I recently found myself in this situation and was disheartened by the fact. Sitting down with my goal sheet in front of me, I set about re-evalutating each individual one in the effort to fire up my inspiration and continue to move forward. The following is the process I used to get out of my goal rut and rediscover the meaning each held for me and regaining my focus on my ideal vision of life.

Start by drawing out the goals that seem to continually be unfulfilled and analyze them.

• What was it about this goal that got you excited originally?
• Is it truly aligned with your current vision?
• What are the benefits or rewards for accomplishing it?

You never truly fail a goal till you give up on it completely -- an uplifting fact to keep in mind when you find yourself stuck.

This doesn’t include removing a goal because it is not aligned with you any longer, that isn’t a failure at all. It’s a great thing to be truly honest with yourself and be objective with your goals, rather than holding on to one for sentimental reasons. Cut out any goals that you no longer hold dear, or are for someone else other than you.

If you established from the above questions you still really want this goal, then keep at it!

• Change how you are going about it. Insanity is doing the same thing every time and expecting a different result. Create a new and different plan of attack.
• Write out a strategy. Make a list of every step you need to do to work towards. Pick one of the most vital and start. Do it now!
• Surround yourself with inspiration on a regular basis

Strategizing and writing out each step is a vital element to help your realize a goal. Breaking it down allows our brain to focus on each individual step, hone in on what really matters and overall makes the goal seem a lot more achievable in its more simple components.

For me, time after time “I own a dog” would go unfulfilled on my goals board as the ‘by whens’ kept slipping by. Although a short term and seemingly simple goal, I was always disappointed it went unaccomplished because for me, achieving it would rock my world! Yet, did I ever actually sit down and think about it? It was only till recently I made a plan, I researched and budgeted considering the long and short term.

Now I’m at the point where all the steps are covered besides having a dog friendly place to live. Although the goal passed by, the feeling of accomplishing all those other steps is great and I know I’ve tried and I’m one key step away from making it reality.

When the going gets tough, remember your inspiration and values. Focusing on these will help you center your energies on the positive and empowering. Have them be a part of your everyday life.

• Write out your top goal and have it somewhere you see everyday
• Draw on your mentors and idols for strength
• Write out your 5 most important values. When faced with a decision, ask yourself if it holds true to these values or not.
• Listen, read and watch inspiring stories and documents (I love listening to Brian Tracy’s CD the Philosophy of Happiness)
• Remember who you are doing this for. YOU.

At the end of the day when it comes down to it, what matters most to you is what’s important. Don’t stress yourself with other’s goals or comparing yours to others as this can hinder your energy and integrity to your own values.

One of the most powerful, yet simplest questions that was asked to me once wasL “How are you going to spend your time?”

Remember the choice is yours, how you live this life. Spend it wisely, doing what you love.

1. I was honestly frightened for him being up that rickety ladder. I was debating whether I was meant to save him or the camera first:

2. Happily watching from afar as Pat worked out his angles, he called me over. Surprised and delight to help, I scurried over only to be asked to hold his camera. At first I thought he was joking, me carry that amazing and precious thing? I didn't tell him this at the time, but when he handed it to me, I felt like I was carrying the crown jewels or maybe his first born. I felt terrified and privileged, which I'm sure would have been most amusing to Pat. Tentatively taking the camera and passing it back and forth, I relaxed a little (well, maybe just stopped holding my breath as much):

3. Once we had the camera angle set, Carmen stepped in to work out the placement of each yogi. You would think perfect alignment on the mat would be key, but for the camera angle Pat was using, we needed to adjust their position to work with the frame he was taking. Lighting was also played with. The studio's light had a gorgeous warm glow, but actually made the picture flat. Using the natural light, although minimal, gave the picture a more dynamic quality:

4. Next was working on poses: which one would add to the frame: warrior, camel, cobra? One thing that stuck with me from this experience, was always remember your focus. The yoga position, although beautiful, couldn't detract from our focus, which was the mat. It also needed to create the right mood, and so in the end camel position was chosen. With using only natural light that poured into the yoga studio, to me it gave the feel of gentle strength, a quiet and powerful inner presence.

5. Having a look at their work. After being so amazing at holding those poses, Pat showed the lovely Anita, Janice and Jenn how the pictures turned out.

6. Moving on to solely pictures of the mat, Pat played with positioning of the mats and angles of the camera. Taking a shot from the side with a low depth of field versus taking it from above created a big difference in the frame, both with a completely different feel. Before I knew it, we were done and I reluctantly started to back up.

I would like to give a big shout out to Pat for letting me come along and experience behind the scenes of a photoshoot. I had such a great time.

The final masterpiece that is currently on our lululemon homepage!

Get excited, yogis and Twitter enthusiasts! We are bringing online offline and mixing our passion for yoga with social media. lululemon and YYoga will be hosting our first ever tweet up in Vancouver this Saturday!

When: February 20th at 10:30pm
Where: YYoga Flow at 888 Burrard
What: Complimentary yoga, snacks, pin trading, tunes by an in-studio DJ, and meeting other internet lovers!

View map of YYoga Flow here.

The first 200 people will be able to participate in the tweet up - arrive early to mix and mingle and make sure you get a spot. Yoga is complimentary and BYOM (bring your own mat). Rental mats are available for $2 if you forget.

If you have any questions, send us a tweet @lululemoncgse

RSVP to the Tweet Up: http://twtvite.com/w0cn1v

This day was awaited by many who had been longing for a girl's line of athletic wear as a younger sister brand of lululemon athletica. After listening to the feedback from so many, I had my own preconceived ideas of what it would be like, with cute mini Groove Pants and Remix lulu Hoodies to boot. There had been a lot of expectations and anticipation for ivivva and I truly wondered if we would meet them all. What I found quite literally blew those expectations out of the water.

Hustling down West 4th in the pouring rain, I was more concerned about getting out of the wet than where I was going. All of a sudden I got held up by people coming to a halt on the sidewalk. What on earth was going on, I thought?! There in the window display where two young amazing gymnasts poised with such grace and the biggest grins on their face. Then I looked up at the sign above: I had arrived at ivivva athletica. I stood there in the rain, grinning and gaping myself. It was more than I could have imagined and I longed to be 10 again to go gallivanting throughout the store. The beautifully thought out space had such a young vibrancy that was truly unique and inviting. You could tell that by how packed the boutique style store was, filled with young athletic girls and their families marvelling at the product, the layout and all the cool features such as the catwalk. This special dance party also came equipped with live dj, photo booth, 'live' mannequins and graffiti handmade Tee's that you got to watch being made. Although the dance party may have finished, ivivva is going to continue to rock on. If you can get to one, I highly recommend it. What an amazing creation!

Having not read a spiritual book before, I was somewhat reluctant when I received this book in the post. The Power of NOW by Eckhart Tolle challenged me a lot, not just wording wise, but mentally and emotionally and I ended the book being more aware and responsible of my actions and reactions. I like to think of his books as 'spiritual psychology', it gets you to think beyond yourself into the greater Being of life that is, as he leads you through a discussion of the condition and behaviour of the human mind. The small chapter breaks are much needed and I found it was a good practice to only read small portions at a time, to mentally digest the teachings. Everyone will take to this book differently and have different levels of 'awakening'. As rare or deep as they may be for you, the moment it happens it truly feel as if a veil has been lifted from your eyes.

Provoking and profound, it is worth a read. Life in the present moment is forever eternal.

What are you reading now?

I never liked the word 'should'. Although words may be just words, I find you put a lot behind them, both consciously and unconsciously. To me, 'should' is surrounded by negativity: guilt, frustration, self-doubt. Even when used in a seemingly positive sentence like, "Oh you should go for that job, you are brilliant!". The word adds pressure to the person's decision to make the 'right' choice. But if we eliminate that word, we embrace the opportunities that lie before us, not making either right or wrong, merely a path we choose.

'Deserve' is an amazing word. Just this last week, I started substituting it for the word 'should', to an amazing affect. I found that it gave me a new sense of motivation when I realized I deserved greatness in my life. Honestly, this can apply to all areas. For example, washing dishes is my absolute least favourite chore to do. Too often I find myself having this conversation while sitting on the couch: "Oh, I should do the dishes... but I don't want to... gah but I really should do them..." etc. However, when I say, "I deserve clean dishes!", I'm like "Yeah!! I do!" and set about cleaning them.

I took this and applied it to my writing, my workouts, free-time, the lot! And I have to say I clearly notice a vast improvement, especially in my happiness and feeling of vitality. You all deserve an amazing life, the life you truly want. I challenge you to join me, in a 'should’-free diet!

"So what do you do?" Such a common and automatic question when meeting someone new.
"I'm in retail," I answer, but always felt compelled to add, "but it isn't your normal retail store".

Three years ago I knew nothing of lululemon, luon or Groove Pants. One of my Canadian girlfriends mentioned it one day. "What a weird name," I thought to myself.

"Oh my God their pants are amazing!" she said and continued to rave about them. I thought she was insane going nuts over a pair of pants. That was until I tried my first pair of Groove Pants on and nodded, "Ah, I see what all the fuss is about now," as I wondered where they had been all my life.

Fate had it that that summer I was looking for work and came across a rare advert for lululemon looking to hire now. What did I have to lose? My friend had gone on about them and I needed a job. Right from the get go however, I realized there was more than met the eye. My 'interview' was held outside, sitting on some steps in Mountain Square in Whistler. As soon as the woman interviewing me started talking about goals and goal setting, I had fallen in love. With the company holding so many similar ideals and aims as my own, it was like the guidance I had been searching for was right before me.

Jenna taking part in a yoga class with everyone.

Some of her co-workers.

Cheering for our elite ambassador!

Now, it's a year and a half later and I looked back on my time so far with lululemon and realize what an amazing company I work for. I have done guerilla yoga, cheered at the World Cup bobsleigh and skeleton races as a LEAF (lululemon elite ambassador fan), taken my hand to visual merchandising, organized a yoga stretch event before a running race, strutted my stuff on the catwalk at a fit and function show, let my creativity bloom as a blog artist and now helped as a team wear judge. My job title? Educator!

Opportunity is always there for the taking. All you have to do is have the courage to step up.

We put such an importance on love: falling in love, finding the one, someone to complete us and so on. We seek love, importance and satisfaction from everything we do, but do we truly know the essence of what love is?

I thought I knew what it meant when said "you must have love for yourself before you can truly have love from another", but I only recently realized the concept had been lost on me. Have you also been in a relationship and thought "That's not what they are meant to do!", "why are they being like this?" or "they should know better!"? I think we all have. Sometime love can seem so one-sided and we can't seem to comprehend what our partner is thinking. The answer to our problems it seems, was right there in front of us.

A few weeks ago I started reading Eckhart Tolle's 'The Power of NOW' and it talks a lot about living in the present moment, our sense of identity and how our mind can trap us into a false reality. What really spoke to me was the video I found below on youtube.com about love-relationships.

I really would recommend you watch it. It made me see myself in a different light, as well as my partner, and opened up my eyes to a life that could be lived with a true sense of love. Although I may not be in a constant state of presence, I am more aware and closer to attaining it. I hope it moves you also and opens your eyes to a truth hidden within us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3miuaOWsj8

Above: Alana and Sheena (both from our ecommerce team) product test some of our new heathered charcoal pieces. Alana is wearing the Stride Jacket and Sheena is testing the Deep V Tank.

I'm very much a basic black girl at heart. I know how difficult it can be to push away from the easy comfort of black clothing. I mean let's face it, black:

- Goes with everything
- Is flattering
- Is classic!
- And doesn't get bad stains on it as easily as other colours

But we all know at the end of the day we have a wardrobe full of just black, which is no fun at all!

So this season I discovered heathered charcoal. I got it in a Game Day Jacket and a pair of Move Crops, both in cotton. All I can say is I LOVE THEM! This new colour has the same list of pros that black does with more interest to the garment as it has a textured look. Heathered charcoal in a jacket gave a new level of sophistication and class to my outfit and brought so much more than plain black would have. I feel I can wear either product with any of the colours in my wardrobe. It can be a fine line wearing pattern with it. But overall, I feel this textured colour will become a timeless piece in your wardrobe as it is mine.

Above: Ronnh, our Multimedia Developer, about to bite the bullet and start work on his next big project.

I have struggled with perfectionism most of my life. Most people would think perfectionism a gift, but really it is more a curse. It was only until recently that I realized that it was holding me back from goals. An ambition to be a bestselling author, seemingly miles away, as I stare at my blank computer screen, choking on words that I keep second guessing.

My first step to overcoming this was getting real to it and acknowledging the problem. Where was my fear stemming from? What did it matter if something wasn't perfect? Thinking on this, I came to the source, a very common fear most people suffer – a fear of not being good enough. It can permeate all areas of our life with us not even being aware; health, personal, business.

A quote that really spoke to me was one said by Robert H. Schuller- "Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly". OMG! So it's better for me to write a crappy story than nothing at all? Of course! Becuase I can work on that story, I can develop that first draft into something grand and write that amazing novel I want. Whereas the alternative is nothingness: you can't work on something that isn't there. A light bulb went on for me there and set me free.

It took such a weight off me and allowed me the opportunity to start being true to myself and working towards those ultimate goals. Each day I face it, but I have that knowledge and hope that I will continue to overcome it. Live your life, don't hold back.

I have heard all these questions and more a million times over as an educator at lululemon. So today, I'm going to solve all your queries and be your personal "Fit Expert".

First things first: here are my simple guidelines to knowing the pants you are trying on are fitting you right. All you have to do is look down, at your crotch! Yup, you heard right!

When you stand up straight, take a look how the fabric is sitting on you. If you get puckering or bagging, that's excess fabric, and yep -- those pants are too big for you. Are the pants pulling a little? or maybe you are getting what I like to call "cat whiskers" on the front? This often means the pants are too small. Sometimes I do find this can always be attributed to my curvy hips and I just need a different cut. To determine which it is, check out that booty: does it have shine? When you see shine when wearing our garments it means the fabric is a bit too stretched. What you want to look for to know you have that ideal fit, is a smooth, flat plain of fabric across the front.

Ok, I know it is a bit out there, but I'm going to confront the dreaded word -- camel toe! I have a lot of ladies ask me why on earth they get this unsightly wedging at the front of their pants. And ladies, the answer is so simple! It's all in the rise. The pants have just been pulled to high for the rise that the garment has been designed to sit at. This normally occurs when people mistakenly try on low rise pants when they prefer pants that sit at a higher rise, and well, frankly, hike it up there -- causing camel toe. So switching to a pant with a higher rise will obviously save this. The other cause happens to people who have a long rise in the body, so even some high-rise garments can sit on them like mid-rise. The best solution is to try a pant with a gusset and a roll-down waist, such as the Groove Downs, Move Crop and Wunder Roll Crop.

Lastly, I want to quickly go over length. Length is a pretty non-issue with a garments as we offer complimentary hemming! But don't just limit yourself to only full length pants at the perfect length. I'm fairly short, so when I try on a lot of our crops, honestly, they look like my pants have shrunk or I am preparing for the yearly monsoon in a pair of flood pants. My solution: hem my crops.

Next time you are trying on some of our garments, take this all into mind when you are checking yourself out in the fit room mirrors. We offer such a variety of pants, all with different fits and rises, so you can find that perfect pair for you.

From your personal fit expert to you, go find that awesome fitting pair of pants and enjoy!

I have a secret passion for acting. I have loved it throughout my life and acting has given me some of the happiest and most memorable moments of my life. But if you took a look at my goals, you probably wouldn't even know this. I down-played my love to "I appear in a movie as an extra" for a one-year goal. Most people are like "Wow, that’s cool", but honestly, it is a copout.

What goes up must come down. We often think of this simple phrase in a rather negative light. Greatness will lead to failure, strength will collapse to weakness. Climb a mountain and you will need to climb back down (or live on the top as a hermit).

Ups and downs are inevitable in life but we try our damnedest to fight against this. Why?

Fear drives us to not act in case we fail. But aren’t we 'failing' if we don't act either, or even more so, because if we gave it our all and 'failed' would that not be more of a success than nothing at all? When you risk it all and give it all you've got, you'll end up with a lot either way.

When I realised this fact I took a look around and asked myself "What am I waiting for?!"

I think a lot of us have secret goals we are scared to pursue or even declare out loud!

Now that I am present to all of this, I feel a sense of power to go out and give it my all. Instead of those old fears running through my head, I have a new motto: "Play hard. Risk it all!"

My new goal now is already in motion: I move to Vancouver, sign up with an agency and I will be an extra in movies and for television, every week, any opportunity that comes my way! I want it! And I am going to get it.

Do you have any goals that are a little timid and might be covering up some unsaid fears? Be honest with yourself, then just go for it already! Play hard and live an ambitious life.

Underwear is a preference.

Some like thongs, others boyshorts. Then there is bikini cut, briefs, and the list goes on! For me what I wear casually and what I wear to work out varies too. I want to be comfortable when I have my legs flipped over my head in plough position. At the same time I don't really feel like flashin' my pantyline to everyone either. Bend, stretch, pivot and there goes my underwear! Riding up where I don't want it to. Surrounded by a room full of people, it is a little tricky to subtly "adjust" underwear back into place. So getting the right fit and function for what you are doing is important.

I love our thongs at lululemon! In particular it is the thick side bands that I adore, which are super comfy and don't dig in. And for when you are getting your sweat on they even have technical underwear that is moisture wicking.

When it comes to a yoga class, I go for something entirely different. The featherlight boyshort is perfect for any kind of yoga class. Super silky, super thin and light and - most importantly - flat seamed! When I wear this underwear there is no need to worry about it wedging or bunching in all the wrong places and only has a subtle pantyline under my tight Groove Pants. In fact all of lululemon's underwear, like our technical clothing, has flat seams.

Next workout, take a second to think about what's under your yogawear.

The Wheel of Life is a really neat exercise I came across in a workshop on boosting energy. It gets you to break up the various areas of your life and then rate them, so you can see your overall satisfaction for each section. The portions that you rate highly bring you joy and the lower rated ones bring stress and drain your energy.

Here is a Wheel of Life from Startup Princess you can use. Fill out each section as you desire, then draw a line across the portion of pie. You will notice the variation of levels and how they don't always line up entirely. I found the best labels for each section were:

• Career

• Physical environment (e.g. your home)

• Money / finances

• Health (this includes mental, physical, diet, exercise etc.)

• Friends and family

• Romance / significant other

• Personal growth / development (learning, study, training etc)

• Fun (recreation, things you love doing!)

At the time I was first doing this exercise, I lived in a small shoebox of an apartment with three other girls and I rated my "environment" as fairly low, like a 3. That was pretty easy to see, but what I didn’t really take note of, was that the apartment was where I spent a lot of my time. The lack of personal space brought stress into my life. As soon as this clicked, I did something about it. Now live in a gorgeous open apartment with an amazing view of Whistler Mountain. Gosh, does this give me a good place to come home to now!

I realized that it's great to have those few areas on your wheel at their peak, but you really need to stop ignoring those areas of your life that you aren’t so thrilled about. They aren't going anywhere. And they are just going to keep draining you till you look them in the eye and straighten them out.

Above: Vanessa wears the Remix Hoodie Lux in her tent in Tofino. Who will she affect today?

lululemon's vision is elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness. That's a pretty bold statement, isn’t it?

Individuals sometimes feel we can't make a difference in the world and we wonder what the point is. But this weekend I realized something: how truly powerful and influential I am. It isn’t arrogance, just reality. And I will ask you to read on to find out why.

I made some important calls and got in touch with family back home in Australia. Usually, I "skim listening", where I don't pay a whole lot of attention to what they say, because I think I already know what they are going to say. I think we are all guilty of this, at some time or another. However,this time was different. I stayed in the moment and actually listened to them and I could hear in their voice the impact I had on them.

But you know I'm not just talking about family. You impact everyone around you.

As I waited at the Vancouver airport last night at 11pm, I listened to this guy sitting further along the bench. He did not sound happy, so after he got off the phone I asked what was wrong. Seems there was a problem with his flight ticket, about an additional tax that did not occur when he originally bought the ticket. Heading back home to England, he had cashed in all his travelers cheques and had no money to pay the $53 they told him he owed.

Not being able to get into the city or back in time to go to a currency exchange, he was hugely stressed. He would have to stay in Canada and then fork out who knows how much for a new ticket. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I will pay for you". This young English guy couldn’t believe it! "But you don’t know me!?" he protested, to which I replied: "So what?"

By that one simple gesture, he got home to his family. And I got an invite to not only stay at his bed and breakfast in England, but his mum also offered me a job! I couldn’t stop laughing at the hilarity of it all and how wonderful life can be, full of surprises. I had impacted his life so greatly. Not just him, but his family’s, my own life and all the people that I tell this story to.

Take a look at those around you, open your eyes and realize you impact them. Make a difference. Act. Do it now!