Life
Thankful
In honor of Thanksgiving, I asked my friends and colleagues to tell me what they are thankful for in business and in life.
Their lovely, heartfelt responses are a testament to the joys of life as an entrepreneur.
What are you thankful for?
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I am so thankful that life is a choose your own adventure game. I own a business, so I have direct responsibility for how my life works. I’m not oppressed, I’m not impoverished. I have the opportunity to live according to what matters to me.
~ Christyna Lewis http://beeventures.org/
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“Thankful that I get to set my own hours in my business!”
~ Jo Crawford http://www.craftingthesacred.com/
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I’m grateful to have a supportive network, both personally and professionally, that want to see me shine. That hasn’t always been the case for me, and I never want to take it for granted.
~ Lisa Robbin Young http://businessactionhero.com/
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I’m thankful that I have the ability to choose who I work with and work for. My greatest work is done when I love the people who benefit from my efforts. My clients inspire me to give my best every day.
~ Janica Smith http://www.adminismith.com
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I am thankful for so much! Thankful for my beautiful family, healthy children, and the abundance of love in my life. I am thankful for a husband that supports my dreams, visions, and goals. I am so thankful that I get to do my great work and connect with completely amazing people all over the world.
~ Danielle Miller http://www.daniellemmiller.com/
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I’m thankful for all the moments I dared to speak my truth and was rewarded for doing so. And, by ‘rewarded’ I mean someone else benefited from the act.
~ Kellie Stout Walker www.getyourlifeingear.com
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I’m thankful to be doing work that I love in the company of some of the most generous, intelligent, spirit-rich entrepreneurs on the planet. My world is so much richer. . . And in life, I’m thankful I can see the forest. 😉
~ Sue Ann Gleason http://consciousbitesnutrition.com/ and http://www.chocolateforbreakfast.com/
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I’m thankful that in spite of circumstances working against me (being raised by a very mentally ill/emotionally abusive father and being isolated from most of my family for all of my teen years, among other things) I’ve been able to find the lessons in the madness and strength in the struggles. I’ve created the life and business that I’ve always wanted, full of freedom and creativity, with the primary purpose of helping people. How great is that?! And I have the most amazing partner of 8 years supporting me and believing in me wholeheartedly. This is life on my terms, and I am deeply thankful. I am especially thankful that I’m living proof you can overcome whatever life throws at you and succeed wildly!
~ Heather Thorkelson www.heatherthorkelson.com
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I’m thankful to have work I enjoy that supports my lifestyle. I’m thankful to be part of an amazing community of women all striving to live their ideal lives!
~Amy Scott http://www.nomadtopia.com/
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I am thankful for the initial push that moved me out of my comfort zone and the nudges I receive since then that push me further away & towards the life I truly want. I am also thankful for the support I receive from my mother and that I am in the company of women that are doing what they want “their way.”
~ Brenda R. Coleman http://www.brendarcoleman.com/
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I am so grateful to be living and working on my own terms.
~ Sarah Yost http://sarahwagneryost.com/
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I’m thankful that I get to immerse myself in learning how to create an inspired life and share that knowledge with strong, amazing women. Watching other people change their lives from the inside out is a constant reminder to live my own life from a place of inspiration.
~ Christy Lambert www.christylambert.com
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I am thankful for my clients who show up, are willing to look in the mirror to face themselves and make change, and trust me enough to walk the path with them.
~ Laura Gates www.lauragates.wordpress.com
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I am seriously grateful/thankFULL for taking the leap into my dream! My Creative Wild Daimon! into Bschool and THIS group of exceptional women who not only know how to ROCK in Biz but know how to love… and wooed my all the way through to my BIRTH! I am grateful to be standing in the new world with my new clients and a biz that is transforming their lives and CHANGING the WORLD!
~ Kathleen Prophet http://kathleenprophet.com/
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I am thankful for “effort”. Because what we are willing to put action/effort into reveals what we are TRULY passionate about. So often we talk-talk-talk about our big ideas but don’t move on them. This year I put actionable effort into flying my open sky at Gladly Beyond. The effort was hard and stretched me in new directions and every day that effort would serve as my barometer: do you still REALLY want this? And the answer was always: yes!!
~ Cris Gladly www.gladlybeyond.com
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I am thankful for the ability to be present, in this moment NOW; for not living in the past or hyper-projecting into the future. It’s the best way to stay centered and to not identify with destructive patterns. I am grateful that I am free of the constraints of a traditional *job* and that I have the strength and creativity to create my own reality!
~ Shanna Trenholm http://shannatrenholm.com/
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I’m thankful for starting my own business Day 1 in circle and collaboration with some of the most inspiring and influential women I have ever met. Without co-collaboration, I would not be as strong and successful as I am today.
~ Shara Raqs http://www.womenofmindfulbusiness.com/
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I’m thankful for my clients who are brave enough to discover their life purpose and live it. For my amazing biz owner friends who cheer me on, listen to my ideas and are willing share their brilliance with me. And for my angels who have guided me through unchartered territory and never let me down. ♥
~ Geanine Thompson http://www.LiveYourPersonalLegend.com/
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I’m thankful for women who are stepping up to claim their creativity!
~ Mic Boekelmann http://www.theartgetaway.com/
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Business: I am thankful I found my vision – I’ve never felt more clear and more certain of what I’ve done and going to do in my entire life. Very powerful feeling. I’m also so happy and grateful I have such a supportive network of friends, collaborators and mentors to help me up when I do stumble. I wouldn’t be where I am without them (yes, YOU are all included in that – so THANK YOU so much!)
Personal: I am thankful for such a wonderful, loving family. We might have our differences and argue, but as I get older, I realize how supportive and close my family is. It’s something I took for granted growing up. And also my friends who have always been there cheering for me even when I couldn’t pinpoint what I wanted to do or flaked out on them.
~ Beatriz Alemar http://www.breakthrulife.com/
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I am grateful I am doing exactly what I know I was meant to do in this lifetime. I am grateful for all of my network of friends, colleagues, clients and supporters who have helped me get to this amazing place and support me in always evolving further. And I am grateful for my children who not only encourage me to continue listening to my heart, but who also listen to their own hearts.
~ Laura Ciel http://www.1oneworldleadership.com/
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I am thankful for family and my health. I am thankful for the miracles in life. I am thankful for freedom of choice. I am thankful for my son who is turning 3 years old next week and who had heart surgery at 6 months old. I am thankful for the trials and triumphs of life, because that has made me who I am today. I am thankful for memories.
~ Sasha Campbell www.blyssfulhealth.com
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I’m thankful for what has yet to unfold and the magic it takes to make it happen.
~ Hillary Rubin http://www.hillaryrubin.com/
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I am thankful for each day that I awake to experience this wonderful craziness called life and the joy that others bring to my life through their love, kindness, smiles, hugs and thoughtfulness. It is always a surprise how each day is such a unique gift unto itself – it is all good and beautiful and I am simply full of deep gratitude each day I am here to experience it. Hugs from my 8 year old also totally rock my world like nothing else…forever thankful for that one-of-a-kind gift, as it is like no other on earth.
~ Tina Pruitt www.tinapruitt.com
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I am beyond grateful for my two little girls who inspire me over and over, day after day. I am grateful for the freedom I have to explore my identity as a business owner, a mother, a women and to experience the journey wherever it takes me.
~ Julia Gersen www.mommafix.com
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I’m thankful that I awoke from my long slumber to embrace my gift and share it with others so we can make a happier, healthier world. I am also grateful that no matter how impatient I might get, only the right seeds germinate to create love, healing and abundance for all.
~ Laurie Erdman http://www.chronicwellnesscoaching.com/
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I am thankful for being able to put my soul on the wall for everyone in the world to judge. In whatever form that takes, I know that what I am doing is what I want to be, is who I am, and is why I’m here. I am thankful today to be able to accept money for my vision as it launches this week.
~ Jerah Lena Coviello www.ecovogue365.com
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I am thankful for my family who support me in this entrepreneurial road. They listen to my ramblings, my ups and downs and they are my biggest supporters. I could not do what I do without them holding my hand every step of the way.
~ Christina Psarianou Rasmussen www.secondfirsts.com
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What are you thankful for? Comment below to join the conversation.
Motherhood and The Girl Effect
Last week Miki Devivo interviewed me for her Voices of Motherhood project. (She’s looking for more moms to share their stories, too.)
I was amazed by how much I was willing to share about all the internal work that goes into being a mother to two girls.
One of the things that emerged for me from that conversation is an appreciation for the way motherhood is making me a more capable citizen of the world.
In the eight years I’ve been a mom, I’ve learned to be an advocate for my daughters.
With their doctors, teachers, grandparents, friends, to continually be advocating for what is best for them. In turn, I’ve learned to be an advocate for myself in the same way. This is not a skill I practiced before I had kids. Through college, through my first few jobs, I didn’t have an understanding of how to advocate for myself.
But when the ultrasound tech said, “Girls!” and their lives flashed through my mind like a movie on fast forward: first steps, bike rides, braces, dates, prom, college, weddings, children, I saw clearly their future in my hands.
Many, many girls around the world have a future that is completely different from the future I imagine for my girls.
I realize how incredibly lucky my children are to live where they live. How lucky they are to have a momma who can advocate for them, to have at their fingertips education and healthcare and bikes and braces and prom.
So, Oct. 4-11 I’ll be participating in the Girl Effect Blogging Campaign to support and spread the word about the efforts of Girl Effect.
As you can see from this video, time is ticking. But we can do something about that.
I’d love for you to join me in advocating for a better future for all the girls of the world. To participate in the 2011 Girl Effect Blogging Campaign go here and here.
Learn more about Girl Effect here.
Walk Until You Start Feeling Guilty
Every morning I walk laps up and down my driveway. Libby, my almost-13-year-old Lab limping along beside me.
She wants to be at point, in the lead at all times but her legs say otherwise, folding up on her or dragging at their convenience. She has hip dysplasia and about two or three laps in she’ll simply stop and wait patiently for me to finish.
Yesterday, with Libby watching, my legs carried me up the hill at a run.
I haven’t run for weeks, months. But when I reached the bottom of the hill and was ready to go back up, I felt like my legs had a mind of their own and I took it at a sprint.
In years past, Libby would have sprinted ahead of me and when I think about how she can’t do that anymore I cry.
Later in the day I wondered why I’d run.
I remembered an article in Whole Living about running. The article was all about technique and strategy to get more out of your walk, but those things didn’t stick with me. What stuck was a quote by Danny Dreyer:
“My rule is this: run until you start feeling a little fatigued. Walk until you start feeling guilty.”
My body and my mind craved something just a bit more from me, together they were embarrassed by my continued walk.
Instead of resisting and waiting until I was ready, I went along.