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!

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!

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 )

Check out the links above and read more about Kim at her oh-so-cool blog I Work in My Pajamas. Her blog has great information about how affiliate marketing works and also fits right in with our Six Figure Moms Club mantra, “Where Women Meet to Create Their Best Lives”.  I’m hoping she’ll join us when our social network launches in the next few weeks.  How about it Kim?

Next week, when you’re working on your vision boards at our January 22 event (or virtually from home), consider putting an affiliate marketing shoe selling strategy in one of your corners.  Getting free shoes sure does sound like a nice fringe benefit to me!

I went to a holiday party this weekend at a private home in Rancho Sante Fe, Ca.  The gracious host was directing everyone to her laundry room to store their coats.  I just had to snap a picture to share with all of you (with her permission of course and a little help from my friend, Vana White Monica Lucas, Owner of SpaMode who was dressed in white and looking like a snow princess ). 

Maybe some of your laundry rooms look just like this one but mine doesn’t.  Six Figure Moms, can you just imagine how much quicker you could finish up your laundry to do list if you had a combination washer/dryer for each color load?  Well, this lucky household had just that plus a beautufil travertine top folding counter!  I think I could make a lot of progress on my work-life balance with a laundry room like this since you have to be able to finish up in a fraction of the time!

So print this out and add this to your vision board/treasure maps for 2009.  This seems like a must have for every working mother!  Heck, I didn’t even know they made machines that both washed and dried.  Super awesome!  Speaking of vision boards, Six Figure Moms Club-San Diego will be meeting on January 22 for a super goal setting event.  Stay tuned for detail but pencil it in your calenders. Until then, happy laundry!