? We were culling anything that stayed “plugged-in.” Besides getting rid of my coffee maker, I was being prepped for using my hair dryer less (not so much of a concern), vacuuming during the daytime only (again, not a concern), hanging laundry on the line to dry (the delicious smell of the outdoors on my clothes—no problem there). But turning out the lights—this was concerning!

It all started in July of 2003 when we first fell in love. With our house, that is. After walking a mile down a jeep-trail of a road, through a grove of shimmering Aspen, the view began to emerge—a vast expanse of mountains, cloud striations and the statuesque Pikes Peak sixty miles to the south. The grand finale was a sweet profile of a house looking out over the magnificent and awe-inspiring view. But what was this “off-grid” thing?

I will take a moment to define “off-grid” as I have found that even my most savvy and well-informed friends are uninformed in this area. Off-grid means not being connected to (or dependent upon) an electrical power grid. It means being self-sufficient and being able to generate one’s own power. However, in reality being completely off-grid is not always the most efficient way to utilize alternative energy sources. Remote locations (such as ours) often require it. But in fact, when one has a solar system and is also grid tied it can be a much more efficient arrangement. The grid itself is a superior energy storing mechanism. We store our power in a block of golf-cart batteries. After a few dark days we need to run our generator (which of course does require an account with the local propane company.)

Living this way took some getting used to. We needed to produce more energy than we consumed which required discipline. As part of our décor in our living room, we have a wall mounted device which informs us of the remaining available power (much like a gas gauge in a car). We made some mistakes too—we bought a gorgeous duel fuel stove, had it delivered, only to realize that duel fuel meant the oven was electric and it sucked more “juice” than our system could handle. The stove was quickly returned!

We looked at where we could conserve and what could we cut out. I became willing to turn off lights as I left a room and we changed all of our light bulbs to compact fluorescents. Even our Christmas tree lights are now LED. This quiet, less consumptive lifestyle became intriguing, then intoxicating. We even got rid of our television.

What we have “given up” has been well worth it and what we have gained has been priceless. I wouldn’t trade this environmentally friendly lifestyle for anything. And you should know we are now famous among our friends for the coffee we concoct—freshly ground beans brewed in a French press, add in a teaspoon of cardamom, cream and agave nectar and served in Colorado-made ceramic mugs. If you haven’t guessed already, I don’t even miss my coffee maker anymore!

Article previously published in The Mountain Connection, Evergreen Colorado

Kristen Moeller is a life coach, a radio show host, a speaker and the author of the soon to be released book “Waiting for Jack.” Please contact her by visiting www.waitingforjack.com

The Love of Dog

My ambition in life is to someday be the person my dog thinks I am
—Emily Maughan

My annoyance at the impeccable muddy paw print in the middle of my freshly printed manuscript is a sure sign that I have lost sight of the simple perfection of life.

My husband and I share our lives with two Rhodesian Ridgeback’s, an ornery tabby cat and an old, but full of beans, thoroughbred horse. Our animals are often my greatest teachers—they are my “significance barometer.” They assist me in seeing when I am off track, when I have forgotten the joy of the moment. They show me the extraordinary gift of the ordinary things in life.

As a newly married couple, we decided it was time to have a puppy. Many choices faced us—how would we determine the right variety? Then one day I met a hunk named Rhett. I walked, unsuspectingly, into our local vet and there he was—100 pounds of solid muscle, a deep reddish brown, a gorgeous square head. I begged my husband to come see him. When we arrived, we waited for a few moments until two majestic creatures strolled in. Rhett, headed straight for David, crawled up and across his lap, went to sleep and farted with contentment.

We were hooked. After carefully interviewing breeders, we finally brought home our first, precious child, the love of our lives, a seven-week-old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. We named him Jaxson. He was cute, sweet, and tinier than our cat. We couldn’t believe our good fortune. We took him everywhere to introduce him to this beautiful world.

Then he ate his first—and my favorite—pair of shoes. I was fuming. But there he was wagging his tail, staring up at me with his caramel eyes, black muzzle and wrinkled brow. At that moment I knew how insignificant those shoes were compared to my love for this dog. My capacity for acceptance proved greater than I ever imagined before.

When my attitude calls for an adjustment, all I need to do is observe my dogs. Roscoe, our youngest Ridgeback, teaches me the pleasure of being happy. In fact, he is happiness. We have a game we play for pure joy. I am transported as I observe him, ripping and tearing up and down the hill, over logs, twisting and turning through bushes while he narrowly averts any obstacles in his way. We yell “run around”—not exceptionally eloquent—but it keeps him going at a velocity both inspiring and terrifying.

While I write, it’s especially crucial that I keep my significance scale close to zero; therefore I periodically watch them as they gaze out the window, seeming to meditate, but more likely scouting chipmunks. These dogs know how to enjoy life. They lie around in the sun on the deck or under a tree in the dirt. We cook for them, we rub their bellies, and they wag their tails, fart and groan. Although Dog is God spelled backwards, it actually spells love. Pure love.

Animals can inspire us to be less busy, more present, less worried, more joyful, and more passionate about life. They will never judge us for the things we do or don’t do. Animals don’t complain. They don’t create drama. They don’t regret the past, fear the future or take themselves too seriously. And they teach us to be excited about the little things, the simple pleasures in life—dried dog food for dinner (again) never seems to lose its magic.

If we are open and willing, animals can teach us to be better humans. Maybe one day I will be the person my dog thinks I am.

Previously published in the July edition of Mountain Connection magazine www.mtnconnection.com

Kristen Moeller is a life coach, a radio show host, a speaker and the author of the soon to be released book “Waiting for Jack” which her dogs helped her write. Please contact her by visiting www.waitingforjack.com

If writing a book is your passion - Don't wait!

The times are changing in the book world

During my recent interview with Morgan James Publishing founder David Hancock, listeners were provided with a view inside the realm of book publishing. David says that traditional publishing is going to have to change and he unveiled some of the mysteries and truths about the book world. For instance:

• 96% of traditionally published books are considered to be complete failures (as in they lose money)
• Most authors don't earn more than their initial advance
• The average Business book sells between 3000-5000 copies - which isn't enough to keep the publisher "interested" before the publisher gives up on it
• Some of the major publishing houses are in financial trouble (Houghton Mifflin has somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 billion dollars in debt and cannot afford to buy more books)
• Book stores are suffering in the difficult economic times
  

David emphasized that writing a book remains an incredible experience. Additionally it provides the author an extra dimension of professional credibility while adding the potential to increase income. “Fill a need and tie it in with your passion,” he said. “If you have a great idea you need to act on it, most importantly do something,” which spurs the question, “What are You Waiting For?”

Discovering his passion

Beginning his career as a successful mortgage banker/home builder David wasn’t satisfied. “I was hungry to find out how I could do more,” he said. He wrote his first book at the urging of others to gain extra experience and recognition in his field. He said he enjoyed writing the book, but the publishing experience was “horrible.” The publishing company didn’t allow him much say, he didn’t get to chose the cover or keep his rights, and the book wasn’t what he had wanted it to be. However, it did give him the credibility he desired and doubled his income within several months. Afterwards, he wrote a second book, and had a similarly “unhappy” publishing experience. For his third and fourth books, he self-published, but the books didn’t sell the same as they had with the publishing company promoting him. “Ninety-nine percent of self-published books don’t go past the author’s garage,” he said. That’s when he was inspired to create a unique publishing company.

His company, Morgan James Publishing, is referred to as a hybrid in the publishing world. David explained he combined the best of all worlds. He took everything he liked about traditional publishing and what he liked about self-publishing and put them together. He wanted to empower authors to play an active role in the process. Many new authors still live by the myth that you write a book, then sit back and wait for it to sell and for Oprah to call. The truth is, no matter who you publish with it’s the author’s responsibility to move the books from the book stores into the consumer’s hands. “You can use your book to enhance your business,” he said. To serve this purpose, Morgan James has a tremendous amount of resources available on its website which serve both to inspire and inform its authors as well as the general public.

David’s company has won awards, such as the 2007 American Business Award, and has created its own award, called the “Ethan Award,” for entrepreneurs. David’s company’s revenue is up 50% from last year. He credits his success to his meticulous selection of books and authors.

David's upcoming book, “The Entrepreneurial Author: Surviving Tough Economic Times,” will be available soon. David’s mission is to teach others how to get their book written and sold. “My passion is to help authors achieve their goals,” he said.

David also suggests the following resources:

http://www.rickfrishman.com/
http://www.author101university.com/
http://www.megabookmarketinguniversity.com/

To watch the video, click here.

Click here to listen the archived show.

For David's 10 Commandments for Entrepreneurial Authors go to: http://morganjamespublishing.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1975222%3ABlogPost%3A16235