Holding Hands

Today is April 3rd and Spring has definitely arrived! I have spoken with so many women over the last week who are “planting their seeds” to grow a dream or big idea. It’s the perfect time of year to take action on creating your preferred life. If you missed last week’s article about “planting your seeds”, you can read it here.

I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of “special time” with my 5 year old daughter Jenna, who just returned to pre-school this week after a 2 week Spring Break. I think the best part about spending time with Jenna is holding hands. When we leave our front door or exit the car, the outstretched hand appears immediately. If you have older children, you know that holding hands does not always last forever. I invite you to hold the hand of someone who’s special to you. It really does make a difference.

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Spend Time With The “Nutritious” People In Your Life

I have had such a great week. My mom came out from Florida to spend Spring Break with us. It’s been good to reconnect with her and also watch her continue to form a special bond with Jack and Jenna.

On Tuesday, I had the good fortune to spend the morning with my Women’s Alumnae Circle. These women are remarkable. They continue to stay on a path toward new growth and learning. Always open to change and looking at their lives through a new lens. I am always energized after being in a Women’s Success Circle.

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Rebel Woman – Carolyn Howard

There are two types of “Spring” going on in my life this week. First, my children are on Spring Break from school so we are fortunate to have a lot of family time. And second, today is the first day of Spring. It’s a great time to begin thinking about the seeds I will plant to grow and nurture myself, my family and my business.

Spring provides a perfect environment to grow something new and beautiful in your life. I hope that you will take some time this week to look out at “your garden” and make plans to grow something new.

Keep reading to hear more about a Rebel Woman making things happen in her life right now.

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Smart Women Dare To Dream

Recently, in one of my Women’s Success Circles, we had a conversation about the difference between a dream and a goal.  The majority of the women agreed that a goal is something that is attainable while a dream is unattainable.  One member said, “It’s something you think about but it would probably never happen.”  While I understand the thought process, I don’t agree with it.  I realized a dream within the last week and it was really through the power of intention that it became a reality. 

I want women to know how strong the power of intention can be.  I have been “dreaming” for more than a year about living in a community where my children could walk to school.  Notice that I said the dream was about seeing my children “walk to school.”  I had developed a dream, an intention about the lifestyle that I wanted for my family.

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Smart Women Know When to Let Go

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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Smart Women Answer Their Call

No, I’m not talking about your cell phone or the phone in your home or office. All the women in my Success Circles know that I don’t believe in picking up the phone every time it rings. I do believe in listening to my messages and returning calls and emails within a reasonable time period. I’m talking about answering your call—the call that is unique only to you.

Do you have any idea what that ring tone sounds like? You may be reading this and saying to yourself, “What is Joy talking about?” “I don’t hear anything like that.” Well, I’m not surprised. With phones ringing everywhere, music playing, family members and clients calling out for attention, how you could you possibly hear your own unique call? And maybe you don’t even think you have one. You do have one.

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Smart Women Rarely Hallucinate

Albert Einstein said, “Vision without execution is merely hallucination.” The first time I read this, I thought it was so powerful and spot on. Since the beginning of the New Year I’ve been writing about taking risks, realizing your dreams and goals, and taking inspired action on your big idea. I’ve been expressing the idea that you need to create the space in your life to explore and discover what’s next in your life’s journey. How is that going for you? Have you landed on where your energy and passions are at this time in your life? Do you have a big idea that’s calling out to you? Do you have a vision of what it looks like?

How many times a day do you see a new product or concept and say, “I thought of that idea a long time ago.” Or, how often do you have a new idea or a better way of doing something and you say, “As soon as I can find a pen and paper, I’m going to write that down.” And then what happens? You get stuck at the grocery store, kids baseball, meeting with a client, and forget about it. Or you remember after a long day of being a wife, mom, business woman, and community volunteer and you say, “Oh, it wasn’t such a great idea, forget it.”

How do I know this happens? Ladies, I’ve lived it many times! I became so frustrated over the years of having this happen to me that I created the Big Idea book concept. This has helped me to act on my vision and execute at a faster pace. The Women in my Success Circles use this regularly to make sure that they never lose a creative thought or idea on their journey to their own passion and purpose.

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Smart Women Know How to Make Music

While on our way to school listening to a solo piano CD this morning, (it’s a great tool that I use to calm everyone down after a hectic morning rushing to get out the door!) my 5 year old daughter Jenna asked me, “Mom, how do you make music?” It reminded me of when I was a little girl and my piano teacher once told me, “It’s the space between the notes that makes the music.”

I did not fully understand the value of her answer back then. Most days I just wanted to hurry up and finish my lesson so I could get outdoors and chase a ball! If it’s the space between the notes that makes music, let me ask you – Are you creating some space in your life to make your music? If your life, dreams, and goals were a song, what would it sound like? Do your days have “space between” all of the “to-do’s”, or is it one long note being held down?

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