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The ‘law of attraction’ might sound like something to do with dating but actually it is nothing of the sort. Rather, the law of attraction refers to a basic ‘fact of life’ and specifically, the fact that ‘like attracts like’. This is to say that as you act, so others will act toward you. And as you collect, so you will attract more of the same. The most commonly used example of this is in our careers. If you act like someone who is very important by dressing that way, behaving that way and really believing it to be true: then actually you will end up becoming more important within your organization and attracting more opportunities for progression and responsibility. So how does this work? This isn’t some wishy-washy advice about positive thinking but rather a simple and logical process that takes place. Because when you really believe yourself to be important and successful, it […]

One of the most powerful assets in your mental arsenal is to increase your confidence – to feel good about yourself so that you can attract the things you want and so that you can give off an aura of being in charge and being passionate about what you’re saying. But if you’re naturally someone who struggles with self-confidence, how can you simply ‘switch off’ that self-doubt and become more confident. Confidence is what turns thought into action – which is kind of what we’re all about. Understand What Confidence Is Confidence is a very broad term that gets thrown around a lot. This is a bit damaging because we tend to think of it as a single term that encompasses so much about who we are. We either have ‘good confidence’ or we have ‘bad confidence’. In reality though, confidence is much more contextual than that. You can be confident in one domain and […]

Sometimes, coming to understand what you love in life and what your goals should be can be a real pain. After all, as military spouses, we are often far more concerned with fulfilling the needs of our children, our spouses, and our country than focusing on our own interests and desires! To truly understand our own goals and motivations, however, we really need to take some time to consider the things that we enjoy doing. To figure out what these passions are, it often helps to think about what we loved doing as kids. While it may be initially difficult to find the connections between the things that we loved as children and the activities and jobs that we might find fulfilling now, if we let go of the particulars, we can watch the same passions manifest in adulthood. For example, perhaps you absolutely could not get enough of hopscotch as a kid. Well, you […]

This week I’m headed to San Diego to attend a financial blogging conference, FinCon! I’ll be exploring ways to potentially monetize my podcast, The Military Spouse Show, as well as networking with other military spouse entrepreneurs and connecting with possible guests for my show. I’m super excited to return to San Diego, the city where I met my husband 20 years ago when he was stationed at Camp Pendleton and I was completing my graduate studies. In addition to attending what promises to be an awesome conference, I’m also looking forward to reconnecting with my former business partner. For me, attending a professional conference is actually a great form of self-care—not only does it allow me to explore new interests, but it also enables me to get outside of working in my business and take a few days to work on my business. Having the time to focus on business development is always inspiring for […]

Regardless of how long I’ve been out of school, I still get that “back to school buzz” every fall when my kids return to class. If you feel the same way, I say, “Go with it!” and use this change of season to your advantage! I often have my clients come up with seasonal goals and check in on yearly objectives four times a year (once per season). Together, we develop health, wealth, and wisdom goals each autumn and watch them progress as winter approaches. I encourage everyone with goals to give this system a try. Ask yourself what would feel wonderful to have accomplished by the end of the year. Try to choose something that you will really enjoy working on and watch yourself effortlessly move toward success. To help forward your fall goals or your yearly (or lifetime!) objectives, try out these two tips that have been helpful both for myself and my […]

The role of the military spouse is super important—we provide much needed at-home support for our military families, which helps keep our country strong. So often, though, military spouses tell me that, while they have goals in the areas of health and careers, these ambitions are often put on hold. With so many important responsibilities on our plates, it can be hard carving out time to get from where we are to where we want to be. For example, one of my spouse clients shared that she wanted to lose weight. However, she found that she couldn’t make it to the gym because she didn’t want to go exercise when she could instead be spending time with her kids. Another spouse shared that she wanted to write more but that her kids’ sports often took center stage during her limited free time. Her priorities simply got pushed aside without her even complaining. As military spouses, […]

Do you feel stuck in a business rut? If so, it’s time to change something! Challenge yourself to break out of that rut and step out of your “comfort zone.” Is there something you could be doing to grow your business, and the only reason you are not doing it is because you’re too scared? Don’t let fear stop you! Once you take hold of that fear and do the thing you’re scared of, you’ll feel so much better and you’ll have tons of self-esteem. You’ll be ready to accomplish any goal you may have set for your business. Change Your Space And while changing your behavior and attitude are great places to start, you may also want to change up your space or routine. If you normally work at home, try going to a coffee shop or library. If you aren’t able to leave the house, because of little ones, try moving to a […]

It’s going to be very hard to stay motivated if you are not looking at your business in a focused manner. If things are blurry or hazy, you’ll definitely start to procrastinate and it won’t take long for your work to pile up. The bad news? If you don’t start to focus soon, you may permanently lose your business motivation. The good news? You can easily get your focus back! One of the biggest problems that I’ve seen is that people take on too many businesses! I’ve spent a lot of time in “work at home” message boards and forums and I’ve seen a lot of people who are promoting two, three, or more businesses. While I definitely encourage people to develop multiple streams of income, I do caution against “business overload.” If you are trying to spread your time amongst several businesses, you’re setting yourself up for failure. For example, if you are a […]

Once the weather starts to change and the temperatures start to heat up, business owners from all walks of life start to have something in common: they start to lose the motivation to work on their business! And without motivation, there is no such thing as “productive.” If you find this happening to you, there could be any number of different reasons behind it. You may have been working hard all winter and are ready for a break; people tend to socialize more in warm weather so you may have a bunch of weddings, parties, reunions, and other gatherings coming up; and if you are a Mom, whatever time you had to work on your business during the rest of the year can easily slip once the kids get out of school for summer…. Trust me, I understand all of the situations I mentioned above… but I also think it’s important to understand that what […]

While different for each of us, we all know an area in our lives that, if organized, would give us the most bang for our buck. What would it feel like to fix that one area of your life? Don’t think of what is easiest to declutter. Think about the one area of your life that if it was cleaner, smoother, more managed, you would be more successful. I have cleaned my closet and put the hangers all facing south, and only turned the hanger north after wearing the outfit. I have put stickies on kitchen gadgets and vowed to discard them if there is still a stickie in six months, but I am talking about something bigger here. Something that if you changed would create REAL change in your life. I put this challenge out to my clients and they each had big aha moments. What are you putting off? It is usually very personal and you can complete a whole cookie cutter […]

What in your life needs to be more on autopilot? Laundry can be put on autopilot when you have detergent, fabric softener, stain sticks, proper baskets, and your favorite podcast (for example, the Military Spouse Show) ready to go. Sure, it’s still a chore, but it’s more fun when you feel prepared. Doesn’t it feel almost meditative to pay your bills when you have your return address stamp, envelopes, and postage stamps all ready to go so that you can just reflect on being grateful that you are able to pay your bills? What other chores in your life could you put on autopilot? Consider keeping only functional outfits that fit in your closet, having food staples on hand for making quick healthy dinners, or putting a packed gym bag in your car. Only you know what preparation will most benefit you. Oftentimes, we think that we need to read another book on organization or go buy more cute boxes and bins before decluttering, […]

We have been talking about decluttering your life this month and I feel that decluttering is a great way to simplify your life. Simplifying means developing a well-ordered mind and becoming clear with regard to your values. So, think about where you spend your time and money and then pick an area of your life that you have always wanted to simplify. Consider your life wheel and the different areas of your life, such as friends and family, fun and recreation, health, money, personal growth, and career. Then choose an area of your home in which to create a simple system that will support your success in this aspect of your life, such as a bill paying station, reading nook, or exercise spot. What kind of cool new space do you think will most benefit you? Leave a comment below and let me know! For example, I chose to create a simple gift wrapping station by nailing a board over two old repainted […]