Greetings and welcome to my blog! I am so happy that you are here and I look forward to sharing a lot of great information with .
What You’ll Find Here
I created this blog because I want this to be a place for women (and the men who love them of course!) to have a place where they can find valuable information on how to reconnect with themselves and live their lives passionately. There will be a combination of tips and advice on how to start living from a place of authenticity, parenting suggestions, recommendations on how to start your own home-based business, relevant stories either about myself or others and so much more! I am at a place in my life where I am showing up for myself and playing full out. I spent too many years doing the same things over and over expecting different results. Insanity! Well today is a new day and I am taking action to live my life with gusto! And I want to help you do the same.
This blog is for YOU. I want to help you create a life that is magical. I want to see you step boldly into who you are authentically at your core. Are you ready?
A Bit About Me
Well, I am a California girl at heart, making the most of life in the big state of Texas with my wonderful husband and two amazing kids.
I am an only child who was raised by a single mother who sacrificed a lot and sometimes worked two and three jobs simultaneously to keep the bills paid and food on the table, so I am no stranger to hard work.
Yet, despite what some would see as a disadvantage to growing up in a non-traditional or “dysfunctional” home, I still graduated from high school and went to college. It was in college and those years of learning to be an adult that I started to falter.
I graduated from college successfully, but with the unrealistic idea in my head that because I had “potential” someone was going to hire me, recognize that potential right off the bat and I’d instantly become this marketing/PR superstar overnight. Needless to say, it didn’t happen.
I floundered from job to job and was miserable everywhere I landed because I hadn’t yet figured out that I needed to put some work into what I wanted, it wasn’t just going to be handed to me. So, as I fumbled along and my resume continued grow, I soon found that the only thing anyone wanted to hire me for was an administrative assistant. That was the LAST thing I wanted to be known as, but that wound up being the one thing I was able to do well (besides writing) and be recognized for. In fact, I didn’t finally come to peace with that truth until after I met my husband and was close to 30-years-old!
In fact, once I accepted the idea that I was good at being an admin, I attracted better bosses and co-workers and my income grew.
Then the Entrepreneurial Bug Hit
Well, I have ALWAYS had an entrepreneur’s spirit and quite honestly was never comfortable with the idea of working for someone else my entire life. Even while working full-time, I was always plotting and planning my entrepreneurial great escape!
After I had my son me and my husband got to talking, one thing led to another and we decided to open our own women-only fitness franchise. It was a risky yet exciting ordeal for us and even though we didn’t have a lot at the time, we moved forward hoping that the business would take off.
It took about a year of loan applications, searching for and negotiating for the right retail space, construction build-out and just preparation to get the whole thing up and running. The closer we got to opening the gym and once we actually opened, the less and less we saw of our son. But still, we were forging forward in hopes that things would turn around quickly.
We opened the doors to our gym on February 1, 2003. In April we had a huge grand opening that my mom planned. It was a great event complete with entertainment, a petting zoo and a hot dog and popcorn stand. And it was also on that day that my husband pulled me aside and told me that we were in trouble and we couldn’t afford to keep the gym open. Our rent for the gym alone was $8,000 a month and that did not include any of our utilities or payroll for our staff and other expenses. On April 30, 2003 we closed the doors to our business for good.
Losing Everything
Our townhouse was the only collateral we had, along with the gym equipment we purchased. So naturally we couldn’t sell any of that equipment to make money. Our bank accounts were drained and our credit cards were maxed. Our parents helped us buy groceries and pay our cell phone bills. Things were hard and our marriage was put to the test.
Our home was foreclosed and we had to file bankruptcy to get out from under the debt of the business that had soared to well over $200,000. Ouch, right? We both immediately started working again. My husband was fortunate enough to find a good permanent job right from the start while I held a series of temp jobs until I was hired on permanently with the company that I stayed with until I quit almost four years ago to be home with my kids.
During that time, we just could not see the good that could possibly come from a situation like that.
There is a Lesson and Blessing to Everything
Now looking back, that was probably the best thing that happened to us. And I can honestly tell you today that I am grateful for the experience. I couldn’t tell you that seven years ago and couldn’t even imagine that I could ever be thankful for going through something like that. But I am!
I know we wouldn’t be where we are today had we not gone through that. We think things through much more clearly now and we take our time. We do not rush our decisions like we did with the gym. And the number one question we ask ourselves now is: “Is this what is best for our family?” If the answer is no, we don’t do it, period. If the answer is yes, we move forward. Either way, we have no regrets. And it is from learning to live life from this place that we are in the position that we are in right now. We can afford for me to stay home and homeschool our two kids. We own a home again that was brand new when we purchased it. We take trips and we are enjoying life.
But Before I Got Here….
I had a bit of a, ahem, “relapse” starting in 2007, and what I now call my Early Midlife Celebration. My husband’s career has been growing and in July of 2007 we were relocated from Northern California to Southern California for his previous employer. 11 months later we were packing up and heading to Texas with his new employer.
I was already home with kids and trying to make a go of my own home-based career. I had mediocre success in a direct sales company that is now out of business and I started an online copywriting service that was making me money, but not boatloads. It was enough to pay for my business expenses. I wanted more but couldn’t figure out how to make it happen.
Just before our move to Texas I experienced a small family emergency that brought everything to a screeching halt. I had just released an e-book and had internet radio interviews scheduled but decided that my focus needed to be on my family so I canceled them all.
I spent months unhappy and confused because I couldn’t figure out who I was anymore. I felt like a lousy wife and a horrible mother. I missed our family and friends back in California. I thought I was doomed to be a business failure and that I would never amount to more than where I was in that moment.
And then one day, literally out of the blue, I received the message in my head, and I quote: “You are to help other women not be as jacked up as you are right now.” I was in the gym at the time and out loud I laughed and said “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” I did not care who may have seen or heard me because I honestly could not fathom why in the world the Creator would choose me to do something so huge that I hadn’t even figured out yet. And I have to tell you, this idea troubled me for awhile.
I Said Yes and Continue to Say Yes
But after receiving that Divine message that day, I couldn’t get it out of my head. It stayed with me and I got to a point where even though I couldn’t see how or why, I knew I needed to say yes, so I did.
I admit that even after saying yes I didn’t always move forward out of fear – what would people think? What will they say? Who is going to listen to me – the chick from Richmond, California? But I learned and am still learning, that as I take action and move forward, the next step is always revealed. Ideas come to me, people appear, opportunities present themselves and magic happens…but only when I take action.
I’ve come to realize that life really boils down to three simple steps:
- Decide – Make the decision about who you want to be and how you want to live your life.
- Act – Based on the decision or decisions you made, you must move forward in order to begin moving towards those decisions and making them real in your life.
- Receive - As you begin taking action and moving forward, you will begin to experience the small little miracles in your life that feel like magic.
Your Friend
I created this blog because I know there are other women out there like me who may be where I was and need some help in figuring out how to navigate the murky waters of early midlife; women who want to reconnect with who they are and live passionate and fulfilling lives.
I am still on my journey, it is by no means complete. And this is why I want you to consider me as a friend who is Right Here, Doing It with you. I don’t have a lot of Been There, Done That wisdom about all of this stuff. I am truly in the trenches with you, so as I learn something and gain new insight I’ll be sharing it with you.
I want you to be happy, successful and fulfilled. I want us to grow and learn together. So if you haven’t already, please be sure to subscribe to my blog so that you can stay up to date with all of my latest posts, and don’t forget to sign up for my FREE Early Midlife Assessment to determine exactly where you are on your journey. When you do, you’ll also receive a copy of my free e-book, How to Cultivate the Garden of Your Mind into a Place of Peace, Joy and Tranquility. My gift to you!
So are you ready to begin your journey? Then let’s get started!
In Celebration,
