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!

I could quit there and let you find your own meaning. I think you’d find inspiration in that one liner today.  However, that’s not likely why you stop by this blog, huh?

I spoke at three events last week (NAWBO, eWomen’s Network Head-to-Toe Expo Luncheon, and Six Figure Moms Club).  Almost every time I address a group, I get more in return than I give because there’s always at least one person who says something fantastic that inspires me more than they can even imagine.  Let me take this opportunity to say “Thank You” to all of you that are so wonderful.

Out of all three talks, my favorite point was this one.  Thinking Small Serves No One.  Imagine Yourself in your personal best.  What do you see?

See the impact you can make on the world if you see yourself in the biggest, grandest you taking advantage of your highest potential. How many and in what manner can you best serve yourself and everyone around you?  It doesn’t help anyone for you to mold yourself to be something smaller than your highest potential so why would you ever settle for anything less than the best you can be?

• I see people every day settling for mediocrity. Why is that?
• I see people every day spending time checking off their to do lists and calling that accomplishments when they really aren’t making progress on any big picture life goals. Why is that?
• I see people every day settling for moderately happy but not doing anything about it? Why is that?

Thinking Small Serves No One.

Especially not You.  Especially not your children because you are the role model.

Today, I challenge you to THINK BIG about YOU.

If you have some great examples of how you are thinking big about your life, please leave a comment and share your story?  Happy Monday!

According to Wordpress, my mom left the following comment on this blog on March 26, 2009 at 1:54 am.

“Great post, I totally agree, positive ‘me’ time is a must!”

She was responding to my post Why Do We Avoid What We Know We Need Most?

Sometime between then and when she got out of bed the next morning, she suffered a massive stroke which left her speechless and without the ability to use her right hand.

My mom is young, she’s just 19 years older than me.  We’ve grown up together.  Sometimes, I’ve even seemed to be the more grown up one since I’ve always seemed wise for my years. I know some of you Six Figure Moms know what I mean because us executive types often come in the same kind of packages.  If we’re different from our parents, we might just run right over them.  How must it feel to parent us?

Clearly, I’m not the victim and this isn’t about me.  However, I always try to look for my life lesson in every experience.  What am I suppose to be learning from this event?  What will I learn from this incident that is not only life altering for my mother who I love so dearly but likely life altering for me too because our lives may be changed forever?  (I know what you are thinking and before you ask…Yes, my mother and I have the very complex mother/daughter relationship like many of us do, but that is another blog post altogether.)  So, I restate, what am I supposed to be learning?  And as a coach, writer, leader, what am I supposed to be passing along to you?

The answer isn’t that easy. I don’t think I’m seeing it clearly yet as it is complex.  However, I can tell you that I know I had only one choice in how I could react.  Here are the steps I’ve taken.

1. Make sure my Mother wasn’t in any further danger.
2. Create order around the situation as best I could.
3. Put my businesses in order.
4. Let it be okay to postpone a few things (Thanks Rieva)
5. Slow down, get rest and take care of myself.
6. Let it be okay to not have all the answers.
7. Be present with my daughter and really BE in every minute.

Those of you who know me personally, know that there are a lot of things in the seven items above that are not easy for me. Thus, I’ve implemented a few things to help me stick to the plan. I’m going to bed early. I’m trying to eat healthy, nutritious foods.  I’m hiking and spending time outdoors.  I’m reading fiction for the first time in over a year. (Really, I’m completely “sucked in” to Twilight and I’m thankful that there are three more to available when I’m finished.)  And most importantly, I’m not trying to manage the whole situation.  Neither my mother or I were born with patience but both of us have to be patient with this assignment.

How can you help?  Send all your positive thoughts and energy my mother’s direction because that’s what she needs most, the universe pulling in her direction.  The good news is that she’s a great candidate for a successful recovery if she works hard.  If she’s anything, she’s a determined, hard worker.  She’s working hard in a Rehab unit in one of the best hospitals in the country and making great progress.

So, do I have any advice today?  Not really but I guess if we look directly at our busy lives, we sincerely know that we all need my seven step plan on some level all the time.  Ask yourself honestly, what is it that you need today and actually grant it to yourself.  It might make a great difference in your life.

Thanks for listening.

So, back to me.  I immediately got up and started writing.  First I wrote a post on Square Martini Media and next this one.  Seth’s content is just so good, I think might be able to write about it every day this week!

Seth gives the example of Mother Theresa who was an Atheist but used her actions to define herself.  Further, he says, “Authenticity, for me, is doing what you promise, not “being who you are”.  His post is really fabulous and discusses how we’re all filled with self doubt but our actions can easily drown out negative self talk.  You must go read it for yourself.

Happy Monday.  Now go out there and be who you want to be.  Stop listening to the Devil on your left shoulder and start acting for the Angel on your right.  Let me know how it goes…Oh, and let me know how you like Seth.  I love him…almost as much as I love Twitter!

Even if you aren’t a fan of RAP music, you’ve gotta hand it to M.I.A.’s pregnant Grammy performance last night on the Grammy’s with T.I., Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, and Kanye West.  She rocked the house in a signature couture pregnancy outfit…on, yes listen closely ladies….her due date!  Her outfit was made with polka dots and mesh fabric putting it all out there.  I just had to write about it because to me that takes real confidence and self esteem and I couldn’t have been prouder while I was watching.

There was a woman standing on stage with four men, doing what she loved, thinking outside of the box about career options for working mothers, paving new paths for future generations, keeping it real and doing it her way and shining with Self Esteem.  Just what Six Figure Moms Club is all about.  My kinda woman.  You can see more about M.I.A. in Huffington Posts’ article here.

Next time you’re feeling insecure about anything, think about Ms. M.I.A. rocking it on the stage with her 9 month pregnant belly covered in Mesh.  You just gotta love it!

Written by Etsuko Tsukagoshi.

Last Thursday, I attended the Six Figure Moms Club event, 3rd Annual Making the Most of Your Personal Strategy New Year Kickoff.  It was a great event.

I met and reconnected with so many women who share similar interests and aspirations, and I created my vision board while delicious food and wine were served.  I came home exhausted but happy, and told my husband that finding the Six Figure Moms Club was one of the best things that happened after we moved to San Diego.

Let me back up a little and introduce myself.  I’m Etsuko, a friend of Angie’s and a member of Six Figure Moms Club. I met Angie in September 2006 at the Six Figure Moms Club meeting about 6 weeks after my first son was born.

I work for a Japanese school as Executive Director.  I was really happy about my job at that time, partly because I just started working there in Nov 2005 shortly before I found out I was pregnant.   When I joined the SFMC, the job was still new, interesting and very challenging.   I was simply looking for other working mothers to talk to, about the certain challenges we all share. But while I kept coming back to the monthly meetings, something happened.  I believe what happened was that this past 2 years, I was shown, by Angie and other members of SFMC, that more is possible.  Before I met her, I never would have thought that I’d come to want to have my own business someday.

I worked for the non-profit sector all my life.  I worked for United Nations before I came to US and my goal after coming here was to “find a good job at a good non-profit organization”. I achieved that goal, which I am very grateful for. But I am ready for the next chapter of my life, which is to become a successful business owner, teaching a parenting course and coaching.

While gathering the thoughts to write this guest post, a phrase came to me that I have read somewhere. One of the Buddhist teachers said “When you come back from a walk in the woods early morning, you notice that the clothes you are wearing got moist because of the morning dew”. This means that you should be aware of the environment, that is to say, type of energy you put yourself in. Without your realizing, the people and the energy in the environment will start influencing your thoughts. This is exactly what happened.  When I first stepped into the SFMC meeting room, I didn’t fully realize that I’m putting myself in a highly supportive, inspiring, energetic group of women, who will plant the seed in me. I feel so fortunate to be in San Diego and have met Angie, and SFMC members.

Now, we are talking about bringing this SFMC to Tokyo – as I plan to move there in near future – but I feel like I can’t wait! Since last November, I teach a parenting class called Redirecting Children’s Behavior in Japanese. When I meet with the mothers with young kids in my class, apart from the parenting stuff, I have this urge to also talk about all the great things we are doing, such as creating vision boards. Maybe I’ll start SFMC for Japanese speaking mothers even before I go to Japan. What do you think, Angie??

 You can reach Etsuko at etsuko@rcbjapan.com for more information about her Japanese language RCB classes (and it sounds like Six Figure Moms Club in Japanese language coming soon )

I don’t watch much TV but yesterday I wanted to record Gary Vaynerchuk making his debut appearance on the Today show.  I love Gary.  I’ve been hooked since I first heard him speak last September.  I didn’t know who he was but once I heard him speak, I was addicted.  After his talk ended, I asked for his advice about a Six Figure Moms Club membership site.  I wanted the site to be free versus paid and he agreed.  I had been coached by many that it had to be a paid membership site.  That just didn’t feel right to me.  I wanted the site to be availabe to everyone and I thought charging a fee would inhibit people from joining.  Gary agreed.  (The membership site launches in early January.  I’m so excited and I hope you’ll check it out and join!)

Gary is amazingly motivating when you hear him speak.  He’s CRAZY when he talks but so real that I can’t help but feel connected to him.  He does live Ustream shows from his office which are great too.  They are often impromptu.  He’ll announce them and within 5 minutes, 600 people have shown up to watch.  Gary has made a name for himself for being authentic, truthful and doing what he loves.  His family owns a wine company but Gary himself produces an internet wine show at www.winelibrary.tv.  He also speaks, offers corporate coaching and is known as a social media and personal branding expert.

Additionally, Gary talks about something near to my heart, people who want to change their careers and follow their passions. Gary preaches that if you are unhappy in your current job, there’s nobody to blame but yourself.  I’ve heard him talk about how a person can still work their day job, spend a few hours with their family and then spend the hours of 9pm to 2am working on a plan to reengineer their lives and careers.  He says you have nobody to blame but yourself if you are unhappy.  It’s a hardnosed approach but he’s right.  Some of you may know that I’ve written a book, QUITTING IS EVERYTHING!  It’s sitting nicely here on my shelf waiting for its publishing partner.  It’s a series of interviews with six figure earners who left their corporate jobs for more fulfilling passionate work and a how to guide about career transition and working in a job you love.  I hope to publish my book someday.  In the meantime, try to catch Gary talking about career change but be warned, you will be motivated to change.

Also, I’m sure Gary will have his Today show segment up on his site in a few days if you’re interested in seeing his spot.  He recommends some fabulous champagnes and proseccos for under $20.  In Gary’s signature language, make sure to give them all a good “sniffy-sniff”.  “American’s just don’t smell their alcohols enough” and that makes Gary very sad ;-(.

So, what do I have in common with Matt? Well, likey a couple of things related to travel in Italy but the main thing is….Today Show Co-Host, Matt Lauer, attended Ohio University, my alma mater.  He just has to be a good guy   Afterall, it is known as being ranked consistently in the top 20 of all party school lists!  (And they do have a top ranked journalism school too!)

Have a great day everyone and CONGRATULATIONS @GARYVEE!

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.)