3 Little Words can be Powerful...

I love you. I forgive you. Keep it simple. What's your wish. Can I help? Dare to dream. It's not fair.

Those last three little words will stop us every time.

How many times do we use those three little words? Maybe we don’t verbalize them, but only think them. Does that make them any less lethal?

It’s not fair I work so hard but don’t make very much money.

It’s not fair that I work harder and longer than him and he makes more than I do.

It’s not fair t…

We all seem to want a magic bullet.

The idea of 'success made easy' probably got your attention, right? Yes, we all seem to want that “magic bullet” or the 3 Simple Steps to Success or the 4 Laws of Prosperity. Maybe we’d even accept a 7-step process. What if it was 149 steps? Would we still be interested? What if I told you it was hard? How would you feel? Or maybe you already think it’s hard to be a success or to be happy or to actually live the life you dream about. After all, we all have …

I’ve been thinking a lot about big dreams lately.

“Life is short, live bold! Be heard, be you, dream big, take risks, don’t wait.” ~ Misty Gibbs

Growing up, I was never encouraged to dream big. My parents didn’t dream big – I think they were just trying to do the best they could. For them, success was owning a home, having a steady job, and taking occasional family vacations.

I think my dad’s big dreams involved me; he wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer. That was his dream. I just wanted…

I love getting emails in response to my blogs...

...does that mean I'm still looking for that external validation? One person recently emailed me and beautifully clarified what I mean when I talk about self-care: self-care is all about self-love, self-respect, self-value, self-worth, self-compassion, and honoring who you really are!

 Yes! 

And that’s my entire message and my work in the world. It’s my honor, privilege (and secret sauce) to help you reconnect and remember the amazing, awesom…

You know how it is.

When you have something on your mind or are really focused, then things that align with what you’re thinking show up. All.The.Time. (Gee, could there be something about the Law of Attraction in this experience?)

This month I’ve been focusing on self-care and putting yourself first. So, I’ve been writing blogs, creating a new 5-day mini eCourse (email), putting together a new Self-Care Daily Planner freebie, and I plan on having a short masterclass next month. That’s been …

It seems to me that ‘self-care’ is an emotionally charged concept or buzzword.

It’s only two simple 4-letter words: self and care. Yet those two words conjure up images and emotions just by reading them (or thinking about them.) And there’s even specialty adverbs like ‘radical self-care’ or 'extreme self-care' to add even more emphasis (and possibly confusion).

I’ll admit that when I first heard the term ‘self-care’ I was turned off by it. Who had time for that? Not me! The words 'self-care'…

The idea of putting myself first was about as appealing as getting a root canal!

My internal mind chatter told me it was selfish. I was worried about how other people would react if I changed my ways and started saying no or enforced some personal boundaries. I wondered if people wouldn’t like me anymore. Or if they’d get angry (and of course, I avoided conflict at all costs!).

So with all of this fear, worry, and negative self-talk going on, it took me quite a while to even take that first …

I don’t want my life to be on hold, do you?

My life used to be on hold. I happily (or so I thought) put my own dreams and desires on hold and adopted the dreams, desires, and goals of my husband. And society. I didn’t question what success and happiness meant for me. I just assumed it was about money, career, possessions, and snazzy vacations. After all, who didn’t want to live that ‘American Dream?’

And when living the American Dream left me empty, unfulfilled, and discontent, I assumed I n…

I love taking my cues from nature.

I live in Spokane where it’s very cold in the winter. The house stays closed up during the winter, and when Spring arrives, the windows fly open and the house gets a breath of fresh air!

We all need fresh air and fresh ideas. Spring seems like it’s in full bloom. I love when nature wakes up from its winter slumber. It always reminds me to wake up from my slumber, too. I get to ask myself, ‘What have I been asleep to?” “What have I closed my eyes to?” “What …

Procrastination Kills Productivity

No surprise there!

I’ve done my own survey and asked people why they don’t do what they say they want to do. I was surprised that the #1 answer was…………

I DON’T HAVE TIME!  

Okay, maybe I wasn’t all that surprised because that’s my #1 answer, too! This has been my excuse and I was able to point to my schedule to prove to myself (and everyone else) why it was true. I just didn’t think it would be such a common excuse. The funny thing is (and it’s not reall…

Janet, you are so sensitive!

I used to hear that from my mom and when she said it, I just knew it was a bad thing. And so, like a good girl, I became less and less sensitive. Of course, I didn’t bother to ask what she meant by being sensitive. I thought she meant my feelings got hurt easily. I don’t remember if my feelings did get hurt easily or not. Maybe. But, maybe not. 

I do remember that I put my whole heart into my friendships and I wasn’t able to distinguish a real friend from someone…

Do you ask for what you want? Or do you ask for what you think you can have?

These questions have come up quite a bit in my life lately. They’ve come up during my free Get Acquainted Sessions, during a workshop I recently attended, from a mentor who posted on Facebook, and even on a call I had a couple of weeks ago with my spiritual study partner.

So many of us are afraid to dream big, to ask for what we want, to state our desire, to cut our moorings loose and allow ourselves to shine. Wher…

Settling. When does it start? And why are we so eager to settle?

I remember when my daughter was in college pursuing a dream. For two summers, she was able to take advantage of an internship with the company I work for. I began to wonder, "What if she could get a permanent job here? The pay is good and the benefits are great." It seems like I was more than eager for her to begin that life of 'settling.'

When I was young, I wanted to be a psychology major and I was hungry to learn all that I …

Is opportunity knocking but you don’t answer the door because you are waiting for the doorbell?

Are you waiting for that perfect opportunity which will allow you to say a resounding “Yes” to your dream?  Are you looking for a sign that you are on the right path?  Do you want to make some changes but don’t know where to start?

What if I were to tell you the perfect opportunity, the sign, or the resources are knocking already?

Let me give you two examples that illustrate this point perfectly.…

Recently someone wrote me saying this: “I hope I can recapture my ability to pursue my dreams but for now it feels more like survival.” Does this feel like you?

When I read these lines, I was heart-broken. These words came from someone I have long admired for her entrepreneurial spirit and winning attitude. It came from a woman who was actively following her dreams and passion. In her own way, she had been an unwitting role model for me.

Steve Jobs said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste i…

For some of us, our strengths and talents seem hidden from our own view. Is that surprising to hear?

Why are so many of us blind to what is so innately natural for us? Well, that’s part of the issue – it comes so naturally that we don’t value it. Or we think that anyone can do it.

I’ve also found that our natural talents and strengths weren’t always embraced and supported when we were growing up. We may have been criticized and told to ‘fit in’ or ‘stop dreaming’ or ‘tow the line’ or ‘mind y…

I’ve been trying a lot of new things these days.

One of the major ones is pivoting from predominantly one-on-one and in person guidance to having more of an online presence. And the new things involve trying out (and learning) a lot of new technology.

Now, I consider myself a quick learner, but this has taken quite a bit longer than I anticipated. And while I’m loving creating the content, making slides, and designing workbooks, I’m not loving writing out scripts or managing all of the movin…

Why is purpose so important, anyway?

What's the big deal with purpose?

Having a sense of purpose is said to be associated with overall better physical and mental health.

Because of the importance of feeling worthwhile, many people do whatever they can to discover their life purpose or passions.
 
Personally, I took classes, seminars, read books, asked others, looked to astrology, scientific hand analysis, Human Design, and more. Even today, I continue to tweak my purpose – but that’s part of …

We thought putting our dreams on hold was the answer. 

Bills needed to be paid and families needed our support. We were told we had to act like a grown-up and be responsible. We were told it was better to give than to receive and some of us were told our dreams were foolish and we learned to bury our desires, dreams, and passion.

And we began to make some false assumptions about ourselves and our lives. We assumed dreams (or following our purpose) were folly and we felt unworthy. These false a…

I admit it. I have a love-hate relationship with labels.

One the one hand, I hate labels. They box me in and feel constricted, contrived, and they don’t seem to leave room for growth and transformation. Sometimes I even make decisions based on the labels I’ve given myself (or even the labels I’ve given to others). I’ve said ‘no’ to invitations and opportunities if the label I’ve given myself isn’t a match for the invitation or possible opportunity. Of course, the reverse is also true and I sa…

I woke up to snow on November 4.

I finally turned on my furnace a little bit before then. I can no longer hang onto hopes of warm weather and it’s time for me to embrace change once again. And not only embrace a change in the weather, but a personal change as well.

How do you react to change? We know change is inevitable. We even say, “the only constant is change.” And yet, when change comes, it can be hard. We’re not prepared. We don’t like it. We fight against it. We don’t feel like we’re …