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August 15, 2013
Change it up!

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Life is all about growth and if you are noticing that some things are stagnant – change it up.

It is August, which means the end of a season, a bittersweet end for sure but … it’s the time to be reinvigorated for the hustle and bustle of the fall.

Experiment and shake up your routine now. See what works better, what can you give an extra swirl to lift the settled pieces.

After a veryyy relaxing and refreshing vacation with my Fianceeeee (I love saying that!) and my future in-laws, we took a beach trip to Puerto Rico to just relax. Only ONE day of sight seeing, the rest of the time we soaked in the sun and wrestled with the Caribbean waves. The hardest part of the day was where to eat dinner. What a life, I feel so blessed. I also feel so recharged!

My fiancé and I took to an earlier routine considering it was a vacation, up at 8 or 9 and asleep by 12 or 1.  This was so amazing; we didn’t go out at night to a club or anything but maybe just topped off the night with wine and chatter on our balcony.

I really enjoyed going to sleep earlier and waking up earlier.

I also just had a great e-coffee date and meeting of the minds with my friend and fellow entrepreneur Tash of www.PeaceLoveThreads.com. We caught up on life and one of the things she said to me was to “Change it up.”  This really resonated with me so I wanted to make it my blog topic for this week.

So in the spirit of change I will be playing around with the time I send out my newsletters and perhaps the layout to see what works is best for you! (Feel free to email me as well and let me know!)

What can you change in your life? Since the seasons are changing – spring-cleaning isn’t just for once a year, try my version of end-of-summer cleaning in 3 steps.

Shake it! Whether it be for your blog, your business or your fitness routine (or anything else) take the challenge of shaking things up to ensure everything stays fresh, exciting and that you are functioning are at peak performance.

Change times that you do things, change your game plan and research some other ideas that may be a new change of pace.

 1.    Pick out the top 3 things you do that are regimented and see how you can improve them. Note what has become boring and what has ceased to inspire you. These are the top things that you should change.

 2.    Turn it upside down.  No this is not a Gloria Estefan song (just for fun, click here! ) but seriously, what ever you are doing that is stale – turn it upside down. Do the exact opposite.  For example we are usually up so late and wake up pretty late, we swapped the beats – turned it around and made for an earlier day. It made us feel like we got so much more use of the day, even though we still were up for the same amount of hours we usually are.  Change the times you do things, change the way you think about it or change your approach.

3.    Stick to it.  And DO IT, starting…. NOW.  Don’t just decide on what to change, actions speak louder than words. Implement your new plan for at least a few days to see if you get the results you desire.  You can measure positive results by noticing if you feel better, if you are getting more responses, if you are more proud of your work etc.  Positive feedback from yourself and your clients (or family) is really the only way to judge if something is successful or not. It is all about results and people’s opinions are the fastest way to see a positive or negative change. Don’t be afraid to ask what they think, it can provide valuable pointers.

Now go on, how can you shake up your life!

I love to hear your feedback so email me or comment on my blog!

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo

Emily

 

 

 

 

July 25, 2013
Step it up!

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THIS WEEK is officially my 54th Illustrated blog (not counting client work)… do you know what that means? I’ve kept my word and reached my goal of doing a new illustrated blog EVERY week for one year!!!! It feels SOo amazing to accomplish this and I am so excited!!!!  – And, I’m going to keep it going! I LOVE doing this blog every week – it is something I look forward to so much and it always makes me happy to hear back from you about how my blog was “exactly what you needed to hear” and if it helped you in anyway!  THANKS for the responses!  It means a lot!

But it wasn’t always this easy…

I have been a master goal maker my whole life but only now in the last few years have I really figured out how to get serious and make strategic plans to follow through. Although I’ve always had the best intentions and pure desire, sometimes that is not enough.  When I was younger I didn’t really know how to carry it out and what moves to make.  Not that I have all the answers now, but I’ve definitely picked up a few steps along the way.

I have BIG DREAMS, I mean HUGE, and I know it is my life’s purpose to fulfill these dreams – and inspire others along the way to live their dreams!!!

Sure it can get a little disheartening when you have a goal and seem to be making no visible progress after such a long time chipping away at it but my Mom always says “all overnight successes were 10 years in the making”. So hard to swallow when I first heard that (since I was on year 1 at the time) but so TRUE!

1. You really have to trust the Universe.  Quirky and abstract as it may seem, it really is so strengthening to believe in something greater than yourself that has a master plan.  When you don’t – and I’ve been there – you feel totally lost and alone. When you think about all the people who have come before you and will come after you, you have to realize that things can be done that you may not have any evidence of. These are things you can only know from trusting.  There are so many people routing for you whether you know it or not, whether you’ve met them or not and whether they are with you right now in physical form or not.

2. Figure out how you want to feel. Maybe you don’t know exactly what it is you want to DO, but you know how you want to feel.  List it out.  Is it happy, successful, healthy, strong, beautiful, loved, supported, etc.  Whatever it is, really think about it and then decide WHAT would make you feel that way.  For example: If you want to feel strong, start lifting weights. If you want to feel successful, decide what would make you feel that way. This is different for everyone so it’s important to decide what would make YOU feel this, not what society thinks it means.

3. Decide exactly what you want to do. Once you know how you want to feel, what is the big picture of whatever you want to accomplish?  What do you need to do to make this happen? Break it down into phases, tasks and mini steps.  This will help it seem less daunting and more likely for you to take the first step.

4. Choose something that you feel is SUPER FUN to do.  If it’s not, you won’t do it.  You should be excited to do this task every time you have allocated it in your calendar.  If it’s something like doing your taxes early (not fun) make it fun by realizing that you are becoming an expertise and will know so much more about your personal finance situation.

5. Plan it out.  Figure out when you want to have this goal done and then work backwards. Divide the days or months you have until your due date and assign the smaller chunks of your goals into deadlines.  Be specific. How many times a month or week will you need to do this to accomplish your goal? By having an exact time frame and day in mind you will be able to stay accountable for it.

6. Announce it to the world (or at least your friends and family). This will REALLY make you feel accountable.  There is no turning back at this point and you will feel SO good when you get the job done!

Ok now, it’s time to really step it up world!  You have to take a bite when the fruit is RIPE.  You wouldn’t keep saving those strawberries in the fridge for next week, you need to eat them now before the opportunity ceases (and they get moldy – gross).  Carpe the hell out of that Diem!

Now go get um!

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo
Emily

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