I Woke Up Awesome Blog

It's been an amazing weekend. The 4th of July! Independence day! Once again declaring my financial independence...holed up in my house covered in poison ivy. All of our plans of sailing, hot air balloon launches and road trips took a back seat to scratching, itching and calamine lotion. When looking for the #onpurpose of things, I find myself wondering if this was the calm before the storm. The eye of the hurricane... I spent the last 6 months working toward a goal. A goal I was SURE I would reach. A goal I worked toward each day with commitment and dedication. A goal I fell short of achieving. I knew a few weeks ago it wasn't going to happen. The gap between where I was and where I needed to go was farther than my brain could imagine achieving in the time left. So I set about looking for the "what happened" of it all. I took an opportunity to review where I was, how far I had come and what I had accomplished - even in the falling short of my goal. I'm proud...

Do you know that feeling you get when things are going right? Where do you feel it? For me, it's in the pit of my stomach. This buzzing excitement that extends to my legs and arms and all the way to my toes. My eyes are shining when I think about the possibilities around me. My heart swells. Is it just me or does this happen to you too? Success has a physical feeling - a physical response. And that response, like adrenaline, spurs more from inside giving you courage and  gumption to do more of what got you that first taste. I have noticed that it's not just action that can create this feeling. A great plan that inspires you will have the same reaction. This morning I sat down and thought out the next 3 months of my business. Planning, strategizing, writing...what can be changed, what is possible, what is available ...how can I make it all work? I also wrote a GRATITUDE - GRACE - INSPIRATION list. Because you can't have more until you are thankful for what you have now. ...

When Your "Why Not" is Bigger than Your "Why" I have the privilege to work with some amazing people. They have great jobs, great minds and huge hearts. They are wonderful to laugh with, great to work with and up to big things in this world. But sometimes life gets in the way. That's true for everyone. There is a big project a work, a health challenge with a loved one, a degree to finish. The problem is when your reasons take over and become the reason you fail. You don't think that's what is happening. You think that what is happening is that you are very busy and important and your life NEEDs you. If this is happening to you, then your WHY is not big enough. If you have ever attended a seminar for entrepreneurs, then you have been trained on the importance of having your WHY figured out. The problem is, no matter how many times you have received this training, your WHY can be quite elusive.  I can tell you that it's not going to be about ...

I'm looking outside my window and seeing ... well rain. But through the rain is green grass, a newly budding bushe and azalea flowers peaking out in pinks and purples! It's spring! Many businesses rely on spring to create budding in their business revenue - Landscapers, Exterminators, Weight Loss Centers...just to name a few. The change in seasons brings out our need to rid ourselves of weeds, critters and excess pounds. But we also need to rid ourselves of the winter blahs and the best way to do that is to spruce up your business. Here are 5 tips to do a little spring cleaning for your business: Clean up your space! Tax season has passed and hopefully you have begun to find your desk again. This is the perfect time to include your home office and your business office in your spring cleaning schedule. File, purge files, reorganize. A perfect opportunity to visit Staples , The Container Store and Home Depot to spruce up your space. Walk it off! The rail trail, w...

Go ahead and ask that question you have been dying to ask me, when you see my posts on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Go ahead.... "Ok. Is this one of those things?" When I was first introduced to Market America | Shop.com , it was through the products (is that a red flag for you?). My Dr. had told me I needed to be on a multivitamin but my experience with vitamins and pills in general had never been positive. Hard to swallow, upset stomach - and no measurable difference than when I didn't subject myself to that awfulness. I shared my frustration with my mom and she made me a cocktail of the vitamins she takes every morning , and purchases from an independent distributor (is that a red flag for you?). I noticed quickly that not only did it taste good (surprise!) but it didn't turn my stomach AND I actually felt better that day than I had in a while. I got the number of the guy she got them from - a member of her Le Tip group and basically said, "I...

"a person's life span is directly related to the exhaustion of their enzyme potential. And the use of food enzymes decreases that rate of exhaustion, and thus, results in a longer, healthier, and more vital life." - Dr. Howell According to naturalhealthyconcepts.com, here are 5 Reasons to Take Digestive Enzymes   1. Enzymes Are Vital to Human Survival.   2. Our Typical Diet & Cooked Foods Drain Our Enzyme Supply. 3. Even Some Raw Foods Contain Enzyme Inhibitors. 4. Many Factors Cause Our Bodies to Use up Enzymes Faster. 5. Enzyme levels drop significantly with age.     The article mentions high-enzyme food choices including papaya, mango, avocado, sprouts and banana. Unfortunately, depending on ripeness and harvest process the enzyme levels may be lower than expected.    Isotonix Digestive Enzymes is the best on the market because it offers enzymes to help you digest the three main types of nutrients: proteases (for proteins...

Times are tight so you want to find ways to stretch your dollar farther. Coupons are great - so is buying when things are on sale. Here are some other great ways to stretch your dollar further in 2014 and beyond. Baby It's Cold Outside! Save on heating you home this winter with some great tips from US News . Things like the obvious (Bundling Up) to the not so obvious (Get a Humidifier) will help you save on heating fuel. In addition, turn the thermostat down. Your body will aclimate to the temperature and a lower temperature will start to feel normal. If you don't believe me, ask anyone in Florida what cold is ;-). We keep our heat at 64 during the day and 50 at night. I don't recommend starting that low but you can work your way down a few degrees and watch your body adjust. Open for Business! Start a business and keep more of what you earn. Start a home-based business and you don't need to lay out a huge sum to launch. Did you know that if you are an employee, ...

eGifts have been a staple at ShopAllThat.com for some time and they really caught on this past holiday season. I have used them for a few years now... The first time I used it was to send my dad a birthday present. The year before I had found a great gift for him at a craft fair. Unfortunately, this hard-to-replace gift ended up in thousands of pieces upon arrival and he never really had an opportunity to enjoy it. The following year was the launch of the eGift so I decided to try it out. I shopped for lots of fun stuff in my budget and as I found things I thought he might like, I selected "add to eGift" and continued to shop. I even checked into some of the suggested gifts and added some of those too. Right before I sent it I happened upon a wine goblet with a stained glass pattern. It looked really pretty so - BOOM - I added 2! Call it an impulse buy. ;-) Well, that's the item he chose. And since it was sent from the company directly, it was wrapped pro...

I spent much of the last week of 2013 planning for 2014. I own my own business and have for 8 years and it has become very clear to me that it's not for everyone. It takes tough skin, a need for achievement and the willingness to get better than you are today. And don't forget living a lot of your life outside your comfort zone. Mashable published an article this month about the 7 questions to ask before starting a business in 2014 . These are important questions like "What's different about your business?" and "Are you willing to wear multiple hats?" They missed the most important one, IMHO. Do you want to do it yourself or do you want to follow a proven system? If you are reading this it means you are probably already thinking about starting a business so let's assume you are leaning that way and that has led you to read this article. I think the very first thing you need to look at is if you want to start on your...