Create a Lovelier Environment to Enjoy Beautiful Living

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

I was talking to my wife about beautiful living over the last several weeks. The more we discussed the subject, the more pleased she was by that thought. She encouraged me to write some blog posts to share our discussions with others. Thanks, Carol!

Let me explain the concept of beautiful living a bit. Have you ever experienced a moment that was so exquisite that you will remember it all of your life? For me one such moment came when my two sons were small. It was a beautiful summer day at the palace of Versailles in France (where kings like Louis XIV resided). My rambunctious youngsters needed something to do that wasn't very cultural. I remembered that the kings of France had used the Grand Canal within the gardens as a place to go for boating excursions. When we arrived there, we found that you could rent row boats. Each one grabbed an oar . . . and with a little guidance from me as their coxswain . . . we rowed all around the Grand Canal. Surrounding us were lush gardens, perfectly pruned and swept, punctuated by enormous classical sculptures. All of us were at peace and full of joy.

Since then, I've enjoyed many other such moments. One of my favorite locations for such delights is a small town garden in the middle of Salzburg, Austria. I have often gone there in August to enjoy the summer music festival. Since the concerts are usually at night, that leaves many afternoons free to sit in the arbors, watch the people, listen to the spray from the fountains and just let happiness seep into me. I have often written drafts of my best ideas while in that garden. When I grow weary of these activities, there's a lovely outdoor cafe at one end of the garden where I can enjoy great draft beer, delicious coffee or wonderful little cakes . . . depending on my mood and waistline that day. As I sit there, soft sounds of Mozart emerge from the back of the near-by puppet theater.

Naturally, it would make me feel great to recount all of these lovely moments . . . but that wouldn't help you very much.

Let me describe some lessons that I have learned from such experiences that may help you create more beautiful living.

Nature provides great settings for beautiful living. Although each setting contained some man-made elements, each one was remarkably enhanced by outdoor beauty. For instance, one of my favorite such spots is a balcony that juts out into open air from the top of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin in Wisconsin. While you stand at the end of the balcony, you are aware of the construction . . . but what entrances you is the view in front of you. The hillside falls away towards a stream in a valley. Gentle fields are punctuated by lovely, old trees. You have a feeling like you are taking off in a helicopter as you stand there, even though you are not moving.

I've noticed that even times when I've enjoyed such moments indoors, I have had a remarkable view outdoors that added to my pleasure. One such spot is in the Frederick Robie House in Chicago (another Frank Lloyd Wright design) while sitting in the living room. From there, the plentiful windows provide great looks into beautiful trees making you feel like you are in park's gazebo rather than a living room.

Art enhances the experience. I also noticed that a high percentage of such wonderful moments came in the presence of great home furnishings, delightful sculptures and wonderful paintings. For example, in Robie House Frank Lloyd Wright also designed the furniture, carpets stained glass windows and table settings to create a resonant ambiance. Other places where I have enjoyed such experiences have been in indoor sculpture gardens inside of museums that were lit by skylights above.

Beautiful sounds amplify the experience. Occasionally, I have been in such remarkable locations and enjoyed the pleasure of music that fit the mood of the location and intensified my experience. The Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum in Boston used to have concerts in the atrium on Sundays. You could wander through the galleries looking at the art and have your mood lifted as the music rose up from below.

But the gentle sounds of a rushing stream or a waterfall can also play this role (as they do on the Yosemite Valley floor). I discovered that you can combine art and water sounds with indoor fountains and keep one in my office.

Most of us cannot afford to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home, to own a multi-million dollar art collection or the sponsor concerts by world class artists.

What should we do?

My suggestion is to create oases of beautiful living in your home and work place.

Here are some ways to do that:

1. Focus on your living room and what you see from your work area. These are the two places where you spend the bulk of your waking time. By starting here, you can create more beautiful living and working environments without spending a lot of money.

2. Purchase a Bose sound system for your living room. These sound systems produce remarkable sound quality for very little cost whether you listen to radio or CDs. Acquire music that leaves you in a beautiful living mood.

3. Acquire a view at work. In this world of cubicle-dominated employment, this can be difficult. Mirrors can help. By positioning two mirrors, you should be able to capture a view out a window. If the window overlooks the parking lot, aim your mirrors to focus on the sky. If a real outdoors view isn't possible, take your work breaks where there is such a view. If a view is frankly impossible, put up posters (or post cards if posters aren't allowed) that provide remarkable outdoor views that you love.

4. Add art. Post cards are great if you have limited space. If that's not possible, have art books on hand and leave one or two open to favorite pieces. Many museums also sell small replicas of famous sculptures for not too much money (such as the little ballerina that some many love that Degas created). Consider a screensaver for this purpose too, if you work a lot on the computer.

5. Rearrange the furniture as much as you can to emphasize access to views, art and music. If you don't have much of any of these, make a cozy area within the larger area that focuses you on what you have.

6. Add plants that delight you. I am partial to plants with lustrous, dark green leaves and delicate blooms. Gardenias are one of my favorites because of their lovely scent. Many of these plants won't last that long indoors. Be prepared to create a nursery to resuscitate them . . . or simply replace the plants fairly often.

Can a billionaire do better? I doubt it.

A billionaire will almost always use a decorator. That means that the art, furnishings, draperies and other elements will all be color coordinated and fit with one another. But will they enhance beautiful living? In many cases, the answer is no. Some decorated rooms look like a place where humans are not intended to enter. Have you ever been in one of those black, white and grey horrors? Few decorators know how to find out what creates a beautiful living feeling for the people who will live and work in the space.

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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Here are some upcoming subjects:

Tomorrow, let's look at how to plan a perfect birthday for yourself for truly beautiful living.

On Saturday, we'll go back to college together to stimulate our minds.

Sunday, I will share with you the pleasures of Bible study groups.

On Monday, let's look at how to enjoy being with your cousins more.

Tuesday, the subject is being a great aunt or uncle.

Wednesday, we'll consider great ways to enjoy breakfast better than a billionaire.

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that I posted on November 9. The table of contents will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 31 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Check out the latest index at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005/11/latest-table-of-contents-to-this-blogs_09.html to pick out your choice.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Live Spiritually Better than a Billionaire at http://livespirituallybetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Create Your Own 2,000 Percent Solutions at
http://2000percentsolutions.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I offer individual on-line tutorials and in-person seminars on living better than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day, creating 2,000 percent solutions (20 times the results with the same effort), developing more profitable business models and designing strategies that work regardless of the business environment. For information, contact me at ultimatecompetitiveadvantage@yahoo.com.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell