And I mean now! Yesterday was my birthday and I won’t bore you with the details of how old I am. Let’s just say that I am getting to an age where my mortality starts peeking from my left shoulder. Or is it right? Well, never mind this, no point confusing myself now. The point is that when we get to an age when we start confronting our mortality, we feel compelled to start being more selective about the things we do. A good first step to being really selective about the things to do, I thought, is to be very clear about the things I am to stop doing immediately. I came up with six such things by taking myself back through the years and recollecting the feelings and impact these have had on the course of my life. So, here we go.

Right! Have I mentioned before that goal setting and following is not really my strongest points? If I have failed to mention this one, now is confession time. Throughout my life I have mostly wanted and achieved; most of the time what I want and what I achieve are very different things. This is what not having clear goals leads to: how likely is it that one will get where they wish to be if they don’t know where they are going?

This is why, and as a part of a general drive for change and wealth, in May I published our financial goals. Did I publish them and promptly moved to the next thing, to the next idea? You bet I did. But today I am getting back to these goals and am going to report to you, my readers. A bit of accountability only focuses the mind; apart from me secretly hoping to generate some crafty and savvy ideas about how to achieve these goals.

Dear Maria,

I can imagine you have been busy these couple of decades and I hope that you have managed to get out and give back to life all that we dream of today. You probably remember that in August 2011 we went to Sofia; but not so much to enjoy the coffee bars and the parks, or to nip into the mountains as to deal with a matter we found really disturbing and are dreading at the moment. Our parents passed away and left an apartment in North Bulgaria, a summer house nearby and some prime agricultural land to us and to our sister. There is no immediate need to do anything about the summer house and the land but the apartment is another matter – we are going there later today to sort it out and get it ready to be sold.

About a year ago, I was feeling very confused and apprehensive about my financial position and desired future. According to my diary, it took me about six months to admit to myself that I want to be wealthy; which now I share very calmly with all who wish to know. OK, probably with some who don’t want to know as well! So, there I was, having found that we are in financial trouble, feeling insecure…deep in thought checking my post box at the office. For my surprise, there was a big brown envelope; I am saying that this was a surprise because I had just given up a fairly senior management position and brown envelopes had become rarity. I opened the envelope and was completely spooked: inside was a black book by Stephanie J. Hale entitled Millionaire Women, Millionaire You.

“Do not keep anything in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

William Morris

It is Sunday evening and I thought this is the time for a lighter, more frivolous post. What is lighter and more frivolous than shoes? This is handy because yesterday, after weeks of procrastination, I finally tackled my shoes… and followed a familiar pattern from stern determination, through reflective consideration, to protective organisation. What do I mean?

I have already mentioned that I have forty two pairs of shoes and tend to live in three pairs – well now two because I threw away one – of basketball shoes. This could not continue! My shoes were everywhere – in the hall, in my wardrobe, in front of the house and at the back entrance. Pairs of shoes, sad and neglected! To top it all something vaguely resembling summer has arrived on the British Isles. My shoes had to be sorted and I am the one to do it – there is no buy out on this one.