Archive for the ‘Have The Life You Love!’ Category

« Older Entries

Smart Women Get a “Personal” Check-up

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Recently, my husband Greg was in the hospital for a health issue.  02-05-09doctorHe started in the emergency room and was eventually admitted to the hospital.  This experience created a lot of thought and reflection for me on many levels.  One that I think might be helpful to you is how Smart Women occasionally need a personal or business check-up if they are to truly realize their Big Idea, Dreams, and Goals.  This week, I’m going to offer you some simple solutions on your “personal” check-up.  Next week, I’ll share some reflections and simple solutions on your “business” check-up.

 “What am I passionate about?”  “What am I called to do?”  “What would provide me with a happy fulfilled life each and every day?”  I asked myself these questions 8 years ago.  I knew I deserved to wake up every day full of energy and anticipation.  Unfortunately, there is no “magic” pill that provided the answers.  I needed help.  I made a decision to get my own “personal” checkup, and went through a process of evaluation.  Follow these easy, simple solutions that I’ve created for you to begin your “personal” checkup:

  1. Get Connected With an Expert – Ask the “Right” Questions.  During Greg’s entire stay at the hospital, there was one constant at all times:  He was asked questions, a lot of questions.  And when you thought there could be no more questions, the experts asked more questions.  Why?  To clarify what was really going on; to get focused on what seemed to be the root of the problem.  It’s important to spend some quiet time thinking about where you are right now in your life and ask some clarifying questions:  What’s working?  What’s not working?  What do I need to change?  What do I need to let go of?   Get connected to a coach, mentor, or other wise individual that can help you ask the “right” questions so you can get on the right path to a life that you love waking up to every day.

    (more…)

Tags: ,
Posted in Have The Life You Love!, Joy's News and Updates | No Comments »

Smart Women Ignite Their Fire

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

01-29-09candle1As I was getting ready for a day of skiing on a recent family ski trip, I had one goal in mind: Stay warm! I knew it was going to be cold and windy that day, and I wanted to make sure that I kept my body heat inside. This got me thinking about how Smart Women who are living a life filled with passion and purpose do just the opposite: They give themselves permission to release their “fire” of desire and passion out into the world.

As women, we can spend years–if not decades–keeping our “fire” of desire and passion inside of us. We hold our Big Ideas, dreams, and goals at our core because we are nurturers by nature and put others’ needs ahead of ourselves. We give care and support to family, friends, colleagues, and community. The great misfortune is that if we’re not careful, our fire can get blown out or extinguished. Unsupported, we begin to have conversations with our committee of one about how our Big Idea or Dream “would never work, it’s not possible, what was I thinking?” Even worse, if we can become courageous enough to share an idea with someone, we often find a negative judgment or criticism about the “fire” of desire and passion we hold so close in our heart, soul, and core of our being.

(more…)

Tags: ,
Posted in Goal or Idea, Have The Life You Love! | No Comments »

Smart Women Have Dreams Too!

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

My son Jack came home from school today with an excited, “Yippee Mom, there’s no school next Monday because it’s Martin Luther King Day!” A few minutes later he comes running back into the kitchen and asks, “Mom, who is Martin Luther King anyway?” Wow—what a question. How do I answer that one and still have time to get dinner on the table?

So here goes. Martin Luther King was a man who lived in courage and vision every day of his life. He was a man who most likely lived in fear and faced challenges for pursing his dreams and convictions. In August of 1963, he gave a speech entitled, “I Have A Dream”, which changed the way this country saw equality and fairness forever.

What, you might ask, does this have to do with Smart Women? Well, a lot actually. Many times women live other people’s dreams. Not because we don’t have any of our own. You all know that I believe we are the most creative beings on earth with Big Ideas. Many times we don’t even realize that we are not connected to our dreams and desires. Women are so busy helping others to realize their dreams, (family, friends, co-workers) that we don’t take the time to ask ourselves the question, “What am I dreaming about?” “What’s my vision for my future?” And… “Do I have the courage to act on this dream and vision?”

(more…)

Tags: ,
Posted in Goal or Idea, Have The Life You Love! | 1 Comment »

Smart Women Know What They Want

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

Last week, after my husband Greg read my article “Smart Women Are a Lot Like Rocket Ships,” he had an interesting question:  He said, “Every week you write about the same thing—making your Big Idea happen, Reaching your Goals and Dreams, getting the right support, blah, blah, blah… when are you going to write about something else?”

Being a woman who encourages new ideas and new perspectives, I went off to take a bubble bath (a nightly self-care ritual!) and to reflect on his question.

In my work with women, the foundation is always around passionate and purposeful living.  In order to live a life full of unlimited energy filled with passion and purpose, you will be making big things happen in your life.  You will be connecting with your Big Ideas, dreams and goals.  You will seek and find the proper support to help you achieve your goals.  This becomes a way of life for women who choose to live without boundaries around what they can and deserve to accomplish.

The challenge for me is that I know only a fraction of women in the world are living the kind of life I just described.  It seems unrealistic to many women–not possible, not achievable.  I think this is the reason I continue to write so often about this idea.  I want to encourage women in every way imaginable that having a life that is overflowing with abundance is possible.

How about you?  Is this something you desire?  To create a life that is on purpose, both at work and at home, and achieving those Big Ideas, Dreams and Goals?  I know this is something that I desperately wanted in my life 10 years ago.  I was searching for what might be next for me, what my purpose was, who could support me in going to the next level in my life.  I would wake up most days with those nagging questions and the empty answers: “What do I want to do next?”  “Who can I talk to that will be able to help me?”  “What might be the next step to move me closer to my dreams and goals?”

Today I am living a high-energy, passionate, purposeful life but it was not by accident.  It was through taking the right steps to find out what I truly wanted for myself (not what others might want for me), finding the right support to make it happen, and working with my support system to put a plan together that would result in a successful outcome.

I invite you to grab a pen and some paper, sit down, and ask yourself a very important question:
(more…)

Tags: ,
Posted in Have The Life You Love!, Realizing Your Dream | 1 Comment »

Smart Women Visit the Magic Kingdom

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Recently, our family took a trip to the “happiest place on earth”—Disneyland!  As we made our way to the Magic Kingdom, I noticed a large sign hanging over the entrance that read, “Where old friends meet for the very first time.”  I began to smile.  This got me thinking about how Smart Women take time to reconnect with their old friend—the authentic self.

Sometimes, our lives are moving at such a fast pace, we can become disconnected from what’s truly meaningful in both our personal and professional lives.  We are so busy “doing” everything for everyone around us that we lose touch with that part of us that knows what we should be making time for.  Your authentic self is like an old friend.  She is secure in knowing exactly who you are and what you are passionate about.  She knows every gift you possess and can help you access them.  The challenge, of course, is staying connected to this old friend.  Life, with its many twists and turns, brings about such “busyness” that we often find ourselves too tired at the end of the day to stay connected to our authentic self.

If you are a woman in business, the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey is about realizing a Big Idea with passion and purpose.  You begin to navigate a course to accomplish your goals.  There is a lot of excitement and anticipation.  Somewhere along the way, you can get off course in your business by working “in” your business rather than working “on” your business.  If you are always working the day to day tasks and never giving yourself the creative space to vision the future of your business, the chances of optimal growth are minimal.  In my Women’s Success Circles, the space for possibility thinking and a plan to support women in their vision is created so that they can realize their Big Idea.
(more…)

Tags:
Posted in Have The Life You Love!, Your Inner Voice | No Comments »

« Older Entries