My whole “mama motivator” moniker was started because I have encountered far too many moms who felt like it was too late to do certain things that might bring them some happiness. I talked too many moms who felt like everything about them had to hit the back burner because their name changed to mama. Simply put, my message is it’s not too late. It never is. Let this man be your inspiration…
It’s never to late for what, you ask? I have a small list. Feel free to add to it.
It’s Never Too Late…
to start over – were you working on something and life got in the way so you put it down. Now is a good time to pick it back up.
to chase your dreams – always wanted to write a book? How about starting the outline today?
to change your ways – fed up with your fitness. Go for a walk, a good one that gets your heart moving. All it takes is one step.
to be positive – what you focus on grows. If you focus on the sucky stuff, that’s all you’ll see. Try to look for the positive in every situation and you’ll start to notice the positive more than the negative – guaranteed.
to learn something new – always wanted to learn to paint. Take a class. Or break the ice by taking a paint and sip class. It’s fun and you’ll get your artist juices flowing.
to be inspired – inspiration really is everywhere. We just have to look for it. I’m most inspired by my kids. There’s something about the innocence they bring to everything that keeps me inspired.
Any thing you’d like to add? It’s never too late to…
OK, so calling comfort zones the devil could be a bit ahem, strong. Maybe.
Comfort is a good thing. We all want it. Whether it’s your shoes, your jeans, your bed, your finances we all seek some sort of comfort. I remember moving to L.A. and having to start all over with my career. I was in the struggle for real. When you jump into the job market out here looking to work in entertainment – it’s feast or famine. Everybody out here wants what you want. You are literally competing with millions. That was a scary feeling. I wanted it so bad though. I wanted to get to a place of achieving my dream. I did it. I found work in my field doing exactly what I wanted. Then came the fight to stay. To prove myself. Once I accomplished that, I was comfortable. That comfort was good for a while. Then it wasn’t.
The thing is when I get comfortable. I get antsy. I feel like I need to switch something up. I found that I missed the old me. I didn’t miss the struggle but I missed my hunger and my passion for it. I started to lose it. I decided to go on a rediscovery mission. It was not an easy decision. There’s a lot to be said for comfort. There’s this sense of security in it. Knowing what’s next, being used to a routine – that was comfortable. It wasn’t enough anymore though.
In shedding my comfort zone, I let go of the entertainment world. Scary. I became a stay at home mom. Scary. I dove into my passion of motivating other mothers. Scary. I’m starting a business. WTF Scary! All completely out of my comfort zone. The thing is, it’s bringing out the best in me. I have been taking my time and slowly building this space. Whenever I talk to someone about it the first word that comes from their mouth is passion. Everyone tells me how passionate I am about what I’m doing here. It’s true and I’m glad it’s coming through. I’d like to believe this quote is true… 😉
There’s nothing easy about stepping out of your comfort zone. The thing is, that’s where the magic is!
Here are three ways to kick your comfort zone to the curb:
Choose to do something different. It could be anything you choose. Just something to upset the apple cart a bit. See how that change makes you feel. You never know, this “new” way make work for you!
What are your fears? Pick one. Face it. You may even want to take baby steps and work your way up to it. But get there. It will help you become more comfortable with taking risks.
You’re going to be nervous when stepping out of your comfort zone. Feel that fear and do it anyway.
Tell me, what’s the last thing you’ve done to push you out of your comfort zone?
What’s the biggest change that happens after becoming a mama? I don’t know that I could pick just one. There’s the whole thing with exhaustion. That’s real! I remember wondering if I would EVER get sleep again. With my first child, I remember feeling like people forgot about me. Everybody wanted to talk to me but they only wanted to talk about my baby. I get it though. He was all I wanted to talk about too. 🙂
That’s kind of where it started though. People made it clear to me that my life was changing and my dreams needed to take a backseat – indefinitely. They weren’t trying to be Debbie Downer’s. They meant it in the best way possible. I’m all about my life changing. I want to be a hands-on, engaging, snuggle party-having mom. I good with making the sacrifices that come with that. I embrace it. So much so, that I had another baby.
The thing I couldn’t accept is my dreams taking an indefinite backseat. My thinking is that my dreams are still valid post-baby. They don’t suddenly expire because I have a little person on my hip. What does change is the time I have to pursue those dreams. My priority is making sure my babies are getting all they need even while I make sure I’m following my heart and pursuing things that I love. It’s not easy, for sure. It can be done though.
I should say here that I’m a “prove you wrong” type of girl. If you tell me I can’t do something, I’ll make it my mission to find a way to do it. I took this same attitude when it came to following some of my dreams after my babies made their way into the world. I’ve accomplished a few things and I have a long list of things I want to do still. The way that I see it, my kids will benefit from seeing me make my dreams a reality. I bet they’ll also be inspired to do the same. I call that WINNING!
Since becoming a mom, I have more friends who are moms as well. A hot topic seems to be all of the things we want to do – one day. Write a book, start a business, launch a blog, etc. From all of our conversations, this guide was born. MeetGet it, Mama! It’s a guide I’ve been working on for what seems like forever. I’m talking practical tips for us to do more of what makes us happy all while rocking our number ONE gig!
I’d love for you to check out my labor of love, it’s FREE! Just click the image below. 🙂
Tell me, what do you struggle with when it comes to balancing babies and pursuing your passions/dreams?
At some point along this ride we have to start saying yes to the things we want. It’s even bigger than that though. There’s this thing we have to get past. It’s called permission.
I have found that there were some things I wasn’t getting out of life because I wouldn’t give myself permission to have what I say it is I want. Yes, I would talk my friends ears off about the life I wanted for myself. I had big dreams and that’s all they were. There wasn’t a plan to get any of it. As they say, “a goal without a plan is just a dream.” {tweet this} I finally figured out that I didn’t think I was allowed to have the life, the home, the career I wanted. I guess, on some level, I thought that type of “on your own terms” living was reserved for a select few.
Then, I decided to tell myself a different story. As I sat down to make one of my MANY lists, I gave myself permission to have everything on those lists. It sounds so simple but telling myself yes was really one of the first steps to living a life that brings me a little more happy. And who couldn’t use a little more happy, right?
I said yes to being an author, which led me down the road of entrepreneur. That was something I hadn’t so much considered but have eagerly said yes to. The most rewarding yes had to be the decision to spend more time at home with my kids. Here’s what I’m learning, there are some things that keep nagging at us. There are things to change, things we want, etc. Once we give in and say yes, the details kinda fill themselves in. Here are a few more things on my “PERMISSION GRANTED!” list:
A healthier lifestyle – I’m slowly moving our family to a more plant based diet. Got any great recipes? Feel free to share!
Extra energy – I think this is going to come with a commitment to consistently work out and get more sleep.
Less stress – I tend to take on a million things. I’ll be scaling down my list.
Conquering overwhelm – See above! LOL!
Keeping a positive out look – I think all of these things will help keep my outlook in check. 🙂
So, now your turn. PERMISSION GRANTED! What’s one thing big or small that you could say yes to?
P.S. The June newsletter comes out this week! Are you on the list? Sign up below. 🙂
A week ago, I had two wisdom teeth removed. I had it done on a Friday and figured I’d rest over the weekend and be better by the time my husband went back to work on Monday. Well, it didn’t go as planned. The dentist had to crack my bone to get one of my teeth out and that made my healing torture! I’m still healing.
This experience has taught me that I need to know when to give myself a break. With my jaw throbbing, my teeth feeling like they were shaking in my head, I was still trying to work. At night, I would sit at this laptop frustrated with myself that I couldn’t focus. I wanted so badly to stay on top of the schedule I’d set for myself. Really, I was crazy! It took a friend to remind me to take it easy on myself. I needed to rest. Working was only making me feel worse. I couldn’t be so focused on creating my future and ignoring my present pain.
Sometimes we have to know when to say when. I wasn’t doing that. My body forced me to check myself. I think it’s common among women, especially moms. We push forward hard while downplaying what may be going on with us. I was busy making my kids a priority. I was doing drop-off, pick-up, packing lunches, play dates and mommy and me classes while being in extreme pain. My kids got what they always get from me. I did have a day or two in there where they watched more TV than they should have. I was wiped out and couldn’t do more in that moment. I think that’s the day it started sinking in for me that my balance was thrown off. I forgot about putting the oxygen mask on myself first. I made sure the kids were good but I was struggling. I had nothing left to give when it was time for me to work.
I decided to stop trying. I had to give myself some grace and just shut this computer off. Instead of trying to write posts and finish books and structure marketing plans – I took my sick behind to bed! It’s so simple but it took extreme pain for me to see it. Taking the pressure off of myself to be superwoman was freeing. I so believe in taking a step closer to your dream everyday. I keep that firmly in the front of my mind. So much so, that I have a hard time taking a day off of dream building.
Here’s the deal, my dreams don’t work without me. I’ve learned to do as much dream building as self loving. One without the other doesn’t work.
I’ll be getting back to me soon enough. I’ll just keep this in my back pocket as a lesson learned.
How do you balance taking care of yourself with taking care of everyone else?
What is it you think you CAN’T do? Is there some idea, some nagging thoughts you’ve been talking yourself out of? That thing that keeps coming back and keeps being put off… yeah, you should probably do something about that.
We all have our reasons for why we can’t do whatever it is we really want to do. It’s like the more we want it, the more reasons we have for why we can’t do it. Isn’t it crazy how that happens? I am definitely guilty of that. In the last few years I’ve changed that. I’ve been more about going for it! It’s the whole idea of knowing that all we really have is right here and right now so putting thing off for someday really doesn’t make sense. I had to learn this hard truth:
Can you say OUCH!?!?
Well, no matter your reason for talking yourself out of “it”. Whatever “it” is. Let these fun facts give you a nudge in a right direction. Know that what you want – is totally possible!
Beethoven’s music teacher once said of him, “As a composer, he is hopeless”.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he “lacked imagination, and had no good ideas”.
Thomas Edison’s teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. Later, he tried 1,600 different materials before settling on carbon as the filament for the electric light bulb.
How much do you love you? Is it off the charts love? Whatever the case, we could all use a little more love – from ourselves! Here are my top four ways to fall so madly in love with YOU!
Stop comparing yourself to others. You are fabulous just the way you are. There’s no reason to compare your short story to someone else’s novel. You have no idea how long it took to get that novel picture perfect and publisher ready. Give yourself a break and focus on your journey. It’s going to turn out as it should.
Let yourself off the hook. So you didn’t work out today. What did you do? Focus on the things you do right instead of the areas where you think you’ve failed. That doesn’t mean to ignore the areas that need a little improvement. Don’t make your failures your focus. If you give more energy to the things you do well, other things will begin to add themselves to that list.
Spend some time with yourself. Take a little time to get to know you, like really know you. Fall in love with yourself. The more you love on you, the better you’ll be to Y-O-U!
You have dreams that are unique to only you. That is pretty freaking awesome! Even if your dreams seem like they are someone else’s life, you’re a different person so that dream would look totally different on you! Go for it!
As I’ve set out to make my dreams cone true, I’ve come across so many who hold on to doubt that their own dreams are even possible and worth pursuing. Here are my top 9 excuses for why we don’t follow our dreams.
Remember your words have power. If you keep telling yourself what you aren’t then it will become the truth. So what ARE you?
I don’t have time to discover my passion, let alone follow it.
We tend to make time for the things that are important to us. Finding time to learn what you are passionate about or making time to follow your passion are worthwhile. Think of all the people you aren’t impacting because you’re not sharing your gift, passion and dreams with the world.
I’ll do it someday.
Simply put – we aren’t promised someday, today or Thursday. None of them are guaranteed. Stop putting your life off for time you don’t even have. {click to tweet}
I don’t know where to start.
Just start.
People will judge.
People judge no matter what you do or don’t do. Heck, they judge based on what they think you do. So, do you!
There’s no guarantee it will work.
That’s just life though, right ? Nothing is a sure fire promise.
I’m too young/old.
No such thing. I just read about a 15 year old tech millionaire business owner. Too young? Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame started his business in his elder years. Too old?
I don’t know what I’m doing.
No one starts anything knowing everything. You just have to go for it and learn along the way.
When you were a kid were you told you could do and be anything you wanted? Were you encouraged to reach for the moon? As a kid,did you believe anything you imagined was possible? If the answer to any of these is yes, know you’re not alone. I was that kid too. I thought I would be following in the footsteps of my favorite singers and taking the world by storm with my powerhouse vocals. Only my vocals don’t pack much power. Still as a kid, you could not have convinced me that I didn’t have a shot a stardom.
There is something to be said about blind faith. We have it as a kid. Somewhere along the way we lose it. It kind of falls away, bit by bit. I think part of it is because the older we get, people stop telling us the world is ours and instead invite us to step into the “real” world. As an adult you are told and often forced to get your head out of the clouds. While this is a good thing, it’s also crazy confusing. How is it that the world is your oyster as a kid but as an adult you have to accept that that oyster had an expiration date and (sucks for you) you missed it?
I get growing up, but what does that mean for your dreams? Is it just kaput once you hit a certain age? I think of this all the time. Probably way too much. I am one of the few that still believe in the power of dreams, no matter how out there they seem.
My family and I recently took a trip to Disneyland. It was a dream come true for my nearly four year old son. He’s been wanting to go there for the last two years. While we were there, immediately, I felt the bubbling up of the Disney magic. It was such a feel good environment from the minute we entered the gates of the park. I inhaled and took it all in.
As we strolled through the park and squeezed through the crowds, I couldn’t help but feel perkier than I had when we walked in. It could have been all of the music I heard that took me back to a childhood of endless possibilities. It could have been that I was surrounded by fairy tales where all the stories have a happy ending. Whatever the case, it was enough to inspire me to not only keep dreaming but to dream bigger and believe that dreams can really come true. Maybe it’s childish. Maybe I need to snap out of it and pull myself out of the clouds. Or maybe that land of make believe was all I needed to make me believe in a bigger way. I have seen too many of my dreams come true to not think that “Impossible things are happening every day. ~Cinderella”
I never would have thought a trip to the happiest place on earth would be just the re-boot I needed. While my son is still talking about the magic of seeing Mufasa in the Disney parade, I have my own bit of magic tucked away. The question is how do I hold on to these good vibes?
Stay positive!
The feel good music in Disney was a mood changer. Keep yourself surrounded with positive people, positive quotes, affirmations and a little feel good music never hurts.
If you tell yourself something is impossible, then it is. You’ve already set it up to be that way just by speaking the words. Why not live in a place of why not? If you want to try something new, instead of telling yourself all of the reasons it’s not possible, simply say “Why not?”
I’m a mother, a wife, a writer, a word nerd, a fashionista, a supporter, an encourager and a friend.
Even with all I’ve listed, I’m sure there are some things I’ve forgotten. I wear many titles. Some all at once, others when the time calls for it. It’s the writer that I’ve identified with longest. I’ve always had a love for putting pen to paper.
Whether writing stories, songs or poems, writing has always been my release. Somewhere along the way, I began to make a living off of my words. I feel lucky for that. It was a dream I didn’t know I had. I have been able to achieve many of my dreams. The fulfillment that brings is priceless. I guess that’s why I’m so passionate about other people dreaming big and making those dreams reality.
I heard something recently that made me stop and think. “Superman was born a super hero. Clark Kent was just his disguise.” I think the same is true for us all.
Any thing you’d like to add? It’s never too late to…
