I am Grateful for Simon U Ford and Social Traffic

The Silversword plant is only found on Haleakala on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii, which makes it very rare.

I am feeling deep gratitude for my friend Simon U Ford and Social Traffic a very rare find too!

I call Simon a friend because I know that I can count on him. I can count on him being honest and transparent. I can count on him to honor his word, even if there is an unfortunate glitch in the system he will make sure that you get what you bargained for! I can count on his integrity, he has proved that he will do what he says he will do. I can count on his honesty, he says it like it is and makes no apologies for being honest. You always know where he stands, what he wants and what he expects. There is no guessing with Simon. That is why Simon has a powerful network of committed and passionate followers. Because people will gladly follow a Leader that they can count on and trust that has a vision worth following!

For the past three months I have taken an online social networking course through Simon's Social Traffic Inc. I was in, what will always be known as, Wave #1...the very first class and the guinea pigs for the course. Wave #2 and Wave #3 soon joined in as the weeks went on. I was keenly aware that we were breaking new ground, with Simon as the leader, and I happily followed whenever he gave us an assignment. As time went on the group got smaller, more efficient and much more committed.

In addition to many other accomplishments, we managed to beat Google at their own game on Youtube! As we each did our part in helping Simon's "Google Friend Connect" video rise to Number One replacing Google's very own videos on the subject, we all cheered and continued to do whatever Simon asked of us. It was an exciting time as we, all former strangers from all across the globe, came together as a single minded force to follow where ever Simon led us. I trusted him by instinct. Most of us found him and became interested after following him for many months prior to the start of the course on his Blog, http://www.socialtraffic.biz/ where we got to read how this man thinks and what he values. As time has gone on the Blog has grown and yet the story of Simon U Ford and Social Traffic is all in there for the interested to peruse.

My course is now completed and I am ready to move on. (Except for two sessions that Simon is still creating. He will let me know about them when they are ready. That is the type of person he is...a man of honesty and integrity.) I learned so much from Simon and all of the many friends I have made that became a part of Social Traffic...not just about the Internet and social marketing but also about our Mother Earth and the importance of Earth Day...Everyday! I do not want to lose these wonderful heartfelt connections. So Simon, count me in for Earth Day 2010 and I will be bringing along my ten friends who will agree to find ten friends who will also agree to find ten friends...

Who would like to step up and be named as one of my ten friends that I can count on for next year's 40th Earth Day Celebration? You can then start looking for your ten also and we will be ready to rock and roll next year!

With gratitude, respect and admiration,
Dyann

I'm proud to be an American!

I'm proud to be an American!

Hey, that's a great title for a song!
















I'm proud to be married to an American! Actually, until my dear husband, Wild Bill Jones, became an American citizen April 9, 2009, I was proud to be married to a Canadian!

Now, after 5 1/2 years, I went from being married to a Canadian and having an International marriage to being married to an American. For me it all happened in a matter of hours while I sat in the back portion of the auditorium at the Homeland Security office in Tukwilla, Washington South of Seattle. It was a touching finale to all the time, money and effort my husband had exchanged for the privileges associated with becoming a naturalized American citizen. I cried while watching the two short videos, one on the many faces that have crossed our shores and borders to live the American Dream and the other with Lee Greenwood singing "I'm proud to be an American!" with wonderful heartfelt images. I sat expectantly through the speeches about the many freedoms we Americans all enjoy and I cried some more when my husband and 122 other people, from 41 different countries, all stood with their right hand raised to take the oath to finally be first class citizens in the United States.

For Wild Bill it was a much longer process, 5 1/2 years to be exact. First he needed an Immigration attorney to help him traverse the tricky and challenging changes in immigration laws since September 11, 2001. The first thing we were told is that Wild Bill could not leave the US, and be assured of being able to return, because he didn't have the proper travel documents. Then the real fun began...He needed to take the time to be fingerprinted and I needed to accompany him on an interview with Homeland Security to prove we were married. If you have ever seen the movie "Green Card" it will give you an idea what that was like. At one point he was told to write four separate checks to the FBI, CIA, INS and Homeland Security for background security checks, which took forever, because his name was William Arthur Jones and there are a lot of William A. Jones world wide, with records not suitable for immigrating to the US, that had to be checked against my husband's records.

The first success came when he received his work permit months after the process began. In the meantime we had been invited to his youngest son, Aaron's, wedding in Toronto a few months out. While he was waiting for his temporary green card to arrive we were making plans to attend the wedding. Unfortunately the green card didn't arrive in time, but a letter saying it was on the way soon did arrive and we went to the wedding with letter in hand. At the Toronto airport, the morning of our return to the US, my husband was detained because US Immigration did not like the way the letter looked. Rather than recount the story, just know that the US Government is serious about detaining people if they have any doubts whatsoever. We learned that lesson on several other occasions at US borders and I came to think of my husband as being like a dolphin getting caught in the tuna nets.

After having a temporary green card for two years he was able to apply for his permanent resident card which, by the way, is good for only ten years. He could not leave the US during that time as he had to give up his temporary green card when he processed the paperwork for his permanent green card. This created a new dilemma for us as we received word that his middle son, Lloyd, was going to be married in London in the fall. We waited again to have the necessary documents so we could travel to the wedding. This time he did get his permanent green card in time to travel to the wedding and from that point on we never had any trouble traveling again!

Somewhere along the way my husband decided he wanted to participate in his adoptd homeland in a much bigger way and also be able to vote. So he very quietly went about the business of doing all the paperwork required to become an American citizen; months of gathering papers together, reading books and studying for the test he would have to pass. Finally the day came and he went by himself to Homeland Security to take the test and be interviewed so that he could be a Naturalized citizen of the United Sates of America.

After passing the test my husband decided to do something he had wanted to do for a long time...he changed his name offcially and legally to Wild Bill Jones. After he was sworn in last week, with the other 122 people from 41 different countries, he patiently waited for his name to be called. I think at least 100 different names were called before I heard "Wild Bill Jones" from the podium. When I heard his name I rose from my seat so that I could photograph him walking, with a lilt in his step, to receive his certificate of naturalization!

I am so honored and grateful to have been a witness to the naturalization process that Wild Bill experienced over the past 5 1/2 years. When we were first married neither one of us expected that he would become an American citizen. However, after living here I could see that he was feeling like he couldn't fully contribute in his new homeland. Now he can!

I am honored to be married to the American I proudly call my husband, Wild Bill Jones!

With love and gratitude,
Dyann

Post Scrip: It is now a year later and I just re-read this for the first time since I posted it and must admit it made me cry. Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of Wild becoming a naturalized American citizen. Everything has become so much easier, especially travel, since Wild now has an American passport. Once he received all his paperwork it became clear that his first name is Wild and his middle is Bill I have taken to calling my husband Wild. I like it...short and sweet, just like him! Many of our friends and family call  him Wild and a lot of people seem to get a real kick out of calling him Wild Bill. When he introduces himself to people, very often they do not believe his real name is Wild Bill. I have seen him pull out his drivers license many times to gales of laughter! When we travel through airports the security often comment on his name when they see his passport. They have actually shown a sense of humor when he passes through their interview process. He lives up to his name and I love him more each day. I am honored to have Wild as my husband, business partner and best friend!

Happy First Anniversary of your American citizenship dear husband!

With love and admiration,
Dyann

Project Purpose and Landmark Education

Day 29 of Project Purpose
















I am incredibly grateful for Project Purpose which is almost one third of the way into the 90 day program.

Our coach and leader for this project, Patti Roney, has gently and powerfully allowed each of the 750 of us that have commited to the project to grow and stretch. I have experienced new ways to express gratitude, joy, forgiveness, giving and purpose which all seem to expand throughout my body mind and spirit! Thank you Patti for your loving leadership!

Each morning before we get out of bed my husband and I spend about 15 minutes recounting to ourselves the many things we are grateful for. With a champaign flute of REV3, to toast the gratitude ceremony with, we have the perfect start to our day! I have found that by being consciously in gratitude, at least once in every 24 hour period, it is almost impossible to be angry, down, negative, depressed, hostile or any othe emotion or way of being that is at all negative. By being in a state of gratitude so frequently it is so much easier to appreciate every little blessing and also be in a state of abundance, harmony, love and freedom. WOW! There really is something to this! Even after the 90 day project is complete I will continue to take the time each and every day to be grateful for all that I have.

In addition I am taking the Landmark Education series and tonight is week #2 of ten of the Landmark Forum in Action Seminar series. The Landmark Forum, a few weeks back, was a wonderful transformational time of insight into "rackets", mine in particular! I had no idea what a racket was and certinally didn't imagine that I actually had one...what could possibly be my racket? Well, I now know of at least one and suspect there are more! In the interest of perhaps helping someone else I am going to put myself out there and risk sharing it with you.

First of all I would like to say that many years ago I had decided that I would rather be "happy than right"... so I have practiced that ever since. Well imagine my shock when I realized that underneath my conscious level I was still needing to be right. Yep, that's my racket! I have been doing it without even realizing it by my frequent thoughts and attitude that people didn't;
-RSVP to parties
-Do what they agreed to do
-Keep appointments
-Show up a agreed

Or they complained about something and didn't do anything to fix it like;
-Have poor health and still eat poorly, never exercise and smoke
-Are overweight and still keep eating processed and fast food on a daily basis
-They're always broke and they spend money they don't have on things they don't need

I think you get the idea! Well, now that I know what my racket is I can see it clearly whenever it shows up. I also have realized that it creates a lens in which we see the world around us. What my racket gives me is the opportunity to be right while others are wrong. That is not what I want in my life. In fact it also keeps me distanced from people and makes it hard to create loving connections with all the people I care about. Whew! That is huge and I am doing whatever I can to offset that by being as open, authentic and compassionate as I can be.

So, what is your racket? Get yourself to a Landmark Education meeting and you will discover it! Landmark has been around for a long time and these people know how to help you live a better, more joyful, loving, authentic, happy life!

I am so blessed and grateful to be able to attend Landmark in order to peel a few more layers off the onion so that I can be the best light I can in the world. With Patti's Project Purpose happening along with the Landmark series I am getting so fine-tuned that I am bursting at the seams with purpose, joy, gratitude and love!

With love and gratitude,
Dyann