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Rulers and Rebels

March 14, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

As I entered the Library at my son’s elementary school today my eyes immediately gravitated to a fantastic display at the entrance in honor of Women’s History Month. The bold title of the display is “Rulers and Rebels – Extraordinary Women of our Time.” Wow—powerful words. Reading those words sent a tingle through my whole body.

As I reflected on this later in the day, I became keenly aware of how true this has been in the history of women’s lives in this country (and around the world.) We must certainly be “rulers and rebels” to achieve the firm foundation that we now stand on. The women who went before us must have held on to dreams not only for their future but for the future of all women who would walk the earth after them.

Smart Women Dare To Dream

March 14, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

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.

Women Are Like Tea Bags

March 6, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

My good friend and smart woman, Beth Osisek recently gave me a coffee mug for my birthday that reads, “Women are like tea bags. You never know how strong they are until you put them in hot water.”

Well, let me tell you, I’ve been in hot water this week! I have learned a most challenging (but needed) lesson. About 7 days ago, I woke up early one morning to do some work on my computer. I went downstairs, got my coffee and sat down ready to do some creative work. Guess what? My laptop hard-drive was dead, died, gone—never coming back. Guess what else? I had not been a very smart woman when it comes to backing up all of my files. I have spent the last 7 days sweating out the possibility that I may have lost most of my valuable information.

Smart Women Know When to Let Go

March 6, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

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.

And I Don’t Mean The Telephone

February 28, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

This past weekend was opening day for our community Little League Baseball. Both of our children love sports and were excited to go and pick up their new uniforms and reconnect with old teammates from last season.

I remember loving sports when I was a little girl. Getting a new uniform always brought me a new sense of empowerment. I was a year older, a little taller, and getting that brand new uniform always brought a lot of possibilities in my mind. I think organized sports is helpful to the development of children in many ways. Team work, collaboration, self-esteem, self-confidence, getting more in touch with their bodies and it’s just good fun.

Smart Women Answer Their Call

February 28, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

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.

Smart Women Rarely Hallucinate

February 25, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

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.

Realize Your Dream

February 21, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

I’m having one of those weeks. You know which one I’m talking about, right? It’s raining in Los Angeles (which practically never happens!), both of my kids are missing school because they’re sick and because I have my own business there were a ton of projects planned for today, which aren’t going to get done.

Upon reflection, I realize how fortunate I am to have a business that I am absolutely so passionate about and allows me the opportunity to be with my kids when they really need “mom.”

Smart Women Know How to Make Music

February 14, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

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?

What a great holiday!

February 14, 2008 | By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

Happy Valentines Day! What a great holiday. Both of my children were excited to go to school today to enjoy festive parties, make valentine crafts and eat lots of sweet treats!

This is a day to honor those who mean so much to us in some special way. I invite you to stop for a moment and think about who makes your heart beat faster, who makes your heart soar with excitement—-did you think of someone, maybe more than one person? Good. It’s a great day to tell those people the impact they have on your life.

Be well,

Joy