jump to navigation

August 19, 2009

Mom’s Coffee Break Weekly Ezine

In this issue:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upcoming MCB Show

We all have dreams.  Dreams of what we want, who we want to be, and where we want to go in life.  However there is an alarming rate of people that do not go after their dreams.  For whatever reason something gets in the way - whether it is the day to day challenges of just living life or even our own self-doubt there are always obstacles that stand between us and our dreams.  The key is what do we do when we are faced with that big brick wall, do we hurdled over it, walk around it or let it stop us from that dream on the other side.

This week on Mom’s Coffee Break we are talking about how we can make our dreams a reality and what usually stops us from living the life that we want.  Joining us is Transformational Life Coach and Author of A Suitcase Full of Faith, Saskia Roell.

Tune in to the show on Blog Talk Radio ~ http://blogtalkradio.com/momscoffeebreak, Wednesday August 19th @ 8pm cst / 9pm est and listen LIVE as we talk about how you can find and follow your dreams no matter what!

Don’t forget to join the chat room and let us know what you think!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Personal Development with Coach Tonya: Make Time for You

At a presentation the other day, I was asked if taking some time for one’s self was selfish.

Of course, my reply was “NO!”  In fact not only is it not selfish, but its mandatory in order to have a healthy balanced life.

As a coach, one of the biggest issues that my clients face is taking time for themselves.  I always use the analogy, if you keep writing checks without making deposits eventually your checking account becomes over drawn.  The same thing applies if you give and give without taking some back for yourself.

Women in general are so use to sacrificing their needs for others.  What causes this?  What makes women think they are any less important then those they take care of?

A couple of months ago a friend of mine gave me an article that was published in Housekeeping Monthly (13 May 1955) entitled “The Good Wife’s Guide”.  According to the 1955 standards, a woman should: not complain, wait on her husband after a long hard day at work, have dinner on the table, keep the children quiet, and clean, and “Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking.”  The underlying message of the article was in order to be a good wife, put your own thoughts, feelings, and identity on hold for your husband.

After my initial anger over the suppression of women, I calmed down. When this article was written that was just how it was.  Back then, women were homemakers, very subservient to their husbands the breadwinners.  They were not given credit for how hard the job raising kids and the daily upkeep of a home is.  Devalued by society and eventually by themselves.

Women now, work either outside or from home.  They have carved out their place in the workforce and fought for equality, but even though women have progressed their status from subservient to strong independent working women, they still treat themselves by the 1955 standard.  Sacrificing for their family and putting themselves last, if at all.  Women that have fought so hard for their equality, yet they refuse to recognize their worth when it comes to self-care.

Why would it be selfish for anyone to take alone time for themselves?  Isn’t it what we usually recommend to a stressed out friend?  Take care of yourself, take a nice long hot bath, take a walk….are just some of the suggestions that we give others when we see that they have over done caretaking for everyone else.

Why is it ok for others and not you?

We all know the correlation between good self-care and a happier life. Life is busier than ever for most.  Making sure that you have time to recharge is a necessity to staying on top of life’s constant demands.  The bottom line is that if you don’t take care of yourself then you will not be in a position to take care of anyone else.

Trust me; this is one of life’s lessons that I have learned the hard way.

Start realizing that you are worth making time for!  It will make you a better you.  Don’t you, your family, and your business deserve that?

Tonya Ramsey

http://LifeByDesignEnterprises.com
Helping you build the foundation to your success!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Business Buzz with Jody: Is there a Bear in Your Yard?

As a Canadian I was talking to my business partner Charlotte the other day telling her about the Bear we had in our backyard.

The kids had come in saying “we have a bear in the yard” and their dad said, “oh you’re just telling a story!”.

We soon believed them though when a friend phoned us on her cell phone “Uh, you better bring your kids inside cause I just saw a small black bear going into your yard!”

So Charlotte said, you better blog about that because “Only in Canada” do you hear stories like that.  Eh??

This got me thinking….How many times do we sabotage ourselves in our business with this kind of thinking???

Seriously, think about it!

Someone tells us…..”Hey, look Mr. CEO is making XXX amount of $$$ and he’s going to be in your city(or backyard)…you should check him out and see how he’s doing that!” And for some strange reason, we don’t believe that person who is so close to us! A friend, a relative etc….It’s sad that we no longer have a STRONG belief of what our own friends/relatives are telling us, yet they truly have our best interest at heart!

Then along comes Sally Sue, who kinda knows us in a general way…says the exact same thing and we Believe her Automatically.

Why is that???

Why on earth have we gotten to the point that we would believe something a near stranger would say to us over the input we get from our own family/friends?

I heard a few years ago a survey (I think about 20 yrs ago)was done through Bridge Ratings that asked what …or who our “Circle of influence was??”

On the top 3 were:

1)Religious Leaders
2)Teachers
3)Family Friends & Acquaintances

The same survey was repeated 20 yrs later with the results being top 3:

1) Stranger with Experience
2) Family Friends & Acquaintances
3) Teachers

The shift in this is due entirely to Internet & Info Products!

So I guess its good news that we are getting a higher level of influence from our friends and family than we did 20 yrs ago, and even better news for us in the business world that we can “Brand ourselves” as the true Experts that we are in our field!

I encourage you as a business owner to get “yourself out there”.  Instead of getting people to “pay you” just for a quick sale, start giving away your awesome tips and ideas!  Be the leader of your business, the Leader of your Circle of Influence! This will pay you in the long run….trust me!

To your Amazing Awesome-ness!!!

Jody Maley

www.DesignedforDivineDestinations.com
“It’s not just about the Destination, it’s the Journey to Get There!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Domestic Goddess Corner: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

As I look at everyone around me, very few people are “doing well” in this terrible economy. Many people are out of work and looking everywhere for a job to support themselves and their families. Unemployment claims have gone up, people going to our local food bank have increased in numbers, more people are shopping at thrift stores and other discount stores. Many people however, have not re-evaluated their lifestyles, several are still living the lifestyles they have become accustomed to, without thought to their shrinking bank accounts and wallets and their needs in the future. So, I wanted to address this issue.

Desperate times sometimes need desperate measures. People cannot go along spending money as they did before their job losses, or whatever it is that has changed their financial lives. For example, my boyfriend recently lost his job and I currently only work part time. Both of us have been applying at places that are both hiring and not in the hopes that he gets a job and/or I get a better one. Just to pay the rent and other bills we have had to cut expenses down to the bare minimum. I do mean bare minimum. My back porch, which was my “Zen Spot”, where I went to read my books, do homework or just relax, is now strung with clothes lines. I wash my clothes at the laundromat or in the sink myself then hang them up to dry. We have not eaten out in 3 months, we do not buy anything but the necessities of life. We both are smokers and are working on quitting. In the meantime, we now roll our own cigarettes, as a result we smoke less and hope to quit very soon. I am a Diet Coke junkie, however, it is not a necessity so I have been drinking “sun tea”, iced tea brewed in the sun in the jug. This is a very cheap beverage. I cannot have much sugar so I drink  it unsweetened but you can sweeten it with sugar if you like. I make real lemonade from lemon juice (one cup lemon juice, one cup sugar in a 2 qt pitcher) It is very tasty. I bake our “treats”, cookies, cake, brownies, pies, from scratch here at home. I love to bake and am good at it, my family likes my homemade items much better than any store bought treat.

I only drive to the store, work, or to put in applications at businesses, and to take my son to and from school. I combine trips to save gas. I do not leave my car running, this wastes gas. My son’s birthday is in July, we had a huge party planned that cost a lot of money. We have changed plans and are now having it in a beautiful local park ( no rental fee). My family will all be making some of the food to help defray some of my costs.

We have to keep internet services, as my boyfriend is going to school online and I have my website to run. However, if we could get away with it, I would happily have it shut off. We still have cable, but I did contact our cable company and am having our services reduced to save money. We turn the lights off and unplug appliances when not in use. My mother struck an agreement with the 0wner of her apartment complex, she now cleans and shows the apartments for rent and gets a significant amount of money off of her rent.

There are all kinds of measures one can take when financially strapped. Think outside the box. Do you have more than one vehicle, do you need both? Maybe you could sell one? Write letters instead of making long distance phone calls. Buy inexpensive foods instead of pricier versions.

I hope this gets people thinking about things they can do to decrease their spending. Thanks to all for reading, and check out my “Recommendations” page for inexpensivly priced books you can buy on all kinds of ways to save money!

Mandy Sly, The Domestic Goddess

http://embraceyourdomesticgoddess.com
“The quality of our life should not depend on the quantity of our possessions”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Mom’s Coffee Break ~

Helping working mothers not just survive, but thrive!

Comments»

no comments yet - be the first?