Smart Women Create the Right Internal Environment

July 24, 2008 By Joy Chudacoff

Last week, I was having a conversation with another smart woman and we found ourselves on a familiar topic to many people with children:  schools and education.  This woman has children in middle school and high school and she was sharing with me that the schools have two tracks in which to receive an education.  As you might imagine, one is perceived as better than the other.  As I reflect on this conversation, I had to smile.  It seems our children are really no different than we are.  We, too, must stay on the “right” track with the “right” environment and the “right” teachers around us if we are to realize our dreams, goals, and ideas.

Last week I shared with you some thoughts on why creating the “right” external environment is essential to leading a meaningful life.  Having a home, office, and relationships that provide harmony will help you create more of what you want in life. 

Today, I want to share some ideas with you about your internal environment.  What’s an internal environment?  It’s your internal voice, your authentic self—your core.  As in our home, office, and relationships, we need to clear away the clutter in our own self-talk to allow abundant thoughts to flow into our lives.  We become what we focus on.  If we find ourselves focusing on negative thoughts and judgmental self-talk, we tend to project this into our world and the world around us. 

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Smart Women Create the Right Environment

July 17, 2008 By Joy Chudacoff

Recently, I took a road trip with my family from Los Angeles to Napa Valley, California.  During my visit I learned that it takes a different environment (soil, temperature, irrigation) to grow different types of grapes to make wine.  For example, you cannot create a great tasting chardonnay when you are in an environment that creates great Pinot Noir.  This got me thinking about how important our environment is when we are creating something new in our lives.

We all have dreams and ideas that we want to manifest.  It could be starting a new business, a new relationship, a fitness routine, a new career, etc.  What I have observed in many people (including myself at times) is that we make a plan to accomplish our dreams and ideas, but often neglect to create an environment that supports our road to success.  We have both an external environment and an internal environment.  What’s the difference?  Your external environment is your home, your office, the community where you live, and relationships you have with other people.  Your internal environment is your authentic self, your internal voice – your core.  Today I’m going to share some thoughts with you about your external environment. 

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Filed Under: Business Tips, Creativity, Have The Life You Love!, Smart Women Articles

Smart Women Get Back On the Pogo Stick

May 8, 2008 By Joy Chudacoff

The other day as we were driving to school, my daughter Jenna boldly stated, “Mom, for my birthday, I want a Pogo Stick.” This statement made me curious so I asked her, “Jenna, why do you want a Pogo Stick?” Jenna’s reply was “Mom, it’s easy. You just get on, fall off, get back up, and get on again. Then you learn how to do it.” Very true, my adventurous 5- year old. As we continued down pacific coast highway, this answer got me thinking about achieving goals and dreams and the process we need to go through before really making the impossible possible in our lives.

There are times when we have a big idea or goal and we might take a step toward making it happen. However, we will often come across a challenge or obstacle that stops us in our tracks. Unfortunately, we may give up on our goals, without getting back on our “stick.” Didn’t we all go through this process, as kids, learning how to ride a bike without the training wheels — lots of skinned knees!?

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Smart Women Know How to Pack

May 1, 2008 By Joy Chudacoff

This past weekend, our family went on a camping trip with my daughter Jenna’s pre-school class.  There were 30 children, ages 4-5, along with their parents and teachers.  Needless to say, my daughter and her classmates had a terrific time and created many lasting memories.  When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said, “climbing all those trees, Mom!”  If you have ever been camping, then you are well aware that you put your tent up, roll out that sleeping bag, and prepare to live in nature.  Then, of course, when the camping is over you begin the task of taking all of those items and getting them back into their small, tiny, itty-bitty bags.  As soon as you begin this process, you immediately wonder – how in the world did they ever get that sleeping bag into that tiny carrying case in the first place?

On Sunday, as we all began to pack up, my friend and smart woman, Margie Glick, said with a chuckle, “This is a morning about packing a lot into a little.”  Well said Margie.  It also got me to thinking about how busy women do this act most every day.  We look at the “to do” list and we try to pack as much as we can into the smallest amount of time.  At the end of the day, we end up late, exhausted, and cranky.  After all, we are wives, partners, moms, entrepreneurs, daughters, friends, volunteers—did I miss anything?  And we take each one of those roles very seriously.  As a matter of fact, we take them so seriously that it can become hazardous to our well-being.  “Getting it all done” can be a badge of honor that we wear.  To be able to check off the “to do” list at the end of the day can feel liberating, or, over time some of it can also begin to feel like a burden.

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Smart Women Give Themselves Permission

April 10, 2008 By Joy Chudacoff

Recently, I was having a conversation with a woman when she asked me a crucial question: “What are the steps I need to take in order to live a life filled with passion and purpose?” It’s really a 3 part process. When a woman is ready to create her own extraordinary life, she needs to first decide what she wants. Then she needs to decide how she wants to design her life. Finally, she needs to give herself permission to have the life she has chosen. It’s essential that she believes that she deserves to have the life she chooses. If you decide what you want your life to look like but do not believe that you should really have it, then your “dreams” will never become a reality.

My work is designed to support women in their journey to living their own extraordinary life. Years ago, I knew that I wanted to make some big changes in my own life. I had to first decide what I wanted. Then I had to design my life how I wanted it to be. Lastly, but crucial, I had to give myself permission to create this new way of being. You have to believe it so you can ask for it.

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Smart Women Know When to Let Go

March 6, 2008 By Joy Chudacoff

Every day as I leave my house, I am drawn to a large tree across the street, with beautiful branches and leaves. For awhile now, it has been shedding its leaves. Yesterday I noticed for the first time that all of the leaves have fallen off, leaving the tree bare. Nature has a way of making room for new growth.

Our family is preparing for a big transition this week. We are moving from a house that we have lived in for 10 years. It’s the home where my husband Greg and I began our life together in marriage. It’s the only home our children, Jack and Jenna have ever known, so it holds a lot of memories that are valuable to us. It also holds a lot of other things! Things we have accumulated over the years that are not part of where we are going. We have a lot of possessions that are no longer a “fit” for us. I am finding it hard to let go. It can be challenging knowing what to keep and what to let go of. I’m not alone in this dilemma it seems. I read recently that the storage unit business is soaring as people accumulate more than they have space for and they cannot bring themselves to let go.

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