Happy Thanksgiving! I know it sounds strange but…today I am so thankful for all of the trials and tribulations I’ve been through in my life. They have helped my cherish the many blessings that I do have. Today I am thankful for faith renewed, lessons learned, strength gained, an awesome son, a wonderful family and fabulous friends. What are you thankful for today??
I have kind of been in a funk lately. I have such a heavy heart. Horrible things have been happening in our world since the beginning of time but last weeks attacks in Paris really got to me.
I am a born again Christian. I say that, proudly. I do not hide it and I will not be silent about it. That being said…I understand that not everyone shares my beliefs. I am not the kind of person who will beat you over the head with my bible. I will explain my faith, why I believe in God and what lead me to accepting His grace. If you believe differently from me, I will let you know where I stand, respectfully, and also listen to your beliefs and the reasons for them. I will speak in love and I will listen in love. I don’t feel the need to debate my stance, in a disrespectful manner, nor do I feel the need to hate or harm you just because you don’t agree with my faith.
I have atheist friends, agnostic friends, wiccan friends, friends who are Jewish, Greek Orthodox, Hindu, Jehovah’s Witness, Buddhist and Muslim friends. I have friends who believe in aliens and friends who believe we evolved from monkeys. None of that matters to me. I do not need to agree with you or accept your beliefs as my own in order to love you, be kind to you and show you respect.
I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that there are so many in this world who’s sole purpose for living is to harm and kill those who believe differently from them. I am well aware that for thousands of years extremism has been practiced in one form or another, whether it has been for religious, racial or political reasons. I also understand that we will never be able to wipe extremism completely from the face of this earth. It will ALWAYS be around. Maybe that is why my heart has been so heavy lately. Hate and evil are running rampant. Atrocities being done in the name of religion. The thirst for power and revenge being disguised under moral obligation. I’ve read about it in history books, I’ve watched the news to see it going on in distant lands, I’ve heard about it from those that have been affected, I’ve seen it take place on the soil of my own country. It is reality. It is scary. It is sad.
What a beautiful world we would live in if everyone treated others with love, kindness and respect.
If you don’t believe in yourself how can you expect anyone else to?? Love yourself. Constantly work on yourself. Believe that you are becoming who you were destined to become and everyone else will too. Not only will they believe in you but they’ll look to you for guidance because they will want the kind of confidence that you exude. Opportunities will open up for you to make a difference in the lives of others. Be prepared. Once you truly believe in yourself the possibilities are endless!
Ha! Sounds silly but oh how true this is. As the weather grows colder and the days start to stay gray…it becomes more of a struggle for me to get out of bed. I like to stay tangled in the warmth and comfort of my blankets. The great thing about coaching and blogging is that I could work from bed if I so pleased… but I’ve found that it doesn’t inspire productivity for me, it only inspires more sleep. Lol So, as generic as it sounds, if you want to make things happen in your business, in your life, shake the fog of sleep from your mind, toss your comforter aside and start your day with feet on the ground and coffee cup in hand (or whatever else helps you wake up). So, that being said, good morning everyone! Go have a productive and very blessed day!
It’s that time of year again! Holidays are just around the corner. Are you prepared? Not happy with your current situation? Not sure how to handle spending time with your dysfunctional family? Need to learn a few coping skills, fast? Let me help!
This is something I need to remind myself about, continuously. As any entrepreneur can attest to, the very beginning, the start up of your company or brand, is the hardest. Deciding to pursue your dreams is a hurdle in itself but once you make that decision…now what? Your life doesn’t stop throwing punches now that you’ve decided to start a business. Nope, life gets harder. A friend of mine told me that when the devil knows you’re about to do something great he’ll do everything he can, he’ll throw every obstacle possible in your path, to try and stop you.
Within the last few months my ex decided to lower child support by almost half, my computer broke and needs a new motherboard, my car is having mechanical issues, I need 2 of my teeth fixed, I need to get a math tutor for my son, I need to find a way to pay for dog boarding for over a month, I need to come up with camp money and cadet money for my son plus save for his 16th birthday….the list goes on, and on, and on…
Now that might sound like I’m complaining and that I’m asking for sympathy but I’m not (ok, maybe I’m complaining…just a lil bit)…but what I’m trying to say is that life can be hard and stressful as it is, throw on trying to start and run a business while you’re dealing with everything else and you really see what you’re made of. When life gets stormy do you find a safe place to run away and hide and hope that the storm passes or do you throw on your rain boots, break out your umbrella and continue working hard whether the storm continues or not?
Your success depends on your attitude and how you choose to react to your troubles. And yes, you always have a choice. Do you quit or do you keep plugging away? The beginning of anything, a new business, relationship, schooling, is always the hardest…but just like the sun eventually appears again after the storm has passed, night always turns into morning and bare trees eventually get spring buds, troubles will pass, hard times will become easier times. Don’t give up before you get to the good stuff. If you work hard, if you persevere through the storm, success WILL come.
Personally, I’m continuing down the path to success. Which direction do YOU choose? Make today count! Happy Tuesday!
There are people out there that believe you are 100% responsible for your own success, and to a degree that’s true. Ultimately, no matter how much support you get from others, if you don’t put in the time and hard work success will always be just beyond your reach. However , I truly believe that having a tribe of likeminded individuals, women who respect you, believe in you and are genuinely happy to see you accomplish your goals and be rewarded for your hard work…that kind of support system can sometimes be the difference between your failure and your success.
In a perfect world we’d never get tired, there would be enough hours in a day to accomplish everything that needs to be done, we’d reap the benefits of our hard work immediately, there would be nothing but positivity surrounding us and obstacles would be nonexistent.
We don’t live in a perfect world.
There are days when I sit at the computer 10 to 12 hours and feel like I didn’t accomplish anywhere close to the amount I wanted to. I’m tired, drained, frustrated. Some days I’m on Cloud 9 because everything I’m working hard to accomplish seems to be falling into place, other days I want to throw my laptop out the window and head to the employment agency to apply for a ‘regular job’ because running my own business is such hard work. It’s times like these that, without my support system, I might honestly consider giving up but I’ve been blessed with a great tribe of women and a few men, each of them successful in their own right and ALL of them supportive and encouraging to me and each other.
At times it’s just grabbing a cup of coffee, glass of wine or a bite to eat because I need a break, other times it’s an invite to come over so we can sit down and go over what’s frustrating me and help me find a solution. Sometimes it’s walking me through a process over and over and over again until it finally “clicks,” then there are times when I get a simple text that says “I’m thinking about you. I believe in you. You got this!” and other times it’s a phone call or a doorstep visit with one of my tribe saying…”Quit stressing out! Quit discouraging yourself. Snap the hell out if it and get your butt in gear!!” like a proverbial slap to the face of someone on the verge of hysterics.
I don’t care who you are or what kind of business you run, being an entrepreneur has never been, and will never be, easy every step of the way (this lesson can be applied to life in general, not just entrepreneurship, obviously☺) but by surrounding yourself with a tribe of successful people who have your back and help keep you in check when you start to falter you can definitely make the journey a little easier on yourself.
Find your tribe. Empower one another. Ask for encouragement and give encouragement. Revel in each others’ successes!
This might be annoying to some people but to me it’s the music of Autumn! Cool breeze, wind chimes, leaves rustling…I love it! Sitting on my couch, windows open, listening to my chimes in the wind, sipping a pumpkin cappuccino, apple spice candle wafting through the house, book in hand. Ahhhh, this is the life! Happy Saturday!
This is one of my very favorite quotes; it’s a quote I always come back to when I’m feeling like I’m overwhelmed with all that life throws at me sometimes. A very dear friend of mine is going through a pretty rough patch in life and I needed to break this quote out for her to remind her that it’s not the circumstance that can make or break us…it’s what we decide to do with those circumstances. Do we use them as a platform for self pity or do we use them as a platforms for strength? There have been many days where I’ve felt like I just couldn’t handle anymore…like I just wanted to take a month or so, go where I couldn’t be found, and completely isolate myself. Life doesn’t usually allow that. Life goes on regardless of whether you actively participate. So, instead of letting life’s obstacles become road blocks…view them as stepping stones. Use them to build strength, character, wisdom…let them become stepping stones that help propel you forward to becoming a better you. If you change the way you view things you’ll be able to change your reaction and the outcome of your circumstance.
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