How To Be Awesome At Everything

On this podcast, Lindsay gives you ALL sorts of COVID-safe ways to do Halloween this year.

We've missed so much this year - Halloween can't be canceled! Just adjust it so you feel comfortable!

Lindsay shares how she would have a little party inside if you don't feel comfortable going out or make a plan to trick-or-treat wit distance and safety in mind if you're going out.

Lots of ideas to get you thinking and planning ahead of time.

Listen in and share your ideas with Lindsay by pinging her @LindsaysCloud on IG!

Happy early Halloween!!

How to be awesome at being a working mom.

This is a HUGE topic! And one of the most requested ones!

Lindsay is sharing what she's learned in her 10 years of being a working mom and sharing hundreds of responses she got when she asked some key questions on Instagram.

There are so many small little awesome hacks in here and also some big picture concepts here!

Here are the main topics that Lindsay covers:

✨How do you use the help of babysitter/nanny/assistant to make it all work

✨Getting through the feeling of having no downtime

✨Helping your kids thrive when you feel like you're barely surviving

✨Having enough time to spend quality time with your kids and managing a work/life balance

✨Having time for yourself

✨Struggles with ending stress from your work day

✨Mom-guilt

✨Time management and motivation

✨Prioritizing and completing your tasks

Let's make it work together! 🌟

What is your definition of success for yourself? Lindsay has this theory that so many of us are chasing things that aren't important to us because of somebody else's definition of success. It could be your parents or your community or social media or by actually comparing yourself to what your friends or strangers are doing. Lindsay thinks that so many of us actually KNOW what it is we want to be spending most of our time doing and what equals happy and fulfilled days and years for ourselves. But we don't allow ourselves to really follow that path because of what we think other people or society says about that dream or goal. Today we are really digging through what success looks like for you. Let's unlearn what we've been taught, put ear plugs in so we don't hear the judgment or the opinions of others and figure out you will regret least, then work backwards. Let's do this… 1. Write down everything you are chasing. Your goals your dreams. Anything you are currently pursuing. 2. Ask yourself what is the source of that... Where did you get that idea? Is it from your parents? Is it from social media? Is it because your friend did something or because your friend got promoted? OR did you get that idea because it makes you FEEL ALIVE? In our community- the most successful people are often what we want to be. We tell ourselves we have to be that to be successful 3. Let's make sure you are working based on your own idea of success… not what society says success is. By doing this- you filter out the noise and you hear just yourself. 4.Put earplugs in - and don't hear other people's opinions or what other people VALUE as success. Lindsay also thinks we often confuse inexperience for being unqualified. If we haven't done it we assume we aren't good at it. This is why she loves learning new things! Take the next month- and try 4 new things Join an online Course - audiobook or podcast. In a month you will have learned what you would have learned in a year. Most of us try one new thing a year. 5. WRITE A LIST!!! WHY did I like it - or WHY did I not like it Which is so important Do I want to do it again? That's when you start uncovering what you really love! THIS is why I talk about my 10s so much. FIND YOUR 10s!! You don't know until you give it a go and ask yourself if you enjoy it. Lindsay talks about the concept of being a "stay at home mom." She talks about knowing so many women that are such incredible mothers and they feel fully fulfilled doing this- and they have the luxury of not having to work yet they don't feel like it's enough- not because they don't - but because they think society says its not enough. She thinks we need to do more of what we enjoy! If you don't know what your purpose is - that's the best part... it's about the journey! The pressure of finding your purpose will stop you from finding your purpose. What are you good at? What do you love doing? What is your compassion for the world? What problem do you want to solve? And accept that it can CHANGE. It doesn't always have to be the same!! TRY lots of things! Lindsay also talks about celebrating your WINS! We often spend more time on our losses. Let's figure out what our idea of success is, then celebrate it as we go!

Today, we're talking about parties!! And specifically, capturing the right pictures at your event.

It's so easy to spend so much time and money planning for your party, but then not actually capture all the different parts of and the special moments.

Celebrating and parties are so much fun and the photos are the best way to remember the moments and the details. Lindsay breaks it all down in this one!

Lindsay's photographer- if you're in OC… she highly recommends him!

Greg Loza

[email protected]

Here are some of the tips Lindsay covers:

📸 Make sure you have someone designated to take the photos - so it's not on you!

📸 Take the photos 30 minutes before the party actually starts so you aren't trying to get the shots during the party.

📸 Give your list to your photographer a week ahead of time so they can digest it.

📸 Have your vendors in place 30 minutes before party start too so you can take pictures of the entire event.

Here is your party photo checklist!

📸 Family group picture in front of dessert table

📸 Family group picture in front of the other backdrop

📸Traditional birthday girl or a boy in front of the dessert table

📸 Fun or creative picture of birthday person in front of the dessert table

📸 Traditional birthday girl or a boy in front of the photo booth

📸 Traditional photo of birthday girl or a boy with siblings… either at dessert table or other backdrop or in a place that captures the entire party ambience

📸 Birthday girl or boy with both parents

📸 Wide shots of the party set up in the ambience

📸 And detailed photos of all the special elements… Dessert table and activity tables… Drinks and food

📸 Bring one of the invitations if you did a live invitation

Some optional ones you might want to throw in…

📸 Each parent individually with the birthday girl or boy

📸 Photos with grandparents or special friends or family… have them come 10 minutes early

Then throughout the party…

📸 Mainly follow around the birthday boy or a girl and capture the experience through their eyes

📸 In between that… snag pictures of families together or adults together or the birthday boy or a girl playing with friends

📸 Singing happy birthday back/blowing out candles cake moment

📸 Some sort of goodbye moment… If you are making a photo book it's nice to have some sort of waving picture or a group picture

Cheers to getting all the right party photos!

Today's podcast is all about planning for awesome family photos! What to wear, how to pick a location, how to capture posed pictures, some fun ones and some organic candids to capture the moment in time with your family. Also talking about how to find a photographer in your area or how to take your own! How to get some creative shots that are beyond the sort of standard everyone stands together and poses type thing.

We're talking all about planning your families photo shoot so that you have pictures that you really love, and the process isn't painful, and it could actually be fun.

Listen in and let us know what you thought! Ping Lindsay on IG at @LindsaysCloud

Cheers to your awesome family photos!

Think about this… do you ever spend time worrying about things you can't control? Or even worse… do you ever completely freak out about things you can't control?

Well, this podcast is coming to your rescue.

One of the many lessons of 2020 is that we can't control everything life will be uncertain, life will be stressing, things will not always be exactly as we plan them out in our minds.

So we have to know that and be ready for it and not freak out when things go sideways. Especially when there's nothing we can do about it.

Here are a few of the points Lindsay goes through:

*Fall in love with the process of becoming your best self.

*Focus on what you can actually change.

*Fall in love with not knowing. Anxiety comes from overthinking and focusing on the unknown.

*Stop counting your mistakes.

*First- don't react - then think of what you CAN actually adjust. You always have choices.

*You're allowed 5 minutes to be emotions a day then you have to be a gangster.

*We're so much stronger than we think we are.

*All personal suffering is within your control… it's the meaning you give to what happens to you. *Stop complaining and start creating solutions. *Oprah says - what is the next right move? Rather than thinking too big or getting overwhelmed.

Just... the next right move then the next right move.

*Life is about alternatives.

*There is so much negative in unhappiness… But you always have a choice.

*To be happy- watch your mind all day long.

*Life is an energy game. Get away from negative energy. *You can't force people to do something they don't want to do and expect a good results from it.

*What you look for you find.

Enjoy this pep talk all about not freaking out over things you can't control!

What does it look like to be awesome at 100? That's what we're talking about today.

Longevity!!

What we should be eating now and how we should be moving so we live a long and very physically functional life.

When we are old… we want to play with our grandkids and our GREAT grandkids and we want to be able to tie our shoes! So let's think… how do you want to look, perform and feel when you are 60, 80 and 100?

MOST people are exercising to look good, not actually for health and a long life of movement.

And science basically tells us that if we aren't exercising we are whittling away.

So we need to move! And focus on balance and building muscle and stretching.

Right now, if we fall, most likely nothing happens.

But if you fall later, the probability of something bad happens is so much greater. Don't let yourself get stiff and lose flexibility.

Muscle is the largest organ in the body and is responsible for so many functions throughout the body and it is for sure the most important organ system to get right when we are talking about aging.

We worry about being overweight but I really think we need to shift our focus. We need to think about being under muscled as much as anything else.

The reality is most of us are under muscled and so many diseases start in the muscle tissues first.

Muscle is one of the ways we can really change our metabolism. When you exercise and you build muscle - muscle builds calories at rest while cardio burns calories while you are actually exercising.

When you're looking at long term adjustments in metabolism- muscle is the key factor in that.

When you think about the impact of muscle, there is something that happens. When you're young, your hormones are strong and you can really drive muscle. It is important that we change our diet and exercise as we age.

And if you do take a fall, the higher muscle mass you have - the greater your survivability.

We should really work on building muscle while we have the flexibility to do so.

We know that the higher the protein in your diet- the more muscle mass, the better your bone density is.

Fractures and falls are one of the things that really devastate our older population.

There's a death risk from falling and the chance of dying from a fall is really preventable.

So mid-life optimization of skeletal muscle is so important! As we age, we start to lose muscle mass and strength and function

So rather than thinking about loosing fat, let's think of it as far as building muscle and strength.

There is SO much more than eat less and exercise more.

Thinking about building muscle instead is so valuable.

Breaking it down… here are the 2 main factors we need to focus on for functioning well as we age…

1. Optimizing your nutrition

2. Get on a good strength train plan

When we are younger, we have a little grace period - which is good we have some cushion and some time to figure it out.

As we age, as our skeletal muscle becomes resistant- which basically means it does the protein as efficiently as we used to.

We have to change our nutrition- by understanding dietary protein mid-life we can really ward off all the physical aging changes. You know how people get smaller as they get older.

So what is the right amount of protein? We should be eating about 30-50 grams of protein per meal.

You have to change things as your body changes and as you age and your hormones change.

Many of us, especially women are not getting enough protein.

The average woman gets 60 grams of protein a day and 100 for men. That's really low.

So what really progressive dietitians say is that you should have one gram of protein for ideal body weight.

So if you weigh 125 pounds, you should have 125 grams per day. Easy enough right?

You need 30-50 grams of protein per meal to stimulate the muscle tissue. This is KEY!

So you are prob only stimulating tissue once or twice a day if you're just having 60 grams total in the day.

This is how we get skinny fat. You lose muscle tissue and gain body wait.

Good proteins are just so good for you! It takes more metabolism to burn proteins in the body than carbs so it's more optimal for for your body.

I really think we are dieting and depriving our body of what it needs! Today and for a long life.

Some people think..

If we eat too much protein, it gets converted into glucose in the body. And that's true but it's not a bad thing! It's a better strategy to get in your carbs and allow your body to generate the glucose.

The body does require glucose - so the better way to get it is by your body generating rather than consuming it.

Eat the good proteins!! Like…

-Grass fed beef

-Wild caught fish

-Organic chicken

-Organic eggs

The things is… Protein causes a phase 1 insulin release.

Too many carbs- over 40 carbs per meal causes a phase 2 insulin response. So then you're chasing your blood sugar all day long which is not what we want.

Meal spacing

The worst thing you can do is graze all day long when it comes to how the body works and longevity.

Small meals all day is a myth - you'll never turn over that muscle tissue - we want to trigger that muscle tissue.

It's all about the amount of protein you eat at a given time. So make sure you are getting a minimum of 30 grams of proteins per meal.

This will change your metabolism and increase your brain function and keep you feeling strong and alert into your 90s and beyond!!

Cheers, to being awesome at 100!

How to be awesome at not talking shit. Even when it's tempting and you feel like you can't resist… Lindsay is going to give you enough reasons not to do it.

And listen, we're all human… we're not going to be perfect… but let's make a collective plan to not talk shit.

And here's why. We don't have unlimited time with our favorite people. Your best friends, your family members… it's just limited. We have commitments and work and kids and lots of things we have to do too. So when you do have that time with them… on the phone or in person or on text, why spend it focusing on what's bad about someone else?

When you could spend that same time talking about what makes you happy- your 10s of the day!! or the opportunities that you have or the impact you can make on your own or together.

Talking shit is just such a waste of this opportunity and a waste of your energy!!

And if you have kids- your absolute number one reason for not talking shit should be so they don't hear you - and they will - even if you don't think they do. And what a great gift to give your kids- an environment where time is not spent bringing other people down. There's just SO many better ways to spend your time.

A few key points from this podcast:

✨The way we grow up and our environment really shapes how we approach this. You can change it - it just might be harder.

✨Sometimes it might not even be intentional!! You just react and judge.

✨Realize you might have to just let less stuff bother you too.

✨Instead of judging say- GOOD FOR HER … not for me

✨PROTECT YOUR HEAD SPACE!! The time you spend thinking about this is time you can't spend on other things!!

✨You don't know the rocks in other people's shoes.

✨Give them the benefit of the doubt- why not.

✨We aren't perfect- we all make bad decisions sometimes.

✨And if you're constantly talking shit- people thing- she or he talks shit on everyone… why wouldn't they talk shit on me

✨Here's how to stop a shit talking conversation- divert the conversation, change the subject, dominate the conversation, joke the way out of the conversation or just be overly kind and move on.

✨So much more good happens when you suffocate someone starting a conversation shitting on someone else.

✨We are all human beings and sometimes we get into it and don't really mean to- and maybe we feel gross about it later.

✨Let's all make a commitment to ourselves to not talk shit. We won't be perfect but we should really strive for it.

✨Imagine if you didn't waste your precious minutes with your parents or best friends focusing on something negative about someone else.

✨It's what winning is about. Creating a framework of kindness and optimism not negativity and fear and jealousy.

✨We may not realize even that we might be doing it because we are jealous in some way or it's sparking as issue we have. Be honest with yourself and work on the issue.

✨Bottom line- there are one million other things that are worth your time talking about than running someone else down. Protect your time and your headspace and don't let yourself do it.

✨You'll have more awesome days and you'll be proud of yourself for putting positivity into the world and help to suffocate negativity.

AND THAT'S AWESOME!!

How to be awesome at lots of little things! PART TWO!

In this episode, Lindsay gets into lots of new topics! She's sharing her perspective and hacks for being awesome at so many parts of life.

Here are a few topics Lindsay covers:

*Home*

🏡 Home decor/design tips

🔨 Home renovation tips

👗 Keeping your closet organized

👜 How to be awesome at moving/packing

🛏 How do you keep your house clean all the time!

🙆🏼 Keeping the house tidy with the kiddos home 24/7 it feels like I'm always cleaning

*Kids*

🛌🏽 Kids sleep! And sleep training

👭🏽 How to be awesome at raising best friend siblings?! Your girls and sun seem like such pals!

🔑 How to be awesome at helping your kids transition in big life changes- new school, moving

🥒 How to navigate extremely picky eaters (toddler).

📱 How to ease your kids off of screen/iPad time

🥦 Healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas for your kids!

🙋🏼‍♀️ Being an awesome "room mom"

*Health & Fitness*

🍲 How to cook healthy + easy meals for your family

🍽 Intermittent fasting

🌿 Update on my functional medicine journey!

🥙 Meal plan/prep and more ideas on healthy cooking at home

🌪 How to not crash at 2-3pm when you wake up at 5 am to workout!

*Relationships*

🤾 How to deal with a competitive mind/people

🤹‍♀️ Relationships! Marriage, relationships with kiddos and friends

🐰 Lindsay's parents- the veterinarians

🌝 How to deal with mean moms

*Marriage*

🌹 How to keep your relationship alive!

💙 Will Craig ever be on a podcast?

❣️ How to be awesome at doting on your husband without feeling neglected

🍸Managing emotions after being quarantined at home all day and hubby comes home

Lots of awesome things!

DM Lindsay and tell her which topics you want to hear more about! On IG @LindsaysCloud

Thanks for listening!

This episode is JAM PACKED with hacks that will change your days.

Here's the bottom line: Either your run your day or it will run you.

Here is a message from Lindsay, about this podcast:

Today's podcast is all about your morning routine. But it's really so much more than that. It's about having happy, productive days without feeling overwhelmed.

We are all juggling so much and I think we are all here for ways to get more done in less time so you have more free time and don't feel buried under your to do list.

In preparing for this podcast, I've been researching the morning routine of high performers for months. And I really think I've found lots of breakthroughs here. There's so much we can learn from each other and from other people who have mastered something we are trying to become awesome at.

Here are some of the best lessons I've learned that I think will help you craft your ideal morning routine 🌤

First step- wake up on time. Set your alarm and don't hit snooze.

It's like you're telling yourself - you are in charge.

Then, I think you take one hour totally for yourself. I love this in the form of at at-home workout. Do what you feel like for your mind and your body. This is where I center. Sometimes I listen to podcasts or audio books or watch an online course. Or sometimes, I workout in silence and just think. I'll think about the day or the week or try to solve a problem or just have quite time to be grateful.

I really think you have to make a morning routine of it so it just happens. There's no decision to be made each morning. Even if you don't feel like it- do the best you can that day.

Do it before your phone starts going and people start needing you!

Then, take a freezing shower. There are so many great health benefits but also just to be tough for the day.

Then, do your 3 most important tasks of the day. For a few reasons. Studies have shown that you are your sharpest for the first 3 hours of the day. So let's not use that mindlessly scrolling social media or replying to emails.

These 3 things should somehow have the highest impact on your year. They can be small things or big things - sometimes things we procrastinate on actually don't take us very long. Maybe you need to find someone's email that you want to do business with and send them an email- if you just write it down and do the first step- it's often so much easier than you think.

I've procrastinated for so long on some things then when I actually do it, it's like 20 minutes. I'm like holy hell that's been on my list for 3 months and I look at it everyday and do something else.

Then save your other things for later in the day - making doctors appointments and following up on things … you don't need to be your absolute sharpest for those.

Ok so back to social media and emails. You 💯 cannot check these things first thing in the morning. You have to protect yourself and your time. Here's the thing with social media, it makes you compare yourself to others. Even if you have a really healthy relationship with social media, that's just the nature of it.

And if you check your emails first thing, then you let your emails control how your morning and your day goes. And you likely will never get to the 3 most important things that will help move you towards your goals. And it makes you operate on the defensive, not the offense. Don't let other people determine what you do, you decide what you want to get done.

Here are a few other nighttime routine tips to think about:

✨ The key to a good morning routine is a good night routine

✨ Get enough sleep

✨ Call a quitting time so you have time to unplug and refresh for the next day

✨ To wind down each night- stretch if that feels good and take a warm shower then make your list for the day.

✨ Don't end up scrolling your phone for hours in bed and going to bed too late

✨ Know what workout you are going to do in the am and layout your clothes.

Some of my favorite tips!

❤️ Try to keep a similar routine on the weekends to keep up the momentum. Adjust it so you have fun, but keep the same general routine.

❤️ Keep your phone in other room or in airplane mode.

❤️ Have your running list going, if you need to, brain dump so you go to sleep with a clear mind and not a racing mind. But don't keep your list in your room. For me, I keep my work pile out of the room, or move it out before bed so I have like a full disconnect from it. It really helps.

Why this morning time is so important

In these clear morning hours, you'll have the best ideas.

And they become a main point of focus for the rest of your day.

Part of becoming the greatest you, is learning how to let the most powerful you guide you. Let the most powerful part of your mind set the course for your day.

You just have to allow yourself time to have great ideas - give yourself time and space to just think. To figure out solutions. Pay attention to what the genius inside of you is telling you.

When most of us think about the things we have to do - we are overwhelmed - we scroll social media then we go into robot mode. I fear auto pilot in life. We pay the bills, get the groceries.. do all all the things and let our to do list rule our day. It never feels manageable.

So we have to shift to focus on progress rather than to do lists. I love to do lists - but they don't rule my day- progress rules my day instead.

So how do you decide what are your 3 things for the day?

I ask myself - what 3 things I could do that would really make progress towards my goals?

This becomes my focus rather than the overwhelming endless to do list.

These 3 things should be things that are for you. Things that would help you make progress. That's what should be on your list.

Our game plan

So you've woken up the right way, you've let your mind wander, you've let yourself think of ideas and solutions. To do lists trigger procrastination instead of action. So if we focus on just 3 things, it simplifies it. Sometimes it's just one step. You're setting up your brain to make it happen. To do lists trigger procrastination instead of action. So if we focus on just 3 things, it simplifies it. Sometimes it's just one step. You're setting up your brain to make it happen.

And you aren't sleeping with your phone!

Not sleeping with your phone will enhance your focus SO much I'm telling you. You will sleep better and have more ideas. You will feel more in control of your day. You're proactive not reactive. Your genius brain needs this alone time in the morning. You have to find 30 minutes to an hour first thing in the morning before you give your day to everything else. I just think this is so essential making progress and making an impact.

I read one time that the most successful business people don't take meetings before noon. Because they just know they are the most sharp in the first few hours of the day and they would rather get their own priorities done rather than let meetings take the most productive hours of the day.

This is where you can focus the best and you're thinking about your big picture goals before your day gets high-jacked. I also feel so much happier during my day when I know I've been productive early on. I don't feel behind and rushed all day and fighting for time to get to my to do list.

And I'm telling you- you have to have a quitting time. This is a totally new one for me. You have to make yourself stop so your days don't roll into the next.

So you're making your day shorter and make yourself quit working at a set time.

It's crazy how much these changes will impact your days

It's just so crazy that you can get more out of your life when you do less. It's just by planning your day right. Give yourself deadlines and don't let your to do list or your email control your day. Let your 3 biggest priorities control your day.

This has been such a powerful thing in my life. I never stopped working.

By setting clear goals, I'm focused on what I need to get done and I do it first.

If you need more boundaries between work and personal, this will help so much. It will give you more time to be present with your family. Let your brain get rest.

And honestly- I still don't do this some days- just because I spend so much time with my kids - I simply don't always have enough time to do what I want to do.

But when I do set a deadline and actually stick to it, I really feel in control and accomplish more each day with less stress.

Ok so to recap, don't sleep with your phone, take time for yourself in the morning, allow your genius mind to work and not just go on autopilot.

Each of these small steps build on each other. So you can add in one of these tips and keep building on it.

You have a daily routine now that's backed by science that will help you set-up long term success.

Push yourself to get back on track with your routine. That's why I love a cold shower - it's like I already did something hard. I already proved to myself that I'm tough and I'm going to do what I tell myself I'm going to do.

I'm telling you by having an awesome morning routine, you'll accomplish more of your goals and for sure have more awesome days.

Cheers to awesome productive days!

XO

Lindsay