On August 1, 2024, I celebrated my 24th year as an entrepreneur. I was vacationing in Maine, eating lots of lobster and hiking the beautiful rocky coast, and I took time to reflect on how grateful I am to do work that makes a difference in the world. And, that I have designed a work/life balance that allows me to travel and enjoy unplugged time away.
Clients who work with me for years love to tease me that I’m always searching for gems. Without fail, at the end of every coaching session I ask “What’s the gem from this session?” I want them to distill it down into one sparkly, shiny nugget that they can walk away with and feel a sense of satisfaction, alignment, and resonance!
Some of my favorite gems (pulled from actual client files!) are:
- You gave me permission to rest.
- I’m surprisingly excited to network. (…say all the introverted clients.)
- I’m going to feel the fear and do it anyway.
- Thank you for holding up the mirror for me so I could see myself.
- I’m not alone. I have a lot more support than I realized.
- You helped me break it down into bite-sized chunks. It feels doable now!
- Love the reframe. It’s not a problem…it’s an opportunity.
- It’s OK to be sad for as long as I need to.
- I’m learning to value my time and charge what I’m worth.
In 2020, I wrote about 20 GEMS I collected over two decades. My three favorites are:
1. Smart Self-Care is the foundation for success.
11. Do it, Delegate it, or Delete it!
15. Divine Timing, not MY Timing.
Read all 20 of them here to see if any of my gems can serve YOU!
Here are 4 more to add to this list to catch us up to 24!
21. Sabbaticals are sometimes necessary, always nurturing.
Over my two decades as a coach, I’ve taken several sabbaticals. Some were a few weeks, others a few months. Some were for health reasons, others were feeling burned out, and needing to step back and gain new perspective.
My favorite sabbatical of choice was when we adopted our sweet Riley Roo in less than 48 hours and I had no time to prepare! I kept working for the first three months of her life and then finally took a few months that summer as my proper “maternity leave.”
The hardest sabbatical I took was last year when, just weeks after the death of my biological mom and her husband, I had a near fatal car accident, got a serious concussion, and I was out of commission for a while. That healing journey took four months, but I learned so much about myself and my resilience during that time.
Whether by choice or necessity, taking a sabbatical from work and life often leads to great rewards.
22. Writing a book will not make you rich. But it brings great SATISFACTION.
When the pandemic closed the world down in spring of 2020, I had the good fortune of self-publishing my first book on Kindle: Smart Self-Care for Busy Women: 20 Lessons to Find the “Me-Time” You Keep Putting Off. It was perfect timing since everyone was working from home, cooped up with families, parents on Zoom calls in one room, kids on Zoom calls in the kitchen. It was an incredibly stressful time, and my nuggets of wisdom helped readers to navigate those challenging days. When we were all ready to pull our hair out, we talked a lot about how to implement those strategies in my women’s Facebook group.
Then, at the end of 2024, with the help of GracePoint Publishing, I published my second book which took me five years to write and another two to bring to light. The award-winning Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life’s Milestone Transitions has touched a chord for so many people, helping them bring magic and meaning into their daily lives. When I read their reviews on Amazon, it brings me to tears, knowing that my words made such a positive impact on their lives!
Click here to download Smart Self-Care on Kindle
Click here to buy Sacred Celebrations today!
23. Rituals help us navigate Big. Life. Changes.
Pretty much everyone I know has endured something major in the past few years. Death of a loved one. Moving. Job change. Divorce. Major illness. Parenting Challenges. Having a baby. (Since 2020, for me personally, it was two moves, two surgeries, death of two parents, a divorce, and a major car accident. Not for the faint of heart!)
Sometimes the experiences are gradual, other times they are sudden.
But in all cases, taking time to perform rituals helps to ease the transition. Funerals help us bury our loved ones. Prayer circles give us hope when someone is hurting. Divorce parties allow us to show up for our friends who are hurting. Baby blessings invite us to have hope for the future. House blessings encourage us to say good-bye to the old and welcome in the new!
24. Women’s circles are where the magic happens.
I made a new friend named Shawndra a few weeks ago who’s running an incredible gathering space for women entrepreneurs in Asheville called the Mad Genius Studios. If you’re local to Asheville, be sure to check out all the exciting events! Over a casual lunch and learn, she had us sketch out a quick mind map of all of the circles that we participate in. I was delighted (but not surprised) to be reminded of the dozens of circles representing my personal and professional circles on my mind map.
Whether it’s a group of friends gathering, a mastermind group or a class, workshop, retreat or coaching group that you participate in, being with other women sharing stories, learning new tools, and witnessing one another is one of the most powerful things we can do for our healing, our growth and our joy.
If you’re looking for a circle this fall, here’s how you can join me…
VIRTUAL Women’s Coaching Circle starts September 18th >> Solid Ground: Navigating Transitions When It’s All Just TOO MUCH – If you’ve been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, steeped in grief, spinning your wheels, feeling like you can’t move forward, it’s time for you to do something different. Women who move through change gracefully share three things in common: 1) they ask for help, 2) they connect with community, and 3) they build a self-care foundation. This 10-week program starting on September 18th has all of this—and so much more. I invite you to check it out to see if this is right for you.
Click here to learn more about the Virtual Coaching Group.
IN-PERSON Women’s Retreat Oct 24-27, 2024 >> Magical Mountain Retreat: A Self-Care Weekend for Women in Life Transition – If you’re craving a chance to get away from your daily responsibilities and desire connection with other women, this intimate retreat may be perfect for you. You’ll spend a long weekend in luxurious cabin in the mountains being guided through a series of exercises and activities (don’t worry, plenty of rest time, too!) to help you process your transitions and leave feel inspired, nurtured, and hopeful for the future!
Ohhhhh, click here, if you would love to come to the mountains!
(Only two spots left, so act quickly!)