If I’m right, I bet there are tasks in your business (or motherhood) you dread doing.

And if I’m right, you’re not alone! We’ve all been there! 

Running a business and being a mom is not always easy, but finding ways to make it more fun makes it feel less hard!

Here are some questions to ask yourself when you’re not enjoying a particular aspect of your business (or motherhood):

#1: How could I enjoy this task more?

For example, if you hate doing your accounting, you could use a fun accounting software that has colorful graphs and charts, or listen to your favorite music or drink your favorite drink while crunching numbers. If the job must get done, try and make it more fun!

#2: What could I do instead that would get me the desired result but in a way that I would enjoy?

If you don’t like the daily social media algorithm, you could send personalized emails or social media messages to your favorite or future clients. You could join networking events and meet potential clients in person while enjoying some time away from the daily grind. There are MANY ways to get you to the result you desire. Get creative and do what’s more fun!

#3: Do I have to do this thing in my business? Why or why not, and do I like the reason why?

If you’re running a bakery and hate waking up at 3 am to bake bread, consider outsourcing the early shift to a reliable baker.

Or, you could stop selling bread altogether or consider selling only quick breads that take less time. And a final suggestion to make it more enjoyable (if you love baking bread) is letting your customers know bread isn’t available until after 11 am each day. They get fresh bread, and you get to make it after a full night’s rest. We call that a win-win!

#4: Is this something I could hire out or do without in my business? 

If you’re not a social media person, you could hire a social media manager to handle your accounts, so you can focus on what you do best. Or if you hate going to networking events, you could skip them altogether and find other ways to market your business, such as online ads or word-of-mouth referrals. You could do without the task and find different ways to accomplish your goal.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 

I’ve been thinking a lot about the women that I work with.

The women accomplishing BOLD things in this world and in their homes 

yet don’t feel very bold most of the time.

Women that are standing for their beliefs that motherhood and their dreams/impact/business/goals are important and that it’s possible for success in both!

FOR YOU, I WROTE THIS POEM!

She works hard with fierce desire,

To make a difference, to inspire.

Impact-driven women, that’s for sure,

With a love for motherhood, that’s is that so pure.

She questions often, can I do them both

Can I balance it all, and live up to myself oath?

When those who say you can’t have it all,

She believes in herself but feels afraid to fall.

She’s bold in her belief, determined to try,

To balance it all, to soar and fly.

To show the world that it’s possible indeed,

To be a mom and an entrepreneur, to succeed.

So she forges ahead with strength and grace,

Her passion and purpose light up her face,

She is a force, a power to behold,

A career-driven mom who’s brave and bold!

Just know I’m cheering you on!   🥰

LESSON #1 

Don’t decide ahead of time that you can’t 

make the shot. 

I hate to admit that in the beginning, I didn’t go after a ball that was hit hard or into the corner because, without even trying, I decided it was going to be impossible to get.  

I can’t even count the number of times the ball bounced higher than I expected or wasn’t as far away as I thought it would be… meaning 

if I had just TIRED, I would have been able to successfully hit WAY more balls than I did. 

Don’t decide it’s not possible until you’ve 

given it your all!!

LESSON #2

Consistency doesn’t necessarily make it easier, but it does help you build trust and belief.

I’ve shown up to play tennis consistently with my husband over the past eight months.  At first, I was improving rapidly, and that was fun!  

However, over the last few months, the improvement meter isn’t shooting up so quickly!  Some days I actually feel worse!  

(that’s what business and time management feels like sometimes too)

I am still consistently showing up, for better or worse, and I can trust that although I might not be seeing the improvement as rapidly as I once was, I will still show up and keep trying.  

When you believe in yourself, you will show up with more consistency, and that is what gets you the results!

LESSON #3

Perspective Shift! It isn’t about being the best, it’s about so much more than that!

Even though I know I will never be the BEST TENNIS player, I’ve decided to start anyway!  Being willing to start and try, knowing you might not be the best at it, is the insight into what truly matters.

“If you stop now, you won’t get to witness the miracles!”

That thought came over and over as I was planning and preparing for the marketing of THE RISING TIDE Retreat + Mastermind.

There were easily three BIG reasons NOT TO DO THE MASTERMIND, and each time I prayed about quitting, I was told, 

“If you stop now, you won’t get to witness the miracles.”

Miracles come in all shapes, magnitudes, and experiences.

Retreats are full of miracles, and so are your business and motherhood if you’re looking.

During the retreat, one of the participants threw her back out so much that she didn’t feel like she could move.

Miracle #1 so many mothers were there to surround her and care for her

Miracle #2 her chiropractor, that is familiar with her situation, had been flying, but right when she called, he was able to pick up.

Miracle #3 my husband, a certified physician assistant, happened to be there, so with the instruction from the chiropractor and his medical knowledge, he was able to manipulate her hips/backs to provide relief and healing

Miracle #4 this participant was flying, and is just happened that her son would be landing at the same airport just a few minutes earlier to help her get through the airport in a wheelchair.

There were so many miracles!

Some took place in hearts, in minds, some with healing and learning, and others were more outward like the one described.

So to your business, motherhood, goals, and dreams, if you stop now, you won’t witness the miracles.

Even in the hard, the unexpected (back goes out at a retreat), if you’re looking for and expecting miracles, you will witness them!

I CAN BET YOU’RE NOT IF YOU’RE FEELING…

• overwhelmed

• like you’re being pulled in too many directions

• scared to take time off for fear that something terrible will happen

• afraid to ask for help (or think you should be able to “do it” all on your own)

• nervous to admit your dreams/goals or mistakes out loud
  

If you’re feeling that above, you’re letting other people’s wants, schedules, expectations, rules, and your conditional thinking and FEARS get in the way of YOU leaving the impact you we meant to make in this world.

Let’s pull up a seat, CONFIDENTLY!

I help creative, intelligent go-getters have enough time to positively impact this world, and their homes, without the burden, overwhelm, fear, or sacrificing one for the other.  

One of the most significant time wasters (physically and mentally) we indulge in is redeciding a decision we’ve already made.

What might this look like?

Deciding to wake up at 6:15 am BUT every night, trying to determine if you can sleep in a little longer by picking up breakfast, cutting a workout short, or having someone else take the carpool. 

It might look like deciding to stop eating dessert (for a period of time, I chose the period for ALL OF 2023), BUT then, you go to a special event or a friend drops off your favorite dessert, you spend time trying to redecide if you’re going to “enjoy the night,” or not “hurt their feelings,” and eat their dessert.

It might look like deciding to complete a specific task every Friday in your business/work/home, but when Friday comes, you ask if it’s really important, if you can skip it till next week, or if you can push it off till Saturday.   

You’re wasting both physical and mental energy and VALUABLE TIME!

How can we solve for this and stop redeciding?

1. Be very intentional in your decisions. Don’t set a goal or make a decision because you “should,” from fear of what might happen, or because you think that doing something a certain way is how the “responsible” people do it.
2. Know why you made a decision and the result you desire to achieve when you follow through. When you’re clear on why you made the decision and made it because you wanted to (not because you had to, felt pressured, or out of shoulds), you’re 80% more likely to follow through consistently.
3. Identify the obstacles that might get in the way and create strategies ahead of time so that you aren’t renegotiating your decision when your motivation and energy are low.

Your powerful decision might sound like this.

“I don’t eat dessert anytime, ever” (for a specific set amount of time).

That powerful decision is actually easier mentally and physically than I don’t eat dessert unless it’s a special occasion, a holiday, a celebration or…. there will always be a reason to eat that dessert. This means you will always be redeciding if tonight is a night that “deserves” desert.

I wake up at 6:15, period.

Don’t say, “I wake up at 6:15 I unless I get to bed late, don’t sleep well, or it’s a holiday or special occasion.”  lol. The “ifs” or “unless” to your decision creates an obstacle that makes it more complicated than just committing to, “I wake up at 6:15, always.”

If you’ve decided to wake up at 6:15, honor that decision. No negotiations. That saves you time and helps you reach your goals faster. 

I get it!!!

I know it feels hard to do the “hard” thing, but it’s also hard wasting time, it’s hard negotiating with your brain on why this one time won’t be a big deal, and it’s hard feeling good about your word when you decide to do the thing you said you wouldn’t do.

It’s going to be hard either way. It’s going to take time either way.

Choose the hard that saves you time and helps you reach the goals you desire

Hey Friend!

I’m very new to tennis, and my husband, he hits a lot of corner shots that I just can’t get.

Determined to figure it out, I stared at the court, tried to understand what I was doing wrong or how I could improve my chances of getting his corner shots without getting any faster (because let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to get any faster in one day)

We had been playing for three entire weeks before my husband shared this tiny piece of knowledge that allowed me to go from hitting 10% of his corner shots to 70% in just one match.

“Get in the ready position and square your body to the person as they are hitting the return.”

That’s it… he told me to change my body position!

I don’t need to be faster,

I don’t need to be “better,”

do more, try harder,

or even improve my skills

to increase my success by 60%.

I just needed to make one tiny adjustment to how I prepared myself.

I preach that preparation is critical, but sometimes we need to ask for help to know how to prepare for more success!

Just like tennis, in business, there are many things that you can improve with a small piece of knowledge, a new stance, approach, or a different preparation tactic, that will increase your success exponentially!

When you know your TRUE priorities those things you can do become VERY apparent! That’s why determining your TRUE priorities is the first step in all my coaching.

Knowing your priorities is the clearest treasure map
for more time and success!!

Ready for more success without having to do more, be better, or work harder?

In 2020 my daughter graduating from high school, received a DM.

“I know this is going to sound silly, but remember that soup you had at your 6th-grade murder mystery dinner party, can I get the recipe? I want to serve it at my high school graduation party!”

It’s that good. You’ll be thinking about it for years!

This recipe was created one day when I had zero energy, was exhausted, and the menu called for chicken enchiladas. I made up the filling, and as I was about to soften the tortillas in oil to roll up the enchiladas, I thought, how can I make this easier?

I then decided to warm up the filling I had made, spoon it into bowls, add cheese and chips on top and call it “easy enchiladas!”

This recipe is warming up a bunch of cans, so if you can open a can, you can make this recipe. And because it’s all cans, it’s a great food storage meal, an easy, substantial dinner to make, and the leftovers WILL GET EATEN, so make extra!  

Ceri’s Chicken Enchilada Soup

Here’s basically what I do, and just so you know, you can’t mess this up – – 

It serves at least 14+, but you can easily reduce everything by 1/2 to make less.

However, it’s super delicious, it freezes well, and people will want the leftovers. 

* 4-5 chicken breasts shredded, shoot for around 3+ pounds of chicken 

* OR 4 cans of chicken chunks drained and then rinse the chicken off to get rid of the “canned” smell and salt for taste

* OR 3-4 cups shredded pork (this is my favorite)

– It’s not all three meat options, just choose one!  It tastes just as delicious with the canned chicken, really it does!

 * 2-3 small 16-ounce cans cream of chicken soup if you want it thicker, add 3 for sure

* 1 cup or a very large scoop of sour cream (I use light)

 2-3 large cans of green enchilada sauce (large is the 29 ounces) (Macayos brand is our favorite, then Old El Paso or the target brand).

Mix the chicken with the above ingredients in a pot on the stovetop, crockpot, or instant pot and heat up until warm.

Also needed:

4 cups of cooked rice

shredded cheese 1-2 pounds

tortilla chips (we love On The Boarder Brand Best, but serve what you love best, that will make the soup even better)

How to enjoy this yumminess – 

Add about rice 1/2 cup cooked rice (more if you want it less soup like) to the bottom of the bowl, top with a generous amount of the enchilada soup mixture, add a good amount of cheese on top and then either dip chips into the yumminess or crush a bunch of chips over the top and eat with a spoon. 

Instead of rice at the bottom, I usually eat it with shredded lettuce at the bottom, it feels healthier.

Feel free to add toppings such as avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, etc. 

It’s kinda like the idea of Hawaiian Haystacks but tastes very different, so I call it it’s Mexican Haystacks!  It’s that a fun name?

I hate when people say, 

“just lower your expectations!”

I grew up in a house where we HAD to clean bathrooms every day before school.  

As a young mom with three small children, I tried to live up to that expectation because I didn’t realize I could choose to do it differently.

I just thought that’s what everyone did.

Don’t lower your expectations.

Become aware of them.

Business owners and moms, we often think there’s only one way to accomplish something, and when we don’t do it a specific, exact way, we beat ourselves & declare ourselves a failure.

Expectations are things we MAKE UP!

Things we think we “SHOULD” or have to  do!

When the stress of expectations arise within you stop and ask your self

1. What is TRULY being asked of me?

2. What is genuinely needed to hit the desired result?

3. How much time do I have to give to this task?

4. How can I accomplish the task in that time?

5. What will “suffer” if I don’t do it? 

6.  By doing those things, will I have met the true ask?

Don’t lower your expectations!

Make yourself aware of what needs to be done and what “extra things” you think need to be done to get the same result.

Do you hate the expression “lower your expectations?”

“MOM, WHY ARE WE ALWAYS LATE?”

When my then, three year old asked me that, my prideful blood began to boil.

I could feel my brain steaming, seriously, steaming!

“We are NEVER late,”
I shouted back sharply.

I asked her why she thought we were always late, and she said, “because every morning, all you ever say is,

hurry up, we’re going to be late!”

Being late, or feeling like your might be late, the stress of being behind, not to mention how you feel when you are late, all feel terrible!!

Although I wasn’t late, I still felt terrible!

I didn’t feel joyous or at peace with my time.

I always felt rushed, tense, behind, and stressed out.

I felt like I was going a mile a minute with my schedule yet didn’t have much to show for it!

I rarely felt calm, or like I could relax, and I wasn’t feeling much happiness, success, or joy either!