It's been a HAAAT minute! But I'm back! In this episode I am updating you on my schedule, my life, what it's like to live in the in between and happiness. I'm finding that happiness is shifting for me. In my 20s, I found a lot of happiness imagining my future self...my potential accomplishments and the life I would create for myself. Now that I'm in my late 30s, I'm finding that I've accomplished what I set out to do and I've done it. Listen, I know life isn't over in your 40s and beyond but it's different! We did the wedding, we bought the houses, had the careers and birthed the babies. And sure, all of those things were great, but what do you do when you find yourself at the other side of all those dreams? I'm finding that my source of happiness and joy has shifted and that's what I'm talking about in this episode. I hope you'll join me for the conversation. 

Like all episodes, I want to know what you think! DM me on Instagram @balanced_entrepreneur to share your thoughts with me directly. I might even feature you on my next episode! 

For the past year, life has looked nothing like normal for many of us. COVID shut the world down in early 2020 and forced many women and parents out of the workplace and into their homes to homeschool children and create a place of safety in a world full of uncertainty. We've been living in this "new normal" for a while and now, as the world begins to open back up, many of us are experiencing different fears and anxieties while wrestling with shifts in identity. In this weeks podcast episode, I share my own experience with those concerns and what life looks like for me and my family as we navigate back to "normal". We talk about the difference between fear and anxiety and how to bring back habits that serve our future selves. Enjoy!

What happens when you quit? In episode 13 I talked about why I'm a quitter and why you should be one too. I share why it's sometimes necessary to cut something off before transitioning to something else. That cutting off might come in the form of quitting a job, selling a business, ending a relationship, a divorce or any number of ends to something important. What happens after you walk away and quit? This podcast episode is all about that time. I'm in it now so it's easy for me to speak to it. I sold a business at the beginning of 2020 that I had built over the past eight years. The business was a big part of my identity and who I was, selling it left a massive hole in my perception of personal worth, value and social community. Everything in me wanted to find that next thing as quickly as possible so that I didn't have to sit in that pain, but I had to. There is so much purpose in our pain, but that doesn't change the fact that going through it absolutely blows. If...scratch that, WHEN you find yourself on the other side of quitting this is the podcast for that season. What does it look like to be okay in the stillness and boredom? What does it look like to learn from the pain rather than ignore it? I hope you enjoy this episode all about that next phase. 

Today’s episode is all about COVID-19. I’m recording this podcast while battling through COVID myself, interviewing my girls about their experience as kids through quarantine and then having a lively conversation with my friend and guest Lindsey Chevalier.

While conversation with the girls I ask them to share their thoughts on this quote, “‘Kids are resilient’ is one of the most B.S. lines to come out of the pandemic. If kids are so resilient, why do we have a generation of adults still talking about childhood trauma? Kids are vulnerable. Their mental health is just the easiest to ignore.”

In the second part of this episode I have a deep conversation with my friend Lindsey about her experiences during COVID for her and her family and why she’s fired up about the way we’ve treated kids. We dive into gender and racial issues happening in our country right now and share our vulnerable real thoughts surrounding these controversial topics.

Find Lindsey on IG: @lindseychevalier

"Just don't quit." This is the anthem in the direct sales industry and I'm sure others. The idea is that if you just stick it out, you'll eventually be successful. That quitting is the only surefire path to failure. But I'm here to tell you that's crap. In fact, knowing when to quit is as necessary as identifying opportunities. So why then do so many of us feel fearful about quitting? That's exactly what we're identifying in this podcast episode as I lay out some of the most important career moves that involved quitting in order to pivot directions. Whether you call it quitting, pivoting, folding, or switching paths, knowing when your season is up will be one of your greatest strengths. In this episode, I identify four symptoms I experience every time I know it's time to make a move and the biggest things that hold me back from taking the next step. 

How we do anything is how we do everything. Therefore, when we work hard, like real hard, we also tend to play equally hard. I've spent the last 12 years thinking this was just how I was created. I'm an "all in or all out" person so I accepted my work and play equally hard as just how I was built. But at 38 years old, starting my seventh business, I'm doing things differently. I'm learning that how we recover makes all the difference in how fast we move forward. This time around I'm balancing how hard I work because I know it'll dictate how hard I recover and that recovery will impact how quickly I can move forward. I've never done things this way because I always thought I had to be the hardest on myself, that if I weren't hard on myself I would lose my edge. In this season, my edge is taking care of myself so that I don't need to lean completely out. It may feel like I'm moving slower on a day-to-day basis but long-term it'll allow me to move faster. What about you? Do you work hard and play equally hard? What would happen if you chose self-love and compassion instead? Would your recoveries be more gentle?

This podcast episode is for anyone in sales, and...spoiler alert, everyone is in sales! We're all in a position of leadership and in order to be successful, part of our role is to persuade our audience to take action. Whether you're a mom, a waitress, a marketing exec, an entrepreneur or a teacher, your success depends on influencing those around you to do something or take action. And the more effective you are in your communications, the better the outcome. So what's the key to success? Is it being passionate about whatever it is you're "selling"? Is it loving what you do? No. In this episode, I share the number one tip to being more successful in your role and I bet the answer will surprise you. Enjoy!

If we're just getting to know each other, you might think that balance is my thing because I'm just really good at it. I get that and I'd probably think the same thing! I mean...I wrote a book called the Balanced Entrepreneur. But, would it surprise you to know that balance is my thing because I'm a naturally very unbalanced person? It's true. I'm a super black and white, extreme, maybe obsessive compulsive type. Balance has become my thing because I need it and I need to work so hard at it. If you relate, this episode is for you! I share why balance has become important to me and I share examples of times in my life that have been incredibly unbalanced where I've needed to deliberately readjust. Enjoy!