The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and I’m sitting here….wondering why I let the little things get me down. Do you ever get yourself in a funk that you just can’t pull yourself out of? Well, I’m there. I call it my “Eeyore” days. The rain cloud follows me and I can’t escape it. I know there are useful tools out there and I know they work but sometimes, I’d rather climb in bed, cover my head, and just hide. Unfortunately, it’s not an option. So, what to do? Exercise Ye

My head is swimming with thoughts. What have I forgotten to do? Did I get everything my son needs for school? Why can’t I keep my house clean? What do I need to take out for dinner? What am I going to blog about this week? The thoughts… they come and go, like the ebb and flow of the ocean waves, just not that calming and definitely, not peaceful. They continue throughout the day and don’t appear to ever take their exit. It doesn’t matter how much time I try to spend focusing

Do you exude confidence? I didn’t. I was never my own cheerleader. I couldn’t accept a compliment and I couldn’t look anyone in the eye. I was petrified. I lived in fear of walking out the door and someone smiling at me. Then, one day, I stopped. I gave in and I opened up. I decided that I didn’t want to live my life in fear anymore. I opened the door and I stepped out. I forced myself to look up, and brave a brand new world. Don’t get me wrong, I was scared, still, but I was

Communication is something we should ALL strive to constantly improve upon. It affects our relationships at work with our co-workers, clients, and customers and at home with our family and friends. Really, it affects all of our encounters on a daily basis. It only seems prudent that this is a continuous area of improvement for each and every one of us with such a broad radius of what it can affect. 1. Communication Through Active Listening One of the most crucial parts of bei

The doorbell just rang and the little girl across the street handed me an envelope. Her smile was contagious. She was floating on a cloud, and I couldn’t help but jump right in with her. As I opened it, I knew exactly what it was. I remembered the feel of the paper and recognized the logo embossed in the corner. Graduating wasn’t easy as she was the first female in her family to do so and the pressure was intense the last several years. She wasn’t just doing this for herself,

If you want things to change, you are going to have to change the way you do things. Have you ever heard the Albert Einstein quote “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”? I’ve never heard a truer statement. However, as with many seemingly obvious observations, it’s one of the most common mistakes people make. Now don’t get me wrong, some things require discipline and more upfront effort for the long-term payou

When it comes to discussion about pursuing your dream job, we’ve all heard the saying “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”. It’s something you think about in college when choosing a course of study, after college when choosing a career path, as you set professional goals or any time that you are planning a job change. It’s also something you think about on Monday morning when you are already stressed and you haven’t even made it to work yet.

For most of us, daily routines usually don’t require much forethought.  We get out of bed, eat, get dressed, brush our teeth, and start our normal day to day grind.  Most of us don’t put much thought into doing it; we just do it. We also don’t spend much time thinking about how our daily routines affect our everyday success or even attribute any of our success to what seems to be just everyday mundane and mediocre routines. However, your everyday routine can be directly linke

We set success oriented goals to achieve everything from the mundane to the extraordinary. They may be personal or professional; short-term or long-term. Regardless of the type of goal, the desired outcome is the same. We want those goals to net some type of success.  The aim is that through reaching those goals we get closer to our ideal personal or professional situation.  The problem is that sometimes our goals are counterproductive or simply fall short of producing the su

We are often balancing many responsibilities, tasks, emotions, and personality traits all at once.  None of us could easily or willingly define ourselves in one word or category.  We are all many things at once.  A sister, a teacher, a son, a mother, a manager, a writer, an entrepreneur, a cook, the list could go on and on.  We are never simply just one thing.  We are also very seldom doing just one thing.   So, it makes perfect sense that we don’t wear just one hat.  We ofte

Some people set goals to provide a defined finish line and the focus needed to cross it. Others are busy working as hard as they can to do better and be better.  But, they haven’t really defined what better even is for them. The whole point of setting goals is reaching them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming big and setting hefty goals as long as your intention is a success. If you are aiming high your goal should be to soar not to settle. We often set amazing g

Sometimes it’s hard to put your priorities first instead of the things that we want to do.  It’s a beautiful day, there’s a new movie out, you want to spend time with friends; we can usually find unlimited things that we’d rather be doing than the things we are supposed to be doing.  There is usually that little voice in the back of our head reminding us of our responsibilities.  But do we listen to that voice?  Well, maybe sometimes.  But, probably not as often as we should.

It’s important to be proactive and anticipate or even head off those fires before they happen. Failing to plan ahead or be attentive to the current state of your affairs will leave you only having time to be reactive.  You will feel like you are constantly putting out fires that you never saw coming.  It’s a constantly stressful environment and it is problematic for not only how productive you are but also how your peers and clients perceive your work ethic.  Only having time

There is one word that comes to mind when talking about continual growth and expansion and that word is analysis.  Analysis allows you to know the areas where you are succeeding and the areas where you need improvement or are even completely failing in.  Whether it be professionally or personally the same principle applies. It’s in our human nature to want to continually grow and improve as individuals as well as to grow and expand our businesses. Let’s first start by looking

The minute I started working from home my friends and former co-workers started asking me to get them “work from home” jobs. The assumption was that there were limitless dream jobs available that were suitable for everyone. The more I talked to them, the more I found their expectations were way off base. So let’s get down to and clear up the confusion. Here are 4 major myths about working from home: Myth #1: Anyone can do it! Working from home isn’t something that just anyone

Potential is a word that sometimes gets thrown around in such a way that it kind of feels like an insult.  It’s usually when someone is telling you you’ve got it only because you aren’t giving it.  You’re hearing what you want to hear and don’t want to hear at the same time.  It’s confusing, it’s disheartening, and it can also be counterproductive.  If you really think about what potential means and how you want to be perceived personally then it can really be an inspiring co

Letting go of clutter can seem like a really daunting process. It can feel stressful to think about letting go of things you value and enjoy. Don’t let that stop you though! There is a reason you are searching for helpful ideas on how to accomplish it and it’s likely because you are ready to feel calmer in your space. The big hurdle is picking and choosing what stays and what goes. Once you identify the source of the problems and really evaluate why you are keeping things aro

Overcomplicating things can create a lot more struggle than it’s worth. We all overcomplicate our lives at some time or another.  We blow up over something minuscule and wonder where all the emotion is coming from.  It isn’t healthy and it isn’t conducive to productivity or happiness. A mountain from a molehill, an exaggeration of complexity, a simple situation into a stressful one; when we start overcomplicating things we take a situation that could have been easily handled

Managing emails can seem like a daunting task! Especially if you have let it go for far too long without managing it. Don’t let that stop you though! Here are 6 quick and easy tips so you can reach email management success! 1) Managing Emails with Nothing in Your Inbox Keeping your inbox empty is like having a clean desk.  All the papers on your desk have a place and are filed away neatly. So why shouldn’t your emails and inbox be the same way? Managing emails and keeping you

Very few of us have the luxury of not having to juggle multiple tasks and schedules all at once, which can cause us to lose focus and become less productive.  There are even fewer of us out there that actually thrive in pure chaos.  With that, I would like to argue that just because your schedule is busy does not mean it has to be chaotic. Time management is a tricky thing but here are a few ways you can use time blocks to focus and start becoming more productive. Stop Multit