Feeling UNinspired?

For entrepreneurs who are feeling burned out or for moms or mompreneurs who are feeling a little ho-hum about life, one of the most important things you can do every day is to seek out the things that inspire you and make you feel alive.

In this video, I share 7 things that inspire me so that I can plant the seed of inspiration in your mind and hopefully inspire you to get inspired!  The most important part of this message is that inspiration doesn’t come to you, you have to actively and consciously seek it out.

But, do you?

Now, I’d love to hear about what you do to feel inspired, how often you seek out inspiration and any ideas that you have about loving the life you live OR if you are struggling with finding inspiration and not feeling happy in your life, I’d love to support you.  So go ahead leave a thought here and whatever you are feeling about this post, let’s talk in the comments!

A well-rounded experience of success in business, personal and spiritual life comes from having laser sharp clarity about your personal, business, family and relationship values and goals.   The beauty of this type of clarity is that it provides mental blinders that block the distractions and allow for a straighter shot to living your dreams.

One critical and often underestimated step in this journey to discovering your success is the development of a firm understanding and consciousness about all these elements and how they fit into the big picture of your business and your life.

In other words, if you want to rock it, you have to lay out your values, your personal, family and relationship goals, your support systems, inspiration, ideal client, their biggest pain, your solution, your ideal lifestyle and your revenue generation goals… you will be placing yourself among the ranks of visionaries like Anita Roddick and Mary Kay Ash.  But your vision of success may look different from theirs, which is what makes each one of us unique and special.

Watch this video for a few tips to gain clarity about your life…

Do you struggle with not having clarity or feeling like you are not in touch with your life purpose and how it relates to your work?

Do you feel like something is off, but you just aren’t sure how to fix it?

Or does everything feel out of alignment and you are too overwhelmed to know where to start?    Good news: you are not alone!

If you need help, I would love to arrange a time to talk and see if we would be a good fit to work together.  Feel free to start or add to this discussion in the comments…

Have you ever wanted to just live on the edge (even for a moment)…

Have you ever found yourself feeling stuck in a rut with a level of comfort that holds you back from really feeling truly alive…

?

Meet my very cool friend Sarah Robinson (up above), the founder of Escaping Mediocrity and the creator of Irresistible Presence.  Sarah very graciously agreed to be my guest on the Getting It Done Show on Wednesday August 25, 2010.  We talked about creating irresistible presence in our businesses and truly live an extraordinary life.

Just to give you a glimpse into our fun hour-long show, I asked Sarah a few simple, but telling questions that may inspire you to listen to the replay…

1.  What is your favorite quote?
I have several but “Speak what we feel not what we ought to say.” by William Shakespeare is always at the top of the list.
2.  Do you have a role model in business or in your life?
That’s easy – Dagny Taggert in Atlas Shrugged.
3.  What does it mean to have irresistible presence?
Irresistible Presence is about being completely anchored in who you really are with no fluff and stuff between you and your tribe or audience.
4.  What is one tip for moms who want to escape mediocrity right now?
Escaping Mediocrity can be as simple as taking a walk alone without a walkman plugged in and noticing what’s around you. Or breaking out of the same old same old for dinner.
5.  What is the craziest thing you have ever done in your life?

Umm…I can’t say that in public.

— But maybe we can get her to share a glimpse of her answer to this last question on the show tomorrow night, so listen in to find out!

7 Things Kindergartener’s Need to Know Academically:

In the rush to get your child outfitted for that first day of school, don’t overlook the value of exposing your child to the Kindergarten curriculum.  These are the 7 things that most Kindergartener’s need to know:

The upper case alphabet out of sequence or mixed up. Kids will be asked to name the letters listed, such as: B, D, X, K, J, M, O, etc.
The numbers to 10, out of sequence or mixed up. Kids will be asked to name the letters, listed, such as:  2, 5, 9, 8, 1, 3, 4, etc.
Kids will be asked to identify basic colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple
Kids will be asked to identify basic shapes: circle, diamond, rectangle, triangle, oval and square
Kids will be asked to identify basic coins: penny, nickel and dime
Counting objects to 10
How far they can count to 100

As the year progresses, Kindergartener’s will need to know both upper and lower case letters and numbers to 30, out of sequence or mixed up.  More colors and shapes will be added including hexagon and octagon and more coins such as quarter and dollar.  Children need to know their name, address and phone number and be able to get dressed for outside play and use the bathroom independently, to make that first year a success!

2010 Copyright Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! Let’s Get Ready For First Grade! & iA Prepararse Para Kindergarten!

This is an email message from a few weeks ago that I sent out to my list and got a HUGE response from, so I decided to share it with you folks who read this blog (hint, this means you may want to sign up for my email list so you can get this stuff sent to you every week!;)…

Today as I was driving back from dropping my daughters off at camp, I noticed a sign that said, “The Grass is Always Greener On The Other Side” and I started thinking about how so often we fall into this trap of believing this.

Don’t believe the hype!!!

We compare how we look with others, how thin they are, how great their relationships are, how well behaved their kids are, how much money they seem to always have, the great trips they go on, (or my favorite) the hot four figure shoes they have!  We can go on and on, right?  Blah blah blah… It’s nonsense!

Why do we compare ourselves with others?
No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than YOU.  So who cares what anyone else is doing?
The truth is that we are all here on this earth to learn and grow and that means that we may experience different obstacles than other people so it may appear that they have “more” but in reality, they are just on a different journey.  Another part of this truth is that the grass is only greener if you are looking for it to be.  What I mean by this is that if you want to look at the grass on your side of the fence and focus on how beautiful and lush and perfect it is, that is what your reality will be.

So, if you want to live a happy life… it is up to you take make lemonade out of those lemons, girlfriend!  (Can I come up with any more cliches in 3 paragraphs?

Life is too short to pay attention to what we don’t have because that list can be endless.  If we want to be happy and teach our children how to be happy no matter what challenges they face, we have to role model this for them.  How do we do this?  By being grateful every day for the life we have.  By loving ourselves no matter what.  By giving our loved ones our hearts unconditionally.  By taking care of our bodies with good food and exercising.  By living consciously and with intention.

ACTION STEP: If you are feeling like you can’t see the super, green, fertile grass beneath your feet, start by writing in a gratitude journal for at least 2 minutes every day before your feet hit the ground in the morning.  When the day is done and you crawl back into bed, grab that same journal and write for 3 minutes about the successes you have had that day.  Successes can be anything from going to the grocery store to calling a good friend to chat to making a big sale.  The most important thing is that you appreciate and honor them.  Remember, what we focus on grows!  So tune into the positive that is going on everyday, all around you!

BONUS TIP: If you find that you can’t keep up with this practice every day, do it WITH your kids every morning and every evening.  Can you imagine what a special gift this is to give to not only your kids, but yourself every day.  Talk about being a great parent!  Yes, this is something that a great parent would do

(our new view)

Last week, we moved our 3 daughters, 3 cats, 1 dog and basically every possession we own 400 miles south of San Francisco to the Newport Beach area of Southern California.  My mother was diagnosed with a serious illness in April and we want to be near she and my father to support them during this battle.  It wasn’t a planned move, but once we made the decision that it was what we needed to do, we figured, “why wait?”

So… we did it!

Within 5 days of signing a lease, we packed up our SF house and left. It was a whirlwind of tape, cardboard and bubble wrap, but we tried to be as organized as possible and now we are completely moved in and settled in less than a week!

Everyone keeps asking how we did it so fast.

So… I have 5 tips to share with you if you ever find yourself in a pinch to move your home, business and life quickly.

1. Don’t be afraid to purge! Get rid of anything you don’t use regularly (ie: if you haven’t used it within the last year, chuck it!) Store things that are of significant meaning for you, but don’t hang on to things that you don’t know what to do with.  Take a picture and donate it, pass it on as a gift or trash it.  Less is more, especially when it comes to moving!
2. Try to pack in an organized fashion. Don’t just throw things into boxes and tape them up without a system in place.  This is how people end up with boxes that sit for years.  Pack your boxes according to specific areas of rooms and specific functions.  For instance, if your desk is in the living room, pack desk items together in their own designated box so that you can be efficient when you unload.  Make sure to mark which room each box will go into and which area it should be unloaded.
3. Use bubble wrap to protect your valuables! I tried newspaper, rags and bubble wrap in different boxes to see which provided the best protection and bubble wrap was BY FAR the most effective.  The rags were second and the newspaper just made our hands dirty   Get a role of bubble wrap and call it a day!
4. Allow your children to be a part of the action. We let our girls decorate the boxes for their rooms and we also let them help us decide which toys should be donated.  They loved being a part of the process and we excited to help out.  When we unpacked, they loved telling us where things should go in their rooms and putting things away themselves.  Giving them a say about where their belongings went empowered them and made the process more fun.  Then, when it was time to unload the family areas, they helped unpack and clean up the boxes.  Team effort helped things to move much quicker!  So, don’t be afraid to put those little helpers to work!  Extra hands are a good thing in this instance.
5. Take short breaks to enjoy your new home and set a timer so you stick to them! This was a challenge for my husband on the first day, but by day 2 he really needed to take a breather.  We are both type A personalities, so taking a break doesn’t come easily to us.  However, when you are moving you need to take time to enjoy your new home (or else you just get crabby and irritable).  Plan four to five times a day when you are going to take your 15-30 breaks from unpacking and decide beforehand what you will do to celebrate your new surroundings.  Don’t forget to eat healthy meals and snacks too!  Apples, nuts, precooked chickens and prepared meals from the market are a must!

Moving can be a very stressful endeavor, but the more organized and focused you can be, the better.

My husband would open a box, get half way through emptying it and then move on to the next.  I found it easier to go through one box, top to bottom at a time instead of opening a bunch of boxes and then having to go back to them later.  Everyone has their own pace, style and system, but the key is to do what is best for YOU and to have FUN with it!

The more you can get rid of before you move into your new place, the better! And don’t let tension build about where to place things or how to set things up.  Go into your new home with the idea that you will probably shift things around a little as you go.  So, just get through it and then fix things that aren’t working to suit you as they arise.  Moving is a great way to get a fresh start and to create surroundings that help you function optimally.  So, be thoughtful while also giving yourselves some slack.

PS: Notice that I said, “moving can be stressful”, but what I left out is that it doesn’t HAVE to be!  Look for ways to have fun with it and before you know it, you will be sitting back and relaxing in a new home that you LOVE!

Have you moved recently, are you a neat freak or do you specialize in organization?  Then we’d love to hear your 2 cents in the comments!

Everyday, moms are doing amazing things for their families, for their neighbors, for their friends and for the community, but often times they put their own desires on the back burner because they want to take care of everyone else.  They volunteer to help at church, at school, at local community events, and the list goes on.  But ultimately, they lose touch with their passion and their dreams or they simply feel that they have too much on their plate to pursue anything else.

Does this sound familiar?

What message do you think this mentality sends to your children?

What behavior is this role modeling to them?

Deep down, do you feel that doing everything for everyone else is going to fulfill you or do you feel that this is a self-imposed duty of motherhood?

Now, let’s look at this in another way…

What do you think would happen if you decided to shake things up a little and re-prioritize so you could make some time to take steps toward your own personal goals?  What if I could show you a way to create a business that allowed you to spend time with your family and also earn money doing something you love?  Would that interest you? Stay tuned because I will be launching a free video series in a few weeks that will show you just that!

In the meantime… here is a little video I made to show you how folding laundry is just like running a business!

Does this video make you curious?  It’s time to follow your dreams and start (or shift a current biz into) that lifestyle business that will really help you to bring your gifts and talents to the world so you can truly be happy.  Think about what kind of role modeling you would be doing for your kids with this simple shift in the way you approach life and please share your thoughts with us in the comments. 

Watch this very informative presentation for moms about the value of teaching your baby to communicate through sign language by the adorable mompreneur (to be), Christa Jean.

So, what do you think?

Have you ever tried baby signs with your child?

…And?

How did it go?

Can you give parents tips on teaching their baby to sign?

Did you feel that you empowered your child?

Are you just curious about how baby signing works?

Or do you think it is all a load of bunk?

Comments please…

thanks.

Healthy Moms Healthy Babies Presents… 5 Reasons to Sign with your Baby! from Christa Jean on Vimeo.

As a business owner, every once in a while, you get an idea and think to yourself, “Why the heck didn’t I do this sooner?!”

Well, I had one of those moments this morning…  I call it a serious Duh Moment.  It’s not an Aha.  It’s a Duh.

Big difference.

It may not seem like a big Duh to you, but I have been co-hosting this radio show for over 8 months now and every single one of my guests has shared some fabulous tips, tricks and special sauce that I don’t want you guys to miss.

So, I am now going to put a link to the show right here in a blog post after each and every show that I do.

Duh! Right?

This big Duh Moment was inspired by none other than the FABULOUS Marie Forleo who was an amazing guest on the show last night!  We talked about mindset, how a healthy sex life relates to your business, Marie’s new B School program and all kinds of other fun stuff that will help you GET IT DONE!  So, listen away and if you have any ideas or thoughts, share them in the comments!

By Jill Starishevsky

They call me the poem lady for as you can tell
Rhyming is among the things I do well
Thepoemlady.com is a place one can go
When you need a poem, but verse you don’t know
Many moms have hectic lives and are busy like I am
So this mom entrepreneur gets them out of a jam
Whether birthday, bar mitzvah or any shower
The poem lady makes you the toast of the hour
I have used this skill to write a children’s book
It’s an important one, that’s worth a good look
In real life I prosecute child abuse and sex crimes
And I’ve been saddened to notice dozens of times
That children are quiet and have heavy hearts
And are confused if touched on their private parts
Parents often know not what to say
And avoid the subject, in hopes it goes away
So I penned a little tale called My Body Belongs to Me
It’s a simple story, as straight as can be
It’s meant for children from three to ten
And since children like it, you can read it again and again
From the mountaintops I have wanted to yell
If you are touched inappropriately, a trusted adult you should tell
Should you be interested in spreading the word
You can send out a tweet or tape a post-it to a bird
Know someone who skywrites way up in the air
Or owns ad space at Yankee Stadium with some room to spare
Do you have extra time on your radio show
A billboard in Time Square when foot traffic is slow
No matter the medium, it must go far and wide
Children need to know that we’re on their side
I’ll take help spreading the word wherever I go
To teach children about their private parts and it’s OK to say NO!
Tell everyone you encounter, whether teacher, Dad or Mom
Learn how to protect a child at MyBodyBelongstoMe.com

Thanks Jill!

How clever can you be when spreading the word about your business?  I know you have some great ideas, so let’s hear ‘em!

See you in the comments!