Posts Tagged ‘Change’

Smart Women Deal With Their “Stuff”

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Today, I received an email from a very smart 10-29-09articlewoman who is just beginning her journey as an entrepreneur. In her email, she shared with me that lately she’s been noticing that a lot of “stuff” is coming up for her.  When I read this, I smiled.  I knew that my smart, courageous friend is getting out of her “comfort zone.”  Smart Women know that when they enter unfamiliar territory in life and business, “stuff” always shows up and can get in the way.

Making a decision to do something new or different in your life can get really uncomfortable.  It triggers all of your “stuff” down deep inside.  You may start to question everything you do and sometimes you wonder if you should continue with your new Big Idea, Dream, or Goal.  After all, you may not be overjoyed with your current life situation, job, or business but at least it’s familiar—right?  I remember a time in my life when I felt out of sorts, stuck and trapped, but at the same time I wasn’t sure if I had the courage to make the changes that were needed in order to feel whole, passionate and purposeful.

For example, when I decided to give birth to Smart Women Smart Solutions, there were many reasons why it wasn’t the most “ideal” time to begin something new.  For example, I had my son who was a toddler and was pregnant with my daughter.  My “stuff” seemed to pop up everywhere and follow me around with all of the reasons why now might not be the “right” time to start a new business.  “Who will take care of my son?”  “Now isn’t the right time”  “What if it doesn’t work?”  “What if I fail?”  Sound familiar?

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Smart Women Answer Their Call

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

No, I’m not talking about your cell phone or the phone in your home10-01-09Phone or office. All the women in my Success Circles know that I don’t believe in picking up the phone every time it rings. I do believe in listening to my messages and returning calls and emails within a reasonable time period. I’m talking about answering your call—the call that is unique only to you.

Do you have any idea what that ring tone sounds like? You may be reading this and saying to yourself, “What is Joy talking about?” “I don’t hear anything like that.” Well, I’m not surprised. With phones ringing everywhere, music playing, family members and clients calling out for attention, how could you possibly hear your own unique call? And maybe you don’t even think you have one. You do have one.

Do you ever get irritated or unsettled by all of the noise going on around you? Do you just want to go somewhere and be quiet and peaceful? Do you sometimes feel like you are on an emotional rollercoaster? Everything is fine in your life but you still feel stuck? You feel so lucky to be alive and healthy but at the same time you know that something has changed. This is the beginning of a calling.
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Smart Women Take the Leap

Friday, November 21st, 2008

The other day, I was listening to one of Madonna’s great dance tunes, “Jump.”  It’s a fun song that makes me want to jump up and dance around the room.  It also motivates me into thoughts about the “jump” in my own life–to take the leap to the next level.  This got me thinking about how Smart Women take the leap into realizing their Big Ideas, Dreams, and Goals.

We all have passions and dreams inside of us.  There may be times in our life when those passions and dreams can take a “back seat” to other areas in our lives, but they are still there—they never disappear or go away.  They wait patiently for us to acknowledge them and take some sort of action—a leap toward them.  As we begin to fantasize about those unfulfilled passions and dreams, we can sometimes fall into a trap of believing that they may never come true.  Why?  Because these dreams usually require change that’s really “big.”  Change would need to occur in our lives.  Change brings about uncertainty and being “uncomfortable.” Do you think I might be writing from experience?

Many of you know my story.  I founded and ran an international marketing company for 12 years.  It started as a part-time business because I needed to earn extra income.  Over time (and a lot of hard work!), it became an international company that was very successful.  This allowed me the opportunity to travel to wonderful places all over the world to do my work.  When I became a mom, I realized that this was no longer the right path for me.  After much soul-searching, I felt a calling to work with women to help them realize their own passions and dreams.  Was it easy?  No way!  Was it challenging to make such a bold change in my life with two young children?  You bet.
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Smart Women Give Themselves Permission

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

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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