Last week, on two separate occasions, I had the topic of what I refer to as “nutritious” people come up. I was speaking at a women’s convention and I asked them to write down at least 3 “nutritious” people” they have in their life right now. I also had a conversation with a woman in my Success Circle about the difference between “nutritious” people versus those that can drain you and zap your energy level. You know the relationships I’m talking about– right?

Let me give you an example. When you are engaged in a conversation with a “nutritious” person, you feel enlightened, inspired, and energized. Compare this with people who you have relationships with in your life that I refer to as the “downward spiral” relationship. When you are in conversation with these people, it tends to spiral downward in a negative, non-productive way. No matter how many times you try to bring it back to the place of possibility thinking, the conversation tends to stay in the negative. When this happens, you always have 2 choices. One, you can take the high road and stay positive. (more…)

Recently, I was having a conversation with a woman when she asked me a crucial question: “What are the steps I need to take in order to live a life filled with passion and purpose?” It’s really a 3 part process. When a woman is ready to create her own extraordinary life, she needs to first decide what she wants. Then she needs to decide how she wants to design her life. Finally, she needs to give herself permission to have the life she has chosen. It’s essential that she believes that she deserves to have the life she chooses. If you decide what you want your life to look like but do not believe that you should really have it, then your “dreams” will never become a reality.

My work is designed to support women in their journey to living their own extraordinary life. Years ago, I knew that I wanted to make some big changes in my own life. I had to first decide what I wanted. Then I had to design my life how I wanted it to be. Lastly, but crucial, I had to give myself permission to create this new way of being. You have to believe it so you can ask for it. This can be a challenging part for women in the process. Once they begin to visualize what they want, they may have trouble asking for it. Who do you need to ask? You have to communicate to those who matter most to you what you want in your life–what changes you desire. Your spouse, partner, children, co-workers, boss, employees, family, and friends. We become fearful in the asking process. We begin to question whether we “deserve” this. It’s very easy to make our needs secondary, to be comfortable and stay in the place where we are caring and nurturing others—helping others reach their goals. When I decided to begin my coaching work, my husband Greg needed to take on more of the activities with the children and this was a process for us.

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Happy Valentines Day!  What a great holiday.  Both of my children were excited to go to school today to enjoy festive parties, make valentine crafts and eat lots of sweet treats! 

This is a day to honor those who mean so much to us in some special way.  I invite you to stop for a moment and think about who makes your heart beat faster, who makes your heart soar with excitement—-did you think of someone, maybe more than one person?  Good.  It’s a great day to tell those people the impact they have on your life.

Be well,

Joy