Then life got busier.   I went to graduate school, got married, had my daughter and left my corporate job to pursue an entrepreneurial path.  It was in grad school that I made my first vision board at a retreat at the UCLA Conference Center at Lake Arrowhead, Ca.  After graduation, some of my orange county friends continued to meet annually and create vision boards together.  They spent a day eating, drinking, visiting and challenging each other on their personal goals.  I joined them when I could.  What  a treat.  A safe environment to reach for your dreams but to be kept in check by those who know you well enought to call BS when you’re getting too aggressive?

After Six Figure Moms Club started, I began speaking about goal setting every January for two reasons 1) my love of personal strategy and 2) my observation that this group of women often spends time taking care of everyone else’s needs but there own.  It was obvious that one special night devoted to designing your intentions for the next year was important.  I wanted to create an evening where the setting was relaxing, where the food and wine was delicious and the environment inviting so that women and men could open their creative minds and plan their best lives for the next year.  That was the birth of the Making the Most of Your Personal Strategy Events.  They are my favorite event every year.

Whether you spend it with me at the Six Figure Moms Club event, alone or with a group of your own friends, my question to you is How Can You Not? How can you not spend some deliberate time on your personal strategy planning what you want out of your life in 2010?  I hope you will and I hope you’ll have fun with it! Cheers to a fantastic 2010!

If you’ve been following along, you know that my love affair with Twitter has been going on for a few months now. This past weekend, I had the great pleasure of meeting the author of The Twitter Revolution, Warren Whitlock…again. Not only did I meet Warren but I also had the honor of joining him at TwitCastRadio when he interviewed Adaptive Blue about Glue, a cool new tool that enhances your web browsing experience.  Can you imagine what I asked when it came to my turn for an interview question?  Of course, you’re right!  I asked how the new tool could interface with twitter!  You’ll also hear Mari Smith stepping in for a few seconds too.  (You can hear our interview by clicking on the links above.)

I so enjoyed spending time with Warren this weekend and I could write this whole post about him.  However, that’s not what’s important for you.  Here is what I want you working mothers to hear about my experience and to put to use for reengineering your own lives if it’s helpful for you:

There are successful (and sometimes famous) people around waiting to help you with whatever you need and they are within your grasp.  All you need to do is reach out to them.

Coaches, editors and publishers have been advising me that famous people are much more within our grasp than we think and that they are much more willing to help you than you would imagine.  It’s not a natural thing for us to pick up the phone and call someone like Oprah, but hey, who knows? I just might someday soon and you should too.

When I left for this conference, I jokingly said to my husband, “Warren Whitlock is broadcasting his radio show live from the hotel and I’m going to join him”.  My husband laughed and said, “OK, Angie” with a skeptic tone.  I did know that Warren was broadcasting his show because I had invited him to dinner and I knew he had a time conflict.  I didn’t, however, expect to be interviewing his guest along side him.  Like just about everyone else that I’ve met in the social media space.  I found Warren delightful, open and so willing to reach out a helping hand (Oh, and very funny too).  Thank you Warren!

And by the way, thanks to @sugarjones for taking this great picture below of Warren and I and uploading it to Twitpics just before the interview started.  Don’t we look like a great broadcast journalist team?

Tracy Green just launched a new website, www.smartworkingmom.com.  Her site is worth a look if you have a minute.  This week, she emailed me and also left a comment on my blog.  I’d like to share them both with you because I think you’ll relate to what she’s saying.

 Email:  “I applaude you!  It was so refreshing to see a website that makes it okay for moms to work, and want to work and celebrates those who do!  I’m emailing to ask your permission to list www.sixfiguremomsclub.com as a  HOT LINK on my evolving website:  www.smartworkingmom.com.  I’m a full-time, plus working mom of two boys and enjoy having a career. My issue became that I was in complete control and successful at the office, but at home — forget it! I was out of my element.  (Snipped)

 Blog Comment: ”First, this is such a dynamic site! Finally, a site that doesn’t try to help moms get over whatever “guilt” they have for working. In terms of the one thing that I’m grateful for this Thanksgiving, OPPORTUNITY — the opportunity to have it all, career, family, health, success, etc. Best, Tracy”

Tracy points out three major issues for Six Figure Working Moms:  Judgment, Guilt and the ability to successfully juggle everything.  In her email, Tracy says it’s refreshing that my website makes it okay for mom’s to work.  Absolutely!  In my mind, it’s okay for a mom to do whatever she wants as long as she’s making choices that are healthy for herself and her family.  It’s so hard for us to remember not to judge each other isn’t it?  We women are our worst enemies.  I catch myself judging other women’s choices all the time and having to remind myself that it’s really none of my business.  Try it for one week.   Be on ultra alert for when you are judging others and ask yourself why.

The second issue Tracy points out is Guilt.  Why DO we feel guilty about working and wanting things for ourselves?  It doesn’t really matter why because it’s a phenomenon that’s been around for as long as women have been working and it’s not likely going away.  I say this because acknowledging guilt as a normal part of being a working mother sometimes makes it a bit more palatable.  Sure, there are some days when it bothers us more than others.  For me, those are the days when I need to readjust my calendar, reroute my priorities and spend more time with my daughter.  My guilt is a pretty good barometer if I use it and understand it correctly. 

Lastly, Tracy discusses that she had everything perfectly oiled at work but things were falling apart at home.  Sound familiar?  There really are only so many hours in the day and you’ve got to remember that balance is required when you’re living your life in the fast lane of career and home life.  You have to allow room for error when your operating at this fast pace.  If someone gets sick or something unexpected happens, your plan will get off kilter so plan for that as a normal part of your routine.  It will undoubtedly happen.  If you expect it, it won’t be such a surprise and will be a little easier to deal with.

“If you only get to give one answer, what ONE thing are you most grateful for?” 

My answer is STRUGGLE.  I’m so thankful for the struggle I have in my life and for so many reasons.

• Struggle makes me continue to grow and think about things from a multitude of perspectives.
• Struggle reminds me that I’m alive.
• Struggle highlights that if things are always easy that I’m not stepping up enough and that I’ve become complacent.  That’s not who I am.  I should be struggling with something.  I’m a change agent and that means that there should be struggle in my life…in every aspect.  That means there will be struggle in my relationships, my career, inside me.
• Struggle is my friend and my ally. If I forget that and let it make me feel down, then that is a sign that I’m not taking good care of myself.
• Struggle is my daughter’s friend too.  She is a lot like her mother.  I must remember who she is and how she is wired and remember that she will struggle with me and that it’s not personal.  It is her path too.

So, yes, my answer my seem a bit strange to you and that’s okay with me.  I want you to think about YOU at your CORE.  What are you truly grateful for about YOU?

YES, I’m grateful for so many other things too.  My daughter, my husband, my family, my friends, my strength, my health, my good fortune, my business, flexible work, work life balance, social media, all the inspiring entrepreneurs I’ve met, and the list goes on and on.  I’m a very, very lucky girl and with a friend like struggle, it’s important for me to stop, sit and remember all these things on a regular basis.

And lastly, let us not forget the comedic one:  TWITTER.  I’m thankful for my affair with twitter.  Yes, it’s still on and it’s hot and heavy.  I’m still in love with twitter and our relationship continues to blossom.

I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you will take a few moments and reflect upon your own struggles, how purposeful they are for you and the wonderful treasures they bring to you in the end.  Be well. Be safe.

If for some reason, you happen to spending this Thanksgiving season alone or in a sad spot or if you are outside of the United States, visit my friend Gail Goodwin’s site at Inspire Me Today.  She’s always got something uplifting to say  

(P.S. Gail is about to make a huge global annoucement about an initiative we’re working on together. Stay tuned and SHHHHH until then.)

• I don’t publish pictures of my daughter on the internet….period. Not anywhere.
• Since this has not always been my policy so I ask friends and family to alert me if they come upon a picture that I’m not aware of so that I can promptly remove it.
• I don’t use my daughter’s given name when writing about her and my family. I’m sure there are people I meet in the public who ask her name and I answer. However, with regard to the internet, I don’t publish her name.
• I advise my friends not to publish their children’s pictures or names on the internet.
• I realize there are times when I may be in the public eye and events covered by the media may include pictures of me and my daughter. I will limit my daughter’s exposure when I can but realize this is inevitable.

You might be thinking, “But Angie, you of all people are a Social Media Evangelist who is having an affair with Twitter, How can you be so against using one of it’s best features to share joy with loved ones and friends?”. My answer to your question is a simple one. There’s no possible way that I can conceive of the same thoughts that a child killer/abuser can. I don’t think it’s possible for me to rationally assess the situation because that would require me, being able to stand in the shoes of the exact person that is a threat to my child. It’s just not possible. Thus, I am unprotected, because I live in a world of false security. I do believe there are wackos out there living in society ready to snap at any minute. I can’t protect myself or my family from them 100% but I can take the proper precautions and these are some of them, why wouldn’t I?

If you need more convincing, just read this article about how the US Army is worried that terrorists might use Twitter as a competitve war advantage.

I was working on another project this morning at my kitchen table with the window open.  It’s a typical Santa Ana fall weekend in San Diego where it feels like the threat of fires.  When you’ve lived here through both the Cedar and the Witch Creek fires, your sensors are up for that kind of stuff in the fall.  Both of those fires came within a mile of my home.  Luckily, we survived with minor damage and big messes from both.  Comparitively speaking, over 400 homes in my community were lost last year.  It was a devastating time.

As you may have heard on the news, fires are raging in Santa Barbara and north of Los Angeles.  I’ve been consciously trying not to turn on the TV or Radio this morning to protect myself from the negative energy of the news.  This is often my process when I’m writing or working as I’m more productive.  However, I did pop onto to Twitter for a quick five minutes.

Within one minute, I knew that fire was threatening somewhere close the Santa Clarita valley (or so I thought).   I quickly thought of three twitter friends I had met in Ventura a few weeks ago:  @respres, @jesseluna and @lindaptaylor.  I sent them a tweet to come to San Diego if they felt at risk.  They responded within seconds that they were fine but another twitter freind @QueenofSpain was in more danger.  I don’t know @QueenofSpain but because she’s in their twitter tribe, she’s now in mine.  That’s how it works.  Their friends are my friends and so on.  Below is our twitter streams.  Start from the bottom and read up.

So, cross your fingers for @queenofspain and everyone else in the fire areas.

I wrote this post quickly to show you the enormous power of twitter.  It’s so incredibly useful in times like this and can give you news faster than any other source available to us.  Just think what it could do for your personal brand or your business.  Pretty incredible possibilities huh? 

Understand why I’m still having an affair with Twitter??

Tweets I typed or received:

QueenofSpain: @aaswartz thanks. will keep in mind. we can’t go south right now.

about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

 

aaswartz: @QueenofSpain Girl, head south already!

about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

 

aaswartz: @ResPres don’t know @queenofspain yet but bring her too. She’s ok if she knows U

about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

 

aaswartz: @jesseluna We’ll grab @marismith and have a party and do some go away fire dance

about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

 

aaswartz: @jesseluna Keep me posted and come if u need to.

about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

 

ResPres: @aaswartz thank you. I don’t think we’re in danger, but the map I just looked at might make @queenofspain a bit nervous.

about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

 

aaswartz: @respres @jesseluna @lindaptaylor Cedar fire was less than mile from my home. Saw fire coming from 3 directions when leaving. Said bye house

about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

 

jesseluna: @aaswartz @respres is the closest of the 3. Linda and I are about 20-25 miles away.

about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

 

• QueenofSpain: @ResPres yeah, um…..not liking the direction this puppy is moving

• amarquart: @Karoli so winds 2 not helping keep contained? worried 4 u & @queenofspain… no relief insight (weather)?
  about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet

  

• meresgreen: @QueenofSpain can you get out?
  about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

  

• QueenofSpain: @tsalagi1 we’re ok. We’re not in any immediate danger. Fire is a good distance. Worse for my son to be in this smoke.
  about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet · Show ConversationHide Conversation

  

• QueenofSpain: I-5 between 405 and the 126 is now shut. SO yeah, that’s us. Don’t come visit
  about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet
   

I’m truly amazed at feedback I’ve received in response to my post on Proposition 8: Why Should the Majority Get to Choose How the Minority Lives?. In addition to the 16 comments on the blogpost itself, I’ve received emails, phone calls, twitter tweets & direct messages, facebook messages, phonecalls and people walking up to me to chat. It’s been so enlightening. Below are some demographics about the folks that have reached out to me:

• 90% of the group voted no for Prop 8.
• Most of them have someone in their family that is gay and therefore directly affected by the law.
• Most were frustrated that a Utah constituency directly contributed money to the passing of a California law.
• A small % felt that the church should decide who was “married”.
• Many mentioned their concern that our children would be taught to hate minorities as a result of this law passage.
• Some didn’t have any direct ties to anyone Gay but were a minority and related to minority causes. Thus, wanted freedom for all.
• Everyone wants to know if I think there’s anything they can still do now to make a difference.

As for me, I’m disappointed that I didn’t write my post a month earlier and that I didn’t do more to influence the defeat of this proposition. Why? Because I think the public was miseducated, scared and that it passed for all the wrong reasons.

I am a straight, married, white female. So, why am I so impassioned about this topic? I want my daughter to grow up understanding equality and love for all…not hate and I feel that discrimination teaches hate. I grew up in a small town where very few black families lived. My grandparents had very racist views that just never sat well with me. I wish that bias could be erased for my daughter’s children. Additionally, focusing our energy on topics like this takes our focus away from solving what I see as more important topics like promoting flexible work for all of you.

There are things you can still do if you’re interested in being a Proponent of No on Proposition 8.

1. See this great blog at After Ellen which contains some great celebrity pictures and stories.
2. This Saturday is National Protest Day. Check out JointheImpact.com for more information about how you can participate in this national event.
3. Join the When/If Prop 8 Passes, We’ll Do Something About It Facebook group.

Lastly, I think this video says everything there is to know about this topic. Please take the short 4 minutes it takes to watch it.

Refuse to Hate from Refuse to Hate on Vimeo.

President Obama’s ability to reach out and connect with Voters, specifically Generation Y is due to the fact that he embraced their language: texting and communicating with social media tools. Compare this to John McCain, clearly a novice, and it’s easy to see how a younger generation might feel they have only one clear choice for President. They just can’t relate to someone who can’t communicate with the tools of today. It’s a text book example of the generation gap.

So you say, interesting enough but how does this impact me, the working mother?

Think about it for a minute. If Barrack Obama can use Social Media to have a landslide competitive advantage over his competition, then why can’t you? If you’re an entrepreneur or you’ve been thinking about starting a venture, what can you learn from this recent presidential election? What can you implement for your own business? What can you plagiarize from Barack Obama’s presidential campaign? If our President used Linked In, Facebook, My Space, Twitter, why wouldn’t you? After all, he did spend millions on his campaign, likely the largest budget for market research this year. Why wouldn’t you maximize the research that he’s already done and copy that for your own business?

Clearly, I am a Social Media evangelist. I believe that Social Media is the path for working mothers to flexible work. In fact, I believe that it’s the path for not only working mothers but for anyone looking to lead a more independent lifestyle. Think about it. For the first time in history, the playing field has been equalized by the internet. We’ve all got the power to step up to the plate and hit a home run. Why shouldn’t it be you?

So, go see what your new President did to get elected and copy, copy, copy. Working moms, the man just showed you exactly how to do it. All we have to do is watch, listen and implement for our own businesses. How lucky are we to be living in these times?

Got examples of things you’ve already done? Love to hear from you so that other moms can learn! Leave a comment and if you like this post. Please stumble it!

Here are a few other interesting articles covering our new President’s Social Media success and predictions about how he might continue to use it moving forward:

Mashable: How Will President Obama Use His Massive Social Media Influence?

Search Marketing Gurus: Barack Obama: The First Social Media President?

Advertising Age: Obama’s Rivals Should Steal From His Social Playbook

Read Write Web: Obama’s Social Media Advantage

As some of my Twitter buddies know, I was in Hollywood over the weekend. As I drove down Santa Monica boulevard, I knew I’d be late for a meeting with Denise Wakeman of The BlogSquad (more on Denise coming soon) due to all of the Proposition 8 demonstrators lining the street. The level of energy was noticably high as people yelled and sang and honked their car horns on every block in support of gay marriage. Today, as I drove through my conservative San Diego neighborhood lined with demonstrators in the rain, the energy was much different. These demonstrators equally as passionate, had showed up to urge us all to Vote “Yes”.

Bottom line for me is that the whole issue feels like discriminition all over again just like with females, jews and blacks in historical times. Why should I (an upper class, caucasion, female) get to decide how a minority lives their life? I am the more fortunate (supposedly). Shouldn’t I lead by example and create systems to make society work for everyone? Call me Pollyanna but can’t we all have everything? For example, if I’m afraid that allowing a gay person to have a child means my child will be taught something I don’t like in school, shouldn’t I address the laws around what is taught in the public school system in lieu of taking away a fundamental right from someone? Is it really okay for me to have that much power over someone else’s human rights?

I do agree that there are some surrounding complications with what is age appropriate to be taught in schools but let’s address those issues in separate laws and make this one purely about gay rights. Isn’t the real issue about whether two people in a loving union can provide a good home to raise children together? My daughter has a friend in her class with two mommies. She also goes to a Jewish preschool and we’re not Jewish. I’m glad that she’s exposed to diversity at such young age and I hope when she’s my age that the world will be a lot more embracing of differences. I love being around and learning from people who aren’t like me and I want to rejoyce in them. It doesn’t mean I want to be like them. It just means I want to understand them and maybe look through their eyes for a bit.

Whether you are for or against Gay marriage, I’d like to ask you to think about one thing. You could be a minority someday. Your life could change in an instant. Would you want someone to make decisions about your life that hadn’t walked in your shoes? Take Michael J. Fox, for example. He’s now a minority due to Parkinson’s Disease and he’s now a proponent for Stem Cell Research, another highly controversial and highly debated topic. Two weeks ago, I heard him talk about this topic at The Women’s Conference. I heard him say how all he really wanted to do was get the two opposing groups at the top of the Stem Cell issue in the same room for a chat. You know what he said he learned? “For the first time in my life, I realized that because of politics and money, there are just people out there that don’t want those conversations to even happen.” Folks, we’re talking about medical research that any one of us might need some day to save one of our children’s lives. Michael J. Fox is using his personal fortune, fame, pain and influence to fund this cause and he can’t get people in a room for a conversation. What’s happened to us?

Because you are a Six Figure Mom and you’re smart and educated, I have high expectations from you. So I urge you. If you haven’t voted yet, regardless of which way you are voting today. Do one thing for me? Make sure you are making your choice for all the right reasons, okay?? Thanks for indulging me today. I just couldn’t leave this one unsaid.

I haven’t ever talked with my mother about Twitter but she reads my blog so I guess she knows about the affair. Likely, she thought she better get more informed to see if an intervention is necessary

My mom has never been the stay-at-home, PTA president type. She’s always worked and been a career woman. Over the years, I’ve wished that she had stayed home with me and sometimes resented that she hadn’t. This summer, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my relationships with the people in my life. This included the one with my mother. As you guys know, mother-daughter relationships are always complex. We daughters put a lot of pressure on our mothers don’t we?  I often think about what’s coming back to me from my daughter in the future…I’m sure in volumes to the nth degree.

What my summer of reflection has brought me to with my mom is that she supports me in all kinds of ways. Ways that are her own. No, she’s not a PTA mom but that’s not who she is. As I wrote in my last post, this seems to be the age of authenticity. My mom’s been living that message for a long time. She’s been steadfastly her as long as I can remember…Independently Nina. Here I am striving to be as clean and real as I can be and I’ve had a role model doing it right in front of me for as long as I’ve been alive. What do you know?

My mom gave me the coffee cup in the picture above sometime during my sophomore year in college. I’ve had it in every office I’ve ever had. She likely never knew how many times I shut my door, grabbed it during a tough afternoon in the office, had a soothing cup of tea in lieu of losing my temper over a negotiation gone sour. It really is the little things that keep us going sometimes isn’t it?

So, this week, I’ve received another new gift from my mom. One that, until now, she didn’t know how much it means to me. Because, after all, I’m really in love with Twitter and the magnitude of it’s power for all working moms and business owners.

My mom is following me on Twitter. Amazing! Thanks for everything Mom!

(Note, my moms twitter name isn’t Angiesmom.  I’ll protect her a little until she gets the hang of things.  Didn’t want her to have 500 followers overnight!  You can, however, follow me @aaswartz on Twitter)