A Page From My Journal

My husband has now been out of work for an entire year.

This unexpected situation has prompted me to reflect deeply, asking myself,

“What am I learning from this past year while Dave has been without a job?”

The insights gained have been profound and transformative, and I feel compelled to share a few of them with you.

POWER OF PERSPECTIVE:

Even when the day-to-day feels like it’s “not working,” the bigger picture shows that it IS WORKING! Zooming out and noticing the larger picture has been a pleasant surprise for me. Making me see things working even better than I could have imagined.

CLARITY IN DESIRES:

Defining what you want is crucial to recognizing it when you get it. (And in many cases, realizing that what we seek, we already possess)

HOPE vs. FEAR:

The unexpected can be scary. I can believe that it’s going to be horrible, awful, and devastating. Or I can believe that it will work out for the greater good. Neither is true (yet), so the latter opens doors and helps me focus on hope and creating trust.

UNTAPPED POTENTIAL:

This period has been an eye-opener for me, to the myriad of talents and skills we all possess, waiting to be explored and utilized. This has been a time to uncover more skills, talents, and desires. AND just because you can do something (and be good at it) doesn’t mean it’s your path.

IMPACT BEYOND BUSINESS:

I learned I could significantly impact my family financially, but I want my most significant influence and impact to be of an understanding, supportive, available, loving mother and wife. This has adjusted how I run my business and think about money.

DIVINE ENCOUNTERS:

God puts people in our path, even if it’s just for a very short time. We are taught, guided, and helped in many ways with each experience.

TRUSTING THE UNKNOWN:

It’s okay not to know the how or what’s next. As a planner at heart, accepting uncertainty and placing my trust in God has been a challenging yet rewarding journey.

EMBRACE:

The Lord is in charge! After saying my prayers and listing my asks, I’ve learned to end with “or something better”. This allows God to bless me with what I truly need.

These insights have impacted me, and I hope they offer comfort, inspiration, and strength where you may need it right now.

As strong women, entrepreneurs, mothers, partners, and daughters, we are resilient women capable of adapting and thriving despite adversity.

Having A Hard Time Staying Motivated

When I taught special education, the IEP team would come up with a set of criteria to consider the goal mastered.

That criteria usually sounded like this.

“Between now and July 30th, Ceri will, when given change of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters be able to count the change correctly up to one dollar with 90% accuracy in three out of four attempts.”

If you’re having a hard time staying motivated toward a goal, there’s a good chance I know what you’re NOT DOING!

Keep reading, this is IMPORTANT!!

Let’s break down what I’ve learned about goal setting from my time as a special education teacher to understand what you’re NOT DOING!
  • Make the criteria very specific. I didn’t just say count change. I said, “When given a change of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters… count the change correctly up to one dollar.” Sometimes the goal would be set to count only pennies and nickels and up to 50 cents. Even the goal of learning to count change needs to be specific to know what has been mastered and when.
  • Determine ahead of time what mastery will be. Because we are human, there are going to be mistakes, That’s why I wrote goals that said, “with 90% accuracy in three out of four attempts.” With money, I often set the criteria for 100% accuracy in 3 out of 4 attempts, but things like answering reading comprehension questions might have been 80% accuracy in 4 out of 4 attempts. This means the criteria for mastering reading comprehension at a specific grade level is consistently scoring 80% over time (4 out of 4 attempts).
  • Set the time frame for what you will learn (do) and when you will learn (do) it. “Between now and July 30th” Ceri will…”

And here’s the TRICK to the time frame.

Let the time frame be your guide, be your motivator, something to help you know if you’re making progress, not the final word or deflator.

If a child had not mastered the goal by the time set, we didn’t give up on or abandon the goal. We kept working on it until it was mastered. If a child had not mastered the goal in a certain time frame, progress was still made. The child had learned things to help them, and if they keep working at it, eventually they become the master.

Let the time frame keep you focused, but stay focused on the PROGRESS, not the time frame!

I don’t teach you this to make goal-setting feel EVEN MORE complicated.

I tell you this to help you feel more CONFIDENT and motivated in your goals.

It’s so helpful to know exactly what you need to do and how often, in what amount of time, and with what accuracy to master a goal.

We’d master and stay motivated to many more goals if we took the time to make them very specific and create room for being human.

What if your goals sounded more like this?

Between now and March 30, 2024, I will post 3 out of 7 days on Instagram with 90% accuracy.

That means you shoot to post 3 times each week and over the time set (between now and March 30,) you have 10% wiggle room for your humanness.

Whatever your goals sound like, take a look at them and ask…

Is the criteria of what you will do very specific? Not just close “more” consults or post “more” on social media.

Have you determined what you will consider mastery? 100%, 80% 3 out of 4 times… it’s up to you, but know ahead of time what it will be.

Have you set a time frame for when you will reach this goal and allow that time frame to help you stay on track towards your learning/progress, rather than defeat you?

A Page From My Journal

“The first week of 2023 started with my husband losing his job, and it ended with him still not finding one despite diligent efforts. 

2023 challenged so many thoughts, assumptions, and expectations I had in the past. Ideas and actions I assumed “should” be true were no longer.

2023 felt challenging, complex, confusing, and stifling.  

… The words stand down, halt, pause, surrender… kept creeping into my “word of the year” thoughts.

After a year such as 2023, feeling stunted and stagnant, I wanted a word for 2024 that evoked positive emotion inside me. I wanted to honor the “standstill” I was receiving but capture it in a word that stirred my soul. A word that would allow me to look forward to 2024.  

I began pondering and praying, and it softly came this morning.

Embrace
  • Embrace God’s timing and His plan
  • Embrace growth and opportunities as they find me
  • Embrace happiness and miracles
  • Embrace boundaries and desires
  • Embrace what is
  • Embrace change
  • Embrace myself

Embrace feels like something I am eager to do this year.”

… “I didn’t set a business goal this year, which surprises me.”

I am excited to embrace the change and 

Set the GOAL to:

“Take care of myself and others in my sphere of influence so that collectively, we can abundantly live a balanced life and leave the impact we were created for.”

With that GOAL as my focus, my priorities (spirituality, relationships, health, and business) will grow precisely in the way that is needed this year, and I am ready to embrace it.

Value Your Time

When working with women who feel like
  • they don’t have enough time
  • are always too busy and overwhelmed
  • feeling behind and failing
  • frustrated with the results they aren’t getting,

they tell me the reason why is about  “all the wrong things” they are doing with their time. ⁠

But that’s not why they are feeling overwhelmed!

Instead of wasting YOUR time blaming yourself for how you’re spending your time, I want to help you do something more effective with your time (and your thoughts about yourself)!

Here’s how!

Define your top 5 priorities and begin to spend your time doing things that complement them rather than compete with them. ⁠

That’s it!  Use your time (more often) in the way you genuinely value!  

⁠

Schedule Results, Not Tasks

If you’re going to bed each night feeling like you didn’t get “enough” done even though you worked tirelessly; try this one tip to get more done and FEEL more accomplished each day.

Change the way you schedule your tasks!

Does your schedule look something like this? ⁠

  1. Get the house cleaned⁠
  2. Work on my business ⁠
  3. Make phone calls⁠
  4. Finish Christmas ⁠
Want to get more done, feel organized, and FEEL MORE ACCOMPLISHED at the end of each day? Write down the results you want, not the task in its entirety!  ⁠

GO FROM THAT TO THIS!  

  1. Not get the house cleaned: sweep and mop the kitchen and vacuum the downstairs⁠.  Write the exact things you’re going to do.  
  2. Not working on my business: writing three emails, coaching two private clients, and finishing proofreading the webinar series emails.  Knowing what you’re going to do will help keep you more focused.  ⁠
  3. Not make phone calls: call Mom and ask about the Christmas party, change ortho appointment, and call the pharmacy to renew meds. Nothing motivates you to want to do more than getting to check, check, check off all those boxes.   ⁠
  4. Not finish Christmas: put all the bows on the Christmas presents, place them under the tree, and create the menu for Christmas dinner. Know what you’re aiming for so you can determine if you hit your targets. 

There’s nothing like having a list of results and getting them done to help you feel more accomplished at the end of each day, stay motivated, 

AND GET MORE DONE!

When you say clean the house, and at the end of the day, it’s not clean because of children and your family living in it, you’re going to feel defeated.

When you say work on your business, but your business work options never end, you never feel like you did “enough” that day.

Scheduling your time for the results, not the tasks is how you create that feeling at the end of each day that you did, in fact, accomplish what you set out to do!  

Accomplishing more of what you DEFINED keeps you motivated to keep at it!  

First Half

Disclaimer: Even if you’re not a runner or have zero interest in running EVER, this email is still very much for you!

This week, I was working with a client who was hesitant about her goal, her first 5K.

I could tell she had “expectations” for how her experience “should” look.

Did she think…

  • training had to look a certain way, or it wasn’t “good enough?”
  • she had to get a specific time for her first race, or it wasn’t worth telling anyone about?
  • that by signing up, it meant she had to RUN the entire thing?
Completing my first half marathon weighing over 220 pounds, I had a lot to share with her, and it might be helpful for you too! 

As you read, consider your next goal, business project/idea, or motherhood challenge you want to go after. 

Do you have it in mind? If not, think about it! 

Do you think it has to look a certain way to “count?”

When I went to pick up my race packet and received my 

t-shirt, I was made aware that I was the only size XL shirt on the roster, and that was for both the men’s and women’s races. I certainly didn’t look (or weigh) the way most 1/2 marathon runners look, but does that negate my success?

Do you think, if it’s not done by a specific time it’s any less of an accomplishment?

I had one main goal for my first race.

Finish the Race

When we think a goal, project, or challenge has to be completed/solved/obtained by a particular time, that “made-up time frame” often stops us from even starting. 

Ditch the time frame and dedicate yourself to moving forward a little bit more each day. 

Do you think you have to have it all figured out or have the best idea, perfect certification, a big network, or fancy equipment to be successful? 

I didn’t look like your typical 1/2 marathon runner, but I also didn’t have a water supply around my waist, no fancy fuel packs, no watch to time my pace, I ran alone, and I wore hand-me-down running shoes. 

All those “strikes” against me, and I still 

completed the goal.

Remember that goal, business idea, or motherhood challenge that you thought of at the beginning of this email? 

What if you dropped the expectations of what it is supposed to look like and just started?  

Drop the excuses keeping you from going after your next big thing!  

It didn’t matter what I weighed or didn’t have because I was running my OWN race, I set my expectations, and my timeline, and I reached my goals by taking baby steps MY WAY!!  

Those principles are exactly how I grew my six-figure business in less than 18 months while teaching full-time school and parenting my three daughters!
Run your own dang race in life, business, and motherhood!

Run it on your terms, with your OWN goals, fostering your strengths, without excuses, and in a way that makes you proud. 

If you reach your goals, and you’re not proud of how you got there, did you really reach it?   

Needs More of This

I just got off a coaching call with a client who is decently happy in her business right now.

BUT

The one thing holding her back from being mostly happy is the one thing that her business needs more of.

Her business needs more of HER!

It needs less of what “they say” you’re “supposed to do.”

It needs less of her judging what she is or isn’t doing.

It needs less scheduling of the things she HATES to do!

It needs more of her showing up in her strengths and doing more of what she loves so that she’s loving the way she’s showing up to help others!

If you’re not loving your business (or motherhood) right now, ask yourself these questions:

  • What are you doing in your business/motherhood that you don’t love but think you MUST DO to have a successful business/motherhood?
  • What is working for you right now in your business/motherhood? How can you do more of those things?
  • What are things that aren’t working in your business/motherhood? Why are you still doing them?
  • What are things you want to stop doing? Why aren’t you willing/brave enough to stop doing them?

If you’re not loving the results you’re getting, stop and ask yourself if your business (and motherhood) are getting the FULL, REAL YOU!

The you that creates results in ways that use her strengths, talents, wants, and in a way that she loves!

If not, stop and ask how more of YOU can show up in your business!

The Worst Thing That’s Ever Happened

Have you ever known a school teacher to quit mid-school year?

Six years ago, I was that teacher!

We are natural storytellers, and we often use that gift to our detriment.

I told myself the worst of stories about quitting.

I’m done for in the state of Utah.

I’m never going to get another job.

No one will ever trust me again.

To make it worse, I was supposed to begin working at the neighboring school district the next year. But since I quit, I just knew I ruined that opportunity.

The day after I quit, I got a call from the same district. They’re asking me if I’m available for an interview for a work-from-home teaching position.

Quitting mid-year freed me up for one of the most significant opportunities of my career!

During that job work-from-home position, I developed many of the skills and confidence I use now in my coaching.

Because that position had flexibility, it provided me the time to certify in life and business coaching.

Because of quitting, I am here, helping other women take chances, make changes, build confidence, and create a business and motherhood they love.

“The more we practice looking in the rearview mirror and finding gratitude for the hard times we’ve experienced; the more we start to change our programming.”

Learning from the hard times is when the intensity of our fears in the moment of difficulty, will diminish!

That “worst thing that’s ever happened to you,” what are you enjoying now because you went through that experience?

The next time you tell yourself the stories of “this is the worst thing ever”, zoom out a minute and consider that you could be wrong.

6 Lessons I Learned From Dressing Up

Over the years I’ve learned many incredible lessons from dressing up.

Halloween, the season of dressing up, made it seem appropriate to share these lessons with you now!

My children are older and past the age of dressing up and trick-or-treating. I don’t know yet if I miss it! I kinda think that I don’t!

However, they aren’t past the age of throwing a party.

I will be hosting the High School Crowd on Friday and the Jr high goblins on Saturday. Lots of pizza, treats, games, messes, laughing, and scary movies will be happening!

Does anyone want to come over and help!?

Lesson #1: Don’t Let Excuses Hold You Back

We had just moved from West Virginia to Utah.  

This picture was taken on my girls’ second day of school.  The first day was the Friday before, and they went to school with wet hair because our power went out.

It’s their second day of school in this new state, and it’s spirit week. 

  • They didn’t let the excuse of being new hold them back. 
  • They didn’t let the excuse of “people won’t know what we look like” hold them back. 
  • They didn’t let the excuse of “what if no one else dresses up” stop them.
  • They didn’t let the excuse that we didn’t have lots of time to prepare hold them back or the fact that the Costume box was buried underneath a slew of other boxes in the far corner of the storage unit convince them not to participate. 

There will always be an “excuse” that we can hold on to keep us from doing what we desire to do. 

What excuses are you holding on to that’s keeping you from going after your desires? 

Lesson #2: It’s never too late to get started!  

Record snowfall and very low temps the day before Halloween canceled trick-or-treating this specific year.  It wasn’t until November 4th that our state finally gave the OK to allow children to head out and collect all the candy. 

We could have decided to bail because Halloween wasn’t held on the day that we expected…BUT we would have missed so much!  

How many times have you said, it’s too late to __?

  • Start a business
  • Head back to school
  • Parent in a different way
  • Try something new in your business
  • Switch over your email provider
  • Change your niche
  • Start hugging your teen more
  • Create a business schedule that works

It’s never too late to get started!   

If it’s a desire in your motherhood, in your business, or your personal goals, don’t let the expectations that it “should” happen by a specific time or that it’s “too late”,  keep you from going after what you want.   

Lesson #3: Be your own judge, there isn’t a right or wrong way!

Who really knows what qualifies as an “ugly sweater” anyway?

We appoint a judge for each ugly sweater party, and we allow them to crown the winner. 

There are no other rules than their opinion.  

Guess what?

That’s the same principle that I encourage you to apply to your motherhood and business as well!

You get to be the judge of what’s working and what’s “ugly” for YOU in both YOUR motherhood and business. 

Appoint yourself to be your own judge!

You’re the only one qualified to decide if what you’re doing is working and getting you the desired results you want in all your life roles. 

No one has the same results for their business and motherhood, so it WILL LOOK DIFFERENTLY for everyone!  

If you’re the judge, on a scale of 1-10, how “ugly” is your business and or motherhood currently? 

Lesson #4: Because you “want to” is a good enough reason!

When my kids were little, they didn’t need a reason to dress up or to create something incredible.  They got out the consume box whenever they wanted. They didn’t wait for a “reason” such as Halloween or Spirit Week. 

On this snow day, they created an adorable play of an old couple that was reminiscing about their wedding day. 

The grandpa asked the grandma, “Why did you marry me?’ Replied, “Because I wanted to”

Because you want to is a good enough reason to go after something you desire. 

Finding the why, it’s all the rage and the thing business coaches hone in on a lot! I agree, the WHY is essential!

However, I also think because you want to is a significant enough reason as long as it motivates you to get the result you desire! 

Lesson #5: Don’t be afraid to speak up!

If it’s a desire or a passion, don’t be afraid to speak up and share it with others.  

That desire was put inside of you for your reason. 

Bonus lesson… keep it simple. 

This costume, Tape Face, was a massive hit with my students. The best part, it took about 10 minutes to create, and I didn’t have to buy a single thing.

We often complicate our motherhood and business, making it more challenging than it has to be. 

The next time you’re trying to solve a problem, ask yourself, “how can I make it simple?”

Lesson #6: Be authentic!

When most 9-year-olds were dreaming of dressing up as princesses, the latest fashion doll, or a bride, my cute 9-year-old wanted to be a police officer. 

She didn’t care what others were doing or what was “typical” of girls her age.  

She did what made her happy!

My Queen of Hearts was cast in the local play during this time.  

She was cast so perfectly!!  

As she as on that stage, being the VERY BEST sarcastic and demanding Queen of Hearts I had ever seen, I whispered to my husband,
“they nailed this casting role; it’s like she’s not even acting!” 

She was confident enough in herself to give this role all her sass!! And she had a lot!  

Be you, even if it’s not “typical” business practice or what “all the other moms” are doing. 

Be confident in your role as the CEO of both your motherhood and business.  

We are much happier when we are true to us and our desires, not everyone else’s.