So What? Right?

Well the week is so full of great things that you just have to know about them!  I’m one of those people who believes that you should always celebrate your birthday and that if you want to have a good party…throw one for yourself.  However, this year, three great folks are having terrific events during my birthday week.  And you know what?  They really have almost nothing to do with me and absolutely everything to do with you guys.  Both of the following events are so good that you won’t want to miss them!

2nd Annual Next Generation Work Flexibility Event

The 2nd Annual Next Generation Work Flexibility Event on November 3 consists of networking and a panel discusion.  The  event features a keynote address by Holly G. Green and a panel including industry leaders in the work flexibility.  See more details at Flex Work Connection’s website.  This is a Six Figure Moms Club sponsored event.   We also sponsored the inaugural event in Orange county last year.  Flex Work Connection has offered a special $25 rate for Six Figure Moms Club readers if you purchase via this post by clicking here.  You must purchase by Friday to take advantage of this terrific offer of $20 off the published rate! So hurry and buy your tickets! SEE YOU THERE!

Gary Vaynerchuck Wine Tasting and “Crush It!” Book Signing

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of my favorite icons in the social media industry.  He’s a personal branding expert with a passion like no one you’ve lively heard before.  He’s a social media strategist who not only represents the New York Giants but wants to buy them one day!  Every time I hear Gary speak, I can’t stop thinking about him because he’s just so inspiring and infectious!  Don’t miss this opportunity to meet him in person and hear him chat up his new book.

Excerpt from the Meetup.com:

Join @DowntownRob at the phenomenal Vin De Syrah Spirit & Wine Parlor (@SyrahWineParlor) for a Wine Tasting and Crush It! book signing on Wednesday November 4th!

** Everyone attending receives a copy of Gary’s just released book, Crush It! **

This is the wine event not to be missed as Gary’s first claim to fame was his internet TV series Wine Library.TV.  If you aren’t convinced yet, check out this post I wrote after the last time I heard Gary speak at Gravity Summit!  He’s truly on the mark and infectious!

Hope to see you all there so sign up today!

SAVE THE DATES:

NOVEMBER 19: Networking & Group Status Update

JANUARY 19: 4th Annual Making the Most of Your Personal Strategy New Year KickOff

Vision Boarding Event featuring fabulous catering by Dining Details!

FEBRUARY 22: Special Event Hosted by Birch Aquarium!

“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 just returned from an 18 day trip last night. My last stop was Blog World Expo ‘08 in Las Vegas. I went to the conference to enhance my understanding of the New Media industry and to learn how to better serve you, my readers, as a writer/blogger. Little did I know of the almost limitless benefits that this little four day trip would bring me. I’m still digesting everything I learned over the past few days and I know I will be for quite some time. However, the one gem of the conference is this:

“If you’re a blogger, you’ve stepped up to your life, addressed your issues, cleaned things up enough that you’re willing to put yourself on stage to the world. You’re an entrepreneur, you’re authentic, you’re passionate, you’re open, you have a genuine desire to help others. You think outside of the box about life options.”

Those of you that know me or who have been reading my blog, know that this is my message to my clients and readers. Can you imagine how lucky I felt to be in a room with 1,000+ other likeminded people? SOOOO amazing!

That in itself would have been enough but in addition, I personally met and talked to at least ten bloggers on Technorati’s Top 100 list and I’m not talking about “Hi, How are you?, Nice to Meet You”…but real, genuine, meaty, helpful conversations. These folks are down to earth, modest, pioneers of their industry and they are ready to help open doors for the next generation to step through and join them. Crazy! I’ll be writing about some of them in the future in more detail but here are just a few of the folks I met, attended class or twitted with during the conference:

• Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library TV),
• Tim Ferriss (Author, 4 Hour Work Week),
• Mike Shinoda (Lincoln Park),
• Brian Clark (CopyBlogger),
• Guy Kawasaki (Alltop),
• John Chow (John Chow),
• Jeremy Shoemaker (ShoeMoney),
• Wendy Piersall (eMom)

So, the list of things we six figure moms can learn from the blogger community is long. This is a whole community of people making a living via flexible work options. They work long and hard but they love what they do and they live passionately. They are pioneers just like you can be. I feel like I just hit the jackpot.

As soon as I get a little sleep and collect my thoughts, I’ll share some more with you and we’ll continue on our journey together. In the meantime, feel free to email me with any specific questions.

Have you ever seriously thought about what you would do with your life if you won the lottery? If your answer is no, then I must ask you, WHY NOT? My prescription for you is to devote some quality time to this question and write a press release about yourself as if you won enough money to live the life of your dreams. I know some of you naysayers are shaking your heads and saying, “Why would I ever waste time working on something I know is unachievable? I’ll do that if and when I actually win”. Well, with that kind of attitude. It likely IS unachievable. But, if you can change you paradigm a bit and work with me here a little, we can have a little fun and develop a plan. Your mission is to visualize your dream life and then work backwords. You just might get closer than you think to your dream life. For example, my highlevel dream if financial resources were unconstrained consists of the following:

• Fund entrepreneurs with great ideas and great potential. Coach and mentor them to success.
• Travel and see the world while furthering philanthropic causes. Invest in real estate around the globe. Own a vacation lakefront home.
• Foster change in the work force and use my influence to open up options for flexible work so that my daughter will have more options than women today.
• Use my money and public speaking abilities to influence others to live happy, fulfilled lives of personal leadership and to get them to help others. Lead by example.
• Maintain health and fitness and influence others to do the same.
• Maintain only authentic relationships with people I truly care about and who appreciate me for my true talents. Get out of relationships with people who expect me to be someone I’m not and who want to influence me to take paths that are not the best for me.

So, all that said, what do you think I am doing today, even though my financial resources are constrained to get closer to my dream? I’m doing something for each one of those bullets but since I’m on vacation, let’s focus on that. I don’t own a lakehouse…but I’m sitting on the deck of one I rented for the week. It’s one of the nicest houses in Old Forge, New York. I’m in New York for a trip to see my husband’s family to which I conveniently added a week long lakehouse rental. Last year, I went to Montana to visit friends who were in country from Singapore. Guess what I added to my trip? 3 days on Whitefish Lake and 3 Days at Many Glacier Lodge…also lake front. (I also must mention that on a great hike at Many Glacier lodge I met an incredible man who I interviewed for my book who I promise to write about in another post. Serendipity IS always looking out for us if you’re aware of it).

So, your life press release is waiting for you, now get to work. You can’t afford not to work on this. Your life is waiting.

Because there is hurricane remains blowing into upstate New York where I’m vacationing, there is a constant breeze.  It’s a fabulously beautiful morning.  I got straight out of bed and went outside and went for a walk around my mother-in-law’s property.  (Even before coffee…I must be delirious).  She lives on top of a hill so you can see green, rolling hillsides everywhere you look.  It’s like looking at a 360 degree postcard.  Again, the trees are there whispering with their branches.  Just walking around this property is better than being at the Four Seasons Spa.  You just don’t get this stuff in the city.  But maybe that’s just me because I’m a small town girl who grew up in southern Ohio.  I don’t think so though.  As an executive coach, I see so many of my clients in overwhelm because they just can’t seem to make themselves take a break and slow down a bit.  If they could, they’d be better off.  In fact, if I could bring them here, to my mother-in-law’s house, they likely wouldn’t need me anymore (hmmm…reengineering myself out of a job again…I have a reputation for that.  Here we go again.).  But I digress.  There is so much research on the link between taking a break and improved creativity and the things that have been invented, created, written, all kinds of greatness due to sabbaticals, career changes, vacations that I’m always amazed at how many people don’t take advantage of them.  If you are feeling stuck, then you must think seriously about this.  The power of the personal reboot is magnificent.  I think I’ve recommended this book before but it’s so good I’m going to mention it again.  It’s older but still worth a look.  Check out Six Months Off:  The Sabbatical Book for some ideas about a Reboot.  Just read it ok?  There’s no harm in reading.  It might even spark your creativity about how you can affect a reboot while still working.

Incidentitally, despite my negative ramblings about staycations, I did spend a day at the Four Seasons Aviara for my 40th birthday with a few girlfriends and I can say it’s worth every penny and a great reboot option if you can’t get away from your hometown.  Beware though, if you get their signature “Four Seasons” treatment, you’ll leave with Medusa hair that lingers with the smell of sage for about 3 weeks (how does that work anyway?).

My personal joy barometers are music and nature. When I’m extremely stressed and unhappy, two things happen.

1) The radio in the car, the stereo at home and my ipod start to bug me. I can’t seem to find any music that seems to fit me. It all sounds like noise and all gets on my last nerve. I stop listening to music. Seriously. In the car, I catch myself turning off the radio/CD player because the music is like nails on a chalkboard.

2) I stop enjoying nature. This manifests itself in me not being able to really see colors outdoors. I don’t mean to infer that I’m color blind because I’m not. I still observe that the leaves on trees are green but I actually don’t absorb that there is any color at all. How do I know this? I often don’t until it’s over and then everything seems super bright and super awesome. If I do get lucky enough to notice it, it’s sort of like I’m looking at the world through dirty, smudged eyeglasses and I have to remind myself to snap out of it.

So, can you identify your own Joy Barometers and do you know what to do when they notify you of impending danger? Getting in touch with them could be the best thing you’ve done for yourself in awhile.

Susan Falter Barns, has great workshop on Joy. Check her out at www.howmuchjoy.com.  If you don’t know your own joy barometers, perhaps she can help you find them.

So, working moms, how delightful, an opportunity for a rebirth…and one that you weren’t even expecting at that. Now, what will you do with it? What’s laying around that you need to deal with, clean up, reinvent, put to bed, step up to, etc? I’ve been in the mode to stepping up to my issues for the past several months. It sure has been draining and painful but also rewarding beyond compare. Can I help you be courageous to put your toe in the water just a little? No risk, no reward right? Whether you need to reengineer your career, work on a family relationship, improve communication with your husband or your kids, work on self image or just plain get to know yourself again…you’ve been served up permission in the form of Labor Day (aka New Years). Again, I ask you, What WILL you do with it?

So, Kim and I have communicated via email and phone but we hadn’t seen each other in over a year. I drive to Rancho Santa Fe to pick her up last night and she opens my car door and the first things she says, “Oh my gosh, YOU are so cute”. A super nice greeting wouldn’t you say? Now, I’d been out working since 7:00am that morning. I doubt I really looked super cute. I’m telling you this because this is about Kim and her approach to people and life not because of how I looked. She’s infectious. She’s energetic. She makes people feel good just being around her. Next, I check her out. She IS totally cute. You see, she had had a conversation with me on the phone about how she was likely underdressed. Right, Kim. (This girl hasn’t been underdressed a day in her life). Ok, yes, maybe I’m rambling a bit so I’ll get to the point. Here’s a woman who a) looks great all the time b) automatically makes people feel good about themselves and c) sells a personal service in which she helps people look and feel their personal best and d) invests money in her own personal development so that she can continue to grow and be the best she can be. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to hire her?

So, why am I choosing to write about this today? Throughout my travels since leaving my corporate job, I’ve met hundreds of moms facing self image issues. When we have babies, for some reason, something in our self esteem tool box gets derailed. It’s an interesting dilemma that I see over and over again in really strong women. I wanted to write about it because if this resonates with you, I want you to know it’s sooooo common. Also, I want you to reach out to Kim or people like Kim that can help because you don’t have to suffer through these crappy feelings alone. Your mojo hasn’t left you, it’s just sitting on the shelf patiently waiting for you to flip the on switch to rock and roll mode again. So, don’t wait too long.

In closing, I have to share a fun little story from last night with you. I’m having a glass of wine with Kim and she leaves for the ladies room. I realize she’s been gone a long time and I start to worry a bit then it comes to me….ahhh, I bet she’s shopping =-) Sure, enough, she comes back with a fabulous new jacket purchased on her way back from the ladies room. Something only a professional shopper could do. She swears she NEVER shops on the spur of the moment like that….and I teasingly swear that I don’t believe her =-)

Kim, shop for me anytime on your way back from the girls room, girlfriend.

If you’re in the coaching business like me, you hear people talking about life purpose all the time. Whether it’s other coaches or clients looking for a more meaningful life, seems like I’m talking about this topic at least once every day. As for me, I’m at a great place with life purpose. I feel like every single thing I’ve done in my career specifically served to lead me to this very moment. Yes, that’s a “whoa that’s big” statement. (For those of you who don’t know, I’m a recovering Telecom Professional, MBA, CPA type turned Executive Coach, Blogger, Writer, Speaker). Actually, I’m so happy with my career that I think my friends are getting a little sick of me and sometimes frightened by my delight. They are looking at me and going. “Ok, Missy. It’s great to be in your fabulous euphoria, but come back down here to Earth with the rest of us and tell us how to get from where we are to our next step”. Fair enough.

I left my corporate position over four years ago. I can tell you that those four years have been the most excruciatingly difficult times of my life. Yes, even more difficult than high school and puberty. Why? Because going through two transitions at the same time 1) Becoming a parent and 2) Changing careers was almost more than I could navigate and still stay sane. (In an earlier post, I quoted colleague Tim Kelley, who said, “Your LIfe Purpose is the Thing You Struggled With The Most In Your Own Life”….Are you getting my life purpose and the tie to Six Figure Moms yet?).

Anyway, why am I writing about this today? Several clients have asked me lately. “Angie, Do you really think it’s necessary to do all this self discovery work to find out what I’m supposed to do with my career?” All I can do is laugh. Because I know, from looking back at them from the vantage point of the fabulous but difficult road I’ve already traveled that they are only cheating them self by even asking the question. And again I ask myself, “How do you get a horse to drink?” You know, the, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink” adage? (If only I could invent some kind of elixir or kool aid to serve all of my clients…hmmm, I’ll have to work on that. But I digress…).

SO, the point of this whole story today is this, it’s not at all about finding your life purpose, but in finding the courage to embark on the journey. To search for your purpose because it is the path to finding your best, most authentic self and to be able to look in the mirror and see how fabulous you really are. Who can resist that?

I’ll be writing more about this topic over time but today I ask you to open your mind to your own self discovery. YOU are waiting.

I love Seth’s blog so much that I almost think I could just feed his to you guys and stop writing.  Some days it seems he’s walking in my path next to me and then writing about what I’m living.  Here’s his post today, “When in Doubt, (Don’t) Follow the Money”.  Seth, thanks for another great post and for reminding me to stay on my path.

Lastly, The Barenaked Ladies have been a favorite band for years.  It’s not coincidence.  If you know them, you know that their breakthrough song is, If I had a Million Dollars….and it always reminds me to be present with my dreams….and to slow down and have a litte fun.  Happy Friday everyone!