I Hate My Life

So things are not going the way you want it to and you feel like they never will.  What do you do?  EVERYTHING YOU CAN!!!

This is exactly why I became an entrepreneur.  I realized that working for someone else would not give me the desires of my heart.  In fact, I would be working to give someone else the desires of their heart.  I realized that I had to determine the life I wanted and pursue it WHOLEHEARTEDLY.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would find myself in marketing and working online but here I am and it has been an incredible journey.  I am so grateful for everything that I've have learned and every person that I have met.  I look forward to what is come.

If you are an entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur comment below.  I would love to connect with you.  

Peace, Patience and Prosperity

If you haven't noticed by now, I end almost every post with the same wish for all of my readers:  I wish you peace, patience and prosperity. Though it is a cute use of alliteration, I really do wish this for everyone.

Peace
As a wife, a mother and a business woman, it can be very difficult to manage your time.  Sometimes, it can be down right frustrating trying to accomplish a day's work.  I have a friend that often tells me that I make this look easy-almost too easy.  Truth be told, it's an illusion like a duck- cool and collected on the top of the water and paddling for dear life to stay afloat.  Yup, that's me making it all look easy.  It's hectic sometimes but making it look easy comes for inner peace.  So, I pray this for every parent, entrepreneur, and spouse out there because I know how tough life can get.

Patience
I'm a work-from-home mom of a 5-year-old and 5-month-old.  That alone can drive you nuts.  Now add homeschooling to the mix and you've just created a monster.  Patience has never really been my strong suit but I must admit that having kids has REALLY helped me work on that.  I have to be patient with my kids when they don't do what I need them to do when I need them to.  And I have to be patient with myself when I feel inadequate as a mother and realize that I won't get everything right all of the time. 

Prosperity
To be prosperous does not only refer to having wealth, but also refers to having an abundance of positive things.  So yes, I wish you prosperity in all aspects of your life: your familial relationships, your career, your relationships with others and yes your business ventures.  It makes all the hard work and stress worth it.  There is no greater feeling than that of  a sense of accomplishment (whether great or small).  And as an entrepreneur, you have to have the courage to stick things out when they are rough and see it through until the end.  That is the only way that you will know what true prosperity feels like.  Prosperity is not really wrapped in money.  Prosperity is the freedom that money affords you for your hard work.  And it's time to get to work.

So until my next post, I wish you peace, patience and prosperity in ALL aspects of your life. 

A little mid-week encouragement

Until next time, I wish you peace, patience and prosperity.

10 ways to declutter your day (time management tips from a mom)

Ok.  So we've made our goals and made our plans.  Now it's time to take action.  This may seem like a daunting task because you have SOOO many daily tasks to do in addition to your goals this month.

Let's get a hold of our days so that we can accomplish our goals this month.

Check out this very good article on getting organized.  Great for stay-at-home parents.

How to Make Plans and Meet Your Goals

Ok.  So now we have our goals established for the month.  Now it's time make plans.  Planning is crucial to reaching your goals.  You need a clear-cut plan to how you will reach your goal; it's your road map to your destination.  

Here is a great resource to help you write your road map.  You'll find some awesome printables to map out your goals for March by month, week and day.  You can use these over and over for each month.

Until next time, I wish you peace, patience and prosperity.

One Tired Mama

Today was the first day of my 16-hour schedule.  OMG!  I wanted to maximize my time and be more productive so I decided to schedule every hour of my day.  My days nsw begin with meditation and pumping (don't forget I have a 4-month-old).   And days end with baths and storytime.  Well my day began as planned but William and Joshua were not very cooperative this afternoon and my schedule was totally thrown off. (Side note: Now you see why I made the childcare suggestion). Needless to say, I have decided to shower in the morning.
I must say that I got a lot accomplished. But I am TIRED! I worked on two of my businesses, cleaned, cooked dinner and looked in another potential business (though I planned for 3). And that is only a few things I did today.  So I'm headed to bed tonight so I'll be rested for my 16-hour week day.  I'l let you guys how things are going in another week.  Please forgive any typos as I type this post from my phone while in bed with one eye open.
Until my next post, I wish you peace, patience and prorsperity.

Two Must-Haves of a Successful Entrepreneur

If you read my post on the Cashflow Quadrant, then you are familiar with the four different types of people.  If you recall, the major difference between employees and specialists/small business owners is that specialists/small business owners OWN a job.  We don't have a boss who pays off.  We are our own bosses and we pay ourselves.  At times, this is a blessing and a curse.  And this is why you need two things to be successful: determination and support.

If you are not a go-getter, either you soon become one or you will give up. As a specialist/small business owner, you are responsible for everything- marketing, customer relations, social media relations, bookkeeping, etc.  And there are no paid off days.  Days that you don't work equals days you don't make money and in some cases, lose money. Consequently, you need to be pushing and making moves ALL THE TIME.

When there are days that you feel like you can't go any further (and you will have those days), you need your support team. It is also essential that your spouse/significant other is in your corner because sometimes they are the only ones who know exactly what to say or do to get you back on track.  It is so important that your person is on board that I would say that you may want to reconsider your business venture if they don't believe in it.  When you person is not in your corner for Day 1, then they will be a no-show when you have those tough days.  They may even encourage you to quit. And if you don't have an incredible amount of determination, you'll have two battles to fight: one with yourself and the other with your spouse.

I do not intend to discourage you from owning your job.  I just want to prepare you.  I don't want to paint the picture that life in the (S) quadrant is all beautiful.  In fact, it may be downright ugly.  But it does has its rewards.  Before you make any moves, I encourage you to consider if you have these two essential pieces of this entrepreneurial puzzle.  And if you don't, work on that.

Until my next post, I wish you peace patience and prosperity.

Wife. Mom. Entrepreneur. In That Order.

In the past six years, I have been blessed to become a wife, a mom and an entrepreneur.  And for the past six years, these have been the most important jobs that I have ever had.  They pretty much consume my life.  At this very moment, I'm bathing my four-year-old, consoling a cranky newborn all while trying to finish this blog entry before midnight (my self-imposed deadline).  I promised myself that once I started this blogging thing, I would be consistent. And to up the ante, I joined a blogging challenge (NaBloPoMo- National Blogging Posting Month).  And this is how I get myself into trouble.

See, I often find myself in sticky situations because I put self-imposed timelines/deadlines/pressure on myself.  I'm not the girl who tries to compete with everyone else; I'm the girl who is constantly competing with herself.   I HAVE to be my very best.

I was the new wife cooking and cleaning every day before the hubby got home.  After my first son was born, I was the lady with fresh baked goods on her dining table just in case we had visitors. When people would ask how I was handling being a new mom, I would gush "I just love being a wife and mom."  Guys, I had become addicted to being the best wife and mother. I even quit my job because I felt like I wasn't investing enough time into my two-year-old's education.  So there I was being super mom- reading books, practicing "Your Baby Can Read", buying puzzles, and googling activities.  After all, I was raising the next genius.

Then, I upped the ante yet again and went all in on the baking business I had started a year before that.  I attended business workshops, watched business-related webinars, designed a website, developed a marketing plan and looked for ways to beef up my design and baking skills.  Don't forget I still had housework and "wifely duties" to get done.  (See what I meant by "sticky situations"?) All because I strive to beat myself at my own game.  I often find myself setting and then changing the standard I have for myself.  I sometimes look around and think that I'm a  "Jack of All Trades, Master of None."

Have you ever felt that way? Comment below so I know I'm not the only neurotic person out there.